On Tuesday, Guy Joseph, the first deputy political leader of the opposition United Workers Party (UWP), declared a grave crisis regarding Saint Lucia’s crime situation.
Addressing a news conference, Joseph expressed concern that the Island had recorded 28 homicides so far in 2024.
“We have three months and nine days and we are already at 28 murders,” the former Castries South East MP noted.
“This is a crisis situation, and we are not here gloating,” he told reporters, adding that it was not something to rejoice about.
Joseph asserted that the UWP could win the election even if the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) administration fully controlled crime.
However, the former Economic Development Minister described the current crime surge as scary for every right-thinking Saint Lucian.
Nevertheless, he declared that the government’s response to the crisis was to appoint three different ministers to control the crime surge.
Joseph referred to Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, who is responsible for national security, Home Affairs Minister Dr. Virginia Albert-Poyotte, and the recently appointed Crime Prevention Minister, Jeremiah Norbert.
He also noted that there is an Attorney General.
“Four people together and I can boldly say that we are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for their salaries,” the senior opposition official told reporters.
Joseph said he was unsure whether citizens understood Jeremiah Norbert’s crime prevention role.
But he said since the appointment, crime has escalated.
“So am I to assume that the Minister is failing at his job because crime is increasing?”
Joseph, while highlighting murders, said that he had not raised the issue of other criminal activities such as rapes, armed robberies, fraudulent driving licences, and praedial larceny.
“We need to realise that this government cannot manage the crime situation,” he told reporters.
PHOTO: Guy Joseph stock image
