The Tucker Law: achievements, non-achievements, pseudo-achievements and bluffs

On the HTS News Friday (Jan 21, 2011), Bruce Dwayne Tucker asserted that he was running the next elections on the record of his achievements. You did not have to be an expert in psychology to recognize the diffidence which underlay the anger and aggression in that pronouncement. In that same HTS newscast, he also made reference to the controversial Baywalk issue which saturated the nation airwaves until Hurricane Tomas seemingly blew it away!

Undiplomatic practices

One of the foreign minister’s arguments for deserting the NIC office in favour of Baywalk was invariably his concern for his staff which he claimed could not function optimally in a restraining environment. But a question of equal import which many political observers are asking is: Can tucker himself function optimally in an aggressive and angry frame of mind in a position such as Foreign Minister which requires level-headed-ness, tact and diplomacy?

For some time now, the minister has been publicly displaying behaviours which suggest serious personality aberrations and which raise questions about his ability to function in his post as foreign minister. Not only does he come across as a highly disturbed individual to the point where his composure and faculties elude him; but equally his day-to-day actions actually confirm our worst fears. The undiplomatic practices such as illegally “appropriating” gifts and monies derived from his missions overseas to so-called Village Council accounts to which he is a signatory is a case in point.

Illusions of achievement

At the constituency level, the Minister seems to have earned the unenviable distinction of having a record number of enemies in the very constituency that he represents in parliament. I’m sure St. Lucians remember the altercation with his constituent which took place on November 24, 2010 as a result of his uncontrolled anger! Even more disingenuous is the claim of a record of achievements as his main platform for seeking re-election. Arguably, there may have been improvements in Choiseul; but the reality is they comprise either low- or no-impact projects that are so small that when you compare them to the magnitude of the problems we face, they mean nothing. That is why I will refer to them as pseudo-achievements in an ultra-expansive constituency with serious development challenges spanning from Delcer in the West to Saltibus in the East.

The incontrovertible fact is most of the 17 ridges that make up the landscape of constituency have been untouched by Tucker’s delusive, invisible and promised achievements. He certainly needs to remove his fantasy glasses and take a realistic look.

Tucker's illusions of achievement are inevitable. He bluffed himself in believing that he could bluff the constituents in that regard. Indeed unhampered in a political vacuum for most of the “quinquennium” trying to perfect the art of quionnen (bluff) on the constituents, he reached an inflated confidence level which he took for granted. It also appears that the consultant hacks around him were equally trapped in that delusion and never gave him quality and critical support, instead choosing to leech around at any cost for their pound of flesh in the Ti Canal interventions.

Choiseul on the Move?

Tucker’s Choiseul-on-the-move Blog has been very liberal with the truth for painting a picture of an extreme hyperbole of achievements. According to the blog, those included, in order of magnitude, “major road projects, drainage works, footpaths, driveways, bus shelters”.

It is clear that the claims of achievement have been nothing more than mind-bending fabrications designed to deceive for electoral purposes. Indeed, that strategy is already in operation where people in the West are being hoodwinked about the Bousquet’s outstanding achievements of in the East; and vice versa. Unsuspecting and gullible supporters take these fabrications at face value and even peddle them moronically. That’s the extent of brainwashing that dishonest and ruthless politicians and their desperate Public Relations machinery are comfortable with. And we understand why rural ignorance is a great political asset for politicians without a conscience.

In part 2, we will be looking at St. Lucia’s newest law referred to as the “Tucker Law” and relate it to Tucker’s achievements vs Fergy’s achievements. Stay tuned to the Powerhouse!

Tucker's Dirty Laundry on HTS/Radio 100

HTS loves Bruce Dwayne Tucker. At least, one of her news reporters does!

During this week, this reputable TV/Radio Channel seems to have become Tucker’s favourite campaign platform for the dissemination of a diet of unsavoury "Tucker propaganda" to the nation, ranging from his pseudo-achievements, the Baywalk Mall fiasco and the elusive Tucker Stadium. Since Monday, he has been getting equally wide coverage on the HTS Evening News, Radio 100 6.45 News (with Andre Paul) and also the HTS/Radio 100 Sports News (with Mikey Nickson).

The Powerhouse will resist any temptation to publish any popular theory or conjecture of a “link” within this reputable, industry-standard News Leader which allegedly management may not be aware of. We are leaving this for time to tell.

The forced frequency of Tucker’s presence on the HTS/Radio 100 News is not normal, especially in the context of the serious implications that these issues surrounding the news reports have for the integrity of the government.

One of the central issues is the procurement of funds for Tucker's Election projects. It’s unfortunate that HTS/radio 100 did not make any reference to it; and instead allowed Tucker to spin the news and spit on their faces and those of their viewership.

Tucker claimed to have received monetary donations from the Moroccan and Portuguese governments for political/election projects without any accountability and transparency whatsoever. The million-dollar question asked by the Choiseul Powerhouse is:

Has Bousquet as foreign Minister for St. Lucia violated diplomatic protocol or even international law by receiving monies on behalf of the state of St. Lucia and then takes it on his own to deposit it in a Village Council Account to which he is a signatory without the approval of the Director of Finance?

That is the question we want HTS and the St. Lucia News Media to investigate.

Meanwhile the reporting of uncensored Tucker Spin on the issue - in the way that it is reported – is indeed a sad moment for journalism in St. Lucia!

Derek Walcott wins British prize

LONDON, CMC – Nobel laureate Derek Walcott has won the TS Eliot Prize for the best new collection of poems published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. 

The St. Lucian born Walcott, 81, took the prize against competition from an eclectic group of poets, including fellow Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, Iraq war veteran Brian Turner and Sam Willetts, whose debut collection came after 10 years lost to addiction to and recovery from heroin.

He received the £15,000 (US$23,651) from Valerie Eliot, widow of TS Eliot at a ceremony at the Wallace Collection, London on Monday night.

The winning collection, White Egrets, was described by the chair of judges, poet Anne Stevenson, as "moving and technically flawless".

"It took us not very long to decide that this collection was the yardstick by which all the others were to be measured. These are beautiful lines; beautiful poetry," she said.

Stevenson praised Walcott's technical mastery, saying: "It is a complete book from first to last; each poem belongs completely."

"He is a very great poet – one of the finest poets writing in English."

The collection – described by the Guardian's reviewer, Sarah Crown, as a “superb meditation on death, grief and the passage of time” sees Walcott in elegiac mood, the egrets of the title become a shifting metaphor.

According to Stevenson, the collection "sees a return to his Caribbean setting after sojourns in England and America and he is, as it were, blessing the world instead of complaining about it".

Also on the shortlist of 10 were collections by Simon Armitage, Fiona Sampson, Pascale Petit, Annie Freud, John Haynes and Robin Robertson.

Stevenson said the judges could have drawn up "two or three" shortlists in a "bumper year" for poetry "of a very high order". The award also received eager public attention, with the Royal Festival Hall in London packed yesterday evening for readings by the shortlisted poets.

Walcott won the Nobel prize for literature in 1992. His major work is Omeros (1990), an epic poem weaving a Caribbean setting into material from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

GOOD SAMARITAN IN ROBLOT

Not too long ago, a teacher at the Roblot School announced that the elderly in Roblot had found a “Good Samaritan" who would provide free transportation to the health centre and back as well as free medication to them. Cudos is in place for Mr Nickson for that fine gesture. There were initial worries that it might have been a political ploy on behalf of Tucker; but the Powerhouse can vouch that the good sense and uprightness of the Nicksons in Roblot are non-negotiable; and their wisdom and intelligence would not allow them to become pawns in a political chess game.

Mr Nickson is a returning resident from the USA who has been hustling his way through since his return. In addition to his farming, he runs a bar and food stall in Roblot which provides a useful community service to residents.

The Powerhouse wishes to compliment Mr Nickson for that fine gesture and encourages other corporate citizens to follow his footsteps, as the pending Labour government puts the final touches to Universal Health Care programme, which should have come into effect a long time ago.

With the high incidence and fatality rate for cancer, the record number of lifestyle diseases plus increasing poverty and the lack of affordable health insurance, the peremptory knuckles of a universal health care programme is knocking loudly on our door; and we must implement it with urgency if we want to save St. Lucia.

Mr Nickson’s “Good Samaritanism” is indeed a serious indictment on the current government who not only stalled universal health care but also re-imposed the burden of medical fees on the elderly.

Mr Nickson – who has lived overseas and understands the imminent and lurking dangers involved – must be applauded.

It is noteworthy that - under the Kenny government - medical attention (cost of visit and medication) was free for all.

Once again, thank you Mr Nickson.

St. Lucia - and even Choiseul: badly battered by fraud and corruption

If a St. Lucian wishes to evaluate the integrity of our government, then a good yardstick is the World Bank guidelines. First of all, we all know of monetary allocations or gifts from the Taiwanese government to government ministers. We are also very much aware of stories of those monies being diverted to the accounts of village Councils, with ministers being signatories and still retaining overall responsibility for implementation.

We also know of monetary donations and gifts by the Portuguese and Moroccan governments to the Foreign Minister for constituency projects; and there is no transparency and accountability for those monies. And again we learn from the Minister’s Website that those monies were lodged with the Village Councils for political projects. All of a sudden, the Councils have become a convenient diversion for the consolidated fund.

We also see one or two bus shelters, footpaths, and even a couple of homes being built or renovated by the Foreign Minister in the Choiseul Constituency in his name without the appropriate accountability to the Integrity Commission, Ministry of Finance or even to parliament.

All of this is happening under the “watchful eyes” of a Ministry of Finance (governed by Finance Act) who has responsibility for the administration of Public finances in the country.

The question is: Are the above, acts of state fraud and corruption? The answer is simple: In the eyes of the World Bank and the IMF, they are, categorically. And so are they in the eyes Finance Administration Action.

To understand, let us review some of the World Bank “Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption” - guidelines that you would expect our foreign minister would be familiar with. These are parallel to our own financial and procurement regulation which has been callously and unconscientiously violated ad nauseum.

According to the World Bank “these guidelines are designed to prevent and combat fraud and corruption that may occur in connection with the use of proceeds of financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or the International Development Association (IDA) during the preparation and/or implementation of IBRD/IDA-financed investment projects.”

The world bank does not only expects all persons and entities who are its clients to fully observe the highest standard of ethics but specifically, to “take all appropriate measures to prevent and combat fraud and corruption, and refrain from engaging in, fraud and corruption in connection with the use of the proceeds of IBRD or IDA financing”

The World Bank Guidelines “cover fraud and corruption in the direct diversion of Loan proceeds for ineligible expenditures, as well as fraud and corruption engaged in for the purpose of influencing any decision as to the use of Loan proceeds.”

Let me say a word on what’s happening to Choiseul vis-à-vis these guidelines which basically are both similar and run parallel to our Finance Administration Act.

Choiseul seems to become a hotbed for political corruption, and as patriotic citizens, we must do something about it before it’s too late. Of course, a very small percentage is benefitting (perhaps less than 1%); but we must nip it from the bud before it explodes.

According to the World Bank policy, when a government Minister interferes with the procurement of government contracts to the extent that his campaign manager secures a direct award for the construction of a Community Centre, then it must be tantamount to fraud. When that same Government Minister influences the procurement process for the award of contracts to build the Bois D’Inde link Road, then in the eyes of the World Bank it is also corruption and fraud.

The award of Ti Canal projects mentioned on his website/blog to party hacks is also blatant corruption and fraud of the highest order.

And finally, it is an act of egregious fraud for a foreign minister to channel monies received from a third country to a Village Council for his constituency projects. If he can’t observe these simple policies, then should he be eligible to be our foreign minister who has to abide by and conform to International Law?

In their assessment of the damage of Hurricane Tomas, we want the IMF and World Bank to include those issues in their terms of reference.

St. Lucia is not only badly fractured by Hurricane Tomas, but also battered by fraud and corruption.

INVITATION TO THE LAUNCHING EVENT OF DR. PEP

INVITATION TO THE LAUNCHING EVENT OF DR. PEP
Click here or here to view video.

BOUSQUET'S BLOG ROLLS OUT HIS ACHIEVEMENTS FOR CHOISEUL

For the enlightenment of the POWERHOUSE diaspora, I am reproducing an article on the Bousquet Blog presenting his achievements. I regret the grammar and spelling but there's nothing I can do about it. An honourable Government minister who holds the the important Foriegn Affairs Portfolio should ensure that whatever comes out in his name should be properly vetted for quality. Should he disassociate himself with that presentation? Here is the post:

And I quote:

"Without a shadow of a doubt Bousquet continues to change the landscape of Choiseul/Saltibus, which is the constituency he represents. This he did through major road projects, drainage works, footpaths,driveways, bus shelters to name a few. This was no easy feat, taking into consideration the magnitude of work he has to take care of at his Ministry including the foreign visits. But this Rep is a no nonsense man, who , according to a flyer of his is "Committed to developing Choiseul's fullest social and economic potential."

The Boisden Road project  to my mind stands out among the rest. It was heart wrenching to experience the hardship the residents of Boisden had to endure,  using this two or more kilometres of some resemblance of a road over the years.  Mini buses refused to ply this route. Again the man of vision saw the neccessity to give these people a proper  paved road. Everybody are happy and express their gratitude to Rufus in no uncertain terms.

    Another commuity road was constructed in Morne Jacques and again, the residents don't walk in mud anymore. Persons leaving their homes had to have two pairs of shoes - one to wade the mud  until they arrive at the main road and the other to dress up to get to work or wherever their destination.

  The people of Derriere Morne are fortunate to have the longest footath to have been constructed in Choiseul. This one is a monster of a project. Is that to fool the people as one critic puts it? Some persons live in the glory of their environment and don't see the need for other persons to elevate to a higher standard of living. This is Bousquet's vision - selfnessless and committment to Choiseulians to have a better life.

The Morne Sion drive-way, again illustrates Bousquet's committment to improving the standard of living in the communities. This project have brought widespread relief to the people, and for that they are proud of Rufus."

End of Quote

Because the Bousquet Website/Blog uses a "strong hand of repression" against Choiseulians who wish to share comments on his posts, the Powerhouse is extending that opportunity to all and sundry who have been so victimised  to publish their comments right here so that we can get a sense of your satisfaction with his achievements.