"I lost everything...Even my underwear!"

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2019

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Another fire victim’s heart-rending lament

‘I Lost Everything . . .

Even My Underwear!'

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2019 APRIL 27,

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april 27, 2019 THE STAR

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Accreditation of High Commissioner signals further Deepening of OECS/Canada Relations

I (An over-my-shoulder look at life) Seven decades and more

By Michael Walker

T

hese Reflections, it now strikes me, will eventually cover seven decades or more—he writes hopefully—which coincide with the length of time I have occupied my space on this Earth. Now, whenever you write about your own life you run the risk of referring to events that have no relevance to the lives of your readers, which is the principle reason why I have hesitated so long before going public. Memoirs are by their very nature deeply personal and perhaps only one’s nearest and dearest can fully share the memories. Then, of course, there is the fact that many, if not most, of one’s readers have no idea of the historical settings of these memories. Take East Germany, for example, or the German Democratic Republic as they liked to call themselves. How many of you can recall the building of the Berlin Wall or the wall along the border between East Germany and the West? Trump’s Wall with Mexico is to keep people out of the USA whereas the East German Walls were intended to enslave the population and stop people from leaving. I was caught somewhere in the middle.

In those days, straight after leaving university, I was full of piss and vinegar, full of energy, entirely confident and ready to take on the world, to wage a one-man war against the Evils of Soviet Communism. Just so you know, in 1936 John Steinbeck used the term Piss and Vinegar in his novel In Dubious Battle and again two years later in the more famous novel The Grapes of Wrath. The noun Vinegar has existed in English since the 12th century and by the 1920s vinegar had come to mean vitality and energy, just like vim and vigour.

So there I was, working in Germany with students, most of whom were refugees from the East; some were border guards who had deserted their posts, weapons in their hands, and risked death by jumping the Wall.

It seemed only natural at the time for me to become their link between their new lives and friends and family members they had left behind. Getting in and out of East Germany was not easy, even for a Brit. I could take the one train available or I could drive along the one permitted autobahn route, which was what Hitler had called his motorway.

Both options were fraught with danger and quite unpleasant interrogations by the East German Security Forces. Or I could fly, which was prohibitively expensive, and land in West Berlin. Whichever way I chose, I always ended

up at Checkpoint Charlie, which was the only crossing point between East and West Berlin.

It was only with time that I realized that my frequent trips had attracted the attention of the Stasi, the Ministerium für Staatsicherheit, the Ministry for State Security, the Secret Police, one of the most hated and feared institutions of the East German communist government. As a matter of routine, all visitors were subjected to rigorous checks when entering or leaving the Checkpoint. Gradually, these controls became extremely intrusive and unpleasant and I realized that time was running out for me. At first I moved freely around East Berlin meeting contacts and delivering messages, not written but verbal, for obvious reasons. I began to notice I was being followed and took measures to shake off my shadows until one day a ‘well-wisher’ advised me to stop my efforts and simply enjoy the attention I was getting. I had been acting suspiciously, she said, and that was the worst thing I could have done.

Interestingly, it was much later that I also discovered that my efforts were being monitored from ‘our’ side too. I was on vacation in the Canaries with the family when we were ‘befriended’ by an American couple, as sometimes happens on holiday. They said they were diplomats. The next time I ran into the man was in Vienna, Austria—just by chance, of course—and then later a third time in Leningrad, Russia when he admitted that he worked for ‘something like the CIA’. I never saw his ‘wife’ again. He admitted that they had been following my exploits since my Berlin days. Because our books were used all over the world my ‘globetrotting lifestyle made me an interesting contact. For much of every year, I spent time in dictatorships, for want of a better description, both left- and right-wing, that needed help with the teaching of English.

We agreed to stay in touch.

My profession gave me easy access the world over, but the authorities always made sure that they had my activities under some sort of control. I learned to live with it. In Indonesia, for example, where I spent many years working with government, writing textbooks and holding workshops in schools, colleges and universities on many of the numerous islands that make up that vast country, my visa clearly stated that I was not allowed to ‘attend, visit or work in any institutions of education’. Each and every day, I was breaking the terms of my visa and the authorities could have swooped in and removed me whenever they wanted to. Now that was living on the knife’s edge! Exciting, I’d say.

n the past five years a total of 3,623 workers from six OECS Member States have participated in Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme (SAWP). This statistic points to the significant contribution made by the SAWP to the alleviation of unemployment in the OECS, and was highlighted at the recent accreditation of Canada’s High Commissioner, Her Excellency Marie Legault, to the OECS.

OECS Director General Dr. Didacus Jules cordially accepted High Commissioner Legault’s formal letters of accreditation in affirming the closeness and growing relationship between Canada and the region. “High Commissioner Legault, I am pleased to confirm the decision of the OECS Authority to reestablish a diplomatic presence in Canada,” said Dr. Jules.

“It is our determination to regularize and expand the Eastern Caribbean Liaison Service (ECLS) which is our mechanism for the coordination of the SAWP which provides a valuable livelihood for OECS nationals on a rotational basis.

“To date, 37% of workers

have come from St Vincent and the Grenadines; 33% from Saint Lucia; 17% from Dominica; 10% from Grenada; 3% from St. Kitts and Nevis and less than 1% from Montserrat.

“We will be convening a meeting of OECS Labour Ministers to now seek to expand employment opportunities for more workers, across more Member States and across a wider range of skills in demand, so that they can share in the benefits derived from the SAWP. We also place on record our deep appreciation to Canada for its scholarship programmes and placement of Canadian development volunteers throughout the islands.

“The OECS Commission has also benefitted through several projects, the most significant of which have been the institutional Development Project at the Commission. We are currently deepening our collaboration with Statistics Canada under the Project for Regional Advancement of Statistics in the Caribbean (PRAC), that is yielding positive results in building Member States' statistical knowledge and capacity.”

Her Excellency Marie Legault (right) presenting letters of accreditation to OECS Director General Didacus Jules.

Dr. Jules said the Commission and the region looked forward with an optimism rooted in a history of meaningful collaboration between the OECS and Canada and thanked High Commissioner Legault for her commitment to the Caribbean.

“We now look to the future to deepen the links between Canada and the OECS across a much wider portfolio of development imperatives,” concluded Dr. Jules.

The Accreditation Ceremony took place on March 22, 2019 at the OECS Commission, Saint Lucia.

Financial Action Task Force

Recommendation 14: Money or Value Transfer Services By the Attorney General’s Chambers and the National Anti-Money Laundering Oversight Committee (NAMLOC)

T

he Financial Action Task Force (FATF) defines money or value transfer services (MVTS) as “financial services that involve the acceptance of cash, cheques, other monetary instruments or other stores of value and the payment of a corresponding sum in cash or other form to a beneficiary by means of a communication, message, transfer, or through a clearing network to which the MVTS provider belongs”. Money or value transfer services are popularly known as remittance services, and this is examined in Recommendation 14.

This recommendation mandates that countries ensure that the provision of money or value transfer services is carried out by licensed or registered persons who are subject to proper monitoring by the authorizing body. Section 4(1) of the Money Services Business Act highlights this. It

states, “A person shall not carry on money services business in Saint Lucia unless that person holds a licence in accordance with this Act." These providers should also possess appropriate and effective anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes. Countries should have an effective system of control which includes levying suitable and dissuasive sanctions against persons who operate without the requisite license or registration. It should also be mandated that MVTS providers who use agents ensure that the agents have effective AML/CFT programmes.

MVTS are categorized as “Other Business Activities” in the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act Cap.12.20 of the Revised Laws of Saint Lucia, and are classified as reporting entities. As such, the Financial Intelligence Authority has the power to inspect these businesses as outlined in section 6 of the same Act. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) Act also gives that entity regulatory powers over

MVTS. The Act stipulates that a MVTS provider should appoint a certified auditor to verify the veracity of its anti-money laundering regimes. This auditor may at the request of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority provide an opinion on whether suitable anti-money laundering measures have been implemented.

Under Saint Lucian law any person who contravenes the law and seeks to operate without a licence commits an offence. Section 4(4) of the Money Services Business Act indicates that such a person is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

During the on-site visit of the 4th Round Mutual Evaluation scheduled for September 16-27, 2019, assessors from the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) will seek to ascertain how well money or value transfer service businesses are complying with recommendation 14.

Additional information can be found on the CFATF’s website: www.cfatf-gafic.org

THE STAR

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april 27, 2019

03

Coconut Bay Beach Resort JAZZ IN THE YARD 2019 & Spa celebrates T World Earth Day

n celebration of World Earth Day on Monday, April 22, the management and staff at Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa, with the help of its guests, began planting 100 trees.

Once a coconut plantation, there are over 1,000 coconut palm trees on the resort’s 85 tropical acres, and new coconut trees will be planted throughout the resort. In addition, fruit trees including almond, orange, wax apple, papaya, mango, star fruit, lime, grapefruit, local

pomegranate and golden apple will be planted at the CocoLand Kidz Klub for the resort’s young guests of the future to taste and enjoy.

“Trees are not only beautiful, they sustain life,” said General Manager Zachary Frangos. “They help reverse the consequences of climate change, producing shade, food and the oxygen we inhale.

According to the Earth Day Network, in just one year, a mature leafy tree produces

as much oxygen as 10 people inhale!”

Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa’s ongoing “Skip The Straw, Save A Turtle” initiative has also been a success.

Eliminating the use of plastic straws has reduced pollution on the resort’s beach, keeping the nesting turtles and hatchlings safe. And to commemorate World Earth Day the resort has announced a full transition to biodegradable straws and service items at its seven bars.

Man Dies in Barre De L’Isle

P

aul Simeina was the driver and only occupant of a truck on Wednesday April 24, 2019 whilst driving through the Barre De L’Isle near Tomazo in Dennery. The vehicle veered off course and off the road and then fell over

a precipice.

Mr. Simeina was conveyed to Dennery Hospital and later pronounced dead by a medical practitioner.

The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Simeina, regarding

it as a vehicular accident.

Mr. Simeina was sixtyeight-years-old and lived at Morne Fortune, Castries. He was originally from Ravine Poisson.

A post mortem examination is scheduled for Monday, April 29, 2019.

he organisers of Jazz in the Yard—A Worship Experience are confident that since its conception in May 2016, the event has met the key objective of giving local gospel artists a platform to grow and nurture their musical talents. Two artists who have had the privilege of gracing the stage at Jazz in the Yard—A Worship Experience have since released music albums. Another objective of the event is for the proceeds to go towards assisting underprivileged children through the organisation’s school book bag project. Over 25 children received assistance last year.

It’s expected that this year some of Saint Lucia’s undiscovered gems, as well as familiar names in gospel music, spoken word, and dance, will grace the stage at Bethel's Blessing's Courtyard in Bypass, Dennery next weekend, May 4 and 5, from 5 pm.

Artists have shown astounding interest and it is a delight for the organisers to offer this forum to performers, both new and seasoned.

This year will see the introduction of The Love

Rob Zii & Phyness will be performing a brand new single at this year's Jazz in the Yard.

Connection which is a contemporary jazz segment with an emphasis on inspiring patrons to show love: love of self, others and God.

This year’s performers: May 4 Trinidad-born singer, songwriter and vocal trainer Tisha Gittens is the headline act for this year’s Jazz in the Yard—A Worship Experience.

Opening for her is Saint Lucia’s very own Shirley Ann CyrilMayers. Other artists include Rebertha Wilfred, Wilburne Mathurin and Vania Ferdinand, among others.

May 5 Rob Zii & Phyness will headline next Sunday, performing their new single which was released last week. Other artistes are Shem Meluce, Junior Etiene, Sylvanus Ernest, Jnnea Norbal and Stage 8.

Patrons are promised two great evenings of music to soothe their souls and uplift their spirts. There will be great food, as always, and this year the organisers are working to ensure a shuttle service is available to convey patrons in need of transport between Dennery and Castries or Vieux Fort.

04 local

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April 27, 2019 THE STAR

Another fire of unknown origin, another group of victims with nowhere to turn Dean Nestor

D

enroy Pierre sat dejected in an office at the Saint Lucia Fire Service. Last Thursday he had witnessed his Wilton’s Yard home, along with those of his closest friends, being swallowed by flames. One week later, on April 25 at around 10 am, he was trying to answer the questions put to him by Owen Cazaubon, the sub-officer responsible for investigations relating to the devastating fire.

Understandably hesitant after his time with the fireman, Pierre nevertheless agreed to revisit, for my purposes, the night he lost his home.

“I’m just another fire victim,” he said. “I lost all of my things and I’m just trying to see if I can get some assistance to rebuild. My house got completely destroyed. Nothing was saved, nothing at all; not even my underwear, not anything. Even my three dogs perished in the fire. I now live on a mattress with two bits of galvanize over my head.”

Nothing ever happens in Saint Lucia without a bit of politics attached. Rumours abound of Labour Minister Stephenson King’s plans to rebuild the lost homes.

Attempts to validate them proved futile. However, I can report that building materials have already been placed at the site of the fire. Then there was Peter Lansiquot, who has declared himself a possible Labour Party candidate in the next elections, with his eye on the Castries Central seat. He stood on the blackened ground where a home once stood and announced the establishment of a People’s Distress Fund to replace the distress fund previously set up during Dr. Kenny Anthony’s tenure as prime minister.

Lansiquot boasted that “within one month” his PDF should already have over

Graveyard burnt to the ground. Nothing but ashes remains of four homes, while one was partially destroyed.

$100,000. The declaration was accompanied by a verbal assault on Allen Chastanet’s administration: “The banning [sic] of the distress fund by this government is causing more distress for poor people who already face the distress of losing their homes. I know that the prime minister has said that government assists people in those situations but the removal of the distress fund is a destruction of the proper mechanisms that have been established to give immediate assistance to suffering families.”

Lost in the weeds of all this political intrigue are the people on the ground. Denroy Pierre said he knows nothing about any plans to assist him and his fellow fire victims.

“None of them have come to me to say anything,” he said. “I would welcome the assistance but there have been no offers.”

As for Owen Cazaubon, he said: “We have four structures completely destroyed and

one only partially. At least five people or more have lost their homes and belongings.” What caused the fire remains at this point a mystery, like so many other conflagrations.

“We had some witnesses here today,” he revealed. “We tried to get some witness

statements to determine the cause and origin of that fire. The fire happened on Thursday 18th April. Most of the homes destroyed were wooden structures and we have to understand how quickly fires propagate through combustibles such as wood. It

Denroy Pierre (pictured) says he would welcome any assistance from government and other agencies after losing everything in the fire, but he has yet to see anything materialize.

did not take much time for all those structures to be engulfed.

As I said, the fire department is committed to investigating this tragedy and to make sure we find the origin so as to prevent recurrences.”

By Cazaubon’s account: “In about 3-5 minutes a wooden

structure could be completely engulfed. A flashover will take about five minutes when the temperature of the fire goes to about 500-600 degrees Celsius.”

If the Rose Hill and Sunbilt fires are anything to go by, the cause of this latest disaster won’t be uncovered any time soon.

Sub-officer Owen Cazaubon (pictured) said the rapid spread of the fire was assisted by the close proximity of several wooden structures.

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april 27, 2019 THE STAR

THAT HANDSHAKE FIASCO:

WHY ARE SOME SURPRISED? minister was further proof that such a metaphorical slap in Peter Josie the face is something new in the island’s politics. I was the least surprised person who t happened before, the refusal watched the event on television. to shake the hand of a prime It was the first time in more minister who had replaced than fifty years observing and him in office. Remember? Prior participating in debates of the to the first refusal, the MP for House of Assembly—amid often Vieux Fort South had snubbed severe acrimony—that I had the lounge room reserved for witnessed a member refusing parliamentarians, after he was to accept another’s offered no longer prime minister. It handshake. I had known of the may have entered the head of MP, having contested elections the MP that his first electoral against him in 1997. However, victory as leader of the SLP to mistake the tall, flattened was about him and him alone. and seemingly food-deprived Perhaps he never considered specimen of 1997 with the later all the hard work put in by expanded girth and personality others after he had abandoned as prime minister would be a ship and run away, when the serious political error.

SLP government, of which he At no time during those was Minister of Education, years in which people held Does the pained look on the face of Dr. Kenny Anthony (centre) suggest a developing allergy to handshakes? was under severe pressure. He their radios close or ran to Or was he simply reluctant to touch the flesh of a Flambeau? later returned to enjoy the rich their television to hear and trove of votes which the more see the opposition during prime minister of Saint Lucia matters of state such as can’t it enter into an agreement Even MP Guy Joseph, determined advocates of the debate on the budget were and to encourage him to keep investments and job creation. with the local private sector and whom he disparaged as a working class had established such bad manners displayed in the political tract of treating his He must keep pressing on arrive at a BOLT locally, instead poodle, dared to teach him in his absence. By then the parliament. At no time did I or opposition MPs as colleagues regardless, and with ill will of letting our scarce resources how to properly pronounce return of the prodigal was so anyone else from the opposition with different views on how towards none. flow outwards, as would have plagiarism and other simple well orchestrated by those who refuse to shake hands with to develop the country.

Prime

He must press on to happened had the opposition English words. Imagine that! were fed-up with Julian Hunte Prime Minister Compton, even Minister Chastanet must keep rebuild a new court house and been in charge?

The man most definitely has (and John Compton) that the MP when he had received more in mind the many people a new police headquarters.

Before ending, I must had better days. The sooner may be forgiven for thinking it than his fair share of body who expect a more civilized It’s past time that the prime add this little tidbit.

A political the people of Vieux Fort was all about him and no one blows from us. We were each approach to politics from him. It minister develop some gonads enthusiast asked me if I would realize that, the better for all else. elected to represent a particular must not be business as usual. and grab that bull by the shake the hand of the MP for concerned. It may therefore

Given the clear constituency in parliament and The people expect politicians to horns and find the money to Vieux Fort South.

My simple be time for the south to incompetence displayed during knew our jobs; hence there was close ranks when the business rebuild these two institutions. answer was yes, especially if I get rid of this sad, unhappy his turn at bat, even the blind no room for bad manners. The of the country, especially its Is the government waiting to were prime minister. and irreversibly angry man. saw the necessity to remove unspoken word was that we weak and vulnerable citizens, is behave like the opposition by

To be truthful, the MP His most recent display of him from office and return the were all in for the benefit of all at stake.

The citizen has a right giving the nod to some foreign from the south seems to lack uncouthness—that refusal tried and proven John Compton. the people of Saint Lucia, and to expect the prime minister to private sector outfit in its the energy and enthusiasm to to shake the prime minister’s They measured his promises the people could hear and see be civil and to seek the support BOLT-preference scheme?

If the continue as an MP. He looked hand in an official setting—was of transparency versus his who the superior performers of the opposition in important government has no money, why lacklustre and sounded worse. further proof. exposed secrecy and poor were. management of the economy,

Neither Prime Minister and decided such incompetence Stephenson King nor Allen and secrecy should not stand.

Chastanet deserved such bad Today, the propensity for manners. They were (and are) secrecy in matters of state still better by far than the angry leaves many more questions hater from the little corner than answers. The conclusion of between Laborie and Saltibus, incompetence is indeed a most from where George Odlum charitable language. and one Peter Josie rescued

To add insult to his failure him. Sadly, few journalists as Minister of Finance he has took time to record the many now refused to shake the opportunities on which that n observation of World

This workshop Principles of Publishing. writing, publishing, etc. Both hand of the prime minister particular MP tried to stand out

The group earmarked seasoned and novice writers are Press Freedom Day and encapsulates the basic at the end of the debate on in his gauche, rural Saltibus to participate in this activity welcome.

Reading Month, the National fundamentals of writing and the 2019/2020 budget. The style by avoiding social contact Association of Librarians and publishing and will be facilitated includes short story writers,

Limited space is available. friendly gesture offered by with MPs he thought superior Information Professionals by locally renowned writers, English Language, English NALIP therefore encourages Prime Minister Allen Chastanet to him. Unseating him from his (NALIP) and the public library journalists, authors, poets and Literature and Communication persons interested in had been warmly accepted by prime minister perch was made Studies students, budding participating to register early. will be hosting a Writing publishers. Topics include, other opposition MPs who had to look criminal. novelists, poets and For further enquiries, please and Publishing Workshop on but are not limited to, General earlier flayed his budget. The This article is meant to Friday, May 3, 2019 from Principles of Writing, The Art playwrights, and persons contact the Central Library on conduct of the former prime focus on the behaviour of the 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. of Journalism, and The Basic pursuing careers in journalism, (758) 452-2875.

I

NALIP, Central Library to host Writing and Publishing Workshop

I

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APRIL 27, 2019

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april 27, 2019 THE STAR

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PM Blames Poor Planning For Deplorable Condition of Castries City

T

he Thursday April 25 launching ceremony of the National Planning and Programme Unit was a pretty blasé affair, with the regular technocrats in attendance, applauding in sync the quirky one-liners of the various somewhat self-conscious suits.

And while the Castries Vision 2030 video report had attendees daring to hope of a brighter future, what was particularly noteworthy was Prime Minister Allen Chastanet’s poignant reflection on the city’s past, and warning against repetition of the mistakes made.

“This project here today is about centralizing the management of our infrastructure,” said the PM. “And so I have also to take into consideration what is it we consider to be the longterm development plan for the country.”

Long-term planning would be the running theme throughout Chastanet’s address.

Turning his focus on the capital,

he said, “Let’s look at Castries.

Why is it in the state that it’s in? How do I know that we got it wrong? And how should you know that we got it wrong?”

Citing a few examples of poor planning in the city, the PM raised the issue of the CDC apartments. “The CDCs were a temporary housing development. That’s what it was described as. Temporary!

It was completed in 1955. And here we are in 2019 and we still don’t have a clear idea as to where we want to go with that development. Or with Castries.”

He continued: “I have not met the person that can definitively tell me they have a clear idea as to what we’re going do with Castries. There is still a tremendous amount of debate.”

Citing another consequence of poor planning, Chastanet asked: “How is it that we have a statistic that says that 60 per cent of the treated water we have is lost. 60 per

cent! Not of water coming from the dam but treated water. And it’s literally going to waste.

Where has been the sense of urgency?”

Pointe Seraphine did not escape the PM’s focus. Calling to mind its establishment, he said: “I happened to be on the board of Pointe Seraphine when it first opened and I knew that we had it wrong then. How? A valuable piece of land that’s dedicated to the cruise industry means that after 4.30 in the afternoon it is empty. It is empty; in summertime.”

Chastanet would later state: “I’m intolerant of mediocrity. Castries is screaming out for help.” It turns out the PM has already made moves to help improve Saint Lucia’s hitherto “mediocre” planning, as he went on to explain the rationale behind the decision to establish the Development Control Authority (DCA) as a separate statutory body.

Form P7: Advertisement of Application for Grant Rule 15 __________________________________________________ THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SUPREME COURT IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

SAINT LUCIA Claim No. SLUHPB2018/

IN THE MATTER of a Grant of Letters of Administration

in the Succession of STEPHEN RENEE late of Banse, Laborie, Saint Lucia.

BEFORE

: THE REGISTRAR OF THE SUPREME COURT

APPLICANT : MARY JAMES nee Hunt TAKE NOTICE that an application for a Grant of Letters of Administration has been filed by MARY JAMES nee Hunt, the applicant who is the lawful cousin of STEPHEN RENEE, Deceased, late of Banse, Laborie, Saint Lucia the Deceased having died intestate on the 29th day of March 2005.

Any person having an objection to the grant of Letters of Administration to the Applicant shall file an objection within 14 days of the publication of this Notice.

Dated this

day of

2018.

This Notice is filed by the Law Offices of Oswald Wilkinson Larcher & Associate whose address for service is Maison DuBonaire, John Compton Highway, Castries, Telephone Number 452-4555.

The Court office is at La Place Carenage, Jeremie Street, Castries, St. Lucia, Telephone Number 468-7500 Fax. Number 468-7543. The office is open between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays and between 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Fridays except public holidays. The Office can also be contacted via Email at stluhco@eccourts.org.

In his telling: “We saw a huge problem in the Ministry of Physical Planning and that it was undertaking two activities.

One is the longer-term planning and policy process, the other is the regulatory side of planning which comes under the DCA. And they were trying to co-exist in the same space.

Therefore there was a conflict.

And to my mind there was an over-prioritization on the DCA role and less of a prioritization on the longer-term planning.

Therefore the decision has been made, through the assistance of UNOPS, to make a separation between those two entities and so the DCA actually will now become a statutory body by itself and be responsible for the processing of approval applications. But those approvals will be based on the policy positions that the Ministry of Planning will be developing.”

Allen Chastanet was reflective at the podium on Thursday, as he made the case that better planning will improve the condition of the country and its capital.

–Dean Nestor

UNFAIR CRITICISM

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his missive serves to express my utter disgust at the extreme touchiness of certain elements within the opposition party. Specifically, it is to rebut the critical comment by those who opposed the views expressed by the Methodist minister here on the disagreeable conduct of a former prime minister who refused to accept his successor’s proffered handshake. There is no religious leader in my view better placed to make such remarks than one from the Methodist church.

Forty-plus years ago, when the St. Lucia Forum was in its infancy, some members attended the Methodist church services on Old Year’s Night and other important national and religious occasions. The reason for our preference, I daresay, is still valid today.

The sermons at the Methodist church were always of a high intellectual and spiritual quality, which connected man to his maker in a way that few other denominations did.

Methodists encouraged their

Methodist Superintendent Minister Seth Ampadu.

youth to participate in church ritual including the study of music. I first discovered this during Saint Lucia’s regular visit to St. Vincent at Eastertime, and the return visit to us for New Year’s holidays, in that sweet era of Caribbean brotherly love.

It is in keeping with that noble tradition of social and intellectual commentary for the benefit of the community it serves, that I believe the Methodist church continues to comment on matters of state that ought to be of interest and importance to us all. I have deliberately refrained from

mentioning the name of the present Methodist minister because, frankly, it matters not. Had he been from England or Barbados or St. Vincent, as we have had in the past, their names would matter little. The principle of standing for truthful and factual comment is what matters. Those who pretend not to like the latest comment would have kept their mouths shut had the criticism been of Allen Chastanet or his government—and we all know it.

--Peter Josie

THE STAR

comment 09

www.stluciastar.com

april 27, 2019

PM accepts Government Senator’s resignation D id Ubaldus Raymond ever really fit in with the crowd in the Saint Lucia Labour Party? Some observers might say he was always on the outside looking in. So it was hardly a surprise that Raymond has resigned from his appointed post as a government senator. He ran the Castries North seat in the last election against Stephenson King and lost by a large margin.

His campaign took a hit when his son was arrested and charged in connection with a 2010 murder in Babonneau. In a statement Raymond said the matter had caused him anguish and pain.

“As crime continues to cripple our country,” he added, “no one seems to be immune from its tentacles. All of us are affected by crime in some way, whether as victims, perpetrators, accomplices or beneficiaries. Many parents, families and friends have had to bear the loss of loved ones over the last few years as a result of crime.

“As young people settle their differences with deadly force, the families of both the victims and the perpetrators suffer serious loss either through the death or imprisonment of their young sons and daughters. Sadly and regrettably, my family has been struck by the crime problem and this has caused me tremendous sorrow as a father. My 19-yearold son, who was born out of a relationship before I was married, is alleged to have been involved in the death of Cyrus Lansiquot in Fond Assau on Tuesday July 13, 2010. Cyrus Lansiquot’s death, as with any other sudden death, saddens me immensely.”

Raymond said his son’s alleged involvement in that death came as a complete shock and “has caused me to ponder even more on the plight of parents whose children commit crimes alongside parents whose children are the victims of crime".He reaffirmed his commitment to his family: “I love my son and I am aware that Cyrus Lansiquot’s parents and family love him

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how it impacts people’s lives.

Addressing the senate, he said: “We have been hiding for too long, Mr President, behind GDP growth which, in most cases, does not benefit a wide crosssection of our society. Yet, with our current ad hoc developmental strategy, it is possible that we can achieve growth without achieving development. A well thoughtout vision plan will ensure that development will be supported by economic growth.”

Raymond said Saint Lucia’s governments on both sides have been spending too little on capital expenditure while the recurrent expenditure keeps growing each year. He says capital expenditure is what grows a country and governments need to spend more on that category while exploring ways to decrease the recurrent expenditure.

“What I did was to go ahead and compare the proportion of capital expenditures to that of total expenditures and, Mr President, we are in a bad state in this country. Let’s assume government does not spend any money on capital expenditure . . . no repairing of roads, no building of schools; this country or any

Howard University in Washington D.C., and prior to returning to Saint Lucia to contest the 2011 general elections in the constituency of Castries North for the Saint Lucia Labour Party, he served for seven years as senior economist in the Department of the Environment and the DC Public Service Commission in Washington DC and as Assistant Professor of Economics at Florida A&M University in the Department of Economics. Ubaldus ‘Jimmy’ Raymond possesses a wealth of experience and training in areas such as Monetary and Fiscal Policy, Macro-economics, Microeconomics, International Finance, Corporate Finance, and Managerial Economics, which will serve him in good stead in his new position.”

Finally the prime minster wished Dr Raymond the “very best in his new position.”

Meanwhile, in a newspaper interview, Raymond suggested he was not permitted to be as useful as he could be at the commerce ministry. Another of our “best brains” off to greener pastures?

First published August 3, 2012.

Senator Ubaldus Raymond may have a track record of resignations but he was once considered the best brains of the 2012 SLP administration.

too. Emotions aside, however, it is proper and fair that the facts surrounding this incident be brought out. Yesterday, I therefore arranged for my son, accompanied by his lawyer, to turn himself in to the police and to co-operate fully with them in their investigation. I do not yet have all the details surrounding this incident and will await the results of the police investigation.”

Raymond extended sympathy to Cyrus Lansiquot’s parents and family and said he prayed that they may find

strength in the positive experiences they shared.

His short tenure as a junior minister in the Ministry of Commerce was not without sparks. Raymond listed his objections to parts of Prime Minister Kenny Anthony’s 20122013 budget. He commended the Labour Party government for a “great plan to create jobs and jobs and more jobs” but cautioned governments that while GDP will show how well the economy is doing, it does not necessarily show

BOSL Launches Dual Currency ATM Service

ank of Saint Lucia Limited (BOSL) continues to bring even more convenience to valued customers with the launch of its first dual currency ATM at the Bureau de Change at the Hewanorra International Airport.

Customers and visitors now have the option of withdrawing their funds in Eastern Caribbean (EC) or United States (US) dollars. This

country will fail miserably. Over the last seven years, government only spent between 33 and 38 per cent of total expenditure on capital projects. In other words, government spends about 70 per cent of its total expenditure on recurrent expenditure. Recurrent expenditure is not a growth factor in this country; capital expenditure is the growth factor but yet we have such a high recurrent expenditure in this country and such a low capital expenditure.”

On Friday we learned that Ubaldus Raymond resigned from the government. An official communique confirmed the PM had “regretfully accepted the resignation of Dr Ubaldus Raymond from the Senate and, consequently, as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs.”

The PM’s statement added that Dr Raymond resigned his position to allow him to take up the senior post of Chief Economist in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Additiionally: “Dr Raymond is the holder of a Ph.D. degree in Development Economics from

forms part of ongoing efforts by the bank to expand convenience service offerings and to improve the overall customer service experience.

Deputy Managing Director responsible for Operations, Lyndon Arnold expressed optimism about the Bank’s continued pursuits in improving the customer experience.

“The continued investments in appropriate technology and leveraging innovation are essential to enhancing customer service delivery. Bank of Saint Lucia has remained on the forefront of innovation, and customers can expect further exciting announcements in this regard, in the months ahead,” Arnold stated.

NOTICE INVITATION TO TENDER The Eastern Caribbean Collective Organisation for Music Rights (ECCO) Inc. is inviting proposals from qualified firms of certified accountants to audit its financial statements for the fiscal year 2018.

The proposal must be valid for at least 60 Days. The audit period is 01 January 2018 through 31 December 2018 (one year).

Tenders are to be submitted to: The Chief Executive Officer ECCO Inc. Julian Charles Rd. Sans Souci PO Box CP5380 Castries, St. Lucia Deadline for submission is: Friday, 17th May, 2019 ECCO operates within 6 OECS territories with its headquarters in Castries, St. Lucia.

Should you have any questions or queries feel free to contact us at the following numbers or email address below: Tel:- (758) 451 6436, Fax:- (758) 451 6437 Email:- ecco@eccorights.org

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COMMENT

april 27, 2019 THE STAR

www.stluciastar.com

Moral in is just ah S

On Thursday Ubaldus Raymond openly admitted on the TV show TALK that he had informed the prime minister of his intention to resign his positions in Cabinet and on the Senate. He acknowledged he is currently on administrative leave pending the result of an investigation by the AG’s office.

ome of us who stopped looking in our mirrors a long time ago have lately been especially preoccupied with inventing names for the man at the center of our latest scandale politique. Among the casually tossed pejoratives: shameless, stupid, glutton for punishment, hypocritical, amoral, a poor model for our young citizens.

Of course such labels would not be out of place around the necks of the more clamorous stone-casters— presumed celibate church leaders in cassocks indelibly stained with the blood of trusting virgins, their everfaithful flock, single moms and their multiple hit-and-run impregnators, pseudonymous pharisaic contributors to the newspapers and call-in radio programs, chameleonic politicians and their parasitic hacks. It would be difficult to discover an unblemished soul in this city without pity.

What condemns Ubaldus Raymond in the eyes of this putative Christian society is not that he may have indulged in some sophomoric phone sex with a swivel-hipped young swinger after a single encounter in the land of the hummingbird; not that only a few months earlier he had permitted his libido to lead him by the nose into a trap baited with not just one but two determined sirens.

Oh no! What rendered Ubaldus Raymond prime meat for the political grill was he had allowed himself to be twice caught. And by caught I mean, on camera. With his pants down. Then there were the incessant replays of his puerile bon mots that reminded of nothing more than a chatterbox virgin teen on his first date.

Nothing so far stated here is meant to mark Raymond undeserving of the lacerating lashes mercilessly dealt him by his avowed enemies in the political media, the worst by some who can hardly be described as virtuous.

You venture out unprotected into bug territory, don’t be surprised if you get bitten, over and over and over. Where there’s no blood, leeches perish.

My purpose here is to remind readers of the dangers of selective morality. I once wrote a story about the worst kind of office abuser— replete with evidence of sex with minors, false pretense, misuse of state trappings, obtaining visas by deceit, among other shockers.

In consequence I was made the target of some of the country’s most powerful citizens, church leaders included, who cared more for the politician’s reputation than for his deflowered victims. Some of the deadliest volleys were fired at me from the nation’s pulpits.

When the earlier outspoken head of the Christian Council was invited to comment this was how he unforgettably explained his reluctance: “If John the Baptist had

THE STAR

COMMENT 11

www.stluciastar.com

april 27, 2019

indignation L stice with a halo!

My Kingdom for a Woman in the PM’s Chair!

been more careful he might’ve saved his head.”

As if further to endorse the politician’s unsettling proclivities, at a general election that closely followed my exposé the electorate handed him the mandate of his career. Some thirty years on, lawmakers still have not seen the need to establish a code of conduct for members of parliament, elected and otherwise. Indeed, for all the attention it’s paid, you’d think there was no such thing as the House Standing Rules and Orders!

Not that our politicians have ever pretended to be other than their current public image suggests. One prime minister took obvious pride in reminding me that my criticism of his public behavior was altogether a waste of my time, since “everyone knows womanizing is at the heart of my politics.” With similarly undisguised delight, another MP invited me to write whatever I pleased about him. It didn’t matter, he assured me, since the majority of his constituents were largely illiterate.

Not for nothing has the process of electing citizens to the highest offices in the land been branded “chicken and rum politics.” During one budget debate the late George Odlum took the opportunity to inform House colleagues many young women were in the name of survival surrendering their dignity “in exchange for chicken parts.” Odlum might truthfully have added, “especially in the season of elections.”

In short, what we pretend is today intolerably offensive has long been our culture. We are no more concerned about the recent political shenanigans than we were when, as a boy, I witnessed drunk and disorderly politicians campaigning at a particular rum shop in Laborie.

As I write, Timothy Poleon is desperately attempting to persuade a Newsspin caller that Kenny Anthony’s refusal to shake hands with members of government whenever his party is in opposition sent out all the wrong signals. At first the caller tried to make it a KennyChastanet thing and therefore private, a demonstration of the former prime minister’s contempt for the man elected by the people to replace him.

“With all the viruses around these days,” said the caller quite seriously, “Kenny was just being careful.” Besides, he added, “he has the same right as everyone else to choose the hand he shakes.”

The irreducible truth is that in our increasingly polarized circumstances nothing is quite as rare as the sound of reason.

And if I may borrow from Thomas Paine: “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like a doctor administering medicine to the dead.” No longer is it possible to hear pronouncements, whether from the floor of parliament, our well-varnished pulpits or our market places that are not spiked with the poisons of partisan politics and calculated divisiveness. Why are so many of us determined not to hear from Allen Chastanet’s predecessor a full account of his deal with Jack Grynberg in the year 2000?

Of course I anticipate the usual suspects accusing me at this juncture of fritinancy,

commonly referred to as whataboutism. Forget about what happened years ago, they will likely say, let’s talk about now—as if it were possible to disconnect the present from the past that created it. Were that the case, we would without concern or comment encourage our daughters to make friends with convicted rapists, child molesters and thieves. But then some might remind me that not only do we knowingly elect such characters to office, we often defend them on the basis that they’ve paid their price to society; that their criminality is of the past and therefore forgettable.

Last Thursday I came down hard on the side of burning Ubaldus Raymond whose private conversations with a female were weaponized by his detractors, the presumed holy as well as their unthinking echoes. It has since the last TALK occurred to me that whatever I may have accomplished up to this point was possible only because my own transgressions were not forever held against me; that my occasional demonstrations of poor judgment had not cost me opportunities to do better. I hasten to add that my bad choices never included criminality. Neither Ubaldus Raymond’s. Which is much more than may be said of some of his loudest detractors.

Does any of this sound like I’m suggesting how the senator should pay for permitting himself to be betrayed yet again by selfish individuals with no respect for privacy and confidentiality? As earlier stated, this is merely an open invitation to wipe the dust off your mirrors and examine what you see reflected. Here’s hoping it won’t be by now so grotesque as to scare you off again!

ast weekend I reluctantly got caught up in a centuries-old debate about women and leadership, specifically political leadership.

To say my input in the discourse was as generic as my male counterparts’ would be an understatement. How many times has this conversation snuck up over dinner, drinks, at the office, lecture theatres and, let’s admit it, even in the bedroom? I agreed to participate in the debate mainly because I recognize our nation could do with a lot less testosterone and a whole lot more oestrogen.

Now we need not get into details about the argument my lesser-learned friends offered for pooh-poohing the very idea of a leader who was not male.

Words such as emotional, crazy, weak, lonely and yes, nasty, were tossed around. But what most interested me was how such words echo other misperceptions about women.

Perhaps this is why our society displays little respect for women and why rape is now so commonplace. But, as they say, that’s for another show!

What is seriously worth discussion is what this country could be if more oestrogen

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landed in the PM’s chair. I remember when I first came to Saint Lucia a few years ago, and the then House opposition party leader was Gale Rigobert.

I could not resist a smile as I beheld the bold, bald and breasted MP addressing the House. I remember thinking to myself, “This country is heading in a progressive developed state.” Leaving me to wonder what was holding back my own homeland. Anyway, I’ve quickly adjusted to the reality of this country.

So what would Saint Lucia look like if more women were actively leading government? I am fully aware of the ministerial responsibilities of education, health and junior foreign affairs.

Not saying those facets of government don’t matter but, let’s be honest, that’s not where the real power is, correct?

Political history has proven that female-led administrations make the toughest economic decisions without pause for political appeasement.

Margaret Thatcher would naturally first come to mind with her public sector reform (something none of our governments would even come close to considering for the sake of political survival).

Or even closer to home, Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica.

And we all know if we were to mention political icons across the region, her name would be listed among Sir Compton, Papa Bird, Maurice Bishop and the likes.

So, with protocol already established, would Gale or Sarah make some iron-balls decisions for the local economy?

Perhaps there would’ve been an immediate public decision in regards to their party’s idealistic VAT reduction plan. Maybe even the speedy resolution of IMPACS and a public declaration of ORC. I mean, according to the stereotypes, as a woman they would want to check it off their checklist. Correct?

Just imagine if there were a breasted PM having tea with Theresa May. Ahhhhh, what a perfect alternate universe Saint Lucia would flourish in, if that were the case. But I prefer reality to fiction. As I told my lesser-learned associates over the weekend, if Levern could get a driveway named after her, we obviously have a long way to go before there are any bras in the PM’s office.

---Missy Laneous First published October 29, 2016.

$760,000 WON ON SUPER 6!

wo Saint Lucian women are the recent winners of Super 6 jackpots for the month of April 2019. Janelle Celis and Petrona Charles both received their cheques at the official cheque presentation held on Thursday April 18, 2019 at MBC.

Janelle Celis is the lucky Super 6 winner of $655,000, which was drawn on April 2, 2019. Janelle had purchased her ticket from China Town, Vieux Fort where she resides.

The winning numbers called were 02-10-11-13-16-19 with a ticket letter N. She is the first Saint Lucian to solely win the Super 6 jackpot of this magnitude. Janelle won on numbers she chose which were significant to her and her family.

When it’s nice it happens twice! By April 12, 2019 the jackpot had reached $210,000 and was won again. This time Petrona Charles’ story would be a little different from most others. Not only did she win the jackpot but she won with someone else in St. Vincent.

The jackpot was shared equally between them. Petrona Charles and a lucky St. Vincent gamer each received $105,000.

They won on the numbers 1314-15-17-19-25 with a ticket letter H. Petrona purchased her ticket from JP’s Bar in Forestiere.

The ladies tried to keep their excitement and joy contained but, once they had their cheques in hand, they could do so no longer. They were asked how they would

spend their winnings; Petrona said she had no idea what her first plan would be. However, Janelle excitedly responded, “I would start with a roof over our heads and further my education.”

SNL staff are always super excited when gamers win money which allows them to make life-changing decisions.

Congratulations once again to Janelle Celis and Petrona Charles on winning.

Super 6 is a jackpot game played among the Windward islands of Saint Lucia, Grenada, Dominica and St. Vincent.

For more information on games visit the website www. stlucialotto.com or Facebook page https://www.facebook. com/StLuciaNationalLottery/

12 local

april 27, 2019 THE STAR

www.stluciastar.com

Who needs rude public servant receptionists where there is Cindy?

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fter sitting in traffic for well over an hour, I walked to the National Printing Corporation to purchase two passport forms at two bucks a piece. I have no idea why the forms were not available at the immigration office. As for the receptionist at the NPC, when I handed her all the money I had, a hundred dollar bill, she rudely demanded I get “smaller money from the vendors or something”. My annoyance was similar to how I felt last month when the electoral department sent me over to the NIC building to get a one-page letter whose main message was: “This letter should be presented to the Electoral Department.”

After debating that it should never have been my responsibility in the first place, I still had to find $4 for the previously mentioned forms,

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so I decided to get my passportsized photos first. Not many options were available at 8 a.m. so I walked towards a sidewalk sign that said: “Passport photos done here.” I quickly realized the sign wasn’t standing in front of a door; there was only a stool and a table. The outdoorsy studio uses Voyager’s dusty blue wall on Laborie Street as the photo backdrop.

Cindy Alcindor was the photographer. She briefly scanned my clothes, hair and earrings and asked me to sit on the little stool. “Take off your glasses, look at me and tilt your head slightly to the left,” she instructed with occasional doses of “darling” thrown in. She showed me the result and asked me if I was satisfied. Before I could respond, she said: “Don’t worry, I’ll fix your hair for you.” She picked up her laptop and soon my usually uncontrollable hair was passport symmetrical.

I explained to Cindy that I had to go to the NPC to buy some forms and then I’d be back for the pictures. But she’d already figured it all out. About seven years ago she had set up her business on a sidewalk adjacent to Constitution Park where the grey-haired Justices of the Peace were on hand, so that it would be a one-stop-shop for all passport and visa requirements.

She directed me to a JP propped up right next to her stool with his own passport forms for sale.

While he filled in my forms and signed and stamped everything, Cindy, her hands in cotton gloves, was trimming my four photos.

For all of that I paid just $20.

Meanwhile the JPs sat in wait for Cindy’s long line of patrons. Oh, the JPs all had change regardless of the dollar bills presented to them.

“I try to cater for everyone so I think that’s why I always have customers,” Cindy told me,

For locals, Cindy seeks to make things like renewing passports a simple and smooth process.

with a clear understanding of how frustrating is the normally simple task of filling in forms and taking pictures that has been complicated by the public service.

Cindy explains to her customers all they need to know about their

hair, jewellery and clothing. The public service receptionists would do well to learn a few tips from Cindy about customer relations.

Cindy started out as a studio photographer, then she turned her hand to weddings. She sat on

the idea of her present work situation for about two months before she took the plunge.

Now she says she thrives on the level of satisfaction from her customers.

---Claudia Eleibox Mc Dowell

Saint Lucia’s Toastmasters Clubs battle it out in Speech Contests

oastmasters in Saint Lucia are going strong! On Thursday April 11, 2019, the members of two Toastmasters Clubs in Saint Lucia—the NIC Toastmasters Club and The Public Service Toastmasters Club—battled it out during the Saint Lucia Territory Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest, held at the Fisheries Department Conference Room, Pointe Seraphine, Castries.

In order to qualify for the Saint Lucia Territory Speech Contest, the participants had to have placed first or second at their home club’s contest.

Confident and triumphant over all other contestants for this Speech Contest was Toastmaster Tris-Ann Richards representing the NIC Toastmasters Club.

Winning over the hearts and minds of the audience and clenching victory in the Table Topics Contest was Toastmaster LaToya Charles of the Public Service Toastmasters Club.

Left to right: Lynbert Remy, LaToya Charles (winner of the Table Topics Contest), Jason Cassius, Tris-Ann Richards (winner of the Saint Lucia Territory Speech Contest) and Natalie Jervis.

Tris-Ann Richards captivated the audience with her social commentary on modern education in her speech entitled “Educated Fools”. Asked about her most valuable experience as a toastmaster, Toastmaster TrisAnn commented: “It's having a reliable support system, having a

mentor, and really a toastmaster's family that is always there to support you, to give you constructive criticism, and to also encourage and help you to become a better speaker and thinker.”

LaToya Charles was unstoppable in the Table Topics

contest with her poignant response to the question: “How does morality contribute to one’s success?"

About her mental preparation for the contest Toastmaster LaToya said: “It's understanding who my competitors are. I’ve seen them

speak before, so I kind of had an idea as to want angles they would have taken [and then] trying to develop a different angle within myself on the spot.

"Leading up to the competition, watching other toastmasters around the world who won previous contests within

their clubs [and] trying to pick up a few tips and a few ideas from them on how to deliver; and not just deliver but deliver on the spot and being able to think on your feet.

"Also, just thinking of various topics that could have come up and doing research on current topics in case they [Contest Chairs] chose to use a current topic. And just going in with an open mind.”

The conquering women have qualified for the next level of competition where they will represent Saint Lucia at the District 81 International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest to be held in Bonaire on May 17 and 18, 2019.

The winner of the District 81 International Speech Contest will qualify as a contestant of the Toastmasters International Speech Contest to be held in Denver, Colorado in August 2019.

THE STAR april 27, 2019

www.stluciastar.com

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SUGAR IS SWEET MY LOVE . . . there were 35,600 cases of DM in Barbados. Across the region, the overall prevalence of DM is between 11 and 18 per cent. In rowing up in the country, addition to the high burden of I frequently heard the illness itself, there are also about people who had severe complications including “sugar”. These references renal failure, blindness, lower were generally muttered with limb amputation, and premature a sad shake of the head and a death, chiefly through coronary sympathetic softening of the heart disease and stroke. voice. For a long time, I never

Knowing that I am understood, and found it hard potentially a victim has to imagine, why the possession given me cause for concern, of such a splendid commodity particularly when I witness bad should occasion such grief, episodes, like the amputations and should be voiced in such suffered by my grandmother, mournful tones, full of doom, aunt and close friends, and gloom and despair. In those their subsequent sad and days, like any other child, I painful deaths. Unfortunately, loved sugar and, given the for a while it did not completely opportunity and lack of parental change my behaviour. This supervision, would indulge is entirely consistent with myself hugely, particularly if human nature. Smokers know some “Crix” crackers and butter that smoking is dangerous happened to be handy. to their health and they still

What confused me even continue to smoke. In fact, the further was that one of the dissonance caused by doing neighbours, a buxom lady something that can harm us, named Esther, was reputed whether cigarettes, drugs or to have a “sweet” man who, alcohol, makes us reach out it was said, used to visit her for more because of the instant whenever her husband was emotional relief they provide. at work. Having read “Hansel However, a “fix”, regardless and Gretel”, and knowing of how quick it is, never fixes that enormous edifices could anything. be constructed entirely of

Why are we like that? confectionery, and also having Increasingly, people in the read about other culinary Caribbean are demonstrating curiosities like a “gingerbread a willingness to change their man”, I easily assumed that governments instead of their Esther’s surreptitious suitor was lifestyles and are doing the composed entirely of sugar. same with diabetes—swapping Whenever I met her in the doctors or advice instead of neighbourhood shop, buying their eating and drinking habits “Crix” crackers and butter, I when they have the disease. recognised a kindred spirit and I remember my father’s knew exactly what she was family, all of whom were doing. notorious for their consumption

Later I learnt that having of alcohol (particularly over“sugar” meant having diabetes. proof “Puncheon” rum), were After the deaths of many of my convinced that if they drank relatives on both my mother’s brandy it would help to cure and father’s side, and later of their diabetes. Unfortunately, it my wife’s family, I knew and just made their illness worse appreciated why it was then, and more expensive. and continues to be now, an

There are many stories of occasion for grief. Unfortunately, people who go to the doctor at the time, I never knew how for treatment for diabetes and, bad and how widespread it was. when given a diet sheet with In Trinidad, with a population of what seems to them to be very about 1.3 million, an estimated paltry provisions, ask, “This 143,000 persons or 13 per cent medicine, doc, you want me to of the population have diabetes. take it before or after meals?”

In Jamaica from 1.3 per cent

Sufferers from diabetes in 1960 the rate of those with are always on the lookout and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) rose to are constantly provided by the 17.9 per cent in 1995. In 2017, grapevine and false advertising

By Tony Deyal

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For the author, sugar, Crix crackers and Puncheon rum all have some sweet notions; so does diabetes.

with miraculous remedies. Like jungle predators they move from bush to bush, recommended herb to guaranteed grass, boiling, mashing, mixing, looking for the cure. Yet, you cannot blame them. Hope springs eternal in the human breast. We are always searching for the magic bullet, the instant cure, the miracle.

Health professionals, however, have to take a lot of the blame. For the most part they have a vested interest in illness rather than wellness.

They dispense potions, prescriptions, pills and diet sheets without providing a context for understanding or a framework for managing the problems. They explain conditions like the diabetic foot or impotence after the fact rather than before, when it can be prevented. They are smooth operators in a world where no operation is smooth. They remain, for the most part, insensitive to the cultural context of the individual sufferer and the need to work within that context. They continue to threaten rather than persuade; to “cuss” rather than discuss.

We spend about 90 per cent or more of national health budgets on trying to cure the incurable and ignore prevention.

We buy expensive equipment

that can only help a few instead of spending time and money on health promotion.

There are three Es in public health—enforcement, engineering and education.

When engineering in the form of the magic bullet does not exist, and enforcement is impossible, education must be the remedy and it has to be timed and provided when the person needs it most.

In both private and public clinics in the Caribbean, at least twice a week, the benches are occupied by people who, when they hear the word “Next”, or their names are called, shuffle painfully and patiently forward to receive their pills or their insulin injections. Most are losing or have lost their sight.

Many have problems with their feet. The men are generally impotent. Had they known how much they had to lose and

were in an informed, caring and supportive environment, they would most likely have done it differently.

I would also like to see the “labelling” changed. People should not be labelled with a disease. There should be no more “diabetics”. There should be only “people with diabetes”.

This would help to keep the focus on the people and their needs rather than the disease. It will promote good health rather than pander morbidly to morbidity and mortality. And if Esther and her “sweet man” know what is good for them, they will go easy on the crackers and butter but will continue to exercise regularly.

Tony Deyal was last seen repeating a quip by the writer Jerome K. Jerome and thinking of his father’s family, “We drink to one another’s health, and spoil our own.”

FUEL SURCHARGE COST ADJUSTMENT Applied to Bills for April 2019

The fuel surcharge cost adjustment is the cost of fuel at the current price less the average cost of fuel in the twelve months preceeding 1st January, 2019 (the base price) divided by the total number of kwhs sold.

Current price of fuel EC$ 7.8799 / gallon

Average price for 2018 EC$ 7.7292 / gallon

Amount of fuel used (March 2019) 1,667,946 gallons

Cost of 1,667,946 gallons at EC$ 7.8799 per gallon EC$ 13,143,248

Cost of 1,667,946 gallons at EC$7.7292 per gallon EC$ 12,891,888

Current cost of fuel less cost at base price EC$ 251,359

Electricity Sales (March 2019) 29,349,253 units

251,359 Fuel Surcharge Cost Adjustment: ----------------- x 100 0.9 cents / unit 29,349,253 2019 Tariff Rebate FSCA Cost Rates per Electrical Unit EC$ EC$ EC$ EC$ Domestic 1-180 0.763 0.009 0.772 >180 0.813 0.009 0.822

Commercial Low Tension all units 0.913

0.009 0.922

High Tension all units 0.873

0.009 0.882 Hotel/Industrial Low Tension all units 0.913 (0.0081) 0.009

High Tension all units 0.873 (0.0081) 0.009

Streetlighting all units 0.908

0.009

0.914 0.874 0.917

The Tariff Rate and the FSCA are computed in accordance with the Electricity Supply Act No. 10 of 1994, as amended by Act Nos. 12 and 13 of 2006. Note that since the average fuel price in March 2019 is greater

than the average fuel price for 2018, there is a Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) Ian Peter- Chief Financial Officer

14

APRIL 27, 2019 THE STAR

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THE STAR

health 15

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april 27, 2019

KIM’S KORNER

I

There’s nothing sweet about diabetes!

n 2007 a Canadian group declared that Saint Lucia had the highest per capita incidence of diabetes in the world. Official figures from the World Bank state that in 2016 14.6 per cent of the population had diabetes; the figure dropped to 11.6 per cent in 2017. However we are still a lot higher than the United States at 10.8 per cent, Canada at 7.4 per cent and the United Kingdom at 4.3 per cent. Changes in diet and lifestyle may have played a part in this steady decline but what exactly is diabetes?

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder where the body is unable to control sugar (glucose) levels in the blood, either due to poor sensitivity to the protein insulin or poor production of insulin by the pancreas. Glucose comes from either our food or from the liver, where it is stored as glycogen, which is converted to glucose when blood sugar levels are low and we have not eaten for a while. Glucose is an essential source of energy used by muscles and it is also the main source of fuel for brain function.

There are three types of DM, the first one is irreversible but the second two are classed as reversible, although it may take a lot of effort and discipline.

Type 1 DM, also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), is a chronic disorder where blood sugar is high (hyperglycemia), with disruption of the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. High blood sugar is normally controlled by insulin.

In this condition the pancreas produces little or no insulin at all. It tends to have a rapid onset and predominately affects children and adults under 30 years of age.

Type 2 DM usually occurs in adults and is known as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). It can usually be controlled with diet and medication. Unlike Type 1 DM, the body does produce enough insulin. The problem is with the liver, fat and muscle cells which respond differently to insulin.

This causes a build-up of sugar

Saint Lucia’s high diabetes rate could be lowered if citizens were to make better personal choices.

in the blood.

Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy. There may be no sign of diabetes before the pregnancy and, in most cases, it disappears after giving birth.

High blood sugar levels can be a risk to both mother’s and baby’s health but by adopting a healthy lifestyle, eating nutritional foods and exercising, blood sugar spikes can be controlled.

If diet and exercise alone are not effective then medication may be prescribed. Although it disappears after birth it can increase the risk of developing Type 2 DM.

There are known risk factors for developing DM. Some are present across all three types but some are unique:

Type 1 DM – family history, pancreatic disease, infection or illness which can affect the pancreas.

Type 2 DM – obesity, sedentary lifestyle, impaired glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels, gestational diabetes, ethnicity, age, family history, polycystic ovaries.

Gestational diabetes – obesity, glucose intolerance, ethnicity, family history, age.

The symptoms of prediabetes and Type 2 DM are not always obvious and Type 1 DM may initially go unnoticed, but over a short period the loss of body weight, despite an increased appetite, raises the alarm.

There are also other obvious signs like an unquenchable

thirst and increased frequency of urination, although the increased trips to the bathroom are usually seen as the result of the increased fluid intake.

There are other symptoms that become more noticeable and it is these that often prompt a visit to the doctor. The most obvious are tiredness, a feeling of weakness, being easily irritated, blurred vision and numbness or tingling in the hands and feet.

As the symptoms of DM are not always obvious, regular blood screening should take place in those who have high risk factors. If DM is suspected, then there several tests that can be carried out to confirm a diagnosis such as fasting plasma glucose test, an oral glucose tolerance test or a random plasma glucose test

Complications of DM are not immediate and develop slowly over a period of time.

The most common cause of complications is uncontrolled blood sugar levels which increases the risk of: • Cardiovascular diseases such as angina, heart attack and stroke.

• Nerve damage caused by damage to capillary walls, the small blood vessels that nourish the nerves. Symptoms include tingling, burning or pain which can start in the tips of the fingers and toes and spread upwards. But it isn’t only the limbs that are affected; it is also possible to experience damage to the nerves of the digestive system, causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea

or constipation. It has even been known to cause erectile dysfunction in men.

• Eye problems such as glaucoma and cataracts are another regularly seen complication. If there is damage to the blood vessels of the retina, it can lead to blindness.

• Kidney damage which can progress to irreversible kidney failure.

• The need for lower limb amputation is another complication caused by infections. Poor circulation, decreased sensation, a higher risk of bacterial and fungal infection coupled with poor healing can increase the risk of losing a limb. All diabetics are therefore encouraged to practise good foot care.

Prevention is always better

than cure and although Type 1 DM cannot be prevented, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of developing gestational and Type 2 DM. Choose a healthy diet that is low in fat and high in fibre.

Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day; it can be something as simple as a brisk walk or a

swim. Keep your weight down; being overweight is one of the common risk factors for all three types of DM. Lastly, but importantly, manage your blood pressure. High blood pressure is a silent killer and not only a risk factor for DM.

Follow these steps to happier, healthier life.

Kim Jackson is a UK-trained physiotherapist with over 20 years’ experience. She specialises in musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction including back pain and sciatica, stroke and other neuro conditions plus sports physiotherapy, having worked with local, regional and international athletes and teams treating injuries and analysing biomechanics to improve function and performance. She is registered with the Allied Health Council and is a member of PASL. She currently works at Bayside Therapy Services in Rodney Bay, O: 458 4409 or C: 284 5443; www.baysidetherapyservices.com

MARKETING OFFICER Invest Saint Lucia is seeking a Marketing Officer to plan, develop and execute marketing campaigns and provide marketing support to the Organisation.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: • Develop and implement the internal marketing programme • Plan, develop and deliver campaigns within required timelines • Improve the destination marketing process, ensuring engagement with other key agencies to market

Saint Lucia • Conduct market research and analyses in collaboration with the Research & Development Officer • Monitor marketing industry news and trends • Develop and manage promotional campaigns • Work closely with the Corporate Communications Officer to execute the annual marketing plan • Evaluate the effectiveness of all marketing activity • Prepare reports as required • Develop and execute digital marketing strategies • Manage social media platforms QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE: • Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or Business Management with a marketing specialisation • Minimum 3 years’ post qualification experience in a similar role • Excellent research and organization skills • Ability to negotiate with clients and advertising agencies • Strong and confident communicator • Graphics and web design skills • Proven ability to work in a demanding, deadline-driven environment • Proficient in Microsoft Office REMUNERATION Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Applicants for the above post should submit a resume including two letters of reference and certified copies of relevant qualifications to: POST OF MARKETING OFFICER ATTENTION: SENIOR MANAGER HUMAN RESOURCES Invest Saint Lucia First Floor, Heraldine Rock Building P.O. Box 495, Castries, Saint Lucia or via email at info@investstlucia.com Deadline for submission of applications is Friday 3rd May 2019 at 4:30p.m.

Only applicants who meet the required qualifications and experience will be acknowledged.

16 local

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april 27, 2019 THE STAR

Soul Beat Korea

Korea’s Gorilla Crew will come all the way to Saint Lucia to share their country’s culture in a free performance on May 15.

T

he Embassy of the Republic of Korea is delighted to host the first ever Korean cultural event, ‘Soul Beat Korea’, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Saint Lucia and the Republic of Korea on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the National Cultural Centre.

‘Soul Beat Korea’ will present a wonderful assortment of musical performances and bestow on guests the opportunity to learn about Korean traditional musical

instruments such as the Gayageum, a silk string instrument which produces a variation of enchanting sounds.

The show will feature performances by the Korean performing arts group Gongmyoung and acclaimed acrobatic B-boy dance team Gorilla Crew. Gongmyoung is recognized for its modern reinterpretations of classical Korean music and inspiring drumming whilst Gorilla Crew will captivate the audience with their distinct performance style.

The Embassy believes

that ‘Soul Beat Korea’ will offer the people of Saint Lucia an unforgettable evening to enjoy the unique beauty of Korean music and dance. Furthermore, the Embassy sincerely hopes that this event will further promote cultural exchanges and enhance the friendship between our two peoples for years to come.

Admission is free and on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets will be available at the Cultural Development Foundation, Castries from May 6 between 9:00am and 4:30pm.

Commencement of Second Phase of JCD Rehabilitation Project

W

ork on the second phase of the John Compton Dam Rehabilitation Project, JCD02 – Dredging of the Reservoir and Transport of Sediment, is set to begin in June 2019.

The announcement was made by WASCO’s representatives, as well as the contractor for JCD02, VINCI Construction Maritime et Fluvial, who met with residents of Tete Chemin, Millet and of Vanard, Jacmel and environs during a Town Hall-style meeting at the Millet Infant School on Sunday April 14, 2019. The meeting was necessary to alert residents about the hauling of heavy equipment which will be transported through their communities in preparation for the JCD rehabilitation works.

Project Manager for JCD02, David Ferrao of VINCI Construction Maritime et

Fluvial, disclosed that the suction dredge which will be used to de-silt the John Compton Dam is already en route to Saint Lucia from Europe and is expected to arrive at Port Castries by April 30, 2019.

Once the equipment arrives on island, a total of fourteen trailer trucks will be used over a five-day period to transport it from Port Castries to the John Compton Dam. Assembling of the marine equipment will then take place.

Specialized experts, including three divers, have been contracted to conduct the underwater works. The crew will be responsible for the removal of woody debris from the reservoir, among other responsibilities. Permanent onshore pipelines will also be laid from the reservoir to the Sediment Disposal Area (SDA) in preparation for the suction dredging.

Meanwhile, Head of the Project Management Unit of WASCO, Gordon Wyke, presented a status report on phase one of the project, JCD01 – Construction of the Sediment Disposal Area (SDA). The works are being undertaken by Mega Contracting Inc., a local construction company.

JCD01 began in May 2018 but the works have been hindered due to heavy rains, specifically during the last quarter of 2018. Once completed, the SDA will be used to dispose of the sediment from the reservoir when the dredging phase begins in June. Therefore, preparations are well advanced for the commencement of phase two of the project.

WASCO is requesting the co-operation of all residents and commuters in the area to ensure that the traffic management plan is implemented so as to cause minimum inconvenience.

THE STAR

Moroccan Government optimistic about Soil Fertility-Mapping Project

B

ack in 2015, Saint Lucia and five other Eastern Caribbean islands began the four-year process of conducting a soil fertilitymapping project, in unison with the Kingdom of Morocco and the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation.

However, the implementation of this project hit a bit of a snag and so the Saint Lucian government requested a time extension. A Moroccan delegation, led by Ambassador Abderrahim Kadmiri, met with agriculture minister Ezechiel Joseph, accompanied by ministry experts assigned to the project, to confirm the acceptance of the extension request.

Said the minister: “I am thankful to the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco for agreeing to extend the project by one year. A lot of financial resources have been put into the project. We consider this project very important because we need to do the analysis at the field level so as to determine the type of

Moroccan Ambassador Abderrahim Kadmiri [left] and Agriculture Minister Ezechiel Joseph (right) are both optimistic for the soil fertility-mapping project’s completion within the given extension period.

composition as it pertains to fertilizer we recommend to our farmers.”

“Without accurate information,” he went on, “we’re just a spinning top in mud.

That’s why we believe there’s a need to complete this project and, based on the analysis that I have heard this morning, I am confident that within the allocated time frame we can see to the completion of this

project.”

For his part, Ambassador Kadmiri said: “It seems very, very positive progress has been made so far. For now we are very optimistic. Based on what we’ve heard this morning, everything will be concluded and implemented, at the latest,

by August.”

---DN

C

called Alcohol School, for over 35 years. The ETI also publishes the internationally renowned 600-page Alcohol Textbook, an indispensable reference for the fuel alcohol and distilled spirits industries, now in its 6th edition.

According to Chairman of WIRSPA, Komal Samaroo, “We’re proud to host this international event in the Caribbean for the second year. It is directly linked to the regional rum industry’s quest to be internationally competitive by keeping abreast with the latest technology and know-how.”

He added, “Aside from the valuable exposure to new practices and technology, it is an excellent opportunity for networking and an opportunity to spread the word about our quality rum practices.”

Evon Brown, Head of the Jamaica Rum industry, said, “The first event in Jamaica last year was a tremendous success, with over 120 persons involved. It exposed our producers to new ideas and methods but, just as important, it allowed us to

demonstrate to the world why we are considered the home of authentic rum.”

“We have a great story to tell about rum and we will also welcome all visitors to our first-class facilities,” stated Augusto Ramírez, Head of the Dominican Rum Producers’ Association and President of Ron Brugal. “We’re extremely happy that this year’s conference will be in the Dominican Republic.”

Graeme Walker, Scientific Director of the ETI, said, “This second event in the Dominican Republic promises to have even more to offer. We have an impressive list of international and Caribbean presenters which will redound to the benefit of participants. Our ongoing collaboration with WIRSPA has been excellent and the continuing interest in this session shows that we’re doing something right.”

The event will be held at the El Embajador Hotel, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 8-11, 2019, and is open to spirits producers from the Caribbean and further afield.

17

THE BANK OF NEVIS LIMITED VACANCY The Bank of Nevis Ltd was incorporated on August 29th, 1985 under the laws of the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis and opened its doors for business to the public on December 9th, 1985. It was created out of a desire to provide banking services to the local community with the hope that this would assist with the development of the island’s economy. The Bank of Nevis Limited offers comprehensive services including a variety of deposit accounts with attractive rates of interest, credit and debit cards and loans.

RUM INDUSTRY HOSTS SECOND CARIBBEAN DISTILLING CONFERENCE aribbean rum producers will again this year host a major distilling conference in collaboration with the Ethanol Technology Institute. According to the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association Inc. (WIRSPA), this year’s conference will be held in the Dominican Republic, October 8-11, 2019.

The Caribbean event, whilst addressing all spirits, will have a special focus on rum, providing delegates with detailed information on beverage alcohol processes.

A packed programme also provides for networking events and distillery visits. WIRSPA’s Networking Showcase, which provides industry suppliers with an opportunity to promote their products and services to spirits producers, will precede the event on October 7.

The Ethanol Technology Institute (ETI), a subsidiary of Lallemand Biofuels and Distilled Spirits, has been educating distilled beverage producers in the multi-disciplinary sciences of alcohol and spirits production, through the so-

local

www.stluciastar.com

april 27, 2019

The Bank of Nevis Limited invites applications from suitably qualified persons to fill the position of:

OPERATIONS MANAGER Position Summary: The Operations Manager is responsible for the management of the Operations Department.

This includes the direct supervision of the Bank’s Operations function in keeping with the standards and policies of The Bank of Nevis Limited. The Operations Manager is also responsible and accountable for the effective management of the department with a robust emphasis, strong concentration and focus on pricing and profitability, competitive advantage and service excellence. He/she must have the ability to motivate, inspire, foster teamwork and create an environment in which the team can thrive and grow. This position focuses on protecting the Bank from money laundering and similar financial and non-financial risks by ensuring strict adherence to the AML/CFT principles, and all other policies and procedures that govern the department and with a zero tolerance for non-compliance. Additionally, this role is responsible for the efficient and effective processing of the end-to-end execution of transactions with precision and accuracy. The Operations Manager is the primary interface with customers providing the highest level of financial services and is responsible for fostering employee development. Leading and adhering to the Service Standards is mandatory.

Reports to: General Manager Main Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to: • Pricing and profitability - implementing the bank’s deposit pricing policy in order to maintain targets set for liquidity and profitability; • Maintaining the bank’s competitive position in the market for deposits by marketing the bank’s deposit products, ensuring operational efficiency and maintaining high customer service standards; • Protecting the bank from money laundering and similar financial and non-financial risks by ensuring that each customer is properly known to the bank; • Efficiency, timeliness, and accuracy in processing and reporting on deposit transactions; • Ensuring that all aspects of the bank’s daily operations are in full compliance with the relevant laws and regulations; • Training and Development of employees within the department; • Participating in the development of the bank’s corporate strategy;

• Monitor the bank’s deposit products and services (including automated teller machines (ATMs) and direct deposit); • Ensure that the bank’s AML/CFT policies and procedures are rigorously followed through the deposit process, with particular emphasis on Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures and Source of Funds declarations; • Ensure that appropriate controls are implemented to guarantee the integrity and accuracy of all account transactions; • Ensure that appropriate disclosures on deposit account characteristics, including earnings, fees and ATM usage, are made to consumers at account openings and on request; • Establish, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of internal controls for all account related and operations activities; • Ensure that the handling of dormant accounts meets legal requirements and technical requirements and satisfy internal control procedures; • Ensure full adherence to the Service Standards; • Ensure vigorous management of the Personal Performance Planning process; • Actively participate on the Asset Liability Committee (ALCO); Required Qualifications and Experience: Qualifications - any or a combination of • Certificate in Banking/Financial Services; • A diploma in Banking/Financial Services; • An Undergraduate Degree in Banking/ Financial Services; • An MBA would be an asset; Experience • No less than 15 years Banking Experience, covering areas of general banking up to supervisory level.

Required Skills/Competencies: • A Service Excellence Professional • Leadership Skills, both interpersonal and technical.

• Ability to lead, build, coach and train a team.

• Strong decision making, delegating, time management and analytical skills.

• Human resource management, knowledge of industrial and labour laws, interviewing, business development, communication and emotional intelligence.

• Expert knowledge of the Bank’s operating system, policies and procedures, basic accounting and budgeting, basic knowledge in detecting fraud.

• He/She must have the ability to interact

comfortably and confidently at all levels within the organization, with customers, shareholders and other stakeholders.

All applications should be submitted with detailed Curriculum Vitae and the Bank’s application form which is available on the bank’s website www. thebankofnevis.com.

Applications should be submitted no later than April 30, 2019 to: Human Resource Manager The Bank of Nevis Limited P O Box 450, Main Street Charlestown, Nevis Email: - info@thebankofnevis.com Please note that only those candidates selected for an interview will receive an acknowledgement.

18

E

entertainment

april 27, 2019 THE STAR

www.stluciastar.com

DBL, Son of the Soil

arlier this month a sponsored promotional video for the show Son of the Soil popped up on hundreds of Saint Lucians’ social media feeds. It advertises DBL’s first-ever live performance on the island. Then billboards and posters started showing up.

But like me, many must have wondered about the identity of DBL and why his show called Son of the Soil.

The answers were provided to the STAR on Thursday. Firstly, the star of Son of the Soil goes by no other name but DBL. He was born in Saint Lucia and, at about the age of fifteen, he moved to the United States.

“I told my aunt I was bored; I didn’t have anything to do.

I’m an only child. She said, ‘Well, that’s not my problem.

Find something to do!' So I

did.” He set out to build himself a career in showbiz.

He began practising dancing and singing. “I was getting bullied because I enjoyed dancing and performing. It wasn’t the most macho thing to do. That’s actually what got me into martial arts because they were literally beating up on this ‘coolie’ boy that wanted to dance. They’d pull me by the hair and call me Michael Jackass. It was pretty bad,” he continued. But DBL persevered.

Being the nephew of popular Saint Lucian songbird Sandra Lord was an added bonus .

“My aunt Sandra got me in the business,” DBL said, “and I was able to meet the Jacksons through my performances and hard work. I got discovered by them and they kind of brought me into the family. They started nicknaming me ‘Little Michael’

and taught me the ropes.”

So what brought Little Michael back home? Well, he wants to establish a special relationship with his island home. “I’ve been back and forth for several years but this is really special. It’s the first time I’m actually going to perform my own original music. I just dropped my first EP called Island Vibes and it was executively produced by Jackie Jackson of the Jackson 5, who’s a long-time mentor of mine and like a father figure. There are some new songs that the world has never heard yet. Saint Lucia has the exclusive,” he laughed.

As for the producer of Son of the Soil, he said the show will introduce DBL to many more people. “I just want Saint Lucians to see I want to bring our culture to the world. I’m filming a music video while I’m here, to Your Love, and the basis

is to take the landmarks of Saint Lucia, the people of Saint Lucia, the talent of Saint Lucia, and bring it to the world.”

Apart from the show, DBL hopes to establish collaborations with local performers and musicians including those that he follows online from the US. One of his favourites is the Dennery Segment pioneer, Motto. “My music has a strong influence of where I’m from, with where I’ve been. I took my culture and I brought it to mainstream which is something a lot of artists might be afraid to do, because the people wouldn’t accept it or love it,” DBL said.

Son of the Soil takes place at Sandals Grande on May 4, 2019. Produced by Ronald ‘Boo’ Hinkson, it will include local performers as supporting acts.

DBL returns to Saint Lucia for his first concert on home ground.

---CM

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) under the “Global Programme Sustainable Management of Mobility in the Context of Climate Change (HMCCC)” in St. Lucia is looking for a:

Accounting Assistant (m/f)

requires an energetic, enthusiastic and dynamic

LOYALTY AND TRAVEL CONSULTANT

This is an exciting sales role requiring a dynamic, assertive, self-motivated personality.

Required Profile:

The agent is responsible for ensuring repeat business by securing future travel plans by way of client deposit on room accommodation. In addition to organized training, the job requires a driven individual who understands the need for on-going product exploration for constant education on the product.

Applicants should satisfy the following minimum requirements: • Secure future business by obtaining room bookings prior to guest departure • Ensure that bookings made are accurate and properly reviewed with guests • Actively listening to guests’ preferences so that the correct resort match is made • Ensure that all booking details are recorded and stored as required by SOPs • Constantly ensuring that available promotions are known and used to drive and close sales • Interact and develop relationships with guests through exciting company approved activities • Prepare approved invitation to book for send out to guests to help stir interest and drive business to the desk • Ensure as many guests as possible are informed about the Loyalty and Travel desk by way of collateral, participation in resort activities, “dining with guests” opportunities and the like • Develop strategic alliances with select team members to assist with sales Qualifications and Experience Associate Degree in Management or Marketing Minimum of two (2) years’ experience in sales or a similar capacity.

Please submit a letter of application and current resume addressed to: Loyalty and Travel Vacancy Sandals Resorts International Email: recruitshc@grp.sandals.com Applications must be received by Friday 3rd may 2019.

Only applications meeting the minimum criteria will be considered.

• • • • • • • •

Certificate/diploma or comparable qualification from a commercial academy (accounting).

At least 1-3 years’ professional experience in a comparable position. solid understanding of basic bookkeeping and accounting payable/receivable principles. in-depth knowledge of accounting software. good working knowledge of ITC technologies (related software, phone, fax, email, the internet) and computer applications (e.g. MS Office). very good knowledge of the European language widely used in the country, ideally a knowledge of German good management and organizational skills. willingness to upskill as required by the tasks to be performed – corresponding measures are agreed with management.

Information of the Programme:

The HMCC Programme principal goal is to improve applied knowledge relating to the sustainable management of human mobility in the context of climate change in our partner regions the Caribbean and the Pacific and our partner country the Philippines, as well as in German and international cooperation. In addition, Timeframe of Employment: May/ June 2019-April 2020.

Application Information: If you are interested, kindly submit your cover letter and CV in PDF form and in English to: giz.serviceskaribik@giz.de Candidate’s application will be received by May 10th, 2019

NOTE: Due to the high volume of applications received, we will only contact applicants who are being considered. Thank you for your understanding.

THE STAR

INTERNATIONAL 19

www.stluciastar.com

april 27, 2019

Easter Sunday Attacks Add a New Dimension to Sri Lanka’s Sectarian Tensions A

series of coordinated attacks on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka shattered the peace in a country that has suffered a long history of sectarian tensions. During a decades-long civil war, which ended in 2009, the primary fault line in the country was between the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and minority Tamil groups. But the bombings, claimed by the Islamic State and targeting Christian minorities, have little to do with these historical tensions.

Sinhalese, with a population of more than 15 million, are the ethnic majority in Sri Lanka and are mostly Buddhists. They live in the western and southern regions of the island. The Tamils

occupy most of the north and parts of the eastern coast. The disenfranchisement of minority Tamils at the hands of the Sinhalese Buddhist majority who controlled the government led to the civil war, which began in the 1980s.

The strain between the Sinhalese Buddhists and the Tamils has dampened significantly since the war ended in 2009. In recent years, hardliners in the Sinhalese Buddhist community have fueled a new surge of antiMuslim violence. Last year, the government declared a state of emergency following a number of mob attacks by Sinhalese against Muslim businesses and houses.

It was not immediately

clear how Sunday’s bombings fit into the larger dynamic of the country, and experts suggested that the attacks actually contradict the country’s historical conflicts.

A relatively unknown radical Islamist group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath, carried out the attacks, with help from international militants, Sri Lankan officials said on Monday.

“The local Muslims, their primary antagonism is not with Christians. It is with the local Buddhist majoritarian,” said C. Christine Fair, a professor at Georgetown University who focuses on political and military affairs in South Asia.

The group was mainly known for vandalizing Buddhist

New faces as Grow Well elects executive G

row Well Inc. held its annual general meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2019, marking 24 years of advocacy. The election of a new executive and the retirement of a stalwart from that role were the main highlights of the AGM.

The meeting heard the President’s report from outgoing President Paul Lorde who spoke on the past year’s programmes, which have been robust, and he thanked sponsors, volunteers and supporters. The financial report was also presented, giving a healthy financial outlook for the organisation.

Guest speaker Henry Mangal took the time to express admiration for outgoing President Paul Lorde and Secretary Colleen Newman, noting their long and storied

community service via Grow Well.

Newman also commended Lorde, under whose leadership the number of programmes at Grow Well has vastly increased.

Lorde has served in several capacities on the executive over the past 24 years and was awarded honourary life membership in recognition of distinguished service to the organisation on its 20th anniversary. He announced at the AGM his decision to remove himself from future consideration for any executive position. Lorde was recognised with an award at the AGM in appreciation of his contribution to Grow Well.

Another stalwart recognised was Mary Sidoine, who received the President’s Award at the AGM. She was commended for her valuable

contribution to the golf programme.

Eleven individuals were confirmed to lead the organisation for the next two years. Four of these have not previously held executive positions. The new executive is Paula St. Luce as president, Christina Jules as vice, Simone Liverpool for secretary, Andy DeVerteuil serving as treasurer, and Maria Fontenelle for public relations officer. The new floor members are Tracey Arnold and Leslie Clarke, the trustees are Monique Dubisson, Susan Guillaume and Colleen Newman, and the Rotary-appointed trustee is Astrid Mondesir.

The injection of new members into the organisation is expected to help sustain and expand Grow Well's programmes for youth in the island’s north.

statues until now.

“Most of the people who were killed are Sri Lankan Christians, who have nothing to do with traumatizing or brutalizing the Muslims of Sri Lanka,” Ms. Fair said.

The choice to target Christian communities, who largely had little conflict with the country’s Muslims, along with the scale of the attack, suggested the involvement of a global jihadist with a broader antiChristian agenda, according to Ajai Sahni, the executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi.

The Islamic State issued a statement more than two days after the attack claiming responsibility. The group’s Amaq news agency called the bombers “Islamic State fighters” and shared a video of the eight men— apparently the Sri Lanka attackers—pledging allegiance to the group.

---The New York Times

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