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Quotes:
"If I had already managed to steal $68,205 I can't imagine I would bother to take another 76 cents".
SLBC chairman and director Patrick Joseph on the allegation by the acting chief accountant Dean Nicholas that he "has stolen from, embezzled or defrauded the St. Lucia Banana Corporation of $68,205.76" (The Crusader, 14th October).
"Ever wondered what would happen if Dame Pearlette decided a certain Bill was not in the best interest of the country and in her role as 'advisor, encourager and forewarner' chose not to sign?"
Eliza Francis on the role of Heads of State (The Star, 14th October).
"There are those who believe that the proclivity for ideological Reddishness and things of similar hue, symbolic or otherwise, by Labour Governments in the Caribbean seems to have influenced a great deal the chosen colour. ... [G]iven that the colour red is usually associated with danger there are also those who think it is not quite suitable for its present use. ... Arguably, the contention for danger lessens when one realizes that red is also associated with Valentine's Day".
Thursday Voice editorial on the new (red) license plates issued by the ministry of Tourism to certified taxi drivers (12th October).
"I appeal to everybody to take seriously the notion that it takes a village to raise up a child".
Governor-General Dame Dr. Pearlette Louisy on the importance of early childhood education (Thursday Voice, 12th October).
"The truth is that many people perhaps know only two little things about these folks: (1) that they are almost always very well dressed; and (2) that they don't pay... rather the government pays for the house in which they sleep, where they go and what they eat, drink and wear".
David Vitalis on the 6th CARICOM conference of Heads of State (The Mirror, 13th October).
"Many words have been used to describe [Patrick] Joseph: brash, crude, aggressive, arrogant. But the one that stands out in my mind is 'misunderstood'."
Guy Ellis (The Mirror, 13th October).
"We don't want a Senate that acts like a diuretic and simply passes out any and everything that is sent to it by the Lower House/Party in Government".
Cletus Springer on the need for a Government of National Unity (The Mirror, 13th October).
"It's almost as if the Government is paying people in the UWP to destroy their own party".
Letter to the editor (The Mirror, 13th October).
"In fact, it may be just too much to expect politicians to voluntarily scrap a system under which they seem to thrive so well".
Guy Ellis on the need to change the existing political system (The Mirror, 13th October).
"Here in St. Lucia it is difficult to get consumers to make a realistic connection between buying an 'unauthorized' cassette or CD and stealing".
Toni Nicholas on Copyright Awareness Week (The Mirror, 13th October).
"They will be judged in the following categories: introduction, talent, national costume, evening wear and intelligence, which will take the form of simple questions".
The Mirror on the La Wen Kweyol pageant in Choiseul (13th October).
"(Is there anything about Vaughan Lewis not preceded by 'ex-' or 'former'?)".
...
"Open your eyes, Cletus, the black on this particular emperor ain't fabric; it's the color of his nakedness!"
Rick Wayne on Cletus Springer's assertion that St. Lucia's current political system has prevented a man like Vaughan Lewis from really shining (Wednesday Star, 11th October).
"A meaningful service culture must not involve situations whereby nationals in the retail sector address other St. Lucians in the following manner: 'What you want?' And the next moment address guests, or white people, in this manner: 'How may I help you?'"
Wilson Jn. Baptiste on the need to establish a 'service culture' in St. Lucia (Wednesday Star, 11th October).
"Farmers selling to the SLBC were bypassed in the implementation of this proposal, forcing the Ministry of Agriculture to step in and demand that all farmers must be sprayed".
The Voice (14th October).
"Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 'I hate quotations. Tell me what you know'."
Vicor Marquis, quoting from a column by Trinidadian journalist Tony Deyal (The Voice, 14th October). |
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Patrick Joseph resigns amidst allegations of theft
Patrick Joseph, chairman and director of the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) resigned from his post on Friday of last week but has staunchly denied allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds levelled against him. Joseph's resignation during a meeting of the Board of Directors of the SLBC held on Friday 8th October, followed a letter sent to the commisioner of police by the SLBC's acting chief-accountant Dean Nicholas, in which Nicholas alleged that Patrick Joseph has "stolen from, embezzled or defrauded the St. Lucia Banana Corporation of $68,205.76". This is reported in The Crusader. The newspaper continues: "Nicholas went further and accused Joseph of being 'corrupt' and demanded that he be charged accordingly. In addition, he [Nicholas] charged that the SLBC chairman had seized the original documents 'establishing his guilt' and was refusing to return them to him [Nicholas]. As a result, he requested that the police assist him in retrieving the documents before Joseph 'destroyed them' and warned that Joseph was 'behaving in a violent manner and making violent threats'."
The Crusader finds it 'peculiar' that Nicholas' letter to the commissioner of police was not typed on SLBC headed paper and that the SLBC Board of directors had not authorized the writing of such a letter. However, the newspaper acknowledges that on Tuesday (11th October), a press release from SLBC company secretary Freemont Lawrence confirmed Joseph's resignation. The press release provided the following explanation: "The reasons for his resignation include a conflict of interest related to SLBC's rental of equipment belonging to Mr. Joseph's private company and secondly, poor judgement in the management of the company's resources as reflected in the sale of a company vehicle to a close relative". The SLBC board has commissioned an independent audit to investigate any possible instances of mismanagement.
Patrick Joseph denies the allegations, claiming that he is the victim of a smear campaign resulting from unpopular cost-cutting and staff restructuring measures he was instigating at the SLBC. These measures would have negatively affected some of the SLBC managers who are now accusing him of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. The Crusader reports that Joseph resigned "in protest over the fact that allegations of corruption had been made against him before they had been duly investigated". According to The Mirror, Joseph has stated that he resigned to "avoid further division in the already unstable industry".
Concretely, Pat Joseph is being accused of having sold a damaged SLBC vehicle to a relative and of having leased a forklift belonging to one of his private companies, to the SLBC. While The Crusader has investigated both allegations and reports on them in great detail, these are matters that will ultimately have to be judged by an independent audit.
Of more immediate interest, however, is Patrick Joseph's counter-accusation. Joseph claims that he had discovered that a number of SLBC managers had been "seeking and obtaining substantial advances on their salaries". Acting chief accountant Dean Nicholas was one of these, alleges Joseph. According to The Crusader, in recent months, Patrick Joseph had twice turned down Nicholas' requests for such an advance. Furthermore, Joseph hired a consultant to review the operational and managerial structure of the company and was in the process of adopting "more stringent measures" to monitor the operations of SLBC staff, in particular the functioning of the managers, to make them more accountable, more efficient, and more productive.
Asked if he "welcomed the independent audit and would be vindicated in the end", Patrick Joseph reportedly told The Mirror: "You have to agree that you [have] done something wrong before you can feel vindicated by an audit. It does not matter what happens, I will not be free of the dirt that is being thrown at me".
According to The Crusader, Patrick Joseph "has steadfastly denied that he stole money from the company". In response to the allegation that he had stolen $68,205.76 of SLBC funds, Joseph reportedly said: "If I had already managed to steal $68,205 I can't imagine I would bother to take another 76 cents".
Finally, the only newspaper to maintain virtual silence on the subject of Patrick Joseph's resignation and the allegations levelled against him, The Star, reports that Patrick Joseph told Star editor Rick Wayne: "Trust me. The truth will surprise you". However, Rick Wayne (for now?) prefers to keep everyone guessing, both in the midweek and the weekend editions of The Star, as to what this surprising bit of "truth" might be.
In the meantime, Patrick Joseph has been replaced by former deputy chairman Joseph Hippolyte and The Voice reports that a special SLBC shareholder's meeting is scheduled for this coming Friday, 20th November.
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UWP quandary spurs debate on united governance
If for once, editors could have postponed the weekend newspapers until Monday, they undoubtedly would have done so. As it is however, the week's papers form a rich crop of historical reflection and philosophical political debate, as St. Lucia anxiously awaits the outcome of Sunday's United Workers Party 31st annual convention where, amongst other business, a new political leader and executive will be elected. While public debate last week centered on the question 'Who will it be?' (Dr. Morella Joseph? Jeffrey Stewart? Lorraine Williams? Dr. Vaughan Lewis after all? Sir John Compton? Guy Mayers?) this week, various commentators examine the larger picture of political life and culture in St. Lucia. A recurring question is whether the existing two-chamber, two-party democratic system that operates in St. Lucia is to be blamed for the high level of divisiveness that characterises St. Lucian politics. The question then is whether or not a Government of National Unity, in which the best brains and talents in the country together undertake the task of governance would not yield much better results. Cletus Springer, Frank Girard and Guy Ellis all pose these questions in the Voice and Mirror newspapers. Rick Wayne, in The Star, counters their arguments, stating that as far as he can see, it is not the political system that is at fault, but the quality and mentality of the individuals that are attracted to politics.
The Mirror promises to continue the debate on the suitability of the current political system and possible alternatives, in the weeks to come. For, as Guy Ellis writes: "At a time when we are preparing for another political scramble to put another 17 (or is it 19) hungry and incompetent politicians, tall on talk and flash but short on substance and competence, into office, the least we can do is begin to debate the merits of the system that encourages and legitimizes this folly".
The commentators all recognize that the notion of a system, where political leaders and executives are chosen on the basis of their talents and the policies they propose, rather than on the basis of their party allegiance and loyalty, is not a new one in St. Lucia but has roots in the early 1970s.
In 'Three years of hard labour?' Ernie Seon (Wednesday Star) analyses the trials and tribulations experienced by the St. Lucia Labour Party during its three years of governance. Seon concludes that: "public opinion appears to be turning its attention to the opposition United Workers Party for answers. Up to recently, the UWP under its former leader Dr Vaughan Lewis was considered a thing of the past but [it] may now have been handed a prescription for recovery from its 1997 electoral devastation".
Micah George in the Thursday Voice similarly deems Sunday's convention crucially important, for two reasons: "St. Lucians may be witnessing first hand a political party of tremendous power within the past 36 years sink into oblivion; or witness political maneuvrings at its best that may propel the party back into the seat of government to the surprise of almost everybody. The party's annual convention on Sunday in Vieux Fort will answer many questions, however the party's death knell could also be sounded there as well in the quality of people elected to the executive body. That particular core of people could either make or break the party. ... All eyes will be on Sunday's convention as the UWP strives to present itself to the people of this country as a credible alternative for government. The question is: can it do that?"
Meanwhile, the Thursday Voice reports that the East Castries constituency has asked Lorraine Williams to act as 'constituency caretaker'. Williams - a former attorney general and senator under the 1992-1997 UWP government - has accepted the role. In the past, apart from being a vocal critic of certain top members of the UWP hierarchy, Williams has also been considered a weak political candidate because she apparently lacked a political 'base'. As the Thursday Voice concludes, with last week's agreement, the East Castries constituency "has found itself a 'caretaker'; and Ms. Williams has found herself a 'base'."
Sunday's UWP convention will be held at the Vieux Fort primary school, from 11 am onwards.
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LIAT says: Caribbean Star out for the kill
LIAT has accused the region's newest airline, Caribbean Star of wanting to "kill" LIAT by picking the profitable routes which are already being serviced by LIAT. Caribbean Star, owned by Texas-born, Antigua resident Allen Stanford however claims that its proposed services will be complementary to LIAT's efforts. "There may be some oversupply in the valleys but during the peaks there are strong shortages", says Caribbean Star's president, Gilles Filiatreaux. Both LIAT and Caribbean Star are based in Antigua.
EC Express, a St. Lucia-based subsidiary of Air Jamaica, this week joined in the debate. EC Express director Allen Chastanet calls for a level playing field for all regional airlines. Currently, Caribbean Star's application for permission to fly into St. Lucia from Antigua is being held up due to the fact that Antigua is refusing to allow EC Express to fly from St. Lucia into Antigua. "If we are going to allow anyone to apply for any specific route then it should be equal to everyone", commented Chastanet. With respect to LIAT, added Chastanet, this also means that this company must pay up the millions of dollars it still owes to several destinations in landing fees. "If LIAT wants to ensure that it has its routes protected, then it has to make sure it is on equal footing with everyone else". The Voice reports this.
Finally, Chastanet also remarked that as far as he can see, Caribbean Star "is really not bringing anything new to the table at this time, so it is interesting to see how this plays out".
Caribbean Star currently owns three Dash-8 planes, which it uses to train staff. The Mirror and Thursday Voice both report on the regional airline dispute.
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St. Lucia link in international car theft racket?
A possible car theft racket involving residents in the South of St. Lucia acquiring cars that have been stolen in Canada is under investigation by the Customs department. This is reported in The Mirror. According to the paper, a "mysterious" car that had been seized by customs officers some months ago and was being kept at the Vieux Fort docks, went up in flames last week. A can of gasoline and matches were found near the wreck. This car was suspected to be part of the international theft operation, writes The Mirror. Furthermore, a series of break-ins at the Customs department's offices in Vieux Fort, some weeks ago, might have been connected to the international car theft racket also, since nothing was stolen but certain "documents were tampered with".
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Teachers on strike over bad conditions in school
Teachers of the Clendon Mason Memorial Secondary School in Dennery "expressed their disgust with their feet" and walked off their jobs on Thursday of last week which was, ironically, celebrated nationwide as Teacher Appreciation Day. The Wednesday Star reports this. According to the newspaper, the school had been complaining for some time about "backed-up toilets, insect infestation, and centipedes falling from the roof - all to no avail".
Permanent secretary in the ministry of Education, Didacus Jules, during a press conference called the following day, deemed the teachers' action "unfortunate" and said teachers had used the strike to "dramatise" problems. "There are established industrial relation procedures for dealing with such problems and this ministry is not going to be conducting its work on the basis of crisis management", said Jules.
The permanent secretary did, however, admit that a number of schools, including Clendon Mason Memorial in Dennery, are in "dire need of total rehabilitation and repair" and that conditions are "far from ideal".
One of the ways in which the ministry intends to deal with the physical state of secondary schools is by conducting a survey "with the view of bringing them all up to required standards".
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Shifting EU-US ties endanger local economies
'First Come, First Serve' may be the adage under which the Windward islands' banana industry receives its final death blow. At least that is the fear amongst Caribbean officials involved in the negotiations to safeguard the region's share of the European banana market. Julian Hunte, St. Luca's ambassador to the United Nations, is quoted in The Voice as saying: "We are really very concerned about what may happen".
'First Come, First Serve' (FCFS) is the European Union's proposal to the World Trade Organization to put an end to the costly trade war that Europe and the United States have been fighting all of last year. "That proposal is likely to be rejected by the United States", says Hunte, "and then someone may suggest that we move to a tariff situation only. That would be a disaster for us".
The trade war between the EU and the US started over the issue of preferential treatment being given to Caribbean bananas. The US challenged this and took the matter to the World Trade Organization, which ruled in favour of the US. Since then, the US has been imposing sanctions on EU exports. The issue has since escalated and now includes a major dispute over tax breaks provided by foreign service corporations (FSC) to certain US companies. The EU successfully challenged the FSC system at the level of the World Trade Organization, and now the US faces the possibility that the EU may impose similar sanctions on US exports to the EU.
With the EU-US trade war thus spiralling dangerously, analysts expect that both sides will try to "hammer out a comprehensive agreement that would end both the banana and the FSC disputes". But Caribbean officials fear that their islands' banana interests may become the 'sacrifical lamb' in any such agreement.
Whereas Julian Hunte is downright fearful, Bernard Cornibert, chief executive officer of the Windward Islands Banana Development Corporation (WIBDECO) adopts a slightly more hopeful perspective in this week's papers. Cornibert reasons that since the First Come, First Serve proposal will in all likelihood not be accepted by the US, this leaves the door open for Caribbean banana officials to approach the US and "come up with some modification of the original Caribbean proposal".
Under the current system, the Windward islands have a certain number of licenses which ensure a market for set export volumes. Under the First Come, First Serve system, explains The Mirror, "Caribbean exporters would not know from week to week what volume of bananas can enter into the [European] community".
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Higher prices for petrol and cooking gas
The prices for unleaded petrol, diesel and cooking gas are set to increase this week as a result of government no longer being able to subsidise the rising price of oil on the world market. Prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony announced during a radio broadcast that unleaded petrol will cost $6.97/gallon from Monday and diesel will cost $6.30/gallon. Of each gallon, three cents will go to the petrol dealers, said the PM.
Cooking gas prices will also "rise substantially", said the PM - although a very significant difference exists between the price increase for small (domestic) bottles of gas and those used commercially and by larger households. As of Monday, a 20 lb bottle of cooking gas will cost $28.20 (an increase of 80 cents or 2.92 %), whilst a 100 lb bottle of cooking gas will cost $150 (an increase of $13 or 9.49 %).
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