In a pointed and unrestrained critique during the United Workers’ Party’s (UWP) “Meet the Opposition” programme on Thursday, the party’s National Mobilisation Officer, Nancy Charles, dismissed outgoing Vieux Fort South MP Dr. Kenny Anthony’s legacy as inconsequential and celebrated his retirement from politics.
Dr. Anthony, who has served the Vieux Fort South constituency for over two decades and led the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) through three terms in government, recently announced his decision not to contest the next general elections. However, Charles suggested that Anthony’s departure leaves no meaningful void in the constituency he first won in 1997.
“He said he doesn’t want a street named after him, no this named after him. And I said to myself, so which street are we going to name after you?” Charles questioned. “Tell me one street that you did or one thing that you did, one building in Vieux Fort, something of substance that anybody can look at and say, ‘We’re going to name it after Kenny Anthony.’”
Charles argued that Dr. Anthony’s years in office were marked by a lack of visible or lasting development in the constituency, a criticism that has long circulated among his political opponents. “Vieux Fort is losing nothing to you leaving,” she said. “Because you have done nothing that we can speak of.”
Mocking his exit, Charles referenced a past campaign jingle: “There’s a song we had that said, ‘Bye Kenny. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye Kenny.’”
She used the opportunity to rally support behind the UWP’s endorsed candidate for Vieux Fort South, Leanna “Lady Lee” Joannes-Paul, whom she described as a symbol of change and renewal. “Vieux Fort needs fresh blood, fresh thinking, fresh faces. Vieux Fort needs Lady Lee,” she declared.
In a closing remark that underscored the party’s view of Anthony’s political legacy, Charles offered a sarcastic farewell: “Thank you very much as a St. Lucian. Thank you for your services, whatever they were. But bye-bye.”
The sharp rebuke sets the stage for what is expected to be a heated political battle in Vieux Fort South, with the UWP hoping to flip the constituency that has long been considered a Labour Party stronghold.
