by Bennette Roach
Twenty eight (28) of 29 announced candidates have been nominated to contest the 1996 up coming general elections. ZJB reporter Jacquie Browne reported, "there was a sense of purpose on the faces of the candidates as they sat down to sign their names on the dotted line. Many expressed confidence about their chances in the upcoming general elections. Some saw the nomination process as the final step towards their ultimate goal. Others cited the fact that they were present to dispel any rumors about their withdrawing from the race. There was a spirit of sociable respect when the candidates greeted each other as they met in the small make shift office.
The twenty eight persons are those listed in 'Lee's Tracking Poll', less George Piper.
During the day, it was rumored that one person could not find a nominator and the last person to publicly announce his candidacy did not show up to be nominated. George Piper received apologies from the Reporter who had mistakenly reported that he had announced his candidacy. A week later amidst harsh words for the Reporter and thanking John Dublin for encouraging him over the years to get involved in political life, he announced his candidacy to contest the seat in the same constituency as John Dublin. A week later he did not show up at Nomination.
UNPRECEDENTED
At the 1991 general elections 26 candidates contested the elections and this time shows an increase by 2 which has created varying comments, including praise that so many people from even fewer voters have become interested in pursuing the good life for Montserratians. The number of contestants is the highest in the history of local elections which is seeing differences and improvements in the campaign. Calypsonians expressed their talents in composing songs for individual and party candidates, which are played throughout the day on radio. Some attempt at keeping the campaign clean and tackling issues. Now the idea of debates put forward by myself has become a reality, and the group from Cork Hill who put this first debate together has promised to host debates for other candidates. Next Tuesday one between the leaders of the 3 parties will be held, aired on radio and television.
CENTRAL CANDIDATES MAKE HISTORY
Last night an appreciative crowd which had standing room only outside listened attentively to a debate between the five candidates who were nominated earlier in the day to contest the upcoming elections. The candidates are: the incumbent Chief Minister Reuben T. Meade, John Dublin, John Wilson, newcomers Richard Payne and Charlesworth Philip.
They introduced themselves each for 2 minutes and then answered 2 minutes questions. The questions were:
The candidates rendered themselves well and no doubt voters in Cork Hill would have been influenced by the candidates presentations.
Moderator Johnny Wyke explained that the questions were put together
from questions submitted by constituents from Central (Cork Hill
and Salem).
Excerpts from the Antigua 'Daily Observer' written by 'Selwyn Walter'.
Plymouth is no longer a bustling little town nested at the foot of a range of mountains where tropical vegetation runs rife and where the blue waters of the Caribbean lap lazily at the edge of the lush verdant cliffs. Instead, the Soufriere Hills Volcano has transformed this once flourishing town into a ghost of its former self.
Professor Wadge Report
Two days of intensive questioning of dozens of people and of wide investigation have produced a wide variety of responses that have ranged from sheer hostility through extraordinary co-operation, to intense comments that have been of a political nature. The political comments I have avoided, but they cannot be ignored. Many have argued that the British Government and the Montserrat government, ignored the report of PROFESSOR WADGE that was submitted in 1986 to both the Government of Montserrat and the British Government.
Professor Wadge, I am told, had visited Montserrat and submitted an in-depth report on the volcano, warning of the coming explosions and of the dire consequences that would flow from even a partial eruption of the Soufriere Volcano. If, some claim, the report had not been shelved and ignored, the process of decentralization and the movement away from Plymouth would have been in progress and the extreme social disruption could have been avoided.
I telephoned Mr. Frank Savage, the governor of Montserrat, and in the interview he admitted that Professor Jeff Wadge and Professor Isaacs had submitted a report in the mid 1980's and that they had been employed by the United Nations to report on the problems that could have arisen in the event of volcanic activity. He also said that the report contained a computer simulation of the possible events as they would have unfolded. Many claim that the explosions have been an exact duplication of Professor Wadge's predictions.
Governor Savage admitted that the Montserrat crisis was unique in the Caribbean and that the Government was doing it best to meet the challenge. He admitted that twenty five million pounds had been committed to a program that was designed to develop improved facilities during the next few years. The Governor spoke of the Government's efforts to organize shelters for the evacuated people. However, in contrast to the Governor's views, the situation that I observed with respect to the deployment of people in shelters is different and mind mind-boggling. There are 915 persons in thirty-seven shelters, and if the crisis at the St. Peter's Anglican Church is an example, the position is awesome and frightening.
The Human Element
St. Peter's Anglican Church is crammed full of children and teenagers and young people, and older people, whose ages range from people in their twenties to people in their fifties. The x-cots are placed side by side with scarcely a space to walk between the crammed rows. Eighty-one people are in this Church. There are no screens. The occupants are of both sexes. There are two roofless make-shift showers in the church yard and two lavatories that were originally assigned to the church. Privacy and personal dignity do not exist. The people wash their clothes and hang them on make-shift lines strung from one end of the church yard to the other. In between, there are tombs and graves. St. Peter's is still a burial ground in active use.
The occupants hang their clothes on tombs and relax on tombs. The pulpit stands in semi-dilapidated silence in the church and is strewn with clothes of varying descriptions. The main altar has been inaccessible because of boxes and other items that have been stored next to it. These form a barrier. The side altar has been used as a sort of side-table on which, various personal items have been stored. Eighty-one people of both sexes, including school children, live here and two lavatories and two make shift showers are the lone amenities provided that are supposed to service all the inmates.
Yesterday, I drove a long distance to the Emergency Operation Center in St. John's to obtain the statistics, and a female by the name of Juliette Brade was not only hostile but very crude and rude. She wanted to know why the private information about Montserrat was being sought and made it plain that no information could be given about any specific shelter because of a high turnover and movement of people in the shelters. Information said she, was private Montserratian matter. Not for the public. Yet, in spite of her bare statistics, my visit to the churches and schools had exposed a horrific situation. No one in Britain would have accepted the inhumane and degrading conditions of people being clustered in shelters, without any seeming reprieve from the shortage of sanitary conveniences or total lack of privacy to which these people had been condemned to endure and unquestionably and gratefully accept.
As I stood in silence and viewed the crammed conditions, visions of the middle passage with slaves huddled together in the folds of the ships flooded my being and made me wonder if the same scenario was not being replayed three hundred years later, in a different age and in a different environment, where the pulpit, the altar and the crucifix had become silent witnesses to a twentieth Century drama of human misery.
The Elderly
In church after church, the over-crowding was apparent. And, in this dynamic but dismal situation, it is the old people who have been the hardest hit. Many of them have been accustomed, for the duration of their lives, to eating ground provisions. Corned Beef and other tinned goods have been foreign to them. On a journey from Salem going Northwards, the churches are crammed to capacity. Every shelter has been a close copy and repetition of the previous one that had been visited. Montserrat is in a serious crisis.
The case of overcrowding has been emphasized by the story of a man in his seventies, who suffered from severe bowel problems. When he overstayed in the limited toilet facility (for about half an hour) the resentment and annoyance was such that he had to be removed by a friend to private accommodation. The make-shift shelters are for the young and the strong. Witnesses claim that old people are dying faster than usual, because of the stress and extreme inconvenience that they have to undergo in unfamiliar surroundings and in an inconvenient and impersonal environment.
Political Detractors
Political detractors blame the British Government for being insensitive to the WADGE REPORT. They also blame the Montserrat Government for not taking up the offer of the British to fly three thousand Montserratians free of cost to Britain and provide them with free housing and income and free education for at least two years. The Government of Montserrat, they claim, refused to take up the offer because the island would have become depopulated and would have ceased to be an economically viable proposition.
Instead, they claim that the proposition offered to the people was an economically difficult one. Those opting to go to Britain had to pay their own air fares, and had to have relatives or people in Britain who were willing to sponsor them. Governor Savage admitted that there were approximately 150 applications from persons wishing to go to the UK but that the applicants were unable to pay their fare. He was, he said in the process of seeking to get modifications in the qualifications so they could be properly processed and proceed to Britain.
This question of whether Chief Minister Meade deliberately chose not to go to Britain free of cost, and to be accommodated in Britain, has become a hot political issue. And the question of the economic viability of Montserrat, if the population is further reduced, is also a strong talking point in some circles.
Trapped With Nowhere To Go
The population of Montserrat is now guestimated at a number ranging between 6500 - 7000. Of these, says Governor Savage, 4500 are receiving food vouchers. 3000 have left the island. Many claim that they cannot leave. They say they are trapped with nowhere to go and with no viable decent alternatives. There are so many who are disillusioned because of the implacable pursuit by the banks. They owe money for houses. They owe money for investment in agriculture, for which they have mortgaged property. They owe money for other areas of life, in which they had been trying to make living more tolerable and more comfortable. Now that they have had to flee their homes, and face a hostile environment with a shrinking economy, they can't pay the bank. No easement had been made and no accommodation worked out, by which they can be granted some sort of "stay of execution" by the banks. Their monthly payments confront them with unflinching regularity and they have to attempt to pay.
They have no jobs. They are dislocated physically. They are cramped in shelters and in other people's homes. They watch as the banks, even though dislocated, are cutting back on employment. Cable and Wireless is cutting back on employment. Critics claim the Government in its effort to get on top of its finances is now offering retirement to those who wish to or indicate a desire to retire.
The Unpredictable Nightmare
The Montserrat volcano is and has been an unpredictable nightmare. In 1997, it created horrors for the population. For four years, from1933 to 1937 it rumbled and shook and belched gas and scared the people out of their wits. In 1966 and 1967, it rumbled and shook. Today it is up to its old tricks again. Today, in the wake of its quakes and belching has come human agony, despair and dislocation. Thousands have been dislocated and evacuated. Critics tell me that the cost of relocating thousands to Britain would have been far less than implementing a new housing scheme here. Over nine hundred are still in shelters crammed like sardines in a tin. Thousand more have been relocated with relatives and friends. The cost in terms of stress, suffering, misery, humiliation and embarrassment can never be qualified, for the Soufriere seems to have an agenda of its own.
Agriculture
The Lang's Soufriere has strangled agriculture. The most fertile part of the island that constitutes the Agricultural Belt and the Breadbasket of Montserrat has been incapacitated. Lands at Lees and Gages, (known as the bread basket) Lands at Riley's, Streatham, Farrels and Long Ground, (now deemed to be in danger zone), have been predominant in agricultural production. Yesterday, I visited the new makeshift market at Salem Village and vegetables were extremely scarce. They told me that the boat had not arrived. The boat I presume had been expected from Dominica. The small farmers who have been the backbone of Montserrat agriculture have been knocked out by the volcano. They have been accustomed to produce carrots, potatoes( white and sweet) string beans, dasheen, sweet peppers, cabbages, cucumbers and other vegetables and these had been sent to Plymouth from the villages. Today the activity of the Soufriere has caused an imaginary line to be drawn across the waist of Montserrat. People and animals and agriculture are now concentrated in the north- an area of less rainfall and contains sections that by (comparison, to the south), are arid.
The Farmer's Plight
With the economy shrinking, and acid rain falling and ash destroying the vegetation, the small farmers and animal rearers have been facing bankruptcy. They have lost both their economic independence and viability. Crops have been destroyed. The vegetation has been severely damaged. Today, the farmers who have fled to the North, have been trespassing on lands in that new area and they have been grazing on lands that have been buried under six inches of ash.
The small stock that have been running loose, have now become the target of dogs from all the abandoned villages. the dogs have formed packs and have relentlessly hunted the goats and sheep that they now destroy and eat as regular meals. Meals that they can no longer get. At one stage, Police have had to enter the prohibited area and shoot the marauding dogs,. Kenneth Allen from Victoria Village has lost at least sixty sheep to packs of scavenging dogs and he has given up in despair. Those who have borrowed money are in panic.
All Roads Lead To The North
Today, even though the saying is that "all roads lead to the NORTH", the small farmers of the South are economically ruined by the ravages of the volcano. The areas in the South that have been evacuated read like a trance-like fairy tale. Trants, Farms, Spanish Point, Bethel, Long Ground, Harris", Windy Hill, Streathams, Dyers, Lees, Gages, Webbs Extension, Ryner's Village, Plymouth, Parson's, Victoria Village, Fort Barrington, Kinsale, Fairfield, Rheids Hill and St. Patricks.
Richmond Hill, St. George's Hill, Cork Hill, Delvins and Isles Bay Hill, areas that were once considered as being unsafe, are now regarded as safe regions that are now being occupied by normal residents and by evacuees who have descended on these areas to seek refuge from the Lang Soufriere. These areas also have shelters of their own.
These represent sixty per cent of the land mass of Montserrat. From these have come a troubled people who have fled from the wrath of the volcano to come. Yet in spite of adversity and suffering, the people who have remained in Montserrat have exhibited a resilience and toughness that has been commendable.
In spite of the ash fall and the environmental disaster that has been created in the affected areas the unaffected areas have remained green and lush. The verdant tropical vegetation in those areas, like St. Peter, give no indication that Montserrat has been under ecological pressure.
Even though this natural disaster has wreaked havoc on the environment
and caused economic disruption, social dislocation and political
upheaval, the people have kept the faith and remained strong and
courageous. This has been a long night for the people of Montserrat
- a long night in which those affected and those not affected,
wishfully and wistfully must remain calm and wait for the DAWN.
Backed out candidate George Piper in a radio announcement called on the Supervisor to check what he calls the unfair use of government politicians of the radio .
Dr. Fergus
replying to the call suggests that Mr. Piper must be misinformed
since in his role as Supervisor of Elections, he has no responsibility
for the modalities of the election campaign and the use of the
radio in the campaign.
The much debated and discussed upcoming 1996 General is gradually coming to a finale, with less than 10 days now to prepare. Amidst this is the growing murmuring and speculations that the election may never take place on November 11, 1996.
The speculation is that history may repeat itself and the volcano which did not mix well with the holding of elections almost 100 years ago, will erupt seriously preventing the elections from taking place. The volcano then in Saint Pierre in Martinique left only 1 person in a prison killing thousands when politicians did not heed its warnings and forced people to stay to vote.
The scientists, the Governor and indeed the whole Emergency Operations are hinting that another event, similar to September 17/18 is imminent, to the point that the Governor is warning that he will instruct that people with 'special needs' be taken away from the unsafe areas particularly in Zones A. B and C as shown on the new Volcanic Risk Map.
These folks who remain in these areas are choosing to risk the dangers of a violent eruption rather than face the discomforts of shelters and holding areas, while people from Cork Hill and other surrounding areas falling in Zones E and D are worried about exactly where they will be placed. The politic candidates from Central who took part in the historical 'election debate' on Thursday night all said that the most pressing problem for people in the Central Constituency, particularly Cork Hill was the uncertainty of what will happen to them should they have to move when the crisis heightens.
We wish to join with the authorities to urge people, especially those who are mostly at risk to follow the advice of the authorities advice and move when asked to do so. The Governor has promised that they will be in a better position to better advise us when danger is close and MVO personnel are hinting that their readings are similar to those which immediately preceded September 17, this year.
POLITICAL DEBATE
Picking up on the response to the political debate which took
place in Cork Hill last night we can expect to see many more of
these in the future. It was a success and the candidates generally
handled themselves creditably, some of them given the newness
of the situation, were outstanding. We can look forward to the
debate that will take place among the leaders of the parties next
week and trust that there should even be a better showing .
Arrangements are continuing for the visit next month of a major German cruise liner. The ship AIDA will anchor here on November 12.
The Montserrat National Trust and Tourist Board have organized a clean up of Old Road Bay area in preparation for the visit. This will begin tomorrow morning at 7 o'clock and community groups, tour guides and other interested individuals are being urged to participate in the clean up effort. Meanwhile there is call to persons who have abandoned boats at the beach to remove them to facilitate the clean up.
The German liner is scheduled to off load several hundred passengers when it calls here and is expected to make several such calls during the upcoming tourist season.
Mrs. Gerthel Thom, Montserrat's Attorney General is in St. Kitts for an important meeting of Caricom's top legal officers to set up a Caribbean Court of Appeal.
The court will be established next year and will involve four of the fourteen states of Caricom: Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad.
The British Privy Council is currently the region's highest court of appeal as it is for Montserrat but it is not known whether Montserrat will qualify for the Caribbean court.
The St. Kitts meeting will also focus on the approval of legal
instruments vital to the economic integration process, and respects
for fundamental human rights; more effective co-operation eliminating
the menace of illicit drugs and money laundering and approaches
to drug interdiction agreements, such as the ship riders agreement
involved in the fighting of drug trafficking and money laundering.
Sir,
I firmly believe that in the fullness of time, Justin "Hero" Cassell will thrill us all with a political commentary on election '96 which may read like this:-
"NPP, NPP, dem pee pee pan de people
NPP, NPP, dem dig out we eye wid needle
NPP, NPP, dem gamble wid we future
NPP, NPP, dem tramble pan we culture
NPP, NPP, dem bus' we tail wid pressure
NPP, NPP, dem lie, dem lie, dem lousy
NPP, NPP, we muss rub dem nose in POWs".
Mr. Editor,
"Hero" is no fool. He knows that the party that used tax payers money to pay him and gave him wide authority to politicize the building and allocation of shelters is destined for the scrap heap of history.
Hero knows also that even those of us who may have personal differences with Sonny Osborne will feel much more comfortable with our personal money or with public resources under the control of Sonny Osborne than under his control or that of Reuben T. Meade.
Many folks like myself screamed when we heard Beatrice Fenton on the Radio declaring herself a woman of the people as if anyone could be fool enough to elect her over David S. Brandt.
Beatrice enjoyed a cozy job at the Tourist Board for her political services to NPP. Beatrice has the gall to talk about bribery. Maybe no one told her that the deliberate use of public money for vote baiting is the worst form of bribery. Where was "Woman of people" when Reuben , like an economic dumb bell, tried so recklessly to kill the people of Windward, Eastern , Cork Hill, Salem, Southern, Northern and North Western with a Common External Tariff which would have put the price of essential food items beyond the reach of most people?
Where was "Woman of the People" Beatrice when Reuben kept saying he inherited an empty Treasury when in fact he inherited a Treasury with over five million dollars? Where was Beatrice when Reuben decided, contrary to regulations, to draw $950.00 a month in traveling allowance while driving a brand new car bought and maintained by government?
Where was Beatrice when Brandt with his own resources, installed essential facilities in the Windward shelters and fought for the vouchers for all? Where was she?
Mr. Editor, Beatrice whose black beauty commands my admiration was secretary of the NPP from its inception. Beatrice therefore should come good and be honest with us.
Must we conclude that Brandt, Dada and Lazelle quit NPP because Reuben has either worth or goodness?
Beatrice my darling , I demand that you apologize to David Brandt.
Howell Bramble
Strange and Estrange Bedfellows
Mr. Editor,
Quite apart from and in addition to the threat of violent volcanic eruption, we on Montserrat are confronted with some very serious problems; and we cannot afford to ignore the solutions.
While we should not allow anger or partisan politics to destroy our sense of fairness and magnanimity, to be lacking in frankness when truth is absolutely necessary, is counter productive and if you would permit me to be as polite as I possibly can be I will only say that a national effort is necessary to track down and destroy the spider that wove the political conscience of Mr. Joel Webbe.
How can Mr. Webbe, while desperately mounting on to Mr. John Osborne's back for hoped for victorious political ride continue to tell his friends: "John Osborne is like humpty dumpty, he cannot mend, the only use I have for him is to carry him out into the sea and leave him there?"
Politics, more than any other area of human endeavor, brings strange and estranged bedfellows together. But the political romance which brings Joel Webbe and John Osborne together is more than a little mind boggling.
When a certain Government loaned Webbe fifty thousand dollars to start his assembly business here, John unleashed the dagger of his tongue in opposition to the loan, in fact, he wanted the Minister of Finance arrested.
Joel soon charmed John when the Government changed. He organized a goat water fete at the factory shell and presented John's Government with a plaque. When he found that he had to repay the loan and pay water, electricity and social security bills along with taxes deducted from workers he denounced John Osborne's administration.
Poor Reuben Meade! He did two things right. He arranged a regionally backed rescue for the Bank of Montserrat and promoted Joel Webbe's operation at public expense. Joel Webbe, he soon discovered, is incapable of experiencing gratitude.
If Reuben and John really love Montserrat, they would join me and thousand of others in warning the people of Eastern to at all costs, avoid the electoral trap of this Joel Webbe.
John Meade
Mr. Editor
I want to add my voice to the much talked about character assassination. Every election, candidates complain about other candidates involve themselves in a type of campaigning that is locally called character assassination. What is character assassination? That is a question that have being bothering me for some years now. I have concluded that when a person declare their intentions to run for public office and of course the other candidates who wants to warn the electorate about someone who is opposing him. How can this type of campaigning amount to character assassination?
Let me give an example of what I think we locally call character assassination. I am a candidate campaigning for public office and an other individual declared his or her candidacy in the same constituency that I am running. I have the privilege to know that my opponent was or is involved in drugs, he or she is a spouse abuser, stole money, maybe from their employer, a child abuser or any other unlawful, immoral activity that is unknown to the general electorate. Should I just stick to the issues of my plans and program on the platform and say nothing about my opponent?
I think I have a duty and a responsibility to let my people know
who this other person is. And if so be the case how can this be
character assassination? The candidates will not do it themselves
so what is wrong if their opponent is left with no other choice
but to do it for them. I think that we the electorate have a right
to know as much as possible about those persons who are campaigning
to represent us in public office even if it means that their dirty
linen is cleaned in public. And all the election candidates should
not run for public office if they have things closed up in hush
boxes, because it is not their plans and programs that are of
interest to us or at lease to me their personal record and character
is just as important. I will not want any felon or criminal to
represent me.
Mista Edita,
A hope you gat de le spearce fu me agen dis week. Well I hear the chief ou police pan de radio de oder night an e soun lec dem a completely stap people fan going inna de unsearf zoan wance de valcana start doin e strupid nis agen. Me no love to hear e pan de radio u tarl. Me hear dat how e a treaten fu tun way de police man dem becarse dem nar do wa e tell dem fu do. He tell dem dat plenty people out a sidung and dem a go jaine dem if e ardos no get carried out.
But Mista Edita a wha happen to me good fren Pipa why e no pay e money fu de electiun, e me a dun wan Jahnny come lately an e gat sue mouch chat,an when time come fu e put e money weh e mout be e cean back e chat. Man e really vex me. Any how me clad de treasry get litle more money fan de 28 odo man dem but me realy tink dat de $200 no enuf fu people we want to go represent me.
You know Mr Edita las week me say me me friten but people larf arfto me but me nar mec no juark, big, big money a share fu dis electiun, an me hear dat wan certen party me a pay wan palititiun $12.000 fu no run an wan odo bady in a de seiam party me a try fu ge wan yung man $50.000 but de yung man tel e, ley e put de money wey de sun no shine. An you no hear juark yet, dem a bring obeah into de electiun, yes sa, dem a pay obeah man big money fu mec sure dem win. A wonda wha mec dem a do arl lu dat fa.Well, well, well I neva hear wous.
Me arlways say, gad bles electiun becarse if a no me fu de electiun
I neva woulda hear about de persen wey jus get money, an big money
to, fu missin briefcearse way e hide an mec hotel o airline pay
e fu yum and wha e say e ha inday. You hear how bad dem brute
day be. An dem a de kine a persen me hear a run fu electiun, a
truble wuk if dem get na powa. Dem commit arl kine a crime an
want powa fu do more but, may gad be de judge pan electiun day.
There is a war going on. A war on the characters of fellow Montserratians.
A war on the minds of Montserratians; on the pockets of Montserratians; on the integrity of Montserratians. Who will win this war and how will this war be won? And even more important, why are we fighting this war?
The answer is easy to discern. You and I are fighting for the future of M'rat and somehow, we seem to be loosing the war in the rising crescendo of counter charges of franchise purchasing, name calling, political buffoonery, unscientific polls, improbable promises and a maze of independent and affiliated candidates.
What are we to do? We are to recognize our responsibility. In fact we know our responsibilities. Our responsibility is to use our inedible power given us by our right to vote. We are to wage war against the kind of politicking that is now arising in our country. We are to wage war for our future. We are to wage war for the kind of unity and tolerance we always had in our tiny island community.
The end is nigh. We have gathered information from the political meetings. We have examined changes. We have weighed the actions and statements of our candidates. We have looked at the history, past associations and relationships of our candidates.
We have discussed the regional profiles or lack of such profiles of our candidates. We have examined the platforms and promises of our candidates .
And what has been revealed? Some promises are clearly impossible to achieve. Can we really grow cotton in the North? Are we aware that the cost of growing cotton in Montserrat is exorbitant when compared with other cotton growing countries? Are we not already building a new town in Central Montserrat?
And can we truly increase the salaries of the civil servants at this time? Are we aware that the financial state of Montserrat makes us totally dependent on the British Government to meet the recurrent cost of running the government? Have we taken into consideration that the costs to be incurred in the development of the North of Montserrat is prohibitive when we factor in the roads that must be built, the electrification that must be done, the telephone lines that must be run, the water mains that must be laid, the land that must be cleared, the houses, schools and businesses that must be built? Have we examined the fact that the instability that the on-going volcanic activity brings will force all founders to reconsider, re-examine and postpone the granting of funds to Montserrat since these funds may well be lost in the event of more destructive eruptions.
Is there really unlimited money out there to carry out this incredible task of development? Have we been made to understand that we cannot really access moneys indiscriminately because of our constitutional status? Do we know that founders speak to each other and countries can be barred from funding because of the past actions or affiliations of the individuals who make up our Government?
Have we grasped the implications of the relationship between funding provided and the use of those funds along with the strings that come attached to them?
Well, this is our last chance to consider these issues.
Do not take any of these issues lightly.
They are the basis on which the future of Montserrat will be shaped.
The existence of a local poll is a good thing. It means we are attempting to track and analyze the "voter emotions" of Montserratians. But how useful is this particular poll? On whose authority is it being carried out? With what expertise is it being done? How scientific are the samples? What is the percentage of error? How truly representative is it of the "voter pulse"?
We cannot allow ourselves to be swayed by these polls. We should only vote conscience, our understanding of the issues and our faith in a candidates ability to do the right thing for M/rat. This is not an easy thing to do at this time. The level of fear, emotion and noise is incredible. How do we wade through all this? We must be vigilant. We must strive to wade through all this distraction and find the truth. Our future to exist in M/rat or in camp height foot depends on our choice of candidates.
We have all heard it said that politics is a "dirty business". We do not have to accept that nor do we have to allow this to be the case. We can reach for the higher moral ground. Our use of our franchise can and do allow us to do this. We are all intelligent and God-fearing people. We know the right and noble thing to do . We can do it with our vote. We MUST do it with our vote. The very future of M/rat demands that we do it.
And this is the reason why every Montserratian must go to the voting booth November 11. If you withhold your vote you automatically become part of the problem. If you choose not to vote you cannot at a later date complain about the actions of the Government that is elected, and if you do vote for a candidate who later turns out to be not what he or she seem to be then you are responsible for having elected that candidate and ought not to complain.
If you do not demand of that candidate that he or she carry out the mandate that your vote gave him or her then you are part of the problem.
Alternatively, if you do not give that candidate the space and opportunity to carry out his or her tasks then you too are part of the problem.
We must all take responsibility for our actions or lack of action.
Our responsibility as voters is to ensure that candidates who
do not have the commitment to vote or the right motives are removed
from the electoral process. We cannot ask more than this of the
voting public.
Bribery at election time has always been commonplace on Montserrat; so if it is taking place for this election, it is not surprising. It is not unique to Montserrat either. Bribery takes place all over the world.
Bribery is unfair and illegal; and unfortunately it will create an unfair advantage for some candidates. But with 25 million pounds dangling from the British purse, some candidates might be digging deep into their personal purse to bribe voters. Therefore the alleged illegal activity should be investigated.
At least two candidates of the NPP, Mr. Charles Kirnon and Ms Beatrice Fenton, have strongly expressed their concern about bribery. It makes no sense therefore, for anyone, whether the Governor or the Commissioner of Police to say that nobody has reported any act of bribery. Both Mr. Kirnon and Ms Fenton are persons of integrity. They spoke about bribery on the national radio. The Attorney General or the Commissioner of Police should ask them about it. They will speak the truth...ask them about bribery Your Excellency and investigate the allegations.
It is also alleged that persons have registered in more than one constituency. While this is merely an allegation, steps should be taken now to assure the public that people who deliberately register twice will not be able to vote twice.
I have noticed on the voters register names of persons who have not lived on Montserrat for years. I do not know if this is illegal, but so may things can take place when names are on the voters list that should not be there.
No one will deny that this election is very important for Montserrat. It is the most important; and to feel secure that Montserrat is small, or that we know everybody, or that people will not do this or that ...is baloney. It is very easy for someone to vote in more than one constituency. We must not take things for granted.
There are so many candidates in some constituencies that we may have very small margins separating the winners and the losers. And if one or two candidates were to protest against the results, all sorts of lengthy legal battles can occur. It is necessary to be prepared for the unexpected.
Although most of the foregoing are allegations or conjecture, effort should be made to investigate them. Prevention is better than cure.
I therefore, strongly recommend that we immediately put in place a system for inking the fingers of voters after they cast their vote. This will put in extra level of confidence into the fairness of the election process.
I hope that this article will prompt the Governor and the Supervisor
of Elections to be most vigilant and cautious amidst these allegations
of bribery and double voter registration.
Lees Tracking Poll
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Southern
Bertrand B Osborne 39.4%
Idabelle Griffith-Meade 31.1%
Justin "Hero" Cassell 24.9%
Undecided 4.6%
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Plymouth
P. Austin Bramble 30%
Brunelle Meade 24%
Lazelle Howes 21%
Vereen Thomas Woolcock 7%
Chedmond Browne 21%
Undecided 7%
----------------------------------
Windward
David S Brandt 51%
Beatrice Fenton 35%
Joseph Meade 9%
Undecided 4%
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Eastern
Joel Webbe 50%
Adelina Tuitt 34%
Nowell "Dada" Tuitt 9%
James "Mountain Man" Lee 4.7%
Undecided 2.3%
----------------------------------
Northern
Rupert Weekes 50.1%
John Ponteen 41.1%
Theo Bramble 5%
Undecided 3.8%
----------------------------------
Northwestern
John Osborne 41.3%
Charles Kirnon 40.3%
Jim Bass 8.4%
George Tuitt 2%
Undecided 8%
----------------------------------
Central
Rueben Meade 42.8%
Charlesworth "Sunny" Phillip 30.5%
John Wilson 14.7%
Johnny Dublin 4%
Richard Payne 2%
Undecided 6%
Your Political Watchdog "Wise Up People"
This Political season will no doubt long be remembered as one of this lowest ethically in the history of Montserrat. Numerous claims and counterclaims have been launched by the hungry wolves and vultures who are already hungry to get their paws and slimy beaks into the flesh of the country.
Government and people last week. Obviously the broadcast on that particular occasion touched a soft spot with many of the politicians struggling for a seat in the elections. According to one advocate, it was a low blow. It is claimed by such persons, that what the Government did in essence, was to use two full hours to campaign on national radio. In the effort they used endorsements of persons who do not reside here. Whether it was an orchestrated plan by those in power to hold on to the same, is a matter for speculation and personal conjecture. Host of 'Government and People', Justin 'Hero' Cassell has since apologized to the people who were offended by the broadcast which I think was an admirable thing. It is comforting to see that there are still a few people here who can rise above their pride and admit when they transgressed. Still, if it was a political campaign live on the airways of national radio, it was wrong and I do not think it should happen again.
But then the fair question must be asked. Had it been someone else who is now on the outside in power, would it have been a different situation? Can any politician in the race honestly say they would not have used the extra leverage at his or her disposal to personal advantage? I do not think there is one politician right now who will have the edge at his or her disposal and opt not to use it to full advantage. Most of these people are saying, what is right and what is not, yet when they get into power they are the same ones who willfully do the things which they themselves had already admitted were bad and immoral.
It is amazing to hear one particular politician say what he would
and would not do for the country if he is elected this time around.
Give more money for the food vouchers and so much more. One cannot
forget the same individual was once a member of Government in
this land: as a matter of fact this exact NPP administration.
I found it rather strange that the same person in question wrote
at the end of his first year in the NPP Government that he had
come to appreciate the limitations of Government when dealing
with the British. For those who might be wondering, the exact
piece in well documented in last week's edition of this very newspaper.
So having admitted there are many limitations to Government when
dealing with the British, how can the same person come back now
and say what and what he is not going to do. My one question to
him is to follow through on your campaign promises?
A New Constitutional Government by Peter B. White
I have been told that I propose changes but have not suggested what those changes should be. I have suggested changes and I will set forth a summary of my proposals below. I expect that there will be differences of opinion and I welcome them. It is the process which I wish will be instituted formally, so that all ideas can come to the table and we choose that which we feel is best for us.
A proposed structure:
The Legislature
There should be a single house of representatives with nineteen members.
Ten based on geographical divisions as our present constituencies are based. The other nine selected on an island wide basis.
Those selected on a geographical basis will ensure that the peculiar interests of an area will be addressed and those on an island wide basis will ensure that the issues, of importance on a wider scale, do not get lost because of insularity.
The Chief Minister shall be one of the at large members
Elections for the House of Representatives shall be held every three years for those representing geographic areas and every five years for those elected island wide including the Chief Minister.
I can hear the concerns expressed about the large numbers and the consequent cost of maintaining them, but I am not speaking of nineteen ministers, only representatives. And since their involvement does not require full time employment, except for those chosen as cabinet ministers, their emoluments could be suitably determined.
The Executive:
The Executive of the government, called the Cabinet, shall consist of the Chief Minister and a number of ministers each directly responsible for an area of government called a portfolio.
The cabinet should be selected from those who have been elected by the people to the house of representatives and shall be known as ministers.
Each cabinet member should have the right to appoint a cabinet secretary of his or her choosing to be the administrative head of his or her portfolio organized as ministries and to implement policy. The position of Permanent Secretary as we know it will no longer exist.
The number of ministries shall not exceed 40% of the total number of seats in the legislature. The ministries will be divided into areas of specialty under the overall supervision of the Cabinet secretary and headed by what will be termed Heads of Department.
The heads of departments should be selected on the basis of their competence to oversee and manage the area of their professional specialty.
The subject areas under each ministry will vary as circumstances warrant. A suggested structure using present conditions would see seven main areas designated ministries as follows:-
Agriculture and The EnvironmentCommunications and Works
Education and Sports
Health and Community Services
State and International Affairs
National Security and Justice
Finance
With a Minister of Finance, his Cabinet Secretary of Finance will be a professional and the administrative head of the Ministry, not a member of the Executive Council or a member of the Legislature. Likewise the Minister of Justice will have a professional head for the Attorney General's department and will not be a member of the Executive or the Legislative Council.
The Chief Minister should be elected directly by the people. He then chooses from among the other elected representatives those he/she wishes to be the ministers.
The dialog continues.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WCB) has released fixtures for the 1997 Red Stripe cricket tournament under a new extended format which starts on January 24, 1997 with home and away matches running until May 26.
This move by the WCB is in the hope of developing the regional game.
Current champions Leeward Islands will start their defense of the title against Jamaica at home, and one day champions Trinidad and Tobago will be at home to the Windwards.
Four Montserratians are in the Leewards training squad; seasoned
campaigner Lesroy Weekes is joined by fellow fast bowlers Auriel
Kirnon, Lesroy Irish and promising young leg spinner Angela Bass.
Jus wonderin if the persons declared missing since the first relocation are forgotten?
Jus wonderin if at any time the HE, and other government officials were told that persons living in Richmond Hill are at a high risk of contracting asthmatic like illnesses, by a specialist during a briefing because of the high level of some volcanic gas or the other in the area.
Jus wonderin if the bribery charges made by some political candidates can be substantiated so that the police can investigate?
Jus wonderin if the 90's version of bull water party will take place tomorrow night and how many persons from the constituency are invited.
Jus wonderin which of the Queen's police officers spend most of their working hours at Woods Ville Condos with their mistress.
Jus wonderin how can anyone be over and under qualified to work as a public servant in Montserrat.
Jus wonderin why some political hopefuls do not leave Jus wonderin alone and make sure that they pay their $200.00 on nomination day.
Jus wonderin why only the elderly who are evacuated are dying so frequently.
Jus wonderin why some women or woman do not want the cruise ship to come here despite the benefits they can derive from it.
Jus wonderin what the planner and police have in common.
Jus wonderin why it cost so much to remove government buildings from the unsafe zone.
Jus wonderin why the commissioner was behaving in that manner outside Rams Emdee last Saturday morning.
Jus wonderin what H.E. told C.M. about printing money during an Exco Meeting.
Jus wonderin if our spring chicken is so tasty to the English
men that they are willing to share.
People's Progressive Alliance (PPA) - Short Term Performance Check List
The People's Progressive Alliance is committed to bring about much needed and long anticipated changes, to the many hurting and distressed on Montserrat. We have carefully incorporated a number of plans and ideas into programs, which we are convinced we can implement within the first nine months of a PPA Administration.
Of course, your support at the polls on November 11, will enable us to accomplish these goals. We are facing economic and social disaster, and our plans and programs, which we will now outline, will contribute greatly to pulling us back from the brink of disaster, where we now find ourselves.
The foregoing are some of the Short Term plans of The People's
Progressive Alliance 's party. Our Manifesto, now ready for circulation
will detail our Medium Term and Long Term plans.
Act Now
Purchase a piece of this exclusive housing estate overlooking the beautiful Carrs Bay Shoreline
Affordable Medium Sized Lots
Ideal for Home Construction
Exclusive Financing Available For more information
Already reserved - Lots 1, 3, 9, 12, 14
Contact:
Ms. Flora Griffith
Tel. 491-3630
Lost Certificate
It is notified for general information that the Land Certificate
in respect of the following persons has been reported lost.
Name Reference Date Issued
Elizabeth Sweeney St. John's - 14/12/26 20th Dec. 1984
Unless any objection is received within fourteen (14) days of
the date of publication of this notice, a replacement certificate
would be issued.
(Sgd.) Edith V Reddock
Ag. Registrar of Lands
Dated this 30th day of October, 1996
The wife and families of the late Rev. Fr. Arnold R. Tuitt, wish to thank all friends and well wishers who sent cards and flowers at the time of their sorrow. Thanks also for prayers offered.
Rose Wade Tuitt
The family of the late Sarah E. Lynch of Harris' Village , who passed away on the 20th October, 1996 wishes to thank all friends and well wishers who sent wreaths, cards or in any way expressed condolences.
She is missed by family, friends, grandchildren, great grandchildren and relatives.
She is gone but not forgotten.
The family of the late Elizabeth Mary Beth Greenaway Isles would like to thank those who sent cards, telephoned, visited or in any way expressed sympathy on her passing.
She lived peacefully and died peacefully.
May her soul rest in peace.
Forward all Questions, Comments and Suggestions to: roachb@candw.ag
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