Former PM Allen Chastanet continues to damage country, blames a St Lucian

Castries, St Lucia: Former Prime Minister – Allen Chastanet has been blamed for putting efforts to damage the country. A St Lucian, on condition of anonymity, has pointed out that Chastanet has been trying to severely damage the country.

The source stated that the former prime minister had been involved in vandalism, which has harmed St Lucia at the regional or national levels and at the international level.

“During his tenure as Prime Minister of St Lucia, Chastanet has never thought about the welfare of the nation and did not contribute to the upliftment of the communities residing in the country. Then PM way only focused on establishing his multi-million dollar business empire with the treasury of St Lucia,” the source said while attacking Chastanet.

Furthermore, the source provided brief information about one of the many business involvements. Source added that Allen Chastanet is the owner as well as Managing Director of the Coco Palm Resort, situated in Rodney Bay, St Lucia. The former Prime Minister has been (directly or indirectly) involved in million-dollar empires across St Lucia.

In five years, the source said he has neither considered St Lucia’s development nor benefitted the people in any sector and is now showing “fake” concern to save the country. ”

Why he did not think about the country when he was serving as the Prime Minister, where was all his concern then,” questioned the source.

Furthermore, the source called Chastanet’s administration “a curse” for St Lucia’s culture, community, and development.

More about Allen Chastanet

He joined the politics of St Lucia in the year 2006 and served as the Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation and a member of the Saint Lucian Senate between 2006 and 2011. His career was on leap when Allen Chastanet became the Prime Minister of St Lucia under the banner of the United Workers Party on June 7, 2016, following a win from the parliament seat for Micoud South constituency.

Before becoming the Prime Minister, the United Workers Party (UWP) elected him as the leader of opposition in the year 2013. Presently, he is the parliamentary representative for Micoud South constituency.

A tragic defeat

Allen Chastanet encountered defeat in the 2011 general election, and after ten years, in 2021, he once again dealt with loss. In July 2021, the United Workers Party was defeated by the Saint Lucia Labour Party by a landslide.

This embarrassing defeat was the result of the mismanaged administration by the government, which was pointed out by a report from the Central Bank of Eastern Caribbean. He was also blamed for making St Lucia the most indebted country in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Another reason behind his defeat was mismanagement during the global pandemic – COVID-19. In November 2020, St Lucians were dealing with the inconvenience of two health crisis, SARS-CoV-2 infection and Dengue, and the government was severely unable to tackle the situation.

He committed another misdeed in Venezuela when he refused to recognise President Nicolas Maduro and supported the opposition leader, Juan Guaido.

Another incident, which showed his ‘real-face’ as a poor administrator, during the sworn-in ceremony of legislators and senators, he was found missing at the House of Parliament’s first session on August 5, 2021. By providing his defence, Chastanet claimed that he was on vacation, but the former Prime Minister did not show his presence in the second session as well.

Before going for politics, Chastanet worked as the vice president of marketing and sales for Air Jamaica.

Allen Chastanet, who was born in 1960-61, attained his graduation from high school at Stanstead College, Quebec. He holds a BA degree from Bishop’s University and an MSc degree from American University.