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Quotes:
"It would be remiss not to mention that the Minister's speech turned out to be one of the highlights of the evening, remarkable for its longevity, among other attributes".
Victor Marquis on the speech by Damian Greaves, minister of Culture, at the beginning of the M&C Fine Arts Awards presentation (Tuesday Voice, 30th Jan).
"The message in the article caused me an emotional thrill and I became motivated for association in the affirmative to his question: Are you there?"
M. Joseph, saying 'Yes' in response to Stephen King's call for support in rebuilding moral values (The Mirror, 2nd Feb).
"Let's talk womanhood... My Mind, My Passion and Oh God, Don't Mention My Body".
Advertisement for "4-day exclusive empowering women's retreat" featuring "the renowned authority on self-empowerment and spirituality: author, motivational speaker, Iyanla Vanzant" (Thursday Voice, 1st Feb).
"Because all great leaders have a vision. ... Compton visioned that estate workers could own small farms and their taxes would pay for a tourism-friendly infrastructure. Now, if that sounds too ethereal and philosophical for you then do the things that John Compton didn't do. No matter how you interpret that, at least it will make a memorable leader of you".
Jason Sifflet on what he claims is a lack of vision in the Labour government (The Mirror, 2nd Feb).
"I was acting like a father".
Man's defence when facing charges of child abuse after wilfully burning his 4-year-old stepson's hand on a stove (The Star, 3rd Feb).
"I personally have not been involved in any of the activities they have planned for the youth and I think that is a problem. People do not get involved in activities to benefit others and that has to stop".
Young woman, asked what she thinks about the National Youth Council (The Star, 3rd Feb).
"The court was disrupted moments later when the defendant and the female were involved in a fracas outside the court room. The disturbance necessitated police intervention".
The Star on the aftermath of a case in which a woman dropped two charges of assault against her ex-boyfriend (3rd Feb).
"Traditionally, the Fine Arts Awards have exemplified what Derek Walcott talked about in his calypso poem 'The Spoiler's Return' when he said 'The audience better than the show'."
The Mirror on the M&C Fine Arts Awards ceremony where, uncharacteristically, this year the show outperformed the audience (2nd Feb).
"While the official figures suggest otherwise the ministry is concerned that a perceived rise in visitor harassment could have a long term deleterious impact on the overall industry and the country".
Minister of Tourism, Menissa Rambally. The Hotel and Tourism Association recently called for her resignation following yet another spate of crimes against tourists (The Star, 3rd Feb).
"The biggest danger with marijuana is that it is illegal. No one has ever died from marijuana that was not shot by a cop who may believe that he or she is doing a good job eradicating people who chose to enjoy what God gave us".
'Good Sense' on the alleged harmlessness of marijuana in comparison with legal drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, valium, aspirin, caffeine and prescription drugs (The Star, 3rd Feb).
"'Reasons it's Good to be a Man':
* The world is your urinal
* You can 'do' your nails with a pocket-knife or your teeth
* You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache."
Victor Marquis (The Voice, 3rd Feb).
"No risk factors have been found for uterine fibroids other than being a female of reproductive age".
The Voice, 'women's health' (3rd Feb).
"The objective of this magazine is primarily to sensitize a wider cross section of St. Lucians as to the use of the internet. The foundation of this magazine is bent towards domestic activities and how they relate to each member of the household. Several other interesting headings are planned for the site".
The Voice on "what is expected to be St. Lucia's #1 Internet magazine": wegosite.com (3rd Feb).
"Such a posture is analogous to the custom thought of most of the inhabitants of the planet Earth who maintain that life exists nowhere else in the universe except on Earth. But, astronomers and students of astronomy think otherwise".
Pat Brown on the "posture" of DBS TV's nightly commentators and, presumably, Rick Wayne ("a talk show host who is guest as well") (The Voice, 3rd Feb).
"Dear sir, I hope you could never begin to imagine the hatred I felt towards that man".
Letter to the editor from a person who, after a stressful day at work, was caught for almost an hour in a traffic jam aboard a minibus whose driver thought it necessary to blast "earsplitting renditions of vulgar, violent and notorious lyrics which pass for music" and who allegedly replied, when asked by passengers to turn it down, "that the vehicle was his and if we didn't like it we could either get off or buy a car" (The Voice, 3rd Feb).
"'This is not a day just to say hello to a colleague or two. We are giving you the opportunity to get some prizes! There will be a number of contests. Best dressed, best dancing, best kareoke and a number of other things'".
PM press secretary Earl Bousquet welcoming members of the media to the prime minister's Annual New Year Press Brunch at the PM's official residence (Wednesday Star, 31st Jan).
"Voleur voleur voleur".
Grave Yard resident's comment after a man who robbed two security guards of $166,000 and hid the money at a friend's place in the Grave Yard, saw his loot stolen by "several youths in the area". Translation: 'thief steals from thief' (Crusader, 3rd Feb).
"In 1997 a new government headed by Dr Kenny D. Anthony was elected, and in his first public statement he said that his government was for 'ALL the people', irrespective of political affiliation - SLP, UWP, PLP, CDP, WRM or any other P".
Romanus Lansiquot (Crusader, 3rd Feb).
"Obviously, it is because of what I have achieved as an athlete that I was invited to speak to you in the first place. So I would like to say a few words about that part of my life that involves sport. I don't think you really want to hear about my work at Lucelec".
Bodybuilding champion Monica Dudley, addressing parents and students of the St. Lucia Bushido Shotakan Karate-Do Academy (Crusader, 3rd Feb). |
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Upbeat Rambally announces string of new hotels
An upbeat minister of Tourism Menissa Rambally, this week revealed figures and other information painting a rosy future for St. Lucia's tourism industry. With visitor arrivals having increased by 16.5 percent to a record 725,454 during the year 2000, both in cruise and stay-over visitors, and new investment plans on the table, the minister gives an optimistic prognosis, saying "The inspiring performance of the tourism sector during the rather challenging year just gone has laid the foundation for consolidation and a sustained environment of growth and prosperity in the years ahead". The only drawbacks Rambally found were "unsatisfactory high levels of harassment" - real or "perceived", as she claims - and the fact that registered direct employment in the tourism industry improved by just 848 persons. However, claims the minister, "as we know St. Lucia, this is a fraction of all those who actually found work, but have not been registered formally with the NIS".
In her press statement, minister Rambally runs through an impressive list of new and ongoing investments in St. Lucia's tourism industry: "Currently under construction is the Troumassee Hotel Resort Project in Micoud. This is a three-phase operation which, when completed, will add an additional 463 rooms and an 18-hole golf course. Phase one, which started three months ago, already employs 60 persons and another 140 St. Lucians will find work on this project in the months ahead. The first phase consisting of an 83 room clinic and health spa, should be completed by the end of this year. This first phase will cost US$35 million or approximately EC$100 million".
The minister goes on to state that the Sandals chain is set to construct an additional 100 rooms at Sandals Halcyon, while a EC$32 million investment is underway for "a 55 room boutique style luxury resort in the Marigot Bay area. The resort will boast a health spa and conference facilities, and negotiations are in progress for management by Elegant Resorts Limited, which has a chain of luxury properties in the Caribbean. The Islander Development is on stream for commencement of construction by the middle of this year. This will be a 280 room luxury resort operating under the Crown Plaza flag, which is a brand name belonging to Holiday Inns. Again this project is estimated to cost in the region of EC$10 million".
The minister added that with the advent of these two hotels, St. Lucia will boast eight international hotel chains: Club Med, Sandals, Hilton International, Hyatt, Wyndham, Crown Plaza and Elegant Resorts. Although she did not make it clear whether the newcomers will be all-inclusive resorts or not, the minister did add that "several small properties are also down for construction and/or renovation and expansion". She mentions Ti Kaye Village in Anse la Raye, which will comprise 33 cottages and is scheduled to (partially) open in March.
The cruise season for next year also looks promising, according to minister Rambally, with Adventure of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas scheduled to call weekly at Castries, as well as two ships from Celebrity Cruises and Galaxy. As for the yachting sector, the minister lauds that sector's achievements and says she is "greatly encouraged by the continuous growth". "An unprecendented 215 vessels arrived in the recently concluded ARC and we are already planning for major improvements to help realise the enormous potential of this sector".
In the past, Cuthbert Didier, manager of the Rodney Bay Marina, has been critical of the lack of interest and support shown by the ministry of Tourism, the St. Lucia Tourist Board and the SLHTA in the substantial contributions made by the yachting sector to St. Lucia's economy. This week, The Star newspaper carries a half page colour advertisement bearing the (tongue-in-cheek) text: "The Yachting Sector congratulates the St. Lucia Tourist Board, The Ministry of Tourism and SLHTA for hosting the annual Ste Lisi Par Excellence Awards. We hope that one day soon our sector will be included in the celebration!!"
Minister Rambally, in her press statement, simply says: "This week's Ste Lisi Par Excellence Awards provides an excellent opportunity for us to stop and say thanks to the hundreds of workers in the tourism sector who have excelled in the national effort to maintain St. Lucia as a simply beautiful experience".
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Telecom deadline draws closer but talks stalled
With less than two months to go before their licensing contract runs out, negotiations between St. Lucia's sole telecommunications provider Cable and Wireless (C&W) and the telecom regulatory body of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean states, ECTEL, came to a halt last Wednesday, without delegates having even set a new date for another meeting. This is reported in The Star, Voice and Mirror.
St. Lucia's minister of Communications and Works, Calixte George, who is also the chairman of ECTEL, reportedly sat down on Wednesday morning with the general manager of C&W St. Lucia, Donald Austin, with the intention of discussing issues "related to the early termination of [C&W's] existing licenses and its role in the new liberalized environment". But no constructive dialogue followed. What did take place at Wednesday's meeting is none too clear either: the OECS in a press release late on Wednesday stated that both sides had "agreed to postpone the present round of negotiations in order to allow the two sides more time to satisfactorily arrive at a conclusion to these talks". The statement does not explain how exactly a conclusion to talks can be arrived at without those same talks actually having been held. Cable and Wireless, in its own press release, said it was "disappointed that today's discussions with the OECS Governments did not proceed as planned". It cited "outstanding, unresolved issues which need to be addressed ahead of meaningful dialogue" as the reason for the failed meeting.
Despite Wednesday's failure to move ahead in charting a future for Eastern Caribbean telecommunications beyond March 31st, both parties affirmed that they are still committed to further rounds of negotiations.
Last December, C&W warned the government of St. Lucia that if outstanding issues concerning C&W's role in the emerging regulatory telecommunications environment were not solved, and the rebalancing of C&W's rates not settled before March 31st, 2001, that it would have "no alternative" but to invite the government to buy out its St. Lucia operations - as is provided for under C&W's existing licence. C&W added at the time that it considered further dialogue with the government "a matter of urgency".
Over the past two years or so, St. Lucia has been spearheading the de-monopolisation of C&W within the five member states of OECS. Last October, legislation was passed through the senate recognising the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL): a St. Lucia-based authority that will oversee the formation of a unified telecommunications policy in Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Kitts and Nevis as well as St. Lucia. The ECTEL legislation outlines the rights of new entrants to participate in the telecommunications sector in the five island states without hindrance, thus putting an end to the C&W monopoly. On a number of occasions in the past, the ECTEL chairman, St. Lucia's communications minister Calixte George sharply castigated C&W for making "excessive profits" and for not going far enough in cutting costs to consumers. In January of last year, local papers reported that minister George accused C&W of conducting its business in the smaller Caribbean islands with "a colonial attitude". C&W's threat that it may now just hold the government to its contractual promise and ask it to buy out the company, came as a surprise to many, last month. In response to the announcement, prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony last December said that he was aware that the negotiations had "not progressed at a satisfactory pace" but added that there was "consensus that it should be brought back on course".
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WIBDECO, not Geest, markets bananas in Europe
Windward Island bananas will now be fronted and marketed in Europe by WIBDECO instead of Geest Bananas - a move which, according to WIBDECO chief Bernard Cornibert, is destined to reward growers for producing good quality fruit. WIBDECO (the Windward Islands Banana Development and Exporting Company) says it does not subsidize bad quality bananas with money earned from premium grade fruit - as it claims local banana companies do. "We could mix up the prices like other companies, and make the good pay for the bad, but we decided not to do that", Cornibert told The Mirror. "Dealing with us has certain advantages, but it can be brutal as well. We don't subsidize bad quality. Our system encourages good quality". Cornibert reckons that Windward farmers should be able to reach a yield of 15 tons of bananas per acre, to remain competitive with Latin American plantations, where yields of 20- to 25 tons per acre are normal. Most St. Lucian banana farmers harvest some 7 or 8 tons of bananas per acre. Cornibert, in the past, has made similar pleas for the Windward Islands to concentrate resources and help on successful banana growers, while finding alternative crops or sources of income for small growers who are unable to consistently produce premium-quality fruit.
Last week, The Mirror carried an interview with Peter Serieux, chief of one of St. Lucia's banana companies: Tropical Quality Fruit Company (TQFC). In that article, Serieux lamented WIBDECO's practice of buying bananas directly from producers, instead of restricting itself to buying fruit from the banana companies and marketing these overseas. "It is ridiculous, at this point, for WIBDECO to be in competition with us for the same farmers, when we are selling exclusively to them. I will not run a company and be competing with the person I am selling to for the same farmers who sell to me".
But Cornibert denies that WIBDECO is going out of its way to 'steal' farmers from TQFC or any of the other banana companies. According to Cornibert, WIBDECO prefers farmers to deal with the companies, although it will buy from them directly if they insist, "especially if their alternative is to get out of the industry".
Whether WIBDECO's policy of direct buying threatens to further fragment an already endangered Windward islands' banana industry, as Serieux claims, or not, as Cornibert claims: both men appear to agree that the future for St. Lucia's banana industry lies with quality-oriented producers.
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Top policemen reshuffled but who is commissioner?
Although there is as yet no word on a successor to Police Commissioner Francis Nelson, who is due to retire this week, some lateral transfers within the upper echelons of the police force were announced this week - possibly Francis Nelson's "last visible act as Commissioner", as the Thursday Voice puts it. Most notable change is that Assistant Commissioner of Police Hermangild Francis has been moved from the Crime division to Operations. According to the Wednesday Star, Francis - who was under internal investigation for spousal abuse - says he is not satisfied with "the way the transfer was effected" and that he is "requesting an explanation". The Star quotes Francis as saying: "I have four months of leave left but in light of the call by the prime minister for all officers to come in I cut my vacation short. I came back to fight crime only to find out that I had been transferred. I am merely seeking a reasonable explanation of my move to another portfolio".
As officer in charge of Operations, Hermangild Francis will now be responsible for mobilising patrols for public events, the traffic department, the running of police stations and the welfare of police officers. He succeeds Ausbert Regis, who has been moved from Operations to Training and Community Relations. Joseph Francis has taken over the Crime division, while Peter Cherry retains his portfolio of Administration and Support Services.
A new media/public relations officer has also been appointed, in the person of sergeant Albert James, who takes over from Albert Fregis. The appointment of someone to deal exclusively with the media and with police/public relations is a measure in line with recommendations made by a British team, two years ago. The Thursday Voice reports this.
Meanwhile, the press secretary reports that last Wednesday was the deadline for applications for the post of Commissioner of Police of St. Lucia. The Thursday Voice claims that it has been led to understand that "at least two of the present crop of Assistant Commissioners did apply for the post". The answers to whether current Commissioner Nelson will actually take up his retirement this week, and when a successor can be expected to assume duties, are not made clear by the newspapers.
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SLHTA sets record straight on warning issue
There is no need for a blacklist of sites, attractions and other areas of St. Lucia to warn visitors against the potential danger of harrassment or crime, and the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) never issued, advocated or supported the issuing of such a blacklist. That is the unequivocal message of a press release issued by the SLHTA this week, and printed in all major newspapers, in an attempt to set the record straight. The statement reads: "What senior officials of the SLHTA have indicated, in response to enquiries from the press, is that the Association is aware that some of its hotel members have found it necessary to issue cautions and safety tips to some of their clients, in cases where hotel management has deemed that it is in the best interests of visitors and of the hotels to do so. This is a common practice in all tourism destinations, and in no way does such a practice amount to issuing of travel advisories or 'blacklisting' of any site, attraction or location.
The Association wishes to assure all its members, both its hotel and allied members, in particular taxi associations and car rental companies, that no such action was ever intended. Further, the Association wishes to sound an appeal to all of its members, as well as to the St. Lucia Tourist Board, to assist in setting the record straight on this matter, and in particular to refrain from making any public statements or engaging in any uninformed specualtion, since any further discussion on the subject will only unfortunately serve to lend some credibility to the misleading reports that certain areas in St. Lucia are being 'blacklisted'."
Last week, Tourist Board director Hilary Modeste warned the SLHTA that issuing or supporting the issue of such warnings, amounted to financial suicide.
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Burn victim Fr Gaillard leaves intensive care
Father Charles Gaillard, the officiating priest who was critically injured in the December 31st attack on the Castries Cathedral, is reportedly out of intensive care and "is sitting up, talking and laughing" in his hospital bed at La Maynard Hospital in Martinique. This is reported by the Archdiocesan press officer Monsignor Patrick Anthony in The Mirror. Fr Gaillard suffered third degree burns and serious lung injury after being doused with gasoline and set on fire. A nun, sister Theresa Egard, died in the attack and thirteen others were injured. Some of the injured were taken to hospitals overseas. The Mirror reports that two patients undergoing treatment in New York were released from hospital last week and that the release of a third patient is imminent. The Tuesday Voice reports that "St. Lucians in New York were streaming through the halls of the New York Presbyterian Hospital visiting the burn victims. ... News of the incident and of the victims' arrival in New York spread quickly through the St. Lucian community in that city. A strong feeling of sympathy for the victims was portrayed by the continued flow of visitors bearing foods of all types - liquid supplements, pears, apples, juice, biscuits, chocolates as well as local dishes: green fig and salt fish, cow heel soup and regular soup. Some visitors went as often as six times per week to check on their fellow St. Lucians. ... This tremendous outburst of sympathy and community spirit was very uplifting for all the burn victims during their stay in strange surroundings".
Meanwhile, The Star reports on a special church service held in Toronto, Canada, last week for victims of the Cathedral attack. During the service, St. Lucia's Consul General in Canada, Winhall Joshua, called on St. Lucians "to support and work with the government in its efforts to deal with the serious problems that confront the country". According to The Star, "Joshua noted that some St. Lucians who had initially intended to return to the island to settle after retirement were now saying that they would no longer do so because of the recent crime wave. 'No St. Lucian can afford to look the other way ...'," Joshua told the congregation. "To say that this terrible tragedy at the Cathedral was the result of unemployment and would happen again is a malicious and dangerous misrepresentation of the situation in St. Lucia. And it is a grave disservice to a people who have been well-known for their kindness, charity and humanity to others. Those who made such statements did more harm to St. Lucia in the long run than that very act committed in the Cathedral that Sunday".
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Sir Arthur Lewis endowment at Princeton University
Princeton University in the United States has established a special endowment in memory of St. Lucian Nobel prize laureate the late Sir Arthur Lewis. For twenty years, Sir Arthur Lewis was McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University. He was widely recognised as an authority in the fields of economic growth and political and social change in emerging nations and has written twenty books and more than eighty articles and monographs on those topics. The special endowment which has now been established in Sir Arthur Lewis' memory is intended to support doctoral students in the Humanities and Social Sciences at Princeton University. The Tuesday Voice and Wednesday Star both report this.
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New science lab for St. Mary's College
Work on a new Science facility at St. Mary's College is due to start by the middle of this month, signalling the beginning of more encompassing renovation and construction works at the island's oldest secondary school. Planned is a new four-floor wing to the existing building, which will cost some EC$4 million, and which will house Physics, Chemistry and Biology laboratories, three classrooms and a library, two general science laboratories and a lecture hall, and administrative and staff facilities, a computer science laboratory and audio visual facilities, as well as toilets on each floor.
Over the past few years, a fundraising committee has managed to bring together EC$1.3 million. Considering the school's needs and its financial options, it has been decided that the science facilities should receive priority. Work is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Both The Mirror and Voice report this.
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