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Janet Jagan steps down: Bharrat Jagdeo new president in Guyana
Janet Jagan stepped down as president of Guyana last Wednesday following a mild heart attack earlier this month, and has been succeeded by 35 year-old Bharrat Jagdeo, the former finance minister. Jagdeo was sworn in as prime minister last monday because, according to Guyana's constitution, only the PM can succeed the president. To allow Jagdeo to assume presidency, prime minister Sam Hinds resigned last Sunday. Meanwhile, opposition leader Desmond Hoyte (People's National Congress), says that since his party did not recognise Janet Jagan as president, it cannot and will not recognise Jagdeo's presidency either. The Thursday Voice and the Star carry short reports on the new presidency. The Star adds that Hoyte has declared, however, that the change in presidency and the issue of legitimacy will not affect an earlier-struck peace accord between the PPP and PNC, which came about after brokerage by Caricom. In a separate article, the Star further reports that prime minister Kenny Anthony, who has oversight responsibility for Guyana on behalf of Caricom, has sought an early meeting with new president Jagdeo to discuss the Caribbean community's ongoing role in the Guyana political process.
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NYC asks ministry for apology
The National Youth Council (NYC) this week has expressed anger with the ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on two counts. In a statement (published in full in the Thursday Voice and partly quoted in the Star), the NYC asks the ministry to apologize for what it deems a lack of respect for the council and the students whom it represents, following the ministry's alleged neglect to involve the NYC from an early stage in the consultation process on the Draft Education Development Plan. In separate articles in the weekend edition of the Voice and in the Star, the NYC voices further disappointment with the ministry and particularly with the department of Youth and Sports, about the allegedly deficient way in which it promotes and facilitates youth programs. At the same time, the Mirror carries an interview with the director of the department of Youth and Sports, Armstrong Alexis, in which Alexis complains at some length about a lack of funding and manpower which, he says, 'bedevils' the ministry and prevents it from achieving its goals. From the same article it can be gleaned, however, that a number of youth programs have been developed by the department since late June. Young people in Bexon have been involved in paper making; in Anse la Raye, a beekeeping project was due to start late last month, and throughout the month of August, young men and women in Choiseul are receiving training in basket-making, weaving and pottery.
Over the weekend, ninety to one hundred youth leaders from all seventeen branches of the NYC are taking part in a general council retreat at the Micoud secondary school. One of the main points on the agenda for this meeting is a review of the relationship between the NYC and the department of Youth and Sports.
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Greaves promises permanent date for carnival
A permanent date for carnival will be announced next month. This promise, the Mirror writes, came from minister Damian Greaves at the official carnival prize giving ceremony for Jam Time 99, which was held last Saturday. Last year, the ministry of Culture changed the date for carnival celebrations from its traditional pre-lenten time in February to a date in mid-July, in a bid to avoid having to vie for scarce resources with Christmas celebrations, and to avoid clashing with Trinidad carnival. According to the Mirror, a symposium will be held on September 15 for all major stakeholders in carnival. Following that, the minister will announce a permanent choice for carnival either in February or July.
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PM defends birth of Caribbean Court of Justice
Prime minister Kenny Anthony this week defended the imminent birth of a Caribbean Court of Justice, next year, which will abolish the London-based Privy Council as the final court of appeal for most regional states. That was reported in the Star. The newspaper states that the PM said that there is no way that English judges can fully comprehend the sociological realities of these islands, and that Caribbean governments cannot continue a situation where they allow persons far removed from the region to determine how Caribbean people should govern their lives. The Star further emphasises that Dr. Anthony regrets the fact that his - and Caricom's - support for a Caribbean Court of Justice has been interpreted as a move to circumvent English and European criticisms following recent executions of the death penalty in Trinidad and Tobago.
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Customs reform project brings in $ millions extra
Management changes at the top of the customs department are beginning to have beneficial effects on the efficiency and quality of services in the entire department. This is stated by David Hesketh, the English consultant who is overseeing the Customs Reform Modernisation Project (CRMP) which started last year. After a difficult start, mainly due to individuals having trouble adjusting to the new way of doing things, the CRMP seems to be on its way to becoming a huge success. The Voice leads its weekend edition with this news. According to the newspaper, last year, the customs department collected $21 million over their target of $230 million. This year, customs is aiming to collect $276 million. Improved training of staff, better human resource management and better accounting are responsible for customs adding so much more money to the government's coffers, together with certain reform-unrelated factors such as an increase in certain tariffs and more accurate declaration.
The Voice quotes Hesketh as saying: "Everybody was used to their old style. They are not saying that they don't want to follow the new system, but are just saying it is difficult. There was no doubt that we were not collecting the amount of money we should. We recognise that this practice of false invoicing for entries was costing St. Lucia lots of money".
As of September, anyone found guilty of fraudulent evasion of custom duties runs the risk of being fined $10,000 or three times the value of the goods, whichever is greater, or imprisonment for five years, or both - reports the Voice.
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Lisle Chase new CEO at Financial Centre
Lisle Chase has been appointed chief executive officer of the Financial Centre Corporation. Chase - currently a managing partner at Chase, Skeete & Boland - takes up his new position in late August. In this week's newspapers, Chase is quoted as saying that St. Lucia's new focus on international financial services - when executed well - could have a positive impact on the overall economy within three to five years.
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OECS and C&W: telecommunications liberalised by end of 2000
Full liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in the OECS countries can be achieved before the end of the year 2000. That is the upshot of a meeting held last Tuesday between Cable and Wireless and a team of negotiators from OECS countries. The Voice newspaper leads its Thursday edition with this story and the Star and Crusader also carry reports, with the Star adding that, in a separate statement released by C&W, the company states that it prefers a phased approach to the liberalisation process, with certain services being liberalised from April 2000 but others not until the year 2005. The OECS has been pushing for the termination of C&W's monopoly position in the islands' telecommunications sectors for some time. According to Calixte George, St. Lucia's minister of communications and president of Tuesday's OECS negotiating team, once the OECS market is opened up to other providers besides C&W, it will be then be the task of each sovereign member state to further regulate the telecommunications sector as it sees fit. Another issue on the agenda last Tuesday was that of compensation to be paid to C&W for the removal of its exclusive position in the sector. According to the Voice, however, this issue was deferred to a later date after the OECS-team presented C&W with a counter-claim.
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Taxi drivers voice concern over seating capacity proposal
Taxi drivers on the island are concerned about recent public statements by local and overseas-based tourism and airline officials to the effect that buses for tourists ought to have a larger seating capacity than that which the current ordinary 'minivans' offer. This was one of the concerns voiced by Lucien Joseph, the president of the National Taxi Council, during a meeting with delegates of his association and prime minister Kenny Anthony, last Monday. The Thursday Voice carries a full report on the meeting.
Dr. Anthony, in his address to the taxi drivers, took the chance to reply to reports in last week's newspapers in which Allen Chastanet (Air Jamaica) and Ralph Taylor (Caribbean Hotel Assn.) criticised the government for not allocating enough money to the Tourist Board, and for not taking tourism development seriously enough [see Last Week's News Headlines]. According to the Voice, Dr. Anthony told the delegates of the National Taxi Council that "those who insist on getting more and more for tourism every year must understand that other sectors of the national economy also have equal need for capital injections from the Treasury".
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Guild of graduates to reassume role in society
The St. Lucia Guild of Graduates is working to rekindle an interest among university graduates on the island in assuming a role of guidance in the academic and intellectual development of St. Lucia. According to the Voice and Crusader newspapers, a five member steering committee of the St. Lucia Guild met with a special initiatives' team from the University of the West Indies (UWI) last week to map out a campaign of action. The Guild has existed since the 1960s but has lately been dormant. One of the problems it may need to overcome is the false but lingering perception that it is an exclusive club of graduates from UWI. Interested graduates may contact Martha Pierre (452-3866), Alicia Stephen (452-3894), Anthony Darius (450-1587) or michaelg@candw.lc.
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Allegations of police brutality under official investigation
Two alleged cases of police brutality, both of which have been reported in the Crusader in the past fortnight, are now under formal police investigation. This was made public by Acting Police Commissioner Hermangild Francis in this week's Crusader. One case is in the hands of the director of public prosecutions, Norton Jack, and the other is being handled by superintendent Noel. According to the Crusader, however, neither of the accused police officers - one of whom is an inspector - has been suspended. The newspaper explains that, according to Commissioner Francis, in the past, police officers have at times been suspended for acts of brutality, only for some of the complainants to later drop their allegations. In two cases cited by Francis, the government ended up having to pay these officer almost $40,000 in back-pay. In light of this, Francis pleads for a system of legislation whereby once a formal complaint is made about any police officer, the complainant is not allowed to withdraw. Meanwhile, both men whose allegations of police brutality are now under investigation are scheduled to appear in court on charges of housebreaking, use of insulting language and assault.
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Banana prices plunge to crisis level: under 45 cents/lb.
Banana prices continued to drop last week, with Tropical Quality Fruit Company now paying less than 45 cents per pound - the lowest level since the mid 1990s when riots broke out in what is one of the island's main economic sectors. In a notice to the media this week, TQF admits that its price of below 45 cents is the lowest it has paid farmers since its formation: "As an economic price, we know that is not enough, but our net market return for week 28 is 45.61 cents per pound". According to the Mirror, the St. Lucia Banana Corporation continues to subsidise farmers, as it has been doing for the past weeks, by continuing to pay 54 cents per pound - thus adding to the $9 million it has already paid out in price support during the nine or ten months of its existence.
Factors which cause the continuation of depressed banana prices, according to the Mirror, are discounted Del Monte bananas flooding the market; increased freight costs (up 22%), a disadvantageous exchange rate (down 5%) and a drop in quality of St. Lucian bananas (down 10%). The newspaper also states that prices are expected to plunge further, to below 40 cents per pound.
Meanwhile, the Thursday Voice reports that efforts to avert a price crisis in the Windwards banana industry continued last Thursday, with representatives of Geest Industries UK meeting with officials of the Banana Corporation, TQF, and the government. Minister of Agriculture, Cass Elias, is reported in the Voice as saying that following last Thursday's meeting, government should be in a position to decide what can be done to stabilize prices for banana farmers.
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New berth at Pointe Seraphine sinking into harbour?
One of the two new berths at Pointe Seraphine is slipping from its original position and sinking into the harbour at a rate of what may be as much as one centimeter per day. The Mirror newspaper says it understands that such is being claimed in a report by an engineer at the St. Lucia Air & Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA). The newspaper relies on undisclosed sources "close to the project" who, the Mirror claims, report that the berth improvement project was not executed as originally intended during the construction phases and that, as a result, "most damning of all, [...] the new berths may actually be sinking into the ground".
The berth improvement works at Pointe Seraphine have been carried out by a French-based firm, Bouygues Offshore, for the St. Lucia Air & Sea Ports Authority. The first phase of the project was completed last May, at a cost of $25 million, according to the Mirror. Neither the SLASPA general manager, Vincent Hippolyte, nor the officer in charge of the berth improvement project, Michael Fedee, could say whether or not the rumour of structural defects at the new berth is true, according to the newspaper. The Mirror further reports that a one year-defects liability period applies to the construction project, before SLASPA is obliged to take financial responsibility for structural defects. The newspaper expresses its concern with what it calls a "potential fiasco", and surmises that, because of the alleged mistakes, "the whole future plan on cruise ship tourism is in jeopardy".
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Bible in St. Lucian Kweyol to be released soon
Five thousand first edition copies of the Kweyol translation of the New Testament will soon be on sale in St. Lucia at a nominal price of $20. This was released by the Bible Society in the Eastern Caribbean at a press conference earlier this week. The Crusader reports on this. The project, supported financially by the United Bible Societies, has taken fifteen years and US$1 million to materialise. At different stages, participants in the project have been the Bible Society, linguists David Frank and Mr. Crosbie of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), the Folk Research Centre and St. Lucian co-translators Emmanuel Leon and Peter Samuel. Evangelical churches in the island, particularly, have expressed interest in using the new translation.
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