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Three hundred jobless due to Amerijet debacle
Three hundred persons in the economically depressed region of Dennery have lost their jobs following the recent closure of Belle Fashions, due in large part to a dispute between the factory's main airline carrier, Amerijet cargo, and the St. Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) in September of last year. The Star reports this. According to the newspaper, Mervyn Auguste, manager of Belle Fashions, states that "difficulty in transporting its materials as a result of the pull-out last year of Amerijet from St. Lucia had contributed to the company's decision to close operations here".
Amerijet is a cargo service that had operated out of Castries' G.F.L. Charles Airport for eight years until it discontinued its service last October, after SLASPA had ordered it to temporarily move its operations to Hewanorra airport in Vieux Fort because of construction work on the parking ramp at G.F.L. Charles Airport. At the time, Amerijet explained to SLASPA that it would not be economical for it to transfer its cargo services to the south for six months, since most of its clients were located in the north of the island. The company suggested two alternatives which might have allowed it to continue to operate out of G.F.L. Charles, but met with negative responses from both SLASPA and government representatives.
In a paid advertisement in local newspapers of 2nd October 1999, Amerijet forewarned that many of its customers would face "undue hardship" if Amerijet was denied use of G.F.L. Charles Airport. "Several [clients] have indicated that their business cannot withstand the removal of Amerijet's services from the George F.L. Charles International Airport. ... Exporters, particularly of manufactured items, have indicated that the additional costs for inland transportation will be prohibitive and that they will be unable to pay such costs", the airline predicted. The collapse of Belle Fashions, leaving hundreds unemployed, seems to confirm that prediction.
Meanwhile, the National Workers Union (NWU) this week made a desperate appeal to Belle Fashions' management to continue its operations in Dennery, saying workers are prepared to make sacrifices. The factory was playing "a pivotal role in the economic and social life of the people of that area, and leaving them unemployed will be virtually devastating", says NWU president Tyrone Maynard. According to Maynard, Belle Fashions has recently bought factories in the Dominican Republic and Guyana where labour costs are "dust cheap", says Maynard. However, the union president claims that St. Lucia's political stability ought to make up for that. The Thursday Voice reports this.
Last week, the United Workers Party called on the government to ensure that Belle Fashions does not ship any equipment out of the country until it has settled its payments to workers.
Poignantly, Amerijet this week advertises in the Mirror, Star, Voice and One Caribbean to announce the opening of its daily cargo services to and from St. Lucia, to Miami and elsewhere. But, as One Caribbean adds in an editorial report, this Southern Caribbean cargo hub will be operating out of Grenada.
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Bomb scare paralyses central Castries
The CIBC bank, the Royal Bank of Canada and Voyagers all had to close down business for three hours on Wednesday, after an anonymous caller telephoned the CIBC in William Peter Boulevard and announced that a bomb was planted in the area. The police were called in, the buildings evacuated and the surrounding area cordoned off but no bomb was found. Wednesday's bomb scare was the second for this year. This according to the Thursday Voice.
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Rochamel promises to settle debts by March
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Choiseul kids start own website
A group of almost thirty children from the Choiseul area recently launched their own website. Featuring short stories and compositions and information on Choiseul, St. Lucia and the Choiseul After-School Enrichment Programme (CASE), the website has already allowed the children to establish contact with schoolchildren in Japan, Australia, England, Canada and the US. They keep in touch by e-mail. Material and financial support for the CASE project has come from Cable and Wireless and the Oak Park Council on International Affairs. CASE - headquartered in Reunion, Choiseul - makes it possible for primary and secondary students to learn to perform online research, word processing and multi-media presentations on a computer. Their website is located at http://caseprogramme.homestead.com.
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HelenAir saved by BWIA alliance
Although recent negotiations between HelenAir and EC Express (a subsidiary of Air Jamaica) have failed to bear fruit, St. Lucia's only national carrier nevertheless sees it economic future secure once more following the striking of an agreement with British West Indian Airways (BWIA). This is reported in this week's newspapers. BWIA and HelenAir have agreed on a five year strategic alliance, meaning that they will synchronise their services to provide seamless connections at St. Lucia and Barbados in order to better serve passengers and shippers in St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Martinique and Guadeloupe. Because of the alliance, these islands will be better connected to the international gateways of Miami, New York, Washington, Toronto and London. BWIA and HelenAir will also integrate their reservations, ground handling, purchasing, maintenance and accounting operations. Only late last year, HelenAir found itself on the brink of bankruptcy. All major newspapers report on this.
Meanwhile, EC Express is also preparing to start its sub-regional operations from its St. Lucian base. EC Express has established a code sharing alliance with Virgin Atlantic, and a similar alliance with Air Canada is in the making, writes The Mirror.
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WASCO turns down $67m foreign investor
The Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO), the island's recently privatised water company, has turned down a $67 million investment offer by the Connecticut-based Atlantis Water Fund (an affiliate of Poseidon Resources). A spokesman for the North-American company says that the 100 percent increase in water rates, which came into effect in St. Lucia as of last month, is unnecessary, "as the hike is not accompanied by a hike in services". Poseidon says it is willing to invest "$67 million or more over a long period of time" to bring potable water to every household on the island. The Mirror is the only paper to carry this news.
According to the paper, the general manager of WASCO, Martin Satney, explained his company's decline of the offer by saying that WASCO "is still setting up its structure and is not in a position to seriously consider proposals from private overseas-based firms". Satney says he is also dissatisfied with Poseidon's emphasis on developing water operations in the southern part of the island: "They are not interested in WASCO and the existing water infrastructure in Castries and other parts of the north of the island". According to Satney, Poseidon believes it can produce potable water in bulk in the south through desalination, and sell it to WASCO. "Government and WASCO must be careful about entering into agreements with private overseas-based organisations claiming to have access to lots of money and giving the impression that they want to be kind to St. Lucia", says WASCO's general manager as cited in The Mirror. Satney also promises that there will be "incremental improvements in [WASCO's] services as time goes by", following the much-debated recent price hike.
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St. Vincent and Grenada condemn SLBC going solo
The governments of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada condemn the recent move by the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) to reduce its involvement with WIBDECO - the Windward Islands Banana Development Corporation, saying it will only serve to further divide the region's banana industry and undermine the unity and strength of WIBDECO in dealing with the external forces and challenges that face the industry.
The SLBC's marketing contract with WIBDECO expires this weekend. The SLBC, under the leadership of Patrick Joseph, has decided not to extend that contract but instead to start selling its bananas directly to Geest. "In this day and age, you do not have a middleman unless you are mad", says Joseph in The Star this week. Joseph had just returned from a three-day marketing visit to the UK.
Although the SLBC does not wish to utilise WIBDECO's marketing facilities anymore, it does seek to continue to have access to the UK import licenses, which have been allocated to WIBDECO. The governments of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, however, have advised WIBDECO not to allow the SLBC to use the WIBDECO import license if it does not sell its fruit through WIBDECO. Joseph says he is disappointed at the "all of nothing" agreement WIBDECO seems to want. He also denies that the SLBC limiting its involvement with WIBDECO is endangering the region's banana industry. "We are not mashing up the Windward Islands' banana business. If we chose not to sell to Geest, then there could be problems".
The St. Vincent and Grenada governments also announce that should WIBDECO wish to relocate its headquarters from St. Lucia to either one of those islands, such a proposal will be positively considered. The Crusader, Star and One Caribbean all report on this.
The SLBC is set to hold a national meeting this Sunday to discuss its future course.
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Ministry tough on dynamiting fish
A five thousand dollar fine and criminal prosecution - that awaits fishermen who continue to use explosives to catch fish. The ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment promises to step up its surveillance of persons dynamiting fish - a practice which destroys reefs, seagrass beds, juvenile fish, their sources of food as well as, in many cases, the large adult fish. The Crusader reports this.
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Tunnel road opened amidst controversy
Political controversy surrounded the official opening of the Castries-Cul de Sac Highway on Thursday afternoon, with several voices criticising the government for not having issued a timely invitation to former prime minister Sir John Compton to attend the opening ceremony. Allegedly, Sir John received an invitation only one day in advance of the ceremony. "This late invitation is only an after thought and came only after a public outrcry", said Compton. "But it's too late for me, I have other plans for this afternoon". Earlier, a government official had declared on national television that Sir John is now "a private citizen so there was no reason for him to be invited especially". The leader of the Opposition, Louis George, did receive an invitation.
The construction of the new highway, which includes two tunnels and was built at a cost of EC59.5 million dollars, was initiated under Compton's governance.
Also absent from Thursday's ceremony was prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, who was overseas. Deputy PM Mario Michel conducted the opening speech, and announced that what is colloquially known as 'the tunnel road', had been officially christened the 'Millennium Highway'. While Michel applauded the new road despite its high price tag, saying the road will "provide significant economic returns" in the next twenty years, his co-minister Calixte George (Transport and Works) was more critical. The Star quotes George predicting that the new road may cause new traffic problems in Eastern Castries. "Development logic would suggest that without addressing the infrastructure base on the eastern side the new highway will attract a greater volume of traffic than normal and create a bottleneck at junctions on the city's urban roads".
Furthermore, George observed that another objective of the road - the industrial development of the Cul-de-Sac area - may in fact not benefit local entrepreneurs very much. "The benefits to be derived will be enjoyed by overseas entrepreneurs since in my opinion they will be the only ones capable of purchasing lands in the Cul-de-Sac Bay. Without a doubt the cost to St. Lucian entrepreneurs will be prohibitive because the cost of developing those lands will be extremely high, The Star writes.
The sum total of the Millennium Highway project, including costs of design, research, supervision, land acquisition and damage and relocation compensation, will be around EC$75 million. Loans acquired included EC24.4 million from the Alliance Francaise Development Fund to be repaid at 3.5 percent interest by 2010, EC22.5 million from the Kuwait Fund at 4 percent to be paid by 2012, and $5.4 million from OPEC at 5 percent, payable by July 2011.
The government of St. Lucia contributed $23 million.
Meanwhile, the proposed four-lane highway from Gros Islet to Vieux Fort will soon be the object of a feasibility study, funding for which comes from the Kuwait Development Fund. A four-lane highway was one of the promises in the Labour Party's 1997 election programme.
In a statement to the press, the United Workers Party expresses its gratitude to the various funding agencies who have contributed to the tunnel project.
The Star, Mirror and Voice all report on the opening of the new highway on their front pages.
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St. Lucia to supply organic fruit to Sainsburys?
Is it true that St. Lucia has offered four large farms with a total area of 120 to 160 acres to British supermarket giant Sainsburys, for it to grow and purchase organically-grown bananas, mangoes, coconuts and passion fruit? This asks Alfred Jn.Baptiste in this week's issue of The Mirror. According to Jn.Baptiste, Sainsburys' executives have chosen St. Lucia and Grenada to become its sole suppliers of organically grown tropical fruits within the next three years. "Small nation-states like St. Lucia should pay more attention to issues of 'Fairtrade", writes Jn.Baptiste. "That is an alternative trading system that would guarantee fruit price in a volatile world market, cut out the intermediaries and allow even the smallest farmers to have a say in their future". "Is Sainsburys trying to take over agricultural production in St. Lucia? Who is negotiating with Sainsburys? Funny, but with all the discussion and talk of the crisis facing the banana industry, I am curious that no one has mentioned Sainsburys. Neither have I heard anything about going organic".
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