We sincerely hope that we don’t bore our readers, but as long as we can maintain some measure of impartiality and political non-alignment, we must remind our people about the exercise of their right and responsibility to vote. When they do, they must vote for the people who they believe will represent us all and lead us successfully out of near extinction.

That of course will not come from mere promises. That on the surface seems simple enough. Every promise involves having to find the necessary tools and means to fulfill the pledge. In the end we must vote for those people, party candidate or independent, who have withstood scrutiny of their sincerity -- their honesty, integrity, genuineness, respect, and, in today's world, their know-how; but most of all, for those who show they understand the situation and circumstances which face Montserrat today.

If we hear or recognise a campaign strategy like any in the past, we should immediately eliminate the perpetrator or perpetrators with a blank box. Nothing in Montserrat can any longer be "business as usual."

Yet when we search for those who represent us politically and lead us in governance, much remains the same. Back in 1996 some observations were made through this medium, which included: "We have many aspiring Builders for the construction of a future Montserrat. We have many potential bidders for the job. What is their vision? Where is their plan? What resources are needed? How are we going to acquire those resources?"

If we may be guided, it comes down to, Who is best addressing these questions? What are the answers? We already know that nothing about our problem is really that simple. It is not our intention to complicate people's thoughts, but we need to remind, watch out for those with plans for our past and not our future. We do not need designers who understand little of our needs.

We need a vision, not threats or scaremongering. We need new plans. We need new tools.

We need to create our own vision, draft our own plans, choose appropriate tools and find the right workers to do the job. This is the task at hand for the electorate and we must all work at it diligently.

We must be on the alert for the gimmicks that some of our candidates call experience as we listen to some of their ideological persuasions. We must support only those who we believe will understand that the job does not end after they have won their seat in parliament. We have to look out for those who are likely to expect us to consider those elected to political office as godly instead of mere mortals just like the rest of us. The looking after of friends (if you hear those words, beware) is already a serious warning of what lies ahead for the rest of us.

Today like never before, Montserrat politics is all about the lives of the people who have entrusted their care into the hands of people they genuinely believe could help them improve their conditions. These people must be the ones who we genuinely believe will face the problems that may beset them and us as they lead at the top.

Most of all, watch out for those who show or have shown any tendency to forget that being elected to office makes them indebted to us the electorate and not the other way around.

Some of our voters, especially the new ones, need to be reminded that our recent past is not all that we need to consider, especially when we look at our politics today. They must not believe that we have gone full circle yet. Just as there may be a concentration of stronger-minded ones amongst the 2,953 eligible to vote -- which represents 40 percent of the number of voters we had back in 1996 -- we seem to have more "intellectually minded," more graduates and post graduates than ever before in the contest.

Twenty-five candidates are campaigning, but the job is not so simple, even though the space is so much smaller. The number of persons who must be reached by each candidate is very much larger that ever before, yet from our vantage point, the campaign strategies of several leave a bit to be desired. Even that might send a message to the electorate.

To do the right thing on election day will require the kind of conscience that we seem only to exercise in time of national disaster. We should try to see ourselves in that plight, and if possible look at how those offering themselves to lead us have conducted themselves in their own disasters and when struck by natural disasters.

Read Isaiah43: 18-21

The Lord said, "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"

Isaiah 43:19

I recently moved back to my hometown after 29 years. It was hard to go alone to an unfamiliar church, so I prayed and thought about it for several weeks. Then, one Sunday morning, having asked God to prepare my way, I drove to the new church. Just as I got out of my car, a woman got out of hers next to me. I smiled at her. She smiled back and said, " This is my first time here. Can you show me the way to the front door?"

I replied, " It’s my first time too; we’ll find it together." God had answered my prayers in an unexpected way. Instead of sending someone to help me, God sent someone for me to help. I don’t remember enjoying a worship service more. God gave me the confidence to enter this house with my new friend and share the experience of worship with someone who needed me as much as I needed her.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for showing us new things. Give us the courage always to go forward. Help us to look for new ways that we can befriend others. Amen.

Thought for the Day

Expect God to do the unexpected.

Judy k. Moore (New Mexico)

Prayer Focus: THOSE FACING CHANGE

Dear Editor,

As the nomination date for candidates approaches, I have begun to look more closely at the individuals who have declared their candidacy. I am just a little concerned that there are only two Political Parties, but seven independent candidates.

The independent candidates have all made it very clear that they are team players and can work with any group. However, their team spirit seems to be on suspension until after the General elections on April 2^nd, 2001. If these independent candidates can work so well together, why can’t they join forces now and form a Political Party? Why can’t they sit together and combine manifestos that will show the people of Montserrat that they are really striving for one common goal, and that is to serve the people of this nation?

In further looking at the independent candidates, I reflect uncomfortably on some of their history, serving as citizens on Montserrat. Yes, many of them were a part of several organizations and unions, but how effective were they in creating and maintaining cohesiveness? Did some of them belong to any sports or social organizations and were they instrumental in breaking them up? Were any of them members of the two coalition Governments, one headed by Bertrand Osborne and the other by David Brandt, and broke them up?

And I am wondering who amongst these independent candidates were members of at least two unions where they swore before God and man that they would maintain the union for better or for worst as long as they shall live, however dismantled these same unions.

My final question is, if they were not faithful in keeping their promise to God, why should we believe that they would fulfill their promises of being able to work in our best interest and with anyone after the General Election?

As Singing Sharon puts it, "the state of affairs demand that we pull together as one". Can these individuals do that?

Dear Editor,

Last week's issue of the Reporter carries a cartoon depicting CM David Brandt sitting in his office supposedly getting on with business, while Rupert Weekes and Adelina Tuitt run off with money bags containing a sizeable gratuity.
My questions: Are those figures right? Do you really get a $125,000 bonus after holding a job for four years? Wow!
Now it becomes clear why Bus Drivers, Chicken Fryers, Undertakers, Mechanics, etc., are all telling us that they have what it takes to lead Montserrat into the 21st century. Some of the candidates must really think this is a pappyshow.

I suspect more than a few of them are merely 'back-of-the-envelope' statisticians who fancy their chances in a wide open race.

Gerard Silcott

Dome viewed from Olveston House tennis court - note the northerly drift of the ash plume - Photo by Bennette Roach

This week has brought discomfort, though somewhat less than we had grown accustomed to in the past, as light volcanic ash drifted eastwards and then north and northwesterly, falling on some areas on more than one occasion.

As expected, Dr. Gill Norton said light ash fall in the north of the island is no cause for alarm. The ash had fallen lightly off-and-on between Cudjoe Head and Lookout for some days. She explained that the ash is being deposited in these areas because of the unusual wind direction.

Speaking to ZJB radio she said: "We had an extra region of a new layer of material over the south side of the dome over Galloways…what is happening is that the growing which has rock falls continuously, most of them are very small events. They don’t let out a lot of ash and (it is) certainly not getting to any height in the atmosphere, but it is merely continuous and a little ash venting as well.

"The wind in the mountain was a particularly unusual direction; it was heading up towards Antigua. And it is heading a little bit for the North…so we are seeing some light ash falls in the North of the island."

Senior Executives from banking and financial service organisations within the OECS region are attending a three-day workshop entitled "Leading Strategic Planning and Transformation for Competitive Advantage," being hosted by the Eastern Caribbean Institute of Banking and Financial Services (ECIB) at the ECCB Headquarters.
In his welcome address at a brief opening ceremony this morning, President of the ECIB Mr. Errol Allen pointed to the need for continuous learning as the minimum requirement for success in any field, given the fast changing and unpredictable environment in which we operate and the growing obsolescence in jobs each year. He invited participants to see themselves as leading the change process, rather than reacting ex post to situations.

The seminar is one component of the Institute's OECS Financial Sector Productivity and Best practices initiative. It is being facilitated by Dr Aubrey Armstrong, Principal of the Barbados -based Aubrey Armstrong Management Associates, in conjunction with MrVerieux Mourillon, Acting Director Human Resource Division, ECCB, and Dr
Lennox Sealy, a former professor at the UWI's Institute of Business on the Trinidad and Tobago campus.
CEO of the ECIB Mr Analdo Bailey Chaired the ceremony.

Financial Globalisation: Issues for Small States is the theme of a two day conference, to be hosted by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in partnership with the World Bank and the Foundation for International studies, Islands and Small States Institute Malta, at the ECCB Auditorium in St Kitts on March 27 and 28, 2001.

Senior policy makers, economists and academics have been invited from 48 countries, including Bahrain, Bhutan, Cyprus, Estonia, Maldives, Malta and Qatar, as well as from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific. Representatives from international organisations and stakeholders in small states are also expected to attend.

Among the topics for discussion are: The Benefits and Costs of International Financial Integration; Obstacles to Global Financial Integration Faced by Small States; Fostering Global Financial Integration and Mitigating the Impact of Volatility on the Poor, and Financial Services, Tax Competition and Financial Integration Issues for Small States.

The forum will also look at some of the lessons learnt by small states from domestic and external liberalisation and explore issues emerging from the Commonwealth/World Bank Report on Small States. Deliberations will end with a panel discussion on the Road to Global Financial Integration in Small States.

The constant shortage of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and its unavailability to consumers may soon be over as the installation of tanks at the fuel facility at Carrs Bay is completed.

This most welcome news was shared by Mr. Basil Lee, who manages the fuel depot which has been undergoing development to full capacity over the past several months. Mr. Lee proudly showed the Montserrat Reporter the final installation of three tanks which are expected to solve the island's constant shortage of LPG or cooking gas.

"The tanks were brought out of Plymouth over two years ago," he said, "but now we have a modern facility which includes a tank that will contain only water to serve the sprinklers that you see surrounding the tanks in the event of fire."

It appears that the project had been delayed for lack of funding by DFID.

Mr. Lee said that still left to be completed is the building and installation of a 350,000- gallon diesel storage tank to replace three portable tanks, which are being used at the moment to provide the fuel used in large amounts by Montserrat Electricity Services (MONLEC).

With March 16, Nomination Day only one week away and the political campaign beginning to swing into full gear, more candidates have emerged.

The New Peoples Liberation Movement (NPLM) has completed its roster of nine candidates with the return of Mrs. Annie Dyer-Howe to active politics.

On Sunday night she stood with her former colleague and leader on the political platform in St. Peters and announced that she had decided to come out of retirement from politics and become active to serve her country again.

She was a former Minister of Education in the John Osborne PLP government during the 1980s, before losing her seat in the legislature to Bertrand Osborne. Mr. Osborne, who later became the first Chief Minister of a coalition government in Montserrat, has to date not announced his participation in this year's election.

Meanwhile the number of independent candidates has risen to seven, with Anthony Maloney diving into the race.

The Montserrat Christian Council (MCC) this week called calling on contestants not to bribe the electorate or offer empty promises and offers a for the upcoming April 2 General Elections.
The MCC called on all political parties and independent candidates to adhere to the Code of Conduct while also calling on all registered voters to cast ballots as their right and responsibility to vote for the candidate of their choice. The voters were at the same time urged not to abstain from voting without a good reason.

The code reads:

"Since a new voting system has been introduced, the council calls on voters to make use of opportunities to be elected, as to how to vote correctly, and avoid spoiling their ballots.

The Council encourages political candidates to present their proposals for the betterment of Montserrat, its people and land, and its interaction with the Caribbean and the rest of the world.

The Council calls on all politicians to avoid making unrealistic promises, as this practice is deceptive, since it raises expectations that cannot be fulfilled.

The Council calls on all politicians to respect our common humanity before God, and to refrain from character assassination through presentation of unsubstantiated claims, name calling and the like.

The Council calls on all politicians, and their supporters, to allow people to exercise their franchise to vote without intimidation and harassment. Bribery should not be condoned, as this in itself constitutes a form of harassment.

The Montserrat Christian Council pledges itself to work along with the elected government in the interest of promoting the people's welfare, and encourages all Montserratians and Montserrat residents to do the same.

Prior to announcing his candidacy, Cheddy Browne, who is running on the slate of the New Peoples Liberation Movement (NPLM), is already on record as expressing grave concern about the bribery of voters as has allegedly been the case in previous elections.

His leader answering questions or suggestions on the matter during the 1996 campaign had openly said that he did not bribe voters, but that he would not cease giving money to those people who were needy or asked for monetary assistance.

The Montserrat National Trust recently completed a seven-day workshop with Colin Clubb, Kew Gardens, and Sara Cross, UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum, to prioritise the plans of the National Trust. Since that workshop the National Trust executive and director are working to build links with community groups, focusing on the botanical gardens as a means to assist the general public with environmental issues.

The Trust plans to reactivate the position of environmental educator to help inform the general public about the Botanical Garden, Natural History Centre, the rehabilitation of Carrs Bay wetlands, and the Botanical Trail.

The National Trust’s priorities at this time include only these items: long term plans will include historical sites, a museum, trails/campsite, the restoration of Lime Kiln beach and Woodlands.

The Trust continues to work with the Governor and his office staff, The Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Housing and Environment, DFID Small Grants Scheme, which is administered by the Governor’s Office, DFID Montserrat, and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Environmental Policy Department to accomplish these objectives. The Trust is planning a workshop in May with the help of the aforementioned agencies.

The Trust is calling on community groups and other NGOs to join it, in helping preserve and protect Montserrat. The Trust would like to thank the Davy Hill Community Group for its invaluable support and would appreciate calls from all other groups.

The National Trust should officially open the doors of its new Natural History Centre within the next two weeks.

exchanging T-shirts donated by the Governor are HE Anthony Abbot and the Davy Hill Community Executive Group

Caribbean observances of International Women's Day focused on a variety of issues important to women in the region, from Dominica's focus on problems affecting family life to concerns in Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis about reporting incidents of domestic violence and pursuing such cases in court.

In Trinidad, meanwhile, the emphasis was on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's official message, "This International Women's Day is also a reminder that for the majority of the world's women, daily life remains a difficult and sometimes dangerous struggle. The past year has brought into sharper focus the objectives of gender quality, development and
peace that remain at the heart of our agenda, and that are still far from being achieved."
In Dominica, the Women's Bureau and the National Council of Women (DNCW)

Supplemented the international theme "Women as Peace Builders" with a local focus on "Fostering Family Unity."
The Women's Day observance will spill over into Sunday, with a sports day in the northern town of Portsmouth. Development Programme Manager of the DNCW, Margaret George, said the event is meant to attract women from all over the island, along with other family members, to participate in various sports activities and to hear speeches from families representing the Council's seven zones.
Antigua and Barbuda's Executive Director for Gender Affairs Sheila Roseau, meanwhile, said that many women find themselves in a difficult position; they hate being abused but they love their partners and so do not want them jailed or fined.
Existing laws only provide for the victim to testify but Ms. Roseau believes that legislation should be enacted for the state to prosecute the perpetrators rather than leaving the women to decide.
In St Kitts a two-day workshop on the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) began Thursday to examine progress made in its implementation and some of the obstacles it faces.0

In the message issued in Trinidad, Mr. Annan recalled, " Last June, the "Beijing Plus Five" Special Session of the General Assembly showed that while we have moved forward in some areas in implementing the Beijing Platform, there are many points on which we have yet to make serious headway. In October, the UN Security Council highlighted one of the most pressing of these challenges when it held its first open debate on women, peace and
security.
"It is one of the tragic features of modern conflict that women and girls suffer its impact increasingly and disproportionately. They are neither the initiators nor the prosecutors of conflicts, and yet they have been specifically targeted, often as a way to humilate the adversary and break the moral and resistance of whole societies."

UN-Secretary-General's message:

Trinidad, CANA - Following is the message by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the occasion of International Women's Day being observed on March 8, 2001 and issued through the UN Area Office here:
"A quarter of a century has passed since 8 March 1976, when we first celebrated International Women's Day at the United Nations.
Twenty-five years on, we have many reasons to celebrate. Much progress has been achieved in the advancement of women - from better legislation to greater partici-pation, from the Cairo conference on population and development to the Beijing Platform for Action, from economic empowerment to intellectual emancipation.
Steps have been taken to end the culture of impunity surrounding this lamentable practice - both at the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and in the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. We must build further on that work.
And we must do more. As the Resolution adopted by the Security Council makes clear, we must address the issue of women, peace and security on several fronts. While women are often the first victims of armed conflict, they must also be recognised as a key to the solution. We must strive to integrate women more effectively in peace processes worldwide.
It is increasingly realized that women possess particular skills and experiences that enable them to contribute to all stages of a peace process. In times of conflict, it is often women who take over the running of homes, farms and villages. Women understand the root causes of tension and know which power groups within com-munities and countries are most likely to support peace initiatives. Women are
able to work together and communicate across barriers and divides.
We must make greater use of that potential. We must ensure that these experiences are replicated at all levels, in national and international arenas. We must build partnerships among all actors - governments, non-governmental organisations, community groups and the private sector - to bring more women to the negotiating table and into decision-making positions. We must act on the understanding that women's full participation in preventing and resolving conflicts is essential for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security in the 21st century. On this Inter-national Women's Day
of 2001, let that be our credo for a more peaceful millennium."

Following their agreements with some OECS territories last week, Cable & Wireless announced Wednesday it was seeking to cut almost 400 jobs in Barbados and the Windward Islands with "attractive packages of voluntary separation and early retirement."
Cable & Wireless said the move is part of its continuing cost-cutting measures, and preparations to compete successfully in a competitive telecommunications environment.
"We regret this action has to be taken. However, the company cannot take all of its current costs into the new competitive environment," the statement quoted Vice President of Cable & Wireless Barbados and Windward Islands, C. Trevor Clarke as saying.
Cable & Wireless is currently engaged in negotiations with Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada (the Windward Islands) and St. Kitts and Nevis on the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in these islands.
In Dominica the British telecommunications company has offered its workers in Roseau the same early retirement options. Cable & Wireless in Montserrat said early retirement packages have been on offer for nearly a year but no employees had taken accepted to date.

In St. Vincent, the Commercial, Technical and Allied Workers Union (CTAWU) will meet its Cable & Wireless Grenada members on Monday to discuss the British company's proposal to cut jobs there.
General secretary of the CTAWU, Lloyd Small, said the union wanted to hear its members' concerns in relation to Cable & Wireless' offer of early retirement and voluntary separation packages to its employees.
The company said it has put together a programme that will allow employees who are leaving to receive advice on financial investment and small business management.
It also said it had consulted the workers' representative, the National Workers Union, about the planned job cuts.
Mr. Clarke said, "There are global pressures on the Caribbean to open its market in accordance with WTO (World Trade Organisation) Agreements and world trends. The move towards a liberalised telecommunications market in the Caribbean is well underway....
"To be competitive, the company must now move aggressively to prepare for the emerging challenges."
For decades, the British company has been the sole telecommunications provider for several Caribbean countries. It has been under pressure in recent years, with some governments and companies seeking the end of its monopoly.

Meanwhile Cable and Wireless Montserrat said this week that some members of its staff had been offered early retirement and voluntary separation packages, but no one took advantage of it.

Antigua, CANA - Two Vincentians caught with six kilogrammes of cocaine in false baggage compartments have been fined a total of EC$40,000 (US$14,814) and ordered deported.
If they cannot pay the fine, each will have to do 22 days' hard labour at Her Majesty's Prison.
Donnie Adolphus Collis, 51, was convicted on Wednesday for importing two kilogrammes of cocaine and fined EC$20,000 (US$7,407). He was reprimanded on the charge of being in possession of the narcotic substance.
That conviction came one day after 25-year-old Alphord Justin Williams was fined EC$20,000 dollars for importing four kilogrammes of cocaine.
The two were caught on February 27 at the VC Bird International Airport with the cocaine, with a street value of just over EC$100,000 (US$37,037), shortly after disembarking from a flight from St Vincent.
Two sniffer-dogs on duty at the airport jumped at the bags as they were being loaded on the conveyor belt to the baggage collection area.

St. Kitts, CANA - The St. Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Communications, Works and Public Utilities has assured residents that there are no plans to remove standpipes from the community.
A recent report in the opposition People's Action Movement newspaper, the Democrat, triggered rumours that government has started a programme to remove the standpipes from all communities.
The ministry said Tuesday that Public Utilities Minister Rupert Herbert did not give an interview to the opposition party's newspaper, nor "uttered such words on the subject matter."
It said it recognised the public standpipe is the only supply of water for many consumers throughout the country. The ministry has invited members of the public to visit the office and peruse its five-year corporate plan.
"A quick review of the strategic intent of the ministry would show clearly that there is no mention of any plans to remove water pipes from any community in St. Kitts," the ministry said.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -- Attorneys General from within the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Currency Union will meet here starting today for the final review of the Eastern Caribbean Securities Act 2000.

The March 9-10 meeting will put the finishing touches to the Act. It is the culmination of months of drafting and reviewing of legislation that will establish the legal and regulatory framework for the Eastern Caribbean Securities Market (ECSM). The two-day meeting marks a significant milestone in the run-up to the official start up of operations of the first regional electronic securities exchange in the Western Hemisphere.

The working session will see the legal officials reviewing the fifth draft of the Securities Act 2000 as well as the supporting regulations that will govern the operations of the ECSM.

All eight Governments within the ECCB Currency Union have already given their commitment to passing this all-important legislation within three months of receiving a clean copy of the bill. This will pave the way for the much-anticipated opening of the ECSM.

NEVIS, CANA - a 50-year old Slovenian lawyer who had been missing in Nevis since Wednesday last week was found alive Thursday morning, trapped in a hole, the police reported.
Anton Thomazic was hospitalised, suffering from dehydration, the police said.
An elderly man discovered the tourist in the hole he had fallen into in the vicinity of Barnes Ghaut, in northeastern Nevis. The elderly man was in the area cutting wood to make fishing boats and fishing-rods.
Mr. Thomazic was said to have sustained cuts and bruises as he attempted to climb out of the hole during the past few days.
He had gone hiking to the 3,232-foot high Nevis Peak mountain. He was spotted soon after leaving the dormant volcano but vanished the same day.
Police Commissioner Calvin Fahie said the discovery of the man, who was reported to be "conscious and alert," meant that the arrival of a search party from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation with infrared cameras had to be called off.
The discovery of Mr. Thomazic came after days of searches by army, police and volunteers, as well as 15 persons from a visiting Canadian naval vessel.
The missing man was a parliamentarian between 1991 and 1995, and the Slovenian government was following the case closely. It had requested U.S. assistance in the use of infrared cameras in trying to locate the man.

Mr. Thomazic, a lawyer, currently works for a software development company in Slovenia. He and his family arrived here on February 24 and had been due to leave the island on March 2.

Thousands of Britons arriving in Australia are being checked for foot-and-mouth disease.

Customs officials are inspecting travellers' bags and asking if they have handled livestock or visited abattoirs or the British countryside in the last three months.

Baggage is also inspected for mud, straw or soil that could carry the disease; any footwear or clothing that looks soiled is disinfected on the spot.

David Finlayson, of the quarantine service, told the Sydney Morning Herald: "We will disinfect and kill the virus in the first instance when we can.

The federal minister for agriculture, fisheries and industry, Warren Truss, said: "There's simply too much at stake to relax our traditionally strict quarantine requirements for foot-and-mouth disease.

"We've been free of the disease for almost 130 years and our livestock industry depends on that freedom."

On the local scene, some residents are concerned that we should do some testing as well. This resident is usually quick off the mark commenting on matters of this nature, she said: "The volcano has done enough damage. Tourism is just beginning to pick up. Can you imagine the impact if we picked up foot-and-mouth? And worse yet, Antigua will not allow any of us to transit that island. We would be in virtual quarantine."

Antigua, CANA - Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis are among Caribbean coun-tries in which women are reluctant to report incidents of domestic violence or pursue such court cases, government officials said Wednesday.
That observation on the eve of International Women's Day, to be observed Thursday in member countries of the United Nations, came against the background of the United States Human Rights Report 2000 on countries around the world.
Released last month, the document states that in Antigua and Barbuda "women in many cases are reluctant to testify against their abusers" while in St Kitts and Nevis "violence against women is a problem but many women are reluct-ant to file complaints or pursue them in courts."
Antigua and Barbuda's Executive Director for Gender Affairs Sheila Roseau believes that many women find them-selves in a difficult position in which they hate being abused but they love their partners and so do not want them jailed or fined.
"We really have a situation where that is part and parcel of the whole syndrome of violence against women or domestic violence because you find very often it is a mind-set where the women basically still are very fond of the relationship but obviously do not accept the behaviour," Roseau told the Caribbean News Agency (CANA).
Existing laws only provide for the victim to testify but Roseau believes that legislation should be enacted for the state to prosecute the perpetrators rather than leaving the women to decide.
St Kitts Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Gender Affairs Roslyn Hazel believes the reluctance of female victims of domestic to take legal action against perpetrators is due to fear of being stigmatised.
"These issues have always been seen as private family matters, society sometimes can be very judgmental and non-supportive," said Hazel, who is the Caribbean representative on the committee for the Convention on the Elimina-tion of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Hazel suggests the need for greater public awareness, social services support and legislation to make women aware that domestic violence is a criminal offence and human rights violation impact that adversely impacts on the way they parent their children and gain employment.
She said police ranks and officers were among those receiving training on how to enforce the Domestic Violence Act enacted last year.
"We are now looking at and ensuring that not only legislation but the mechanism to ensure that the legislation and to provide social services to back up that legislation," the Permanent Secretary added.
But in Antigua and Barbuda, the US Human Rights Report notes that "police generally refrain from intervening in cases of domestic violence and some women have charged credibly that the courts are lenient in such cases."
In that regard, the Executive Director of Gender Affairs said recommended that members of the judiciary receive additional training about domestic violence, similar to that which sections of the police force have been getting.
One of the major events for International Women's Day in Antigua will be a one-day conference on Women and the Constitution from which recommendations for reforming the 1981 Constitution will flow to the Review Commission.
And in St Kitts a two-day workshop on the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) begins on Thursday to examine progress made in its implementation and what are some of the obstacles.

St. Kitts -- The Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) held its 41^st meeting here Feb. 20, chaired by the Honorable Lester Bird, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Antigua and Barbuda.

As a result of its deliberations, the Council decided to maintain the officially administered rates as follows:

• The regulated minimum rate of interest on saving deposits at 4.0 percent
• The Central bank’s discount rate at 8.0 percent
• The inter-bank market rate at 5.0 percent

During the session Council members considered domestic factors which influenced monetary and credit conditions in the Eastern Caribbean currency union during 2000. Among these were:

1. (1) Favorable growth in real income for the region’s major trading partner countries.
2. (2) Retarded growth in the main tourist industry due to required reconstruction after the destructive passage of Hurricane Lenny late in 2000.
3. (3) Only modest recovery in banana production and exports, exacerbated by adverse movements in exchange rates.

Council specifically acted to:

1. Encourage member governments to hasten establishment of the OECS Economic Council.
2. Urge member governments who have not yet done so to make the appropriate amendments to existing legislation that govern offshore banks.
3. Encourage an integrated approach to the supervision and regulation of offshore banks by the involvement of the Central Bank and the national authorities for those member governments which consider this beneficial to their circumstances.

Participants in the 41^st Meeting of the Monetary Council held on February 20, 2001 at the ECCB Auditorium, Basseterre, St Kitts. 

Standing (L-R): Carl Joseph Attorney General, St Vincent; Hon Victor Banks, Minister of Finance, Member, Anguilla ; John Skerritt, Financial Secretary, Montserrat; Timothy Antoine, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Alternate Member, Grenada; K Dwight Venner, ECCB Governor; Prime Minister Dr The Hon Kenny Anthony, Member, St Lucia. Seated (L-R) Hon Ambrose George, Minister of Finance, Member, Dominica; Prime Minister Hon Lester Bird, Member, Antigua; Prime Minister Dr The Hon Denzil Douglas, Member, St Kitts & Nevis

Grenada, CANA - Six Venezuelans who entered Grenada illegally last week were due to appear in the Magistrate's Court on Wednesday to answer several charges, including firing shots at the Coast Guard.
The five men and one woman were arrested last Friday following a shooting incident with the Grenada Coast Guard, police said.
The Venezuelans, who entered the country on a fishing boat, are facing charges ranging from possession of arms and ammunition to firing shots at the Coast Guard.
Police alleged that when the Venezuelans were spotted, they started shooting and Coast Guard officers returned fire, wounding two of them. One of the men is still nursing a wound at the hospital while the other was treated and discharged.

Trinidad, CANA - Two of the losing candidates in Trinidad and Tobago's recent general elections were formally appointed to junior ministerial positions on Monday.
Roodal Monilal was appointed Junior Minister in the Ministry of Labour, Manpower, Development and Industrial Affairs, while Dr. Daphne Phillips was appointed to the Ministry of Community Empowerment, Sports and Consumer Affairs.
Dr. Phillips was the Culture and Gender Affairs minister in the previous administration. The two junior ministers took their oath of office before President Arthur Robinson.
Mr. Monilal and Dr. Phillips were among seven defeated candidates of the ruling United National Congress (UNC) who were appointed as government senators in mid-February following a 55-day standoff between the president and Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.
The impasse began shortly after the December 11 general elections when President Robinson refused to act upon the advice of the prime minister to appoint the losing candidates to the Senate.
Under the constitution, the president must carry out the advice of the prime minister in the appointment of senators and ministers.

Antigua, CANA - The Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ABCCI) has joined organisations in demanding that Governor-General Sir James Carlisle order an inquiry into alleged fraud in the government-run Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS).
Executive Director of the ABCCI, Holly Peters, said Monday that the organisation has yet to receive a reply from the Governor General.
In a letter to Sir James, which was released to the media on Monday, the ABBCC called for "the urgent establishment of a commission of inquiry into the conduct and management" of the MBS in an effort to regain public confidence.
Stating that the ABCCI was backing its sister organisation, the Antigua Employers Federation (AEF), on its stance that the Governor General is empowered by his office to commission such an inquiry at his own discretion, Chamber President Clarvis Joseph called for the probe to be held with "maximum dispatch".
"We are convinced that should a public investigation be treated with less than the utmost urgency and transparency, the best interests of the nation are not being served," the Chamber President added.
Others calling on the Governor General to order a commission of inquiry into the MBS include the AEF, the Medical Association, the Antigua Christian Council (ACC), the Antigua Workers Union (AWU) and the opposition United Progressive Party (UPP).
The Governor General's office on Monday declined to comment, and Prime Minister Lester Bird has repeatedly stated that the idea of an inquiry would be considered only after a forensic audit is completed.
In the MBS case, two ministers have been accused of wrongdoing. Bernard Percival has been temporarily relieved of his post as Health Minister, until the completion of the audit.
Attorney General Dr. Errol Cort is the other top government official under a cloud. Both Cort and Mr. Percival have denied all allegations.
Mr. Percival has denied charges that he and a local medical practitioner had opened a pharmaceutical supply company in Miami and instructed that all purchases be made from there.
Prior to the ordering of the audit, an MBS official was allegedly caught defrauding the entity of US$8,500. She was summoned for a departmental hearing, paid back the money and fired from her job.
Mr. Percival said that although senior officials of the MBS informed him that there were no more such cases, at least four more cases totalling about EC$60,000 (US$22,222) to EC$70,000 (US$25,925) have been uncovered involving the now dismissed employee.

HAITI, CANA-Reuters - Six people drowned and 17 were missing after heavy winds sank their ship off Haiti's southeastern coast, Radio Kiskeya reported on Monday.
Seven passengers were rescued after the commercial vessel sank on Sunday off Belle-Anse, a town about 30 miles southeast of the Caribbean nation's capital, Port-au-Prince. The ship was carrying a load of cement to the town of Marigot, 25 miles away, according to the private radio station.

SPORTS

Montserrat Gets to Host Vice Chancellor's XI v S. Africa

The Montserrat government and cricket officials have been making their overtures to the public for assistance to get the scheduled match here later this month, between South Africa and the the Vice Chancellor's 11^th and South Africa.

The confirmation which was made in an announcement by the West Indies cricket board during a press conference in Guyana yesterday of the venue for this game, followed consultations between the WICB, the UWI and officials of the Montserrat Cricket Association.
This included an inspection of the playing facilities and hotel accommodation on Montserrat by WICB and South African team officials earlier this week.
A match between the UWI and Montserrat will be played the day before (April 11) the Vice-Chancellor-South Africa game.
The match is to be played at Salem park on Thursday April 12, when retired West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose will be the honouree on the Vice-Chancellor's XI.

Meanwhile, in other cricket news, the Montserrat Cricket Association (MCA) is preparing to host approximately 17 delegates from member countries of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association this weekend at the Tropical Mansion Suite conference room today and tomorrow.

The sessions will be held in the evening and while opened only to fully paid up members of the association according to sources limited observer status is permitted for persons interested in attending the meetings.

New West Indies captain Carl Hooper enters the first Test against South Africa in his native Guyana today amid a storm of controversy over his appointment following the dismissal of Jimmy Adams.

Adams led the team to Australia where the Caribbean men lost 0-5 in the five-match Test series and also went down in the best of three one-day international finals.
In Bridgetown, Chief selector Mike Findlay told the Barbados Daily Nation on Thursday
selectors questioned Hooper about his commitment to Caribbean cricket before appointing him captain last week and warned him he could face angry protests from fans.
Hooper told the Jamaica Observer he is not bothered by the furore

"Each man is entitled to his opinion. You can't take that away from him," Hooper said at the end of the Busta Inter-national Shield final against Jamaica on Tuesday.
One man with very strong opinions is legendary West Indies fastbowler of the 1970s and 1980s and current television commentator, Michael Holding, who announced he will be boycotting the Test series because of the selection of Hooper as captain.

Holding became a full-time commentator at the turn of the 1990s and has worked for stations including Sky Television, the BBC, Channel 9, TWI among others. He said that he would be giving up over US$24,000 in fees alone for the tour, but maintained that he had to take what he described as a "principled position".
"The money doesn't matter to me," said Holding. "I will not even go to any of the grounds to watch cricket as long as Hooper is captain," added Holding, who played against Hooper at the regional level, but not in Tests, having retired around the same time as Hooper was making his debut in 1987.
Findlay acknowledged Hooper's attitude had been a problem in the past and said he had warned the 34-year-old that he would face anger from some fans when the series begins in his home country of Guyana on Friday.
"We asked about his commitment and he admitted that he has done some things in the past that he should not have done," Findlay said.
"But he thinks he is a more mature person now, that his family situation is more settled and that he feels at peace within himself," Findlay said.
"We have put the cards on the table to him and even warned him that he should expect mixed feeling when he takes the field.
"He said he understood that and was prepared for it."
Meanwhile, Grenada's Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell said he hopes Michael Holding will change his mind about boycotting the upcoming tour. Dr. Mitchell, who is also a Member of the Caricom Prime Ministerial sub-committee on cricket, said Wednesday, "I hope his statements recently may have just been at the spur of the moment and that he will reconsider his decision because I believe he has a lot to give to West Indies Cricket."

However Dr. Mitchell, who has sometimes criticized West Indies selectors, called on Caribbean people to rally round the West Indies. "I do not think it is in our interest to criticize the team at the beginning of the tour" Dr. Mitchell said.
Grenada's national stadium will host back to back one-day matches between West Indies and South Africa on May 5th and 6th.

Explaining his strong opposition to Hooper's selection, Holding said, "He has come back into West Indies cricket because of his selfish ways. He went to Australia and thought that he could have landed a lucrative contract there, but when the Australians paid him no mind, he decided to return to the Caribbean, after turning his back on West Indians when they needed him most. Why are we then rewarding this kind of behaviour?"

Holding added that Hooper's indiscretions over the years should have ruled him out of contention for leadership.

Jamaica, CANA - New West Indies captain, Carl Hooper, says he is not bothered by the furore that has surrounded his appointment following the dismissal of Jimmy Adams, the Jamaica Observer reported Wednesday.
The Observer said Hooper gave an emphatic "no" when quizzed as to whether the open opposition in sections of the cricket fraternity would affect him as he enters the first Test against South Africa in his native Guyana on Friday.
"Each man is entitled to his opinion. You can't take that away from him," Hooper said at the end of the Busta Inter-national Shield final against Jamaica on Tuesday.
Legendary West Indies fastbowler of the 1970s and 1980s and current television commentator, Michael Holding announced he will be boycotting the Test series because of the selection of Hooper as captain.

By Peter Adrien

We may have just entered a New Era. Yes, the selection of Guyanese Carl Hooper as the captain of the West Indies cricket team signals a new dispensation in West Indies cricket history.

Like the selectors, the West Indies Board put national interest before their personal interest and endorsed the selection. Unlike some notable but self-centered and parochial cricket commentators, Pat Rousseau and company acted sensibly, acceded to the wishes of the people, and welcomed home the prodigal, Carl Hooper, to the most demanding job in West Indies.

Carl Hooper (34), who has played in 80 Tests and 182 one-day internationals in a career which began in 1987, quit international cricket following the sixth game of a seven-game ODI series against Australia in 1999. He moved to Australia with his wife, who is Australian, and baby son. He plays for Carlton in the Victorian Premier League; he has made himself available to play for Guyana in the regional tournament.

The world-class batsman had a record-breaking 2001 Busta Cup season. In the Busta International Shield finals against Jamaica at Sabina Park, Captain Carl Hooper scored 889 runs for a batting average of 98.77, including four centuries. With the ball, he took 24 wickets at 24.20, opening the bowling on occasions to give variation to his usual off-spin.

The selectors confirmed their manhood when they took a number of tough decisions in the selection of the 13 to represent the Caribbean nation in the first Test Match at Georgetown, Guyana, March 9-13, 2001. And their final 13 is very close to my final 11, which included Chris Gayle (Jamaica), Leon Garrick (Jamaica), Wavell Hinds (Jamaica), Brian Lara (Trinidad & Tobago), Marlon Samuels (Jamaica), Carl Hooper (Guyana), Ramnaresh Sarwan (Guyana), Ridley Jacobs (Leeward Islands), Reon King (Guyana), Cameron Cuffy (Windward Islands), and Courtney Walsh (Jamaica).

The selectors’ 13 include Chris Gayle (Jamaica), Wavell Hinds (Jamaica), Brian Lara (Trinidad & Tobago), Marlon Samuels (Jamaica), Carl Hooper (Guyana), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Guyana), Ramnaresh Sarwan (Guyana), Ridley Jacobs (Leeward Islands), Reon King (Guyana), Mervin Dillon (Trinidad & Tobago), Dinanath Ramnarine (Trinidad & Tobago), Nixon McLean (Windward Islands) and Courtney Walsh (Jamaica)

I warned, "The best of the lot - the crème de la crème – must be selected to represent the West Indian nation. It is offensive to the populace to do otherwise. Mike Findlay and company could ignite a civil disobedience in Guyana on first Test match like that of the 1930’s civil unrest, should they disregard current form, emerging talents and genuine passion for the "old wine" that has no taste, no odour and no sting."

After a long time, Michael Findlay and his selectors have done "what a man got to do." When we consider that most Caribbean enterprises do take a long time to become profitable, the firm of Michael Findlay, Joey Carew, Joel Garner and Roger Harper must be commended for taking the decision that marked a new era in West Indian cricket.

With respect to the captaincy, judging from the public response in the various cricketing countries where I did interviews, Carl Hooper's elevation to the highest position in the region was greeted with great joy over the weekend of March 3, 2001. His ascendancy was celebrated by genuine cricket fans throughout the Caribbean, particularly in Barbados where he is very popular. It was the Barbadian public which catapulted him to the coveted position.

When interviewed after the decision was made public, he remarked, "Obviously, its a great honour, I can't put my feelings into words to be given the opportunity to lead such a great cricketing nation."

The developments have ushered in a new era in West Indian cricket history. We may just be on the verge of the structural adjustment that we have long waited for. We may just be on the verge of the making of a winning team. The leadership issue is not yet finally resolved, as Hooper is definitely not a long-term solution. All things equal, we could have his services for al least five years. The succession plan should allow us to groom a young man, possibly Barbadian Ryan Hinds or Guyanese Ramnaresh Sarwan or Jamaican Marlon Samuels. These are youngsters with good heads on their shoulders.

The batting stock looks promising, with a number of talented young batsmen in reserve. Leon Garrick leads the pack, which includes Ricardo Powell, Daren Ganga, Tonito Willett, Narsingh Deonarine, Azemul Haniff, Travis Dowlin, Romel Currency, Devon Smith, Alex Adams and Runako Morton.

The bowling cupboard is a cause for concern. There are a few promising seamers and spinners but no match-winner. The most urgent need is a functional coach in Sir Vivian Richards to bring out the best in the young cricketers.

The players must rally ‘round the new captain; the West Indian public must rally ‘round the team; and the senior batsmen must inspire the youngsters with their flashing blade.

Let us rally ‘round our team! It's our team!

PHOTO CAPTION: Carl Hooper, the new West Indies captain (Photo: Peter Adrien)

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CANA - Jamaica comfortably collected the Busta International Shield on first innings advantage over Guyana when their four-day final ended in a draw at Sabina Park on Tuesday.
Jamaica, protecting a 375-run first innings total, bowled out Guyana for 290 before lunch, and were 161 for four in their second innings when play was called off.
"It was a very good way for the team to finish the season...we dedicated this game to Courtney Walsh, who might have played his last game for Jamaica," winning captain Jimmy Adams told reporters.
Man-of-the-match Chris Gayle was pressing for the US$50,000 incentive for 1,000 runs in the season, but fell for 51, closing his aggregate at 945 for the season, nine behind Guyana's captain Carl Hooper, who won the Clayton Lambert award as the top batsman with a record 954 runs.

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR ELECTIONS CAMPAIGN AND GENERAL ELECTIONS 2001

• The Montserrat Christian Council calls on all registered voters to cast their ballots on Monday April 02, 2001. It is both a person's right and responsibility to vote for the candidates of his or her choice. A voter should not abstain from voting without very good reason.
• Since a new voting system is being introduced, the Council calls on voters to make use of opportunities to be educated as to how to vote correctly and avoid spoiling their ballots.
• The Council encourages political candidates to present their proposals for the betterment of Montserrat, its people and land, and its interaction with the Caribbean and the rest of the world.
• The Council calls on all politicians to avoid making unrealistic promises. This practice is deceptive since it raises expectations that cannot be fulfilled.
• The Council calls on all politicians to respect our common humanity before God, and to refrain from character assassination through presentations of unsubstantiated claims, name calling and the like.
• The Council calls on all politicians and their supporters to allow people to exercise their franchise to vote without intimidation and harassment. Bribery should not be condoned at this in itself constitutes a form of harassment.
• The Montserrat Christian Council pledges itself to work along with the elected government in the interest of promoting the people's welfare, and encourages all Montserratian and Montserratian residents to do the same.

TOPIC: THE ROLE OF THE PSYCHIATRIC NURSE 

Nursing of the mentally ill patient has been seen as a dynamic interplay between nurse and patient. This encompasses knowledge and the skillful application of the concept of behavior, personality, the mind and the process of interpersonal relationships.

The relationship between the nurse and the patient is recognized as one of the nurse’s most important therapeutic tools. As a result any intervention by the nurse is intended for the re-education and remotivation of the mentally ill patient It is therefore extremely important that psychiatric nurses use themselves and their personalities as the main implement for effective care.

The psychiatric nurses assist patients in three main areas i.e., -

• Supporting them in adjusting to the demands of life in the community.
• Encouraging them to develop greater independence and confidence in themselves.
• Helping them to integrate into the community while maintaining whatever level of ability they have.

There is a general misconception that psychiatric nurses are responsible for meeting all the needs of the patients. However, what the nurse actually does is to work alongside other professionals such as community services, police etc., or with voluntary organizations, in providing for the needs of these individuals.

Here is a quick insight into the five main areas covered by the psychiatric nurse:

In fulfilling this role the nurse helps the patient to live and participate successfully in-group activities. The nurse makes a contribution to improving the socialization skills of the patient by encouraging and developing the healthy aspects of his or her personality.

Sympathetic listening is another important role of the psychiatric nurse. The nurse listens in a positive, dynamic, sympathetic way without at the same time giving advice, stating opinions, or making suggestions. This type of listening encourages the patient to think through his problems and arrive at a decision, which is helpful to him. It helps the patient to discharge anxiety and tension.

Problems of behavior manifested by mentally ill patients are as varied as life itself and encompass every aspect of living. Some patients, like children, must learn many simple tasks involved in living. The psychiatric nurse in her role as a wise and understanding teacher helps patients learn to participate in more socially acceptable and satisfying living activities.

The nurse-patient relationship strives, in a professional capacity, to help the individual with emotional problems that can benefit from her particular skills and knowledge. She works with patients who require help in improving their ability to cope with the daily problems of living.

The traditional role of the nurse includes those technical aspects involved in administering medications, carrying out medical and surgical treatment where necesarry and observing and recording patient behavior. Unfortunately it is this aspect of nursing that many people identify as nursing care. It must be noted that although the technical aspect of the nurse’s role is of great value is not always as therapeutic in the psychiatric situation as are some other roles that the nurse assumes.

On the eve of 1999 we were all fearful that we were on the brink of destruction. Everybody was talking about the Y2K bug. We heard that planes would fall out of the sky, banks would lose their databases and people would be unable to get their money. We even heard that people would die on operating tables because computers worldwide would fail.

All of us who were computer literate understood that that could not happen. All of us who are e-literate knew that you could do nothing but ignore the hype and the noise. We knew some people just didn’t get it. They just didn’t live in our age of enlightenment and Y2K readiness. They just didn’t live in an age of technology. Modern technology as the contestant who is not Y2K ready said.

Today, we live in an age where you must be computer savvy, intelligent, knowledgeable, understand and live the meaning of social consciousness. We live in an age where you cannot flaunt your corruption in the face of your benefactors and thumb your nose at the people you say you want to represent. Today is the age where wild threats and questionable innuendoes are no longer acceptable. Fellows, this is the age when we want clear concise discourse not the wild ramblings of a power crazed political has-been. Today we live in an age where you cannot abandon your responsibilities and turn your back on those who you represent. We live in an age where we ask "how?" when you say, "we will".

People who are not Y2K ready still do not understand that the doctor cannot treat a computer virus. People who are not Y2K ready have no business being in any political race in this century. Help them to enjoy their retirement. Don’t encourage them in their foolishness. Set them aside. Don’t pay them no never mind. It will only force us all to migrate to England. So tell me is that what you want? So tell me is your candidate Y2K ready?

Hey wait! This is no joke. I serious, I serious. What on earth would you want with political leaders without management training in a time like this? What would you want with political leaders without negotiating savvy in a time like this? What in God’s name will you do with political leaders who have raped and pillaged your country? What would you want with government representatives who cannot address you in everyday standard Caribbean English at a time like this? How would you benefit with political leaders who donors are already intimating are not capable of basic honesty and decency at a time like this? What the heck do you want with political leaders whom donors just cannot trust and will not give their grant funds to?

Be sure that the HMS Guard Ship will be here on April 3 to take the lot of us to the UK. And be sure that it is not Britain who would be sending the ship for us, but is a lot of us right here who are going to call Britain and tell her to send the ship on down for us.

This is serious folks! Its time to bury the dead! It is time to cast aside dead weight! It is time to put out the dirty baby in the dirty bathtub!

It is time to put the useless, the clearly incompetent, the untrustworthy, the dishonest, the corrupt and the passé in the coffin and nail it tight shut. And bury it deep. Because if you let any of that stuff loose in this century it will be worse than opening up Pandora’s Box. It will be visiting disease and pestilence upon Montserrat. It will be putting racism in high office. It will be condoning obsolescence and incompetence in the corridors of government. It will be accepting that our constitution was ripped from our hands and turned into a pile of crap because of bared-faced graft and the willful misuse of Government funds. It will be surrendering your self to a life of no donor funds, no airport, no new port, no new houses. No money in your pocket and no lotta love. It will be subjugating your self to a life of international embarrassment and black listing. It will be a life of exile. It will be the end of our beautiful Montserrat.

And if you think this is a joke put your ear to the ground and listen. Listen to words of those with the money decisions. Listen to the Montserratians abroad who heard the whispers. Listen to the real players. Listen my friends. Listen. What have they to loose? Oh heck, nothing! Now tell me what have you got to loose? Listen. Listen and live in this century. Listen and live in this country.

Because if it ain't Y2K ready it ain't for this century.

Verna St. Rose Greaves

Regional Coordinator

Jus wonderin if PLM don't know that British rules the money and the give love for vote.

Jus wonderin how many of the candidates can answer some of the reporters questions.

Jus wonderin if the voters are really ready for a big change.

Jus wonderin why the three extra seats on the helicopter do not make a difference.

Jus wonderin which of the candidates will be judged best political song.

Jus wonderin why that lady owes so much money on bills and still wants to dress expensive.

Jus wonderin why that boy sucks her so dry that she can't make shopping for her house.

Jus wonderin if it’s the life they live before why dem look like that.

Jus wonderin why the staff and supervisor taking the customers business out in the road.

Jus wonderin if he is like fish out of water and he don’t know one for the messenger, custom worker and tractor man.

Jus wonderin if it is true the CC telling so much lie pan e police friend.

Jus wonderin who WPC is that is so obsessed with the two nurses and their looks.

Jus wonderin if it is because the two M nurses got to use their wedding dress and gloves the invitations and gloves still under the bed and the wedding dress still making in St. Thomas.

Jus wonderin if the nurse still have the love letter that the other uniform one wrote to her boyfriend.

Jus wondering if it is the boyfriend and brother had to do all the cleaning up.

Jus wonderin if they shouldn't listen to the M nurses more often like the rest of us.

Jus wonderin who a de monkey gal and de crazy man port worker and what they see in one another so.

Jus wonderin if de monkey and de man carry themselves alike.

Jus wonderin a way de tractor man me a come from and how he move round so.

Jus wonderin if the silver dollar and de port man a run competition.

Jus wonderin who was seeing what and if it was real, coming through Barzeys.

Jus wonderin if some people don't know that most others have caller ID.

Jus wonderin who is the most improved politician.

Jus wonderin what is wrong wid she, de lawyer and de chief.

Jus wonderin why keep avoiding the 'lawyer' questions.

Jus wonderin if any of this is being done in the Caribbean and in particular in Montserrat where we can't afford to kill all animals which catch a cold.

Jus wonderin with all the British visitors who come here if they shouldn't tested upon arrival for infection with the something cow disease.

Jus wonderin who will do the correct thing to check the meat they bring sometimes.

Jus wondering why the cement in the tent in Gerald’s Park turning into rock stone?

Jus wondering who put it there?

Jus wondering who try to get the house from Cuba for no money and lotta love.

Jus wondering which of them think they could fool the people with they stupidness?

Jus wondering if who don’t know that the whole country done know that dem others bright, good, done win and never yet tek a cent, a house, a mattress or a sheet a galvanise?

Jus wondering why the people with the money bags no just say it out loud dat dem nar go gi we more money without de love?

Jus wondering if is because the boss never here why he don’t know that Civil Servants get a 27% increase nat lang ugo?

Jus wondering who dem candidate be who does go a church?

Jus wonderin why dem big trucks allowed to drive fast up and down Bishops View Road in Old Towne, honking horns all de way, carrying stones, sand and gravel from Belham Valley, why don’t they take Dr. Woods Road or Happy Hill.