POLITICIANS in this country have been extremely successful at letting down the people. Their moral and ethical rectitude leaves a lot to be desired and makes one wonder why they hold public office anyway? Who vetted and approved them and why is it apparent that they are not being held to the highest codes of conduct that befit leaders and statesmen compared to any other part of the world.
Still Valid After 2 Years – There Is No Model !!
âWE are virtually at the crossroads. As an economist, I can tell you that it really requires a quantum leap in our thinking, in our focus and in our intervention through the kind of work that needs to be done. The fact is that we need to corral our forces â intellectual, economic and financial â and try to meet that propositionââ.
Soul of a Nation – Part 3
IN Part 1 of this series, we reminded ourselves of the reasons for rejection of this CIP scheme, and in Part 2 we drew attention to the fact that while the Opposition has demanded that DSH provide âfinancialsâ demonstrating proof of the projectâs viability, neither the Citizenship by Investment Act 2015 nor the Regulations governing the Act give the CIP Unit the authority to make those demands.
Deal of the Century – The Pearl of the Caribbean â 1
FOR a while now it appeared that nothing much in the way of job creation and economic development was happening in Vieux Fort. Worse, with the economic recession that began in 2008 followed by the imposition of VAT, the opposite of what doctors would have ordered, businesses closed down, turning Vieux Fort into a near basket case. The popular song by RasIsley, aptly described the plight of young Vieux Fortians.
Misplacing Our Focus
FROM Thursday evening, I have taken a backseat to observe the way St. Lucians as well as the mediaâŠlocal and regional have been revelling in the juicy scandal that has rained down on us all like liquid gold and has given tongues and thumbs some serious exercise.
End of âWet Foot, Dry Footâ
TOMAS Regalado, the Mayor of Miami â long a hot bed for Cuban exiles â has described as a âparting giftâ the decision of the waning Obama administration to end the U.S. âwet foot-dry footâ policy toward Cubans seeking entry to the US. The question is: a parting gift to whom?
Soul of a Nation â PART TWO
AS we discussed the soul of our nation in Part 1 last week, we reminded ourselves of the reasons for objecting to the sale of our passports no matter how immaculately that sale was packaged and promoted to us. Those reasons were firstly the loss of our identity, and then the social mayhem that the CIP will unleash.
DSH â Do Not Burn Down The House To Kill The Mosquito
THE Judge at the local District Court house, having heard the evidence in a case for theft of a bunch …
The Spy Who Stayed out In The Cold
WHEN Ronald Reagan – from behind the âIron Curtainâ in East Germany – called on Mikhail Gorbachev to âtear down these wallsâ, the imperial and ideological dreams of the Soviet Union (an Ivinghoe beacon of despair), began to wink like a battery-drained flashlight in a horror movie. Nikolai Khrushchevâs âWe will bury youâ threat in the 1950s began to ring hollow as political history unfolded.
Remain Vigilant
THE DSH project for the South is an opportunity which the SLP deliberated upon for over two years and never entertained the idea of sharing the concept with the public. More importantly, Invest St. Lucia spent over two years of expensive man hours with the concurrence of the St. Lucia Labour Party, simultaneously making empty promises to the investors â a practice which cost them the elections. St. Lucians simply had enough of an administration who could not or were terrified of making decisions based on their poor judgements like Rochamel, Grynberg, IMPACS and the Lambirds fiasco to name but a few.
Dear Mr. Prime Minister
DEAR Mr. Prime Minister, lend me your ear. Iâd like to speak solely to you in my first Sounding Off for the New Year. How do you feel when you look at the state of our island today? I mean how do you really feel? Before we go further, Iâm not blaming you for any of it, youâre only fresh off the boat and what is going on now is the result of decades of hard workâŠor lack thereof, But I just want to know how the current state makes you feel.
EC Dollar Tribute To Sir Dwight
SINCE his sudden and unexpected passing away on December 22 at the age of 70 (he would have been 71 …
The Year of The Dragon
SOONER rather than later, the âsleeping dragonâ was expected to awaken from its slumber and take its place at the feasting table. In his book, The Post-American World, Fareed Zakaria predicts the decline of the West and the Rise of the Rest. No doubt, Mr. Zakaria must have been thinking about China when he wrote: âAmericans see that a new world is coming into being, but fear it is one being shaped in distant lands and by foreign people.â
Immortalize Venner on E.C. Dollar
I GREW-UP in the Faux-a-Chaud part of Hospital Road in Castries seeing Dwight Venner walking up and down the main road, to and from his familyâs home, to town and from school (Saint Maryâs College). Much younger than him, I attended the Methodist Primary and RC (Roman Catholic) Boys schools in Castries — and knew more about his father than about the usually lone but friendly young âCollege Boyâ with all those thick school books.
Passport: Sale or Saviour?
ON January 1, â60 minutesâ, an investigative programme aired by the US television company, CBS Corporation, ran a segment on âCitizenship by Investment Programmesâ (CIP) that are operated by several countries around the world. For reasons best known to itself, â60 minutesâ focused on three Caribbean islands after paying merely a passing glance at Malta, a Mediterranean island that is part of the 28-nation European Union (EU). It let pass other countries in Europe and North America that also operate such programmes.
Soul of a Nation – Pt.1
Nearly twenty years ago Gypsy spoke to us eloquently of the growing scourges of drug addiction, prostitution, teenage pregnancy and the increasing incidence of the rape of women in his homeland, Trinidad & Tobago, and pointed to the reason for this. According to him that reason was: âPolitics for one and politicians for the other.â Nobody listened, and today we know the result â those scourges now threaten to overwhelm Trinidadian society.
The Passing of a Giant
HE having been so significant a part of it, the world that knew Sir Dwight Venner could not but have stood still on hearing how suddenly the breath left his body. I was as saddened as anyone was bound to be, who had known him well, and for as long as fifty-five years.
Back To Basics
I am a citizen of St. Lucia. Not particularly political or vocal or terribly savvy, but I do look around me and want to say: To the men and women who keep our streets, communities and roadways clean: thank you. It is a task looked down upon, but so vital to our health and well being as a nation.
An Act of Deception
ALL indications were that the UWP was against the Sunset Bay Resort Development in Sabwisha, Choiseul. Of course there is little that needs to be done to convince anyone that the hotel development was nothing but an election ploy. Only, the backfire seems to be in the faces of the people of Morne Sion, New Field, Fiette, Delcer and La Pointe. But again, my people like to complain in silence.
Letâs Correct The Big Columbus Lie!
AS weâve always done for all our lives, Saint Lucians on December 132016 celebrated yet another a dubious âNational Dayâ …