WHEN the details of the DSH agreement came out, Vieux Fortiansâ joy turned to vexation. Allen Chastanet, Rick Wayne, Nicole McDonald, Invest St. Lucia, and Teo Ah Khingwere telling them that it was rain pouring over their heads and burning their eyes, but it didnât look like rain, smell like rain, taste like rain, feel like rain, therefore it couldnât be rain. Their anger turned into action.
THIS issue in its holistic perception bothers us since we are of the firm opinion and belief that the position we have taken in the matter of the Deputy Speaker is the correct one. We are bothered because of the bland and ubiquitous acceptance of the status quo. Why hasnât the former Prime Minister as a constitutional expert submit a paper on the matter to the House/Speaker? Considering the patent impasse why hasnât the Prime Minister as Leader of Government Business sought the resolution of this parliamentary farce. The present situation is constitutionally, commonsensically untenable, and everyone is mired in a morass of self-righteous, self-serving posturing.
AS we continue to examine ourselves and our involvement with this Citizenship by Investment scheme, our concern has always been that our passports, and therefore our identities, are not to be put up for sale as a commodity under any condition.
AS if by kismet, just when we thought America would finally do the right thing after having tried everything else, along comes an atrocity to puncture our complacency. With the election of Donald Trump as president, the future of leadership character and political morality in America is now a dark chasm of yawning uncertainty.
THE President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, is systematically implementing the pledges he made during the Presidential election campaign. Those who argued that limitations on Presidential power and the restraining hands of Cabinet and Congress, would cause many, if not all, of the Presidentâs promises to fall by the wayside, are now becoming convinced of his determination.
TRADE between the US and other countries of the world, particularly China, was a major plank of Donald Trumpâs campaign for the Presidency. He regarded all the trade deals as inimical to US interests. So, is there reason for Caribbean Community Common Market (CARICOM) countries to worry about their trade relationship with the US under the Trump Presidency?
![Image of Dr. Ubaldus Raymond [PHOTO: Stan Bishop]](https://thevoiceslu.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Dr-Raymond-says-Saint-Lucias-high-debt-is-creating-headaches-for-governments-plans-mid-600x400.jpg)
LAST Thursday, had Mr. Ubaldus Raymond been introduced as the Honourable Dr.Ubaldus Raymond, Iâd likely not have batted an eye. The following day we learned of his entanglements with an 18-year old student, her attempts to blackmail him, his refusal to pay the $700 she demanded and the online sharing of what appeared to be (and have yet to be denied by him) photos of him.
âIN Jewish history there are no coincidencesâ, wrote the Jewish writer and 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel. So …
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
![Hilaire [Photo: Stan Bishop]](https://thevoiceslu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Hilaire-mid-600x400.jpg)
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.
THE Judge at the local District Court house, having heard the evidence in a case for theft of a bunch …
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.
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, 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.
SINCE his sudden and unexpected passing away on December 22 at the age of 70 (he would have been 71 …