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2nd June 2001

Drought reaches crisis proportions: water rationed

One-man protester arrested at House of Assembly

Innocent woman (34) killed in flaring gang war

Cathedral case begins; Miguel Lorne defends accused

Guadeloupe: mad cow disease as yet unconfirmed

Micoud toddler with leukemia requires $$ help

Dealers put stop to selling fuel on credit

Gov't establishes minimum wages regime in St. Lucia

Wyndham Morgan Bay wins Thomson's gold award

 

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Quotes:

"I couldn't help but wonder whether a masked 'Invader' (is he allowed to wear the mask offstage?) would have been able to pass near the Parliament buildings unscathed, last Tuesday. Perhaps the detainee should have burst into song at the approach of the Police? Sorry, just a thought".
Victor Marquis comparing popular Calypsonian 'Invader', who habitually wears a mask, to the lone mask-wearing protestor who was arrested in front of the House of Assembly (Thursday Voice, 2nd June).

"Dr. Didacus Jules said that the Treasury had a new computerized system of payment which calculated payments for both daily and monthly paid workers, adding that what appears on their pay slips was part of the computer calculations. He added that it had nothing to do with how they are being paid and made it clear that they were not being paid by the hour as it was being rumoured".
The Mirror South on teachers conference, where payment was one of the concerns raised (1st June).

"There are many things that he has tried to do us, but people don't know about it, because I am not the kind of man who like to make report to the police. I try to deal with things myself".
Castries gang leader who claims that the bullet that killed an innocent woman on Darling Road, was intended for him (The Mirror, 1st June).

"... while Mr Odlum and company would understandably not be contesting the coming elections to lose, if they could emerge with a strong and viable second place that would bring some parliamentary balance to our democracy, they would have scored a national success".
The Mirror editorial on the National Alliance (1st June).

"Working from his modest corporate headquarters on the banks of the Marchand River, this man tried his hand at everything, from rearing chickens, to selling hard-boiled eggs, to building homes. Coco perfected the science of marketing, before it had become an accepted business practice in Saint Lucia. To promote the sale of his hard-boiled eggs, he walked around in immaculate white suits and carried his eggs in a Thermos to keep them warm".
Cletus Springer, reminiscing (The Mirror, 1st June).

"According to Patrice, some entrepreneurs wanted to reach at the top too fast. He said reaching at the top was not a bad goal, but one should not cheat or tell lies to get there".
Director of the National Research and Development Foundation Patrice to graduating small business people (The Mirror, 1st June).

"He advised the students to avoid doing things, which were unethical, despite their potential for apparent gain, adding that it was a dilemma, which they would face in the world of work".
Instructor to graduating secondary school- leavers about to enter the job market (The Mirror, 1st June).

"'Lawyers are making 7.5 million dollars on the transaction', said Odlum, 'and the lawyer who is making it, he'll be getting 2.5 million in his pocket. You know what 2.5 million can do for Gros Islet?"
George Odlum on the merging of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) and the St. Lucia Development Bank (SLDB) (Wednesday Star, 30th May).

"His view of working class was simply that, 'toute malaway say Lay-bar, so par worry cour avec sa'. ... His fate, and that of many others like him was sealed. And so were their struggles to eventually climb out of a life of abject poverty. Moreover, coming to think of it all, it would be inconceivable to think that these men would want to break out of the mold of poverty. For surely, to do so, would be like going against the grain of everything that 'Lay-Bar' stood for. ... [So] for now, and until the next elections, they will return to their stricken life of poverty, making coals, digging drains, and selling black pudding out on the town. A hard life to live as a malayway, but a darn good one for the politicians who demand their loyalty!"
Therold Prudent on the alleged 'Catch 22' of traditional working class Labour Party supporters (Wednesday Star, 30th May).

"At the same time, Home Affairs Minister Velon John also announced Monday that the police will be engaging in a crackdown on crime spots in the area through a special tactical exercise that will include procedures he could not disclose for obvious reasons".
PM's Press Secretary Earl Bousquet (Wednesday Star, 30th May).

"There is a problem that too many of our businessmen just sit back and believe that those contacts can develop over time, whereas you have to be aggressive. You have to market, you need to search out the buyers and that has been our fatal weakness".
Prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony on the occasion of a British Trade Mission visiting St. Lucia (The Star, 2nd June).

"An 18 hole golf course in a dry country can consume as much water as a town of 10,000 people"
Figures from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (The Star, 2nd June).

"While there is a need for all of us to keep our plants healthy and our cars clean, this should not be done at the expense of the lives of the majority of St. Lucians".
PM Dr Kenny Anthony advising St. Lucians to ration their water usage (The Star, 2nd June).

"Those who cried when Julian's came, when Royal Castle came, and those who screamed when K-mart was coming, had better reach for the Vaseline, because your shaft is coming. That is free trade. ... A waitress at the hotel earns 4000 dollars a week that's 60 dollars EC. That's free trade. Of course she can make 60 dollars US an hour lying on her back. That is free trade. So let's close all these manufacturers and become waiters and waitresses or gape at the ceiling all night. That's free trade".
Lawson Calderon wondering whether free trade is really "all it's cracked up to be?" (The Star, 2nd June).

 

PM's 2001 New Year Message

The Constitution of St. Lucia 

Budget 2000 speeches

Casino Survey Report

Full Text of  Blom-Cooper inquiry report

 

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Drought reaches crisis proportions: water rationed

    With increasingly strict measures being put in place to ration the last supplies of drinking water, and with the fight against bush fires ongoing, prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony this week called upon St. Lucians and visitors alike to pay heed to every pint of water they use. The John Compton Dam at Roseau reportedly has, at current usage levels, just one month's supply left and, "If there is no rain for the next month, St. Lucia is facing a major social and economic crisis as relates to the water supply", says WASCO general manager Martin Satney. In theory, the rainy season (and hurricane season) started this week, on June 1st, but with the reservoirs nearly empty, St. Lucia needs daily rainfall of 5 to 6 millimeters for a month to "properly ease the current crisis", reports The Star.
    According to prime minister Anthony, the areas currently hardest hit by the drought - in terms of interruptions in the water supply - are South Castries, Pierrot in Vieux Fort, Mabouya Valley in Dennery, and high elevations in the north including Babonneau, East Castries and environs. The Star quotes the PM as saying: "In some cases WASCO is only able to distribute half of the usual supply to these communities. The Millet and Tete Chemin intakes have all dried up. The Talvan, Marquis and Gravité sources that supply the Hill 20 Water Treatment Plant are now supplying 20% or 1/5th of normal supply. The Diamond system in Soufriere and the Vieux Fort systems all continue to perform well. However, the other systems have registered drops in production ranging from 40% to 100%. The Bouton system is completely dry and the Dernier Rivierre and Au Leon systems can only provide water for 2 hours a day. Currently WASCO is rationing the water supply and in some cases there have been extensive cutbacks, including a cutback of approximately 70% of the hotels' normal supply".
    Meanwhile, The Mirror, Voice and Star all report on the PM signing an agreement with the government of France whereby St. Lucia will receive a loan of between EC$9 and $10 million (at 5% over 11 years with a 6 year grace period) to construct 6.7 kilometers of new water pipes between Bananes Bay and Choc Bay. The new 500 mm pipe will double the capacity of the original connection and is expected to greatly improve the water supply to the area north of Castries. Work on this pipeline is expected to begin "nearer the middle of this year", writes The Mirror, and will last about twelve months.
    While so far, certain areas have experienced few interruptions in their normal water supply, other St. Lucians have not had reliable service for as long as ten weeks. The Star interviewed twelve people on the street, asking how they had been affected by the present water situation. Six had experienced little or no problems, while the other six complained bitterly of not being able to bathe, do their laundry or water their plants, and of sometimes having to travel  considerable distances to collect water from public standpipes. A sales clerk from Babonneau reportedly stated: "The water condition in my area is so deplorable that sometimes when I have to bathe, I have to use one little jerrycan of water, soap myself and that's it. For the past three weeks we have had no water and we had to get a van to go to collect water from as far away as Grande Riviere, or else every bucket at home would be empty".

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One-man protester arrested at House of Assembly

    In a reportedly peaceful one-man protest objecting to the government's 'failure to deliver', a male protester wearing a mask and brandishing a placard  was arrested in front of the House of Assembly in Castries last Tuesday - to the indignation of some commentators in this week's newspapers. Victor Marquis in the Thursday Voice wonders what charges are being laid against the man and questions whether the man's rights are not being violated. "Within minutes of his appearance on the scene, he is arrested (by what was undoubtedly a larger-than-necessary contingent of police officers, each blatantly eager to get his hands on the 'offender' and catch a piece of the action) and taken to the police station. The reasons for his arrest are, to say the least, nebulous". Marquis states that he found it impossible to get information on the arrest  from the information branch of the police force, and asks "How does the law of the land come into play here?"
    The Mirror uses the incident to highlight the launching of the new National Alliance, last week in Gros Islet, and states: "During the week a man carrying a placard denouncing the Government for 'failing to deliver' was arrested outside the House of Assembly while a meeting was in progress. Although this was an isolated case, nothing of the sort has happened under Labour in the past four years. Against this background, the appearance of the National Alliance seems likely to provide the Government with its first real test from an organized opposition since it decimated the UWP in 1997. Although the ruling party's public relations people have been busy downplaying and even ridiculing the emergence of the Alliance, the feeling in many circles is that they could be singing a different tune when the grouping hits the campaign trail".

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Innocent woman (34) killed in flaring gang war

    A 34-year-old Castries woman was accidentally shot dead last Friday (25th May), in the presence of her husband and 6-year-old daughter, while travelling in the family car down the Darling Rd. hill, towards the centre of Castries. Beverly Stanislaus was sitting next to her husband when, somewhere opposite the First Baptist Church, a stray bullet from what is believed to have been a shoot-out between two rival gangs, hit her in the back of her head. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Victoria Hospital, where her husband had immediately taken her. The Tuesday Voice, Wednesday Star and Mirror all report on this. Ms Stanislaus was an employee of the Sandals La Toc hotel.
    In response, minister of Legal Affairs Velon John has condemned certain areas of Castries as 'problematic' and announced "a particular tactical policing programme. The police are doing something. We are increasing police vigilance in certain areas, problematic areas". The areas he mentioned, according to the Wednesday Star, are Conway, Georgeville and the Graveyard. Earlier, the minister publicly stated that a Canadian tourist who was stabbed two years ago, should have known better than to venture into the Marchand area at night. Another 'no go' area, according to minister John, is the George V Park.
    Only three weeks ago, on the 8th of May, the Tuesday Voice reported: "Last Friday at about 10pm four males with drawn guns walked through lower Darling Road ordering patrons of the Friday night activity there to leave the area. The men fired about three shots on their walk through the neighbourhood".
    Following the death of Beverly Stanislaus, last Friday, Mirror reporter Jason Sifflet visited rival gang members in the area, each accusing the other of trying to kill them in what appears to be a conflict that is more than eight years old but that has since spun so much out of control, that current gang members may have acquired reasons of their own for perpetuating the spiralling violence - or for being unable to stop it. Interestingly, both main gang leaders profess not to be interested in seeking 'war',  each calling on the police to stop the other party from carrying out their 'provocations' and (attempts at) murder.
    In a thought-provoking column, Sifflet reports on his tête-tête with a gang member, who defines himself as a 'mobster' and 'the angel of death'. The young man told Sifflet: "I know what I am from a very young age. I never denied it and I never fight it. That's just the way I am. I don't go and look for trouble with fellas and then have innocent people getting killed on the side. When you do these kinds of things, you make other fellas want to kill you more, because you are a fool. And that's what I hate about some of these fellas. They making youths come and do their dirty work and meet their death for them. Them kind of things that does make the war get hot. When I see fellas wasting their life like they don't have no use for it again, I take it'. ... He smiles. 'I don't want no innocent people involved in my thing. But there have certain man, I don't care if people watching' (he mimes using a rapid fire machine gun) 'I giving it to them good and then the police can take me down, so long I know well, da man finish'."
    Sifflet appears despondent at the apparent senselessness and lack of purpose and direction in the type of modern-day gang warfare that flared up again in Castries last week - and all the more so when he compares the ongoing gang warfare to the late eighteenth-century Brigand's war (1794/95), in which St. Lucian revolutionaries successfully - albeit temporarily - liberated themselves from slavery. Quoting the 'mobster' again, Sifflet writes: "'Nobody knows how the war began. New fellas comin' in and they get theyself in bodes for other fellas that was in the war. Now other fellas want to kill them more because they wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. So that's a whole different war from the original war'. A gangster smiles at me as if I don't take him seriously. He doesn't see me wondering how come the last two decades of black academia could not encapsulate the failure of Black Power so concisely. Up to 100 years ago, we knew who we were fighting and what we were fighting for. Now, we are fighting each other and we don't even know why."

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Cathedral case begins; Miguel Lorne defends accused

    The preliminary inquiry into the Cathedral tragedy on December 31st of last year finally got underway this week amid considerable public interest, with the two accused, Francis Phillip (32) and Kim John (23) being represented by Jamaica-based lawyer Miguel Lorne. The Star reports in detail on Thursday's first session of the inquiry at the Castries Magistrate's Court, providing descriptions of statements made by several eyewitnesses of the attack on churchgoers at the 6am Mass, which resulted in the deaths of Sr. Theresa Egan and, on the 19th April 2000, Fr. Charles Gaillard. The preliminary inquiry is expected to continue for some weeks to come, after which the magistrate will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to let the two accused men stand trial.

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Guadeloupe: mad cow disease as yet unconfirmed

    Guadeloupe, three islands to the north of St. Lucia, is investigating three suspected cases of the human brain illness Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) but clinical tests and analyses thus far indicate that the victims may not be linked with the human form of mad cow disease, new variant (vCJD). The disease vCJD is probably contracted when people eat beef contaminated with mad cow disease (or: bovine spongiform encephalopathy BSE), while classic CJD is a rare brain disease of unknown cause. The Wednesday Star reports this. In 1998, Guadeloupe recorded its first and thus far only victim of CJD, and that case was not linked to mad cow disease. Earlier last week, however, French radio and newspaper reports had stated that two cases of vCJD were suspected in Guadeloupe and a third in St. Martin. The report from the French ministry of Health now contradicts these rumours. In Europe, almost 100 people have died so far from vCDJ, with several more suspected sufferers.

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Micoud toddler with leukemia requires $$ help

    While 12-year-old brain tumour patient Chris JnCharles continues to receive treatment and recover from a life-saving operation paid for by the generosity of St. Lucians, the public eye is now on 2-year-old Cornisha Mangal from Micoud, who was diagnosed ten weeks ago with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is currently severely ill in hospital in Barbados. Cornisha's parents, Denise Augustin and Cornishus Mangal, have appealed to charitable persons on the island to assist them with their medical bills. While the ministry of Health this week offered to contribute $10,000 if a formal request for assistance is made, Cornisha's mother Denise Augustin related to the Wednesday Star her worries and frustrations in obtaining financial help from the government. According to her, an official from the ministry of Health demanded that she should first pay off her outstanding debts for a first course of chemotherapy drugs, before the ministry of Health's pharmacy would provide a new course of treatment. "She keeps calling us for the money, saying all kinds of different things, Even saying that she would send the drugs back to Barbados and if we don't pay somebody will have to take jail. Last week she called the same time that they were asking us to look for more blood donors for Cornisha because she was in a critical condition. At the same time, she is calling, quarreling for money. I find that the ministry should be helping us, not pressuring us for money, especially when my child is still admitted. ... It's not our intention to owe somebody and deliberately not pay", quotes The Star. An account has been opened for Cornisha's medical treatment at Scotia Bank, High Street, Castries, account #10665.
    Meanwhile, minister of Health Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, in an address to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, recently spoke on behalf of Caricom countries about the "very high demands and expectations" which Caribbean populations allegedly have of health care. "Many families either live [in] or have visited the United States and through Cable TV for example, our people view Hollywood style emergency room medicine from their living rooms every night and expect to receive similar services the next day from our health facilities". The Tuesday Voice reports this.

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Dealers put stop to selling fuel on credit

    Owners of gas stations on the island have decided - through the Petroleum Dealers' Association - that they will no longer provide credit to individuals, companies or public institutions as of Monday the 4th of June. In a quarter-page advertisement in The Voice, the Petroleum Dealers' Association states that as service stations, they have been faced with increased costs in the financing of credit sales on fuel while, at the same time, the marketing companies from which they in turn have to purchase fuel, do not offer them "normal credit terms".
    Traditionally, many governmental departments including the police force purchase fuel using credit vouchers. No editorial comment is offered on the decision by the Petroleum Dealers' Association in this week's crop of newspapers.

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Gov't establishes minimum wages regime in St. Lucia

    "It is abundantly clear that our peple are generally exploited when we consider the wage rates that they are exposed to. That needs to be rectified and we think that the Minimum Wage Act will rectify that problem and will bring an element of equity into that economic situation". So said minister of Legal Affairs and Labour, Velon John, during the official launching earlier this week of the Minimum Wages Commission, whose task it will be to advise minister John on enforcing the Minimum Wage Act no.27 of 1999, which requires him to "fix minimum wages and terms of and conditions of service for any class of workers generally or for any class of workers in a particular industry or undertaking, or where satisfied that it is necessary to do so fix a national minimum wage applicable to workers generally". The Star and Voice report this.
    The Star adds that minister John believes that the risk that established minimum wages will frighten off potential foreign investors, "is one the island will have to take as the government seeks to ensure workers are duly compensated". The paper goes on to quote minister John: "We are cognisant of the current exploitation of our workers, females in particular, and we are of the opinion that such a policy (minimum wage) will promote social justice by reducing inequities in the working society and minimising the exploitation of workers, We cannot expose our people to a situation which makes maintaining a decent level of living impossible".
    The newly appointed chairman of the Minimum Wages Commission, David Demacque, took minister John's point one step further, by arguing that established minimum wage levels might even support economic growth. "An individual's propensity to consume is based on his earnings and therefore if some people or groups have a greater latitude to earn and increase their earning there would be a greater propensity to spend and hence the economic spin-off is very clear".
    According to The Voice, the 7-member Wages Commission will act as a 'tribunal' mandated by government to establish a 'regime of wage control' in St. Lucia. Employers contravening the Minimum Wage order are by law liable on conviction to a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for 2 years. Besides Demacque, the Minimum Wages Committee consists of Frank Myers (Employers Federation), George Goddard (Labour Association), Agnes Francis (National Development Corporation), and appointees of the Governor-General Mr Fontenelle, Mr Lord and Mrs Williams.

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Wyndham Morgan Bay wins Thomson's gold award

    St. Lucia's Wyndham Morgan Bay Resort has won the covetted Gold Award from Thomson Holidays for 2000, having scored a consistent best in the customers' surveys on which the British-based company bases its awards. More than four million questionnaires are distributed yearly by Thomson, keeping track of holiday makers' views on the places where they stay. According to the Thursday Voice, "The Gold Award is a real and true testament to the fantastic service and quality thet the Wyndham Resort gives Thomson' customers in St. Lucia". The award was recently presented to Wyndham's general manager Ulrika Devapura, and director of sales, Bridgette Charles, during a gala dinner in Barbados.

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