|
Copra factory fined EC$4,000 for river pollution
The Soufriere coconut oil factory has been found guilty of polluting the Soufriere River, killing thousands of fish, in an incident which occurred some weeks ago. The Coconut Growers Association (CGA), which owns and operates the copra factory, has been fined four thousand dollars. This is reported in two separate articles in the Tuesday Voice. The factory is further required to develop and implement an appropriate waste management plan to avoid repetition of the environmental disaster. This was announced by the department of Fisheries within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. The department based its ruling on two reports investigating the fish kill in the river: one executed by the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute, and the other by the Environmental Health branch of the ministy of Health. Both reports identified the substances found in the river on the day of the fish kill as being consistent with waste from the factory's outfall. According to the department of Fisheries, the coconut oil factory breached section 45 of the Fisheries Regulations no.9 of 1994. The four thousand dollar fine and the requirement to develop a waste management plan followed a meeting between the department of Fisheries, the Environmental Health branch, and officials of the CGA.
In a separate article, the Tuesday Voice further maintains that the ministry of Health, in its turn, has established that the factory contravened public health recommendations. The newspaper quotes a source at the ministry, who claims that the factory does not properly store any of its waste material. According to this article, the ministry is now making certain broad recommendations to the factory for the proper management of its waste. Meanwhile, Joe Allain, general manager of the copra factory, continues to insist that the factory did not dispose of any of its waste in the river, the Tuesday Voice reports.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Police and justice system under attack at start of Law Week '99
At a time when the St. Lucia Bar Association is launching its first-ever 'Law Week '99' - in an attempt to bridge the gap and foster greater ties between lawyers and the general public - both The Mirror and The Star newspapers this week carry reports on instances where, it is claimed, the island's police and judicial systems fail the public. In an article headed 'Long wait for justice', The Mirror explores the case of restaurateur Raphael Lord who, after 22 months and 36 court adjournments, is still waiting for a court of law to decide whether charges levelled against him after he defended himself against two attackers in January 1998, should be sent up to the High Court. In a broadcast of television talkshow 'NewsMaker Live', president of the Bar Association, Dexter Theodore this week explained that a lack of magistrates is partly responsible for the backlog of cases. Some cases have been adjourned, for various reasons, since the mid-1980s, and are still pending, Theodore and his sidekick, Ms. Brender Portland, stated. Meanwhile, The Star this week features an article by St. Lucian/Martiniquan television reporter Caroline Popovic, in which she describes two separate first-hand accounts of what she claims is police brutality. Both alleged incidents took place on Friday of last week, one at the Castries docks after the arrival of the Martinique ferry, and the other at the 'Spirit of Unity' concert in Marchand.
Meanwhile, the government released a statement this week revealing that there have been "marginal decreases in most categories of serious crimes in the first six months of 1999, as against the same period last year". At the same time, the government expresses concern over the fact that with regard to crime "there is still a lower rate of police detection, which has just not improved". This is reported in One Caribbean and The Mirror.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
St. Lucia spared hurricane Jose - Antigua sustains direct hit
Schools were closed and many people engaged in last-minute shopping for canned foods, batteries, candles and bottled water when, for some time, it looked as if hurricane Jose would hit the island, on Tuesday night. In Black Mallet, several residents were urged to evacuate their homes, which had already sustained damage as a result of recent land slippages due, it is alleged by engineer Pat Brown, to construction work on the Castries River wall. By Tuesday afternoon, however, it became increasingly evident that the eye of hurricane Jose was set on a more north-westerly course. Nevertheless, preparations and warnings continued on Tuesday night, as the Disaster Preparedness Committee and government officials continued to warn about heavy thunderstorms, rain and flooding. Luckily for St. Lucia, however, besides some heavy showers on Tuesday afternoon, little else followed to even indicate the presence of a hurricane in the Eastern Caribbean. Further to the north, however, Antigua sustained a direct hit on Wednesday from about 11 am onwards. Hurricane Jose cut electricity and water services on the island, with winds reaching speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h), accompanied by tremendous showers of rain. Northern Guadeloupe was also effected to some extent, with inches of rain being dumped overnight. But instead of continuing on its north-westerly course, after hitting Antigua, hurricane Jose curved north, north-east off into the Atlantic Ocean. The Thursday Voice is the only newspaper to carry a report on the hurricane. For more information about conditions in Antigua, click here.
Meanwhile, The Star this week carries a long report by engineer Pat Brown in which he explains the origin of various forms of land slippage, such as that currently affecting several homes in Black Mallet. Over the last week, cracks in houses and roads have widened, and an entire wall of one house has now crumbled. Pat Brown blames the land slippage on excavation work undertaken at the 'toe' of a hill for the construction of the river wall which, he alleges, was not properly backfilled, thus causing slippage of land further up the hill in Black Mallet. He suggests undertaking immediate remedial work, consisting of a properly designed reinforced concrete counterfort retaining wall, cast with a kicker of at least four feet in height, and compacting of earth at the back of the kicker wall at intervals of two feet in height. This is reported in The Star. Meanwhile One Caribbean highlights an appeal made this week by human rights organisation 'The Aldet Centre', which calls on government to speed up an unbiased investigation into the land slipping, for the sake of residents.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
New board for SLBC - gov't keeps "deliberate distance"
On Monday 25th October, shareholder farmers are to vote in a new executive for the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) at an extraordinary meeting to be held at the NDC factory shell at Union Industrial Estate. The meeting follows the voluntary resignation of all seven members of the Board of Directors last week, following a power struggle between leaders of the Banana Salvation Committee (BSC) and SLBC executive chairman Patrick Joseph [see last week's news].
The Mirror reports most extensively on the banana issue this week. David Vitalis provides a background analysis in which he argues that: "farmers must understand that no group of directors and managers can find overnight solutions to the structural problems and externalities that affect the regional banana industry. Whether their managers are Government or SLBC-sponsored they alone cannot guarantee an economical market price for bananas. That can only be determined by how much control the local industry can exert on the international banana business".
Meanwhile, for the first time, this week, the SLP government has broken its silence on the ongoing unrest between the two leaders. Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, in a press release, states: "The Government has kept a deliberate distance from the unfolding SLBC leadership campaign as this is not the time for heavy-handed government intervention. ... Leadership of the SLBC is a matter entirely for the shareholder farmers to decide. ... Government's primary interest remains an economic one. We are ultimately concerned that this campaign should restore stability in an industry that is at the heart of the economic well-being of our country. It is our hope that the election of a new board will proceed peacefully and that the results will be accepted without rancour or fear of reprisal and that the outcome will be respected as the voice of [the] majority of shareholders". This is reported in The Star. One Caribbean condemns the government's attitude of non-interference, calling it "serious dereliction and neglect of responsibility".
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Piaye residents prevent WASA from mining sand on beach
Residents of the southern village of Piaye on Tuesday temporarily prevented trucks operating on behalf of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) from taking sand from the Piaye beach. With two of their own residents having been arrested in recent weeks for illegally mining sand from the beach, residents were angered at what appeared to be a similarly illegal action on the part of WASA. However, permanent secretary in the ministry of Communications and Works, Joseph Alexander, explains in The Star that the entire incident was the result of poor communications between WASA and the Piaye residents. WASA was, in fact, issued a permit to mine a certain amount of sand at Piaye, as part of the island's disaster preparedness initiatives. "We were expecting [hurricane] Jose to hit and WASA needed the sand to use in the water filtration system to help in purifying the water", the Star quotes Alexander. "At no time was this sand going to be sold or used for any other purpose than purifying drinking water for the entire island". Piaye beach was selected because of its high silica content. Part of Piaye residents' indignation was over the fact that WASA had allegedly come from Micoud to take sand from Piaye beach. Although a sandmining monitoring committee exists in Piaye, this was not informed of WASA's permit to mine sand for purification purposes. Alexander is quoted : "It was not done properly. ... Perhaps in their haste to get the sand to the treatment plant due to the pending storm, WASA failed to communicate properly and this should not happen again". Following explanations from an official of the ministry of Communications and Works, peace has been restored in Piaye once more.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Mabouya farmers urged to pay up
Farmers who obtained lands under the Mabouya Valley Project - started in 1993 - are being urged to pay up a total of $2,693,216 which they owe to the government of St. Lucia in arrears on land payments. A total of 163 farmers participate in the Mabouya Valley program, which is a joint attempt by the European Union and the government to assist people in the area to own land for agricultural purposes and for building homes. Minister of Agriculture, Cassius Elias, at a meeting this week warned those farmers who have not been making their monthly payments that if they don't pay up, they will lose their lands. Elias also said that government intends to cooperate with the farmers, "but they must demonstrate their commitment" in return. This is reported in The Voice.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Beach-side public park between Hyatt and Pigeon Island Park
Work has begun on a recreational park in the area between the new Hyatt Hotel and the Pigeon Island Park. The park, which falls under the responsibility of the National Conservation Authority (NCA), is intended to provide a quiet beach-side area for picnics and family-oriented activities - free of charge. This goal is in line with the NCA's mandate: "to maintain or develop a beach or protected area or public access to a beach or protected area", the Tuesday Voice writes.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Police station for Marchand underway
Work is scheduled to get underway next week for the construction of a police station in Marchand. An old, derelict building on the designated site will be demolished this week. Construction work is expected to take 32 weeks. Meanwhile, refurbishing of police stations in Gros Islet and Soufriere has been completed, while the refurbishment of stations in Anse la Raye, Canaries, Choiseul and Laborie will be put up for tender in six weeks' time. The Star reports on this.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
OECS and France agree to extradite criminals
Criminals from France seeking refuge in any member state of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States or in Martinique or Guadeloupe, or vice versa, can soon count on being extradited to their country of origin to face charges laid against them. An agreement which is intended to facilitate extradition of criminals between France and the OECS is currently being drawn up. To this end, Petrus Compton, St. Lucia's Attorney General, and eight OECS colleagues are meeting with French officials in Castries, this week. When the agreement is finalised, the participating nations commit themselves to assisting each other by taking statements from witnesses, and providing certain documents from banks and insurance companies. The Star carries a report on the agreement.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Local sheep and goat production boosted
To develop the production and marketing of local goats and sheep - that is the aim of a project undertaken last year by the St. Lucia Rural Enterprise Project (SLREP). To this end, SLREP last week started an island-wide survey, in collaboration with the ministry of Agriculture, in order to identify and register sheep and goat producers. The survey will determine the overall status of production of these species - officially known as 'small ruminants' - and also determine the number of animals of various ages which are currently available for breeding and slaughter.
In the past year, SLREP, with technical assistance from the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Insititute (CARDI) has been executing so-called feeding-trials on eight farms from Gros Islet in the north to Black Bay in the south, to investigate the possibilities of feeding small ruminants from locally available material. Results are said to be a resounding success. In the next phase of the project, SLREP will test the local market by supplying it with the meat of sample animals.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
US consular section to close last day of every month
Beginning on Friday 29th October, the consular section of the United States embassy in Barbados will close for visa services on the last working day of every month. This is being done to enable staff to handle the necessary administrative responsibilities. The section will however continue to provide American Citizens Services on that day. This is reported in the Tuesday Voice.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
National education campaign on HIV/AIDS
St. Lucia at present has 240 registered cases of the deadly virus infection AIDS - but unofficial numbers are likely to be higher. A national education campaign, undertaken by the ministry of Health, will get underway on 1st November, when a workshop on HIV/AIDS will be held involving all sections of society. The first case of AIDS in St. Lucia was recorded in 1985. The disease is taking its toll on young men, women and children on the island, according to the ministry of Health. This is reported in One Caribbean.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
|
