From Caribbean360

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Wednesday July 6, 2016 – Allegations of breach of trust and misfeasance in public office have come back to haunt St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet.

Just over a year after a High Court judge threw out the claim against Chastanet, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal has reinstated it.

It was on December 10, 2013, that several allegations were made in a claim filed by the Attorney General against Chastanet, as a former government minister, and Chairman of the Soufriere Town Council, Kenneth Cazaubon.

Chief among the allegations were that Chastanet, while a minister of Government and a candidate for the United Workers Party (UWP) requested, advised, received, permitted or acquiesced in the expenditure of the sum of EC$38,119 (US$) of public funds of the Council for the unlawful purpose of a campaign and political event for his personal and the political benefit of his political party, the UWP.

The money had been raised by the government of St. Lucia, from Taiwan, for specific community projects. It was also alleged that Chastanet knew or ought to have known or was recklessly indifferent to the fact that the conduct in question was unlawful and that as a consequence, he acted in a manner that amounted to a breach of his fiduciary duties as a minister of Government, bad faith and/or misfeasance in public office.

It was further alleged that Cazaubon, as Chairman of the Council, abdicated his authority and acted in breach of his fiduciary duties when he acted on Chastanet’s request, instruction or direction and gave instructions to pay, or caused the Council to pay, public funds for the unlawful purpose of meeting expenses of a campaign and political event.

In a judgment delivered on Monday, the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal held that High Court judge, Justice Belle, made an error in striking out the application against Chastanet without first having a substantial hearing with evidence on the merits.

“The remedy of striking out is a nuclear option and should only be utilized in cases where the pleadings are incurably bad…The learned judge went too far and made several findings of fact on matters that were not before him for determination,” the court said.

The Court of Appeal therefore sent the case back to the Supreme Court to be heard by a different judge.

In a statement following the judgment, the St. Lucia Labour Party, which was in power when the claim was made against Chastanet, welcomed the ruling, saying that the case had always only been about “safeguarding public funds, the issue of good governance, the fiduciary obligation of public officers, especially ministers to treat with public funds in a proper manner and the abuse of office by public officials including ministers”.

IMAGE: PRIME MINISTER ALLEN CHASTANET FACES ALLEGATIONS OF BREACH OF TRUST AND MISFEASANCE IN PUBLIC OFFICE.

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Related story:

Former St. Lucia PM tells why he quit

From Caribbean360

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Wednesday July 6, 2016 – Dr. Kenny Anthony’s decision to step down as political leader of the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) was almost as surprising for supporters as the party’s loss in the June 6 general elections. But Anthony is now saying he stepped down from the political organisation he led for about two decades in the name of honour.

“That’s what honourable people do, what people of integrity do,” he said in an exclusive interview with local television station, HTS News4orce, part one of which was aired earlier this week.

“Having lost two general elections, very clearly, I would not have had the credibility to continue as political leader or for that matter, as Leader of the Opposition…Any political leader who has led a party into elections and has lost the elections, has to take responsibility for defeat and the loss and resignation is one way of taking responsibility for the defeat and the loss.”

The SLP won just six seats to the United Workers Party’s (UWP) 11.

Anthony admitted that he was taken by surprise by the loss.

But he had been following the results as they came in and before the final vote had been counted, he realized his party would be forming the Opposition this time around.

As disappointed and surprised as he was, Anthony said he was also prepared.

“I had rehearsed the [resignation] statement that I issued for months – not that I expected the St. Lucia Labour Party to have lost the elections, but you always had to realistic about these things,” he told HTS.

Anthony remains the Member of Parliament for Vieux Fout South

IMAGE: IN THE NAME OF HONOUR: FORMER PRIME MINISTER DR. KENNY ANTHONY SAID IT WAS THE HONOURABLE THING FOR HIM TO DO. (PHOTO CREDIT: ST. LUCIA TIMES)

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/former-st-lucia-pm-tells-quit#ixzz4DfixVcYK