parliamentary speeches from 1997-2001

About the Book

In 1996 Cassius Elias makes an impromptu appearance at a political party convention and almost upstages the man of the hour, Dr. Kenny D. Anthony, by delivering a maiden partisan political speech that endears him to party faithfuls, and in the process handing the Saint Lucia Labour Party its battle cry for the 1996/97 general election campaign. The Labour Party wins the 1997 general election by a historic 16-1 landslide, crushing the United Workers Party, led by former prime minister John Compton’s handpicked Dr. Vaughan Lewis, while Cassius Elias also makes history by winning a seat held by the incomparable John Compton for 46 unbroken years. MP Elias is appointed minister for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the environment in the new government. In Parliamentary Speeches, the second half of this publication, the writer shares with readers his contributions in the Parliament of Saint Lucia during his tenure as minister between 1997 and 2001. A fitting complement to Enough Is Enough, these speeches highlight the minister’s efforts at constituency and national representation, all that is dear to him, his successes and frustrations and prescriptions he proposes to remedy shortcomings in specific segments of his portfolios. As is to be expected in this parliamentary model, these speeches are not confined to the minister’s portfolios, but it is in presentations directly related to them that we glimpse his passion for the banana industry, self-sufficiency in food stock, new paradigms in agriculture and the way forward as a truly independent nation state.

About the Author

Cassius Elias was born in 1943 in the rural community of Majomel, in the village of Laborie, Saint Lucia. Upon completion of his primary education, he was unable to take up his place at one of the two secondary schools on the island due to logistical difficulties. He traveled to Castries, the island capital and took up employment with a law firm, where he quickly rose through the ranks, until 1964, when he left as managing clerk, to join family in the United Kingdom and to better his education. Very early in his life Elias had nurtured an inclination toward agriculture and self-improvement and demonstrated an ingrained option for the poor and underprivileged. It is therefore unsurprising that his sojourn in the UK saw him quickly qualifying as a legal executive and spearheading initiatives supportive of West Indian immigrant children relegated by the English education system, while at home, he would end up as a minister for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the environment. Cass Elias has been a leader and pioneer of many initiatives at home and in the UK during his stay there, between 1964 and 1974. Although one his first major business ventures, Cardevco, turned out to be an unmitigated disaster (due to no fault of his), his legacy in commerce and the social landscape is unquestionable. His entry into “combat politics” marks a radical shift, as partisan politics was never his calling, and it is this, ironically, that has left the bitterest taste in his mouth. Elias is married to Mary, and together they have four children.