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22nd September 2001

Sombre hoteliers to market St Lucia as 'safe haven'

Wide range of farmers unite to strengthen voices

Flood/Francis squabble obscures CDC residents' fears

St Jude Hospital temporarily without obstetrician

Alliance hierarchy manoeuvring behind the scenes?

Chris JnCharles' funeral on Monday at Anse la Raye

St Lucia's law books to be revised and reprinted

Holidaymakers vote LeSport best spa resort in world

'Historical' joint meeting on crime 'farcical absurdity'

Government TV station NTN starts on October 14th

October: Creole Heritage Month and Jounen Kwéyòl

 

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Quotes

"Maybe, if we had sat down and worked together, maybe the recent shooting incident in the CDC would not have happened".
Minister and parliamentary representative for Castries-Central Sarah Flood-Beaubrun on the impotence of authorities to end the violence in the CDC complex (The Star, 22nd September).

"I can only hold on to my faith and believe that everything happens for a reason and God wanted me to make it for a reason. I can only go through life now maximising all opportunities and not taking anything for granted".
Patrick DuRoseau, partner in Marnic Technologies Inc., a partly St. Lucian owned company with offices on the 93rd floor of the World Trade Center, tower two (The Star, 22nd September).

"Bam Bam was for once not crawling along the ground. He was walking along the Boulevard with rags wrapped around his swollen, infected feet".
Christine Larbey on street scenes in Castries in 'Just another day in Paradise' (The Star, 22nd September).

"It's closer than you think, it's nicer than you think, it's safer than you think".
Air Jamaica promotional slogan to entice North American tourists to visit Jamaica and the Caribbean (The Voice, 22nd September).

"'Before you go further, I don't give interviews to the STAR newspaper'. Asked why, the representative said: 'Well I mean, I have my reasons'."
Minister of Health and parliamentary representative for Castries-Central, Sarah Flood-Beaubrun to Star reporter (22nd September).

"We would do well to heed the old Lucian proverb that states, 'New brooms sweep clean, but old brooms know the corners'."
Laurent Jean Pierre on the pros and cons of age and experience in politicians (The Star, 22nd September).

"History repeats itself - first as tragedy, then as comedy. There is the spectacle of Odlum, abandoned once again, on the ragged rocks of his vaulted ambitions, once again, marooned and outmanoeuvred by Compton, and finally left to contemplate in splendid isolation, the desperation of his enterprise and to recognise - at the heart of his vision - the horror, that he almost visited on us".
Frances Dujon on the particularly unfortunate timing of Odlum's proposal to strengthen ties with Libya, one week before the terrorist attack on the United States (Wednesday Star, 19th September).

"Chris has been through so much it's probably time for some peace right now".
Family member of Chris JnCharles, a few hours before the girl passed away on Wednesday (Wednesday Star, 19th September).

"Fire officers are trained to be out of the fire station in half a minute. It takes the fire truck about half an hour to get down to Soufriere and it takes the average wooden house about eight minutes to be fully engulfed by fire. So the time factor is definitely working against us".
Chief fire officer Augustin Gaspard on continuing budgetary constraints facing the St Lucia Fire Service (Wednesday Star, 19th September).

"More than half of St Lucian men have it".
Tuesday Voice on benign prostrate hyperplasia (BPH), a disease with symptoms similar to prostrate cancer. BPH occurs in more than half the men over age 50 (18th September).

"I love Jamaica, but you love Jamaica for nothing".
Jamaican security officer asked if he would accept a job in the United States, following the attacks on September 11th. "Of course", she replied (Tuesday Voice, 18th September).

"There is nothing we can do to prevent the Muhammed Attas of the world from doing what they do. There is nothing we can say to make Americans and Europeans feel safe enough to fly to the Caribbean and get away from all that Taliban vs. the world madness. But ... we can start truly diversifying agriculture, tourism and the wider economy. We must. If we don't, all it takes is one Muhammed Atta, and we're sunk".
The Mirror editorial (21st September).

"It looks like it's about one pound of marijuana, but the fact is, if you can't trade one pound, how can you do bigger business?"
Policeman on the source of the continuing gang violence in the CDC complex (The Mirror, 21st September).

"I know a lot of you are distracted by the whole Osama bin bombing or whatever; but I just want to keep things in focus here for a minute. ... They should form an R&B group - Kenny and the Spin Doctors - if they were serious about making money on vacant, unoriginal soulless lyrics promising the sun, the moon and other stuff that does not belong to them. It would certainly be more marketable than sending Ras Bousquet on radio like Cappleton, screaming, 'Fyah bun, fyah bun!' anytime they're criticized".
Jason Sifflet (The Mirror, 21st September).

 

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Sombre hoteliers to market St Lucia as 'safe haven'

    Hoteliers, tourism officials, airline companies, taxi drivers, vendors, restaurateurs and others are anxiously monitoring the fallout from the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th. Some observers are already giving up on the 2001/2002 tourist season while others, though anticipating a slow-down, focus on recovery-mode marketing strategies instead. Thus far, two major conferences scheduled to be held in St Lucia have been cancelled resulting in the loss of some 500 hotel room bookings. Some hotel occupancy rates have dropped to a mere 10 to 14 percent, says president of the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) Berthia Parle in The Mirror, and tour operators are suggesting rate cuts of up to 40% to induce tourists to visit the island.
    Meanwhile, Air Jamaica reportedly lost US$11 million last week, when foreign carriers were unable to fly into the US during the four days following the terrorist attacks. Despite the "massive revenue losses", a spokesperson for Air Jamaica announced that no staff would be laid off and no routes will be cancelled as yet. The frequency on certain routes has however been reduced, and Jamaica's national carrier also faces increased security costs and a tripling of insurance rates. Virgin Atlantic, which will cut 1,200 jobs and reduce its trans-Atlantic flights by 20% in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, also continues to be faithful to its Caribbean destinations. "It's very much business as usual for the Caribbean", says Virgin's Caribbean manager Judith Wilcox in The Star. "We are retaining our five services a week to Barbados and on our winter schedule we will add additional services to St Lucia and Antigua". Regional carrier Caribbean Star announces in a number of newspapers that it is operating flights to all its destinations as normal - albeit with increased security checks. US Airways, which some weeks ago announced that it would start flying twice weekly directly to St Lucia from Pennsylvania, has not yet cancelled these plans, but tourism officials remain worried. Permanent secretary in the ministry of Tourism McHale Andrew says in The Star that "American Airlines, on the other hand, has indicated that any new plans they have, new flights in the winter, have now been put on hold". Sufficient airlift is one of the main headaches in maintaining the vitality of St Lucia's tourism industry. Berthia Parle, at a meeting last Tuesday with the minister of Tourism and other key players in the tourism industry, urged that a Regional Aviation Policy be agreed on. "As a result of the crisis, we are going to see major consolidations taking place in the marketplace between airline companies and tour operators and at the end of the day, the part of the world that is probably going to suffer more than anybody else would be the Caribbean", says Parle in The Star. Parle also called on the island's public utility companies - water, electricity and telephone - as well as the commercial banks to be lenient with hoteliers during this very difficult period.
    President of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), Barbadian hotelier Ralph Taylor, also foresees "a very difficult winter season" for the region's tourism industry, particularly if resulting military action involves the United Kingdom and other European countries. The Wednesday Star reports this. Taylor also wrote to the US President expressing the CHA's solidarity with the US and offering the CHA's full support to the airline industry in its request for financial assistance from the US Government, stating: "While even limited failure of the US airline industry would have devastating effects on an already sensitive American economy, for us in the Caribbean it would be terminal, dependent as we are on tourism for one in every four jobs and a contribution to GDP of more than 70% in some countries".
     The only speck of light at the end of the tunnel might lie in strategic marketing, says Berthia Parle in The Mirror. "We might have some advantages and opportunities. There aren't any definite plans and we have to be careful not to throw money around, but the Caribbean stands an excellent chance to recover form this. The biggest competitor we've had in tourism for the last few years is the Middle East - Egypt, Pakistan, countries like that. Not many people will want to fly over those areas very soon. The first step we have to take is to launch a PR campaign at some point. We have to portray the Caribbean as a safe, relaxing place. Of course, once we do that, we have to make sure it is really safe and that one incident doesn't come up and really damage us".
    The president of the Chamber of Commerce in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Martin Laborde, appears to agree with the view that through strategic marketing, the Caribbean region might to some extent turn the present global upheaval to its advantage. The Tuesday Voice reports Laborde as saying that he expects that more American tourists might like to visit the Caribbean after the terrorist attacks on their own country. Perhaps already ahead of the game in signalling that its islands are a 'safe haven', the government of St Kitts and Nevis is offering free holidays to firefighters, rescue workers and police involved in the search and cleanup effort in Washington and New York. "As a way of showing our own appreciation here in St. Kitts and Nevis, and giving recognition to these rescue workers, our local hotel and tourism sector, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, will offer them the opportunity to take a well-deserved vacation of up to one week at our local hotels free of cost on the completion of their tasks in New York and Washington," prime minister Denzil Douglas is quoted in a report by the Caribbean Media Corp.
    Coincidentally, a group of 37 travel agents and tour operators from the United Kingdom were in St Lucia this past week on what has been the largest familiarization trip to date. Maria Fowell, deputy director of the Tourist Board reports in The Voice that the visit has been "very successful" and that the feedback received has been "very good" as well.
    On Thursday, St Lucians across the country observed three minutes of silence in honour of the five thousand or more victims of the terrorist attacks on the United States, and vendors at the Vendors' Arcade in Castries held a short ceremony to commemorate the victims and their relatives. There is as yet no official confirmation of the number of St Lucians that may have perished in the attacks but the family of 38-year-old Felix 'Bobby' Calixte of Diamond, Soufriere, fear that he died in World Trade Center Tower One, where he worked on the 108th floor. Calixte was reportedly employed by BP Air Conditioning and had left for work that morning. He was single and had no children. Calixte was in the process of building a house in St Lucia and was preparing to return home after 16 years in the US. The Star reports this. Two other St Lucians might also be missing but the St Lucia consulate in New York cannot yet confirm this. The Star also carries the stories of the narrow escape of St Lucian Leo Robinson and Patrick DuRoseau, owners/partners in Marnic Technologies Inc., with offices on the 93rd floor of the World Trade Center Tower Two. DuRoseau, who made it down the stairs and elevator minutes before the second plane crashed into the tower, writes: "I am very blessed along with the others who made it out, but what dominates my mind night and day is not material things lost, or even making it out without a scratch, but the suffering of the families of all the people who didn't make it. I can only hold on to my faith and believe that everything happens for a reason and God wanted me to make it for a reason. I can only go through life now maximising all opportunities and not taking anything for granted".

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Wide range of farmers unite to strengthen voices

    With the banana industry on a downward trend and with the vulnerability of the tourism industry harshly exposed by last week's terrorist attack on the United States, St Lucia is revamping attempts to diversify its agricultural export economy. A major role in this is set aside for the St Lucia Agriculturalist Association (SLAA) - a 51-year-old institution whose membership and influence have dwindled seriously over the years but which is now set to make a come-back as the umbrella organisation for all farmers on the island. The Mirror reports this. Chairman Cuthbert Phillips (a former police commissioner) and his board of directors have reportedly taken a number of steps to place the SLAA at the controls of a truly diversified and vital agricultural industry in St Lucia. First of all, the SLAA is working at broadening its membership - which traditionally consists predominantly of cocoa farmers - to also include other farmers, coconut growers, bee keepers, livestock farmers, fishermen, horticulturists, agro processors and seamoss farmers. Producers of fruits, vegetables, peanuts, broilers, ground provisions, dairy products, corn and others- who as yet are not organised - will also be encouraged to make their voices heard through the SLAA, writes The Mirror. The plans reportedly have the full support of the ministry of Agriculture. Meanwhile, the SLAA's traditional work, that of purchasing and marketing cocoa and the sale of farm implements, animal feed, building materials and inputs for cocoa production, will not be neglected. Certainly, revitalization of the cocoa industry is high on the agenda of the SLAA. According to The Mirror, the organization once had 1500 members (as opposed to a mere 100 now), and continues to have "a lucrative market with an American concern, World's Finest Chocolates Inc. of Chicago, to purchase more than 200 tons of cocoa a year, but local production has slipped from 67.36 tons in 1992-93 to 15.32 tons this past year".
    Meanwhile, the ministries of Agriculture and Commerce have organized a national consultation on agro-industry for Thursday 27th September, at the conference centre at Indies. The meeting intends to bring together all persons interested in processing agricultural produce in St Lucia, so as to review the strategic approach to the development and diversification of agro-industry in St Lucia. The Star and Voice report this.
    A good example of promoting agricultural diversification in St Lucia was set this week by minister of Commerce Philip J. Pierre, who met with local poultry processors and the owner of the local Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise, Frank Keller, in a bid to bring the two parties together. KFC is reportedly the largest purchaser of chicken on the island, but in order to meet the fast-food chain's quality standards, local poultry processing techniques must to be brought up to a higher standard. "We are working with both parties to ensure a win-win situation for all", minister Pierre is quoted in the Thursday Voice. The Wednesday Star also reports on this.

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Flood/Francis squabble obscures CDC residents' fears

    Political bickering continues to frustrate the residents of the 'old' CDC buildings near Jeremie Street in Castries, who fear for their lives in an area which reportedly has become almost uninhabitable due to the continuing presence of drug-related violence. Similar problems also mar life in other CDC areas, including the one in La Clery where 23-year-old Michel Aimable was shot in cold blood on the evening of 15th September. He died later that night in hospital.
    While residents have been pressing for increased security and a 'clean-up' of their residential areas, parliamentary representative for Castries Central, minister of Health Sarah Flood, engaged in a public war of words with radio host and former press secretary Claudius Francis, as well his brother Peterson Francis, who is the chairman of the St Lucia Housing Authority - the authority which manages the CDC complexes. Some weeks ago, Peterson Francis had challenged Sarah Flood in a run-off for the Castries-Central constituency but he subsequently backed down, allegedly in the interest of 'party unity' within the ranks of the St Lucia Labour Party.
    This week however, Flood and Peterson Francis clashed once again, this time over the CDC issue. Flood maintains that she has attempted to convene meetings with all parties involved - residents, the police and the Housing Authority - but that specifically the management of the Housing Authority has "deliberately boycotted and stayed away from these meetings, thus retarding any tangible progress in the drive to effectively deal with the situation". The Thursday Voice reports this. The Housing Authority, in response, says it has never been invited to any meeting put together for this purpose. More fuel was put on the fire on Wednesday by Peterson's brother Claudius Francis during his radio show 'Straight Up', in which he reportedly vehemently attacked Sarah Flood, calling her attack on Peterson "scurrilous, vicious and vindictive". Claudius Francis also said that Sarah Flood is "too stupid, too swellheaded, too caught up in a self-imposed revenge mode to think straight". The Star reports this.
    Meanwhile, both The Mirror and Thursday Voice give elaborate descriptions of residents' trials and tribulations at the CDC buildings and attempt to analyse the various allegiances and conflicts that exist amongst the alleged troublemakers. One of the noted problems is the fact that in several cases, the troublemakers (or the young men that act as magnets that attract troublemakers from outside) are protected by residents or shopkeepers in the CDC who depend on these young men's drug dealing money to survive themselves.

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St Jude Hospital temporarily without obstetrician

    Women at the south of the island who are nearing the end of their pregnancy were told this week to travel to Castries, as St Jude's Hospital in Vieux Fort could not offer the services of a gynaecologist/obstetrician. The hospital announced earlier this week that until October 4th, the Gynaecology and Obstetrics unit would be closed because of the unavailability of a qualified physician. Meanwhile however, minister of Health Sarah Flood has issued a directive for the immediate hiring of a suitable doctor to fill the post. Flood added that she had not been forewarned of the hospital's decision to send women about to go into labour to hospitals in Castries, and that the decision was "inappropriate ... in light of her Ministry's recent strides to fill so many vital areas with competent health professionals". The Tuesday and Thursday Voice report this.
    But The Star confirms that St Jude hospital has been without the appropriate medical personnel on several previous occasions in the recent past, so that a woman in the early stages of labour has had to be sent up to Castries. Dr David Brsitol, medical director of St Jude, explains that by making a public announcement, the public would know not to come to St Jude, and not to panic. The Star adds that from this coming week, a rotation schedule using doctors from Castries will be adopted to ensure the presence of an obstetrician at all times, at all hospitals on the island.
    St Jude hospital has served the south of St Lucia for some thirty years, lately under the management of Mercy Hospital of the United States. From December this year, however, management of the hospital is due to be transferred to the government of St Lucia. Only recently, both minister Flood and press secretary Earl Bousquet boasted publicly of the allegedly improved quality of healthcare on the island. Much fuss was made also some months ago about the alleged refurbishment of the maternity ward at Victoria Hospital, shortly before minister Flood was herself due to deliver her first baby.

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Alliance hierarchy manoeuvring behind the scenes?

    No official word has come this week but tension at the top of the National Alliance for Unity appears to continue - as do rumours that either Sir John Compton or George Odlum is on his way out. Alternatively, there are signs that might indicate a separation between a segment of Alliance supporters on the one hand, and United Workers Party stalwarts on the other.
    The first clear indication that there is an incompatibility of ideology between Sir John and George Odlum came two weeks ago over the issue of ties with Libya. In the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States, Sir John explicitly re-stated his long-held stance against establishing diplomatic ties with the North African state which has in the past been associated with terrorism, while George Odlum had just a few days earlier spoken out in support of the same. Historically, Odlum has close personal and political ties with Libya, whereas Sir John's allegiances have always been more with North America and the West. As the attack on the US suddenly and unexpectedly moved the Libya question from the academic to the acute, voices at the head of the National Alliance were heard to state that the issue would need to be resolved - if need be by the removal of one or other of the co-leaders.
    Last week, George Odlum appeared to find himself in the weaker position, due to the particularly unfortunate timing of his explicit support for Libya, mere days before the attack on the US
    [see last week's news]. This week, however, the Wednesday Star reports that there are "insider reports that on Sunday former leading members of the UWP had decided with Odlum and others that Sir John, president of the Alliance, be removed". One of the men present at this meeting was reportedly UWP opposition member, Louis George. Reportedly absent from that Sunday's meeting were Alliance vice-president and UWP leader Dr Morella Joseph, as well as deputy UWP leader Zephirin Francis.
    On Tuesday, the Alliance held a public meeting in Micoud. Absent again were Sir John and Dr Morella Joseph but a surprise appearance was made by Charlotte Mangal, the former SLP senator who was fired two years ago together with Rick Wayne and Patrick Joseph over the Helen Air issue. Nothing was announced at Tuesday's meeting concerning Sir John's position within the National Alliance, however. Meanwhile, Sir John, Dr Joseph and deputy leader Zephyrin Francis are reported to have met on the same day, Tuesday, in Castries, at the UWP headquarters. Again, it is not clear what transpired at this meeting but what is becoming clear is that the rumours and conflicting views within the Alliance's leadership does little to enhance confidence with the voting public.
    Finally, Dr Joseph in the Thursday Voice endorses Sir John Compton's position on Libya - albeit implicitly - when she urges St Lucia not to associate itself "with countries that are known to afford safe havens to terrorists, involved in the training of terrorists or those that provide them with the funds, technical competence and the base within which to coordinate their activities. ... In light of recent developments, following the terrorist attacks on the United States, let us in St Lucia be cautious in choosing our international friends, because our very existence may depend on it".

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Chris JnCharles' funeral on Monday at Anse la Raye

    Chris JnCharles has died. The young girl from Anse la Raye who captured the hearts of St Lucians and had many rallying to her cause at a particularly traumatic time for the country as a whole, shortly after the Cathedral murders, passed away just three days before her thirteenth birthday. Chris had returned from a life-saving operation in Barbados a couple of weeks ago in good spirits and hopeful that the malignant brain tumour that had almost taken her life last February, had been conquered for good. But it was not to be. The tumour returned three weeks ago with a vengeance, and Chris was taken ill so quickly and seriously that this time, she was not even travel to Barbados for additional surgery. Her health deteriorated quickly last week and she died on Wednesday at Victoria Hospital, surrounded by friends and family. The Wednesday Star and Star report this. Her funeral will be held on Monday at Anse la Raye. It was announced that the money collected for her surgery and rehabilitation will be put towards the funeral expenses. The Star quotes a family member as saying, shortly after Chris' death: "I thank God that she no longer has to suffer. The last days of her life were a great struggle. When she was able, she often talked about being surrounded by angels and her favourite music. When she was in hospital in Barbados the staff and people there nicknamed her Angel. Other called her Chrissy Bird. She was so bright and chirpy even when the going got really tough".
    All are invited to the funeral.

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St Lucia's law books to be revised and reprinted

    St Lucia's six volumes of laws are to be revised for the first time since 1957. After a reported four years of negotiating, the government this week signed an agreement with the British law printing firm of Eyre and Spottiswoode, who will undertake the immense task. The revision, proofreading, printing and publishing of the Revised Laws is expected to take three years. According to attorney general Petrus Compton in the Wednesday Star, the revised edition will reflect new taxation and foreign investment laws, an update of the criminal code which dates back to the 1920s, and law treaties on drug trafficking and money laundering, human rights, tourism, environmental issues and family and social services.

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Holidaymakers vote LeSport best spa resort in world

    LeSport Resort at the far northern tip of St Lucia has been voted the number one overseas destination spa in the world by readers of Conde Nast Traveller magazine. The highly prestigious award places LeSport squarely in the limelight, particularly as LeSport also features in the top 10 of the Best of the Best in Travel - a list of the best hundred things in travel among destinations, hotels, airlines, cities and other products. Of the entire Caribbean, only St Lucia and Barbados featured in the Best of the Best. The Conde Nast Traveller award for its spa is the crowning glory for the hard work done by LeSport's owner/manager Craig Barnard and his team of staff at LeSport Resort. Readers judged LeSport the best based on criteria of location, ambience, environmental friendliness, service and staff, standards and comfort of accommodation, range of treatments, food and restaurants, facilities and activities and value for money. Both The Voice and Star report this. Last year, Conde Nast Traveller voted restaurant TAO at LeSport among one of the top 60 tables in the world. The secret of LeSport's success lies in "training, training and more training, to become better, better and better", says Craig Barnard in The Star. "It is the quality of the work of our staff that makes the vacation experience such a positive one", explains Barnard. "This is what earned us our award, and our staff should be proud of this achievement. In this time of serious economic downturn and the very real problems facing the tourism industry as a whole, this has been very good news, indeed - not just for LeSport, but for the whole of St Lucia. LeSport is a prestige property and it can only help St Lucia to be recognised as a prestige tourism destination".

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'Historical' joint meeting on crime 'farcical absurdity'

    What was announced by prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony last June to become "a historical meeting", namely a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives "specifically to debate the issue of crime and to engage all political parties and interest groups in deepening the solutions that we are going to implement against this scourge", is described in this week's Voice as "a farcical absurdity". Following months of outbursts of violence and crime in the country, Dr Anthony in June addressed the nation, announcing more SSU presence at "known troublespots" and stricter penalties for firearm-related crimes.
    Last week's joint sitting of parliament was to have analysed the root of the escalated crime situation, as well as proffer possible solutions. None of the other newspapers even report on the joint sitting, and The Voice's editor is very disparaging of what took place at the House of Assembly. "This absurdity, coming some four years and five months into the five year term of office of the St Lucia Labour Party Government, will not produce any meaningful solutions that could be implemented with a view to solving the problem of crime, drugs and unemployment in St Lucia. The Government, undoubtedly wasted the meager resources of our people in staging this exercise in futility earlier this week. For a Government that campaigned on and boasted that it had the innovative social and economic solutions and answers to crime and poverty, drugs and truancy in St Lucia, it certainly failed miserably. The Government of the Labour Party, has yet to demonstrate that it has, or ever had, the answers or the ability to get a firm grip on the crime situation here, This Government has spent more on recruiting police officers, more on buying vehicles for the Royal St Lucia Police Force, more on promoting certain officers and more on training, and all the while the level of crime has been steadily rising in this country. ... And this debate, so untimely, and coming so late in the life of the Labour Government, cannot be viewed with the seriousness that ought to address crime in St Lucia".

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Government TV station NTN starts on October 14th

    St Lucia will get its third national television station on 14th October, with the launching of the National Television Network (NTN), the island's first ever government television station.
    A trial phase of NTN ended recently, and the station will start permanent broadcasting next month, through the local cable TV system, Cablevision, on channel two. According to an article in The Star, NTN "was born out of the need to produce quality local programming in diverse areas, for broadcast to the wider community. The content will include the regular day to day programmes produced by the Government Information Service", as well as "high quality television programmes and films from other government agencies, local independent producers as well as regional and international public and private sector and non-governmental organisations". NTN's launching ceremony is set to take place at the prime minister's official residence at Vigie.

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October: Creole Heritage Month and Jounen Kwéyòl

    A wider range of organisations than normal is involved in staging this year's activities to celebrate Creole Heritage Month, in October. The Helen Folk Dancers are organising the Junior La Wenn Kwéyòl competition on Sunday 7th October at the National Cultural Centre for kids between the ages of 8 and 11. From October 12th to 19th, the Heritage Tourism Programme will host a week of activities at its various sites around the island, and the Department of Culture is in charge of organising a National Storytelling Festival. The Pavilion Royal Museum of Government House will be the venue for the Creole Garden Party, on Sunday 21st October. Jounen Kwéyòl is celebrated islandwide this year on Sunday 18th October, with major activities in the communities of Monchy, Canaries, Desruisseaux and Choiseul. The overall organisation of the festival continues to be in the hands of the Folk Research Centre.

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