Central Kingstown Member of Parliament (MP) Major St Clair Leacock has described as votes-attraction the government’s proposed distribution of what it calls ‘Love Box.’
The ‘Love Box’ is to comprise agricultural produce and 3,000 such boxes are to be distributed to communities to help persons amid the Covid-19 impact. It has been proposed that the churches and civil society organizations do the distribution.
“What is the Love Box? They’re so scrambling for votes now, holding on like a drowning man to anything, they’re now taking agricultural produce to put them into boxes to distribute to people – not for love but for votes,” Major Leacock said as he addressed his constituency’s public meeting broadcast on social media and NICE Radio on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Major Leacock says not only should the churches and civil society be given the responsibility to distribute the ‘Love Boxes’ but they should also be given the responsibility of distributing the millions of dollars’ worth of lumber, cement and galvanize recently imported from Jamaica.
The importation and distribution of the building materials have become quite a feature over the past few decades. They are imported in the year of elections under the guise of the so-called ‘Lives to Live’ programme but it is generally viewed as election bribery.
“But I say this; in the same way you’re asking he churches and civil society to distribute the ground provisions in the Love Boxes, give the same churches, give the same civil organizations the lumber, the cement, the galvanize and the steel that down there at Arnos Vale let them distribute it too. And then I’ll know you’re sincere. Because we know that your whole game plan has been obstructed why you can’t go along the way,” Major Leacock said.
“Stop manipulating Vincentians in this way… What manner of men are these people? What manner of men are these people that call themselves government?” the Central Kingstown MP asked.