PM: ‘Let’s restore St Lucia to good ole days!’

Government officials, members of the media and students from several schools were on hand on Wednesday September 28th for the launch of the United Against Crime campaign. 

The initiative is a bold new approach to fighting crime in Saint Lucia that involves getting citizens more involved in the crime fighting process. The programme seeks to create direct linkages with the police and the public and educate St Lucians about how they can protect themselves from being victims of crime. The programme is also community and youth centered with sustainable ways of curbing crime. As they were ushered into the Sandals ballroom members of the audience received brochures with information about the campaign as well as bookmarks, key rings and notepads all bearing the United Against Crime branding.

Chairing the launch was Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Esther Brathwaite who explained that the campaign was part of a crime-fighting strategy of the Home Affairs Ministry with the support of the Government of St Lucia.

UAC, said Mrs Brathwaite, is about building partnerships and collaborations. “We are excited about the programme which focuses on a campaign geared towards empowering communities and the youth. We want to attack the root of crime. The evidence is that a disproportionate number of crimes are performed by the youth. We need to deal with the issues of truancy and unsupervised youth after school and late at night.“

Following the Permanent Secretary’s introduction to the programme, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Guy Mayers, gave a breakdown of the efforts of the police force in curbing crime. The in depth presentation educated the audience about the state of crime using statistics, patterns and the way forward. Said the Minister: “The complex and multi-dimensional nature of crime requires a multiplicity of interventions that are effectively coordinated in order to achieve meaningful impact. National responses to crime cannot be piece meal and cannot work in isolation from other social development interventions. It is the recognition of crime as a major social development issue that has brought us to this forum here today. St Lucia needs to weave a new social fabric that is robust enough to withstand the stresses of rapid changes taking place in this liberalized and unregulated society. The constant disregard for law and order, the breakdown in family values, the lack of respect for authority, the wanton use of alcohol by minors, the indiscriminate violations of traffic regulations, the high tolerance of stealing from each other and the high level of domestic violence demonstrate a society in decay. We must do better as a society to get our citizens to act more responsibility. Crime prevention is the initiation of proactive, cost-effective measures to reduce the threat of crime or eliminate it all together. I daresay that crime prevention may very well be the only issue on which we find political consensus because we all perceive that safety and security are critical to our psychological functioning and overall wellbeing as a society.”  Senator Mayers called the launch of the UAC campaign “a historic occasion the quest to propel our country forward.”

He gave an overview of the objectives of his ministry and some important information about the causes of crime. In closing the Minister extended an invitation for all to unite against crime.

Following the Minister’s presentation Mrs Jacinta Annius-Lee, an active member of a neighbourhood watch group in the north, read a poem about the UAC campaign.

The Prime Minister’s address then followed. Mr King spoke about unforgettable lessons he had been taught when it came to crime.

Government will continue to bail out M&CC

Government will continue to inject financial aid into City Hall towards the improvement of the city and its environs. 

President Bharrat Jagdeo made this announcement during a press conference on Tuesday October 4 at the Office of the President.

He said, “I think we have to do this and we will assist the city; it is not Hamilton Green’s city, anything good will have to come without his being involved.” 

The President emphasised that the government will continue to lend its support towards City Hall, in recognition of the fact that the city belongs to all citizens; and as such, the Administration continues to invest large sums towards its enhancement.

“The government will be supportive, we don’t have a choice, this is our city, we cannot say that it is run by Hamilton Green or the PNC, so we don’t pay attention to it, this is why we have pumped so much money into the city,” Jagdeo stated.

Testimony to this, he revealed, is the $500M presently being invested by Central Government for road improvement works around the city. 

President Jagdeo also pointed out that every single road in the city built over the last 15 years was funded by the Central Government.

As for other investments made towards the enhancement and general improvement of the city, he said, “We just bought some garbage trucks to give to City Hall; hopefully that will make a difference. Then we have the new dump site (located at Eccles); thankfully the people in South Georgetown could be relieved. We now have a modern landfill site.”

The Head of State acknowledged that there are still a lot of things left to be done, and expressed confidence that there are some “excellent people” within City Hall who could make a difference.

President Jagdeo, in August of this year, offered a financial bailout, amounting to $215M, to the City Council, to relieve the council of its ongoing financial woes, and to enable the municipality to meet outstanding liabilities, including wages owed to staff and amounts due to garbage collectors for several months.

He announced that the government will be paying $80M in rates and taxes to the Council, in addition to which $120M will be injected into the municipality to help meet its outstanding liabilities and to accelerate its efforts to keep the city clean.

And a further $15 million will be provided by the Central Government to the City Council for cleaning up Le Repentir Cemetery.

REDJet will reverse pricing discrimination, says Guyana government

The government of Guyana is of the view that REDJet is now one of the options available to reverse the apparent pricing discrimination against Guyanese by Caribbean Airlines.

REDjet Logo

Head of the Presidential Secretariat  (HPS), Dr Roger Luncheon, at a post-cabinet media briefing at the Office of the President on Wednesday praised President Bharrat Jagdeo for playing a pivotal role in resolving the REDJet issue, particularly because of its beneficial impact on Guyanese travellers.

He noted, “the current dispensation has Guyanese travellers paying as much to get to Trinidad as Trinidad travellers are paying to get to New York, a situation that is very perverse.”

The government’s concerns as it relates to freedom of movement recently saw the passage of amendments to the Caribbean Community (Free Entry of Skilled Nationals) Bill, which regulated the way in which skilled Guyanese who migrate are treated in a foreign country.

That piece of legislation is representative of additional steps taken by the government, to meet the required obligations under the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, particularly free movement of skilled people.

Luncheon said, however, that this initiative will have to be reciprocated by participating states to allow for free movement and acceptance of Guyanese nationals to their countries.

“That to us is also emblematic of the heightened regional integration efforts… we have national interests that we have pursued but we don’t think that those interests in regional integration are just peculiarly Guyanese, all of the other participating States are likely beneficiaries,” he said.

Meanwhile, talks are ongoing between Guyana and the new Transport Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Devant Maharaj, with regard to setting up an in transit lounge for Guyanese. This should ease the hassles that Guyanese travellers face when in transit at the Piarco International Airport while en route to other destinations.

RedJet will commence flying from  Barbados to Trinidad and Trinidad to Georgetown, by September latest, as certain formalities have to be processed.

Fuad: “I did no wrong”

Dr. Fuad Khan

Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan yesterday declared he has not broken any law or compromised his responsibilities by continuing to function in his private capacity as a urologist.

Khan made this statement yesterday as Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley criticised his actions and Local Government Minister Chandresh Sharma defended him.

In a statement, Khan said he was called to serve in the Cabinet at short notice.

“This request came at a time when the health sector was in crisis and it was my belief that given my experience as a medical doctor, my knowledge of the system, my proficiency in management, coupled with my background in mediation, I possessed the requisite skills to make a positive impact on the system, to enforce change to bring about a vastly improved public health care for the benefit of all citizens,” Khan said. “It was on this basis that I accepted the call to serve.”

Khan said he informed his patients he would be suspending his medical practice because of his ministerial responsibilities. He also advised his patients to seek other urologists for assistance but was already overwhelmed with requests to conduct surgeries which he had already committed himself to.

In light of this, Khan said he felt it was appropriate for him to continue to clear the backlog of patients who were already scheduled for surgery under his care.

He proceeded to conduct surgeries on Saturdays and saw patients after  4 pm on Tuesdays. Stating neither of these activities compromised his ability to function as Health Minister, Khan said he has been advised by his lawyers he was not in breach of the Integrity in Public Life Act.

“One cannot expect me as a medical practitioner to abandon my patients at the stroke of a pen and while some have expressed some ethical concerns in this matter, I can assure the public that my responsibilities as minister have not been compromised in any way,” Khan stated.

Rowley said it was unacceptable for Khan to continue his private practice following his appointment as Health Minister on June 26. Referring to a media report which quotes Khan as saying he did not inform Persad-Bissessar he was continuing his medical practice at the St Augustine Private Hospital, Rowley recalled he had warned the country that this could happen when questions were raised about whether it was appropriate for Jack Warner to simultaneously serve as a Cabinet minister and FIFA vicepresident.

Rowley said under the PNM, no health minister was allowed to undertake any action outside of their remit at private or public hospitals.

Sharma said he did not see any issue where Khan was concerned.

Sharma said his understanding was Khan was in the process of transferring his patients to other doctors.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Suruj Rambachan did not offer any opinion on Khan’s case but observed traditions outlining how government ministers conduct themselves have been long established and those traditions must always be practiced.

Finance Minister Winston Dookeran and Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal declined to comment on the matter.

Persad-Bissessar said she had told Khan, a urologist, that not only was such behaviour inappropriate, but “it was untenable”.

In a release, Khan, the MP for San Juan/Barataria, stated his decision to cease his private medical practice.

Following is the statement:
“I have decided in essence to put my country first! We are in crucial times and each and every one of us must take responsibility for the direction in which we want our nation to develop. I love my country, and if this is the best  way I can serve, I stand ready, willing and able to answer that call. I now urge every citizen to work with me as we transform the public health sector.”

Government & Labour Unions at war

After talks to avert a possible public enterprise shutdown fell apart, unions yesterday declared war on the Government, as the Prime Minister stood firm on her stance in relation to the issue of a five percent wage increase ceiling and the possible restart of negotiations from “ground zero”.

Minutes after holding more than three hours of talks at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) presidentgeneral Ancel Roget told hundreds of trade unionists gathered outside of the building that it is now war with the Government.

“Because of this event, we have to declare war,” he told the crowd comprising members of several unions and others after he emerged from the building at about 6 pm. “We are an army and we are a disciplined army.”

“War! War! War! War!” the crowd chanted in response.

Roget told workers that the talks with the Prime Minister broke down because the Prime Minister could not indicate that she would issue a directive instructing State enterprises (which fall under the remit of boards
and the Finance Ministry) to assure that there is no five percent cap in negotiations. Talks also broke down
after the Prime Minister suggested that negotiations start again from zero percent.

Roget noted the trade unions are not open to further talks unless one pre-condition is fulfilled.

“We clarified before we left exactly what is required which is again the removal of the five percent wage ceiling. Once that is not done it makes no sense to meet with them,” he said. He said the Prime Minister, in frustration, dared unions to go ahead and shut down the country and terminated the meeting after she refused to promise to issue an instruction to all State enterprises that there is no five percent ceiling.

“She said, ‘well gentlemen I cannot give that commitment so shut-down the country’ and she got up and terminated the meeting,” one source said. Roget relayed this detail to the crowd outside.

Trinidad Government snubs former CL Financial boss.

Lawrence Duprey

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- The Trinidad and Tobago government has reportedly rejected a request for former CL Financial head, Lawrence Duprey, to return to his homeland to rectify the huge problems of CLICO and CL FInancial.

The government has spent billions of dollars to save the company and to pay out 14,000 policy holders.

A top government can allow a man who was responsible for the "total mess" to promote himself as saviour.

The source added, "I think Duprey is delusional. He is the last person who should be allowed back to fix a problem that he started."

Duprey, who now lives in Miami, is reported to have written Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar's administration offering his services to rectify the multibillion dollar problem that now exists with CL Financial and CLICO .

More than six weeks ago Duprey had written to Finance Minister winstion Dookeran, indicating that he would submit a plan to solee the problem, but has failed to do so.

Duprey, through his attorney Lionel Luckhoo, is requesting another 14 days to "put the deal together" , but a government source said, "If Mr Duprey has a plan, why doesn't he submit it ? The government would be happy if they could be relieved of paying out a further $12 billion. "

The source added that it is unfair to the people of Trinidad and Tobago to take one third of the national budget and pay out $12 billion to 14,000 policy holders.

The source added that forensic investigator Bob Lindquist had conducted an investigation into CLICO that was submitted to the DPP and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan .