Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire has responded to several of Opposition Leader Allen Chastanet’s recently announced policy ideas, including proposals related to Saint Lucia’s carnival and cultural industries.
Speaking on Monday, Hilaire criticized what he described as misinformation in Chastanet’s statements and hinted at upcoming government initiatives aimed at supporting Saint Lucia’s elderly population.
Hilaire took particular issue with Chastanet’s remarks on the timing of the national carnival.
“I heard the Leader of the Opposition say that carnival cannot be allowed to be only two weeks in July. It needs to be the entire month of July,” Hilaire said.
“Tommy Descartes should have said to him that one of the first carnival activities of the season is always the Ciceron Pageant. That is the first weekend in June. And Ciceron Carnival is the first community carnival. It is the first Sunday, it is the first two weekends of June. We’re not talking about July, we’re talking about June.”
He went on to clarify the broader schedule of Saint Lucia’s carnival celebrations. “Carnival in Saint Lucia starts the weekend after Jazz ends,” Hilaire explained. “But who’s advising them?”
Turning his attention to cultural policy more broadly, Hilaire challenged the opposition to state its position on one of the island’s major annual events.
“He needs to speak and advise his leader. The Jazz Festival — can the United Workers Party, and certainly Tommy Descartes, tell Saint Lucians, will they stop the Jazz and Arts Festival if elected? Will they stop it?” he asked.
Hilaire also responded to Chastanet’s mention of the Dennery Segment music genre, suggesting that the government had already been taking action to support it.
“They spoke about carnival, they spoke about Dennery Segment, and of course they claim they will have a dedicated Dennery Segment event,” he said.
“There was one last year, planned for last year, it was rained out at Fond d’Or, and there was one this year. And if all goes well as we expect it to, there’ll be another one next year. So please tell me, who is advising those guys?”
Beyond the political back-and-forth, Hilaire used the opportunity to outline part of what may be included in the Saint Lucia Labour Party’s next manifesto. He described growing challenges facing families who struggle to care for aging relatives.
“The realities that the caregivers are saying that they leave the elderly on the Friday, when they come back on the Monday, they’re exactly the same way,” he said.
“Nobody has given them their medication, nobody has cleaned them, some of them have not even eaten for the weekend because family members are out there on their own business, some overseas, some working different hours.”
Hilaire said the government cannot ignore this situation.
“As much as we want kinship to continue and family members to take care of their family members, and the law also requires that, the fact is they are suffering,” he said.
“And you will see in the next Labour Party government the commencement of, and I’m not trying to say what’s going to be in the manifesto, but, the building of adult care centers.”
He described these proposed facilities as community spaces rather than residential homes.
“We believe we must create a space where those persons can go to a center and meet with persons of their age group, play games, give stories, get children from the primary schools to come and visit them, interact with them,” Hilaire said.
“It has been shown that that helps longevity, that you are interacting. The social interaction, the gatherings, help the elderly.”
Hilaire suggested that existing infrastructure could be part of the solution. “Rather than have those people just at home and on the bed or just sitting on a couch, let’s create a facility,” he said. “Use community centers also.”
The Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks highlight both the government’s pushback against the opposition’s cultural policy proposals and a growing focus on social care as the country prepares for an upcoming election season.