Parliament postponed as St Vincent mourn victims of bus accident

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 | 11:44 AM    

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – The St Vincent and the Grenadines parliament has been postponed for a second consecutive day as the island comes to grip with the tragic accident on Monday that claimed the lives of five people.

A brief statement from the Office of the Prime Minister acknowledged that the postponement is as “a result of the tragedy in the Fancy area” and that Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who was due to deliver the national budget, will provide a date for the parliamentary session later on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health said it could verify that five people were killed as a result of the incident in which the minibus plunged into the sea at Rock Gutter, a community between Owia and Fancy in north-eastern St Vincent on Monday.

Teams Tuesday resumed their search for two people reported missing and Communications officer in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, Neeka Anderson-Isaacs, confirmed that 10 people had been hospitalised at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) while four others are at the hospital in Georgetown.

St Lucia Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony in a statement Tuesday extended condolences and sympathy to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines and recalled that just over three years ago, St Lucia suffered a similar tragedy.

Anthony said while he understands “this must be a very difficult time for the people in St Vincent and the Grenadines…a loss of this nature touches all of us throughout the region, and draws us closer together as a people.”

He said it is never easy to deal with an accident of this magnitude and that the pain and sorrow are magnified when children are involved.

“I call on my fellow St Lucians to spare a thought and say a prayer for those families, who must be in such turmoil right now.

“Our children are of paramount importance, and I take this opportunity to add my voice, my thoughts and prayers for the schools, the communities and the homes that have been impacted by the terrible accident that took place on Monday morning,” Anthony said.

Meanwhile, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Irwin La Rocque said the accident has “deeply saddened” CARICOM and “in this trying time of such grave loss, the Community stands with St Vincent and the Grenadines”.

La Rocque said “the Community’s grief is heightened by the fact that many among the deceased were school children”.

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Parliament postponed as St Vincent mourn victims of bus accident

St Vincent gas prices lowest since 2011

Wednesday, December 17, 2014 | 4:11 PM    

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – The state-owned St Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) has announced a drop in its fuel surcharge for this month, resulting in consumers paying the lowest fuel surcharge on their electricity bills since 2011.

 “The 40.65 cents per unit is the lowest since March 2011,” Communications Consultant in the office of the Prime Minister, Elson Crick said in a brief statement, announcing also a reduction in the price of gasoline at the pumps.

He said that as of Monday, the price of gasoline moved from EC$14.42 to EC$13.81 (One EC dollar =US$0.37 cent) per gallon, a reduction of EC$0.61 cents.

It was the third reduction in gasoline prices over the last three months, as fuel prices continue to tumble internationally.     

In October, consumers saw a reduction of EC$0.40 cents per gallon and in November, the price per gallon fell by a further EC$0.46 cents, bringing the total reduction over the three-month period to EC$$1.47.

“The reductions are in keeping with the government’s policy of using a three-month moving average for the price of fuel and reflect a downward movement in the price of oil on the international market,” Crick said.

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St Vincent gas prices lowest since 2011

Heavy rains, flooding in St Vincent damage homes, hospitalize one

E.T Joshua airport (Credit: T?sh?~Na†uralBeau†y®)/Twitter

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Sunday September 7, 2014, CMC - At least one person was hospitalized as a result of torrential rains that caused damage to some houses and flooded sections of Buccament Bay and Kingstown, early Saturday.

The rains, which began before dawn and continued until around 8 a.m. triggered landslides and flash floods in some areas, reminiscent of the trough system on December 24 that left nine confirmed dead, three missing, and extensive damage to infrastructure and housing.

Coconut trees down in Buccament Bay (Credit: richardberridge/Instagram)

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, in an update to the nation around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, said while there were no deaths, someone from the Largo Height area was hospitalized when a wall fell and damaged a house.

Arrangements were being made to have the residents of that house placed in a shelter, said Gonsalves, who has ministerial responsibility for disaster management.

In Trigger Ridge, a community in Central Kingstown, a house was in “a precarious position”, and the government was making alternative arrangement for the family of eight, Gonsalves said.

Chair of the Housing and Land Development Corporation, Berisford Phillips, whose name has been flaunted as a potential candidate for Gonsalves Unity Labour Party in that constituency in the next general election, had visited the two families.

In Rose Place, Kingstown, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) and the Social Welfare visited an elderly man who was affected by the extreme whether and arranged for him to be taken to hospital, Gonsalves said.

Kingstown was flooded and the clean up was already underway, while the main E.T. Joshua Airport, which was also flooded, was expected to remain closed until around 4 p.m.

Gonsalves said there were landslides across the country and two families in Buccament Bay who were affected and will be housed at the RIllan Hill Community Centre.

Several persons from Buccament Bay who were affected by the December floods are still being housed at the community centre in the neighbouring village.

(Credit: richardberridge/Instagram)

Among the houses flooded out in Buccament Bay were two that were also flooded during the Christmas Floods.

Another building, the Buccament Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Primary School, which was flooded in December, was also flooded on Saturday.

Gonsalves said Director of NEMO, Howie Prince, who went to Grenada to attend an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the passage of Hurricane Ivan, was stuck in Barbados on his way back to St. Vincent, and his deputy, Michelle Forbes, is doing a programme in Taiwan.

I can’t believe I slept through all that rain and floods I was really appalled by the site I saw when I drove through Kingstown dis morning

— ~DaPerfect10?Ragica? (@DahPerfect10) September 6, 2014

Serious rain and river flowing. @ Buccament Bay Resort http://t.co/lIf44iukgq

— Richard Berridge (@richardberridge) September 6, 2014

For the second time since December the homes of some residents of Buccament Bay have been flooded out, including… http://t.co/phdEzfHLoZ

— I-Witness News (@IWNSVG) September 6, 2014

The Prime Minister said as a result, NEMO is being managed by the third in command, Holda Peters, and assured citizens that the relevant state agencies have been activated.

He said the Roads, Bridges and General Services Authority has been mobilized and information is being communicated across the various agencies.

“Generally speaking, we are on top of things. I have been in touch with the Deputy Prime Minister [and] she in touch with me. We left one of the classrooms at Buccament Bay opened just in case someone had to go in there, even for a temporary basis.

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Heavy rains, flooding in St Vincent damage homes, hospitalize one

St Vincent farmers receive compensation following sudden closure of cocoa company

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Friday July 25, 2015, CMC – The St. Vincent Cocoa Company, which last week abruptly announced that it is ending its operations here in August, will compensate farmers in lieu of the two years’ notice stipulated in the agreement with the government.

“By virtue of the fact that notice is not given, they are writing off all the money that [farmers] borrowed, against the need to give notice,” Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar told reporters.

Ten farmers had received loans totalling EC$34,800 from the company’s micro finance programme, and this amount will be written off.

Famers who did not receive loans from the SVCC will each receive EC$1,000 (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents).

“But coming out of the discussion, it was decided that farmers who have over 3,000 plants will get between $1,500 to $2,000,” Caesar said, adding that not many famers had more than 3,000 plants.

The St. Vincent Cocoa Company came into existence after Armajaro Trading Ltd. signed a 50-year agreement with the government in August 2011, granting the firm exclusivity in the overseas marketing of wet and dry cocoa beans produced here.

Fifty-four farmers went into cocoa cultivation with the company after the 2011 agreement was signed, while a further 10 to 20 entered the sector, outside of the Armajaro agreement.

The company has invested more than $5 million in SVG, but Caesar said it decided to cease operations at the end of August because it no longer sees local production as “a viable one”.

The company had a target of cultivating 5,000 acres of cocoa, where only 18,000 acres of agricultural land remains.

“That was a big number and over the last four years, they were only able to rehabilitate 50 acres and to plant 200 new acres,” Caesar said.

The minister said farmers were disappointed by the development.

“Quite naturally, if you are in a relationship and the relationship did not work out quite as you had planned it, quite natural, there were some sad feeling, persons felt a bit sad, but I must state, no one was angry,” he said.

“It was very interesting. Persons expressed sadness that they no longer had an opportunity to work with what they considered, in their estimation, an internationally renown cocoa distributor. They thanked the company for coming to St. Vincent and working with them and for transferring the knowledge,” he said after a meeting with farmers.

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St Vincent farmers receive compensation following sudden closure of cocoa company

Rumoured St Vincent plane crash thought to be a metorite

The St Vincent Coast Guard indicated that the flaming object is believed to be a meteorite and that they were investigating.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Friday July 25, 2014, CMC – A meteorite set social media ablaze and turned Deputy Director of Grenadines Affairs Herman Belmar’s phone into a hotline Thursday night, as people expressed fears that an aircraft may have crashed near Bequia, one of the Grenadine islands here.

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris, from such sources as asteroids or comets that originates in outer space and survives its impact with the earth’s surface.

Belmar told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that he had received numerous reports that a flaming object was seen falling towards land at around 10.05 pm (local time).

Some people assumed that it was a small aircraft that had crashed. But Belmar, however, said that checks with police and the Coast Guard showed that there were no reports of a missing aircraft.

He said the Coast Guard informed him that the flaming object is believed to be a meteorite and that they were investigating.

Belmar said he understood the fears that an aircraft might have crashed, in light of recent aviation disasters.

On Wednesday, TransAsia Airways passenger aircraft GE222 crashed on the island of Penghu, Taiwan, killing 48 of the 58 persons on board. Last week, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 fell to the ground in a ball of flames in Eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 persons.

On March 8, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared from radar screens over Indonesia and has not seen since.

There were 200 people on board.

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Rumoured St Vincent plane crash thought to be a metorite

St Vincent prime minister mum on CARICOM marijuana debate

Man smoking marijuana (File photo)

Kenton Chance

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Wednesday July 2, 2014, CMC - Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says he will not speculate about the outcome of the discussion within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as it relates to the decriminalisation of marijuana for medical purposes.

He further sidestepped a question on whether his government is willing to follow the lead of Jamaica, which last month decriminalised small quantities of marijuana for personal use.

“A process had commenced in CARICOM,” Gonsalves said told reporters as he prepared to handover the chairmanship of the 15-member grouping Tuesday.

Newly elected Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne will take over the CARICOM chairmanship for the next six months.

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“There is a commission, which would be appointed and there are terms of reference to be approved at this meeting in Antigua,” he said.

“I would not prejudge what the commission will say,” Gonsalves said, adding that the commission will consider changes to marijuana legislations in countries around the world, including Jamaica, the United States, Sweden, and Uruguay.

“They will look at any number of places and they will make their recommendations. I await those recommendations, because I feel even in the absence of those recommendations, it seems to me counterproductive to ignore the potential of an industry in respect of medical marijuana and to continue to expend police, national security, court resources on persons who consume a minuscule amount of marijuana in the privacy of their homes,” said Gonsalves, who initiated the CARICOM discussion on the decriminalisation of marijuana.

State and health officials in several CARICOM countries have expressed reservation or outright opposition to changes to marijuana legislation.

“There are young people, good boys and girls, in many cases, good Christian boys and girls, good students who get caught behind their grandmothers’ houses smoking under 15 grammes of marijuana — a spliff,” Gonsalves said.

He noted that the laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines classify as possession with intent to supply the possession of more than 15 grammes (0.5 ounce) of marijuana.

“There are persons who have been criminalised for smoking a joint. With all the years of experience I have and all the studies I have to this matter, that seems to me to be entirely counterproductive and we need to have a serious conversation about that,” said Gonsalves, a lawyer, who is also Minister of Legal Affairs and national security.

“You don’t need to have an absolutely moral position on it, the same thing with alcohol. At the same time, whatever programme is done, we have to speak about negative side of marijuana and we have to deal with the educational and health issues attendant upon the misuse and abuse of marijuana.

“But what I have just said there does not in any way shut out an intelligent mature conversation on medical marijuana or for its decriminalisation in respect of very small quantities in your private spaces. It’s a subject about which we should talk and there are people who are afraid to talk about it,” he said.

He further accused the opposition New Democratic Party of not contributing to the discussion.

“They are afraid to touch it, because it is such a controversial subject. But, if I see reason in having a mature conversation on something, I don’t see why we shouldn’t. Some other issue may better be left to NGOs to initiate those conversations and have them.

“But I think this matter has reached a stage where at the state level it requires some serious conversation, which is happening at CARICOM,” Gonsalves said.

“I would not, therefore, prejudge what will happen and I therefore do not accept your invitation in that context to speculate on a hypothetical question,” he added.

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St Vincent prime minister mum on CARICOM marijuana debate

St Vincent economy shows improvement but ‘difficulties are still with us’ – Gonsalves

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves (File photo)

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Tuesday July 1, 2014, CMC – The Vincentian economy has shown improved performance during the first five months of 2014, compared to the same period of 2013, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves revealed at a press conference Monday.

Gonsalves, who is also Minister of Finance, however, repeated his warning that the nation is not yet out of the woods.

“Difficulties are still with us on many fronts even though we have seen an improvement in the overall fiscal situation.”

He said the drought during from January to May impacted farmers even more than the devastation left by the trough system that caused severe flooding on Christmas Eve.

Revenue and grants during the first five months of 2014 totaled EC$221.2 million (One EC dollar= US$0.37 cents)compared to EC$199.2 million during the same period of 2013.

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Total expenditure also registered an increase, of 4.8 per cent to EC$227.76 million, up from EC$217.3 million during the 2013 period under review.

Recurrent expenditure increased by 3.8 per cent, moving from EC$197.4 million to EC$204.87 million.

At the same time, capital expenditure rose 15.2 per cent – from EC$19.9 million to EC$22.9 million.

The current balance shows a surplus of EC$12.56 million, compared to a deficit of EC$14.78 million. The overall balance, however, is a deficit of EC$6.6 million, compared to a deficit of EC$18.03 million in 2013.

Gonsalves said the current revenue has increased by ‘a sizeable sum’ and his government has seen taxes on international trade increase by 1.6 per cent, while taxes on domestic transactions has increased by 6.3 per cent.

Revenue from valued-added tax has increased by 8.7 per cent. The raise in revenue is an indication of increased economic activity and improved efficiency in administration of taxes, Gonsalves said.

He, however, said that interest, rent, and dividend had moved from EC$1.7 million in 2013 to EC$10.33 million in 2014

Meanwhile, other revenue moved from EC$5.6 million to EC$14 million in 2014. Gonsalves said this reflected some revenue received after the Christmas Eve disaster.

“So we see a general improvement over the same situation last year, but we are still not out of the woods and the fiscal situation remains challenging,” he said noting the additional expenses after the Christmas Eve trough system, which left EC$330 million — 17 per cent of GDP — in loss and damage.

He said the loss and damage after the storm was ‘a big blow’, followed by a drought during the first five months of 2014.

He said 12 inches of rain fell in some parts of the country during three hours on Christmas Eve, but only 20 inches fell from January to May, compare to the usual 45 inches.

Gonsalves said he has found that making public information about the performance of the economy “gives a good indication to the citizens as to how we are managing the fiscal situation and to alert them and business, workers, public servants, where we are and facilitating them as to where we are and to frame decision which they have to make”.

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St Vincent economy shows improvement but ‘difficulties are still with us’ – Gonsalves

New St Vincent coast guard base expected to end haven for crime

Canouan coast guard sub-base (Credit: iwnsvg.com)

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, Friday June 27, 2014, CMC – The St Vincent and the Grenadines government has commissioned a coast guard sub base on the southern Grenadine island of Canouan, which Prime Minister Dr Rlaph Gonsalves said will help to protect the “soft underbelly” of this multi-island nation.

Commissioner of Police Michael Charles said the new base will also help to make less porous an area of the country that is a haven for criminals from South America, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada.

The two million US dollar facility was constructed under the United States government’s Secure Seas Programme with the government contributing EC$400,000 (one EC dollar=US$0.37 cents).

The base, which was completed last October and became operational in November, comprises a two-storey, operational centre that has 4,500 square feet of floor space and can house 24 Coast Guard personnel; a 50 feet long pier that allows for six feet of water depth at low tide; fuel and water storage and dispensations systems; and a communications tower.

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Gonsalves, who is also National Security Minister, said the sub base is an extension of the central coast guard base at Calliaqua in St Vincent, and will perform all the operations conducted at the main base.

Twelve coast guard personnel and coast guard vessel SVG 09, a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) vessel donated by the U.S. government, are stationed at the sub base.

“The Southern Grenadines is the soft under belly security wise,” Gonsalves told the ceremony and expressed appreciation for US President Barack Obama’s Safe Seas Programme.

The coast guard has also received two RHIBS, a pick-up truck, and spare parts under the programme and Gonsalves said the sub base is important to tourism investment on the island.

“It is magnificent because the people who are coming with the marina and the people who are here would know you are going to be relatively safe from bandits who want to use the sea to come in and disturb our safety and our security,” he said.
He said the facility would be responsible for Coast Guard operations in the Southern Grenadines and support the main base operation whenever required.

It has 24-hour very high frequency and digital selective call in watch on channels 16 and 17 respectively and can be contacted easily by VHF channel 16, Gonsalves said.

“This Coast Guard base fits strategically into our coastal surveillance plan. This operation is linked to the coastal radar system that was financed by the government of Trinidad and Tobago with three sites on the mainland,” he said of the system that allows maritime officials to track traffic in the nation’s waters.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Larry Palmer said that St Vincent and the Grenadines and the United States are part of a shared security partnership to address the transnational security challenge in the hemisphere.

“This partnership is underscored by the cooperative working relations between the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force and especially its coast guard and the United States’ military and law enforcement agencies.

“You have all been strong partners and have taken an aggressive stance to keep this nation safe from narcotics trafficking and other threats to the maritime borders of our shared region,” Palmer said.

“The base’s key location between St Vincent and Grenada will strengthen your coast guard’s maritime law enforcement and search and rescue capabilities as well in this remote area…. This coast guard base is only part of the long-term United States commitment to support your on-going capacity building efforts to increase the country’s national security,” Palmer further said at the ceremony.

The Police Commissioner said that the island now has another point from which it can bring the fight to the criminals and protect citizens and visitors.

“For many years, the Grenadine islands have been a security challenge to law enforcement agencies. Being a multi-island state, there are many bays, beaches and inlets to the policed and patrolled. And because of our limited resources to do such, our borders can be considered as porous.

“As a result of these prevailing circumstances, these islands have been a haven for criminals from South America, Trinidad, Grenada.”

Charles said criminals have capitalised on the nation’s limited capabilities to man its borders, to traffic illegal drugs, smuggle guns and launder money.

“But today, as we commission this Coast Guard base, I want to assure the general public and our visitors alike that we will use this facility to optimal potential and to bring to justice those persons who contravene the maritime and other laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines,” the police chief said.

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New St Vincent coast guard base expected to end haven for crime

New St Vincent coast guard base expected to end haven for crime

Canouan coast guard sub-base (Credit: iwnsvg.com)

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, Friday June 27, 2014, CMC – The St Vincent and the Grenadines government has commissioned a coast guard sub base on the southern Grenadine island of Canouan, which Prime Minister Dr Rlaph Gonsalves said will help to protect the “soft underbelly” of this multi-island nation.

Commissioner of Police Michael Charles said the new base will also help to make less porous an area of the country that is a haven for criminals from South America, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada.

The two million US dollar facility was constructed under the United States government’s Secure Seas Programme with the government contributing EC$400,000 (one EC dollar=US$0.37 cents).

The base, which was completed last October and became operational in November, comprises a two-storey, operational centre that has 4,500 square feet of floor space and can house 24 Coast Guard personnel; a 50 feet long pier that allows for six feet of water depth at low tide; fuel and water storage and dispensations systems; and a communications tower.

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Gonsalves, who is also National Security Minister, said the sub base is an extension of the central coast guard base at Calliaqua in St Vincent, and will perform all the operations conducted at the main base.

Twelve coast guard personnel and coast guard vessel SVG 09, a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) vessel donated by the U.S. government, are stationed at the sub base.

“The Southern Grenadines is the soft under belly security wise,” Gonsalves told the ceremony and expressed appreciation for US President Barack Obama’s Safe Seas Programme.

The coast guard has also received two RHIBS, a pick-up truck, and spare parts under the programme and Gonsalves said the sub base is important to tourism investment on the island.

“It is magnificent because the people who are coming with the marina and the people who are here would know you are going to be relatively safe from bandits who want to use the sea to come in and disturb our safety and our security,” he said.
He said the facility would be responsible for Coast Guard operations in the Southern Grenadines and support the main base operation whenever required.

It has 24-hour very high frequency and digital selective call in watch on channels 16 and 17 respectively and can be contacted easily by VHF channel 16, Gonsalves said.

“This Coast Guard base fits strategically into our coastal surveillance plan. This operation is linked to the coastal radar system that was financed by the government of Trinidad and Tobago with three sites on the mainland,” he said of the system that allows maritime officials to track traffic in the nation’s waters.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Larry Palmer said that St Vincent and the Grenadines and the United States are part of a shared security partnership to address the transnational security challenge in the hemisphere.

“This partnership is underscored by the cooperative working relations between the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force and especially its coast guard and the United States’ military and law enforcement agencies.

“You have all been strong partners and have taken an aggressive stance to keep this nation safe from narcotics trafficking and other threats to the maritime borders of our shared region,” Palmer said.

“The base’s key location between St Vincent and Grenada will strengthen your coast guard’s maritime law enforcement and search and rescue capabilities as well in this remote area…. This coast guard base is only part of the long-term United States commitment to support your on-going capacity building efforts to increase the country’s national security,” Palmer further said at the ceremony.

The Police Commissioner said that the island now has another point from which it can bring the fight to the criminals and protect citizens and visitors.

“For many years, the Grenadine islands have been a security challenge to law enforcement agencies. Being a multi-island state, there are many bays, beaches and inlets to the policed and patrolled. And because of our limited resources to do such, our borders can be considered as porous.

“As a result of these prevailing circumstances, these islands have been a haven for criminals from South America, Trinidad, Grenada.”

Charles said criminals have capitalised on the nation’s limited capabilities to man its borders, to traffic illegal drugs, smuggle guns and launder money.

“But today, as we commission this Coast Guard base, I want to assure the general public and our visitors alike that we will use this facility to optimal potential and to bring to justice those persons who contravene the maritime and other laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines,” the police chief said.

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New St Vincent coast guard base expected to end haven for crime

PM Gonsalves wants a ‘Kamla Village’ in St Vincent

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – St Vincent Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves says he would like the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad Bissessar, to join her predecessor, Patrick Manning, in having a village named after her in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Gonsalves’ statement suggested the type of assistance that he would like from the oil-rich, twin-island republic.Gonsalves spoke at the end of a high level meeting of local and regional officials here on Saturday that discussed the rehabilitation efforts following the Christmas Eve rains that led to the deaths of nine people, including a two-year old baby visiting from Canada. Four other people remain missing and feared dead.Many houses were extensively damaged or destroyed by debris-laden floodwaters and Gonsalves said persons in some areas would have to be relocated.Among those killed in the storm is Raymond Gonsalves, the 62 year-old cousin of the prime minister, who ironically was among several people relocated from the seashore in Byera and Gorse after the passage of Hurricane Ivan in 2004.“He had a nice wall house toward the seas, but the ravages, for him and other persons, of wave action, were too severe, we moved them to a place call Manning Village, after Patrick Manning, because the government of Trinidad and Tobago had provided some resources.“I would like very much to call a village Kamla Village,” Gonsalves said to laughter while looking at Admiral Richard Kelshall, a regional security coordinator, who was present at the meeting.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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PM Gonsalves wants a ‘Kamla Village’ in St Vincent

PM Gonsalves wants a ‘Kamla Village’ in St Vincent

News

Monday, December 30, 2013 | 8:23 AM

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – St Vincent Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves says he would like the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad Bissessar, to join her predecessor, Patrick Manning, in having a village named after her in St Vincent and the Grenadines.Gonsalves’ statement suggested the type of assistance that he would like from the oil-rich, twin-island republic.Gonsalves spoke at the end of a high level meeting of local and regional officials here on Saturday that discussed the rehabilitation efforts following the Christmas Eve rains that led to the deaths of nine people, including a two-year old baby visiting from Canada. Four other people remain missing and feared dead.Many houses were extensively damaged or destroyed by debris-laden floodwaters and Gonsalves said persons in some areas would have to be relocated.Among those killed in the storm is Raymond Gonsalves, the 62 year-old cousin of the prime minister, who ironically was among several people relocated from the seashore in Byera and Gorse after the passage of Hurricane Ivan in 2004.“He had a nice wall house toward the seas, but the ravages, for him and other persons, of wave action, were too severe, we moved them to a place call Manning Village, after Patrick Manning, because the government of Trinidad and Tobago had provided some resources.“I would like very much to call a village Kamla Village,” Gonsalves said to laughter while looking at Admiral Richard Kelshall, a regional security coordinator, who was present at the meeting.Trinidad and Tobago PM Kamla Persad Bissessar,

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PM Gonsalves wants a ‘Kamla Village’ in St Vincent

St Vincent and the Grenadines profile

26 October 2012 Last updated at 09:41 ET The multi-island country of St Vincent and the Grenadines is a land of contrasts. St Vincent – the main population centre – is mountainous and lush. Rainforests thrive in the interior and La Soufriere, an active volcano which last erupted in 1979, dominates the north.

Of the many islands and cays that make up the Grenadines, Mustique, Palm Island and Union Island are haunts of the rich and famous – offering yachting, diving and fine beaches.

These playgrounds are worlds away from the many Vincentians who are without jobs. High unemployment has prompted many to leave the islands.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Ralph Gonsalves, aka “Comrade Ralph”, won a third term as prime minister in 2010 by a slender marginEconomy: The banana industry is the biggest sector of the agricultural economy; a new international airport is under constructionInternational: Prime Minister Gonsalves has cultivated close ties with Venezuela and its leader Hugo Chavez

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Like other countries in the Windwards chain, St Vincent and the Grenadines has tried to reduce its reliance on banana exports after the European Union phased out preferential treatment to producers from former colonies.

Efforts to diversify the economy have been partially successful. Tourism is said to have great potential and there are plans to build an international airport. But the banana crop remains vital, accounting for around a third of export earnings.

Like many other Caribbean countries, St Vincent and the Grenadines has fallen victim to drug-related crime. Efforts have been made to tackle marijuana cultivation.

The country has taken steps to curb money-laundering, and a Paris-based organisation dedicated to tackling the issue has removed St Vincent and the Grenadines from its list of non-cooperative countries.

Beautiful bays and fine beaches attract many wealthy tourists

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St Vincent and the Grenadines profile

New leadership for St Vincent Strambi High

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — For the De La Salle Christian brothers, a group within the Roman Catholic faith, education is more than a profession and is considered part of the divine plan for their lives.

The “Brothers”, according to Reverend Ronald Hamilton, business manager of the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Mandeville, and immediate past acting principal of the St Vincent Strambi High School in Bull Savannah, St Elizabeth, “are a group of vowed religious men who have heard the Lord’s call to sell everything and follow him.”Started in the 17th century by French priest St John Baptist De La Salle who focused his own life on teaching, the Brothers today have taken a vow of “chastity, poverty and obedience”.The extent of their devotion to education has resulted in the operation of schools in 80 countries worldwide, including the United States of America and in African countries like Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria, Hamilton said.He said that come September, Jamaica will for the first time benefit from “Lasallian” teaching with the coming of two Americans to the St Vincent Strambi High School. They are Brother Augustine Nicoletti, who is to be the new principal and Brother James Wallace, an administrator.According to Hamilton, their coming is “timely” as the De La Salle teaching style emphasises practical or vocational areas which is a focus of the Ministry of Education.“They emphasise skills training which is what the country needs,” Hamilton said.On a recent visit to Jamaica, Nicoletti and Wallace — who are both on secondment from the Manhattan College in New York — told the Jamaica Observer of plans to make an impact during their two-year stint.“In any setting, you can always [make improvements]. We want to improve the spiritual dimension of the faith community, include some theatre, drama down the road, more opportunities for vocational education; we want to infuse life skills. We want to really teach their (children’s) minds and touch their hearts,” Nicoletti said.Wallace said that the “aim is to get all students to do well”.In doing his research, Nicoletti said that he discovered that Catholics are only about three per cent of the Jamaican population. However, he is undeterred.“I don’t base my life on statistics. [Our work looks beyond] nationality, culture, race,” he said.The two elderly men said that the commitment that they have to the work that they do will ensure that they do it for as long as they can.“We love what we do despite tough days,” Nicoletti said.He said that one of the main tenets of being a Brother is that they live in a community with other Brothers.During their stay in Jamaica they will live on the school’s compound, which Nicoletti said will enable them to be available to the students all the time even outside of regular school hours. Their reimbursement will be a stipend from the church, Hamilton said.Hamilton in his report at the school’s recent graduation outlined developments at the institution that the De La Salle Christian Brothers can build on.He claimed that the last school year’s external examination results were at their “usual high standard” in subjects including English Language, Mathematics, Information Technology, Accounts, and Office Administration. In addition to the candidates for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Level subjects, Hamilton said that the school also prepares students to undertake the certification assessment for the HEART Trust/NTA at levels one and two.The former head of the 19-year-old St Vincent Strambi High School expressed confidence that the new leadership will help to continue the school’s growth path.The graduating class with former Acting Principal Reverend Ronald Hamilton (left), Bishop of Mandeville Neil Tiedemann (rear centre) and Monsignor Gregory Ramkisoon, director of Mustard Seed Communities and guest speaker at the graduation. (CONTRIBUTED BY CATHOLIC PASTORAL CENTRE)Hamilton said that the vocational emphasis of ‘Lasallian’ education is in line with the Ministry of Education’s goals in that area. (OBSERVER FILE PHOTO)Brother Augustine Nicoletti (right), new principal for the St Vincent Strambi High School in St Elizabeth, with his counterpart Brother James Wallace at the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Mandeville, recently (PHOTO:GREGORY BENNETT)St Vincent Strambi High School in Bull Savannah, St Elizabeth. (CONTRIBUTED BY CATHOLIC PASTORAL CENTRE)

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New leadership for St Vincent Strambi High

Teen killed in St Vincent J"ouvert accident

News

Monday, July 08, 2013 | 3:56 PM

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – A teenager lost her life early Monday during J’ouvert activities when she was reportedly run over by a truck.According to media reports, the girl, believed to be 17 years old was dancing near the truck when one of the wheels ran over her.Reports are that she died in hospital.

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Teen killed in St Vincent J"ouvert accident