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Quotes:
"A simple phone call is all it takes. Should I pick up the phone and do it myself? Crackdown on crime, my foot. The empty words on TV mean nothing".
Resident whose house was burgled in broad daylight, along with those of several neighbours. Although given the burglars' car registration number on Thursday, the police alleged on Friday that they had not yet had time to call the Transport and Licensing Office (The Voice, 7th July).
"Evaluation method: Report quality as reflected by their clarity and accuracy".
Extract from a job advertisement for the position of Manager at the Government Printing Establishment (various newspapers, 6th and 7th July).
"The Secretary to the Commission will be responsible for the following: Developing a strategy for the institutionalization of the new regulatory institution".
Extract from a job advertisement for post of Secretary to the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission in St. Kitts (various newspapers).
"Go ye forth and Spin no more".
Letter to the editor urging the various spin doctors to give up their "nauseating and insulting" work (The Voice, 7th July).
"Lewinsky, Monica. Vanard, Anse La Raye 451-[xxxx]"
Cable & Wireless 2001-02 St. Lucia telephone directory, page 164. When dialled, the number proves to be unobtainable.
"We are disturbingly more concerned about party loyalty, than [about] common threads that bind us".
Richard Branford (The Voice, 7th July).
"'This advertisement has been withdrawn from publication forthwith'. No explanation was forthcoming. Had the department been able to collect all outstanding debts? He wasn't saying! Seems something about the economy is not so hunky-dory as the Minister of Finance would have us believe!"
The Star quoting a spokesman of the Inland Revenue Department regarding an advertisement in local newspapers announcing that "due to the high incidence of returned cheques", the IRD is going to deal more strictly with cheque payments (7th July).
"Assume nothing. Expect the worst".
Hurricane awareness supplement (The Star, 7th July).
"However, the young men who were 'liming' by one of the bathrooms said that many people still disposed of their sewage by putting it in plastic bags and dumping it in the garbage. 'The only other choice is to throw it in the river', said one of the young men".
The Mirror on the continuing closure of the public bathrooms in Palmiste (6th July).
"The 23 year old Marcellin was just able to edge out her closet rival on the night Natalie Laporta, who was the first runner up".
The Mirror on the National Beauty Pageant (6th July).
"If your children curse or fight with other children, you have to really ask yourself where they are getting that from. ... The parents were beaten, so they beat. ... They say, look at me - I came out alright".
The Mirror on the difficulty of teaching parents to discipline children without resorting to a strap or stick (6th July).
"Although [X] was threatened, strangled and stabbed, police are still treating this incident as a housebreaking. One investigator told The Mirror that it is very difficult to prove anything [X] said the intruder said and did to her except for the housebreaking and the stabbing".
The Mirror (6th July).
"The police investigating officer produced the black nylon bag containing 8kg of cannabis valued at $16,000. 'I'll have to take it quickly outside', he said. 'It's full of mold and I don't want anybody getting this stuff in their throats'."
Wednesday Star on Gros Islet court proceedings. The accused was fined $60,000 or nine months in jail (4th July).
"Is Aspen skiing in competition with St. Lucia?"
President of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Michele Paige, countering the charge that cruise ship tourism in St. Lucia is detrimental to the local hotel industry (Wednesday Star, 4th July).
"Prayers were offered, candles lit and a minute of silence was held for the 'death of NCB and SLDB'. So serious was the ceremony there was even an invocation for Jesus to be hailed King of the Bank. For one observer that was taking things a bit too far. 'What? This is only a bank', she said. 'I'm all for Jesus as King and all, but King of a bank? A minute of silence for the death of a bank? Come on'."
Wednesday Star (4th July).
"In politics what is morally objectionable is also politically wrong".
Guest editor in The Crusader (7th July).
"And then it is customary for us to say that it is not just a St. Lucian problem but that it is a regional one. This is how society subtly condones criminal behaviour and continues to treat violence as if it were the norm. ... In St. Lucia, a crisis is not recognised until it becomes a nuclear explosion".
Rebecca Miller (The Crusader, 7th July). |
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'Mas on the Square' expects thousands at lunchtime
With carnival fever heating up, this is the week of 'Mas on the Square', now in its second year. For five weekdays, Derek Walcott Square in Castries will see performances by steel bands, calypsonians, musical bands, a fore-taste of this year's carnival bands, and some ex-tempo singers. Launched last year by HTS/Radio 100 and turning out to be a huge success attracting some 30,000 people, 'Mas on the Square' is looking forward to once more providing much lunchtime entertainment for employers, students and visitors to Castries. Booths are set up to sell drinks and snacks, and there is also scheduled to be an exhibition of local manufacturers eager to showcase their products. The Voice reports this.
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NCB/SLDB dead, Bank of St. Lucia emerges
The National Commercial Bank and the St. Lucia Development Bank have been officially declared dead - and the birth of the Bank of St. Lucia is now a reality, following the formal launching of the two merged indigenous financial institutions, last Sunday, 1st of July. One of the new bank's announced plans is to re-evaluate interest rates on the island, "in a manner that will stimulate the economic growth of our people and which we hope our competitors will find necessary to follow", as chairman Victor Eudoxie declared, somewhat cryptically.
The merger of the NCB and SLDB has led to the establishment of the East Caribbean Financial Holdings Group, of which the Bank of St Lucia is the prime subsidiary. Other companies active under the umbrella institution are the Mortgage and Finance Company of St. Lucia, Offshore Financial Services and Company of St. Lucia, Trust and Legal Services Company of St. Lucia, Insurance Company of St. Lucia, and Property Holding and Development Company of St. Lucia. The Wednesday Star reports this. In what the newspaper describes as a "serious ceremony", managing director Marius St Rose and chairman Eudoxie expressed their intentions and hopes for the future of the Bank of St. Lucia. St. Rose said that "through this merger we intend to provide more diversified and competitively priced customer oriented products and services, enhance the career opportunities available to staff and provide higher and more stable returns to shareholders".
Despite his implicit announcement that the Bank of St. Lucia will lower interest rates on loans, chairman Eudoxie insisted that the bank has no intention of trying to put other banks out of business. "We will compete effectively and fairly, cooperating when necessary in the best interest of our country and region". The Wednesday Star reports this. The Thursday Voice adds to this a statement made by St. Rose, to the effect that "the merger is also expected to be a catalyst and pacesetter in the financial sector, all with the aim of creating a climate for the development of St. Lucia and the sub-region". The Bank of St. Lucia currently employs more than 250 members of staff.
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Invader crowned Soca Monarch
Although out of the Calypso Monarch competition after stumbling over some of his lines in the Calypso semi-finals, last Sunday, Invader became the new Soca Monarch on Saturday night. "De Invader" won the coveted Soca title with 426 points and Lord Believe Me and T. C. Brown came joint second/third with 408 points each. Fourth place went to Bachelor with 398 points .
The Soca Monarch finals saw Lord Believe Me, Mahandra, Prosper, Singing Cinty, Dycer Fontelio, Duval, Journalist, Mary-G, Invader, Lady Spice, Yardie, Educator, Super Sweet, Bobby Fresg, Oba, TC Brown, Lady Leen, Bachelor, Si and Black Pearl doing battle on stage for the Soca Crown.
All eyes are now turned to the Calypso finals, with Solange a surprise casualty having been eliminated during last week's semi-finals. Many had expected Solange to steal the crown from last year's winner, Lady Spice. The Calypso competition, which is scheduled for Saturday the 14th of July, will see Morgie, TC Brown, Juliana, Robbie, Walleigh, Educator, Bachelor, Pelay, Lady Leen and Lady Spice contending for the highest scores from the judges and audience.
The third title, that of Road March, will be decided by the revellers on Monday and Tuesday, 17th and 18th of July, during the street parades. All papers report on the ongoing competitions, with several providing background profiles of the various performers.
Meanwhile, Christelle Marcellin was crowned National Beauty Pageant Queen - the successor of the traditional Carnival Queen contest. Leaving first runner-up Natalie Laporta behind, 23-year-old Marcellin on Saturday evening stole the hearts of both judges and audience.
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Young boy benefits from charitable fund
Jean Claude Sealy, a 9-year-old boy from Dennery who has been suffering from a brain tumour for five years, was flown to Miami on Wednesday for a life-saving operation, courtesy of Solar Tours, Club LIAT, and the numerous callers to Andre Paul's HTS/Helen FM 100 radio programme 'What Makes Me Mad', who managed to bring together almost EC$60,000 in just two hours.
Andre Paul is the new chairman of the recently established 'Janice Francis Memorial Fund' - a charitable fund which came about after donations were collected to help Janice Francis, a young mother suffering from leukemia. But help came too late for Ms. Francis who passed away last week. The money that was collected for her is now proving to be the starting point for helping others in dire need of medical assistance - such as the young Dennery boy. The Thursday Voice and Star report this. It is also stated that an anonymous overseas donor has pledged, via email, to provide US$10,000 annually to the Janice Francis Memorial Fund.
The editor of the Thursday Voice applauds the initiative, writing: "Let it be the first step in a great upward journey to self-reliance and a liberalization from the shackles of political dependency, political patronage and political partisanship".
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Juvenile offenders live in police cell
In the absence of an appropriate, secure institution where juveniles can be detained and rehabilitated, seven young convicts are currently living at the Gros Islet police station. Too young to be sent to jail and with inadequate security at the Massade Boys Training Centre, magistrates in St. Lucia see no other option other than keeping the boys behind bars at the local police station. The police cell is intended for short-term detention only, until charges are laid and the accused either bailed or sent on remand to the prison. The Wednesday Star reports this.
This fact came to light when last Monday, magistrate Horace Frazer sent a 16-year-old boy who was found guilty of stealing a gold necklace from a German tour representative during the Gros Islet street jump, last February. "I can't send you to jail", Frazer reportedly told the boy. "I'm not going to send you to the Massade Boys Training Centre - it's a waste of time. You will escape from there again and go and commit more crimes. In fact I don't know where to send you. There is nowhere. The authorities have to deal with these people. These young people. We have a serious problem and the authorities are not dealing with it. He is causing serious problems. Committing serious crime. The system has to deal with this. ... This is what happens when parents fail. Institutions fail".
The 16-year-old, in response, begged not to be sent back to the Gros Islet police station. "Send me to jail", he reportedly asked the magistrate. "I'll be better off there. Or send me to Central, there it's better. I just can't, can't go back to the police station, please, please send me to jail".
The Crusader also touches on the problem of teenage convicts, in a report on the stabbing of a fellow-student by a young boy at Sir Ira Simmons Secondary School, earlier this week. Commenting on the accused's prospects, The Cusader writes: "It is not enough to expand our prison facilities, and certainly, placing our teenagers among convicted felons where they are likely to be abused by older, more seasoned criminals will not solve the problem".
Finally, Dr Morella Joseph, co-chairman of the National Alliance for Unity in Thursday's address to the nation on the crime situation, touched upon the issue as well. Quoted in The Star, Dr. Joseph - who was herself seriously injured by a cutlass-wielding student some years ago - said: "The prime minister must be prepared to explain to parliament and to the people of St. Lucia why, in his eagerness to construct so many new police stations and a $40 million new prison, he has completely ignored the situation of young offenders and has not found it necessary to focus on the need for a correctional facility to replace the Massade Boys School or to improve the conditions and capacity of the Upton Gardens Girl Centre".
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Alliance suggests solutions for crime surge
The National Alliance – in the person of Dr Morella Joseph, put forward its plans for fighting crime in the country during a national address on TV last Thursday. Following the example set two weeks ago by prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony, Dr Joseph explained to the public what the National Alliance for Unity (NAU) intends to do to counter the current upsurge in (violent) crime, if and when it forms the next government. Whereas Dr Anthony had suggested basically four approaches, namely an increased police presence on the streets, expansion of the Rapid Response Unit, stiffer penalties for gun-related crimes, and a call on the public to more readily trust the police with information on criminal activity, Dr Joseph sought more solutions to the problem of increasing the efficiency and reliability of the police force and justice system.
According to The Crusader, Dr Joseph proposes a reform of the police force, in which "all officers within the force who are deemed unqualified or suspect to indiscipline or acts of corruption will be appropriately dealt with". Secondly, Dr Joseph would review the terms and conditions of employment of police officers, so as to reduce the existing high turn-over of staff. Thirdly, "Dr Joseph said that a large number of court cases lost by the police is as a result of incompetent handling of evidence and the general unavailability of support", writes The Crusader. According to Dr Joseph, "This has been a cause of much embarassment to the police force and a significant factor in the loss of public confidence in the force". The NAU intends to establish a new police prosecutions unit, contracting criminal lawyers from outside the police force. Fourthly, Dr Joseph suggested that with modern recording and stenography technology, court cases can be more efficiently processed. In similar vein is the fifth proposal, which is to recruit civilians into the police force to take over the several administrative tasks from officers, who would then be free to patrol the streets. The sixth and last proposal made by Dr Joseph is more or less in line with Dr Anthony's suggestion to increase the number of Rapid Response Units - although Dr Anthony wants four units, and Dr Joseph eight.
Dr Joseph holds a clearly opposing view to Dr Anthony's on the issue of encouraging citizens to inform on illegal firearms and other criminal matters, in exchange for a monetary reward. Dr Joseph called the suggestion "a recipe for disaster", saying it will lead "to more crime as a result of reprisals by citizens, one against the other". Rather, said Dr Joseph, the National Alliance will increase the cash penalties for crimes, using the money thus captured to help pay for the cost of running the justice system.
On the whole, Dr Joseph sketched a background to the current crime situation as being rooted in a deteriorating economic climate – a view not shared by prime minister Anthony, who instead emphasised the neglect of the police force under the previous United Workers Party administration, as well as arguing that because of the government's alleged increased success rate in fighting the drug trade, criminals are now engaging in robberies and break-ins instead. Dr Joseph is quoted in The Star: "We are losing our jobs. We are being placed on rotation or on shift. We are having to close our businesses. We are finding it difficult to meet our electricity, water and telephone bills. We cannot meet our mortgage and loan payments. Our cars and homes are being repossessed by the banks. Our children of school-leaving age and our young men in particular cannot find jobs. It is therefore not surprising in such circumstances of economic hardship that there will be an upsurge in crime. Unemployed fathers must find a way to feed their families. Unemployed young men with few prospects for the future will succumb to peer pressure and become involved in criminal and antisocial behaviour. Frustrated and alienated men who have lost their sense of self worth may seek to vent their rage and frustration by committing despicable acts of rape, domestic abuse and crimes against women. Our women are being driven to degrading acts of desperation to obtain food for themselves and their families or to obtain the money to purchase medication for their sick children. The Kenny Anthony administration, by its failed economic policies that have denied them the jobs they desperately need, has broken its contract with the men of St. Lucia".
Nevertheless, Rick Wayne in The Star judges that Dr Joseph's suggestions with respect to solving the crime problem are not very different - or, for that matter, much more impressive - than those offered to the nation by the prime minister two weeks ago, something which Wayne dismissed at the time as 'More Hot Air'.
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EC$50 million for ports and jetties
Some EC$50 million has been allocated for the expansion of port facilities for tourists visiting the island. More duty free shopping facilities and expanded berthing places for larger ships form one part of this allocation, and berthing facilities and new jetties for Anse la Raye, Laborie, Canaries and Choiseul another. The St. Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) also intends to build what is described in The Crusader as "a state of the art walk-in, animated interpretation centre on the history of Castries". Minister of Tourism Menissa Rambally is quoted as saying that "In all cases, the feasibility studies have been completed and upon construction, these facilities should serve to open up even more tour opportunities ensuring benefits to local entrepreneurs, rural communities and the St. Lucian economy".
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St. Lucia to have AIDS Strategy by November
Negotiate with international drug companies to gain access to anti-AIDS medication at a vastly reduced costs - this is the task of St. Lucia's minister of Health, Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, in her capacity as chairperson of the CARICOM Health ministers. The Voice reports this. Meanwhile, a technical committee with members from Jamaica, the Bahamas and Trinidad is investigating precisely what kind of medication will be the most effective for each one of the islands. "Following on this it has been suggested that the OECS Pharmaceutical Procurement Service would then be mandated to access the drugs for all the OECS on the basis of bulk purchases to further reduce costs". These mandates are the result of ongoing meetings with regional and international organisations, including a recent meeting of the United Nations Global AIDS and Health Fund. On the 31st of this month, minister Flood-Beaubrun will hold a meeting with various interested parties in St. Lucia, which three months later is scheduled to result in a National Strategic AIDS/HIV Plan. According to The Voice, this plan - due to be ready by November - will include "partnering with NGO's such as the National AIDS Foundation, St. Lucia Association for the Prevention of AIDS, and the group of persons living with AIDS".
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Regional music teachers congregate in St. Lucia
'Consolidation and Prospect in Caribbean Music Education' is the title given to the sixth regional conference of the Association of Caribbean Music Educators (ADME), to be held at the Bay Gardens hotel in St. Lucia, from the 23rd until the 25th of July. In three days, conference-goers will assess the degree of progress made in teaching music at primary and secondary schools in the region, and discuss new developments. The Voice further reports that "special focus will be placed in new primary school curricula being introduced in Jamaica and St. Lucia". Music teachers and other interested persons can contact the St. Lucia School of Music (tel. 452-2473) for programme and registration details.
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'Mr Consistency' collects 100 calypsos in book
The Mighty Pelay (Jeff Elva) has published a songbook with the lyrics of one hundred calypsos he has composed and sung - spanning some 32 years of being active as what has been dubbed St. Lucia's 'most consistent' calypsonian. "An invaluable work of prose on the social, political and cultural life of St. Lucia", judges The Mirror. The Voice adds to this that the book - titled 'Mr. Consistency' - is a "must-buy book destined to become a collector's item, when the history of the calypso art form in St. Lucia will have been chronicled". The Mighty Pelay has won five Calypso Monarch crowns, two Road March titles and once made it to Soca Monarch. Over the years, he has written a total of close to two hundred calypsos. The Mirror reports that included in the book are, amongst others, 'Some Women Nicer When They Free', 'Mister Watch Your Skin', 'Jump, Jump, Jump', 'If', 'Wrong Position', 'Ten of Them', 'Tribute to Roddy Walcott", 'Sweet Suzette', 'Merry Christmas St. Lucian Style', and 'Ce Tradicion Noel'.
The Voice adds that Pelay has over the years received the Belgrave Award for lifetime achievement in calypso, has been inducted in the St. Lucia Music Hall of Fame and has received the St. Lucia Piton Medal, Silver, "for his contribution to the calypso art form in St. Lucia and for being the first calypsonian in the world to produce a full-length 10-song-album of authentic Caribbean music".
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Bahais campaign to stem crumbling ethics
The Bahai Community of St. Lucia has organised a campaign during the summer months to help counter what it calls "the current state of increasing lawlessness, loss of respect for authority of any kind, and the decrease in the sense of morality and ethics among so many of our people". The summer campaign takes the form of classes for children, youths and adults where with games, songs and discussion and study groups, attention will be drawn to "virtues, attitudes, prayer and the soul, it's purpose and journey while on Earth". Classes take place from the 22nd of July until the 5th of August at the national Bahai Centre, 6 Clavier Road in Entrepot. Children's classes are from 11am till 12pm, and youth and adult groups from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. The Voice reports this.
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