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Two choices confront Prime Minister Allen Chastanet: Agree to Grynberg’s latest offer or take on a $500 million lawsuit that experts say the PM’s predecessor has rendered unwinnable!

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Moroccan Embassy Celebrates Feast of the Throne

Financial Action Task Force Recommendation 26: Regulation and Supervision of Financial Institutions

By The Attorney General’s Chambers and the National Anti-Money Laundering Oversight Committee (NAMLOC)

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Ambassador Kadmiri (right) and his wife, Najat Guellaa, this week celebrated the 20th anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s Ascension to the Throne.

They were joined by special guests including Governor General Sir Neville Cenac and his wife.

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n Tuesday the citizens of the Kingdom of Morocco celebrated the twentieth anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s ascension to the throne, not only in the North African country, but also here in Saint Lucia where Ambassador Abderrhim Kadmiri marked the occasion with a dinner at Coco Palm Resort. In attendance were Governor General Sir Neville Cenac, acting Prime Minister Guy Joseph and External Affairs Minister Sarah Flood-Beaubrun.

Said the ambassador: “It is my privilege and honour to represent the people of my country in this wonderful region of the world.” He described the evening’s event as a great opportunity to commemorate the 20th anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s ascension. He also spoke about the diplomatic achievements of Morocco in the Caribbean region and the third year of his tenure as ambassador.

“Today is Morocco’s most significant national event of the year,” he said. “It is an opportunity for the citizens of the Kingdom of Morocco to reaffirm loyalty to His Majesty the King.”

Ambassador Kadmiri described the political reforms

by King Mohammed VI as “enormous”, in particular the adoption of a new constitution in 2011 which he says has strengthened human rights in the country. “Since the ascension of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI to the throne of His glorious ancestors, on July 30, 1999, Morocco has carried out various political, social and economic projects, that benefitted millions of Moroccans.”

In addition to becoming more eco-friendly, Morocco has also strengthened ties to fellow African nations, returning to the African Union on January 13, 2017. “We all recall His Majesty Mohammed VI’s address to his African counterpart leaders at the African Union Summit at Addis Ababa, when he said ‘Africa is my home and I’m coming back home.’ ” Kadmiri said.

Reaffirming Morocco’s ties with Saint Lucia and other Caribbean nations, Khadmiri declared: “We are clearly committed to enhance more and more our relations and cooperation with Saint Lucia, as well as with the nine other countries that our embassy based in Castries is covering.”

He recalled the opening of the OECS Embassy in Rabat in

AUGUST 03, 2019 THE STAR

October, as well as the twoweek International Training Session in Diplomacy, of fifteen Caribbean diplomats, hosted by the Moroccan Academy for Diplomatic Affairs (AMED) in November last year.

He promised that “in the same spirit, from next September all the programmes of cooperation will take a new dimension, updating the exchange of visits of our experts in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, education, tourism and diplomacy, as well as the organisation of vocational training in Morocco.

In this regard I’m so pleased to announce that from the beginning of next October, all the fertilizer shipments will reach the Caribbean destination. Saint Lucia, of course, will be the first recipient of this commodity benefitting local farmers.”

The ambassador closed with the assurance that he is “still fully enjoying the fruitful and successful years of my assignment as Ambassador of Morocco to this beautiful land and I want to take the occasion to thank all my Caribbean friends who are contributing to my journey. I won’t forget it.”

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inancial institutions, which include but are not limited to banks, credit unions and insurance companies, are central to the economic development of a country. As a result, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mandates the supervision of these entities.

Recommendation 26 of the FATF Forty Recommendations speaks to the regulation and supervision of financial institutions.

Countries are required to ensure that regulators take all requisite actions to properly regulate and supervise financial institutions using a risk-based approach. A riskbased approach is a process by which regulators focus more attention on areas, activities or institutions perceived as being at higher risk for money laundering or terrorist financing. In order to identify an institution’s overall risk, regulators must understand the risk the institution faces from customers and products,

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and the thoroughness of the compliance function.

Additionally, regulators must appreciate the money laundering and terrorist financing risks of the country.

Within Saint Lucia, the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) is the regulator for money laundering. The FIA has anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing supervisory responsibility for financial institutions. The Money Laundering (Prevention) Act, Cap.12.20 section 8(2) states: “the Authority may conduct an investigation into a financial institution . . . if the Authority has reasonable grounds to suspect that a transaction involves the proceeds of criminal conduct or attempted transaction involves the proceeds of criminal conduct.”

All necessary legal or regulatory measures should be taken to prevent criminals or their associates from “holding, or being the beneficial owner of, a significant or controlling interest, or holding a management function in, a financial institution”.

Further, financial institutions are required to conduct due diligence to establish the identity of the

“beneficial owner”. According to FATF, the term "beneficial owner" refers to the natural person(s) who “ultimately owns or controls” a legal entity and/or the natural person(s) on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted.

Countries are mandated to provide regulators with adequate human, financial and technical resources to effectively execute their functions. These functions should be exercised independently without interference. Further, there should be a level of autonomy and operational independence and staff should operate at the highest level of professional and ethical standards.

Saint Lucia is currently undergoing its 4th Round Mutual Evaluation which culminates with an onsite visit by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) September 1627, 2019. The effective implementation by Saint Lucia of this recommendation will be assessed during this process.

The FATF Forty Recommendations are available on the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s website at www.cfatf-gafic.org.

SLASPA Unveils New Website and Launches Port Showcase

he Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) on Friday, June 26, 2019, officially unveiled its new website and launched the SLASPA Port Showcase 2019.

The event, which was held at the SLASPA headquarters atrium, brought together partners from the air and sea ports community.

SLASPA welcomed its first official website more than six years ago, joining other worldwide entities with similar responsibilities. The new and dynamic website features a modern design with improved functionality and easy access to information on the authority and its services, with valuable links for both internal and external partners and the general public.

The Authority’s new, comprehensive website is a response to the needs of its wide cross-section of partners and to remaining current in

the ever-evolving world of information and communication technologies. It endeavours to create a user-friendly browsing experience that will offer ease in transacting business with the port and obtaining real-time information.

Port Showcase, the first of its kind to be hosted by the Authority, will provide an opportunity for convergence for all port stakeholders, create an avenue for networking and forming relationships, present opportunities for business development, enable stakeholders to demonstrate their commitment to the port community, and inspire youth to pursue air and sea portrelated careers. The activity will involve a series of talks and panel sessions that would bring partners together to inform of their services.

The official announcement of Port Showcase saw partners

who came in at different levels of sponsorship: gold, silver and bronze.

Senior Manager for Business Development and Corporate Communications, Gasper George, spoke to SLASPA’S enthusiasm in unveiling this new achievement. According to him, “We recognize the significance of our stakeholders and partners to our operations. In redefining our brand, central is the importance of our interface with the world and key organisations. Like the website, SLASPA Port Showcase will show who we are and make persons understand the real purpose and ethos of our organisation, SLASPA. Through this website redesign, we will be in a better position to meet the needs of all of our partners and more so our stakeholders. This puts us well in line with our new vision to be a modern gateway connecting people, partners and the world.”

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Government to form EC$100,000 Marijuana Commission Joshua St. Aimee

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n Tuesday St. Kitts and Nevis came one step closer to joining fellow CARICOM members Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and St. Vincent aboard the cannabis train. In keeping with its plan to regulate and control the use of cannabis for medicinal, religious and recreational purposes, the government introduced, at the National Assembly, the Drugs (Prevention and Abatement of the Misuse and Abuse of Drugs) (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The move follows the establishment in 2017 of a National Marijuana Commission.

In its 2019 report the Commission recommended the amendments and called for the use of cannabis for medicinal and scientific, religious and recreational purposes. The amendments seek to address such areas as designated areas for smoking, fines, and a lower age limit of 18 years.

Prime Minister Timothy Harris promised this was only the beginning, and legislation will also be introduced to expunge the records of persons who have been criminalized for their use of marijuana.

Meanwhile, reporters in Saint Lucia on Tuesday gathered at the office of Minister of Commerce Mr. Bradley Felix,

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Government's point man on cannabis, Bradley Felix (pictured) insists that public consultation on the subject is imperative.

where he announced the government's plan to establish a Marijuana Commission. Felix said Cabinet had accepted his memo. Members of the Commission will include: the Attorney General or a designate, and a representative from the ministries of Commerce, Agriculture, Health, Home Affairs, and Equity, Invest Saint Lucia, the Christian Council, the Cannabis Movement, the National Youth Council, and a nominee from the House Opposition Leader.

The Commission's mandate: "To consult and provide advice on the design of a legislative and regulatory

framework for cannabis." Felix announced that $100,000 has been budgeted for the initiative and this will cover the hosting of at least thirty-six town hall meetings, and educational forums on television, print and radio. "The consultation will be very intense,” said the minister. “In fact, based on conversations I've been having, we're wondering whether the budgeted amount is sufficient.

But we're taking it one step at a time."

Asked why establishing another Commission was the answer, Felix responded with his own questions: "Have we had public consultation? Have

we had that? We hear every day people are crying that things are just happening without public consultation. There are lots of people who have their own views to share."

He added: "We want to ensure we bring people up to date as to where the cannabis industry is, and to enlighten them." The next step, Felix said, is for the Cabinet decision to be ratified next week. Letters will then be sent out to the respective organisations so that representatives can be chosen.

The Commission will be given three months to carry out its mandate and then report back to Cabinet.

Chairman of the Cannabis Movement Mr. Andre De Caires is far from satisfied. In an interview with the STAR, he fumed: "What exactly is this Commission for? CARICOM had a Commission; this government paid PEMANDU $13 million dollars and PEMANDU gave them a report on the legalization of ganja.

We gave them a white paper.

The first Commission gave recommendations. They received recommendations from four different bodies and now they're saying they want another Commission. It's a waste of time and money.

We already know what to do.

We have a detailed pathway to legalization. We have been advocating way longer than any of those islands."

Saint Lucia Offers Worry-Free Holiday Guarantee Programme

aint Lucia continues to prove why she is a destination that inspires travellers to visit and explore her beauty and splendour.

Visitors to Saint Lucia can enjoy the perfect summer getaway with 25 properties on the island offering guests a holiday guarantee in the event their vacation were to be interrupted by adverse weather.

Though Saint Lucia is seldom affected by hurricanes, hotel operators associated with the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) created the holiday guarantee so that visitors could book their vacation with confidence

at any time of the year. This unique programme covers cancellations made prior to arrival, and if the vacation is cut short because of a hurricane.

The guarantee becomes effective upon the issuance of a hurricane warning by the Saint Lucia Meteorological Service and it offers a waiver of cancellation penalties and an opportunity to rebook the vacation.

Travel agencies and tour operators, who can now offer their clients an additional layer of security for their vacation in the event of a hurricane, have welcomed the Holiday

Guarantee Programme, which started in 2018.

Chief Executive Officer at the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Beverly NicholsonDoty said, “As a sought-after Caribbean destination, it is utterly necessary that our Holiday Guarantee remains in full effect to assure our visitors that Saint Lucia takes pride in its tourism product.”

Participating properties in the 2019 Holiday Guarantee Programme include: Serenity at Coconut Bay, Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa, Ti Kaye Resort & Spa, Calabash Cove Resort & Spa, Hotel Chocolat, Coco Palm, East Winds, Fond

Doux Plantation & Resort, Ladera, The Landings Resort & Spa by Elegant Hotels, Villa Capri, Bay Gardens Resorts, Anse Chastanet, Jade Mountain, Mango Beach Inn, C’est La Vie, Tet Rouge Resort, Aupic Paradise, Top of the World Apartments, Castles In Paradise Villa Resort and Marigot Bay Resort, Spa and Marina.

For more information on the terms and conditions of the Holiday Guarantee Programme and offerings by the various participating hotels, visit www.stlucia.org/en/specials/ summer-specials or call 1-800456-3984, or 1-888 4STLUCIA.

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What if there was Video Recording of how Arnold Joseph Died?

While lauding the speedy police action in the more recent assault, Haynes cited other incidents involving the n America, black people offending officer that should have taken to recording have resulted in his dismissal all encounters with police from the force. Was the viral officers, despite that the latter video responsible for the are required by law to wear difference? The police press body cameras on duty. Following office would say only that they the highly controversial deaths had taken statements in relation of Trayvon Martin, Laquan to the recent assault.

McDonald and Walter Scott,

It is no secret that the among many other young, black majority of Saint Lucians do not men, personal recordings seem see the protectors of our lives more important than ever to the and property in a good light. black community.

Several reports attest to that.

On Monday, the Royal Saint Police officers are seldom given Lucia Police Force announced the benefit of the doubt. And that officer Rayian Clerice now they can never tell whether had been charged for cutlass there may be a video to counter whipping a handcuffed man their “self defence” claims in in police custody. The video matters of police brutality. that featured two other cops in

In 2017, BuzzFeed uniform was captured on video News, referencing American and soon after went viral. Andre police officers, reported: “The Haynes, aka Yardie, on Monday increasing prevalence of recalled during a TV appearance camera footage eroded that that he had been shot in bedrock of the justice system, controversial circumstances wiping out powers long held eleven years ago by the officer by law enforcement. Within the now charged with beating a last half decade, a new reality handcuffed prisoner. According has set in for cops, lawyers, and to the news report, his matter is judges: Videos have replaced still pending before the courts. police reports and testimony Claudia Mc Dowell

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as the most credible version of events, proving time and again, with increasing frequency, that police officers lie.”

Additionally: “This new criminal justice landscape was born from the intersection of two historical trends. First came the technological advancement that suddenly multiplied the number of cameras out in the world. As cameras became smaller and cheaper, more business owners could install them on their buildings, more city governments could stick them on light poles, more police departments could clip them to their uniforms, and more people could easily access them on Arnold Joseph was just seventeen, and a star student, their mobile phones.” when he was fatally shot during an alleged car chase.

We in Saint Lucia are To date, police have issued conflicting and confusing not quite there yet. The video reports of the incident. Might body cams have brought the truth to light? starring the cutlass-wielding cop is the first of its kind. charged. Asked why there have ongoing. They say, too, that a Two earlier videos seemed to been no gun-related charges, portray the police acting by the gun was recovered from the the police say these could come crime scene but they have so book even as a mob appeared later. far refused to disclose from to be preventing them from Had someone recorded where. The driver of the vehicle performing their lawful duty in the police chase that ended in which the teenager was Ciceron and in Dennery. with the young student’s

Meanwhile the RSLPF says travelling when he was fatally death, might someone have shot, has been charged with investigations into the May 22 been held responsible by several traffic violations. A shooting death of 17-year-old now? Had someone recorded third passenger has not been Arnold Joseph by the police are

the shootings in Vieux Fort and elsewhere at the time of Operation Restore Confidence, would we be in the related mess we now find ourselves?

The President of the Police Welfare Association, Travis Chicot, offered some advice last week: “We think having body cams will give us an unbiased representation of circumstances as they unfold.

We believe that having the body cams will do two things for the state: cause perpetrators to behave in accordance with the law; secondly, they will keep the police in check. We also understand that having the body cams will be a plus, not only for the police force, but also for the citizen and the security of the country.”

In January, referencing graphic images of crime scenes circulating on social media, an authorized police officer said: “Videos of crime in progress can help, but videos of crime scenes only make it more difficult for police investigators. It would be wonderful if pictures were submitted only to the police.

More often than not, that’s not the case.”

Department of Home Affairs and National Security Draws Attention to Human Trafficking

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he Department of Home Affairs and National Security has welcomed the platform offered through the observance of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, to remind the public of this emerging form of modern slavery. World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is recognized worldwide on July 30.

Chairperson of the Prevention of Trafficking In Persons Task Force and Permanent Secretary in the Department of Home Affairs and National Security, Elizabeth Bailey highlighted that the Government of Saint Lucia supports the appeal made by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.

The UN Secretary General, in his remarks to combat this crime, said that it is the duty of every country to stamp out the exploitation of people for profit. The UN Secretary General said, “On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let us reaffirm our commitment to stop criminals from ruthlessly

exploiting people for profit, and to help victims rebuild their lives.”

Said Bailey, “In relation to Trafficking In Persons, we at the Department of Home Affairs and National Security would like the public to know it, see it and report it—which is the slogan for our ongoing public relations campaign. We launched the campaign in January and public service announcements have been running on the media and NTN for the past several months. We urge people to increase their own awareness on Trafficking In Persons by going on the Internet to read more about this form of modern slavery.

We also have the Human Trafficking Facebook Page which contains a wealth of information on the issue.”

Additionally, Bailey highlighted the Trafficking In Persons Hotline 847. The hotline has been installed for the reporting of potential cases of human trafficking.

“Victims or persons who observe this crime in progress,

or are aware of a potential case, should call the 847 hotline and report the information to the police,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Home Affairs and National Security is working assiduously to launch a brand new website to provide the public with more access to information on this crime.

Communications Officer Claudia Monlouis said on Monday: “We are currently working closely with the website developer on completing this initiative. The public can also look forward to hearing from us again very soon. We have a lot of ideas that we want to undertake so that we can keep everyone sensitized and interested.

Trafficking In Persons is a very dangerous activity and we need people to always be on the alert.”

The US State Department has ranked the island at tier two in 2018 and 2019 for its tremendous strides in addressing the scourge of Trafficking In Persons at the local level.

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Another Fatal Police Shooting, Gros Islet Another Confusing Press Release Celebrations

Details of the events leading up to his death are puzzling, to say the least. The police say that despite him ith many questions being a wanted man, Fontenelle about the fatal police “was able to flee his residence shooting of 17-year-old and evade arrest”. However, Arnold Joseph still unanswered, a few days after Fontenelle most of them inspired by escaped arrest, the police confusing police press releases, would go on to find him in, of the Royal Saint Lucia Police all places, his residence. “On Force has issued yet another Sunday, July 28, 2019, about statement following another 7:00a.m. officers returned to fatal police shooting. This time the residence of the thirty seven the victim was Dylan Fontenelle year old resident of Bois Den of Bois Den, Choiseul, whom [Dylan Fontenelle].” How did the police claim was a wanted they know he had returned to man. his residence? The statement

To quote the police: does not explain.

“During the course of June and After twenty minutes July 2019, a total of twenty-six of attempting to subdue the reports were made against fugitive who was “armed with Dylan Fontenelle, including a metal rod and saw”; and who damage to property, damage to “proceeded to strike an officer motor vehicle, wounding, arson, with the said rod several times”; threats and assaults. Eight of the release states that “live the said reports were made on rounds of ammunition were Thursday, July 25, 2019”—three discharged in his direction”. days before the wanted man’s Why a lethal course of action death. was suddenly taken isn’t made

By Dean Nestor

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clear.

Also, the RSLPF has informed the STAR that answers to the above questions cannot yet be released to the public, as the investigation is ongoing.

Only last week, in relation to the police shootings of Kimberly De Leon and Arnold Joseph, as well as the cutlass assault on an arrested individual by an officer, Travis Chicot, the PWA president stated: “We continue to say, especially with some of the latest incidents, that it’s not a true reflection of the police force. However, those matters are under investigation, and we’ve said to members, any time they get themselves involved in matters and they are found wanting, they must understand that they have to face the music.”

Although Chicot argues that these incidents are not a true reflection of the RSLPF, and Rayian Clerice—the officer caught on video assaulting a handcuffed individual with

a cutlass—was charged with assault last Friday, the frequency of unexplained fatal police shootings, particularly in light of the IMPACS report, is yet another blow to the image of the force.

When asked if there must be more transparency with regards to the RSLPF, Chicot exclaimed: “Definitely!

Transparency is something that we all need to employ in organisations. It’s very important that we inform the public as to what is happening, especially with matters under investigation. I believe that every step of the way, we need to come out, whether through a press briefing or through a memo, and inform the public as to what is happening.”

But the problem with recent RSLPF press releases, most notably the one with regards to the killing of Arnold Joseph, is that they leave us with more questions than answers.

2019

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ros Islet Day is a celebration that is dear to the northernmost community in Saint Lucia. On August 5, 1985 Gros Islet was upgraded from a village to a town. Now, 34 years on, Gros Islet continues to celebrate its rich cultural history as well as its contribution to tourism, sports, fishing and so much more, with the annual Gros Islet Day celebrations.

This year the activities run from August 1 to 18 as the town recognises two recent achievements that will form part of the celebrations. Firstly, Gros Islet Junior Carnival Band won the Band of the Year title.

Then, two weeks ago, the new, state of the art Gros Islet Human Resource Development Centre was formally opened.

Celebrations began on August 1 with a family day of fun sports at the Gros Islet playing field.

Gros Islet Carnival takes place today, Saturday, August 3. Five costumed bands are expected to parade through the town, as well as the winning national junior carnival band.

On Sunday residents and well-wishers will gather at St Joseph the Worker Church for a thanksgiving service.

On Sunday August 11 several teams will participate in the grand Soccerama at Gros Islet multi-purpose court.

The curtains come down on the celebrations on Sunday August 18, with the crowning of a new Queen of Gros Islet.

The pageant, which will feature five contestants from various communities within the town, will be held at Gros Islet Human Resource Development Centre.

Everyone is invited to join in the celebrations in the spirit of love and togetherness as we continue to chart the progress of Gros Islet town.

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he St. Lucia Yacht Club in Rodney Bay was pulsating with rhythm and energy last Saturday night when the Saint Lucia School of Music presented an evening of salsa. Knowing that the beat and infectious vibe of salsa music mean that it’s impossible for the listener to keep still, patrons were alerted to bring their dancing shoes. As Master of Ceremony Ana Joseph Polyte pointed out, “This isn’t a concert, it’s a party”. Baila!

How often in Saint Lucia do you have the opportunity to dance to a live band? Add in the fact that several of last Saturday’s musicians grew up in countries where salsa is as natural as walking, and you have all the ingredients for a fun evening. Some “seenagers” and those with left feet may have been wary of hitting the dance floor but, while tapping their feet and swaying in their chairs, they were treated to the joyful sight of couples expertly executing salsa moves.

Opening and closing with Marc Anthony songs, the repertoire had a strong Puerto Rican vibe. It included classics and even a version of Adele’s Hello, performed by the School’s voice teacher, Andreya Nicholson.

Lead vocalist was faculty member Luis Serra who delighted with his clarity, delivery and verve. He and vocalist Juan Elias Goodman, a friend of the School, looked the part in their

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SLSM faculty, students and friends performing at the St. Lucia Yacht Club.

trilby hats and, all night long, neither stopped moving to the beat.

This being salsa, the horn section was dominant. Faculty member Ornella Rodriguez

played French horn and supplied back-up vocals. The other accomplished performers in the brass section were all friends of the School: Anderson Charles on alto sax, Trevorne

St. Omer and Arkim Griffith on trumpet, and Keitje Greaves on trombone.

Anderson Charles has assisted and performed with the SLSM for many years. In recognition of this, Richard Payne, Executive Director of the SLSM, stepped away from his post at the piano to present Mr Charles with a “small token of appreciation” for his years of valuable contribution.

Unsurprisingly, the percussion section was also strong. Faculty member Kervis Mosqueda played timbales, students Cleyanus Jules and Jheran Duncan were on conga drums and clave while Jack De Lepine, a friend of the SLSM, played the bongo drums and bell.

Congratulations are due to Daniel Petrocelli who played bass guitar on the night but is to be commended for his role as Musical Director for the event.

U.S. Government and the Caribbean Development Bank join forces to support Saint Lucian Youth

T

he United States Government and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) are working together to improve opportunities for vulnerable youth in Castries, Saint Lucia.

The two entities this week formalized their commitment to this collaboration, signing a Letter of Agreement that reaffirms their joint partnership with the Government of Saint Lucia on comprehensive violence prevention projects being funded by both institutions.

During a brief ceremony held at CDB’s Barbados-based headquarters, Acting Mission Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Eastern and Southern Caribbean, Julia Henn, signed the agreement on behalf of the United States Government, while CDB Vice-President (Operations), Monica La Bennett, did so on behalf of CDB.

The signing formalizes ongoing collaboration on the implementation of complementary youth initiatives—USAID’s regional Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Project and CDB’s Youth Empowerment Project (YEP).

Addressing the Signing Ceremony, La Bennett said, “The [Youth Empowerment] Project is intended to enhance the capacity of the Government of Saint Lucia and its

U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, Joaquin Monserrate (third from right) with representatives of USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean and the CDB after the signing of the Letter of Agreement.

implementing and participating agencies to deliver resultsbased youth empowerment responses to build the resilience and improve the life chances of vulnerable children, youth and their families.”

Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy, Joaquin Monserrate, who witnessed the Agreement, told the gathering, “The U.S. Government is deeply committed to this region as evidenced by our various youth, juvenile justice, health, and environment programmes that benefit at-risk youth and citizens at large. The challenges that the region faces cannot be solved by one agency and I’m pleased that the USG and the CDB are joining forces to use collective resources and ideas to support the region’s greatest asset—its youth.”

USAID’s YES Project is

designed to reduce youth involvement in crime and violence in target communities across the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, and Castries Central has been identified as one of the targeted communities for a range of interventions, including afterschool programmes, life and social skills training, workforce development and family counselling.

Meanwhile, CDB’s YEP Project addresses the expansion of existing Court Diversion Programmes to prevent youth who have committed minor crimes from reoffending. This includes community-based initiatives such as after-school and summer programmes, leadership development workshops and the inclusion of sports and expressive arts in communities.

THE STAR

august 03, 2019

www.stluciastar.com

09

10 LOCAL

www.stluciastar.com

august 03, 2019 THE STAR

To mark Emancipation, an Idea worth sharing!

Peter Josie

F

inding a way out of ignorance and poverty ought to be the agenda of every Emancipation Day observance. To that end, we must learn to look at history in its deep, underlying currents, rather than superficially.

In this context I’ve hit upon an idea I wish to share. To assist me, I turn to the three icons of social, political and economic development activists I’ve most admired; I refer to Sir Arthur Lewis, Lee Kuan Yew and Fidel Castro. In their heyday, the trio confronted the arrogance and assumptions of capitalist greed and forever changed the way their respective peoples looked at themselves.

The burden on each of these great men was to find a way out of poverty, ignorance and unemployment. There were no paths for them to follow.

They created their own. Lewis turned the Keynesian theory of production with limited supply of labour on its head and proved it was not land, labour and capital per se, but knowledge that was to lift the poor out of their misery to

a better life.

Lee Kuan Yew saw the corruption and lack of a proper system of government which held back his people and decided to fill the political vacuum with a benevolent dictator: himself! He was true to his word. Corruption was abolished in Singapore as Yew’s own ministers of government were thrown in prison for breaking the law.

Fidel Castro experienced the inhumane dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and his wealthy American friends. It took a bloody revolution to uproot the corruption and establish peoples’ power in Cuba.

My wish and prayer for the Caribbean, as we observe yet another Emancipation Day, is that the common folk will one day throw up a Caribbean leader able to capture the best humanistic and intelligent aspects of Lewis, Yew and Fidel to guide them to education and political vision, and to finally destroy the mental shackles of slavery. Only such shackles can explain the reason we celebrate when our country is threatened by large, corrupt capitalists. We must teach the uninformed that no matter what concessions are made to such people, they will never be

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satisfied. And the poorer and more divided the country, the more they will demand.

In the 1960s, when the Black Power revolution was threatening to overturn the remnants of slavery, black people were being encouraged to face the racist oppressors head-on.

Some blacks were frightened and apologetic. If a slave owner were to open the door of his slave hut and order his slaves to leave, some, not knowing how to live outside the plantation, would refuse. Laugh not, dear reader.

There are among us today some who would be lost if their political party should reject them. In some respects things are worse today as we witness the modern slave rejoicing, like Nero, while his homeland burns. For the same reason banana farmers who did not join the no-cut-strikes of the '80s were punished when fellow farmers destroyed their fruit and burned their banana sheds. Have we forgotten?

If some of these actions were due to jealousy, what, pray tell, is responsible for the joy with which some of us greeted the recent Virgin Atlantic decision to stop servicing Saint Lucia from June? Can such a reaction come from a heart of love? I think not.

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Virgin Atlantic Airways announced last week that having serviced Saint Lucia for 21 years, it would bring the arrangement to an end come June 2020— unless the government agrees to subsidise its local operations. (Photo: Virgin Atlantic blog)

It’s tough to explain, except for one who recognizes evil wherever he encounters it.

Thankfully, much good can come from the Virgin Atlantic announcement. If I were to apply the thoughts of the earlier cited three great icons, here’s what I think they would do: the $750,000 that was being spent to help Virgin Atlantic advertise would be put into a special fund.

Part would go to every worker who has cleaned Virgin Atlantic planes for the past 21 years, each receiving $500 for every year

they serviced the planes. Ditto the red caps. These monies will be specifically for house repairs, and/or educating their children and grandchildren.

In light of the proposed new terminal at Hewanorra International Airport, some funds ought to be spent educating lower-ranked employees, explaining what is envisaged, preparing them to better understand their value in the tourism chain. These workers ought to be the most knowledgeable on the goings-on

at Hewanorra at this time.

If those responsible for the development of tourism can look dispassionately, they will see that, after 21 years of assistance, Virgin Atlantic has matured from its infant stage and no longer needs help from this country’s taxpayers. They would also learn to focus on the Saint Lucians first glimpsed by visitors arriving by plane—the aircraft cleaners. The assembled cleaners, standing aimlessly with broom in hands at the south-eastern end of the terminal building, may not exactly help promote visitor appreciation.

A cool place, where they receive final instructions for the next aircraft cleaning assignment, and an ability to say 'Welcome' in more than one language, may be a better idea.

More on point, what might have happened had the government agreed to pay Virgin Atlantic the financial assistance it demanded?

I suspect the net result would have made “Plywood City” seem like child’s play. Opponents of the government, who were waiting with gasoline and matches in hand, were sorely disappointed. After they had burned down the island, they would return to their little USA “shit holes”, or wherever else, to continue swallowing every manner of insult from their mentally deranged president or leader.

THE STAR

august 03, 2019

LOCal

www.stluciastar.com

11

Soufriere Square finally here!

T

he Soufriere Square project was unveiled at an opening ceremony on Thursday.

Located opposite the Catholic Church of the Assumption, the square has undeniably lifted the town’s spirit. It features a water fountain and a Freedom Monument sculpted by Rick George that commemorates the courage and bravery of slaves who, in 1796, defeated British soldiers. It depicts a man, one hand uplifted in a fashion that brought to mind the Black Power clenched-fist salute. The man holds a chain in his other hand, with one foot on a canon. George also sculpted the John Compton statue in Constitution Park, Castries. Sitting areas are placed alongside the fountain, around the square, and on the outside.

The project was financed by a $2.5 million grant from Taiwan.

Thursday's ceremony attracted many celebrants.

In a press release on Monday, the St. Lucia Labour Party complained that the government had sought to play

down the previous Soufriere MP Harold Dalsan’s contributions to the project. In his address on Thursday, the town’s current MP Mr. Herod Stanislas thanked residents for their patience and understanding during the square’s construction phase. Stanislas asserted that despite generated negativity and doubt that had surrounded the project, he and his government had remained steadfast in their determination to deliver the state of the art facility.

"This facility is not owned by any single person,” said the MP. “It is not owned by any government. It is not owned by any political party. It is not owned by any district representative. It is owned by you. It belongs to you, the people of Soufriere-Fond St. Jacques."

Stanislas promised residents that the journey of progress, development and transformation toward a new Soufriere will continue, saying projects like the square, Old Trafford, Hummingbird Beach Park and the expansion to the Sulphur Springs are only a

Their faces say it all. While the politicians cross plastic swords over who should take credit for the construction of the recently delivered Soufriere Square, the town’s children celebrate, as only innocents can!

fraction of what is to come.

Following the ceremony, Karolin Troubetzkoy told the STAR she welcomed the opening. "As President of the SLHTA," she said, "I must tell you we are obviously very pleased, and send our

Longtime good friends should do all in their power to maintain relationships

some residents as they explored their new facility. Heaping praise on her district rep, Bernette Alcindor was in a joyful mood.

She said her community should be the inspiration for return visits to Saint Lucia; the completed project has given new life to the community. “Soufriere has been given a much required facelift,” she laughed.

Referencing the project, resident Marilyn Francis-James said: "I think it's an awesome venture, long-awaited by the people of Soufriere. I am so happy!"

Said another resident: "I think it's a very good gesture. Everything is just perfect! The only thing now missing is free WIFI."

---Joshua St. Aimee

INVITATION FOR ‘’EXPRESSION OF INTEREST’’

By Ulrick W Price

The National Insurance Property Development and Management Company Limited (NIPRO) is currently seeking ‘’Expressions of Interest’’ from suitably qualified contractors for the provision of Rust Treatment and Repairs to External Fire Escape Staircases at Heraldine Rock & Sir Stanislaus James Buildings at the Waterfront Castries.

V

irgin Atlantic is a business.

And, like all other businesses, its survival depends on profits. In the last fifteen years, the company experienced difficulties that required it to take on Singapore Airlines as a partner. When this partnership had to be discontinued, Delta Airlines took its place with a 49% stake, allowing 51% of its remaining shares to go up for grabs as Virgin scrambled to get its financial house in order. This all transpired after Virgin was forced to give up its roots within the UAE and Mexico, in consequence of overwhelming competition.

The complex issue today is that if the majority of Virgin’s shares are held by foreign nationals, the company cannot enjoy the full benefit of a British carrier, leaving assigned UK slots up for grabs.

Delta Airlines purchased a 49% interest in Virgin to ensure that the UK-US route would be secured, which is why Virgin further focused on KLM and Air France to consolidate these rights. With Brexit in the air, the ball game is likely to change. No one knows for certain where the chips will fall, so the PUT option is now being implemented.

congratulations to the community of Soufriere to have finally gotten back this amazing park, and also the related facilities that have certainly upgraded the Soufriere experience. The hope is that the visitors that stay in the nearby hotels will now be drawn to visit Soufriere and spend some time in the town itself."

We also caught up with

The details of the project including relevant information on the project site will be made available to interested parties upon request. Request for information and/or clarification on the proposed project should be sought via the Project Services Manager at telephone number 451-6763.

Guidelines for the preparation of the Expression of Interest The submission of the “Expression of Interest” should include inter alia, details of the following duly supported by documentary evidence:

• Company information (Name & contact details)

• Corporate structure

• Technical competencies of staff

• Financial capability

• Constitution of legal status

•Experience in metalwork and rust treatment Virgin owner, Richard Branson, still has several other shareholders to think about after Saint Lucia’s refusal.

Saint Lucia and its hospitality industry need to accept this changing world and address the consequent challenges positively and with intelligence. Antigua, Grenada and Tobago cannot sustain Virgin’s losses with their subsidies and passenger volume because Grenada and Tobago combined do not have Saint Lucia’s room stock. Neither does Antigua by itself have the volume of Saint Lucia. So the critical mass for Virgin without Saint Lucia is simply not there.

We are of the opinion that better sense will prevail before June 2020 and that Virgin will

recognize the importance of the Saint Lucia brand. Based on Royalton’s presence, and the arrival once per week of an associated charter service with 300 available seats, the number of passengers arriving from the UK has already surpassed current Virgin arrivals by 5%—with no subsidy from Saint Lucia. That having been said, government will no doubt continue to liaise with both Delta and Virgin to ensure that our long-standing relationship remains on the front burner, for the sake of all concerned.

Assessment of Submissions In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to the following:

• Technical competence

• Qualification and experience

• Local, regional and/or international experience on similar projects

• Financial capability and existing commitments Presentation of Submissions All submissions must be made in English.

One (1) hard copy of the “Expression of Interest” must be submitted to the following address on or before 4:00 P.M on August 16th, 2019.

The Chief Executive Officer National Insurance Property Development and Management Company Limited Vide Boutielle Road, Castries Telephone: 1 (758) 451-6763 The sealed envelope containing each submission should be clearly marked with the name and address of the applicant and the following words: ‘’Expression of Interest – Rust Treatment and Repair to External Fire Escape Staircases at Heraldine Rock & Sir Stanislaus James Buildings, at Waterfront Castries”.

Other Information

Following the assessment of submissions, a shortlist of not less than three and not more than five candidates will be provided with the full Terms of Reference, and invited to submit technical and financial proposals to undertake the assignment. The National Insurance Property Development and Management Company Limited (NIPRO) reserve the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. NIPRO will not be bound to provide a reason for not short-listing an applicant, and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of the Expression of Interest.

12 COMMENT

www.stluciastar.com

august 03, 2019 THE STAR

Confronted By A Hobson What Should Allen Chastan Grynberg’s US$500 Millio A

lmost from its inking in March 2000, the agreement between RSM Production Corporation and Kenny Anthony has been delivering mind-boggling twists and turns. Born in impenetrable darkness, it came to light when for the very first time the people in whose name it was ostensibly established received word of a secret arrangement between a notorious American oil speculator and the day’s prime minister. The official whistleblower was Richard Frederick. As part of his budget address on April 27 2009, the Castries Central MP revealed: “Madam Speaker, we came upon the agreement while exploring sources of energy. On page 3, at Article 2, it says: ‘By this agreement the company is exclusively authorized to carry out exploration operations in the agreement area . . . and if a commercially exploitable petroleum reservoir is discovered during the period the company is exclusively authorized to conduct development operations.’ ”

Additionally: “The government grants the company an exploration license covering its interest in the agreement area for an initial period of four years from the effective date, subject however to force majeure provisions of Article 24. Upon application made by the company, the exploration license shall be renewed for two further periods

of two years each . . . Each development license referred to in Article 8 shall be granted for an additional period of thirty years. Upon application duly made by the company, each development license shall be renewed for a further period of twenty years. In other words, the last Minister for Finance tied down sweet Saint Lucia, the waters of sweet Saint Lucia, for fifty-eight years, and worst of all, to a con artist.”

In the same address before parliament, the Castries Central MP hinted at his government’s intention “to get out of this agreement,” a decision he said would cost US$2.1 million. He blamed it all on “the recklessness of a Minister of Financial Destruction.” The full opposition contingent was in the House when Frederick delivered his blistering condemnation of the secret arrangement between RSM’s chief executive officer and Kenny Anthony, including the former prime minister and Minister of Finance. But it was the Castries East MP Philip J. Pierre who reacted to the shocking unveiling—on a point of order of relative insignificance. Frederick had mentioned by name one of the three individuals involved in the surreptitious oil deal, and the great defender of absentee underdogs was having none of that.

“Madam Speaker,” he said, his voice cracking, “I hate to

do this, but it is not fair for the honorable minister to accuse a gentleman who cannot defend himself in this honorable House. Mr. Earl Huntley is no longer an employee of the government of Saint Lucia. If Mr. Huntley at the time [of the signing of the contract] was a permanent secretary, and acted on behalf of a company, there is nothing that says when Mr. Huntley leaves the government he can or cannot act for the company . . . Leave Mr. Huntley.

If you want to do your political thing, do not accuse someone who cannot defend himself.

Mr. Huntley has family; he has friends.” (Pierre carefully forgot to mention that among Huntley’s family and friends was, wait for it, a foreigner!)

His statement was nonetheless disturbing.

But Frederick would not be distracted. He quickly established he had been reading from official documents. “When you see one letter written by someone in an official capacity,” he added, “then another letter on the same subject by the same individual now in a personal capacity, well, Madam Speaker, it certainly raises questions.”

Soon after Frederick’s revelations in parliament several articles by Earl Huntley appeared in the Voice newspaper, one entitled, “The Search for Oil and Gas in Saint Lucia.” Kenny Anthony took to the airwaves to announce

Whistle blower and MP Richard Frederick (center), during the budget debate of 27 April 2 based on the former PM’s newly discovered involvement in the now notorious Gryn Saint Lucia’s seabed to American Jack Grynberg’s RSM Production Corporation for oil exp Allen Chastanet (left) between

his decision to file a libel suit against Frederick and to warn others not to repeat any of what the MP had said while covered

by House privilege. He took the opportunity to say, contrary to Frederick’s assessment, that Grynberg was obviously not a con artist. Otherwise, other regional governments wouldn’t dream of engaging him in business. He referred the doubting Thomases to Huntley’s earlier cited published accounts. Since then the former prime minister has kept to himself whatever else he knows about honest Jack.

Not long before the 2011 general elections, Prime Minister Stephenson King delivered a televised address to the nation, at the heart of which

was a plea to his predecessor for information that might help the government decide what to do about the Grynberg contract. King prayed in vain.

His party lost the general elections and a short time afterward the returned Kenny Anthony announced by press release that Jack Grynberg’s RSM Production Corporation had served a US$500 million breach of contract lawsuit on the government—which would be “vigorously defended.”

At last count, Saint Lucian taxpayers had already coughed up millions for legal representation. In 2013 the prime minister received from Jack Grynberg a letter that the writer described as “an effort to resolve the pending ICSID

dispute”: Grynberg would abandon his lawsuit if Saint Lucia “agrees to affirm that the parties’ March 2000 agreement continues to be in full force and effect, and has been so since March 2000.” Also that the government acknowledges “the agreement has been and continues to be in a force majeure due to the aforementioned boundary disputes.”

Whatever was Kenny Anthony’s reaction, it did not please RSM’s chief executive officer—at any rate, not nearly as much as had the amendments to the original 2000 contract. It would hardly be surprising to learn few Saint Lucians know that mere months after the deal was sealed, Jack Grynberg, citing his contract’s force majeure clause, informed Anthony by letter that his company

THE STAR

august 03, 2019

on’s Choice, anet Do About ion Lawsuit?

27 April 2009, described Kenny Anthony (right) as “the Minister of Financial Destruction,” ious Grynberg horror story. Nearly 20 years after Anthony leased a huge portion of for oil exploration, the consequent whirlwinds have marooned the current prime minister, between two raging tsunamis.

could not fulfill its contractual obligations, by which he referred to “border disputes” involving Barbados, Martinique and other sister territories. In the same bad news missive, Grynberg requested adjustments to his contract, both in relation to time and acreage to be explored. The prime minister signed on the dotted line —no questions asked.

In April 2019, shortly before the announcement that the ICSID’s ad hoc committee had restored to Jack Grynberg his right to have his lawsuit heard on its merit (it had earlier been dismissed by a tribunal “with prejudice” after Grynberg repeatedly refused to comply with its order to guarantee possible costs), he wrote to Prime Minister Allen Chastanet a letter that echoed his 2013 missive to Kenny Anthony.

In effect, Grynberg would withdraw his lawsuit provided the government agreed to forget all that had transpired since 2000 and start afresh.

From all I’ve been able to uncover, the government told the American where to shove his stick and carrot. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, another twist: According to reliable overseas sources, the government’s magic circle lawyers are concerned about their chances of beating RSM’s lawsuit—for reasons mainly related to Kenny Anthony’s undisputed amendments to the original contract. If my sources are correct, the new attitude would place the Chastanet government between two tsunamis.

COMMENT

www.stluciastar.com

What to do? Agree to Grynberg taking up where he left off in 2000, or gamble on the chance of the oilman winning his US$500 million lawsuit? Dear fellow concerned reader, what would you have our government do? I need add that still to be considered is the long elephant-roomed multi-million-dollar question: How did we land in this monster cesspool? Threatening whirlwinds be damned, the prime minister might attempt yet again to consult with his House colleague or with the man who first discovered oil back in 1998—while frolicking with a bikini bombshell in the sea at Dauphin!

(See related article at right.)

13

Denver oil tycoon Jack Grynberg not entitled to $400 million in back pay in family feud, judge rules

D

enver oil tycoon Jack Grynberg won’t get a penny for the years he spent building a billion-dollar empire for his family after they fired him following a protracted court battle, a judge has ruled.

That’s not to say the octogenarian won’t reap some of the benefits for having created several companies that he ran but ultimately signed over to his then-wife and three kids — all of whom wanted Grynberg tossed because of concerns that his business decisions weren’t in their best interests.

Arapahoe County District Judge Charles Pratt this week ruled that the three companies he created — Gadeco, Pricaspian and RSM, which manage his vast oil holdings — were put into his family’s name and not his own as a way to protect his vast wealth from creditors, estate taxes and even kidnapping and extortion attempts.

That Grynberg took only a minimal salary through the years was his choice. Grynberg’s lawyers say he’ll keep fighting.

“This three-year-long case has been about Jack Grynberg’s family trying to seize all the money that Mr. Grynberg alone accumulated for the Grynberg Family,” his attorney, Gregory Tamkin, said in an emailed statement to The Denver Post. “As things currently stand, Mr. Grynberg’s children, without having made any contributions to the companies, now have received approximately $1 billion that Mr. Grynberg earned. By contrast, Mr. Grynberg kept less than $5 million for his work over the last 25 years. That is unjust and a basis for an appeal. Mr. Grynberg will continue to fight for what he earned.”

Lawyers for Grynberg’s ex-wife, Celeste, 83, and the

couple’s three children, Rachel, 58, Stephen, 56, and Miriam, 54, said the decision “confirms that they were fully within their rights when they acted to assert control over the family’s oil and gas companies,” according to a statement from attorney Glen Summers.

“They did so to protect the companies and Jack Grynberg’s legacy,” Summers wrote. “The family is relieved to have this unfortunate and painful litigation behind them.”

The bulk of the case hinged on the family’s assertion that Grynberg, 87, wasn’t the Jack of old, the man who had frequently taken on the likes of BP, Conoco, Shell and a handful of other petroleum conglomerates and foreign governments around the globe with accusations of cheating and wrongdoing. It was through that prolific use of the courts that Grynberg, a brilliant graduate of the Colorado School of Mines and survivor of the Holocaust, pocketed a fortune and built an empire.

Grynberg said he put his family’s name on the companies with the proviso and belief he would maintain control of the businesses throughout his lifetime. An Arapahoe County jury disagreed with that in February and said the family owned the companies and could fire Grynberg, which they did.

Grynberg then said he wouldn’t have set things up that way if he had known he could be fired, so he asked Pratt to award him what he felt he was owed: about $400 million in back salary.

The family, for their part, never knew they could toss the aging oilman until about 2016.

“Prior to that time, Jack Grynberg had substantially unfettered control over the operations of the family business,” Pratt wrote in his ruling. “If one of the family members wanted to become involved or disagreed with one of (his) decisions or wanted something . . . he frequently would push back, refuse the request and tell the family member to ‘go away and leave

me alone.’ ”

Because the family was “satisfied with the significant wealth being created,” they left Grynberg alone. That changed as his decisions became more alarming to them, records show, and putting significant amounts of their wealth at risk.

The scope of Grynberg’s wealth is buried in court files that are largely sealed from the public. At one point during earlier testimony, it was revealed that earnings within just one of the companies is as much as $120 million a year, mostly in royalty payments that come from oil fields that stretch through countries as far off as Kazakhstan.

“In 1993 (when the companies were formed) Jack Grynberg was a brilliant businessman, entrepreneur, accomplished oil and gas geologist and engineer, and was very astute and calculating in all his business decisions,” Pratt wrote.

In other words: Grynberg knew exactly what he was doing when he gave ownership to his family.

“If he made a mistake, it was in believing and trusting that the family members would not take his control of the family business away before he was ready,” Pratt wrote.

The battle has cost him his marriage — the couple divorced last year — and strained even further the already tenuous relationship he had with his children.

Paperwork showed he was bitterly disappointed that his family would “scheme” to wrestle from him control of the companies he created with them in mind.

But not all is lost for Grynberg.

His divorce settlement left him with half of Celeste’s 25 percent ownership interest in Pricaspian.

---The Denver Post

14

august 03, 2019 THE STAR

www.stluciastar.com

INVITATION TO TENDER

Saint Lucia National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHG) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1. INVITATION The Government of Saint Lucia is inviting consultants to submit tenders for a consultancy to conduct its 2018 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHG) for reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The submission should be guided by the Terms of Reference contained herein.

TERMS OF REFERENCE Consultancy: Saint Lucia 2018 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHG) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2. BACKGROUND Through the Department of Sustainable Development (DSD) of the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, the Government of Saint Lucia is currently embarking on preparatory activities leading up to the production of its First Biennial Update Report (BUR1) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This is in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the UNFCCC. By virtue of a Project Cooperation Agreement with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) office in Nairobi, the DSD will serve as the executing agency in undertaking activities towards the fulfilment of Saint Lucia’s obligations in that regard.

One of the main objectives of the BUR1 process is to build local, individual and institutional capacity to implement the Convention on Climate Change.

The BUR1 process also seeks to enhance general awareness and knowledge on climate change-related issues in Saint Lucia; and to contribute to the social and economic development of the country by reducing vulnerability associated with climate change, or proposing options to do.

Saint Lucia’s GHG Inventory for 2010, which was produced as part of the Third National Communications process, has been submitted to the UNFCCC, having been compiled based on the required Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology and guidance. The 2018 GHG Inventory will improve previous inventories where possible, including any necessary recalculations.

3. INTRODUCTION The GHG inventory is intended to communicate to the Conference of Parties (COP) the anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases (GHGs) not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. Saint Lucia reported to the UNFCCC its initial GHG inventory based on 1994 figures, its second GHG inventory based on 2000 figures, and its third GHG inventory based on 2010 figures.

The focus of this consultancy is the production of the National Inventory Report (NIR) on Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) for the year 2018 utilizing the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Inventories, IPCC Good Practice Guidance (GPG) 2000 and 2003 where appropriate; Completion of a validation exercise for the 2000-2010 data which has been submitted to the UNFCCC; and producing time series data for the years 2011-2018. These outputs will be submitted as part of Saint Lucia’s First Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC. 4. OBJECTIVES The three main objectives of this Consultancy are outlined as follows: 4.1 Coordinate an exercise with previously submitted inventory data (2000 & 2010) to enhance the capacity to conduct, prepare and report on the GHG Inventory by upgrading to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for greenhouse Gas Inventories and Good Practice Guidance (GPG) 2000 and 2003 where appropriate.

4.2 Conduct training of local stakeholders and build capacity on the data, methods, and assumptions used to prepare previous GHG inventories, including dissemination and supervision of local stakeholders in the use of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Inventories and 2000 & 2003 IPCC Good Practice Guidance (GPG) where appropriate.

4.3 Prepare and submit Saint Lucia’s NIR on Green House Gases for 2018 along with time series data for 2011 to 2018 to the Department of Sustainable Development.

5. METHODOLOGY The consultant will be expected to conduct training for local stakeholders and oversee the data collection and data input processes for the National GHG Inventory. The Consultant will work in conjunction with the Climate Change Project Team and the Technical Working Group and shall perform all tasks listed below in the scope of services required. It is preferable that the Consultant, work in collaboration with a local counterpart, as may be agreed in a separate sub-agreement.

1. Local training must be in a face-to-face mode so that trainees can receive maximum feedback and interaction with the Consultant; 2. The Consultant will be required to become familiar with Non-Annex I Inventory Software (NAIIS) database tool for reporting GHG inventories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in which the information must be inserted;

3. The consultant must adhere to the reporting guidelines set out in decisions 17/CP.18 and 2/CP.17 for non-Annex I GHG inventories 4. The consultant must utilise 2006 IPCC Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Inventories and 2000 & 2003 IPCC Good Practice Guidance (GPG) where appropriate.

5. Primary and secondary data collection must be used to validate previous reporting figures and to generate time series data for 2011-2018 as well as to compile the 2018 NIR. 6. SCOPE OF SERVICES REQUIRED The Consultant will be required to consult the relevant documents outlined in section 4 above and work in close consultation with the Climate Change Project Team for the First Biennial Update Report within the Sustainable Development & Environment Division of DSD. The consultant is expected to undertake the following; 6.1 Conducting a validation exercise for 2001-2009 data; implement the 2006 IPCC guidelines with the existing data in these previous inventories; 6.2 Update 2000 and 2010 Inventory tables using the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

Note: the consultant will be provided with a template, including all the necessary elements to comply with the reporting requirements under UNFCCC as included in decision 17/CP.8 and 2/CP:17.

7. DELIVERABLES The Consultant shall deliver the following: 1. A work plan at the start of the consultancy, which clearly indicates the methodology and anticipated target outputs.

2. Revised training manual within two weeks of start of consultancy.

3. Conduct workshops for local participants on a date to be decided with Project team. (Note: the consultant will validate the objectives, contents, and the list of participants for the workshop with DSD) 4. A National Inventory Report (NIR) after review and validation by various stakeholders.

5. A presentation of findings at a meeting of relevant agencies. (Note: the list of participants will be provided by DSD 6. National GHG Inventory Chapter for First Biennial Update Report, including the methodologies used in compiling the inventory, the data sources and control procedure.

7. Compile a bibliography of all information sources (Documents, library, database).

6.3 Assessment of level of data availability and collection of data for each of the key GHG emission categories of the economy for the period 2011 to 2018;

8.

6.4 Conduct energy balances for the Energy Sector for 2013-2018;

The consultant must:

6.5 Satellite imagery interpretation for LULUCF.

• Demonstrate prior experience and expertise in conducting Greenhouse Gas Inventories for National Communications and Biennial Update Reports for developing country Parties to the UNFCCC. • Have a University degree in Environmental Studies, Development Economics or related field with at least five years’ experience in working with Greenhouse Gas Inventories in developing country Parties.

6.6 Complementing of the available data with data gathering surveys to make the data for the base year 2018 as complete as possible; 6.7 Using the compiled data to conduct statistical analysis to complete the activity data for the 2018 Inventory base year; 6.8 Reviewing and updating in-house training material where necessary to facilitate training of local stakeholders;

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Successful applicants must also demonstrate a thorough knowledge/ handson experience with the following: 8.1 Decision Adopted by the COP Decisions 17/CP.8 and 2/CP.17

6.9 Conducting training workshop on the execution of the 2006 IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories Guidelines, with special emphasis on the GPG requirements; 6.10 Selection and execution of the most appropriate inventory methodology (tier system), taking into consideration the level of available national activity data; 6.11 Conducting key sources analysis following IPCC guidelines, estimate the uncertainty for these sources, and propose an improvement plan for key categories with high uncertainty 6.12 Identification, collection and use of the required emission factors and coefficients and using appropriate defaults where national and/or appropriate regional statistics are lacking;

8.2 Definitions and Methodological Options to Inventory Emissions from Direct Human-induced Degradation of Forest and De-vegetation of other Vegetation Types 8.3 Good Practice Guidance for Land-use, Land-use change and Forestry 8.4 Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in Greenhouse Gas Inventories 8.5 IPCC Greenhouse Gas Inventory Software 8.6 Report of the Conference of the Parties (COP) at its Eighth Session, Held at New Delhi (October 23rd to 1st November 2002) 8.7 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

6.13 Overseeing the data compilation and input into the requisite tables and programmes for the GHG inventory compiled by local stakeholders; 6.14 Finalising and endorsing the GHG inventory compiled by local stakeholders; 6.15 Preparation and Circulation of the GHG Inventory for review and comments by Climate Change Project Team and Technical Expert Working Group (TWG); 6.16 Preparation of a GHG Inventory chapter for the BUR1; 6.17 Writing the NIR which describes: i.

The procedures and arrangements undertaken to collect and archive the data and information; ii. Description of the data sources used to compile the inventory; iii. Description of the methods selected from the 2006 IPCC guidelines used to develop the Inventory, as well as a description of the tool used (e.g. IPCC tool); iv. Description of the assumptions behind the implementation of the methods; v. Areas where data may be further improved and proposed cost-effective national or regional plans and programmes to develop or improve countryspecific or regional emissions factors and activity data; vi. Anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks, reported by category and gas. vii. The level of uncertainty associated with inventory data, their underlying assumptions, and the methodologies used for estimating these uncertainties; viii. Description of the quality control procedures and quality assurances undertook for ensuring data robustness. ix. Key category analysis following the 2006 IPCC guidelines; x. Brief summary including a description of the emissions and removals reported in previous reports to UNFCCC and any recalculations.

8.8 User Manual for the Guidelines on the Preparation of Biennial Update Report from Non-Annex 1 Parties 9. TIMEFRAME The Consultant will be contracted for a period of six (6) months.

10. REMUNERATION The Consultant is required to submit a bid for evaluation, following which negotiations will be held with the successful applicant. In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to technical competence, qualifications and experience, local and regional experience on similar assignments, proposed cost and existing commitments.

11. SUBMISSION Submissions must be made to the following address by 12 noon on Tuesday August 27, 2019 The Secretary Central Tenders Board Office of Director of Finance Ministry of Finance, Economic Growth, Job Creation, External Affairs and Public Service 2nd Floor Finance Administrative Centre Pointe Seraphine, Castries SAINT LUCIA All information must be submitted in English. Four (4) hard copies of the Submission must be received. The sealed envelope containing each submission should include the name and business address of the applicant and shall be clearly marked “Consultancy: Saint Lucia 2018 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”.

THE STAR

august 03, 2019

LOCAL

www.stluciastar.com

15

NO PEACE IN THE VALLEY was shut down and the company moved north. The same thing happened much later when the sugar industry was abandoned ode Orange is one of forever. However, in the days many emergency codes of King Sugar, Tate & Lyle—the recognized by healthcare massive sugar company— centres across Canada and, acquired almost all the sugar increasingly, in other parts of the estates and factories in the world. It signals a major event or country and built the red-roofed an external disaster with mass casualties. In this context, I would “bungalows” for the managers, a sugar cane research station, say it signifies and applies to the and one of the clinics or health murder by local pirates of seven centres for workers, all dressedfishermen of East Indian descent up in the white that adorned even in the Gulf of Paria, the body of the trunks of the huge palm trees water which separates Trinidad that lined the road to the village. from Venezuela on the South The squalid galvanized shacks or American mainland, to which barracks in which the East Indian the seven bodies, some still not indentured immigrants were found, were added. housed remained unadorned.

The men lived and set out

I had fallen from the steps to work every day from a little of our recently built house onto village named Orange Valley, the concrete below and every on the west coast of Central morning went to the “clinic” Trinidad. I grew up and spent in Orange Valley to see Dr the first eleven years of my life Hutton, a kind, relatively young further east, along the one main road that leads directly to Orange medical graduate working there, who treated my fractured and Valley. It was an area that I got subsequently infected left leg. to know very well and one which My Uncle Jacket used to put me my father, uncle and aunt knew on his bike and we would wave even better because, for a long to the people we passed on the time, they worked in the cane fields belonging to a sugar factory road—cane cutters, men in their old torn-up khaki and women in there. Lever Brothers had a plant layers of clothing, all stained by in Orange Valley which produced the blackened ashes of the burnt cooking oil and soap.

I remember people, including cane, as well as fish vendors who had waited for the fishermen to my Uncle Golan, crying when it

By Tony Deyal

C

come in with their daily catch so they could heap the fish on the trays of their bicycles and head out, bells ringing or percussion horns blowing.

I still remember them in those days before they were replaced by others in rickety pick-up trucks or “jitneys”, passing along the roads, horns alerting the people ahead of their catch: carite, red fish, bohshay (brochet or snook), herring and fry-me-dry. We lived in the village of Carapichaima, opposite the combined rum- and dry-goods shop owned by Siewdass Saddoo, a quiet and very gentle Hindu priest who had the only rice-mill in the village which, in those days, during and immediately after the Second World War, was in great demand. Rice, like almost every other foodstuff, was a controlled or “rationed” staple and all my family and our neighbours planted their own rice. We also reared cattle for milk and for pulling the carts in the cane-fields, and continued the practice, started during the war, of planting vegetables among the cane to supplement the limited quantities available to them in the shops.

Saddoo left his young second wife, Samdai, to take care of the business and every day he loaded his bicycle with

Public and Private Sectors support Government’s Decision not to accede to Virgin Atlantic’s Subsidy Demands

W

hile there are concerns over the loss of the Virgin Atlantic flight operated from London Gatwick (LGW) to Hewanorra International Airport (UVF), the public and private sectors have arrived at a consensus that the demands from the British carrier were too onerous on the destination. This was made clear at a meeting on Saturday, July 27, 2019 chaired by Tourism Minster Dominic Fedee, at Harbor Club.

During the meeting, some hoteliers subscribed to the view that paying a large subsidy of EC$20 million over a three-year period for the carrier’s 7% global contribution to Saint Lucia’s arrivals would create a ripple effect with other carriers to follow suit.

“In proactively addressing the situation at hand, the Government of Saint Lucia has already commenced dialogue with other carriers from the

United Kingdom and will also continue to explore global options for more airlift into Saint Lucia,” said Fedee.

Contributing to the discussions, CEO of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Beverly Nicholson-Doty, said, “We understand the possible impact that the British carrier’s withdrawal can impose on the industry. However, the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority is committed to effective ways of building ‘Brand Saint Lucia’ with the investment of additional revenue to increase robust marketing and advertising efforts globally.”

Saturday’s agenda also welcomed questions from the audience, which were met with satisfactory responses. Concerns arising at the meeting included local hotels taking a collective position to Booking.com's new website commission policy of 15% on service charges paid to hotel employees.

Hoteliers also provided positive feedback on the recently held seventh annual Saint Lucia showcase, which welcomed 22 buyers from North America who sell Saint Lucia as a primary market.

“The general positive feedback expressed at the industry meeting is encouraging, and at the SLHTA we stand ready to assist our sister organisations and our general membership in the development and management of the hospitality industry,” said CEO of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association, Noorani Azeez.

Progressing collaboratively towards an improved tourism product, the Ministry of Tourism, SLTA and SLHTA will continue to meet with industry stakeholders to share concerns, ideas and recommendations that would seek to advance tourism locally.

rocks, sand, cement and tools in small, manageable quantities and headed through Waterloo, past the orange grove on the left which perhaps gave the valley its name, and down to the beach where he tirelessly laboured to complete his dream of building a temple in the sea.

Saddoo used to take me with him sometimes. During the school holidays, when I begged him to carry me on the bike with him, he asked my mother for permission and there I was, perched on the handlebar, Saddoo and I drawing the attention of all the folks along the road to Orange Valley. As soon as he arrived, Saddoo started work and left me to wander among the fishermen and their children, watching them empty, and sometimes helping them to pull in, their nets or “seines”.

I later rode my father’s bicycle to throw an occasional line with my friends and watch the sun rise over Orange Valley.

There were times when my father took us for a drive in his Hillman Hunter to see the sun set in the Gulf. Those were great days.

It is believed the colour orange represents enthusiasm,

fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement and stimulation.

This is how it was for me as I played by the seaside, built my own sandcastles and hung out with the fisher-folk. It has been a long time since I walked on the beach or went there to visit the new temple in the sea or the statue of Saddoo that stands next to a cremation site where shrouds of ashes, almost like in the canefield days, hang over the area.

I know that most people in the Caribbean have read or heard about the brutal murders of the Orange Valley Seven. I am not sure if they are aware of the aftermath and the growing anger at the government, one of whose ministers excused the failure of any government official to visit the area by saying that none was elected from there. Besides, if they needed help in searching for the corpses, the families of the victims should make a "quiet request " to National Security Minister Stuart Young "rather than a scandal on the television".

If there is anything we can and should learn from the still unsolved murders, it is

what Amanda Rampersad, the daughter of one of the murdered men, Anand Rampersad, said at her father’s cremation: “What I learned from this experience with my dad is that life is short and brutal, and the best way to combat that is with family, prayer and a good laugh, and an ability to appreciate the small moments of joy despite any circumstances, because you don’t know if this is the last time you will see them.”

Tony Deyal was last seen remembering Agent Orange, the poisonous American chemical weapon which may have killed or injured over one-million Vietnamese, and wondering whether or not that name is applicable to an agent provocateur government minister.

Tony Deyal is from Trinidad.

He now runs a column in the Jamaica Gleaner, NationNews Barbados and the St Lucia Star, and runs a free literary magazine on mytrinidad. net. Tony can be contacted at tdeyal@yahoo.co.uk or on 1-868-351-1000.

GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY The following commercially zoned lots are available for immediate sale: Lot #

Size (sq. ft)

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16,267

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17,100

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11,225

For further details, please contact: Mr. Richard Surage Receiver Rodney Bay Limited (In Receivership) Castries, St. Lucia Tel: 1+758-450-7777 Email: admin@

16 EMANCIPATION DAY

august 03, 2019 THE STAR

www.stluciastar.com

Repair or Reparations?

problem with that is that someone will have to prove that the slave trade was the act of a State and s far as I understand it, not the unregulated commerce and I am just as poor of ships and their masters. There an expert on the matter was, as far as I know, never any as most of the proponents legislation legalizing the slave of reparations for the evils trade. Of course, it might be of slavery are, “Reparation” argued that the States involved is a principle of law that has should have enacted laws to existed for centuries as the put a stop to the slave trade in obligation of a wrongdoing its infancy. The problem is to party to redress the damage demonstrate that a State “not caused to an injured party. acting” constitutes “an act” by “Reparation must, as far as a State. This is the nonsense possible, wipe out all the lawyers thrive on. consequences of the illegal

International human rights act and re-establish the treaties provide that victims of situation which would have international crimes have the existed if that act had not been right to seek and obtain effective committed.” Basically this remedies for the violation of their would mean the repatriation rights. The problem again is to of the West Indian population prove that today’s West Indians of African descent to wherever of African descent are “victims”. their ancestors came from in a The most cursory review of swathe across Africa. living conditions in the coastal

In 2001, the United countries of West Africa that were Nations stated, “Every recently struck by the Ebola Virus internationally wrongful or even the larger countries such act of a State entails the as Mali, Niger and even Sudan international responsibility where slavery still flourishes, of that State.” Of course the will convince the level-headed

By Michael Walker

A

observer that these countries lag far behind Caribbean nations as far as living standards, political freedom, education and social justice are concerned. The fact that West Indians are much better off than their African brethren does not of course minimize the heinous nature of the crimes associated with the slave trade, but it does make it difficult to prove they are victims. It will most certainly be argued that the slaves and their immediate relatives were victims, but their descendants are doing very nicely, thank you, better in fact than their far distant relatives back in Africa.

The Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation provide that “victims” include those who have individually or collectively suffered harm, and may include the immediate family or dependents of the direct victim and persons who have suffered harm in intervening to assist victims in distress or to prevent victimization. The key concept here is “immediacy”;

“the immediate family or dependents of the direct victim” have the right to a “remedy and reparation”. Almost 200 years after the abolition of slavery, it is going to be an uphill struggle to demonstrate any right to compensation.

And even if a strong case is made and is successful, a common misconception is that reparation is synonymous with compensation. Although monetary compensation is common, other forms of reparation include restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. A court might well rule that a promise never to do it again will suffice. We all know how courts work. Restitution restores the victim to the situation that would have existed had the crime not happened. This may include restoration of liberty, legal rights, social status, family life and citizenship; return to one’s residence; and restoration of employment and return of property. With respect to the above, I would suggest that the nations of the West Indies are the

envy of many an African state, and few West Indians, if any, really want to go back.

Guarantees of non-repetition, public acknowledgment of a crime and acceptance of responsibility, the restoration of dignity through commemoration, remembrance and education are other aspects of reparations.

Compensation includes any quanitifiable damage resulting from the crime, including “physical or mental harm, pain, suffering and emotional distress; lost opportunities, including education; material damages and loss of earnings, loss of earning potential; harm to reputation or dignity; and costs required for legal or expert assistance, medicines and medical services, and psychological and social services.” Proving any of this will be a stretch, given the pathetic state of most African nations.

Rehabilitation may include medical and psychological care as well as legal and social services. Some might feel, however, that West Indians have to free themselves from their

“mental slavery” as Bob Marley and Rick Wayne have put it.

It might seem that the nations of the EU are continually pumping money and other forms of aid into the Caribbean. Whether they do this out of a desire to help the less fortunate, or for their own selfish reasons, or from a conscious or unconscious sense of guilt, I do not know, but what I do know is that if such aid were to dry up suddenly in the face of a reparations war then the countries of the Caribbean would be much worse off than they are today. But perhaps the biggest challenge for the reparations seekers will be to convince the world that they are not just opportunists seeking other forms of financial salvation to cover their own inability to run their economies.

First published August 22, 2015.

Buckeye St. Lucia Terminal Ltd

Happy Emancipation Day

Happy Emancipation day From The Management and Staff of

Buckeye Terminal St. Lucia Limited

Cul De Sac

St. Lucia, WI Tel: (758) 456.1600

To The Government and People of Saint Lucia From

The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

THE STAR august 03, 2019

EMANCIPATION DAY 17

www.stluciastar.com

Will reparations for slavery, and white apology tours improve the national psyche?

T

he notion that people of European descent should apologize for the role their ancestors played in the trans-Atlantic slave trade is only topped by the even more ridiculous assumption that somehow a so-called “white apology tour”, with the added bonus of reparations, will ameliorate the ills of blacks throughout the world, particularly here in Saint Lucia. The descendants of those who participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade are not guilty of the sins of their fathers.

Even if they were, and consequently owed reparations to the descendants of slaves from the trans-Atlantic trade, you and me and our relatives— that is, not to mention everyone else with a drop of African blood in his veins—the fact is that most whites alive today are not descendants of slave traders and plantation owners.

What do Germans, Russians, Slavs, Georgians, Greeks, Hungarians and Poles have to do with the slave trade? As for the Brits, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and Danes, I’m sure the peasants who made up the bulk of their populations in the time discussed were too busy struggling to feed themselves and their families to think about West African slaves being dragged out of their huts to be taken to the New World.

A negligible percentage from slave-trading nations participated in the buying and selling of slaves. As historian Joseph Glatthaar explains in his book General Lee’s Army: From Victory to Collapse, “One in every twenty white persons owned slaves.” That is, five per cent of white persons in the American South owned slaves; a percentage that drops further when taking into account the non-slave owning whites of the American North. So, to ask an apology of every white person for slavery is reaching a mile too far; absolutely disingenuous if not downright dishonest.

So is pretending slavery is a phenomenon unique to the black experience. As economist Thomas Sowell so eloquently points out in The Thomas Sowell Reader: “Of all the tragic facts about the history of slavery, the most astonishing

. . . is that, although slavery was a worldwide institution for thousands of years, nowhere in the world was slavery a controversial issue prior to the 18th century. People of every race and color were enslaved—and enslaved others.

White people were still being bought and sold as slaves in the Ottoman Empire, decades after American blacks were freed.”

Which leads us to another common slavery myth: that the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and slavery in general, was an affair involving exclusively white masters and black slaves.

The website myjewishlearning. com says Jacob Rader Marcus, “a historian and Reform rabbi, wrote in his four-volume history of American Jews that over 75 per cent of Jewish families in Charleston, South Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Savannah, Georgia, owned slaves, and nearly 40 per cent of Jewish households across the country did.” Which of course is a higher percentage than the whites.

Ronald Segal in his book Islam’s Black Slaves puts the number of African slaves shipped to Muslim countries between the years 650-1600 AD at 11.5 million to 14 million, with the near thousand-year span of that slave trade dwarfing the just over 200-year period of slavery in the New World. Are Jews and Muslims today the subject of apology tours and reparations to blacks?

All the while, modernday slavery continues to be ignored. According to a 2003 article in National Geographic titled ‘21st Century Slaves’: “There are an estimated 27 million men, women, and children in the world who are enslaved—physically confined or restrained and forced to work, or controlled through violence, or in some way treated as property.” That more than doubles the estimated 11 million slaves brought over to the New World.

But whites aren’t the main perpetrators of contemporary slavery. Here we are, 40 years after Independence and celebrating yet another Emancipation Day, demanding an apology and reparations for an event that ended almost 200 years ago—not once

acknowledging the billions of dollars donated to our survival by the same “white man” we claim to hate, primarily because some ancient relative enslaved our forebears physically, and us psychically and otherwise.

I am reminded by the following from Rick Wayne’s Lapses & Infelicities: “The year John Compton took responsibility for Saint Lucia’s future, Kenny Anthony and his brother Brian breezed through their Common Entrance Examinations, then moved to the newly established Vieux Fort Senior Secondary School, the first to be built outside the island’s capital—paid for by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).” As the author likes to remind his TALK viewers: the more things change, the more they remain the same. A quick look at our annual budgets demonstrates that in the forty years since Independence, a significant amount of Saint Lucia’s survival money comes by way of grants from the United States, the EU, the UK and Canada. Not from Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.

The mind-boggling hypocrisy blinds us to the criminality of all varieties that has become, after countless years, normal Looshan life. How many advocates for justice took time to march in solidarity with Kimberly De Leon’s family three weeks ago? Who cried for reparations when Arnold Joseph, Hardy John, Bob Hathaway and Kadeem Joseph, Verlinda Joseph, Shakadan and so many others were murdered?

Has anyone demanded an apology for the sad state of our justice system going back decades? But then we know it’s not our fault how we think and act. Slavery is responsible. And we know who invented it!

Just under three months ago, policemen were adjudged negligent in the shooting death of Mandy Louisy. His mother, Sophia Louisy, was awarded $14,838.98 plus interest after successfully filing a civil claim against the government. The money remains, at time of writing, unpaid. Without a whimper from the criers for justice.

--Dean Nestor

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We are seeking to recruit a Human Resource Officer who is passionate about HR to support the development and implementation of HR initiatives. This position is based in St Kitts.

This individual will be responsible for providing administrative support to ensure that the services provided by the Human Capital Department is effectively and efficiently executed while maintaining a high level of confidentiality and excellent internal/external customer satisfaction.

The successful candidate will have key accountabilities as follows: • Assisting with the Development and execution of on-boarding and off-boarding programs.

• Coordinating and Administering staff benefits and human capital policies in line with policy guidelines.

• Coordinating the performance management process.

• Coordinating and supporting the recruitment process.

• Prepare HR monthly reports and budgets, to include headcount and variances analysis.

• Assisting with industrial relations matters.

• Maintaining HR files and databases.

• Working closely with various departments, assisting line managers to understand and implement policies and procedures.

• Assisting with the process of determining training and development priorities and delivering same for non-managerial team • Leading the organization initiatives on the ground as it relates to change, culture and employee engagement • Able to influence others and engender strong working relationships across the company

THE CANDIDATE

Minimum Requirements: • Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management OR a related field.

• 2 years’ experience in the HR field • Prior exposure to change management and employee engagement would be a decided advantage • Must be proficient in Microsoft Applications (Excel, Word, Power Point, Outlook) • Must be able to communicate clearly, both written and orally.

• Sound communication and conflict management skills.

• Must possess strong interpersonal skills.

• Must be able to effectively read and interpret information, present numerical data in a resourceful manner, and skilfully gather, analyse, and present information • Must be confident, personable, and self-motivated.

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SEND YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION AND CV TO Natashua_charles@unicomer.com Deadline for receiving applications is FRIDAY 16TH AUGUST 2019.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

18 health

Y

www.stluciastar.com

YOGA FOR CHILDREN

oga is an ancient art, science and philosophy that is thousands of years old. It is a healing art that brings peace and calmness to the physical as well as the mental body. It brings a person’s body and mind into balance.

In our busy society today we find anxiety at new, heightened levels which reach from the youngest of children to the oldest of adults. Children can be very stressed today and studies have found that some children contend with disorders, the most common being depression, anxiety, eating disorders, schizophrenia, learning and intellectual disabilities, bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorders ADD/ ADHD.

We only have to look at our society to see the problems that children face and how their lives are affected. Sometimes they have little to no supervision and discipline, and many spend long periods of time at home alone. Children may be raised by a grandparent, a relative or their own older siblings, which can be challenging for all involved if time and resources are scarce.

Yoga helps children with several important disciplines from early in life.

Children may not receive a lot of love or attention if they live in a negative atmosphere. They also often lack a nutritional diet.

Children can act out in anger and this becomes a form of attention for them. Some schools are replacing detention with Yoga and meditation and are finding astounding results.

They have seen that Yoga improves a child’s performance in school, helps with discipline and aids kids in dealing with stress, anxiety and anger.

Students make improvements with self-control; they aren’t as impulsive or reactionary; they learn how to cope with ADHD.

Teachers have found that just a few minutes of meditation and breathing to begin the school day brings a calmer classroom where the students are more focused and improve scholastically. This is better for the students as well as the teachers.

The Dalai Lama once said, “If every 8-year-old in the world

is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.”

Yoga is a concept that speaks to kids. It is close to nature, and many postures incorporate names of animals, such as Downward-facing dog pose which resembles a dog when it stretches its back, lifts its hips and dips the front of its body toward the ground.

Upward-facing dog pose is on all fours as well but the head stretches toward the sky in the

august 03, 2019 THE STAR

manner of the dog. Cobra pose is a great pose for kids: they begin in a prone position, face down on the floor with their hands beside their chest. They press into their hands and lift the head and chest, just like a cobra snake when it lifts its head out of a basket. Kids love to do Mountain pose, which is the basic standing pose in Yoga, and Tree pose which entails standing on one leg to balance.

There are also Camel, Locust and Frog poses, and many more.

Yoga should be playful and fun for kids. Classes can be based on stories with positive themes which may be taken from the ancient history of Yoga. These weave animals or nature throughout to teach compassion, gratitude, balance and strength, confidence, overall physical fitness, flexibility and self-esteem. Kids

mellow through meditation and breathing; it helps them to control themselves.

Yoga is becoming increasingly popular among American children. A national survey found that 3 per cent (1.7 million) of children in the US did yoga as of 2012. That’s 400,000 more children than in 2007. The percentage of children aged 4-17 years old who practised Yoga increased from 3.1 per cent in 2012 to 4 per cent in 2017.

Meditation increased significantly from 0.6 per cent in 2012 to 4 per cent in 2017.

Give a child the gift of Yoga to improve their overall health and wellness.

Sources: CNN NEWS Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School National Health Interview Survey, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Department of Health and Human Services National Center for Health Statistics

Jill Hagar is a certified instructor of Iyengar Yoga and a certified International Yoga Therapist.

She holds regular Yoga classes at Harmony Suites in Rodney Bay. For more information about classes please contact Jill by phone or WhatsApp on (758) 718 1297 or by email on yogastlucia@gmail.com

THE STAR

KIM’S KORNER S

Different Strokes For Different Folks!

troke is a leading cause of death and disability in Saint Lucia and around the world, affecting over 15 million people annually. It can leave people unable to walk or talk, and usually affects one side of the body, causing impaired movement and often paralysis.

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of your brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die.

There are two main causes of stroke: a bleed caused by a leaking or burst blood vessel, or a blood clot which causes a blocked artery. Once the cause has been identified, treatment can begin. The first step is to rule out other possible causes of symptoms, such as a brain tumour or a reaction to drugs. After carrying out tests and identifying the type of stroke, treatment will either focus on stopping the bleed or dissipating the blood clot. Most times this can be achieved with medication. In severe cases, surgery may be indicated. If the stroke is minor, known as a TIA (Transient Ischaemic Attack), function may be recovered without any intervention.

But this should be seen as a warning sign, and measures

Stroke symptoms seem limitless, but be sure to take note of the most common ones.

taken to reduce the risk of a more serious future event.

Once the condition causing the stroke has been stabilised, the main focus is on improving strength and function. The brain is a remarkable organ, capable of recovery and regeneration, and the sooner the process starts, the greater the chance of recovery. Rehabilitation is a major part of treatment and recovery largely depends on the part of the brain affected, how quickly treatment was received and the extent of damage to the brain. In some cases, function will never be as it was before, but the aim is to improve function and regain

independence.

In order to improve your recovery and return to function and independence, it is important to start your rehabilitation early, with emphasis on moving correctly and not allowing compensatory techniques. Regaining strength and balance are the first steps to getting back on your feet.

Getting up and out of bed every day should be a priority, and guidance from a physiotherapist can help you achieve your goals.

Not everyone will achieve a full recovery, but learning new ways to be independent can reduce the burden on family and friends.

Saint Lucia’s Dr. Jimmy Fletcher named a Chevening Global Changemaker

D

r. Jimmy Fletcher is one of 35 Chevening alumni hailed as Global Changemakers in celebration of the prestigious Chevening Scholarship’s 35th anniversary. Since 1983, the UK Chevening Scholarship Programme has supported future leaders, decision-makers and opinion formers to study degree level courses in the UK. In those 35 years, Chevening has supported 50,000 people from around the world to study in a UK institution, and then return to their home countries to help transform their communities.

To mark the anniversary, 35 specially selected Chevening alumni have been designated Global Changemakers.

The British High Commission in Castries was delighted to congratulate Dr. Jimmy Fletcher as one of

the select few to have been recognised. Dr. Fletcher won a Chevening scholarship in 1988 to study for a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology at Cambridge University. He was named as a Chevening Changemaker for his outstanding work and leadership on climate change, especially as it relates to small island developing states. He was one of the main high-level negotiators for the Caribbean and the Association of Small Island States in international climate change negotiations. He played an integral role in the adoption of the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015.

Dr. Fletcher is also a longtime champion of renewable energy and bridging the digital divide in Saint Lucia, as ways of stimulating socio-economic development.

HEALTH

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august 03, 2019

Over a cup of tea at the British High Commission to celebrate the achievement, Dr. Fletcher said that he was humbled, surprised and honoured to be named a Chevening Global Changemaker.

Resident British Commissioner Steve McCready noted that Changemaker was a fitting description for Dr. Fletcher, who had been ahead of his time in leading the charge on tackling climate change, today increasingly recognised as the global issue of our time.

Mr McCready was pleased to highlight to Dr. Fletcher that the UK is the first country to have committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050, and is bidding in cooperation with Italy to host the 26th Conference of the Parties in 2020.

Physiotherapy rehabilitation programmes often focus on regaining movement and function so that activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing and eating, and mobility skills, such as transferring between bed and chair/wheelchair, walking and wheelchair skills, can be done independently and with ease.

The symptoms of a stroke seem almost limitless and can affect people in different ways.

The most common symptoms are: • Problems with speaking and understanding, vision, balance, coordination and swallowing. You may experience confusion. You may slur your words or have difficulty understanding speech.

• Paralysis, numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg. This is usually on one side of the body but can affect both.

• Headache, dizziness and unsteadiness.

Although not all strokes are preventable, steps can be taken to minimise the risk. As mentioned earlier, strokes can be caused by blood clots and there are certain factors that increase the risk of having a stroke (and a heart attack). So, by modifying your lifestyle and certain behaviours, you can

reduce your risk.

• Smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke can increase your risk; the chemicals found in tobacco can damage your arteries.

• Check your blood pressure at least once a year, as most often there are no notable symptoms. If your blood pressure is high, your doctor may prescribe medication to prevent damage to the arteries.

• Being overweight can increase your blood pressure, which is a leading cause of stroke. It can also put you at risk of developing other health problems linked to stroke, such as high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and heart disease.

• Have your cholesterol checked regularly. If high cholesterol is detected, this can be treated either by changes to your diet or medication.

19

• If you have diabetes, it is important to follow a healthy diet and keep your blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible.

• Monitoring your alcohol intake is important. You should drink no more than 14 units a week and these should be spread throughout the week with at least two days each week where you do not have any alcohol at all.

Despite taking measures to reduce the risk of a stroke, it is a disease that can affect even the healthiest of people. All we can do is be aware of the risks, make changes where possible, and ensure that if the worst should happen, our bodies are strong and healthy enough to make the road to recovery less of a battle.

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

Please be advised that the following retail outlets will be closed for business:

Wet and Cold Express, Vieux Fort Wednesday, August 07th 2019

PCD Foodmart S&S Plaza, Bois D’Orange Thursday, August 08th 2019

We regret any inconvenience caused.

Clarke Street, Vieux Fort Tel: 457-7084 S&S Plaza, Bois D’Orange Tel: 457-7089

Cul De Sac, Castries, St. Lucia Tel: 457-7000 Fax: 457-7059 Email:pcdcustomerservice@thegelgroup.com Website: www.peterandcompanydistribution.com

20 SPORTS

AUGUST 03, 2019 THE STAR

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Pan American Games underway in Spectacular Style David R Pascal Reporting from the XVIII Pan American Games in Lima, Peru

P

eruvians could not ask for a better beginning to the XVIII Pan American Games taking place in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11.

Following last Friday’s dramatic opening ceremony, the next day the host nation captured two gold medals in the men’s and women’s marathon. Renowned Peruvian runner Gladys Tejeda placed first, covering the 42km distance in a record time of 2:30.55. Compatriot Cristhian Pacheco captured his gold medal in the men’s marathon, after covering the 42km distance in another recordbreaking time of 2:09.55.

The games officially got underway on July 24, a few days prior to the opening ceremony. In all there are 39 sports and 61 disciplines featuring 6,680 athletes from all over the world. All 41 nations that are members of the Pan American Sports Organization, including Saint Lucia, displayed their nation’s flag, and athletes proudly strode during a colourful and lively march-past.

The opening ceremony touched on just about every aspect of Peruvian culture. On display were natural and cultural snippets of the country’s past and present.

Spokesperson Carlos Manuel Lazarte described the opening ceremony as “spectacular”. In his estimation there were more than 30,000 spectators at the venue and 400 million viewers around the world.

As expected, the United States had a strong presence at the opening ceremony, numbering 643 athletes. Next in

rank was the host country with 592. The packed venue erupted when Peru was introduced. The customary stadium wave was in motion but in this case “tidal” wave might have been a more appropriate name.

While it’s true there is strength in numbers, countries like Dominica with just two athletes, St Kitts and Nevis with four, Belize at six and Saint Lucia with seven, hope to show that quantity does not always equate with quality.

Saint Lucia’s flag bearer was sailor Luc Chevrier. Many expected that honour to be bestowed on high jumper and reigning sportswoman of the year, and former gold medalist at the Pan American Games, Levern Spencer. However, she is not expected to arrive in Lima until Sunday August 4. No doubt, it was a privilege and honour for Chevrier to proudly display the Saint Lucian flag.

It turns out that Spencer was not only Saint Lucian athlete or coach not in Peru in time for the opening. Anyone who viewed the televised march-past saw some unfamiliar faces accompanying Chef de Mission David “Shakes” Christopher, his Assistant Velica Augustin and our flag bearer Chevrier. Truth be told, the ever creative and quick thinking Christopher acknowledged and rewarded some of the hardworking volunteers who assisted him by including them in the march-past.

Christopher has always been the life of the party and, remaining true to form, during the march-past he greeted costumed volunteers with highfives and danced along the way.

Notably, Minister of Youth Development and Sports, Edmund Estephane; Senator Fortuna Belrose who is also President of the St Lucia Olympic Committee;

St Lucia’s flag bearer Luc Chevrier.

(Photo by David Pascal.)

and International Olympic Committee member and former President of the SLOC, Richard Peterkin attended the opening ceremony.

Of course, high-ranking officials like Pan American Sports President Neven Llic and the President of Peru, Martin Vizcarra, were in attendance and delivered brief remarks, praising the organising committee for staging a terrific opening ceremony.

When interviewed on Tuesday morning at the Atton Hotel, where this reporter and Marius Modeste of HTS are staying, along with other media from various countries, Belrose shared her views on the opening ceremony: “It was a fantastic event. Perhaps, from what we saw, it was one of the best organised of the games we have ever witnessed and really symbolized the essence of excellence. The Peruvians went all out to really display their culture during that ceremony.”

The Pan American Games begin!

Commenting on Saint Lucia’s delegation she said: “At the time of the opening

ceremony we only had one athlete in. As you know, at major games like this one, the

athletes prefer to stay as long as they possibly can at their training centres. In our case our policy is that within five days of the event they are supposed to be here and so most of our athletes will be arriving at least five days prior to the actual competition.”

Besides, Chevrier and Spencer, the other athletes competing for Saint Lucia are Jeanelle Scheper in high jump, Sandisha Antoine in triple jump, Albert Reynolds in javelin, Jean Luc Zephir in swimming and Stephanie Devaux-Lovell in sailing. Saint Lucia’s contingent also includes coaches Henry Bailey and Robert Hemming.

Chevrier and Devaux-Lovell compete today, Saturday August 3. Zephir is in action on Tuesday August 6. For Spencer, Scheper and Reynolds, the athletics competitions are on August 7, 8, 9 and 10. Their competing dates and times have not yet been finalized.

Saint Lucia Swimmers Break Records at the FINA World Championship

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our Saint Lucian swimmers represented the country at the FINA World Championmships in Gwangju, South Korea last week.

Medalist at the Carifta and CCCAN Championship, Jayhan Odlum Smith, and England-based Saint Lucian swimmer Jean Luc Zephir, were the rising stars of five who were shortlisted to participate.

Ethan Dyke Elliott, who was also shortlisted, was unable to join the team due to academic commitments.

Each swimmer swam two events with their goals clear in mind. Mikaili Charlemagne snatched the 100 metre freestyle national and age group record previously held by Katie Kyle, with a time of 1:00.27.

Naima Hazell also claimed the new age group record in the 50

Swimmers who participated at the FINA World Championships (left to right): Jean Luc Zephir, Naima Hazell, Mikaili Charlemagne and Jayhan Odlum Smith.

metre breaststroke with a time of 34.79.

The St. Lucia Aquatics Federation (SLAF) congratulates all the swimmers who participated and looks forward to the continuing Pan American

Games and the FINA Junior World Championship.

The Federation also continues to work tirelessly on the Goodwill Swim Meet scheduled to be held in Suriname in three weeks’ time.

Netball Association General Meeting

T Chef de Mission, David “Shakes” Christopher (walking, right) and Assistant to the Chef de Mission, Velica Augustin (beside him), parade with volunteers during the march-past at Friday’s opening ceremony.

(Photo by David R Pascal.)

he St. Lucia National Netball Association (SLNNA) invites representatives of all affiliates, as well as unattached or interested netballers and netball enthusiasts, to a general meeting on Saturday, August 10, 2019 from 10:00am. The venue is not yet confirmed.

The main purpose of the meeting is to dialogue with the Constitution Review Committee, in regards to proposed changes to the SLNNA Constitution. Also, there will be the opportunity to review and receive feedback on the work of the SLNNA for the year ending August 2019; and to endorse the work plan for the period September

2019 to August 2020. All are encouraged to come and express their opinions and recommendations for the advancement of Netball in Saint Lucia.

A copy of the SLNNA constitution can be supplied upon request. The chairperson of the Constitution Review Committee is Caron Tobiere.

THE STAR

sports

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AUGUST 03, 2019

21

St Lucia Football Association news and highlights

By Michael “Midget” Pierre

S

aint Lucia will kick off the Confederation of North, Central and Caribbean Association (Concacaf) 2019 Boys Under 15 Championship against Saint Kitts and Nevis, before squaring off against Israel and Belize. The tournament, which commences tomorrow, August 4 at the IMG Academy Campus in Bradenton, Florida in the USA, will conclude on August 11.

This tournament is being played in two phases. Division One features the top 14 ranked Concacaf teams in addition to

Slovenia and Portugal. They are divided into four groups and will play a round-robin tournament.

At the end of the round, the group winners and second place finishers will advance to the quarter-finals. The third and fourth place finishers will play an additional match to determine their final position in the division.

Division Two, which includes Saint Lucia, is made up of the next 15 best ranked Concacaf teams plus Israel.

The 16 teams are divided into four groups and will also play a round-robin format, with the group winners advancing to the semi-finals to play for the

divisional championship.

The second, third, and fourth place finishers will play an additional match to determine their final position in the group.

Saint Lucia are aiming to top their division and claim the title. In 2018 the Saint Lucia Under 14 team played unbeaten in the Concacaf Group Play in the Dominican Republic. Over the past twelve months most of the players have continued to train under coach St Croix Vaso Albert .

The Saint Lucia Football Association Inc Island Cup entered its second week, with a series of matches over the

Windward Islands defeat Trinidad and Tobago

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five-wicket haul, two halfcenturies, plus aggressive fielding were the highlights of a Windward Islands 69-run victory over Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday afternoon at the Parkhill Playing Field, as the 2019 West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 cricket tournament continued.

Having won the toss, the Windward Islands decided to take first knock, with one change to the eleven which defeated the Leeward Islands— Jaheil Walters coming in for Camarlo Cain.

The Windwards opening pair of Kimani Melius and Jaheil Walters weathered the opening storm from the Trinidad bowlers, losing their first wicket on 45, that of Walters. Wickets fell at 45, 79, 86, 142, 166, 168 and172; the final score 203 for seven off 50 overs.

Kimani Melius hammered 59 with 10 fours and 2 sixes; Teddy Bishop 53 with three fours and two sixes, Tahj Tavanier 26, and Tijorn Pope 19 not out being the main contributors. Avinash Mahabirsingh took two for 12, Nicholas Ali two for 26, Jayden Seales one for 48, and Damion Joachim one for 35, with 13 extras bowled in the Windwards innings.

When the Trinidadians began their reply, pressure was applied by the Windward Islands bowlers, who bowled disciplined line and length,

On the resumption, Canaries continued taking the fight to their opponents. They were rewarded for their efforts with Stephen Longville scoring a brace in the 53rd minute.

From then on it was a dingdong battle between the teams as Micoud pressed for the equalizer, but in the end it was a dogged Canaries team which held on to the 2–1 advantage and victory.

In the second game played on the evening, Desruisseaux finally joined the points table as they defeated South Castries 2–1. Their goals were scored

by Dwight Druehorme in the 5th minute and Janah Crafton in the 2nd minute of added-on time.

The South Castries goal was Action from the Island Cup Game between scored by Yannick Henry in the Canaries (front) and Micoud.

69th minute.

Across at La Ressource on weekend at the Marchand and were awarded a penalty in the the same day, Mabouya Valley La Ressource playing fields.

12th minute of play which was scraped past Babonneau 1-0 Over at Marchand, in duly converted by Stephen with a goal by Vernon Abbott. the first of a double header, Longville. Micoud gained the In the earlier scheduled Canaries continued their equalizer off a corner which unblemished record with a was scored by Lenard Casimir in game, Anse La Raye failed to hard-fought but decisive 2–1 the 37th minute. The half ended show up for their encounter against Vieux Fort North. victory over Micoud. Canaries 1–1.

Cricket West Indies to honour Perreira’s commentary career

C Teddy Bishop sweeps during his knock.

despite the loss of Jamie Buddy who was forced to leave the field with a back problem. He did not return to the action after having bowled 1.5 overs for 4 runs. Walters completed the over.

It was testimony to the discipline of the Windwards bowling unit after Buddy’s loss, which soon saw them amongst the Trinidadian wickets.

Lincoln Durand finished with figures of 10-4-19-1, delivered in two spells of sustained fast bowling. All-rounder Tijorn Pope continued his outstanding performance with three for 27 in 9.4 overs, dismissing both openers to catches by Akeem Auguste.

But then came the offspinner Malakai Xavier show,

with figures of 10-2-26-5, which tore the heart out of the Trinidad middle order, including the prized scalp of skipper Leonardo Julien. Trinidad and Tobago lost wickets at 39, 50, 51, 65, 74, 78, 111, 117, 117, all out 134; with 11 extras bowled.

Batting for Trinidad and Tobago, Ronaldo Forester remained 22 not out, Rivaldo Ramlogan chipped in with 22, Leonardo Francis 20, and Damion Joachim 11, the leading scorers for the Trinis. They lost by 96 runs to the Windward Islands in an afternoon of pulsating cricket.

The Windward Islands next match is tomorrow, Sunday August 4, at the Parkhill Playing Field against Barbados.

ricket West Indies is set to honour renowned cricket commentator Joseph “Reds” Perreira for his work in broadcasting the game for close to six decades.

The upcoming second MyTeam11 Test between West Indies and India—which is co-sponsored by Skoda and Fena—starts on Friday, August 30 at Sabina Park in Jamaica and will be the 150th test match that Reds has attended. It will also be the 250th test match that the West Indies have played on home soil.

“We would like to congratulate Reds for his outstanding commentary over the last 60 years,” said CWI President, Ricky Skerritt.

“He has been an exemplary broadcaster on both regional and international levels for many years and is deserving of this recognition as one of the most notable voices of West Indies cricket.”

Perreira’s first live cricket broadcast took place in 1961 on a first-class match between his native Guyana

Well-known cricket commentator Joseph “Reds” Perreira.

and longstanding rivals Trinidad and Tobago at Rose Hall. Ten years later he covered his first Test between West Indies and India at Bourda Oval.

Perreira has also worked on 250 One-day Internationals, including attending six ICC Cricket World Cups staged in 1975, 1979, 1983, 1992, 2003 and 2007.

“One of the enduring legacies of Reds is his tenacity, coming from humble beginnings to rise to the top of broadcasting on the game from the far-flung arenas around the world,” said Skerritt. “He has set an example of professional excellence and determination that should inspire many young broadcasters around the Caribbean to vigorously pursue the highest standards in their craft.”

Skerritt added: “I, like many West Indians of a past era, can well remember all hours of the day and night being glued to our radios, which was the only way to follow the game for many years. The game was brought to life as we listened to Reds and the late, great Tony Cozier fly the flag of West Indian excellence in the commentary booths around the world.”

A special presentation will be made to Perreira during the tea interval on the third day of the Second Test on Sunday, September 1 at Sabina Park, Jamaica.

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august 03, 2019 THE STAR

Let the Games begin for Team St Lucia

By David R Pascal Reporting from Lima, Peru

T

he wait is over! Two Saint Lucians will literally test the waters and then some while competing at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Sailors Stephanie Devaux-Lovell and Luc Chevrier compete in sailing today, Saturday, at Bahia De ParacasPisco.

Chevrier, Saint Lucia's flag bearer at the opening ceremony, got a jump-start preparing for the competition, having been the first athlete to arrive in Lima prior to the ceremony. Devaux-Lovell arrived in Lima on July 28.

On Thursday, after watching a football game at the San Marcos StadiumCercado between Venezuela and Mexico, Chef de Mission of Team Saint Lucia, David "Shakes" Christopher, gave an update on Chevrier and Devaux-Lovell's preparation for today's competition. Firstly,

though, he mentioned his own hectic schedule which includes attending meetings at 7:00 am every morning, going over logistics and problems encountered by various delegations.

Transportation is among the concerns, considering the fact the various venues for competitions are not close in proximity. For example, the sailing competition is a fivehour drive from the capital.

With that in mind, Chevrier and Devaux-Lovell spent a great deal of their time away from the Games Village and, instead, were stationed at Bahia De Paracas-Pisco, getting acquainted with the surroundings.

Christopher was pleased with their progress, saying: "The two sailors have been going through their paces. They work out in the morning and midday so they can be well prepared when the competition starts.”

Minister of Youth Development and Sports,

Marchand Football League has a new Executive Committee

T

he Marchand Football League, on Saturday July 27, elected a new executive committee to govern its business for the next two years.

The member clubs followed the electoral process and nominated persons to the various positions weeks in advance. They then proceeded to vote by secret ballot on the nominations made at the July 27 Congress.

The following persons were elected: Christopher Clarke emerged as President against nominee Anthony John; Kelvin Antoine emerged winner against nominee Michael Moise; Second Vice President is Emmily Remy, unopposed; Secretary is Christopher Duncan, unopposed; Treasurer is Kivel White, unopposed; and Public Relations Officer, Jordon Alleyne, unopposed.

President Clarke and First Vice President Kelvin Antoine pledged their unflagging and relentless efforts to ensure the success of the league and solicited the support of the members in doing so.

The Saint Lucia Football Association Inc has mandated all its member leagues to hold the election of officers in 2019 as their tenure as appointed leagues has now expired.

The Association appointed a number of executive committees to form the various football leagues as a result of the lack of movement by the then Youth and Sports Councils who were mandated at a Congress to form football leagues in order for Saint Lucia to fall in line with the FIFA. A mandate was taken to change the affiliation from Youth and Sports Councils to more football-specific organisations.

The process was meticulous and strategic as it involved transitioning from Youth and Sports Councils to leagues, which had to have their own membership and character and also had to meet the specified requirements to become members of the various leagues.

This electoral process is ongoing and will see a number of leagues undertake elections in the coming months.

Edmund Estephane, also attended the football game for reasons other than entertainment. He was impressed with the stadium and couldn't help but notice some of the similarities (on a smaller scale, of course) with the current plans for the Soufriere Mini Stadium.

"The stadium there will look somewhat like this," he told me. "Our surface will be very similar to this one, with artificial turf with a track around the field."

Turning his attention to our athletes, in a previous interview Estephane had said: "My main purpose here is to support our athletes and to show them that we care about their achievements."

When asked about his hopes and expectations for Team Saint Lucia at the Pan American Games, Estephane replied. "We know we have a champion in Levern Spencer who is going to be competing here. We pray to God that all

M

goes well and that the weather is very accommodating to her and the rest of our athletes.

At these Games we can only hope that our athletes give their very best. A lot of things have to come into play for that to happen. Our support system has to be intact. Peru's climate is not like Saint Lucia's and some of our athletes may be experiencing this kind of weather for the very first time."

Chevrier and DevauxLovell are Saint Lucia's earliest arrivals at the Games. The rest of the team, which includes Spencer and Jeanelle Scheper (both high jumpers), Albert Reynolds (javelin), Sandisha Antoine (triple jump) and Jean Luc Zephir (swimming), all arrive in Lima early next week.

Zephir competes on August 6 while Spencer, Scheper and Antoine compete in their various events when athletics takes place August 7-10.

Let the Games begin for Team Saint Lucia? You bet!

Minister of Youth Development and Sports, Edmund Estephane, checked out the similarities between the San Marcos Stadium-Cercado (background) and the stadium under construction in Soufriere. (Photo by David Pascal)

Strong performance by St Lucia at NACAC Championships

ilan Mitchell secured an overall silver medal for Saint Lucia against 27 other competitors at the recent U-13 division pentathlon of the NACAC Age Group U-13 and U-15 Championships in El Salvador.

With a total of 3,218 points after five events, he finished within 41 points of the champion and was the highlight among a number of strong performances from the seven youths who represented the country.

In the opening event of the U-13 men’s pentathlon, Saint Lucia’s Ishmael Durand got the event off to a hot start by winning gold in the 60m.

Teammate Milan Mitchell placed fourth in the 60m. Durand would go on to place fourth in the long jump on his way to placing sixth overall.

In the men’s U-15 heptathlon division, Jaheim Ferdinand won gold in the 1,200m and tied for a silver medal in the high jump with a personal best mark of 1.70m, on his way to an overall fifth place.

Meanwhile, U-15 teammate Noel Sylvester, set new national age group records in both the shot put and the ball throw, winning silver

St. Lucia Athletics Association official Lisa Joseph with Team Saint Lucia that attended the NACAC Age Group Championships.

medals in both of those events.

Sylvester’s bronze medal performance in the long jump led to his seventh place overall standing in the U-15 men’s heptathlon, amongst 31 total competitors.

On the women’s side, in the U-13 pentathlon Rhianna Martyr placed 20th overall, and teammate Danita Francois placed 26th amongst a total of 30 competitors.

In the U-15 heptathlon, Brianna James placed 17th overall out of a total of 32 competitors.

As a team, Saint Lucia placed eighth out of the 21 nations that participated, based on the total accumulated points by participants.

All seven of these athletes gave outstanding efforts last weekend. The St. Lucia Athletics Association congratulates

them on their ability to qualify for these games, and their individual and collective outstanding representation of our nation and sport.

Appreciation was extended to coaches Lisa Joseph and Kim Gaston who accompanied the team.

In addition, the Association thanked coaches and parents who all made great efforts to ensure the athletes were ready to represent the country with pride and strength.

THE STAR

www.stluciastar.com

AUGUST 03, 2019

JOB PROFILE

JOB TITLE: INVENTORY CLERK REPORTS TO: Finance Manager/Inventory Supervisor

The incumbent is required to perform the following functions among others: • Schedule regular cycle counts of inventory, to ensure all SKU are counted at least once

every 60 days.

• Conduct investigations of all variances between physical stock and Great Plaines

software in a timely manner.

• To assist in the achievement of Management and Financial reporting requirements.

• Conduct cycle counts are planned and performed daily to ensure that all items are

counted at least once in every 60 days.

• All variance between systems and physical counts are investigate and rectified,

necessary adjustments within 2 working days.

• Ensure all transfers done are correctly.

• Monitor CPJ’s inventory Spot checks deliveries to ensure deliveries are correct.

• Reviews receiving of goods to ensure that they are correctly posted and all procedures

are adhered to • Tracks inventories of Work in Progress and Returns to Main Warehouse.

• Coordinates and manages quarterly and end of year stock take.

Qualifications and Experience Required: 1. 2 A’ Level or an Associate degree in Business Management.

2. Comprehensive knowledge of Micro Office Software Suite- Microsoft Word/Excel/Access 3. At least 2 years working experience in inventory environment.

Skills and Other Attributes Required: • Strong Interpersonal and Communication skills, Computer Literate, Ability to maintain

a high level of Accuracy, Detailed oriented and thoroughness, Excellent Time

Management Skills, Sound problem solving skills. Ability to work consistently towards

set deadlines, Team Player, Customer Service Skills.

Compensation & Benefits: We offer a competitive remuneration and benefit package which will be influenced by the successful candidate’s qualifications and experience.

Please forward a cover letter and complete resume, including work related references to vacancies@slu.cpj.com Applications with resumes can also be mailed to: P.O. BOX BJ46, CUL DE SAC, CASTRIES Deadline for applications is Friday August 9th, 2019.

Only applicants who meet the criteria will be acknowledged.

CLASSIFIED 23

JOB PROFILE CPJ St. Lucia, a growing food distribution company requires a Human Resource Officer.

JOB TITLE: Human Resource Officer REPORTS TO: Managing Director The incumbent is required to perform the following functions among others: • Lead the recruitment process and carry out all related duties • Prepare job descriptions and maintain HR filing system • Ensure HR policies are up to date, ensure compliance • Co-ordinate training activities and travel arrangements • Oversee the performance management system and follow up with managers/supervisors • Organise Company activities and employee recognition programmes • Effectively resolve staff matters and prepare reports as required • Effectively handle disciplinary issues and provide advice to management • Perform duties to assist the CEO such as scheduling meetings, taking minutes,

preparing action lists, preparing correspondence • Any other duties as assigned Qualifications Required: • Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management (HRM) or related field with a minimum of 3 years of HR experience in a similar role Required Skills & Abilities: • Outstanding human relations skills, conflict management skills, sound judgement • Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team environment • Effective oral and written communication skills • Professionalism, confidentiality, integrity • Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point) Compensation & Benefits: We offer a competitive remuneration and benefit package which will be influenced by the successful candidate’s qualifications and experience.

Please forward a cover letter and complete resume, including work related references to vacancies@slu. cpj.com Applications with resumes can also be mailed to: P.O. BOX BJ46, CUL DE SAC, CASTRIES Deadline for applications is Friday August 9th, 2019.

Only applicants who meet the criteria will be acknowledged.

Vacancy • Gardener • Florist • Swimming Pool Technician Contact Cell # 720-3590 Between the hours of 8 a.m. – 4p.m.

FOR RENT Unfurnished apartment for rent In the Castries area With internet Hot and cold in the bath Contact # 724-2888

This serves as notification to the public that the following customers brought items to the Harry Edwards Jewelers Service and Repair Centre.

These items have been repaired and must be claimed by August 31, 2019 or they shall be put to auction.

Contact 758 458 6025 for more information or to make arrangements for pickup.

NAME Lawson Lorde Osbert Joseph Wayne Robinson Myrtle Mason K. Mathurin Sherian King Ricardo C. Charlemagne K. Vitalis Biscomi Mr. Vitalis Tricia Warner Francis Springer

ITEM Gents Timepiece Gents Timepiece Gents Timepiece Ladies Timepiece Gents Timepiece Ladies Timepiece Gents Timepiece Ladies Timepiece Ladies Timepiece Gents Timepiece Gents Timepiece Ladies Timepiece x 2 Gents Timepiece

SATURDAY, AUGUST 03, 2019

www.stluciastar.com

$2.00

Make Room For the Shameful!

S&S

LAYAWAY NOW AVAILABLE AT S&S THE PRICEBUSTERS

TROLLEY SCHOOL BAGS $35 Come and apply for your S & S Loyalty Card

KIDS SCHOOL BAGS

$10

Bois D Orange • Castries • Vieux Fort www.facebook.com/the.pricebusters

BINDER DIVIDERS

$4.75

KIDS PLASTIC CHAIRS

$14

GRAPH BOOKS

$4

SCIENTIFIC CALCULATIONS $12

Also on special: SCHOOL BAGS FROM $10, GEMOETRY SETS $6, POSTER PAINTS 12 PACK $7.25, ADHESIVE CLEAR BOOK COVERS $4.75, SILICON GLUE $2.25, GEL PENS 6 FOR $3, CORRECTION FLUID $2.25, CRAYOLA CRAYONS $6, FILE PAPER FROM $2.75, COLOURING PENCILS $5, POPSICLE STICKS $2, PAPER FOLDERS $1.25, SKETCH PADS FROM $4, CHALK 12 FOR $1, PAINT BRUSHES 6 FOR $3.50, HARD COVER DIARIES $4.50, CONSTRUCTION PAPER $4.50.

Printed and published by STAR Publishing Co. (1987) Ltd., Rodney Bay Industrial Estate, Massade, Gros Islet, P.O. Box 1146, Castries, St. Lucia, W.I., Tel: (758) 450-7827 Fax: (758) 450-8690, Email: info@stluciastar.com Website: www.stluciastar.com