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0.33% of  population polled in 1998 casino survey

US soldiers accused of taking ganja back home

Official report: earthquakes caused Black Mallet disaster

Call to compensate families of 1993 banana riot victims

LIAT not yet out of the woods

December police shootings: no inquests scheduled yet

Bus drivers under closer scrutiny

Malcolm Charles stays on as SLEF president

WASCO urged not to abuse public's "goodwill"

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0.33% of population polled in 1998 casino survey

    508 persons were questioned in a nationwide survey in December of last year (1998) to determine whether or not casino gaming facilities should be introduced on the island [read the official survey report]. The survey was conducted by the statistical unit of the ministry of Finance in collaboration with the ministry of Tourism. Based on the results of this survey,  government decided last week to permit the introduction of "regulated gaming facilities" in "carefully selected hotels in pre-designated zones" in St. Lucia. Casinos and other gaming facilities will be strictly for visitors and off-bounds for locals. The minister of Tourism, Philip J. Pierre, announced this on Tuesday. The minister cited figures from the survey  to support government's decision.
    According to Pierre, 55 percent of St. Lucians interviewed unconditionally support the introduction of gaming, 34 percent opposed it, and 10 percent had no opinion. Moreover, said Pierre, "Some 75 percent of Catholics, Anglicans and Methodists polled overwhelmingly favoured the introduction of gaming facilities in St.Lucia. ... Of the remaining 30 percent of the religious population, 69 percent opposed the introduction of gaming, 24 percent were in favour and 7 percent expressed no opinion. The majority of negative respondents were less strident in their opposition when certain conditions applied". Based on this, Pierre stated, the government concludes that "the majority of St. Lucians unconditionally support the introduction of gaming facilities as part of the entertainment in our hotel and tourism product". The Star, Voice and Mirror all report this.
    The National Youth Council, the Methodist Church and the Catholic Church, in particular, question the survey, all stating that nobody ever asked them for their opinion on gaming. All oppose the introduction of gambling.
    Minister Pierre defended the introduction of restricted gaming by supplying six arguments: "St. Lucia will become more attractive to a wider cross-section of visitors; gaming increases the foreign exchange earning capacity of the destination; gaming increases government's revenue through taxes and licenses; gaming increases employment opportunities; gaming increases opportunities for visitors to spend more while they are in the destination; destinations with regulated gaming faclities are more attractive to investors". The minister will introduce the Gaming Bill in the House of Assembly for first reading. This will give details of licenses, regulation of gaming, prohibition and penalties and financial and general control of the gaming industry in St. Lucia.
    The St. Lucia Labour Party, whilst in opposition some years ago, strongly opposed plans by the then-government to introduce gaming facilities on the island. They said then that casino gambling was a fundamental issue which should be decided by referendum. In recent months, many persons and institutions (including the Catholic Church, see last week's news), correctly speculated that the government would give gambling the go-ahead.
    Click here to read the official survey report

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US soldiers accused of taking ganja back home

    American military personnel stationed in St. Lucia as part of the marijuana eradication program in St. Vincent are now being accused of having transported marijuana from St. Vincent, through St. Lucia, and on to the United States. According to The Mirror newspaper, this is the second consecutive year that independent sources allege that the Americans are involved in marijuana transportation. In 1998, an officer of the Regional Security Services confirmed this. This time around, Bongo Wisely Tafari, chairman of the National Council for the Advancement of Ras Tafari claims that the Americans "don't just burn it down. They come to harvest it".
    Known as 'Operation Weed-Eater', the American military forces spent approximately two weeks in December 1998 and 1999, to work with regional law enforcers to locate and destroy millions of marijuana plants in St. Vincent. Each time, the Americans were based in neighbouring St. Lucia, at Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort.
    The Mirror claims that following Operation Weed-Eater last year, St. Lucian officers of the RSS telephoned the newspaper and confirmed that the American military "bagged and transported exactly 181 bags of marijuana from St. Vincent to St. Lucia en route to America". It continues: "Some officers were angry that after having RSS officers work under the impression that they were eradicating marijuana, the Americans promptly protected a large portion of the herb for their own 'legitimate' uses. "It was humiliating", said one officer, who called The Mirror soon after the operation. "The Americans don't even cut. They have us there working, like the old massa, and then when they're finished they come and take 181 bags of the same thing we are fighting against".
    Marijuana is an important, though illegal, cash crop for many small farmers in St. Vincent. The combined American and regional interference elicited some protest earlier this month [see last week's news].

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Official report: earthquakes caused Black Mallet disaster

    The land slippages at Black Mallet are the result of  "earth movements down the area's slopes [which] were sparked by a series of earthquakes which occurred in June, July and October. This had the effects of decreasing the safety factor with every movement and led to shifting of several quicksand layers of saturated soil". This is reported in the official soil testing and geo-technical study into the Black Mallet Disaster, which was made public this week. The study was executed by a team from Strata Engineering, headed by Roosevelt Isaac. Isaac recommends that simultaneous drainage and remedial works be undertaken. The slope could be de-watered through drilling of piles and planting of specific types of trees. However, Isaac said, "another Venezuela could well happen here if people continue to build homes everywhere without proper planning". This is reported in The Star. An overseas Caribbean firm is expected to start remedial work soon. So far, fifty families have had to be relocated after the land slippages in Black Mallet and adjacent areas started to occur approximately eight weeks ago. Government has decided to extend the period of payment of rent for relocated families by another three months.

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Call to compensate families of 1993 banana riot victims

    The families of farmers Randy and Julius Joseph, who were shot and killed by police during the banana riots of October 7, 1993, must be compensated. This according to Patrick Joseph during a speech made at the opening ceremony of a new central banana packing facility at Ran-Ju Farms Ltd - of which company Patrick Joseph chairs the board of directors. "As we approach the new millennium, the family of Randy and Julius Joseph would feel much better, as they miss their sons, if the compensation promised could be delivered. These gentlemen were used as the vehicles to get us where we are today. Their murderers have been promoted and decorated. This chapter has been closed; it is now past time that the compensation to the family of these two dead heroes be taken better care of". The Voice and Star both report this.

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LIAT not yet out of the woods

    Shareholders of regional airline LIAT 1974 Ltd., including shareholding governments from around the Caribbean region, last weekend refused to take a decision on a proposal to write off LIAT's EC$20 million debt. At a meeting held in Castries, St. Lucia, LIAT management made a passionate plea to shareholder governments to forget about LIAT's outstanding dues for landing charges and ticket taxes, in order to allow the debt-ridden airline company to make a fresh start. But the aviation ministers gathered in Castries declined voting in favour of such a proposal, and instead have referred the matter back to the prime ministerial level. This is reported in The Star.

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December police shootings: no inquests scheduled yet

    Up to the 24th of December, no inquest had yet been scheduled for the shooting death of a 20-year-old Castries man, three weeks earlier, by police officers, nor has an inquest been scheduled yet for the shooting death, also by police officers, of a mentally deranged Soufriere man, last week, in the Anse Chastenet area. This is reported in The Star. In a critical evaluation of the status and functioning of the St. Lucian police force in general, and the Special Services Unit (SSU) in particular, The Star quotes extensively from a 1980s investigative report. 'Nothing has changed', the article implies. "Within the [police] force, the SSU is considered a sort of hit squad as a substitute for tried and tested police procedures and methods. There is considerable evidence that the unit is used to dispense summary justice rather than having to go through the humbug of judicial proceedings", quotes The Star. Concludes the newspaper: "The available evidence suggests our cops are rotten. Either they are themselves corrupt or they condone with their silence the activities of corrupt colleagues". The paper then quotes a police officer who explained the corrupting pressures as follows: "When you are part of a team that's largely corrupt, you have little choice but to prove your loyalty to your colleagues if you want to stay alive. And the only acceptable proof is evidence of your own corruption. That way everyone has something on everyone else".
    Relatives of the 20-year-old Castries man who was shot by police last week vowed in The Mirror that they would take the police to court, if necessary [see last week's news]. An autopsy report suggested that the man was shot in the back five times. Eye witnesses claim he was unarmed. A human rights lawyer is also involved in the case.

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Bus drivers under closer scrutiny

    A Traffic Hotline will soon be established where members of the public can report traffic offenses, in particular those made by public transport drivers. Transport drivers will also come under extra scrutiny from traffic police to obey both the traffic laws and route regulations. This was announced following a meeting between officials of the National Council on Public Transport (NCTP), the traffic police, the prime minister and the minister for Transport, Calixte George. Recently, police prevented Castries-Vieux Fort bus drivers who had not renewed their expired route bands from picking up passengers. Following this, some drivers complained that the present system lacks facilities such as rest rooms and bus shelters, and that there are too many drivers plying the routes without any permit at all. All parties involved have pledged further cooperation to improve the public transportation system. The Star reports this.

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Malcolm Charles stays on as SLEF president

    Malcolm Charles has been re-elected as president of the St. Lucia Employers Federation (SLEF). Timothy Chaderton will serve as vice-president, and other executive members of the board of management for the year 2000 are Anthony Mondesir, Marc Joinville, Tjebbe Scheper, George Noon, Thecla Deterville, Zai Mohammed and Trevor Philip. Andrew Piltie continues to act as executive director. The SLEF expects a busy season in the year 2000, with fourteen new labour laws to be introduced in preparation for a harmonised Labour Code for St. Lucia. This is reported in The Star.

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WASCO urged not to abuse public's "goodwill"

    Government last week proposed to guarantee a $40 million loan to help the Water and Sewerage Company to transform from its previous form, as a public company, into a business entity. In seeking support for the proposal from the House of Assembly, minister of Finance Dr. Anthony warned WASCO management not to take its clients - St. Lucian consumers - for granted. WASCO intends to raise water rates by one hundred percent as of January 1st, 2000. Many consumers, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and the Hotel and Tourism Association, have objected to such a steep increase and asked for a more gradual price hike. Dr. Anthony stated that he had sensed that many people "are willing to pay the increased rates, providing that they get an efficient and reliable supply of water". "WASCO has a responsibility not to abuse that goodwill", minister Anthony said. Currently, only 35 percent of St. Lucian households are connected to the WASCO water supply. WASCO's predecessor WASA was plagued by inefficiency and debts.

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