Opposition leader Allen Chastanet has called for equal citizen access to essential services, including passport applications.
And Chastanet has declared that the government is responsible for ensuring that access.
“The stark contrast between a private company’s expedited service and the experiences of ordinary citizens at the Passport Office highlights a system marred by inefficiencies and injustices,” the United Workers Party leader wrote on Facebook.
He also indicated that the government needed to take immediate steps to reform the system, address disparities, and uphold the principles of fairness, transparency, and equal treatment for all citizens.
Chastanet’s comments came amid the announcement of an investigation into the Immigration Department.
The announcement of the probe followed reports that a private company is facilitating pricey passport applications.
AÂ viral social media post showed a $650 receipt from the paralegal service agency The Briefcase.
Manager Cindy Alexander-Gabriel acknowledged that her company issued the receipt.
“Based on this receipt, it may have been a passport application that was done, JP services rendered, the availability and purchase of a passport form and also photographs, ” Alexander-Gabriel explained to the radio programme Newsspin this week.
But she also disclosed that The Briefcase offers other services free of charge.
She described The Briefcase as a small company assisting the public in birth certificates, business registration, identification card replacement, lost driver’s licenses, National Insurance Corporation documents, passports, typing job letters, photographs, photocopying and other services.
“We are not doing anything illegal. We are not doing anything fraudulent,” Alexander-Gabriel declared
Chastanet you gave away so .uch of our wealth and assets to foreign entities, you double standard dimwit, isnt the young allowed to earn a living. Sarah flood was an MP and was ruuning her business withing the immigration frpartment. Its the double standard of opposition
Just so the opposition is fighting down a small business with a brilliant plan? Let the business operate and leave people who want to pay do so. Why can’t someone use the services of a company to get their passport if they can afford to do so? These people are so small minded and backward. Some of us would rather pay to have someone else deal with the hassle so what. It’s the same way you Chas pay a maid to clean your house because you don’t want the hassle. People use sure pay at Massy instead of having to go to WASCO. These people doing as though the company commit some crime. Those who can afford will use a taxi others use a bus…that is the way of the world. Leave the company alone and stop targeting people you useless clown. It seems that business to make money is only for Chas and his father and Bay Gardens alone. Minerva you will pay for your tongue you tired, jealous old bat. Rude, indiscreet out of order. People support local business…use The Briefcase! I didn’t know about them before…tha KS for making them famous. I will use them now.
The Briefcase is a legitimate business! Stop fighting down people who are trying to earn a living. These flambeaus believe that money making is only for people like Chas and his father. Minerva is the instigator of all this useless drama. She believes that being in Canada makes her immune. She is in for the shock of her life. People pay people to stand in queues for them all over the world. I pay for expedited services on my USA passport online because I choose to. Why can’t someone engage the services of a company and pay extra for their passport if they can afford to do so. Yall need to stop targeting ordinary citizens in your dirty political games. Sarah was selling passport covers right in the immigration Department…she even set up office there rent free. CIP people got their passport expired service when locals had to wait weeks under your watch Chas. When we must have a local ID card and appear in person for our first passport, CIP people were allowed to get theirs without ever showing their faces. Chas shut you ignorant racist face and get out of our politics…we tired of you and your minions
“Can we all get along?”, to borrow a line from the troubled (and now deceased) Rodney King, whose brutal assault by a pack of LA Police officers, followed by their subsequent arrest and acquital by the Court, led to one of the worst riots in the history of the city of Los Angeles! Why am I referencing that tragic episode from the LA experience? Simple. Unless we truly get back to the basics of sincere love, care, and respect, etc., for one another (as opposed to politicizing everything that define us) we are going to be consuned by the flames of hatred, malice and discord — sooner or later! Mark my word.
@Melinda. You are hilarious. So normal people walk up and down and stand in line for months to get a passport but Briefcase had a miraculous way of getting a passport in 3 days. Not all St. Lucians are foolish to believe maji.There is something wrong here it is not about a small business, it is something else going on.
I obtained my US visa through a third party. I paid $500. US, I didn’t find anything wrong. By the way Chas how many St. Lucian passports did you sell during your reign?
When it’s wrong….say it’s wrong! CHAS is very correct in calling out the injustices to free people of Saint Lucia. We cannot travel at our own will as the system prevents us from going where we wanna go all because of incompetence in rectifying this passport issue. I have spent almost 3 days in hours standing on a line just to renew my passport only to find out that there is lucrative backdoor service that financially benefit a handful including public servants. This is wrong!
because Chas is not part of that company he vex. all businesses must be owned by him, his friends or family. stop fighting people down chas. you too wicked man.
I have a certain amount of dislike for Minerva Ward. Her friends with law firms are doing this for years now and she too has taken advantage if this, but now St lucians are fighting a business who decides to conduct the entire process for people without time at a fee. St lucians will not complain about the express fee being charged by government agencies for years, but will complain about a small black person doing business in a shack. You all seem to love white people.
I didn’t read anywhere in the report that chastanet made any comment about the small business. However he was making reference to the difficulty of obtaining a passport by ordinary St Lucia who may not have the money to pay to get it.
However one point should be of concern to the whole thing, how is it possible for a third party to obtain the passport in quick time , yet one would pay for a emergency passport and it will take more time than the third party one.
Question
1: Do the company have special access
2: Are the officers getting paid extra by the third party for the service ( if so then this is corruption)
3: Are ordinary application being push aside to accommodate application form the third party
4: How is it that the third party can circumvent the long process the public have to go through inorder to get the passport in quick time.
5: Is it that our passport is open to the highest bidder ( if so then our basic human rights are being taken away from us).
@Troy Francis you are not the only one asking these question about the passport. To my knowledge it’s impossible to sell a legal passport without it being registered in the data base in order for it to be recognized by the system of most develop countries. So my point is if the current government cannot find the amount of passport which was issued legally by the former government something is definitely wrong. So The only thing I can think of is if the former government benefited from any illegal sales of passports which is not in the data base it’s just a matter of time for whoever has these passports to get caught when they will try to use it as a travel document or any other form of identification. but hey again i can be wrong…
How long does it takes for a foreigner to get a passport under the CIP? Answer is not as long as a born and bred Looshan who does not have $100K.
If a company can be an intermediary, that is great because there are people who may not want to go and stand in line, or don’t have the time to stand in line. However, the two options should be available, and if they are available, then I don’t see the problem.
If you people think this is pricey then you should go to a lawyers office to see pricey. What this company is doing is nothing illegal as she said but providing legal services as to what a lawyer would do. This is the same situation when people with errors on their birth certificates long ago had to go to a lawyer to most times just remove or add a letter to your name or birth date for one certificate and the lawyers would charge an arm and a leg because at that time it was an application that had to go through the courts at first but as of right now you just go to the Adjudicators officer and I think the application is only $50.00 right now. It sure beats going to a lawyer.