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23rd September 2000

Casino law to pass House of  Assembly

Old familiar faces return to helm of UWP

Jamie Peterkin wins his heat in 50m freestyle

Strip-searched employees demand compensation

TQFC says it can spray fields for 2.62 cents/lb

Brits donate funds for C'bean police training

Fuel prices under mounting pressure

Elias: no more taxpayers' money to bananas

St. Lucia soon to go metric

Boo Hinkson soon viewed by 50 million worldwide

Seven drug dealers fined total of $189,000

Bar promises: legal aid for poor underway

Privy Council makes hanging almost impossible

Petrus Compton and top policeman face court again

Golden Hope and BTC clamour for more security

Fishpot theft regulated; sea eggs on rise

Certified tourist taxi drivers smarten up

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Quotes:

"I can only say that between Fr. St. Rose and I, one of us is lying".
Press secretary Earl Bousquet denying Father Lambert St. Rose's claim that the government had imposed high customs charges, making it impossible for the church to take containers allegedly containing food for the poor, off the docks (The Star, 23rd September).

"No longer will taxi drivers be allowed to drive barefoot. They are required to wear dress shoes, boots or sneakers and cannot use any abusive language or insulting gestures to passengers, fellow drivers or hotel or cruise representatives".
The Star on the ministry of Tourism's policy to smarten up tourist taxi drivers (23rd September).

"People sometimes express surprise when I say I don't play an instrument. They don't seem to realise that not every blind person has to be a musician".
Anthony Avril, director of the Blind Welfare Association on the plight of disabled people in St. Lucia (The Star, 23rd September).

"Finally, it is very embarrassing to allow a government which is composed of Sesame Street characters (eg, Big Bird-Kenny, Cookie Monster-Mario, Ernie and Bert-Philip Pierre and Francois, and the minister of Know-Nothing - Rambally, etc) to continue masquerading on the pretext of intellectuals".
Therold Prudent from New York, writing on the alleged inability of the SLP government to make the transition from opposition to administration (The Star, 23rd September).

"I would like people to understand that what I do is no longer about me, the money or the fame, but I am trying to be a good ambassador for my country as a whole".
Ronald 'Boo' Hinkson (The Mirror, 22nd September).

"We are a people whose throats have been lubricated by the habitual eating of okras: we will swallow anything".
Victor Marquis on St. Lucians' willingness to accept government claims that its hands are tied with respect to the electricity rates charged by LUCELEC since a law states that the electricity company has a guaranteed profit margin for eighty years (The Voice, 23rd September).

"I never felt so scared in my life before".
Jamie Peterkin, looking back on preparing to swim the 50 meter freestyle at the Olympic Games in Sydney. The 18-year-old St. Lucian finished first in his heat (various newspapers, 22nd and 23rd September).

- "Carnival (n) - the only time when anyone cares about freedom of expression, which is usually in the form of some out-of-shape idiot wanting to expose himself".
- "Computer (n) - a machine usually blamed when parolls are late".
- "Consultant (n) - one who informs us that the best way to invest our money is on him, and on the advice he gives for the investment of our money".
- "Country (n) - anywhere outside Castries".
- "Courtship (n) - trying to win the affections of women with a medium cherry-coke and a roti or fried chicken".
- Crime (n) - the fastest growing industry in the private sector".
- "Culture (also spelt 'kolcha' (n) - any social event made special by the serving of beer and barbeque chicken. High culture, however, includes the forementioned items and scanty-clad young women".
Irvin Anthony's dictionary which "accurately defines words, or at least certain words we use in St. Lucia" (One Caribbean, 23rd September).

The Constitution of St. Lucia

Budget 2000 speeches

Casino Survey Report

Full Text of  Blom-Cooper inquiry report

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REGIONAL:

Casino law to pass House of Assembly

    The Gaming Control Act, which will permit casino gambling in St. Lucia, is due to be passed through the House of Assembly this Tuesday, when it is expected to go through all the final stages of reading. A first reading of the bill took place earlier this year. In response, the United Workers Party (UWP) issued a press release which is printed in The Voice, calling on prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony "to withdraw the proposed legislation on casino gambling until the public consultations are completed and the wishes of the St. Lucian public have been ascertained".
    The opposition UWP also maintains that "the government is proceeding with this legislation on gambling with the utmost secrecy in an effort to force the measure on the St. Lucian public". The UWP says it would like to see the government perform "widespread consultation, involving all interest groups, to determine the wishes of St. Lucians on this sensitive issue".
    Late last year, government revealed the outcome of a survey on St. Lucians' attitudes to gambling, which showed that a majority of people were in favour of legalising gaming. Doubt was raised, however, as to the statistical relevance of that survey, considering that the number of persons questioned represented only a tiny fraction of the population (508 respondents or less than one half of the population). Also, the survey was apparently conducted in 1998, while the public debate did not start until well into 1999.
    [Read survey report]
    Whilst in opposition, the St. Lucia Labour Party had vehemently opposed the then UWP-government's plans to introduce gaming. Prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony last April stated in The Star that when properly regulated, St. Lucia will be able to exploit all of the benefits of gaming without itself being exploited, as is feared by several sectors of society. At the time, Dr. Anthony also said that he expected casino gaming to contribute about $700,000 to the government coffers in its first year of operation. Last April, the Hyatt Regency had already applied for a license and both the Sandals Group and the Islander Hotel have expressed an interest. Hyatt management announced in April that once legislation is in place, it should take three months to train staff and get the casino operational. According to general manager Dale McDaniel, a full casino at the Hyatt will provide employment for an additional 150 people.

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Old familiar faces return to helm of UWP

    Dr. Vaughan Lewis was nominated unopposed for the leadership of the United Workers Party (UWP) at the Delegates Conference held last Sunday in La Ressource, Dennery. His main and unexpected opponent, Lorraine Williams, withdrew her challenge just two days before the conference [see last week's news] and over the weekend, deputy leader Dr. Morella Joseph also voluntarily declined nomination for the post of leader. This left the way clear for Dr. Lewis to be nominated as leader of the UWP.
    Dr. Lewis acted as prime minister after taking over the UWP leadership from Sir John Compton in 1996. Lewis then served for less than a year before his party was soundly defeated in the general elections of April 1997 by the St. Lucia Labour Party, in a 16-1 win.
    Following the UWP's defeat, there have been several calls on the party to rejuvenate itself and change the faces occupying its top positions. Last Sunday's nominations, however, do not indicate that this advice has been heeded. Sunday's outcome leads Mirror reporter Jason Sifflet to predict that: "Unless something completely unforeseen takes place over the next two years ... the party will continue floundering in fertile soil". Furthermore, considering the mounting dissatisfaction with the SLP government, says Sifflet: "many people think that they are not going to be able to cast a satisfying vote, come the next election". Hence, he predicts low voter turn-out. "Non-partisan voters go in search of mythical third political parties, vultures peck at the brave souls who call themselves independents and the incumbent wins almost by default".
    This week's Star carries an article by Claudius Francis, in which he concludes: "even the most jaundiced UWP will not admit that Sunday's conference left their party in more disarray than ever". Francis also writes that "the UWP appears to have learnt nothing from its poor showing more than three years ago. Democracy is not only about the right to seek elective office. Democracy is not simply the ability to hold elections at regular intervals. And democracy is certainly not about imposing oneself on others. What took place on Sunday, while it appeared democratic, was instead a well-orchestrated charade. What took place on Sunday was no reflection of the wishes and the aspirations of the UWP rank and file".
    But UWP general secretary Stephenson King emphasises in the Wednesday Star that Dr. Lewis clearly has the confidence of the delegates who nominated him. "[P]eople felt that there was a better way to have him come into the party leadership but at the end of the day the party rallied behind him. The public got the notion that [in 1996] Dr. Lewis was imported and just made prime minister. They thought that John Compton was still very influential in the party's decision-making process and was still wielding a certain level of power and there was some resistance to that. ... I am not making excuses for Dr. Lewis but one year is not enough time to judge a gentleman's performance and to engender confidence in him".
    Other nonimations made at last Sunday's UWP conference are: Eldridge Stephens and Rufus Bousquet for chairman, Rufus Bousquet, Bain Nathaniel and Michael Flood for first deputy chairman, Ms. Angel Brouet and Michael Flood for second deputy chairman, and Dr. Morella Joseph, Karl Daniel and Zepherine Francis for deputy political leader.
    The UWP will hold its 31st Annual Convention and Island Council meeting on Sunday 15th October, in Vieux Fort South. The Tuesday Voice reports this.

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Jamie Peterkin wins his heat in 50m freestyle

    Swimmer Jamie Peterkin on Thursday morning won his heat of the Men's 50 metres freestyle at the Olympic Games in Sydney, setting a new national record (25.91 seconds) and achieving a new personal best - although he failed to secure a place in the next round. Nevertheless, the 18-year-old St. Lucian achieved the goal he had set himself beforehand and certainly warmed the hearts of St. Lucians at home and abroad with his success. Jamie Peterkin finished 59th in a field of 75 swimmers.

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Strip-searched employees demand compensation

    Seven employees of the Windjammer Hotel are demanding EC$100,000 each in damages and an apology for having been submitted to a strip-search by Windjammer's security firm after a guest complained to management that US$100 had been stolen from his room. The incident, in which the staff members were allegedly made to remove all of their clothing including their underwear, occurred in June of last year but was only recently reported to the Aldet Centre, St. Lucia's human rights organisation. Windjammer's general manager, Lawrence Samuel, on television this week admitted that the security officers had "gone too far" in their investigations.
    In addition to the strip search at Windjammer, eight women and two men, all employees of a local fast food business in Castries, were similarly made to strip last week, this time by police officers. The action came after the proprietor reported to the police that money had been stolen from him. One Caribbean and The Mirror report this.
    According to The Mirror, the Aldet Centre is currently carrying out an audit to ascertain the extent of the practice of strip-searching in St. Lucian workplaces. According to head of the Aldet Centre Albert Deterville, random strip-searching forms a violation of people's constitutional rights. Deterville is said to be lobbying government to broaden the legal definition of rape to include "the unauthorised strip-searching of a human being".

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TQFC says it can spray fields for 2.62 cents/lb

    Banana farmers, backed by the Tropical Quality Fruit Company (TQFC) and three other private sector banana companies in St. Lucia are gearing up to protest the deduction of 3 cents per pound of bananas being paid as a levy for aerial spraying against leaf spot disease. Moreover, voices are also being raised in favour of not only having the deductions stopped but for the refund of monies already paid. At the same time, TQFC and two other private companies are setting up a ground spraying operation which, they claim, will cost just 2.62 cents per pound instead of the 3 cents already being deducted from farmers. The Mirror and Star report this.
    In the past, aerial spraying of banana fields was performed by the St. Lucia Banana Company (SLBC) but the company complained that it was not being adequately paid, and that it was subsidising spraying for farmers who did not sell their crops to the SLBC. Following some discord and the threat of a spread of leaf spot disease on the island, government intervened and put the contract for islandwide aerial spraying out for tender, at a maximum cost to banana farmers of 3 cents per pound of fruit produced. This contract was subsequently awarded to a firm set up by the SLBC - although this firm stated it could only perform the task at a price of 4 1/2 cents per pound. While negotiations over this difference in price are ongoing, the SLBC has started to do some aerial spraying. According to the newspapers, however, the director of TQFC, Peter Serieux, claims that farmers are disgruntled because their fields have not been sprayed despite the 3 cents per pound levy having been deducted from their income. Serieux is quoted as saying that TQFC's plan for ground spraying at a cost of 2.62 cents per pound has met with the support of most of the farmers, "including those aligned to the SLBC and the technical staff of the Ministry of Agriculture".

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Brits donate funds for C'bean police training

    The British government is going to spend more than US$423,000 (£300,000) on training police officers in the English-speaking Caribbean. This was announced last Wednesday by Baroness Patricia Scotland, Britain's minister for Overseas Territories during a visit to Jamaica. According to The Mirror, "the programme will train officers from around the region and provide a variety of courses ... The Jamaican course will focus on techniques for uncovering drugs and guns". Furthermore, Baroness Scotland has also announced that Britain is looking at setting up a centre in Jamaica to promote cooperation between Caribbean law enforcement agencies.

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Fuel prices under mounting pressure

    The pressure on fuel prices in St. Lucia is mounting, as prices on the world market reach their highest since the oil crisis in the 1970s. Although the government has been using the consumption tax to subsidise the price of fuel and maintain it at a steady level - at a cost of more than EC$20 million - this may not be possible for much longer. This is reported in both The Mirror and the Wednesday Star. Minister of Commerce and Industry, Philip Pierre has announced that although government will for the time being continue to stabilise prices, "It is really anyone's guess as to how long we will be able to keep this up. ... If current trends continue then it would be only a matter of time before the island is made to bear the full brunt of these increases".
    An increase in fuel prices is not only felt at the petrol pumps and in the cost of transportation but also in the rising cost of consumer goods that require fuel for their production.

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Elias: no more taxpayers' money to bananas

    Minister of Agriculture Cass Elias says that his government is no longer prepared to put taxpayers' money at the disposal of the banana industry and that it will no longer offer subsidies to stabilise this branch of the economy. Furthermore, Elias reportedly said that the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) should stop shifting blame for the tremendous problems facing banana farmers in St. Lucia onto the shoulders of the government and instead start using money that it has received from the trust fund, to make available loans to suffering banana farmers. This is reported in The Star.
    It is not quite clear when, where or in what context minister Elias made his statement. However, press secretary Earl Bousquet, in the Wednesday Star, corroborates the report. Bousquet writes: "In other news this week, Agriculture Minister, Cass Elias, said government would soon no longer be able to continue to pump money into saving the banana industry. He called for a comprehensive review of the industry across the islands, saying farmers were concerned about the huge salaries being paid to banana executives at home and abroad, while the prices to them dip lower".

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St. Lucia soon to go metric

    No more feet, inches, gallons, pounds and yards in St. Lucia but strictly kilograms, litres and metres - the day approaches when St. Lucia will 'go metric'. A Metrology Bill was passed in the House of Assembly last July to replace the island's archaic 'Weights and Measures Ordinance' of 1911. As a result of this, the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards is now responsible for establishing an effective system for regulating weights and measures; for protecting consumers against fraud and deception where scales, petrol pumps and similar equipment are used; and for gradually implementing the metric system as the legal system of measurement in St. Lucia. The Tuesday Voice and Mirror report this.

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Boo Hinkson soon viewed by 50 million worldwide

    Up to 50,000,000 television viewers from Australia to Poland, from Japan to Canada and from New Zealand to the United States will soon get several chances to watch an eposide of 'Bravo TV' featuring St. Lucian guitarist Ronald 'Boo' Hinkson - a music documentary shot during Jazz Festival 2000 where Hinkson performed alongside Stanley Jordan at the National Cultural Centre. Besides showcasing Hinkson and Jordan on stage, the programme also features behind-the-scenes clips and an in-depth interview with Hinkson which is said to "surround the artist's music and his growing pains in St. Lucia amidst images of childhood photography".
    Hinkson is obviously very pleased with the scheduled airing on the 20th of October (with several replays later on), saying it is good "not just good for myself but for the whole country". The Mirror quotes Hinkson as saying: "I would like people to understand that what I do is no longer about me, the money or the fame, but I am trying to be a good ambassador for my country as a whole". Hinkson has asked that tapes of the programme be made available to be aired in St. Lucia also.

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Seven drug dealers fined total of $189,000

    More than three kilos of cocaine and a quantity of marijuana were seized by police and a total of $189,000 in fines ordered over a mere five-day period in Vieux Fort. This is reported in The Mirror. According to the paper, an American citizen was caught two weeks ago by police at Hewanorra Airport with one kilo of cocaine in his possession. He was ordered to pay $20,000, which he did. The same week, two St. Lucians were arrested with one kilo of cocaine in their possession. They were each fined $20,000, to be paid within four months. Another St. Lucian man was also held in Vieux Fort with a kilo of cocaine and was fined $9,000, to be paid within four months. Finally, three St. Lucians were fined $40,000 each for having an undisclosed quantity of cocaine and marijuana in their possession.

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Bar promises: legal aid for poor underway

    Chief Justice Sir Denis Byron at the launching of the new rules for Civil Procedures during a special sitting of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court last Monday, criticised the St. Lucia Bar Association for its lackadaisacal attitude with regard to the implementation of the new rules. Unlike all other Eastern Caribbean Bar Associations, said Sir Denis, the St. Lucian association had not made any requests for workshops or training on the new rules. The new civil procedures will come into effect on the 31st December. Sir Denis' speech was broadcast simultaneously to all the countries served by the Supreme Court. The Wednesday Star reports this. Speaking at the same meeting, which also denoted the start of the new law term, vice-president of the St. Lucia Bar Association and former Attorney-General Lorraine Williams announced that the bar is currently preparing "to establish a long overdue Legal Aid Clinic for the poor and disadvantaged people of St. Lucia". This is reported in the Thursday Voice.

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Privy Council makes hanging almost impossible

    Hanging convicted criminals has become significantly more difficult in countries like St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua and Jamaica, following a Privy Council ruling which states that appeals to the Inter American Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) and the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) are to be part of the judicial system, and that governor-generals have to wait until these human rights bodies have completed their consideration of the cases of death row inmates. This ruling, passed recently in a case of six convicted Jamaican killers, when combined with an earlier ruling which says that persons may not be kept on death row for more than five years, is widely considered to now make it virtually impossible for Caribbean states to execute prisoners. Instead, death row inmates' sentences will have to be commuted to life imprisonment. The Wednesday Star reports this. Capital punishment is widely supported throughout the Caribbean, including St. Lucia, judging by the public outcry after convicted rapist and murderer Morrel Cox had his execution commuted to life in prison, last year [search news archives].

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Petrus Compton and top policeman face court again

    Lawyer Martinus Francois has announced that he intends to file a constitutional motion challenging Attorney General Petrus Compton, the Commissioner of Police and three constables, a captain and a sergeant of the Royal Police Force. Francois will be seeking between EC$2,1 million and EC$3 million in compensatory, aggravated, exemplary and punititive damages on behalf of three persons who claim to have been victimised during an incident that occurred on the 26th of November 1999 at a small guesthouse in La Feuillet. The Star and Tuesday Voice both report this (although they give varying figures for the damages sought). The applicants are Simone Gabriel (mother of the late Elijah Gabriel), Nickie Isidore and Juliet Baptiste, better known as Madame Sequin.
    According to one of the affidavits quoted in The Voice, early on the morning of that day in November, several armed men dressed in army fatigues entered Madame Sequin's guesthouse, without showing her a warrant or asking permission, and proceeded to shoot and kill Elijah Gabriel, who was a paying guest. Nickie Isidore, who according to Madame Sequin was also a paying guest, was arrested by the officers. The Voice quotes from Isidore's affidavit: "That the said policemen continued to interrogate me with the words 'where the gun you have!' followed by a gunshot deliberately in the lower part of my body from my hip area to my legs. That this sequence went on 10 times. Everytime the question was asked I received a shot. I received 10 bullets in total most of which were fired whilst I was lying on the floor".
    According to the same affidavit, Isidore, who is currently in prison, is partially paralyzed from the waist down as a result of this interrogation technique.
    According to The Voice, lawyer Martinus Francois considers the case "a test case". He is being assisted by other human rights lawyers on the island. The grounds for the motion are the claim that the constitutional rights of the applicants have been, or are being contravened.

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Golden Hope and BTC clamour for more security

    Unrest and discontent at the island's only mental hospital, Golden Hope, is not subsiding with the passage of time - on the contrary: nurses now appear to be as vocal as they were in late July, in clamouring for improved security at the institution.
    Another violent incident occurred last Monday, during which a male patient allegedly destroyed a table then used the table leg to smash the nurses station, a medicine chest and to keep some nurses under siege for as long as half an hour, threatening to rape one of them. As a result, one nurse and an attendant are currently at home "nursing their bruises", as The Star puts it. Both were allegedly kicked and punched by the patient. Police were finally called in and they managed to restrain the man.
    In late July, nine nurses from Golden Hope staged a two-day sick-out following the suspension of three of their colleagues, by Health minister Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, pending an investigation into cases of alleged physical abuse of patients in three separate incidents. The nurses at Golden Hope, backed by the Nurses Association, at the time requested that greater security be implemented at the mental hospital and that an insurance scheme for nurses be established [search news archives].
    Minister Flood-Beaubrun in response, however, stated: "A hospital is a place where injuries are supposed to be nursed, not inflicted", and said that she would not allow the hospital to become like a prison. This further infuriated the Nurses Association and an announcement was made in August to the effect that if nothing was done to ameliorate the situation by the 8th September, then further industrial action would be taken.
    Following last Monday's violent attack on two staff members, a meeting was held with the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health. According to The Star, at this meeting, the nurses were assured that security measures would be "effected immediately". But nothing has yet happened, says the Nurses Association and their members "are still working without protection and in fear of their lives". An emergency meeting is scheduled for the 29th of September, to be held in Vieux Fort. The Nurses Association has made a special appeal to prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony to intervene "and do something about this situation".
    Meanwhile, staff at the Boys Training Centre in Massade also went on a sick-out on Thursday and Friday in a bid to draw attention to the allegedly serious lack of security at the institution. Also according to The Star, several requests to the minister for Legal Affairs, Velon John, for improved security measures at the centre have remained unanswered. Following the sick-out, however, a meeting was finally convened and the ministry has promised that work on a new fence would start this week. Last year, it was announced that the Boys Training Centre would receive a new facility [search news archives] but these plans appear to have been put on hold.

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Fishpot theft regulated; sea eggs on rise

    The theft of fishpots and their contents, in particular lobsters, will become increasingly difficult thanks to the introduction of a licensing system implemented by the department of Fisheries with funding from STABEX. Registered fishermen will be issued licenses and permits for lobster and pot fishing and will receive a gear tag made of PVC which can be placed inside the pot while it is being made. The tag bears the identification number of the vessel and the crew, and it cannot be taken out of the fishpot without the entire structure being destroyed. In addition to this, restaurateurs and hoteliers will now be required to record the permits and license numbers of fishermen from whom they buy lobsters. Several newspapers report on the new system. With the recent opening of the lobster season, fishpot theft and conflicts over fishpots surged, particularly between fishermen from Savannes and Dennery.
    The same press release also reports that St. Lucia's sea egg population is finally showing improvement again, after a five year ban on the harvesting of sea eggs ('chadons') to try and prevent this resource from becoming extinct. The department says that "after further study, a decision may be made to re-open the season for harvesting, within the next two years".

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Certified tourist taxi drivers smarten up

    Barefoot, foul-mouthed, scruffy-looking and ill-mannered taxi drivers are no longer allowed to transport tourists in St. Lucia. This is the upshot of the National Taxi Driver Licensing and Certification Programme, executed by the ministry of Tourism. In June of last year, 1,200 taxi drivers graduated from a one-year training course. This week, all 1,200 were issued with special licenses, ID cards, license plates and vehicle stickers by the ministry so that they can be readily identified as registered tourist taxis. Part of the requirement is that the drivers' vehicles must meet certain standards, such as having seatbelts for every passenger, a fire extinguisher, air conditioning, a first aid kit, enough leg room and seats that are not covered in plastic or vinyl. With respect to their person, the specially designated tourist taxidrivers are required to wear dress shoes, boots or sneakers, refrain from using "abusive language or insulting gestures to passengers, fellow drivers or hotel or cruise representatives", refrain from smoking while there is a passenger in the vehicle, and "practice personal hygiene and proper grooming". The Star reports this. Furthermore, certified taxi drivers must wear an ID badge and a uniform as prescribed by their association or licensing authority. Although the certified taxi driver programme is open to all interested drivers, the ministry has filled its current quota. Any taxi driver found to be transporting tourists without a tourist taxi license will be brought before a disciplinary committee and may have his license suspended.

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