St Lucia in key step towards CCJ accession

Demonstrators for and against a referendum on Saint Lucia’s accession to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) gathered outside parliament in Castries this week.

“We just called on ordinary citizens to come out today,” opposition leader Allen Chastanet told reporters as he arrived for the parliamentary session.

“We need to take a much stronger interest in the governance of our country,” said Chastanet, whose United Workers Party (UWP) wants a referendum on the CCJ accession.

He accused the government of being arrogant, turning a deaf ear, and being drunk on its own selfimportance.

“They are taking over our country and ruining our country and it’s time for us to stand up,” the former Prime Minister declared, adding that the people should have a voice on critical issues like the CCJ.

However, Prime Minis-ter Philip J. Pierre told reporters on the sidelines of parliament that the court has ruled there was no need for a CCJ referendum.

He described the day as historic.

“Today, we’re going to be removing one of the last barriers of colonialism. We are going to show confidence in our people, confidence in our judges, confidence in our system. I am very proud that Saint Lucia has accepted it,” Pierre stated.

“Today will go down in history as one of the very important days for our children to know that t we had the confidence and trust in our people to make the CCJ our final court of appeal,” the Castries East MP explained.

Concerned citizen and Community Activist Aaron Alexander supported Saint Lucia’s accession to the CCJ.

The placard-bearing activist declared that Saint Lucia has been under colonialism’s yoke with the Privy Council for too long.

“The CCJ is ours,” he told reporters.

Alexander observed that there was no referendum for Saint Lucia to be part of the Privy Council.

“So why should there be a referendum for us to join the CCJ? That’s nonsense,” he said “Let us have faith and confidence in our own people,” Alexander asserted. (St Lucia Times)

Health Minister Marlon Penn said he believes a means test should be done to determine whether expatriate residents qualify for Belongership or residency status in the BVI.

Penn said there should be a clearer process for Belongership status in the territory and argued that it shouldn’t simply be based on the number of years someone spends in the territory.

“There needs to be other determining factors that determines what makes one a citizen of the Virgin Islands,” Penn said on the Talking Points show yesterday, February 27.

“If you’re going to be a citizen in a country… it has to be a basis. There has to be a means test and a basis in terms of how you become a citizen, just like you go to the US and there’s a process…” Penn stated.

He further commented that there is already a process in place to become a Belonger for persons married to locals.

“Once you are married to a BVIslander, after five years and you could prove that it wasn’t a marriage of convenience or any of those types of things, [then] you get your status,” he added.

The government came under scrutiny during the Commission of Inquiry (COI) for skirting the established law on granting Belongership status after it was found that a government policy demanded that persons only apply after 20 years of residency, instead of 10 years as the law states.

Speaking to the furore over the issue, Penn remarked that the United Kingdom (UK) simply wants the government to uphold what the law says. Penn said it is one of the most critical reforms being undertaken by the government in relation to the COI report’s findings.

Governor John Rankin recently expressed disappointment at the pace of COI reforms and noted that a reviewer (Kedrick Malone) has since been identified to lead a review of the existing policy and processes for granting residency and Belongership status.

That review is also expected to examine the open discretion of Cabinet to grant such statuses and the length of residence required for Belongership, among other things.

Penn said the next steps for that review include research, public consultations and public meetings. (BVINews)