FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 VOLUME 106, No. 38 www.thevincentian.com EC$1.50

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

by HAYDN HUGGINS

CARLYLE DOUGAN Q.C, a formerAttorney General here, hasdescribed the murderconvictions of Che ‘Ragga’ Buteand Azari ‘Nines’ Ash, both ofRedemption Sharpes, as, “a

monstrous demonstration of amiscarriage of justice.”

The Queen’s Counsel whorepresented Ash at the trialand will conduct his appeal,made the comment whilespeaking to THEVINCENTIAN on Tuesday.

Dougan is of the view thatthe legal system has totallyfailed Bute and Ash.

A 12-member jury on July27, 2011, had found the twoguilty of the murder of Lloyd‘Lazarus’ Samuel, also called‘Hawkie’ or ‘Lazo’, who wasshot in the head whilereportedly reversing hisvehicle at his RedemptionSharpes home around 1:15a.m December 21, 2007. Hewas rushed to the Milton CatoMemorial Hospital where hedied on Christmas Day thatyear.

Bute and Ash weresentenced to life imprisonmentJuly this year, approximately,one year after they wereconvicted.

Witness with a history

Dougan said Director ofPublic Prosecutions (DPP)Colin Williams ought not tohave sought a conviction basedon the testimony of starwitness Uroy ‘Laybay’Robertson, with Robertson’santecedents.

He described Robertson as“a man with a long history ofviolence, gunplay, dishonesty

and lies.” Robertson, 24,

of Evesham diedfrom a singlebullet to thehead whilereportedlysitting at theroadside atWalvaroo, SionHill, with twoother men, on September 2,2012.

On May 7, 2012, Robertsonhad signed to a sworn affidavitrecanting his testimony at thetrial. He stated in the affidavitthat he had lied under oathbecause the police promisedhim a passport, and to sendhim abroad if he testifiedagainst Bute and Ash.

The prosecution’s casehinged primarily onRobertson’s testimony, inwhich he related that he waspresent when Samuel’smurder was planned. He hadtestified that Butemasterminded the killing,while Ash was assigned to pullthe trigger.

Recantation insufficient

Dougan pointed out that to

use any affidavit at the appealhearing, the appellants,through their lawyers, wouldhave to apply to the court ofappeal to introduce freshevidence. He indicated thatthe application would be madeat the hearing. No date hasyet been set for the hearing ofthe appeal.

However, both Dougan andBute’s lawyer, Jomo Thomas,are aware that Robertson’srecantation alone, is notsufficient to overturn theconvictions.

Speaking with THEVINCENTIAN on Monday,Thomas pointed out that thecourt of appeal has ruled inprevious cases that arecantation by a witness is notsufficient to overturn aconviction.

Continued on Page 3.

ÂMONSTROUS...MISCARRIAGEOF JUSTICEÊ,SAYS Q.C

Carlyle Dougan Q.C. minced no wordsabout what he thought of the conviction ofhis client.

Colin Williams, DPP, hadoriginally sought the deathpenalty in the case againstChe ‘Ragga’ Bute and Azari‘Nines’ Ash.

Attorney Jomo Thomas isoptimistic about his client’schances before the court ofappeal.

2. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

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THE CEREMONIALOPENING of the new OECSLaw Year, 2012-2013, heldhere on September 18,comprised two formalactivities.

Members of the Benchand the bar gatheredfirst at the Cathedral ofthe Assumption in anecumenical service underthe theme, ‘Let justice betempered with mercy’.

Delivering the sermon,local Methodist minister,Rev. Stilson Cato, interalia, addressed thosewho would pass

judgement directly,advising, “All sorts ofcases are going to be putbefore you. The crimewill deserve the rightpunishment, and thisdoesn’t say you must givea slap on the wrist for acrime that deserves aheavy sentence.”

Following the service,which included an itemin song by a group oflocal legal professionals,a procession of thosegathered made its way tothe Court House.

There, a guard of

honour was inspected byHer Ladyship ChiefJustice (Ag.) Hon. JanicePereira, after whichthere was a spcial sittingto mark and declare theLaw Year open.

In what was the firsttime a female ChiefJustice was addressingthe opening of the LawYear, Hon JanicePereira, assured that“The judiciary of theEastern CaribbeanSupreme Court, althoughfaced with challenges,one of which is the

optimum quota of justice,promises that in this newyear that the quality ofjustice will not becompromised even inthese economic times.”

Chief JusticePereiraconsidered it herduty to promotetransparency inthe court.

She promised agreater effort tomake known theworkings of thecourt, to includeprogrammes forschools and themedia.

Theadministrative

and clericalresponsibilities of thecourt will not gounattended, as the LadyChief Justice alluded topromoting themodernization of thecourts to includeelectronic case filing,inprovements in recordmanagement andworking generally tofulfill a dream of a paperfree on demand system.

And as far as theactual workings of thecourt was concerned,Chief Justice Pereirahighlighted the expectedincrease in the use ofvideo conferencing anduse of evidence collectedby video. The latter

measure she saw asbeing of tremendous helpto “vulnerablewitnesses.”

Addresses were alsoheard from, amongothers, Her LadyshipLouise Blenman, HisLordship Hon MarioMichel, His LordshipHon. Don Mitchell, HisLordship Hon. FrederickBruce-Lyle, His LordshipHon Wesley James andAttorney General JudithJones Morgan, whoexpressed how veryproud she was to see thisday, ”when a womanwould be speaking aschief justice at theopening of the LawYear.”

V News 3THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 3.

AS PROMISED, we return with our Down MemoryLane column and apologise to our readers for itsabsence over the last two weeks.

We begin a run of features on Kingstown with a1907 shot of, believe it or not, a section of theMARKET PLACE in KINGSTOWN.

It may be difficult, given what now stands in itsplace, to even imagine that the MARKET was asopen as this picture depicts. But, as the saying

goes, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. Gone is the Middle Street throughway that this

picture clearly indicates as being central to thepurpose and style of the market. Two covered ironsheds, opened on all four sides, provided stalls forvegetables/ground provisions and other vendors.

Note also how fully clad the citizens — vendorsand buyers - were, giving the impression that a dayat the market then, was ‘a formal affair’.

And in case you arewondering, thebuilding in thebackground whichcarries the nameThomas Lawlor andCo., now houses JAXEnterprises.

Interestingly,Thomas Lawlor andCO. was a leading, ifnot the leadingvariety store of itstime, not muchdifferent from howJAX would beperceived in today’scommerce.

Notwithstandingthe progress, oh howwe wish for someopen, breathing spacein the city.

New LawYear opens

Her Ladyship Hon. Janice Pereira inspects the guard of honour.

Members of the local legal fraternity rendering a song at the ecumenical service.

Continued from Page 1.

Thomas explained that, “as part of a supportingbundle of no evidence, we believe that the court ofappeal may be persuaded that the convictionswould be unsafe.”

Thomas disclosed that part of the ‘supportingbundle’, in their possession, is another swornaffidavit which was filed in the court long beforeBute and Ash were sentenced.

In that affidavit, Maurice ‘Gamoon’ Clifton who,in Robertson’s testimony, was said to be in a houseat Redemption Sharpes when the killing wasplanned and carried out, has completely deniedbeing in that house, where Robertson had said theplot was hatched.

On July 19, 2011, Robertson had testified at thetrial that he, Bute, Ash and Clifton were at thehome of one Kimron ‘Skinon’ McDowall when Buteand Ash plotted to kill Samuel.

“He (Ash) told me he was going to kill‘Lazarus’. That was the plan. I and ‘Gamoon’ wassmoking weed and Che and Azari was planning,”Robertson had testified.

Clifton currently resides in Canada, whileMcDowall was shot and killed some years ago inan area at Redemption Sharpes called Hollywood.

Thomas told THE VINCENTIAN that theaffidavits sworn to by Robertson and Clifton wouldbe included in the appeal package. He indicatedthat the notice of appeal has already been filedand 14 grounds of appeal have been cited.

“We remain optimistic that, once the court ofappeal gets the opportunity to read the trialtranscript and to listen to arguments from defencecounsel, the court will rule that the convictions areunsafe,” Thomas said.

‘Monstrous... miscarriageof justice’, says Q.C

byKARISSACLARKE

Stories by HAYDN HUGGINS

TRINIDAD attorney KeithScotland, the lead lawyer whorepresented three oppositionNew Democratic Party (NDP)candidates on Monday,September 17, in the hearing oftheir applications for leave toappeal to the Privy Council theCourt of Appeal’s judgement inthe December 13, 2010 electionmatters, has made it clear thathis team respects that court.

“We respect the Court ofAppeal,” Scotland toldreporters just after emergingfrom the Supreme Courtbuilding, after the EasternCaribbean Court of Appealrefused all the applications.

He was heard telling hiscolleagues, “We tried ourbest.” He also told this toreporters.

The three NDP candidatesconcerned, Senator VynnetteFrederick, Linton Lewis andNigel Stephenson, were alsorepresented by attorney KayBacchus-Browne who was outof the state. Lawyer Maia

Eustace held for her.One of the applications

seeking leave to appeal to thePrivy Council involved thedecision of the Court of AppealMay 31, 2012, to set asideJustice Gertel Thom’s decisionto uphold a court ordergranting leave to SenatorFrederick to seek judicialreview of Chief MagistrateSonya Young’s decision, not toissue summonses in relation totwo private criminalcomplaints Frederick had filedagainst Prime Minister Dr.Ralph Gonsalves.

The Chief Magistrate wasrepresented by Dominica’ssenior counsel AnthonyAstaphan along with locallawyers Grahame Bollers andRichard Williams.

The Appeal Court had alsoon May 31, dismissedFrederick, Lewis andStephenson’s appeals againstJustice Thom’s decision torefuse them leave to seekjudicial review of the DPP’sdecision to take over anddiscontinue private criminal

complaints they had filedagainst Dr. Douglas Slater,Cecil McKie and ClaytonBurgin, January 11, 2011 atthe Serious Offences Court.

The Appeal Court had alsodismissed an appeal againstJustice Thom’s order to setaside leave Justice FrederickBruce-Lyle had grantedprivate citizen Marva Chanceto seek judicial review, JusticeThom’s decision to dismiss theapplication for leave as well asthe claim. The charges relatedto Afi Jack’s registering tovote in a constituency whereshe was not ordinarilyresident.

Astaphan, Bollers andWilliams represented the statein these matters.

The NDP candidates hadapplied to the court of appealfor leave to appeal the court’sdecisions to the Privy Council.

However, on Monday,September 17, in a judgementhanded down by newlyappointed acting Chief Justice,Janice Pereira, all theapplications were thrown out.

Chief Justice Pereira(Ag), along withJustices of AppealDavidson Baptiste andMario Michel, agreedthat the applicationswere without merit.

Astaphan, in hissubmissions, arguedthat the applicationswere entirely withoutmerit, and asked thecourt to dismiss them.

Scotland declined tocomment on thejudgement, butindicated that the nextstep in representing theNDP candidates wouldbe to apply to the PrivyCouncil for specialleave to appeal.

The NDP candidateshad claimed that thegovernment ministersmade false statementsin relation to theircharacters in the run-up to theDecember 13, 2010 generalelections.

The

complaints were broughtunder section 51(3) of theRepresentation of the PeopleAct (RPA).

THE YOUNG MAN whohas been charged withthe murder of formerstate witness Ulroy‘Laybay’ Robertson, hasbeen slapped with morecharges.

Kenny Lewis, 20, ofCampden Park,appeared at the SeriousOffences Court onWednesday, September19, charged withpossession of a 12-guage

shotgun and six roundsof 12-guage ammunitionwithout licences onSeptember 5.

Lewis pleaded notguilty to both chargeswhen he stood beforeChief Magistrate SonyaYoung. He was expectedto return to that courtyesterday, Thursday, forthe commencement of atrial in relation to thosematters.

Lewis had appeared atthe KingstownMagistrate’s Court onSeptember 10, chargedwith the murder ofRobertson as well aspossession of a Llama9mm pistol, serialnumber unknown,without licence, at ArnosVale on September 6,and 14 rounds of 9 mmammunition on the samedate at Arnos Vale.

Lewis was notrequired to plead tothose charges when heappeared before SeniorMagistrate DonaldBrowne and the matterwas transferred to theSerious Offences Court.

Prosecutor InspectorGlenford Gregg hadinformed the court thatthe 9mm pistol wouldhave to be sent abroadfor examination.

Robertson received asingle bullet to the headwhile reportedlystanding at the roadsidein Walvaroo, Sion Hillwith two other men onSeptember 2. He died onthe spot.

4. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

CourtV

A NATIONAL of Trinidad and Tobago, whoattempted to throw a portion of marijuana intoHer Majesty’s Prisons on Monday, September 17,will spend the next four months behind bars forhis action.

Trevon Thomas, who resided at RedemptionSharpes and was here illegally since 2004, was onWednesday, September 19, taken before theSerious Offences Court.

Thomas was sentenced to four months in prisonfor, without lawful authority, attempting tointroduce into Her Majesty’s Prisons, 18 grammesof marijuana.

He also received a one-month jail term forpossession of the marijuana with intent to supply.The sentences will run concurrently.

Chief Magistrate Sonya Young handed down thepenalties after Thomas pleaded guilty to bothcharges.

The court heard that around 10:20 a.m onMonday, Inspector Timothy Hazelwood of theSpecial Services Unit (SSU) was on his way to theSt. Vincent Electricity Service (VINLEC), locatednext to the prison, when he spotted Thomasattempting to throw something over the prisonwall.

The object stuck in the security wiring abovethe wall and the accused went into a nearby shop.

Hazelwood approached the man, identifiedhimself, informed him of his observation and tookhim into custody at the Central Police Station. Hethen sought the assistance of members of the FireDepartment to retrieve the object from where itwas stuck. It turned out to be a bag containingmarijuana.

When cautioned, Thomas told the police,“Officer, ah somebody tell me to fire it over.”

Information is that Thomas came here legallyand was allowed six months to stay in the country,but overstayed his time.

Trini ‘weed thrower’ jailed

Attorney Keith Scotland made itclear that his team respects theruling of the court.

Kenny Lewis has toanswer other charges,even before answeringto the charge ofmurdering a formerstate witness.

NDP candidates refusedPrivy Council leave

Murder accused on more charges

GENERAL ELECTIONS inGrenada will be held before year-end. This is the firm belief offormer Prime Minister and Leaderof the Opposition New NationalParty (NNP), Dr. Keith Mitchell.

And when those elections areheld, Dr. Mitchell believes thatthe result will show overwhelmingsupport for his party and, tofurther compound problemsalready rife in the Governmentand the ruling NationalDemocratic Congress (NDC), apersonal defeat for TillmanThomas, Prime Minister andLeader of the NDC.

All of this could well remainconjecture because following onDr. Mitchell’s enthusiasm, PrimeMinister of Grenada, TillmanThomas on Monday requested thegovernor-general, Sir CarlyleGlean, to prorogue Parliament.

This effectively brings to anend the fourth session of theeighth Parliament, six monthsearlier than its scheduled close.

It is expected that a date forthe commencement for the fifthsession of the eighth Parliamentwill be announced at a later date,at which time the traditionalthrone speech is expected to bedelivered by the governor-general.

This “expected move” said oneobserver, prevents debate on a no-confidence motion filed in Augustby former Foreign Minister KarlHood.

Hood had resigned in April,and in August filed a no-confidence motion against thegovernment, claiming that theThomas administration had failedto fulfill its promise to implementprogrammes “that were marketedto deliver economic and socialdevelopment to the people of theState of Grenada.”

Proroguing parliament merelypostpones debate on the motion,since a new motion can be filedonce a new session of parliamentis convened.

But Dr. Mitchellremains adamantthat TillmanThomas will callelections before yearend.

His projectioncomes amidstcontinuing tensionover investment andeconomic policyissues in Grenada.

Public Servantshave been at thecentre of the fallout,their salaries havingbeen paid late onmore than oneoccasion for the year.

In addition, theongoing discord inthe NDC has hadthe ripple effect ofcausing generaldiscontent andlethargy in thesociety.

The NDC formedthe government in2008, defeating theincumbent NNP by11 seats to four. TheNNP had held thereins of governmentfor 13 years.

But it has been arocky period ofstewardship forTillman Thomas. Anumber of key partyand governmentcolleagues haveeither resigned orbeen removed fromoffice.

In May, NDC MP and Ministerof Foreign Affairs Karl Hoodresigned, and Thomas removedArley Gill as a Senator and

Minister of Culture.Peter David,

General Secretary ofthe NDC and formerMinister of Tourism,has also beenmarginalized.

And as far as Dr.Keith Mitchell isconcerned, it is highlyunlikely that TillmanThomas will bereturned as amember ofparliament in theyear-end generalelections.

Tillman Thomaswon his seat in 2008by a margin of 104votes.

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 5.

RegionalVGrenadian politicianthanks Dr. GonsalvesWHILE THE ST. VINCENTAND THE GRENADINESPublic Service Union hascastigated Prime MinisterDr. Ralph Gonsalves formaking an SVG- EasternCaribbean Central Bankborrowing facility availableto Grenada so that thatcountry can meet itspublic service wage bill, atleast one Grenadianpolitician has commendedDr. Gonsalves for his“regional integrationspirit.”

Arley Gill, a formersenator in Grenada’sparliament, commendedDr. Gonsalves for hiscommitment to regionalintegration, noting thatit was not the first timethat the Vincentianleader had come toGrenada’s assistance.

But while Dr.Gonsalves has confirmedthat his government hasmade the facilityavailable to the Grenadagovernment, Gill was

speaking in Grenada onMonday without anyofficial confirmation fromthat country’sgovernment of itsacceptance and use of thefacility.

Caribbean News Nowquotes Gill as saying, “Ifthe report is true, it is acommendable act on thepart of Dr Gonsalves.”

“Here’s a man and acomrade who is willing tocome to the assistance ofa CARICOM neighbourand friend; in ademonstration of thespirit of regionalintegration; and inkeeping with thetradition of some of ourbest-known regionalistssuch as Maurice Bishop,Michael Manley andPatrick Manning,” hecontinued.

Gill, the PublicRelations officer of theruling NationalDemocratic Congress(NDC) is reported to

have said that “TheNational DemocraticCongress thanksGonsalves for hisextreme act of kindnessand generosity to theGrenadian people.”

Gill has beenestranged from his party

and leader since hisremoval as a senator andminister of government.Some commentatorsquestioned whether hehad the authority tospeak on behalf of theNDC.

AS YOUNGPEOPLEthroughout St.Vincent and theGrenadines joinedtheir counterpartsaround the worldin activities tomark InternationalCoastal Clean-upDay, September 15,news from theInternationalUnion for Conservation of Nature (IUC) painted adebilitating picture.

According to a September 12, 2012 disclosure by theUnion, the grim reality is that “less than 10 percent ofcoral reefs in the Caribbean show living coral cover andare on the verge of utter devastation.

Carl Gustaf Lundin, a director at the ICU told theBritish Guardian newspaper that global warming,pollution and overexploitation are the main causes for thedamage to reefs.

“The major causes of coral decline are well-known andinclude overfishing, pollution, disease and bleachingcaused by rising temperatures resulting from the burningof fossil fuels,” Lundin said.

“Looking forward, there is an urgent need toimmediately and drastically reduce all human impacts ifcoral reefs and the vitally important fisheries that dependon them are to survive in the decades to come,” hestressed.

A 1970s study in the Caribbean revealed then that 50percent of the reefs showed coral that was alive andcontinuing to grow. In stark contrast, the latest surveyfound that only eight percent is covered with living coralgrowth.

Scientists participating in the study also warned thatthere was no evidence that coral death would be slowing.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationpoints out that global warming is a big factor with coralreefs, as more bleaching and infections break out whentemperatures rise.

Additionally, more carbon dioxide in the air alters thechemistry of the oceans, and slight changes in acidity couldalter the growth rates of coral.

There is, however, some room for hope. Terry Hughesof James Cook University has conducted research on theGreat Barriaer Reef in Australia and concluded that ratherthan experiencing total destruction, “many coral reefs willsurvive climate change by changing the mix of coralspecies as the ocean warms and becomes more acidic.”

He warned, though, that local factors like pollution andoverfishing also need to be addressed.

International organizations studying the decay of coralreefs across the world, estimate that the damage to reefsthreaten the livelihood of some 500 million people,including many in the Caribbean.

Troubling times for Grenada’s Thomas

Coral cover in theCaribbeandisappearing

Below:Caribbeancoral reefs arein danger ofdisappearing.

Arley Gill hascompared Dr. RalphGonsalves to some ofthe foremostregionalists. (InternetPhoto)

Dr. Ralph Gonsalvesconfirmed that thiswas not the first timethat SVG had come tothe assistance ofGrenada.

Dr. Keith Mitchell isconfident that he andhis New National Partywill be returned togovernment. (InternetPhoto)

It has been a rockyyear for Prime MinisterTillman Thomas whoseadministration hasbeen besieged byworsening economictimes and discordwithin his party.(Internet Photo)

6. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

CourtVStories by HAYDN HUGGINS

SENIOR MAGISTRATE DonaldBrowne has called foradequate security forMagistrates and the courts.

The Senior Magistratemade the call on Tuesday,September 18, during asitting here of the EasternCaribbean Supreme Courtto mark the start of theLaw Year 2012-2012.

“I know there aremeasures taken to havesecurity well in place forus, but I am saying that itis not enough, and with theviolence in our societythese days, we need to beprotected better than weare, whatever the cost maybe,” he declared.

The Senior Magistratealso pointed out that “theMagistracy does up to 70percent of the criminalmatters which come beforethe court, and it is hightime that it be afforded therecognition it deserves.”

He lamented, “TheMagistracy is crying out forintegration into theJudiciary. The integrationprocess started some 20years ago, but up to now

has not gone very far,mainly because theseconstitutions do not allowfor easy transition to

integration.”It was the first time that

a representative of the

Magistracy had been givenan opportunity to addressthe opening of the law year.

PRESIDENT of the OECSBar Association, RugglesFerguson, has urged hiscolleagues to be part of thesolution instead of justcomplaining.

“Attorneys have a way ofcomplaining. Don’t just sitback and complain abouthow much your BarAssociation is not doing.Step forward and play anactive role, makesuggestions, make adifference, encourage yourcolleagues to become partof the solution,” theGrenadian born lawyertold members of the legalfraternity as he deliveredremarks during a specialsitting of the EasternCaribbean Court here onTuesday, to mark theopening of the new LawYear.

Ferguson added: “LocalBar Associations, on the

other hand, mustbecome proactive,more organised, andmore creative toenergise themembership’sneeds.”

The OECS BarPresident urged BarAssociations not togive up in the face ofthese challengingtimes.

“It is often veryeasy to give up inthe face of constantcriticism, lack ofsupport frommembers, and lack ofappreciation for thetime and resourcesexpended to makethings happen,especially in thecontext of your busyschedule, your purelyvoluntary contributionsand sacrifices and the

constant challenges ofstaying on board in theseeconomically challengingtimes.”

Ruggles Fergusson, President ofthe OECS Bar Association,admonished his colleaguesabout their complaining.

Lawyers urged to be ‘part of the solution’

Senior Magistrate Donald Brownebecame the first magistrate to addressthe opening of the Law Year.

‘Security for Magistrates not enough’

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 7.

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I WAS ALMOST RELUCTANT to venture anopinion on the latest issue of our relegation to aState for which there is now a visa requirementto enter Canada.

It was most difficult to arrive at a situationof balanced truth owing to the presence, nay thebombardment of the communications media ofopposing views, all clamoring for attention. Infact, it appears as if a well-oiled propagandamachinery was spitting out half-truths,downright lies, and jaundiced views on thevexed issues of the day.

I dared to put some of the thoughts in blackand white with which I am now reasonablycomfortable, though not completely confident,given the turns and twists of news nowadays.

Firstly, the ULP must take a lion’s share ofthe blame. To begin with, it took place undertheir watch, and they are notoriously a strongGovernment noted for standing no nonsensefrom opposition or any other forces not towingtheir line.

The issue began simmering from as far backas 2003. They were served notice that Canadawas not comfortable with the confidentialities ofour passports as they related to Canada’s ownsecurity. Nothing was done. Not even adiplomatic exchange or a flying visit with aview to ironing out differences and difficulties.

So the bombshell has been dropped. Canadademands a visa for visiting folks from St.Vincent and St Lucia in the Caribbean, and theblame game has started with our two politicalparties pointing fingers at each other.Meanwhile there is little positive news that theP.M will join his counterpart from St Lucia inapproaching the Canadian Government, to seewhat, if anything, can be salvaged from adesperate situation.

In fact, Skerritt of Dominica should join theexpedition as a Caribbean country experiencingsimilar problems but has been able to hold itshead above the tumultuous waters ravagingthese parts. The trio of Windwards brothers,birds of a feather, approaching an industrialgiant would itself speak volumes on theseriousness of OECS unity, apart from probablybringing home some tangible benefits to theSub- Region.

We should laugh to scorn the U.L.Ppropaganda machinery that accuses the N.D Pof being the prime cause of the Canadianreaction by broadcasting that they continuallyshort-changed the country by forever talking ofthe economic plight of the nation since theU.L.P won power.

Arnhim Eustace and St. Clair Leacock haveboth acknowledged writing letters in support ofVincentians who seek Canadian asylum on thegrounds of economic hardships, whether or notaggravated by political victimization and abuse.

An easy answer to that problem is thatULP’s own Consul General to Canada, StevePhillips, has acknowledged that he performed asimilar service for which he was rapped on theknuckles by the Prime Minister, but nototherwise disciplined or recalled.

In fact, the “Refugee issue” concernsnumbers, it is a quantitative problem whichattract Canada in that applications for thatstatus from SVG about tripled over the lastdecade, which remains a double-edged sword sofar as SVG is concerned.

The “Asylum” issue causes little sweat on thenoses of Canada’s Immigration Authorities.Cases are still being processed for what theymay be worth. It is only the time factor involvedwhich has been drastically cut, saving the

authority muchmoney that had been generously spent onapplicants before.

But the real problem has been the slap-dashway in which passports have been thought to beissued by the Government of SVG. I owe it toClemroy Bert François on Nice Radioprogramme last Tuesday night to point out thatthe news of visa requirement was delivered in aRelease that pointed out the dangers to theirown country of the slack way we handled thepassports issue.

Significantly, there was no mention whateverabout the “Asylum Question”.

A second Release was issued the followingday in identical terms, save that, almost as anafter-thought, mention was made of those whosought “Refugee Status”, an entirely differentquestion.

It so happens that Bert François, whonormally appears on a Cross Country Radioprogramme with Burns Bonadie who had beena former Consul General of SVG to Canada,directed to him the following question. Whatcould have made the Canadian Authorities addto their original release an ancillary sectiontouching upon applications for Refugee Status,to which Burns answered to the effect, that itseems logical that it was in response to theGovernment of SVG.

So that focusing on the rider, the propagandamachinery still dwells on the applications forAsylum, charging Arnhim and Leacock as beingaccomplices, and ignoring entirely the mainmatter of the wrongful issuance of passports.

One irate caller noted that her nephew whohad been in Canada was advised by anImmigration Officer, presumably working withSVG, to return home and contact a particularoffice in SVG who issued him a passport with anew name, at a cost of three hundred dollars.

The gentleman travelled back to Canadawith his new passport and was promptly postedback to SVG where he was greeted with athree-year sentence for being the owner of afraudulently obtained passport!

Our Prime Minister needs to go to Canadaand help clear-up the mess. Canada hasrecently cut all ties with Iran to whom the ULPGovernment is friendly. Many persons havebeen asking whether an Iranian could not fly toSVG via Venezuela, pick up a SVG Passportand so gain easy access to Canada under the olddispensation, and commit much mischief.

Every country has a duty to defend its ownborders and do whatever it perceives to becontributory to the safeguarding of that right.

Many questions arise from our presentdebacle; will the PM surprise everyone by goingto Canada and work his charisma and charmand bring back even partial victory? Indeed it ispassing strange that our PM for the last decadehas avoided visiting Canada, a country thathosts many of our diaspora!

Most people think that if things continue todeteriorate, there is bound to be social crisis in,say, three months with the return of many“Canadians” with nothing to do.

The down-hill trend accelerates as of nowuntil the crash comes at the end of the day witha general election. Until then, things willcertainly worsen before they get better. Thereare a ton load of unanswered questions, relatingbroadly to our governance over the past tenyears.

I can only hope that beyond the clouds, thereis glorious sunshine- that it all comes out in thewash.

8. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

ViewsV

Editorial

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.

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Of visas and headtable addressesSO THIS COUNTRY’S NATIONALS are now required to apply for a visabefore they can enter Canada.

While the requirement in the broadest sense is not a matterabout which we should make a huff and a puff, since we have nocontrol over its imposition, it must have hurt simply because of thecountry that has chosen to impose it.

Long have Vincentians enjoyed, generally speaking, ease ofentry into Canada, a fellow member of the Commonwealth Realmof Nations. Long have Vincentians benefited from the ‘open door’policy of this vast country that, in addition to other areas ofassistance, has extended scholarship and bursary programmesfrom which many a Vincentian would have been assured trainingand advanced education opportunities.

So, it must hurt; it seems another friend has found it fit to ‘stopbeing a friend’.

That Vincentians themselves have to accept ‘blame’ for theimposition, is documented as coming from corners wide and varied.Politicians from government and opposition, community leadershome and abroad, ordinary citizens home and abroad, have voiced‘concern’ and disappointment with the new policy, each groupputting its own spin to the issue.

The fact is, try as much as we would wish that the Canadiangovernment rescinds the requirement, our Minister of ForeignAffairs is correct when he says, ‘The die is cast.’ He, and anyoneelse, especially those in prominent national positions, must desistnow from propagating any false hope that gives indication and/orinsinuation that something can be done to reverse the decision.

What we need to do, beginning now, is not to encourage anysenseless prolonging of griping over the spilled milk, but to beginto work with Canadian immigration officials to ensure thatVincentian nationals understand how to proceed from here on in,and that they get fair and unbiased consideration when they applyfor the visa.

This is important since indication from the CanadianGovernment is that Vincentians are among 1800 Caribbeannationals whose Canadian citizenship will be revoked, because ithas been discovered that they used ‘fraudulent means to becomeCanadian.’

The question abounds: Even as we accept the use of ‘fraudulentdocuments’, how many of these ‘citizens’ were born nationals ofthis country or simply holders of Vincentian passports?

There have been Caribbean nationals as well as non-Caribbeanpersons who have worked their way through the local system andacquired Vincentian passports, and have used them to obtainpassage into and status in another man’s country. What they dothereafter is anyone’s guess.

As we move to protect bono fide citizens and nationals of thiscountry, we must ensure that we have the strictest measures inplace to guard against the ‘unduly’ influenced issuance of thiscountry’s passports and their eventual misuse.

Last week’s report that a legitimately elected representative ofa constituency of people in this country was denied ‘permission’ toaddress a gathering on a matter that affects that representative’sconstituency, seems to have descended into the usual realm ofdiscussion that does not go outside of the vicious circle of partisanpolitics that has engulfed this country.

That area representative St. Clair Leacock did not indicate,prior to the actual day on which the Consultation on Vending washeld, that he was desirous of addressing the gathering, should notbe the focus of the ensuing discussion.

Rather, the whole affair must be seen against the clarion callsfor building a true democracy and an ennobling Vincentiancivilization.

It should never have been a matter of Mr. Leacock making an‘uninvited’ appearance; it should have been that he was anintegral part of the planning and staging of that consultation.That would have made for ‘true’ democracy; for a true comingtogether to address an issue that affects the people generally, andthe people of Leacock’s constituency in particular.

Another opportunity was lost to showcase to the world that wecan and are able to put action behind our utterances of movingfrom being a fledging democracy to being a true, workingdemocracy in which the central concern is not who has theanswers, who controls the power, but that all ‘stakeholders (there’sthat word again) are genuinely involved in the process of remedyand change for the better.

Nuff said.

The ULP faces up to visarequirement for visitors to Canada

I MUST SAY that I wastotally impressed by theturn out of police officers,members of the publicand family members atthe funeral service forthe late P.C. 628

Franklyn Matthews, heldat the Seventh DayAdventist Church,Mesopotamia, Sunday,16th September, 2012.

Matthews joined thePolice Force as a BandCadet, then enlisted inthe regular constabulary.From my knowledge, hespent all his years as amember of the PoliceBand. I believe that hehad lots of plans for thefuture.

However, at age 37 hislife was cut short. It isnot easy losing a lovedone at such a young agebut there isn’t anythinganyone can do whendeath steps in. Death isnot something we areever ready to accept andto cope with, but we allhave to face it one day.What is important isthat we live a lifepleasing to God as wespend our short timehere on earth, in thehope of a better life whenwe leave this earth.

I take this moment towish his wife and son allthe best. I know that itwon’t be easy for you,Mrs. Matthews, losingyour husband at such a

young age, but Godknows best. I pray thathe will give you thestrength to cope. Therewill always be friends,family and loved onesaround who can comfortyou with encouragingwords.

While at P.C.Matthews’ funeral Inoticed two things whichI need to comment on.

Firstly, the flag whichwas used to drape thecasket: I am not certainwhether the funeral wasa state or a military one.Normally, when a policedies in service he/she isgiven a military funeralservice and the policeflag will be used to drapethe casket. In this case,it wasn’t so. Maybethings have changed andthe State flag is usedinstead. If this is so thenI stand corrected.

Secondly, is the waythis flag was placed onthe casket: The blue ofthe flag, which is thehead of the flag, wasplaced at the foot of thecasket instead of thehead. I do not knowwhich officer wasresponsible for the

funeral; maybe this wasthe first time he was putin charge of a funeral ofthis nature and heprobably didn’t take noteof these small details.

The little things arewhat someone shouldtake note of, bearing inmind that there is aright and a wrong way tohang our flag. If the firstpart of the casket thatgoes into the hearse isthe head, then the flagwas placed incorrectly,because the blue was thefirst to go into thehearse. I hope that thepolice will look back attheir photos and see if Iam right or wrong. If Iam wrong, I standcorrected.

Other than these twoobservations, I will saythat the funeral was wellattended.

Mrs. Matthews, onbehalf of my family, andon my own behalf, I wishyou all the best in thismoment of yourbereavement. May Godcontinue to bless andkeep you and you sonsafe always.

SKIM

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 9.

ViewsV

* There has beenmuch talk recently bythe Leader of theOppostion about“backdoor attempts” toget SVG into the CCJwhat is the NDP policyon SVG adopting theCCJ? Does it differfrom the position of itsmost recent senatorand Chairman of theparty who is also on theCCJ’s board?

* SocialistInternational earlierthis month held itsassembly in SouthAfrica. Did anyonefrom SVG attend? If so,in what capacity? Andhas the Unity LabourParty been reduced toobserver status becauseit has defaulted on itsdues?

* What’s soimportant that theMinister of Agriculturehad to rush overseasrather than fulfill anadvertised visit tofarmers? Did his‘rushing overseas’ haveanything to do with apersonal matter?

* Was one of thosethree teachers whohave not been re-employed sinceunsuccessfullycontesting the 2010general elections,offered a teachingposition which herefused?

* Is it only properthat the Minister ofLocal Governmentshould have invited theMP for CentralKingstown, and all theKingstown MPs for thatmatter, to give officialpresentations at theConsultation onvending? Is this notdisrespectful of fellowmembers of parliamentand the people theyrepresent?

LAST WEEK TUESDAY, thevendors meeting at theVictoria Park was veryinteresting, but onlyserved as another talk-shop for Kingstown TownBoard (KTB), a chest-thumping occasion for theMinister, backseat quietmoments for the KTBWarden and the uniformedPermanent Secretary, andan embarrassing momentfor the electedrepresentative for CentralKingstown.

As an observer at themeeting, I found itstrange that the ministerwas the one to lead thediscussion, from underthe tent, with otherofficials just sippingwater. What did he (the

minister) expect from thevendors but cross talkand political slurs.

The Minister statedthat there was a range ofstake holders withinterest in thecleanliness of Kingstown,yet none of them wereinvited to address thevendors. Those whowanted to do so weredirected to use the publicmicrophone and not theone on the platform onwhich he stood. TheMajor (Mr. St. ClairLeacock) was also told todo so, but refused, and Iagree with him!

If you have agovernment whichspeaks about unity,‘together now’,

reconciliation, and lovefor poor people, howcome there could nothave been a head tablewhich included one of theaffected merchants,representatives of PublicHealth and Solid Waste,a vendor representativeand the electedrepresentative forCentral Kingstown? Thisformat would haveencouraged unity in thecall for a more organizedway to vending and acleaner environment forKingstown.

But it is clear that,like the Prime Minister,the Minister wants allthe ‘say’; he knows thesolution, so there’s noneed for anyone to

suggest to him the bestapproach.

However, the ministershould have taken notethat the vendors sawright through his plan.He should have takennote that the vendorshave not forgotten thathe pledged to build themodel stalls, get vendorID ready, remodel LittleTokyo, zone the vendingand rectify the issues ofthe market. All thesewere thrown back athim, only to hear himdeclare that the vendorswere partly to be blamed,not he.

Leadership is urgentlyneeded in this vendingissue in Kingstown, butit needs to be approachedwith and with theinvolvement of all the

stakeholders affected.From my observation ofthe meeting at CampdenPark four years ago andthis one in Kingstownrecently, the vendorswant to see better, butthey are calling for helpwith organizing and thefulfillment of promises.Maybe this is the timefor Ken Boyea to showhis real concern forbusiness, seeing that heis no longer interested inpolitics.

Disappointed

Vendor leadership needed

THE TIME IS overdue for a No Confidence Motionin parliament, against the leadership of the ULP.

Among the reasons for this vote are the ULP’sfailure to: deliver on the cross country road thatthey promised us in 2001 for 2005; deliver thestadium that was to be built at the Diamond estate;deliver the thousands of quality jobs for our youths;to provide us with a cheaper electricity rate aspromised; to provide us with a cheaper a water rateas promised; to enact integrity legislation withintheir first one hundred days in office; to turnaround our food basket — the St. Vincent MarketingCorporation.

There are many more, but the ‘Comrade’s’number is seven (7), so we keep the Sabbath.

If the opposition in parliament is afraid to bringthis No Confidence Motion, then the people(taxpayers) will have to do what we have to do, andchoose our new leaders for the new parliament.

We have advanced beyond the thinking of the oldschool of divide and rule, to the age of eyes andminds opening to the truth. Falsehood cannot bevictorious over truth anymore. No military powerwill stop our people when they take to the streets inprotest against falsehood from the ULP, the NDP orwho else.

It is the nature of dictators that when they can’trule their people anymore with their falsehoods,and the people protest, that they (dictators) usetheir military against the protesters. Sometimes,the military backfires on their leaders. Time willtell.

Please, Mr. PM, go to Canada and negotiate onthe SVG-Canada visa matter and set up a ‘vetting’system to vet the returners from Canada. Thepublic will like to know their past and presentnationality(ies).

Christian Democrat

No ConfidenceMotion

Getting the small things right

REALLY, man, what is all this fuss about having toget a visa for Canada? Did we really believe thatthis was not on the cards?

If we have to gripe about anything, gripe aboutwhether or not the government in SVG knew aboutplans to introduce the visa, and what they did, ifanything, to prevent it. (Not that they couldprevent it, anyway.)

So, back to this whole fuss: I have to get a visato enter the US and any of its dependencies (USVirgin Islands, Puerto Rico), and this has been sosince ‘me grand pappy’ days’. And tell me, don’t wehave to get a visa to travel to Venezuela, Brazil,Cuba and even Taiwan?

Let’s get real, man. We can’t expect that a manwill forever allow us into his country to behave aswe feel like. The question is, though: When are wegoing to introduce the same requirements fornationals of some of these countries who haveimposed it on us?

Garnet, N.Y.

The visa issue: Get real, manI ONLY RECENTLY came upon thestory about the eighteen-year-oldmother who allegedly killed her one-year-old son. At first, I could notbelieve what I was reading, believingthat this could not be real, andfurthermore, this could not behappening in St. Vincent and theGrenadines.

After I got over my denial, I got toreflecting on what this ordeal holds forour country.

I want to state from the outset thatevery society has its share of uncaringmothers and fathers, but also its fairshare of caring mothers and fathers.However, pronouncements from thosewho work in the field of FamilyAffairs/Relations speak about therebeing a greater number of delinquentfathers than mothers.

So we have a situation of a numberof single mothers who have to bear thebrunt of raising their child or children.And to make matters worse, oursociety is still one that castigates the

single mother and even blames her forthe absence of the father or for nothaving a “father” for their children.Was this the situation with that younglady?

I hope for the day when our menwould come to the realization thatnothing should prevent them frombeing present in the lives of theirchildren. Money, while important, isnot all. Just being present matters inthe life of a child.

In the end, I am sorry to say, but itis always the children who have to livein pain, and in this case die. Adultsmust strive to be real adults, to beresponsible parents, instead of playinggames with their lives and those oftheir children.

The death of that one-year-old,regardless of the circumstances, is ascar against the entire Vincentiansociety. It is a scar on each and everyone of us.

Yvonne

Single mothers, absent fathers

10. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

ViewsVThe Issue

When Prime Minister, Dr. RalphGonsalves announced that Canadawas about to institute visarestrictions in respect ofVincentians travelling to thatcountry, there was much discussionin St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

For supporters of the ULPadministration, this was not asurprising move by the Canadiangovernment. Over the last fifteen years,the ULP, as a responsible politicalparty, warned Vincentians againstapplying for refugee status anywhere,including Canada. In opposition, theULP warned Vincentians, particularlywomen, to desist from this practice.

In government, Prime Minister Dr.Ralph Gonsalves, Sir Louis Straker,Rene Baptiste, Sir Vincent Beache,Joseph “Burns” Bonadie and MikeBrowne, to name a few, all advocatedagainst Vincentians applying forrefugee status in Canada.

Sadly, these appeals fell on deaf ears,and so all Vincentians will have to findadditional funds to obtain a visa fromthe Canadian Embassy in Port of Spain,before they travel to Canada.

Bad mouthing St.Vincent and the Grenadines

Any application made by aVincentian to the Canadian authoritiesfor refugee status, will contain anumber of lies and half-truths on thisbeloved country, and to some extent onour citizens.

The application will say that there isno law and order in this country; thatthe economic conditions are so terriblethat they cannot exist here; that thereis no protection for women, that theyhave been abused, raped, and molested;that their lives have been threatened,and that the ULP administration hasmounted a campaign of politicalvictimization against them.

A perusal of the website where theappeal cases can be found, indicateshow far these Vincentians will go toremain in Canada. In some cases, theapplicants use the names of personswho are not aware of the abuses theyare supposed to have committed!Several Vincentian males are seeingtheir names on Canadian courtdocuments for the first time, and theyare perplexed. Vincentians, particularlyfemales, have been using all sorts ofruses to “beat the system” illegally.Invariably, such persons will be caughtby the authorities, and they will have topay for the consequences of theiractions.

The NDP response

Unlike the ULP in opposition, theNDP behave irresponsibly on this issue.The expectation was that the NDP, if itwas a party with a certain amount ofnational consciousness, would havepersuaded Vincentians against applyingfor refugee status. Not so!

Instead the NDP, including itsleaders and senior members, haveencouraged, and aided and abetted theefforts of Vincentians in this regard.The leader of the NDP, ArnhimEustace, publicly stated that he hadassisted Vincentians in theirapplication for refugee status. St.ClairLeacock, the member for CentralKingstown, bragged that he had takena similar action. There are newspaperreports that two other leadingmembers, one a lawyer, and the other agender rights advocate, were involvedin this process.

Here is more evidence that the NDPshould be described as a party that isun-patriotic, with no good intentions to

Vincentians and to this country. Here isfurther evidence that the NDP will doanything within its power, to unseatthe ULP administration. And here ismore evidence that the NDP is not fitfor governance in this country.

More NDP lies

As is the custom, rather than seek torepent for their actions, the NDP triesto shift the focus of Vincentians awayfrom their support for the refugeeapplicants, to find some reason to showthat the ULP is responsible for theimposition of the visa status. Theyclaim the visa status was imposedbecause our passport is faulty. That is alie, and this can be confirmed by thediplomatic note from the CanadianEmbassy in Bridgetown.

For the record, our machine readablepassport has many security featuresthat have been commended by manynations, including the government ofthe United Kingdom. A reputableCanadian company, CanadianBanknote, is responsible for theproduction of our passports, and theyhave done a fantastic job.

They further claim that theCanadian administration is not happywith our diplomatic relations withcountries like Iran and Venezuela.Again this is another lie, since there isno evidence to suggest that this is thecase.

The NDP goes further by claimingthat Comrade Ralph is responsible forthe number of refugee applications,since it was his administration thatcreated the harsh economic conditionsin the country. That is another lie.There are no harsh economic conditionsin the country.

To compound this, spokespersons forthe NDP are claiming that a number ofCubans, Venezuelans and other foreignnationals, have acquired Vincentianpassports, and are using thesedocuments to enter Canada. That isanother dastardly lie.

The NDP must face up to the factthat that party is culpable in theimplementation of visa restrictionsagainst the people of St. Vincent andthe Grenadines. Now when our citizensencounter problems travelling toToronto or Montreal, they must holdArnhim Eustace, St. Clair Leacock andthe NDP to account. Not once did theylift their voices, not once did they lifttheir hands, to persuade Vincentiansnot to apply for refugee status. Insteadthey supported the process, and for thiswe must find them guilty as charged.

The way forward

Now Prime Minister, RalphGonsalves and the ULP administrationwill begin the process of consultationwith the Canadian government, toaddress the matter of the lifting of thevisa restriction. This process will beintensive and may take awhile.Meanwhile, Vincentians are urged tomake early arrangements to apply forthe Canadian visas, when they areabout to travel to Canada. This processwill be costly, since it involvestravelling to Trinidad and Tobago.

Unfortunately, this process willaffect all Vincentians, whether or notyou support the ULP or the NDP. But itis the NDP that has placed us in thisdisadvantageous position.

The Public Service of St.Vincent andthe Grenadines is gripped by a stateof fear and intimidation. The moralewithin the service is at an all timelow- with low levels of productivity,drive and initiative. Staff in manydepartments cannot tell whethertheir respective department ismoving ahead, stagnant or regressing.

At no other time have we seen amore politicized, apathetic, fearful anddisenfranchised civil service as we areseeing today. After a decade in office,many ULP supporters now realize thatthe “pie” cannot be shared and thatthey have been deceived “big time” byRalph Gonsalves who promised theVincentian people so much prior to the2001 elections. He simply cannotdeliver.

The legacy of the ULPadministration will surely be that itwas the party which created the highestdegree of divisiveness, fear, nepotism,intimidation and corruption within thepublic service and, one that promotedincompetence among a small butautocratic group of its supporters.

Since the advent of the ULP, themajority of public servants are justplain fed up of the way in which theservice is being managed. Many of theULP supporters within the service areeven feeling the squeeze. To say thatthey are disappointed in theperformance and actions of the ULP isgrossly understated.

It has been long established thatpolitics and administration areinextricably intertwined, thus makingadministration a political process. Whatthen should be the relationship betweencivil servants and the cabinetexecutive/politicians? Such arelationship implies the necessity for atwo way communication flow,coordination of policy, mutual respectand easy access to each other. Whilethe civil service exists primarily toimplement the policies of thegovernment, it ought to do so within aframework of established principles andguidelines of administration that isobjective, transparent and free frompolitical interference, pressure andintimidation.

Civil servants are suffocating

The incompetent ULP cabinet,headed by arguably, the region’s besttalker, who is devoid of substance, isunable to make a clear distinctionbetween the policy making function ofcabinet and theadministration/executing function of thepublic service. Since assuming the reinsof power, the line of distinction betweenthe two functions which existed beforeMarch 2001 and which is necessary forthe maintenance of an objective systemof administration, has now completelydisappeared.

Fuelled by a climate of intimidation,the deliberate actions by the ULPregime to directly undertake theadministrative function of the civilservice, serves only to render the civilservice as an ineffective anddemoralized organization.

So functions such as employment tothe service, appointment, training-particularly overseas training,transfers, promotion, and retirementare now carried out de facto by theexecutive of the ULP government. TheService Commissions Department(SCD), the agency responsible forpersonnel has been largely reduced tothe role of rubber-stamping. Itcertainly has lost its effectiveness in theproper management of the PublicService personnel. After all, “you do notbite the hand that feeds you”. This factis very well understood by the chairmanof the Commission and the ChiefPersonnel Officer.

Ralph runs the show

Whenever civil servants go to theCPO with their legitimate concerns, theadvice is always the same, “…go see the‘big man’ (Papa Ralph)”. So if you wanta job in the service, a promotion orappointment, you have to go and seePM Gonsalves. What a shame!Gonsalves is running the civil service asan extension of his private house. Theservice is being micro-managed. Thereis absolutely no action taken withouthis knowledge and approval. Hesanctions all activities relating topersonnel. You are not expected to getanywhere if you are perceived as anNDP supporter. Such subjectivepractices of managing the HumanResources, undermine the culture ofneutrality, and adversely affect thesystem of productivity and of itscapacity for generating andimplementing positive changes in thepublic service.

Transfer within the service

While the regulations state that anofficer can be transferred to anyequivalent post within the service, thismeasure is often abused and misused bythose in authority as a weapon ofpunishment for civil servants. And whatis the crime committed by thesehardworking civil servants to warrantsuch a punishment? They are punishedwhen they are assertive, which is oftenmisinterpreted as being disrespectful.They are punished for speaking outagainst poor management styles of thehead of department. And even if thebehaviour of some officers adverselyaffects the functioning of thedepartment, is transferring that personthe solution? Won’t you be transferringthe problem to another department?

Many transferees are sent to otherdepartments widely regarded as ‘hardarea’ departments. These persons arenever given prior consultation; nevertold why they were transferred or whattheir job at the new department wouldbe. The current practice regardingtransfers has absolutely nothing to dowith succession planning.

The prevailing climate of fear andintimidation

Civil servants are now unwilling tooffer their objective opinion andconstructive criticism of a minister’spolicy decision or actions, or themanagement style of the head ofdepartment, for fear of beingmarginalized, transferred against theirwill or overlooked for promotion andtraining. The arrogance andincompetence of the Gonsalves bunchfeed into the psyche of the civil service,resulting in among other things, thepaper shuffling and passing-the- bucksyndrome that so often lowers themorale throughout the entire publicservice.

This wicked and vindictive ULPgovernment, which once made a call fora state of “together now”, carries out themost wicked acts of nepotism andspitefulness ever experienced within thePublic Service. Quite a large number ofeligible public servants can’t wait totake early retirement. Their mainreason being that they can still enjoy agood state of mind and longer life.Many of them feel that if they remainon the job for the five years (50-55) thatthey are likely to lose their sanity orworse, die of work-related stress.

The Canada VISA imposition and the NDP

Public Servants: ‘Baawling Fu Murdooo’ under the ULP Administration!

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 11.

ViewsV“Again, if two lietogether, then they haveheat: but how can onebe warm alone? And ifone prevail against him,two shall withstand him;and a threefold cord isnot quickly broken.”Ecclesiastes 4:11-12

THE ANCIENT GREEKS had masteredthe art of supporting each other inbattle. The early Roman soldiers alsoengaged in similar techniques whenthey went into battle. They werealways considered a formidable forceand foe when they banded their shieldstogether to create a “mobile shell ofshields” as they penetrated thedefences of their enemies. Onoccasions they would use that same“banding of the shields together” tocreate an impregnable wall of metal astheir enemies sought to penetrate theirlegions on the battlefield. Persons whoview the movies Troy or Gladiator wouldsee this military strategy at work. Theusefulness of this military manoeuvre isalso evident in the movie Three Hundredwhich portrayed the historic event of300 Spartans holding 10,000 Persiansat bay. We can learn useful lessonsfrom this ancient military approach; ifwe try to go it alone, we are likely to be“picked off”; but when we bandtogether, we protect and preserve selfand others. An analogy that alsoreflects this truth is when we considerplacing pressure on a single piece ofstick or a cord and being able to breakit relatively easily; but place a fewsticks or cords together, and the taskbecomes much more difficult – thethreefold cord is not easily broken.

Many groups and organisations areseeing the benefit of encouragingteamwork; pooling strengths andresources for a common good. This iscommendable and should beencouraged. We could expand thisconcept to also expound the benefitsof trade unions, credit unions,friendly societies, the “sue-sue hand”,and so on; relatively small unitscontributing to the greater whole.We can take this concept into ourhomes, schools, church assemblies,and service organisations, knowingthat when we pool our assets andband together, we can accomplish somuch more than if we tried to do itall by ourselves.

The Rocky Balboa films, starringSylvester Stallone, were quitepopular just around a decade ago.Many viewers may not have knownthat Stallone, in addition to being themain character in the films, alsowrote and produced the Rocky series.In the final episode (Rocky VI),Balboa is portrayed as a retiredunderdog boxer and the owner andoperator of a local Italian restaurantin Philadelphia, USA. In this film,Rocky comes up against Mason “TheLine’ Dixon, the current WorldHeavyweight Champion in the film.Initially, it appears as though Rockywas “completely out of his league”and that his opponent would utterlydestroy him. However, Rocky,bruised and seriously battered, won.The story shows how a disciplinedand committed team approach couldenable individuals to overcome

seemingly insurmountable odds;working together can accomplish somuch more than trying to do it alone.

It is interesting to note thatSylvester Stallone subsequentlyrevealed that his faith in Jesus Christactually encouraged him to write thescript for the Rocky series. Stalloneexplained that for a long time, his lifehad been guided by a focus on beingself-reliant. He described this as avery poor way of living. Stallonelater concluded that we all need tohave other persons play supportingroles in our lives, regardless of howindependent we may wish to appear.He put it this way, “You need to havethe expertise and the guidance ofsomeone else.” This outstandingactor and film producer encouragesus to seek out good persons toaccompany us along life’s journey.He concluded that we all need peoplein our life ... and we all need God.We were designed to be social beings;not loners. We need to encourage andbe encouraged by others. We need tounderstand and appreciate the valueof the threefold cord.

There will be times when life’ssituations may appear to suck thewinds from my sails, and we mayeven appear to be drifting aimlessly,tossed about and battered by life’sstrong waves. At times like those, weneed someone to support andencourage us on the course back tosuccessful living. And there will betimes when we will be relatively safeand secure, but the currents willbatter and toss others. Those aretimes when you and I will beexpected to come to their rescue. Wecan support each other along life’soceans, and in doing so, we discovernew lands of success throughcooperation and displaying genuinecare and concern; wrapping our cordsof love around each other.

There are so many instances wherewe can be considered unstoppablewhen we embrace this power of “thethreefold cord”; when we rely on eachother and demonstrate a reliance onGod. King Solomon, the wisest manwho ever lived, advocated the factthat individualism and/or self-reliance can be dangerous anddestructive. As a matter of fact, herecommends the team approach whenhe noted that two acting together arebetter than one self-reliant individual(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). We can learnfrom his wisdom. We can bandtogether and make beautiful thingshappen in our lives, our homes, ourchurch assemblies and ourcommunities. Together, each of uscan achieve more. Together, we canstrengthen the beautiful fabric of oursociety and know that the threefoldcord is not easily broken.

Send comments, criticisms &suggestions to

julesferdinand@gmail.com

FOR THE FIRST TIME in the 45-year history of the EasternCaribbean Supreme Court, awoman, Janice Gregoire, sits atthe helm as the Chief Justice.Justice Gregoire presided overthe opening of the new lawterm on Tuesday, in Kingstown.

The elevation of JusticeGregoire caps a stellar career in whichshe performed outstanding work invarious areas of the legal profession:as a private attorney, registrar, highcourt judge and justice of the court ofappeal.

As her peers on the bench as wellas attorneys who worked with her orpractise before her all attested,Justice Gregoire is a model ofmodesty, strength, strong will,intellect and erudition. To read herdecisions is to be enlightened on thefiner points of law. She is the livingembodiment of a key tenet of thejustice system that ‘justice must notonly be done, justice must appear tohave been done’.

As Chief Justice, Justice Gregoireis uniquely positioned to ensure thatthe architecture for a strong andauthentic Caribbean jurisprudence isreinforced and further developed. Theselection of Justice Gregoire continuesa long tradition of outstandingregional jurists climbing to the helmof our judiciary. We are confident thatJustice Gregoire will continue toperform outstandingly as she leadsour court at the task of making goodlaw.

But if Justice Gregoire is a model ofwhat our judiciary exemplifies, lawyerand opposition senatorVynnette Fredericks continues to lether politics get the better of her, asshe makes poor decisions andcontemptuous statements regardingour court.

It will be long before any keenobserver forgets Frederick’s infantileactions of posting on Facebook ULPcandidate Luke Browne in the docksat the Magistrate’s Court. Thecriminal action was dismissed.Frederick compounded her recklessaction by taking pictures of theproceedings of parliament.

Nothing surprised us whenFrederick declared that she expectedthe Eastern Caribbean Court ofAppeal, at a sitting here last Monday,to throw out her application forpermission to appeal to our highestcourt, the London based PrivyCouncil. Frederick is quoted in themid week edition of Searchlight assaying ‘I expected to be denied. Wewill now make our application directlyto the Privy Council.’

Plain Talk was in court when thenew Chief Justice, Janice Gregoire,read the decision of the court. Inmaking that decision to deny theapplications of Frederick, LintonLewis and Nigel Stephenson, the chiefjudge pointed to legal precedent andconcluded that the applications didnot meet the legal threshold necessaryto allow our court to send the matterfor review to London.

The rabblerousing Frederick gavethe distinct impression that she knewthe court was going to rule againstthe weight of the law. To claim thatyou expect a court to rule against youis to either admit that yourapplication was meritless or that thecourt, before which the applications

were heard, is bias or easily swayedby forces opposed to the opposition.

The truth is that this charge byFrederick and others in the oppositionNDP is nothing new; they ‘cherry pick’decisions made by our justices all thetime. If and when the court rules inthe opposition’s favour, thosedecisions are held up as gospel. Butwoe to the court if, as it usually does,it rules against this unruly band!There is never the reasoned, ifstrident, argument that the court mayhave wrongly applied the law. Thehue and cry is always that the court isbias and prone to politicalinterference.

The plain truth is that our court ishard working, fiercely independent aswell as judicially andjurisprudentially sound. By sheerwork load and the frequency withwhich our court is overturned, studieshave found that our Court of Appealsis reversed less often by the PrivyCouncil than cases taken by theEnglish Supreme Court from its ownappeal court.

But these facts mean nothing to amerry band intent on stoking heatrather than cast an illuminating orknowledge awakening light. This isthe light in which contemptuous andslanderous utterances of lawyer andopposition activist Bayliss Frederickmust be viewed.

Frederick, appearing last Thursdayon the NICE Radio programme ‘NDPNight Time,’ which is hosted by hisdaughter Vynnette, said thatGonsalves was in a mad rush toreplace the British Privy Council withthe Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)because Gonsalves could easily controlAdrian Saunders, the sole Vincentianjurist on the court.

Apart from the insulting inferencethat Justice Saunders, known for hisfierce independence, could be bought,Frederick seems not to have anunderstanding of how the CCJ works.Assume for a moment that JusticeSaunders is in Gonsalves’ pocket, heSaunders, will have to convince atleast two other justices from a 4-judgepanel to vote with him.

But when her father uttered hisslander of Justice Saunders, VynnetteFrederick, Dr Linton Lewis, DrGodwin Friday, as officers of thecourt, should have promptly move todisavow the nonsense claim of thesenior Frederick. Even the oppositionleader should have disavowed them.No such statement was heard.Vynnette Frederick took the ‘safe’ butopportunistic road of disassociatingthe NDP and herself from her father’smess.

The statements of VynnetteFrederick and her father are furtherproof that politics has gone too far.When lawyers, especially Drs Lewisand Friday, remain quiet in the faceof this tirade, we lose a good chance touplift our nation.

Send comments, criticisms &suggestions to wefirst@aol.com

WomenÊs rule,Vynnette and Bayliss

The threefold cord

SVG Green Party strongly calls on PM Gonsalves tourgently attend to paying the Public Services Union its3% increase in wages, due since January 2011. The callis based on three factors: (1) erosion by inflation; (2)the opportunity cost; (3) PM Gonsalves received amassive increase in salary in 2011 amounting to$6686 (Source SVG Budget Estimates for 2011).

The table illustrates the serious loss caused byerosion. A public servant has lost $86.40 onan inflation rate of 4% over the two year period.

Salary

The opportunity cost is quite significant to allconcerned. A public servant could have used the$2160 to improve the quality of life for his/herfamily, but was not able to do so. Yet Gonsalves,SVG’s super Minister of Finance, was able to givehimself a massive increase of $6686 and so improvethe quality of life for his family. Is Gonsalves’action an abuse of power in public office? IsGonsalves managing SVG as if it were his privateestate?

Research by Mr Ivan O’Neal, the Leader of SVGGreen Party, has revealed that PM Gonsalvesreceived a massive salary increased from $133,767in 2010 to $140,453 in 2011, a net increase of $6686.Gonsalves also received a multitude of travelallowances. Since the 2003 Freedom of InformationACT has not yet been gazetted, SVG Green Partycannot get access to Gonsalves’ travel allowances for2011.

The ULP regime gets on average $8 million permonth from the petro—Caribe oil agreement. Thismoney has a 20-year grace period before beingrepaid. The $5 million owed to the public service is adrop in the ocean for the ULP regime if paid out ofPetro Caribe. SVG Green Party, therefore, makes avery strong call on the ULP regime to urgentlyattend to the PSU and its 3% wage increase.

It must be seen as a slap in the face of the SVGPSU, that Gonsalves gave permission for a loan of$5 million from ECCB, out of SVG’s quota, to theGovernment of Grenada to pay a 2% salary increaseto its Public Servants.

Gonsalves is a brilliant Minister of Finance. In2007, Gonsalves killed the National CommercialBank (NCB) with an outrageous overdraft of $170million. In 2007, Gonsalves spent $63 million dollarsof tax payers’ money without the prior approval of

the SVG House of Assembly. In 2008, Gonsalvesbecame the first SVG Minister of Finance in ourhistory to fail the audit of public accounts.

Gonsalves maintains the blanket tax and customsduty exemptions given to Mustique, Canouan andTaiwan, which equate to a multimillion dollar lossfor the SVG treasury annually. This short-sighted tax exemption regime is a gross injustice tothe poor and to the disadvantaged. The recipients ofblanket tax and customs exemptions are using aCharity Trust to socially engineer their justificationfor the multi-million dollar tax exemptions. It is agross insult.

Blanket tax and customs duty exemptions to thesuper rich, in these times of economic hardship ispolitical suicide for Gonsalves. History will showthis is a fact.

Under a Green Government, there will be anegalitarian tax regime to promote equilibrium in thebenefits from SVG’s 150 sq miles of land space andover 10,000 sq miles of sea space. Going Green willprovide justice for the rich, justice for the poor andjustice for the disadvantaged in SVG.

Green is prosperity.

SVG Green Partywww.svggreenparty.org

12. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Opinion VSalary increases: Yes forPM, no for Public Servants

Salary

$36,000

3% increase

$2,160

2 years’ inflation at 4%

$86.40

THE NEW LAW term openedhere a few days ago with theaccustomed attempt at pompand ceremony. There did notseem, however, to be anysingle aspect of theproceedings to which one canascribe the quality ofgenerating of the retrieval oftrust in the institution, someof whose officers haveprompted in the wider societythe perception of beinguntrustworthy. The paradingof familiar faces of those atwhom accusations of not quitehonourable nature have beenassociated, could hardly havebeen expected to enhance thedesirable faith and confidencein the Court.

The opening remarks of theAg. Chief Justice Lady Pereirareminded us that the Court isdetermined by the Heads ofGovernment of the memberterritories, and there havebeen too many expressions oflack of faith in the ultimateindependence of a court whosemembers may in fact harbor asense of indebtedness to thepolitical players for theirappointments. There havebeen too many examplesexperienced by us here in St.

Vincent for us not to be waryof those risks of having thedelivery of justice beingthwarted by vindictive men.

I would like to use thisopportunity to ask the Courtto have a look at theconditions at our Registry, tosee whether what prevailsthere is in harmony with thecourt’s attendant services. Foryears now, letters from Chowhave been appearing in thelocal newspapers, drawing theattention of the authorities tothe need for urgent remedialaction. Up to now, there hasnot been any documentedsupport for Chow by anymember of the ‘lawcommunity’. The people of St.Vincent and the Grenadineswould be grateful if the Courtcould bring its influence tobear on this most importantinstitutional player in theefficient delivery of justice tothe people of the region.

Attorney General of SVG,Judith Jones-Morgan, maywell have expressed someassuring niceties to the Court,which I was not impressedwith, because I wasremembering that my attorneyat law, Mr. Errol Layne, an

officer of the Court ofmany years standing,wrote to the AttorneyGeneral Mrs. Morgan,on my behalf, on 1stJune 2010; but up totoday he has had noreply from thehonourable lady.

A few weeks ago, Ilearned that otherpeople have beenexperiencing the samediscourtesy from her.

Little wonder thenthat I am inclined tojoin with many othercitizens and dismissthe occasion of theopening of the LawCourt as merely anexposition of shallowpomp and empty ceremony.

The real test of sincerity willcome in the coming months. Leroy A. Providence

The historic Court House building sits as a central mark in capitalKingstown.

May it please the Court

DiasporaV THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 13.

by NELSON A. KING naking@verizon.net; neloking@msn.comUS CORRESPONDENT

MOST VINCENTIANS in the United States have expressed regret over the imposition of visa requirement for nationals entering Canada. Last week, Canada’s Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced that nationals from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia now need a visa to enter the country. The new requirement also covers citizens from Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland.

Migration important “The migration situation between Canada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines is very unfortunate,” Max-well Haywood, chairman of the Brooklyn-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Diaspora Committee of New York, told THE VINCEN-TIAN, in reacting to the news. “Migration has been an important aspect of our development process in St.

Vincent and the Grena-dines,” added the New Grounds native and United Nations’ Development Officer. “Financial remit-tances have helped in a huge way our economic and social situation. “Attempts by any country that hosts Vincentian migrants, to place restric-tions on Vincentian migrants, would negatively impact us,” continued Haywood, a St. Martin’s Secondary School alumnus. “There’s bound to be serious consequences for SVG (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) as a result of the revocation of the visa-exempt status by Canada. “On the other hand, Canada wants to decrease as much as possible irregular migration; and it wants to ensure that immigration is done on the basis of honesty in terms of the reason immigrants give for wanting to enter Canada,” Haywood said. “Hence, there is a need to come to a solution, where the interests of both countries are respected,” he added.

Unfortunate Verna Arthur, chairper-

son of the biannual massive symposium hosted by Club St. Vincent, a Brooklyn-based group, said it’s “very unfortunate that these restrictions are being put in place. “However, people have been warned by so many people on so many occa-sions,” said Club St. Vincent’s public relations officer, who hails from Paul’s Avenue, Kingstown. “Obviously, the warnings fell on deaf ears,” she added. “The chickens come home to roost.”

A sad thing

James Cordice, public relations officer of the Philadelphia-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Association of Pennsylvania, said while the news is “a sad thing,” the Canadian govern-ment “has to protect its borders.” “Though it’s sad, we also have to be sensitive to the provisions of the Canadian government,” he said. “We, as Vincentians, have to address our domestic policies,” the Clare Valley native added. “Vincentians and the Vincentian govern-ment have to take a stand against slandering, such as [charges of] domestic violence.

“Once a country gets labeled, it’d be labeled in other countries as well, such as England,” Cordice contin-ued.

Brought it on ourselves O’Brien Simmons, who coordinates the annual trek to 1,000 Is. in Canada for the Brooklyn-based Council of St. Vincent and the Grena-dines’ Organizations, U.S.A. Inc. (COSAGO), said the new immigration policy would be “a big problem” for nationals at home. He, however, hastened to add: “We brought that on ourselves. What can we do?” Simmons, who is also COSAGO’s treasurer and presi-dent of the Brooklyn-based Bequia United Progressive Organiza-tion (BUPO), said he recalled Louis Straker, ex-Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, urging nationals to desist from filing for refugee status in Canada and making false claims of ram-pant spousal and domestic abuse in the country. “That’s our own doing,” said Simmons

about the visa requirement. “There’s nothing we can do, neither can the government.”

Unreliable travel document

Citizenship and Immigra-tion Canada, Canada’s immigration agency, said on Sept. 11 that the changes will allow it and its partners “to ensure that those seeking to visit Canada intend to return to their country of origin, rather than overstay-ing or committing other immigration violations. “A key reason why the government has imposed visa requirements on St. Lucia and St. Vincent is unreliable travel docu-ments,” it said. “In particular, criminals from these countries can legally change their names and acquire new passports,” it added, stating that, in some instances, “people who were removed from Canada as security risks later returned using different passports.” Kenney said the changes were necessary because “all the countries concerned have an immigration violation rate of over 30 percent, well above the level we deem acceptable for countries benefiting from a visa exemption.”

Vincies in US say Canada visa policy ÂunfortunateÊ

Vincentians will to have to get a visa much like this one to be allowed entry into Canada.

Verna Arthur

James Cordice

O’Brien Simmons

Maxwell Haywood

Workplace related documents complete

14. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

NewsV

MINISTER OF LABOUR, Hon.Maxwell Charles has takenpossession, on behalf of thegovernment and people of St.Vincent and the Grenadines,of two documents related tohealth matters and theworkplace.

In a brief handing overceremony at the NISTraining Room on Monday,September 17, the ministeraccepted copies of thecompleted drafts of theSVG National TripartiteWorkplace Policy Documenton HIV and AIDS and theSVG National TripartiteWorkplace Policy on Non —communicable Diseases(NCD’s).

They were handed overby Rene Baptiste,Consultant for theInternational LabourCongress on Labour Policies.

In accepting thedocuments, Charles saidthat he was pleased to be apart of the exercise, andcongratulated all partiesinvolved in crafting theimportant documents.

In addition to havinginfluence on the workplace,Charles also expressed theview that the documentswould lend direction in thiscountry’s effort to reduce thespread of HIV/AIDS, combatthe stigma associated withthe disease and assist withestablishing effectivecounseling, treatment andcare.

Charles expects that thedocuments will becontinually reviewed so asto remain relevant.

In his addressing at theceremony, LabourCommissioner Fitz Jones

underscored the significanceof the documents to thework environment.

He noted that in theworkplace “we are exposedto persons who are affectedby Non- CommunicableDiseases and HIV\AIDS,”and advised that “Asworkers and employees wehave to be prepared to dealwith these realities.”

Jones said HIV/AIDsmust be looked at in thesame manner as diabetes orany other non-communicable disease, sincethey are all seriousillnesses.

“We do notdiscriminateagainst those withNCDs, so weshould notdiscriminate

against those withHIV\AIDS,” Jones implored.

Consultant for the ILO onthe Labour Policies, ReneBaptiste, andRepresentative of the St.Vincent and the GrenadinesEmployers Federation,Phyllis John Primus, alsogave brief remarks at themorning ceremony.

by WILLIAM ‘KOJAH’ ANTHONY

CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICERLouann Gilchrist is echoing astatement that has been long speltout. That is: the home is the first placethat children get their education.

In that light, Gilchrist isencouraging parents not only tomaintain strict supervision of theirchildren, but also to ensure that theydevelop some discipline towards theirschool work.

The Chief Education Officer wasspeaking last Monday at a pressconference staged at the Ministry ofTransport and Works ConferenceRoom.

Gilchrist lamented the poorperformance in Mathematics andEnglish obtained by many Vincentianstudents.

She attributed the low grades inEnglish to the speaking and writinghabits by some students.

She pointed out that some studentswere speaking in “restricted codes.”This she asserted was preventingthem from “thinking logically.”

That absence in creative thinkingshe analysed resulted from studentshaving become used to “texting.”

The Ministry of Education has beentaking measures to resolve thatsituation, and Gilchrist pointed toimproved teacher knowledge.

But the CEO pointed to “moreparental involvement in developinglanguage art skills.”

Gilchrist stressed the importance ofparents and guardians getting theirchildren to “read for pleasure.”

She stressed the importance ofearly stimulation, and encouragedparents to “engage the children inreading.”

She noted that reading “helps

children to reason.” She repeated her assessment that

the practice of Texting “will sustainthe poor standard.”

Gilchrist also pointed to the use ofdialect. For the CEO, dialect is“helpful,” but she warned parents andstudents “to make yourself familiarwith standard English.”

As regards performances in Maths,Gilchrist will like to see parents andteachers as well make use of “real lifeexperiences.”

She warned parents not to chasechildren out of the kitchen when theyare preparing meals, but to allowthem to have practical examples ofthings used in and around thehousehold.

“Home is the first locus ofeducation,” Gilchrist indicated.

As far as Gilchrist is concerned,English teaching is not for Englishteachers only. She pointed to Englishas part of the entire social exercise.

Gilchrist lamented the situationwhereby some children were beingmolested at their homes. She alsopointed to the fact that children at thecentre of custody battles betweenparents tended to be at adisadvantage as far as obtaining theireducation was concerned.

Gilchrist noted that a childmolested cannot learn tables at school.

She used the occasion to advisemothers in particular to stay at homewith their children rather than goingto a dance hall.

For Gilchrist “too many children areunsupervised.”

She asserted that parents must notsimply fulfill their biological role, butalso fill in with ensuring that theirsocial, academic, and psychologicalresponsibilities are complete.

Too many childrenare unsupervised

Maxwell Charles,Minister of Labour,assured that thedocuments will becontinually reviewed soas to remain up to date.

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 15.

ArtsVKrazy Komedy blowsMustique awayby GLORIAH…

THE KRAZY KOMEDYKREW, a drama groupwhich specializes inentertainment with a slanton humour, were theguests of the MustiqueProfessionalsToastmasters Club at ashow, held in Mustique onFriday 14th September.

The show, dubbed‘Happy Comedy Zone’,was held at the MustiqueCommunity Centre. Theprogramme consisted of anumber of items orspeeches and poetry fromthe MustiqueProfessionalsToastmasters Club,interspersed with theKrazy Komedy Krew’srepertoire.

President of the club,Toastmaster RogerCharles, opened thefunction. With prayersand the welcoming ofguests out of the way,Master of Ceremonies,Area Governor Mr. RyanHazell, took over,signaling the start of anevening of hilarity.

The Krazy KomedyKrew proved their worth.They dished out humourin song, commentary,and skits. Theversatility of the actorsnever ceased to amazethe audience. The skits,in particular, served totickle many a funnybone, and had personsjumping into the air and

others falling under theweight of their ownlaughter.

Many among theaudience reported thatthey will never forget‘The Interview Segment.’

“I just can’t rememberwhat the answer to thequestion was — it was socrazy — but I know thewhole idea of theinterview is what I willalways remember,” oneoverwhelmed patron

remarked loudly.As if all that was not

enough, Founder andArtistic Director of theKrazy Komedy Krew andinternational stand-upcomedian, GloriaWilliams took to thestage to deliver adiscourse which shecalled, ‘It’s a Y2K World’.

What began as acommentary evolved intoa hilarious rapport withthe audience, some of

whom jumped withexplosions of laughterwhen a member of theaudience was pickedupon.

This show was adefinite success, andmuch kudos go out to theMustique Professionalsfor conceptualizing,organizing and executingsuch a show.

The patrons whoattended clamoured for arepeat, and this is

currently beinglooked into, withNovember thisyear being highlyfavoured.

by GLORIAH…

The 10th AnnualNational Dance Festival,hosted by theDepartment of Culture inthe Ministry of Tourism,Sport and Culture withexclusive sponsorshipfrom the KingstownCooperative CreditUnion Ltd. (KCCU),began with a bang onSaturday, 15thSeptember, at the PeaceMemorial Hall.

Performances wereseen in both the‘Traditional’ and ‘HipHop’ dance categories,with participants comingfrom schools andcommunity groups.

Traditional Maypoledance

A traditional dance isone which, over time, hasbeen developed bymembers of a communityand has some bearing onaspects of the lifestyle ofthe people in the past.With these types ofdances, there is room forsubtle and eventual overtadditions.

The two traditionaldances performed at thefestival were theMaypole and theQuadrille. Entries in theMaypole came from theBrighton Methodist, theKingstown Preparatory,

the C.W. PrescodPrimary Schools, andfrom the RenaissanceDancers.

The C. W. PrescodPrimary received a GoldAward for an excellent,well-synchronized dance.The other groups allreceived Silver Awards.

Traditional Quadrilledance

The Quadrille, whichis purported to bederived from the slaves’mimicking of theirmasters’ Europeanballroom dance style,saw entries from fourgroups: the St. Mary’s R.C. School, the Junior

Dance Club, the St.Joseph’s ConventKingstown, and theRenaissance Dancers.

The St. Joseph’sConvent Kingstown tookbrave steps to moreclearly define the femalein the dance and toremove the verbalannouncement of the‘figures’ in the dance,choosing rather to let allfigures run smoothlythrough the performance,without interruption ofvoice. For this, theyreceived a Gold Award.

The Junior DanceClub also received a GoldAward, with the St.Mary’s R. C. School andthe Renaissance Dancersreceiving Silver Awards.

Hip Hop dance

Hip Hop is a dancethat has evolved out ofthe ‘breakdance’ culture.Primarily a street dance,it has been open toinnovations over theyears and now includesinfluences from otherdance styles. It isuniquely energetic andallows the dancer toinject his ownpersonality into thedance.

The audience wastreated to four groupperformances and two

solo performances in thiscategory. The groupswere the: Junior DanceClub, St. Joseph’sConvent Kingstown,Kaotic Dancers, and theTouchdown Dancers.The solos came fromJeanine Knights andRondine Browne of theSt. Joseph’s ConventKingstown.

Very creditablechoreographic routineswere observed throughdances which completelythrilled the audience.Gold Awards werehanded out to the JuniorDance Club, KaoticDancers, TouchdownDancers, and RondineBrowne of the SJCK. ASilver Award went to theSJCK group; whileJeanine Knights receiveda Bronze Award.

More to come

The festival willcontinue at the samevenue with Creative Folkand Social Dances onSaturday, 22ndSeptember, and ModernDances on Saturday,29th September. TheFinals will be held onOctober 6th, when allGold Medal awardeeswill perform and vie forspecific titles.

THE MUSICPROGRAMME at the C.W. Prescod PrimarySchool got a boost earlierthis week, when aquantity of recorders waspresented to theinstitution.

The presentation wasmade by ChristopherCumberbatch, on behalfof Cordell and CynthiaBeache of the UnitedStates of America andtheir ‘Travelling LoveSuitcase Programme’.

The Programme isgeared towards helpingneedy individuals andinstitutions here in StVincent and theGrenadines.

Kesslon Wilson, theschool’s music teacher,said he was grateful forthe donation of therecorders as they would

help “to prop up theefforts of teaching therudiments of subjectareas to the students.”

Wilson said that thereare several students whoare very adept at playingthe recorder; however,they cannot afford topurchase one.

Sharing Wilson’ssentiments was newprincipal of the school,Yvette Antoine.

Apart from therecorder, students at theinstitution are exposed tothe playing of the steelpan, and the bom drumas part of its musicprogramme.

The school recentlylaunched an all-malechoir, to complement theschool’s mixed choir, andhas already established acreative dance troupe,

which is involved inkeeping alive traditionaldance, like the maypole.

The C. W. PrescodPrimary School won the

Schools’ PanoramaCompetition during the2012 national carnivalcelebrations.

Recorders for C. W. Prescod School

Yvette Antoine (right) accepts donation ofrecorders and other music teaching material fromChristopher Cumberbatch (left) in the company ofKesslon Wilson.

KCCU Dance Festival offto a good start

Right: GloriaWilliams,comedienneextraordinaireand founderand artisticdirector of theKrazy KomedyKrew.

The Junior Dance Club into the Quadrille dance.

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 17.16. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

18. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

PeopleV

by GLORIAH…

WHEN THE 2012-2013 academic yearbegan on September 3rd, 2012, oneteacher, who has been very passionateabout her profession, did not enter theaccustomed doors of her belovedinstitution.

That teacher was Mrs. Theresa Cyrus,a long standing teacher and virtual iconof the St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School.After a stint of some thirty-five years ofillustrious service, Mrs. Cyrus retired asa teacher at that school on July 6th,2012.

In an exclusive conversation withTHE VINCENTIAN, Mrs. Cyrus, motherof three children, Abuza Nimeh,Kerishia, and Marissa, and grandmotherof four, reminisced about activities at theschool, almost reliving and reenactingthe memories as she recounted her story.

A teacher worthy of note

Mrs. Cyrus entered the teachingprofession “straight out of secondaryschool — the St. Joseph’s ConventKingstown - in 1977,” when she wassent to “teach’ at the St. Mary’s Roman

CatholicSchool(SMRC),having beenemployeddirectly bythe Sisters ofSt. Joseph ofCluny,managers ofthe school.

In 1980,she becameofficiallyemployed bythegovernmentof St. Vincentand theGrenadines,but remained at the SMRC, where shespent most of her teaching life as anInfant Teacher. She also taught at theJunior Three level for a while.

Persons from all walks of life, whowould have attended the school, wouldsimply hear the name of Mrs. Cyrus andimmediately associate it with anendearing quality and an abundantquantity of patience and love. Thiswould be immediately coupled withmemories of a serious ability to dispenseknowledge in a way that made it easy forall to understand, and a firmness whichinsisted on good discipline andexemplary behavior.

According to Mrs. Cyrus, “Teaching inthose days was less stressful. Childrenwere always willing to learn becausethere were fewer distractions. Parentswere very co-operative and supportive ofteachers and their children.”

Her other agenda

In her very quiet yet impacting way,Mrs. Cyrus’ work as a teacher alsoincluded extracurricular activities.Always an avid fan of the arts, sheentrenched her talents in culturalperformances of the school, like dramaand singing, especially folk singing, andrendering items for the local musicfestivals.

To these, she added sports like netballand athletics, and she always showed akeen interest in the football teams of theday. From1994, she travelled for yearswith Mr. Ian Sardine to Barbados toaccompany boys who played in theBarbados Football Cup.

If there ever was a teacher on thestaff of the SMRC who always believedthat students were well deserving of anouting, it was Mrs. Cyrus. She wasalways ready to organize and executefield trips that acted as exercises ingaining knowledge and offering sheerenjoyment for her charges.

She fondly remembers accompanyingCourtney Williams to compete in theJunior Calypso Competition during theCarnival celebrations at Victoria Park.Courtney won that year, and Mrs. Cyrusrecalls how she had to encourage himthroughout the competition, and howeuphoric his win was.

She’ll never forget

With a faraway look that reflectedpleasure, Mrs. Cyrus spoke of occasionswhich will always remain with her. Sheconfessed that much of her inspirationfor teaching came from the sessions inwhich Sr. Magdalene taught her how tomake lesson plans and how to teach,every afternoon of her first two years.

She remembers the yearly Christmasstaff luncheons, for the relaxation theybrought, “as the staff was ‘free to chit-chat’ in an atmosphere of festivity; andalso for the good food served up.”

A devout Catholic, Mrs. Cyrus willnever forget the Lenten seasonwhen “our children made notablesacrifices for others. As aCatholic school, we encouragedour students to look out for theless fortunate in the community,and this was more evidentduring the period of Lent.”

She also keeps with her thediscipline of SMRC and the faithin God taught there. This, shesaid, was epitomized by theschool Motto: ‘With God WeCan’.

“We began every morningwith prayer and ended everyafternoon with prayer. Manypast students still remember theprayers of SMRC,” she said withconviction.

And now:

“If I had to live my life overagain and go back, I will still be

a teacher,” Mrs. Cyrus announcedemphatically. “You give to the childrenand you receive from them. I learnedfrom them as much knowledge as Iimparted to them. We always got fromthe children what they knew, and builton it.”

These days, she takes the opportunityto enjoy the outdoors more, assisting herhusband, Wayne, in the ‘land’. Togetherthey produce a variety of vegetables andfruits for sale to the general public.

But, Mrs. Cyrus has not forgotten ‘herschool’. “Because it is my school, I stillgo back there and give volunteer servicein the teaching of Religious Educationtwo times per week,” she told THEVINCENTIAN.

Can’t keep a good soul down!!

Theresa Cyrus: A goodand faithful servant

Both Theresa Cyrus and Sis. IvyPacheco share a joint ‘pre-retirement’moment at a special function hostedby the management and staff of theschool.

Theresa Cyrus ensured that her cares were exposed toactivities outside of the classroom.

She may be retired, but Theresa Cyrusconnotes an air of contentment, knowingthat she has made an impacting contributionto education in this country.

There was always time to offer thatlittle extra care and attention tothose who came under her care.

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 19.

Opinion V

September 17, 2012

Dear Editor,

I AM DISMAYED that the leadership of the PublicService Union (PSU) unreasonably criticised mydecision to permit Grenada to use part of the allocationfor St. Vincent and the Grenadines available for it at theEastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). They ill-advisedly referred to it as a loan by St. Vincent and theGrenadines to Grenada in the sum of $5 million. Theythen compounded this profound misunderstanding ofmy decision by enveloping it in opportunisticdistortions or falsehoods namely: That Grenada pays itscivil servants better than St. Vincent and theGrenadines does; that I lent Grenada money to pay civilservants; and that this is the money which I should beusing to pay Vincentian public servants their dueincrease.

Let me, for public information, explain theprocess by which the Government of St Vincent andthe Grenadines permitted the Government ofGrenada to use a part of its allocation in the recentpast.

At the beginning of each fiscal year the ECCBallocates, on the basis of a formula, access tofinancial resources for each member country withvery clear limitations and conditions as set out inthe ECCB Agreement. When countries reach thatlimit they can only have access if another country orcountries make(s) available a part to the country inneed. The country which receives the allocation hasto replenish it as soon as possible but definitely bythe end of the fiscal year before new allocations aremade.

This facility has been in operation since theestablishment of the ECCB in 1983, and has beenused by countries with a pronounced short termvolatility in revenues, which affects their cash flowand liquidity. This is part of the normal operationsof a central bank in a currency union; that is,mutual assistance to maintain monetary and fiscalstability.

The Government of St. Vincent and theGrenadines never “lent” Grenada any money. Inever sent any money to Grenada from theConsolidated Fund (the Treasury) or from anyentity owned by the Government of St. Vincent andthe Grenadines. Last year, September 2011, theMinister of Finance of the Government of Grenadarequested permission from me the use of $5 millionof St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ allocation at theECCB. I gave permission for this to be done on theundertaking that the monies be replenished in fivemonths’ time; the replenishment was done byGrenada. In July 2012, a similar request was madeof me by Grenada in the sum of $4.5 million to bereplenished before the end of October 2012. I againacceded to Grenada’s request.

The only real risk to St. Vincent and theGrenadines attendant upon my decision to assistGrenada as aforesaid is that if the Government ofSt. Vincent and the Grenadines were to have urgentneed of those funds, prior to Grenada’sreplenishment, they would not be available for theuse of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The ideathat Grenada would fail and/or refuse to replenish isunthinkable for members of the Eastern CaribbeanCurrency Union (ECCU). In any event, at the endof each year, when accounts are rendered, thereplenishment will occur as a matter of course.

Grenada is not the first or only member-state ofthe ECCU to which St. Vincent and the Grenadineshas extended a helping hand in their time of

extreme fiscal distress. I had never, hitherto, madesuch help publicly known since I consider it to be asolemn unspoken obligation of solidarity with othermember-states of the ECCU. That is part of what acurrency union is about! It embarrasses St. Vincentand the Grenadines that its Prime Minister isvirtually coerced by the leadership of the PSU, whoought to know better, to proclaim publicly itsfulfillment of such an unspoken solidaritycommitment. By so doing, the leadership of thePSU has cheapened our country and sullied itsChristian grace in being “our brothers’ keeper”. Ifeel sure that the overwhelming majority of publicservants are at one with me on this matter; theyought to make it known to their PSU leadership.Remember this: Today for you; tomorrow for me.That is the principle of mutuality established in theCurrency Union.

Incidentally, I should point out that the DirectorGeneral of Finance and Planning in the Governmentof St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mr. MauriceEdwards, has advised me that the salaries of publicservants in Grenada are lower, not higher asasserted by the PSU leadership, than thecomparable salaries for public servants in St.Vincent and the Grenadines. But even if this werenot so, my decision in the circumstances would havebeen no different. Mean-spiritedness is not in themake-up of the government and people of St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

More broadly, my government seeks always touphold the precept and practice of a committed andmature regionalism as a vital matter of publicpolicy. Its record is clear and unequivocal in thisregard. Moreover, this is not the first publicly-known case of specific assistance by St. Vincent andthe Grenadines to our Caribbean brothers andsisters. Vincentians would no doubt recall the $3million, low-interest loan which St. Vincent and theGrenadines made to Dominica in 2002 when thatcountry was about to enter the temporary clutchesof the International Monetary Fund (IMF). So, too,the $10 million loan to Belize by the NationalInsurance Services of St. Vincent and theGrenadines shortly after that country was struck bya hurricane, in particular the area known asDangriga, the home of the descendants of ourancestral Garifuna forebears. These cases werepublicised at the time because they involved actualloans of monies from St. Vincent and theGrenadines.

Grenada, like all Caribbean countries, has a veryspecial place in the hearts, minds and souls ofVincentians. We have been selfless to Grenada; andGrenadians have been selfless to us. For example,at the time of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, when PatrickManning, then Prime Minister of Trinidad andTobago announced that he was making an initialgrant of $10 million in the aggregate, available toGrenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines inequal sums, I advised him to give it all to Grenadasince our sister-island was “completely devastated”while St. Vincent and the Grenadines was merely“badly damaged”. Manning, in acknowledging St.Vincent and the Grenadines’ selflessness, gave thewhole of the $10 million to Grenada, but stillprovided $5 million for St. Vincent and theGrenadines. That is solidarity!

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ivan,Vincentians poured out their hearts, souls, andwallets in generosity to Grenada even though St.Vincent and the Grenadines was badly damaged.Several organisations, including a flotilla loadedwith relief supplies, spearheaded by Sir James

Mitchell, came toGrenada’s aid. Ourschools openedtheir doors toGrenadianstudents, free ofcost. Indeed, one such visiting Grenadian studentwho excelled at the CAPE/”A” Levels Examinationsreceived a special university scholarship from theGovernment of St. Vincent and the Grenadines inthe name of the Grenadian-born Vincentian, SirSydney Gun-Munro, who toiled selflessly as asurgeon in the vineyard of St. Vincent andGrenadines and who became our country’sGovernor-General.

Grenada and Grenadians have been most helpful,too, to us in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.Examples abound. I shall list only a few. SirSydney Gun-Munro, trained at Grenada’s expenseas a medical doctor, served for most of his workinglife as St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ only surgeon.I feel sure that many parents, grandparents andgreat-grandparents of members of the PSU,including its leadership, were attended to, often freeof charge, by Sir Sydney. Further, every week,Grenadian and Vincentian fishermen help oneanother at sea. In the Southern Grenadines,residents of Union Island and those of theGrenadian territory of Carriacou, interact daily totheir mutual benefit. Additionally, at this verymoment, the Grenadian government is assisting theMinistry of Agriculture of St. Vincent and theGrenadines with the re-introduction of cocoacultivation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

I urge public servants to view the issue of thepromised salary increase to them as quite separateand distinct from any assistance by the Governmentof St. Vincent and the Grenadines to Grenadathrough the ECCB or otherwise. Please, let us notdemean ourselves further by traversing a path,wrong-headedly prepared, with selfishness, a lack ofregional solidarity, and plain falsehoods.

My government remains committed to pay thepromised increase of salary. The public servantshave done very well under the ULP administrationand they can continue to trust us to do well for themon an on-going basis. It is the ULP governmentwhich has provided for public servants, among otherthings, the following: Meaningful salary increasesup to the end of 2010; a series of annual bonuses;the reclassification exercise; 100-percent mortgagesfor housing construction; exceptional educationaland training opportunities; better conditions ofwork; enlarged freedoms; and good governancegenerally.

Did the Bible not tell us to cast our bread uponthe waters? Did it not say we will get a return “tenfold”? Is this not happening to St. Vincent and theGrenadines through other countries’ generosity andsolidarity?

Sincerely yours,

Dr. The Hon. Ralph E. GonsalvesPrime Minister

Assistanceto Grenada

20. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

LeisureVACROSS

1. Landmeasure-ment

5. Eggs __easy

9. Sup12. Wander

about13. “Tonight”

host14. Schedule

abbr.15. Not desert-

ed17. Animation

unit18. John, in

Aberdeen19. One

Barrymore21. Earth24. Lisa of the

Louvre26. Whitney

andWallach

27. Plans31. Baseball’s

Durocher32. Shows

stayingpower

34. Dogpatch’sDaisy __

35. Skin Soothers

37. Had been38. Name in

TVs39. Bewitches40. Ships’

wheels43. Hr. part

44. ActressArden

45. Listen insecretly

51. Squealer52. Hammer’s

partner53. Affirmative

votes54. Response

(abbr.)55. Shore fea-

ture56. Lenient

DOWN

1. Onassis,informally

2. Argumentagainst

3. Cheer-leader’sshout

4. Internetmessages(hyph.)

5. Lena or Ken6. Fido’s doc7. Opp. of

WSW8. Hamsters,

e.g.9. Engrave

withacid

10. “…sting like

__” (2 wds.)11. Having

height16. Rotten20. Edison’s

inits.21. Gusher site

ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20)Make sure all of your travel and driver'sdocuments are in proper order. Finishoff old projects before startingsomething new. Your temper could getthe better of you if you confrontpersonal situations. Try to deal with itquickly; don't dwell on past regrets.

TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21)Don't overdo it. You need to enjoyyourself. Plan some family outings.Your partner will be emotionally unableto cope. You may be up for somechanges in your home.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21)You will have a little more energy thanusual. Deep discussions may only leadto friction. Any renovation or decoratingto your home should include the wholefamily. You'll get to your destination justas quickly.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)Lovers will be less thanaccommodating, and decisionsregarding personal direction anecessity. You will want to take off andhave some recreation. You are best towork at home, clearing up overdueprojects. You will impress new friendsand acquaintances with yourintellectual wit.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22)Do your job and then spend some timewith family; you'll be glad you did. Makechanges to your home that will bepleasing to everyone involved. You willbe on the rampage this week. Angercould lead to problems.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23)Anger may cause you grief; controlyour temper and try to sit back andcalm down. Your need to use emotionalblackmail will only cause more conflict.Emotionally you won't see thingsaccurately. You will find the excitementgratifying.

LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23)

You will need to do a lot of research ifyou wish to get to the bottom of things.Do things for them but don't allow themto make unreasonable requests. Try notto lend or borrow money this week. Yourstubborn nature will backfire if you giveyour mate an ultimatum.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)Your talents are likely to be discovered.Be extra careful with your valuables;loss and theft are evident this week.Promote your ideas now. You may findyourself interested in more than oneperson.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21)Don't draw too much attention toyourself at work. Don't give out anypersonal information that you don't wantspread around. You may find it difficult todiscuss personal matters with familymembers. Be confident in yourendeavors and others will believe inyour efforts.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20)Close deals that have been up in the airand move on to new ones that appear tobe profitable. Join humanitarian groupsand let your leadership ability take over.Put in some extra hours and finish thosecareful jobs before you move on tosome fun and games. Talk to someonewith experience about budgets orconsolidating debts.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19)Take time to look at any outdated papersor possible investments. Be ready toexplain your actions. You will findyourself tied to the phone. Hiddenassets can be doubled if you play yourcards correctly.

PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20)Go over their important documents andtake the time to suggest alternatives.Involvement in groups will be favorableand lead to valuable information. Do notblow situations out of proportion. You'llmeet new friends if you try newactivities.

22. Toast top-per

23. Crowduprising

24. Melissa, tosome

25. CanadianProv.

28. Land of Enchant-

ment(abbr.)

29. Be bold30. Views32. Relaxes33. Actress

Sothern36. Suffix for a

doctrine37. Burger

chain39. That guy’s40. Zeus’s

wife41. Writer

Hunter42. “__

Misbehave”43. Pinochle

term46. Motorists’

gp.47. Action star

Diesel48. Car named

afterRansom E.Olds

49. Dunce50. Attention-

gettingsound

LA

ST

WE

EK

’sS

OL

UT

ION

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 21.

Dear George,

MY WEDDING is in 2months and I had my bestfriend down to be the Maidof Honour until,unfortunately, I overhearda telephone conversationbetween her and a friendof hers.  The way I feelnow, it is better I did notknow what I now know. 

After speaking to herabout certain things Iwanted her to take careof for my wedding, sheapparently did not hangup the phone properly orsomething, and I heardher telling this personthat she did not reallywant to be my Maid ofHonour, but she decided

to do it only because ofmy husband, with whom,she admitted then, shewas intimately involved.

She told this personhow she and my fiancéwould be on the beachmany times aftersundown and what theywould be engaged inthere. My heart almoststopped after hearing thethings she was saying.

I have not broughtthis to my boyfriend’sattention, and I amwondering if I shouldleave it as is and get onwith the matter ofplanning my wedding.Should I let sleepingdogs lie?

Upset

Dear Upset,

Should you proceedas though nothing iswrong, you will beplacing your marriage ona shaky foundation.The “sleeping dogs” youreferred to are verymuch awake and readyto take their place inyour married life. Youhave the luxury of timeto put your wedding onhold and do thenecessary adjustmentsbased on what youknow. Your Maid ofHonour (to be) has notacted honourably andyour husband to be needsto answer some

questions, to yoursatisfaction, before youproceed into marriage.

You should be gettingmarried feelingextremely confident thatthe man you aremarrying belongs to youand you only, and thatpeople in your weddingparty all have your well-being at heart.

George

AdviceV 22. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Maid of Dishonour

Dear George,

I HAVE BEEN workingfor this guy for over 5years now and we havehad a relationshipduring that time. Hehas his wife and I havemy boyfriend. It isbecause of financial hardtimes that I findmyself in bed with him.I am now pregnant withhis child. I told himabout my pregnancy andhe ordered me to get anabortion.

I told him I could notdo that, since it was myfirst child and I do notknow if I would get anymore. He thenthreatened that if I didnot abort the child, hewill have to fire me fromthe job. I responded bytelling him that if hefires me from the job, Iwould tell his wife theentire story. Knowinghis wife, I know shewould leave him. It wasthen he told me that if Idid that he will see thatI disappear forever.

George, I am veryworried and scared, andsince that conversationwith him, I cannot eat orsleep, and it is affectingmy health. I love myboyfriend and he lovesme, but I am scared toconfess my wrong-doingsto him.

There is no one else Ican turn to. Both myparents are dead and myboyfriend is all I have.

Scared

Dear Scared,

The stress anduncertainty that pervadeyour life do not createthe right climate for ababy, and could haveimplications for yourhealth and the health ofthe child you arecarrying.

You cannot continueto work with this manunder these conditions.Your ‘honeymoon’ isover, and it is time toface the music. Yourboyfriend needs to knowthe truth, and what hedoes after that isentirely up to him.Telling him does notmean that he is going toleave you out in the cold.

Use this opportunityto clean up your act, andremember that it isnever too late to startdoing the right thing.

This man you areinvolved with has justthreatened you, and allthreats on your lifeshould be reported to thepolice. Do what youhave to do and leave himto clean up the mess upon his side of the fence.

George

Come clean withyour boyfriend

Dear George,

A GUY TO WHOM I say hello to now and thenhanded me an envelope and told me not to open itbefore I got to my home.

I hurried home and opened it to find 500 dollarsinside with an “I love and want you” note. Iimmediately put the money back into the envelopeand hurried back down the road to find him.

I was so angry that if I had found him at thattime I would still been in jail. This man surprisedme. I did not know he was into that dirtiness.

I want him to know I am not interested in beingwith a man. I am a woman’s man and that’s it!

Angry

Dear Angry,

While you cannot prevent another individualfrom expressing their feelings towards you, youcan choose to accept or reject projected sentimentsto you.

There is no need for violence here. Find a wayto get this money back to this guy and let himknow you are not interested.

George

I am a woman’s man

by KARISSA CLARKE

THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED5th Annual Caribbean YouthEntrepreneurshipConference, held at theKingstown MethodistChurch Hall, was deemed asuccess by youngentrepreneurs, aspiringyoung entrepreneurs,representatives from otherregional Youth BusinessTrusts and otherstakeholders who werepresent over the twoconference days.

Mr. Kenrick Quashie,Managing Director ofYouth Business SVG,facilitators of theConference, further added,“Indeed the conferencewas a success. It hasalways been my dream todevelop young

entrepreneurs within St.Vincent and theGrenadines, and I amproud of the results that Iam seeing thus far.”

The conference, whichtook place from September12 to 15, explored avariety of issues under thetheme ‘YouthEntrepreneurship: Thecatalyst for a SustainableCaribbean Economic take-off-Justice, Equity,Independence’.

Young and aspiringentrepreneurs who werepresent took advantage ofa number of opportunitiesof lecture sessions onproduct development,networking, basicknowledge transfer andlearning and linkages thatwill help them to furtherpromote their businesses.

Ikesha is tops

There was extrareason to celebrate byone participant.

Ikesha Delpesche ofIkesha Art, known forits exquisite anduncommon jewellerycreations, took home thetop prize forentrepreneurial excellenceamong the Vincentiandelegates, receiving anIphone4 fromtelecommunicationsservice provider LIME,one of the Conference’ssponsors.

“It was a big surprise toreceive this award. I wasunsure if I was actuallyprepared to participateamongst regionaldelegates. However,

Ailene {Bailey] and theteam at Youth BusinessSVG encouraged me to doso, and it paid off. I amvery happy to see my workbeing displayed andappreciated. It was apleasure representing mycountry in thisconference,” saidDelpesche.

The other Vincentianentrepreneurs were notexcluded and they too willreceive prizes for thecollaboration with YouthBusiness SVG in thecoming weeks. “We atYouth Business St.Vincent and theGrenadines believe inrewarding our partners. Itis only the beginning ofgreater things as wecontinue to work hard forthe youth of St. Vincentand the Grenadines tohave their businessesrecognized andestablished,” assured Mr.

Debson Cruickshank,Youth Business Advisor atYouth Business SaintVincent and theGrenadines Inc.

The second day of theconference focused onagriculture and its links toyouth businesses, with apanel discussion on ‘Youthand Agriculture:Removing the scars off thePlantation , Modernisingfor Productivity.’

The panelists were Ms.Una May-Gordon of IICA,Mrs. Kozel Peters-Fraserof WINFA, Mr. ConroyHuggins of CaFan and Mr.Reuben Robertson ofMinistry of AgricultureSVG.

Youth Business SVGensures that youngentrepreneurs are giventhe best possible chance tobe financially successful.Young Entrepreneurs whoare interested inregistering with YouthBusiness SVG can contactthem by Telephone : 4572132 or visit the office,located at Beachmont onthe ground floor of theGriffith Corporate Centrealso known as DeFreitasand Associates Building.In addition, persons canemailinfo@youthbusiness.org.vcor check their website atwww.youthbusiness.org.vcfor further information.

by KENVILLE HORNE

DIGICEL CONTINUES todemonstrate why it considers itselfthe bigger and bettertelecommunications network here inSt. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The service provider, onThursday 14th September, opened aspecially branded store on theGrenadines island of Canouan.

Executive Officer for Barbadosand the OECS South, BarryO’Brien, speaking at the officiallaunch, stated, “The cornerstones ofDigicel’s philosophy and successhave been to build bigger and betternetworks and services coupled withreduced prices, offering best-in-classcustomer service whilst contributingback to the local community. Withthis store we continue to live by thisphilosophy.”

He noted that the store is nowthe official Digicel Canouan storeand has been office built andbranded to Digicel’s usual highstandards.

“The original idea for this storecame from a staff meeting inBarbados a few months back. RobLyons, Island Manager for Canouanand the Grenadines, noticed that

customers were looking for aretail outlet where they couldget easy access to Digicel’sproducts and services, andalso get advice from Digicelstaff. We then added to theidea by suggesting it alsobecomes the Digicel Canouanoffice. And here we are, withtypical Digicel speed, threemonths later,” O’Brien said.

The office will be open toanswer customers’ queries,supported by Digicel staff inSt. Vincent and the rest ofthe Eastern Caribbean.

O’Brien told personspresent at the opening that,“This store reinforces the factthat Digicel is 100 per centcommitted to remaining thepremier mobile provider formobile services in Canouan.”

He assured that Digicel iscommitted to ensuring thatDigicel Mobile coveragemaintains pace as the resortand island dwelling expand,as they also plan for thefuture roll-out of 4G.

The launching also heardaddresses from other Digicelrepresentatives, followed by the

cutting of the ribbon and a tour ofthe facility. (Source: BarbadosToday Online)

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 23.

BusinessV

Digicel opens Canouan Branch

Youth EntrepreneurshipConferencedeemed a success

Barry O’Brien, Digicel EC for the OECSSouth, in front of the recently openedDigicel office in Canouan.

Audience at the opening session of the Conference.

Ikesha Delpesche, recognized for herentrepreneurial excellence, accepts her awardfrom Leslie Jack, General Manager of LIME.

Inset: Mr. Kenrick Quashie, Managing Director of

Youth Business SVG, addressing the opening ses-

sion of the Conference.

24. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 25.

Business V

The 6th Annual CrossCountry Radio (CCR) 100Days of ChristmasCountdown got going lastSunday, September 16.

Invited guests andsponsors joined CCRmanagement and staff in

the launch at theCountry Ranch,Fountain.

Broadcast live onCCR, FM 104.3 and 88.5,the launch featured liveperformances by theSouth East Steel

Orchestra, the CrossCountry Staff Choir andentertainment by CCRDJ’s.

Managing Director ofCCR, Carlos Maloney,his natural grey beardand bulging torso

projecting a uniqueVincentian styled SantaClaus, addressed thegathering and declaredthat “This year will bebigger.”

Pointing to one of thewrapped presents

nearby, Maloneyidentified it as “a juicer”and promised, “it’samong one hundredprizes to be won, oneprize for each day of theCountdown.”

Among the covetedprizes will be a TV, astereo system and a weedeater.

Principal sponsors of

the 2012 Countdown areStandard Shippers ofNew York and Edwin D.Layne and Sons. (CD)

After six weeks of the LIMEMega Moments promotions, thirty(30) LIME customers have eachwon $1500, ; totaling a whopping$45000 in cash.

The promotion, which gotstarted in August, was hailed bymany customers as ‘One for thehard times’ since most winnerswere quoted as saying that themoney will be used to purchaseback to school supplies andpaying off outstanding bills.

LIME customers were given achance to win daily in thispromotion when they thefollowing: traded in a handsetfrom the competitor; purchased aBlackberry Jazz handset; signedup for fixed line service; sign upfor broadband service; purchaseda handset; talked for 3 minutes

and get the next 57minutes free.

The statisticsrevealed that 16out of the 30winners tradedhandsets, 10winners talked for3 minutes. Twentyfour women wonprizes, while 6 menwere lucky. Theage group of thewinners variedbetween 19 to 45years.

“These stats are quiterevealing,” said Nikala Williams,Marketing Head at LIME.

“It is quite clear when you lookat them that people are moving toour network because they

recognize that LIME is moreaffordable and reliable. Wewelcome the many customers ofall age groups who have movedover and thank all customers whotook part in the promotions,”Williams continued.

Tamara Grant (left) and Adonna Harry were themost recent winners in the LIME MegaMoments Promotion.

LIME gives away $45K

An ensemble of young players from the SouthEast Steel orchestra provided entertainment.

Carlos Maloney, MD ofCCR, promised a biggerCountdown this year.

CCR ChristmasCountdown launched

Paul’s Avenue, P.O. Box 592, KingstownTel: 456-1821 Fax: 457-2821E-mail: metrocint@vincysurf.com Website: www.metrocintsvg.com

26. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

V THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 27.

MILSON CONSTRUCTION (MC),losing finalists in 2011, are the2012 Twenty/20 cricket championsof Mustique.

They capped what was a veryconsistent season when they beatAlumbrera Sweepers in lastSunday’s finals, played at theMustique Playing Field.

The large and supportive crowdsaw MC take first knock. And at25 for 3 there were somemurmurings of disappointmentamong some spectators, who feltthat the finals might not live upto expectations.

The speculation was shortlived,for in came Julian Lampkin,Captain of MC, who, from the firstball he faced, gave indication ofhis intent. Lampkin raced to 56before being out; he hit 7 foursand 1 six and shared in a 71-run4th wicket partnership withShaford Ballantyne, whocontributed 23 runs.

Alumbrera Sweepers seemedswept away by the Lampkin-Ballantyne stand and in theprocess, demonstrated some pooroutfield cricket. When MC hadused up their allocated 20 overs,they had reached 153 for 8, withextras accounting for 30 of thoseruns.

Kenuth Peters was the best ofthe Alumbrera Sweepers’ bowlers,returning figures of 3 wickets for21 runs in his 4 overs.

Alumbrera’s chase begandisastrously with the fall of anearly wicket. However, CedrickGrant, 17, and Keith Lavia, 40,

came together to steady theinnings.

But accurate wicket to wicketbowling and agility in the field,kept the pressure on theAlumbrera batsmen, and whencaptain Lampkin introducedCedric Cupid, he began a slidefrom which Alumbrera neverrecovered.

Cupid took 2 for 18 in his fourovers and Alumbrera closed at100 all out in 16.3 overs, to handMC their first hold on the titleand send their supporters, amongwhom was MC Manager TonyWilson, into loud and deservingcelebrations.

Julian Lampkin was namedPlayer of the Finals for his topscore of 56 and astute leadership.

And in addition to the teamawards, Harris Roberts wasrecognized as having taken themost wickets in the tournament,and Cedrick Grant, the most runs.

Mustique BuildingConstruction Ltd., who lost toPink House Tags in the thirdplace play-off the previousweekend, was named the MostImproved Team.

Last year’s Tournamentwinner, Tomma Hawk SweetiePie, failed to make it into thesemi-final round.

GODFREY ‘FUZZY’ HARRYhas no doubt that the PhysicalEducation and SportsProgramme at the ThomasSaunders Secondary Schoolhas improved considerablyover the last five years.

He expressed the sentimentin a recent conversation withTHE VINCENTIAN

Harry has been Director ofthe programme over those fiveyears, and he is convinced thatthe performances of theschool’s sports men andwomen speak for themselves,results, he says, built on apositive structure andmeaningfully programmeimplemented under his watch.

Harry took over fromAldrick Wright at the TSSS,after serving for some 18 yearsat the Emmanuel High School(EHS), now the J.P. EustaceMemorial Secondary School,where he introduced and

directed “one of the better P.E.programmes in the state.

“I have built on whatWright established at theTSSS and have brought myEHS experience to bear on itas well,” Harry said.

His tenure at the TSSS hasnot been without challengesand Harry recalls the extrawork he had to put in to havethe students, especially thetalented ones, adapt to hisapproach to training.

The extended hours paiddividends, for in his first yearat the school, the “boys placedfourth and the girls sixth atthe interschool athletes meet.”

And because of thestrengthening of the P.E.programme, the TSSS hasdominated both male andfemale categories of theinterschool meet, for the lastthree years.

“TSSS is the pace setter for

school athletics. We haveraised the bar in schoolathletes, and because of thatwe have caused other schoolsto raise their standards, whichis the right directionfor track and fieldin the country,”Harry assessed.

In additionto success onthe track,Harrypointed tothe 100 percent passesfor each of thelast threeyears for TSSSentrants in theCXC PhysicalEducation exams,describing this as “asignificant stride for a schoolwhich is just seven years old.”

And even as he recognizesthe hard work put in by the

students, the coachacknowledged theoverwhelming support of theprincipal, staff and parents asbeing an equally importantcontributing factor to theschool’s success.

“More parents are sendingtheir children to the TSSS.We must be making progress.We must be doing somethinggood,” Harry said in closing.

I.B.A.ALLEN

Thomas Saunders on the rise

Students going through the long jump drill.

Inset: Godfrey ‘Fuzzy’ Harry, Sports Director at theThomas Saunders Secondary School.

Milsom Construction:Mustique T20 Champion

Kenuth Peters of Alumbrera Sweepers into hisspell that earned him 3 wickets.

Julian Lampkin, Player of the Final, during hisrescue innings of 56.

The victorious Milson Construction team with manager andsupporters.

Sports V 28. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

The 2012 Bank of SVGBarrouallie FootballLeague opened lastSunday afternoon in fronta large crowd at theKeartons Playing Field.

The afternoon activityincluded a march past ofteams, addresses fromfootball and sportsofficials and a featurematch.

Addresses were heardfrom: Venold Coombs,President of the StVincent and theGrenadines FootballFederation; CecilCharles, acting Managerof the National Sports

Council; MaxwellCharles, arearepresentative forCentral Leeward; LorsonLewis, President of theBarrouallie SportsAssociation (BSA).

Kimalie Gordon, amember of the BSA, readremarks on behalf of thesponsors, Bank of SVG.

Coombs commendedthe Barroualliecommunity for winningthe national intercommunity leaguecompetition last May andpledged the Federation’scontinued support forfootball in the

communities, and thecountry as a whole.

Cecil Charlesrecognized the sterlingefforts of the BarrouallieSports Association overthe years, and said helooked forward to workwith them.

President of the BSA,Lorson Lewis, remindedthe players of the zerotolerance on illdiscipline, and wasemphatic in issuing thewarning that the culpritswill be kicked out of thecompetition.

Following theremarks, it was

announced that ParksideRollers was adjudged thebest dressed team onparade.

In the feature match,a Barrouallie team and aNorth Leeward outfit

played to a goal-lessdraw.

Competition will be inthe senior division, theNorrell Hull under-17,the Maxwell Charlesunder-13 and a women’s

division. Fitz Hughes won last

year’s senior division.Topsidaz took the firstdivision and Adare Onethe under-13 division.

BRIAN BURKE, coach ofthe St Vincent and theGrenadines Under-21and senior men’svolleyball teams, isupbeat despite theteams’ enduring heavylosses in their recenttournaments.

The Under-21 did notwin a match in theIntercontinentalChampionships whichtook place last month inColorado Springs, USA,and two weeks ago, thesenior team finished lastin the Eastern CaribbeanVolleyball AssociationChampionships (ECVA)

in St Lucia.Burke, in

putting theIntercontinentalChampionshipsinto perspective,said, “This wasmore like alearningexperience for theUnder-21 teambecause we metteams that werefar more advancedthan we, they’vebeen playingcompetition morethan our guys.”

He continued,“Our guys learneda lot and I thinkthey were reallyinspired by whatthey saw, and I believethey have come back toSt Vincent with renewedeffort to work hard attheir game, and also Ithink it was an eyeopener for most of thembecause it was the firsttime they were exposedto competition at thatlevel,” Burke analysed.

In assessing theECVA tournament,Burke stated, “In termsof placing, we placedsixth out of the sixteams; it might seem likea bad performance, butin my estimation, I thinkit was the best the teamhas ever played, as theywere also verycompetitive.

“The team is fairlyyoung and inexperienced,and this is only thesecond competition formost of them, and Ithink they played reallywell in the last game,

and a lot of the coachesand teams werecommenting on how theyhave improved,” Burkesaid.

He conceded that theteams needed to workharder, and he intends tobegin this effort byorganizing gym exercisesto build the fundamentalrequirement of bodystrength.

In the Under-21championships, StVincent and theGrenadines was beatenby the USA, Mexico,Guatemala, Hondurasand Curacao. The host,USA, won thechampionship.

St Vincent and theGrenadines went underto eventual winners, StLucia, runners -up StKitts, Antigua andBarbuda and French StMartin, in the ECVAtournament.

DEFENDING champion LogEnterprises Kingstown sufferedtheir first loss of the season inpursuit of the defence of theirSVG National Masters 20/20Cricket title.

The defending champions wentunder by 3 wickets in a lastweekend encounter with Rudy’sElectrical Barrouallie,

Log Enterprises KingstownMasters batted first and weredismissed for 90 off 20 overs.Bradley Brooker led with 26.

Samuel Byam took 3 for 26 forRudy’s Electrical Barrouallie, andhis team went on to successfullychase their target, closing at 91for 7 off 19.4 overs. JosephMedford and Hollis John had 3wickets apiece for LOGS.

In another weekend match,Sion Hill Masters defeated RSVGPolice Masters by 9 wickets.RSVG Police Masters made 114for 8 off 20 overs. Allan John top-scored with 24. Cecil Charles took3 for 19. Sion Hill Masters repliedwith 115 for 1 off 19.1overs.

Keyon Jack made 40 and BillEdwards, 36 not out.

Stanley Browne’s StubbsMasters defeated ComputecBelfongo Masters by 8 wickets.Computec Belfongo Masters made106 for 8 off 20 overs. JesimaBrowne made 25 and CleusRobertson 22. Leon Samuel took 3for 20. Stanley Browne’s StubbsMasters in reply reached 107 for 2off 11.3 overs. Dawnley Josephled with 26 and ChristopherCampbell 25 not out.

St.Vincent Cooperative BankP’tani Masters defeatedC.K.Greaves Vintage Arnos ValeMasters by 7 wickets. C. K.Greaves were reduced to 90 for 9off 20 overs. Isaac Haywood took3 for 16. P’tani Masters reached92 for 3 off 17 overs. AlfredMcKenzie top scored with 37.Isaac Haywood hit 36.

Bickles Fun Masters defeatedDaSilva La Croix Masters by 9wickets. DaSilva La CroixMasters were bowled out for 51 in14 overs. Claudius Murray,

Theophilous Joseph and GregoryBrewster took 3 wickets each.Bickles Fun Mastersreplied with 53 for 1 off 9.2 overs.Samuel Richards hit 26 not out.

This weekend, on Saturday,North Leeward Combined willface Joyette’s Auto SlaterDevelopment Pastures from 1.30at Buccement, while ComputecBelfongo oppose C.K.GreavesVintage Arnos Vale the same timeat Arnos Vale One.

On Sunday, North LeewardCombined face Cato’s HeavyEquipment Glamorgan from 10amat Petit Bordel. Sion Hill opposeRudy’s Electrical Barrouallie from10, followed by RSVG Policeagainst Log EnterprisesKingstown from 1.30pm at ArnosVale One.

At Buccament, Bickles Fun willplay St Vincent Cooperative BankPtani from 1.3opm.At Paget FarmBequia, Bequia will take onStanley Browne’s Stubbs.

I.B.A.ALLEN

Defending Masters champ suffers defeat

Parkside Rollers, the best dressed team on parade.

Burke upbeat despite heavy defeats

Brian Burke, nationalvolleyball teams’ coach,admits that the teams have towork harder.

Action in the feature match at the opening of the Barrouallie Football League(Photo: I.B.A. Allen)

BarrouallieFootball Leaguekicks off

SportsV

The area of North Leeward with its divergence ofattractions, has become the cradle of T/20 Cricketon the national scale. How else can you account forthe presence of so many national players to thezone?

Spectators to the games sometimes don’t realizethe calibre of players taking part until they heartheir names in some other circles.

Take for example Miles Bascombe. Bascombeturned out for the Carlos James Troumaca Unitedin this year’s competition. But North Leeward isno foreign territory to Bascombe. He appeared atthe Under-15 level before.

Windward’s opener Atticus Browne came intohis own at last year’s final when he helped toguide Troumaca United to retention of their title.

Denis Byam is acquitting himself in a differentsphere of the cricketing and sporting arena. Buthis pedigree in cricket has been documented. Therewill be no questions about Byam’s attachment tothe Troumaca United outfit. He considers himselfa full-fledged Troumaca man, and no one canquestion his loyalty to the village.

Verbert King and Dyke Cato have proventhemselves worthy members of the Somersetoutfit. That team, based in the most northerlyNorth Leeward community, proved a formidableunit in this year’s showdown, until they lost theservices of those two players. King and Cato willbe keen to reappear for their quarterfinalencounter so as to ensure that they take the squadto its ultimate destination.

Ajuba of Spring Village is normally a force to bereckoned with, but the inclusion of national all-rounder Casmond Walters and opening batsmanDonson Andrews has added a further touch ofsolidity to that unit. Their combination withCombined Colleges and Campuses member KesrickWilliams and national wicketkeeper batsmanHarley Skerritt makes Ajuba a top contender forthis year’s trophy.

West Indies Under-19 wicket keeper batsmanSunil Ambris has been contacted to play with theCarlos James Troumaca Starlights. Ambris is yetto make his entry on the North Leeward circuit,perhaps denied participation owing to otherschedules. He may take up the offer of aquarterfinal exposure.

A Police team was invited to this year’scompetition for the first time. That team raised thelevel of competition in no uncertain terms, for withplayers of the calibre of Orlando Wright andMcLean Williams, spectators had the chance to seenational players in action. Gerald Gould could have been representing hishome village of Rose Hall, but his appearance forthe Police team has helped with enhancing thecredibility of the competition. There are a host of North Leeward players whohave made their mark at various levels of regionalcricket. Norlan Williams is a player who hasrepresented the nation previously. With a man ofthe experience of Ian Allen in the Rudy’s Electricalteam, there is additional prestige to thetournament. Former Windwards Under-19 player Emil Anthonywas good enough to earn the Man of the Matchaward in last year’s final when he appeared for thechampion outfit. But he and the rest of his team-mates will not be resting easily, for any of theother seven quarterfinalists are only keen onthwarting their success. Other emerging cricketers are keen to make animpression. Kentish John for example will relishthe opportunity to showcase his skills for theTroumaca Starlights, and with the likes ofLeshaun Lewis in his team, they will be wanting toprogress beyond the quarterfinal stage. Omar Tucker is anxious to create a name andpropel his team Winterset Ball Beaters to the top.And with speedster Jamal Nash in his team, thereis an underlying threat lurking. The speculations will be put to rest with thequarterfinal and semifinal encounters. Then it willbe winner takes it all in the grand finale. But whoever lifts the trophy, cricket will be thewinner.

VINLEC lights up North Leeward

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 29.

THE VINCENTIANcontinues to recognize thecentury makers in the2012 National LotteriesAuthority CricketCompetition.Premier andFirst divisions’ cricketcompetition.

Added to last week’s list of century makers are: Former national player Sylvanus Vanloo who hit

two centuries for LOGS Enterprises Masters in theFirst Division - 101 against Radcliffe too and 111against Belmont.

Another former player Nicholas Baptiste hit 102for Victors Two against Radcliffe Too, also in theFirst Division.

National left handed batsman Harley Skerritt hit151 against ASCO for Rivals in the PremierDivision.

I.B.A.ALLEN

Vincom Next Level recorded acomfortable 70-run win overWarriors as action continued inthe National Lottery AuthoritiesTBPO Softball cricket competitionon the weekend, at the Dauphnieplaying field.

Vincom Next Level batted firstand made 119 all out in 19.5overs. Elroy Cumberbatch topscored with 24. Wickets wereshare by Desroy Laviatook 3 for21, AugustineJennings 2 for 11 and DavidFairbairm 2 for 23. In reply,Warriors mustered 49 in 13 overs,Courtney Joyette doing thedamage with 5 for 17.

Novice defeated Glen United by32 runs. Novice posted 177 for 7in 20 overs. Roderick John hit 55,Glenroy Dazel 28 and KentishPhillips 15. Marcus Hackshawtook 2 for 28.

In reply Glen United made 145for 4 in 20 overs. MarcusHackshaw, 50, led anunsuccessful chase.

Sea Operation Nar Fren Dembeat Dr. Thomas Injectors by 7wickets. Dr. Thomas Injectorsbatted first and made 58 off 13.3overs. Travis Peters and KenoMatthewshad 3 wickets each.Sea Operation Nar fren Demmade 61 for 3 off 11.1 overs.Jamal John led with 34. KezronAshton took 2 for 12.

Gariy Construction SimpleBoyz defeated Valley Boyz by 15runs. Batting first Simple Boyzmade 93 off 18.2 overs. AswaldSoleyn top scored with 19, ShawnO’ Garo and Randolph Bascombetook 3 for 15 and 3 for 21respectively.

In Reply Valley Boyz made 78off 20 overs. Olando John made16. Kenny Hunte took 3 for 17.

Bank of SVG All Stars beatOlder Boys by 6 wks. Batting firstOlder Boys made 127 for 9 in 20

overs. Noel Miller hit 23, AshfordWood 20. Four bowles took 2wickets each.

Bank of SVG All Stars close on128 runs 4 off 19.4 overs, .Newborne Joseph leading with 59with Kentish Pope contributing32. Junior Bacchus took 3 for 21.

On Saturday, Nar Fren Demfaces Georges Valley Saints from1pm, followed by ASCO against

Warriors from 3pm. On Sunday, Vincom Nex Level

oppose Bangers frpm 10, Warriorswill face Pine Hill Dairy Clinchersfrom 12.30pm followed by GomeaBombers against Bank of SVG AllStars.

Matches are slated for theDauphnie playing field.

I.B.A.A.LLEN

Rudy’s Electrical and Ajuba arethrough to the quarterfinals ofthe Vinlec North Leeward T20Cricket Competition, aftervictories in last weekend’s roundof matches played at the PetitBordel Playing Field.

Rudy’s Electrical secured an 8-wicket win over Sharpes Unitedin Saturday’s encounter.

Sharpes recovered from aprecipitous 33 for 6 to close on128 all out in 19.4 overs. Theirstability came through the effortsof Augustus Cato, 41 not out, andNiclon Browne who hit 37. Theyshared in a 60-run seventhwicket stand which was brokenwith the score on 93. NorlanWilliams, 3 for 23, and AugustineBentick, 3 for 25, accounted forthe inroads into Sharpes batting.

Rudy’s Electrical endured nonightmares in their chase andcruised to 130 for 2 from 12overs. They were propelled tovictory by McNeil Morgan, 63,and Leon Samuel, 23, bothundefeated.

Sunday’s action saw back toback victories for Ajuba.

Somerset were dismissed for62, wrecked by Casmond Walters3 for 7.

Ajuba overtook the target

reaching 62 for 2 in five overs.Kenny Stapleton hit 36 not out.

Donson Andrews, 43, andCasmond Walters, 35, bothunbeaten, guided Ajuba to theirother victory as they cruised to110 for 2 from, 8.5 overs. KerryIsaacs 2 for 27 was the chiefwicket taker for Sharpes United.

Sharpes United fell for 108after Winston Skinner, 28, andKesroy Granderson, 23, had puton an opening stand of 51.

Gemel Jeffrey engineered theSharpes’ collapse.

The other quarterfinalists willbe Police, Troumaca United, PetoStars, and Winterset Ball Beatersfrom Zone one.

Rudy’s Electrical and Somersetjoin Carlos James TroumacaStarlight and Somerset fromZone B.

The final of the Vinlec NorthLeeward Cricket Championshipis carded for October 7, 2012.

The other teams in thecompetition were Backlash,Future Legends and SharpesUnited.

Troumaca United are thedefending champions.

The final will be played at thePetit Bordel Playing Field.(WKA)

North Leeward crickethits quarterfinals

Next Level Records big win

Sylvanus Vanloo, 101and 111.

Nicholus Baptiste, 102 Harley Skerritt, 151

More centurymakers

30. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012. 31.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 VOLUME 106, No. 38 www.thevincentian.com EC$1.50

Published by The VINCENTIAN Publishing Co. Ltd, St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Printed by the SVG Publishers Inc., Campden Park.

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FOR

SALE

by KENVILLE HORNE

GUNSHOTS RANG OUT in the West St.George community of Belmont, in aneighborhood known as ‘Meng’, lastMonday night, prompting residents totake refuge indoors.

And when the shooting was ove, awindow and other sections of theRyan’s property, along with a blackToyota Levin car were left with bulletholes.

A member of the Ryan family toldTHE VINCENTIAN that on the night

of Monday 17th, she and her sisterwere in the lower floor of their two-storey home, watching television,when they heard about six or moregunshots. They quickly secured theproperty and took cover.

“I was so frighten I could not think,”the family member said.

On collecting herself, shetelephoned her boyfriend, JamalMcMaster, but did not reach him.

It was then that she telephonedKenrick Scott, a close friend ofMcMaster, and related what tookplace.

Half an hour later, Scott showed up,followed by members of the RapidResponse Unit (RRU) of the RoyalSVG Police Force.

The officers confirmed: that a bullethad pierced a window located on theupper floor of the house; the externalarea of the large concrete structurealso showed signs of bullet piercing;and that the black Toyota Levin caralso showed signs of indentationscaused by bullets. Spent shell casingswere recovered from the scene.

Residents told THE VINCENTIANthat they saw a White Toyota Sprinter(sedan) fleeing the scene after thebarrage of bullets.

Before the shooting

Kenrick Scott volunteered what hethought was a connection to theMonday night shooting.

He told THE VINCENTIAN that onthe evening of Saturday 15th while

hanging out the Mango Tree Bar, hewas approached and held at gunpointby a person who he knew to havebeaten a murder rap some years ago.

“(Name withheld) threatened to killme if I didn’t show him where Jamallive,” Scott recalled, “but I told himthat I was not sure where McMasterlives.”

According to Scott, the manproceeded to “private his number andtold me to call McMaster.”

He continued: “I then made thephone call to Jamal but didn’t getthrough”.

Scott said that not long after, hisphone rang, “but I keep ending the callin my pocket, because I didn’t wanthim to know I had a phone.”

After being held for what felt likean hour, Scott noticed the manremoving the bullets from the gun andplacing them in his hand. He tookthat as an opportunity to escape andmake a dash.

The man and four others chasedhim, but “I jump in a van and getaway,” Scott reported.

He arrived in capital Kingstown andimmediately telephoned McMaster,relating to him what had transpired.

Scott said that he receivedthreatening phone calls well into thenext day, Sunday, from the man whohad held him at gun point. Hethreatened to kill both him andMcMaster.

On Monday morning, McMaster andScott journeyed to the Calliaqua PoliceStation and lodged a report. That said

night, the Ryan property, whereMcMaster resides with his girlfriend,was shot up.

While Scott stated that he is notfearful of his tormentor, McMaster’sgirlfriend told THE VINCENTIANthat she fears for her life, “because Idon’t know if they would come back.”

Personnel at the Calliaqua PoliceStation confirmed that a report wasmade prior to the shooting and thatinvestigations are ongoing.

This window pane shows clear signs of a bullet piercing.

Jamal McMaster seemed to havebeen the real target.

Kenrick Scott reported being held atgunpoint.

GUNSHOTSRING OUT IN BELMONT