Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Better Bitter Days

Uwp political leader
    It is clearly evident that Choiseulians and by extension, Lucians are reeling under these tough economic times under SLP. While Labour boasts of keeping their election promises - the latest being laptops to form 4 students at all secondary schools, there seem to be deliberately form of amnesia when it comes to the promise where they were suppose to inject $1m into the economy and the promise of jobs, jobs, jobs.
     The re-employment on retirees by this administration, while school leavers scrunt for jobs is a burning issue among the youth. Also the policy of this administration to recycle its supporters in the STEP, NICE and other what have you programs is really hurting citizens in the communities. There seem to be a concerted effort by the administrators of Lorne's policies to keep  Choiseul UWP's down. They take pleasure in doing this.

District representative

  Just yesterday a young man told me that during Bousquet's tenure, more SLP's supporters got jobs than UWP's. He continued, 'You guys were trying to buy Labahs.' 'True bro.' I replied. On numerous occasions, I can recall when certain UWP contractors who had 'big contracts' one could visibly see more labahs at work than flambeaus. In one instance a Labah was even the boss on site. So it is not surprising that Bruce Tucker was kicked out. UWP's stayed home on election day, as a form of protest against Bruce Tucker.
   Bruce Tucker is now rolling his rosary in the political wilderness. But has anything changed? Has Lorne brought the promised goods to the people? Lorne's trickery will catch with him. And soon. It is alleged that his election crew have distance themselves from him. Mrs T, Mr V, W and most recently Ms I.
  To met out this kind of treatment to Ms I is showing the lack of sensitivity on the part our District Rep. The lady, under all kinds of conditions, making enemies, to have Lorne win the seat, and this is how she was repaid - fired from the position.
    As for Roblot' zeleves, there is one family whom does not even want to see where Lorne passes much less. That zeleve personally attacked my family and spread all kinds of rumors, all for Lorne, and today the Rep has turned his back on her. How ungrateful.
   The roads and the multi purpose center, in Roblot are in dire need of repair. Yet still Lorne was playing 'Santa Claus Bearing Gifts' when he came to visit the lady who recently gave birth to triplets. And giving the impression that these gifts came from him. Informed sources have confirmed otherwise.

Prime Minister
   Talking about Ti-canal under Bruce Tucker's reign? It remains to be seen that Tucker's construction of Ti canal and foot paths have grossly improved the living standards of the people. A fact. The same Ti canal labour was criticizing, they are at it now with the same Taiwanese money which they so vehemently opposed.
My God, what a bunch of Hypocrites! And talking about corruption; what about a party hack who was given a job by SSDFto lay out 56 cu metres of concrete on the Caffiere road and he only laid out 26 cu metres, yet he was fully paid. Is the DR blind to this.
    What's about the politician that turn contractor, and is more in Choiseul that his home community. Ask Lorne about that also?
   What's about Mr D who finds himself in the constituency every election to mamaguy people to support his side only to disappear and never to be seen again until next election? Ask Lorne about that as well. Heard that Lorne's cake and Mr D burn. Not surprised at all
It is alleged deal was struck with a known businessman and the Constituency Council over the purchase of a no good excavator for over $100,000.00. That was his payment for helping out in the elections. Ask the chairman of the Chairman of the Constituency council and the Rep about that.
   So dear reader, things ain't rosy in Choiseul. Yet Labour is still being allowed free reign in this country. Nobody opposes them, they keep on threatening the press with lawsuits, grynberg is being kept a secret, reckless statements are spewed out on a regular basis, all in the name of good governance. Far from it.
Uwp continue to dilly dally, by not putting caretaker Reps in place, by not having proper constituency branches, and it is just talk, talk, talk.
  Choiseulians may soon be happy when they will hear who their caretaker Rep is.
One thing for sure, he is a no nonsense person and not a Bruce Tucker. Impeccable reputation.
Mamai Choiseul, I present to you Mr ???????????????. Filmed at 11

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Kenny and Dalson, "Provide a timetable for restoring elected local government" says Therold Prudent

The decision by the St Lucia
Labour Party (SLP) to abolish local government
elections throughout the island in 1979 and to
replace elected representatives with handpicked
party loyalists may have contributed to much of the
social degradation and the polarization of local communities that exists in Saint Lucia today,
according to the Lucian People's Movement (LPM). The LPM leader Therold Prudent said, "The current
system of local government shows a blatant
disregard for the democratic process. It has created
a dysfunctional and unproductive bureaucracy
consisting largely of political zealots who lack the
will to advance a progressive agenda to help transform their communities. Moreover, since the
only requirement for becoming a councillor is an
affirmation of loyalty to the ruling party, it is not at
all difficult to understand why those appointed may
not feel that they are answerable to the people
whom they purport to serve." Prudent added, "The SLP should be chastised for its
reckless actions in 1979. These have contributed to
the destruction of the authority, structure,
independence, and progressive dynamism with
which local governments had previously operated.
Much of the blame should also be shouldered by the United Workers Party, which upon resuming
office in 1982, and for the next 20 years, failed to
correct the dangerous precedent set by the SLP." Saint Lucia's system of local government, as
currently instituted, said the LPM, does not lend
itself to attracting quality persons with a deep
commitment to community development. Prudent stated, "Since the narrow focus of the
ruling party is to extend its political dominance and
control, even in communities where parliamentary
representatives from their side were not elected,
those who may possess the qualities required to
help develop their respective communities are systematically overlooked or may decide against
offering themselves to serve because of the
selection process." The LPM said that all communities on the island
could be revitalized if the SLP were serious about
fulfilling its electoral promise of holding local
government elections. This would be a progressive
move that would return the island to its former
status as a fully-fledged democracy that reflects the will of all the people at all levels of governance. All
persons who desire to serve as councillors would
then be able to present the reasons to the people
that they should be elected, and once elected, they
would have the legitimacy that comes with the
approval and support of the voters. These representatives would have the opportunity to
openly debate and present their plans for
community development. Prudent said, "Given the serious social erosion of
the people's community spirit, the LPM is firmly of
the view that it is incumbent upon Prime Minister Dr
Kenny Anthony and the minister responsible for
local government, the Hon. Harold Dalson, to
provide the nation with a timetable for restoring elected local governments throughout the island." The LPM said it believes that the two years since the
narrow return of the SLP to office is more than
sufficient time for the government to have drafted a
credible proposal for holding elections. It should
also provide a blueprint for how much power will
be transferred from the central government in Castries to the local town and village councils,
including the structure and operational frame work
of these public bodies. Democracy, insisted Prudent, is about getting the
people involved in the governance of the country
so that a national consensus for its progressive
development can be achieved.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Two more St Lucia officials threaten local media

By Caribbean News Now contributor CASTRIES, St Lucia -- If the cap fits, wear it, is an
expression used to tell someone that, if they think a
re mark or criticism of them is true, they should
accept it - advice that a Saint Lucian attorney has
apparently given two of his clients, both of whom
are well known public officials in the island. Duane Jean Baptiste of Amicus Law Chambers,
representing Lorne Theophilus, Saint Lucia's
minister of tourism, heritage and creative industries,
and Claudius Francis, the president of the Saint
Lucia senate, has written to local broadcaster
Timothy Poleon regarding an article originally published by Caribbean News Now on September
25, 2013 (the article). According to Baptiste, Poleon read the article in its
entirety on his radio programme (Newspin) and,
further that the article as read contained the
following words, which, he asserts, were
defamatory of Theophilus and Francis: "No reason has been given by the US government
for the apparent disparity in the treatment of
Frederick, which was based entirely on hearsay
and innuendo and apparently fabricated allegation,
contrasted to the continued ability of two
prominent Saint Lucian government officials to enter the US and effectively travel freely and with
immunity/impunity on diplomatic passports when
they have a known history of violent sexual
assault." Baptiste claims that, although Theophilus and/or
Francis were not specifically mentioned, it is clear
that the words complained of would reasonably
lead people acquainted with them to the conclusion
that they were the individuals referred to. This,
Baptiste states, is buttressed by the specific references to Theophilus and/or Francis by callers
to Poleon's programme, which were in no way
discouraged by him (Poleon). Baptiste asserts that these allegations are
completely untrue and constitute a grave libel of
Theophilus and Francis. The natural and ordinary
meaning of these words, which are claimed to be
highly defamatory of his clients, Baptiste says, is
that they (Theophilus and Francis) are violent sexual offenders, which in fact constitutes criminal
conduct and, as a result, their reputation has been
substantially harmed and they have been
embarrassed by Poleon's allegedly defamatory
words. Consequently, Theophilus and Francis require
Poleon to take a number of steps, including a public
retraction and apology; a written undertaking not
to repeat the publication of these or similar
allegations concerning Theophilus and Francis;
payment of legal costs; and payment of compensatory damages. Our original article referred only to unnamed
"prominent Saint Lucian government officials" with
"a known history of violent sexual assault" but
now Baptiste himself has associated this with (in his
words) "criminal conduct" by Theophilus and/or
Francis, each as a "violent sexual offender" (again, Baptiste's own words). In other words, Baptiste himself has specifically
characterised his own clients in ways in which an
article that never mentioned them by name could
never do. Our original article never claimed that Theophilus or
Francis (or anyone else for that matter) was an
offender convicted of "criminal conduct" (Baptiste's
words). However, Baptiste's premise that Theophilus and
Francis are the unnamed "prominent Saint Lucian
government officials" may be based on the
existence of online public material in relation to his
clients that Baptiste and/or his clients might regard
as relevant pointers, namely: Two St Lucian Gov ministers are violent sexual
predator
The St Lucia Labour Party's Dark Star (caution: graphic and explicit contents) Richard Frederick Strikes Back!
St. Lucia sexual predators allow entry into US by
State Department
A government of criminals! Amnesia and political obsession
Appeal Court judgment (page 3, para 6)
It is not clear how much more harm and/or
embarrassment Theophilus and/or Francis could
have suffered as a result of not being named in the original article compared to the online material
easily accessible to the entire world that actually
names them. It is also not known what steps, if any, Theophilus
and/or Francis have taken, in a similar manner to
Baptiste's letters to Poleon, to deal with such
explicit reports published online, if indeed they
regard such reports as defamatory. In characterising Theophilus and Francis each as an
"offender", which is a term presumably used in a
criminal sense rather than merely hurting
someone's feelings, it seems that Baptiste has made
a leap from unspecified "known history" of an
unnamed individual to public reports actually identifying his clients. According to an expert in defamation law, in
attempting to identify his clients as the unnamed
persons referred to, Baptiste appears mistakenly to
conflate the terms "known history" with some kind
of actual criminal record and "violent sexual
assault" with a criminal offence. It turns out that, history, in the sense of past events,
or an interesting or colourful past, is in fact well
known in this case, in that it is a matter of public
record that Theophilus and Francis have both been
arrested and charged with rape. It would seem that
in each case the matter was settled "out of court". It goes without saying that charges and allegations
contained in complaints or indictments are merely
accusations, and every defendant is presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of
law. Furthermore, violence in a sexual context does not
necessarily connote criminal conduct. Indeed, some
couples relish it as part of their sexual proclivities. Thus, Baptiste, representing Theophilus and
Francis, has effectively taken responsibility on
behalf of his clients for criminal offences that were
never mentioned or alleged in the original article. In
the words of one veteran law enforcement official,
"Theophilus and Francis have snitched on themselves." While Theophilus and Francis appear to think that
the paragraph in question in our original article is
all about them, in fact, it concerned official action
taken against former housing minister Richard
Frederick based upon pure hearsay without a
shred of evidence to support it. The actions by Theophilus and Francis now also serve to highlight
what some local observers are characterising as the
hypocritical nature of their complaints about a self-
imputed inference to known events and facts
compared to the unfounded and baseless assault
on Frederick's character. Meanwhile, the letter to Poleon and earlier threats
of similar action by another minister, Phillip La
Corbiniere, are widely perceived locally and
internationally to be an attempt to restrict the right
to freedom of expression guaranteed by the
constitution of Saint Lucia. Since Saint Lucia is already under a cloud, as
demonstrated by the recent suspension of security-
related aid by the US based upon human rights
abuses, such attempts to muzzle the press are
doubtless not going to be viewed favourably as
and when the government tries to convince the US State Department that it is doing its best to correct
such abuses. One US government source, speaking on condition
of anonymity, characterised this as conduct typical
of communist-trained socialist governments
throughout the region and beyond. "In 25 years of observing such governments
around the world, intimidation and manipulation of
the press is standard practice," he said. He also referred specifically to the words of
President Barack Obama: "I do have an unyielding
belief that all people yearn for certain things: the
ability to speak your mind and have a say in how
you are governed. These are not just American
ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere." A local attorney in Saint Lucia put it thus: "Whilst the
St Lucia Labour Party is well known for issuing
reckless and totally fabricated statements in the
local press against its opponents, its members
show a total lack of tolerance for free speech. In the
heat of the 2011 General Elections, Dr Kenny Anthony informed the nation via electronic media
that Richard Frederick's visas had been revoked
because he was found carrying a briefcase of
money in the United States! This is the same Doctor
Anthony who sued Dr Vaughan Lewis when Dr
Lewis had accused him of being responsible for the disappearance of a brief case of money! It seems to
me that Saint Lucia is gradually becoming engulfed
by the protoplasm of communism. We are a people
under subjection, we are afraid to speak for fear of
litigation, whilst those who threaten our freedom of
speech are the same ones who insult our intelligence with the proliferation of senseless
propaganda. May God help Saint Lucia!" The United Workers Party (UWP) said it is not
surprised by the recent legal actions initiated by the
leadership of the Labour Party and that the
evidence points to a clear and continued pattern to
oppress and intimidate the media. "This Labour Party government is openly
demonstrating its disregard for the rights of
freedom of expression guaranteed under the
Constitution. This is clearly a 'cop out' and an act of
cowardice," the UWP said. The UWP had issued an earlier statement expressing its full support for Poleon. The Lucian People's Movement (LPM) said it was
very difficult to understand why anyone would
take ownership of allegations that do not mention
them by name, since none of the complainants
were identified in the story. "The story, as we understand it from the
perspective of the LPM, should have been dealt with
by the government of Saint Lucia, and not by
individuals associated with the government. The
primary questions which were raised in the article is
whether the revocation of Richard Frederick's visa had anything to with the US action against Saint
Lucia, and whether officials in the government
ignored a request to meet with representatives of
the US government by a specific date, to discuss the
matter," the LPM added. Since the UWP and the LPM issued extensive
statements on the matter, these are covered in a
separate story. The prime minister's press secretary did not
respond substantively to a request for comment.
Source: www.caribbeannewsnow.com

Thursday, October 10, 2013

A Teacher Must Know Their Worth

An article taken from Caribbean News Now , October 10th edition. By Abdulmajeed K. Nunez.
There is no patriot greater than a teacher.
He/she is a caregiver who takes on the role of
mother and father
during the daylight hours
.They are instructors expected to deliver instruction
from the ministry's curricular. At night they have to balance family and research.
A teacher has to know their worth. In the eyes of a child, absolutely no one can defile
their teacher's character
.
Have you ever seen a child cry because you
showed them a new way?
One that might be better but they cry
. Oh! My teacher neva show mi dat way? Stop play you weh cause mi fi stray!
A teacher is an engineer
. They teach children culture and help them chart
their career.
Build character, he/she can also be a dream killer
by demeaning a child, they are creating monsters that may even grow up to be
rapists and murderer, rapist burglar. That's why they need help from the stakeholders.
A teacher must know their worth. Teachers build or break nations
.This is not my imagination.
They enable students to become independent.
When a teacher teaches a child to read, he/she is
planting a seed, opening the mind of child so they can succeed. A teacher has to know their worth. A teacher is a designer, there's no career greater.
They give children structure
. That's why in sickness or health, poverty or wealth
and rain or shine,
a child who loves his/her teacher won't wanna
miss school anytime. To him he/her, the teacher is divine.
They open the child's mind
.That's by design; some people in the Ministry should resign
. My teacher is a good friend of mine
. A teacher must know their worth when a system is flawed
. With all the research on record
, with all the doctors and lords,
and the powers that be, if they don't take stock,
the system will be corroded and start to rot.
When parents and ministry beat down on teachers, criticize
and blame them instead of revamping the system
in the interim
working by fantasy and whim
, a teacher has to know their worth
. Just like students, teachers must be nurtured, encouraged, rewarded,
accredited, complemented,
recognized, not only supervised, criticized and
scrutinized
by ministry and management
. A teacher must know their worth.
So I appeal to the Teachers' Commission, support
and revisit the curriculum
. Reduce the amount of subjects
. Make education relevant. Make them applicable to the country's needs
. I Recommend the reducing of school fees. Roll out night programs throughout the country
to reach the outta school pickney
. Let's go back to the three 'Rs'
Reading, writing and arithmetic; let's go back to the
foundation things critic.

The PSE results are horrific, it up to all of us to fix it, so our children through literacy can rise like
Phoenixes.

Teachers know your worth!

Sunday, October 06, 2013

Looters Continue Their Rampage While Government Officials Dilly-dally

Looter's Paradise
Toilet facilities, all gone
The recent article about the condition of the Roblot Multi-Purpose Centre, on this blog and comments on Facebook, twitter and Google + have generated much discussions which has finally come home to roost. Concerned members of the community are up in arms about the deplorable condition of the building, and more so they calling for justice to bring those responsible for the recent vandalism of the section of this building that housed the community library.
Rumors making rounds in the waterholes make mention of a certain businessman and his henchmen, as well as a a few young men for the recent vandalism - the toilet facilities, windows, doors, posts and boards, all stripped and taken away from the building. The only thing left behind in the building are an antic office desk, the shell of a 20" TV, and books scattered all over the floor. A thorough investigation may reveal stock piles of materials at these person's homes. It is also alleged that a small home was built by one of the culprits, using the looted materials.
This brings to mind the Mongouge Centre which suffered a similar fate after it was ravaged by a storm. Everything was carried away. It took over ten years for the people of Mongouge to eventually get a state of the art Centre once again. This may very well happen to Roblot in this instance, if ever.
Full blame for the state of affairs with regards to the building must be laid at the feet of the District Rep, the Constituency Council and Dalson's Ministry.
Not once, since the passage of Hurricane Tomas, when the building was damaged, did any of these officials visit the site to put contingency measures in place. To make matters worse, the section that housed the community library was repaired, and the library service restored, only to have the service taken away from the residents the following month of May.
The building, being unsupervised, became a haven for youths involved in drugs and other illegal activities. On more than one occasion lawmen have has reasons to chase these young men out of the building.
The looting of the building, it is alleged must have taken place late at nights into the wee hours of mornings. Day after day one can see boards and posts missing from the building. Eventully all will be gone. What steps are being taken to curb this looting? A question to be posed to the District Rep, the Constituency Council and Dalson's Ministry ?
What a situation!