Former member of parliament for Soufrière/Fond St. Jacques, Herod Stanislas is confident of his return to the House of Assembly on a United Workers Party (UWP) ticket, when General Elections are held in Saint Lucia on December 1.
With 11 days to go until Saint Lucia’s General Election, the UWP took to the Soufrière community of Palmiste, near the old copra factory, for its latest national public meeting on November 20, the eve of Nomination Day.
November 20 was also the 65th birthday of UWP political leader and former Prime Minister Allen Chastanet. Mistress of ceremonies, Nancy Charles, told the UWP faithful in the western town that the party had begun the celebrations, and would continue until polling day on December 1.
Chastanet shared the spotlight with Stanislas, the endorsed candidate for the constituency, who seeks a second term after a four-year interregnum. He defeated two-term Saint Lucia Labour Party MP, Harold Dalson, in 2016, but lost by 65 votes to Emma Hippolyte in 2021.
If given another opportunity to represent the people of Sulphur City, Stanislas said he would continue the work he had started to develop the town and environs. He placed a heavy focus on youth and sports, as well as infrastructural development.
“We need to continue the construction and the rehabilitation of the four roads at New Development,” said Stanislas. “I completed reconstruction of 60 per cent of the roads at New Development. Four and a half years [later], not a cubic yard of concrete was laid on the rest of the roads in New Development. New Development, when you give me that cross, that ti kwa, the rest of the roads will be done.
“When Herod Stanislas returns as your parliamentary representative, I am going to build the administrative building, and I am going to open it for the people of Soufrière/Fond St. Jacques. Palmiste, when I return as your parliamentary representative, we are going to do a major infrastructural development in Palmiste.”
Stanislas pledged that he would deliver 100 housing lots for first-time home owners. This, he said, would go hand-in-hand with the “Save Our Saint Lucia” plan proposed by his party, whereby the government will give new builders mortgage guaranteed insurance. He further vowed to turn the copra factory into a business incubator, museum, and restaurant, to spur economic and social development.
During Stanislas’ previous tenure, government laid artificial turf and a 400m rubber track at the Soufrière Stadium. The prospective return MP told his audience that there is more to do to provide for the development of sports in the constituency.
“We had a second phase of the mini stadium with the multipurpose court for netball and volleyball, and the Olympic-size 75-metre eight-lane swimming pool to undertake,” stated Stanislas. “When I return Soufrière/Fond St. Jacques as your parliamentary representative, I am going to deliver on the second phase of the Soufrière Mini Stadium.
“And then we are going to ensure that the track gets certified, and the football turf gets certified, so we could have regional and international track and field or football games at the Soufrière Mini Stadium.”
Stanislas spoke to the acquisition of eight acres of land at Ruby, intended for the establishment of a cricket-specific ground. The vision, he explained, was that the community could host multiple sporting events on any given day, with dedicated venues for athletics, football, cricket, swimming, and court sports.
Expressing his desire to see Soufrière/Fond St. Jacques become “the Eden of the Caribbean,” Stanislas told listeners that the former UWP administration had bought land for the construction of a 30-bed hospital, land he said has gone unused.
The UWP will reportedly launch its 2025 Manifesto on Sunday, November 23, during a public meeting at the Level Ground recreational facility in La Caye, Dennery.
