ANYONE listening to the Parliamentary debate on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, would have been particularly happy with two noteworthy, talking points. The primary was the remarkable, cogent evaluation by the Leader of the Opposition, giving a full history of the “Old St. Jude’s” fiasco versus the “New St. Jude”. The second, was the Leader of the Opposition’s thought-provoking presentation, emphasizing the intense pitfalls lying ahead, regarding the wastage of the Saudi funds. Funds which can ultimately need to be repaid by taxpayers long after the “Ali Baba Clan” has exited office. That is the last opportunity for the St. Lucian public to talk out with one voice about salvaging the deplorable state of healthcare within the south and; concurrently, stopping the federal government from squandering EC 201 million dollars on the rehabilitation of an eighty-year-old structure.
Despite such an in depth, lucid, and eloquent explanation to the House and the nation by the Leader of the Opposition, it’s perplexing why entities just like the Chamber of Commerce, the Concerned Residents of the South, along with, sensible and reasonable St. Lucians haven’t stood up in unanimity, for what makes good sense concerning such an important project which carries a life expectancy of fifty years. It was sad and likewise infuriating to take heed to the Parliamentary Representative for Central Castries pathetic and impetuous try and criticize the soundness of the contribution by the Leader of the Opposition. A member who recently showed no remorse for his disposal of state lands at a fraction of the associated fee with none compunction.
No other civilized nation would stand idly by and witness this type of monetary abuse and perversity, particularly a developing country, stricken by a perennial dearth of monetary resources. This administration is literally throwing $200 million down the drain. The chance to construct a brand new, modern, state-of-the-art, hospital arises once every fifty years or should I say, once in a lifetime. As a nation, have we turned our backs on such a golden opportunity? Especially, once we consider the astronomical financial cost that our people must suffer to travel abroad to access first-class medical care due to the substandard state of health care available at home.
Three years from now this SLP administration may have exited office, leaving us with a public health and financial quagmire on our hands. Then, wouldn’t it not be too late, to look at our conscience for not standing up for what was right and what we truly deserved? With all the target information and expert advice available on television and social and print media, against the federal government’s intended motion on the crucial matter, the hushed, indifferent, and dispassionate feedback of the people, has been quite disconcerting. Is that this in itself the depiction of a nation with out a soul or a conscience?
