A bombshell allegation from a school principal on pre-retirement leave has reignited a smoldering controversy surrounding a cache of birth certificates discovered in the South River last December. The unattended birth certificates were discovered in South River near Heritage Square in Kingstown on December 18th, 2024.
Adonis Charles, former principal of Barrouallie Anglican School, speaking at a recent New Democratic Party (NDP) meeting in Fitz Hughes, claimed a sitting government minister pressured him to facilitate the fraudulent registration of a St. Lucian national.
“When I was principal… for nine years, I got a call from a sitting minister, and he said, ‘Charles, I want a favor,'” Charles recounted. “He said that there’s a guy in Bottle and Glass who is from St. Lucia [who] wants to get a birth certificate to get an ID, and if I can write a letter to say that he came to the school and to say when he was registered.”
Charles stated firmly, “I said to the minister, I will do no such thing.”
The implications of both the initial discovery and Charles’s recent allegations are far-reaching. Birth certificates are crucial documents, serving as gateways to passports and, critically, voter identification cards. The potential for abuse – particularly in a politically charged environment – is significant.
“Right now, you can go to the Registry and you can get a form for a birth certificate already filled and signed,” Charles warned, urging the NDP to closely monitor the registration process.
This statement, if true, suggests a systemic vulnerability that could undermine the integrity of future elections.
Nine months have passed since the birth certificates – reportedly containing all necessary information for identification – were found floating in the South River. Yet, there has been no formal statement from the police, the registry, or any government official.
The St. Vincent Times’ own attempts to solicit information from relevant institutions have been met with a wall of silence.
