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C&W pulls out - did minister make racial slur?
• Read the Cable & Wireless press release
• Government press release
Cable and Wireless, St. Lucia's sole telecommunications provider, has announced its intention to pull out of St. Lucia, terminating its operations here in seven weeks' time, as of March 31st. No successor has yet been identified to carry on the provision of telecommunications services on the island - a situation which is causing anxiety amongst corporate and private citizens alike. On January 31st, negotiations between C&W and the governments of St. Lucia and four other Eastern Caribbean states failed to get underway, reportedly after St. Lucia's minister of Communications Calixte George refused to shake the hand of C&W's legal representative, allegedly referring to her as "a house slave". One Caribbean and The Star both report this - although the allegation has not been confirmed by either C&W or the government. C&W, in a press release issued on Friday 9th February, states that it "remains committed to the OECS and the introduction of competition in these states" but adds that such liberalisation of the telecoms market must take place "in a fair, orderly and sustainable manner, governed by effective primary legislation and regulation" - the implicit message being that in C&W's view, negotiations thus far have been none of the above.
Prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony this week announced that he will address the nation "within the next ten days on the future relationship between government and [C&W]". Dr Anthony intends to first bring his regional colleagues up to date, during next week's 12th inter-sessional meeting of Caricom Heads.
None of the weekend's papers managed to carry C&W's latest press release but at least two papers - One Caribbean and The Star - speculate on its content. Both newspapers also report on the "widespread reports" that minister Calixte George insulted C&W's legal representative at the start of the last meeting (on January 31st), which subsequently floundered. The reasons given last week by both parties were vague and noncommittal [see last week's news]. Present at that meeting were, according to One Caribbean, "ministers from the five islands concerned and top level representatives of Cable and Wireless, among them the Regional Manager, Englishman Mr. James Chessewroth, and the Company's top representative from the Cayman Islands, Mrs. Lisa Agard, a black Trinidadian, who is the company's Director of Legal Services". Further according to Dennis Dabreo in One Caribbean, "Hon. Calixte George who was supposed to chair the meeting arrived late. By the time he entered the room most persons had already been introduced and he simply sat in his place. At this point the head of the Cable & Wireless team got up and began introducing his team to the Minister. When he introduced Mrs. Agard to Minister George the lady extended her hand and Mr. George is alleged to have said that he does not take the hand of House Slaves, especially of the female kind.
It was then that the leader of the Cable and Wireless team said that this sort of rudeness cannot be accepted. The meeting was called to order and Cable and Wireless made a statement protesting what it claimed had occurred and said that the proper environment did not exist which would allow for negotiations in good faith. The entire Cable and Wireless team then walked out of the meeting. The next day they went to Prime Minister Anthony accompanied by the British High Commissioner to Saint Lucia and it is reported to us that the Prime Minister apologised and said that Mr. George was not speaking on behalf of the government of St. Lucia".
Further according to One Caribbean, C&W subsequently wrote to the government, "informing it of its intention to take up its option under the present agreement and sell its shares and holdings to the government because negotiations have apparently broken down irretrievably".
Ernie Seon, writing in The Star, approaches the alleged incident of minister George's racial slur in a more circumspect manner, by quoting Rick Wayne who on DBS television on Thursday called on minister George "to clarify widespread reports that he had referred to C&W's regional legal representative as 'the white man's house slave' - a remark that, reportedly, was responsible for the breakdown of last week's all-important Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications (ECTEL) negotiations". Rick Wayne further said on his DBS show: "If the rumours are true, then Calixte George would have done St. Lucia and the wider region an unforgiveable disservice. If not true, then Mr George should immediately set the public mind to rest".
But even if the allegations regarding minister George's alleged racial slur are true, then the incident may merely have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Another thorn in C&W's side, according to Friday's press release, is the fact that: "the Government of St. Lucia has enacted new telecommunications legislation and, we understand, has issued at least one license to a new operator. This has resulted in an uncertain operating environment".
The license in question is the one recently issued by the government to the Helen IT Call Center, allowing it to operate a V-satellite system so that telephone calls to the United States can bypass the C&W network. C&W deems this license a breach of its existing telecommunications license, under which C&W enjoys the sole right to operate domestic, cellular and international services until 31st March 2001.
Helen IT is a new Call Center operated by president of the Chamber of Commerce, Linford Fevrier. It currently employs some 600 people and has generally been much-lauded, receiving special mention in the prime minister's 2001 new year message. Press secretary to the prime minister Earl Bousquet, for instance, boasts in this Wednesday's edition of the Star: "Facilitated by generous incentives provided by the government of St. Lucia, the new hi-tech facility has provided employment to hundreds of formerly unemployed persons, causing an effective dent in the island's unemployment situation and placing a significant number of workers in the threshold of today's technological revolution". And Dr Anthony last week stated that: "This new investment is only now possible with the new liberalised telecommunications environment and a government prepared to provide the necessary support, encouragement and concessions".
But C&W, in Friday's press release, argues that the granting of a satellite license to Helen IT was unnecessary: "Cable & Wireless has amply demonstrated its commitment to encouraging new business ventures in St. Lucia and had, in fact, offered HTS [Helen] IT very competitively priced call centre services. A good example of Cable & Wireless' commitment is the facilitation given to Call Centres of Grenada, which currently employs 700 people".
Ernie Seon in The Star reveals that plans by C&W to sell all its Caribbean assets have already been documented in the January 27th edition of the Investors Chronicle, and that sources reveal that the company has already begun to ship some of its equipment out of St. Lucia.
St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis and Dominica are the five OECS states that have been negotiating with C&W since early 1999 in an attempt to break the C&W monopoly on telecommunications in these islands and regulate a liberalised industry. St. Lucia has been in the vanguard of this drive, and St. Lucia's minister of Communications Calixte George was appointed chairman of ECTEL, the newly formed telecoms regulatory body of the OECS. But negotiations proceeded sluggishly. In December of last year, newspapers reported that C&W had warned the government of St. Lucia that if outstanding issues concerning C&W's role in the emerging regulatory telecommunications environment were not solved forthwith, and the rebalancing of C&W's rates not be settled before March 2001, that the company would have "no alternative" but to invite the government to buy out its St. Lucia operations - as is provided for under C&W's existing licence. That threat was expressed in a letter from C&W's London-based financial director, Robert Lenwill, addressed to prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony.
The PM at the time stated that there was "consensus" with C&W that negotiations should be "brought back on course" and that "in the interim, both parties are obliged to respect the usual courtesies and the confidentiality of the process".
Now, with no new negotiations on the agenda and C&W's announcement that it is making plans to leave St. Lucia, the immediate future of telecommunications in St. Lucia appears to be highly uncertain and, possibly, in acute danger. According to David Vitalis in The Mirror, the "sheer financial cost" involved in buying out C&W "is way beyond the capacity of the Government. In a February 1998 document the Company claimed that in the preceding 10 years alone it had undertaken capital expenditure worth $373 million. Considering that C&W has been investing in St. Lucia for more than 40 years, its total worth must be so huge it is probably incalculable. ... If, God forbid, it comes to a point where the Company thinks it has no other choice but to demand a buy-out by the Government, and the Government says it cannot afford, what would be the next step? Would the Company that has fattened itself on St. Lucia for more than 40 years just disconnect communication links among St. Lucians at home and with the outside world? Would the company pull out all its cables, take down all its poles, remove its satellite dishes and buildings, and take everything away on a big boat? Is it in the interest of St. Lucia for C&W to leave, if it can?"
The (guest) editor of The Voice carefully phrases similar fears, spelling out the weight of the stakes at risk ("the very fabric of our lives") and concludes that: "This is one game we cannot afford to lose". Although making no reference to the alleged racial slur, The Voice editor beseeches St. Lucians: "to have confidence that those who are sitting at the table and playing the game on our behalf know exactly what it is that they are doing".
Goodwill for homes for children and elderly
Both the Ciceron Children's Home and the Marian Home for the Elderly have been the recipients of substantial and important help from volunteers over recent months, resulting in newly constructed and upgraded facilities.
On Thursday, a newly built, three-bedroomed concrete house adjacent to the existing Ciceron Holy Family's Children's Home will be officially opened by Archbishop Kelvin Felix with a public dedication ceremony. The new house was constructed over a two year period, largely by volunteers from an organisation known as Good News, and will provide a home to children, abandoned, orphaned or abused, who are taken into the care of the Dominican sisters running the Ciceron Children's Home. The Children's Home first opened its doors in 1997, and has provided shelter for as many as 15 children at a time, from small babies to 12-year-olds. Sr. Dorothea Weekes, administrator of the Home, is quoted in The Voice: "We are very happy to have this new facility, which has been carefully designed and equipped for our purposes. It will enable us to provide shelter for more children, and to take better care of their needs". The Star also reports on the Home's new quarters. The Ciceron Children's Home is largely supported by donations from North American and St. Lucian businesses and private persons. Its work is overseen by a Board of Directors consisting of Archbishop Kelvin Felix, Loyola Devaux, Marjorie Renwick, Lady Gloria Robotham, Anne King, Anna Auguste, Zai Mohamed, Dr Michael Camps and Dr Earl Robinson. The Children's Home always welcomes volunteers and other support. For more information, please call Sr Dorothea Weekes at 459-0110 or Peg McCarthy at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre, 452-0790.
The Marian Home for the Elderly, located in Leslie Land, has received equipment and resources as well as much-needed practical help in renovating its premises from a group of volunteers from the crew of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, who run a project called 'Give'. The Marian Home Complex has been run by nuns of the Corpus Christi Carmelites for some forty-five years now. After a major extension in 1970, the population increased from 12 to 56. There are currently 67 residents, and 25 full-time staff to look after their physcial, mental and spiritual care. The Marian Home receives an annual government subvention of $50,000 and depends on an annual fund-raising 'poverty' meal and other donations for its upkeep. This is reported in The Mirror.
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Conway CarPark still two-thirds empty
Without paid-on-street parking in Castries, the Conway Car Park that was opened in October of last year amidst much publicity is destined to remain two-thirds empty. The Star concludes this, based on notes from a meeting held by the National Insurance Property Development and Management Company NIPRO - the company in charge of managing the car park. According to The Star, at a meeting held on January 27th, "the CEO discussed the general low revenue of the car park to date and suggested the advent of paid-on-street parking would see an improvement in business".
But although the suggestion of paid on-street parking has been made numerous times, The Star claims that "a source at the Ministry of Transport" predicts that this will not happen anytime soon. "There have hardly been any meetings on the matter".
The Star claims that fewer than 100 cars currently utilise the 330-space car park - multi-million dollar affair that was expected to bring an end to the parking misery on the streets of Castries. "Sources close [to] the car park told The Star this week that the car park makes less than $100 per day - a fact that is beginning to take its toll on the staff of the ... NIPRO ... The salary increase which staff had hoped for after their probation was over has been cancelled and their probation period extended for another three months".
Just two weeks ago, civil servants boycotted the Barnard Hill car park (at the back of Government buildings), thus managing to reverse plans by NIPRO to transform this into a paid parking lot as well.
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Special constable nabbed with 24K marijuana
A female special constable of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force was arrested on Thursday when she tried to board a plane to St. Maarten from GFL Charles Airport in Castries, with 24 kilos of compressed marijuana in her luggage, estimated to be worth EC$96,000. The mother of two was nabbed by custom officials after "acting strangely", according to The Star. The special constable was granted bail in the sum of $40,000 and will appear in court on March 15th. According to The Voice, "A statement from the Public Relations Department of the Force has been made, to the effect that Special Police Constables are not considered as regular members of the Force, not having received the level of training and conditioning which the full-fledged officers undergo during their induction into the Force. As a result, this incident should not in any way be regarded as a reflection of the behaviour and integrity of the other officers".
To this somewhat unusual statement, The Voice adds that the woman in question was, at one time, "a regular police officer", but voluntarily resigned from the Force, "allegedly because of suspicion of an association with an individual reputed to be involved in drug-related activities. Upon cessation of this supposed relationship, she applied for and was employed in her present position as a Special Police Constable".
Finally, in an attempt to restore confidence in the already battered image of the Police Force, says The Voice, "the police are scrutinizing, with particular closeness, all facets of this present drug incident".
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House of Assembly on constituency boundaries
Bills on the Caricom Agreement on Social Security, Justice Protection, Immigration and Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control are all expected to go through their final stages when the House of Assembly meets on Tuesday. Prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony, who is also minister of Finance, will lay the following reports: the Poverty Reduction Fund annual report on operations between 1999-2000 and the audit of the resources managed during the period between April1, 1999 and March 31, 2000. Also up for discussion will be the National Trust's annual report and financial report (April 1 1999 - March 31, 2000), and the St. Lucia Development Bank's annual report for 2000. Finally, the PM is expected to present a motion on the review of the constituency boundaries. The Star and Voice both report this.
Meanwhile, the Star, Voice and Mirror all report on the resignation of Perry Thomas from the Senate. In a letter to the president of the Senate, Thomas explains that at the time of his appointment, in August 1999, he had agreed that in due time, he would resign and make way for another youth representative to "gain some experience in the Senate". It is expected that PM Dr Anthony will soon advise the Governor General on a successor for Thomas.
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New maintenance unit to oversee southern roads
A dedicated 'Potholing Unit' has been established by the ministry of Communication and Works, to respond promptly to road damage in the area between Micoud and Soufriere. A similar maintenance unit already exists for the north of the island. The southern Unit consists of eighteen workmen and a technician, with a truck, two rollers, a bobcat and one distributor at their disposal. "By helping to arrest any rapid deterioration in the quality of southern roads, the unit is expected to bring about considerable savings for the Ministry", according to a press release published in The Mirror, Star, Thursday Voice and Crusader. The launch of the new maintenance Unit leads One Caribbean to wonder "Is it true that people are saying that elections must be coming soon, the way Calixte is paving every road in St. Lucia after neglecting them for three years straight?"
In July of last year, following a strike by members of the Choiseul Mini-Bus Association and threats of "dramatic action" by farmers in the Micoud area because of the allegedly disastrous state of roads at the south of the island, the ministry of Communication and Works did carry out some repairs.
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New Police Commissioner on 1st March
Commissioner of Police Francis Nelson will remain in office until the end of this month, when a successor will assume duties. This, according to The Voice. Last week, some lateral transfers were announced within the Royal St. Lucia Police Force - but there was no word about the post of Commissioner, which was due to be vacated by Francis Nelson as of the beginning of this month. Nelson is due to retire from the Force [see last week's news].
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Man dies and child injured after electrocution
National dominoes player and (step)father of three, Remy Jn. Baptiste, 31, of Morne Du Don, is dead and a 4-year-old boy is in hospital after touching a stay wire on an electricity pole near their homes, that had become live. The accident occurred at midday on Sunday, 4th February. St. Lucia Electricity Services (Lucelec) has issued a statement expressing its "profound sympathy to all relatives and friends of the victims". The electricity company explains that although it has an ongoing inspection and preventative maintenance programme, it depends to some extent on the public to report potentially hazardous situations. Apparently what happened at Morne DuDon is that tree branches caused a service wire to rub against the live wire, eventually making electrical contact and causing the stay wire to become live. The 4-year-old boy, in playing, touched the live stay wire and was electrocuted. In trying to help him, his sister and brother also received severe electrical jolts. Remy Jn.Baptiste, who next arrived on the scene, either tripped or accidentally grabbed hold of the same live stay wire, got stuck to it, and was electrocuted. By the time an ambulance delivered Jn. Baptiste and the child to hospital, Jn. Baptiste was dead. The child remains at Victoria Hospital with fairly serious injuries. Lucelec has rectified the problem and is also intensifying its system-wide inspection programme during the course of this week, "to identify and correct any similar or related situations on its distribution network".
All newspapers report on the accident.
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Renewed interest for seamoss producers
Seamoss production and the manufacturing of seamoss jelly, drinks, icecream and other related products are receiving renewed interest from the ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, as part of the government's effort to assist coastal communities in developing alternative sources of income, now that the banana industry is on the decline. For years, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) in Vieux Fort has researched and provided practical information to seamoss farmers from Praslin to Laborie. According to a press release printed in The Voice, Star and Mirror, the Department of Fisheries is now working with CANARI to try and record the existing level of seamoss production on the island, and find ways to enhance that. As part of that intiative, a seamoss processing factory was set up in Praslin in October of last year, with support from the Department of Fisheries, the Rural Enterprise Project and the Poverty Reduction Fund. For more information on seamoss and its potential, visit: http://www.slucia.com/seamoss
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UWP deputy leader quits
Marius Wilson, who was elected deputy leader of the United Workers' Party (UWP) on October 15th last year, this week resigned from his post, stating he wishes to fully concentrate on becoming the party's candidate for the Micoud North constituency instead. The UWP is lead by Dr Morella Jospeh. Zepherine Francis is now the sole deputy leader, and Eldridge Stephens remains as chairman. Mica George in The Voice at the time commented: "Could it be possible that the election of Dr Joseph and attorney Marius Wilson to the leadership positions of the party is simply a stop gap measure and that the real generals will appear when general elections are called? An interesting possibility, wouldn't you say?"
Press Secretary to the prime minister, Earl Bousquet, in Wednesday's issue of The Star, alleges that the UWP two weeks ago "hastily summoned a meeting ... to rid the party of one of its deputies". He goes on to state that Dr Joseph "denied claims the meeting had been summoned to rid its ranks of Mr Wilson, saying it was called instead to prepare the party's slate for general elections which strategists predict will be called by May this year".
Who the "strategists" are that predict that general elections - constitutionally not due until May 2002 - will be held this coming May, is not made clear from Bousquet's article, nor does he indicate whether these "strategists" are in the UWP or St. Lucia Labour Party camp.
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Sad toll of another week's violence
One homicide, one suicide, one gang-rape, one stabbing of a tourist and one severe beating - such is the sad toll of yet another violent week in St. Lucia. Dead are 85-year-old Joseph Toussaint of Fond Assau, Babonneau, who last week was wounded on his right forearm with a cutlass and later that day died in hospital. The man's adopted deaf-mute son, a 47-year-old man, is assisting police with investigations. The Wednesday Star reports this.
Also dead is 29-year-old Kevin Girard, who was found hanging from a rope in the balcony of his home at Corinth early last Tuesday morning. Kevin was the son of former cabinet secretary Victor Girard. Although police found what looks like a suicide note, they have "not entirely ruled out foul play", according to the Thursday Voice.
A 15-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and repeatedly raped by two men on Wednesday. She claims to have been forced into a car whilst walking down Bridge Street in Castries, at around 5.45 pm, and to have been taken to Cul de Sac. There, she says, she was raped "over and over again for the next several hours". The Mirror reports this, deeming it "one of the most heinous crimes to be committed yet this year". Be that as it may, there have already been several cases of rape this year, including "at least four cases of reported rape within the first week of the New Year", as the Tuesday Voice reported on the 9th of January. Wednesday's rape is reminiscent of a crime committed in October of last year, when a 24-year-old French woman was kidnapped on the road between Laborie and Choiseul, savagely beaten and gang-raped by four or five men and left for dead by the side of the road. Although the assailants were seen earlier that day celebrating Laborie Day, nobody has as yet been charged with that crime.
One Caribbean reports on the stabbing, last Friday, of a North American tourist. Accompanied by others, the woman had been walking around the city of Castries, when a young man attempted to snatch her handbag. The woman put up a struggle and was subsequently stabbed. Her companions "fell upon the attacker, gave him a sound pounding and held him until the police arrived".
Finally, The Star reports on the story of a 15-year-old boy from Maynard Hill who was kidnapped by three men while on his way back from the Coney Island funfair at Cul de Sac, last Sunday. According to the boy, the three men chased him, grabbed him, and pulled him into a white van, accusing him of breaking into their minibus. The boy says that for the next two hours, the three men took turns "savagely beating and torturing him". He was taken to Vigie and whipped with a belt. The boy told The Star: "I was crying and vomiting. Blood started to pour from my nose. People came running out of their houses. They heard me screaming and shouting but stood around and watched. Nobody helped me". One of the men stubbed out "a lighted spliff" on the back of the boy's hand. The boy was finally driven to his home where, after some more punching and kicking, he was left. When his mother found him, she says, he was vomiting blood. The police have made one arrest in connection with this savage, apparently unprovoked kidnapping and beating.
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Farmers shun anticlimatic SLBC meeting
Less than 100 of the St. Lucia Banana Corporation's almost 4000 members bothered to attend the SLBC's latest shareholder's meeting, where a new executive was elected. After last year's stormy meetings following the resignation of chairman Patrick Joseph amidst allegations of corruption, last Monday's meeting "was so peaceful and easy that it seemed not to be an SLBC meeting at all", writes The Mirror. The newspaper reckons that "December's frustration translated directly into surrender for many farmers. They either abandoned their fields to the cows, or diversified into crops which are perhaps more hotel-firendly than a fig".
Four of the six interim board members retained their seats, viz. George Girard, Eustace Monrose, Ben Emmanuel and Patrick Ernest. Newly elected were John Giffard and Patrick Burton. The board will operate without a chairman. According to SLBC company secretary Freemont Lawrence, "the new post-Patrick Joseph SLBC is anxious to solve many of the current crises in the industry by co-operating with other banana companies. And he is so confident that cross company co-operation will work that he predicts: 'In the next year, I'm not saying there will be one banana company, but there will be fewer banana companies. There has been too much fragmentation. We have to start coming together'."
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