Opposition leader Allen Chastanet has declared that Infrastructure Minister Stephenson King and Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre are responsible for the situation with the delayed Millennium Highway project.
“The Minister of Infrastructure and the Prime Minister must take full and sole responsibility for what is taking place on the Millennium Highway,” Chastanet asserted.
“I heard from the contractors, from that contractor, that they have not been paid,” the United Workers Party leader told the radio call-in programme Newsspin on Thursday.
In this regard, Chastanet questioned whether there was a deliberate government attempt to frustrate and fire the contractor and bring in Rayneau Gajadhar.
Gajadhar is the Team Lead at Construction & Industrial Equipment Ltd.
The pace of the Millennium Highway project, signed in 2020, has been a significant concern for the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) administration, which came into office after the July 26, 2021, general elections.
The project delay and the state of the road have also exasperated motorists.
In this regard, the National Council On Public Transportation expressed that minibus operators had reached a breaking point over the poor state of Saint Lucia’s roads.
However, this week, Infrastructure Minister King said work on the Millennium Highway project had resumed, with a commitment that work will finish in March 2024.
Nevertheless, opposition leader Chastanet criticised the Philip J. Pierre administration for ‘struggling’ to oversee the project’s completion.
Chastanet told Newsspin that there is mismanagement everywhere in Saint Lucia.
The former Prime Minister accused the government of facing an ‘implementation quandary’ because of ‘square pegs in round holes.’
Chastanet said the result was that everyone was paying the price for having an administration with no priorities, plan, or coordination.
I guess you and your cohorts had one, which was to drain the Treasury and squander every cent.
The time is fast approaching for all of you all the answer.
Bordelais, should be you and your bunch of squanders home before, Christmas.
What a wonderful gift this would have been.
I never see BS like what coming out of this jackass’s mouth. I suppose it is “reach for the straws” syndrome.
Typical politicians. Blame blame blame. King is useless for governance for in any political ingredients. He should have remain just a member of UWP rather than be some jump ship individual.
Is that project not funded by a British government grant, with the CDB having the responsibility of appointing and paying a contractor based upon progress reports submitted to them by a Project Manager?
I think there was a news cycle where and when the obvious exasperation and disappointment of both King and Pierre were palpably demonstrated.
Question to whoever has the answer: –
Is the British grant being held in the Consolidated Fund, or is it with the CDB?
Everyone missing the main issue here.
Ask about the supervising consultant and their role in holding back this project.
Ask the same questions about phase 2.
The Trinidad contractor has been ready to start since April.
Why has he not started?
Why hasn’t the Anse La Raye bridge reconstru tion commenced?
Same Consulting Engineers!
The silence is deafening.
When the UWP was the government, everything that went wrong in the country their were being blamed for it. Now that the SLP is the government they are free from blame. WOW! WOW! WOW!
Precisely @Anonymous but never-ending. They will ve blamed period! Their fault
Yawwwn what time is it ??? Oh well !
I think Mike Hunt has the proper questions. Also when Chas said about Square Pegs in round holes he too has a point. But he should remember that he put the biggest Round Peg in a Square Hole. If u catch my drift. Btw because politicians hv taken over everything including the thinking of staff and their mouths thanks to KDA placing them on contracts we hv forgotten that BY LAW ALL PUBLIC ROADS ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER. In all of this debacle of roads not a word from the Chief Engineer or course of action. MAYBE THAT’S WHERE WE HV THE SQUARE PEG IN THE ROUND HOLE. (side note if she talks her contract won’t be renewed.) haha
It is a case of the blind leading the blind. No plan with followers who have no clue.
UWP or SLP the rest of us still paying for it in fuel cost from traffic, accidents, suspension parts, low productivity, tires, other body parts that any damn government would be milking the taxes off the citizens. Wake the hell up people and realize these politrixters not for us, none of them. We the people have the power!
Since 1997, our country has faced serious challenges under the SLP leadership. In 1996, the homicide rate was just around 8 per year, but by 2002, it had surged to 40 per year, a staggering 400% increase. The Debt to GDP Ratio also skyrocketed during this time, with little benefit to the country. The SLP government has been in power for 4 out of the last 6 terms and shares responsibility for these issues due to their failed policies. You can verify these facts with a quick online search for “macrotrends Saint Lucia murder rate chart.” It’s time to get informed and take action. Let’s rally and urge our government representatives to do better, embracing proven strategies that can steer us toward a brighter future.
Saint Lucia has the most ignorant people they don’t read to understand..I believe all the hacks that being educated by Richard has no clue what the article said..the moment they see chastenet their entire body itches what a clown country
Why do we Lucians see consistent failure and keep hoping for success?
The history of the SLP is replete with mismanagement, cluelessness, nepotism, lack of planning, no blueprints, fraud, corruption, political grandstanding, incompetence and the list goes on.
Yet as inflation is destroying salaries, well paying jobs are scarce, crime is through the roof we somehow think that the Millennium Highway will be fixed ‘someday’ but ignore the delays, destroyed vehicles, cost overuns, inefficiencies , cost to the economy and pretend that this is not happening with EVERY project being mismanaged by the St Lucia Labour Party under pierre, fredericks, anthony, hillaire and king.
Not one promised project has been completed on times or been finished or come in on budget. Everything is a cost overun because of incompetence or borbol. Road network deteriorating, Highway incomplete, hospital incomplete, airport in confusion. Our ports sold of for paltry sums to foreigners. Land sold to family and friends at a $60 million discount. Promised housing not completed.
Tourism numbers for 2023 not even back to 2019 levels. Millions spent on travel especially at foreign affairs an tourism ministries. Backroom deals being cut right left and center.
And the so called voices of reason that had so much to say attacking the UWP during the destructive Covid are gone silent. It was always about them and their pockets and personal animosities.
Start, fail, repeat again. The history of the SLP in St Lucia.
@Anonymous…I was just reading the comments to make mine… EXACTLY MY POINT… they take moo moo tablets… Like I keep saying I WILL NEVER VOTE AGAIN FOR NEITHER SIDE……
I waste my vote, i wasted my hope, my help make these people collecting paychecks upon paychecks for the remaining 5 yrs
I like to read things that make sense. Chas as a leader, stop telling lies to the nation. Currently, you have no integrity, you are behaving as if you don’t tell a lie someone will punish you.
Now tell the nation the amount of passports sold during your term in office.
I need a lawyer to file a case against you so you can disclose this information to the public.
The sqeeky wheel should get the Grease.
Keep talking x-pm and the work will be done soon..
Folks! The man must talk to get back his Job.. Oops..
@Oh Really get a life clown
Who has been infrastructure Minister for the past 7 1/2 yrs? Stephenson King.
Exactly people need to put the blame where it needs to be. King as minister of infrastructure and what is the result? SLP running the country for 18 of the last 26 years and what is the result?
@Troy Francis do you know that as a citizen you can do the exact thing you have been clamoring for a lawyer to do. You have the evidence that Chastenet stole passports, go ahead and file a suit against him. I’m sure Richard would be happy to represent you pro bono.
The SLP brains worked on alot of people. They saw Chas as a man who could defeat them with ideas and works (just note his court case so far), so they turn Lucians/ hacks or less smart against him. Without noting the substance, we hv persons asking about passports sold. Like seriously. Think. If there was any issue or anything done illegal with passports being sold would Chas had not been in court by now. Think. OBVIOUSLY He had done nothing wrong or ilegal. And just to add. IF Gut had done anything illegal or corruption, would it not have been in the media for all to see by now or a court case field against him? THINK PEOPLE, THINK. Am not telling anyone to not support SLP and support UWP. BUt stop letting dem politicians fool us and let us LOOK AT THE FACTS BEFORE US. PJP and King are failing us.
It is what keeps this country back – too many people like @troy francis. We are discussing roads they go on passports. When we are discussing passports, they go to roads. So, you see, we have too many that cannot stay on topic. Is that lack of comprehension or pure ignorance?
Chastanet, Pierre or King not my problem. I want the damn road fix so that the toll on my vehicle can end.
For all the wrong I read in media that Chas and GUY did, why are they still a FREE man? who are such of a clown to digest this? RF with all the files he has, and his Atlantic Ocean mouth compounded with the fact he is a LIAR/Lawyer still can’t do shit and I must believe such ignorant individual who only want for his own gain? If the man did such ill, he is minority in parliament and won court cases against the master of the house who talk only septic tank quality language and yet stand to be kickout out by 2026. I will not vote of SLP anymore neither i’ll vote for UWP, don’t piss on my back and tell me it’s raining… I might be better off giving my vote to NGP, better you give a man hope than giving your hope to a man who only destroy it without consideration. Period!
Yea yea yea, the bottom line is who is in charge now. If the roads are bad and it is only talk we hearing. So “I ask, who do you question what is happening?” Chas or King, or even…….PJP?
That’s not my Job
This is the story about four people name :
Every body,Somebody,Anybody,and No body…
There was an important Job to be done and Every body was sure that Some body would do it…
Anybody could have done it,but No body did.
Somebody got angry about that,because it was Every body’s Job.
Every body thaught Anybody could have do it, but No body realise that Every body would do it.
It ended up that Every body blame Somebody when No body did what No body could have done…
Who are you ?
Every body,
Somebody
Anybody
Or No body ????
Therefore,let us take our own responsable, for wrong doings,and not blame Somebody or Every body….