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SLAVERY AND CHRISTIANITY IN SAINT LUCIA

By in Print

As my fascination with the history of Saint Lucia continues, I have been researching the relationship of slavery and Christianity. It is still inconceivable that the Christian Church as expressed in Protestant and Catholic format never raised their voices against this evil commerce of slavery. Even Bartholomew De Las Casas, which may have been historically viewed as a small spark, advocated for the use of African slaves instead of Native Indians. The Christian Church leaders in the most evil distortion of the Bible, sought to use passages of scripture to provide the soothing of the consciences of the elite that the practice of slavery was acceptable in the sight of God. Obviously, the African slaves saw this travesty of the truth and were never attracted to Christianity in the pre-emancipation period. However after the emancipation there was a dramatic change. In referencing the book –...

CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE – TIME FOR SAINT LUCIA

By in Print

On Wednesday March 6th 1901 an editorial in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper carried a commentary on the need for the Caribbean to have its own Final Appellate Court. One hundred and fourteen years on we still have those sucking at the breasts of a colonial mother, longing to hold on to a Privy Council that is slapping the child and saying it is time to be weaned. April 16th 2015 marked the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice, an institution that every true Caribbean citizen should be proud of. The journey started in 1970 at the Sixth Meeting of the Heads of Government of Commonwealth Caribbean Countries, where a Jamaican delegation tabled a proposal for the establishment of a Regional Court of Appeal. In 1971 there was a meeting of the Committee of Attorney General and a draft report on the Establishment of a regional court was issued. It took twenty...

CAN GOV’T SPENDING SAVE US?

By in Print

There is the general belief that Government spending can create economic growth in Saint Lucia, and in support of that view one will hear the commentary on the street that ‘things slow’ because the Government is not spending. I read a research paper from the Central Bank of Barbados entitled: Government Expenditure and Economic Growth in a Small Open Economy – A Disaggregated Approach written by Justin Carter, Roland Craigwell and Shane Lowe. I would safely assume that there are similarities between the economy of Barbados and Saint Lucia such that the conclusions drawn from the research can be applicable. The shocking conclusions were as follows: Government expenditure in Health and Social Programmes has little influence on per capita economic growth. Government expenditure on Education has a significant negative impact on economic growth The findings go contrary to traditional...

IS OWEN ARTHUR RIGHT?

By in Print

The significant strides we have all observed in Singapore must always be placed in the context of the political systems that governed the rule of Lee Kuan Yew. It was in essence a one party state, and the reforms that he was able to push through could not happen in the two party politics of the Caribbean. Lee Kuan Yew would have been ousted by his own colleagues within three years, if he was in the Caribbean, and even if he lasted his first term in office, he would have lost the next election. This is the harsh reality of our political systems. The Caribbean Politician has to say things he knows are not true, what we call lies, but more appropriately called ‘political expansion of thought’,  in order to survive. He has to compromise because a certain person is a large financier of the party and without his support he is finished, it is called political expediency. He has to tolerate...