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Sweet, sweet music moves all of St. Lucia
It was sweet, sweet music that moved St. Lucia this week - smooth, raw, groovy or smokey, jazz has left barely a soul on the island untouched. With the main event yet to take place on Pigeon Island on the weekend of the 12th and 13th of May, Jazz 2001 is already receiving wide acclaim for being the biggest, best and most swinging festival ever. The Balenbouche event, last Sunday, brought an unprecedented two thousand people to the old southern sugar estate, where Latin and Creole jazz, dusk, audience enthusiasm and a full moon conspired to create an atmosphere of magic that will not easily be surpassed. Other performances throughout the week, at Mindoo Phillip Park, Fond d'Or, Derek Walcott Square, La Place Carenage, the Hyatt Regency, the Great House, the Independence Square in Vieux Fort and Rudy John Beach in Laborie have been similarly hailed. Hotels, especially in the north, have seen their occupancy rates soar and several others in the tourism industry report benefitting from the festival also. Local support for the event has increased significantly over the years, possibly due to the increased number of free performances and high visibility of St. Lucian musicians. All newspapers report enthusiastically on the week's performances, with many pictures, reviews and raving comments. For more about Jazz 2001 online, check www.stluciastar.com.
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Alliance tries to clarify leadership hierarchy
The new National Alliance for Unity has attempted to clarify its leadership hierarchy under public pressure - but whether this has been done successfully remains to be seen. According to an Alliance press release printed in the Tuesday Voice, the co-chairmanship of George Odlum, Sir John Compton and Dr Morella Joseph has been replaced with the institution of three distinct positions. In the new line-up, Sir John assumes the position of president of the Alliance, with responsibility for overall guidance for the Alliance and the formation of an economic reconstruction and development programme. Dr Joseph is the new vice-president, in charge of formulation of a social reconstruction and development programme. George Odlum will be the political leader of the Alliance, responsible for political mobilization and the formulation of "a national strategy aimed at ensuring the support of the people of St. Lucia for the objective of national reconstruction and development". The Tuesday Voice deduces from this, according to its headline, that George Odlum is to head the Alliance. But the Wednesday Star wonders 'Who's in Charge?' and reports that despite the new leadership announcement, "most observers were still of the view that no clear leader has emerged". If anything, it may have raised "even more questions as to who's really in charge". The Wednesday Star further reports that other potential problems may be brewing in the Alliance as well, mentioning that both Dr Vaughan Lewis and George Odlum seem to want to run for the Castries Central constituency - ostensibly both under the National Alliance flag.
The Wednesday Star also mentions the names of seventeen persons who, the paper implies, are members of the coordinating committee of the National Alliance - but one of them, Franklin McDonald, editor of The Voice newspaper, has since denied being a candidate for the Alliance. The names mentioned in the Wednesday Star - besides the trio of Sir John, Dr Morella Joseph and George Odlum - are as follows: Lawson Calderon, Monica Caseley, Dunstan DuBoulay, Gertrude George, Nicholas John, Stephenson King, Jacintha Lee, Guy Mayers, Franklin McDonald, Lennard Montoute, Rufina Paul, Mary Polius, Eldridge Stephens and Nigel Toussaint.
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Appointments required for US holiday visa
During the summer months, a scheduled appointment will be required for people wishing to apply for a holiday visa to the United States at the consular sections of the American Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados. From June 4th until August 30th, no one will be allowed to enter the building for non-immigrant visa unless they can show proof of an appointment. Appointments can be made as of this week, at telephone number (246) 3228-6340, Monday to Friday, between 9.00 am and 1:00 pm. This hotline is strictly for appointments and no other visa-related questions will be answered on this line. The Tuesday Voice reports this. No fee is attached to making an appointment, but the Embassy urges people to plan their travel early as appointments will be limited. Mail-in visa applications will not be affected and will continue to take 6 to 8 weeks to be processed.
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SLBC: better pay for high quality bananas
Paying more for high-quality and less for low-quality bananas will finally become common practice in St. Lucia, with the adoption by the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) of a new pricing scheme. Whereas in the past, the money received for good fruit was used to subsidize the prices for fruit of a lesser quality, under the new structure, farmers who meet certification requirements and produce top quality fruit will be rewarded for their extra efforts. On the other hand, farmers who cannot meet the required quality standards will either have to improve or find alternative sources of income. The Tuesday Voice and Wednesday Star report this. The SLBC's new policy is in keeping with the system adopted earlier by the Windward Islands Developing and Exporting Company (WIBDECO).
The Mirror further quotes WIBDECO chief Bernard Cornibert, who has long promoted an end to the practice of cross-subsidization in the banana industry. "We have to have an industry where it produces on the basis of market requirements", Cornibert is quoted. "We have to keep the banana growers alive, let them know that this industry can be viable. For that to happen we have to undergo some fundamental changes, we have to do some radical things and obviously there will be some fall-out. This industry is carrying a lot of excess baggage. We need to look at how we can shed some of this without causing too much destruction to the livelihood of the people who are involved". Talks were held last week between representatives of WIBDECO, governments of the Windward Islands and the European Union to see how best the banana industry can be restructured. The Voice also reports this.
Meanwhile, a number of farmers from Micoud and the Roseau Model Farms are considering suing the government of St. Lucia for alleged breach of contract and gross negligence in not carrying out the leaf spot control program, although farmers have been paying a cess of 3 cents per pound on all bananas exported from St. Lucia (an estimated EC$3 million), write The Voice and Mirror. The farmers have sought legal advice from Sir John Compton on the matter.
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Two homes lost: drought problem for fire brigade
The continuing drought in St. Lucia is beginning to place serious pressure on the standard of services provided by the island's fire brigade, with a 38-year-old businessman from Cedars now claiming that he lost his house to a fire unnecessarily early last Monday because the fire engine was empty. The vehicle and its crew had reportedly just spent hours fighting a bush fire in Sarrot. This is partly confirmed by chief fire office Gill, who stated that the three fire units that responded to the call for help from Cedars found the fire hydrants - that are supposed to be maintained by WASCO - dry. As a result, "we had to shuttle water. One fire vehicle stayed on the scene while the others went to a location in Entrepot to fill up on water". The Cedars businessman however also blames "the negligence and inexperience of the firemen" for the loss of his house. Arson is suspected to be the cause of the fire, in which a 65-year-old woman and her four grandchildren lost their wooden home as well.
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Two sisters and one brother die in Micoud accident
In what is possibly the most serious and certainly one of the most tragic road accidents ever to have occurred in St. Lucia, three children died, one critically injured and another wounded, last Tuesday in Micoud. The accident has caused an outcry concerning the manner in which road accidents are prosecuted - or not prosecuted - and the prevalence of careless and inebriated driving on the island. Also being questioned is the issue of the ministry of Education's removal of the school transportation subsidy, which has resulted in larger number of school children walking to and from school, or having to wait by the roadside for transport.
Dead are Sheraiah (9), Sherbiyah (7) and Shernilia Xavier of Mon Repos - all of one family. In critical condition is Janelle Faisal (14) while Tresslin Mathurin (14) was treated in hospital and later discharged. Further compounding the already tragic circumstances is the fact that the Xavier parents had only recently lost their two-and-a-half year old daughter, when a fire destroyed their home in Praslin, late last February. Sympathy for the family has been overwhelming. The Thursday Voice speaks of "yet another unfathomable, heartbreaking, mind boggling tragic occurrence in the lives of the parents of the dead siblings".
According to Sgt. Albert James in The Star, Tuesday's accident occurred at around 4:30 pm when a 27-year-old driver from Derniere Riviere attempted to overtake a truck on the stretch of road near the Micoud gas station, but collided sideways with the other vehicle. "The car was forced off the road and hit a retaining wall before crashing into the children who were waiting for transportation to go home", James reports. Two children were killed instantly; the third later died in hospital.
According to the Thursday Voice, no one had been arrested thus far but both drivers were assisting police in their investigations.
An open-air funeral service will be held for the two sisters and their brother on Tuesday in the church yard near the infant school, after which their bodies will be laid to rest.
Minister of Education Mario Michel, permanent secretary Didacus Jules and deputy chief education officer Leonese Francois have visited the mourning family. The ministry will coordinate the children's funeral and has assured the parents also that they will receive some monetary compensation through the school insurance policy. Also, a group of counsellors has been assigned to assist the relatives and others affected in their time of mourning. The Star reports this.
Meanwhile, the father of the critically injured Janelle Faisal in an interview with DBS has spoken out critically against the government's removal of the school transport subsidy. However, the ministry of Education responded to this on Thursday by issuing a statement saying that it is incorrect to make any connections between the tragic accident and the removal of the subsidy. Besides explaining the financial rationale behind that decision, the statement also made it clear that it only affects secondary school students. The Xavier children attended primary and infant schools.
The Mirror makes a strong case for a total revision of the process by which drivers are made to account for recklessness on the road. Although unable to quote from court records, The Mirror claims that police records show "a serious disproportion between road accidents causing death and serious personal injury, and arrests". The paper states that "In 1997 police recorded 23 accidents in which there were deaths, and 132 accidents in which there were serious personal injuries. But only five persons were arrested and charged for causing death by dangerous driving. ... Although driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is believed to be one of the leading causes of traffic accidents here, only two persons were arrested in connection with that offence in 1996. There is no indication of how many drug/alcohol tests were administered. Three persons were arrested in 1997, and four in 1998 for driving under the influence. That seems very backward, considering that there were grand totals of 1,946 traffic accidents in 1996, 1,989 in 1997; and 1,629 in 1998".
The Wednesday Star provides a good example of the difficulties with which cases of death by dangerous driving are fraught. According to the testimony of an investigating officer, the man who is accused of having caused the death of 27-year-old Anthony John in June of last year [search news archives], refused to provide the police with urine and blood samples to test for alcohol and drugs. The policeman testified in court: "[He] did not agree to my request. He informed me that it was his right to refuse. I then cautioned him and formally requested a sample. The accused told me that he 'ain't giving that.'". The accused's stance was supported by his lawyer, Marcus Foster, who explained outside the courtroom that: "As the law stands right now, if a person refuses to give a sample there is nothing the police can do about it. Yes, they can ask a magistrate to order it, but by the time the police get to court a person's blood alcohol or drug level would be way down. It's a person's right to refuse. As to the whole question of breathalysers, well, the police don't have any."
Victor Marquis in the Thursday Voice compares reckless driving to the irresponsible use of guns. "A loaded revolver holds six bullets... and in the hands of the wrong person, is capable of killing a maximum of that many people. A loaded minibus holds fourteen passengers... and in the hands of the wrong person, has the capability of killing that many people ... It is not just 'sad' that someone is killed by a driver who misuses his license to drive a lethal weapon on our roads; it is an outrage, as much as the misuse of the other licence. And it is time we begin to regard it in that light, and direct our efforts to doing something more decisive about it".
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Police injured in marijuana eradication training
Two police officers were injured last week during a training session with a detachment of the United States marines, in preparation for a marijuana eradication exercise in the south of St. Lucia. The seventy-odd US marines, who were based at Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort, were training a squad of selected St. Lucian policemen and -women how to descend from a hovering helicopter, using ropes. During this training session, one policewoman let go of the rope too soon and fell and broke an ankle. A policeman lost his grip on the rope and fell from an even greater height, breaking both legs and shattering one of his kneecaps. The Thursday Voice reports this. The Mirror quotes a US major, Bix Olear, explaining that the marines play only a supportive role in the marijuana eradication exercise, transporting the St. Lucian police to the various, often inaccessible sites where ganja is grown. "We carry no weapons during the exercise.. We simply provide the support that was requested by the St. Lucia Government". Major Olear also stated that the marines would not get directly involved in the destruction of marijuana plants. According to the Thursday Voice, a report on the marijuana eradication programme will be released upon termination of the project. The last marines left St. Lucia this weekend.
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Poll says St. Lucians want Pacific Whale Sanctuary
Despite the government's support for a Japanese motion to continue whaling in the South Pacific, last year, St. Lucians are now said to be in favour of the creation of a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary (SPWS). As many as 47 percent of St. Lucians are said to be in favour of protecting the lives of whales, versus a mere 15 percent who feel that whale hunting should be allowed to continue. In five other Eastern Caribbean states too, people support the SPWS by a margin of four to one. The Mirror reports this. In Antigua, 47 percent was for, and 7% against the sanctuary. St. Kitts & Nevis recorded 60% to 7%), Dominica (66% to 9%), Grenada (53% to 14%), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (51% to 26%), and St. Lucia (47% to 15%). The figures result from a poll conducted by MORI, "an independent, internationally recognized polling agency", according to The Voice.
During a meeting last year of the International Whaling Commission, all six of these Eastern Caribbean countries voted against the establishment of a whale sanctuary in the South Pacific.
St. Lucia and some other Eastern Caribbean islands have actively promoted whalewatching as part of their ecotourism product. But with Japan having spent millions of dollars on fisheries complexes (such as the ones in Vieux Fort and Dennery), Eastern Caribbean governments chose to 'repay in kind' by voting in support of Japan's position on the continuation of whale hunting.
The issue of the South Pacific Whale Sactuary will surface once again when the IWC meets in London this July. Greenpeace's ship the Arctic Sunrise is currently campaigning in the Eastern Caribbean to gain governments' support for the sanctuary. (For more specific poll details, see: www.mori.com ).
Meanwhile, The Mirror reports once again on the continuing threats to the Pointe Sable National Park in Vieux Fort where various ecologically harmful practices still prevail. Both private persons and governmental or corporate bodies are reported to be responsible for inflicting damage on the precious flora and fauna to be found within the park, especially on Anse de Sable beach and in the Mankote mangrove. The reporter writes: "Some weeks ago I witnessed the illegal harvesting of sea-eggs at Bwa Chadon, the burning of vegetation which protects the beach by an Authority on conservation. Yes burning, during the dry season. I have also seen the removal of seagrass on the beach through mechanized means by an hotel in the vicinity of the Pointe Sable National Park and the illegal cutting of poles at the Mankote Mangrove. All this in less than a week. The use of heavy equipment to clean the Pointe Sable Beach has gone on for years now, without much agitation by the people and responsible authorities. Could you imagine the number of leatherback or hawksbill turtle eggs and hatchlings which may have been destroyed by this piece of heavy equipment? The profile of the beach has changed dramatically near the Club Med windsurfing area (near Sandy Beach) and north of Club Med hotel due mainly to constant combing of the beach to clear it of seagrass".
Just two weeks ago, a large leatherback turtle was found on Anse de Sable beach with serious injuries to its head - whether inflicted intentionally by a cutlass or accidentally by a boat's propellor, it was difficult to say. The animal died of its wounds a few hours later but not without first, as The Mirror reports, having generated the empathy and concern of several Vieux Fortians, who had called in the help of the Department of Fisheries, a local vet and the media in order to draw attention to its plight.
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Lesfloris sharpens 100m record to 11.48
Vernetta Lesfloris has sharpened St. Lucia's record in the 100 meters by one tenth of a second, to a new 11.48 seconds. Lesfloris, who is the 1999 Central American and Caribbean 140-metre champion, set the new national record during the Soutwest Missouri State Queens City Invitational meet last weekend, in the United States. She finished just 0.05 seconds behind Amber Cumberbatch of Barbados. St. Lucia's national record on the 100 meters used to belong to Michelle Baptiste, who in 1996 ran the distance in 11.58 seconds.
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Sir John: $15M debt repayment drop in ocean
Government's boast that it "pumps $15 million into the economy" by paying outstanding debts in that amount to private sector companies and agencies, has come under critical scrutiny from Sir John Compton, former prime minister and minister of Finance and current president of the new Alliance for Unity. In a press release in the Tuesday Voice, prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony describes the 15 million dollar payment as going "a long way to put greater liquidity in the hands of private businesses and enhanc[ing] their ability to consolidate, expand, and in general, finance their operations". He promised another payment of $5 million before the end of the financial year. Further according to the press release, "The announcement of the government's intention to pump $20 million into the economy was welcomed by the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, as well as by two prominent local accounting firms, Chase, Skeete & Boland and PriceWaterhouseCoopers".
Press secretary Earl Bousquet similarly speaks of the government giving the economy "a shot in the arm by easing liquidity with payment of $20 million of the $33 million owed to the private sector in this financial year".
But Sir John Compton lashes out at the announced payment in the Weekend Voice, alleging that "since its assumption of office in 1997, the Government debt to the private sector increased by $9 million to $42 million. In addition, to run current operations, Government increased its overdraft at Commercial Banks from $10 million in 1997 to $25 million at present, and the Public Debt rose from $559.661 million in 1997 to $676.858 million at present; an increase of over $100 million. The cost of serving these debts increased from $38.967 million in 1997 to $66.538 million at present. And what is more alarming most of these debts were incurred [on] commercial terms and used for such non-productive purposes as Prisons, Car Parks etc., and not from International Banks on soft terms". According to The Voice, "Sir John further stated that most of the $15 million were paid to large contractors whose services are needed in an election year and who are expected to contribute to the campaign fund. By contrast, the thousands of small people, who have been waiting for years for PAYE refunds from the Inland Revenue, were not included in the package". In conclusion, Sir John alleges that government's boast concerning the $15 million debt repayment would be more aptly described as a magician's trick of "smoke and mirrors".
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Search for thirty new foster homes is on
Finding at least thirty new foster homes, twenty in Castries and ten in the south of the island: that is the goal that the division of Human Services and Family Affairs in the ministry of Health has set itself for the Foster Care Recrtuiment Drive which will kick off on Thursday, 17th of May. There are several children in St. Lucia who are at risk from abuse and other harmful situations and who need to be temporarily removed from that environment, to give their parents or caretakers a chance, with the required assistance, to sort out their problems and subsequently resume the care for that child. The Division of Human Services and Family Affairs provides prospective foster care parents with the skills and knowledge needed to properly care for children from abusive, neglected or otherwise difficult circumstances. An out-of-office recruitment drive will take place at various locations island-wide, from May 17th to 26th. For more please contact the Division at tel. 452-4545, 452-7204 or 451-1777. The Star reports this.
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St. Lucian delegation visits Malaysia
Prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony, minister of Planning Dr. Walter Francois, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Anthony Severin and four officials from the ministry of Foreign Affairs and the prime minister's office are currently visiting Malaysia. According to The Star, Dr Anthony and Malaysia's prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad have signed a memorandum on economic, scientific and technical cooperation between the two nations and St. Lucia's Foreign minister has announced that they will be scouting around for Malaysian investors in the fields of telecommunications and tourism. The Tuesday and Thursday editions of The Voice also report on the visit.
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Mexico offers scholarships to St. Lucians
The government of Mexico is offering a number of scholarships to St. Lucians wishing to pursue studies at the master's and doctoral levels. The Star reports this. Scholarships are granted based on academic excellence and will be available in the fields of biotechnology, agriculture, tourism, public administration, economics, international trade,environment, education, public health, animal health and training for Spanish teachers. Scholarships are not available in the fields of dentistry, plastic surgery, marketing, accounting, advertising and business administration. Priority will be given to students who will use the education gained specifically in their country of origin. For more info, see: www.sre.gob.mx, www.serpiente.dgsca.unam.mx or the department of Human Resources. Deadline for applications is June 8th.
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