Preventing electricity disconnections will offer little relief if struggling households are left with bills they still cannot pay, says lone protester Angela Albert, who who staged a lone protest at the Waterfront on Friday. She is calling for lower electricity charges and food prices.
Describing herself as a “one woman army,” Albert appealed for Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre to intervene, saying the cost of basic necessities is putting unbearable pressure on vulnerable Saint Lucians.
“We do not want to stop that disconnection. We want you to fix the situation,” she said.
Albert was responding to what she described as the Prime Minister’s intention to hold discussions with LUCELEC about stopping disconnections. Her concern: unpaid bills would continue accumulating, leaving customers facing debts without the income to settle them.
“There’s no money. We cannot pay,” she said.
Her appeal extended beyond electricity to supermarket shelves. Albert urged the Prime Minister to ask Massy Stores to lower food prices, arguing that families need groceries they can afford.
She singled out elderly people and households with schoolchildren, questioning how those with limited incomes could cover electricity bills and still have enough to eat.
“We are suffering. In St. Lucia. The elderly people are suffering,” she said.
Albert said older citizens deserved greater consideration for their contribution to the country, and framed her protest as a demand for representation rather than a political campaign.
“I’m not about politics. But I’m about the people,” she said.
Her message to the Prime Minister was direct: “We need you more than ever.”
