The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly brought a private notice question before the NA last week, asking the Minister for Education to clarify why there was the sale of alcohol at Stad Linite during the National Interschools Athletics Championship, on Saturday, 4th July.
Instead of admitting that his ministry’s endorsement of this had been a mistake, given the regulations upheld by all sports discipline federations that alcohol is not allowed in sports venues, and putting forth an apology, the minister chose to try and justify the decision. It was clearly intended to attract adult spectators and not just parents to the event, which usually, most people, other than the relatives of the participants, tend to watch on TV from the comfort of their homes. The sale of alcohol outside the stadium resulted in students and adults alike buying and consuming it at the venue and even inside.
The matter got to the extent that Deputy Commissioner of Police, Antoine Desnousse, complained about it in an interview with the national broadcaster. This was probably what propelled the Leader of the Opposition to table a PNQ, and of course, the aim was also to get political mileage.
For the general population, it was more serious than that, and many have taken to social media to denounce the minister for trying to cover this up with a so-called explanation. Given the strict no tolerance of use of alcohol in schools, the minister himself, had he been in another country, would have had to resign his position, as the buck ultimately stops with him, but he chose to try and explain it away.
The incident and the subsequent so-called justification underline a major flaw in the Linyon Demokratik Sesel’s approach to governance, and that is the inability and outright unwillingness to admit it when they are wrong. They would rather play the ostrich and burrow their heads into the sand, which is exactly what Minister Justin Valentin did with his explanation before the National Assembly, completely oblivious to the fact that he had gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. Reactions on social media have shown that the public does not find it funny at all and that the Ministry of Education should come out with a proper apology!
