|
Sole member of opposition in intensive care
Both the SLP government and the opposition party UWP are expressing deep concern over the failing health of the opposition's sole voice in the House of Assembly, Louis George. This is reported in both The Star and The Mirror newspapers. The parliamentary leader, representative for Micoud North and former minister of Education, has been in the intensive care unit of St. Jude hospital for several weeks.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Martinique to grant one year visas to St. Lucian businesspersons
St. Lucian businesspeople engaged in business with Martiniquan counterparts, or attempting to establish such links, will in future be issued with annual visas. This promise was obtained by Walter Francois, the minister of Commerce, and the permanent secretary in the ministry of Tourism, Eudes Bourne, during a recent meeting with an official of the French Embassy in Martinique. The meeting was part of a joint initiative by the Martiniquan Chamber of Commerce, the National Development Corporation and the French Mission, which allowed twenty-five St. Lucian businesspersons the chance to further strenghten trade relations with Martinique. The Thursday Voice carries a full report of this visit.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Work Permit Committee inactive; minister John issues permits
Thomas Walcott, the chairman of the Work Permit Advisory Committee, is seeking an audience with prime minister Kenny Anthony to discuss the status of the work permit committee. That is reported in a feature article on the frontpage of The Mirror newspaper this week. The newspaper further reveals that communication between Walcott's committee and the minister for Labour, Velon John, has ground to a complete halt following an incident two months ago in which the minister approved work permits for eight Indian nationals, four of whom had been convicted in court and were awaiting deportation. The minister subsequently denied knowledge of the convictions and revoked four of the permits. But, according to The Mirror, Velon John's handling of the affair prompted a strong letter from the work permit committee, demanding that the remaining permits also be revoked, and asking assurance that there would be no repetition of that situation. Mr. John, however, is said to be of the view that the committee is an advisory one and that its recommendations are not binding. The Mirror also reports that, for some time now, the committee has not attended to applications for work permits and further states that according to officials, minister John has by-passed the committee and issued work permits at his sole discretion.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Private sector gears up for international financial services
Professionals and members of the local private sector are pleased with progress being made towards preparing St. Lucia for life as an International Financial Services jurisdiction. That is the main gist of a press release sent out by the Financial Services Supervision Unit, which has been copied verbatim across all the main newspapers in the island this week.
Promotion of the international financial centre, under the leadership of Mrs. Ingrid Bullard, Director of Financial Services, is the government's most recent bid to strengthen and diversify the economy. According to the press release, since late June, the Financial Services Supervision Unit has been meeting with local persons who will be operating as registered agents and trustees, providing representation and financial services within the international financial services sector once the appropriate legislation has been established. Draft legislation governing the sector has been widely distributed at these meetings, and the general opinion among members of the private sector reportedly is that the Unit has been very communicative and informative.
The Unit's press release further reveals that the move to international finance is taking some adjusting. Local professionals (accountants, attorneys, bankers and business executives) identify basic training and upgrading of skills as major needs. Others, such as the National Commercial Bank of St. Lucia, were reportedly initially uncertain about participating in the development of the sector. Director Marius St. Rose is said to confirm that it was not until NCB management saw the groundwork laid by Mrs. Bullard's Unit, that providing services to investors and depositors has become a priority for the management of the bank. Meanwhile, in the banking sector at large, plans are underway for establishment of a Bankers Association.
The Financial Unit further informs the public in its press release that most professionals agree that the logistics of getting involved in the industry will be relatively straightforward. In the main, lawyers will be called upon to execute notarial functions while, as far as accounting is concerned, "auditing is auditing", as one person is quoted to say. A factor which will be important, however, is knowledge of computers and internet usage. Mrs. Bullard's Unit hopes that the intermarriage of the domestic and international fincancial sectors will benefit all concerned. Besides professionals and certain business people, the Unit expects that increased demand for office space will mean more construction activity and that, eventually, clerical and other office workers will be called for also. In earlier reports to the media, Mrs. Bullard expressed hopes that with increasing numbers of businesspeople visiting the island, the tourism sector will also benefit from St. Lucia's development into an international financial services centre.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Model monument for 'most epic holocaust' unveiled
The design for a National Heroes monument - a sculpture by St. Lucian artist Ricky George - was unveiled last Sunday by prime minister Kenny Anthony during a ceremony at Prevost Park at Morne Fortune - the proposed site for a National Heroes Park. The Thursday Voice and The Star newspapers both carry reports on the event. In these, it is explained that the concept for a Heroes Park (designed by Jason Louis of the ministry of Planning) emerged out of an awareness that there are many unrecognised persons who have contributed significantly to the progress of St. Lucian people. According to The Voice, some of the first heroes to be considered are the two thousand revolutionaries, consisting mostly of self-liberated slaves, who controlled St. Lucia for a year, in 1795, at a time when the power of France and England in the Caribbean was immense. Kenny Anthony, in his key note speech (quoted in full in The Voice), reportedly stated that: "Emancipation Day is not the time for revisiting the trauma of slavery but, more significantly, for revaluating the miracle of survival. It is a time to restore the pride of resilience and the resistance. It is a monument to recognise our remarkable capacity for regeneration as a people who have been through the most epic holocaust of the past five hundred years". The unveiling ceremony marked the start of a fund-raising drive to make the Heroes Park a reality. This, according to The Star, will cost approximately $500,000.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Cricketers-of-old celebrate Mindoo Phillip's 70th
Local cricketers past and present compete against each other on Sunday August 8th, in a festival cricket match to commemorate the 70th birthday of Francis Mindoo Phillip - acknowledged to be the greatest batsman ever produced by St. Lucia. All major newspapers run the story this week, with The Mirror's Rupert Branford providing a detailed sports history of Mindoo Phillip as well.
Sunday's game takes the form of a 30-over encounter, featuring former Marchand cricketers against the rest. The Marchand team is led by Mindoo himself, in the role of non-playing captain. Mindoo heads a team made up of Rupert Polius, Earl Cenac, John Laurencin, Rupert Branford, Kitchener Hinds, Leslie Clarke, Egbert Felix, Vincent Jouett, Julian Charles, Ignatius Cadet, Andrew Joseph, Herbert Joseph, Jeff Stewart and McDonald Dixon. The 'rest'-team comprises: Hollis Bristol, George Alfred, Ferrel Charles, Leonard Raggie Willie, Vincent John, Delbert Martial, Michael Hippolyte, George Rock, Stanley French, Julius Drysdale, Frederick Thorpe, Jeff Frederick, Hermangild Francis, Albert Nathaniel, Gilroy Satney, Andrew Leonce, Anselm Degazon and Julian Delauney. Four members of the national women' s cricket team, led by captain Verena Felicien, also make appearances - according to all newspaper reports.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
"Insufficient marketing cause of drop in US tourist arrivals"
The twenty percent decline in visitor arrivals from the United States over the month of June is a direct result of insufficient marketing expenditure. So says Allan Chastanet, former Director of Tourism in St. Lucia and currently vice-president Marketing and Sales at Air Jamaica. He made his statement at the quarterly general meeting of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association, last week.
All major newspapers carry reports on the SLHTA meeting. The Mirror and Star both highlight Chastanet's point of view, with The Mirror reporting Chastanet as having said that the EC$13 million (US$4.8m) allocation to the Tourist Board is 'nothing short of a joke', as it is exactly what the board received close to ten years ago, when he served as Director of Tourism. The newspaper then goes on to quote Chastanet as saying: "It shows a lack of understanding by this and previous governments of the importance of tourism and the investment that is required to make it work, and we are very concerned with the trend we are seeing on the US market".
According to both papers, Chastanet further pointed out that in the wake of the American Airlines' departure, Air Jamaica committed itself to two flights a day into the island, with the understanding that increased market activity would be a priority. However, Chastanet is reported to have said, all indications point to the fact that the benefits and spin-offs of the industry are being taken for granted. He further pointed out that while the US economy is experiencing dynamic growth, conditions are right for St. Lucia to be able to attract additional carriers, particularly with TWA, United and Continental now expanding their services into the Northern Caribbean. "Clearly, there is an opportunity to attract new airlift into St. Lucia, but that is going to only happen if the destination is growing", quotes The Mirror. It goes on to report that Chastanet expressed feeling "very wary" of the possibility that the 300 room Hyatt Regency Hotel and the Sandals expansion would open up without airlift to the island simultaneously increasing. This, Chastanet reportedly warned, would be to the detriment of the small hotel sector, which would then be closed to the very lucrative US market.
In a Voice report on the same SLHTA meeting, Chastanet's words are echoed by the president of the Caribbean Hotel Association, Ralph Taylor, who is said to have noted that Caribbean governments in the region in general, are failing to provide adequate tourism promotional budgets. Taylor is further reported to be critical of the degree of institutionalisation of tourism authorities and tourist boards which, he claims, function with little urgency or sense of accountability. Taylor is said to have called on Caribbean nations to work more closely together in marketing tourism in the Caribbean as a whole. "The harsh reality is that the client must first think of the Caribbean if they are to think of St. Lucia in making their vacation choice from the clutter of warm weather destinations. Our continued failure to promote a Caribbean brand is resulting in a consistent loss in market share to more aggressive tourism destinations, particularly in North America", quoted in The Voice. Taylor added that in order to put the Caribbean higher on the list of destinations, the region as a whole has to invest more in public relations and advertising. "A rising tide raises all boats. We need to raise the tide in the Caribbean putting our own insularity to rest and start seeing ourselves as an important element in the whole Caribbean picture".
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
The Factory Creative Arts Centre back on stream
After having been endangered by the indefinite closure of its original home (a factory shell at Bisee), The Factory Creative Arts Centre is now back on stream with monthly performances at Waves Restaurant. This is reported in Thursday's Voice newspaper. Under the title 'Project Feedback', young and aspiring dramatists, poets and singers performed at Waves last Thursday and they intend to continue doing so on a monthly basis. Since September 1998, The Factory has made some local furore with the productions 'Desiree', 'Pappyshow Park', 'Bonjour Ma Titi' and 'She stoops to Conquer'. The Voice also reveals that The Factory has announced that its political satire, 'Pappyshow Park', will be followed later this year by 'Pappyshow Park 2'. For more information on Project Feedback, call 452-9950 or email jen_s@candw.lc.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
US Presidential Envoy visits St. Lucia
US Presidential Envoy for the Americas, governor Kenneth MacKay jr. visits St. Lucia, Barbados and Antigua this week (8-11th) to engage in high-level talks with leaders of the government and key members in the private sector - reports The Voice. The governor is scheduled to meet with prime minister Kenny Anthony, foreign minister George Odlum, and representatives of the OECS here in St. Lucia on Tuesday.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Hotels urged to increase environmental awareness
Hoteliers all around the Caribbean need to respond to increasing pressure from tour operators who insist that hotels' business practices are environmentally friendly. That is reported in Thursday's Voice. A program to increase environmental awareness among tour operators and, by implication, hoteliers, will be formally launched in 2000 in Berlin. Recently, Caribbean hoteliers were represented by Royston Hopkins, of the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (a subsidiary of the Caribbean Hotel Association) at discussions held amongst 30 tour operators, in Paris. According to The Voice, the goal of that meeting was to promote the kind of tourism development which respects the culture and built heritage of places visited, and that involves local communities in the planning and subsequent operation of the touristic development. It is also reported that, already, many regional hoteliers have felt the influence of tour operators on environmental management. In 1996, British Airways conducted environmental assessments of the 112 properties with which they contract in the region. Just 12 passed their established criteria to earn the logo 'Tourism for Tomorrow', identifying them as 'environmentally friendly' in the 1999 BA holiday catalogue, says The Voice.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
Refrigeration training in bid to reduce ozone damage
As part of St. Lucia's action plan to phase out the use of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, the ministry of Finance and Planning and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College have launched a series of workshops to train local refrigeration technicians in the safe handling of refrigerants. This is reported in The Star and Voice newspapers. According to the press release, the workshops aim at enabling technicians to avoid releasing CFCs into the atmosphere, thereby reducing ozone layer destruction. There is overwhelming evidence that the ozone layer over the tropics, including St. Lucia, is becoming thinner. The workshops are funded by the United Nations.
ñ BACK TO TOP OF PAGE ...
|
