“It then makes one wonder about the motives behind the government’s claims that we are attempting to destabilize the nation.”
“It is therefore unacceptable for the SLP administration to submit that the UWP is trying to destabilize the country. ~ Herod Stanislas
By Caribbean News Global contributor
CASTRIES, St Lucia – Addressing the weekly briefing of the United Workers Party (UWP), senator Herod Stanislas called on the government to “retract erroneous statements and offer quality leadership to restore pride and dignity in our passports and national image’; and highlighted “the potential to lose our correspondent banking did not start in Saint Lucia and the Caribbean today.”
Opposition senator Stanislas addressing the CIP St Lucia scandal, said:
“For several years organizations like the EU, OECD [along with] the US, Canada and the UK have expressed concerns about Citizenship by Investment (CIP) programs all over the world.
While I was the parliamentary representative for Soufriere, there were numerous legislative changes made to bring our money laundering and anti-terrorism laws in line with international standards.
The CIP program which is currently embroiled in a court case in US Federal Court accusing several actors of the CIP programs of fraud, money laundering and corruption is a direct result of many mistakes by the current administration.
What is urgently needed to rescue this situation that has reached crisis proportions is level-headed focused leadership. Leadership that confronts the essence of the claims being made and that wisely examines the far-reaching implications should the claims turn out to be true.
“It’s been two months since the RICO case has been filed in the US Federal case unleashing some of the most damning allegations on our country’s reputation. One would have thought by now that the government would have found it necessary to answer the many questions surrounding this scandal.”
The opposition senators reminded Saint Lucians of the inability of the minister for tourism, investment, creative industries, culture and information, Dr Ernest Hilaire, the inability to come clean with the people of Saint Lucia, and answer if he has been granted “permission to share information on our passports.”
“It is now time to stop the deflecting, attempts to divert the nation’s focus and amusingly blame (ing) the opposition,” senator Stanislas said. Recounting the outbreak of the Ukrainian-Russian war and the solidarity that CIP countries in the Caribbean showed to the US, UK and European countries in the NATO grouping, “Saint Lucia’s CIP minister said publicly that not all Russians were bad people who supported Vladimir Putin.”
The opposition senator acknowledged that he and the leader of the opposition clamoured for the immediate suspension of Russian applications and thought it would send the wrong message to the countries that we rely upon to have a successful CIP program.
“We argued that most NATO members fighting the war against Russia were the very same countries we enjoyed VISA-free access to and were selling that privilege to Russian and other citizens who, unlike us, need VISAS to travel to most NATO Schengen countries. Reluctantly, Saint Lucia became the last CIP country in the Caribbean to suspend Russian applications,” the senator noted.
In much the same, “It remains a major mistake that Saint Lucia became the last country to sign the Memorandum of Agreement aimed at improving the CIP programs around the Caribbean. Every other country in the region signalled a greater sense of urgency aimed at addressing the many concerns that the international community would have had about CIP programs.”
In a recent publication, “CIP St Lucia funds surface with no impact to change and save lives” Caribbean News Global (CNG) explained:
“The untold is in the secrecy and unskilful implementation and function of CIP St Lucia towards national development, since the programme started in 2016. CIP St Lucia was questionable then. This has not changed. And now, triggering a scandalous environment.
“The current RICO lawsuit is troubling. The potential for losing correspondent banking with the US and visa-free access to the EU and UK – will negatively impact CIP, lifestyles, economic and monetary policy in Saint Lucia and other CIP Caribbean countries.”
Senator Stanislas queried:
“It then makes one wonder about the motives behind the government’s claims that we are attempting to destabilize the nation.”
“Long before Saint Lucia entered the CIP business, the international community expressed concerns about its potential to harbour money laundering and fuel national security risks,… that undermine our VISA access to places like Martinique where we need to go for medical reasons, for jobs, for business and to visit family and friends.”
The senator advised that there is nothing the opposition UWP can do to undermine visa-free access or banking relationships overseas, stating:
“It is therefore unacceptable for the SLP administration to submit that the UWP is trying to destabilize the country,” concluding, “I think such disingenuous rhetoric from a government embarrasses all of us, whether we are Labour or Flambeau. Not only does the government’s actions embarrass us overseas but it betrays the very essence of our Lucianness.”
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