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Vieux Fort Fisheries Complex on target
Work on the US$20 million Fisheries Development Complex in Vieux Fort is on target and come March 2000, the Japanese government will hand over the facility to St. Lucia. All papers carry this report.
The first phase of the project, which included reclamation of 20,000 square feet of land from the sea and the construction of revetment and breakwater walls to protect the reclaimed land, is almost complete. Phase two, which involves the construction of locker rooms and changing facilities for fishermen, cold storage for 400 tons of ice, an ice-making facility, administrative block, fish market and fuel station, is about thirty percent complete.
The project currently employs close to 180 persons.
The Vieux Fort Fisheries Complex is being funded by a grant from the Japanese government. Japan has also promised a grant of some fishing boats, engines,a back-up generator, fishing gear and repair tools.
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Three senators' appointments revoked: nation debates implications
The dismissal of three senators - Rick Wayne, Patrick Joseph and Charlotte Tessa Mangal - dominates the headlines and inner pages of all of this week's newspapers. The dismissals came after the three had either opposed or abstained from voting in support of a government-motion to guarantee an EC$4 million loan to national airline HelenAir.
Wayne, Joseph and Mangal claim that they were unable to vote in favour of the motion because they felt they had insufficient financial background information on the topic. However, according to the Mirror, PM Anthony declared that the HelenAir motion had become "a political issue, where the Government required political support, and the credibility of the Government and the Prime Minister was an issue on that matter. When those occasions arise for any government, it requires the support of those persons who are appointed in the Senate". Under the St. Lucia Constitution, the PM has the right to advise the Governor-General to revoke the appointment of his ruling party's own appointed senators.
Editorial reactions in the media range from mild concern over the PM's move (The Mirror), to outcries of dictatorship and authoritarianism (One Caribbean).
Critically outspoken on the senators' dismissals is The Star, owned by Rick Wayne. Wayne dedicates three pages in The Star to illuminating the historical background of his senatorship and to explaining his views on the HelenAir issue. He reiterates his view that not enough information on the airline's financial status had been made available to warrant a vote of support, and he queries PM Anthony's view that with the HelenAir issue, the PM's "personal integrity" was also at stake.
Meanwhile, Patrick Joseph's reaction to his dismissal raised some eyebrows. Joseph is quoted as saying that if he had been in the PM's position, he would have done the same thing. Although Joseph abstained from voting on the HelenAir issue last week Friday, he states in The Mirror this week: "You are in a system, you are either for it or against it. You are chosen to do a job of work, you either do it or leave it".
Charlotte Tessa Mangal, in a statement to the press, expresses respect for the PM's right to revoke appointments from the senate but goes on to say: "I stand by my right to think for myself and abstain from a decision on which critical information such as financial statements were not supplied and which could have long term implications for the finances of the country. As a young thinking St. Lucian, even though I was appointed by the Prime Minister of the St. Lucia Labour Party, I refuse to be anybody's rubber stamp".
The new SLP senators are Petrus Compton (currently Attorney General), Leo Clarke (SLP party secretary) and Perry Thomas (chairman, National Conservation Authority).
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Regional cancer treatment centre in T&T
An ultra-modern cancer treatment centre set to be built soon in Trinidad and Tobago is expected to serve as the forerunner of similar facilties in several other Caribbean territories, over the next few years. This is reported in the Mirror. The new centre is a joint project of the Community Hospital of 7th Day Adventists of Trinidad and Tobago, and a Miami-based corporation, RT21 Radiation Systems. Last week, agreement was reached on financing the TT$30 million cancer centre.
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World Calypso Day promotion
An appeal has been made to designate Monday, 30th August as World Calypso Day. The initiative stems from the King of Kings show which will be held this Monday in Trinidad, the Mirror reports. St. Lucian 1999 Calypso King, Jason Joseph ('Bachelor') is among eighteen competing kings from all around the Caribbean who make a bid for the US$40,000 prize money.
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Pledge for regional unity on trade issues
A Council on External Trade was launched on Wednesday, in a bid by the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to strengthen St. Lucia's trading interests in the face of an increasingly aggressive international market. The 23-member council is expected to encourage collaboration between the private commercial interests and the various government ministries in formulating and directing trade policy, The Star reports. According to minister George Odlum as quoted in The Voice, "Agriculture, telecommunications, textiles, investment, and bananas will be spoken for by persons who have an informed perception of these sectors".
The Star further reports that at the launching, guest speaker Sir Alister McIntyre announced that an institution, 'Regional Negotiating Machinery', has been created, which will train a number of St. Lucian research associates in the nuances of international trade diplomacy.
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Getting tough on garbage disposal
As of this week, businesses that ignore existing waste disposal laws run a real risk of being prosecuted and fined up to five thousand dollars. Toughening up on existing garbage regulations is part of the St. Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority's effort to start a national consultation exercise with the intention of reviewing draft waste management policy, legislation and regulations. This was made public in a release to the media this week.
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Augier boy passes A Levels with straight A's
Javed Samuel of Augier, Vieux Fort, passed his A-level exams with straight A's, after having spent just one year at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. Javed, who turned 17 last week, graduated from Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School last year, with 13 grade one CXC passes, and one grade two CXC pass. At age 14, he had already written his A-level exam in mathematics, passing that also. Javed attended College on a Rotary scholarship and is hoping to receive an island scholarship to pursue university studies in Computer Science or Engineering in the US. This was reported in the Weekend Voice and Star newspapers.
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Sod turning ceremony Belair Centre
A sod turning ceremony next week Tuesday will mark the beginning of the construction of a human resource development centre in the community of Belair - a farming community that was relocated from the Millet area to facilitate the construction of the Roseau Dam. This is reported in the Voice.
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Cricket Association urges restoration of Mindoo Phillip Park
Mindoo Phillip Park is in urgent need of repairs to restore its prestige as one of the leading first-class cricket grounds in the Windward Islands. This call comes from the National Cricket Association. The NCA has written to the minister of Sports, Mario Michel, requesting that the use of Mindoo Phillip Park for soccer matches be drastically reduced in the coming months, and that a restoration programme be put into action to rehabilitate the cricket pitch. This is reported in The Voice.
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National Clean Up Day proposed
The Youth Club of the St. Lucia National Trust is working towards the establishment of an annual National Clean-Up Day, to be held on October 30th - one week after Jounen Kweyol, which is likely to generate a lot of litter. The Youth Club received government support for its plan last Wednesday.
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Regional Jamboree in St. Lucia next year
The twelfth Caribbean Jamboree is set to be held in St. Lucia, from 26th July to 3rd of August next year. Last week, Operations Executive for the Scout Movement in the Caribbean, Ronald Richardson, met with governor-general Dame Louisy and the chief commissioner and secretary of the St. Lucia Scout Association to discuss plans for the jamboree. Plans are also in the making for expansion of scouting in St. Lucia, and for a workshop for Caribbean leaders to be held in St. Lucia, this November. This was reported in One Caribbean.
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Historical sites under siege
Important archaeological and historical sites in the Caribbean are under siege from economic development activities, and St. Lucia is no exception to this. Already, half of the Troumassee site has been lost due to flooding, and indiscriminate sandmining continues to destroy Grande Anse. These concerns about the future of historical sites in St. Lucia were raised by Eric Branford of the St. Lucia Archaeological and Historical Society, at the 18th Congress for Caribbean Archaeology, held recently in Grenada. Both The Star and Voice newspapers carry reports on Branford's statement. "If we are prepared to accept investments and large developments, especially in the tourist industry, as necessary for the sustainable economic development of our country then we must work with the promoters, developers, investors and government to ensure that our important archaeological and historical sites and cultural heritage is respected and considered in the early stages of any development in the country", said Branford.
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Plans for Vieux Fort Hotel unveiled
In a meeting with businesspeople from Vieux Fort, parliamentary representative Kenny Anthony last week shed more light on the planned construction of a 250 room hotel on the Shantytown hill, at the foot of the Moule a Chique pensinsula. The Star newspaper carries a drawing of the proposed development, construction of which is scheduled to start in the first quarter of next year and which is expected to take 24 months to complete. The 'European Plan' [i.e. non all-inclusive] hotel will contain convention facilities for five hundred persons, a restaurant, beach restaurant, 9-hole golf course, and tennis and watersports facilities. According to the drawing, the 250 rooms are spread out in eighteen separate buildings. All buildings will be situated in the corner where the Moule a Chique ridge meets the beach, while the golf course is planned to occupy most of the land along the beach and slightly further inland from there, where the Castries-Vieux Fort highway currently runs. In the coming months, this road will be relocated to a position along the airport fence. Dr. Anthony guarantees that residents will continue to be allowed free access to the beach. In the next six months, ninety squatters households from Shantytown will be relocated to an area in the Cantonement, to make room for the hotel [ see last week's news]. The new hotel's developer is Issa Nicholas, previously the owner of the Holiday Inn in St. Lucia, and currently owner of the Holiday Inn in Trinidad and the Grand Barbados Hotel. Nicholas also holds leasing rights to the Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Grenada. This is reported in the Star and Tuesday Voice newspapers.
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Cecilian Rays from Anse la Raye take gold in Hollywood contest
The Cecilian Rays twice took gold medals at the third Annual World Championships of Performing Arts held at Universal Studios in Hollywood, recently. The Cecilian Rays placed first in the Gospel and Variety Arts categories, and also took the highest honours as best overall group in the Gospel category. Hundreds of singers and dancers from over thirty countries participated in the competition. In addition, Elra Emry from Castries won a gold medal in the Variety Arts competition, and silver in Vocal Theatre. Nikki Joseph from Bishop's Gap, Marchand, at age thirteen, placed third in the 13-15 age group in gospel. Minelius Anthony from Jacmel placed third in the 18-24 age group in gospel, and Fernanda Henry from Dennery won two silver medals in the Variety Arts and Original Category. One of the sponsors who made it possible for the contestants to go to Hollywood is the Anse La Raye UK Association.
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Lobster season to open amidst grave warnings
In the run-up to the opening of yet another lobster season, as of 1st September, the department of Fisheries is sounding a warning, stating that preliminary results of a 3-year study on the status of local lobster populations indicate that only very careful management can prevent collapse of this marine resource. According to a report in The Voice, lobster is being very heavily fished in St. Lucia, largely as a result of the demand placed on it by the expanding tourism sector. The department insists that all parties concerned adhere to not landing or buying any lobsters between May 1st and August 31st, and to not landing or buying lobsters with a carapace shorter than 9.5 cm at any time. Also, landing or buying lobsters which carry eggs or which have been speared, is illegal at all times, and carries a fine of up to five thousand dollars per incident.
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