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SLAVERY AND CHRISTIANITY IN SAINT LUCIA

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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

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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?

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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?

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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...

UNEMPLOYMENT – A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

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John N. Turner a Canadian lawyer and a former Attorney General of Canada said the following in a speech to the Canadian Bar Association in December 1969: ‘Substantive and procedural law benefits and protects landlords over tenants, creditors over debtors, lenders over borrowers, and the poor are seldom the favored parties’. Until we can deal effectively with the high levels of unemployment among our young adults, we will soon have a social disaster on our hands. No country can continue with 50% unemployment among young adults, and it is thus imperative that there is a focused and honest conversation within the society to develop strategies to deal with this crisis. The answers are not traditional. One firmly believes that there is much to gain from looking at our history, and thus I sought to do the research on unemployment from a historical perspective. Some months ago, I was...

THE POOR YOU HAVE ALWAYS

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Every political party in the Caribbean prides itself in being a champion for the poor, the rhetoric increases whenever an election is near. Sometimes one wonders what will happen to the fabric of these political parties if suddenly there are no more poor people in the state. The only saving grace is the words of Jesus – ‘The poor will be with you always’. Recently, I read a document entitled ‘Poverty Assessment Report – St Lucia December 1995 – A SUMMARY DOCUMENT’. The document was part of a study that sought to understand the phenomenon of poverty in Saint Lucia. The findings were based on a National Survey, a Survey of selected communities and a review of Key Institutions and Organizations. The objective of the study was to arrive at measures to address both the immediate conditions of poverty and the underlying factors that lead to such poverty. We are now almost twenty years...

LIAT, LIAT, WHO WILL SAVE YOU?

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In a report in the Antigua Observer, Prime Minister  Dr. Kenny D. Anthony is quoted as commenting on the plans by regional airline LIAT, to streamline operations to cut cost and become more efficient as follows: ‘ The changes do provide a basis for optimism. I think some courage is finally being applied to deal with the situation with LIAT. Obviously it is not going to be easy for the government and people of Antigua, but they have to understand that governments cannot continue to pump money year after year into LIAT, despite the carrier’s losses. Caribbean people need LIAT badly’ There is a striking similarity with these comments and the position espoused in the past by the now Political Leader and former Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Allen Chastanet. Mr. Chastanet has been heavily criticized in the past for saying that no money should be pumped into LIAT until there was...

AFTER 36 YEARS – TIME TO GET IT RIGHT!

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As a nation we are celebrating thirty six years of independence and yet there are issues relevant to our existence as a nation that still requires extreme correction. We have to start with the very name of our country, is it St. Lucia or Saint Lucia? Should there be an abbreviation or should the full name be written out in official documents. Your passport would have the words SAINT LUCIA on the front and  then the first page speaks to citizens of SAINT LUCIA. However on the same page it refers to the Ministry of Home Affairs St. Lucia. So even in the most official document to travel there is the apparent confusion. We have to begin to spell it right, there is no St. Lucia, and there is only one country in the Caribbean by the name Saint Lucia. Every Government Department and every official document should begin to convey this fundamental truth of our geographical history. It is time...

CONSTITUENCY BOUNDARIES COMMISSION REPORT – RIGHT?

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The Constituencies Boundaries Commission Report raises a fundamental issue of our democracy, whether it should be embedded in selection or representation. Should there be equity in electors per constituency or should it be based on equity of population? I am of the firm view that democracy starts with equity in electors and thus as far as possible, each Member of Parliament is elected from an equal pool of voters.  It cannot be based on equity of representation of population. This Constituencies Boundaries Commission was established on June 2012 with five members, two each representing the two major political parties and with the Speaker as Chairman. There are three lawyers among the five members. The Commission drew its authority from Section 58 (1) of the Constitution of Saint Lucia, and proceeded in the execution of their task on the principles set out in Schedule 2 of the...

GFL CHARLES AIRPORT AND TAIWAN’S CRASH

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Just this week the people of Taiwan suffered an unfortunate air crash where at least twenty six people died.  I join with every St Lucian who is thankful for the tremendous assistance Taiwan has offered St Lucia, in expressing our sincere condolences to the families and the people of Taiwan. Some weeks ago I was introduced to Cdr Bud Slabbaert and Pascal Mahvi, who both had expressed interest in my comments on the closure of GFL Charles Airport. I have been a strong advocate for the airport remaining as part of our infrastructure. Pascal Mahvi is well known in St Lucian circles for his endeavours in the tourism sector in Jalousie, and I was not aware that he was also an experienced pilot with over 4,000 hrs of flying fighters, transport category jets and turbo props. Pascal suggested to me that the issue of safety should enter the discussions. He posited that Aircraft accidents happen;...

HIGH FUEL COST – THE OTHER STORY

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Every day, new words are introduced into our vocabulary as technology and new thought emerges. I wish to introduce a new term – ‘Abaxial Thinking’, which I am copyrighting at this point. I will define abaxial thinking as generating thought processes away from the norm. It is saying for example that the price of fuel should go up when the general thinking is that it should go down. While the conversations have been focused on the reduction of the price of fuel and its possible impact on the economy, I would wish to posit that an abaxial thought would be that the price of fuel should in fact be increased at this time. Governments have seen the importation of vehicles as a source of revenue. In St. Lucia the final cost of an imported vehicle is almost the equivalent of the cost of the vehicle CIF into St Lucia. There is almost 100% add on to the cost of the vehicle. When someone goes to...

THERE IS NO MODEL!!

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“We are virtually at the crossroads. As an economist, I can tell you that it really requires a quantum leap in our thinking, in our focus and in our intervention through the kind of work that needs to be done. The fact is that we need to corral our forces – intellectual, economic and financial – and try to meet that proposition’’ The following were the words of Mr. McHale Andrew speaking last year as Chief Executive Officer of Invest St Lucia. Mr. Andrew was providing a positive picture of the results of the Investment Forum held in May 2014. It was reported by Stan Bishop that he also stated that a sum of US $ 100.0 million of Foreign Directed Investment was invested in the last six months of 2014. I want to think that my good friend Stan Bishop may have misquoted Mr. Andrew in his article. There is no way USD $ 100 million could have entered St Lucia in the last six months without...

WHY FUEL PRICES REMAIN HIGH

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Recently the Government provided its position on the reason the price of fuel has not changed significantly even with the major decreases in the price of crude oil on the international market. However, the Gov’t Press Secretary failed miserably to fully explain the reason that this has occurred. In November 2013, Mr. Everistus Jn Marie was interviewed by Ms Jada Brown, a reporter attached to HTS, on the method behind fuel prices. It was a most instructive interview. Mr. Jn Marie made some very critical points in that interview. He very correctly stated that the respective parties need to be more forthcoming in informing the public and consumers on the reasons behind the cost of fuel. I fully concur, and must state that the Government has to do more to ensure that there is transparency in the energy sector. The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Sustainable Development must take...

THE GRAND CASTRIES TRANSPORTATION STUDY ANNIVERSARY

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This month is the anniversary of the completion of the Grand Castries Transportation Study; it will be 21 years since its completion in December 1993. One would therefore strongly suggest to the Ministries of Infrastructure and Economic Development to revisit the document and to see how the transportation model which projected traffic flow into 2013 performed and  to consider the transportation strategies that were proposed. The Grand Castries Transportation Study was initiated during my stint as Chief Engineer and remains the most comprehensive study done on our transportation system. The Report contained twenty seven (27) transportation options and strategies on the Gros Islet to Castries Corridor, Access to the south west of Castries, City centre traffic and parking, city centre land use proposals and suburban integration of the eastern communities. It is clear to me that there is a...

THE GIBRALTAR OF THE ANTILLES

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When Victor Hugues in 1795 described St Lucia as the Gibraltar of the Antilles, his words were unknowingly describing St. Lucia’s future role in the Caribbean. The historians will convey the role that St Lucia played in the Brigands War of the Eastern Caribbean, and the introduction of a type of warfare that took two superpowers by absolute surprise, despite their military strength. I believe our history guides us in our approach to our future, and we have to look at these events over the last four hundred years to understand how a small nation can survive in the swirling seas of globalization. There are a few important truths that one would wish to extract from that period of history. Firstly, the wars of that era show us that St. Lucia is more than land but also has a marine area of importance. From an economic standpoint we have not looked at our 200 mile exclusive maritime zone as...