government of saint lucia nationwide magazine february 7, 2015 features launch of independence...

8/21/2019 Government of Saint Lucia Nationwide Magazine February 7, 2015 Features Launch of Independence Celebrations…

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NationWIDE

Nation

WIDE THE OFFICIAL NEWS MAGAZINE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SAINT LUCIA

n

W H A T ’ S

I N S I D E

The Prime Minister has much to celebrate today. Following on a similar outlook outlined

in the Prime Minister’s 2015 New Year Address and the record 6% growth in tourism

gures in 2014 over 2015, First Citizens Investment Services (a regional private nance

and economic institution also operating here) is predicting lower fuel prices and

increasing visitor numbers will help lead to a turnaround to positive economic growth

before the next General Elections. The scal pruning of the past three years is nally

taking the country around the curve and policies continue to be put in place to ensure

proper transition to better for all. With investor condence back on track, the Prime

Minister (with his Cabinet) continues to seek, attract and invite new investors, as with

the visiting Taiwanese business delegation earlier this week (See Page 12). But while

the PM (with his Government) continues to labour to better x the economy, he can

still occasionally nd time to help his people celebrate the nation’s good fortunes over

the past three years (above). Following the best Christmas and New Year celebrations

in a long time and a special Nobel Laureates Week that celebrated a centennial andstarted a new national monument, the island is now welcoming neighbouring sister-isle

Martinique into the OECS (See Pages 3 and 4) and bracing for Independence and Jazz

2015 (Story on Page 12). Saint Lucia is a nation of people who work hard and play hard.

But increasingly too, we are behaving better with and to each other, evidenced by the

reduction in all major crimes last year -- and last month being the rst homicide-free

January in the past 15 years (See Page 4). This edition of Nationwide celebrates the

Excellence in Education of our students with a special supplement (Pages 8-12), as well

as coverage of the two special Cl imate Change gatherings recently held here (Page 6).

It’s also been one full year since Nina Compton put Saint Lucia on the global culinary

map and this issue features one of her many recent exploits as the island’s Culinary

Ambassador to the World (Page 7). Sift through the following pages and enjoy this

latest issue of your weekly colourful accounts of what the Government of Saint Lucia

has been saying and doing at home and abroad during the past seven days. Enjoy the

edication. Happy Reading! And catch-up with NationwideTV daily on NTN!

What Caring and Sharing Governments Do! -Page 2

WASCO Signs MOU for Better Water Works on

Roads - Page 3

Saint Lucia Attended High Level ICAO Conference -

Page 4

Consultancy Commences on Financing Universal

Health - Page 5

World Wetlands Day Observed - Page 6

RC Boys Honoured for

Academic Excellence -

Page 8

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2015 WEEKLY

2015 Independence and

Jazz Festivals launched!


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NationWIDE Page 2 Saturday February 7, 2015

Editorial

Caring and Sharing!

Politics remains essentiallyabout people and the abil-

ity of politicians and theirpolitics to inuence individualsor groups. I assess people whooffer themselves to the electorateby their past record -- whetherprivately, nationally or interna-tionally -- and in my humblestestimation, Allen Chastanet, a ho-telier, continues to represent onlyone small group of people here:the propertied elite who wantto maintain the historic classboundaries.

His catapult to the UWP leader-ship has not so far enabled himto increase his inuence over themajority of the ordinary St Lu-cian populace… Yes, his family’smoney may be working wondersfor the Party in opposition. But if

it’s just money that UWP requirednow, Richard would still be itsgolden goose.

I noted with amusement MrChastanet delivering an addressto nation with our national agin the background. He’s not evena Member of Parliament, not anational representative of any-thing in any form, yet he takesthese kinds of privileges, stealingchances to pose with our nationalag, in full violation of the proto-cols associated with addresses tothe nation by Heads of State and

Where, oh where, did

all that money go?Those who cannot remember the past

are condemned to repeat it!

By Yolanda O’Brien

Heads of Government. That’s thearrogance of the man.

But, to his credit, Allen Chasta-net is happy that he has acquireda new “submissive” Leader of theOpposition. While constitution-ally she’s the only one with legaland parliamentary authority forUWP, her only interest now ishow high Mr Chastanet wants herto jump…. (Sad for female leader-ship…)

But back to the only memorablelines from that speech: “The UWP

has always been committed to thesuccess of our country. As a Partywe have embraced the values webelieve all responsible Saint Lu-cians share: honesty, discipline,condentiality, commitment, mu-tual respect.” Really, Mr Chas-tanet! This same Mr Chastanetwas part of a Government thatdestroyed the soul of this coun-try, which started this currenteconomic avalanche. But todayhe wants to come back and try toconvince us that he really caresabout “De poor people!” It’s thatkind of blatant dishonesty thathas caused me to delve into thepast hallmarks of his tenure asMinister of Tourism.

Let’s start with a quote from

court proceedings related to the‘Tuxedogate’ scandal: “Mr. Chas-tanet deposed in his afdavit thathe was not at the meeting becausehe was scheduled to travel out ofthe state on that date. He said incross examination that he was“one thousand percent” sure hewas off island. Yet the minutes ofthe meeting show on Page 1 thathe was present at the meeting,and on Page 2 that three minis-ters are listed as being absent. Mr.Chastanet is not included in thelist of absent ministers…..”

From Secrecy and Evasion to Accountabilit y and Transparenc y:The change of government in 2011 resulted in the administration

led by a genuinely accountable leader ensuring every c hequereceived from Taiwan for public use over the past three years wasreceived by the Minister of Finance and immediately handed over

to the Accountant General for depositing in the Consolidated Fund through the Treasury — all done in full glare of the press andthe public, as in this case (above) and ensuring that (unlike under

the previous administration) Taiwanese funds are disbursed in allseventeen constituencies, bar none.

That damning judgment in theTuxedo Villas Scandal wouldnever have been, had Allen Chas-tanet, as Minister of Tourism, notconvinced Cabinet to extend Tux-edo’s hotel concessions to fellowCabinet Minister Keith Monde-sir’s private residence in BonneTerre.

Allen Chastanet has neveronce proven to me, as a fellow StLucian, that he cares about thepeople of this country. I have longmaintained that his actions and

behaviors over the last few yearshave proven to be elitist, anti-local and anti-regional; and thereis an abundance of recorded evi-dence to substantiate this.

Who can forget that his politi-cal and ministerial records arestained by waste, extravaganceand boastful non-performance?How can St Lucians forget ‘Al-len Chastanet and Air Jamaica’,or ‘Allen Chastanet and Boxingin Paradise’, or ‘Allen Chastanetand Bachelor’, or ‘Allen Chasta-net and the $1.2 million JamesHepple asco’, or ‘Allen Chasta-net and the tourism marketingemblem plagiarized from LatinAmerica’? Where was Chasta-net’s concern for St. Lucians when

he was spending about $500,000on cell phones and traveling allover the world, without his PrimeMinister’s authority and withouthis Ministry’s technical support,at the expense of the St. Luciantaxpayer?

My assessment on Allen Chas-tanet was further sealed by hissustained attacks on LIAT overthe last few years. We all knowthe nancial challenges of LIATthat have been reported over themany years and we all have hadhorrible experiences with LIAT,but like a faithful guide doo,rLIAT remains one of the strongestsymbols of our integration. Yet,this man who wants to be PrimeMinister has remai ned consistent

on his sustained attacks on thisregional airline, while simulta-neously cushioning internationalairlines during his tenure as Min-ister.

But let’s go to another of MrChastanet legacies, as was report-ed in the Review of Local Coun-cils under UWP administration:

“The review exercise has re-vealed that during the period un-der review the Council receivedfunds from Central Governmentand Taiwanese Government forthe execution of various proj-ects. However, it appeared thatpayments were made from thesefunds for unauthorised pur-poses. During the reviewed itwas revealed that Bank chequedated 24/11/2011 in the amountof $24,000 was issued to the Sou-friere Development Foundation.The Former Chairman explainedthat the payment was made tothe Soufriere Development Foun-dation as per directive from theMinister for Tourism and UWPCandidate for Soufriere – AllenChastanet. The intention was tolease the land for the purpose ofbuilding a basketball court for thecommunity. The Former Chair-man did not provide any docu-mentary evidence to substantiatethat claim. Further investigationsrevealed that other paymentswere made for the benet and atthe behest of UWP Candidate forSoufriere/Fond St Jacques Con-stituency Allen Chastanet during

the 2011 General Elections andnot part of Council operations.”

Now from my information, wetalking about $50,000 on that oc-casion for electioneering and noone can account for that money.Where did that money go to?

But there is still more readers….the report continues, “The Sou-friere/Fond St Jacques Constitu-ency Council (formerly SoufriereTown Council) was engaged in aproject by the name, “Computeri-sation of Educational I nstitutionsin the Soufriere District”. Accord-ing to evidence surfaced duringthe exercise a supplier was paida total amount of $571,340.40 inadvance for supplying computer

equipment and supplies, elec-tronic items and education sup-plies and accessories under theprogramme. However and ac-cording to the Customs & ExciseDepartment the total (CIF) valueof the items that were consignedto and cleared (duty-free) by theSoufriere Constituency Coun-cil under the said programmewas $109,827.01, a difference of$416,513.40. This suggests thatthe supplier made a gross protof 380% on the transaction.” Yesreaders, again we must ask MrChastanet where did that moneygo?

Knowing all of these facts aboutMr Chastanet, can we honestlysay that we can trust his leader-ship, integrity or credibility withrepresentation at any level?

But it’s also time for St Luciansto demand prosecution againstthose in the leadership of UWPwho would have been found tohave wrongfully and knowinglymishandled funds intended forpoor people.

The public needs to make itsvoices heard against the Ofce ofthe Director of Public Prosecutionfor appearing to sit on its handsregarding the legal process. Allthe criminal matters that werehighlighted in that Review ofCouncils must have by now beensent to that ofce. So, why does itappear that this ofce is sitting onthe matter of pursuing the crimi-nal cases against the UWP politi-

cians? When is that ofce holdergoing to start leaving us with nodoubt about the impartiality theofce demands?

Unfortunately, while peoplehave a natural thirst for justiceafter all of the above and morehave been presented to the public,they tend to direct their demandsfor speed in the legal cases to thewrong persons. They are callingon the prime Minister and thegovernment, but they should in-stead direct their demands to the judicial and legal services and de-partments. It is the judges and thecourts who will decide on howfast those cases move on, but notuntil the DPP completes her side

of the preliminary work.One of the real dangers is thatwhile the DPP’s ofce may beseen as “taking too long” andwhile it cannot be “rushed”, thereal fact is that with two years togo before elections (at the most),the longer it takes and the nearerit gets to elections, the quicker itwill be for those who have to an -swer their names to accuse thegovernment of “playing politicsbefore elections”.

However, the quest of justiceought not to be tempered byfear of what the accused will sayor what others will feel. Thosenamed in ofcial reports as hav-ing played around with and failedto account for monies entrusted intheir hands for poor people mustbe made to face the courts with-out the accusers facing any fear ofwhat others will feel or say.

People who dipped their handsin the people’s money must be atleast made to pay back and thosewho behaved like it was their per-sonal funds should be made toanswer in court. They can even begiven a choice to pay back or facethe courts, I don’t care – once theyare made to pay and the publicgets to know they admitted theirguilt and were ready to pay.

Whether in cash or by doing fulltime at Bordelais, it’s just abouttime that Saint Lucian politiciansare made to know if they do thatcrime, they will also denitely dothe time!

While discussing, debat-ing or arguing overseemingly contentious

issues related to the latest fuelprice adjustments at home, weshould also always keep oureyes and ears wide open on therest of the Caribbean and theworld.

We argue over how muchgovernment should take andhow much consumers shouldget, who should give and whoshould make from the savingsfrom low gas prices, as if we’vebeen assured world marketprices will continue to plummeteternally.

We also freely make equal ref-erences and comparisons withother countries, as if all pricesand pricing mechanisms are thesame everywhere.

Two sets of developments on

the regional and world sceneneed to be considered as wecontinue to discuss, debate andargue over who should benetfrom falling oil prices.

The rst is the situation inAntigua and Barbuda, wherethe Labour administration hasrejected the advice of the WorldBank on what to do with thesavings from lower fuel prices.(See article on Page 3)

Prime Minister GastonBrowne announced last weekthat as of this month (February)the price of gasoline and dieselat the pumps in his country willfall by 10% and 13%, respec-tively.

PM Brown said the World Bankhad advised that the savings (orincrease in revenue) should bekept exclusively by the govern-ment. But despite being advisednot to pass-on the savings, hesaid, his Labour administrationdecided to pass-it-on.

Secondly, while we were stilltrying to decide who should getwhat and when from the savings,the price of oil on the world mar-ket shot-up this week to US $58per barrel; and the OPEC Secre-tary General predicted this weektoo that world market prices willrise again, to as much as US $200per barrel.

Prime Minister and FinanceMinister Dr Kenny D. Anthony,the architect of this nation’s eco-nomic and scal policies, hasbeen consistently ringing intoour ears all along that, as sure

as the sun will rise tomorrow, oilprices will also surely rise again.The continuing volatility of

the world market price makesthe 90-day review period here awiser mechanism -- and a betteroption -- than a monthly review,even though the PM has also in-dicated that world market if pric-es continue to fall, local priceswill continue to be lowered.

What’s clear in both the An-tigua-Barbuda and Saint Luciacases is that the Labour admin-istrations both do care for andshare with their citizens whenpossible and necessary.

That’s what caring and sharingis all about!


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NationWIDE Page 3Saturday February 7, 2015

The Ministry of Infrastruc-ture, Port Services andTransport on Tuesday

signed a Memorandum of Un-derstanding with the Water andSewerage Company (WASCO).

The purpose of the MOU isto foster greater collaborationbetween the two entities, in thedevelopment of Saint Lucia’s in-frastructure.

Deputy Prime Minister andMinister for Inf rastructure, PortServices and Transport, Hon.Philip J. Pierre, emphasized theimportance of the MOU.

“WASCO’s job is to providewater at a reasonable rate andthe Ministry of Infrastructure’s

job is to maintain Saint Lucia’sroadways. If we collaborate andwork efciently, then both theprovision of water and the con-dition of the roads will be up-kept in a satisfactory manner.

So, this MOU is extremely im-portant,” Minister Pierre said.

The majority of WASCO’spipelines run beneath the roadways. As a result, roads are of-ten compromised to facilitaterepairs to these lines.

The island’s busy roads will be spared the setbacks of waterworkers digging them up to lay or x pipes .

WASCO’s Managing Director,Vincent Hippolyte, said collabo-ration with the Ministry of Infra-structure is necessar y, since it isnot always possible for WASCOto reinstate the roadways whenthe road work is completed.

“Over the years and up untilnow, WASCO nds itself afterhaving carried out repair workto its water lines and sewer-age lines in a situation whereit is not always able to reinstate

the roadway. It was felt by theministry and ourselves that weneeded to collaborate to makesure that we can provide a bet-ter service to the public, hencethe reason for the MOU.”

Hippolyte added that WASCOis also in the process of mappingout its pipelines, which will en-able the company to address theissue of non-revenue water andprovide a more efcient serviceto its consumers.

Ministry of Infrastructure and WASCO sign

MOU to reduce water works on new roads

Now that Martinique hasfully joined the OECS,a call is being made for

more research into the shared

history between the two neigh-bouring islands and people.

The call came from Saint Lu-cia’s Ambassador to the OECSand CARICOM, Dr June Soomer.

Speaking ahead of the formalentry of the rst French territoryinto the OECS on Wednesday,Dr Soomer said the move nowmakes it more necessary to con-duct the much-needed researchinto the shared history betweenSaint Lucia and Martinique.

Dr Soomer said she’s writtenmuch about slave women fromMartinique who successfullycriss-crossed the small channelseparating the two islands, toevade both French and British

troops.

She also supported calls formore research into the birth ofEmpress Josephine, widely saidto have been born in clandes-

tine conditions at Morne PaixBouche in Babonneau.

Dr Soomer said Saint Luciaand Martinique already havestrong and deep ties, but the en-try of Martinique into the OECSnow opens the way for Guade-loupe to also enter the OECSgrouping.

The ambassador said Mar-tinique coming on board now-- and Guadeloupe later -- willhelp forge and deepen closerunity and integration of theFrench and English-speakingpeople of the Eastern Caribbeanisland chain.

She says the fact that Saint Lu-cian citizens are also citizens of

all other OECS member-states

opens new horizons and possi-bilities that even qualied SaintLucian citizens resident in Mar-tinique will also be able to make

use of the new economic spaceopened-up by the OECS Eco-nomic Union.

Meanwhile, Dr Soomer has alsodisclosed that French Guiana(also called Cayenne here) hasindicated to the Georgetown-based CARICOM Secretariatthat it intends to formally applyfor membership of CARICOM.

Based on the north-east shoul-der of South America, FrenchGuiana is home to thousandsof Saint Lucians and their de-scendants, but observed notethat while Guadeloupe can beexpected to apply for OECSmembership, size and distancedictate that Cayenne’s interest is

in CARICOM.

Ambassador says French membership

can strengthen OECS island chain

In observance of Saint Lucia’s36th Anniversary of Inde-pendence, the Consulate

General of Saint Lucia in New

York, in collaboration with theNew York-based Saint LuciaHouse Foundation and othercommunity organizations, hascompiled an inspirational pro-gram of activities for Saint Lu-cians in the Diaspora.

This year’s celebrations willopen with the Independence 36Gospel Fest on February 7 (to-day) at the Mount Zion Churchof God 7th Day, 203 E 37thStreet, Brooklyn. The event willfeature a host of Saint Luciangospel artistes and other inspi-rational performers.

There will be additional eventsand celebrations throughout themonth of February, including

The Trade Export PromotionAgency (TEPA) and the Min-istry of Agriculture, Food Pro-

duction, Fisheries, Co-operatives andRural Development hosted an Agri-cultural Value Chain Symposium yes-terday, seeking to establish a sharedvision for sustained growth in agri-cultural exports by directly address-ing the challenges that impede suchexports.

The main objectives were to pro-pose a comprehensive and strategicvision that will assist the Ministryof Agriculture and TEPA in pro-moting, marketing and responding

Saint Lucia NY Consulate releases

Independence 36 Program of ActivitiesThe events include an NBC "Today" Show feature, a lm

screening, independence gala, arts and crafts exhibition

and annual independence lecture.

the Annual Independence Lec-ture, an Independence Ecumen-ical Service, an NBC "Today"Show feature, a lm screening,independence gala, arts and

crafts exhibition and a "Night ofSaint Lucian Culture."

The Consulate General ofSaint Lucia invites all Saint Lu-cians and friends to participate.

to export opportunities for the agri-cultural sector.

The results of this activity willbenet all priority markets as iden-tied by TEPA.

The event was held under thetheme “Developing a shared visiontowards increasing agricultural ex-ports,” and began with an openingceremony addressed by the Minis-ters for Agriculture and for Com-merce.

The symposium will be held atthe Golden Palm Events Centre –Rodney Bay (A.F. Valmont Buildingfrom 8:30 a.m., to p.m

Stakeholders hosted agriculture

symposium yesterday

Prime Minister GastonBrowne earlier this weekannounced that as of next

month, the price of gasoline anddiesel at the pump will fall by 10and 13 per cent respectively.

Browne had pledged in hisBudget Speech last week that theprices would fall (though he didnot specify by how much) in linewith global oil prices which haveplummeted about 60 per centsince last July.

Last week Friday, as he wrappedup the Budget Debate in Parlia-ment he revealed specics.

From February 2, gas prices willbe reduced from $14.99 to $13.50per gallon. Diesel will also fall by$2.00 to $13.20 per gallon.

Browne told the Parliamentthat the changes were coming onFebruary 2, because February 1is a Sunday.

“Now the advice that we havehad from the World Bank isthat these savings, or increasein revenue from the lowering ofoil prices, should be kept exclu-sively by the government,” theprime minister said.

“I want to make it abundantlyclear that the World Bank hasadvised us not to pass on thesesavings.

“However we are a very caringgovernment and what we havedecided to do is to share it withthe people of Antigua and Bar-buda.”

Antigua and Barbuda shares higher

fuel price savings with consumers,

despite World Bank’s contrary advice!

The Taiwan embassy has an-nounced that a brieng on the2015 Taiwan Scholarship, ICDF

Scholarship and Medical Scholarshipwill be held by the Embassy on Thurs-day, February 12th at 10:00 am, at the

Orchid Center, Union.According to the Embassy, “Appli-

cants should deliver forms and docu-ments to the Embassy by 15th March,2015, as any delivery beyond thatdate, or delivery without all requireddocuments, will not be accepted.”

Applicants are informed theyshould go to the Embassy for inter-views on 23rd and 24th March.

The embassy warn s, however, that

The head of the St. Lucia-basedOECS Commission is callingfor St. Lucia and other OECS

governments to ban cell phoneroaming payments between OECSmember-states.

The call is coming from Dr Dida-cus Jules, who says it just isn’t rightfor OECS nationals to have to payadditional charges for phone callsbetween the member-states of theregional grouping.

Dr Jules says the governmentswould be doing consumers well ifthey prevented the service provid-ers from charging more for calls be-

“Only qualied applicants will re-ceive the notice and any change ofthe interview date will also be no-ticed by phone call.”

As for the Medical Scholarship ap-plicants, both written exam and in-

terview will be held at the Embassy.The written exam covers topics

on English, Chemistry and Biology,the date is tentatively scheduled on23rd April, 2015.

The interview will be via skypewith the professor of Taiwan andthe date is provisionally scheduled28th and 29th April, 2015.

The qualied applicant will re-ceive the notice by phone call.

tween citizens of the member-statesof the OECS.

In that sense, Dr Jules is calling fora complete ban on all roaming ratesbetween the OECS member-states. Healso called for a system whereby if acustomer switches service providers,he or she can keep the origina l number.

The Director General rejectedcalls by the service providers forgovernment to tax the likes ofSkype, Vyber and other externally-generated internet-based commu-nications services available in theCaribbean that offer the world freecalls and face-to-face exchanges.

Taiwan Medical Scholarship

Brieng on February 12

Ban roaming rates, says OECS chief

Home Affairs Minister Sena-tor Victor La Corbiniere sayshis government has deliv-

ered on its promise to investigate al-leged police killings and the reportis now in the hands of the Chairman

of the Cabinet of Ministers.Senator La Corbiniere, who is also

leader of government business in theSt. Lucia Senate, says the police force’sability to investigate itself in the mat-ters at hand was always a complicatedmatter, which is why government hadto invite a regional agency to under-take the investigations.

The minister conrmed that theIMPACS report is with the govern-ment -- specically with the PrimeMinister, who has promised to ad-dress the nation on the issue earlythis month.

The contents of the IMPACS re-port are being looked forward to bythe Police Force, as well as the fami-lies of the alleged victims.

No date has yet been set for thePrime Minister’s address to the na-tion on that report, but it’s also be-ing looked forward to by Saint Lu-cians at large, at home and abroad.

IMPACS Report: Home Affairs Minister

says ‘Government has delivered!’


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The International CivilAviation Organization(ICAO) invited Saint Lu-

cia to participate in the secondHigh Level Safety Conference(HLSC2015) held this week atthe ICAO Headquarters in Mon-tréal, Canada.

Hon. Alva Romanus Baptiste,Minister for External Affairs,International Trade and CivilAviation led the Saint Luciadelegation to the talks, whichstarted Monday and ended yes-terday (February 2-6).

The participation of strategicdecision-makers provided theinternational civil aviation com-munity the opportunity to buildconsensus, obtain commit-ments, and formulated recom-mendations deemed necessaryfor the effective and efcient

progress of key aviation safetyactivities.Overall, the conference in-

cluded various topics coveringthree major themes: a reviewof the current situation; thefuture approach to manage

aviation safety; and facilitatingincreased regional coopera-tion. In particular, participantswill also be invited to discussemerging safety issues includ-ing the global tracking of air-crafts, and risks to civil aviationarising from conict zones.

Given the tragic and unusualevents that occurred on March 8and July 17, 2014, which resultedin the loss of the passengers andcrew aboard Malaysia AirlinesMH370 and MH17, the topic“Emerging Safety Issues” also

formed part of the program, dur-ing which the conference willbe invited to discuss and makerecommendations on means toaddress the issues that may ariserelated to these events.

Saint Lucia’s economy isheavily dependent on tourism

which itself derives value fromcivil aviation and air transport.Therefore, Saint Lucia’s partici-pation was considered critical atthis time, as the island endeavorto boost arrival gures and ex-pand the tourism market.

Saint Lucia attended ICAO High Level Safety Conference

The Royal Saint LuciaPolice Force, RSLPF,has declared the rst

month of the year– January2015, as having registeredzero homicides. Commis -

sioner of Police Mr. VernonFrancois describes this feat asa small victory for the entireisland and credits the victoryto the citizenry.

In contrast, the year 2014

registered six homicides in themonth of January.

Mr. Francois says this achieve-ment proves to all that it ispossible for citizens to rallytogether with the police and

other partners in the society,to achieve a peaceful and lawabiding nation. “Obviously weare very happy to register zerohomicides last month. This is inkeeping with declining trends

as we have reported earlier. “Ihave always emphasized thatlosing one life is one too many.Generally we are about workingto achieve zero violence.

“As ofcers of the law we have

done some work to help pushback against crime and to sensi-tize the public that killings andhurting each other to settle con-ict is not the way to go.

“In this vein, we recognize

other agencies, the Church, theSocial Transformation ofcersand other youth and commu-nity workers and importantlythe Education system who part-ner with us, and strengthen this

message.” Mr. François saysthe Police continues to pushback against gang violence andthe scourge of drug trafckingwhich are often linked to inci-dents of homicides.

“If it’s for us to continue tochallenge ourselves to cherishthe value of life. I would liketo particularly challenge ouryoung men to turn away fromacts of violence and to try to

direct their energies posi-tively”. The last time that therecords of the RSLPF reectednil for January homicides onan island wide level was in theyear 2000, exactly 15 years ago.

RSLPF registers zero homicides for January 2015

On Friday January 30,a combined teamof ofcers from

the Royal St Lucia PoliceForce, conducted a searchoperation at Admiral Quay,a villa complex situated atRodney Bay, Gros-Islet.

During the search of anapartment, a small quan-tity of cannabis and a bagcontaining a signicantamount of EUROs in vari-ous denominations wererecovered.

At the time of thesearch, the apartment was

occupied by three men, aVenezuelan, a Haitian anda national of the Domini-can Republic. The cashwas subsequently countedin the presence of the threemen and their attorney, to-taling 113, 700 EUROs.

All three men were ar-rested on suspicion ofpossession of controlleddrugs and unlawful pos-session of cash. The mat-ter has been referred tothe Financial IntelligenceAuthority for further in-vestigations.

Police seize 113,700

Euros from three

foreign nationals at

Rodney Bay

On Wednesday, Feb-ruary 11, the southwestern community

of Choiseul will kick off theMeet the Commissioner se-ries of Town Hall Meetingsfor 2015.

Earlier this year Commis-sioner of Police Mr. VernonFrancois, signaled that therewill be a continuation of Com-munity Policing initiativesand citizen’s engagement thisyear, as the Police continuesto build on the successes al-ready met in various commu-nities around the island.

This initiative he notedhas been very well received,even to the point of becom-ing a popular and much an-ticipated event.

“Over the course of last weheld ve Town Hall meet-ings and we registered verygood attendance at thesemeetings.

“It is an opportunity forthe community membersto meet the Commissionerand other senior level of-cers, but most importantly,it is an open forum for us todiscuss with them whateverconcerns they may have asregards social issues and anysocial controls that the policemay be able to either enforceor implement, or just to havetheir input on policing ingeneral.”

Choisuel is reputed to beamong Saint Lucia’s mostcreative, industrious and lawabiding communities.

The Town Hall Meetingis slated for 5 p.m at the LaFargue community Centre.The Choiseul station is themain organizer of this event.The Royal Saint Lucia PoliceBand will also join in the vis -it and grace the communitywith a musical treat.

Police Commissioner resumes

Town Hall Meetings

Participants fromBarbados, RSS

countries and inde-pendent CommonwealthCaribbean countries cametogether at the BarbadosCoast Guard to attend amaritime tactical plan-ning course, delivered bya visiting training teamof experts from the RoyalNavy (RN).

Certicates of completionwere handed out by Com-mander Aquinas Clarke,Commanding Ofcer of theBarbados Coast Guard, andLt Commander HowardClark, leader of the visit-ing RN Maritime TrainingTeam at a closing ceremonyat HMBS Pelican.

The participants studied anumber of a reas, includingthe following topics:

National Strategy forMaritime Security, Interna-tional Maritime Law, Rulesof Engagement, Commandand Control, Maritime Se-curity Operations and Lo-gistics.

Lt Commander Clarkcommended all the stu-dents stating, “Not onlyhave you improved yourtechnical skill sets, but youhave learnt the all impor-tant skill of working closelywith your colleagues fromother CARICOM countries.This will have a highly ben-ecial effect on future secu-rity cooperation through-out the region.”

Royal Navy trained

local police in

marine tactics

Hon. Alva Baptiste

The history of the OECS hastaken a turn with the Frenchterritory of Martinique sign-

ing on as an associate member-in-creasing the nine-member groupingto 10.

The historic signing of Martiniqueas an associate member of the OECS

took place at the Hotel La Batelierein Fort-de-France, Martinique, dur-ing the opening ceremony of the60th meeting of the OECS Authority.

The agenda for the meeting in-cluded an update on the implemen-tation of the OECS Economic Union,the Free Circulation of Goods andissues on sports and healthy life-styles.

Martinique’s membership of theOECS follows a period of negotiationsafter the Regional Council of Mar-tinique submitted a formal applica-tion for associate membership in theOECS with the full support/endorse-ment of the French Government.

In November of 2013, Dr. Jules ad-dressed the Regional Assembly inMartinique after which the Assem-bly unanimously voted in favour

of Martinique’s membership of theOECS.

Since then, the OECS Commis-sion has been treating Martiniqueeffectively as an associate member

Prime Minister Hon. Dr.Kenny D. Anthony has wel-comed Martinique to the

OECS and says there are mutualbenets to be derived from thismomentous endeavor.

He said, “I am exceedinglypleased that Martinique will nowbe an associate member of theOECS

“Saint Lucia welcomes Marti-nique with open arms, as we havehad a history of close relationswith Martinique,” the Prime Min-ister said.

“Last year, an agreement wassigned between our two islandsto facilitate the exchange of op-portunities in tourism, renewableenergy, trade, health and other ar-eas. Martinique is also viewed as agateway to Europe and so presentsopportunities for investment.”

He added, “Membership in the

Martinique is rst French territory to join OECS

and the French Region has alreadybeen attending regional meetingson matters such as health.

The OECS Director General de-scribes the event as a very historicalmoment.

“While there are limitations be-cause of its status in relation toFrance, the involvement of Mar-tinique in the OECS opens up greatpotential and certainly widens thedemographics from an economicperspective," he said.

"We have seen the relationshipgrow between Martinique and SaintLucia and between Guadeloupe andDominica for example. What thissigning does, is widen [these rela-

tionships] to the whole OECS.“The use of Martinique as a tertia-

ry health facility cent re for the OECSis something under discussion sothere are a lot of opportunities.”

"We are very concerned about not just en suring growth in the econo-mies of the OECS but growth withequity," he added.

"It’s not enough to just grow theeconomy if you are growing it andonly the existing players benet, ithas to be the type of growth that

leads to a widening of opportunityfor smaller persons, a trickle-downeffect; a spread of the benets andcommunity tourism we think willdo particularly well with the en-

gagement of Martinique and Gua-deloupe.

“So, we are expecting that thiswill yield great benets in terms ofweekend travel, bed and breakfast

arrangements, community sportingactivities, and so on.”

The 60th OECS Authority was alsoupdated on the Work Program forthe OECS Commission.

Prime Minister welcomes

Martinique into OECS

OECS will serve to strengthen ourbilateral relationship and providean avenue for greater cooperationon the regional level.”

Prime Ministe r Dr Kenny D. Anthony


5/12


Theme:

2015 NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE ACTIVITIESDATE EVENT VENUE TIME

Feb. 10-20 School Celebrations Schools Island wideFeb. 10-28 Community Celebrations Island wideFeb. 15 – 23 Kia Independence Tennis Tournament National Tennis CentreFeb. 16 – 17 Independence Invitational

Athletic ChampionshipFeb. 13 National Sports Awards Sandals Grande 8:00 p.m.Feb. 20 Ecumenical Service/Day of Prayer Minor Basilica of the

Immaculate Conception 10:00 a.m.Feb. 20 National Flag Day Constitution Park TBAFeb. 20 Launch of Leaders of Iyanola National Television Network 8:00 p.m.Feb. 21 Miss Independence 2015 Cultural Centre 6:00 p.m.Feb. 21 – 23 Bike Festival 2015 Around the IslandFeb. 21 Independence Challenge Around the IslandFeb. 21 Seafood and Meat Festival Vieux-Fort Promenade 3:00 p.m.Feb. 21 Cocktail Reception Prime Minister’s Official Residence 7:00 p.m.Feb. 21 Youth Concert Laborie TBAFeb. 21 Best of Saint Lucia Concert TBA 9:00 p.m.Feb. 22 Military Parade Sab Playing field, Vigie 9:00 a.m.

Feb. 22 National Celebratory Rally Phillip Marcellin Grounds, V/Fort 3.00 p.m.Feb. 22 Independence Food Fair Phillip Marcellin Grounds, V/Fort 11:00 a.m.Feb. 22 Dance Festival Phillip Marcellin Grounds, V/FortFeb. 22 SLAM Concert Phillip Marcellin Grounds, V/FortFeb. 23 Independence Classic Cycling and AthleticsFeb. 24 Independence Lecture TBA TBA

Presenter:

Topic:Feb 26 National Youth Council

Independence Debate House of ParliamentFeb. 28 SANKOFA III Mar. 1 Investiture Ceremony Government House 3:00 p.m.Mar. 7 National Business Awards 7.00 p.m.

Cultural Development Foundation

National Arts Festival

Laborie Community Festival - February 13, 2015

Launch of National Arts Exhibition Festival Week - February 19, 2015

CUSO International is aninternational develop-ment organization that

seeks to reduce poverty and in-equality through the efforts ofskilled volunteers.

To this end, this Canadian-based organization hosted aVolunteerism Symposium inDominica from February 4-5,2015.

Mr. Cyril Saltibus, NationalVolunteer Coordinator was one

CUSO sponsored 2015 National

Volunteerism Symposium in Dominica

The Ministry of Health,Wellness, Human Servic-es and Gender Relations

has engaged the services of twoconsultants from the EuropeanUnion Project to research op-tions for nancing of the healthcare system into the future, tobuild a sustainable health caresystem for St. Lucia.

Xyster Edmund, Chief HealthPlanner with Ministry ofHealth, noted that a health -nancing initiative has alwaysbeen part of the Ministry’s

Strategic Plan for Health.She said “ Universal HealthCoverage, what we refer to itas, really means the mannerin which the government of St.Lucia will protect health risksfor its population to a certainextent.”

The Chief Health Planner not-ed that more importantly Uni-versal Health Coverage is tiedto the whole issue which theMinistry believes is necessaryin health care that of fairness,a coming together to providehealth coverage for all as wellas effective and efcient use ofthe investments in health.

“Universal Heath Care is andintegrated approach and thereare about seven components tothe establishment of Universalhealth care...

It includes the governancestrategies - the actual services -the nancing, the quality man-agement system, etc and therewill be a monitoring and eval-uation framework that moni-tors how well are the servicesbeing provided.

“There is a health informationsystem that we are also rollingout that will look at how we col-lect the data to ensure that weunderstand what is happeningand that we can intervene inareas that need strengtheningand most importantly there is

the infrastructure componentbecause delivering care in asuitable environment is alsoimportant.” Edmunds stated.

The consultants engaged bythe Ministry of Health includean Actuarial Scientist andHealth Policy Consultant forUniversal Health coverage.

Edmunds stated that theMinistry of Health Has alreadydened the process, as well asthe essential package of servic-es in draft form including thecosting of that package.

“The real work of the Actu-arial Scientist is to identify thecapacity of the economy to -nance the initiative of Univer-sal Health Care and to deter-mine to the government of St.Lucia the best strategies mov-ing forward in nancing thiscare...

“Universal Health Careneeds clear policy directionand appropriate legislation sothe second consultant will beworking with us on that sec-ond component.” John Armstrong is the Con-

sultant Actuarial Scientist tothe Ministry of Health fromEuropean Union Project.

He pointed to his experienceof working with other coun-tries in the Caribbean area tolook at the actuarial analysisof health care systems and willbe doing the same for St. Lu-cia within the next six to ninemonths.

Armstrong explained theprocesses which will form partof his analysis. “The key aspectis obviously the demographicprole of the country.

“What is the size of the coun-try, what is the make up interms of age prole, male to-female split and where peoplelive, the socio-economic wealthof the country and issues suchas that...

:”The second will be whatare the expectations and thepackage of benets which willbe provided in the health caresystem and to look at the costand provision of that package.”

The consultant noted thaton completion of the consul-tancy he envisages that theywill then be able to present anumber of policy options forconsideration to the Ministryof Health.

Those policy options willhopefully look into the nextve to ten years in terms of theprole of the population andwhat the cost of provision willbe within the next ve to tenyears.

He said, “A key part is obvi-ously to understand what arethe expectations of the popu-lation in terms of health care,what are the plans of govern-ment and the plans of the min-istry and to really factor them

The Ministry of PhysicalDevelopment, Housing,and Urban Renewal has

undertaken a review of its op-erations with the intent to en-

hance productivity, boost em-ployee morale and improve theservices provided to the publicand the ministry’s stakeholders.

Permanent Secretary JoannaRaynold-Arthurton said theplan focused on several key out-comes.

“We hope that the new ap-proach will result in improve-ments in our attitudes to ourwork, service delivery, and ourapproach to our clients,” shesaid. “We hope it instils a great-er commitment to excellence,leaving mediocrity behind; agreater commitment and effortto integration of our work pro-grams and our procedures, and

Consultancy commences

for UHC nancing

of the presenters at this forum.Also in attendance were two

of Saint Lucia’s youth volun-teers, Ms. Anya Edwin, Secre-tary of the National VolunteerCoordinating Ofce and Mr.Timothy Ferdinand, Chair-man of the Caribbean RegionalYouth Council.

The National Volunteer Co-ordinating Ofce applaudsCUSO International’s acknowl-edgement of the need to re-

spond and support the needsof their Caribbean partners,particularly as it relates to fos-tering positive youth develop-ment and for nancing thissymposium.

This symposium gave part-ners an opportunity to learnbest practices from alreadyestablished national volunteerplatforms such as Saint Lucia’sand to promote national volun-teerism across the region.

the establishment of a strong,clear and appropriate legal plat-form which is the basis of allour operations.”

The plan will also implement

measures that will contribute tostaff morale and mobilisation.Minister for Physical Devel-

opment, Housing and UrbanRenewal Stanley Felix said thestrategic framework is only therst phase of revitalisation.

“In this approach towardschange and improvement, wemust individually examine ourattitudes towards our personaldevelopment, our approach toservice, and our regard towardsthe institution to which we cur-rently are assigned,” he said.

The ministry unveiled its planlast Thursday, during a ceremo-ny at the Public Service Train-ing Institute in Union

Physical Development Ministry

to boost productivity

into our analysis.” The Chief Health Planner

noted that in formulating theStrategic Plan of the HealthSector meeting were held in ev-ery community and the com-mon thread among the com-munities was that they reallydo need a safety net for healthcare.

They needed to know thatthen their children or familymembers are sick that they willnot be out of pocket and unableto act with respect to a healthissue that they would be expe-riencing. She said,

“The government has listento the voice of the people andthe Universal Health Coverageinitiate really represents ourresponse to what the peopleof St. Lucia really said theyneeded.

“They never said that theydidn’t what to pay... they want-ed to know what they are pay-ing for, the wanted to know thequality was improved and theywanted to ensure that whenthey need the care it would beavailable to them.”

Ms. Edmunds places on re-cord the ministry’s apprecia-tion to European Development(EDF) under the 10th EDF pro-gramme.

She says funds have beenmade available for strengthen-ing a wide range of activitiesin the ministry most notably

primary health care and un-der this fund the Ministry ofHealth has the opportunity tonance the Universal HealthCare activities which includethe work of the Actuarial Sci-entist and the Policy Adviser.

Xyster Edmund, Chief Health Planner with Ministr y of Health,says a health nancing initiative has always been part of the Ministry's Strategic Plan for Health across the island .


6/12


P

rime Minister Dr. KennyD. Anthony and EnergyMinister Hon. Dr. James

Fletcher recently joined otherCaribbean Heads of Govern-ment at the Caribbean EnergySecurity Summit, in Washing-ton, D.C.

Speaking at a breakfast meet-ing on behalf of CARICOM, Dr.Anthony highlighted the issuesthat are most important to Ca-ribbean Small Island Develop-ing States in relation to climatechange adaptation.

Prime Minister lobbies for Climate

Finance for CARICOM“He spoke of Saint Lucia’s ex-

periences,” Dr. Fletcher related,“so for example, he explainedthat we have been in a constantcycle of repair and recovery.

“He highlighted the factthat in 2010 we had the worstdrought that we’ve had in a longtime, followed by hurricane To-mas in that same year; and thatwe had not fully recovered fromhurricane Tomas when we hadthe Christmas Eve Trough todeal with in 2013.”

He added that Dr. Anthony

lobbied for greater nancialsupport for Saint Lucia and oth-er CARICOM member states todeal with climate change.

During the afternoon session,Dr. Fletcher participated in apanel discussion on “Compre-hensive Approaches to EnergyTransformation.”

The purpose of the secondphase of the meeting was todiscuss the Caribbean EnergySecurity Initiative.

“The second part of the meetingwas with Vice President Joe Biden.

We discussed the Caribbean En-ergy Security Initiative and waysin which we could get greater en-ergy security for the Caribbean.

“We all spoke to the fact thatwe are doing a lot of work in therenewable energy—trying totransition our economies awayfrom the dependence on fossilfuels to renewable energy.”

In March, Government leaderswill, again, convene at anotherEnergy and Climate Partner-ship of the America’s meeting inMexico.

The St. Lucia Prime Ministermade the case for CARICOM

in Washington.

Director General of theOECS, Dr. Didicus Jules,has praised the par-

ticipatory approach to environ-mental issues. He did so at theMinisterial segment of the cli-mate change negotiation meet-

ing held last week.According to Dr. Jules, the re-

gion’s interests can best be pro-tected if a unied position ispresented.

“A united front provides uswith an umbrella of commonprotection, but we also have tobe pragmatic in shaping this,”he said.

“Common and harmonizedpositions do not necessarilymean absolute uniformity. Theyrequire that we also nd subtleways of accommodating dif-ferences and nuancing thesedifferences to enrich commonposture.”

Dr. Jules expressed pride that

OECS Director General lauds

collaboration on Climate Change

The OECS Director Generalmade several pertinent

points while address ing theCARICOM Climate Changenegotiators here last week.

Caribbean Ministers with re-sponsibilities for the environ-ment “have so readily cometogether to prepare for the 2015round of climate change negoti-ations.” He also noted the pres-ence of the French Ambassador.

“We are also very thankful toour partners and we are happythat Ambassador de LA MOUS-SAYE is here with us today, be-cause the government of Francehas extended a special hand ofsupport to the OECS countriesand CARICOM in helping to pre -pare for the Paris negotiations.”

Climate change negotiationswill take place at the 21st Con-ference of the Parties of theUnited Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Changelater this year, in Paris.

The adverse effects of ClimateChange on Small Island Devel-oping States, Dr. Jules said, is aunifying force for the region.

The Government of SaintLucia. in collaborationwith the Organization of

Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)Commission, last week hostedtwo meetings in Saint Lucia todiscuss Climate Change.

The discussions will lead tothe signing of a new interna-tional climate change agree-ment at the United NationsFramework Convention on Cli-mate Change (UNFCCC), to beheld in December.

Minister for Sustainable De-velopment, Energy, Science andTechnology, Senator Dr. JamesFletcher, said funding for cli-mate change adaptation effortscontinues to be a major issue inclimate change negotiations.

“For us, the main issue is re-ally the negotiations related toclimate nance and not beingable to get the level of climatenance that has been pledged,”he explained.

“There is a pledge of one hun-dred billion US dollars worth ofclimate nance by the year 2020and one hundred billion dollarsevery year thereafter, and we’revery far short of this.

“The last pledging meeting forthe Green Climate Fund went

just past ten billion dollars. Nowgranted, the Green ClimateFund is not the only source of -

nancing for climate nance, butwe’re still very far short of onehundred billion dollars.

“So we want to see a pathwaythat will get us to that one hun-dred billion dollar mark, be-cause it is very importa nt to us.”

According to Dr. Fletcher,there is still much to be donein the area of climate changeadaptation. Investments in keysectors, he said, are necessary tobuild resilience.

“We have to make sure thatwe make investments in sectorslike tourism, infrastructure,and health, that would give ussome resilience and the ability

to withstand some of the im-pacts of climate change; and inthe areas where we can’t adapt,we need to ensure that we areable to deal with irreversibleloss and damage, like our coralreefs that are disappearing be-cause of increased sea tempera-tures and ocean acidication.”

Dr. Fletcher said mitigationis another key component ofclimate change adaptation. Sci-entic data shows that despitethe pledges made by the UnitedStates, China and the EuropeanUnion last year, we are still veryfar from reducing global tem-peratures, he said.

Lack of funding a major issue in

Climate Change negotiationsS

mall Island DevelopingStates like Saint Lucianeed to move away from

the use of fossil fuels in aneffort to reduce emissions ofgreenhouse gases, Saint Lu-cia’s Energy Minister, Sena-tor Dr. James Fletcher saidrecently.

According to Dr. Fletcher, sci-entic data has demonstratedthat we are still very far awayfrom limiting global tempera-tures to two degrees Celsius or1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-

Saint Lucia joined the rest ofthe World in commemorat-ing World Wetland day on

February 2nd.The theme for world wetlands

day 2015 was Wetlands for Our

Future. This theme was de-signed to emphasize the impor-tance of wetlands for:• Purifying and replenishing

the worlds’ precious freshwater resources,

• Providing sh nursery sites• Providing protection for our

vulnerable coastlines,• Performing as a natural

sponge against oods anddroughts,

• The storage of Carbon,• Sustaini ng a biodiversity rich

ecosystemAccording to the RAMSAR

convention on wetlands, towhich St. Lucia is signatory, 64%of the worlds’ wetlands have

disappeared and the remaining36% are in jeopardy of succumb -ing to the same fate.

With the world now focusedon Climate Change, our wet-lands should be foremost in ourminds as a means of mitigatingits impact.

Wetlands, especially man-groves, bind the shoreline to-gether, which prevents erosion,and slows storm surges therebyincreasing our resilience to Cli-mate Change.

In Saint Lucia, our wetlandsand mangroves are also underthreat with inter alia the in-crease in the demand for coastallands for development.

The value of our wetlands as anatural protector of coastal ero-sion and a nursery site for shwhich sustains our shing in-dustry falls a distant second tothe perceived value of allowing

development which decimatesthese very fragile ecosystems.

Deforestation and the indis-criminate disposal of garbagewithin the wetlands also threat-en the health of the wetlands.

Moreover, garbage is a prob-lem in approximately 90% of ourwetlands, this problem is furthercompounded because this gar-bage comprises mainly plastic.

Another worrying issue is theIncreasing deforestation in bio-diversity rich wetlands suchas Grand Anse and Mankotewhich contain more than 100species of ora and 30 species offauna that are mainly birds.

These ecosystems need our

intervention if they are goingto survive. Small personal de-cisions would go a long way ingetting our wetlands back to acondition that would allow allof us to reap the benets of itsnatural protective functions.

Some of the measures that wecan personally commit to areeducating ourselves and otherson the benets that wetlandsprovide and avoid harmfulpractices such as garbage dis-posal in the wetlands.

Remember: collective actionprovides collective rewards.

(For further information con-tact Mrs. Rebecca Rock at 468-5656)

Ministry of Sustainable

Development and

Forestry observed World

Wetlands Day 2015

industrial levels.“The data [revealed in a

World Bank report last year]suggests that with the level ofemissions we have right nowand even with the pledges thathave been made, we are proba-bly on track with almost a fourdegree Celsius warming.”

However, Dr. Fletcher saidlevels of four degrees Celsiuswill have a devastating effecton the Caribbean, which cancause many of our eco systemsto be threatened.

Energy Minister urges

Greenhouse Gas reduction


7/12


‘Hey, you look like Nina Comp -ton!” My traveling companion andI had just set foot in the amboy-ant covered market of Castries, thecapital of St. Lucia, and instantly,

shrieks, followed by winks andwide smiles erupted around us.“Aren’t you Nina?”That is not merely because she

is the daughter of the late Sir JohnCompton, “Father of the Nation”who, in 1979, spearheaded theindependence of the island andserved as its rst prime minister.It’s because in 2013, Nina Comptonwas invited to compete on Bravo’s“Top Chef: New Orleans.”

“It was life-changing,” she said.When the show aired, Nina,

then 35, was chef de cuisine atScott Conant’s lauded Scarpetta inSouth Beach. Using the impressivetechnique she learned while work-ing in 2000 for iconic French chefDaniel Boulud in New York to cookspecial dishes using the Caribbean

ingredients and avors of her past,Nina seemed poised to win thenale. An upset left her the run-ner-up, but she was awarded theshow’s “fan favorite” designationand became an overnight celebrity,especially on St. Lucia.

“The entire island was rooting forher,” said Taribba do Nascimento,a local handbag designer. “It wasall over the news and people wentcrazy. Her food was unapologeti-cally St. Lucian.”

She may not have won “TopChef,” but that December day at themarket, while Nina, a slender sil-houette in denim shorts and primwhite shirt, inspected the produce,I felt I was walking through townwith Kate Middleton.

“Green gs, anyone?” she asks

the stand mamas hovering aroundher.“Figs?” I wondered to myself.

“This i sn’t Tuscany!”But I had a lot to learn about St.

Lucian cuisine. A few months ear-lier, hearing that Nina and I wouldbe on the island at the same time— she researching an upcomingcookbook (after “Top Chef,” thegovernment named Nina the is-land’s “culinary ambassador”),and I attending a wedding — Iasked whether she would take meon a gastronomic tour. I had eatenmy way through jerk chicken andstuffed crabs aplenty in the Carib-

Once again, ‘U.S. News’ hasranked the best hotels in theCaribbean using a compre-

hensive methodology that aggre-gates the opinions of travel expertsand guests. Some 288 hotels in theregion were evaluated to identifythe top hotels and resorts, withreview-based websites, guidebooksand magazines analysed to compilea list of properties that consistentlyreceive approval from critics andtravellers.

Each hotel on the resulting list ofthe top 10 properties in the Caribbe-an for 2015 is said to stand out fromits peers “thanks to its memorableambiance, upscale amenities andexemplary service.”

Here’s what U.S. News had to sayabout Saint Lucia’s two hotels – andthe top winner from the DominicanRepublic:

# 10 Jade Mountain, Soufrière,St Lucia - Jade Mountain may haveslipped from the No. 9 position itheld in 2014 (to No. 9 th is year), butthis St Lucia standout remains afavourite among critics and guests,winning accolades such as the Con-dé Nast Readers’ Choice Award andcoveted AAA Five Diamond Award.Lauded for their innovative design,

Jade Mountain’s “sanctuar ies” boastan open wall (think a patio withoutthe door), offering an unparalleledview of the Piton Mountains. Thehotel is not directly located on thebeach (reserve a room at the re -sort’s sister property, Anse Chasta-net, if you want to be closer to the

The Saint Lucia TouristBoard (SLTB) teamed upwith the Ministry of Tour-

ism and the SLHTA is hosting aPresentation to the Small Prop-erties located in the north of theisland, which focused on the re-branding of the sector.

The session was held at theBay Gardens Inn on Wednes-day, with presentations by theMinistry of Tourism on theStandards guiding the industry,

followed by the SLTB team onMarketing.

The nal presentation wasdelivered by the Executive VicePresident of the SLHTA on thebenets of becoming a memberof the Association.

Another session was also heldin the south of the island forthe hoteliers from Soufriere toMicoud on Thursday at the Na-tional Skills Development Cen-tre (NSDC) in Vieux Fort.

SLTB met smallproperties

The stunning view f rom Jade Mountain, Soufriere saint Lucia.

shoreline), but guests don’t seem tomind. Visitors cite Jade Mountain’sunbeatable views, attentive serviceand ample wellness amenities (likethe Kai en Ciel spa and private yogasessions) as reasons for a repeatvisit.

#9 East Winds Inn, Gros Islet, StLucia - Giving Jade Mountain a runfor its money, East Winds Inn trad-ed in the silver badge it earned lastyear for gold in 2015. Claiming thetitle of Best Hotel in St. Lucia, EastWinds Inn appeals to travelers look-ing for a boutique hotel experience.Thanks to its limited capacity (just

30 rooms sprawled across 12 acres),previous guests say the hotel staffprovides personalized service notoften seen at larger resorts. Asidefrom the staff’s attention to detail,travelers also praise the resort’seatery, the Flamboyant Restaurant.Reviewers compliment the fresh,local cuisine and variety of dishes— a factor many visitors considerparamount if staying i n St. Lucia formore than a few days.

#1 Eden Roc at Cap Cana, Pun-ta Cana, Dominican Republic - Climbing up the ranks from No.18 in 2014, Eden Roc at Cap Cana

managed to usurp Tortuga Bay (atwo-time winner) to capture thisyear’s No. 1 spot. So what makesthis Relais & Châteaux outpostso special? To start, every suiteboasts a private pool, gazebo andpersonal golf cart, not to mentionan exterior rain shower. But if thatdoesn’t pique your interest, per-haps Eden Roc’s location will: Theresort is situated in Punta Cana’sexclusive Cap Cana community onthe eastern edge of the DominicanRepublic. Cap Cana sits on 30,000

acres and is home to beaches,cliffs and forests, in addition tothree Jack Nicklaus-designed golfcourses and a marina. Plus, EdenRoc guests are granted access tothe members-only Caletón BeachClub, which boasts a pool, bar andrestaurant within a palm-fringedcove. We’re not the only oneswho’ve taken notice of Eden Roc’sample offerings: The hotel is a hitwith guests who say its AAA FourDiamond and Travel + Leisure “It

List” awards are well-deserved.

Two Saint Lucia properties named among Top 10 Caribbean Hotels for 2015

Touring St. Lucia with its Top Chef

Nina Compton in St. Lucia. (Sylvia Bigar)

bean, but I was intrigued by St.Lucia’s turbulent history and eagerto seek its culinary legacy in localkitchens.

Before the British nally took

possession of the island, in 1814,the ag went back and forth be-tween England and France 14times in 150 years. Today, most ofthe island’s population is of Af-rican descent, with a signicantEast Indian contingent descendingfrom workers brought in to savethe sugar industry toward the endof the 19th century.

Back at the market, Nina ex-plains: “We call unripe bananas‘green gs.’ And salt sh and greengs is our national dish.”

“Salt” and “unripe” didn’t exact-ly conjure gastronomic pleasure,but at Sylvia’s Place, a clutteredblue-and-yellow kitchen Sylvia

Jn Baptiste has ru n for the pa st 16years in the back alley of the mar-ket, delicious cod akes sprinkled

with garlic and peppers balancethe sweet, smooth banana logsperfectly.

“I was born on Barbados, wherenothing grows,” Jn Baptiste says.“Here, everything is local.” Shegets to her kitchen at 4 a.m. excepton Fridays and Saturdays, whenshe opens at 1 a.m. so revelers canrestore themselves with her bouil-lon, a pigtail broth rich with lentils,spinach, green plantain and pota-toes or her ying-sh fry, as freshas it gets, straight from the sher-men’s stall around the corner.

A brief nod from Nina to the “co-conut man” a few steps away, onedecisive machete strike, and offcomes the greenish top, revealingesh as white as a cotton cloud.In goes the straw, and I melt in re-

freshing coconut water paradise.Soon it’s lunchtime, and we stepout into the sun. Downtown Cas-tries, cradling its bustling harbor,teems with local ofce workers inshirt and ties and dazzled tour-ists trickling from colossal cruiseships. But we leave the town be -hind and drive a few miles to thebusy intersection where a sheet-metal roof encircles two toweringalmond trees that watch over theeatery known as the Hardest Hard.Plastic chairs and rickety tablesmake up this landma rk where Eve-lyn and Julian Lagon cook up someof the best food on the island.

“People also call us ‘Under thealmond trees,’ ” said Evelyn Lagon,the compact, spirited owner, as shescurries her smile around. Spinylobsters stuffed with dasheen,

a root vegetable similar to taro;braised conch with onions, pep-pers and garlic; and my personalfavorite, stuffed trunksh. Theesh is meaty and almost candiedwith tangy creole sauce redolent oflime and chives.

Later that night, Nina takes meto Laurel’s in Bois d’Orange. “Idon’t like rules, man,” said chef-owner Laurel Butt, straddling achair in her chef whites and yel-low pirate head scarf. And she cer -tainly makes her own: The frittersare made with breadfruit; currychicken could have been preparedin Mumbai; and bread rolls (tétépain in creole) are baked and soldthroughout the day.

Early the next morning, we driveto Prudee’s House of Roti, by the

side of the road in Gros Islet. “Doyou believe in God?” asks ownerPrudentia Raymond, her eyes spar-kling at the sight of Nina wolngdown a plump chicken roti. “I hada vision for this place.”

Nina says that the roti, a stuffedatbread with chicken or sh origi-nally from India, has become aSt. Lucian staple. “We eat Frenchboudin, we stuff our local sh withroot vegetables from Africa, andwe jazz up our lives with Indianspices.”

After the roti, I can’t resist Ray-mond’s fragrant “cocoa tea,” theSt. Lucian version of hot chocolatemade with local cocoa, nutmeg,cinnamon, bay leaf and lime peel.“My recipe was passed down f romGrandma,” says Raymond, smil-

ing.On Friday night, while Nina vis-its family, I head down to the “JumpUp” in Gros Islet, the weekly streetparty that draws locals and foreignbeatniks for an all-night dancemarathon under the stars. But rstI eat at nearby Flavours of the Gril l,the pastel restaurant where chef-owner O’Nell Daly cooks dreamychristophine (chayote squash) gra-tin and moist banana bread I washdown with local Piton beer. Theline snakes around the corner. “I’drather only feed 20 people at a timeand make them h appy,” Daly says.

The next day, Nina and I leave the

busy and nicely groomed resorts ofthe north and happily head southfor the two-hour drive toward Sou-friere, the former French-colonialcapital, and the rain forest. Soon, Ifeel we’ve crossed onto a differentisland. The winding road takes usalong dark volcanic beaches where

the clear water reects the emer-ald green of the trees, and then,further up, ripples of hills dottedwith banana plantations. Anotherbend and suddenly the two Pitons,forest-covered lava spires, emergemore than 2,300 breathtaking feethigh from the sea. When we nallypull into Fond Doux Plantation, itseems a magical curtain of foliagehas lifted just enough to allow usin.

The French estate-turned-resort,still a working plantation, is thebrainchild of Eroline and LytonLamontagne, who cultivate cinna-mon, tamarind, mangoes, dasheen,

grapefruit, guava and most of whatis served at their table.

“On St. Lucia, the spices and a-vors make me feel I’m home,” saidRiya Sengupta, a guest who wasborn in India.

Frolicking in the kitchen, Ninashows the staff her own take on

green gs and salt sh. In just afew minutes, she rolls plantaindough and presses it into gnocchishe pairs with stewed cod sprin-kled with chives. I watch her mixlocal tradition with experience anda dose of inspiration as she inventsher own delicious dish.

In the evening, as the sun disap-pears behind the tree canopy, cue-ing a chorus of birdsong, we dinewith new friends in the cool forestbreeze. On my plate, I taste Africa,India and traces of French creolespecialties, all with a Briti sh accent.

In fact, I taste St. Lucia. Think I’llhave seconds.

By Sylvie Bigar - The Washington Post


8/12


This year we commemo-rate the achievementof excellence with the

Theme: “Celebrating Excel-lence: National Initiatives,Global Perspectives”. Ourcelebrations are couched inrecognition of the work oftwo Saint Lucian intellectualgiants - Sir William ArthurLewis and Hon Derek AltonWalcott – both of whom ex-celled in their chosen elds of

endeavour and were awardedthe Nobel Prize. Moreover,this year’s celebration andcommemoration of NobelLaureate Week take on ad-ditional signicance becauseit also marks the Centenaryof Sir William Arthur Lewis.I am pleased and elated toobserve and note the manyinternational institutionswhich have heralded this spe-cial event. The most visible ofthese institutions celebratingthe Centenary of Sir WilliamArthur Lewis are:

The London School ofEconomics (LSE): an institu-tion where William ArthurLewis studied. In fact LSEhas immortalised him andhas named him as one of the

institution’s most signicantalumni.

UNESCO: This organ of theUnited Nations recognises themeasure of the man calledSir William Arthur Lewis by

Following is the full text of an address delivered by the Minister for Education,Human Resource Development and Labour, Honourable Dr Robert K. Lewis on

the occasion National Awards of Excellence on Tuesday, January 20, 2015

‘Ignore triviality and focus on excellence!’

including him on its list of interna-tional gures remembered during2015.

The University of Manchester: This prestigious university haslaunched its lecture series on thework of its former Professor withthe inaugural lecture by the econo-mist Professor Jim Oneill of BRIC/MINT fame. It was at Manchester

in 1948 that Sir Arthur became Brit-ain’s rst Black Professor;The University of the West In-

dies: an institution where he servedas Vice Chancellor.

The Caribbean DevelopmentBank (CDB): an institution that Sir

Arthur was a founding member andrst president; The current Presi-dent of the CDB Dr Warren Smith ,puts the signicant and obligatingrecognition of Arthur Lewis’ con-tribution to humanity in a very suc-cinct yet profound way during thebank’s launch of the Sir William Ar-thur Lewis Centenary Celebrations:“At CDB, we feel compelled to mark Sir Arthur’s 100t h birthday in a big way.Sir Arthur transcends the globe; and hisname is recognised and revered in every

corner of the world. We at the CDB andthe wider Caribbean will forever em-brace this great St. Lucian.”

I trust you have observed that thisyear’s theme: “Celebrating Excel-lence: National Initiatives, GlobalPerspectives” captures the fact thatwhile, locally, we celebrate the ex-cellence of our Nobel Laureates bythe “National Initiatives” that wehave taken, the international com-munity reminds us that the life andwork of our Nobel Laureates do in-deed take on “Global Perspectives”.

The genius, imagination andunrelenting spirit of Sir WilliamArthur Lewis and Hon Derek Al-ton Walcott continue to dene andinspire our pursuit for excellence.They truly represent “our twinpeaks of excellence”.

Nonetheless, we, as a nation,

recognise the countless Saint Lu-cians who, on a daily basis, con-tinue to emulate our models of ex-cellence by their scholarship, workand achievements. Hence, today,we recognise a few of our citizenswho pursued and excelled in vari-

ous endeavours. Therefore, it is agreat honour and privilege for me,as Minister for Education, HumanResource Development and Labour,to congratulate all recipients of Na-tional Awards of Excellence duringNobel Laureate Week 2015. Your ef-forts serve as reminders to us of thespirit and potential of the people ofthis nation.

Additionally, at today’s auspi-cious event, we celebrate with therecipients of the National Awards

of Excellence believing that theywill continue to make invaluablecontributions towards our develop-ment as a nat ion. Saint Lucia’s mostabundant and invaluable resourceis its people. Therefore, we mustcontinue to harness that resourcebecause our fortunes and future aretied to the quality of its output.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: There is atime for everything and a seasonfor every activity under the heav-ens:

Last week and this week, SaintLucia and the rest of the Caribbeanin particular have paid attentionto the work of genius in our midst.Therefore, I should like to remindall of us in here, especially the stu-dents, those watching and listeningvia television and those readingthis script to spend some time this

week and beyond to contemplatethe quest and pursuit of excellenceof our people. Let us rememberthat God through our parents andour nation has invested heavily andabundantly in us and expects noth-ing less than the best. Let us ignore

all the trivial talk and distrac-tions around us and focus oursights on excellence!

In closing, I wish to com-mend and say thank you tothe Nobel Laureate WeekCommittee, under the dis-tinguished leadership of herExcellency Dame PearletteLouisy, for their efforts inputting together this year’sprogramme of activities forNobel Laureate Week. I say

a special thank to the Per-manent Secretary, DeputyPermanent Secretary andthe staff of the Ministry ofEducation, Human ResourceDevelopment and Labour fortheir continued contributionsto the Nobel Laureate Weekactivities. I want to thankspecically Ms Kentilla Louisand the other members ofher team for fashioning thisprogramme for the NationalAwards of Excellence 2015. Iexpress the nation’s gratitudeto the many institutions thatprovided support whethernancial and or otherwisein making this function thesuccess it already is. I thankmy colleagues in Cabinet forbeing here. Moreover, I wish

all Saint Lucians an imagina-tive, thought-provoking andcontemplative Nobel LaureateWeek 2015.

We continue “CelebratingExcellence!” I thank you.

Dr. Robert Lewis

National Awards for Excellence in Education

RC Boys honored for academic excellence

The Saint Aloysius RC BoysPrimary School markedthe noteworthy perfor-

mances of its students lastThursday, with an awards cer-emony at the Minor Basilica ofthe Immaculate Conception.

Principals, teachers, parents,and past and current students,gathered at the cathedral to honorthe school’s outstanding achieverswith certicates and trophies.

Principal Julian Monrose saidthe school will continue to playits part in the development ofSaint Lucia.

“This school has producedmen of great fame and we con-tinue to produce men of greatfame,” Mr. Monrose said. “Thisschool continues to pledge thatwe will do all in our power asan institution of learning to en-sure that the progress and thedevelopment of this country isassured well into the future.”

Guest speaker and former RCBoys student, Keith Isaac Jr.,spoke to the theme of the cele-brations: “The seeds of academ-ic excellence and success sproutwhen watered with hard work

and perseverance.”“You may not realize it now,

but each and every day at thisinstitution shall shape the restof your lives. Each and everyone of you here today has thepotential to succeed.”

Vice Principal, Paul Desir en-couraged parents to give con-tinued support to the staff andstudents for the success of theschool.

The students also put on per-formances in music and dramain honor of Saint Lucia’s NobelLaureates

The Ministry of Health,Wellness, Human Ser-vices and Gender Re-

lations in collaboration withthe Ministry of Educationand the Ministry of Agricul-ture has launched an InterSecondary School NutritionAd Competition.

The theme for the competitionis, “Less Sugar for You and MeWill Make a Healthier Society.”

The competition is aimed athaving secondary school stu-dents develop ads geared to-wards young persons in SaintLucia with healthy messagesfocusing on the negative effects

of excess sugar.Another aim is to create be -

havior change among youngpeople, so that they eat healthierand reduce their intake of foodshigh in sugar which contributesto obesity and other health con-ditions.

The ad competition organiz-ers hope to improve nutrition inschools whilst educating youngpeople on the harmful effects of

junk food on the body.The formal press launch was

held on January 30 at the con -ference room of the Ministryof Health, Sir Stanislaus JamesBuilding, Castries

Nutrition Ad

Competition launched


9/12


13. Outstanding Performance

CSEC/CXC

Caribbean History

2013/2014

Claythia Q. Nicholas

Mrs. Ruffina Charles

Deputy Chief Education

Officer ‐ Instructions


CSEC/CXC

Social Studies

2013/2014

Tricia Cheong


CSEC/CXC

Geography

2013/2014

Bailey Spiegelberg


Physical Education &Sports

CSEC/CXC

2013/2014

Skye D. Faucher‐Mondesir


CSEC/CXC

Visual Arts

2013/2014

Courtney Greene Mr. Marcus Edward

Chief Education Officer


CSEC/CXC

Theatre Arts 2013/2014

Kyvon C. Edwin

Mrs. Ruffina Charles


Officer ‐ Instructions


Mathematics

CSEC/CXC

2013/2014

Dion J. Recai


CSEC/CXC

English A

2013/2014

Princess I.D. Joseph


CSEC/CXC

English B

2013/2014

Rocyn J. Vitalis

Mondesir

Name

of

Award

Name

of

Awardee

Representer

1. Top Achiever

Common Entrance

2013/2014

Gabrielle A Flavien

Carmelita Matthew

Registrar of Examinations 2. Top Performing School

Common Entrance

2013/2014 Forestiere Methodist

Combined 3. Outstanding Performance

Top Performing School (Private)

Common Entrance

2013/2014

Tapion School

4. In recognition of your Outstanding Contribution

to Special Education

2013/2014

Donated by Digicel

Lance George Mrs. Nathalie Elliot


Officer ‐ Planning 5. In recognition of your Outstanding Contribution

to Special Education

2013/2014

Donated

by

Digicel

Marie Charles

6. In recognition of Outstanding Contribution to

Special Education

2013/2014

Donated by Digicel

Jean‐Luke Monrose

7. Best Junior Sports Person

2013/2014

Ryi Maryat

Mrs. Nathalie Elliot


Officer ‐ Planning

8. Best Senior Sports Person

2013/2014

Shermalyn Albert

9.

Outstanding

Performance CSEC/CXC

Additional Mathematics

2013/2014

Tjimon M. Louisy



10/12


Ms. Marietta Edward

Deputy Permanent Secretary 28. Outstanding Performance

CSEC/CXC

Biology

2013/2014

Nikki F. S. Serieux

Amber E. St. Rose

Kirmani Jean


CSEC/CXC

Physics

2013/2014

Tjimon M. Louisy

30.

Outstanding

Performance

CSEC/CXC

Chemistry

2013/2014

Ronald C. Lewis


CSEC/CXC

Integrated Science

2013/2014

Kirmani Jean

Ms.

Marietta

Edward

Deputy Permanent Secretary


Agricultural Science (DA)

CSEC/CXC

2013/2014

Arlina F. Hunte


CSEC/CXC

Agricultural Science (SA)

2013/2014

Chance D.M. Jean


CSEC/CXC

Building Technology (Woods)

2013/2014

Donated by the Embassy of the Republic of

China (Taiwan)

Miguel George


CSEC/CXC

Building Technology (Construction)

2013/2014


China (Taiwan)

Lynvia James

Name of Award Name of Awardee Representer


CSEC/CXC

Music

2013/2014

Samuel Francis

Mr. Marcus Edward



CSEC/CXC

French

2013/2014

Rocyn J. Vitalis


CSEC/CXC

Spanish

2013/2014

Rocyn J. Vitalis


Principles of Accounts

CSEC/CXC

2013/2014

Daniella L. Henry‐Phillip

Rocyn J. Vitalis

Tricia Cheong

23.

Outstanding

Performance

Principles of Business

CSEC/CXC

2013/2014

Rocyn J. Vitalis


CSEC/CXC

Economics 2013/2014

Qilee Simeon


CSEC/CXC

Information Technology

2013/2014

Nikki F.S. Serieux

Mr. Marcus Edward


26 Outstanding Performance

CSEC/CXC

Office Administration

2013/2014

Tricia Cheong

26.

Outstanding

Performance

CSEC/CXC

Electronic Document Preparation and

Management

2013/2014

Pinky Joseph


CSEC/CXC

Human and Social Biology

2013/2014

Ornella Z. Flavien



11/12



CSEC/CXC

Electrical and Electronic Technology

2013/2014

Donated

by

the

Embassy

of

the

Republic

of China (Taiwan)

Jessie C. Paul

Ms. Marietta Edward

Deputy Permanent Secretary


CSEC/CXC

TVET

Mechanical Engineering Technology

2013/2014


China (Taiwan)

Dyllon P. Layne


CSEC/CXC

Technical Drawing

2013/2014


China (Taiwan)

Silas Nicholas

39.

Outstanding

Performance

CSEC/CXC

Clothing and Textiles

2013/2014


China (Taiwan)

Shanise J. James


CSEC/CXC

Food and Nutrition

2013/2014

Donated by Consolidated Foods Limited

Marva A. Wellington

41. Top Performer

Division of Teacher Education and Educational

Administration

SALCC

2013/2014

Kasha John

Mrs. Beverley Francis

Director ‐ HRD 42. Top Performer

Division of Technical Education and

Management Studies

SALCC

2013/2014

Shaquill Felicien

43. Top Performer

Division of Health Sciences

SALCC

2013‐2014

Carlene Wilfred

Cyiana Dormant

44. In appreciation of your outstanding service

Donated

by

National

Workers

Union

Theresa Charles Ms. Esther Brathwaite

Permanent

Secretary


Donated by National Workers Union

Terrance Thomas



Monica Reynold

Ms. Esther Brathwaite

Permanent

Secretary



Delphinus Pelage



Norville Butcher



Cecilia Poleon‐Flavius


Donated

by

National

Workers

Union

Martha D. Mitchel



Laura Felix

52. Best �

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