Opposition leader Allen Chastanet has reiterated his concerns regarding the Global Ports Holdings (GPH) agreement in an open letter to the company.
Chastanet’s letter was in response to an invitation to attend the opening ceremony of GPH’s takeover of Port Castries and the Soufriere Waterfront.
He turned down the invitation.
The former Prime Minister addressed his April 30, 2024, letter to GPH General Manager Lancelot Arnold.
The complete letter appears below:
30th April, 2024
Mr. Lancelot Arnold
General Manager
GPH (Saint Lucia) Ltd.
Castries
Dear Mr. Arnold,
I acknowledge receipt of your invitation dated 29th April 2024 to attend a commencement ceremony on 30th April 2024, and in spite of the well publicised fact that I have and continue to be out State attending to a family emergency, I thank you for your invitation.
I must remind you that no attempt has been made to date to engage or to inform the Opposition of the terms of this concession despite our public statements and a public letter to the Prime Minister. Hopefully, this invitation is an indication that your company has recognized the necessity for public engagement which should include the Opposition. For the time being, it would irresponsible of me or anyone else from the Opposition to attend, as it may be construed as an endorsement of this agreement.
In light of the fact that your company was awarded a thirty (30) year concession and a ten (10) year extension without a bidding process, with an estimated potential revenue stream of over One Billion East Caribbean Dollars (EC$1 billion), I take this opportunity to publicly invite your company to make public the agreement you have signed with Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA).
Based on the little detail provided publicly, the terms of this agreement appear to be very one sided and will have a significant impact on the longstanding contracts that have been in place with vendors, taxi drivers, shop owners and tour providers. Already, we have been hearing complaints of no consultation and lack of transparency. Also very concerning is the mid-term and long term impact this will have on SLASPA and, in particular, its employees. Your company is a publicly traded company and I would hope your internal company values and principles of governance and the current international standards would have caused you to appreciate how disconcerting this situation is.
I hope your company will understand the importance and sincerity of the request to make public the agreement. It is important that you gain the trust of all stakeholders and the population in general and that we all see this as mutually beneficial. The Government has already betrayed the trust of the public which was manifested by a Minister of Government who dubbed this a “secret deal”. To eliminate any further speculation as to the integrity of this agreement and to avoid any unnecessary confusion I appeal to your company’s best judgment.
Yours respectfully,
ALLEN CHASTANET
Leader of the Opposition
Man get the hell out of the politics of black people you have the demeanor of a slave master as your behavior in the house of assembly is so appalling . Even the 37 thousand house slaves are turning their backs on you . Why didn’t you enact a
Minimum wage when your were in power
These people are going to eat us and our economy alive…
https://saintluciacruiseport.com/
https://www.globalportsholding.com/
Don’t worry about Chastanet…he’s a small fry. Worry about the other white man who now owns you and your children’s futures………..
Oh please………..complaining about the white man again.
Firstly, I think its a great idea that they are going to sort out the ports. More jobs, more income, bringing st lucia into the 21st century.
Secondly, yes I agree with the past PM the agreement should be made public…what have they got to hide.
Thirdly….Slave owners?????? Do you not know your history? The worst slave owner on this island was a St lucian. Yes one of us. Look it up in your history book.
The PM today is doing NOTHING for St Lucians, just getting fatter, his belly and his wallet and he’s a black St Lucian.
So tell me who are you going to vote for in the next election because none of them deserve the title of PM.
Oh, I did some additional reading and reflecting on this, and here is what I have learned so far.
It’s crucial to note that successive governments have recognized the significant underperformance of the cruise port in Pointe Serafine, a key component of our thriving tourism industry. Kenny Anthony and Royal Caribbean did a dance at one point.
Early in his term 2016 – 2017, the UWP government (Allen Chastanet) signed an MOU with GPH to develop the cruise port in Castries. Chastanet and King toured GPH facilities and were – according to Chastanet, impressed by their operations.
In 2019, Chastanet and Royal Caribbean signed an MOU to develop the cruise ports, including View Fort. (I am still waiting for the details on that MOU.) That deal subsequently fell apart. Chas and Royal Caribbean also did a dance!!
While moving their investment agenda forward, GPH has taken over operations in Antigua, Bahamas, and Puerto Rico.
o GPH has been in talks to operate in Havana (not sure if they succeeded or if talks are ongoing).
o GPH also operates a cruise port in Canada and Europe.
As a Saint Lucian citizen, am I concerned about GPH cruise operations? Not at this time – no! The UWP has done a terrible job convincing me why I should be worried. One lady told me GPH taking over the cruise port operations means the port has been sold – no! Another one said you can’t hop on a ferry to Martinique anymore – false! Yet another said that cargo operations now belong to GPH – false!
Will taxi operators and vendors be affected? Of course, that is why they have to be consulted and sit around the table during planning to let their voices be heard.
One thing is certain, Royal Caribbean has taken St. Lucian’s Prime Ministers to the dance on more than one occasion and is a good thing we brough our vex money!! Maybe GPH is a better partner.
FireBurn: Stop displaying your ignorance and try to educate yourself and understand Chastenet’s message. In case you do cannot comprehend, he is saying that Phillip JP has actually given away our ports on concession which is worth a billion dollars in revenue to GPH. This is money he has taken away from you, our children, and the next generation. The conditions of the deal are not even disclosed so there may be bobol. This is factual. Stop criticizing the man because you despise him and stop being a racist. Worry about your next boss (the white man who owns the ports).
Chastanet, you lost the 2021 elections and our constitution caters to winner-takes-all. Only one party can govern at a time. You should be elated that you were invited to the meeting and should use this opportunity to air your grievances. You are such a fake, phony, and a fraud. Was the opposition invited to the meet when you leased out 1,000 acres of our land in Vieux Fort to your so-called developer? Did you have an open bidding process when you gave the sweetheart deal to Cabot? Was the opposition invited to the meetings? You are such an opportunistic charlatan that your stupidity never ceases to amaze me.
I say where there’s is smoke, there must be a fire. I see nothing wrong in Chastenet asking GPH to make public the deal signed with the government…after all, it should be the government who should have made public the deal because it’s the people who will be paying that 1 billion US dollars back long after Pierre has popped his clogs and many of us to follow….if the government cannot make a public statement to the people about their very own business, then it is the opposition’s right to make that demand for the people…while Pierre was elected to govern by the people, the people also voted to have the opposition as a counter balance to the elected government. The opposition is there is to prevent the government becoming a tyrant and vice versa…it’s is the checks and balances of a democracy….Now let’s hear the full details of that deal …….
Chas go get a freaking life! You wanted GPH to come improve the ports and now you coming with all these lame ass letters!! We know more about GPH than “the pearl of the Caribbean” down in Vieux-Fort. We begged and begged but AWA. We eh get nothing from you.
So, go get a life!
Please tell Allen Chastanet St Lucia only has one Administration at a time and to advise him furthermore St Lucia is not a Republic where you need bipartisanship support.
Chas , I support you, but first of all, how many passports did you sell during your reign in office? Whom did you consult when you gave the 7.3 million dollars for the vaccine? The 1 000 acres of land you gave to Teo Aking was it in our favour? Do you have share in Sandals to give them 24 million? Oh Chas, hush up for a while.
Well well … we really do have so many ignorant people in St. Lucia. All they see is Red & Yellow but there are so many colors in between…..knowledge is power. Who wants to understand let them understand… Amen
PM Pip always calling for “unity” while undergoing divisive operations – on the quiet. His divisive ways are showing up in some of the posts above. These people do not know their history and don’t care to, and worse – do not read to come to an intelligent decision/realisation.
Mr Chastanet’s letter is requesting “transparency” which is his correct role as the opposition – that is his job, and his right.
Much as I welcome some modern/professional design & construction of that beautiful unspoiled harbour of Soufriere, I do have some reservations; (1) crime prevention (2) Street & Road upkeep (3) a proper modern Hospital & health care for the injured (4) warnings & notices Re: non-accessibility on the PITONS.
(5) Uniform Guards at the Sulphur Springs to avoid danger. (6) double amounts of Armed Police in Town. Any screw up of your grand schemes to accommodate valued visitors (considering SLP supporters racial comments & attacks on the leader of the opposition & white Folks on a whole) the guilty ones are all around; Mr. P.M. I do support your endeavour to help the poorer folks, but put a clamp on this for your own good; don’t hurt your brothers in Christ.