Why Minerva Ward says the SLP should not be re-elected in 2025
Commentary by Minerva Ward
CASTRIES, St Lucia — In a sharply worded political commentary titled “SLP Should Not Be Re-Elected: The Lost Half Decade,” Minerva Ward argues that the current administration has presided over stalled national development, weakened institutions, and declining public confidence. Her analysis comes amid heightened scrutiny of government performance, including ongoing debate surrounding governance issues such as the Ernest Hilaire Saint Lucia CIP controversy, which has intensified public discussion on accountability. The views expressed are solely those of the author, and the commentary is published verbatim as submitted.
COMMENTARY
St. Lucia stands today at a defining moment, forced to reckon with 4.5 years of stalled progress, political gimmickry, and a stunning absence of tangible development. This was not a period marked by hurricanes, pandemics, or global collapse. On the contrary, these were the best of times: years in which other Caribbean nations advanced, rebuilt, attracted investment, and repositioned themselves in a rapidly recovering global economy. Yet despite having every advantage, including records inflows of Citizenship by Investment revenues, the SLP government has delivered little more than PR ceremonies, half-finished buildings, political victimisation, and an economy weighed down by rising costs and declining confidence.
The most painful symbol of this failure remains the St. Jude Hospital. Nearly half a decade after taking office, and despite inheriting a brand-new, world-class, climate-resistant project already well underway, the government opted to renovate an outdated, obsolete 80-year-old structure and has failed to complete or commission it.
Doctors, nurses, and patients will continue to operate out of the George Odlum Stadium long after the PR stunt ceremonies are over and long after the December 1 election. Instead of urgency, St. Lucians have been given excuses and video tours by political operatives around an incomplete structure, the Prime Minister correctly called “a building, not a commissioned hospital.” A government that cannot finish a hospital, in the best of times, cannot credibly ask for another mandate.
Across the country, major development projects have collapsed into dust. From the West Coast Highway to the Castries–Gros Islet Highway expansion, from the international airport redevelopment to the long-promised home and condo developments at Rock Hall, Talvern, Bexon, and Cas en Bas, nothing has materialised. Foundational airport piles worth millions were ripped out of the ground and discarded. Not a single major hotel or investment project has begun under this administration, and every noteworthy development in the pipeline today had its origins under the UWP. Instead of jobs and long-term economic growth, St. Lucians have received pothole patching, small cash handouts, and the infamous $5-block-a-hole development- short-term political band-aids that leave the country exactly where it started.
Meanwhile, the basic functions of the state have deteriorated at an alarming pace. Healthcare has collapsed into crisis, with persistent medication shortages and what the St. Lucia Medical & Dental Association has described as “the worst healthcare has ever been.” Water supply issues now last weeks in some communities. The K-9 Unit, St. Lucia’s front line in detecting illegal guns, drugs, and cash, was inexplicably disbanded because “$40,000 a month was too expensive,” even as violent crime soared to record levels, with the highest murder rate four years in a row. Tourism, the lifeblood of the economy, experienced unprecedented declines outside of 9/11 and the COVID pandemic- another first under this government.
At the same time, the cost of living has skyrocketed. The 2.5% Health and Security Levy has raised prices on nearly every good and service. Bus fares increased. The price of bread doubled. Gas prices became the highest in the OECS. All of this occurred while the Saint Lucia government collected over $240 million from the CIP in a single year, yet still chose to burden struggling households. Instead of using this windfall to ease suffering, the government diverted resources toward political vanity projects, questionable contracts, and personal enrichment.
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