E-Paper 28-03-13 by TheVincentian Publishing

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

THURSDAY,

MARCH 28, 2013

VOLUME 107, No.13

POLICEMEN CHARGED WITH SHOOTING COLLEAGUE

the Serious Offences Court on Monday, charged in connection with the December 5, 2012 shooting of one of their colleagues. Sergeant Julius Morgan and Constable Orlando Collins were each granted $25,000 bail with one surety, while Constable Adrian Forde was placed on bail in the sum of $7,000 with one surety. Morgan, Collins and Forde are charged jointly with conspiracy to defeat the course of Justice, while Morgan and Collins are charged jointly with unlawfully and maliciously wounding Corporal Milford Edwards of the In the absence of COP Keith Narcotics Unit, unlawfully discharging a firearm, Miller, Acting Commissioner excessive use of force and of Police Michael Charles acting in a manner so rash or (pictured) ensured that the so negligent as to be likely to DPP’s instructions were cause harm to a person. obeyed. The three policemen were arrested and charged on BY HAYDN HUGGINS Monday by Assistant THREE POLICEMEN, attached to Superintendent of Police Jonathan Nichols. the Criminal Investigations The lawmen, decked in long Department (CID), were released sleeved shirts and ties, were on bail when they appeared at taken to court by their

colleagues. They pleaded not guilty to the charges when they stood before Chief Magistrate Sonya Young. Attorney Patricia Marks appeared on Morgan’s behalf, Duane Daniel represented Collins, while Kay Bacchus-

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Constables Orlando Collins and Adrian Forde made a hasty rush for the ‘safety’ of a police vehicle. Inset: Sergeant Julius Morgan had no qualms about being photographed. Browne, who is currently out of the state, is on record to represent Forde. Prosecutor Inspector Adolphus Delpleche did not object to bail, but requested suitable sureties. As part of their bail conditions, the policemen were ordered to surrender all travel documents and not to leave

the state without the permission of the Court. The matter was adjourned to May 28 and 29, 2013 for trial. Outside the court room, some persons sympathized with the accused cops, expressing the view that the matter was unfortunate. Continued on Page 3.

PM to ‘sue’ Eustace by KENVILLE HORNE PRIME MINISTER Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is moving once again towards taking legal action against Opposition Leader Arhnim Eustace, for defamation of his character. The Prime Minister made his intention known during a press conference he hosted last Monday. The action is predicated on an alleged statement made by Mr. Eustace during a New Democratic Party sponsored town hall meeting in New York, U.S.A., on Saturday, March 16. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and Mr. Arhnim Eustace are caught up in a game of tit for tat with respect to allegations against Continued on Page 3. each other.

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

THURSDAY,

MARCH 28, 2013

VOLUME 107, No.13

POLICEMEN CHARGED WITH SHOOTING COLLEAGUE

www.thevincentian.com

EC$1.50

2. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

News

Dr. Ralph Gonsalves

ÂToo much laziness in the regionÊ

DR. RALPH GONSALVES, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, PM of SVG, left much of St. Vincent for Caribbean policy makers to chew on, and the going into the second day of the Colloquium. Grenadines,

has expressed the concern that because a large percentage of the region’s work force is lazy, the region was failing to benefit from any export-led economic growth.

Dr. Gonsalves made the observation while delivering the feature address on day one, March 20, 2013, of the Caribbean Exporter Colloquium, organized by the Caribbean Export Development Agency, and held at the Hilton Barbados. Addressing an audience comprised of senior government officials, business leaders, and officials from business support organisations based throughout the CARIFORUM region, Dr. Gonsalves remarked that “a scourge of laziness is affecting not only the agricultural sector, but also manufacturing and services.” Dr. Gonsalves questioned the region’s expectations of producing anything for export which is competitive, “when most of the region’s labour force work limited hours.” And Dr. Gonsalves was clear in his reference to the ‘work force; by declaring that this included both the labour and management sectors of the economies. Barbados newspapers quoted Dr. Gonsalves as saying: “The truth is that too few people in our Caribbean today have to carry too many — and I am not talking about [carrying the weight of the unemployed] … but about people who are working! We have to get into our heads that a

progressive society is a society which has hard, smart and productive work at its core!” opined Gonsalves, easily commanding the attention of his audience. And a growing tendency did not escape the purview of the Vincentian Prime Minister. As far as he was concerned “..there is a focus on leisure, pleasure and ‘nice-time’ by too many people .. . A society … preoccupied with these things will go the way of early century Rome.” Other limitations which Dr. Gonsalves purported as impacting negatively on economic growth and development in the region were crime and size. He referred to the criminal offences on tourists visiting Barbados as an example of how crime affects the very “bread and butter” industries of an island’s economy. The limitation of size should lead the region, Dr. Gonsalves advanced, “to build a suitable business developmental model for the region,” but he warned against believing such a model was a “quick fix.” Towards this end, Dr. Gonsalves advised “that any framework constructed to advance its (region’s) economy must be one that is modern, people-focused, and competitive, having tentacles which expand beyond the national level to the regional and global markets.” And even as he recognized that each island had its own set of circumstances with respect to the way in which it responded to export preparation and execution, Dr. Gonsalves cited a common thread as being “the need to produce quality goods and services at competitive prices, in sufficient quantities and on a sustainable basis to target markets.” Dr. Gonsalves urged the region to “embrace unequivocally the deepening of regional integration amidst all of its challenges and [seek to adopt] a profound sense of international solidarity between like-minded nations, groups and people.”

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 3.

News 3

BLA receives EC$15 million ECCB loan

Right: The FSA continues to be responsibility for the day to day operations of the BLA.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said that the ECCB had approved a loan to provide liquidity support to the NLA. by KENVILLE HORNE

THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK (ECCB) has provided liquidity support for the fledging St. Vincent Building and Loan Association (BLA). The assistance, to the tune of EC$15 million, comes in the form of a loan, and was negotiated by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Ralph Gonsalves. Dr. Gonsalves gave confirmation of the loan during a press conference he hosted last Monday, at Cabinet Room. The confirmation was relayed to the Prime Minister through a letter from Deputy Governor/ECCB, Trevor Braithwaite. The loan comes with the following conditions: loan disbursements will

PM to ‘sue’ Eustace Continued from Page 1. Dr. Gonsalves said that Mr. Eustace had declared, inter alia, at the meeting that, “he cannot tell people to leave their money in the Building and Loan Association when the Prime Minister’s mother’s money has been removed.” Eustace, according to Dr. Gonsalves, had added that “all the ‘dressing up which Gonsalves did in putting in $21,000 to the Building and Loan is foolishness … it was an act of deceit to the people of SVG and I cannot support that’.” As far as Dr. Gonsalves is concerned, Eustace must prove to the judge in a court of law that he is guilty of deceit, “as that is a very serious defamation. “Well, Arnhim Eustace, you’ll have to meet me in the High Court of Justice,” Gonsalves said. “You’ll have to prove to the judge that I am guilty of a deceit.” Dr. Gonsalves has denied having

any knowledge that his brothers, who are joint holders of the account with their mother, had withdrawn any money from the joint account, before the St. Vincent Building and Loan Association came ‘under stress’. He would be contacting his lawyers to deal with the matter because “ he (Eustace) apparently knew something that I didn’t know on the day when I opened my account,” Dr. Gonsalves asserted. “Time is running out, and your desperation is showing, man. Stop your desperation. You will pay for your mouth, and I am resolute on this matter,” said the Prime Minister. This latest intent by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves comes on the heels of an expression of intention by Opposition Leader Arhnim Eustace, to institute proceedings against the Prime Minister for alleged defamation of his character, arising out of an incident involving the Prime Minister and two BBC journalists.

be made on a needs basis over a six month period; interest will be made at an annual rate of 2%, to be paid on a quarterly basis from the date of the first disbursement; principal must be repaid in quarterly installments over three years after a one-year grace period from the date of the first disbursement; and that the quarterly payments towards the principal be determined based on the amount disbursed. Dr. Gonslaves cleared the air with respect to his involvement in how the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was managing the BLA during this period of

transition, indicating that he had nothing to do with that process. “As as I said at the beginning, when they had informed me, I told them that I need about 48 hours to line up some ‘ducks’, so to speak, and one of the ‘ducks’ I was seeking to line up was some liquidity support,” he explained. The Prime Minister admitted that the government might need more than $15 million, but that was what was “organized at the time.” Dr. Gonsalves reiterated the importance of the BLA to the local financial system, but lamented that government,

because of improper practices by boards and managers, had to utilize money to support the transition period (of the BLA) which “..I (government) could use elsewhere to maintain the stability of the financial system.” The FSA assumed management and control of the BLA on February 1, 2013, in accordance with section 8 (1) (d) of the financial services authority Act, Act no. 33 of 2011, ‘for the purpose of protecting the interests of shareholders, members and depositors as well as the public, and for ensuring that the Association remains financially sound.’

Policeman charged with shooting colleague have been the result of ASP Nichols leaving the While Constables state. He was given the Collins and Forde tried instructions to lay the to avoid being charges. photographed by Commissioner Miller, reporters, turning their who left the state March faces and hustling into a 17 is expected to return police vehicle to be on or about today, whisked away, Sergeant Thursday, March 28. Morgan stood up and The DPP told THE faced the cameras VINCENTIAN last week saying, “I don’t have a that he had a problem with that.” conversation with Acting The officers were Commissioner of Police charged about 17 days Michael Charles after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Colin Monday, March 18, and Charles assured him Williams wrote to that the matter would be Commissioner of Police addressed last Friday, Keith Miller, informing March 22. him that charges ought When contacted last to laid against the three Tuesday, the Acting COP policemen. confirmed to THE Part of the delay in charging the officers may VINCENTIAN that the Continued from Page 1.

three policemen have been suspended from duties on half month’s pay, pending the outcome of the case. Corporal Edwards was shot in the right arm on the bay front at Rose Place, Kingstown, as he and other members of the Narcotics Unit carried out an operation on December 5, 2012. According to a release from the DPP’s office dated March 11, the statements recorded following the incident were thoroughly reviewed at the DPP’s office, and the DPP made the determination that charges ought to be laid, having applied the full code test to the evidence.

4. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Court

Tough penalties for Total prison population cocaine offences Stories by HAYDN HUGGINS A VINCENTIAN SAILOR, this week, received two

Grant Connell, attorney for Calvert Rodney, declared that the fine his client was ordered to pay could be paid by only ‘a certain few’ in SVG.

sentences of ten years each, and was fined half a million dollars on two cocaine related charges. Calvert Rodney Williams, 47, of Redemption Sharpes, was sentenced to ten years in prison for possession of 24.2 pounds of cocaine with intent to supply, and ten years for attempting to export the drug. The sentences, handed down by Justice Wesley James, will run concurrently, that is, Williams will serve ten years behind bars. However, if he fails to pay a fine of half a million dollars, he will serve an additional five years in prison. Williams was found guilty of the charges at the conclusion of a trial at the Serious Offences Court, but Chief Magistrate Sonya Young committed him to the High Court for

sentencing. Justice James handed down the penalties on Tuesday at the Criminal Assizes. Grant Connell, Williams’ lawyer, told the Court that, while he acknowledged that the law gives the Magistrate the power to send a matter to the High Court for sentencing, he deemed it very unfair. “The Magistrate, being cognizant of the quantity of drugs involved, accepts jurisdiction, tries the matter, finds the person guilty, but her sentencing powers she deems insufficient, therefore committing the accused to the High Court for sentencing. It is not as if the quantity of the drugs would have changed,” Connell said. Connell said his client was at the bottom of the ‘food chain’ in the drug trade, “nothing more than a mule.” He asked

the Judge to fine; but Justice James opted to fine and confine with stiff penalties. At the closing of the Assizes on Tuesday, Connell contended that the penalties imposed on the client were too harsh. Connell said that a fine of that amount could only be paid by a certain few in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Evidence revealed that around 12:10 p.m. on July 16, Inspector Foster Scott of the Narcotics Unit, along with other drug squad personnel on duty at the Kingstown Port, acted on information and boarded the motor vessel Elitha One, on which Rodney Williams was a sailor. When Inspector Scott indentified himself and the party, the defendant hurriedly entered his cabin and closed the door. Scott followed him into the cabin and met him trying to hide a black bag under some clothing on the top bunk. It was checked and found to contain cocaine. He told Scott, “Don’t lock me up, leave it inside here, don’t tell nobody.” Scott did not grant his request, and arrested and charged him. The Chief Magistrate has always taken a firm position in respect to cocaine related offences. She has repeatedly stressed that, while marijuana is grown here, cocaine is imported. Former Senior Magistrate Errol Mounsey repeatedly described cocaine as ‘deadly’.

shows no change THE PRISON population now stands at 460, exactly the same figure reported at the closing of the September — December Criminal Assizes, December 19, 2012, which had represented an increase of 32 compared to the figures presented at the closing of the Assizes one year before. At the recent closing at the High Court on Tuesday, Chief Prison Officer Brenton Charles reported there were 257 inmates in custody at the Belle Isles Correctional facility, 193 at the Kingstown Prison and ten at the female prison at Fort Charlotte. A total of 43 males are facing murder charges, including 33 awaiting trial and ten awaiting Preliminary Inquiries. At the December 19, 2012 closing of the Assizes, 23 males were awaiting Preliminary Inquiries on murder charges, while three were awaiting trial. The figures reported one year before showed that 39 males were awaiting trial on murder charges, while 19 awaiting Preliminary Inquiries. Charles reported that at Belle Isle, 256 inmates were serving sentences — 110 sentenced by the High Court and 146 jailed by the Magistrate’s Court. One inmate at Belle Isle is awaiting sentencing by the High Court. Of the 193 inmates at the Kingstown Prison, 91 are serving sentences, 25 jailed by the High Court and 66 by the Magistrate’s Court. One hundred and two (102) are on remand, 45 awaiting trial, 52 awaiting Preliminary Inquiries and 5 awaiting sentence. Three females at the Fort Charlotte Prison were jailed by the High Court and four by the Magistrate’s Court. The three females awaiting trial will be tried for murder. A total of 36 non-nationals are in custody, including 12 Trinidadians, 5 St. Lucians, 7 Barbadians, 4 Grenadians, 4 Guyanese, 1 Bermudan, 1 Jamaican, 1 Nigerian and 1 Lithuanian. Twenty —two (22) non-nationals are serving sentences, 12 awaiting trial, 1 awaiting Preliminary Inquiry and 1 awaiting sentencing. The serious problem of overcrowding at the Kingstown Prison has been curbed with the opening of the Belle Isle Correctional Facility.

Female police constable aims high A FEMALE police constable who was recently praised by High Court Judge Wesley James, told THE VINCENTIAN on Tuesday that her aim is to become the first female Commissioner of Police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. At the close of the Criminal Assizes on Tuesday, Justice James lauded female police constable Juliana Paris for the manner in which she delivered her evidence in a recent matter at the Assizes. Paris was giving evidence for the first time in the High Court. “Many senior police officers should learn from her,” Justice James declared, in the presence of several senior police officers at the closing ceremony. Speaking with THE VINCENTIAN

later, Acting Commissioner of Police Michael Charles said, “I think she (Paris) is a person to watch in the future, once she keeps up her good works.” PC Paris, who is currently attached to the Georgetown Police Station, was not at the closing ceremony, but in a telephone interview with THE VINCENTIAN she said she appreciates the comments made by Justice James. “My aim is to be the first female Commissioner of Police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” she declared. Paris will celebrate her eighth year in the Constabulary, December 19, 2013. She has served at the Fire Department, Beat and Patrol, and in a number of outstations.

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 5.

St. Lucia civil servants on strike

Regional

A case of Âshe said, we sayÊ Shanique Myrie is seeking damages from the Barbados government.

THE BARBADOS LEG of the hearing of the Shanique Myrie case by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) wrapped up last week in Barbados. Not before one Barbadian was heard to remark that the case had reached a stage of “she said, we say.” This comment came on the heels of last week Thursday’s testimony by Barbadian female constable, Sirphene Carrington. The testimony was in direct denial of the case brought by the 25-year-old Myrie, who alleged that when she traveled to Barbados on March 14, 2011 she was discriminated against

because of her nationality, subjected to a body cavity search, detained overnight in a cell and deported to Jamaica the following day. According to reports coming out of Barbados, Constable Carrington, an officer of the Royal Barbados Police Force with more than 10 years experience, also denied making derogatory remarks or searching the luggage of the Jamaican national, who was denied entry into the island on March 14, 2011. Myrie’s Attorney, Michelle Brown, suggested under crossexamination of Carrington, that she was rough and boisterous with her client, even suggesting that the female constable had said she hated Jamaicans and accused Jamaicans of being liars who came to Barbados to steal men. “Ms Myrie was never in the bathroom. Ms Myrie was not subjected to a cavity search...,” Carrington is quoted as saying in response. Carrington’s testimony followed that of Merlo Reid, the Immigration Supervisor at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA), during the day in question. Reid it was who explained that it was Myrie’s “untruthful

statement” or misrepresentation of information, that led to her eventually being denied entry into Barbados, on March 14th, 2011. Myrie had been referred to Reid by the frontline Immigration Officer. Reid admitted that Myrie was initially granted a 30-day stamp of approval but this was rescinded after members of the Royal Barbados Police Force Drug Squad attached to the airport, showed interest in Myrie, and after the persons who she declared as her host while in Barbados, denied ever knowing her. Contact with Myrie’s alleged host, Pamela Clarke, established that she was not responsible for the Jamaican. Reid indicated to the Court that once he had established that Myrie had been anything but truthful about her domicile while in Barbados, that he rescinded the original stamp of approval of entry. Shanique Myrie is seeking damages for what she claims was sexual assault by a Barbados immigration officer, and denial of entry into that country.

Dr. Douglas remains defiant SHOULD DR. DENZIL deputy prime DOUGLAS and his St. Kittsminister Sam Nevis Labour Party lose a Condor and vote of confidence in the senior Parliament of St. Kittsgovernment Nevis, then they will go to minister Dr. the options that are provided Timothy by the constitution. Harris — and And one of those options is is another a general election, the next effort to have one in that twin-island state the being constitutionally due no Parliament Dr. Denzil Mark Brantley, debate a no later than 2015. This is the promise of Dr. Douglas, PM of Oppoistion confidence St. Kitts-Nevis, leader, has Douglas, Prime Minister of motion which written the St. Kitts-Nevis and leader of will not be was rushed into Governor the SKNLP. He declared in submitted to general explain the Clerk of his weekly radio programme debating a no confidence that, “The Labour Party why there the House stands ready to be prepared motion brought should be a since for any event electorally. ….. against his December 11, debate on the We have been in government government. no confidence 2012. for the last 17 years after However, motion. being able to defeat a 15Prime year opposition regime (PAM), and have Minister Douglas has brushed off the the confidence and the support of our moves by the opposition insisting that people if we were to go into a general he will not be “rushed into debating election, if they were to be called.” the motion of no confidence,” saying Dr. Douglas and his Labour Party that the matter of a national budget government are embroiled in an ongoing far outweighs the importance of the battle to circumvent a no confidence motion. vote, after Opposition Leader Mark Yet, Dr. Douglas boasted on his Brantley had written Governor General weekly radio programme last week that Sir Edmund Lawrence, indicating that the SKNLP would not lose any motion six of the 11 legislators in Parliament of no confidence should it go to no longer supported Dr. Douglas, and called for the debate on the motion to be Parliament for debate. Kittians-Nevians, meanwhile, wait held without further delay. with anxiety to learn whether they Reports are that the latest move by would go to the polls some two years the Opposition has the support of two ahead of the stipulated time. former government ministers — former

THE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS of government services in St. Lucia were severely curtailed last week, as civil servants stayed away from their jobs beginning last Monday. At the bottom of the week, word from the Civil Service Association (CSA), bargaining body for the civil servants, is that its members are prepared to intensify their industrial action if the Dr. Kenny Anthony led Prime Minister Dr. government is not prepared to offer a Kenny Anthony better package that a 4 percent salary must have been increase and other benefits. disappointed, to The civil servants are demanding a say the least, that 9.5 percent salary increase, since civil servants did among, other things, some of the not join their benefits that government has offered colleagues and “do not come down to the benefit of accept his offer. the CSA.” The strike action by the civil servants comes even as a 4 per cent salary increase and a package of other benefits have been accepted by police, teachers, firemen and nurses, all of whom are members of the Trade Union Federation (TUF) that groups the public service unions. But CSA president, Mary Issac, said that those who have accepted government’s offer “understand that some of the benefits they got do not come down to the benefit of the CSA,” and she warned that the action could escalate “until we hear something from our employer.” The action by the civil servants came in direct disregard for Prime Minister Anthony, who had urged the workers to “desist from taking industrial action and putting the island under further economic strain.” The St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce last week Monday condemned the strike and called on the parties to continue working towards a settlement. “The economy cannot afford the impact of industrial action, nor should we subject the citizens and the economy to Civil Servants in St. such action,” a statement from Lucia took strike action the Chamber said. The Dr. Kenny Anthony led even as their government has made it clear counterparts accepted that its civil servants must the government’s offer to work before any talks with respect to a salary return could begin.

increase and benefits.

6. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

News

EU invests in SVGÊs agriculture and infrastructure by KENVILLE HORNE THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT here received a huge boost following the signing ceremony of two important agreements between the Government of St.Vincent and the Grenadines and the European Union (EU). The agreements will see SVG receiving some EC$35 million in grants aid. The agreements signed are the Congo Valley Reconstruction and Bridge Construction, and the Agricultural Development and Modernization Programmes, also referred to as the Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM) project. Representatives from the European Union and Government officials converged at the Central Planning Division Conference Room on Tuesday 19th, for the important signings. Among those at the head table were ; Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar; Jolita Butkeviciene, Director General of Development and Cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean; Director of Planning and National Authorizing Officer Laura Anthony-Browne, and Chief Agricultural Officer Leslie Grant. Butkeviciene described the agreement as “..investment in the future, in your success,” adding that she hopes that the money would help cushion the effects of the financial crisis. “It is important to ensure that the public investments are there, and we help leverage the blow of the global economy , that all of us see has its hiccup these days,” said Butkeviciene. Browne described the financial input by the EU

as a “very timely” contribution.

The BAM Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves thanked Butkeviciene for her kind words and her appreciation of the type of work which the government has been doing. According to the Prime Minister who is also this country’s Minister of Finance, the grant of approximately Euro 9.93 million, roughly EC$ 35 million, will go towards the development and Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and Jolita Butkeviciene affix their modernization of the signatures to the two agreement confirming a new EU round of assistance to agricultural sector for a SVG. period of 5 years. government of SVG has established several He noted that much more will be required in important strategic frameworks to get young people order to realize the ideals of the project, and highlighted that the overall strategic priority “is the interested in agriculture, beginning with a promotion of food and nutrition security.” And in as consultative component. much as he referred to the Black Sigatoka disease, Congo Valley project and natural disasters as accounting for the decline in banana production, he cited the new measures of The Congo Valley Road Rehabilitation and Bridge assistance as “measures (that) come about as a Reconstruction project, which will be funded from result of loss we would the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), is have suffered through viewed as a direct effort to improve the quality of the trade liberalization life for residents in the poor, rural North Central process.” and North Windward communities of St.Vincent, by The assistance is eliminating the risk of isolation during a storm expected to assist in event. increasing banana, The timeframe for this project has an operation livestock, fruits, and implementation phase of 36 months and a budget of vegetable production; and is expected to result Euro$1,425,000. The BAM project will be supervised by the in improved agricultural infrastructure, improved Ministry of Agriculture under the management of access to credit facilities, Leslie Grant, while the Congo Valley Road Rehabilitation and Bridge Reconstruction project development of will fall under the responsibility of the Government agribusinesses, of SVG, through BRAGSA. strengthening of public/private sector partnership in the value chain, amongst other things. The main activities to be completed under the agreement includes: Euro $6,160,000 towards increase in the provision of agricultural infrastructure; Euro $300, 000 towards a revolving facility in support of commercial production and marketing; and Euro $1,190,000 for the promotion of sustainable land use practices and environmental management. Another key aspect of the BAM agreement is to get more young people involved in agriculture, and Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar, assured that his Ministry was working Saboto Caesar, Minister of Agriculture, assured towards encouraging that his Ministry will take the lead in a programme same. to encourage young persons to take up farming. He noted that the

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 7.

News

Hundreds support fundraiser for International Airport Story and photos by NELSON A. KING naking@verizon.net; neloking@msn.com US CORRESPONDENT

SOME AT HOME MAY BE OPPOSED, primarily along partisan lines, to the construction of the Argyle International Airport; but there’s no mistaking, absent a scientific study, that most nationals in the Diaspora, especially in the United States, are in full support of what they describe as “a must” for the nation. And so, hundreds jammed the Friends of Crown Heights Educational Centre in Brooklyn, New York last Saturday evening, for a massive fundraiser for construction of what is the largest project in the nation’s history. Many even came from as far away as Massachusetts. Even the undisputed Caribbean’s leading gospel diva, the award-winning New Grounds-born Bridget Blucher, came, surprisingly, from sunny Florida, braving the cold New York weather, to support the much-needed and much-heralded international airport. The 4 ½ -hour event was, unquestionably, the larger of two gospel concerts to date, organized by the Brooklyn-based ‘Friends of Argyle International Airport, U.S.A.’, in their unshackled and zealous bid to see the airport completed. The New York Consulate General also

collaborated with ‘The Friends’ in staging Saturday’s spectacle. Consul General Selmon Walters and his deputy, Edson Augustus, in the vanguard of coordinating activities, were ‘ringside’ at the event.

Award-winning Caribbean gospel diva Bridget Blucher.

Surprise, surprise Blucher was not listed to perform among the host of gospel artistes and cultural groups; and hardly, if, anyone in the sell-out audience, except, perhaps, the organizers, knew about her surprise — very surprise — attendance. But when she burst through the side entrance of the massive hall, effervescent patrons went into a frenzy. Unequivocally, Blucher did not disappoint them. Instantly, she warmed up with ‘Calvary’, then with the rapturous ‘Rivers of Babylon’, putting the audience on its feet. “When you sing ‘Rivers of Babylon,’ it tells of your special journey,” intoned Master of Ceremonies, Georgetown native Bishop Kenroy Cuffy, pastor of Judah Church of God in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, afterwards. Blucher then returned at show’s end, to bring the house down with ‘Send the Light’, ‘God’s not Dead’, and ‘I’m Saved’.” In between, the throng of other entertainers kept patrons bubbling.

Section of the audience at the gospel fundraising concert. Trinidadian Gerard Placide, a McDonald’s Gospel Fest winner, who served with the US Army during the Iraq War, cried and received a standing ovation after belching out ‘How Great Thou Art’ and ‘A Perfect Play’ from Broadway’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’. Placide’s compatriot, Kemba Lodescar, rendered ‘I Look to You’; and Evangelist Ellsworth Quammie, who had carried the calypso sobriquet ‘Lifeboy’, gave an encore and convulsed patrons into waving patriotically to ‘St. Vincent and the Grenadines — Islands of Love’. He then returned with ‘Hold on, Don’t Give Up’, telling the audience: “We’ve got to get the airport done, so hold on to Jesus.” Other performers included: Praise International; Kingdom Life Ministries; Brooklyn

Brooklyn-based ‘Friends of Argyle International Airport, U.S.A.’ with Godfrey Pitt, chairman (2nd from right front).

for Jesus Youth Group; Beulah Church of the Nazarene; Trinity Gospel Apostolic Church; Campden Park natives Garfield Bowen and Andean Charles; and Park Hill-born Firstman “Bardo” Hills, his wife Joan and daughter Kathleen. In addition, the popular United Vincie Cultural Group of Brooklyn (UVCGOB) performed very short skits on the salience of constructing the Argyle International Airport; recited the poem, ‘Fish Fo’ So’; and executed

nostalgic, folkloric songs, including ‘Mawning Neighbor’, ‘I’m a Better Woman Than You’, and ‘Sammy Plant Piece Ah Yam’.

More to come Godfrey Pitt, chairman of the Friends of Argyle International Airport, U.S.A., said the second gospel concert was the third fundraiser the group has held, aimed at raising funds for the airport, since its formation in November 2011. The other was a bus ride to Atlantic City

Evangelist Ellsworth Quammie, formerly calypsonian ‘Lifeboy.’ casinos in nearby New Jersey. Pitt, an ex-police officer at home, who hails from Georgetown, said the group, which has already presented US$20,000 to airport construction authorities, also plans a ‘Wine and Cheese’ fundraiser shortly. “Vincentians (in the US) are getting on board (in supporting construction of the international airport),” he told THE VINCENTIAN. “Our goal is to raise more money.”

8. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Views The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Managing Editor: Desiree Richards Editor: Cyprian Neehall Telephone: 784-456-1123 Fax: 784-451-2129 Website: www.thevincentian.com Email: vinpub@thevincentian.com Mailing Address: The Vincentian Publishing Co. Ltd., P.O. Box 592, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Editorial

Overcoming our anger AS WE REFLECT during this period of Easter, it may serve us in good stead if we stop and take stock of a certain veil that pervades this land. The thing is that those of us who are sincere enough to admit our flaws, seldom ever list anger as one; it is the last thing that comes to mind; but it is a serious issue that affects all of us today. It is as though every one of us, regardless of our disposition, feel that we have the right to be angry and, worse, that, given our status, especially among those in positions of authority, we feel we have the right to vent our anger on another, or more appropriately against our subordinates. When we do so, i.e. vent our anger, when we struggle to retort, and what we want to say is filled with emissions of ridicule and insult, we forget about rules and decorum. Why is it that so many of us feel that the other person is provoking us? Why is it that we rationalize our anger by saying that ‘I was not going to respond, but that person gave me no alternative,’? So we fool ourselves into believing that we are rational persons; but the truth is that, in our outbursts of anger, we become the most irrational persons there can ever be. If the truth be told, each of us can control whether we respond to what is perceived as a taunt, or (whether) we remain silent. Sadly, it is more often the former which simply serves to exacerbate an already volatile situation, especially as it relates to matters of a political nature. What a pity that we find the exercise of control to be such a difficult undertaking, preferring instead to revel in the ‘sweet taste of victory’ when we judge that our angry response defeats the provocateur. It seems we are overwhelmed, at every turn, with a desire to revenge our wounded pride. Unfortunately, all this does is to create friction between friends, families and those who otherwise should be in harmony with one another in the vanguard of the ‘struggle’ to provide the best opportunities for all the people. This inordinate desire is also known to cause people to commit unspeakable acts of disregard and ridicule of others, not to mention the possibility of unspeakable crimes. And all of this, most disconcertingly, comes in the face of knowing that the secret to ward off this anger and its repercussions, lies within our hearts. If only, as the Eastern religions purport, we would listen to ‘our inner voice’ whenever we are angry; in so doing, we will not just save others, but we can save ourselves too from this cesspool of rage and ultimate destruction. So, at this season of Easter, the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ on behalf of us sinners, we should look towards His life and message for guidance in our day to day relations with one another. It was an all-embracing love for mankind that motivated Christ to willingly lay down His life for the welfare of others. His supreme sacrifice was the culmination of countless acts of compassion, and a strength and humility cultivated by responding divinely to many daily trials. Let us take to heart His example, and embrace the opportunities each day brings, to resurrect our consciousness from this ego-bound existence to one of goodness and understanding. When we accept, as the Christians we profess to be, that Christ’s spirit is made manifest in the way we look at others, in a way that speaks to the positive qualities of others and not one of judging that others always have ulterior motives, that we would set aside our anger, and seek attunement with God and pray, with all sincerity, ‘Father, not my will, but Thine, be done.’

Arabella John née Cruickshank My national hero MY MAMA, born 24th March 1893 of mixed blood including Calinago-Garifuna, is my national hero. Last week, she would have celebrated her 120th birthday on Palm Sunday. We linked additionally in that she was born on a Good Friday, I on an Easter Sunday, the 17th of April 1938, heading hard for 75. She had been born in Fancy in the gruelling plantation days when the 1898 hurricane took heavy toll of their life and livelihood, and whatever was left was virtually wiped out by volcanic eruption of 1902. The survivors of La Soufriere were taken by boat, which had moored off Owia, and placed in Barracks at Arnos Vale for over a year, while the authorities argued over their fate, including sending the lot to Jamaica. But better counsel prevailed, and they were given land on which to work and live at Clare Valley- QuestellesChauncey. The three teenaged boys in the family took advantage of emigration opportunities that were open to them to go south. Two ended up in Trinidad and a third in Maracaibo where the family lost track of him. Three girls, Mary, Ellen, and my mother Arabella, settled down at Chauncey, three sparkling damsels of the Village. My mother, at 14 plus, ran a private school which boasted such students as Iphil Jones, Amos Mac Kenzie and Conrad Roberts. In her early 20s, Fred John of Bridgetown, who had completed a course at the Agricultural School, took her as his wife, and the couple went and lived in the Georgetown area, with him as overseer of the Grand Sable Estate. Two or three children appeared, who rode to school on a donkey that they shared with the Lawrences. Then the family moved to Kingstown around 1920, my father Fred John, having enlisted as a member of the Police constabulary. A growing family about 6-7 children moved house in Kingstown, first in tenement building at the famous Nanton yard situated near to Long Wall, then to Bottom Town, at Old Montrose where Miss Angie Mc Mahon lived , thence to No-4. Rose Place which my father had bought with a top heavy mortgage. I was the only child, the 10th, not having to live in rented quarters. My navel string was buried at that spot. Running water came in the early 40s, and though we had electricity, lights were normally cut off at 9 o’clock sharp, when four or five schoolchildren would switch to lamp or lantern for reasons of economy. These school children included, over the years, Viola John, Therese Cuffy, and Esther Ballantyne nee Stay, our relative and first GHS child to come out of Fancy! From the neighbours’ home, there were those who normally enjoyed our facilities, such as they were, as wel1- George Richardson and Rawle and Winfield Marshall, early siblings of Nelcia Hazell. My mother’s famous words were: “The Lord will provide”. She was a great practising Christian. In the early days we had mini home devotions on Sundays before attending regular Anglican services — my mother on the accordion, Ena on the piano and Eric on the Violin, and others, singing away. I have never heard the bible quoted as often until Prime Minister Gonsalves took over the country! Mama read the bible religiously, every night, along with the children’s school books and

just about any reading material that she could lay her hands on. In fact, she was a voracious and indiscriminate reader. Her politics was simplicity itself. She believed fervently in Royalty and the British Empire, so that I had the very devil in getting her to remove a large picture of Princess Margaret which dominated our modest Drawing-room, until I presented her with one of myself as replacement, when I was about 20. In other words, she loved me dearly, and I knew it. It hurt me immensely to have had her compromise her love of Winston Churchill internationally and of Hudson Tannis locally, but somehow I felt she understood it all. I remembered repaying her kindly thoughts and action in a particular way. She was a child of the Empire in a profound sense. One day, on my return to SVG in late 1971, I slipped into her home, and invited her to enter a closed bedroom. She simply burst into tears at what she beheld. There was I fully robed, in a lawyer’s outfit, wig and all. As I kissed her, she whispered “Your father should have seen you like this”, then I disrobed and have never been seen with the hated wig after that. My Mama groomed and moulded all her children, including those in the neighbourhood, in the tried and tested principles of the Christian Faith: to love everyone, to be honest always so far as is humanly possible, to be straight-forward in all dealings, forgiving to others, and grateful for small mercies. She had always been a tower of strength in the face of adversity. Her remarkable achievement is that she could discuss international affairs sensibly although she never put foot outside the world of mainland St Vincent, or inside any post- primary institution. She made use of our old Phillips radio, clippings of foreign newspapers that chanced her way and, of course, the speeches of Winston Churchill . Mama was content with her lot in life, not necessarily an admirable trait, but a fact all the same of her life. She boasted that her home in Bottom Town was strategically placed to take in her church, Victoria Park (how she loved parades and cricket), the hospital and the cemetery; what more could she require? There were two big political events in her life, the 1935 riots and the 1951 adult suffrage. Naturally, she sympathised much with her working people, but suspected Mc Intosh who had been a declared atheist, until he let the cat out of the bag- by shouting “O God” when he experienced an accident at his drug store. He was rehabilitated. She questioned Joshua’s motive in 1951 when he savagely criticised her Anglican Bishop who had successfully objected to Joshua choosing the Bishop’s mitre as his election symbol. In any event, home was split in four quarters Election Day. Papa voted for his schoolmate friend, Dr. Frank Ellis; Ena for Rudolph Baynes; Elsie for Mc Intosh, and Mamma for none, though she talked the most. Mama kept quiet as local politics intensified between PPP and Labour, and her own son got entangled somewhere between the Devil and the deep blue sea. Mercifully, she was called home in 1975 in the thick of the teachers uprising, in which two of her grandchildren and her son were active participants - president Mike Browne, Secretary Joy Browne, and Solicitor of Teachers’ Union, Kenneth John. Part 2 week- after-next.

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28 , 2013. 9.

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Calypso Protect the iguana Stranger dead? CARNIVAL is already in the air. The CDC has launched its poster, I understand, but I am yet to see it displayed in any public showcase. The girls for Miss SVG 2013 have already appeared in the newspapers, and some mas bands have launched, all anticipating a grand $50,000.00 first prize for the Band of the Year title. So, take it or leave it, Vincy Mas is off and running, though officially it only gets going when the CDC stages its official launch. That in itself is a misnomer of sorts. Try telling that to a man like ‘Blondie Bird’ who starts talking about his next year carnival presentation on the night of Mardi Gras. But carnival is not my major concern here, though it is very much a factor in the issue. I ask myself, year in year out, how much we truly care about certain components of our carnival. Take calyspso for example, my main concern. Every year, depending on where you find yourself at a particular time of the year, you hear that ‘Calypso is dying’. God forbid, but lately I am inclined to believe this, even though I have tried to convince others of the contrary. When I observe the scant regard we have for calypso outside of the restricted period we call the carnival season, I am now inclined to join the ‘doomsters’. To think that we just might have a higher ratio of radio stations to population than most of the other OECS countries, yet, I challenge anyone to prove me otherwise when I declare, that we play the least calypso in any one year. And if we do play calypso, it is confined to some slot on some radio station. So, we boast and brag about our calypso but we like it only at carnival. So therefore: Should we continue to describe the art form as that which mirrors our society? How come a mirror reflects a society, a dynamic entity, only for a restricted period in any one year? Come on, it is time we stop fooling ourselves by paying lip service to an art form as important as calypso. Then again, has the art form been hijacked?

I READ WITH GREAT INTEREST the letter from Pam Ratti in your last edition (22/03/13). Like Ms. Ratti, I am an animal lover, though I admit, I am not as public as Ms. Ratti might be in her passion for animals and the struggle to ensure their safety. I want here to highlight just one issue as it relates to our animal life here in St. Vincent. From the outset, I must admit that it does not address the case of domesticated animals (cats and dogs), but has more to do with our wildlife. I write concerning the iguana. Each year, hundreds of this beautiful reptile are slaughtered in the name of a pastime. (I make no apology for using the word ‘slaughtered’, given my observation of the types of instruments used by some ‘hunters’ here.) I understand that there is quite a lucrative market for wild meat in neighbouring Trinidad, and we are once again exporting to that country. That, if it is so, (maybe) accounts for the indiscriminate ‘hunting’ of the reptile. More needs to be done to protect the iguana. I have had reports of groups of hunters who take everything in their way: mature, pregnant and even young iguana. While I respect the introduction of a controlled hunting season, I wonder if there is any surveillance of the hunters’ practices during this time. I think it was the great ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi who said something about a people being assessed by how it treat animals. The revered “Mahatma” Gandhi once said a nation can be assessed by the way it treats its animals. Following on this, perhaps there is a relationship between how we treat our animals and how we treat one another. We need to do a lot more to protect defenceless creatures like the iguana, which deserve the right to live as much as we do. Angella

WHEN I WALKED THAT ROAD, The memories keep flowing back, A tear slips from my eye, The cold wind chills me, But my soul weeps, I remember it, The laughs and the hugs, The good and the bad, But now, I am like a stranger to you, My heart beats with every step, Pounding on memories past, Trying to forget everything in the past, But the wind seems to remind me, You left my world, When you left, It was worse than Haiti’s earthquake, Rocking me to the core, When I saw you, I hid in the shadows, Knowing that, My heart couldn’t take it, True my day’s maybe cold without you, But I know things will be alright, The years will pass and I will still be a stranger to you, But God will see me through! By: Yanic Sayers St. Vincent and the Grenadines 2013.

God challenges us, in His ways

sell. One of my babies was born on Christmas Day 2005. Last year made seven years since information get out that I had weed. I was sentenced to six months in prison or $800.00 paid immediately. When the money was paid, I got out of jail Christmas Eve and went to the Hospital to have my little girl. Her name is Christmas Da Silva. I was the first big belly woman to go to the hospital that Christmas Day. The government supposed to mind this child of mine. People need to know that in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, when you are Calypso lover disabled or come from a poor class family, you are not counted. You have to come from ‘Mr. This’ or ‘Mrs. That’. As a disabled person, I didn’t get much schooling, but I learned a lot. I I DON’T KNOW whose idea it was to feature the international airport will be delivered, and the completed the six months work of the ULP government as you did in last only way we would ever see that new Kingstown, training programme week’s (Friday 22 March, 2013) issue of your in Arnos Vale, is if we keep the ULP in sponsored by the Social paper, but hats off to whoever it was. government. The ULP is the only party with the Investment Fund in Home Make no bones about it: I am ULP to the bone, leadership and vision to take us to that point and Economics and Arts & Craft, and I love it when people can recognize the good beyond. and still people watch me that this government has brought to the people of Tell me, who would have thought that an walking in the streets feeling this country. You, Mr. Editor, presented this in international airport would become a reality so that only they could read and living colour for the world to see. All ULP soon? With that achieved, is there anyone who write, dance, sing, cook, supporters should get an issue of your paper and would doubt that that New Kingstown will also be bake, wash and teach stick it up in their homes. delivered. children right and wrong. Who God bless, no man I want to congratulate the ULP on 12 You always know what you have, but never curse. meaningful years in government, and wish them know what you will get. all the best, and to say to all Vincentians that the Judy Jackson Tom “IF WE RESPOND with generosity to the needs of others, He’ll supply your needs.” When I feel I have nothing left to give, God calls me to take a step of faith. Have you ever been at the end of your rope? Maybe you’ve been in a situation like me, in which you felt, either literally or symbolically, that you had nothing left to give. I am not a single mother anymore; I am the Rasta woman who walks with two cructches. Some call me Rockstand, some people call me ‘four foot’, but I don’t mind them. I live my life to suit myself and God. Times were hard. Famine

Congrats ULP

stalked in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. With nine children to support and no man or father to protect and provide for me, I feared the worst. One day I went out to gather food to feed my children. I had nothing left in the house except one cup of rice and a drop of sugar in a bottle. I wished I could have baked two bread to share with me and my children, knowing it might be the last meal they would ever eat. I have no plans, no hope, no job, no money. The only way I support myself and nine children, 5 girls and 4 boys, I beg for some weed to

* Are the civil servants here taking note of what’s happening in St. Lucia? Have they (Vincy civil servants) given up on their struggle with government? * Any word yet on that severance pay for those Ju-C workers? What is the CTAWU doing about that? * Will the government increase its subvention to Carnival in order for the CDC to be able to pay those prize increases, one of which the Prime Minister promised to have in place for this carnival? * What is the status of the manager at that Vincy Fresh agrobusiness? * When will the executive members of the Football Federation stop meddling in the on field play of the Inter-League Competition?

10. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

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More good news for BAICO policy holders The issue IT HAS BEEN A LONG HARD struggle for the governments of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, to provide relief for their citizens who hold policies in the BAICO insurance company. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, ECCU countries embarked on a series of discussions and negotiations with a number of entities, aimed at creating a solution to the collapse of BAICO, with the potential loss of revenue for policy holders. Some of them had invested their retirement funds in this business organization, and faced potential ruin. From the beginning, the ECCU States insisted that the solution to this insurance crisis must be a regional one. So together, they devised a three prong approach to this issue. First, there was the creation of a trust fund to settle the eligible claims of the holders of health insurance policies. The ECCU governments then set about the recapitalization of the traditional life policy portfolio of BAICO, and then took this to the market in an attempt to find a buyer. In stage three, the ECCU member states created a compensation scheme for the non-traditional policy holders of BAICO. In 2011, the ECCU governments provided some EC$5 million for the Health Support Fund, and eligible policy holders had their claims settled in full. Hundreds of policy holders from the ECCU states benefited from this development.

Enter Sagicor

Mission

TO FACILITATE THE EMERGENCE of a culture of sport through the elevation of sport as a significant pillar of national development in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. * Volleyball Indoor Complex: Volleyball is easily the least expensive sport played a. For National Sports Association: in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, yet offices for national sports association; it has suffered from the almost total Executive office level support for absence of appropriate facilities. The national sports associations; forward NDP will review the possible use of the planning for each sport in five (5) year area once known as “Triangle”, to cycles. accommodate Volleyball while engaging b. For Athletes: implement a in discussions about the construction of structure that ensures a proper an appropriate Indoor Volleyball foundation for the development of elite Complex. athletes; establish sporting * Beach Volleyball: The NDP will scholarships; provide effective systems facilitate the introduction of Beach for sports medicine; Establish a special Volleyball, and promote it as a major fund for the athletes. focus in the national sports tourism c. National Sports Academy: thrust. establish an institution that caters for athletes who have displayed the Review of National Sports Council Act capacity to excel in their respective sporting disciplines; provide schooling The existing Sports Council Act was within this institution; provide established by the New Democratic appropriate coaches to facilitate the Party in recognition of the importance of enhancement of the athletes at the sport to the human condition. In its institution; develop a strong research original form, the Act addressed the and development component at this need for an institutional framework to institution. oversee the appropriate maintenance of d. Funding Sports Development: existing sports infrastructure and determine annually fixed percentage of expansion to ensure future growth. funds from the National Lotteries The Act is in need of a comprehensive Authority (NLA) for sporting review to better meet the requirements development; identify the additional of changing standards of international financial inputs to national sports sports federations. The intention of the associations from sporting activities NDP is to encourage the hosting of sponsored by the NLA; determine the regional and international competitions development needs of national sports for the following reasons: to provide association in a prioritized manner regular competitions which will through consultation with these bodies, encourage excellence in athletes; to and engaging private sector involvement generate greater interest in competitive in their construction. sport; to facilitate the growth and e. Sports Infrastructure: enhance development of the sports tourism the management structures and sector of the national economy; to systems at the National Sports Council provide opportunities for individuals (NSC) and develop the ability of the and organizations to fashion and NSC to work with sporting bodies; redevelop sports specific administrative, start the upgrading of all sporting organizational, technical and service facilities begun under the former NDP skills as employment options; to provide administration; encourage and support Vincentians with high level competition the development of sports and physical at home. While efforts have been made in the education in schools through a past to decentralize the management of cooperative working relationship existing sports facilities across the between the Ministry with country, there has been no real success responsibility for sports and the NSC; in this regard. It is therefore, important encourage and support the formation and urgent that the Community Sports and administration of sporting Management Organizations be organizations through the National established under the Sports Council Lotteries Authority and the NSC. Act to facilitate decentralized management of sports facilities in the National Sports Complexes state. Greater attention must be paid to the * National Tennis Centre: The employment strategies implemented at construction of the tennis facility has shown how important such a facility can the level of the NSC. Appropriate training and qualifications must be the be to the development of a particular sporting discipline. Over the years, the basis for employment rather than political loyalties. Persons already facility has served as a base for local, regional and international tournaments, employed with the NSC must be willing and there has been significant growth in to undergo appropriate training to number and quality of players, many of upgrade their skills and performance to whom have accessed tertiary education meet newly established standards. opportunities and further tennis Manager, Sports, Tourism training through the sport. * The National Stadium: Issues of It was under the previous NDP location and maintenance and the status of the project must be discovered administration that the idea of introducing sports tourism as a critical and discussed. pillar of national development was * National Aquatic Centre: We are an island, water is a part of us, and the raised. A former Director of Tourism, sport of swimming should be at a much Vera Ann Brereton, had commenced work and had made provisions for the higher level in the competitive arena. establishment of a position for someone We propose constructing a National responsible for sports tourism within Aquatic Centre to attract national, regional and international competitions the Ministry of Tourism. The NDP is committed to create a and to grow the sport locally. post of Manager of Sports Tourism with * National Indoor Complex: This the mandate to work with national facility has long been sought by a sports associations in pursuit of number of sporting disciplines. This opportunities to host a wide range of will be constructed at the earliest sporting activities, with particular opportunity. emphasis on the off-season. * National Velodrome: The sport of cycling has long been established in the National Recognition state, but its growth and development have been severely restricted. The NDP The New Democratic Party has proposes to review this situation and commenced work on the review fast-track the development of the sport. already of National Honours for St. Vincent and We will also commence discussions the Grenadines. Appropriate about the feasibility of a full-fledged recognition of outstanding sports velodrome. personalities will be included in this. Support for Sport

a policyholder assistance programme, which will be administered by Sagicor on behalf of the ECCU governments. Under this programme, policy holders with outstanding claims from 2009, will have an opportunity to recapitalize these policies and collect on any outstanding funds. Including in this list are policy surrenders, maturities and bonuses. Sagicor has entered into an agreement with the Judicial Managers from the ECCU region, to use the existing staff of BAICO to conduct some of this business. Sagicor will provide some training to its own staff, as well as those of BAICO, to meet the needs of the new clients. Moving forward, Sagicor will establish a committee of Directors from within the Eastern Caribbean, who will be responsible for playing an oversight role as it relates to this business. That committee will pay attention to areas such as customer service, compliance, money laundering, corporate governance and capital adequacy. By next year, Sagicor will establish a new business entity in one of the member states of the ECCU, and will list some of the shares of this business on the Eastern Caribbean Security Exchange.

The role of Prime Minister Gonsalves

In all this development, one must consider and recognize the role played by Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, in finding solutions to the BAICO debacle. While some persons threw up their hands in the air, and moaned and groaned about the loss of their savings, Dr. Gonsalves took a dispassionate look at the situation and started to look for solutions. He provided the leadership that was required to drive the process in the ECCU member states. It was a long and challenging process, timeconsuming, and requiring top level consultation. Dr. Gonsalves kept the process moving, even when some regional leaders showed a lack of interest or lacked the will power to see the process completed. This is what leadership is all about. Some other leader proposed a EC$190 million bond, to pay off those persons who were affected by the BAICO and the CLICO crisis. This would have resulted in a massive debt for the taxpayers of this country, truly a ridiculous idea, to say the least. We have seen evidence aplenty, of the leadership ability of Dr. Gonsalves, so this is nothing new to supporters of the ULP, and to rightthinking persons who support the NDP. The list is long and impressive, beginning with the rescue of the Ottley Hall marina from a debt of EC$190 million, to the construction of the Rabacca Bridge, when many others felt that it could not be done; and then the leadership provided for the construction of the international airport project at Argyle. Faith is based on works. The people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines seen the “works” of Dr. Ralph Policyholder assistance programme have Gonsalves, and that is why they have placed their faith in his leadership An interesting feature of the acquisition process is the formation of over the last 12 years. Sagicor was among seven regional companies who expressed interest in the purchase of life policies of BAICO, following the re-capitalization process. When the final negotiations were completed, Sagicor was identified as the preferred bidder for the BAICO business. There followed months of planning, consultation and approval by the regulators and the Courts, before the traditional business of BAICO was transferred to Sagicor. The businesses that were sold include universal life policies, term life policies, whole life, endowments and home service life policies. A total of fifteen thousand policy holders in the ECCU area, including some fifteen hundred from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, were now getting continued insurance coverage. Over the next three months or so, Sagicor will be contacting those policy holders to ensure that they are aware that their policies are still valid, and that they have knowledge of their current status of the policies, in light of this development. Sagicor will launch a major communication and outreach programme to facilitate this process. The intention is to honour all existing terms and conditions of the BAICO policies, as would have existed before. Some attention will be paid to insurance policies which have lapsed, as the ECCU countries recognized that policy holders may have ceased their payments, due to the uncertainty over the future of BAICO. The governments, Sagicor and the judicial managers of BAICO are now considering how to assist these policy holders.

National sports policy

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 11.

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Peace and reconciliation “There is always great suffering when friends and families are fractured and unwilling to forgive.” - David McCasland AS WE APPROACH yet another Easter Season, we consider that this is as good a time as any to revisit our need for peace and reconciliation in so many of our lives, homes, neighbourhoods, and communities. For many of us, Easter is that time of year when we reflect on the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as so vividly described in the Gospels. His sojourn on earth over two thousand years ago was with the distinct mission of reconciling mankind to God. The shedding of His blood resulted in mankind’s salvation. His death made it possible for sinners like me to receive forgiveness. Accepting His finished work on the cross enables everyone and anyone of us to benefit from the peace that comes from knowing that sins have been forgiven – completely blotted out. What a joy it is to know that we can experience that deep, sweet peace of sins forgiven and reconciliation with a forgiving God. And we trust that the flow of that refreshing peace and spirit of reconciliation within us will become like healing salve within our homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and communities. You and I are invited to accept the challenge, honour and privilege to be salt and light to a dark world; dispelling evil and encouraging peace and reconciliation in our various communities. The foregoing may be considered quite a mouthful. There are so many pearls of wisdom and jewels of good judgment that are trapped in the preceding paragraph. But summed up in all of these is the desire for us (for you and for me) to consider how our Holy God may be prompting us, at this Easter season, to be instruments and conduits of peace and reconciliation — mending fractured family relationships and repairing broken friendships in respect and appreciation of His own demonstration of love and grace to an “undeserving world”. And the expression “undeserving” is not used loosely ... for there is nothing that I could have said, done, or given that could make me worthy of His forgiveness. It was all because of His grace. Based on this reality, it behoves all of us to demonstrate love and compassion for those individuals that we perceived to have wronged us ... and develop the courage to forgive them — just as we have received forgiveness. It is that spirit of forgiveness that will strengthen the bonds of love, empathy, and compassion that will make reconciliation possible. And so, as uncomfortable as it may seem, our thoughts move to a new (and very

personal) level. I ask myself, and invite you to do the same, “Who is there in my life that I need to forgive?” Let us not skirt the issue. It is often amazing how many individuals are carrying burdens of resentment, ill-feelings (and sometimes even hatred) for others. Many of these negative, caustic, destructive thoughts have been harboured for years — doing more damage to the hoarder than may be even realised. But this Easter Season, we pause to confront the “enemy within” and rid ourselves of those ill-feelings and prejudices that have held us captive, clipping our wings and preventing us from soaring to new heights of peace and joy. What a release we receive when we get to that point of consciousness, and have the courage to shed those heavy loads of negative feelings. Those burdens are not meant for us to carry. Peace beckons! Joy invites us to lighten the load and build bridges of love and compassion across the various divides. We have the capacity, the capability, to mend the strained relationships in our homes and communities. By encouraging and demonstrating a spirit of forgiveness, we can put an end to the great sufferings that are often evident when friends and families are fractured and unwilling to forgive. Yes, it is Easter! In Christian societies all over the world, people will congregate to remember the death, burial and resurrection of our Blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ — our Prince of Peace. Jesus Christ bore the shame of the cross, that Good Friday so many years ago, as a demonstration of His love for fallen man. And, in doing so, He brought salvation, peace, and reconciliation to our world. What will we do with this Jesus? The challenge for those who have not yet accepted His finished work on Calvary (dying so that our sins will be forgiven), this article comes to remind such a reader that now is as good a time as any to make that commitment to accept Him and to follow Him in obedience. Angels will rejoice when that happens. What a blessed Easter that will be when one more soul is added to the fold! That is the most valuable peace and reconciliation we can hope for — being reconciled to our Creator, and thereby having a peace that will pass all understanding. Happy Easter! Send comments, criticisms & suggestions to julesferdinand@gmail.com

Myths that could kill 1. MILK DOES YOUR BODY GOOD Can milk do your body good? Yes, if it is that fresh milk we drank as children that came fresh from the cow or goat. Unfortunately, this myth insists that conventional pasteurized milk (to pasteurize means to heat to about 220 degrees) has health benefits, which is far from true. Pasteurized milk is not recommended because, once milk has been pasteurized, its physical structure is changed in a way that can actually cause allergies and immune problems. Important enzymes like lactose are destroyed, which causes many people to not be able to digest milk. Additionally, vitamins (such as A, C, B6 and B12) are diminished and fragile milk proteins are radically transformed from health nurturing to unnatural amino acid that can actually worsen your health. The eradication of beneficial bacteria through the pasteurization process also ends up promoting pathogens rather than protecting you from them. 2. Cardio is the best type of exercise. Researchers have begun to realize that conventional cardio exercise, such as jogging, is not all it has been made out to be. In fact, everyone can actually increase fat burning by making slight modifications to your cardio routine. The problem is that traditional cardio only works on the slow twitch muscle fibers, completely ignoring your white muscle super-fast twitch fibers. “Peak 8 or PACE refers to peak exercises done once or twice a week, in which you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a 90-second recovery period. To perform these properly, you will want to get very close to, if not exceed, your maximum heart rate by the last interval. Your maximum heart rate is calculated as 220 minus your age. You will need a heart rate monitor to measure this, as it is nearly impossible to accurately measure your heart rate manually when it is above 150. Researchers have found that interval cardio produces a unique metabolic response that is in large part responsible for its superior benefits. Intermittent sprinting produces high levels of chemical compounds which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin and within your muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation is thought to drive the increased weight loss. 3. The sun causes skin cancer There are many misconceptions about melanoma — the most dangerous type of skin cancer that accounts for more than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths. But despite all the bad press linking sun exposure to skin cancer, there’s almost no evidence at all to support that stance. There is, however, plenty of evidence to the contrary. Several studies have already confirmed that appropriate sun exposure actually helps prevent skin cancer. In fact, melanoma occurrence has been found to decrease with greater sun exposure, and can be increased by sun blocking screens. Some may ask how does sunlight prevent, rather than cause, skin cancer? In short, it’s the vitamin D formed in your skin from exposure to sunlight that provides this built in cancer protection. The vitamin D goes directly to genes in your skin that help prevent the types of abnormalities that ultraviolet light causes. Unfortunately, if you follow the conventional recommendation to avoid sun exposure, or always use sunscreen, your skin will not make any vitamin D, leaving you without this built-in cancer

protection. Cancer rates have increased right along with sun avoidance and increased use of sunscreens. If avoiding the sun actually was the answer, then cancer rates should have decreased exponentially as more people use sunscreens.Fluoride in our water lowers our risk of cavities. 4. Flouride make our water and tooth paste safe The theory behind the introduction of fluoride in your water supply initially seems beneficial — to reduce the incidence of dental problems. However, the health dangers of fluoride are so numerous; they far outweigh any benefit to your teeth. Today, even promoters of fluoridation concede that the major benefits are only from topical applications; fluoride works from the outside of the tooth, not from inside of your body, so why swallow it? Statistics tell us that water fluoridation is ineffective for preventing dental problems. There is practically no difference in tooth decay between fluoridated and non-fluoridated countries, and no difference between states that have a high- or low percentage of their water fluoridated. Meanwhile, fluoride can cause significant harm, from dental problems to thyroid damage to reduced IQ. 5. Low-fat diets are healthy The low-fat myth may have done more harm to the health of millions than any other dietary recommendation. Again, just as the recommendations to avoid sunshine has increased cancer rates, the low-fat craze led to increased consumption of trans-fats, which we now know increases your risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Unless done excessively, eating fat will not make you fat. The primary cause of excess weight and all the chronic diseases associated with it is the consumption of too much sugar. Grains, which rapidly convert to sugar in your body, are also a major culprit. If we can transform the low-fat craze into a low-sugar craze, we wouldn’t have nearly as much chronic disease. 6. Genetically modified crops are safe and well tested GMOs may be the greatest health disaster to the human food chain. Within 9 years of their introduction in 1996, multiple chronic illnesses jumped from 7 percent to 13 percent of the population, food allergies doubled in less time, and many other ailments have rapidly increased with the introduction of GM foods. Millions may already be suffering health problems caused by genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their diet. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has already urged doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients, citing studies that show how GMOs cause disorders such as vital organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system problems, accelerated aging, infertility, and dysfunctional regulation of insulin and cholesterol. Read this with a grain of salt if you must. But read, pay attention, for what you don’t know can kill you. First published September 24, 2010. Send comments, criticisms & suggestions to wefirst@aol.com

12. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Opinion

Drought: the creeping disaster in SVG. Are we prepared? WHILE MUCH of the dry weather that we experience is brief and short-lived, drought is a more gradual phenomenon, slowly taking hold of an area and tightening its grip with time. In severe cases, drought can last for many years, and can have devastating effects on agriculture and water supplies. Agriculture and clean drinking water are the lifelines of our beloved country. Therefore, it is crucial that as a sensible nation, we prepare our defences adequately to mitigate the challenges of drought and the negative impact on our nation. Agricultural drought occurs when there is insufficient soil moisture to meet the needs of a particular crop at a particular time, such as banana crops that depend heavily on rainfall. A deficit of rainfall over cropped areas during critical periods of the growth cycle can result in destroyed or underdeveloped crops with greatly depleted yields. Agricultural drought is typically evident after meteorological drought but before a hydrological drought. Hydrological drought refers to deficiencies in

schemes to start planting more trees in the rainforest to replenish areas with the greatest amount of depletion. The rainforest should be restored to its abundance of 50 years ago with huge natural canopies protecting and preserving the watersheds and providing all our water needs. surface and subsurface water supplies. It is In Kenya, the forests are protected, and the measured as stream flow, and as lake, reservoir and people realize that forests offer a unique opportunity ground water levels. VINLEC has recently stated in the advancement of the green economy with there is a marked drop in the amount of electricity many benefits to mankind. Not only are forests produced from hydro. sources of food and medicine, they act as catchments SVG Green Party is deeply concerned that the highly incompetent ULP regime has not put policies for water which is used for energy production and agriculture. in place to effectively adapt to climate change and Studies in Kenya have recorded the socio-economic drought. For example, there should be a scheme to effects of forest preservation and increased water provide poor and low income families with an 800 supply, such as higher household incomes and land gallons water tank so they can sustain themselves values (as high as 300% in some cases) due to in periods of drought. improved farmland security, crop yields and safer The spiralling increase of poverty will lead to living conditions. much more deforestation as poor households that The extended dry period in SVG in recent are unable to afford gas, use wood as a source of fuel months shows that drought is a real threat for our for cooking. This will have a devastating effect on people, and that very urgent action is need to our water supply, as fewer trees in the rainforest mitigate the negative impact of a long period of means less rain and less drinking water. Periods of drought. drought in SVG will inevitably become longer. Policies need to be put in place to protect and SVG Green Party preserve the rainforest and the watersheds. As well www.svggreenparty.org as stopping the cutting down of trees, we need

KGS conducts first ever evacuation drill FOLLOWING a fire that totally destroyed the contents of the annex at the Kingstown Government School last year, Principal Mrs. Maureen Brackin realized that if that event occurred during school hours, the ensuing pandemonium could cause injuries to students and staff. Aware that the school had never conducted an evacuation drill, she immediately set about to correct this shortcoming and enlisted the support of several agencies and individuals to ensure that if there was an earthquake, fire or tsunami threat, students and staff would be able to evacuate the building in a timely and safe manner. Following meetings with several stakeholders, including a senior officer from the Fire Department and the Rainbow Radio League, and following several preparatory activities, an evacuation drill was conducted on March 20, 2013, to test the readiness of students and staff. At 9:30 am, an alarm was sounded and all classes filed out quickly and gathered on the hard court in a record two minutes and 48 seconds,

thanks to the cooperation of the dedicated staff. During his remarks following the orderly evacuation of the KGS, coordinator of the event, Donald De Riggs and Director of the Rainbow Radio Students of the KGS get ready to evacuate their classrooms as part of the evacuation drill conducted League thanked the at that school. Principal and staff for their cooperation conducted once every term, to where available. organisations taking part in in allowing the students to ensure that students can Included in the ‘Caribe ‘Caribe Wave 2013’. evacuate both buildings practise orderly evacuation of Wave’ exercises was a tsunami According to the Director of quickly and without disorder. the school compound. evacuation drill at the George NEMO, an aggressive public He went on to state that he The drill at the KGS Stephens Secondary School in education programme aimed would like to see similar coincided with a much larger Colonaire. That exercise was at increasing awareness about activities conducted with regional tsunami training coordinated by Howie Prince, tsunamis will be launched schools that are built close to exercise dubbed, ‘Caribe wave Director of NEMO, with soon. In addition, an early the coast. Some of these 2013’, which was mainly a assistance from local radio warning system will be schools include the Kingstown communications exercise, but amateurs who established and installed in the next few Anglican, Mary Hutchinson which also tested tsunami maintained contact with months in all vulnerable Primary in Clifton Union warning and threat protocols NEMO HQ and other regional coastal communities. Island, Calliaqua Primary and Paget Farm Primary in Bequia, to mention a few schools that are very close to the sea . Principal, Mrs. Maureen Brackin thanked students and staff for their exemplary performance during the drill, noting that from now on an evacuation drill will be

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 13.

Heritage

Mike Browne addressing the pilgrims on Balliceaux.

The youth were well represented.

Garifuna ordeal re-lived their homeland for unknown Roatan. The drummers then took the chant from English to the A GROUP OF OVER SEVENTY PERSONS boarded the Garifuna language. It became very emotional. vessel ‘Sky Flirt’ at the Cruise Ship Terminal last Former Minister of Education Mike Browne Saturday, 23rd March, to make a pilgrimage to addressed the gathering, taking them back to the Balliceaux, the island to which the native Garifuna time of the genocide of the Garifuna, evoking people were taken before being exiled to Roatan sensitivities and then building a case for reparation Island in Central America, in 1797. for our exiled people. He related his experiences on Before departing, the group was given the basic visiting Roatan, drawing similarities between the details about the story of the Garifuna by Chief terrain there and that of Balliceaux. He called for Cultural Officer, Mr. Anthony Theobalds. something to be done in memory of the Garifuna On the way to the island, the Resistance people, which he expressed, could amount to the Heartbeat Drummers kept up a momentum which purchase of the island, and its conversion into a was instrumental in reshaping the atmosphere from sacred site for the Garifuna. solemnity, into one of jubilation. With all passengers Other persons who followed made good use of a assembled on Balliceaux, the ascent up the hill variety of media, poetry, chants, drumming, and began. A Ceremony of Remembrance ensued at the exhortation for the resilience of the Garifuna, with top. each echoing sentiments expressed by Browne. Ms. Gloria Williams from the Department of Among the gathering were the two Garifuna Culture hosted the affair, and she began with a Honour Guards, youths and elderly persons from chant called ‘Our Sad Experience’ which expressed the Sandy Bay community and other North the sentiments of the Garifuna upon having to leave Windward communities, the Kalinago Youth Dancers, members of the Georgetown Secondary Stories by GLORIAH…

School Young Leaders and Girl Guide group, other interested local individuals, returning nationals and visitors. When questioned about their reason(s) for taking the trip, THE VINCENTIAN received a variety of answers: a genuine desire to see the island; a need to learn about the history This elderly woman from of the Garifuna people’s the North Windward exile; a desire to dispel community was the tales told about the determined to make the island; and a need to pilgrimage to Balliceaux put such a visit on this time around. record, among others. The pilgrimage forms part of the activities to commemorate March as National Heritage Month in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Book of remembrance launched “PEOPLE GENERALLY SAY that we should take note of the good that people do while they are alive. That is for the community groups to do.” That sentiment was expressed by Chief Cultural Officer, Mr. Anthony Theobalds, at the launch of the ‘Book of Remembrance’, which took place at the Department of Culture within the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture, on Monday, 25th March, 2013.

Anthony Theobalds, Chief Cultural Officer, described the Book of Remembrance (in hand) as an archive which the public must help the Department of Culture to build.

Mr. Theobalds made the statement to reinforce the point that the Department has affirmed the responsibility to provide a ‘Book of Remembrance’, which was available to record the contributions of deceased cultural icons here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He explained that the Book stands as a record of individuals within the cultural sphere, whom the general public will tell the Department about. Theobalds explained that the Book was not, at the time of the launch, intended to become a publication for distribution to the public. Instead, it will be an archive, one which the public must help the Department to create. He made an appeal for interested individuals to continue to supply information about past cultural persons from their communities, through a biography and a photograph. The first submission, that of Mrs. Doreen John of Greiggs, was made by the Greiggs Garifuna Council. The other nine entries, supplied by the Department of Culture, were Edison ‘Sheggy’ John, Lucien ‘Saluche’ Small, Fitzroy Alfonzo Rogers, Stuart ‘Rudy’ Louie, Roy ‘Dragon’ Ralph, Mother Sarah Baptiste, Quintin ‘Toiler’ Toby, Louise ‘Phantom Fighter’ Lewis and Donna Young. When all the pages of this Volume are filled, “it will be lodged at the National Archives, and Volume II will be opened. A back-up soft copy will also be kept. For persons wishing to conduct research, soft copies of required information could be made available. It is expected that the pages of the first Volume will be steadily filled by members of the public now that the book is launched,” Mr. Theobalds told the media.

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 15.

14. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013 THE VINCENTIAN

byy KARISSA CLARKE

Anna La Bo Borde rde

Anne Therese Chamberss

Miss Metrocint Generall Insurance

Miss Agr Agricultural ricultural Input Warehous Warehouse se

“BESIDES FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE “BESIDES THE FI NANCIAL AS A SISTANCE A to fu rther m ucational goa g ls, I to further myy ed educational goals, entered the Ms. S VG 20 13 p ageant, a entered SVG 2013 pageant, ass it tepping sstone tone to to m m eling is a sstepping myy mod modeling career, a nd I belie ve th ee xp perience will career, and believe the experience doors for for me in that that a s ect. sp open doors aspect. “Preparations have bee en quite been hectic, but with time and preparation there I will get there. “On the night, expect not n only ativity. beauty but talent and crea creativity. omen of “My message for young wo women men are SVG: It is a fact that wom women nd compas personifications of love an and compas-e should sion, and I believe that we ce, confi maintain our independenc independence, confi-d d positivity.” iti it ” dence and

“INITIALL “INITIALLY, LY, m myy motiv motivation ation w was as th the e sc holarship, but but I have have also also come to to scholarship, realize rea lize that tha at it is a self development development p rocess, so s th e combina tion of th ese process, the combination these two tw o things thingss was was the the reason reason why why I entered entere ed th is pageant. pagea ant. this n to pursue studies in “I Pla Plan cosmetolo ogy or dermatology, It has cosmetology always be een a passion from about 14 been years. “Prepa arations have been going “Preparations very well.. I have a lot of support, and d I’m gettin ng everything done that is getting necessary y to take me forward. an expect passion, brilliance “You ccan e, brilliance, beauty, in ntelligence and of course, to intelligence be moved d my performance. And I e able to portray an image want to b be for person ns to emulate. persons “I wou uld encourage them (young would women) tto o be determined, determined be moti moti-vated, bel lieve in themselves and not believe to depend d on support, but get up and d do what iiss necessary to be successful at what you y pursue in life life.””

Brooke L Legair Miss Coreas-- Hazells “OF COURSE, COURSE, THE SCHOLARSHIP SCHOLARSHIP is the the bigges ence, but but not n only that, that, th e biggestt influ influence, the opp ortunity to to meet yyoung ou ung la dies who opportunity ladies a re d iverse, bea utiful a nd int elligent a nd are diverse, beautiful and intelligent and (ga in) lif elong lessons that t t you tha you lea rn (gain) lifelong learn a long the the w ay. along way. “Preparations are going g smoothly thus far. With everyth hing, there are everything, ups and downs, but I’v ve expected it. I’ve “Expect from me, me talent, ttalent creativity and nothing but the best b as I take the stage and display wha at I have been what tirelessly working on for the past months. ‘My eyes are set on n studies within Human Resource Man nagement. Management. “I’ll Like to tell not on nly young women only but youth’s within ourr society, that we are priceless, we are the t future generation that’s goin ng to build this going country, we should be elieve that every believe day and show that in day, n all our endeav endeav-ours ours.””

Marresa a Endeavour

Hannah Hamilt Hamilton ton

Miss Super 6

Miss SVG Port Authority

Miss Lotto

“I’M THE “I’M T FIRS FIRSTT PERSON PERSON From From my my comm munity of Spring Spring Village Village to to enter enter e th e community the pageant, and would like more p agea ant, a nd I w ould lik e tto o see mo ore yyoung oung gp eople from m nity people myy commu community p artic cipate in e vents on a na tional le vel, participate events national level, so it can c np ca ut m nity on th e ma p put myy commu community the map of S VG. G SVG. “So o far, my preparations have been going wonderfully. My chaperone e, chaperone, M Aldene Mrs. Ald A Browne, B has h put tog gether h together a won nderful team of persons to he elp wonderful help me. “Pe ersons can expect the talentt that “Persons Sprin ng Village has to offer. It wo ould Spring would be som mething different. You woul ld be something would shown n something new. “Th he thing that sets me apart from “The the ot ther contestants is: Just bein ng the other being first person p to enter from Spring Villag ge.” Village.” “I want to pursue studies in Hi Histo t ry, specifically ifi ll History Hi t off th h he History, the Carib bbean. I don’t think people of o the Caribbean. Carib rse bbean are aware of how dive Caribbean diverse ally are. I would like that tto we re o be really broug ght to the forefront. brought “I would w definitely tell them (y young (young wome en) to be yourself. I don’t thi nk it women) think is stre essed enough how importan nt it is stressed important to be yourself.”

“IS SEE EE THI THIS S (Misss S SVG VG P Pageant) ageant) a ass a floor for for self-development self-develop e ment a nd gro wth, and growth, a nd a lso as as a mea ans to to fu rther m and also means further myy edu cation. education. “So far trainin ng is fun through hard training work of course. There T are a few hiccups in betwe een, but things are between, coming along. “Come June 1st 1 , patrons can expect to be highly ente ertained They will ertained. entertained. witness pageantr ry at its best, as I, pageantry Marissa Endeav our, endeavour to do Endeavour, my very best. “All of the gir rls are very determined girls but I’m very conf fident in myself. confident ‘I will like to pursue p studies in Psychology. “I would say they (young women) need to always be b determined, confi confi-dent in themselv ves, to achieve the themselves, l th t” goals they want.”

“I’VE AL “I’VE ALWAYS LWAYS HAD A P PENCHANT ENCHAN NT ffor or e ent ering the the pageant. pageant. IItt is som mething entering something th hat is coming from within. within. I also also l that ffollowed o wed the Miss SVG ollo SVG Pageant Pageant n and and w as was vvery e y interested er interested in it. “My plans are going very well. I am njoying myself while prepar e ring for enjoying preparing th he show. the “Come June 1st, patrons can c expect a combination of passion and d b brilliance as I put forward my m best. “I want to further my stud dies in studies F Family and Consumer Educa ation Education b because I’m a teacher in the Home town E Economics field at the Kings Kingstown T Technical Institute, and this field is th he basis of family and consu umer the consumer e ducation. I would further my m studies education. in n this because it is the field I love, a it is the basis of many ca and areers. careers. “To young women I would d say say: A Always be honest to yourself f If y f. yourself. you sset et your goals, try your very best to a achieve every one. Make sure e tha that y you’re satisfied with who you u are and h you want to b who become.””

Che e d H C Chenead Hackshaw cksh w

Shannon Sh hannon Bess

Shara George g

Miss LIME

Miss Mustique Co Company ompany

“MY P PREPARATIONS REP PA ARA ATIONS T ha have ve been going good ctic and and c hallenging, bu good.. It’s hec hectic challenging, butt a att th e sa me time e it’s rewarding rewarding because because the same it’s ffor or m nefit. myy ben benefit. “I entered d the Pageant for my own development t, ‘cause I’m naturally a development, shy and soft-spoken person, so I soft-spoken wanted to im mprove my public speaking improve skills, inter personal p skills and gain greater self confidence. cconfidence “Come Ju une 1st , I intend to be June c throughout the confidently consistent night. I plan to give people something to be ‘wowed d’ about. ‘wowed’ “With me me,, what you see is what you get. “In encour raging young women, I encouraging would say to them: Believe in yourself. If you don’t believe b in yourself, nobody else will e determined to work will. Be towards your goals, and everything will be okay.”

“I HA HAVE VE A DEEP DEEP-SEATED -SEA ATTED llove ove ffor or m myy country, believe that the greatest cou ntry, and and I belie ve th at th e grea test honourr I could honou could possibly possibly achieve achieve is to to be an ambassador myy cou country. Thatt is a na mbassador ffor or m untry. Tha ering myy motivation entering. m motivation ffor or ent g. “Things are running smoothly. I’m satisfied with where I am m right now. “I would carry out my y duties with Something the utmost dignity. Som mething that is very dear d to my h heart iss violence l against women. I think that a lot of the culture today, especi ially dancehall especially culture, sees women neg gatively, and negatively, this is impacting our you uth today. It’s youth something that we need d to curb now, and that’s something I’d d like to shed light on. “On June 1st, I’m goin ng to go out going there and give it my bes st shot. If that best gives me the edge edge, so be it it.””

16. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Burning Flames for Easterval

by KENVILLE HORNE THE INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED Antiguan band, ‘Burning Flames’ is heading for Union Island. The ‘Flames’, formed in 1984, is this year’s billed star performer at the annual Easterval Festival in Union Island. The band is slated to appear on the Digicel Soca Fest, scheduled for Saturday, March 30. Organizers expect that the wide popularity which the band enjoys will help to entice more visitors, from mainland St. ‘Burning Flames’ is expected to attract even Vincent and neighbouring nore visitors to the Easterval festival this Caribbean territories, to this year. year’s festivities. Organizers are also that show, as well as the unique encouraged by Digicel’s sixth J’Ouvert celebrations, this year consecutive year of sponsorship for scheduled for Monday, April 1. (KH)

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 17.

18. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

People

Fashion comes to Arnos Vale Playing Field THE ARNOS VALE PLAYING same and feels the same.” FIELD is expected to be Fashion Bliss is expected transformed when it plays host to feature an array of to Mijé’s Fashion Blissfashions, ranging from Caribbean Couture, this Sunday, children’s clothing, to March 31. African styled garments, to The lawn in front of the swimwear and even Media Centre of the Playing evening gowns. Field will be the area given Johnney-Findlay said over to showcasing an array that, “A total of sixty male of offerings from leading and female models, who regional clothing and make up the cast for this accessory designers. spectacular event, have Jean Johnney-Findlay, been in training since Executive Producer of November and are looking Fashion Bliss and Director of forward to wearing clothing the Mijé Personal of some of the Region’s Development and Advertising Jewelry from Shari most celebrated designers.” Agency, organizers of the Talented Caribbean Osborne (Waddada fashion extravaganza, entertainers will add to the Beads) of SVG. describes the events as “an evening’s presentation. opportunity for Caribbean Those designers and fashion to capture the attention of the fashion houses scheduled to display their world stage.” 2013 Spring/Summer Collections are: And Production Director, Koffi Kimon Baptiste (Kimmysytic Clo.), Branch, assures that through Fashion Julesia Alexander (Pixie J Designs), Bliss, “Mije plans to put a new face, set Shari Osborne (Waddada Beads) and trends and be trendy,” and quipped, “you Charity Gorman of St. Vincent and the don’t want to see a show that looks the Grenadines; Janay Raymond (Feelo’ Je)

Damian Bengy is “The King of the Park” DAMIAN BENGY OF GEORGETOWN is the top kite flyer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bengy, whose kite was made entirely from cloth, and depicted photographs of some of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ best known politicians, copped the ‘King of the Park’ title after flying away with the ‘over age sixteen’ and the ‘largest family’ categories in the Karib Cable 15th Annual Kite Flying Competition, staged at Rabacca, on Sunday 24th March, 2013. Bengy walked away with a handful of prizes, including a 32” HDTV, a trophy, medal, six-pack of Vita-Malt, six pack of Busta and Fruta mixed drinks and gifts, compliments of Premier Distributors and Karib Cable. On being named King of the Park, a delighted Bengy said: “I started to make and fly kites from a very young age, as designing things is something I love. My family and I, especially my Mom Annette, were really looking forward to the kite flying competition. I decided to use a bed sheet to make my kite because of the size and I didn’t want the wind to damage it. The pictures of the Prime Minister, Luke Boyea and the Vincy flag were something I used to commemorate our

(L-R): Alpian Toney (General Manager of FACEY), Damian Bengy (King of the Park), Allyson- Smith Sampson (Sales & Marketing Manager of Premier Distributors) and Edward Riley (General Manager of Karib Cable). nationality. “I am thankful to Karib Cable for continuing with this tradition, and as a young adult, when I get children, I am hoping to pass on to them how to build and fly kites. I’ll definitely be back to defend my title next year, and to see what great prizes I can win again.” Other notable winners at the grand familyoriented activity included: Makela Jones who won the under 10 category; Lester Jack who won the sixteen plus category; twelve month old Tishornique Medica — the youngest flyer; Kingsley Davis - the oldest flyer; Annette Bengy - most original kite; Jemmel Williams — smallest kite; Dave

Sutton - the largest kite (nine feet by seven feet); and the Bengy, Johnson and Fergus families shared award or the most registered family members in the competition. Vance Garraway Marketing Executive of Karib Cable said, “I am really pleased with the intensity and professionalism of the participants, and the large crowd that came out to watch the kites…. This was Karib Cable’s 15th Annual Kite Flying Competition, and it just shows that a tradition of building and flying kites lives on. We are already making preparation to stage the event for 2014, and we are hoping to include Union Island in those activities.”

of Anguilla, Andrew Harris of Barbados; Carol Fraser (Miracle Hands Designs) of Guyana; Textile Industry Cooperative of St. Lucia; Kaishah Peters from St. Maarten; and Shurnel Olliviere (Shurnel) of Trinidad. Activities on Sunday get going at 5:00pm with activities catering to the children. They will have an opportunity to enjoy bouncing Fashion from Kaishah Peters of St. castles, rides, face painting, and Maarten. photo sessions. The fashion parade gets going at Carnival Catwalk.” 6:00 pm. Johnney—Findlay is convinced that Those who would have been Fashion Bliss Event is an indicator that anticipaing another edition of Mije’s St. Vincent and the Grenadines has much heralded Carnival Catwalk this come of age as it relates to fashion, and year, have been assured that Fashion is now ready to claim its place as one of Bliss is an expansion and a change “from the most fashionable countries in the their (Mjia) six-year stint of hosting Region.

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 19.

Easter Messages

Alleluia! Christ has Risen! WE ARE AN EASTER PEOPLE! We are a people of the Resurrection. This single event opens us to Hope, to Faith and to Love. To celebrate the Resurrection is to believe that Christ was born, lived, died and was raised from the dead by His loving Father. It is also to believe that this act of love from God is the definitive act in our human story. Everything from that moment must now be seen through the Resurrection light. The Resurrection of Jesus is not only an event; it is also a perspective; a way of seeing the world; a way of living; a way of being. If we believe in the Resurrection of Jesus, it changes everything in our lives. It becomes the new perspective from which we view everything. It is the source and reason for our faith, for the choices we make, for how we live. For through the prism of the Resurrection, we see God’s active hand in all life’s events. To believe in the Resurrection of Jesus is to believe that human suffering and death can never be the last word. That life always wins, and even the worst human tragedy will give way to life for those who trust and believe in Christ (Rom 8:28). Easter people always see possibility for growth and human development. We the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines look at the fact that we are living in an epic period of social and economic transition. We also look at our present economic and social challenges, and we cannot always see the hope. With a growth rate on average less than 3% between 20022011, an unemployment rate of around 20% and 30% of our people living in poverty - hope in a better St. Vincent is not always easy to see (IMF St. Vincent and the Grenadines Staff Report 2011). To believe in the power of the Resurrection is to believe that God has given us everything we need for sustaining our nation and for all of our people to flourish. This is not just wishful thinking - it is knowing that there are paths of development that if taken, would change the outlook of our people and the viability of our fragile economy. However, paths to development can be filled with either hope or concern. Hope focuses on the

fact that development can be a “leader driver”. An example in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the Canouan hotel and marina project. The development on this island is providing great employment opportunities for many citizens. The housing project for locals is providing a significant investment opportunity for many of the residents of the island. This is a project that targets the very rich with private jets and large yachts. The facility will be amongst the best in the Caribbean. We should be immensely proud of it. The concern is that there

appears to be no adequate programme for the human development of the people working there or those living on the island. Without such a commitment to this pathway to development, the magnificent resort and facility would find great difficulty in achieving its goal. Nor will it realise its potential to contribute to the overall development of our Nation in a sustainable way. The super rich and people who are not on a path of development to realize their dreams and potential will become a mixture difficult to hold together. This is certainly not

a sustainable or winning combination. To believe in the Resurrection is to believe that we can change; not some of us, all of us! This belief would lead to all people who believe in Christ investing deeply in the people around them to bring about this change. The two men walking away from Emmaus having encountered Christ, did not see him immediately. It was in the breaking of the bread, that their eyes were opened. Then they realised that their hearts were burning; then they went back to Jerusalem, the city that they were running from.

Forgive them to give up our right to be hurt, to be angry to get back, to hate the other for what they have done. It is easier to bear a grudge than to implement mercy. It is easier to brood and THE STORY was told of a man who loved make people sweat than to release the offense dogs. He went in front of the house and began and implement mercy. pouring a walkway to the street. As he was A deep grasp of how much God has forgiven nearly finished, a dog trotted right through us is a prime motivation for forgiveness. This the middle of the wet cement. Since he was a is the clear message of Easter as proclaimed dog lover, he overlooked the dog’s inability to by Jesus from the cross; “Father, forgiven recognize wet cement, and he calmly rethem….” Forgiveness is an act of faith. By smoothed the walkway. Knowing it could forgiving, I release my own right to get even, happen again, he placed a rope along each and leave the issues of fairness to God to work side of the walkway. But a few minutes later, out. I leave in God’s hands the scales that the dog pounced over the rope and again must balance justice and mercy. This act is splashed through the cement. His patience saying if there is any punishment that is dwindled but he didn’t retaliate, he just needed, any granting of mercy, God is the just chased the dog with some harsh words. Again judge. he smoothed out the concrete and incredibly We must forgive those who hurt us because enough, the dog sneaked behind him and God commands us to, and our own forgiveness leaped flat-belly into the middle of the hinges on it, and because it is best for us. walkway. The man stormed into the house, When we refuse to forgive, the bitterness can snatched his gun, went outside and shot the grow like a cancer within us and eat away at dog! His neighbour witnessed everything and us, causing stress and illness and lack of joy. rushed over to his friend and said, “I thought The only cure for this malady is the surgery of you loved dogs.” The man responded, “I do forgiveness. love dogs, but that’s in the abstract. I hate When we refuse to forgive, we allow the sin dogs in the concrete.” that was committed against us to hurt us This may be the way many of us have twice; once when we were first sinned against, approached the difficult issue of forgiveness. and again by keeping us from receiving God’s We may love forgiveness in the abstract but forgiveness and the resulting physical, social hate it in the concrete. Forgiveness means to and emotional pain. Modern medicine has choose to release someone you have been discovered that a bitter spirit can seriously holding in your debt, holding in resentment affect our health. The moment I refuse to and bitterness, and releasing him or her. forgive and start hating someone, I become Forgiveness means releasing someone from his or her slave. Pent-up wrath, bitterness, personal obligation to you, even though that anger and resentment produce too many person will have to face the justice of God and stress hormones in our body. man. This Easter, heed the words and example of Forgiveness is not calling something Jesus on the cross, “Father, forgive them….” immoral or destructive ok. It is not turning a (Luke 23:34) blind eye toward injustice. Forgiveness calls You may have had terrible things done to sin, sin, and in many ways it holds the you by someone you loved and trusted. You individual accountable for his or her actions. may have lost a great deal because of Forgiveness says you hurt me and what you someone’s actions. It is not easy to forgive, but did was wrong, but I will not hold it against God in His grace will give you the power to do you. I will not try to get back at you and I will it. not hate you for it. On behalf of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Forgiveness is a radical and the West Indies, St. Vincent and the countercultural perspective on life. It runs Grenadines District, I wish you a blessed contrary to our human nature. It is not easy Easter Season. By Bishop SONNY E. WILLIAMS – Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies, St. Vincent and the Grenadines District

What changed? Nothing changed! Everything was as it had been before they encountered Christ! What changed? Everything Changed! They now saw everything differently and were willing to commit to what they were avoiding all the while. Let us pray that the power of the Resurrection open our heart to recognise Jesus in the crucified faces around us. Let us pray that this recognition will lead us to commit to the transformation of those around us and ultimately to the transformation of our Beloved Nation. Happy Easter! SVG Christian Council The Rt. Rev. C. Leopold Friday Bishop Jason Gordon Rev. Adrain Odle Major Pierre Antoine

20. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Advice

The return of an ‘ex’

come my ex-boyfriend got to know about my operation, seeing that I I HAVE a very serious told him that he is no operation to take very way in the picture and soon, and I was advised that I would need to have we do not communicate. He is accusing me of someone standing by to being closer to him than give some blood, just in I am telling him, and case it is needed. My threatens if I accept his blood group is one of those rare ones, and I have blood, then I will have to accept the fact that he is been unable to find a suitable donor so far. My no longer going to be a part of my life. I think ex-boyfriend has volunteered to donate his he is being very childish, blood, seeing that he can; if you ask me. Did I do something wrong here? but my present boyfriend would have none of it. He says it is just his strategy Puzzled to worm his way back into Dear Puzzled, my life. He is asking me how

Dear George,

Let’s see: You told your boyfriend that your ‘ex’ is nowhere in the picture and you two do not communicate, but yet you tell him that he wants to donate his blood to your cause. Something is not adding up. His sudden reappearance into your life, and just in time to be a good Samaritan to your cause, is enough to raise eyebrows. I guess the issue your boyfriend has is not the blood from your ‘ex’, but the possibility that he still has your heart. The basis for his insecurity is your failure to level with

him in the first place. If you and your ‘ex’ still communicate, then that is nothing you should hide. It is not like you are still involved with him, assuming that you are not. At the end of the day, you need to get this blood, and if your boyfriend cannot give it to you and your ‘ex’ can, then it is your decision to make. Both of you need to discuss this as two mature adults, and stop giving this ‘EX’ more prominence than is necessary.

Room sharing leads to other things Dear George

MY WIFE’S NAME has been calling with this guy at her work place, but I gave it no mind until this came up. When I confronted her with it, she could not even look me in the eye, and to this day, has George not offered an explanation. So right now we are in limbo. Recently, she had to go to a course in Trinidad, along with 3 others from her work place. Other Caribbean countries were in attendance as well. I know he feels badly about it, and I I got information that in Trinidad, do not know what to do to help him. Worried Wife One time, I got carried away and got they had to share rooms with each furious at him when he left me high Dear Worried Wife, other - two people in a room. Well, and dry. I cannot help at times George, my dear wife ended up wondering if he is seeing another Your husband needs all the support sharing a room with this same guy woman and is losing interest in me. he can get from you, especially now from her work place for 5 days. My Maybe I do not turn him on like I used that he could be thinking of himself as source told me that she had a choice to. Could that be the reason why he is a failure. to share the room with any of her colike this? Talk with him and let him know workers, and she chose to room with that you are aware there is a problem this guy, knowing the history about and you are willing to help him find a that situation with him. solution. His problem could be medical I am left with no choice now but to as well as psychological. Either way, give credence to the rumours. As far assure him that he has your support, as I am concerned, I am wondering if and the outcome does not change the I even have a marriage! Her face is way you feel about him. This plastered with guilt, and she is not approach will help him to open up to telling me anything about what you even more, and move more happened in Trinidad. Am I willingly to seek help. overreacting to want out of the marriage? George

Non-performance breeds concern Dear George, MY HUSBAND and I have been married for 35 years and we are both in our fifties. Our sex life has been nothing short of exciting. Recently though, my husband has got into the habit of apologising for inadequate performance, a far cry from what happened in the past.

Hurt H. Dear Hurt H, Be sure you take all the time that is necessary to consider your decision to leave the marriage. You want to avoid making an emotional response to a very delicate situation. Your wife did show poor judgement in choosing her roommate, if your source is in fact reliable. On the other hand, there may be nothing wrong with her judgement if she had, in fact, already decided that was what she wanted. The writing may have long been on the wall, but you were just slow in either recognizing or acknowledging it. You may want to seek some counseling if you think there is an outside chance of reconciliation.

George

Leisure

ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) Don't let others take advantage of your good nature. You can visit clients and make a big impression just by giving them some hands-on help. Don't hesitate to sign up for lectures or seminars that will enlighten you. You are apt to meet someone special on your journey. TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21) Attend to things that you should have done yesterday. You are best to avoid joint ventures, and whatever you do, don't lend to friends or relatives. Focus on what's important rather than spreading yourself too thin and accomplishing little. You may be emotional about the way an organization you belong to is handling its business. GEMINI (May 22-June 21) Risky financial ventures will result in unrecoverable losses. Luck is with you. You're in the mood to spend time with your lover. Try not to let your emotions interfere with the completion of your work. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Pleasure trips should be on your agenda. Don't let peers distract you or push their work your way. Advancement can be yours if you put your efforts into work related matters. Creative educational pursuits will payoff. LEO (July 23-Aug 22) Pay attention to small but important details. Residential moves will also be advantageous for all concerned. You can expect changes at your work place. Be professional, and you will advance much more quickly. VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Talk to an older family member you have helped in the past. You will have opportunities to advance, but you may have to be willing to make some changes and possibly a residential move. You will do best to entertain those you wish to close deals with. You

may have to take a short trip to visit someone who hasn't been well. LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) You can convince others to follow suit. Take care of chores that have been hanging over your head. Problems with colleagues are likely. Don't get talked into get rich quick schemes. SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) Take a long look at your present direction and consider your professional options. Face any emotional problems head-on to avoid situations getting out of hand. Changes could be overwhelming. Unreliable people will be negative about your ideas. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) Be willing to listen, but don't be fooled. You can get good solid advice from relatives or close friends you trust. You'll be able to discuss your ambitions with your mate. You may find your mate somewhat perturbed. CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20) Try to be honest when dealing with your mate. You may need to make a few alterations to your living arrangements. Trips will be exciting. You will have some problems with children, but if you are patient you will win their favor. AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19) Try not to be so demonstrative. Only offer to do the things you have time for. Luxury items will cost you more than you can truly afford. Don't overreact to someone's advances. Avoid extravagance or risky financial schemes. PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) You will be subject to pushy individuals if you get involved in uncertain organizations. You will find that joint ventures could easily turn out to be dead end projects. Set the ball in motion and be relentless until you complete the project. You will meet new friends and enjoy a multitude of new activities.

ACROSS 1. “__ Excited” (2 wds.) 5. Deuce, eg. 9. Flats (abbr.) 13. Ascend 14. For__ care (2 wds.) 15. Solid piece, as of marble 17. Tel__ 18. Profit’s opposite 19. Narrow boat 20. Safe to taste 22. Perfected capacity 24. Bandleader Brown 25. Brutally harsh 26. Crude metals 27. Lithe 30. Franklin __ Roosevelt 32. Knight’s attendant 33. Actress Ryan 34. Ignite 38. River (Sp.) 39. Fabray, to friends 40. Johnny__ 41. Motorists’ org. 42. Tension 44. Bro’s female sib 45. “Don’t bet__!” (2 wds.) 46. Fresh 48. June VIPs, informally 49. Roman writer 52. Gorilla or

chimpanzee 53. Unhappy 54. Bakery flavoring 56. Drives away 59. Make ecstatic 60. Read hastily 62. Sounds from the fans 64. Renovate 65. Scanty skirt length 66. “humble…” 67. Danson and Knight 68. Droops 69. GOP members’counterparts (abbr.)

eight 21. Queen or drone 1. “This__ 23. Rouses recording” from sleep (2 wds.) 25. Standard 2. Play chess (abbr.) 3. Stated aloud 27. Showery 4. Popcorn’s mos. Redenbacher 28. Pace 5. Phones 29. Sikorsky or 6. Burn-soothStravinsky ing plant 30. Hideout 7. Author 31. Quill tip Stevenson’s 33. Handbook monogram 35. Scully of 8. Dreary “The 9. FundaX-Files” mentals 36. Installed 10. Oliver linoleum Stone film 37. Snacks 11. Copier’s 39. Diarist need Anais__ 12. Twenty 40. Dispose years (of) 16. Piano’s 43.Investigated, eightyIRS- style DOWN

44. Visualize 45. Mandated 47. Tics 48.Generation4 49. Through 50. _ parking 51. Absurd 53. Certain trucks 55. Ayres and Wallace

LAST WEEK’s SOLUTION

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 21.

56. Boxing site 57. Bathe 58. Son of Noah 61. Korean auto name 63. Certain upperclassmen (abbr.

22. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Business

Sharper management needed to effect ECCU dream for 2027

Sometimes when I reflect on the blatant indifference to agriculture, exhibited in the policy positions of those on whose shoulders rests the responsibility to continue our forward thrust, I cannot help but wonder if some phobia, some child-time fear of the soil, had persisted, to evolve, to mature into an all out rejection of things agricultural, whenever the opportunity presented itself. I can find no other rationale to explain how, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which after having been devastated by the eruption of the La Soufriere in 1902, had by dint of the hard work of the entire community become between the 1920s and 1950s, the showpiece of agricultural aesthetics in the Caribbean. How could it be, that after several years of economic decline, of the magnitude described by ECCB Governor Sir Dwight Venner, and the measurable impact it has had on our communities, that any group of individuals who are really concerned with the welfare of all of us, could come up with a strategic plan which was aimed at stimulating the economy, without even considering agriculture? Such a plan was likely doomed for failure, and the sobering bitter taste of the rewards we have had, prompts us in the farming community, to agree with the sentiments expressed by Sir James, that we need fresh minds in this area. Most certainly, we cannot entrust the same people to concoct any new scheme for us, until we have had a comprehensive and detailed evaluation of that Eight Point Stabilization and Growth Plan of 2009!

Commitment of times past It must not be forgotten, that not only did Sir Dwight and his team consider that agriculture was not worthy of inclusion in the stimulation exercise, but he boldly pronounced, that the sub-region could collectively

import food cheaper. Remarkable! That less than fifty years after we had enjoyed the distinction of exporting a wide variety of agricultural produce, our leading administration technocrats and scholars are suggesting a path which has the potential of subverting our food security. There was no doubt of the implicit slant of this surprising revelation, for Sir Dwight went on to say, or imply, that it was ludicrous to drive to the farms in modern 4-wheel drive vehicles, to engage in farming using outmoded tools. No true son of the soil would need to be reminded, that the same tools, the cutlass, the hoe, the fork and the axe, were used to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign exchange which kept our rural communities vibrant, and impacted positively on our capital. The history of our agriculture testifies that the tools we have used, produced for us because we sharpened them. It may be that there is yet the chance that we could make reasonable progress if we could sharpen our management at this time. Or should I say re-sharpen our management; for indeed, in those days when we were prospering and our GDP was healthy, the management of our resources and economy was much more efficient than it has been in the last two decades. This is reflected in the very personalities on whom rest the responsibilities of management, their seeming lack of spirit, commitment and organization, is reflected in the crippling disrepair of our roads, the deterioration of our public buildings, and the widespread and numerous complaints from our citizens, of poor social services. In those former years, committed public

Banana field remains just that, unless it has safe and proper access.

The terrain of St. Vincent is challenging, but it brings out the industry that abounds among Vincentian farmers. officers diligently discharged their duties without fanfare.

Where’s the plan? To the agricultural community, things have been particularly painful because of the authorities’ inability over the last two decades, to maintain the vital feeder roads in the state. Farms which fifteen to twenty years ago were easily accessed by small vehicles, like the Fiat 600 and the Mini Austin, cannot be reached today by the tougher 5-ton vehicles. Against the reality of this situation, we hear our officials spouting empty rhetoric about reviving agriculture. For example, in recent months we had the new minister of Agriculture and the Chief Agricultural Officer (CAO) going around to the banana fields, on well advertised tours, claiming success in the ‘banana cut-back’, related to the black sigatoka fiasco. Some folks in

Feeder roads have often been left to deteriorate to ‘depths’ that make repairs so much more costly.

Potato fields can be found in the less likely locations, indicating that farmers are prepared to go the extra mile to ensure a place for agriculture in the national scheme of things. the agricultural community were not impressed with the exercise. They regarded it as somewhat of a show which they labeled, “The Black Sigatoka Twins Ride again”. The farmers have noted that neither of those gentlemen ever attempted to use his influence to highlight the unsatisfactory condition of the feeder roads, despite the fact the governing ULP had made this area one of their campaign issues in 2001. The minister is not on record as having drawn up a list of the roads to be done on the basis of priority, neither did the CAO offer any guidance in this area. In the 50s and 60s and 70s, the senior agricultural officers of the time were not so lacking in confidence and drive, not so seemingly indifferent to the factors negatively impacting on the welfare of the agricultural sector. Yes, because of the sharpness of our management in those days, we had good feeder roads, healthy marketing arrangements and dependable service at our Health Clinics so that our human GDP — the ground digging people were comfortable so that they were able to produce the satisfactory economic GDP for our country. For the sub-region to be able to properly plan for our desired goals for 2027, we need to have now a detailed and comprehensive evaluation of the ECCU’s 2009 Eight Point Stabilization and Growth Plan. LeRoy Providence

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 23.

Sports

Hector/Francois vanquish Victors Two Norlan Williams, and Kishore Shallow gloving one behind from the sharp and “in your face” Ray CENTURIES by Windward Islands middle order batsman, Jordan in the early reply. Donwell Hector, and former national batsman, Lauron Their problems were compounded when overnight Francois, provided the basis on which Victors ONE batsman, Dexter Small, arrived too late to resume inflicted an innings and 192-run defeat on the Denis his innings, and another player could not turn up Byam-led Victors Two, at the main Arnos Vale Playing because of what was reported as family matters. Field on the weekend, in the Premier Division of the They were dismissed for 61, and batting a second national cricket competition. time were shot out for 73, with Bobb taking 4-15, Scores: Victors One 332/3 dec. Victors TWO 67 & Kenneth Dembar 3-6 and Williams 2-36 in the 73. second innings. Hector, who stroked a blazing 77 in last week’s win over ASCO, was once again in devastating form as he pummelled the bowling to all parts of the Arnos Vale Playing Field in an innings which left many confused as to his lack of runs at the regional level. After another nervous start and a few close shaves, the diminutive right-hander got into his stride with a series of thunderous shots through the covers and over the top. However, his most memorable shot was a flat hook for six off the pacy Shaquille Browne, that would not have been out of place had it landed in the shooting range a few yards away, though there were some spectators who preferred the scud- like cover drive that brought him his century. It was his eighth four to go with eight sixes. Hector, however, did not reach three figures without amazing slices of luck. On 97, his ambitious lofted drive was floored by Nicholas Baptiste, and on 99 his reckless swipe was badly missed by Roland Wilkinson at midwicket, off the bowling of Denis Byam. He was eventually dismissed for 108. He added 169 for the third wicket with Francois who was more circumspect in his innings, much like a stealth bomber in nature with shots that were smooth but deadly. He hit an unbeaten 101. He struck nine fours and two sixes before the declaration came. Opener Atticus Browne got 58 and Alston Bobb was unbeaten on 37. Victors TWO, faced with an imposing total, were never allowed to settle, with Wilkinson falling to a stinging head-high catch by Hector at second slip off by E. GLENFORD PRESCOTT

GTC hosts its annual Easter Junior Tennis Tournament GRASSROOT TENNIS Club will host the 2013 edition of its Easter Junior Tennis Tournament from April 8 to 13, at the Haddon Hotels courts on Murray’s Road. Competition will be in the under- 6, under- Competition in the under-6 age 8, under-10, group has thrown up some of under-12, and the more exciting exchanges under-14 for since this Tournament was both boys and introduced. girls. The under-6 category, over the past years, has been the much anticipated play offs among the enthusiastic youngsters. Entry forms will be available from March 30 and can be collected at the club’s headquarters. The closing date for the return of entries is April 6. The tournament referee is Khir Huggins and tournament director Grant Connell.

Donwell Hector rode his luck but pummelled the Victors Two on his way to a century.

Lauron Francois played a circumspect innings to also record a century for Victors One.

24. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

Secondary Schools Athletics Meet: Records tumble at

A case of Déjà vu by KENVILLE HORNE

IT WAS A CASE OF DÉJÀ VU on Thursday 22nd March , as the Thomas Saunders Secondary School and the St. Vincent Grammar School retained the Girls and Boys titles respectively, in the National Lotteries Authority 2013 Secondary Schools Athletics Championships, at the Arnos Vale Category winners (L-R) Lemus Christopher (Senior Boys), Nicky-Ann Stephens Playing Field. (Senior Girls), Shaffiqua Maloney (Intermediate Girls), Rogike Thorpe The (Intermediate Boys), Brad Slater (Junior Boys) and Daria Matthews (Junior Championships is female). considered SVG’s premier athletic Leeward Secondary School with Saunders Secondary School taking event, where young and talented the Intermediate Boys individual athletes are spotted and developed. 203 points and third Thomas Saunders Secondary School with On many occasions in the past, title. the organizing committee has been 181 points. Nicky-Ann Stephens, another In the individual categories, harshly criticized for its ‘poor coThomas Saunders Secondary oordination’, but this time around, Daria Matthews of the St. Joseph’s School athlete, copped the Senior they seemed to have got it right, Convent Kingstown was the Junior Girls title after amassing 47 points, and the events were complete by Girls champion with 26 points, and the Senior Boys champion was the scheduled 3;30pm time. while the Junior Boys champion Lemus Christopher of the Campden Thomas Saunders finished the was Brad Slater of the Campden Park Secondary School with 29 Girl’s Division on 288 points, Park Secondary School with 48 points. second was the Girls’ High School points. Shaffiqua Maloney of the with 212 points, followed by the The Intermediate Girls title Thomas Saunders Secondary Campden Park Secondary School went to Shaffiqua Maloney of the School was the Victrix Ludorum, on 199 points. Thomas Saunders Secondary and the Victor Ludorum was Brad The St. Vincent Grammar School topped the Boys Division on School with 51 points, with Rogike Slater of the Campden Park 275 points, second was the Central Thorpe, also of the Thomas Secondary School with 48 points.

Brother, sister star at Primary Schools track meet THE BROTHER AND SISTER combination of Curtron and Zarnesha Myle were crowned the male and female under-14 champions respectively of the National Lotteries Authority Primary Schools’ Athletics championships, staged last week Wednesday at the Arnos Vale Playing Field. The two are students of the Du Bois Government School. Curtron, a grade 6 student, placed first in the 80m, the 150m, the 300m and the 800m, and was part of his school’s 4 X 200m team which took gold in that event. And not only did he take the divisional title, but he was also the Meet’s Victor Ludorum, having

amassed a total of 27 individual points. His sister, Zarnesha, took the first place in the 150m and the 300m and was second in the 80m. She recorded 25 individual points. Zarnesha, a student of grade 4, is also an ardent footballer, attached to the Campdonia/Chelsea youth programme. The efforts of the brother and sister pushed the Du Bois Government to the overall second place with 138 points, behind the Layou Government, who scored 154 points. Du Bois was second in both the male and female categories, and took home nine medals: seven golds and two silvers. The school is slowly etching its way into the

Curtron Myle – Primary School’s 2013 Victor Ludorum. primary school athletics supremacy. Last year, the Du Bois Government won the Kids In Athletics competition staged by Team Athletics

Zarnesha Myle – Female Under-14 Divisional Champion. SVG and in the Round D Town Road Relay classics, the school was second in both the male and female categories of the primary schools’ segment.

Inter-schools Meet

TWENTY —FIVE RECORDS were established when the National Lotteries Authority Inter- secondary schools athletics championships concluded last Thursday, at the Arnos Vale Playing Field. The records, though, are based on the reestablished format which started in 2011, when the use of the electronic Hy-Tek’s Meet Shaffiqua Maloney of the Manager TSSS was responsible for (electronic timing) establishing four of the new came into effect. records. Responsible for four of the new marks was Shaffiqua Maloney of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS). She rewrote the books in the girls Under-17 (intermediate) triple jump with 10.23 m, the 100M in 13.03 seconds;the 200m in 26.25 seconds and the 400m in 59.14 seconds. The Bishop’s College Kingstown, accounted for another six records: Talia Franklyn in the girls under-21 100m clocked 12.16 seconds ; Reuberth Boyde, under-21 boys 100m in 10.95 seconds ; Reberto Boyde, the boys under-21 200m in 21.91 seconds ; Ryan John, the boys 5000m in 8 minutes 23.67 seconds; and Najima Burgin, the boys under-17 long and triple jumps, at 6.57m and 13.30m respectively. Kellornie Howe and Kasique Olliver, both of the St. Vincent Grammar School, re-marked the records in the male under-21 400m and 800m, respectively. Howe’s new mark over the distance is 50.27 seconds, while Olliver’s new time is 1 minute 56.92 seconds. Shemar Welcome of the Central Leeward Secondary School is the new holder of the under-14 male 400m, which now stands at 58.40 seconds. Daria Matthias of the St Joseph’s Convent Kingstown, set the new record in the 100m for females under-14, with a time of 13.24 seconds. Shantal Rouse of the Bethel High School inscribed her name in the females’ under-21 age group with record runs in the 200m, 25.73 seconds, and the 400m, 59.35 seconds. Nicky Ann Stephens of the TSSS is the new holder of the female under-21 triple jump, with a leap of 11.23m. Kerina Hooper, also of the TSSS and an emerging middle distance and long distance athlete, ran 5 minutes 17.90 seconds to break the females under-17 1500m record. Also going by the wayside was the under-17 female discus record, re-established by Danielle Da Silva of the St Joseph’s Convent Marriaqua, who flung 27.07m. Six new relay records were recorded. The records for the females 4 X 100m for all age groups were broken: the under-14 and under-21 are now in the hands of the Campden Park Secondary School, 54.39 seconds and 51.94 seconds respectively; and the TSSS established claim of the under-17 record in 52.10 seconds. The Girls’ High School’s time of 1 minute 56.42 seconds in the 4x 200m, at the under-14 age group. The Thomas Saunders Secondary clocked 4 minutes 11.61 seconds to claim the record in the under- 17 girls 4 x 400m, and the St Vincent Grammar School did 3 minutes 30.83 seconds, to break the record in the 4 x 400m at the boys under-21 age group.

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2012. 25.

Sports

Integration EVEN AS THE politicians strengthen the integration process, they must revive aspects of sport. It is ironic that when the Combined Islands peaked as a force in cricket, they were split into the Windward and Leeward outfits. They still have the potential of acquitting themselves among their regional counterparts as separate entities and in fact, the Leewards were once the torch bearers as far as the flames of Caribbean fire on the world stage was concerned. But while the argument will persist that more persons gained exposure as a result of the separation of those two squads, there is the reasoning that the standard has fallen because of the lack of that competitive edge. The Windward Islands Football Tournament existed as a matter of course in earlier days, and that affair was an inevitable calendar event. It faded into oblivion. The cricketing version persists. The OECS Half marathon held priority status once. Sport is an ideal outlet for Caribbean citizens. The environment is conducive: beaches, rugged terrain, waters, clean fresh air. People have set the trend and have removed barriers set up for migration and tax purposes. The policy makers too have a duty to formalize the links. Of course, things have to be done systematically, and we have to be practical over the course of the developments. There are some basic tenets we have to cling on to. We know them only too well. For things like truth and right remain elements of proper existence. Those in authority have the responsibility to deepen the process of economic integration by ensuring that their decisions are implemented. People must be involved, not just to vote, whether for a referendum or general elections. We have passed the era of posturing where persons make their pitch for projection into the spotlight without regard for the people whom they try to impress and for whom they have little regard. People see through the facade. So the same way in which we try to get our economy going by propping up ventures aimed at wooing more visitors to our region, we could maintain stability with inter-regional interaction. The sporting element must be part of that solution. Star Team Athletics SVG and the National Sports Council must work together in the interest of national development. The expertise across the fences must be harnessed to instill pride in athletics. There is a sense of guilt when one shows sporting ability. Some parents frown on such traits and do everything possible to dispel the fervor for sports in their children. The Ministry of Education has to ensure that sport is an integral part of the curriculum. We have passed the time when sporting ability was linked to those who did not seem capable of accomplishing anything on the academic front. History has shown that athletic ability enhances the theoretical shortfall. As the momentum increases in the region in the direction of basic solidarity, let us make sport one of the vehicles to help us fulfill the goal of regional reintegration.

Miguel looking to Âbig upÊ RÊPark Oval THE RICHLAND PARK Oval is to get a facelift soon, and area representative Girlyn Miguel will leave no stone unturned to have this done. Speaking to THE VINCENTIAN on Sunday while attending the opening of the St. Vincent Police Cooperative Credit Union Clinchers Softball Cricket Tournament, Miguel said that she would be looking to enhance the playing field by putting in some much needed infrastructure. “I want to put in a commentary booth on the far end so that we can carry broadcast of matches here…..the people who live here have been very good to us by providing power when there are functions here , but it is only fair that we make the effort to put this in”, she said. Miguel, who was elected to the House of Parliament in 1998 and as part of government in 2001 said that almost eighty thousand dollars was spent to bringing the playing field to the standard where it is able to host such competitions as the one opened on Sunday. “It is so important to get a playing field in areas that will afford children the opportunity to play and let off some steam…….sports must be part of every community……..it is not a big playing field as you can see, but it is serving the purpose…that is to get people to play and compete”, a happy looking Miguel said. The former school teacher said working in the area for fifteen years has helped her to get close to both parents and children, and it is her desire to ensure that such facilities remain part of the process. In addition to the plan to construct the commentary booth, Miguel indicated that the perimeter fence would be taken up a few feet and some work would be done on possibly improving the current washroom facility. The opening of the tournament, which is into its second year, heard addresses from representatives of the government, organisers and sponsors. Gairy Construction Simple Boyz defeated Office and Computer Solution Rapid in the final of the ball-o-rama, which brought the curtains down on the day’s proceedings. A total of twenty teams, a similar number as last year, are expected to take part in 2013 edition of the tournament. Outer Trouble won the inaugural tournament in 2012, with Simple Boys coming second and Sting Power/Nice Radio Clinchers finishing third.

(L-R): Manager of the St. Vincent Police Cooperative Credit Union, Daniel Robertson, MP for Marriaqua Girlyn Miguel, and President Nice Radio Clinchers Sports Club, Pearlina Thomas at the Richland Park Oval last Sunday.

Football Round-Up by KENVILLE HORNE ACTION CONTINUED in Round Two of the Hairoun Beer National Inter- Community Football League last weekend. Tevin Slater delivered two first half goals for South Leeward, to hand North Leeward a 2-1 defeat last Friday, March 22, at Victoria Park. Kevin Small scored North Leeward’s lone goal. Also at Victoria Park, national player Sean Glynn’s hat trick was not enough, as Calliaqua defeated Bequia 4-3, in a very exciting game. On Saturday 23rd, Layou won by default over South East, while Marriaqua lost to Stubbs, 2-5, at the Stubbs Playing Field. Sunday 24th, Barrouallie defeat Georgetown 4-0, while Calliaqua and South Leeward played to a 2-2 draw. Both games were played at Victoria Park. Sion Hill handed power house Central Kingstown their first defeat, with a 2-1 victory at the Campden Park Playing Field. Today, Thursday, Barroullie will play Sion Hill at 5:30 pm, while North Leeward will take on Stubbs from 7:30 pm. (KH)

Tevin Slater scored a brace for South Leeward against North Leeward.

Sean Glynn’s hat trick did not save Bequia from defeat.

26. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. THE VINCENTIAN

THE VINCENTIAN. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013. 27.

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Work on the apron is ongoing and will intensify with the coming on stream of the Industrial Complex. The construction of the terminal building, in the hands of a Taiwanese company, is well on schedule.

Terminal building well on the way ENGINEERS from the Taiwanese construction company, Overseas Engineering Construction Company (OECC), contractors on the terminal building at the international airport, are working with the Police, Maritime Administration, Immigration and Customs Department, as well as regional and international airport regulatory and monitoring bodies to fine tune security and controlled access procedures within the terminal building. Chief Executive Officer of the International Airport Development Company, Dr. Rudy Matthias, gave an update on last Tuesday. Matthias spoke of “minor changes to floor layout and traffic flow within the terminal building,” to enhance security in restricted areas. Romel Ollivierre, a Cuban trained architect, anticipates that the building will be finished by October 2013, ahead of schedule. Ollivierre, from Georgetown, expressed pride with the use of stones from the Central Leeward district of Layou. These are being used to provide the finishing touch to the facility. In addition to having an indigenous appeal, Ollivierre pointed to the “low maintenance effect of that material.” Taiwanese contractors are pleased with the impact of the stone, and are excited with the local application.

Impressions Godfrey Pompey has been working at the Terminal Building for eight months. He is a mason. He is on duty every day from Monday to Friday, and goes from 7 am to 6 pm. Pompey is happy to contribute to realizing the airport project. Kendal Williams is from the North Windward area of Sandy Bay. He has been a labourer on the site for the past two years. Williams acknowledged that things have been “so far so good.” He has to adjust to travel arrangement in order to return home on some days, but he makes the sacrifice for the moment. Vincent Lan is Project Manager at the Terminal Building. He has been here with the OECC since 2004. He is satisfied that the project is going “smoothly.” Lan noted that some 150 local workers were engaged in the construction. The OECC is also building an electrical substation at the airport site. The government of Taiwan pledged US $30 million for the construction of the terminal building.

WORKS CONTINUE UNABATED AT ARGYLE Stories by WILLIAM ‘KOJAH’ ANTHONY EARTHWORKS on the runway, aprons, and taxiways at the International airport at Argyle are nearing completion. Excavation of soils and rocks in hilly areas, transporting that material, and creating embankments in the parts of the site to be filled, form the bulk of ongoing activity. These tasks are being done by a team dubbed ‘Chatoyer—Che Contingent’. Dr. Rudy Matthias, CEO of the International Airport Development Company (IADC) which is overseeing the project, noted that conduits for electrical, telephone and cable television ducts have some far been done. Dr. Matthias pointed to the placing of top soil on the unpaved shoulders of the runway to allow for vegetation as another aspect of the operation. He pointed to the need to reduce dust which threatened surrounding residences. Sea defence works at the north eastern end of the runway will start in June, according to Dr. Matthias. Dr. Matthias also indicated that his company was negotiating with ARMCO system for corrugated metal pipes to construct culverts to convey the Yambou River under the runway. This component of the overall construction is expected to be complete within the December 2013 deadline. Dr. Matthias disclosed that his company was looking for other equipment needed to do the pavement works; these include a stone crushing plant and base laying equipment. In addition, some 256,000 cubic metres of various size crushed stones is needed. This will require 12 months of stone crushing, according to Dr. Matthias. Airfield and lighting equipment

Stones from Layou are used to and generators have been acquired, and the installation of face an exterior wall of the the lights is expected to start in teminal building. April. all come under severe strain. Dr. Matthias also pointed to Dr. Matthias, however, approval of a Caricom remained optimistic about the Development Fund (CDF) loan of completion of the venture, and he US$ 3.262 million to buy is confident that construction additional equipment for the works on the airport project will paving works and for laboratory be complete by year end. testing equipment for the asphalt and hydraulic concrete. When all the equipment, inclusive of stone crusher and concrete batching plant, is procured, they will comprise an industrial complex which will provide in house resources for the pavement works. “IADC has begun recruiting, locally and from Cuba, technicians, engineers, operators and assistants, to staff the industrial complex, to execute the works,” Dr. Matthias indicated. The venture has not been without challenges, and Dr. Matthias pointed to the high cost of fleet maintenance as an area of concern. Trucks, as well as equipment used in the Interior work on the terminal building excavation process, have continues with pace.

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