The Saint Lucia Labour Party has called on Prime Minister Allen Chastanet to be open and transparent with the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) and provide the public with all the proposed changes to the existing legislative framework for discussion.
The Labour Party says whilst being Leader of the UWP in opposition, Allen Chastenet did all he could to undermine the CIP. He criticised the Programme all over the world even when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other institutions praised the design of the CIP.
The CIP has only being operating for ten (10) months and was severely affected by the public pronouncements of the Prime Minister when he was in opposition. Therefore, the Labour Party is of the view that the Programme should be allowed to operate for some time before there is any restructuring or relaunch with the existing legislative framework.
Instead the Labour Party is calling on the Prime Minister to inform the public of:
- How many citizenships have been granted?
- What has the monies being used for?
- Which new Projects have been granted CIP approval status?
- What are the deficiencies of the programme as designed?
- What are the proposed changes; and
- Which promoter is recommending changes to the existing legislation?
The Labour Party says the public must be involved in the decision making process, as was done by the Saint Lucia Labour Party when in Government, because of the immense sensitivity of the programme.
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