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Quotes:
"If you give the policeman who fired the shot a civilized police force he will act in a civilized way. That is what we have to tackle, the structures of the society".
Lawyer Martinus Francois on the effects of institutional corruption (The Crusader, 18th Nov).
"But what an amazing difference just four years can make".
The Crusader on the warm welcome offered to former PM Sir John Compton by banana farmers in La Ressource, Dennery (18th Nov).
"I mean if these fellas want their drugs, who are we to stop them?"
Prison officer on a prisoner's allegation that some guards are responsible for bringing drugs into the prison (The Star, 18th Nov).
"From the above analysis it is clear that the crunch felt by small businesses was due to other factors, which may include increased competition, static management techniques or the existence of larger firms better placed to profit from the expenditure pattern of our wealth earners".
Reginald Darius on how "for the shortsighted and the myopic, [economic] transition appears like crisis" (The Star, 18th Nov).
"As a farmer you struggle all your life in bananas. When you reach 60 you have no pension, not a cent to look forward to. Yet you have a minister of government 23 years old, after 4 years in government she can claim thousands of dollars on pension. You think that's fair? ... Don't worry, when we get back into power I'll see to it none of them collect a cent. Let them take it to court if they want".
Sir John Compton addressing banana farmers in the Mabouya Valley (The Crusader, 18th Nov).
"There are now two new words which have lately been introduced into the Saint Lucian lexicon - 'Mismanagement' and 'Transition'."
One Caribbean editorial on prime minister Dr Anthony's claim that the economy is not in crisis but in transition (18th Nov).
"I am not supposed to speak with the media. The ministry has placed a gag on such things".
Staff member of Golden Hope Mental Hospital to reporter of the Wednesday Star (15th Nov).
"This government flatly refuses to close down radio or TV stations or shut down printing establishments. It does not use arms of the state to punish writers or broadcasters for going out of their way to embarrass it. It does not instruct advertisers on what media houses to do business with. It does not practise censorship".
Prime minister's press secretary, Earl Bousquet on how "immaturity and intolerence" allegedly threaten "media professionalism" (The Wednesday Star, 15th Nov).
"Another group of visitors who wished to see the volcano at Soufriere were taken as far as the hill on the approach to Anse-la-Raye. The driver stopped the vehicle, pointed to smoke coming from some area where some farmer must have been clearing a patch of ground, and informed his passengers that the volcano was 'playing up' that morning and it would not be safe to go there, then took them back to the capital".
One Caribbean on how tourists are sometimes duped (18th Nov).
"'Miss Augustin was St. Lucia's first female lawyer, but she was not allowed to practice because she was a woman'.
I did not know that, but I had heard about the number of children her brother, Elwin, had fathered. 'Forty-two, was it?'
'More than that', Mr. [Patrick] Joseph corrected. 'Over a hundred'.There was not much to occupy these people's leisure hours in those days, was the thought that occurred to me then. I recalled the woman in Patience to whom one of my cousins had introduced me some while aback. ... I was astonished to learn that she had brought nineteen children into the world. Nineteen! Yet she looked so healthy and strong as though she could easily have another dozen or so... No problem!"
Jacques Compton, reminiscing with ex-SLBC chairman Patrick Joseph, about "the people of the community who had made their contributions to agriculture" (One Caribbean, 18th Nov).
"According to the KPMG report, SLBC directors had advanced some money to Ranju when they were having difficulty making payments, thinking that Ranju was a subsidiary of SLBC. Investigations have since confirmed that Ranju is a completely independent company from SLBC. But further than that, 'advances' to Ranju were authorised without the knowledge of the [SLBC] Board. In all, SLBC 'lent' Ranju about $1.5 million".
The Mirror on one of the three issues uncovered in a preliminary audit by KPMG of the St. Lucia Banana Corporation, that could lead to criminal charges against ex-chairman Patrick Joseph (17th Nov).
"Ranju Farms, which is in fact a subsidiary of the SLBC and [one] in which Mr. [Patrick] Joseph has no shares, is the largest contributor to the volume of bananas exported from St. Lucia weekly and was established to replace the former Dennery Farmco after the latter continued to incur losses. Ranju reported it was now totally out of debt and 'operating in the black'."
PM press secretary Earl Bousquet on Ranju Farms (Wednesday Star, 15th Nov).
"Right now, farmers' heads are hot. They are finally rid of Patrick Joseph, the great banana revolutionary cum megalomaniac executive chairman. This was a man they supported through thick and thin and were greatly disappointed by. So it is perfectly understandable that after recent allegations of impropriety, farmers want blood. They want a lynching and a hanging. Most of all, they want a witch-hunt into all Joseph's business".
The Mirror editor, going on to advise farmers not to get carried away by the emotions described above, but to keep their eyes on their money instead (17th Nov).
"Imagine Ras Bongo Barefoot in St. Vincent being interviewed by Bloomberg or Ahead of the Curve talking with Varney or that freaky Brit Richard Quest when he asked: 'Now, Bongo, how do you think this election affects the agricultural futures in the Eastern Caribbean?'
'Well, fire burn all batty-man. What we project, seen, is that if Gore get elect, the agricultural industry in the Eastern Caribbean will increase, you overs? Because why? Gore is a man that has a long history of using our crops. And I don't mean Chiquita bananas".
Jason Sifflet 'Analekta' on the effects of the US presidential election (The Mirror, 17th Nov). |
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John Compton makes bid for farmers' support
'The Return of John Compton', clamours The Crusader in its Saturday edition, reporting on former UWP prime minister Sir John Compton's appearance in La Ressource in the Mabouya Valley, near Dennery, last week, where he met with banana farmers and seemingly staged his return to the St. Lucian political arena. In the words of Crusader reporter Tony Williams, John Compton has "once again made a bold and daring bid for the heart and soul of the Valley" - alluding to the day back in 1957 when a young John Compton led striking sugar workers in the Dennery Valley. According to both The Crusader and One Caribbean, John Compton was hailed by a large majority of some 150 farmers as "their dearly beloved Daddy Compton" - something which would have been almost unimaginable about four years ago.
According to the report in The Crusader, Compton did not hold any punches when it came to criticising the political record of the current St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) government. The response of the audience was "remarkable", writes The Crusader. "Except for a lone SLP supporter who proferred a couple of half-hearted objections to the ex-UWP leader's claims, not a single voice challenged Compton's assertions. Their silence was eloquent and far more resounding than Compton's vitriolic allegations. The meeting was fairly orderly, give or take a spattering of heated verbal exchanges. It was also a stark contrast to one held a week previously at the same venue by Prime Minister Anthony, with farmers from the area. Throughout most of that meeting, the Prime Minister, unlike Compton, came in for some tough grilling and at times was even hassled, by two men in particular, one of whom kept addressing him disdainfully as 'Kenny'. The same two turned up at the Compton meeting and were just as vocal, minus the aggression. Both addressed Compton respectfully as 'Sir John' or 'Misiay Compton'. The absence of voices sympathetic to the SLP, not just at the Compton meeting but increasingly during community discussions on bananas in the Mabouya Valley is what has many industry watchers from the area taken aback".
During the meeting, four resolutions were passed which Compton, together with Tropical Quality Fruit Company director Anthony Avril, promised to take to government. The first resolution asks that all five existing banana companies be united as a single company or association. The second resolution asks that government institute a prompt investigation into the affairs of the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC); the third that the government involves itself directly and up-front in the operations of that proposed company and the banana industry in general, while the fourth resolution calls on the government to "give prompt attention to the repairing and resurfacing of roads in the farming communities".
Compton has reportedly promised that similar meetings will be held in farming communities throughout the island, every Sunday for some months to come.
The report in The Crusader ends as follows: "So in the words of Sir John, the war has begun. But first things first. The first line of attack will be the sorting out of the SLBC. Followed by the great ingathering of the farmer diaspora. Now comes the sixty-four thousand dollar question. In the face of a concerted farmer revolt, can the government stand?"
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Chaotic SLBC meeting: criminal charges pending?
A great deal of shouting, disruption and chaos marked the extraordinary meeting of shareholders of the St. Lucia Banana Corporation, resulting finally in the physical expulsion by angry farmers of Robertson Henry, the man who held the proxy vote for ex-SLBC chief Patrick Joseph. Henry also may or may not have been mistaken for a freelance reporter. Nevertheless, last Monday's meeting did result in a management team being elected to carry on the day-to-day affairs of the SLBC until the 4th of December, when shareholders will meet again, to elect an interim board of directors for a six month-period. The team consists of chief accountant Dean Nicholas, company secretary Freemont Lawrence and farmer Ben Emmanuel.
Slated for the next meeting is a fuller discussion of the report by KPMG auditors into the alleged embezzlement of funds and other acts of corruption by former executive director and chairman Patrick Joseph.
A preliminary version of the the KPMG audit report was read out to farmers at Monday's meeting, but not until all members of the press had left the National Cultural Centre. Nevertheless, The Mirror reports on the contents of this report, calling it "sensational" and stating that it "seems to be confirming some of allegations aired publicly in recent weeks about the operations" of the SLBC. Furthermore, writes The Mirror, "if there is any misconduct found, as the audit proceeds, indications are that there will be no deals, no settlements, no private arrangements to protect anyone. As one director put it: 'Let the chips fall where they may. Justice must take its course'." And although it is too soon yet to say whether criminal charges will be laid against Patrick Joseph, The Mirror adds that "informed sources have pointed The Mirror to three main issues that could lead to a criminal case".
It is not clear yet whether the audit will go as far back as 1998 in its investigations, as the majority of farmers at Monday's meeting seem to have called for. All newspapers report on the extraordinary shareholders meeting.
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Marchers condemn silent accomplices to evil
"Less than two hundred" people marched on Tuesday afternoon from the Vendor's Arcade to Derek Walcott Square to call for 'Justice for All', to demand that inquests be held into the shooting deaths of Peter Hamilton and Marvin Joseph, and to protest against the increase in police brutality. A large proportion of the marchers were Rastafarians, while a number of prominent citizens such as Lorraine Williams, Martinus Francois, Peter 'Ras Ipa' Isaac, Rick Wayne, Lorne Theophilus and Colin Foster also participated and delivered speeches. The march came in the wake of a wide-spread sense of outrage at the shooting of Peter Hamilton, three weeks ago, by a policeman [see last week's news].
Participants in Tuesday's demonstration carried banners with phrases such as: 'A silent Government is an Accomplice to Evil'; 'Protect the Right to Life'; 'Government must be Accountable'; 'We have Waited Long Enough, Justice for All now'; 'Serve and Protect, not Search and Kill', 'Protection under the Law', and 'Is there a Safe Future for me, Mr. John?'.
The Crusader, One Caribbean, Mirror and Voice all carry lukewarm reports on Tuesday's march, calling the response "low" or "poor", remarking on its alleged "political twist", and querying its ability to achieve anything substantial. The Mirror carries a report by Jason Sifflet with the headline: "March For What?" and The Voice: "Reasons for March not quite Clear". One Caribbean runs an article entitled "Did the March Accomplish its Aims?" and ends it by saying: "What will follow the march is anyone's guess".
Only The Star refrains from questioning the purpose or success of Tuesday's event. The paper quotes several organisers and others who delivered speeches and emphasises the peaceful character of the march and the non-partisan, humanist concerns of its organizers. Human rights lawyer and organizer Mary Francis is quoted as saying: "There are many accomplices [to evil] in St. Lucia today because of their silence. We are here not to attack the police. We need the police and they need us to fight crime. Their wages are paid by our tax dollars and the police must be accountable to us. There is no justice in St. Lucia. Justice must prevail in the country. Justice transcends political parties. Justice is above party politics. When there is injustice in one place there is injustice everywhere. ... We must demand inquests. We will not rest until inquests are held". According to the newspaper, Mary Francis "called for more lawyers to join in the fight against injustice and on government ministers to account to the people of the country".
Rick Wayne, who also took to the microphone at Derek Walcott Square, repeated once again that Tuesday's march was not an 'anti-police' demonstration. "I am not standing here in a demonstration against the police. I am not speaking here against the police. I am here to demand inquests into the deaths of people killed by the police. The law demands that for every single person who died an unnatural death in St. Lucia an inquest be held. People are not chickens. When people die, there has got to be an answer for it".
In a commentary also published in The Star, former attorney-general Lorraine Williams remarks: "much has been made about the size of Tuesday's audience. Actually, I've attended political rallies that were smaller. ... I regret that Tuesday's gathering was not nearly as large as it should've been, considering the expressed purpose of the rally, but I was not at all surprised. When have we stood up in large numbers against matters that presumably affect only a minority not including ourselves? We congregate in mammoth numbers only when to do so is profitable, self-serving and, above all, safe".
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Mentally disturbed man kills one, wounds two
A 60-year-old woman is dead and another elderly woman and a policemen sustained injuries after a mentally disturbed Vieux Fort resident who earlier that day had escaped from Golden Hope Mental Hospital attacked them with a cutlass in a small shop in Richfond, Dennery. The tragic incident occurred last Saturday and has raised questions, once again, about the state of security at the island's only psychiatric institution. The accused had been detained by police officers in Vieux Fort on the previous Tuesday, after he had been found throwing stones at passers-by. From Vieux Fort, he was eventually transported to Golden Hope Hospital but he escaped on Saturday morning. After his indiscriminate attack on the two elderly women at Richfond, the accused was shot in the leg by a policeman. Following that, he still managed to wound an officer by throwing his cutlass at the man's leg. The 60-year-old died later that Saturday at Victoria Hospital after succumbing to her wounds. The Tuesday Voice, Wednesday Star and Mirror report this.
The issue of security at Golden Hope Hospital has been a moot one over recent months. On the 19th of August, The Star reported that minister of Health, Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, refused staff requests for increased security measures at the hospital, allegedly "because she does not want the hospital to turn into a prison". On 30th of September, two more security officers were assigned to the hospital but relations between hospital staff and the minister remained tense.
According to The Mirror, the parents of the accused Vieux Fort man blame the government for what has happened. "There is no reason why my son should be able to escape from the asylum. I'm blaming the Government for what my son did", the accused's father is quoted as saying. Golden Hope is currently investigating the accused's escape. A member of staff at the hospital, defying a gag order allegedly imposed on all hospital personnel by the ministry of Health, explained that the accused had been "calm" on the Saturday morning. The Wednesday Star reports this. The informant is quoted as saying: "What happened on Saturday was a regrettable incident. You really have to understand mental illness to know who is dangerous and who is not. After all, we cannot keep people chained, you know".
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Two duty-free barrels per household in 2000
Households in St. Lucia will this Christmas season be allowed to receive just two - not three - barrels from overseas without having to pay duty on the contents. The Thursday Voice reports this. According to the paper, "the reason behind the reduction is not clear although it has been touted in some circles that the reduction had to do with demography of households and the amount of money government loses as a result of the duty free status these barrels enjoy. ... Last year, the duties foregone on the barrels amounted to $800,000". The period for reception of the duty-free barrels runs from the 20th of November until the 31st of December 2000.
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Prisoners and guards bicker over conditions
Fifty-nine prison officers have signed a petition asking for the removal of Superintendent of Prisons Victor Pierre. The petition was presented to minister of Legal Affairs, Velon John, at a meeting on Wednesday. Last week, prison officers made headlines in The Star and The Voice with complaints about Pierre's alleged disinterest and inefficiency in running the prison. According to a spokesman, Wednesday's meeting had "a positive tone to it". Representatives of the Prison Officers Association are due to meet with the ministry again on Monday. The Star reports this. Meanwhile, in a separate article, the newspaper quotes several prisoners who claim that the prison officers themselves are a major part of the problems of unrest, violence and indiscipline within the institution. According to one inmate, a mentally disturbed young prisoner was beaten unconscious by one particular officer, while certain other officers allow drugs and weapons to be trafficked into the prison. An officer responded to the prisoners' accusations by saying: "We have so many frustrations to deal with at work and these fellas do so many things in that prison and then they are accusing us of doing wickedness. I cannot believe that". A prisoner, in turn, remarked: "Even if we are bad people, not all of us go to jail for hurting other people you know. We are human beings too". Another, serving eighteen months for theft, added: "We may have broken the law, but what is the use of putting men who do not even value human life to stand guard over us? Some of these fellas are very wicked and now they have the audacity to fight for better working conditions? They are no better than the super whom they are fighting so hard to remove".
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Linwall James to head Carnival Committee
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A.F. Valmont in Soufriere burns down to ground
Almost exactly one year after hurricane Lenny destroyed the Soufriere waterfront, the west coast town was once again visited by impending disaster when, on Thursday afternoon, just after 3 o'clock, smoke was discovered billowing from the roof of the building housing A.F. Valmont & Co. on Bridge Street. The fire brigade was quick to arrive on the scene but by then, the wooden building housing Valmont's hardware, lumber and drygoods was already ablaze. Nevertheless, the fire brigade managed to contain the fire to that building and saved the adjacent National Insurance building, the Allain family residence, the Home Hotel and the Seaview building from serious damage. The Voice reports this. According to the paper, general manager Arnott Valmont has confirmed that the building and all merchandise inside have been completely lost.
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Enthusiasts work towards Factory Arts theatre
"The only way to have good, sustainable theatre is to have a good, sustainable theatre space". So says Adrian Augier, theatre producer and cultural adviser to the government, who this week launched an appeal to raise one million EC dollars for the establishment of The Art Factory: a theatre dedicated to the sustenance and further development of St. Lucia's performing arts. The Star reports this. Augier's appeal comes at the end of a successful series of plays staged over the months of October and November, upstairs at the Eagle's Inn bar and restaurant, in Rodney Bay. According to Augier, the benefits of a proper theatre will be "considerable. It will link into education, tourism and community. ... To avoid a loss, we will have to have at least four major productions per year, each one running for a minimum of six to eight weeks. Smaller productions, events and workshops will occur around these". ... There is a great potential in the tourist industry. There are 17,000 hotel rooms within a mile radius of the site, also the prices will vary considerably according to who the particular production wishes to attract, I think tourists will respond very well to productions that showcase St. Lucian culture. St. Lucians will also respond to good quality productions. Filling the theatre and making it all possible is certainly possible".
So far, Augier has managed to summon expressed support from the ministry of Culture for the project, as well as a pledge by Sandals Resorts to contribute $500 per month for the next five years, a lot of land donated by Rodney Bay Ltd, and $100,00 from the French Embassy in equipment and funds. The government and CLICO have also been approached for donations and a subvention. The establishment of the Art Factory theatre would not only result in a venue for actors and theatre-lovers, but would present an opportunity for light and sound technicians, stage managers and directors to acquire and hone their skills.
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Temporary halt to mail-in US visa applications
St. Lucians wishing to apply for United States visas at the American Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, are reminded that the consular section will be closed on the 23rd and 24th of November for the Thanksgiving holiday, and that from 1st December 2000 until 1st February, 2001, mail-in visa applications will not be accepted. This is reported in The Star. According to the paper, this two-month period will be used "to eliminate the current backlog in order to reduce the visa processing time". It currently takes three to six months for the consular section to process mail-in visa applications.
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Englishwoman sent to prison for cocaine smuggling
A 20-year-old British woman was sentenced on Thursday to pay EC$100,000 or spend three years in jail, after she pleaded guilty to attempting to board a BWIA flight at Hewanorra airport carrying ten kilos of cocaine. She was arrested at the international airport in Vieux Fort on Tuesday afternoon. Following sentencing, the young Englishwoman was transferred to the women's prison in Castries.
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