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Quotes:
"On opening the front door we were greeted by a calaloo of odours, including the rubber and leather of the shoes and perspiration from the armpits and feet of patrons. It seemed that all parents with children in First Communion had consipred to descend on the store, on the same day and at the same time. I felt silly walking around with one new shoe and one old shoe".
Cletus Springer, recalling the anxious days leading up to his First Communion ceremony, back in 1962 (The Mirror 28th April).
"Where there is darkness, crimes will occur. The guilty one is not merely the one who committed the crime but he who created the darkness".
Victor Hugo, quoted in support of banana companies' call for greater government regulation of the industry (The Crusader, 29th April).
"The opportunity will come this weekend when you are asked to visit Trinidad, Cuba or Venezuela for a proposed hotel business. You'll be away for a week".
Weekly horoscope for Sagittarians (The Voice 29th April).
"There was a myth among Maynard Hillsmen that the hill would one day fulfil the prophecy in Revelation, and come down on Castries. This prophecy was taken quite literally. But like most of us, the Maynard Yardies lived in expectation of the Armageddon or Ragnarok or whatever ... Prophecy can be so mundane that you can completely miss it"
Jason Sifflet on the Black Mallet and Maynard Hill landslides (The Mirror 28th April).
"Patois as I have analysed it, is a language which God inspired the slaves to speak so they could use it to confuse their master. However, he did not mean that we should use it today as an excuse to confuse ourselves".
Leslie Philogene on the view that the Creole language impedes St. Lucians from progressing socio- economically (The Crusader 29th April).
"If kids were made with cookie cutters, like the gingerbread man, norms could be set for your child's developmental behaviour and the level of activity that he should display. Happily, they're not, with the result that no two children are precisely alike".
The Voice on the dangers of classifying so-called 'difficult' children as sick and in need of medication (29th April).
"After payment of $303.95 on July 26, 1999, our balance was zero. That meant no arrears then. Arrears from August 14 to November 15, 1999 amounted to $490.37. This was paid on January 19, 2000. On December 17, 1999, Lucelec introduced a balance of $2,162.39 corresponding to the above usage of 3499 kwhs for $1,623.54 plus $538.85 surcharge. On that erroneous balance of $2,162.39, they added the $490.37 totalling $2,652.76. They subsequently deducted the $490.37 and arrived back at the original figure of $2,162.39, to which they added $521.94 equalling $2,684.33".
Pat Brown in an open letter to Lucelec entitled 'Customer Satisfaction', complains about Lucelec's "ridiculous" policy of billing based on estimated average consumption (The Voice 29th April).
"Trying to describe Stanley Jordan in simple terms is like trying to explain Einstein's theory of Relativity in ten words or less. You can do it, but you'd be leaving a lot out".
The Crusader on guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan (29th April).
"Our economy is at steak".
Transcribed in One Caribbean - one woman's comment on the rift between government and the media (29th April). |
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Divided banana companies unite in call for regulation
Opposing players in the island's banana industry this week were unexpectedly united in a call for stronger government regulation of the recently-privatised and now extremely divided industry.
The call for government involvement followed yet more conflict on Wednesday, when two truckloads of bananas from the Banana Salvation Marketing Company were stopped at the Vieux Fort docks because the fruits were mostly packed in boxes marked and supplied by its competitor, the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC). This action is in keeping with an agreement between WIBDECO and the SLBC, but it resulted in the trucks remaining parked in the sun for some three hours. It is unclear whether the bananas were repacked or how much fruit was lost as a result of this action. However, the incident served to galvanise opinion amongst banana farmers and officials of several banana companies, including the SLBC and Tropical Quality Fruit Company (TQFC), that the government must urgently put in place regulations to resolve the current infighting within the banana industry. As it stands, according to a press release in several newspapers, a TQFC official who made some enquiries found that "No one at St. Lucia's Ministry of Agriculture was able to explain the requirements needed to set up a banana buying company". SLBC chairman Patrick Joseph concurs with his competitor's call for regulation, saying: "The Government will have to decide if they want the banana industry to be destroyed since it was privatised, or is it fair competition they wanted? If there is to be fairness then the industry should be regulated".
Last week Monday, at the annual general meeting of the SLBC, prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony responded to similar calls made by farmers but, at the time, warned that "Each such step by government would reduce and weaken your independence as a private company" [see last week's news].
Meanwhile, the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) has entered the debate by urging the government to establish a standing committee made up of representatives of farmers' companies, relevant financial institutions, the Chamber of Commerce, relevant trade unions and the government. This committee, the UWP advises, must review the state of the industry; form a cooperative forum to deal with collective needs of the industry; propose ways of stabilising the arrangements for the marketing of St. Lucian bananas in Europe, and make formal agreements on these matters. The UWP statement rejects the government's 'hands-off' policy and advises that instead, as is the case with the tourism industry, a privatised banana industry also needs some sort of structured arrangement to ensure the promotion and protection of the national interest. The Voice and One Caribbean both report this.
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Calderon: legislative clarity on abortion needed
Paula Calderon, recently unanimously voted president of the Caribbean Organisation of Sickle Cell Associations (COSCA), advocated on the DBS Evening News last Friday, that legislation be put in place which makes it clear whether or not abortion is permissible in cases where there is a physical deformity or other serious physical condition present in an unborn child. She argued that either abortion must be made a matter of parental choice in such cases, or else there must be greater support and facilities available, to help parents deal with the consequences of their child's physical challenges. COSCA was founded some years ago by Calderon, together with Dr. Graham Serjeant. The organisation currently has nine member countries: Jamaica, Bahamas, Dominica, St. Kitts, Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent, Antigua and St. Lucia. This is reported in The Star.
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US military to investigate local drug trafficking
A United States Military Information Support Team will on Monday start a two-week visit to the Caribbean to examine ways of assisting key local agencies in combatting illegal drug trafficking and drug abuse. The team will visit Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. US military personnel are expected to return in June to conduct training in demand reduction and drug interdiction at sea- and airports. The Star reports this.
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Minister: internet market open to new providers
Minister Calixte George says he is "not impressed" with proposals by Cable & Wireless (C&W) for tariff reductions on national, international and internet services in the Eastern Caribbean and he urges the telecommunications giant to "go further". The minister at the time was speaking as chairman of the OECS Telecommunications Negotiations Committee, addressing telecommunications ministers of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. George urged C&W to disclose its cost data. "It is the absence of this information which has led us to believe that the tariff rates are not justified and are still too exorbitant", George is quoted as saying in The Star. The OECS under the leadership of George, has been pushing for liberalisation of the telecommunications market in the islands. George revealed that he has written to C&W asking the company to further reduce internet rates and also to adjust its rates for cellular services.
According to The Star, George further commented on the rulings in two court cases in Dominica between new market entrant Marpin and C&W, in which noted that there are several services - including internet provision - which, although perceived as being covered by monopoly exclusivity agreements favouring C&W, in fact are not. Such services are therefore open to new market entrants.
Meanwhile, C&W announced special low rates on international calls for the month of May. Every Monday to Friday, from 6pm to 8am, all international direct dialled calls made from fixed lines will be charged at weekend rates, making calls to anywhere in the world EC$2.69 a minute or less. Calls to the United States will cost EC$2.03 a minute (EC$1.82 for Talkaway customers). The Voice writes this.
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Suspected gang killing leaves two dead
Two men are dead following a pre-dawn shooting in La Pansee, Castries, this Saturday morning. Guy 'Ti Guy' President and a man who is suspected to have acted as his bodyguard, were both shot at close range at President's house. President had been involved in shooting incidents in the past. The last one four years ago left him crippled, following a gunshot to the waist. The police suspects that the double murder is gang-related. No arrests have yet been made. This was reported on Saturday's DBS Evening News.
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UNCTAD report critical of manufacturing climate
While the minister of Commerce, Phillip J. Pierre announced this week that "the latest economic review shows that the decline of manufacturing has been arrested" and that "a review of the production of key commodities in the industry revealed an increase of 7.1 percent from $139.1 million in 1998 to $149.2 million in 1999", a 47-page report evaluating the international competitiveness of St. Lucia's manufacturing sector calls on government to urgently scrap several constraints on manufacturers in order to boost economic activity. The report in question was prepared by Francesco Abbate, an economic consultant with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In January, Abbate spent four weeks in St. Lucia during which time he interviewed forty manufacturers, ministry officials and others involved in the manufacturing sector. In this, the first draft of his report, Abbate sums up several factors which impede St. Lucia's manufacturing sector. "Some of the constraints cited in the report include domestic economic factors such as poor work ethics in the labour force resulting in low levels of productivity, and a shortage of skilled workers, quality auditors, mechanics and marketing experts. A lack of working capital, high cost of utilities, delays in processes such as clearing materials from customs, issuing work permits, and inconsistent technical assistance were also identified as hindrances to developing a vibrant and sustainable manufacturing sector", writes The Star.
The Voice adds that, according to Abbate, government ought to "scrap the negative list of investment areas and trade licenses it has in place, waive the landholding license for approved projects and automatically grant a certain number of work permits if it wants St. Lucia to become one of the most investor-friendly countries in the region". The newspaper further reports that Abbate has found that the ministry of Commerce has gone about designing and implementing an international competitiveness strategy in an "ad hoc fashion". The paper cites the report; "the country's fiscal incentive system lacks priority-setting and trade and industrial policies have not resulted in adequate selectivity and support for the most promising industries".
The Star comments that the Abbate report also criticises the import license system. "Although recent trade policy has been marked by progress in trade liberalisation, important non-tariff barriers are still in place. Among Caricom countries, St. Lucia holds the unenviable record of the largest number of product categories under import licenses". Abbate advises that the license system be replaced by a tariff system - something which was heavily criticised locally when phases 3 and 4 of the Common External Tariff (CET) were implemented recently.
At a manufacturers consultation in the NIS conference centre last Thursday, minister Pierre promised that manufacturers who can meet certain conditions will, by the end of May, receive information about consumption tax rebates ranging from 20 to 60 percent. He also disclosed that various other alleviating measures were being put in place, such as the amendment of consumption tax rates, adjustment of import duties on certain products, the removal of service charge on raw and packaging materials of some companies and a retooling allowance. The Star writes this.
With regard to minister Pierre's assertion that the decline in the manufacturing sector had been arrested and that certain key commodities actually revealed a 7.1 percent increase, the sub-sectors referred to were food & beverage, tobacco, apparel , wood and wood products, electrical and plastic products and copra and copra-derivates. On the radio news earlier this week, Pierre quoted the annual profit figures of the Heineken Brewery, Windward and Leeward Brewery Ltd (WLBL), over the past financial year to support his assertion that the manufacturing sector is on the rebound. Apart from the suggestion that one company was indicative of the manufacturing sector as a whole, the choice of the Heineken Brewery was a poignant reminder of the conflict fought out in 1996/1997 between the Brewery and several small wholesalers in St. Lucia.. In October of 1996, following a stagnation in sales, the Brewery responded by entering the distribution trade. By 1997, WLBL was providing curbside delivery to 1500 outlets islandwide, using ten delivery trucks. Additionally, WLBL devised a pricing scheme which gave the Brewery the competitive edge, thus making it cheaper for retailers to buy Brewery products 'off the truck' rather than from independent wholesalers. WLBL's move to thus enter the distribution trade was hotly contested at the time by the St. Lucia Industrial and Small Business Association and several small, independent wholesalers. Despite WLBL's advice to wholesalers that they ought to adapt in order to succeed (The Voice, 17 October 1996), several wholesalers have over time been forced out of business.
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Odlum reiterates budget criticism overseas
Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Odlum this week restated his criticism of the government at a meeting in Ottawa, Canada, where he spent three days meeting senior government officials and representatives of the Canadian International Development Agency, and attended the St. Lucia-Ottawa Association annual dinner. Odlum reportedly said: "Many of my colleagues may feel that they are working hard, but it's not impacting on the country. There is much concern on the ground about what they are not doing".
Meanwhile, the top brass of the St. Lucia Labour Party is holding a special two-day retreat at Club Med in Vieux Fort this holiday weekend. According to One Caribbean, "The mid-term exercise will allow the government to take stock of its performances and perceptions in light of criticism from within". Both One Caribbean and The Star state that, according to government sources, one of the main issues to be discussed at the meeting is the recent contribution of Foreign Affairs minister George Odlum to the budget debate. Odlum blamed his government colleagues for having lost touch with large and crucial segments of the population. It is unclear whether minister Odlum himself will be attending the weekend retreat. The Star suggests that Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony "has actually discussed the possibility of dumping Odlum as soon as possible" - despite the PM's earlier assurances that "there will be no thunder, no lightning" reaction to Odlum's speech.
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Man killed by police for refusing stop order
A 43-year-old man of Victoria, Choiseul was shot twice in the back and killed by police officers, after refusing to obey an order to stop running away. This is reported in One Caribbean and on the Saturday edition of the HTS Evening News. According to the paper, the police responded to a family conflict. Witnesses claimed on television that Norbert Charlery, who may have been in the possession of a small quantity of marijuana but was unarmed, ran away when he saw the police officers. He was ordered to stop, but continued running, at which point the fatal shooting occurred. Charlery reportedly died on the spot. According to One Caribbean, the policeman who shot Charlery subsequently fainted. On the HTS News, residents of Victoria expressed their anger and anxiety over the incident.
Assistant Police Commissioner Hermangild Francis only recently announced that officers found guilty of brutality will be punished. "As long as I am Assistant Commissioner and there are excesses and I find out that there is truth to it, I will take action against that particular officer", Francis said on the HTS news. Francis is also quoted in One Caribbean. The HTS news, in the same broadcast, reported on three other alleged cases of police brutality, in Castries, Soufriere and Vieux Fort, saying that allegations of police brutality and policemen "using their uniforms for clandestine purposes" have reached "fever pitch" in St. Lucia.
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Fishermen back on track after Lenny
Fishermen from Choiseul, Soufriere, Anse la Raye, Canaries, Roseau and Gros Islet whose boats and engines were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Lenny in October of last year, can look forward to receiving financial help from the ministry of Agriculture, Foresty and Fisheries by the end of this week. The Star and Thursday Voice report this. In a separate article, The Star reports that the Italian government this week pledged half a million US dollars to help Caribbean countries which sustained heavy damage during Hurricanes Lenny and Jose. The Italians announced this in a letter to Grenada's prime minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, who had solicited Italy's help. Grenada is expected to receive US$60,000. It is not clear whether St. Lucia stands to receive funds from the Italian initiative as well.
Meanwhile, The Voice reports that, for the third year running, fish landings have increased significantly in St. Lucia. For the period January to March 2000, 20 percent more fish was landed than in the same period in 1999 (1,825,572 lbs as against 1,522,622 lbs). The St. Lucia Fish Marketing Board purchases about one-third of all fish landed in St. Lucia. With the opening of the new multi-million Vieux Fort Fisheries Complex planned for next month, fish landings are expected to continue their upward trend.
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Bar Association elects disciplinary committee
Former attorney-general Lorraine Williams is one of the elected members of a new disciplinary committee of the St. Lucia Bar Association (SLBA). Other members are Winston Cenac QC, Beverly Downes, Winston Hinkson, Lorenzo Williams and Leslie Mondesir. The committee members were elected at the SLBA's recently held annual general meeting. A legislative review committee was also appointed. Its task will be to review and comment on proposed, new and existing legislation. Other issues discussed were the establishment of an SLBA secretariat and the implications and responsibilities for members of the legal fraternity of the new Legal Profession Act. The Star, Voice and Mirror all report this.
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Crusader reporter claims fear of deportation
Christine Larbey, the Crusader reporter who first broke the news regarding the Nigerian student Smart Duah who was kept unlawfully imprisoned after overstaying his tourist visa, and who has written several other critical articles on alleged police brutality as well as an article regarding former press-secretary Claudius Francis with which Francis has since taken issue, this week on television claimed that the government "is making moves to get her out of the country". One Caribbean writes this. Larbey has been a St. Lucian citizen since 1993 but was born in the UK. "I'm a citizen of this country and I have the rights of ever other person living in this country", Larbey is quoted in One Caribbean. "I feel intimidated by the latest events. If I write a story and I know that it is 150 % sure, I think the people of the country deserve to know what is happening in their country". The Star also reports on Larbey's revelation.
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OECS Athletes website launched
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Casino legislation underway
A team of government officials this week reported to Cabinet following a visit to the Bahamas where it had been observing the operation of gaming facilities. Cabinet is preparing to introduce legislation in parliament which will make gambling legal in St. Lucia. According to The Star, prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony said: "It is very important to ensure that while we exploit all the benefits, we ourselves do not become exploited". Although he could not say exactly when the bill will be presented to parliament, Dr. Anthony expects that casino gaming will contribute some $700,000 to the government coffers in its first year of operation. So far, Hyatt Regency has applied for a casino license and the Sandals group has expressed an interest. Once the bill is approved, Hyatt expects it will take about three months of training and preparation before its casino can be operational.
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National Trust aims to raise $150,000+
In an attempt to raise $150,000 or more, the St. Lucia National Trust last weekend launched its biggest-ever fundraising initiative to collect monies to pay for the restoration and development of Pigeon Island. The campaign, dubbed Envirofever 2000, will last five months and targets St. Lucians at home and overseas as well as visitors, corporate entities and other agencies. The fundraiser includes an islandwide sale of green ribbons, jingles, newspaper articles, sales of t-shirts, pledge-a-thons, window displays and green attire days. The culmination of Envirofever 2000 will be Naturefest - an environmental fair to be held in September at Pigeon Island. The Star, Mirror and Thursday Voice report this.
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