The ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) says that Washington-based Vincentian political activist, Luzette King, is not a member of the party, as she said while delivering the keynote address at the opposition New Democratic Party’s (NDP) convention on Sunday.
But King maintained to I-Witness News on Thursday that she is in fact a card-carrying member of the ULP.
“I want to state categorically, despite the mouthings of Luzette King, Luzette is not a ULP persons. Let me state that clearly,” Sen. Julian Francis, general-secretary of the ULP, said on his weekly radio programme on Tuesday.
“So, I am telling you straight and plain, don’t bother with Luzette King. Luzette is not a member of the Unity Labour Party,” he further said.
“We need to just make sure that we put that in its proper perspective. Luzette King sent in an application for membership of the Unity Labour Party in 1997 and basically may have paid in about $65 to the party. But her card was never signed. Luzette King does not have a card to show that she is a member of the Unity Labour Party. “Because we have questioned Luzette King from the time she made an application to be a member of the Unity Labour Party,” Francis said.
He further said that there are “ten years of Luzette King’s life in England we can’t account for…
“And many persons are raising those questions,” he said, adding that he is “surprised to hear her declaring herself as a Unity Labour Party person”.
He said that King uses here weekly radio programme to lash out at the political leader and officers of the ULP, members of the Cabinet.
“Luzette has bad talked this party from since 2004, 2005, 2006.”
He said that King went to a ULP convention at Campden Park “demanding her party card”.
“We didn’t bother with her, because I had dealt with it before, administratively. I tell her she is not getting a party card. … I never signed Luzette King party card. She doesn’t have a card. She may have a book in which you put money.
“… when you apply, you have a $5 thing. So that is the $5 and then she put in a $30 in 2003 and another $30 in 2003. That’s the last time Luzette has contact with the Labour Party.
“Then when we came back in 2005 she start making noise, and she was very critical — well, she was very critical of the change in leadership in 1998 and then she said she worked so hard in England. Well, not many persons can tell me how hard she worked in England.
“In fact I really don’t know Luzette. I had seen her at the convention. I remember seeing her one day at the party headquarters when she came quarrelling about her card and I told her there is no card for her.”
Francis said that the party card is “the confirmation of your membership [of the ULP].
“It is signed by the general-secretary and the political leader of the party. I have been the general-secretary since 1994, when the party was formed on the 16th of October, and I have never signed a card certifying that Luzette King is a member of the Unity Labour Party.
“Supporter, yes; but you are no card-carrying member. I challenge Luzette to print and publish her.”
However, when asked about Francis’ statement, King told I-Witness News on Thursday, that if Francis in fact denied that she is a member of the party, he would be “implicating [another ULP member] for when I gave [that member] some money some years ago to pay my subscription.
“I joined the party in July of 1994,” King told I-Witness News, adding that she was given a party card.
“I have the older version,” she said, but added that she did not bring it to St. Vincent with her.
“It is at home somewhere and because I rushed from Nigeria to here — and, quite frankly, I didn’t think it would be an issue,” she said.
King further said whether she is a member of the Party is not critical to the other issues she raised at the NDP convention, adding that her party number was 2635, but that she could not reminder who has signed the party card.
King said that in 2009, she went to the ULP office to pay her subscription, “on the advice of Julian Francis, because I met him and asked him why it was that they were not accepting my subscription, and he asked me to go to the office to pay my subscription.
“When I went they had to seek his permission to accept my subscription,” she further told I-Witness News, adding that the staff at the ULP office did not accept her subscription.
“But the matter of not accepting my subscriptions started when I challenged the victimisation,” she said.
“The constitution [of the ULP] is very clear. In order to expel a member, they have to go through a process,” she said, adding that she has never gone through such a process.
“In fact, I attended the convention … in Campden Park … and I participated in the closed session,” King said.
The party did not say why they did not accept her subscription.
“But the matter of not accepting my subscriptions started when I challenged the victimisation,” she said.
HAVING read the reportage of account of both persons, I am perplexedly left with the vexing: QUESTION: Is our ULP general secretary being politically selective with ALL the relevant facts ?
Francis believes that a member of the ULP shouldn’t speak against the party and should be yes men and yes women to every deed, whether good or bad. I remember the days when the party serve the better good of the country, and when the Prime Minister was there to govern for everyone. What happened to SVG?
Well the Luzette king story does not surprise me when she claims this administration is a vindictive one. It’s true one cannot criticize this administration whether constructively or otherwise. We have seen it blatantly.look at our stalwart Otto Sam. I think he can write a book about victimization, our outstanding vocal anesia baptise to name a few, also not forgetting ‘bigger bigs’ Mr. Leon Samuel. This administration is forgetting that there is a God above who sees all things and heareath all things. I supported this administration for years. But my parents brought me up in a way that to know the difference between right is right and wrong is wrong. And the God that I believe in said that the only person that I should fear is the ‘true and living God’. So victimize all you want. It’s only for a time, because time is longer than twine.
I am sorry but I cannot believe for a moment that this woman would go to a convention and make such statements and see her renderings published if they were not true. Its one thing to whisper such things, but to be as public as she was, sorry but I believe her.
Good evening Steve Huggins, I think your opinion may be the right one, eventually perhaps we will know the unequivocal truth.
The Luzette King issue can be summed up in two words “blatant opportunism”.
Kenton, on the other hand, can’t you do better than this?….
Moreover, Julian Francis as the saying go, “You Do Well” … “schups’!.
Say welcome to Senator King y’all.
I am in Venezuela researching and writing for a book and several articles, will let you all have some renderings soon.
Peter
I don’t care about the card she was telling the ndp real true about what is going on in the world today that some of the same people didn’t want to talk about the card is nothing talk about what she say to the people if I was a ndp I will voting ulp now