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Mixed response to Rambally (23) at Tourism helm
The appointment of 23-year-old Menissa Rambally to the vital post of minister of Tourism in a general reshuffle of portfolios amongst government ministers has elicited some expressions of concern, this week. At a press conference last Thursday, where he announced the changes, prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony was subjected to some intense questioning by reporters who, according to The Mirror newspaper, "suggested that the youthful Rambally lacked the maturity and experience to take charge of Tourism, the sector the government says will be the mainstay of the economy in the future". Dr. Anthony replied by saying that: "In these matters you can have 15 or 20 years of experience, but what really matters the most is how much you learn in those 15-20 years. I have seen tremendous growth, tremendous self-development in Menissa Rambally and I have no doubt that she was well prepared for this responsibility". The prime minster further added that the reshuffle of portfolios ought not to be interpreted as a promotion for some members of cabinet and a demotion for others. The Mirror reports this.
Dr. Anthony highlighted as the rationale behind the reshuffle the fact that, after two years and nine months in office, he has had the chance to observe the "strengths and weaknesses" of his administration, as well as the fact that he personally had been carrying "an extraordinarily heavy load" with the portfolios of Finance, Planning, Sustainable Development, Public Service and Information in addition to being prime minister.
With the reshuffle, which comes into effect as of Monday 6th March, former Tourism minister Philip J. Pierre is being reassigned to Commerce and Consumer Affairs, in addition to keeping his responsibility for International Financial Services. The portfolio of 'Industry' has been made redundant, and its tasks have been incorporated in the portfolio of Commerce. Menissa Rambally is promoted from permanent secretary in the ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, to minister in the same. Dr. Walter Francois, whose tasks are being taken over by Philip J. Pierre, is being reassigned to take responsibility for a "newly designed" ministry incorporating Development, Planning, the Environment and Housing. The portfolio of the Environment is being taken away from Cassius Elias, minister of Agriculture. Prime minister Dr. Anthony retains responsibility for Finance, Economic Affairs and Information. The portfolio of the Public Service is being assigned to Attorney General and senator, Petrus Compton. Finally, Michael Gaspard, the parliamentary secretary in the ministry of Education, Youth and Sports is being reassigned to act as parliamentary secretary in Sarah Flood-Beaubrun's ministry of Health. Gaspard will have special responsibility for Human Services and Family Affairs, to allow Flood-Beaubrun to focus more on reform processes in the health sector.
The St. Lucia Labour Party strongly supports the cabinet reshuffle in a press release printed in The Star this week, and criticises the critics: "It is unfortunate that some persons who parade as journalists have sought to scandalise this innovative initiative but we are however confident that the decision by the Prime Minister to reassign portfolios will serve to strengthen the government's ability to further the economic and social transformation of St. Lucia, thereby impacting positively on the welfare of all St. Lucians". The Voice, in its editorial, is more suspicious of the rationale behind the changes and suggests that "the cabinet reshuffle was designed more to strengthen perceived electoral vulnerabilities of certain ministers come the next general election rather than to increase cabinet efficiencies or lighten the heavy load of the Prime Minister". The Voice believes that the "lateral transfer" of Phillip J. Pierre is "best understood as a necessary sacrifice" in order to "enhance the electability" of the current representatives for Soufriere (Dr. Walter Francois) and Castries South-east (Menissa Rambally).
With the changes, the cabinet will boast a record twelve government ministers. Prime minister Dr. Anthony has stated, however, that the changes will "incur a relatively insignificant increase in overall cost to the government and taxpayers. The increased cost will be primarily in a salary increase for Hon. Menissa Rambally and minor administrative costs associated with the changes in the Ministry of Development, Planning, Environment and Housing".
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St. Lucia: 85% of women have tumors in womb
A shockingly high 85 percent of St. Lucian women appear to suffer from fibroids: benign tumors of the uterus which grow in various locations on and within the uterus wall. This is the conclusion of St. Lucian medical technologist Selma St. Prix, who researched the affliction amongst a sample group of 400 women from around St. Lucia. Women in the 33-40 age group recorded the highest incidence of fibroids, but fibroids are common in all age groups from 18 to 55.
The survey further revealed that 75 percent of all women suffer from heavy bleeding during their periods and an equal number reports having periods which last six days or longer. Another 28 percent of women reportedly have fertility problems, while 26 percent of women have endured surgical operations - usually a hysterectomy (removal of the womb). In 7 percent of the cases, women had had their fibroids surgically removed but in the majority of those incidents, the tumors had grown back.
According to Selma St. Prix, the high incidence of fibroids amongst St. Lucian women may be stress-related. The survey, which was commissioned by 'Back to Roots' health fitness shop owner Desmond St. Rose, was conducted a year ago. 'Back to Roots', in collaboration with consultant Dr. Gilbertha St. Rose, is working to develop forms of herbal medication to conquer fibroids. According to Desmond St. Rose, herbal treatment of fibroids has a hundred percent success rate. This is reported in both One Caribbean and The Voice.
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Chamber: new C-tax regime detrimental to economy
Both the Chamber of Commerce and the opposition United Workers Party this week criticised the government's implementation of a new consumption tax regime, saying it will have a negative impact on the economy of St. Lucia. The benefits of the introduction of a new and lower Common External Tariff (CET) which is part of the formation of a single market and economy within the Caricom region are being off-set by a generally higher consumption tax, argues the Chamber. It warns that this will result in a situation where local manufacturers "will be faced not only with increased competition from competing imports with lower duties, but also [that] they will now have to pay a higher consumption tax, further reducing their competitiveness. Therefore, the sector with such pressure will most likely see lower sales volumes while the country will more than likely spend increasing amounts of foreign exchange on imports". Although higher consumption taxes will, in the first instance, increase government revenue, the loss of competitiveness means that business will eventually decline, "reducing employment and leading to lower government revenues in the second round", says the Chamber of Commerce in this week's issue of The Star. The Chamber calls upon the government "to review some of the changes in the new consumption tax regime".
Meanwhile, the minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce last week stated that "there was not, nor was there intended to be", a consumption tax increase on quarry products. A statement to that effect, embedded in a general announcement of new CET tax rules and publicised in the Government Gazette of 13th December 1999, was "a mistake", minister Dr. Walter Francois said. This is reported in The Mirror - the same newspaper that first reported, two weeks ago, on the fact that officers from the Customs and Excise Department were confronting quarry owners with the alleged new rates, resulting in some cases, in persons having to pay as much as four times the old dues.
The United Workers Party, finally, in an article in One Caribbean, warns that when imposing taxes, the government "should take into account that the cost of living is going to rise anyway in the next few months as a result of the big increase in oil prices" on the world market.
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Conmen and vandals plague C&W
Cable and Wireless (C&W) has been having a difficult time of late, having to deal with con artists and vandals. The telecommunications company has received a number of complaints from women who claim not to have authorised certain telephone charges. Investigation revealed, however, that the women in question are the victims of an anonymous male in the United States who has been placing collect calls, using a bogus story and claiming that the woman in question had won a $500 prize. Not always understanding the implications of accepting a collect call, some St. Lucian women have spoken to the smooth-talking man for up to an hour-and-a-half. C&W advises all its customers not to accept charges for overseas calls when the caller is not known, and to teach children how to deal with such calls.
C&W has also been confronted with vandalism of some of its jointboxes, better known as 'manholes' - a practice which jeopardises people's lives. Whenever C&W needs to open such jointboxes for the purposes of repairs, the boxes are guarded with security lights and cones when left open at night. Recently, however, there have been several instances of vandals opening up jointboxes. C&W calls on the public to report any suspicious activity around jointboxes on telephone number 211. One Caribbean, the Thursday Voice and The Star report on C&W's recent worries.
On a happier note, C&W this week also announced that the west-coast village of Canaries can expect to receive cable television by June of this year. New reduced local telephone rates also came into effect on March 1st.
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Fedee resigns days after RSL appointment
Hot on the heels of the announcement that Geoff Fedee had been appointed as the new chairman of the Radio St. Lucia Board [see last week's news], Fedee on Thursday handed in his letter of resignation following a much publicised reprimand by prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony. Allegedly, one of Fedee's first actions as board chairman at RSL was to announce that he would fire Claudius Francis, host of radio talkshow 'The Press Club'. Claudius Francis, instead, opted for resignation. However, Dr. Anthony, who was unhappy about the manner in which Fedee handled the matter with Francis, proceeded to reprimand the new chairman in a letter dated 29th February. In response to the prime minister's letter, this week, Fedee conceded that his remarks about Claudius Francis had indeed been "unfortunate". But he goes on to say that: "However, what concerns me is the subsequent release and dissemination of what I regarded as a confidential communication to the media in its entirety. ... This action only served to fan the flames of controversy, and put me in an untenable position". It is not yet clear when a new chairman will be appointed to the board of Radio St. Lucia. The Star, Mirror, Voice and One Caribbean all report on the matter.
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Emergency room at Victoria Hospital upgraded
The much-maligned Accident & Emergency department at Victoria Hospital in Castries has been upgraded to the tune of EC$1.7 million. This was announced at a press conference last Tuesday. Estimates hold that some 95 percent of complaints from the public about Victoria Hospital emanated from the Accident & Emergency department, with complaints ranging from extremely long waiting periods (up to seven hours); to the absence of a pharmacist to dispense prescribed drugs after having already waited for so long to see a doctor; and refusal to be treated unless payment was first made, in some cases even when payment could not be made because the cashiers were unavailable. Furthermore, according to The Star, the emergency room allegedly did not have an X-ray room or X-ray equipment, had no hot water, and no department head, while staff had received no formal training in emergency care .
According to minister Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, the emergency room at Victoria Hospital "had become the dumping ground for persons not seen as good enough for other departments and it was used as a training ground for fresh doctors".
These deficiencies are now supposedly things of the past, although original plans for the upgrading of the Accident & Emergency department have been changed to the extent that what was to have been the task of a three-person team from Howard University in the United States, is now the task of a sole emergency medical care specialist - St. Lucian doctor Lisa Charles.
The $1.7 million upgrade has so far involved the painting, tiling, decorating and reorganisation of the available space. A consultant's office has been created along with a primary care area, reception room and an area to separate emergency cases from less critical ones. The department has also been equipped with a portable X-ray machine, an anaesthetic machine, wheelchairs, vital statistics monitor, electro-surgical generator, automatic processor and two operating tables.
The hospital is also in the process of hiring more members of staff. As far as training is concerned, minster Flood-Beaubrun revealed at the press conference that customer relations personnel from the all-inclusive hotel chain, Sandals, will be training medical staff "on how best to treat the customer, who in this case is the St. Lucian public requiring medical attention". With regard to the training of staff in medical emergency care, this task is left in the hands of Dr. Lisa Joseph - the department's first and only full-time consultant.
The Star also reports that a site has been identified and approved for the construction of a new national hospital, and that the People's Republic of China has agreed in principle to fund a new psychiatric hospital for St. Lucia. Meanwhile, legislation to establish a Health Complaints Commission is being examined by the Nursing and Medical Associations.
The Voice and One Caribbean both report on the changes at Victoria Hospital.
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Independence celebrations attract good turn-out
Somewhat belated but no less festive, St. Lucia celebrated its 21st anniversary of independence last Sunday. A flag-raising ceremony and colourful military and cultural displays under a clear blue sky drew appreciative crowds at the Mindoo Phillip Park. Other independence day celebrations included the National Independence Exhibition in Vieux Fort, which received a good turn-out, and the Caribbean Cook-Up 2000 festival at Pigeon Island.
Although the celebrations were originally planned for Tuesday 22nd of February, torrential rainfall on the preceding Monday evening forced the organisers to postpone the event [see last week's news]. The total cost of the damage incurred was estimated this week at about EC$1.5 million, with another EC$3.5 million possibly needed to restore the bridge at Sarrot. One Caribbean reports this, whilst The Star and Mirror both report at length on the festivities, including numerous photographs.
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Legality of police 'stop-and-search' action questioned
A local law firm has taken before the high court the fact that the Royal St. Lucian Police Force intends to execute random night-time 'stop-and-search' checks amongst road-users, in order to try to intercept illegal drugs and firearms [see last week's news]. The law firm of Rambally and Francois has filed a constitutional motion against Police Commissioner Francis Nelson, Assistant Police Commissioner for Crime, Hermangild Francis, and Attorney-General Petrus Compton, claiming that the kind of action the police intends to carry out is, in fact, illegal and unconstitutional. According to Rambally and Francois, there must be specific and reasonable suspicion in a specific locality for the police to be allowed to execute a random stop-and-search action. According to Francois, Assistant Police Commissioner Hermangild Francis announced that the road checks would be executed by plain clothes policemen who will be "civil" to the public and "solicit its cooperation". The Thursday Voice and One Caribbean both report on this. The Thursday Voice further quotes lawyer Francois as saying "that [Hermangild] Francis threatens and intends to carry out the said illegal road checks and to victimize him in particular. Also that should he, Francois, come within the locality of any of the road checks and fail to cooperate with the police, an example would be made of him and that as a result he now fears for his safety when driving on the roads at night".
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The Wave replaces GEM Radio
As of Wednesday, GEM Radio will be no more. The popular radio station will be replaced by The Wave - announced as St. Lucia's new Rhythm and Soul station at 94.5 and 93.7 FM, which will feature a unique blend of urban, pop and Caribbean rhythms in a tighly packaged format. The Wave is a division of Cumulus Broadcasting. Well-known names associated with The Wave are popular morning man Michael Rogers, afternoon drive host T.C. Brown, and female announcers Kahli and Solange Stanislas. The Mirror reports this.
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Bullard no longer director of Financial Services
"A shocking transfer", writes The Mirror newspaper. Director of Financial Services Ingrid Bullard, described in The Mirror as "the key player in the birthing of the St. Lucia Financial Services Sector over the last few years", has been transferred at short notice to become the deputy permanent secretary in the ministry of Legal Affairs - but without an explanation being given as to the reason for this sudden move. Bullard was told on the 14th of January to clear her desk and to report to work at the ministry of Legal Affairs on the following Monday. When she did so, the then deputy permanent secretary Linwall James, had not yet been informed that Bullard was to take over his duties. Bullard, in response, took 54 days of leave she was owed in order to allow time for the situation to be resolved. Linwall James was subsequently transferred to the post of deputy permanent secretary in the ministry of Tourism and Bullard is currently acting in her new capacity.
According to minister Philip J. Pierre, who is responsible for Financial Services, Bullard's transfer must be seen as a promotion. "She was transferred by the Public Service Department and I don't get involved in public service issues, I don't want to know", Pierre is quoted as saying in The Mirror. Asked if he was concerned about losing a long-trained specialist in banking and finance such as Bullard, Pierre allegedly replied: "There are no specialists in financial services in St. Lucia. This is a simple Public Service matter. I don't know and I don't care". Bullard, meanwhile, says she is "glad" to have left the directorship of Financial Services behind. "It was becoming very difficult for me, as I have always considered my integrity very important".
A bone of contention between Bullard and her superiors appears to have been the implementation of certain changes in the legislation dealing with financial services, The Mirror writes. Unbeknown to Bullard, the licensing of financial services brokers and the registrar's facility have been placed in the hands of a private company, instead of the department of Financial Services.
Only three weeks ago, at the formal signing of the regulations which make it possible for local practitioners to sign up as Licensed Registered Agents and Trustees, minister Philip J. Pierre announced that St. Lucia intended to develop "the cleanest and most carefully regulated" off-shore financial services industry [see news 12 Feb].
The Mirror expresses anxiety over Bullard's transfer, saying it could have "far reaching effects on the still unborn St. Lucia Financial Services Industry. Some financial service markets in the Caribbean have a reputation for being very lax and susceptible to unethical practices. Antigua and St. Vincent especially have come in for heavy criticism from international and regional watchdogs. But St. Lucia's young sector was already coming in for high praise under Bullard, with articles of praise coming from the Economist and the International Investor, as well as acceptance of the then existing programme by the British, French and Canadian and US authorities". The Mirror does not say who succeeds Bullard as director of Financial Services.
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$108m in new loans approved while debt rises
While St. Lucia's external debt continues to climb ($260.3 million in 1992; 313.1 million in 1995; 374.6 million in 1998) according to figures released this week by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, St. Lucia's parliament at Tuesday's sitting approved another $108.5 million dollars in loans and loan guarantees.
The largest item in Tuesday's loan package is a five-year road rehabilitation and repair programme which is estimated to cost approximately $74.5 million dollars. The money for this loan will come from the Caribbean Development Bank. According to prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, the five-year road plan "is no substitute for our four-lane highway", consultancy activities for which are currently underway and are being financed by the Kuwaiti Fund. The Voice writes this.
Another item in the 108.5 million loan package concerns the relocation of residents in Black Mallet and Maynard Hill and restoration of that area, following last year's landslides. This is expected to cost $1.35 million.
The Mirror reports extensively on the new $108 million loan and loan guarantee approval. According to The Voice, prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony says that with respect to the country's rising external debt, "by international standards, St. Lucia is comfortable when it comes to servicing its debt".
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