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Tourism and whaling: 'We cannot have our cake and eat it'

The debate on the wisdom of St Lucia's pro-whaling stance continued this week as the government once again cast its vote against the international ban on commercial whaling and against the creation of a whale sanctuary in the South Pacific at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), alongside its major aid-donor Japan. Thus far, at least three hundred tourists have cancelled their holiday to St Lucia in retalitation for what is deemed the island's insensitivity to international attempts to protect whales. Front page articles in newspapers in Great Britain and elsewhere in the world have labelled St Lucia - along with five other Eastern Caribbean countries - as 'Slaughterhouses', 'Bribe-takers' and 'Environmentally unfriendly' countries. The Mirror reports this.
Both the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) and the St Lucia Tourist Board received hundreds of e-mails this week from people expressing their condemnation of St Lucia's stance on the whaling issue and warning of the possible consequences of St Lucia voting pro-whaling. Minister of Tourism Menissa Rambally's response to news that diving organisations have put out eco-alerts against St Lucia via the internet was: "It is not obvious that this will affect the island's tourism industry".
Meanwhile, amidst the heated debate and government officials' vehement denials that their pro-whaling vote has anything to do with financial aid from Japan, the country's Foreign Affairs minister (Julian Hunte), on Friday signed an agreement with Japan for a further EC$32 million donation in the form of fisheries development projects for Soufriere and Choiseul. This is reported in The Star.
Hoteliers and other businesspeople involved in the tourism industry are particularly angered by the government's position. President of the SLHTA Berthia Parle, speaking at the organisation's quarterly general meeting earlier this week, lamented government's failure to consult hoteliers and other local stakeholders on the issue. Speaking to The Mirror, Parle said: "All we can do is continue to make recommendations when we can, but I do not think they really care. I mean, we spend a lot of money getting involved in nature heritage programmes and community based tourism programmes and still we are not consulted on other issues which obviously affect the environment. ... What we have to realize is that eco-tourism is a growing niche market globally and persons are becoming more aware and more sensitive to environmental issues. Travellers are now concerned about the track record of the hotels they stay in on environmental standards ... I listen to politicians and I realize that there is a lot that can be done that is not being done. But we will continue trying to work with the Government in an attempt to arrive at practical solutions to these and other issues. ... It is time we have a broad-based consultation on this whole environmental issue and decide what we want, because we cannot have our cake and eat it too and obviously this issue on the whales is giving the island much negative publicity that we do not need right now". Parle also stated that if she were the minister responsible, she would have abstained from voting.
Another SLHTA member told The Star: "It's almost as though we are butting heads. Here we are on one hand spending money to market the island but in the meantime we are getting free negative recognition from the international market about whaling in St Lucia".
Minister Rambally, whilst addressing the SLHTA members, circumvented the whaling controversy in what some observers now dub her typical 'Ramballing' style, saying: "In response to the much debated issue over whaling, at this point I cannot offer you a response that you may require or have requested, except to say that in the past couple of days we have received some concerns specifically from the tourism sector regarding the impact of this issue. And I have sought to take the issue, in terms of the concerns that have been raised, back to the Cabinet of Ministers as it is a decision that had been made by government. So in this regard the concerns as you have raised them, the sentiments will also be expressed to my colleague ministers and certainly the wider body. That is the only comment I can make in regard to this issue".
Since last week, St Lucia has been under heavy international fire for accepting what are described as 'bribes' from Japan in exchange for its vote at the IWC. While prime minister of Antigua Lester Bird admitted frankly that his government votes pro-whaling at the IWC in exchange for financial aid from Japan, local government officials in St Lucia continue to deny that financial considerations are at play. Press secretary Earl Bousquet, for instance, states that the Fisheries Department believes that hunting certain species of whales - as undeniably goes on in St Lucia, even according to Bousquet himself - "is consistent with our stated policy of promoting sustainable use of our natural resources. We vote on the basis of the scientific information presented by the Scientific Committee of the IWC and that's how we'll vote this year".
Curiously, permanent secretary in the ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr Jimmy Fletcher, in The Mirror states that "St Lucia is not hunting whales despite the propaganda that is out there". However, it was conclusively brought to light by the 'Sea Shepherd Conservation Society', a radical environmentalist conservation group whose ship was anchored in Port Castries last week, that St Lucian fishermen do indeed hunt and kill pilot whales. Press secretary Earl Bousquet, writing in the Tuesday Voice, informs us that the meat of these pilot whales is locally known as 'black fish' or 'mashwen'. Some weeks ago, the DBS evening news (in a report by Frank Girard on dietary habits in St Lucia) casually showed a market stall with a sign announcing 'black fish' and the price per pound of the product. According to local officials and fishermen, the pilot whale is not currently on the list of endangered species and killing this type of whale is therefore not illegal. This point of view is not shared by the Sea Shepherd Society however, whose spokesman last week maintained in The Star that: "The killing of this whale is illegal. St Lucia is signatory to international conventions which ban the killing of all cetaceans. It is our belief that this kind of unreported slaughter is going on in St Lucia all the time with the full knowledge of the authorities and with the endorsement of the Japanese".
Whether or not the slaughtering of pilot whales is currently illegal, both local fishermen and government officials admit to hunting the species. "We have been doing this for years and years", a fisherman is quoted by press secretary Bousquet, who himself adds: "The Fisheries Department has also confirmed that local fishermen are constantly being kept aware of those species of whales and cetaceans that can be harvested in accordance with international rules".
This certainly lends credibility to Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson's finding that the St Lucian government is well-aware of the ongoing practice of hunting pilot whales - despite its simultaneous efforts to promote eco-tourism, with five local whale and dolphin-watching operations reportedly earning the country $800,000 last year.
While many hoteliers and others involved in the tourism industry have reacted with horror to the governmnent's pro-whaling vote at the IWC, considering it an inappropriate position which can only aggravate the considerable financial stress which the industry already faces, several fishermen and other members of the public seem to support the government's hard line. Many of these publicly-aired opinions however seem to focus not so much on central issues such as environmental preservation, dangers to the local tourism industry, or the alleged vote-buying by Japan but rather are emotive responses to statements made by Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Society.
There are also differing accounts of the activities of the Sea Shepherd Society whilst in St. Lucia. According to The Star newspaper, members of the US-based organisation followed and filmed a local fishing canoe as it arrived at the Castries Fisheries Complex carrying "the bleeding body of a juvenile pilot whale on the deck. The whale measured less than six feet and clearly showed gunshot wounds on the body", reports the Sea Shepherd in the Tuesday Voice. "The agitated whale killer threatened the Sea Shepherd crew with a knife. The dead whale was transported into the harbor alongside the Norwegian cruise ship Monarch of the Sea, and many tourists had a full view of the body of the young whale as its blood trailed into the water".
Earl Bousquet, in a long article in the Tuesday Voice, makes much of the Sea Shepherd Society's self-professed radical approach to protecting whales from fishermen. The press secretary reports that "local fishermen feared for their lives on the high seas as a result of the extreme actions of the Sea Shepherd crew. The Fisheries Department says the complaining fishermen claimed they were 'harassed and threatened' by the crew of the Sea Shepherd. ... A spokesman for the Castries-based fishermen says they 'resent being harassed by a foreign craft in our own country's territorial waters'."
Although there have been no reports that the Sea Shepherd crew was accused of doing anything other than following and videotaping local fishermen in St Lucia, official opinion holds that their presence formed a life-threatening danger to local fishermen. According to Bousquet, the Sea Shepherd's ship 'Ocean Warrior' was therefore escorted out of Port Castries on Monday, back into international waters.
Public opinion appears to be divided over the Sea Shepherd issue. Several call-in programmes and newspaper columns record the same fears of the 'terrorist foreigners', with a Castries resident stating in The Star for instance: "These people can't come to our country and interfere with us like that. They're lucky they didn't get shot or something", and another replying: "What I've heard is that they're killing people on the water and everything like that. They might even end up killing us as well".
On the other hand, there are tourism industry workers and others who, already faced with uncertainty and financial strife in their sector, fear the effects of the government's vote more than they fear the presence of environmentalists lobbying for a greater awareness of the benefits of live whales over dead ones. Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Society himself certainly seems to be aware of this segment of local supporters, if it is true what former investor in St Lucia's ecotourism industry, Keith Wray, writes in The Star. Now living in England, and on his way to demonstrate at the IWC meeting in London, last Thursday, Wray claims that he received a call from Captain Paul Watson in St Lucia, urging him not to carry a placard calling for a boycott of St Lucia's tourism industry. "We have many supporters in St Lucia", Watson reportedly told Wray, "and I believe the good people of the island are with us and represent the vast majority". Wray did as asked and comments: "I think that was a pretty 'noble' order from Captain Watson considering the alleged abusive treatment and abuse of rights experienced by the Ocean Warrior's personnel over the past few days in St Lucia".
Wray refers to the fact that crew members of the Sea Shepherd Society were taken by the police to the Central Police Station, last Friday, where they were reportedly told by the police chief that they were not welcome, that they were being accused of interfering with the island's fishing industry, and told that they would find themselves in difficulties if they continued to do so. The Wednesday Star reports this.
Absent from the local debate on St Lucia's whaling vote so far is the suggestion made by Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson last week, namely that the government of St Lucia opt for transparency in its voting behaviour, and admit to the international forum that it is finding itself in a difficult position: needing the financial assistance offered by Japan but not wishing to undermine its expensive tourism marketing efforts and easily-damaged (eco)tourism industry. In doing so, suggests Watson, anti-whaling countries such as the United States, Australia, Great Britain and several others, could be lobbied to 'outbid' Japan for its whaling vote. In this scenario, St Lucia would neither need to defend its government's integrity to the international audience, nor damage its image as an environmentally-aware nation, nor offend local and foreign investors in the tourism industry, nor lose the financial aid currently supplied by Japan for the construction of fisheries complexes.

[To Whale or Not To Whale: Press Release by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries]

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Hoteliers juggling finances; workers despair

Minister of Tourism Menissa Rambally emphasised this week that the recorded 18 percent downturn in tourism arrivals over the first half of 2001 has little to do with domestic tourism policies (or the lack thereof) and everything with forces beyond St Lucia's control. Speaking at the second quarterly general meeting of the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA), Rambally told hoteliers and other managers and investors in the island's main income-generating sector, that: "Of course there are those in society who would still misguidedly trace the downturn in summer business to a particular government initiative or lack thereof, or would even blame it on the main players in the industry for doing something that should not have been done or said". Coming on the heels of Rambally's government's decision to continue to vote in favour of whale-hunting, leading to a barrage of negative international press for St Lucia and hotel cancellations by at least three hundred visitors, minister Rambally's comment was understandably received with some scepticism.
Although recognising that St Lucia is not the only Caribbean country struggling with a drop in tourism business, SLHTA president Berthia Parle criticised Caribbean governments in general, including that of St Lucia, for being "crisis-oriented" and for not understanding that tourism is essentially an export industry. Parle called on the government to postpone the implementation of the new Labour Code, which is expected to raise the cost of doing business locally. "The current economic climate should at the very least cause the government to think twice about the implementation of such far-reaching legislation. One thing should be very clear: in trying times, market forces take precedence over legislative agendas. Even business-friendly legislation is not enough to reverse economic fortunes gone sour, far less new or revised laws, whose impact on business is at best uncertain, and at worst threatening". Parle also called for the abolition of passport requirements for Martiniquans travelling to St Lucia, so that intra-regional tourism can take off, and called on service-providers such as taxi-drivers and hoteliers to deliver value for money, as "visitors are tired of being ripped off".
Whilst sympathising with the 300-plus staff laid-off by the Rex and Papillon resorts, the SLHTA president however also called for empathy with the owners and employers of the hotels in question, "because no business likes to take the extremely difficult decision to close, temporarily or otherwise, and to lay off hard-working employees". Although some of the largest resorts and hotels on the island - both all inclusive and others - continue to see occupancy rates around the 90% mark, others, particularly smaller operations, are fighting to stay in business, revealed Parle.
Also speaking at the SLHTA meeting was Director of Marketing of the Caribbean Hotel Association, Alec Sanguinetti, who delivered some sobering figures. According to Sanguinetti, "The Caribbean share of US international travel declined by 10% in the last five years. In 1994 the Caribbean accounted for 41.2% of all travel out of the United States. By 1999, it decreased to 31.7%. Americans also spent less in the Caribbean in the last five years from 17.1% in 1994 to 16% expenditure in 1999". The Voice reports this in its weekly SLHTA column. To try and regain some of its market share in the US and elsewhere, the Caribbean Hotel Association has launched the programme 'Great Places in the Caribbean'. So far, the Hyatt, Sandals and Bay Gardens have signed up for the programme
(For more info, visit: www.greatplacesinthecaribbean.com )

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Barclays and CIBC to merge: First Caribbean

Barclays Bank and CIBC are looking to merge their retail, corporate and off-shore banking operations in the Caribbean, leading to the establishment of the First Caribbean International Bank. Once governments and regulatory authorities have approved the proposed merger, Barclays and CIBC would each own approximately 45 percent of the ordinary share capital of the merged bank, while the rest will be publicly held. Over time, as much as 20 percent of shares will be held publicly. Under the merger, Barclays Private Banking and CIBC Wealth Management businesses and their clients will remain under their respective Barclays and CIBC ownerships. First Caribbean International Bank will retain the listings of CIBC West Indies Holding Limited in Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.
Barclays and CIBC expect that the proposed merger will make the First Caribbean International Bank a market leader in service, products, ease of access and innovation. All major newspapers report on the merger.

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Regional rum distilleries to win over EU market

Rum distilleries in St Lucia, Antigua/Barbuda, Dominica and Grenada are uniting in an effort to conquer the European market before the upcoming Christmas season. As an initiative by the Dominica-based OECS Export Development Unit (EDU), the plan is to offer a range of rums - from white rum to spiced rum to 'infused rum' (where a pepper or similar product is placed in the bottle) - in European liquor stores. The Tuesday Voice reports this. "The final hurdle would be the legal process associated with the establishment of a local handling or marketing company", writes the paper, but "This is being aggressively pursued to have it completed before year end".

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Silas Wilson new NYC president

The National Youth Council last weekend elected its new executive board, under the presidency of Silas Wilson, a 24-year-old from Mon Repos. Wilson has already served two stints on the executive, as second and first vice-president. The new first vice president is Uralise Delaire; second vice-president David Vitalis; general secretary Jimmy Clavier; assistant secretary Bennet Charles; treasurer Webster Joseph; public relations officer Stanislaus Albert. Elected trustees are Peter Fevrier and Veronica Cenac (former president).

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Alliance to announce candidates on Thursday

The National Alliance for Unity (NA) is expected to announce its slate of candidates for the next general elections on Thursday evening - with the exception of a few names of candidates who are said to be "vulnerable to the rules of the public service". The Mirror reports this. Dr Morella Joseph, leader of the United Workers Party and co-leader of the National Alliance, told The Mirror that: "A lot of people are saying that we are keeping quiet and doing nothing. But we have been doing the real ground work, feeling out the people to see what they want and who would be the best people to represent them. ... There were some constituencies where there were two or three really good people who were willing to put themselves up for election. We still have to go back to two or three constituencies to seek the people's advice on the matter because the decision is very difficult, and we want to do the right thing for the people".
Part of the problem, reports The Mirror, lay in the fact that while the UWP already had a full slate of candidates, "the leadership of the Alliance wanted to open the nominations to a wider range of persons than those who were regularly in politics".
The Alliance is expected to announce the names of its candidates during a public meeting in the William Peter Boulevard in Castries on Thursday evening.

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Sir John warns CDB: roadwork contract fishy

Sir John Compton has written to Dr Compton Bourne president of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) alleging that all may not be above board with the manner in which the current government is handling the procedures for obtaining a contractor to undertake the repair of the main road from Vieux Fort to Soufriere. Sir John alleges that the firm that was awarded the contract - a Grenadian-registered foreign firm - was not the lowest bidder. Although that might in itself be explainable, says Sir John, there also appears to be "some degree of over-design of the project, implying higher costs and therefore a higher overall loan to Government than is warranted". Furthermore, writes Sir John, "There appears to be unwarranted expenditure devoted to the accommodations and general living conditions of the consultants' staff ... Indications are of excessively expensive transportation, housing and related costs, unduly overburdening the project budget". Also, "There appears to be a degree of double charging in the budget", claims Sir John, in that while the government has accepted to pay for certain costs for the consultants (transportation, office set-up, accommodations, and so on), these same costs also appear in the bill of quantities "as items to be provided and to be paid for by the CDB for the construction of the roads. This", claims Sir John, "could well suggest the possibility of diversion of loan funds".
Finally, Sir John draws the attention of the CDB president - as one of the funding agencies - to the fact that a normal provision in the contract  which states that local resources are to be used whenever available, has been excluded in the case of this particular project. "This speaks to the issue of fairness and nondiscrimination in the allocation of contracts and must be of deep concern to regional contractors in general and to St Lucian contractors in particular at this time of sluggish economic activity in the island", writes Sir John.
The former prime minister and current co-leader of the opposition National Alliance asks the CDB president to carefully consider the points raised, and to exercise "extreme prudence in respect of the present project".
The Crusader carries the full text of Sir John Compton's letter, as well as an editorial directly adjacent to it, which explains in great detail why governments might prefer to award contracts to foreign firms rather than local ones, namely because "foreign firms repatriate their funds, making it easier to effect payments to local politicians and public officials through overseas accounts. The payments are bribes, kickbacks, or, more euphemistically, incentives which foreign firms pay local politicians and officials for favouring them with the contract. In this sense the Government is easily the foremost launderer of funds through these foreign firms which receive local finance and process the funds through foreign bank accounts available to them in special accounts".
The Crusader editor states unequivocally that: "At present St Lucians have become acutely aware of the Gentlemen of the Siphon. They have seen in recent times a pipeline of projects being financed by the government's heavy borrowing of hundreds of millions of dollars. All this massive amount of public sector spending was poured into the local economy. One finds it difficult to be accurate about the costing method behind such projects since the figures are usually inflated to reflect the amount payable to ruling parties for their campaign funds, and to politicians for piloting the projects through. Against the background of this heavy injection of public finance into the Siphon it is really amazing that the unemployment figures are so dismal, the job opportunities are so scarce and living in the lower and middle income bracket is now to perilous and scary. Where has all the money gone? The picture is starting to unfold clearly that the diversion of taxpayers' money continues to be a fine art in Government and the Clique is skilled at siphoning it away to overseas accounts".

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Radioactive cargo passes secretly through Caribbean

In the same week when Japanese policy landed St Lucia and five other Eastern Caribbean countries in hot water over the whaling issue, Japan finds itself at the center of yet another major environmental uproar. A clandestine Japanese/British nuclear waste shipment is reported to have slipped through the Panama Canal and into the Caribbean Sea last Wednesday, in direct contravention of declarations by the Central American Parliament and several other key Latin American and Caribbean fora, including the Association of Caribbean States. The Wednesday Star reports this. A British-flagged freighter 'Pacific Sandpiper', owned by Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited of the UK, and loaded with 1,320 irradiated nuclear fuel elements totalling 400,000 curies of radioactivity, exited the Panama Canal under cover of darkness on July 18th, carrying its potentially lethal cargo of americium, cesium, cobalt, plutonium, strontium and tecnicium into the Caribbean Sea.
The radioactive cargo comes from the Japanese Tokai 1 reactor, and is being transported through Central America and the Caribbean region at the height of the hurricane season, and without the permission of nations en route. The ship is expected to pass through the Mona Passage, between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and into the Atlantic Ocean from there. Greenpeace, in commenting on the secret shipment, deems it an "arrogant disregard for the sovereign will of the countries of the region".

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Malcolm Charles turns down Goodwill Ambassadorship

Malcolm Charles, president of the Employers Federation and a local businessman, has rejected the offer from government to become a 'Goodwill Ambassador' for St Lucia - a post designed to attract foreign investors to St Lucia and rewarded with a diplomatic passport. The announcement, last week, that Malcolm Charles, local business mogul Michael Chastanet and accountant Costello Michel had been appointed as Goodwill Ambassadors, was received with mixed feelings.
Questions were raised as to why the government, which already has several departments and officials working full-time at 'selling' St Lucia to foreign investors, needs an additional three 'freelancers' to do the same. Commentators also wondered why the Goodwill Ambassadors needed diplomatic passports, and what checks and balances were put in place to ensure that they could not use their position and privileges for personal gain. Finally, the fact that Costello Michel is the brother of deputy-prime minister Mario Michel and a known Labour Party activist prompted some observers to claim that the positions were created to reward 'party hacks'.
Malcolm Charles refers to such political issues as reason enough to turn down his Goodwill Ambassadorship. The Voice reports that Charles wrote to prime mininster Dr Kenny Anthony that: "... this appointment has suddenly transformed me from a private citizen to a political football in the minds of the local public". The Star adds to this Charles' contribution to the Wednesday night HTS news, where he explained: "From a personal point of view, apart from my business and professional interests, I have always regarded myself as a community-service-oriented person. A private person who is willing to provide voluntary services in the community ... However, the last thing that I think I am is political. If this appointment is conceived as being so-called political, I prefer not to be involved". Charles also stated in his letter to the PM that his roles as Goodwill Ambassador and head of the Employers Federation "might present a conflict of interest and raise doubts in the minds of the [members of the] Federation".

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House of Assembly discusses NDC Bill

The National Development Corporation Bill is expected to go through its second reading this Tuesday, when the House of Assembly meets. Also down for (first) reading are the Agricultural Credit Bill and the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill. Among the papers to be laid is the Report of the Registrar of Insurance for the year ended December 31st, 1999. The Voice and Star both report this.

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'Lucians' under fire

The new DBS television show 'Lucians', produced by Christopher Hunte, has attracted the anger and disgust of Dr Didacus Jules permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. In a letter to the show's producers Jules urges DBS to change the show's concept, "before we are forced to call on government to address the airing of such shows".
'Lucians' is preceded by a 'Parental Guidance' warning and, according to producer Christopher Hunte, pretends to do nothing more than hold up a mirror to St Lucian society and say, 'look at yourself'. Hunte was Rick Wayne's guest during Thursday's edition of the DBS talkshow 'Talk' and was on the whole much-commended by callers to the programme for his show. The basic concept of 'Lucians' is simple: Hunte takes to the streets and films what he sees there, or goes around asking simple questions, such as 'What is a gynaecologist?', 'What is a wommier?', 'Why do Lucians curse so much?', 'Who was William Peter?' or 'Will men have sex for a chicken leg?' His questions elicit a wide range of responses,  from the abusive or ignorant to the hilarious and good-natured.
But the ministry of Education deems 'Lucians' "a degradation of our national character and image" and, according to The Star, was particularly upset with 'Lucians' showing scenes from this year's carnival street jump. "The national media has a sacred responsibility to promote solid nation building values, and assist St Lucians in developing a more informed, intelligent and disciplined world view. Shows of this nature not only degrade our national character and image but facilitate the deterioration of moral standards and values in the wider society", states Dr Jules. "Let the media educate and elucidate and not irritate and deprecate".

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Emancipation Day celebrations

Emancipation Day on Wednesday 1st of August is celebrated in St Lucia with a number of activities, including an exhibition at the Castries City Hall, a literary display at the Central Library and various community libraries, and performances by Martiniquan group The Rochambeaus. Labowi Promotions organises a cultural presentation 'Drumology/Folktales Proclamation' on July 31st (from 8pm), and the following day, a food and craft fair at Derek Walcott Square in Castries (from 11am) forms the main activity of the celebration of 163 years of freedom from slavery in the former British West Indies.
Activities are to be rounded off with a poetry reading by the St Lucia Writers Club on August 2nd at the Central Library, from 7 pm.

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Call for entries: Derek Walcott Poetry & Playwriting Award

As yet unpublished poets and playwrights from the wider Caribbean region are asked to submit their work for the Derek Walcott Poetry and Playwriting Competition that is being organised by the Trinidad Theatre Workshop. First and second prize winners stand to win US$500 and US$250 respectively, as well as the chance to have their work refined through workshops with a director and actors and a full production of the winning play at a later date.
For more info, contact the Trinidad Theatre Workshop at (868) 622-2217, (868) 628-0356 or email: ttw@ttw.org.tt

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