Dalson.
PRESS RELEASE - The Saint Lucia Labour Party is pleased that Parliamentary representative Hon. Harold Dalson is well and back serving the people of Soufriere/Fond St. Jacques full time.
On Radio St. Lucia’s programme: “Inside Government” on Tuesday, June 17 he took time to highlight a number of projects already accomplished in his constituency during the last two years, including several bridges and major road rehabilitation.
He was deeply troubled by the crude political manoeuvres of the UWP at a time when Prime Minister Kenny Anthony was leading the charge to rescue St. Lucia from the dismal economic crisis which it now faces and save the country from the drastic measures being implemented in other countries.
He stated that the UWP must be honest enough with itself and the people of the country to accept that they significantly contributed to the crisis. Hon. Dalson listed a few of the terrible decisions taken by the former administration which Allen Chastanet was part of, and which added to the current financial situation.
The Soufriere parliamentary rep pointed to the employment of James Hepple, a consultant at the St. Lucia Tourist Board at the cost of $1.1 million at the same time that former Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet was firing nine tourism hostesses from Soufriere whose combined salaries did not amount to $10,000 per month.
He highlighted payment of over $800,000 to rent a tent for a single FCCA conference and payment of $3.1 million for Boxing in Paradise, a pay–per-view event televised when people in the target countries where fast asleep.
He mentioned the Black Bay and Canelles land fiasco where St. Lucia now has to pay over $16.0 million dollars to get back hundreds of acres of state lands handed to an investor by the past UWP regime; in addition to a loan of $37 million to purchase the derelict Daher building at Bois D’ Orange. It will cost an additional $80 million to rehabilitate the building.
He reminded listeners that much of the unemployment which the Labour Administration is attempting to fix was left behind by the UWP, bearing in mind that when Labour left office in 2006 unemployment was at 14% and by the time UWP left in 2011 it was back to 21 percent.
Dalson is of the view that the UWP should appreciate that the prime minister has avoided engaging in blame throwing; and to use the opportunity to help unite the country in seeking solutions to the present economic situation and to put the country back on the road to recovery.