Former National Security Minister Hermangild Francis has taken his former Cabinet colleague Stephenson King to task in a commentary dubbed ‘Snakes in Parliament’.
“I have broken my silence to allow the populace to make an informed decision about the character of Stephenson King,” Francis wrote in the commentary on the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) Facebook page.
Shortly before July 26, 2021, general elections, Stephenson King announced that he would not go into the polls under the incumbent UWP but as an Independent Candidate.
The former UWP leader retained his Castries North seat, and after the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP), which was in opposition, won the elections by a landslide, King joined the labour Cabinet.
“For a man to remain in a government, receive his salary and perks and feel comfortable doing that. Steve’s action must never be allowed to reoccur, and if this government is serious about honesty and integrity, they should distance themselves from him,” Hermangild Francis stated.
Francis said he has no animosity towards Stephenson King.
But he said he was disappointed in King’s presentation to parliament.
“In his presentation, he distanced himself from the former government and said everything that he felt was going wrong. Steve attended several meetings of parliament. He never once voiced his concern about the government’s direction. He never complained about the disregard for the Constitution and the Standing Orders,” Francis noted.
“As a former colleague in the previous government, his statements have shown me that he only loves himself and is not concerned about how the other ministers who serve with him feel,” Francis stated.
“From the onset of our stint as a government, I quickly recognised that Steve was not interested in anything that the government was involved in. Cabinet meetings are scheduled for Mondays at 10.00 am, and as such, ministers should always leave that time open to be at Cabinet. That was not Steve’s attitude. Instead, his usual time of attendance was just around lunchtime,” the former Deputy Police Commissioner recalled.
“From early, I recognised that something was not right. I always voiced my concern, but I was never taken seriously,” Francis disclosed.
Francis it takes a snake to know one. King learnt from you.
Speak for yourself, not for others I was told by the wiser generations 🇱🇨🇨🇭🥊☮️
Go cry “The Most Honorable Lucian Highgrade” a river. You take a break from “di cabawé”
Santo be Quiet! What Nonsense ur writing? What and how Mr Francis was or is a 🐍 🐍?? Smh on yall
These are interesting points brought by Hermangild. Let’s consider some of them.
-King always attended cabinet meetings about 2 hours late. Only poor leadership would allow a member to be consistently late. Any worthwhile leader wouldn’t tolerate that nonsense. This kind of
lateness should never have been accepted.
-Someone was asleep at the wheel if they hadn’t queued to King’s complacency. Remember, there was a bitter dispute between Chas and King. So it’s strange that hardly anyone observed that King was brooding. Further, the quality of information that was being aired about UWP’s plans, indicated a high level mole. As King became more withdrawn, it should have been deduced that public humiliation could have be the cause. It was widely whispered that this senior member was in fact doing junior member chores.
-Forget about how the other members feel regarding his abrupt departure. It’s never about feelings, it’s always about business. Remember the game is politics. Just imagine King as a disgruntled worker, who did what disgruntled workers do.
-What remained unsaid is whether King was competent at his job. That is an important factor in making an objective evaluation. His chronic lateness was a big negative. What else is there beside the violation of trust?
With so many clues available one wonders why they were not identified and appropriate action taken against King.
Steve and I have something in common. Lunch was my favorite subject also. It was one class I refused to pass.
Hf… Both you and your brother were SLP supporters before and you both switch sides ..so what’s your point.. police officers had so much confidence in you…only your friends got promotion.. even you family that ain’t work hard and knows policing got promoted…
Mr.Hermangild as much i’m on par with you on this,whilst you at it comment on the arrogance and abuse of authority by your brodda!
all of you are just tools. in the public eye you all there like enemies but down In the dungeon before you all grand masters you all kiss each other like husbands and wives. but out there you all play the game of dividing the people. politic is all about dividing the nation .
99% of lucians are snakes, don’t you see what they do to them snakes in Haiti. But for true king and the Pitt bull are really big ones.
This smells of desperation on the part of AC..the snake… as I see it was the AC buying his way into the UWP party… and destroying it…realizing he couldn’t win in Soufriere…so snaked his way into John Compton’s sure seat, and to add the cherry on top, degraded and insulted Compton’s daughter..way to go…Stephenson King was in line to go up for the mandate of the people as political leader…win or lose… but treachery of the snake’s influence…(sounds familiar? Adam and Eve in the garden, listening to the snake?)….he should not have been snaked out…and he is an independent candidate, working alongside his previous adversaries, for THE PEOPLE, THE COUNTRY…not fighting to divide and rule and destroy Helen…come elections we shall see what THE PEOPLE decide..as I see it…reality check..
Francis why you did not tell chastanet to enact a livable wage, when you were in power…
How dear you Francis call the man a rattle snake . The only problem I have with king is he did not enact a livable wage … When he was Minster of labour
What a bunch of bollocks, all the concerns but no one airs the truth about the corruption within, HF tell us about the corrupt Guys you served with, the LGBTQzzzz that’s part of you all party, and how many of you belong to the art of the Grandmasters which pillars you pass thru?
Now who will take mate seriously. He drunk or not? Choopz tun.
For a man to accept UMP funds to help him in his election campaign, then switched over when as expected, the other independent fixed a deal, tells you all about political snakes in the mix. On being late to work means no respect, to the boss, the burdened staff and the people; Who can ever trust you? that’s not what they taught you at SDA school.
There are snakes everywhere, Mr. Francis.