.

Sir Howard Defends Panel Against Critics of Review

By Merrick Andrews

Prof. Sir Howard Fergus and MP Mr. Chedmond Browne

Chairman of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) Prof. Sir Howard Fergus is defending his Commission’s efforts against public criticisms that Montserrat’s first constitution review is closing and a public education programme was not included in its terms of reference (TOR).

Despite an absence of a public education programme in the TOR, Sir Howard said, his Commission executed several educational initiatives.

He said: “We have consulted about 20 civic organisations in Montserrat… and we have included the Montserrat Secondary School in our educational programme. As limited as it was, we spoke to two fifth forms and those discussions were very useful.”

He noted that the Commission also conducted its educational and consultative initiatives on ZJB Radio and at public meetings in every community on the island, as well as areas overseas with the greatest Montserratian concentration such as England, Anguilla, Antigua and St. Kitts.

He added: “I bought copies of the constitution and placed them at the public library so that people could read the constitution. We photocopied chunks of the constitution and left them with people at public meetings. We produced a pamphlet, which simplified the issues and the whole concept of constitution.”

Time limit under fire

The time limit to revise the constitution is also being criticized.

In the CRC’s September 2001 letter of appointment from the Governor (in conjunction with the Government of Montserrat), the CRC was asked to submit its report to the Governor by June 2002, according to Sir Howard, who is currently the acting governor.
However, he said the CRC began the review in February and so was unable to report in June because of “time slippages” resulting from reassessing the composition of the CRC to include a female.

The other members of the CRC are Mr. Peter White, representing overseas Montserratians; Mr. Fitzroy Martin, named by the opposition party; Rev. Florence Daley; and lawyer Mr. Jean Kelsick. The group has already begun writing its draft report for submission to the Governor by mid-October.

“The time frame and the machinery utilized to arrive at the conclusions that they are going to draw are not fair,” said Mr. Chedmond Browne, who resigned from the CRC after his expulsion from the ruling New People’s Liberation Movement (NPLM).
Mr. Browne noted that in some other Caribbean countries a constitution review takes place over several years and includes a public education programme. “We have been continued to be treated unfairly by a group of people – the British Government – who have an agenda of their own and who always get willing people in our society to help them satisfy those agendas.”

However, Sir Howard said the Montserrat Constitution should not have been new to a lot of people because it was available since 1989, when the island received its first consolidated constitution from the United Kingdom. “People need to be reminded that the present constitution came into being in 1989 and was therefore available for over 13 years,” he said. “In other words some persons have contested the elections thrice under this particular constitution. So at least the active politician should be familiar with the constitution, and other people as well.”

He added: “All I am saying is that we can be accused maybe of not having done enough but it must never be said that we didn’t carry out educational exercises and I want to reiterate that the constitutions should not have been new to a lot of people.”

Mr. Browne said using the length of time when Montserrat received its constitution is “an unfair excuse”.

He said the island has experienced several crises – natural disaster, economical and political – which are “major overriding elements that play a role in not having a population base that is stable enough and have enough leisure time to address issues such as the ones he is talking about”.

Mr. Browne added: “The excuse is not valid. No Government since1989 to present has budgeted for the five years they were in the government process of education where they would provide educators to educate the society from school level up with the understanding of what is in this document (constitutional review report).”

But the CRC chairman believes anything one does will draw criticisms. “Not everybody will be pleased with what is recommended in the end but we as a commission are satisfied that our recommendations will be reasonable and they’ll be compatible with the general wishes and aspirations of the people of Montserrat,” he said.

Sir Howard said the CRC continues to receive letters and memoranda from the public and he expressed his gratitude to the many people and civic organisations that have contributed submissions to a “landmark document and a landmark exercise”.

“I believe those people who have contributed to (constitution review) would be proud that they had a hand in shaping the revised constitution of Montserrat,” he said, “and it is our hope that the government will have an important say, give an important response before the British Government makes its final pronouncement.”

However, Mr. Browne still lashed out at the perceived all-important public education programme: “The British Government has failed and every local government since 1989 to the present has failed to provide the necessary framework including the financial machinery for that educational process.”

Shrimp-rearing Company Seeks To Begin Montserrat Operation

by Bennette Roach

A shrimp-rearing company has been negotiating with the Government of Montserrat (GoM) to establish a company on island.

Aquafuture (Montserrat) Ltd, the entity that will be used for the operations, also met with key officials in the agricultural sector.

The company will be primarily engaged in the operation of raising a saltwater shrimp in an indoor self-contained freshwater system.

The company will also be engaged in a Hydroponics Vegetable and Herb operation that will become an integral part of the operations; the drying of solid waste from the shrimp operation to be sold as fertilizer and the packaging of the exoskeleton shed by the shrimp, made of Chitin, pronounced “Kite-in” for use by pharmaceutical companies in Europe, and by the beauty industry for use in creams.

Aquafuture is now embarking on a revolutionary method of growing seafood. It has contracted with one of the world's first indoor Aquaculture shrimp growers in existence, to bring together state of the art technology in filtration and aeration systems, using specially designed computer programming.

They have made use of this new technology and have perfected an environmentally protective enclosed recirculating system and scalable model to produce a delicious and contaminant free shrimp in a controlled and predictable environment.

This new business paradigm offers a viable alternative that is environmentally friendly and will help to curb the ongoing degradation now being caused by open pond Aquaculture operations, while filling a void created by the declining catch volume from the oceans.

The United States imports approximately $3.5 billion of frozen shrimp each year and this market has seen a constant increase in demand during the past 25 years.

Aquafuture (Montserrat) Ltd intends to pursue an aggressive marketing campaign geared towards the major hotel chains and the cruise ship industry on the U.S. East Coast in order to capture a significant portion of this $3.5 billion dollar market. 

MSS Students Obtain Impressive Test Results

By Merrick Andrews

Montserrat Secondary School (MSS) students chalked up more impressive performances in exam results as 100 percent passes were obtained in 11 of 26 Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects.
Fifty-six students wrote the CXC, CSEC examinations in May/June 2002, with a total of 260 subject entries at General (G), Technical (T) and Basic (B) proficiencies. Grades l-lll passes were obtained in 201, thus yielding a 77.3 percent pass rate.

The 11 subjects are Caribbean History, Clothing & Textiles, Visual Arts, Food & Nutrition, French (G), French (B), Geography (G), Geography (B), Principles of Accounts, Principles of Business and Social Studies.
Principal of MSS, Miss Kathleen Greenaway, lauded the students and congratulated everyone who helped in their success.
“Once again, congratulations to all students, teachers, including part-time teachers and parents. Thanks to the local registrar, our local examiners, supervisors and invigilators who did an excellent job. Special thanks to the community, especially the business places who assisted these students,” she said in a press release.
In addition, a 50 percent and above pass rate was achieved in: English A, Integrated Science, Social Studies, Biology, Information Technology, Chemistry, Typewriting (G) and Typewriting (B).
Twenty-eight students wrote the Cambridge ‘O’ Level exams in four subjects.

In the Cambridge ‘O’ Level exams, students obtained grades A, B, C passes in 13 of the 39 subject entries giving percentage passes as indicated: Agriculture (four out of 12 – 33.3 percent), Physics (4/13 – 30.8 percent), Commerce (3/7 – 42.9 percent) and Economics (2/7 – 28.6 percent).

Most outstanding performances
Denise Gordon was the most outstanding student, passing 10 subjects – eight at CSEC and two at Cambridge.
Miss Gordon was one of several students who appeared on the school’s Honors Roll list for the fifth consecutive term. She was also a member of Montserrat’s team that placed second in the Leeward Islands Debating competition from April 4-7 in Antigua.
Student who obtained eight subjects: Francis Destouche, Alison Skerritt (passed English A in 2001), Leandre Tuitt and Deane Archer.
Students who passed seven subjects: Javiere Adams, Shaurene Farrell, Cilma Wade. Shara Greenaway, this year’s valedictorian, Jasmine Hixon, Siobhan Tuitt and Jose’ White all passed English in 2001.
Students who obtained six subjects: Jomel Allen, Odizer Harris, Michelle Morgan, Ian Osborne, Garrett Stanley, Samuel Williams; Linda Dias and Dejoie French both passed English in 2001.
Students who obtained five subjects: Marcelin Cassell, Annette Cummings, Ian Galloway, Jovarn Thornhill and Steffinella Semper (passed English A in 2001).

Firsts
There were several firsts in the MSS overseas examinations this year.
For the first time students wrote CSEC examinations in the following subjects: Information Technology (T) – 11 of 13 students who took the exam were successful; Electrical & Electronic Technology (T) – seven of 11 students were successful; and Electrical & Electronic Technology (B) – one of eight prevocational students were successful.
This year, students who wrote CSEC Principles of Accounts and Principles of Business exams were also given the opportunity to write Cambridge ‘O’ Level exams in Commerce and Economics. Three of seven students gained passes in Commerce and two in Economics.  

EDITORIAL

"Economy-stricken Montserrat Need Tax Reform as well as Tax Collection"

Next week the Tax Reform and Administration Commission of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's Currency Union (ECCBU) will meet in Grenada to discuss the role of government in the economy, mechanisms for financing governments and the principles of taxation to guide income taxes on property and services.

No one from Montserrat serves on this Commission, not that Montserrat seems to serve on anything within the region these days, but the Commission is mandated by the Monetary Council on which the Montserrat representative is the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Mrs. Annie Dyer-Howe, with alternate representative in the Hon. Financial Secretary.

Montserrat is on the list to be visited and examined by the Commission but giving way to other larger islands which have more urgent needs than we do, according to informed government sources. Yet we can hope that our needs will be expressed by government as being also very urgent, again because of our special circumstances. If that situation is not so expressed it will just be another instance or evidence that they are all wearing blinkers, conveniently or otherwise.

Montserrat needs tax reform and not the harassment that some people experience. There needs to be an education like we never knew before on matters of the constitution, (late though that may be) and taxation. How many of us would know that when a child manages the luxury of spending 25¢ for a sweet, that 36 percent or 9¢ of that was paid to the government for duty, consumption tax and service tax?

Income tax is a very sore topic on the island (no longer in neigbouring Antigua-Barbuda and St. Kitts-Nevis) and among Montserratians abroad, particularly those who have a strong inclination or desire to return home. Undoubtedly there must be a good percentage of the 9,000 or so who remain abroad because of the volcanic activity which drove the majority of them away five years ago, who, even if they are willing to return, dread doing so and remain away because they, too, owe tax arrears of varying amounts.

But we don’t need to wait for the ECCB tax reform commission to tell us what needs to be done in this respect, for many reasons. One of these is that the matter can be crucial to the very continued existence of life in Montserrat.

The Man from Baker Hill has attempted before to explain in simple terms the system of taxation, telling us that there is not only direct income tax but there is also indirect taxation, like the 36 percent which we pay back to the merchant for the indirect tax that was collected from him for the sweets he sells.                                                            

Back in 1995, the last time we did not receive any special grants from Her Majesty’s Government, of a total of $40.7 million in revenue, $21.9 million was direct taxes, which ranged over 15 items of taxation, from income tax to cruise ship tax, with income tax being $7.8 million of that amount for direct taxes.

Duties and Consumption tax at the time generated revenue of $11.1 million, compared to 1998 when there were only about 3,500 people on the island and $5.4 million was generated.  Interestingly, income tax collected contrasted in ratio at $6.4 million, $1.4 million more than had been estimated.

So, how is it that more money is collected in other taxes as against income tax?

Every one who spends a dollar pays a portion of that in taxes of one kind or another, and if we think of it that is only fair, because taxes must be paid one way or another and are necessary and vital. Ah yes, in theory at least, some of the times it comes back to all of us.

There is much inequity among people who should pay direct tax. Some do not pay any or do not pay enough. Simply it seems we are bound to collect more indirectly. Anyone who earns money or receives income should pay taxes and the truth is, every one does pay taxes. Income tax is collected mainly from civil servants and the few whose employers keep books of accounts of their businesses.

Of course, the matter of taxes is quite a touchy one, even before our crisis, and more so now because of the dire economic hardships that exist in Montserrat. And the question of tax arrears is onerous just to think about, and brings out the selfishness among us more than any other issue that affects us. One neighbouring head of government once remarked, though not too recently, that there comes a point when it is pointless to attempt to collect tax arrears which were not received in the period they were budgeted, but every attempt should be made to collect the current amount as budgeted to meet the country’s current expenditure. The problem, of course, is that if you spend time collecting the arrears, especially in hard times like the one being experienced in Montserrat, there cannot be anything left to meet the current requirement. Montserrat has reached such a stage, it is very difficult to look back without the block of the volcanic crisis, and we need more than ever to try and look ahead, far ahead, lest we fall and die looking back, while we stumble still trying to move forward.

It is time to forgive and forget and find new ways to avoid the errors of the past, because it will take not just us, but those out there to come back and make life a little bit memorable and worthwhile in Montserrat.

What a predicament – tax arrears will force us to leave and/or run away, forcing the economy to fall further through the floor; keep Montserratians from coming back home to the aggravating and senilitization debt of tax arrears. This all lead to one result, reduce or stagnate further critical population growth. While we are thinking purely to improve conditions, to create the right atmosphere, to develop the tourism and other exports, an islander airport will take care of that in grand style, while we fast-track back to the 1950s with few small differences like electric lights instead of kerosene lamps, and computers and television instead of gramophone, which then only the well-off could afford.

“In 1989 Montserrat received its first consolidated constitution…drawn up in the UK less than three months after the ravage of Montserrat’s worst known hurricane (Hugo). It was ready for implementation without any prior consultation…this was a shameless piece of autocratic action even in a colonial setting. The timing was strategic: thoughts and energies were concentrated on hurricane recovery and the discussion on a new constitution seemed an irritating distraction.”                       (Howard A Fergus; ‘Montserrat in the 20^th Century’ pg 17)

SCRIPTURE VERSE THIS WEEK

Taking Our Chance To Speak Out

Peter said to him, "Master, why can't I follow you now?  I will lay down my life for you."  Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?  Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times."  -John 13:37-38

               We know that Jesus called it correctly.  Peter ends up denying Jesus three times, and then he regrets it bitterly.  Poor Peter.  So like us all.  So very like us all.  Who among us has not denied Jesus not three times but countless times?  Of course, no one reports our denials to all the world for centuries on end, as the Gospel of John has done the denials of Peter.

               Our denials of Jesus may be niggling, but they are as real as the day is long.  We have a chance to speak up, before friends or fellow employees, in favor of a Catholic point of view on some public event.  "As a Catholic, I oppose capital punishment."  "As a Catholic I believe any form of racism is evil."  "As a Catholic I believe sex is good but not trivialized."  Instead, we either keep quiet or nod as if in agreement with an opinion that is "politically correct'' but contrary to our beliefs as Catholics.  Poor Peter.  Poor us.

               Lord Jesus please help me to speak up for you faith in the small ways I can. 

Mitch Finley               

Isaiah 49:1-6

               Psalm 71:1-6, 15, and 17

               John 13; 21-33, 36-38

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Former UK Police Adviser Says 'Thanks' From Abroad

Dear Editor,

So often these days people and services are taken for granted and a "regular service" sometimes becomes unintentionally confused with a "routine service" in some people's minds.   In such cases genuine compliments tend to become less and less frequent.

To keep the people of Montserrat informed of local, regional and international issues, and to have carried that on under quite adverse conditions over a number of years must have attracted expressions of gratitude.  I can only assume that modesty has prevented publication of such comment.

I had the very fortunate experience of being seconded from the UK police to the Royal Montserrat Police from May until August 1997, albeit that turned out to be a more unfortunate period (25th June particularly) in the island's history than perhaps other times.   I learnt a lot during that secondment and hope that I was able to make a useful contribution.  I also shared some interesting experiences with numerous members of the Royal Montserrat Police, Fire Service, Defence Force and Government of Montserrat, and got to know many other people quite well. 

During the time I was there I increasingly realised the value and importance of the Montserrat Reporter in understanding the ups and downs of Montserratian life, the personalities, ambitions and expectations of the people and a general flavour of what made Montserrat tick.

Since then I have been able to follow the news and information service through your website and I have to say it has been the only really constant source of accurate information that I have found.  The occasional article appears in UK newspapers, there was one recently in the Sunday Express on the unique wildlife on the island, but the Reporter website is both regular and, it would appear, determined in delivering the news. 

So congratulations and thanks from a UK resident who, despite the sad and difficult circumstances of 1997, enjoyed sharing the spirit and happiness which seemed to underpin life on Montserrat and is pleased to continue that connection even though it is from a distance.   I look forward to making a personal purchase of a copy of the Reporter before too long.

With best wishes and sincere thanks for the service you make available, Neil Johnstone Formerly; Police Chief Inspector, National Emergency Procedures Unit, New Scotland Yard Currently; Emergency Planning Officer for Local Government, UK

Neil.Johnstone@kent.gov.uk

On-line Reader Seeks Source of Island Cap

Just want to let you know how much I enjoy keeping up with the news from back
home via your publication.
The reason for my writing is to inquire if you know how I can get a cap like the one the cricketer in this week's issue is wearing. He is wearing a green cap with the words "Montserrat, West Indies."
Thanks for your kind assistance.

Johnathon

JJKW713@aol.com

Kittitian in Munich Finds On-line Reporter Helpful

Dear Sir,

I am seated in my office in Munich, Germany, and have just found a few minutes to browse through your Montserrat Reporter. Very interesting. I am from St. Kitts and occasionally read our newsletter; I must admit I find yours very good. I just wanted to say thanks for the information your paper sends out, especially to people like us living away from our beloved homes and families.
My colleague Marsha Irish Sweeney has put me on to your paper, being from Montserrat herself.  Thanks again and keep up the good work...   

Terry Herbert
therbert@epo.org 

Mother Says Thank You

I just want to say thanks to some people who helped me in my time of need - Mr. and Mrs. Meade of Little Bay for giving me their jeep to go around looking for my son and all the other help which they gave to me, and the police and the radio station.  All of my friends and family, who prayed and stood by me, thanks very much and may God bless and keep each and every one of you. 
Thanks again to all of you

Josephine Barzey

More Comments:

The information on the web site has been informative. Please continue to excel in this particular area. I believe that these kinds of information will enlighten nationals and others.

Thank you.

siranna@msn.com

LOCAL and REGIONAL NEWS

Commissioner Douglas Says Deportee Monitoring Unneeded

By Merrick Andrews

Commissioner of Police John Douglas said Montserrat has not reached the stage where deportees who are returned here have to be strictly monitored, as they “pose no major problems to us”.
“Because we are a small society, we can reasonably check on these people here,” he said. “And they pose no major problems to us.”
Commissioner Douglas noted a system designed in Jamaica to strictly monitor the island’s hundreds of deportees. But Montserrat doesn’t need to embark on such a program, he said.
“(Jamaican authorities) are able to monitor (deportees) if they move out from one area to another,” he said. “…. But I don’t think we reach that stage where we need to embark on that sort of program.”
Police said Steve Molyneaux, the suspect recently charged with murder, kidnapping and attempted murder was deported from the United States on gun crimes in the early 1990’s. However, sources close to Molyneaux said he was helped out of the U.S. in the mid-1980’s at his own request.
“As you are aware we have been affected by one of the people who have been deported from the United States with the reputation of a culture of violence,” said Chief Minister John Osborne. “…. It is our intention to ensure that acts of this type are rooted out of our community.”
Between 1998 and this year, 29 people were deported to Montserrat – most of them from the U.S., while the rest were deported from Canada, Antigua and St. Croix.
Police statistics indicate that in 1998 and 1999, eight persons were deported in each year; four in 2000; six in 2001 and three persons since the start of the year.
Montserratians were deported for drug trafficking, murder and various assaults.
“By our standard (the population of the island) it’s a reasonable share (significant number),” Commissioner Douglas said. “We would like them to get back in the country and don’t carry on the trend,” he said. “We want to get them back in society, get them back to work and get them to a better way of life.”
He advised deported Montserratians not to encourage other residents to follow their bad habits, like setting up criminal gangs.
“The incident that happened recently is just unfortunate – it’s a one-off situation that we are not accustomed to,” he said. “But what triggered it off, we haven’t got to the root of it. I believe when we get to the root, we will probably have a better idea.”

Gun Amnesty
In related news, Commissioner Douglas said another gun amnesty will not be considered at this time because Montserrat doesn’t have a problem with guns.
He said calling a gun amnesty this year could impact negatively on the tourism industry, as it will seem like Montserrat has a gun/crime problem. 
Molyneaux is reportedly not on record as a licensed firearm holder. The murder weapon is reportedly not yet found.
During last year’s three-month gun amnesty, which began from September 5 to December 5, at least 14 assorted firearms and a significant amount of ammunition were surrendered to the police.
Then Commissioner of Police Alexander Elder told The Montserrat Reporter at that time that although the police are pleased with the fruits borne by the amnesty, “We know that there are still other weapons out there, which are unlicensed and unwanted….”
“Every single one of these weapons could have resulted either in an accidental shooting, or crime here in Montserrat or elsewhere,” Mr. Elder said. 

National Trust Director Is Relieved of His Job

Mrs. Sarita Francis, permanent secretary in the Chief Minister’s office and president of the Montserrat National Trust (MNT), yesterday confirmed that Mr. Stephen McNamara is no longer the Executive Director of the MNT, as of Monday, August 19.
Mr. McNamara had continued to work after his contract ended in May.

Formally registered in 1969, the MNT is a membership organization, which serves to conserve and enhance the natural and historical resources of the island and to promote the same through environmental education.
Trust officials would not divulge any direct reasons as to the termination of Mr. McNamara’s services, but close sources said that Mr. McNamara might have been arrogant in his dealings with the Trust Executive.

Mrs. Francis said the MNT would soon advertise for the post held by Mr. McNamara for just under three years.

Montserrat Nurses Attend CNO Regional Conference

Montserrat was one of 20 countries that participated in the 23^rd Biennial Caribbean Nurses Organization (CNO) Conference hosted by St. Kitts and Nevis from August 11-17.
The nurses were Mrs. Anjella Skerritt, member of the Board of Directors of CNO, and two voting delegates:  Miss Rosaline Tuitt - president of the Montserrat Nurses Association (MNA), and Miss Constancia Weekes.
At the closing ceremony, Mrs. Skerritt and Delores Gumbs were presented with Bicentennial Commerative Medals of the French Revolution from the Guadeloupe Consulate for their contribution in establishing a national nurses association in the island.
Mr. Serge Girault of the Guadeloupe Nurses Association made the presentations.
‘Harmonizing Our Strength, Embracing The Challenges, Influencing The Future’ was the theme of the CNO Conference attended by about 350 nurses at the Jack Tar Village Hotel. Conference Director was Maria Barker. 
The founder of CNO Mrs. Mavis Harney of Antigua and two other founding members, Mrs. Violet Findley (Grenadian) who is now 96 year old and Ms. Dorothy Soberry (Antiguan) were special guests at the conference.
“It was a distinct honour and privilege for the participants of the conference to have these Charter Members with us for the week,” Mrs. Skerritt said in a release.
She described the support of the Government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis as “overwhelmingly enthusiastic”.  
Educational sessions during the conference included: HIV/AIDS, Women in Politics, Patient Safety, Managed Migration of Nurses, Men in Nursing, Domestic Violence, Legal Challenges Facing Nurses in the 21^st Century and the Antibacterial Effects of Papaya on Wound Organisms (Nursing Research). 
More Caribbean men were urged to join the nursing profession by Mr. Eustace John, deputy governor general for Nevis, and Mrs. Delores Gumbs, president of the Caribbean Nurses' Organisation (CNO). "I look forward to see the time when more Caribbean men will enroll and work with dignity, honour and success in this your noble and highly respected nursing profession," said the deputy governor general.
Three Nurses were given CNO Awards at the opening ceremony. Mrs. Ann Edwards of Antigua and Barbuda received the Mavis Harney Award, Mrs. Valerie Annette Rawlins of Trinidad and Tobago received the Josepha Awouta Award and Mrs. Willy Vinwolk Leeflank of Suriname received the CNO Honary Award. 
Among the new addition to the culture of CNO were the introduction of CNO anthem, the CNO flag and logo for display and the passing of the torch from the present host country for CNO Conference to the next host country. 
Curacao will host the 2004 CNO Conference. 
The headquarters of CNO will be established at the Antigua and Barbuda Nurses Association during the next Biennium in time for the 50^th celebration of CNO in 2005.  The newly elected Board of Directors for CNO for the next two years are:  President - Delores Gumbs (St. Croix), Vice President - Maurita Noorden (Curacao), Secretary – Karen Pierre (T&T), Asst. Secretary – Anjella Skerritt (Montserrat), Treasurer – Raphael Lopez (Aruba), Region I Director – Edith Allwood Anderson (Jamaica), Region II Director Mrs. Pemberton (USVI), Region III Director – Marilyn Paul (St. Lucia) and Region IV Director Herman Jinte (Suriname).

Montserrat to Host Seismology Workshop

By Merrick Andrews

Montserrat is scheduled to host an international seismology workshop.
The Working Group (WG) of the European Seismological Commission will be conducting the annual workshop from September 16-20 at the Vue Pointe Hotel.
Dr. Glenn Thompson (pictured right), seismologist at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), will participate.
The workshop will include scientific sessions and field trips but will not necessarily focus on Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills volcano, said the MVO’s outreach officer, Miss Karen Allen.
The administrators say the workshop will focus on the topic: "Complementing Seismology with Other Monitoring Techniques for Forecasting Purposes."
The WG organizes annual workshops, possibly near active volcanoes in or outside Europe.
Previous meetings have been held in: Copenhagen, Denmark (1990); St. Roman, Black Forest, Germany (1991); Stromboli, Italy (1992); Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain (1993); Nicolosi (Etna), Italy (1994); Ercolano (Vesuvius), Italy (1996); Ambleside, Lake District, UK (1997); Paratunka, Kamchatka, Russia (1998); Santorini, Greece (1999); Lisbon and Sao Miguel (Acores), Portugal (2000); Teide, Tenerife (Canary Islands), Spain (2001).
The convenors of the workshop will be Dr. Jürgen "Locko" Neuberg (pictured left), WG chairman, and Dr. Roberto Carniel, WG secretary.
Dr. Neuberg was among a group of 30 students, and three professors, majoring in geophysics and geology sciences, to explore areas around Montserrat where three proposed borehole sites could be drilled and monitors installed to better predict the behaviour of the volcano.
The contingent represented 10 different nations.
Dr. Neuberg, who is professor at the School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds,
has been involved with the MVO since 1997 and is a member of the risk assessment panel for the Montserrat and UK Governments.
The WG on "Seismic phenomena associated with volcanic activity", or "Volcanism & Earthquakes" for short, was established to cover seismology, which ranges from the seismic monitoring of volcanoes to the interpretation of seismic signals during various stages of activity.
According to WG’s website, “Seismology alone cannot solve the problem. This is why the Working Group, in particular in the last few years, encouraged scientists from Geology, Geodesy, Petrology, Physics and other related disciplines to attend the annual workshops to discuss seismological and other observations from volcanoes.”
Informal annual workshops and the publication of the proceedings in special issues of scientific journals have become a well-established activity of the WG.
The website also states that the, “informal character of the meetings have provided an atmosphere which encourages productive discussions and have resulted in several international co-operations and joint experiments amongst members of the group”. 
 

Police Plan to Increase Speed Limit in Some Areas

By Merrick Andrews

While the police are concerned about speeding on our roads, Commissioner of Police John Douglas said there are plans to increase the speed limit at different areas of the island.
He said the intention was discussed at a meeting with the Transport Board recently. “We are going to put down those [speed limit] signs. We will still keep the 20 miles per hour (mph) zones in some areas and probably look at 25 mph in certain areas. But we will not go beyond mph.”
He said signs showing the various speed limits will be set up across the island, if the speed limit becomes effective.
Commissioner Douglas said the Transport Committee might start with Lookout, to implement speed bumps or a particular speed limit. This idea also arose from a recent meeting with the Lookout community group.
“They, too, are very concerned the way people drive in the village,” he said.
The commissioner’s comments came almost two weeks after McKenzie Farrell of St. Peter’s was found guilty in the magistrate court for exceeding the speed limit on the Brades public road and had his license redrawn for one month. He was also fined EC$120.
It was Mr.. Farrell’s second speeding conviction in a month.
“What that signals is that people are still disregarding the speed limit in Montserrat,” Commissioner Douglas said. 
The police have implemented several new measures to stop or control the incidents of speeding by motorists, including high visibility patrol and the use of a Radar Speed Gun.
The new measures, which took effect about three months ago, were prompted by an increase in the rate of traffic accidents.

An automobile accident in Judy Piece on April 7, which left at least two persons injured, had brought to 37 the number of road accidents in Montserrat since the start of the year.
There were 26 reported accidents in the corresponding period of last year, 30 in 2000 and 27 in 1999.
The police traffic department could not quantify what number of these accidents was caused by speeding.
However, the department said speeding and careless driving caused the most serious of these accidents.

Steve Molyneaux Slapped With 3rd Charge in Slaying

By Merrick Andrews

Steve Molyneaux was slapped with a third charge when he appeared in the magistrate court on Monday for a preliminary hearing in the murder of businessman Simeon Sealy.
Molyneaux, 37, was charged with the attempted murder of Mr. Earl Godard, a business associate of Mr. Sealy. Police allege that Molyneaux had shot at Mr. Godard after shooting the St. Lucian-born businessman on August 7.
The case was adjourned to Monday, August 26, as the prosecutors were not ready with evidence.
Previously, Molyneaux was charged with the murder of Mr. Sealy – the first here in more than seven years – and the kidnapping of Mr. Sealy’s secretary, Camille Gray, a 21-year-old Jamaican woman.
Mr. Sealy, the husband of MP Roselyn Cassell-Sealy, was buried after a thanksgiving service at the Brade Pentecostal Church on August 17.
Molyneaux could face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment, if found guilty.
Commissioner of Police John Douglas is calling on the public to assist with information. “We still need a lot more information regarding the whole incident; in particular the weapon that is still out there,” he said.
He said any information received will be held in the “strictest confidence”.
“We need that weapon,” he said. “And if anybody knows where it is we will be grateful if they can assist us in recovering it.”
Molyneaux surrendered on Sunday, August 11, hours after his mother made a passionate and emotional plea on the radio and by loud speaker in areas around the island, asking him to surrender to the authorities who had launched a massive island-wide manhunt for him. His mother and attorney and former Chief Minister David Brandt accompanied him to the police station. 

MSS sixth formers achieve good CAPE performances

Montserrat Secondary School (MSS) sixth formers achieved acceptable performances in the Caribbean Examination Council, Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).
It is the first time the students are sitting the exams at sixth form since the onset of the volcanic crisis in 1995.
A press release states that 15 students – five males and 10 females – wrote a total of 45 subject units and acceptable grades were attained in 32, thus yielding an acceptable performance of 71.1 percent.
Candidate Kim Archer obtained acceptable grades in four subject units – Caribbean Studies (ll), Literature in English Unit 1 (ll), Economics Unit 1 (ll) and Mathematics Unit 1 (lll).
Candidates who sat three subject units and obtained acceptable grades in all are: Crystal Archer, Ritchlyn Duke, Gerren Gerrard, Jamiel Greenaway, Luan Lewis and Ernest Scott.
Those who were successful in two subject units are: Jahron Harris, Amy Menzies, Cedrecia Shiell and Manish Valechha.
Candidates attaining Grades I-IV have reached an acceptable standard for university matriculation
CAPE is the equivalent to the British A-Level programme, except that the subjects are divided into units, so that two units in a particular subject is equivalent to an A-Level in that subject.
MSS Principal Ms. Kathleen Greenaway and education officials say they are even more excited about the results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, for which results are not yet tabulated.
Other results:
Three of four candidates obtained acceptable grades in Mathematics Unit 1; 12 of 15 received acceptable grades in Caribbean Studies; six of seven in Literature in English Unit 1; two of three Biology Unit 1; nine of 12 in Economics Unit 1 and none out of four candidates obtained an acceptable performance in Accounting Unit 1. 

Antigua's PM Bird Receives  Final Medical Scheme Report

Antigua -- Prime Minister Lester Bird received the full and final copy of the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) Report – with all the corrections – from the Commissioners who conducted an Inquiry into operations at the MBS, according to the Antigua Government Information Service.
Mr. Bird, who is now studying the corrigendum (any error that might have been in the previous or draft report) has sent copies to the Leader of the Opposition Baldwin Spencer and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The DPP has already taken action in accordance with a number of recommendations in the report and has sought the assistance of Britain's Scotland Yard in this regard – and also to ascertain if criminal charges are to be laid against several persons incriminated in the report.

PM Bird, who has always recommended that the matter be sent to the DPP at once, has already given a commitment that his government will provide the DPP with the resources needed to perform its duty.

Following the release of the Report on July 31, 2002, the Government has moved in earnest to implement all of the recommendations.

It is observed that the Report did not recommend any specific charges or persons to be prosecuted but many Antiguans are expecting that some people will face criminal charges arising out of the Inquiry in due course.
Montserrat attorney and former Chief Minister David Brandt said earlier this week that it is not likely there will be any criminal charges. “It is not likely that any criminal proceedings will result from a public inquiry which has been published. It constitutes a complete substitution for criminal proceedings – the purpose of which is to name and shame.”

Mr. Brandt suggested that criminal charges would be more likely if the report were not published.

Meanwhile on Monday the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda issued a long statement expressing dismay, “that the Commission has not identified the revisions made to the Report.”

The statement also said the Cabinet was shocked, “that the Leader of the Opposition in several public statements has pronounced all the named individuals (in the Report) as guilty without investigation or trial, even though the Commission of Inquiry has itself pointed out that it is not a court of law and that it is up to the DPP to decide, after investigations, who should be charged.” It added that “Mr. Spencer’s irresponsible statements have the effect of being prejudicial to the work of the DPP and any subsequent trial that may result from it.”

That last statement can be taken as a direct hint as to how the DPP might respond to the Prime Minister and Cabinet in the weeks and months ahead.

The Cabinet was also quick to point out and reiterate that the Prime Minister had given way to the recommendations of the Commission’s report in all but two. 

Travel Out of St. Kitts-Nevis Now Costs Traveler $5 more

ST. KITTS -- Travelers departing St. Kitts-Nevis by air since August 1 have had to pay an additional fee of EC$5.00 or US$2.00, this being a newly imposed security service charge at both the Robert Bradshaw International Airport in St. Kitts and the Newcastle Airport in Nevis.

According to information obtained, the fee is intended to defray the cost of security services and to facilitate future improve0ments in security measures, such as additional baggage screening equipment, new communication equipment, additional closed circuit television equipment and increased manpower.

The security service charge will not apply, however, to passengers who are in transit at the airport.

General Manager of the Port Authority, Thomas Williams, said that persons travelling between St. Kitts and Nevis by air, especially those travelling on Nevis Express, would have to pay, on the basis that those passengers would have to go through the same level of screening as passengers for regular regional and international flights.

Some passengers depart the Federation by taking a ferry to St. Kitts from Nevis, and then stay in transit till the time for their flight to depart and this has generated some feedback in some quarters. Commenting on this, Williams reiterated his earlier point that at the point of departure from the Federation by air, the security charge would apply. He also confirmed that this security service charge would be paid at the Inland Revenue booth upstairs at the departure lounge and personnel from the Port Authority would be on hand to facilitate the collection of this money. It is the same booth currently utilised for the payment of the airport departure tax.

Travelers between the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis already have to pay an additional fee of $1 as a security surcharge. 

Girls Still Outdoing Boys in GCSE Exams

BBC - This year's GCSE exam results, which more than 600,000 students are getting from Thursday, show that girls are still outclassing boys in almost every subject.
The government says it is worried by the "unacceptable" gender gap of nine percentage points at the top grades.
The overall pass rate in the more than five million papers sat this year was identical to last year's: 97.9 percent.
Those getting the top grades has risen for the 14th year in a row, by 0.8 to 57.9 percent.
The proportion of grades A* and A awarded went up less than a third of one point, to 16.4 percent.
As usual Wales did better than England, with 59.7 percent getting A* to C grades as opposed to 57.4 percent - and Northern Ireland recorded 68.4 percent.
The convenor of the Joint Council for General Qualifications, which issued the results, John Milner, said this indicated that GCSEs were "a stable qualification".
"Not a tremendous amount is happening to it," he added - a comment on the big changes in A-levels which resulted in a jump in the pass rate last week.
But Mr Milner said the gender gap was "clearly an issue".
The difference at grades A* to C, which had narrowed a little last year to 8.9 percentage points, has risen again to nine points, with 62.4 percent of girls' exam entries achieving the top grades and 53.4 percent of boys'.
Even in the "boys' toys" subject - information technology - the girls are doing better. The gap has gone up from 6.4 points to 8.7.

Grenada Student Wins  FCCA Essay Contest

Grenada - Grenadian Roxanne Halley has won the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Foundation 2002 Children’s Essay Contest, which was held in the Junior and Senior Divisions.

Ms. Halley is a student of the St. George’s Anglican High School. She placed first in the Senior Division of the competition.

“What Steps Can We Take as a Cruise Destination to Make Cruise Passengers Feel More Welcome While in Port?” was the title of the essay.

The winning essay outlined various activities and programmes at Grenada’s Welcome Centre for tourists, the Carenage in the city, and how the rest of the island is showcased.

As part of her prize award, Ms. Halley, along with the first prize winner in the junior category, will be invited to read her essay and accept her prize at the FCAA Caribbean Cruise Conference in Mexico, September 24-27, 2002.
The FCCA will pay all travel expenses for the winners.

The essay competition is a yearly event open to participants throughout the region.  

BWIA plane turns back to Piarco

A BWIA flight to Grenada had to turn around minutes after take-off Sunday afternoon after a warning light about mechanical problems came on in the cockpit. Flight BW846 left Piarco International Airport just after 1 p.m. with 48 passengers. The aircraft was one of BWIA’s two 50-seat Dash-8s.

Five minutes into the flight, the indicator warning light suggesting a mechanical glitch came on. “In keeping with stringent safety standards, the pilots turned the aircraft around and landed at Piarco,” director of Corporate Communications Clint Williams said.

BWIA maintenance crews put the aircraft through a series of thorough safety checks to “ensure the viability of the aircraft”, he added.

A second aircraft was deployed to Grenada to bring passengers who, by this time, had been delayed for several hours.
- Trinidad Express  

Gramaxzone man dies

Jamaica Observer  - A man who the police suspect drank the weedicide, gramaxzone, in a suicide bid on Thursday, died on Friday at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.
Police did not immediately have an explanation for the action of Clive Reid, 35, of Peace View, Albion, St James.
He was reported to have drunk the chemical at about 1:30 Thursday afternoon.
The Mount Salem Police are investigating the incident.

Sex fight leads to death

Jamaica Observer - A 24 year-old man who the police say apparently demanded the return of $1,000 he had paid an exotic dancer for sex was stabbed to death at a club in Sandy Bay, Hanover on Friday night, according to the police.
Diana McIntosh, 18, the dancer, of Falmouth, Trelawny has been charged with murder.
The incident happened at the club where McIntosh danced.
According to the police, Glenston Atkinson, of Montpelier, Hanover, was at the club at about 11:30 pm when he paid Atkinson the money for sex and they apparently went to a room for the act.
Afterwards, Atkinson demanded his money back, McIntosh refused and a fight developed, during which Atkinson was stabbed in the neck with a knife.
Atkinson was taken to the Noel Holmes Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
It was not clear whether Atkinson and McIntosh actually engaged in sex or why he demanded a return of his money.

Youth gets 6 months in prison for having sex with camel

A court in northern Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Nigerian teenager to six months in jail and 240 lashes for trying to have sex with a camel, Al-Iqtissadiya newspaper reported recently.
The Tabuk court found the 17-year-old boy guilty of "having tried to have sexual relations with a camel," the paper said.
The camel's owner told the paper, however, that the young Nigerian "got into his farm and had sex" with the dromedary.
Camels are a firm favourite in the Gulf region, where racing them is a popular sport and good racers often earn huge sums.
"Beauty contests" for the long-lashed beasts are not unheard of.
Saudi Arabia applies a strict code of Islamic Sharia law, which prescribes corporal punishment for many misdemeanors.
The kingdom also imposes the death penalty on people found guilty of murder, rape, apostasy, armed robbery, drug trafficking and repeated drug offences.

Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Issue Set of New Round Coins

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank have issued new round coins, in denominations of 1¢, 2¢, 5¢ and $1. These, together with the existing 10¢ and 25¢ coins, will complete the round coin family.

The 1¢, 2¢, and 5¢ coins will be put into circulation on August 8, 2002. The $1 coin will be phased into the system, once the existing stock of the old family is depleted. All existing coins will, however, remain in circulation.

The new 1¢, 2¢, and 5¢ coins, which are made from aluminium and carry a plain edge, are 20 percent heavier than the existing coins.  The new $1 coins are made from cupro-nickel, which is a blend of copper and nickel, and are alternately plain and ribbed at the edges. 

The round coins will allow commercial banks to more efficiently utilise available coin-counting machines, which were designed for circular coins. 

Photo of coins 

PM promises $$ for conjoined twins

Trinidad – Prime Minister Patrick Manning on Sunday pledged financial support to the parents of the conjoined twin girls born almost one week ago to Omatie and Dhamindra Sookoo.

The twin girls, Gita and Sita, are joined at the chest and share a heart, liver and spleen.

Manning said his Government “has a responsibility to intervene in this special circumstance and we will”.

He said he met with Dhamindra at the Prime Minister’s residence in St Ann’s on Saturday night during a celebration for his 56th birthday.

“The Government is willing to supplement their efforts but they have not made a formal request,” Manning told reporters at a news conference at the PNM’s South regional office in San Fernando.

He said if, at the end of the day the Sookoos were unable to come up with the required sum for an operation, then the Government would intervene.

Dhamindra Sookoo said his meeting with Manning was informal and an appointment has to be set up during the course of the week.

“It was a pretty good gesture,” he said, “but I was a bit nervous.”

Sookoo, 29, said: “They sent a car to pick me up and I met the Prime Minister. He was really supportive and said his Government would assist.”

Sookoo, a bar owner, said he never thought he would have been invited to such a function.

“A lot of people there knew me as being the twins’ father because they had seen me in the papers and on television so I felt relaxed.”

He noted that the bash had everything a person would want to eat.

“There was everything ranging from doubles to turkey and anything a person wanted to drink,” Sookoo said.

He said he could not make the trip to Mt Hope to see the twins yesterday because he had to focus on his business. 

Omatie said she was sad she was unable to make the trip yesterday.

“Everyday is the same thing. Nothing new seems to be happening, we just have to wait,” she said.

She denied a newspaper report, which said she had breast-fed her babies.

“All I could have done was pass my hands over them,” she said.

However she is hoping to start feeding them soon.

“The doctor called me this morning and they said the babies could now be fed. On Friday they were still being monitored and I was taking pills for pain so I could not give them any milk. However, tomorrow when I visit I will see if I could feed them,” she said.

Caricom heads approve stabilisation fund
Jamaica cautions on facility's rules

Jamaica Observer - CARIBBEAN Community (Caricom) leaders have authorised the establishment of a Regional Stabilisation Fund (RSF) to help cushion economic fall-out in member states, but Jamaica has warned the facility has to be clearly thought out with specific rules of how it can be accessed.
The leaders, including Prime Minister P J Patterson, took the decision at a special one-day economic summit in St Lucia on Friday -- called to discuss the deep fiscal crises being faced by some member states -- and mandated a group, led by Barbados prime minister, Owen Arthur, to begin work immediately on the structure of the fund.
The group is to meet on August 23 in Barbados, which is also the headquarters of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), which is to co-ordinate the fund.
Additionally, the leaders told the Guyana-based Caricom Secretariat to send a technical team to Dominica, the likely first recipient from the RSF, to assess that country's request for an emergency EC$50 million (US$18.5 million) aid package to help drag it from a fiscal crunch.
The Arthur Group is expected to work out issues such as the size of the RSF -- expected to be in excess of US$100 million -- how it is to be financed and the specific mechanism through which it can be accessed.
On Friday, Jamaica's finance minister, Omar Davies, told Jamaican reporters in Castries that his country expected to "play a critical role (in the RSF), given its long history of being involved in such programmes".
Davies, however, stressed the need for "details and specifics" if the facility is to be successful.
Jamaica, given its own economic and fiscal position -- with a national debt of nearly 140 per cent of GDP, debt-servicing accounting for over 60 per cent of the national budget and a deficit of more than four per cent of GDP -- is likely to be tapped more for its intellectual leadership than its capacity to contribute substantially to the fund.
It was not immediately clear what working model the Arthur Group will take to Friday's meeting. But Derick Latibeaudiere, the Jamaican central bank governor, who is expected to be in Bridgetown, could be a key player in shaping the arrangement, given Jamaica's long history with support facilities from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), its current Article IV arrangement with the fund and its debt resolution scheme through a vehicle called Finsac to bail out collapsed banks and insurance companies.
Latibeaudiere was not available for comment yesterday, but a senior public sector official who worked on some of these schemes said: "It would make absolute sense for Caricom to tap Jamaica's experience in working on these schemes. We, by now, should know the pitfalls."
Other key players are expected to be the CDB president, Compton Bourne, and the governor of the East Caribbean Central Bank, Dwight Venner, who outlined Dominica's crisis at the St Lucia summit.
Among Jamaica's concerns with the proposed RSF is that it does not go the way of the Caricom Multilateral Clearing Facility (CMCF), the scheme that was used by the community for trade settlements prior to exchange liberalisation.
Under that US$100-million facility, imports and exports between member states were set-off against each other, with the difference, by the country with the deficit, being cleared in US dollars.
It collapsed when Guyana ran up huge arrears, mostly to Trinidad and Tobago, which is at the forefront of mounting a broader stabilisation programme for Caribbean economies, especially Dominica's, whose banana-dependent economy is facing a severe downturn.
The island has been hit by receding protection on the European market for bananas, a situation that will worsen towards the end of the decade when preferential access will be all but eliminated.
Conference sources disclosed that up to yesterday there were pledges of financial assistance for Dominica to be channelled through the RSF, amounting to approximately EC$37 million. The initial donors were the governments of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) with EC$15 million; Barbados, EC$12 million and Trinidad and Tobago's EC$10 million.
Originally Trinidad and Tobago had singalled that it would allocate US$8.3 million (EC$22.4 million) for the multilateral regional fund. But Prime Minister Patrick Manning has now indicated that the proposed amount would be EC$10 million and that it would be raised in the form of bonds issued through the Trinidad and Tobago Central Bank.
This process would be advisable since, without a functioning parliament, his government has no authorisation to make such a loan available at this time, Manning explained.
Manning also has another problem regarding Dominica: an existing court battle between the Dominica government and the Trinidadian RBTT Merchant Bank over a US$35-million debt on which RBTT says the Roseau government defaulted.
The Pierre Charles administration has been unable to meet many of its local public sector debts, and Davies has stressed that even if it got assistance now, the country would have to institute a medium- to long-term recovery programme.
"It is impractical to depend on a series of short-term measures," Davies said.

Honouring an African leader – Marcus Garvey

“No one remembers old Marcus Garvey, no one remembers old Marcus Garvey”, reggae artiste Burning Spear’s plaintive complaint becomes an affirmation ensuring that in essence we never forget his name.

…Marcus Moziah Garvey was born in the quiet little town of St Ann’s Bay, on the northern coast of Jamaica, on August 17, 1887.

He was named Marcus, after his father, and legend has it that his mother, Sarah, sought to give him the middle name of Moses, explaining prophetically, “I hope he will be like Moses and lead his people.”
Not a religious man, his father compromised with the less prominent biblical middle name of Moziah.

The Garveys had 11 children but only Marcus, the youngest, and his sister, Indiana, lived to maturity. 

When he was 14, family financial difficulties forced Garvey to leave school and go to work. He was apprenticed to learn the printing trade with his godfather, a Mr Burrowes. After two years he left St Ann’s Bay to go to Kingston to work at his new trade.

By age 18 he had become foreman of PA Benjamin and Co and in 1908 he headed the printers’ strike and was blacklisted.

Subsequently, conscious of the need for organised action to improve the lot of the black worker, he began editing a periodical known as Garvey’s Watchman. He was involved in other efforts and in 1912 journeyed to London to learn what he could about the condition of blacks in other parts of the British empire.

He also became interested in the position of blacks in the United States, and it was in London he came across a copy of Booker T Washington’s autobiography Up From Slavery.

This book had a profound effect upon him as he later testified: “I read Up From Slavery by Booker T Washington and then my doom—if I may so call it—of being a race leader dawned upon me... I asked... ‘Where is the black man’s Government? Where is his King and his Kingdom? Where is his President, his country, and his ambassador, his army, his navy, his men of big affairs?’ I could not find them and then I declared, ‘I will help to make them.’”

The seeds of Garveyism had unwittingly been sown.

In the summer of 1914 Garvey went back home to Jamaica, his head spinning with plans for a programme of race redemption. “My brain was afire,” he recalled as he considered the possibility of “uniting all the Negro peoples of the world into one great body to establish a country and government absolutely their own”. 

Back in Jamaica, he contacted some of his old friends and on August 1, 1914, he established the organisation that would occupy his time and energy until his death, the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and African Communities League.

UNIA soon boasted of a membership of 4,000,000 members internationally. Garvey also created within the UNIA, the Black Cross Nurses to take care of the sick and disabled Africans.
A poster advertising the Black Star Line Steamship Corp. Sometime in early 1919, Garvey projected the idea of an all black steamship company that would link the coloured peoples of the world in commercial and industrial intercourse. “Now is the time,” he said, “for the Negro to invest in the Black Star Line so that in the near future he may exert the same influence upon the world as the white man does today.”

Soon, The Negro Factories Co-operation was formed. This co-operative included a chain of groceries, restaurants, steam laundries, small-scale industries and publishing houses and under Garvey’s dynamic leadership. The UNIA also founded the Black Star Shipping Line and later, the Black Cross Navigation Co. To further propagate the philosophy of Pan African nationalism, Garvey and the UNIA founded the weekly newspaper, Negro World, which was distributed in America, England, Canada, Africa, the entire Caribbean and almost every corner of the world where Africans lived at that period in time.

Tony Martin writes: “The UNIA was an international movement of massive proportions. At its height in the 1920s it contained over 1,200 branches in over 40 countries. Its membership spread to almost every nook and cranny of the world where African people lived in appreciable numbers.

“In many areas where there were no organised units of the association, individuals could still be found in spirit and who subscribed to Garvey’s principles.”

It wasn’t long before his enemies saw the UNIA as a threat and began to wage a campaign of terror against the UNIA and the progressive works of Marcus Garvey.

This campaign not only arose from the governments of England and the United States, but also from communists and certain African intellectuals, such as WEB Dubois, CLR James, A Phillip Randolph and George Padmore (who would later change his philosophy to Pan Africanism after being rejected by the Communist party).

The UNIA and Garvey’s philosophy has often been misinterpreted by many, as being the “Back to African Movement”, as being a racist organisation and under the leadership of a racist leader.

Garvey had never advocated total repatriation for all Africans in the Diaspora to Africa. Garvey and the UNIA advocated that Africans in the Diaspora with high technological skills should make their contributions to the development of the Motherland, Africa.

He sent doctors, lawyers, engineers, technicians and other professionals to Liberia as part of the UNIA’s contribution to the industrialisation, liberation and unification of Africa and African people.

Before his untimely death on June 10, 1940, in England, Garvey left statements with us that were to be beneficial to all African people, if put into practice at all times. He said:

“The greatest weapon used against African people is disorganisation” and “Africa for the Africans, those at home and those abroad. We have a beautiful history and we shall create another in the future that will astonish the world.”….

Doctors shocked as youth survives 60,000 volts
Trinidad Express

Sixteen-year-old Ako Francois’ survival after being struck down by 60,000 volts of electricity has reinforced his mother’s belief in God.
Francois came into contact with a T&TEC high-tension wire while working on a chain link fence that separates the compounds of the San Fernando Boys RC School and the Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church, Harris Promenade, San Fernando.
More than 50 per cent of his body was burned.
His mother Judy Francois, 38, told the Express yesterday: “The doctors told me people who have injuries like that don’t make it and they were shocked that he did. Nobody knows how he pulled through, but I know God had a hand in this and I just want God to continue to save him.”
Francois was on his fourth day on the job last Wednesday, when a steel rod he was holding struck the electrical wires. The surge of electricity blew a nearby transformer, knocking out the power supply. Francois was thrown 12 feet off the scaffolding. 
With his arms, back and sides burned, he spent five days at the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital, before his condition was deemed improved enough for his transfer to ward seven.
His mother is still fearful about possible permanent disabilities.
“He is coming along slowly, but his hands are not healing fast enough. He did surgery on Sunday to straighten his fingers but he can’t move them.”
Judy Francois, who has spent each day at her son’s bedside, added: “He went through real pain. I know a lot of big people could not bear what he gone through and still going through. I just want him to come though this (but) the doctors’ bills not an easy thing. We spend a lot of money.”
She said she was given some financial assistance from Francois’ employers.
Francois is aware of his surroundings but has not spoken about his brush with death. 
A doctor at the hospital said: “He is improving slowly. We have to guard against infection in the coming days. We do not want to give a long-term prognosis.”
San Fernando CID officers are investigating the incident.

Pregnancy after womb transplant

BBC - Scientists have managed to produce a pregnancy in a womb transplanted into a mouse - bringing human ops a step closer.
The work by Swedish scientists using mice is the first time a uterus from one animal has been transplanted into another and resulted in a successful pregnancy.
Around 15% of all couples are infertile. Most causes can be treated by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and sperm injection (ICSI).
However, for women who have healthy ovaries, but have had a hysterectomy or uterus problems caused by injury or congenital conditions, a transplant is their only hope of carrying a child of their own.
At the moment, they can choose IVF surrogacy, where their egg and their partner's sperm can be used, but the baby carried by another woman. Technically, this is straightforward but it may not always be suitable for couples.
Comparison
A paper published in the Journal of Endocrinology describes how scientists successfully transplanted a donor womb in a recipient mouse into which an embryo was successfully implanted.
Dr Mats Brännström of the Sahlgrenska Academy at Goteborg University in Sweden is the researcher leading the work.
He told BBC News Online that since the paper had been published, the team had seen pregnancies in mice with donor uteruses which resulted in healthy babies.
In their original work, the team took a uterus from a donor mouse and transplanted it alongside the recipient mouse's own uterus. This meant they could compare how both worked.
Three embryos were transferred into each uterus.
Three foetuses developed in the recipient's womb, and one in the donor womb - the first time this has happened.
That pregnancy was halted so scientists could investigate what had happened within the mouse, but subsequent pregnancies went to full-term successfully.
Suitable donors
Dr Brännström told BBC News Online: "This research is the first step towards treatment for women who have been totally infertile before.
"In the future we are aiming to achieve uterus transplantation in humans."
He said that could happen within "a couple of years".
Dr Brännström added: "Suitable donors could be either a sister after she has had her own children or a mother since the chance for a good immune and blood type match would be high.
"It would be possible to carry your own child in the same womb [donated by mother] as you developed during your growth as a foetus."
The team has already begun tests on human tissue.
Rejection
Dr John Mills, chairman of the British Fertility Society and a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee said: "This paper has described successful pregnancies in the mouse, at least to the early pregnancy stage, and will obviously give hope to those surgeons who are interested in carrying out a similar operation in humans.
"More evidence of success in other animals will be required before it is justified to make such an attempt."
He said there was a huge difference between mice and humans which meant much more work was needed.
Dr Mills added: "We obviously have to consider the problem of rejection and, in particular, the problem of rejection and pregnancy."
He said the Swedish work, and successful pregnancies in women who had taken immunosuppressant drugs after kidney or heart transplants, showed there progress was being made on the issue of rejecting transplants.  

Nursing Profession Calls For More Caribbean Men

Nevis – More Caribbean men were last week urged to join the nursing profession by Mr. Eustace John, deputy governor general for Nevis, and Mrs. Delores Gumbs, president of the Caribbean Nurses' Organisation (CNO).
They addressed more than 300 delegates at the closing session of the CNO's weeklong 23^rd Biennial Conference.

"I look forward to see the time when more Caribbean men will enroll and work with dignity, honour and success in this your noble and highly respected nursing profession," said the deputy governor general.
"Nurses I salute you, I appreciate you, I commend you, I applaud you, and offer congratulations to you in advance, for the enormous influence you will continue to have over the entire Caribbean community in the future."

Citing a modern day event where nurses rose to the occasion, Mr. John said: "The events of September 11, 2001 in the United States of America, where nurses stood tall amid such enormous pressure, only emphasised the resilience, commitment, dedication and capabilities of nurses worldwide."

The session at Four Seasons was chaired by the Matron of Charlestown's Alexandra Hospital, Mrs. Maureen Stapleton, and was attended by Mrs. Harney Browne, who founded the Caribbean Nurses' Organisation in 1957, and who was given a standing ovation after she addressed the delegates.

The conference, whose theme was 'Harmonising Our Strengths, Embracing The Challenges, Influencing The Future', attracted observers from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Retired nurses also attended the event.
The delegates ended their one-day deliberations on Nevis with an island tour, after which they traveled back to St. Kitts later in the afternoon.   

OECS Trade Negotiating Groups Holds First Meeting

A new OECS Group set up to handle joint overseas trade negotiations, holds its first meeting at the Glencastle Resort in St. Lucia on Wednesday, August 21.
The OECS Trade Negotiating Group was set up on the insistence of regional Heads of Government to better manage and coordinate external trade negotiations for critical agreements such as the emerging Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA); the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Coutonou, and the regional Caricom Single Market and the Economy.
The Heads agreed that financial and human resource constraints have made it impossible for their countries to service all the negotiations at the regional, hemispheric and multilateral levels, hence the need for joint representation on a shared cost basis.
The OECS Trade Negotiating Group is made up of public and private sector officials from each Member State and representatives of the OECS Secretariat.

St. Maarten is Nearer The Right to Borrow

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten (GIS) – A protocol allowing the Island Territory of St. Maarten the right to borrow was signed Tuesday between the Dutch Government represented by Prime Minister Etienne Ys, and the Island Territory of St. Maarten, represented by Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards, at the Government Administration Building in Philipsburg.

St. Maarten has been striving for the right to borrow and gain more financial autonomy. Island Regulations of the Netherlands Antilles (ERNA) only allowed Curacao the right to borrow, while the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba and St. Maarten were not.

A fast-track approach was approved by both the Dutch Government and representatives from Holland, the Federal Government and St. Maarten in December 2001, and the final draft of the Protocol was to forwarded to the Council of Ministers on June 19, 2002, and approved on July 12.       

Strict guidelines have been included in the Protocol with regards to St. Maarten being able to borrow. 
They include: multi-year budgets should be planned; borrowed funds can only be used for investments; the maximum debt quota is set at 30 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP); and repayment of the loans must not be more than 1.5 per cent of GDP.  

ECCB Tax Reform Body To Meet Next in Grenada

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -- The Tax Reform and Administration Commission of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's Currency Union (ECCBU) is scheduled to meet in Grenada on August 26-27.

The Commission chaired by Sir Alister McIntyre of Grenada with other members Mr. Jasper Scotland of Antigua & Barbuda, Dr. Simon Jones-Hendrickson of St. Kitts-Nevis, Mr. Alick Lazare of Dominica, Mr. Marius St. Rose of St. Lucia and Mr. Sims Martin of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is mandated to examine the revenue system in the member countries of the Currency Union and to recommend new approaches to taxation and its administration and was set up by the Monetary Council of the ECCB.

The Commission will discuss the role of government in the economy, mechanisms for financing governments and the principles of taxation to guide income taxes on property and services.

While in Grenada the Commission will also hold consultations with the Cabinet of Ministers, representatives of the private and public sectors, and the Leader of the Opposition. 
The discussions will focus on issues relating to the growth prospects for the economies of the Currency Union, and the appropriate revenue system to support the economy.   

CARICOM Inducts Youth Ambassadors

PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- Twenty-seven Regional Youth Ambassadors of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and one Associate Member were inducted in a ceremony here on Monday, August 19^th.  The Ambassadors pledged to to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the challenges which confront nationals of CARICOM to use their talents, energies and resources to act as goodwill emissaries for their peers, nations and the entire Region.

The induction came at the start of a 10-day training workshop under the theme “HIV/AIDS, Risk Taking Behaviour, Human Capacity and Sustainable Development: The Challenge for Youth.”

His Excellency Dr. Runaldo R. Venetiaan, President of Suriname, told the trainees. “Today it is clear that regional integration has become a precondition for the survival of the countries. . . . Be aware of the fact that the task you have taken on is as serious as the mission that lies on the shoulders of the Leaders of CARICOM, of their governments, of civil society, the private business sector, the labor unions and other non-governmental organizations”.

Dr. Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary General for Human and Social Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, told the young leaders that the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Programme is one effort of CARICOM Heads of Government to better position the youth to contribute to regional development.

The CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Programme was a mandate given by the Heads of Government in 1993 as part of the 20^th Anniversary of the Signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas.  The 27 ambassadors are the second set since the reactivation of this peer-leadership initiative in July 2000. They are expected to give service and exercise influence in promoting the goals, aims and objectives of the Caribbean Community, to model and promote pride in regional diversity and responsible citizenship with a view to empowering the youth of the region.

The European Union is a major funder of the Regional Youth Ambassador’s Training Workshop in their efforts to meet their commitment to the causes of HIV/AIDS and Youth. 

Turks-Caicos AIDS Unit Training Youth Counselors

GRAND TURK, TCI (GIS) - The National AIDS Program of the Turks and Caicos opened a week-long training workshop on Tuesday, August 20^th for Peer Counselors and Peer Trainers.

The Ministry of Health sponsored this workshop, with technical assistance from the Rapport Project of the National AIDS Program of Trinidad and Tobago and partial funding from the Department for International Development (DFID).

Facilitators for the workshop are young adults from the Rapport Project of the National AIDS Program of Trinidad. 

The training itself represents phase one of the implementation of the program’s Drop-in Center and Youth Education Program.  In this phase, 20 young persons from Providenciales and Grand Turk will be trained in help other young people learn about HIV/AIDS and Drug Prevention with the use of skits, drama and music.

Ms. Ginelle McDonald of the Rapport Project said that the youth of today are the only people who can bring about and change the destructive behaviour in each other. To reach the young, you must get the young, to teach the young.

The Drop-in Center is meant to be more than an HIV/AIDS center.  It will also focus on sexual and reproductive health, decision-making, self-esteem issues and outreach programs.  

Antigua call centre management assures bright future

By Colin Jno-Finn
Special To The Montserrat Reporter

Antigua - The management of Call Center Antigua Limited continues to assure the nation and its employees that the future looks bright.

Management assurance came on the heels of negative reports from the local media and neighboring St. Kitts, where the call center was forced to cease operations on July 29, 2002.

The Board of Directors of Call Center Antigua said they are presently ironing out a strategic alliance with Contact Management Center, a Florida-based corporation whose principle has over 25 years experience in tele-services.

Call center here also said they have ceased selling a product called ‘Capital First’, and noted that the call center in St. Kitts had found out that the product was fraud.

About 370 persons work at Call Centre Antigua, which when fully staffed will be able to accommodate over 800 tele-marketers.
The call centre was reportedly closed in St. Kitts, but no one has fully explained the reason for the closure. Unconfirmed rumors are that the call centre owed a particular prominent company in the federation almost $1 million.
It was also reported there that the Telemarketing Sales Representatives (TSR’s) sold a product called Capital Fraud. However, news channel 4 NBC reported that Capital First is a fraud.
The news channel also viewed the photo of the man in charge of Capital Fraud saying that authorities have been looking for him in relation to fraud charges.

Jamaica students benefit from 9-11

Several students in Western Jamaica are to benefit from a Foundation set up in memory of Venesha Rodgers-Richards, a young Jamaican woman who died at the World Trade Centre in New York City on September 11 last year.

 Family and friends of Mrs. Rodgers-Richards have established a Foundation in her name which will serve to improve the lives of Jamaican children by enhancing their knowledge of computer technology, a field in which the deceased was actively engaged.

Mrs. Rodgers-Richards was a brokers claim representative with the insurance firm, Marsh-McLennan, and was working on the 100^th floor of Tower One when one of two hijacked planes slammed into the high-rise building.

She was also completing a Masters Degree in Computer Science at the nearby Pace University, and would have graduated in May of this year.

Fellow students wanting to honour Venesha’s memory broached the subject of taking on a project in her name. Following discussions with her course supervisor, Professor Nancy Hale, her family and Jamaican community leaders in New Jersey, where she resided, the Venesha Rodgers- Richards Foundation was established.

It was thought that it would be an appropriate gesture to donate computers to primary schools in Jamaica where Venesha had received her early education before her family relocated overseas.
Her mother, Lileth Grant-Bergen, a nurse, is an active member of several Jamaican-overseas organizations including the Caribbean Medical Mission, which does outreach work in Jamaica annually.

Mrs. Grant-Bergen told JIS News that following discussions with persons on the island during her last visit in May, it was recognized that students in rural parts of the country, could benefit from greater exposure to computer technology.

She said that members of the Foundation would travel to Jamaica on Thursday (August 22) to hand over some 24 computers to Education, Youth and Culture Minister, Burchell Whiteman at the Ministry’s Montego Bay office on Friday morning.

The team of donors will include Mrs. Grant-Bergen, Professor Nancy Hale of Pace University, Rev. Dr. Alfred Johnson – former President of the Jamaican Organisation of New Jersey, Jamaican Councilwoman for Highland Park, New Jersey - Elsie Foster-Dublin and Enid Angus, a Jamaican Manager at the global telecommunications company, AT&T.

Through Mrs. Angus’ efforts, AT&T donated some ten computers to the programme while the others were provided by Pace University. The donated items are used equipment which were refurbished by students at Pace.

The university will maintain its involvement, as Professor Hale will offer free training sessions via the Internet to Jamaican teachers involved in the computer-teaching programme. Several boxes of books on computers as well as computer software are also being donated to the educational institutions.

 Schools to receive the donated equipment are Barracks Road Primary; Glendevon Primary and Junior High; Albion Primary and Junior High; Salt Spring All-age; Granville Primary and Junior High; Sutherland, Barrett Town and Somerton All-Age schools, all in St. James.

Three computers will also be given to Waterford Primary in Portmore, St. Catherine where Venesha was a student prior to migrating to the United States.

 National airline, Air Jamaica will transport the equipment, software and boxes of literature free of charge.

The entire effort has been co-ordinated by Community Relations Manager at the New York Consulate, Janet Madden, a former senator from Montego Bay.

Venesha, who would have turned twenty eight this year, is survived by her husband – Hopeton, a one and half year old daughter Kayla, her mother, four brothers and an eight year old sister.  

Cloned animals 'safe to eat'

By Richard Black
BBC Science Correspondent

An influential committee of scientists in the USA has declared that eating food made from cloned animals appears to be safe.
However, it says that products made from genetically modified animals could pose a risk to human health.
It also believes that animals created both by cloning and genetic modification raise significant concerns over environmental risks and animal welfare.
The committee was set up by the National Academy of Sciences in response to a request from the US government.
The government's regulatory body, the Food and Drug Administration, is currently debating whether it should allow the sale of GM meat and milk.
Its decision is anticipated by the end of the year, and the committee's report will be influential in deciding whether it approves these products for market or rejects them.
Data deficit
The committee admits that data is scarce, particularly on animals cloned from adult tissue, like Dolly the sheep - the technique known as somatic nuclear transfer.
"Limited sample size, health and production data, and rapidly changing cloning protocols make it difficult to draw conclusions regarding the safety of milk, meat or other products from somatic cell cloned individuals," it says.
Some evidence comes from animals cloned by different, older techniques. Over two thousand Holstein cattle have been cloned since the 1980s in the USA, using methods called embryo splitting and blastomere nuclear transfer, BNT.
These techniques have not been adopted widely, mainly because they do not improve yields.
"Food products from BNT clones have been consumed by humans, with no apparent ill effects," the report says. But it urges the Food and Drug Administration to run tests on food made from cloned animals.
On genetically engineered animals, the report is more equivocal.
It says that with any genetically modified organism, there is a large degree of uncertainty about how, when and where inserted genes will turn themselves on.
New genes inserted into the DNA of GM animals will make proteins which are not normally present in the human diet, the report says. These could produce allergic reactions, or even be poisonous.
The committee concludes that some GM animal products may pose what it calls a "moderate degree of concern" .
The report was welcomed by the Biotechnology Industry Organisation, BIO, a lobby group based in Washington DC.
"It's very positive. They found no evidence of any danger from drinking milk or eating meat made from cloned or genetically engineered animals," said spokeswoman Lisa Dry.
"That's the same as we've found with genetically-engineered crops."
According to BIO, there are currently about six companies in the world producing farm animals by cloning or genetic engineering.
Flying fish
The main issue with GM animals, the committee says, is the potential spread of inserted genes into the wild.
Fish, it says, present a particular problem. GM salmon which start life in farms may well escape into rivers and seas; and if they are bigger or fitter than normal salmon, their genes will spread through wild populations.
Modified species might also be able to establish themselves in new areas of land or water. "A transgene that increases fitness or adaptations increases the risk of establishment and results in the highest level of concern," the report concludes.
The other concern the scientists raise is animal welfare.
The report notes that some cloned animals, including cattle, have health problems around the time of birth, with some calves growing so big that they cannot be born naturally.
This aspect of the report drew approval from Dr Sue Mayer of GeneWatch, an independent UK-based research group.
"The committee has said that substantial differences can occur in genetically-engineered and cloned species," she said. "That means they need to be treated differently."
Coming revolution
So far, the genetic revolution has largely passed animal farming by; but the committee expects this to change.
"Many of these recent advances have not yet left the experimental stage," they say, "But it is clear that that several, including transgenic finfish, which are soon likely to be commercialised, are likely to assume importance."
The biotechnology industry sees GM animals as providing several benefits to consumers.
"You could make animals with less fatty meat, or more nutritious milk," according to Lisa Dry. "Or they could be more resistant to diseases, which could make them safer for humans to eat."
But Sue Mayer disagrees. "We're deeply concerned that anyone is thinking of producing farm animals by such techniques," she said. "There are much better ways of solving the world's agricultural problems."  

Massive pirate CD haul seized

BBC - Pirated music CDs and copying equipment worth almost $20m (£12.5m) have been seized in the Philippines in the country's latest blow against counterfeiters.
The police raid on a factory, in the north of the country, also resulted in seven Indonesian and five Chinese workers being arrested.
The country's president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, visited the factory and congratulated police.
In July, authorities publicly steamrollered two million pirated CDs and DVDs in what was intended to be a high-profile message to counterfeiters that the government was cracking down.
President Arroyo said the raid was "not only a great help to the members of the entertainment industry who are being cheated, but also our reputation in the world". She has made fighting crime a top priority of her administration.
The Philippines has been named as one of the worst offenders in the global league of the production of counterfeit goods.
Global sales of pirated music compact discs rose almost 50% to an all-time high of 950 million units in 2001, according to a recent report.
And piracy was partly blamed for a 5% drop in global music sales in 2001.
Cheap attraction
The US has put pressure on countries like the Philippines to crack down on gangs running pirate operations, saying more investment and technology would be attracted if they did.
Fake music CDs sell on the streets of Manila for between $0.40 (25p) and $1.20 (80p) each.
Cinemas and video chains have also been hit by piracy, with copied DVDs also readily available on the streets.
The country's largest video rental company, Video City, recently closed 66 of its 220 shops because sales dropped by 50% in 2001.

SPORTS

KILLING ME SOFTLY

The West Indies Board (WICB) is killing me softly but not in the same way the Roberta Flack described. Roberta Flack released “Killing Me Softly” in late January 1973, and within a month, it was certified gold by the RIAA. The song rapidly climbed up the charts, taking just four weeks to reach number one.

In the 1970s, Roberta Flack proved that she could be a hit-maker with "You've Got a Friend," her duet with Donny Hathaway. In 1972, she proved that she could be a star, by cutting the Grammy-winning Record of the Year- “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” She has mastered the love theme, and made another million-seller, "Where Is the Love," again sung with Donny Hathaway. Her first two albums were gold, and they were sold worldwide.

The WICB is killing the small islanders softly with its development policy. The WICB is killing the cricketers of the small islands – the Leeward and Windward Islands “softly” with its policy of inclusion. Rev Wes Hall, the WICB Chairman, holds on to the view “the more the merrier.” And has made it clear that the WICB will open up the floodgates for “all and sundry” capable of playin