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"HIV statistics rising at alarming rate"

Counterfeit money in circulation - arrests being made

"St. Lucia expected to introduce gambling"

WIBDECO steps up security after Pat Joseph calls for protest

Government announces plans for new hospital

New newspaper questions legality of sex shows

Future of LIAT debated at shareholders' meeting

Radio St. Lucia to be government-run

National Skills Centre opens in February

UK immigration officer to visit

Global Millennium Silence for war veterans

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CANA News
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CANA Busine$$(Mag)


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Full Text of Blom-Cooper inquiry report

"HIV statistics rising at alarming rate"

    The 21 member state region of the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) is second only to the sub-Saharan African region when it comes to the prevalence of AIDS-infection. Currently, an estimated 13,000 persons in the CAREC region are infected with the HIV virus which causes AIDS. In St. Lucia, 253 persons have tested positive for HIV since 1985, and 116 persons have since died from AIDS related illnesses. Sixty-four percent of AIDS patients in the country are between the ages of 21 and 44. These revelations came last Monday, at the launching of the St. Lucia Association for the Prevention of AIDS (SLAPA). Both The Star and Voice newspapers dedicate space to this event. SLAPA, a non-governmental organisation, aims to heighten HIV/AIDS awareness and to serve as a support group for persons carrying the virus. It will try to help infected persons to maintain a positive approach to life, and act responsibly in relations with others. SLAPA will also be establishing links with AIDS research and treatment institutions overseas, in a bid to facilitate the treatment of infected persons.
    Minister of Health, Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, in her address at the meeting said: "What concerns us at the Ministry and should concern all of us as a people, is the fact that in St. Lucia the HIV statistics are rising at an alarming rate. The reported cases do not represent the extent of the disease and the real danger is the unknown HIV infected persons who infect unsuspecting partners". The Star reports this.
    Patron of SLAPA is Lady Marilyn Floissac. The twelve-member board includes representatives of the ministry of Health, the Mothers and Fathers Groups, the Employers Federation and the trade unions. President and treasurer is Cyril Matthew; vice president Cornelius Lubin, secretary Bernitha Clery, and members: Rufina Paul, Agatha Ambrose, Dianne Mathurin, Mary Anna Gaspard, Timothy Chaderton, Esther Lubin, Lucius Ellevic, Dr. Philip Atigre and Dr. Keith Scotland. As part of its fundraising effort, SLAPA is selling Christmas cards and notelets.

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Counterfeit money in circulation - arrests being made

    Police have arrested and charged a number of persons involved in the circulation of counterfeit notes in $20, $50 and $100 EC dollar denominations. These notes were apparently first circulated on Laborie Day and, a week later, on 31st October during Jounen Kweyol festivities held in Piaye and Anse la Raye. Thus far, the CBC and CIBC banks have discovered counterfeits in its night depositories. Business owners in Soufriere, Canaries, Laborie and Micoud are reported to have been affected. The police are optimistic that a breakthrough will soon be made.

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"St. Lucia expected to introduce gambling"

    "St. Lucia is expected to be the latest member country of the OECS to introduce gambling when the Hyatt Regency Hotel opens here in December. The opening will coincide with an announcement from Government at the end of a consultation and a legislative exercise on whether and what type of gaming operation will be introduced here". This claim comes from The Mirror and Star newspapers, in the context of articles on the fourth Eastern Caribbean Hotel and Resort Development conference which is scheduled to be held in St. Lucia this week.
    The desirability of allowing gambling on the island is on the agenda for the first day of the conference, with presentations to be made by representatives of four world-renowned casino resorts. The newspapers further quote the director of Functional Co-operation of the OECS, George Goodwin, who stresses the contribution casinos have already made to the overall performance and development of the tourism sector, particularly in Antigua & Barbuda and St. Kitts & Nevis.
    Other topics at this week's conference include Caribbean tourism and hotel development trends; small hotel marketing and development, heritage and eco-tourism; commercial financing strategies and requirements for hotels and resorts; and timeshare and condo hotel development. Some 120 hotel and tourism business executives from the Caribbean and US are expected to participate.
    The Crusader and One Caribbean also pay attention to the opening of the conference, but neither mentions gambling.
    As part of Tourism Awareness Week, The Star and The Voice both carry special inserts highlighting the achievements of the industry.

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WIBDECO steps up security after Pat Joseph calls for protest

    Relations between the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) and the Windward Islands Banana Exporting Company (WIBDECO) reached a new low this week, after SLBC chairman Patrick Joseph, in a television broadcast on Monday called on farmers "to be prepared to take whatever action is necessary to register their dissatisfaction with WIBDECO".
    Joseph has claimed for some time that WIBDECO has been denying farmers millions of dollars. Speaking in Kweyol, Joseph on Monday further said: "I am calling on farmers to prepare yourselves because the same way we formed the SLBC is the same way we will have to take WIBDECO off our backs". The Mirror newspaper calls to memory the banana riots of 1995, writing that: "previous episodes of banana protest included vandalism, violence and confrontation with the police". In reponse to Joseph's statement, WIBDECO has stepped up security measures to protect its members of staff and property but the company's chief executive, Bernard Cornibert, has refused to comment on the issue in the media. The Star reports this.
    Patrick Joseph was re-elected as chairman of the SLBC only last week, after Banana Salvation Committee leader Fred Flood and others unsuccessfully contested Joseph's leadership. Joseph emerged from those elections with even more power than before [see last week's news].
    Meanwhile, the Tropical Quality Fruit Company (TQF), the island's other banana marketing company, has distanced itself from Joseph's statement and strongly denied rumours that the TQF and SLBC were contemplating a merger. One Caribbean and the Crusader report this. Moreover, TQF chairman Peter Ferrier expressed his support for WIBDECO, saying that: "we have as much reason to be annoyed with WIBDECO as any other company but we are in business. If there are irregularities I think there are forums by which they can be corrected. ... Conceptually, as a business principle, as a way of survival the WIBDECO idea is the best thing that ever happened to the Windwards" (Crusader).

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Government announces plans for new hospital

    Rather than renovate Victoria Hospital, prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony this week announced government's plans to build a brand new hospital. "St. Lucians have had enough. Government has decided to construct a new hospital. Already a delegation led by the Prime Minister and comprising the Ministers of Health and other chief health officials have met with the European delegation in Barbados to discuss this change in direction. Our proposal has been well-received", a statement from Dr. Anthony says. This is reported in One Caribbean. Funds for the hospital will be allocated in the new budget, Dr. Anthony states. He defends government's choice for a new hospital by saying that renovating Victoria Hospital "is bound to produce continued discomfort to patients and doctors".
    In the same statement, the prime minister also announced the establishment of a three-person Health Complaint and Conciliation Commission, meant to investigate complaints about the delivery of medical care from both public and private medical institutions.

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New newspaper questions legality of sex shows

    BAVA: The Mouthpiece of the Country - under that slogan, Augier-based editor Andrew Sealy this week launched a new weekly newspaper. With a focus on the south of St. Lucia, BAVA aims to fill a niche in the market. In its first issue, BAVA opens with the headline "Is Vieux Fort the sex capital of St. Lucia?" The article discusses the recent advent of live sex shows to Vieux Fort, and asks if prostitution and the staging of public sexual intercourse and oral sex are now legal in St. Lucia [see also St. Lucia Online's discussion board]. BAVA further carries stories on such items as the recent emergence of counterfeit money in the South, public utility companies on the island, and the beneficial health effects of the Noni plant.

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Future of LIAT debated at shareholders' meeting

    Radical restructuring of debt-ridden regional airline company LIAT was the topic when representatives of shareholder governments met in St. Lucia last Friday. A recent official investigation of LIAT revealed serious financial mismanagement and recommended that LIAT should either shut down or lay off twenty percent of its staff (over 200 persons) to remain viable. After a profit in 1995, LIAT has sustained serious losses, with a record loss in 1998 of $15.6 million. LIAT currently owes St. Lucia $4.5 million in landing fees. Some fifty persons are employed with LIAT locally. Both The Star and Crusader carry background articles on Friday's meeting.

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Radio St. Lucia to be government-run

    By making Radio St. Lucia (RSL) a private company under the government of St. Lucia, the government intends to revitalise the money-strapped radio station, while at the same time preventing RSL from being sold into private ownership. In an explicitly critical speech to the House of Assembly, on Tuesday, prime minister Dr. Anthony said "We have seen enough, enough of modern journalism on certain radio stations operating under licenses approved by this government to fully understand their quality. ... Someone has to speak with respect and moral authority in our country. Someone has to respect the institution of our country, government, citizens, [and] opposition politicians of our country". The Voice opens its weekend edition with this news, and The Star and One Caribbean also report on it.

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National Skills Centre opens in February

    February 1st next year should see the opening of the National Skills Centre - a place which will provide skills training in vocational and attitudinal development, using modern methods. The National Skills Centre will have its main office in Castries and four sub-centres around the island.
    Government is calling on all young persons to take part in the upcoming youth policy consultations which will soon be held in Choiseul, Bexon and Soufriere. [see our jobs section]

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UK immigration officer to visit

    A British immigration/visa officer is set to visit St. Lucia on 24th and 25th of November, to provide assistance to persons wishing to travel to the UK for settlement, employment, study, medical reasons or for any period exceeding six months. All these persons will be required to hold an entry certificate before travelling and should make an appointment with the officer. For questions, please call the British High Commission, 2nd floor NIS building, tel. 452-2484, between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8:00 am and 1:00 pm on Friday.

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Global Millennium Silence for war veterans

    St. Lucia is set to observe a two minute silence on Thursday 11th at 11:00 am, to commemorate the soldiers, sailors, airmen and women and other casualties of war. The St. Lucia branch of the British Commonwealth Ex-Service League has been invited by the United Kingdom to join in what has been dubbed "A Global Millennium Silence", intended to maintain interest in the ex-Service persons, especially those who served their country and now find themselves in need. The Mirror and Crusader report this.

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