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Kweyol New Testament hits bookstores islandwide
The first five thousand copies of the Kweyol New Testament arrived at the Castries docks the previous morning - just in time for the official launching of the Kweyol Testeman Nef-la, last Sunday at the Castries Comprehensive School. Dignitaries included Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy, minister Damian Greaves, Archdeacon Randolph Evelyn, Justice Suzie d'Auvergne, Monsignor Theophilus Joseph. Also present the event were translators and publishers involved in the bible translation project and representatives of various island-based organisations with a stake in the development of the Kweyol language. The Kweyol New Testament is available at bookstores islandwide at a cost of EC$25. Both The Voice and Mirror carry reports on the launch
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Entire SLBC board of directors resigns
Following the presentation of a petition signed by members of the Banana Salvation Committee (BSC) last Friday, intended to force the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, the entire seven-member board of directors of the SLBC resigned on Monday. The extraordinary shareholders' meeting was to have been called so that BSC leaders could move a motion of no confidence in SLBC executive chairman Patrick Joseph (see last weeks' news). But the SLBC board members' voluntary resignation now defeats this objective. The Mirror newspaper reports this. The SLBC has scheduled its annual general meeting for the 25th of October - one day after the mass resignation takes effect. A new board of directors will be elected then and, as the Mirror writes, "the crucial question now is whether the BSC can influence enough shareholders to keep out directors it is dissatisfied with", including Patrick Joseph. Meanwhile, farmers' support appears to be varied, with certain voices calling for Patrick Joseph to step down, yet others querying the motives behind BSC leader Fred Flood's attempts to oust Joseph as executive chairman of the SLBC. Both the Tuesday Voice and The Mirror indicate this. Additionally, WIBDECO has published an advertisement in the Mirror and One Caribbean newspapers this week, stating its response to an allegation reportedly made by Patrick Joseph in last week's Star newspaper, to the effect that WIBDECO overcharged the SLBC and banana growers in the Windward Islands in general to the tune of EC$10 million. WIBDECO distances itself from the current conflict between the SLBC and BSC and calls Joseph's reported statement 'completely bogus'. The weekend Voice and One Caribbean also report on WIBDECO's statement. In One Caribbean, Joseph is quoted as saying that he will not serve on any board which includes BSC-leader Fred Flood or any of his associates.
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Vaughan Lewis to lead UWP once more
Dr. Vaughan Lewis will once more lead the United Workers Party (UWP), currently in opposition. Lewis was nominated to be party leader last Sunday at a delegates' conference in Soufriere. His nomination was unopposed. His predecessor, Sir John Compton, did not seek re-election. It is expected that Dr. Lewis' nomination will be confirmed at the UWP's November 7 general membership convention to be held in Gros Islet. Other persons nominated to serve on the party executive include Dr. Morella Joseph and Louis George (deputies to Dr. Lewis) , Romanus Lansiquot (party chairman), and Eldridge Stephens and Michael Flood (first and second vice chairmen). The Mirror and Tuesday Voice report this.
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A thousand temporary jobs for Xmas season
Cabinet this week approved a massive clean-up campaign starting on November 1st and running until December 18th, which will provide temporary employment for some 1056 people islandwide. The project dubbed 'Beautification for the New Millennium' comes under the auspices of the National Conservation Authority.
St. Lucia: constitutional monarchy or republic?
Ten Caribbean heads of state, including Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy of St. Lucia, met this week to review the role of the Governor General as the Queen's representative in the Caribbean. On the issue of retaining the monarchy, or becoming a republic, Dame Louisy did not commit herself to a firm position but, according to The Star, told reporters that: "Reform is always good, is always necessary. Nothing is etched in stone. ... Whether one becomes a republic or not, I think there is a case to be made for someone at that other level... Whether it be Governor-General or president, there is the need for a person, an authority, above the whole political partisan area".
The issue of monarchy versus republic was raised by Barbados' prime minister Owen Arthur in his opening speech to the regional meeting, which was held from 11-15 October. Arthur supports constitutional abolishment of the British monarchy in the Caribbean, saying that "the time is upon us in both Barbados and the wider Caribbean when we must fully take charge of the responsibility to create societies moulded in our own image". However, the Bajan prime minister stresses that at the same time abolishment of the monarchy does not mean that the island must leave the commonwealth, or otherwise "abandon long-established, worthwhile traditions simply for the sake of change". The Star is the only paper to report on the issue this week.
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Lawyers re-appointed as magistrates for two more months
Due to the continuing shortage of magistrates on the island, for the second time this year, a number of lawyers have been temporarily appointed to act as part-time magistrates. Seven lawyers - Jennifer Remy, Petra Nelson, Veronica Bernard, Michael Gordon, Peter Foster, Wilkinson Larcher and Vern Gill - will sit one day a week, working alongside the two full-time magistrates for a period of two months. The seven also served during the previous interim tenure, while another four lawyers have declined to act as temporary magistrates this time around. The government hopes that by the end of November, full-time magistrates will have been found to take up the positions. The Voice reports this.
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Toronto Consulate General officially opened
The Consulate General of Saint Lucia in Canada - based in Toronto - was officially opened on Tuesday 5th October by Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy. Dame Louisy presented a plaque to the Consul General, Winall Joshua. Also present were minister of Foreign Affairs, George Odlum, and representatives of the Tourist Board, the National Development Corporation and St. Lucian nationals living in Toronto. The Consulate, which seeks to promote St. Lucia as a tourism and investment destination, and to promote and protect the welfare of St. Lucians in Canada, opened its doors in November 1998. This is reported in the Thursday Voice.
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Spirit of Unity organisers fall short
"An insult to both St. Lucians and the entertainers - the entertainers who showed up, that is" - that is how Mirror journalist David Vitalis describes the 'Spirit of Unity' concert which took place last Friday at the Marchand Grounds in Castries. It was to have been a long night of enjoyment with international reggae greats Maxi Priest, Third World, and Steel Pulse, and local artists 'Sky' Soomer and Amate. But a sound system that went dead on Maxi Priest during his first song, a "cramped, small, and seemingly rickety stage .. unfit for a kindergarten variety show" and unprepared for the inevitable shower of rain, and the unavailability of Third World "due to flight difficulties" - these factors together made for a show which was basically a lot of "majee", Vitalis writes: "the worst kind of nonsense one can see or hear".
Although Maxi Priest, Steel Pulse (cut short by rain after half an hour), Amate and 'Sky' Soomer all tried their best to save the concert and performed creditably against the odds, the Mirror journalist concludes that the audience was robbed by the promotors (Trinidad-based Spektakula Promotions International) of a potentially great show.
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Mercy C'ommtee to consider death row appeal
Is Peter Hughes, St. Lucia's only remaining death row prisoner, to be hanged or not? That is the question which will be discussed at next week's sitting of the St. Lucia Mercy Committee.
Hughes was condemned to death just over a year ago and has since exhausted all his appeals, the Star reports. Only two weeks ago, death row prisoner Morrel Cox, who had been condemned by the Mercy Committee to be hanged, narrowly escaped the hangman when a team of local lawyers managed to have his sentence commuted to life imprisonment instead. Cox's escape was based on a ruling that it is inhumane to leave a prisoner on death row for a period approaching five years. Peter Hughes, however, has been on death row for just a year now. Although a team of human rights lawyers is seeking to have Hughes' death sentence commuted also, president of the National Council on Human Rights, Mary Francis, admits in The Star newspaper that the chances are slim, in Hughes' case. The commuting of Morrel Cox' death sentence unleashed an outcry of criticism on the island.
Meanwhile, a London-based organisation, Caribbean Justice, continues to lobby against what it calls "the interests of political expediency" which results in political leaders in the Caribbean suporting what it calls "judicial killing". The Star carries a separate report on this.
One Caribbean, in turn, reports on a meeting of regional Attorneys General to discuss the imminent establishment of a Caribbean Court of Justice. St. Lucia's Attorney General, Petrus Compton - also a government senator - is quoted as stressing that the Caribbean Court of Justice will act totally independently of political considerations. Compton's remark, according to One Caribbean, must be taken as a rebuff of the notion that the Caribbean Court of Justice will act as a 'hanging court' at a time when St. Lucia and other regional governments are in favour of the death penalty.
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US Ambassador Crotty passes away
William Crotty, the US Ambassador to St. Lucia and the rest of the Eastern Caribbean passed away in Florida last Sunday. He had returned to the US in late August for medical treatment. Left to mourn are his wife and seven children. Crotty was appointed envoy to the Eastern Caribbean in 1998. This is reported in the Tuesday Voice and the Star.
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Future design of Castries
A strategy is being designed for the spatial and socio-economic development of the city of Castries. 'Castries 2020: Urban Design Strategy', a project funded by the Organisation of American States, plans the sustainable development of the island's capital city. The ministry of Finance and Planning will make a presentation of the plans to members of the business community on Wednesday 20th October at the NIS Conference room, starting at 10 am. One Caribbean and the Tuesday Voice report this.
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Public land in Piaye to be given to local residents
Residents of Piaye, Balca and Tete Morne who, in certain areas, have lived on public lands for twenty years or more, will each be given 5000 square feet of land free by government. This promise came from Prime Minister Kenny Anthony at a meeting last Sunday. Moreover, additional land can be bought for $1 per square foot - which is only a fragment of the $4 per sq/ft persons from outside the community will have to pay for residential lots, and the $5.50 sq/ft. for commercial lots. Furthermore, local residents on public lands have priority over outsiders. This is reported in The Star.
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Construction of river wall possible cause of earth movements in Black Mallet
Work on part of the southern wall at the Castries River must be aborted immediately, the existing wall demolished and a properly designed and constructed gravity retaining wall substituted without delay. This recommendation comes from engineer Pat Brown, writing in The Voice this weekend. The comment follows the occurrence of recent earth movements in the Black Mallet area in Marchand, Castries. Mysterious cracks as wide as four inches started appearing in roads and in the walls of some houses, earlier this week. So far, six families have been evacuated, while more than forty houses have been affected, according to The Mirror.
The Prime Minister, local representative Philip J. Pierre and the minister of Works have all visited the scene. A special task force, comprising of representatives from the Disaster Preparedness Committee, the electricity and water companies and Roosevelt Isaac, a geotechnical consultant, has been installed to identify the source of the earth movements. On Thursday, a drilling rig was used to place instruments which can monitor the situation. Although both Isaac and the PM have stated that it is as yet too early to make a statement on the cause of the disaster, The Voice and Mirror both quote engineer Pat Brown as reportedly saying that: "This whole area from Bois Cachette right across to Pavee and Black Mallet is made up of rock. Over the rock there is loose soil and when the clay reaches saturation point this causes a sliding plate over a solid rock. What aggravated this thing was the excavation at the toe of the slip, this excavation was kept open for quite a while". Rainwater, surface water and bad sewerage probably further aggravated the situation, Brown adds.
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Prince of Wales approves of mangoes
Prince Charles has put a royal stamp of approval on St. Lucia's Julie mangoes, saying they are "delicious". Minister of Agriculture, Cass Elias, recently made a gift of mangoes through St. Lucia's High Commissioner to the UK, Emmanuel Cotter. The Prince of Wales, in response, described mango as one of his favourite fruits. The ministry of Agriculture has recently installed a new marketing unit which seeks out overseas markets for non-traditional local produce. The Star and Voice report on this. Allegedly, U.K supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury are interested in bringing a wider range of organic produce from St. Lucia to the British public.
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Sulphur Springs soap no longer on sale
Following reports that a locally produced soap is harmful to the skin, the product is being removed from shop shelves. The Star reports this. The soap, known as 'Lava' or 'Sulphur Soap' can cause burning of the skin. The soap is made by baking a mixture water and mud taken from the Sulphur Springs.
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Two weekly flights from Germany as of next year
Condor and LTU - a subsidiary of Lufthansa - will be flying into St. Lucia twice a week, as of next year, while St. Lucia can designate one or two airlines to fly into Germany. This provisional air services treaty follows a 3-day meeting between representatives of the government of St. Lucia (headed by Earl Huntley) and the Republic of Germany, earlier this week at the Bay Gardens Hotel. Currently, there is only one Condor charter flight per week between Germany and St. Lucia. Although a number of minor issues still need to be ironed out, including work permit issues and taxation waivers, Hilary Modeste, director of the Tourist Board, described the agreement as "definitely a positive move for St. Lucia. German visitors tend to prefer smaller hotels and have longer stays than other visitors and this brings real benefits to other sectors such as ecotourism. It looks good for the island". The Star writes this. The Voice also reports on the treaty.
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