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Government reclaims Pigeon Island from Brits
Pigeon Island, which currently belongs to a British company, the Commonwealth Development Company (CDC), will once more become St. Lucian property. This was announced by prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony during a public Labour Party meeting at the Market Steps, last Thursday evening. One Caribbean and The Star both report this.
"That little island we call Pigeon Island where we hold the Jazz festival every year, how many of you know that it is owned by an English company - the Commonwealth Development Corporation - the same company that has majority shares in Lucelec? They are the ones who own Pigeon Island. We do not own it", Dr. Anthony told hundreds of supporters. He went on to explain that in the past, the CDC has leased Pigeon Island to the St. Lucia National Trust. "So I decided to put an end to this. Pigeon Island is too important to St. Lucians to be in foreign hands, it must be in our hands. So I wrote to CDC and told them that this piece of land is too mixed up in St. Lucia's history, so we cannot allow an outside company to be entitled to this land. So I am going to educate you to give it back to us. Now the company has written to say: Prime Minister, we agree with you and we will hand over Pigeon Island back to the government of St. Lucia". According to Dr. Anthony, the former prime minister Sir John Compton was responsible for selling Pigeon Island to the CDC.
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Calypsonian Lord Kitchener passes away
After almost two weeks in hospital where he was being treated for the rare blood disease multiple myeloma, former calypsonian 'Lord Kitchener' died on Friday 11th February at the age of 77. Lord Kitchener (born as Aldwyn Roberts in Arima, Trinidad & Tobago) was an active calypso singer for almost sixty years. He is said to have single-handedly popularised calypso - certainly before his arch-rival the Mighty Sparrow came onto the scene.
The Voice, Star and One Caribbean all report on his death. One Caribbean in particular recalls the Grandmaster of Calypso with great fondness, writing: "It almost seems impossible, but to many, Kitchener brought something intangible which words cannot adequately explain. This was particularly true of the Lonely Londonders and the other displaced immigrants who had migrated to the UK in the early days". The author recalls how Kitchener had picked up a guitar and started serenading around the Lords Cricket Grounds. "Every West Indian living in England felt the pride and joy of our team's first significant victory over England and Kitchener made it possible for us to jump and dance around the grounds at Lords - something which even the most radical of us did not hitherto feel free to do".
The Trinidad has announced that Lord Kitchener will be given a state funeral.
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Bouton - Electricity 'Behind God's Back'
'Mwen vive pou wer lanwit tounen jounay en Bouton'. 'I have lived to see night turn to day at Bouton'. That was the conclusion of an old man who sat staring at the new street lamp outside his house, last week Friday, when electricity finally reached the community of Bouton. Situated about halfway between Soufriere and Canaries, but several miles off the main road, Bouton has long been considered to be 'derriere do Bondye': behind God's back. "In the year 2000, salted meat dried in the sun on galvanised sheets was the most modern way of preserving their daily salaison. Daily supplies for the primary school's feeding programme which required refrigeration were stored in a freezer miles away in the neighbouring town, with students taking turns fetching the cold stuff by minibus every morning". Press secretary Earl Bousquet writes this in The Star. But last Friday, 123 high-tension poles, 43 low-tension poles and $709,000 later, Bouton became electrified. Prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and minister for Public Utilities, Calixte George, were on hand for the ceremony, with George promising a larger mains supply to bring more potable water to the community, and telephone services. The Voice also reports on this.
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Financial services increasingly corrupt in region
To develop "the cleanest and most carefully regulated off-shore industry" - that is the wish of minister for Financial Services Phillip Pierre, who this week is expected to sign the regulations which will make it possible for local practitioners to sign-up as Licensed Registered Agents and Trustees and represent international financiers. Parliament passed the required six pieces of legislation late last year, as well as a special act to prevent money laundering. The launch into the international financial services industry is part of the government's aim to diversify the local economy. The financial sector is expected to provide employment opportunities for professional and upper-clerical workers. To avoid any semblance of corruption, the legislation forbids public servants, ministers of government and parliamentary secretaries from becoming practitioners in this line of business. Furthermore, practitioners will have to meet stringent standards of qualification and propriety. The Voice reports this.
Meanwhile, a report in One Caribbean this week claims that money laundering and corruption are currently on the rise in the Caribbean region. Quoting from a report by the International Narcotics Control Board, One Caribbean says that "more cocaine is passing through the region from South America en route to the United States". Part of the problem, the report claims, lies in the fact that "anti-money laundering legislation has not been uniformly adopted and implemented and loopholes continue to exist". On the up-side, however, there are also examples of Caribbean governments who have "dealt forcefully with money launderers with off-shore banks being liquidated and account-holders arrested", according to One Caribbean.
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Two gas stations robbed within one day
A gas station in Balata and one in Vieux Fort were the targets of masked and armed raiders this week. On Thursday evening around 7:00 pm, two masked men entered the gas station in Balata, Babonneau, fired a few shots in the building and escaped with an undisclosed sum of money. In a robbery of the same gas station last year, a man was shot to death.
A day later, on Friday night just after 10:00 pm, the Texaco gas station operated by Southern Taxi Services in Vieux Fort was the target of three masked and armed men, one of whom was in female attire. They, too, fired shots into the building, before making off with three thousand dollars in cash. This station has also been robbed in the past. The Tuesday Voice reports this.
The police are investigating the robberies. In the Vieux Fort case, a number of suspects are said to be helping with enquiries.
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Surprise move by WIBDECO: onlookers apprehensive
In a move which surprised both friend and foe alike, the Windward Islands Banana Development and Exporting Company (WIBDECO) on Thursday announced that it will also start buying bananas directly from farmers. Up until last week, farmers in St. Lucia sold their bananas to one of the island's three private banana companies, who then used WIBDECO's marketing and trading services to bring the fruit into the overseas marketplace. This arrangement, however, began to fall apart when the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) announced that with the termination of its contract with WIBDECO on 6th February, it would in future sell its bananas directly to Geest. This move by the SLBC sent a ripple of unease through the other banana-producing islands in the Windwards, all of whom deal with WIBDECO. The governments of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada last week all expressed concern over the SLBC's move to go solo, saying that it would undermine the unity and strength of the regional banana industry [see last week's news]. This week, Dominica's newly-elected prime minister Rosie Douglas, and St. Vincent's opposition leader Dr Ralph Gonsalves both visited St. Lucia to discuss the dispute between WIBDECO and the SLBC. According to The Voice, both Douglas and Gonsalves were cautious not to pass judgement on the SLBC's decision to sever its relations with WIBDECO, although both politicians expressed the view that ultimately, a lack of unity could only have negative repercussions on the region's banana industry.
The Voice dedicates half a page to outlining WIBDECO's new 'protocol for direct purchase of bananas' - the main point of which is that WIBDECO will only deal with certified banana growers who can supply a minimum of 150 boxes per week, on a yearly contract and an agreed annual price. WIBDECO claims not to wish to compete with other banana companies in St. Lucia, nor to wish to encourage farmers to sever their supply arrangements with existing companies. Instead, WIBDECO says, dealing directly with farmers is intended to improve efficiency in the banana industry. But, as The Mirror asks rhetorically: "If dealing directly with farmers does not mean putting themselves in direct competition with other banana companies, then what does it mean? ... The fact that it can, has the existing banana companies worried that WIBDECO may, at any time, step on their turf and edge them out of the already tight business of bananas". The Mirror interprets WIBDECO's surprise move as "a reaction, even a retaliation to SLBC's insistence on cutting ties with the regional banana marketing agent". The Star also reports on the continuing strife between WIBDECO and the SLBC.
Meanwhile, One Caribbean this week prints a letter in which SLBC chairman Patrick Joseph asks WIBDECO for a 30-day extension of the Sales and Purchase Agreement which expired on 6th February, in order to allow time for "new arrangements" to be formalised. In the Tuesday Voice, however, it is reported that at a meeting at the Grande Riviere Boxing Plant last Sunday, hundreds of SLBC farmers voted unanimously in favour of the SLBC's proposal to end its contract with WIBDECO. "They did not want anything to do with a proposed 30-day temporary contract offered by WIBDECO, citing a complete break from any direct dealings with the organization. The farmers told the SLBC's directors and managers present that they wanted no part of any agreement of any sort with WIBDECO", this according to the Tuesday Voice.
Also in this week's edition, One Caribbean re-printed an article which appeared in Time Magazine of 7th February. The article outlines how Chiquita's owner, Carl Lindner, manipulated the US government, causing it to complain to the World Trade Organization about the preferential treatment Windward bananas were receiving in the European market – thus causing small American businesspersons and Caribbean banana farmers to suffer unsettling financial losses.
Finally, The Voice reports that a new twenty-year agreement, including a new banana protocol, was agreed upon last week in Brussels, to replace the giant Trade and Aid convention linking African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) with the European Union. Under the new multi-million dollar arrangement, which replaces the Lome Convention due to expire this month, the European Union will put measures in place to ensure the viability of the banana industry in the ACP states - in such a way that it will abide by the ruling of the World Trade Organization, and not discriminate against Latin American banana producers (including Chiquita amongst others).
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'Miss Baby' Laurent turns one hundred
Miss Josephine Martha Laurent, affectionately known as 'Miss Baby', on Tuesday 8th February, celebrated her one hundredth birthday with a thanksgiving mass celebrated by her nephew Fr. Raymond Laurent. Governor-General Dame Dr. Pearlette Louisy presented Miss Laurent with a bouquet, and the centenarian also received a congratulatory letter from UK prime minister Tony Blair. Miss Laurent is the mother of two sons: Dr. Garth St. Omer, novelist and professor of English Literature at the University of California in Santa Barbara, and Dr. Vincent St. Omer, Veterinarian and professor of Pharmacology at Tuskegee University in Alabama. She has twelve grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and numerous adopted children, nieces and nephews - many of whom travelled from overseas to attend 'Miss Baby's' birthday party. Miss Laurent lives with her grandson at Grand Riviere, Gros Islet.
The Voice and One Caribbean report this.
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Seafront upgrades for Anse la Raye, Canaries
Anse la Raye and Canaries will both receive jetties and upgrades to their seaside and bay areas. This was announced by prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony following a constituency tour last Sunday and Monday. Accompanying the prime minister were the district representative, the ministers of Agriculture, Works and Community Development and various other government and non-government officials. The upgrading of the two north-western coastal villages of Anse la Raye and Canaries is embedded in plans to develop nature heritage tourism in the area. The waterfronts of the villages are to be made more attractive to water-based tourists, with proper jetties, a fish fry in Anse la Raye, a prototype market at Anse La Verdue and facilities to promote the production and marketing of cassava products and other produce. The hinterland, with its waterfalls, is set to be developed for eco-tourism. Plans were also revealed for the establishment of a national botanical garden at Venus Estate. A visit to the Belvedere waterfall provided the members of last week's tour with a first-hand view of the effects of illegal river sand-mining, and the need to put a stop to such activities.
In both Canaries and Anse la Raye, the delegation addressed complaints from residents about the lack or failure of toilet and bathing facilities, forcing residents to dispose of human waste in unsanitary ways and unauthorized places such as bushes, roadsides and the beach.
The delegation also visited Roseau, Jacmel, Vannard and Tete Chemin. Prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony said he was "especially moved by what I saw in Roseau, where people are living in conditions that are appallingly unsafe, unsanitary and unacceptable in the year 2000". According to reports in The Voice and Star, the PM "was referring to the expanding concentration of poverty which exists in the houses occupied by older persons who worked the adjoining estates over the decades, and the multitudes of children and grandchildren who grew up in the same single-bedroom homes that still lack water, toilet or bathing facilities. Dr. Anthony promised short-term help to residents in that dilapidated housing scheme and assured them his government would relocate them to another area". Both The Star and Voice report on this.
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National Anti-Drug Strategy before Cabinet
Cabinet is expected to consider the first draft of a National Anti-Drug Strategy sometime this week. Last Thursday, representatives from various non-governmental agencies, churches and youth groups met under the direction of the Substance Abuse Secretariat to discuss the initial draft of this strategy, drawn up by Cletus Springer. The strategy plan intends to bring about a strengthening of treatment and rehabilitation efforts and a heightened level of public education and awareness through public messages. Minister for Legal Affairs, Velon John, said that the government will focus on trying to stop the trafficking of illicit drugs in and out of St. Lucia and on ensuring that whenever money or properties obtained through drug dealing come to the government, that these be put towards funding anti-drug programmes and further law enforcement. The Star reports this.
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US Consul: apply early for summer visas
The US Embassy consular section in Bridgetown, Barbados urges St. Lucians and all others to apply early for their visas and extensions if they plan to travel to the US in the summer or autumn of this year, to avoid excessively long lines. Visas can be renewed now, prior to the expiry date. The Embassy warns that, in future, it may have to implement a system whereby visa applicants will be required to make an appointment to be served.
Currently, applicants for visitors' visas can apply in person from Monday to Friday, between 7:30 and 10:00 am, or by mail or courier. The consular section will be closed for visa processing every last working day of the month, and also on February 21, April 21, 24 and 28, May 1 and 29, June 12, July 4, August 1 and 7, September 4, October 9, November 10, 23 and 30, and December 25 and 26.
The Crusader reports this.
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