"Although this project has been a long time coming, it will provide great benefits in assisting Montserratians to rebuild their homes in the north of the island," said Chief Minister, the Hon. David Brandt.

The agreement releases $75million (EC) into the financing of mortgages for people who were displaced by Montserrat’s volcanic activity. To qualify applicants must have incomes ranging from $2,000 to $6,500 per month, and they must be moving to a new home north of Belham Valley. Also they must have a net worth of under $50,000.

The plan will help to buy land and, or, complete construction of a house. There are maximum levels of subsidy in each situation. The scheme is basically designed to provide assistance with up to 27 percent of the total financing requirement for new accommodations.

Soft mortgages are only for people who were evacuated from the area south of the Belham Valley, and they should not have previously benefited from the Materials Grant Scheme.

In a press release from the Chief Minister’s office this week, people seeking mortgages were reminded that the scheme is for anyone who was displaced, but with special emphasis on those living on the island right now.

"Priority will be given to those who were forced to relocate from the exclusion zone and the day time entry zone, and have remained on island," the release stated. "However, the scheme is available to applicants who are currently based overseas and who wish to return on a permanent basis."

To determine eligibility, applicants should contact the Housing Unit in Brades. If it is confirmed that they can access the scheme, a mortgage application must then be made through the Bank of Montserrat, subject to that institution’s own lending criteria.

All mortgages granted under the agreement are 100 percent guaranteed by the Department For International Development, but will cover only a maximum of 15 percent of the total loan facility in any given case.

"Housing remains a priority for the government," Mr. Brandt concluded.

All the sharpest minds in Montserrat’s transportation industry can’t figure out why the ferry to Antigua would depart Little Bay leaving passengers on the dock. Yet this kind of thing happens frequently, regardless of which way the ferry is sailing, and it happened once again last Saturday morning.

The luckless travelers this time included the Chief of Staff from the Chief Minister’s Office, Mr. Salas Hamilton, and the Registrar from Government Headquarters, Ms. Sonya Young. The Registrar had an advance ticket but was never given an opportunity to present it before being told she would be left behind.

Another astonished passenger left on the dock Saturday morning was Mr. Kevin Maynard, an aircraft mechanic with Continental Airlines. He was on his way to New Jersey, USA, but missed his connecting flight out of Antigua, forcing an overnight stay in Puerto Rico and at least two unscheduled days off work.

Among those awaiting answers, in addition to the distressed Chief of Staff, are Montserrat Aviation Services, the company responsible for ticketing passengers, and Britain's Department for International Development, which funds the ferry operation.

Mr. Hamilton particularly deplored the possible effects of such 'passenger strandings' on the island's economy. "Unlike other Caribbean territories," he said, "Montserrat is begging for tourist and economic stimulation against a backdrop of a major disaster. We cannot be speaking about improving services at Heritage Quay and allow the same mistakes to happen here."

Ms. Sarah Silcott, manager of MAS, said she believes the problem is one of confusion, over who should decide when to close off the passenger manifest.

Mr. Barry Kavanagh, chief executive of DFID, is also seeking answers. "It doesn’t seem right to me," he said.

Only one person so far offers a possible answer as to why it happens. That’s Mr. Rawle Kelsick of Wall Trading, the company that operates the ferry service between Montserrat and Antigua.

"It doesn’t run according to how many people come," Mr. Kelsick said this week, "the principles really are the same as an airline."

He said airlines don’t allow people to buy tickets right up to departure time, because they need time to check baggage, load their planes and board passengers. It was pointed out to Mr. Kelsick that airlines often delay departures slightly for passengers who arrive late.

He responded that some discretion is applied in sailing times, but the ferry must depart eventually regardless of how many people arrived at the terminal too late to get aboard.

That doesn't wash with Mr. Hamilton. "Unlike another Caribbean island," he said, "where you can catch a flight 20 minutes or two hours later, Montserrat has no such option," adding that "none of the five persons left behind arrived beyond the cut-off time."

He also raised the question of where the lines of authority and responsibility lie regarding the ferry operation.

Ms. Silcott says MAS takes the view that it should decide when to stop ticket sales, while officials with Wall Trading apparently insist they hold that responsibility.

Mr. Kelsick said the sailing on Saturday morning did leave late, despite leaving people behind. Cutoff time for tickets and passenger manifesting is supposed to be 7:30 a.m., but that ferry did not leave until 7:55 a.m. He revealed, however, that when the ferry left, it carried only 115 passengers, which was considerably below the ship’s capacity. This happened despite the fact that some of those in line to buy tickets were there before the ticket office opened.

In other words, passengers were not being penalised for arriving late, as Mr. Kelsick suggested, but because there were not enough ticket agents to process all the passengers in time for departure.

Mr. Kelsick agreed that such situations are unfortunate, but he said other people are looking into those kinds of problems. He declined to identify the people involved in the investigation, but did confirm that Wall Trading is one of the parties involved in discussions concerning ferry service management.

Mr. Kavanagh of DFID, meanwhile, said he can’t understand why the ferry would even bother to leave passengers behind in Montserrat. It never carries freight, so its entire purpose is to carry people. Refusing to allow someone a chance to board seems nonsensical to him.

"There’s no point in the ferry refusing to take a passenger," he said.

Asked if DFID puts limits on overtime payments for crew when the ferry runs late, Mr. Kavanagh denied that Wall Trading faces any losses due to overtime. He said DFID has built flexibility into the system to make sure costs are covered when weather or other circumstances force the crew to work extra hours. Mr. Kavanagh said he will be very interested in learning why people get left behind.

As will the Chief of Staff. "I wait for the results of the investigation into this most recent and other incidents," Mr. Hamilton said, "since it impacts on every sector including our recovering tourism product."

With the long awaited Soft Mortgage Scheme now signed, sealed and delivered, Chief Minister, The Hon. David Brandt is now turning public focus to the problem of building infrastructure for business.

"I have been recently pursuing a new initiative to determine the needs of the business sector," he stated.

In a speech to the Montserrat Chamber of Commerce last week, Mr. Brandt said he has completed negotiations with the Department Of International Development (DFID), to bring to the island a team of consultants who will form a business development plan, and then stick around to implement their plans.

He pointed out that by ensuring that the consultants remain on the project throughout its implementation stage, he has managed to forge an agreement with DFID that will lead to a more workable set of consultants' recommendations. This time, a team of proclaimed experts will not be able to deliver a plan then leave others to make it work, no matter how impractical or unsuitable it may be to stakeholders.

The Chief Minister said a preliminary team visited the island from August 7 to 10, to establish terms of reference for the consultants. During their visit they were to meet with the Chamber of Commerce, but also with entrepreneurs not members of the Chamber.

Now they are back in England the preliminary team is drafting the terms of reference for ongoing work, and Mr. Brandt hopes the plan will help both old and new businesses to build on the island.

He revealed some specific needs or policy areas the consultants are to address. They include:

• An assessment of demand for subsidised business loans;
• A survey of the need for more retail shelf space and factory units;
• Planning for a workforce training scheme that will provide a more adequate labour pool for new and existing enterprises;
• Special emphasis on the infrastructure required to foster electronic commerce and the registration of off-shore companies.

"Government should limit its role as far as possible to the formulation of public policy, the management of public affairs, the establishment of social and economic infrastructure, and generally the establishment of an environment conducive to the development of business," the Chief Minister stated.

He said his emphasis as a policy maker is to avoid too much tampering with private business, but he pointed out that in the wake of the volcano, it is necessary first to build a society in which business can flourish, and this means government must take a greater role in providing the basic infrastructure for business growth.

"For example, we had to take on responsibility for the importation, sale and distribution of fuel," he reminded the business leaders. "Up until now, it is government that has been acting as the engine of growth. In fact, government organised construction became the leading economic activity on the island."

Mr. Brandt said this new initiative is designed to further reduce the direct role of government in business management and commercial growth.

In conversation with the business group, Mr. Brandt revealed the broad scope of the business plan the consultants will be drafting and implementing. He said it could include such basic things as building a shopping mall, where old and new businesses will be able to locate or relocate their shops.

The Chamber members expressed some concern that issues of training would be adequately treated by the consultants. It was clear that a shortage of trained workers is a problem for many businesses, and could prevent or delay the expansion of the business community.

The Chief Minister assured the Chamber that training is a priority of government, because he is concerned that a shortage of skilled workers means the most challenging and fulfilling jobs never become available on the island. This means some of the best minds in the labour market leave Montserrat, perhaps never to return. He said he hopes the new initiative will stop this brain drain.

Mr. Brandt saved most of his emphasis, however, for the fact that the consultants working on the scheme will be forced to implement their own ideas. He said too often in the past consultants have flown into Montserrat, made some recommendations and then moved on. He believes making the consultants part of the working team actually building the infrastructure, will force a greater level of responsibility and success on the whole initiative.

Chamber members also told Mr. Brandt there was some concern that existing private sector projects or businesses could face unfair competition from government sponsored initiatives. It was pointed out, for example, that the private sector has already built the shell of a small shopping plaza which is not yet leased out. Adding a second mall, this one government subsidised could be unfair on the private developer of that shopping plaza.

Mr. Brandt responded that he understood the members' concerns, but said it will be up to them to tell the consultants what they want and don't want. The whole process is being designed to allow private business to take the lead in dictating its own infrastructure requirements.

Imagine a slave. This slave owns nothing. Everything from the rags on his back to the Spartan foods in his larder belongs to a master. Even his body is not his own. He is owned like cattle, and like the farm beast his life can be snuffed out on a whim, with no one called to answer for the foul deed. The slave has no rights at all.

Now imagine that you give our hypothetical slave just one civil right. Let’s say we give him the right to be totally free on Saturdays only. As of midnight every Friday he will cease to be a slave. By midnight on Saturday he will return again to his life of slavery, but for 24 hours each week he will be free to charge for his services, own property, enjoy security in his person and so forth.

Although this situation would still be very unpleasant, under such a legal framework the most brilliant and determined slaves would eventually flourish. The best and brightest would work diligently every Saturday toward the cause of total freedom. Eventually some might amass enough wealth that one fine Saturday they could actually buy themselves out of slavery. Others might use their free Saturdays to organise politically in the cause of freedom.

The point here is that just one civil right, no matter how paltry, can change a person’s life and perhaps alter an entire society. Each measure of freedom gained is a step closer to true emancipation, and each measure lost is a step back to the shackles. Slavery, therefore, is a relative circumstance. No one is totally free, for none of us enjoys the complete right to decide our own destiny.

We are all slaves to something. We may be bound by a paycheque to a job or career we detest. Perhaps we are locked into a mortgage on a home or business that sits below 15 feet of ash and lava rock. Maybe we are forced to live somewhere we don’t want to be, because our homeland is closed to us. Everything and anything that impinges upon our rights makes us slaves by degree.

From this we raise the question: is colonialism slavery?

Yes, it is a form of slavery. It restricts people’s rights, so it is an instrument of slavery by degree. Having said that, however, in its most modern and enlightened form, colonialism may present a considerably lesser degree of slavery than the so-called "democratic" system currently implemented in Britain’s Overseas Territories and Protectorates.

The most advanced forms of colonialism would seem to be those practiced in places like Guadeloupe and St. Maartens. In those colonies the modern slaves enjoy the same rights and privileges as their counterparts in Paris and Amsterdam. They elect representatives to government, just like other French or Dutch citizens, and enjoy the freedom to move themselves and their goods freely between their Caribbean and European homelands.

Britain likes to argue that its system is more democratic. It’s a load of steaming rubbish; bureaucratic drivel; self-serving double-speak. The truth is that under the British system, although we elect local politicians, they have no access to the British Parliament and can’t even decide to blow their collective noses without permission from the Governor. We have no member in the House of Commons who speaks for us. We have no town or county councils. We pay taxes, yet we have no representation in the highest debating chamber where taxes are debated and levied. The same taxation without representation that caused the 13 American colonies to revolt in 1776 is still in effect in Montserrat today, with only minor changes.

Of course, there are those who would find the alternative repulsive. To become part of Britain with our own member of parliament would mean the loss of our status as a nation. This might make it harder in the long term to negotiate total independence, but on the other hand, at least we would negotiate on full stomachs, with reasonable health care, and all the other infrastructure that British citizens have a right to expect.

Call Montserrat what you want. Call it a Protectorate or an Overseas Territory or any other politically correct term that suits your fancy. Just don’t call it more democratic than a Department of France or the Netherlands, because that’s just a lie, and an insult to everyone’s intelligence.

The sad truth is, we are governed primarily by an Executive Council, headed by a governor. That body meets in secret, and almost never shares its collective ideas or processes with the great unwashed mob. We, the "unclean" public, are ruled by a privileged class of mandarins, who gather in dark corners to decide our fate, and don’t even feel any obligation to tell us what they have done, or intend to do next.

Democracy? Indeed, you say!

"I have a dream….," said Martin Luther King, Jr. He dreamed about a better world where all people are equal and are treated with respect. Many of us share that dream. And as he showed us, it is not enough only to dream about such a world. It is ours also to do anything we are able to do to make a better world. There are many problems in our world - crime, racism, war. Why? Because we want to have more than others or see ourselves as better than others. But if we want think like Jesus, we must look out for the interests of other people around us. In our youth group, we have a tradition when we eat meals. When the food is put on the table, each one serves her or his neighbor, to give the other persons the food they need. This symbolizes how we should live every day with people around us.

Jesus told us that we are responsible for others. We see trouble everywhere. Even Christians cause it when we don't live as Jesus wants us to. It isn't enough to dream of a better world. It isn't enough to hope others will work for a better world. Each of us has to do what we can to make the world Jesus wants.

THOUGHTFOR THE DAY

Act to make God's dreams for the world come true.

Dear Editor,

We find it necessary to respond to a letter in your issue of 28^th July, 2000, captioned "Guest leaves disappointed". This response is necessary partly because we have received several enquiries as to who was the Chairman of the Committee of the Paradise Regained Millenium Pilgrimage. For the information of all, the Chairman was Dr. Eddie Donoghue, a position and designation which he guarded closely.

We, as the local facilitators, were very disturbed to learn from Hannemie Otte, that she was promised a free passage to and from Montserrat. Dr. Donoghue told the local co-ordinating committee on more than one occasion that she was meeting the cost of her own passage to Montserrat. In fact, in the $80,000 budget that Dr. Donoghue submitted for the Pilgrimage, there was no allocation or provision for her passage. This, of course, was understandable, since Dr. Donoghue insisted that she and others expected from Europe would make their way here at their own expense. We are sorry that she was misled, but it was no fault of anyone in Montserrat.

On the question of the budget and all the financial arrangements for the Pilgrimage, we need to inform the general public that $80,000 was quite unrealistic. In fact, we looked at the programme, critiqued it and came up with a budget of $15,800.00. The revised budget was sent to Dr. Donoghue and he agreed to it.

Whatever our committee did, we had to be convinced it was cost effective and indeed worthwhile. Much of the bureaucratic superstructure and infrastructure proposed by Dr. Donoghue was eliminated because it was considered unrealistic, impractical and a waste of money.

Whatever we agreed to do was based on the premise that we would have value for money and that we would be able to raise revenue to mitigate the expenses. Things did not go as we expected, mainly because of components of the programme that were organized by Dr. Donoghue and were therefore outside our control.

Regrettably, many of the artistes of renown who would be crowd pullers at the concerts did not come. They did not come because of a lack of communication and co-ordination by Dr. Donoghue. We could not assist him because we neither knew the individuals nor had their addresses and telephone numbers. In fact, we never thought intervention on our part would be necessary since he was the contact point for them.

The pilgrimage idea is, no doubt, a good one. Getting people to visit Montserrat in July/August is good for families who have children in school and find it less convenient to visit at other times. The pilgrimage should be done again as part of our cultural/tourism programme. However, we would need to learn from the many mistakes of this one and avoid them.

Local Co-ordinating Committee

The National Development Foundation through its DFID sponsored training programme has obtained the services of Chef Orlando Satchel, a world renowned Caribbean Food Consultant and caterer, to assist in the development of the local food and beverage sector of the hospitality industry.

Chef Orlando, who has appeared on the BBC's Good Food Programme among his television credits, brings to Montserrat his style of Nouvelle Caribbean Haute Cuisine which he has mastered in kitchens in London Singapore and St Lucia his winter home.

Chef Orlando is currently attached to the Tropical Mansion Suites Hotel. His month long stint in Montserrat sees him conducting training programmes in the various kitchens of our Bed and Breakfast establishments and Restaurants. In addition to which Chef Orlando will be conducting a three-day workshop at the Tropical Mansion Suites from Sept 4 - 6. Chef Orlando's visit to Montserrat will culminate with a culinary display at the Tropical Mansion Suites put on by the trainees.

The NDF in currently in discussion with DFID for the financing of other training programmes to support our Tourism Industry.

Kamille Winspeare sent a message home this week from a Girl Guide camp she is attending in Canada. The camp is called the Explore 2000 Trillium International Camp.

"It’s fun here in Canada, but I miss Montserrat. The weather is very much different here," Kammille reported in a message relayed through Mrs. Agnes Lempriere. Mrs. Lempriere said she received the message from Kamille after her own mother in Canada tracked the Montserratian group down following press reports about them in Canada.

A number of other Girl Guides from Montserrat are at the camp in Orenda, Ontario, learning skills like horseback riding, rock climbing, cooking and various sports. Cilma Wade, Goldita White, Kristen Taylor, Clauressa Weekes, Nikisha Wade, Jaqueline Thornhill Morgan and Gerodine Mason are also among 600 Guides from around the world attending the camp.

All the Montserratian Guides and their leaders wrote a letter home about their experiences, which we are publishing this week.

Kamille said that despite enjoying her trip and meeting new friends in Canada, she does miss Montserrat.

"Here people are very friendly," she said, adding, "I must end on saying there is no place like home."

A machine that sorts sand and gravel into various grades has been delivered to a site in Belham Valley. It belongs to Selsi Ltd., a Montserrat company that intends to sell aggregates left from rock and mudslides in the wake of volcanic eruptions.

One of the principal officers of the company is Mr. Rupert Isles, who came here from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, to set up the new screening equipment.

"We are screening the material to supply Montserrat and also shipping to other Caribbean islands," Mr. Isles said before returning to St. Thomas earlier this week. He added that Montserrat’s needs will be met before any material is shipped elsewhere. "That can be done easily," he assured.

The company officer explained that operations won’t get underway for another four to six weeks, because Selsi is waiting for delivery of heavy earth moving and excavating equipment. Once it arrives the firm will be able to produce graded sand, but crushed gravel still won’t be available. If the sand operation is successful, however, the company plans to bring in rock crushing machinery at a later date.

Mr. Isles confirmed that aggregates produced on-island should reduce costs for local contractors bidding on various construction projects, because there will be no shipping, wharfage and importing costs.

Administrators of St. Augustine School continue to press for former students to return to the fold in September, to help mark the institution’s 125^th anniversary.

Built in 1875, St. Augustine is highly respected both as a source of outstanding fundamental academic skills and an educational institution that instills proven values in its students. Though managed by the Roman Catholic Church, it remains open to all. At a recent graduation ceremony it was revealed that about 70 percent of the student body are not Catholic.

A letter circulating from the school’s principal, Mrs. Eileen Edwards, and from its messenger Mrs. Carol Osborne, says the organisers hope not only to stage a memorable celebration but also to raise scholarship funds.

"We would like to continue to offer scholarships to any child wishing to attend St. Augustine’s but who may be unable to meet the cost of tuition," the letter explains.

Various local hotels, bed and breakfasts and guest houses are also offering discounts for students who travel in from abroad. These special rates can be accessed through the Montserrat Tourist Board at (664) 491-2230. The celebrations are scheduled to take place September 24^th through 30^th.

The 2000 "My Caribbean " Essay Contest sponsored by Conde Nast Traveler in cooperation with the Caribbean Tourism Organization and American Airlines has once again been successful within the Primary Schools, where pupils 11years and over were asked to write an essay on "Time Capsule 3000; make believe you are making a time capsule for a traveler in the year 3000 to find. What three things make your island special and unique? How would your island be the same in 3000? What, do you hope, would be different?"

Josette Winspeare from the Brades Primary School was selected as the finalist from Montserrat. Josettte will represent the island at the Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-24) in Barbados in October this year. This competition forms part of the Tourist Board's Tourism Awareness drive within the schools.

The Cudjoe Head community group staged another successful "Cudjoe Head Day" celebration under the theme "Total Togetherness 2000." The event took place at Cudjoe Head on August 5, 2000. To kick off the action in the early morning there was an Iron Band jump up, a road race, and breakfast was served while the music of the Super Sting hi-fi filled the air.

The events slated for the afternoon and evening started at 4 p.m. with a treasure hunt for children and performances by the Masquerades and String Band. The Gemini sound system entertained the large crowd that was otherwise busy playing games such as the Horse, Spin de wheel, the Horn and Bingo. A Raffle also took place. The smaller children were specially catered with the bounce castle rides.

In Dominica, car dealers have welcomed the initiative by the government to impose penalties on the importation of used vehicles, but said the measures have not gone far enough. Effective September 1, 2000, importers of used vehicles with a manufacturing date before 1995, will be required to pay an EC $2,500 (US$925) surcharge, in addition to the regular duties and charges.

General Manager of Acme Garage, Peter Karam, said while he was supporting the measure, the surcharge was too small to act as a deterrent. Karam said Wednesday that the high rate of used vehicle importation posed problems for Dominica, because of difficulties in sourcing spare parts, and the international concerns about emission standards.

The British teenager charged in Guyana with allegedly trying to smuggle 11 pounds of cocaine inside false compartments of a suitcase has been granted bail in the amount of US $8,333 -- Guyana $1.5 million. Principal Magistrate Dawn Gregory Barnes granted 17-year-old Selina Brown, her pre-trial liberty when she made her second appearance in court on Wednesday. Under Guyana's drug laws, any person under 18 is considered a "young person" and may be granted bail. Brown, of South London, was arrested at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, July 25 as she attempted to board a flight to London.

"Since none of the relevant territories have announced their intention to do so, we are considering imposing legislation by Order in Council later this year," warned the FCO.

Ironically, UK Minister for Overseas Territories Baroness Scotland was in the Cayman Islands earlier this week on a fact-finding mission and said Britain had no set timetable for its Overseas Territories to remove laws banning homosexuality. It would now appear the FCO is ready to take action by the end of the year if overseas territories do not act to remove those laws.

The abolition of capital punishment in UK overseas territories was another issue addressed by the FCO. Capital punishment has been removed in all Overseas Territories except Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands said the FCO.

"As we mark this year's International Day of the World's Indigenous People, we have new progress to celebrate. Only last month, the Economic and Social Council decided to create a Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, to be in place by 2002. The establishment of this new mechanism is a historic step forward in the recognition of indigenous people's legitimate struggle for respect of their way of life. It will give them a clear voice within the United Nations system and help ensure better protection of their human rights.

Composed of representatives from both Governments and indigenous peoples, this high-level advisory body is intended as a forum for dialogue, reconciliation and cooperation in all areas of concern to indigenous peoples. Its broad mandate will include not only human rights, but also economic and social development, culture, environment, education and health. It will allow for greater integration and coordination of the UN's work as it relates to indigenous populations, as well as gather and distribute information on indigenous issues.

The establishment of a permanent forum was one of the fundamental goals of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People proclaimed by the General Assembly for the period 1995-2004. Halfway through the Decade, the progress achieved in several areas has given true meaning to the idea of Partnership in Action, the Decade's theme. This year, the Working Group on Indigenous Populations has focused on indigenous children and youth. We must do all we can to defend the rights and meet the needs of this most vulnerable of groups. Their protection is an investment in the future of humankind. It is through youth that the culture and values of indigenous people will be kept alive. And so, as we observe this first International Day of the World's Indigenous People of the 21st century, let us pay tribute to the richness of their traditions and their contributions to the diversity of our world. Let us resolve to safeguard their interests and their rights, wherever they may live."

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, USVI, CANA - The resignations of large numbers of teachers, school nurses and special education programme instructors are posing a problem in the U.S. Virgin Islands public school system, an online newspaper said Tuesday. The St. Thomas Source, under the captioned "Teacher Roster Looking Sparse," stated that the exodus was expected to affect classes in the St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix districts.

The online newspaper quoted the Education Department's director of personnel, Alcess Lewis-Brown, as saying "the biggest problem is with school nurses and special education programme instructors." She said "We have two special education vacancies on St. Croix and nine on St. Thomas. She added that on St. Thomas there is a more acute problem, where the resignations and retirements of teachers have been more prevalent. "We have applications under review to fill four math positions, two bi-lingual teaching posts and nine special education positions," Lewis-Brown said.

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CANA - The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), in its first quarter report for the year 2000, has confirmed the predictions of regional and international economists that the economy of St Kitts is experiencing economic stagnation and decline.

This is the view of the opposition People's Action Movement (PAM) party stated in a media release issued here Friday. "The report also reflects the reality of financial hardship being experienced by the overwhelming majority of citizens and residents alike," the PAM said. It added that the tourism sector, which became the driving force behind the economy in the late 1980's and reached a "crescendo" in 1994, was singled out for its poor performance.
"According to the Bank's report the haemorrhaging of the tourism industry is as a result of the dwindling number of stay-over visitors to the country," the opposition party said. The Central Bank observed that the country experienced a decline from all the major markets including a 31.8-percent reduction from the USA and a decrease of 54.1 percent from Europe, it added.

"In addition to the ailing tourism industry, the Central Bank also identified the failure of the non-sugar agricultural sector. The report pointed out that the production of vegetables and root crops incurred an unprecedented fall of some 67.1 per cent," the PAM said.

The light-manufacturing sector also remains dormant and is yet to recover to the days of the early 1990's when St Kitts exported more components than all the OECS countries combined, the PAM said in referring to the ECCB report. The Bank, it said, acknowledged that the statistics were not complete but reported that "data on cargo throughout indicated that the volume of cargo exported declined by 85.9 percent". PAM said the reportconcluded that the fiscal position of the government was worsening. "It pointed to the massive current account deficit for the reported period of $19.9 million and noted that whereas current expenditure grew by 31.0 percent, revenue declined by 8.9 percent. "The gloomy report presented by the Central Bank coupled with the recently announced huge and controversial increases could only exacerbate the hardship of citizens and residents alike," the party said.

By Cara Buckley
MIAMI, CANA-Reuters - They enter the United States as hapless drug `"mules'' with their illicit cargo surgically stitched into their muscles, bonded to their backs with fake skin or ingested in tight-packed condoms, their lives hanging by a latex thread. Some of the couriers, like a burly Jamaican who came through Miami International Airport last month, can neither hide their guilt under rigorous interrogation nor hold their costly load.
"He kept sitting very far forward, shifting his weight to his right buttock,'' said Chris Maston, a customs supervisor whose task is culling drug smugglers from the eight million other travelers who stream through the airport each year.
The airport body scanner, which works through clothes but not skin, solved the mystery: Onscreen, beneath the man's eerily glowing buttocks, a small cluster of egglike objects appeared. ``He had been passing (drug-filled capsules) while I was questioning him,'' Maston said. Sometimes mules are nabbed before bodily functions take over and whisked to a nearby hospital, where they are placed on a British-made "drug loo,'' a $40,000 porcelain throne that catches and cleans sullied caches in a tumbler with special bacteria. The special toilet has made `"monitored bowel movement'' seizures much easier for carriers and customs agents. Until a few years ago, mules had to put on latex gloves and sift through their own bedpans for pellets while customs agents kept vigil.
Before that, customs officers used to break open plumbing systems, frantically trying to catch the evidence before it was flushed away. "We've had to knock out too many walls and break open too many pipes,'' Maston said.

There are just three ways for passengers to get drugs through airports, he said: ``In bags, on the body or in the body.'' Although most mules cache them in their stomachs -- 82 of 109 carriers stopped by Maston's crew last year were ''internals'' -- agents have found drugs stashed in the girdle of an 82-year-old granny, in prosthetic limbs and even in dogs.

A stooped man was found to have waxlike clumps of skin bulging from his back, which turned out to be molded silicon stuffed with heroin. Another man was intercepted after he limped down the plane's gangplank, moaning in agony. He had packets of cocaine surgically stitched beneath his thigh muscles. Customs agents in New York were alerted to a mangy mutt that appeared to be near death shipped from Puerto Rico in a fancy carrier. A veterinarian found five pounds of cocaine sewn into the dog's stomach. The dog survived, was named Cokie, and became a mascot for agents at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Catching `"internal'' carriers is no easy task and agents say untold amounts of heroin and cocaine pass airport customs each day in the stomachs of carriers. But the agents are well practiced at ferreting out deception. "They've developed a sixth sense,'' said Zachary Mann, spokesman for South Florida's U.S. Customs office in Miami. Agents home in on telltale signs of nervousness: hurried gestures, quavering voices and bloodshot, darting eyes. Using repeated, probing questions, they try to get to the bottom of suspicious-sounding stories.

"(Mules) have been sitting the whole plane ride fretting about this moment, after being up the whole night before, swallowing drugs,'' Maston said. ``There's a lot of emotion canned up that they're trying to conceal. Our job is to get to it.''

Most internal drug carriers are driven by financial desperation, earning more in one trip, usually about $5,000, than they can make in a year back home, Mann said. They run the risk of imprisonment, usually a five-year sentence, but can also end up dead.

In early July, a Colombian man died when one of the 80 heroin-filled condoms in his stomach split open and released toxic levels into his blood. He had checked himself into a Miami hospital complaining of chest pains and telling staff: ''I have a drug problem.'' Carrier deaths have not always stopped waiting drug dealers from retrieving their prized booty. Last year, police found the corpse of an internal carrier dumped in the Florida Everglades, his stomach split open and emptied of its illicit cargo. Police in New York and New Jersey have made similar grisly finds.
Maston, whose biggest coup was intercepting 11 mules on one flight from Jamaica, said his toughest moments are nabbing parents who forced their children to swallow drugs as well. "We have to dedicate ourselves to understanding the (drug) organizations that we're dealing with,'' he said. "Smugglers have that element of surprise.''

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua, Aug 7, CANA - A controversial decision and history was created in Antigua Sunday night when King Onyan won his fourth consecutive calypso monarch title before thousands of spectators at the Antigua Recreation Grounds.

But the judges' decision -- making Onyan the first artiste to cop four titles -- was an unpopular one as most in the crowd favoured former king, Fiah, who placed third behind Kaseba, who was the first runner-up. Former king, Smarty Jr., had a disappointing performance and failed to place among the top. Another ex-monarch, Zero, did not place, but his song "Preserved The Pan" was adjudged the best arranged tune, while the popular Calpso Jim won the award for most humourous calypso. After the monarch finals, thousands of revellers took to the streets of St. John's Monday morning for the big J'ouvert jump up.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CANA - Prime Minister Owen Arthur Tuesday said he favoured some kind of proportional representation in the Barbados electoral system, at the same retaining the first-past-the-post method under which the country now operates. Arthur was speaking in the House of Assembly on a motion to amend the Barbados Independence Order Act, 1966 an aspect of which functions as the island's constitution.
"I feel that we should retain the member of parliament for each constituency but that we should also embrace an aspect of proportional representation recognising political parties in the same way that we recognise other institutions of civil society, and that we have parties get representation in parliament, proportional to the percentage of vote they get at the polls," Arthur said.

He explained that if a political party was to get 15 percent of the polls it would get a seat in the house and if a He said the manner in which the constitution was crafted at Independence -- the carrying forward of the old institutions with which the country was familiar -- meant also retaining the undemocratic character of those institutions.

"The old Legislative Council and the Senate which replaced it were ostensibly created, not to broaden democracy, but to enshrine the right of established interests in this country to have access to the labours of the poor without having to face the people and ask for that power," Arthur said.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, CANA - A 29-year-old restaurant employee has been sentenced to death by hanging for the September, 1998 murder of a German woman. A jury consisting of eight men and four women deliberated for just under one hour last week before returning a unanimous verdict of guilty, newspapers here reported at the weekend. Sylvester Lewis, who was also a footballer, had been charged with murdering Heike Ruhl, a 37-year-old German who regularly visited Bequia, the largest of the Grenadines Islands. Ruhl was choked to death close to a beach on September 28, 1998.

It was the second time that he was being tried; a jury in the February sitting of the criminal assizes failed to reach a unanimous verdict and Lewis was acquitted. But Haymont Balroop, who was then the acting Director of Public Prosecution, ordered that he, be arrested again.
The prosecution's main witness, Nigel Peters, told the court how he saw Lewis sitting on Ruhl's mid-section holding both her hands in one of his while the other was moving up and down.

He said he silently observed the scene for about three minutes before seeking help. However, Lewis testified that he went to investigate screams and saw a man in red shorts who ran away.
Lewis said he pursued the man, who disappeared in some bush. Lewis said he tried to help Ruhl but got no response other than a gasp after shaking her and seeking for a pulse.
He told the court he decided to take the woman, who was bleeding through the nose, to seek help and met with Peters and another man, who accused him of murdering the woman after he explained what had happened.
One paper quoted Lewis' lawyer; Ronald Marks, as saying that he intends to appeal the sentence.

Bahamas government price inspectors have warned storeowners about too-high basic food prices.
The warning came when four stores were targeted for inspection by the Ministry of Economic Development, the Nassau Guardian newspaper reported at the weekend.
According to the paper, a team from the ministry led by under-secretary E.J. Bowe discovered many overpriced items being sold.
"We will not tolerate overpricing in The Bahamas on bread basket items," Bowe warned, "and merchants have been warned over and over about it."
Eulamae Gordon, a senior price inspector, said the ministry was acting upon the request of the public. She said they had received many calls concerning overpricing at one outlet.
The overpriced items were collected and confiscated as evidence in the case Bowe and his team will present to the courts, the paper reported.
Although many stores have already been prosecuted for overpricing, there are still many cases yet to be heard, the paper admitted.
It quoted Bowe as saying that with consumer education being expanded, the departments workload will be easier. He suggested that consumers inquire about breadbasket items and take the time to demand to see the breadbasket schedule.
Bowe and his team also found many items that were being sold past their expiry date, the paper reported.

Basseterre, St Kitts – Phase II of work that will lead to the opening of the first regional electronic securities exchange- the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange, in the last quarter of 2000, has commenced.

Over the next few months, work will focus on a number of key areas among them the capitalisation of the ECSE and its two subsidiaries – The Eastern Caribbean Central Securities Registry (ECCSR) and the Eastern Central Securities Depository (ECCSD). This will allow the private sector to obtain an ownership stake in the venture. ECCB is seeking to raise ten million EC dollars to capitalise the institutions. Several key investors have already been identified as the main targets to invest in the Exchange.

Attention will also be paid to recruitment and training of permanent staff, the signing of the securities Agreement and passage of the Securities Act 2000 and further enhancements of the ECCSR and the ECCSD. These two institutions along with the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission will form the core components of the market.

During this second phase of work the ECSE will also roll out its six- month pilot marketing, education and awareness programme. This programme Comprises a variety of education and marketing tools and will form the basis for the roll out of a three- year, long- term plan.

So far, several issuers have committed to list when the Exchange opens up for live trading. At least ten intermediaries have also indicated their intention to trade on the ECSM.

A Securities Advisory Oversight Committee comprising senior bank officials is presently overseeing successful implementation of the ECSE.

Tortola, BVI, CANA - British Virgin Islands (BVI) Labour Minister, Julian Frazer is not happy in the manner in which the contractors for two major projects now underway in the territory are recruiting labourers.

Reports reaching the BVI labour ministry state that the contractors of the $60 million airport and Queen Elizabeth Projects in Tortola are hiring foreign labourers in preference to islanders Frazer, apparently annoyed that locals were being bypassed, said at a news conference this week that "no work permit would be approved in the first preference to work.

No work permit for outside labourers on the two projects unless the contractors can prove that the skills needed do not exist locally, or it exists, but unavailable for use."

The minister added that the BVI government will not sit around and allow locals to be deprived of benefit from the major projects.

The English company of McArdle is responsible for the airport ground project, the terminal construction is being handled by Norde France while the contractor for the Queen Elizabeth Bridge is the Dominican Republic contractor of Samuel S. CondZ who recently constructed the cruise ship pier in Road Town, Tortola. Frazer is insisting that electricians, plumbers and labourers be drawn from the local labour force and if the contractors and sub-contractors cannot secure them locally then they should seek outside.
He also made it clear that the BVI Labour Code must be adhered to and that employees who work on holidays should be paid "time and a half a day." He stressed also that the International Labour Organisation Standards of Safety must be maintained. The two multi-million dollar projects started more than 3 months ago.

Over the next few weeks our focus will be on fitness, and today I’ll be looking at one of the contributing factors to fitness, that is, sleep.

When awake you know what is going on around you. Your brain receives nerve messages from your eyes, ears, taste buds, your organ of smell, all parts of your skin and even from your joints and muscles.

These nerve messages are delivered to that part of your brain called the cortex. It is the cortex that the nerve messages are interpreted. When you know the meaning of the nerve messages your brain is receiving we say you are conscious.

After you have been awake for so many hours, certain part of your brain takes time to rest, and this is sleep. Many parts of your brain keep working while you sleep. But during sleep the cortex does not interpret the incoming nerve messages. So we say that when you sleeping you are unconscious.

The creator has continued each human being to crave sleep when he needs it. As sleepiness becomes more intense, a person finds it hard to stay awake. Sleepiness or freedom from sleepiness is therefore a reasonable good index on how much sleep a person requires. But sleepiness does not always follow a pattern determined by the c lock a person may become sleepy in the middle of the morning or immediately after the noon meal. But this does not mean that he should allow attacks of sleepiness to dominate his day’s program.

Sleepiness can be controlled. One can train himself to avoid sleep at the times of day when he should be busy. Also by forming right habits he can train himself to go to sleep at the proper time in the evening. Even so, any person perpetually sleepy is probably not getting sufficient sleep.

Not only do individuals vary in respect to the amount of sleep needed, but a person’s requirements change with changing times and circumstances. The newborn infant sleeps most of the time. As the weeks and months pass, this same infant awake more and sleep less. By his first birthday he normally sleeps about as many hours as he remains awake.

A child’s sleep requirements gradually declines as he becomes older. Even during adolescence, however the sleep requirement remains greater than it will be during normal adult hood. During periods of stress or illness and especially during recovery from illness or accident, a person generally requires more sleep, than when well.

On the other hand, when under stress, making major decision, or when engaged in some challenging activity, a person may get along for a few days on less sleep than usual. How foolish it is for a person to think he may increase his personal accomplishments by robbing himself of sleep? The person who cheats on the number of hours he sleeps is thereby reducing his efficiency.

The persons who feel that he benefits by working an hour or two later at night is only short-changing himself/herself.

The value of the extra work or study is more than nullified by reduced efficiency the next day. Better to get sufficient sleep to be able to work hard during the usual working day, than to prolong one’s period of activities into the night and then he handicapped by sleepiness during the day that follows.

Let us therefore endeavour to get at least eight (8) hours of rest each night.

Tell us your solutions for the social and economic problems facing Montserrat. And above everything else, believe in yourself and be patient. Your ideas will hatch, because we will listen to you. And if you are sincere we will vote for you. Trust me.

Jus wonderin if Mr Interbeton will achieve his ambition at the PPU despite…

Jus wonderin if a guilty conscience is behind the daily introduction of so much prayer and bawling among staff at the Big and Powerful Lady's office.

Jus wonderin why the lady at the Ministry does not think for herself and only does what others want her to do, and say.

Jus wonderin if the investigation into the passport scandal dead.

Jus wonderin what is the significance of the OBE and if it will still be given to the nominee inspite of everything.

Jus wonderin what will be the citation for the OBE and if Mr KOTAY is not eligible for years of commercial entertainment.

Jus wonderin if Labudy does not deserve one too.

Jus wonderin if under the circumstances any serious Montserratian could ever accept another OBE or a laissez-passer.

Jus wonderin if the arrested junior will eventually say it all as she should.

Jus wonderin if it is true that one of the PS's bought two houses CASH in England.

Jus wonderin what is going on in the mind of the man who used to head the department of food.

Jus wonderin if now a certain lady under fire she'll begin to understand what we go through, being pressured, and practically on all fours for a job.

Jus wonderin if you could just call yourself family member to them in order to get a job.

Jus wonderin if they are prepared to eat the meal they have cooked or will they share it and poison everybody.

Jus wonderin if the white paper is officially legalised.

Jus wonderin what time the ferry operators in Antigua work prior to its departure.

Jus wonderin why some people weren't allow to board the ferry on Saturday.

Jus wonderin who have umbrellas to shelter from rain when boarding the ferry from the terminal.

Jus wonderin if it had Twin Company to every business on Montserrat if they will pull up there socks.

Jus wonderin if all is well, who draw the plan and who pass it why people have to go through and past the Control Tower to go to the passenger terminal.

Jus wonderin if every one on Montserrat should try to build fishing boat to go to Antigua to avoid confusion with the Ferry.

Jus wonderin if it’s the now shining Montserratian cricketer that have us on the map since many didn't know we exist.

Jus wonderin if there is an Ants and Cockroach invasion at Lookout.

Jus wonderin why there is a mechanic garage in the middle of Lookout

Jus wonderin why they don't just fix the Gerald's road permanently.

Jus wonderin if the COS is quietly waiting and flexing his muscles on that ferry matter.

Jus wonderin why the men in Salem have the policemen so busy on weekends.

Jus wonderin if some innocent faces at the work place would have passport guilt.

Jus wonderin if the dead are more secure now than the living.

Jus wonderin if the ferry system is also a crisis on Montserrat

Jus wonderin how many people are happy for jus wonderin, now they could drive in some comfort at the Government Headquarters.

Jus wonderin if it is true that the He told the men from public works that if you pave the road in front of his office he would get in trouble.

Jus wonderin why how the cos just walk away from the half cast down at the ferry bumping him and other urgent and important people.

Jus wonderin why the lady from took holiday if its because she did not want to attend her coworker’s wedding.