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‘No Confidence’ Loses, But Browne is Pleased

MP Chedmonde Browne and CM John Osborne

On the eve of two years after being elected into office, Chief Minister John Osborne, in responding to a resolution of no confidence in him and his government, made light of it, while one of his ministers called the resolution “mischievous” and “null and void.”

Nevertheless, the Honourable Chedmond Browne claimed “total success” despite the resolution’s defeat.

The motion: “BE IT RESOLVED, that this Honourable House declares no confidence against the Government of Montserrat represented by the NPLM Party, led by the Honourable Chief Minister to carry out the functions for which government has been elected”.

Shortly after 7 p.m. at the end of more than four hours of debate on Monday, 31^st March, 2003, the remaining five members of the NPLM members in the house voted against the resolution, the two National Progressive Party members, who officially lead the opposition in the house, abstained, and the remaining two elected members, Dr. Lewis and Mr. Browne, voted in favour.

Both of the NPP members said they abstained, “with an explanation,”:

“I was only seeking to serve notice to the Government with respect to my disappointment of their performance,” declared Reuben T. Meade, the seconder of the motion; while Mrs. Cassell-Sealy said: “The intention of my contribution to this debate was to put the Government on notice with my general dissatisfaction and displeasure with their performance.”

Chedmond Browne on Tuesday told The Montserrat Reporter that he was not surprised at the final count, but disappointed, “since both the honourable Reuben Meade, who seconded the motion, and the honourable Roselyn Cassell-Sealy had at the end of their presentation in support of the motion, categorically stated their support for the motion.”

Now in the ranks of opposition members, Dr. Lowell Lewis was the only other person who voted directly in favour of the motion.

Both he and Mr. Browne made reference to “rope around necks,” what they considered “a threat” by Chief Minister John Osborne, who had said at the end of his defence to the motion, “when those people vote or don’t vote here, I will wait and see, but this might be a rope around somebody’s neck, this same resolution here, and it is going to hurt, take it from me. You know I am capable of using it  properly, it’s going to hurt.”

It was April 1, 2001, when the New People’s Liberation Movement government under the leadership of John Osborne was swept to power, with several new faces. These were Dr. Lowell Lewis, Chedmond Browne, John Wilson, no newcomers to the election campaign arena; and Claude Hogan. Old PLM members were the chief minister himself, Margaret Dyer Howe and Idabelle Meade. Mrs. Meade had previously lost at the polls before but was a Minister of Government in the David Brandt administration. Mr. Brunel Meade, who had replaced the dismissed Austin Bramble, fell ill and was hospitalized in England. Mr. Bramble had then resigned his nominated member seat, following which Mr. Brandt nominated Mrs. Meade.

This no confidence motion came right on the heels of a history making debate.

The full text of the motion appears in a box on this page.

Two Reporters Denied Seats by Speaker Meade

The Hon. Speaker, Joseph Meade looks at The Montserrat Reporter  staff camera - Nov. 2001

Two reporters from The Montserrat Reporter, the only weekly newspaper on island, were told to leave the opening session of Legislative Council on Wednesday, March 25, by Sgt. Cornelius Pierre, under the instruction of Speaker of the House Joseph Meade.

The reporters were told that since they had no written permission, they were not allowed to observe the sitting.

The session, which began at 10 a.m., was held in the Police Training Center at the Government Headquarters, Brades. It was the first sitting of the Legislative Council for this year, at which Chief Minister John Osborne was about to present his budget address for 2003-04.

It was also the first time, after years of Montserrat Reporter staffers’ attending and reporting on Legislative Council sessions, that such access was denied. It was noted, however, that members of the public were seated in the public gallery listening to the Parliament Session.

Also present at the sitting were media personnel from the government-owned and controlled radio station, Radio Montserrat (ZJB), and the Government Press Officer, Keith “Stone” Greaves.

Miss Catherine Rodrigues, who has been with The Montserrat Reporter for the past five months, and trainee Miss Tomeika Jeffrey were assigned to cover the Legislative Council sitting on Wednesday. They both reported that within moments of having taken seats, they were asked to leave the parliament by Sgt. Pierre, who advised that he was so instructed by the Hon. Speaker Joseph Meade.

“Arrangements must be made with the ‘chair’ for any press person to be present at any sitting of Council,” Mr. Meade said.

“Our standing orders are quite clear. Journalists or the press, in order to be admitted into Legislative Council meetings, must have permission so to do. Permission must be requested and granted or not granted. The grounds for that, they came in with cameras and in fact pictures are not allowed except on permission. . . They were asked to leave based on the fact that no permission was given to them.

“Provision has been made for the radio station, I have not made any provisions for any press because no press has contacted me on such an agreement.”

The Speaker pointed out that any press person who appears in Parliament would be asked to leave unless they had his prior permission to be present, whether in their capacity as a member of the press or otherwise.

It was pointed out to the Speaker that not withstanding that accommodation was made for the press even at that sitting, other members of The Montserrat Reporter had visited the house on several previous occasions during his tenure in the chair as speaker, but they were never challenged.

It was pointed out that it was because there was a long-standing acceptance that the (local) press and The Montserrat Reporter were welcome. He claimed and maintained that he had not been privy to any such arrangement with The Montserrat Reporter, notwithstanding that he has even allowed himself to be photographed by journalists from the said establishment.

The Speaker disagreed that he was “selective” when he asked the two young women to leave the session although present at the sitting were columnists and other reporters well known in this island, along with ZJB radio and Mr. Greaves, recently appointed in the chief minister’s office.

Mr. Meade’s final instruction was that The Montserrat Reporter had to seek his permission in writing to enter any Legislative Council sitting.

Deadlock on Lottery Forces LegCo Delay

It has been a busy past week since last Wednesday in the Legislative Council, but just about mid-day on Monday this week, following the passage of the “Appropriation Act” after a long grueling budget debate on Friday, history was made in the Legislative Council just before the debate of the No Confidence Motion.

This happened when Legislative Council meeting continued at the Police Conference Room in Brades after members on the Government side of the House agreed to defer the second and third readings of the “Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2002.”

The Chief Minister had tabled the Act “to amend the penal code to permit the granting of a licence to hold a national lottery.”

For nearly 20 years the matter of legalizing gambling and lotteries in Montserrat have made the rounds but the matter has always received opposition, especially from the churches of Montserrat.

The government sought to get Legislative Council to allow for the establishment of a National Lottery under the supervision of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Hon. Claude Hogan - Will he change his vote at the Lottery 3rd Reading?

The GIU office reported on the matter that it is the view of the government that funds raised from such a national lottery would be used to finance, for example, sporting and other development projects in the community.

Members of the Opposition criticized the amendment mainly on moral grounds, citing also concerns expressed by the Montserrat Christian Council from time to time against lotteries.

The Hon. Speaker of the House Joseph Meade was called upon to exercise a casting vote. It was the first time in the history of the house, with one exception where the deputy Speaker avoided the vote, that this situation had arisen, but adviser to The Montserrat Reporter on Constitutional Matters, lawyer David Brandt, said that according to Erskine May, the leading authority on parliamentary procedure, the Speaker must cast his vote. In the circumstances, he would break convention if he voted other than would allow situation to remain, causing the bill to fail passage at the 2^nd Reading. “Of course he can decide to break the convention and vote with the Government.”

The lawyer added however, the situation should never have arisen.  “No Chief Minister should take a bill to the house that he doesn’t know how his side is going to vote,” the lawyer and former chief minister David Brandt said.

Former Speaker Sir Howard Fergus, who said in his many years as speaker he was never faced with a similar situation,  advised also that there are “conventions” which could have aided the situation, whereby the Speaker could have avoided the actions he had to face.

Mr. Meade, who seemed to have had a torrid time in the Speaker’s chair during the past week’s legislative council sittings, found himself facing the casting vote scenario when the four Government Ministers and the Financial Secretary voted for the amendment, while government backbencher Hon. Claude Hogan abstained. The Hon. Attorney General Mrs. Esco Henry-Greer, along with the four members of the Opposition, voted against the amendment, the attorney general having said her conscience and her religious convictions did not allow her to support the “Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2002.”

The vote was  five for and five against, with one abstention – deadlocked.

The Speaker then requested a 10-minute recess to consider his position.  Reports coming out of the parliament session claim that several ministers followed the Speaker out of the house, but even after they returned with smiles, when the Legislative Council resumed its sitting the Speaker indicated that he was not ready to cast his vote, following which the matter was deferred to another sitting of the Council.  

$133.2-million Budget Passes after Long Debate

In spite of what many have referred to as bizarre and sometimes comical behaviour in the recent sittings of the Legislative Council, some bills were passed notwithstanding the forced deferment on one particular bill where the government failed to get a majority vote.

Last Friday a very contested debate on the 2003-04 budget ended with the passage of The Appropriation Act 2003 after the Chief Minister and Minister of Finance had proposed that the “Government of Montserrat has programmed $133.2 million for recurrent and development expenditure for 2003.”  The major external contributors to the budget are the United Kingdom Government and the European Union.

“We estimate local revenue to be $28.2 million.  This is a figure similar to the 2001 estimate and higher than the revised estimate for 2002 by 9 percent,” the Finance Minister announced.

For the Recurrent Expenditure based on the programmes presented by the Ministries and Departments for the fiscal year 2003, Chief Minister Osborne said: “I propose to spend $69.8 million.  The forecast budget deficit is, therefore, approximately $41.6 million.  Her Majesty’s Government has approved £10.5 million or $44.1 million (£1 to $4.2) for this purpose.” 

During Monday's session, legislators passed the “Co-operative Societies Act,” which brings local credit union legislation in line with those in the other Caribbean countries.  The bill received full support from all the members of the Legislative Council.

Deputy Speaker

Last Wednesday, Government backbencher Hon. Claude Hogan was appointed as Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council. He takes over from Hon. John Wilson, who previously held the position.  Mr. Wilson was recently appointed as the Minister of Communications and Works, following the resignation of Hon. Dr. Lowell Lewis.

Dr. Lewis,, who later resigned from the ruling New People's Liberation Movement (NPLM) party and now sits on the Opposition side of the House, was appointed by the house as one of the members of the Public Accounts Committee.

At the end of Monday’s sitting of the council, all matters on the Order Paper for the current session had still not been completed and the session was adjourned “sine die,” with the outstanding important matter of the “Report of the Constitutional Commissioners 2002” still to be discussed.

EDITORIAL

"LegCo’s First Rough-and-Tumble Sitting Spans ‘Bizarre’ to ‘Comical’"

The recent prolonged sitting of the Legislative Council was described by many concerned and informed persons and observers as “bizarre and comical” in the way it was conducted, the behaviour of several of the legislators and the outcome of some of the matters that were discussed and debated.

The first Legislative Council sitting for the year began Wednesday, March 26 with what legislators and observers referred to as a “most unnecessary 35-minute delay in getting the business of the house started, and from which time, matters seemed never to be in total control. Put this down to the inexperience of the honourable Speaker, but he has been at the job well into his second year at it.

It was during this time that The Montserrat Reporter journalists were evicted from the house by the Speaker. According to him the reporters did not have his permission to be in the house. He continues to maintain this position in the face of the fact that accommodations have long been and continue to be made for the press in Montserrat to cover the affairs of Legislative Council, to be later reported to the public otherwise unable to attend. He demonstrated ignorance (a word he took unkindly) of the fact that The Montserrat Reporter staff had been to the Legislative Council sitting on numerous previous occasions, even taking his photograph as well as those of other members in the house.

It was that same attitude, perhaps, that allowed the kind of behaviour in the house, with the numerous “points of order,” as our legislators often seemed to abuse their latitude, even to the point of making statements often embarrassing to the chair, leaving other legislators to rebuke the offenders.

As to what else was referred to as “bizarre” raised the question for which so many have sought an answer. How could a legislator state his support for a motion, debating in its favour and then abstain from voting, having the effect of appearing to be against the resolution?

There were three major debates over the three full days of sitting, all major in content and outcome.

The budget speech by the Chief Minister, even though on paper seemed quite masterfully written, was much too vague. It lacked strategic turn-around plans. Yes, there are lots of “we need,” “we must,” and ideas presented, but none are supported with time frame or revenue generation projections, thus there is no performance accountability.

It was apparent there are no programs aimed at assisting, addressing the needs of and insuring the retention of current businesses about which on-island horror stories/rumors abound.

The budget included repeated comments regarding Montserrat’s need to be a player in our ever-increasing single global economy, but the budget presentation is not backed by a comprehensive and detailed strategic plan, nor does it provide the level of performance accountability required in such a world market.

The CM needs to explain himself as he encourages and provides for Montserratians to return home, when later he expresses disinterest in encouraging them to come back. Going into detail of the budget, one finds much contradiction and an aerie-fieriness that discourages any thought at all.

The budget debate took all day Friday, and went well into the night following its presentation on Wednesday.

The recently signed Aide Memoire between Montserrat and DFID can teach us much. It is presented in this issue by Government for the information of the public. It would have been good if the budget could have been likewise presented, but readers may find it on the internet at our web site at www.montserratreporter.org. In future issues we hope to deal with more issues relating to the budget and the Aide Memoire. The latter concerns the “Provision of UK Development Assistance to Montserrat,” was well written also and we hope/trust that the GoM will be able to satisfy DFID’s performance requirements.

Then there was the bill to enable the government to licence lottery businesses in Montserrat. The bill created history, come time for voting, as it was here that the Speaker was called upon tro exercise a casting vote after the hon. Claude Hogan may have outdone himself trying to pass a measure on which he then abstained. They should all have known that the hon. Attorney General would not support the bill. Why was the Speaker being hounded, and he probably still is? It is quite ominous how the CM reminds members of the house of the reason for their existence, which he ascribes to himself.

But all, of course, is not lost on the bill, which was deferred to a later sitting. According to the former Speaker Professor Fergus and Lawyer Brandt, there’s the third reading, and anyone is allowed to change his mind. Montserratians will not understand why the Speaker needed a 10-minute recess to consider his position, then later indicating that he was not ready to cast his vote, which he must do.

Arguments from the opposition side of the house obviously brought the matter to the conscience, morality and one’s religious or spiritual beliefs. The Speaker is well known as a lay preacher in the Methodist Church, which church is one of the leads in opposing gambling in all forms on the island.

There are those of us who do not oppose gambling, but when all the facts are taken into consideration, a lottery in Montserrat will not benefit the island, only the few hired to manage it.

It should be noted, of course, that it would open the door to legitimizing those undesirable forms of gambling and licences to all others, such as hotel, casino gambling.

If nothing else, this first and historic sitting of the Legislative Council would have shown many  how it actually works and how the system disappoints.

SCRIPTURE VERSE THIS WEEK

Struggles- Read Galatians 2:15-21

Paul wrote, “ I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:19-20 (NSRV)

I struggle with a bad habit. Again and again I resolve to change, but I always fall back into my old ways. One New Year’s Eve I steadfastly vowed to defeat the persistent enemy within me. But shortly thereafter, I found myself again beaten by the foe I wanted to conquer. Many others face similar struggles. Try though we may, our strength is not enough to defeat these enemies. That is why God sent Jesus to us. Through Jesus, God forgives our sins and empowers us to do better in the future. Through God, we can be equipped daily for our battle against all that would limit us in living or God.

I now understand Paul’s words, “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” What I can’t do on my own, Christ can do through me. Christ makes me strong. With help from others, I continue to grow stronger.

I have not totally beaten up my bad habit, but each day is a new day in the battle. I am striving, but I am not there yet! Through Christ, I will emerge victorious.

rayer: Lord God, we are sinners who are saved only by your grace. Forgive us our sinful ways and empower us to become more like the people you want us to be. Amen

Thought for the Day: With God’s help, we can win the battle. – Jim Van Der Wall (Delaware)

 Prayer Focus: Those Struggling With A Bad Habit  

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

‘Imminent Disaster’ Now 178 Days Old

Dear Editor,

These are the facts of the volcano and the latest exclusion zone as I see it.  As this is written, it is 178 days since the Governor's declaration that we (Isles Bay, Old Towne, Lower Friths and part of Waterworks) must move because "the scientists say that the mountain could collapse and come down the Belham Valley to the sea at any moment."  No matter what evidence was shown the scientists to disprove their theories, they rebutted it with "we think, or it could, or it might". They tell us our evidence is flawed, but can't tell us how their figures were developed. No matter what qualifications the scientists at the MVO may have, volcanology is still in its infancy and it has been admitted numerous times by these and other scientists that they cannot PREDICT the volcano but can only REPORT after the fact what has happened.  Any suppositions as to what could or will happen on the mountain are therefore exactly that, SUPPOSITIONS.  They can use all sorts of models of what could happen based on what has happened at other times or to other volcanoes, but once again, these are models of what MIGHT happen if their suppositions do occur, based on worst case scenarios.  The world does not always behave in a worst case scenario.  If this were true, there would be no life left on Earth since we would have been wiped out years ago by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes and other disasters.  If every country on Earth used models to determine what MIGHT or COULD occur, people would not be allowed to live ANYWHERE because something might happen to jeopardize their lives.  Los Angeles and San Francisco in the U.S.A. would be ghost towns because of the earthquakes that could occur and do.  The mid-west of the U.S.A. would not be livable because of tornadoes. Large parts if Italy could not be lived in due to volcanic action.  Parts of Japan would be the same.  Many other parts of Europe would be off limits due to avalanches, volcanoes, and I could go on.  During Steve Sparks lecture in Brades a few months back, he stated that millions of people around the world are living under the threat of volcanoes.  Yet his counterparts here on Montserrat declare that we must leave because of the danger that they suspect we may be under.  Peter Dunkley has stated more than once that it is entirely possible that the volcano may never collapse. Dr. Gill Norton during her month here recently said the same thing. Have our local scientists forgotten their basic earth sciences?  This is how many mountains have been formed and this is how most of the Caribbean islands have been formed, by volcanic action.

 For five years, the Governors of this little island have declared Foxes Bay, Richmond Hill and Cork Hill as exclusion zones and forced people from their homes there only to have no natural disasters affect the homes.  The only damage to these homes is due to intruders breaking into the homes and the homes being damaged by lack of maintenance by the owners or their representatives. If they had been allowed to do minimal care, most of these homes could be lived in today.  It also would have helped if power and water had also been maintained for the times people could enter the area.  Are we to have this same damage occur in the latest exclusion zone?  According to one scientist,"people should not be allowed back at all and the houses should be written off!"  This comment, like many others coming from the MVO, are by persons who don't have any ownership anywhere in the world and therefore have no understanding of financial or emotional loss of property.

I have fought in every way available to me and have been threatened with jail, fines or deportation for disobeying what I believe to be an illegal, unconstitutional order.  Apparently our letter and petition to Jack Straw in London and our lawsuits against the Governor have not been enough to cause him sufficient anxiety to remove his order.  He seems to feel that by suppressing news on ZJB and BBC he can prevent news from reaching the people.  Does he not understand freedom of speech?  Does he really think he is still in Russia?  What must we all do to be allowed our choice as to where to live?

Paul Breuer

A Former Visitor Recalls Six Days in Montserrat

Dear Editor, 

I am in the city of Memphis, state of Tennessee, in the south central portion of the U.S.A. along the Mississippi River.  These days of war bring mixed feelings among my fellow Americans. The U.S. polls show support for President Bush but I feel that the hurt and anger following 9/11 have influenced our hearts and minds.  I did not agree with our President's decision to remove Iraq's dictator in the manner he has chosen but now that American and British armed forces are committed and giving the ultimate sacrifice (their lives), I hope and pray for a quick end with a minimum of damage to the Iraqi people and their homeland. 

I wish the World could understand that extra British and American soldiers are dying by trying to preserve Iraq's infrastructure and civilian population and not simply leveling any target that is firing at them.  I am afraid that President Bush has done damage to America's image, especially in the Islamic world, that will take some time to heal. 

On a brighter note, my wife and I spent a week in your wonderful country in May of 1994.  I do declare that it was the most divine six days of my life.  Everything was perfect, from Andy's chicken down to the wonderfully cantankerous older gentleman named "Jim" who insisted we must have him guide us up to the falls.  My heart broke when the volcano blew. I do read the Reporter on the Internet every so often and appreciate the posting of the newspaper for all the world to see.  One thing I have noticed is your amazing grasp of the English language. You people write and speak more proper English and have a larger vocabulary than 99 percent of the people in the United States.  You should be proud. Please preserve what you have.  It is very precious. 

Marion F. Hale

Mother Abroad Enraged By Rape Acquittal Report

Dear Editor

Having just read an article about an indecent sexual assault of a minor and the jury’s decision to find the perpetrator not guilty makes me sick to my stomach. I am mad as a hatter. This has been happening for years in Montserrat and young girls are afraid to report it for this same reason. The man will always be found not guilty.

Many of the young girls are probably feeling that they brought it on themselves. Some folks believe that because a young girl goes to the home of the man, that she brought it on herself. That is simply not true. It is about time the men, young and old, understand that NO means NO. Listen men, even if the woman is your wife or girlfriend, that does not give you the right to them sexually or otherwise. I have a daughter and I am glad that I am not home or even intend to visit there with her, because if this had happened to her like that young lady that was visiting from the States, I would have been incarcerated. It seems as if the law protects those infidels.

They need to be castrated. It is time for this nonsense to stop. The prosecutors and the lawyers for the victims need to poll the jury before they are allowed on child rape cases. I believe there are a lot of prejudices. In the States if you know the people involved or any of the lawyers, or have any kind of biases, you will be dismissed from serving.

Let us all remember the children are children, no matter if they look older. Young men leave the young girls alone. The age of consent is 16. Even if the young girl consents and she is not yet 16, that is STATUORY RAPE.

 People of the jury, if this was your daughter, cousin, or sister how would you feel.

 SHAME, SHAME, SHAME, SHAME, on every one of you. Right now I do not feel proud to be a Montserratian.

Infuriated

LOCAL NEWS

Montserrat Water Authority Begins Water Ration

Beginning on Saturday, the Montserrat Water Authority (MWA) will start rationing the water supply to the island.

According to a radio broadcast on ZJB, the first areas to be affected are, the recently evacuated areas of Old Towne, Isles Bay and Olveston as they will only have water on Wednesdays and Sundays.

This immediate rationing of the water supply, has taken residents by surprise, even as the MWA began urging residents this week to conserve on their water use, since it became apparent that the potable water supply was diminishing.

According to reports from the Government Information Unit (GIU), MWA Manager Emile Duberry explained that insufficient rainfall, inadequate storage capacity, undersized main pipes and low water pressure are among factors contributing to this problem.

"Conservative measures will have to be applied if we are to have water for domestic purposes and we hope that we would continue to experience a good quality of water on the island," he said.

Mr. Duberry told The Montserrat Reporter that if the present weather pattern continues, (the present dry season), the MWA “will be forced to ration the water supply.”

He said that many years ago, an exploration survey was done on the island, which mapped out the present underground water sites.

However he feels that another exploration survey, using the technology of satellite imagery, is now necessary, “as this would identify newer potential water sources of a good quality, especially since the present spring yields have decreased over the last eight to 10 years.”

 “An artesian well capable of producing some 100,000 gallons of water a day was identified upstream of the Belham Bridge,” Mr. Duberry said, but the onset of the volcanic crisis halted drilling the well for the water.

He said the MWA “is still exploring the possibility of tapping the underground water source at Belham, which would allow them to pump the water to the Hope reservoir.”

Mr. Duberry explained that through the Hope reservoir, water could then be pumped to the other reservoirs -- Lawyers, St. Peters, Baker Hill, etc. -- thus supplying the north of the island with water.

He pointed out that the MWA is presently awaiting approval and implementation of Phase 3 of a water project. “The cost of the project has been estimated at £1.4 million pounds and has been in the works for the last two years,” he said.

He stressed that there is an urgency attached to this phase of the project, “especially in light of the development of the construction of the airport and other projects.”

Asked about the possibility of desalinating seawater to fulfill the water needs of the country if all the sources are dried up, Mr. Duberry said, “thought has been given to it, but it is a last option, since it is very expensive.”

He said that approximately 326,000 gallons of water is used per day locally.

Recently Concluded CPEC Training Program Heralded A Success

Thirty-six participants from around the Caribbean attended a one-week training program at the Cara Suites Hotel in St. Lucia, which was put on by the Regional Caribbean HRD Program for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC).

In its effort to strengthen and build capacity in its partner institutions, the recently concluded program (March 24 – 28^th 2003) in Project Management and Human Resource Development for the coordinators of sub-projects, from all counts was heralded a success. 

According to Mrs. Jadine Glitzenhirn, Montserrat’s representative to the workshop, “the course was very useful and I look forward to implementing the skills gained in all future projects.”  “The program was very intensive as it drew on a number of subject areas, which had to be covered within the specified timeframe.”

Some of the topic areas that were covered included:

• The Project Cycle

• Logical Framework

• Monitoring of Project Activities and Effects

• Sector Case Studies

• Claims and payments

• Human Resource Overview

• Capacity Building

• Needs Assessment

• Training and Development

• Evaluation

Mrs. Glitzenhirn commented that the session on the Logical Framework was particularly useful and interesting.  “The facilitator emphasized the importance of using such a vital tool for the conceptualization, design and execution of projects.  This gives structure to the process of planning and can be used to communicate essential information.

CPEC is concerned with improving the base skills needed to increase competitiveness by private sector firms and the public sector environment through human resource development, while providing capacity development of selected Caribbean academic institutions and coordinating bodies. 

Family FM Radio is Newest Regional News Broadcaster

Montserrat’s newest radio station, Family FM Radio, was officially launched by its owners and directors John and Theresa Silcott with an opening ceremony Wednesday, March 26, at their Grandview Bed and Breakfast in Baker Hill, which also houses the station.

Family FM Radio has affiliates in Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla.

John Silcott and his daughter Joleen speaking at their FM radio launch

The Montserrat station started a news service with the assistance of the Governor's Office at the beginning of March, with partial funding in the form of a grant from the UK Department for International Development (DFID's) Small Grants Scheme, administered by the Governor's Office.

Ben Meade, general manager of the radio station, chaired the ceremony, at which veteran media pioneer and broadcaster E. Karney Osborne gave a brief keynote address. He urged the new station to consider seriously promoting and delivering “a good news broadcast -- precise, clear and without biases -- be they racial, political or social.”

"News is the most important component in a radio station," he said.

He commended Mr. Silcott, his family and his staff on the new venture and observed that Mr. Silcott was "extremely lucky" to get funds for his operation from the Governor's Office recalling that in the 1950's he attempted to get funding for a radio project from then Governor Blackburne but was turned down on the grounds that such funds could not be made available to a private radio station.

Governor Anthony Longrigg said it was important to support real entrepreneurial skills and risk-taking.  "I have great confidence in the skills of John Silcott and he can probably show how radio stations can be run cheaply," he said.

Mrs. Longrigg cuts the ribbon

While he applauded the government-owned Radio Montserrat (ZJB), the Governor said there is also room for another broadcast station from the island.

"ZJB does a great job in public broadcasting . . . with information and news about the volcano. . . . Competition, though, sharpens things up, it is another avenue for public service broadcasting from Montserrat," he said.

Mr. Silcott gave those at the ceremony an overview of the road to the creation of the radio station.

"First, I would like to give thanks to God for the courage, resources and health . . . also thanks to my wife and family for their support," he said.

Mr.. Silcott started his engineering career with the world -renowned Air Studios Montserrat, owned by former Beatles producer Sir George Martin, at Waterworks in the early 1980's. Later he became chief engineer for Gem Radio Network, which had its roots in Montserrat before being forced to relocate to Trinidad by volcanic activity.

Mr. Silcott said he was basically forced to resign after Gem Radio moved to Trinidad and insisted that he relocate his family there, which they chose not to do.

He said he waited for two years to get a radio broadcasting license locally, as against the three months to get one in St. Kitts. He eventually started with a little 10-watt transmitter and "people in the area called to ask if I was running a station at Baker Hill," he said.

"We developed a real family music format with only positive love songs and gospel music . . . most people loved it, but no one advertised on the station because it was not broadcasting to the audience they were catering to," he said.

Rose Willock at the studio controls

He subsequently obtained licenses to operate in St Kitts, Antigua and more recently Anguilla, after which, "We changed our format when we started transmitting in Antigua. It was the Family Radio staff in Antigua who insisted that if we did not change the music and play more young people music  -- the sort of music Gem plays -- advertisers would not even notice the station, and they were right."

Family Radio in Antigua is now in the top four out of eight FM stations broadcasting on the island.

"Family Radio cannot be ignored because it has a strong and as competitive a signal in each of the islands," John said.

General Manager Meade thanked the Governor for the assistance given and appealed for support from the local business sector in the form of advertising and sponsorship of programmes.

Family Radio has transmitters in Montserrat broadcasting on the FM band at 89.9 and 90.9, Antigua 92.9, St Kitts and Nevis 98.3, and shortly in Anguilla on 90.5, covering St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and St. Barths.

The potential audience is approximately 250,000 people, according to Family Radio management. The station streams live on the internet at: www.familyradionetwork.com.

The Montserrat Reporter joins in congratulating the Directors, Management and Staff of Family Radio Caribbean Network. 

Fergus Fund Launching Pledged Aid from Abroad

The launching of the Sir Howard Fergus Scholarship fund on Tuesday, March 25, was witnessed by representatives of Montserrat orgarnisations from the United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada.

They included: Mrs. Carol King, Coordinator of the Leicester Montserrat Association of the United Kingdom, who was awarded the Montserrat Badge of Honour on Queen Elizabeth’s New Year’s list and received it two weeks ago at an investiture ceremony at Government House; Ashton Alexander Daley, president of the New York Montserrat Progressive Society, and Mr. and Mrs. Neville Boyce of the Montserrat Association of Montreal, Canada.

Mr. and Mrs. Neville Boyce, Ms. Carol King and Mr. Ashton Daley

They were among a small gathering that witnessed the Montserrat Festival Committee handing over a check for $10,000, which matched a previous amount from a fund-raising Dinner and Cabaret show last December marking the 40^th anniversary of Festival in Montserrat.

In brief remarks Mr. Willock said, “MONFEST is laying the foundation for Montserratians both at home and abroad to contribute to this worthy cause.” We as Montserratians, need to play a part in the future development of our country…we are hoping this would be a major scholarship source for our people, thus cementing that we do not need to depend solely on outside resources.”

Sir Howard expressed his appreciation for receiving this accolade and emphasised that the scholarship is not about him, but is rather “a golden opportunity to advance the national development cause by educating its young citizens. My hope for Montserrat lies in the view that the young persons who benefit from this scholarship will emulate the originators of the idea and share the same spirit of thoughtfulness and patriotism…the interests of Montserratians must be pushed on all fronts,” he said

The three visitingorganizations are well known for their dedication and continued support to the development of Montserrat and Montserratians.

Mrs. King said, “It is a pleasure to witness the start of the Sir Howard Fergus Scholarship Fund…We pledge to support such a worthy cause, that would benefit Montserratians both here and abroad.”

Meanwhile Mr. Daley said the New York society is looking forward to making their contributions to the fund. The Progressive Society was established in 1914 to provide help to Montserratians who migrated to New York.

They provide scholarships to students who attended the Montserrat Secondary School (MSS) and they also donated the first school bus to the MSS.

4-day NGO Workshop Aims For Umbrella Organization

Seventeen local Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), met on Thursday, March 27, at Gourmet Gardens, Salem, for the start of a four-day workshop, “Working together under One United Front,” which was organised by the local branch of the Partners of the Americas (POA).

Miss Elizabeth Piper-Wade, co-coordinator of the Forum, local representative and member of POA, said in her introductory remarks that the aim of the POA was to create “community development and awareness through the NGO workshop,” and “to form an NGO umbrella organization.”

His Excellency Governor Anthony Longrigg said he expects, as a result of the forum, to see the formation of a Montserrat Human Rights Committee, and a chairman elected to head the National Drugs Council.

The need for the formation of this Committee was identified in a report done by an international human rights group, which conducted a study in all the United Kingdom Caribbean Overseas Territories (UKCOTs) last year.

Governor Longrigg stressed that the local Human Rights organization has to be fully Montserratian in all aspects. “I would give you huge moral support, but I am not going to give support as the Office or be on the Committee, it has to be yours,” the Governor said.

Of the drugs program he said having a police boat mans the waterways or intercepts boats carrying drugs, but a strategy to reduce demand is more important.

Mr. David Yhann, one of the facilitators and head of the NGO Forum of Guyana, said he hoped that the Forum would deepen the NGOs work, strengthen their commitment, contributing greatly to the development of communities across the island

In her feature address, Mrs. Idabelle Meade, Minister of Health, Education and Community Services, challenged the participants to establish a bureau of standards, construct a website with a listing of a brief summary of their functions; have a directory listing to form a tourism package, have an annual NGO forum, have discussions on strategic planning, and a professional management of the NGOs.

Areas to be discussed during the workshop included: the fundamentals of an NGO Forum; examination of civil society; the development of strategies and action plans to promote networking and improving the environment; the constitution and legal status of the NGO Forum; identification of existing legislation governing operations of the NGOs; the need for cooperation between the NGOs, and how the private sector relates to the NGOs.

The workshop was funded by the Governor’s Office (through the Department for International Development, [DFID] Small Grants Scheme), the University of the West Indies and the NGO Forum of Guyana.

Police Start Crackdown On Unlicensed Vehicles

The Royal Montserrat Police have stepped up their traffic campaign to crack down on delinquent drivers who have not yet registered their vehicles for 2003 at the licensing office.

Police Commissioner John Douglas said that the campaign, which started Tuesday, April 1, “would continue indefinitely until all vehicles are licensed.”

He said 20 drivers have been charged so far, and the number is likely to increase as the campaign continues.

Senior licensing officer Clifford Ryan said on Wednesday his department has on record approximately 2,050 vehicles, but 1,609 have so far been registered and licensed for the year.

Mr. Ryan explained that all vehicles are supposed to be licensed at the beginning of the first working day of the New Year.

“If after three months drivers have not yet licensed their vehicles, it shows that they have no intention of doing so,” Mr. Ryan said.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Douglas said it has come to police attention that “there are a number of drivers who are overloading their trucks with sand and aggregate, which is posing hazards to motorists.”

He is advising truckers and other people who transport these materials to, “Load up the materials up to the flap of the truck and cover it. Failure to comply with these regulations will force the police to take action,” he said.

OECS Technical Team Visit Island

A technical team from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat spent one day last week to begin implementing the OECS Development Strategy.
Director of the Development Unit Angela Greenaway said the team, held talks with key government officials and other interested stakeholders.
The team comprises Dr. Wayne Sandiford, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, and Annelle Bellony, Economic Affairs Officer at the St. Lucia-based OECS Secretariat.
The OECS Development Strategy, approved by Heads of the Government, focuses on the need for a transformation of the economies of the Eastern Caribbean in order to ensure survival in the changing global environment.
Montserrat is a full member of the OECS. 

Jeep Smashes House, Injuring Only Driver

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Blake of Sweeneys got the shock of their lives at about 9 p.m. Sunday, March 23, when they heard something crashing into their house.

Upon investigating, they were surprised to find that a jeep driven by Larry Estwick had run off the Sweeneys public road and plunged into the front of the house, causing extensive damage to both the exterior and interior. When The Montserrat Reporter visited the still shaken couple the following day, Mrs. Blake said that it was a good thing they were not in the house at the time as she recalled the accident.

“My husband was calling me to go and watch television by our neighbour’s house, a short distance away from our house,” she said. “After a while he didn’t see me come, he came to call me.”

She said they had been watching TV for only a short time when they heard the crash. They knew nothing else until Mrs. Blake’s brother called to tell them of the damage.

After telling investigating police of the crash, the Blakes were forced to sleep by their neighbours’ until the next morning.

Mrs. Blake said they were told that the insurance would cover all the damage.

Police confirmed that the driver sustained facial injuries and was flown to Guadeloupe for specialized medical treatment.

Fishermen, Marine Police Work on Outboard Repair

Thirty local fishermen benefited from a one-week training course on outboard motor repairs organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and funded by the Government of Montserrat (GoM) and the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF).

Facilitator Pooran Morhan (rt) and fishermen examine engine part

It was held at the Cavalla Hill Church Center from March 24-28 under the guidance of Pooran Mohan from the Caribbean Fisheries Training and Development Institute (CFTDI).

At the opening ceremony, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Miss Ann Marie Dewar commended the Marine section of the Royal Montserrat Police Force (RMPF) for participating in the workshop.

Minister of Agriculture, Land and Housing Margaret Dyer-Howe stressed the importance of sea safety and called upon the fishermen to pay special attention to proper care and service of their engines, since search and rescue operations take “ time and resources spent for such operations could be used to assist in other areas.”

She said she is aware of the difficulties encountered by fishermen in getting spare parts for their engines and she hopes that out of this training session, someone can be identified for further training in outboard engine repair and possibly eventually open an outboard motor shop, “to ease the burden of our fishermen.”

She also took the opportunity to stress the importance of fishermen keeping authorities of their whereabouts, which “can mean the difference between life and death.”

Mr. Pooran said, his aim, as facilitator “was to take the fishermen and boat owners and carry them to a higher level in the field of outboard engine maintenance.”

Project Manager of the BNTF, Christopher ‘King’ Lee, said the BNTF will continue to support projects like these because “Montserrat can only benefit from projects like these.”

REGIONAL NEWS

BWIA Has to Renege On Severance Promise

Compiled from dispatches

TRINIDAD (CMC) -- Cash-strapped airline BWIA has admitted to being unable to pay retrenched workers their severance pay, after the disgruntled former employees staged a noisy demonstration outside the company's headquarters on Tuesday.
In January, the airline sent home over 600 employees as part of a new strategic plan to revive the financial fortunes of BWIA. Chief Executive Officer Conrad Aleong, in a television address back then, said that US$10 million had been set aside to meet the severance payments to the workers.
But at a meeting of the workers' representatives and senior airline executives on Tuesday, it was disclosed that the airline was unable to meet its financial obligations to the workers, who carried placards accusing the company of  "theft."
Earlier, former supervisor Heston Mitchell told reporters outside, "We have not been paid our severance, we have mortgages and we have not received word from the company as to when they will meet their obligations."
He said that under the law, the workers were to have received their severance payments 45 days after receiving their dismissal letters but "it is 17 days now past that deadline and we have received no money.
"When you have a plan to retrench workers, you must have money to pay them."

Yesterday, government said it will not be making severance payments to dismissed BWIA workers either.
Minister of Trade Ken Valley told reporters that while the Patrick Manning administration would not rule out any options to make the cash strapped airline viable, it certainly would not be paying out severance packages to the estimated 617 former employees who were sent home in January.

BWIA, which is now formulating a strategic plan to be submitted to the Trinidad and Tobago government for financial support, said that it was possible further retrenchment and salary cuts would be contemplated as a means of ensuring the financial viability of the airline.
Corporate Communications Director Clint Williams told reporters on Tuesday that the airline would be holding discussions with local financial institutions on behalf of retrenched workers. Some of them had been indicating that commercial banks were after them to meet their financial obligations and mortgages.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning has already warned WIA that his administration was prepared to allow the airline to "go under" if it fails to make certain internal adjustments.
"If they can't make the adjustments, then government is not prepared to support it," Mr. Manning said last week.
The Manning administration, which last year made available US$13.7 million to the troubled airline, said that BWIA must present a plan that gives it a chance of viability.
"If they are able to convince us, and that is not going to be easy to do, I assure you, that the plan they are pursuing gives BWIA a reasonable chance of viability in the future, then we will support BWIA to some extent," he said.

CAREC issues alert for SARS

Trinidad, CMC - The Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) has called on regional governments to take the necessary precautions to minimize the possibility of persons contracting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
CAREC said is further urging that advisory signs be placed at airports, since it was possible that a "case of SARS could be reported at any time".
CAREC's Director Dr. James Hospedales said the Port of Spain institution on Wednesday issued updated guidelines to regional governments on precautions to be taken against travellers, particularly those coming from affected areas.
 "The key is to have a high suspicion index and detect early," he said of the virus that has affected more than 2000 people and have claimed the lives of 78, in mainly Asia and North America.
CAREC said that close contact was thought to be an important factor in the transmission of SARS, with an incubation period of two to 10 days.
"Close contact means having cared for, having lived with or having direct contact with respiratory secretions and bodily fluids of a person with SARS.
Close contact in an aircraft would be sitting next to a case, in the same row, sitting two rows in front or two behind," it said.
Hospedales said CAREC would be working with the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association in a bid to ensure that the virus did not adversely affect the tourism industry.
A treatment protocol involving anti-viral drug Ribavarin and steroids was being used to treat the serious form of SARS. But Hospedales said he could not say how equipped Caribbean countries were with Ribavarin.
Head of the Pan American Health Organisation, Dr. Mirta Roses, on her first official visit here, said that the spread of infectious diseases were one of the characteristics of globalisation.
"Goods, food and people move in enormous quantity around the globe. The reality is that infectious diseases are not going to disappear," she said.

‘Rethink,’ Bush Envoy Urges CARICOM

BARBADOS (CMC) -- Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are being urged to rethink their position on the ongoing United States-led war on Iraq.
Otto Reich, Visiting Special Envoy to U.S. President Bush, made the suggestion here ahead of a CARICOM mini-Summit being planned for Jamaica at the weekend to review the region's stance on the matter.
At the end of their February 14-15 summit in Port of Spain, CARICOM Heads issued a resolution in which they appealed to Baghdad to fulfill its commitments to the United Nations, while stating that they were "firmly opposed to the use of armed force at a time when it is clear that diplomatic efforts have not yet been exhausted."
The CARICOM Leaders further urged the Government of the United States and its military allies on this issue "to exercise restraint in their approach to this complex international crisis," saying they were "deeply disturbed at the prospect of the use of military force in Iraq without the endorsement of the United Nations Security Council and in the absence of a final conclusion by the U.N. weapons inspectors that Iraq is in material breach of Security Council Resolution 1441."
Mr. Reich, who was in Barbados this week attending a forum on "Competitiveness of the Caribbean" co-ordinated by the Caribbean Latin American Action (CLAA), made it clear that the U.S. government did not regard the resolution which came out of the Port of Spain summit as "particularly helpful nor based on fact."
In fact, he admitted that, "it was not the kind of support that we (US) expect from friends".
"We listen very carefully to what our friends say and we are very disappointed by some of the statements. We are not violating international law, neither is Great Britain or any of the other countries (involved in the international coalition) and I would urge CARICOM to not only study very carefully what it says, but the consequences of what it says," warned the U.S. diplomat.
He told reporters the United States regarded the Caribbean as one of its closest allies and urged that if the region could not support Washington publicly, it should refrain from criticising the administration.
However, he said the Caribbean needed not fear any backlash from its position, saying that the U.S. will not withhold aid or blacklist any regional states that oppose the US stance against Saddam Hussein's regime.
He said Washington's commitment to the region was well documented.

Barbados takes offence to US Ambassador Reich's comments

Barbados, CMC - The Barbados government says it's offended by a warning issued by a United States diplomat to Caribbean states to watch what they say about the war in Iraq.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Billie Miller said the comment by Special Envoy to the Western Hemisphere Otto Reich implies that regional countries do not have the privilege of freedom of speech, which "allows small states like Barbados to express its views on matters of principle which it considers to be of fundamental national and regional importance".
She also said that "as a longstanding friend and ally of the US", Barbados was deeply  disappointed that Ambassador Reich seemed unable to accept that "expression of an opposing view by another sovereign state, is not a hostile or unfriendly act, but rather the most vibrant example of the democratic traditions and freedoms which we both espouse".
Miller said government was also upset that Ambassador Reich requested and secured appointments for courtesy calls on the Prime Minister and herself and then subsequently withdrew those requests, choosing instead to use a national television interview "to deprecate in the most public of forums, the position of the Government of Barbados and other regional Governments, while simultaneously stressing that if there were differences of opinion, the United States would wish to be told in private".
Miller said government was "gravely concerned, deeply displeased, and most offended" by the "ambiguous intent" of Reich's statement to the media here on Wednesday, in which he said the US government regarded the Caribbean as one of its closest allies and urged that if the region could not support Washington publicly, it should refrain from criticising the administration on the war.
Reich also made it clear that the US government did not regard the resolution that came out of last February's Caribbean Community inter-sessional meeting in Trinidad as "particularly helpful nor based on fact", while warning that "the American people do listen to this and our Congress listens to this.and these kinds of resolutions and this kind of language does not help lead to a better understanding between our countries".
The CARICOM resolution had urged Washington and its military allies on this issue "to exercise restraint in their approach to this complex international crisis", with CARICOM Heads stating they were "deeply disturbed at the prospect of the use of military force in Iraq without the endorsement of the United Nations Security Council and in the absence of a final conclusion by the UN weapons inspectors that Iraq is in material breach of Security Council Resolution 1441".
CARICOM leaders will meet in Kingston this weekend to review the region's position on the ongoing military conflict in Baghdad, after CARICOM states failed to come up with a common position on the final draft of a regional position, prepared by Jamaica, for presentation to the United Nations Security Council last month.

Former US President Clinton visits the Bahamas

The Bahamas, CMC - Former United States President Bill Clinton was due here on Friday to offer assistance to the country in its fight against HIV/AIDS, through the Clinton Foundation.
Director of the National AIDS Programme Dr. Perry Gomez made the disclosure during a news conference here earlier this week.
He said the officials of the Washington-based Clinton Foundation began working with the Bahamas last September and have made numerous visits to Nassau to assess the needs of the AIDS programme, with a view to lending assistance.
"The Foundation's assistance will be principally in the area of increasing access to drug treatment. They came to assess all we have done over the years and really to produce a grant proposal to enable them as a Foundation to raise funds to assist the various countries and in this case, they started with The Bahamas," he said.  Dr. Gomez said the Foundation, during its "fact-finding" mission to the Bahamas,  also determined the cost of the Bahamas AIDS programme, which is estimated to over six million US dollars annually.
He said since the Foundation started working with the Bahamas, the number of persons treated for the disease under the national programme has increased from less 300 patients to almost 800 patients in six months, with a target set to treat some 1,200 patients with a triple AIDS therapy by the end of 2003.
While in the Bahamas, Clinton will address a public forum on "The Challenge of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean".
The former US President will also make a private call on Prime Minister Perry Christie and his cabinet, and visit the AIDS clinic at the main Princess Margaret Hospital. 

CARICOM Bureau meets to discuss war in Iraq

Guyana, CMC - Five Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government are down to attend this weekend's CARICOM Bureau meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica, called to discuss the ongoing United States-led war in Iraq.
A news release issued by the Georgetown-based CARICOM Secretariat on Thursday said that CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Pierre Charles of Dominica, will preside over the meeting of the Bureau, which also consists of the immediate past chairman, Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo, the incoming chairman, Jamaica's Prime Minister P.J Patterson and the CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington.
The statement said an open invitation was extended to other heads of government of the Community to attend the meeting.
However, only Prime Minister Perry Christie of the Bahamas and Owen Arthur of Barbados had accepted the invitation.
The Bureau meeting comes on the heels of the February 14-15 CARICOM Inter-sessional Summit in Trinidad at which the leaders issued a firm resolution urging Washington and its military allies on the war "to exercise restraint in their approach to this complex international crisis".
CARICOM Heads also stated that they were "deeply disturbed at the prospect of the use of military force in Iraq without the endorsement of the United Nations Security Council and in the absence of a final conclusion by the UN weapons inspectors that Iraq is in material breach of Security Council Resolution 1441".
In light of concerns raised by the US government on the position taken by CARICOM on the matter, the region is expected to review its stance on the ongoing military conflict in Baghdad, which has implications for the region.
Among sectors already feeling the pinch is the region's air transportation sector, with the  Bureau expected to look specifically at air transportation issues.

BPMC and ALP capture council seats in Barbuda

Barbuda, CMC - The newly-formed Barbuda People's Movement for Change (BPMC) and its accommodation partner the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) have each captured two of the four seats that were up for grabs in island council elections here on Thursday.
Arthur Nibbs, the former Barbuda Council chairman who broke away from the Barbuda People's Movement (BPM) last year and formed the BPMC, received the highest number of 479 votes, while his running mate, Dave De Souza, got 421 votes.
"I feel great because through out the whole campaign Arthur Nibbs was demonised, so this victory means a lot to us. It is an indication . what the general election is going to be. This what we worked for and I knew it was going to come," said Nibbs.
A total of 837 persons cast ballots in the election in which 1,195 persons were eligible to vote.
The two ALP candidates - George Burton and Everette Thomas - received 460 and 402 votes respectively.
The four BPM members - Lincoln Burton (389), Trevor Walker (386), Athinkson Beazer (364) and McKenzie Frank (327) - were unsuccessful.
The Barbuda Council, which looks after the administrative affairs of the tiny sister island of Antigua, comprises a total of 10 members. However, elections were only due for four of them this year.
With the outcome of Thursday's election, there is now a two-way split on the Council between BPM and the BPMC-ALP accommodation.

Sexual Abuse of 3-year-old  Stirs Outrage in Dominica

DOMINICA (CMC) -- Dominica welfare authorities have expressed outrage over the alleged sexual abuse of a 3-year-old boy, in the southern community of Pointe Michel earlier this week.
According to the child's mother, Jacqueline Felix, she left him asleep with her grandmother, while she went out on an errand.
"When I came back he was crying and he told me something was hurting him," she said.
Felix said upon examination she found bruises on her son's buttocks and
blood in his pampers.   "He told me a man was there, but he doesn't know him," she added.
The boy was taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital, where he was kept under observation for one night.
Police say this is the second such incident to occur in Pointe Michel. The first, which  occurred earlier this year and involved the rape and subsequent death of a 13-year-old schoolboy, has not yet been solved.
Welfare Officer Ava Roach said Wednesday "this case is really pathetic, and we are doing all we can to assist the child and his parents deal with the situation".
As police continue investigations into the matter, residents of Pointe Michel say they fear that a serial rapist is loose in their community.

U.S. Diplomat Cautions Region Against Closer Cuba Relations

BARBADOS (CMC) -- A visiting United States diplomat issued a strong word of caution Wednesday to the Caribbean against pursuing deeper ties with Cuba, while branding Havana as a "failed state, led by a brutal dictator."
Otto Reich, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Hemisphere, stopped short of telling Caribbean nations not to do business with Havana.
But he harshly criticised the Fidel Castro regime, against which Washington has imposed a decades old economic embargo, saying its philosophy was "bankrupt".
"I am not going to criticise Caribbean nation's willingness to do business with Castro but I would caution against hitching your wagon to a failed state, led by a brutal dictator, who is based on a bankrupt philosophy," said Reich.
The U.S. diplomat further suggested that Cuba had little in common with its Caribbean neighbours, and questioned, "what is there to gain?" from strengthening their 30-year-old diplomatic relationship.
Washington's strong stance against Havana runs contrary to the position taken by Caribbean governments that Cuba has a valid role to play and needs to be fully integrated into the regional and hemispheric family.
With over 1000 Caribbean young people currently studying in Cuba, regional leaders have also hailed Havana's support to the region in health and other spheres and have been stressing the need for deeper collaboration in the future.

Antigua PM says Bureau meeting is not the place to discuss position on Iraq

Antigua, CMC - Prime Minister Lester Bird said Friday he would not be attending this weekend's Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Bureau meeting in Jamaica, called to discuss the United States-led war on Iraq, simply because he does not believe the Bureau "is the place for that".
Bird said he wrote to CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington pointing out as well that he did not believe the CARICOM Bureau, made up of three Heads of Government, had the authority to send out any statement without the approval of all the leaders.
"I'm very strong on that," he told reporters here, adding, "I think they (CARICOM) are trying create in the Bureau another institution".
Five CARICOM Heads of Government are down to attend this weekend's Bureau meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
This includes Prime Minister Pierre Charles of Dominica, who is the CARICOM Chairman; Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo, who is the immediate past chairman and Jamaica's Prime Minister P.J Patterson, who is the incoming chairman.
The three Bureau members are to be joined by Prime Minister Perry Christie of the Bahamas and Owen Arthur of Barbados, who have accepted an open invitation extended to other heads of government of the Community to attend the April 5-6 meeting, a CARICOM statement said.

But, in explaining his decision not to accept the invitation to attend the meeting, Bird said, "I don't know about this notion of  (the Bureau) carrying a meeting".
He said the Bureau was intended to be a body, which meets between summits "to make sure that there was continuum" within CARICOM, but not a body which holds extended meetings or takes regional positions on issues.
"I don't agree that the Bureau is the place for that. And I don't think that the Bureau can make any statement. I've put (my position) in a letter to that effect," he said.
However, he said his government has "fashioned" a statement setting out its position on the war, adding that CARICOM states need not be strident in their views about the matter.
His comments follow a meeting with the US Special Envoy to the US President Otto Reich, who has urged the region to be careful what it says about the war.
"I don't think we should be strident on this matter. I think we (Antigua) shared a similar view like the Bahamas and St. Vincent. I don't that the Caribbean has anything to gain by strident about this matter. Let's state our position," he said.
"We have fashioned a statement and we have sent it to (the meeting) as to what we think should be," he added.
The Lester Bird administration says it is opposed to any state that threatens the security of its neighbour. It is also against any states that seek to overthrow multilateralism in the present world order.

Bermuda Forum on UKOTs Seeks Environmental Alliance

BERMUDA -- The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom (UK) has expressed strong support for an international conference on conservation in its Overseas Territories (OTs) and other small island states, currently being held here through March 27.

“The environmental heritage of the OTs must not be allowed to fade away,” stressed Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell, who is responsible for global issues.

“The UK has a rich natural heritage in the environment of the OTs, and we must not squander this or allow it to fade into obscurity,” Mr. Rammell said.

Government and non-governmental organisation (NGO) representatives from the UK, the UKOTs, and other small island communities are attending the forum, which is aimed at providing an opportunity to discuss conservation issues of common concern, as well as sharing expertise and best practices.

The FCO’s Environment Fund, which contributed £70,000; the Bermudian Government; and a number of conservation organisations have jointly sponsored the event, the third conference of its kind.

The UKOTs' ecosystems range from tropical to Antarctic, with at least 10 times as many endemic species as the British Isles. In particular, the UKOTs have 2 percent of the world’s coral reefs.

The world’s most northerly coral reefs are in Bermuda and one of the world’s largest and most pristine coral atolls is in the the Great Chagos Bank in British Indian Ocean Territory.

UKOTs in the wider Caribbean region also have some of the finest marine resorts, including the Cayman Islands, the BVI, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Anguilla. The active volcano in Montserrat is now an increasingly important location for seismic research.

Some of the most important breeding colonies of albatrosses are in the Falkland Islands, Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands, while the most important Atlantic nesting sites for Green Turtles are in Ascension Island.

Two remote island World Heritage Sites, rich in endemic species, are Henderson Island in the Pacific and Gough Island in the South Atlantic. Gibraltar is a key migration route for birds of prey.

The Millennium Gumwood Forest on St. Helena is currently an excellent model of habitat restoration. Overall, the British Antarctic Territory is often used to measure for the effects of human actions on the world’s climate and atmosphere.

Saba Joins Effort to Form Its Own Youth Parliament

SABA (SGIS) – Leader of Government Commissioner Will Johnson met with former Minister Martha Dijkhoff last week on Curacao concerning the establishment of a Saba Youth Parliament.

 Commissioner Johnson told the Saba Government Information Service (SGIS), “I fully support the initiative that is being worked on by Dijkhoff.  Each island would have its own youth parliament.

 “A delegate would be appointed to serve in the Youth Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles.  Such a body on island and at the national level would give out young people good experience in public service.

 “Later on they can seek a professional career with the civil service or becoming career politicians.  We of the old guard won’t be here for ever and we need some young blood to continue serving the islands,” Commissioner Johnson stated.

Barbados Private Druggists Set-dollar Prescription Fee

Barbados, CMC - In a controversial move, some private pharmacists here have started to impose a Barbados 20-ollar (US$10) fee for filling prescriptions.
The decision came out of a special meeting of the Barbados Association of Pharmacy Owners on Monday night.
BAPO spokeswoman Delores Morris has sought to explain that several pharmacists have been experiencing cash flow difficulties as a result of late payment for prescriptions filled on behalf of government.
She also said that other professionals charge a consulting fee for their services and they have decided to do likewise.
However, local consumer advocates as well as local health officials have condemned the move.
The head of the Barbados Drug Service (BDS), Maryam Hinds, is adamant that Barbadians should not pay the fee. In fact, she is urging them to seek out those private pharmacies that have not implemented the charge or go to public pharmacies to have their prescriptions filled.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Lionel Weekes, said the fee was unreasonable and called for its withdrawal. He said it also ran contrary to the spirit of their existing contracts between pharmacists and the BDS.
Agreeing with position taken by the health officials, local consumer rights advocate Malcolm Taitt further labeled the move by the pharmacists as nothing short of reprehensible.
He said pharmacists need to recognise that they operate in one of the most critical areas of the society and urged them not to play with the health of sick patients.
 Late last year, a pay dispute with the BDS resulted in refusal by private pharmacists, who dispense drugs under the national health scheme, to fill government prescriptions. This meant that persons who normally received drugs free of cost were forced to purchase medication.
The matter was eventually settled, but new contractual arrangements have not been completed..

Dominica Gets EC$6.8 Million In EU Developmental Funding

DOMINICA (CMC)-- Dominica has received the second tranche of STABEX 1996/97 funds from the European Union, amounting to EC$6.83 million  (US$2.52 million).
Eddie Lambert, the National Authorising Officer of the European Development Fund, said the money will go towards financing development projects in the areas of agriculture, education and health.
Mr. Lambert said the assistance would also provide a boost for government's Public Sector Investment Programme and contribute to the island's overall economic recovery effort.
Of the total funds, EC$2.7 million (US$1 million) has been allocated to agriculture, focused on improving the overall environment for conducting agricultural business in Dominica.

A further EC$2.1 million (US$0.77 million) has been allocated to health, to go towards rehabilitation of the Acute Psychiatric Unit of the main Princess Margaret Hospital, construction of rural health centers and purchase of medical supplies and equipment.
Just over EC$2 million (US$0.74 million) has been committed to education, which the Dominica government plans to use to complete its Northern Education Project; establish a Hospitality Institute at the Dominica State College and develop various skills training programmes for the youth.

Antigua Commissioner Of Police is Reinstated

ANTIGAUA (CMC)  -- The Public Service Board of Appeal (PSBA) has ordered the reinstatement of suspended Antigua and Barbuda Police Commissioner Truehart Smith after it ruled that his suspension was unfair.

The PSBA, chaired by Public Service Minister Gaston Browne, ruled that the Public Service Commission had no right to suspend Mr. Smith on December 19, 2002.
The PSC, which is the regulatory body for police officers, had charged Mr. Smith with oppressive and tyrannical behaviour to his officers; failure to comply with its instructions as well as failure to investigate alleged misbehaviour by some officers.
Commissioner Smith said then he was in the process of probing the allegations and needed time. His former deputy, Elton Martin, who was on pre-retirement leave at the time of Mr. Smith's suspension, had replaced him.
"Since the order was made to reinstate (my client), Martin has to go on retirement from whence he came," Gerry Watt, Mr. Smith's lawyer, was quoted as saying in the Daily Observer newspaper.
"I think it is a proper decision because it was the only decision that they could have come to because the whole suspension was done in connivance of the political directorate to remove Smith and to place someone that they were more comfortable with," Watt further charged in the Antigua Sun newspaper.
Mr. Smith is due to go on pre-retirement leave on April 2.

Ruling ALP to decide on the fate of two prospective candidates with dual citizenship

Antigua, CMC - The fate of two prospective candidates for the ruling Antigua Labour Party (ALP), who are holders of dual citizenship, is to be decided on Monday.
The ALP's Screening Committee meets to decide on the matter, a week after Prime Minister Lester Bird announced that he was seeking a legal opinion on their eligibility to contest the next poll, which is constitutionally due here by 2004.
Bird further indicated that he was considering making legislative changes to the country's Constitution, which currently bars Members of Parliament from holding dual nationality, after questions were raised about Guy Yearwood and Leroy Adams' eligibility to contest the election.
Both men are vying for selection to carry the ruling party's banner in the St. George's constituency, just outside the capital.
However, Adams holds a United States passport, while Yearwood, a government Senator here, possesses Canadian citizenship.
On Thursday,  the opposition United Progressive Party failed in a bid to have debated, a motion for Yearwood's removal from the Upper House.
The issue of his dual citizenship, which he attained in the 1980s while living and working in Canada at the Antigua office, first came up during the 1999 general election campaign, which he contested and lost on an ALP ticket.
Yearwood had indicated then that he was willing to renounce his allegiance to Canada but, as it turned out, he never followed through on the promise.

Antigua’s Sen. Yearwood Ends Canadian Citizenship

ANTIGUA (CMC) – Senator Guy Yearwood of Antigua has given up his Canadian dual citizenship in an attempt to prevent his appointment from being revoked by the Governor General.
Political sources here say the move is also designed to make him eligible to be a candidate in the next elections, constitutionally due by next March.
The senator and his wife, Sandra, traveled to Barbados on Monday accompanied by his lawyer to turn in his Canadian passport.
The move followed concerns raised that Mr.Yearwood might have been serving illegally as a senator and parliamentarian for the last four years because he had not revoked his Canadian citizenship as he had promised to do back in 1999.
The Antigua and Barbuda Constitution does not allow persons with dual nationality to serve in the Parliament. Section 30 (1) (a) of the Constitution states that "no person shall be qualified to be appointed as a senator who is by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement or allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state."
Attorney General Gertel Thom last week advised Prime Minister Lester Bird to revoke Mr. Yearwood's appointment as senator, but to date he is yet to do so.
Prime Minister Bird has also questioned the eligibility of Transport Board Manager Leroy Adams to contest the upcoming election on a ruling party ticket, owing to the fact that he also holds dual citizenship. Mr. Bird is expected to issue a statement on the matter shortly.

Antigua Inquiry Team Assured of Legal Aid

ANTIGUA (CMC) -- The Antigua and Barbuda government says it will provide legal representation to the three-man Commission of Inquiry team that investigated alleged wrongdoings at the state-run Medical Benefits Scheme.
"The government accepts it has a legal and moral duty and responsibility to ensure that the commissioners are properly and effectively represented in judicial review proceedings. That is why the government agreed to their request for legal representation," Prime Minister Lester Bird said in Parliament on Monday.
The Judicial Review, which began on Friday, has been adjourned until June 2.
Trinidad-based lawyer Stanley I. Marcus will represent the Commission that was chaired by Sir Alister McIntyre, former Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Carla Brookes-Harris of Trinidad will assist him.
Former Health Minister Hilroy Humphreys, contractor Dave George and auditor Wilbur Harrigan have filed suits in the High Court here seeking to have the findings of the Commission declared null and void.
In the report, Mr. Humphreys was described as being patently dishonest and reckless with the truth and misusing and abusing his office of public trust for personal gains, while Mr. George was said to have conspired with others to commit fraud and other breaches of the criminal law.
The Commissioners also said Mr. Harrigan was negligent in his supervision of one of his employees, Andy Jacobs, who did private jobs for the MBS while he audited the books on behalf of Mr. Harrigan's firm, Pannell Kerr Foster.

Dominica Medical School Bought by U.S. University

DOMINICA (CMC) -- The United States-based DeVry University has acquired Ross University School of Medicine, an offshore medical school here, for US$310 million, officials from both institutions said here on Monday.
Millionaire businessman Robert Ross, who made his fortune trading commodities like grain and petroleum with the Soviet Union in the 1970s, opened Ross University here in 1979 in the northern town of Portsmouth. Over 1,000 students are enrolled in the facility here.
This is the second time the 24-year old institution has changed ownership. In June 2000,
Mr. Ross sold 90 percent of the medical and veterinary school to Leeds Equity Partners and J.W. Childs Associates, two U.S.-based venture capital firms.
Ross University also operates a smaller campus in St. Kitts.
"Ross University was a much sought after school in terms of interest in the United States, and I think we found a perfect partner in DeVry," an official spokesman for Ross University said.
DeVry University Chief Executive Officer Ronald Taylor said his institution was interested in expanding the opportunities available to students, noting, "we are committed to the highest quality programmes."
Mr. Taylor said that while DeVry would seek to improve the quality of services provided, no major changes were expected.  A team from DeVry University has started a weeklong visit here with a courtesy call on Prime Minister Pierre Charles.

U.S. Asks Trinidad//Tobago Help to Find Al Qaeda Man

TRINIDAD (CMC) -- The Trinidad and Tobago government has confirmed that it received a request last month from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation  (FBI) seeking assistance in tracking down a Saudi-Arabian-born national accused of plotting terrorist acts.
Acting National Security Minister Franklyn Khan said the request from the FBI is seeking local assistance in tracking down 27-year-old Al Qaeda member, Adnan El Shukrijumah.
Mr. Khan said he had not yet received a report detailing whether the suspected man had a Trinidad and Tobago passport, but he acknowledged that the local authorities were working with FBI agents and INTERPOL investigators to find the wanted man.
On Wednesday, March 26, media here quoted head of the Police Special Branch Senior Superintendent Frank Diaz as saying that Shukrijumah had visited Trinidad and Tobago in May 2001.
The reports said that immigration has been alerted at Piarco International airport in the event that the wanted man was attempting to re-enter the country.

Antiguan Publisher Samuel Derrick Dies

ANTIGUA (CMC) -- Prominent Antigua newspaper publisher Samuel Derrick died here on Tuesday at age 71 after a recent battle with prostate cancer.
Mr. Derrick, who returned home last Friday from the United States where he underwent cancer treatment, went into a coma before he died at the privately run Adelin Clinic, just outside the capital, St. John's, family members said.
The late publisher of the Daily Observer newspaper, which went into publication here in 1994, was an outspoken critic of the Lester Bird administration.
He also fought a lengthy court battle, along with his younger brother, Winston, against the government to gain a licence to operate the sister Observer Radio station.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, two sons and a daughter.

St. Lucia High Court Lifts Gag Order on Newspaper

St. Lucia, CMC - The St. Lucia High Court has lifted a gag order placed on the Star newspaper and its publisher Rick Wayne, following court action brought by the former Speaker of the House Matthew Roberts.
In a ruling on Wednesday, March 26, High Court Judge Adrian Saunders also ordered Mr. Roberts to pay costs of EC$25,000 (US$9,259) to Wayne.
The court action stemmed from the newspaper's publication of recent sexual allegations leveled against Mr. Roberts by his nephew, Paris-based model Vincent McDoom.
The charges fuelled calls in various sections of the media for Mr. Roberts to resign.
Before doing so a week ago, Mr. Roberts had threatened to take Mr. Wayne to court if he did not apologise and retract the story.
An injunction was subsequently issued forbidding Mr. Wayne from speaking and writing about the Roberts/McDoom affair.
When the matter came up in the court this week, Judge Saunders, who granted the injunction in the first place, heard Mr. Wayne's attorney Peter Foster argue that the injunction was improperly obtained.
"The claimant misled the court in representing that the defendant's solicitors were informed of the injunction without notice hearing. The claimant knew and ought to have known that the defendant would plead justification, fair comment or qualified privilege, and that if the defendant was properly informed that the claimant had intended to make this application, he would have so represented to the court," Mr. Foster said.
The Judge decided to lift the injunction.

Dominica media association condemns physical assault of journalist

Dominica, CMC - The Media Workers Association of Dominica (MWAD) on  last week Thursday called on the authorities to investigate the physical assault of a newspaper journalist at the main Princess Margaret Hospital at Goodwill, on the outskirts of the city, earlier this week.
In a statement, MWAD expressed "disgust and alarm" over Tuesday's incident involving Chronicle newspaper reporter Alexia Simon.
Simon was reportedly attempting to take a picture of a man arrested by police in connection with a drug bust, when his relatives attacked her.
Police have detained at least two persons in connection with the incident, in she received several blows about the face.
MWAD it is urging "law enforcement authorities to take urgent action to bring the offenders to justice".
MWAD warned that the incident in which "this young journalist was physically attacked whilst seeking to do her job is to destroy the main pillar of our democracy - the right to know".
"MWAD therefore unreservedly condemns this act of savagery and is in solidarity with Alexia Simon. MWAD further states that in keeping with International Human Rights agreements of which Dominica is part, it is an obligation of governments, their institutions and civil society in general to create an environment where the media can
access and disseminate information for the benefit of the wider society.  Otherwise the people's voices are sentenced to silence," it said.
MWAD said it was committed to the "protection and support of journalists and writers engaged in the lawful pursuit of their professional duties," and called on media workers " to come together to confront without fear of favour those who threaten journalism in Dominica".

C&W expresses disappointment over unsuccessful Bahamas telecoms bid

NASSAU, The Bahamas, CMC - Cable & Wireless is disappointed that its preliminary bid to acquire 49 per cent of the Bahamas Telecommunication Company (BTC), the successor to the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BATELCO), has failed.
"We are disappointed but that's the process and we have to live with that," said C&W's Executive Vice President, legal regulatory and public policy, Lisa Agard.
"We weren't invited but we are still interested in an opportunity to bid for Batelco," she added.
Last Friday, the Ministry of Finance announced that three bidders had successfully completed the preliminary phase and had been short-listed to undertake further due diligence and submit a final bid.
These include Bahamatel Consortium (J.P. Morgan Partners, Citigroup Venture Capital, BahamaTel Private Equity Fund, Ltd. Mariner Telecom); Blue Telecommunications (Bahamas) Ltd.; and Detecon International GMBH TransWorld Telecom Bahamas, Ltd.
Agard does not however believe the pressure facing Cable & Wireless in other Caribbean islands affected its image as a viable candidate.
"That did not put a damper on the bidding process for Batelco or for other telecommunications companies across the region," she said.
The British telecommunication giant is presently engaged in a major restructuring exercise, particularly in the Eastern Caribbean, with most countries opening up their sectors to competition.
The Bahamas government is hoping that BTC would be sold by June to facilitate its plans for e-commerce.
The sale of BTC is being conducted via a two-phase process, with the first phase culminating in the submission of non-binding preliminary bids.
Short-listed parties were invited to participate in the second phase, which will lead to the submission of final bids. 

Jamaica Doctor Jailed 3 Years in Drug Case

JAMAICA (CMC) -- A physician has been sentenced here to three and a half years in jail, after he was found guilty of attempting to export cocaine in boxes purporting to contain tins of carrot juice and ackees.
Dr. Audley Hamilton was also ordered to pay a fine of over one million Jamaican dollars (US$20,000), when he appeared in court here on March 25 before Resident Magistrate Paulette Williams.
 If he fails to pay the fine, he will spend an addition 18 months in jail, the Magistrate said.
On June 18, 2001, Dr. Hamilton, who was a licensed exporter, gave two men 160 boxes said to be containing tins of carrot juice and ackees to take to the Air Jamaica cargo warehouse in Montego Bay for export.
However, during a routine check by security personnel, it was discovered that the tins contained liquid cocaine.
Police subsequently arrested and charged Dr. Hamilton, who was employed at the Black River Hospital.
The truck driver and a sideman had also been charged but were acquitted when they appeared in court.
During the trial, Dr. Hamilton denied having knowledge that cocaine was in the cargo.
He told the Court that he purchased the carrot juice and ackees from a factory and then His attorney, Headley Cunningham, served verbal notice of his intent to appeal the conviction. Resident Magistrate Williams, however, denied his request for bail and told Mr. Cunningham that he could take his bail application to the High Court.

Trinidadian Kills Wife, Then Commits Suicide

TRINIDAD (CMC) -- In an apparent murder-suicide, a 41-year-old Trinidadian man killed his wife on March 25 before tying an electrical cord around his neck and hanging himself in the corridor of their home, police reported.
Police said that Glen Martin Rajpaul, a father of two, killed his 32-year-old wife, Gillian, after accusing her of being unfaithful.
Police said the woman had only returned to the matrimonial home in rural south Trinidad, two days before the incident, in a bid to resolve domestic problems with her husband.
The man is reported to have gone to a priest where he held a 15-minute discussion about his 18-year marriage.
Police said that on returning home, Rajpaul again accused his wife of infidelity and dealt her several chops about her body.
The husband then set fire to their home before proceeding to take his own life.

Barbados Supermarket Worker Slain by Thieves

BARBADOS (CMC) -- A 51-year-old man was shot and killed here Friday night by thieves who pounced on him outside a commercial bank in the northern parish of St. Peter.

Police said the robbers made off with the day's take from a popular supermarket business in the same parish.
Timothy Reid, a general worker at Eddies Supermarket, went to the bank to make the deposit on behalf of the owners of the business. He was approached by two assailants, who fatally shot him in the upper left side of the chest.
An investigation continues.

St. Vincent PM Vows No Anti-war Rhetoric

ST. VINCENT (CMC) -- Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says he has agreed with the British government to temper any counter war sentiments, with an estimated 300 Vincentian nationals, who are members of the British army, scheduled to become actively engaged in ongoing United States-led military assault against Iraq.
"I have been in touch with the British authorities and I have indicated to them that the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, during the course of the war, will not make any comments which could be interpreted as being against the British armed forces because among them are nationals of St. Vincent and the Grenadines," Dr. Gonsalves told the Caribbean Media Corporation.
Government officials have confirmed that the latest recruitment of nationals from St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the British army occurred about four weeks ago, with Dr. Gonsalves stating that "clearly we cannot be put in a position which will compromise the position of our nationals who are fighting there".
He made it clear, however, that his government was not involved in any declaration of war, but he said "in light of this modern internationalist world, our nationals with the assistance and co-operation of the government, entered the British armed forces."
"No one knew at the time that there was going to be a war in Iraq, but it is natural that when you go into the armed forces you could expect to be involved in a war at anytime," he added.

SPORTS

Basketball Association Opens its 2003 League

Sports Officer Fitzroy Buffonge commended the Montserrat Amateur Basketball Association (MABA) at the opening of its 2003 League Saturday, March 22, at the Brades basketball court.

The opening featured a Knockout Competition by the five teams Fire, Taz Westsiders, Rebels, Rasvalley Warriors and the two-year reigning champions Pitbulls.

Mr. Buffonge told the players he will continue to instill in them positive attitudes and principles in training practices and development skills. He said if their aim is to win the Leewards Islands Basketball Association (LIBA) tournament, “you have to demonstrate qualities needed to perform competitively and function within a team setting.”

“The Sports Department will continue to work closely with the MABA, as we seek to promote the sport on island and take it to new heights,” Mr. Buffonge said.

Idabelle Meade, Minister of Health, Education and Community Services, abundance of talent in the schools and communities is reason enough for basketball training programmes to be introduced and encouraged at the primary and secondary levels.

During the event, Jenzil Skerritt was awarded a basketball scholarship to Denville Area Community College, Chicago, Illinois, where he is expected to attend, beginning August 10 this year.

Games are to be held every Friday and Saturday evenings at the Brades basketball court.

Youth Vibrations

Young People Ask About Power of Youth Parliament

The young people of Montserrat are questioning the role of Youth Ministers and Officials of the newly established Youth Parliament in the senior Parliament.

Only a few days ago the public was fully introduced to the establishment of a Youth Parliament, but the public and the young Parliamentarians question their effect and purpose?

The question asked by many young people is, “Can the Youth Parliament influence any parliamentary decision, which will have some significant effect on youth development?”

When questioned on the matter, a young Parliamentarian said, “After we complete our training, I don’t know if the Youth Parliament will have a say on Bills brought forward in the senior Parliament, even thought it might have some significant effect on affect young people.”

According to Joseph Meade, Speaker of the Legislative Council and Organizer of the Youth Parliament, “Youth Parliament does have a say in the senior Parliament.”

He explained that the Legislative Council is in currently in the process of organizing trainers for the young Parliamentarian.

The training will help them to develop skills in various areas, including how to present a bill in parliament and how to debate a bill, he said.

After their training, the Junior Parliament will have the chance to debate Bills, making valid points that can impact the passing of a Bill, he said.

They will also have the chance to pass private Bills within the House. This means the Youth Parliament will have the same rights as other groups, organizations and the public. These bills will first have to be channeled through the Clerk of Councils.

“The aim of Youth Parliament is to have young people active in Parliament and mold them into future Parliamentarians,” he concluded.

The organizers are expected to meet with trainers to start the training of the Parliamentarians.

FEATURES

Tourism Highlights

ST. PATRICK’S QUIZ RESULTS

As part of St. Patrick’s Week of Activities, 2003, the Montserrat Tourist Board conducted a Quiz that was carried in the three Primary Schools for 8 to 12-year-old students.  The overall results revealed a total of 24 winners from the three schools.  These students were awarded Savings Certificates at the St. Patrick’s Cooperative Credit Union.  

The three first prize winners from the St. Augustine Primary School were awarded contributions toward their tuition fees to the same value of the Savings Certificates, at the request of one donor.

Eight students from the Brades Primary School were awarded prizes in the following categories:

First Prize Winners           Second Prize Winner                    Third Prize Winners

Khejell Kelly                         Patreece Perkins                              Krystal Buffonge

Nish Brown                                                                                       Simone Greaves

Waurel Smith                                                                                    Tivonne Howe

Consolation prizes were awarded to: Loralyn Fergus, Annouskha Adams, Zenique Leonard, Thandika Earle.

Twelve students from the St. Augustine Primary School were awarded prizes in the following categories:

First Prize Winners             Second Prize Winners              Third Prize Winners

Kurt Warren Lee                     Oswen Carty                                  Claris Yearwood

Julius Morris                          Jemel Fenton                                  Jordan Taylor

Shernyl Burns                         Craig Perkins                                  Benjamin Mejia

                                                                                                          Araine Brown

                                                                                                          Lynwall Cassell

                                                                                                          Georgette Skerritt

Consolation prizes were awarded to: Shanna-Kay Irish, Opal Skerritt, Karishma Dhera, Jashree Kirwan, Yumma B Iftiker, Graeme Stanley

Four Students from the Lookout Primary School will be awarded prizes in the following categories:

First Prize Winner             Second Prize Winner                      Third Prize Winners

T’Sean Blake                           Edmond King                                      Christelle Lewis

                                                                                                               Sheneza Moore

Consolation prizes were awarded to: Serene Leonard, Davisha Tuitt, Cleon Reece