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LIBERATED AFRICANS

By in Print

Some months ago I had a very informative discussion with Ronald “Boo” Hinkson, who has in my view a remarkable understanding of the issues facing Saint Lucia. “Boo” was saying that there is need to teach our young people their history and that if a people do not know their past they will not understand their present and be able to chart their future. This was music to my ears, more melodious than any music penned by my dear friend. What are we teaching our children in the secondary and primary schools as History? History at the primary school level is almost non-existent, they will be told something about Caribs and Arawaks and the irrelevancies of our changing hands 14 times. In the secondary school, if you do history up to CXC you may learn a bit more. There is a part of our history in Saint Lucia, that we know very little about and one which has a profound impact in understanding...

WHEN SUBSTANCE BEGINS

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I have asked myself when substance will begin to be poured out by our political parties here in Saint Lucia. When will the intellectual stimuli be felt? Have we been ‘Trumpasized’? I have been a student of Caribbean politics for over 40 yrs; I have following the general elections in every Caribbean State during that period. I have lived in four Caribbean countries during the intense periods of political campaign. As a young 19 yr old University student, I was very involved in opposition politics. I was also then attracted to a political party that presented new thought and a new vision. So yes there is an internal yearning. I fully agree that there has to be a little picong in our politics as that is our tradition, but the picong has to be the ‘pepper sauce’ placed on a balanced meal. We need a balanced meal, and I believe that it is unfair to leave a nation intellectually...

PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO – CREATING A NEW CASTRIES

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We cannot continue to allow the decay of the city of Castries and bold and decisive steps must be taken to save the city. We believe that to enhance the attractiveness of Castries demands ensuring that there are good conditions for business, residents and visitors. What will make Castries attractive to the business sector? What will make Castries attractive for residents to remain in the city? What will make Castries attractive to the local and foreign visitor? We believe that if we ask ourselves these fundamental questions that the platform would be set for Castries to be the most exciting city in the Caribbean. We are proposing the following interventions as prioritized projects for Castries. We have defined the zone of influence of Castries to be from the Vigie Junction including Vigie along the La Clery Road up to La Panse into the Morne Du Don Rd down to Bocage into to Entrepot...

PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO – THE WATER SECTOR

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Several Administrations in the past have attempted to intervene into the water sector with very limited success. Despite spending hundreds of millions over the last 20 yrs, our water sector is still in shambles. We intend to create three distinct zones of integration of our water resources. The Northern Zone will be from Ravine Poisson to Rosseau and will include the entire north and north eastern part of the island. Then there will be a South Western Zone that will cover from Rosseau to Chousiel, and a South Eastern Zone that will be from Laborie to Dennery. The intent is to create a level of integration of the water reticulation system. The majority of our tourism plant is based in the North of the island, our centre of commerce is in the north and 60 % of our population resides in this section of the island. Undoubtedly, a collapse of our water reticulation system in the north can...

PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO – NATIONAL SECURITY

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The matter of National Security is one of great concern to every citizen, and the measures to be adopted to deal with our present situation must be bold and the implementation has to be decisive. We believe that the measures have to be situated within the present context of crime statistics and thus the first level of enhancement will be the upgrading of data collection and analysis of crime. We intend to establish a fully functional Statistics Department within the Ministry of National Security. This new Department will be the platform for the development of evidence –based initiatives. The following are the statistics as generated by the Royal St Lucia Police for criminal incidents; Year 2012 – 21,334 criminal incidents Year 2013  – 19,038 criminal incidents Year 2014 –  20,054 criminal incidents Year 2015  – 17,463 criminal incidents If one has to consider that...

PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO – HEALTH SECTOR

By in Print

Every citizen that has experienced a visit to Victoria Hospital will come out with one conclusion; that our health sector is in crisis. Despite billions of dollars spent over the last 20 yrs, we are in no better position in 2016 as we were in 1996. There has to be a revolutionary thought process involving disruptive transformation in dealing with our health sector. The first approach is to recognize that a functioning health sector is a triune of physical structures, functional equipment and trained staff. It is futile to pursue the construction of new facilities that cannot be commissioned due to the absence of equipment or staff. While it is laudable that we will soon have a new National Hospital and a St Jude’s Hospital completed in  2017, the fact remains that the Ministry of Health is not in a position to fully commission both hospitals due to lack of equipment and manpower. So...

PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO – HOUSING

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Successive governments have failed to bring meaningful change to the housing sector. It is clear that the policies on Housing in Saint Lucia have failed miserably and the opportunities that are available in economic and social development are lost. We are of the opinion that a sound housing policy is the platform for economic growth. The development of a housing policy begins with an understanding of our demographics. Over 92,000 persons live in Castries and Gros Islet combined, which represents close to 60 % of our population. There has to be a deliberate policy to create new towns and cities within the country. Carellie is a clear example of a new area created by the intervention of a housing programme. We propose to focus our housing programme in Dennery and Micoud and to transform these two communities into major commercial and residential centres. Dennery and Micoud will be the...

PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO – TACKLING UNEMPLOYMENT

By in Print

While political parties have written lofty promises into their manifestos on reducing unemployment, the reality and the causes of our high unemployment rates must to examined and the conclusions conveyed to the electorate. The reality though hard to accept, is that high unemployment will be with us for some time into the future. It is also important to look at the causes as they may give some understanding to the solutions. Saint Lucia experienced a spike in population growth in the 1980’s, in which it experienced the highest level of such growth ever. The Statistics coming from our Statistics Department shows that by 2008, around the same time that those born in that era were entering the workforce; the labor market was not able to absorb the growth of the labour force, with the resultant effect of the growth of unemployment. Parallel with this phenomenon was the slowing of the...

UNDERSTANDING OUR HISTORY AND STATISTICS

By in Print

While I have promised to continue the People’s Manifesto, I want to lay the platform as to how important it is to understand our history and to observe the interface of history with statistics and to craft policy from that perspective. Just recently, the Central Bank Governor of Trinidad and Tobago was fired by the Acting President. Mr. Rambaran had unfortunately being viewed by some as a by- product of the Caribbean phenomenon termed political ethnicity. Many viewed his appointment more as a result of political expediency as against technical suitability, however before his departure, he declared that Trinidad and Tobago had suffered four consecutive quarters of negative economic growth and was thus now officially in recession. The present Minister of Finance, who is a civil engineer, responded tersely by saying that he was not informed beforehand on this economic position and the...

ECONOMISTS – FAILED US?

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A few weeks ago I wrote in a weekly article, the following comment on a report done by ECLAC on the economy of Antigua and Barbuda. ‘’ I recently read a report which suggested that Antigua has the fastest growing economy in the Caribbean. It was based on an ECLAC report which was projecting a growth of 5.4 % for Antigua and Barbuda. The IMF had their projection set at 2.1%. Every morning I spend some time reading all the regional newspapers, so I am fairly acquainted with the happenings in most Caribbean States. My reading of that statement by ECLAC only confirmed my suspicion that we have economists at these institutions that are completely out of touch with reality. I met a good friend of mine who commented on this report and juxtaposed the economic growth of St Lucia to make the point that we have slipped along the way. I vehemently disagreed and advised the individual that the...

ENGINEERING – COMMON SENSE?!

By in Print

I have always said that good engineers must have common sense, and it is important for any young engineer to understand the fundamental principles of engineering. At times I see activities that challenge my hope for the future of the profession. There are simple things like how to fix a pothole so that it can last, the basics of cutting and squaring the pothole and compacting the pavement layers. I have seen recent activity where the asphalt is virtually dumped in the hole and left to be compacted by traffic, that certainly is not common sense. I went to Vieux Fort and observed the repair to the failed culvert  at Micoud, and again wondered where common sense left the design. You cannot expect an embankment to be stable with that angle, and the next major storm event will see the section of fill just above the culvert erode and the entire embankment fail. So an understanding of the...

THE ETHICS OF DEMOCRATIC DECEIT

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The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago recently had their elections, which as I predicted resulted in a change of Prime Minister. The election rhetoric has once more raised the issue of the ethics of democratic deceit and about our democracies in the Caribbean. On August 31st 1962 as the new independent country of Trinidad and Tobago was being addressed by their Prime Minister, a most interesting statement was given. Williams speaking about democracy said: “The first responsibility that devolves upon you is the protection and promotion of your democracy. Democracy means more, much more, than the right to vote and one vote for every man and every woman of the prescribed age. Democracy means recognition of the rights of others.” Democracy means equality of opportunity for all in education, in the public service, and in private employment–I repeat, and in private...

ST LUCIA’S ECONOMY

By in Print

I recently read a report which suggested that Antigua has the fastest growing economy in the Caribbean. It was based on an ECLAC report which was projecting a growth of 5.4 % for Antigua and Barbuda. The IMF had their projection set at 2.1%. Every morning I spend some time reading all the regional newspapers, so I am fairly acquainted with the happenings in most Caribbean States. My reading of that statement by ECLAC only confirmed my suspicion that we have economists at these institutions that are completely out of touch with reality. I met a good friend of mine who commented on this report and juxtaposed the economic growth of St Lucia to make the point that we have slipped along the way. I vehemently disagreed and advised the individual that the projections by these economists are based on projects that have not started. While Prime Minister Gaston Browne has to be commended for his...

LESSONS FROM DOMINICA

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The tragedy caused by Tropical Storm Ericka in Dominica caught many in Saint Lucia by surprise, as the forecast was showing that the storm would not have been a direct hit to that country. Viewing some of the footage of the devastation was indeed painful and one can only extend sympathy to those who have lost their loved ones in this tragedy. However there are lessons for every Caribbean country to draw from this event. Over the last 25 years, I have witnessed firsthand, the devastation caused by these weather events. From seeing twenty foot waves in the Castries harbor, to the landslide and floods of Tropical Storm Debby, the devastation of Hurricane Tomas, the Christmas Through, all these events have left pain and suffering to St Lucians. We are situated in a Hurricane Belt and we have to deal as a nation with these weather systems. The combined cost to Saint Lucia’s economy by these...

CAN ROWLEY WIN?

By in Print

In 1969 as a young seven year old I was introduced to politics. My uncle who lived in Trinidad was very much involved in culture and had started a steel band tent in the town of Arima. The rumblings of the Black Power movement had started and then Prime Minister Dr. Eric Williams decided to reconnect with the grassroots by visiting various pan tents. He chose one night to visit the pan tent of my uncle. At seven years I was fascinated how a man of no great physical attribute could demand such respect. I was introduced to the politics of leadership in the Caribbean. Twelve years later he died, unfortunately his death was announced on my birthday – March 30th. I saw the impact this man made in the lives of people as I saw my mother weeping for hours for a man she did not know personally on the same day her son celebrated her birthday. I had to step aside as she in her own way...