The Montserrat Reporter - September 20, 2013

Page 1Friday, September 20, 2013 g

Price $3.00Vol. XXVIII No. 30

Today’s Scripture

Week Ending Friday, September 20, 2013

The psalmist wrote, “Even if my father and mother left me all alone, the Lord would take me in.” - Psalm 27:10 (CEB)

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New MAPS shelter opens...pg 6

Donaldson Romeo political statement...pg 8

Crash due to Pilot error...pg 11

National School of Arts to open...pg 3

Feature - doing the right thing...pg 5

Karen McGeough leaves...pg 2More cont’d. on page 12

Headlines...

Opposition Leader Romeo accuses

Premier Meade of failure and early election tactics

Elections Campaign?

by Bennette Roach

cont’d. on page 12

For about a month now as the Movement for Pros-perity and Change (MCAP) government completed its fourth year in offi ce quietly, the airwaves of ZJB lit up as Ministers and Parliamentary Secretary have been mandated to appear on radio to speak of their good works for the past four years.

In the meantime, Premier Meade has been speaking out on of construction work availability and projects with a year to General Elections.

As the days, the weeks and the month beginning

Following the Pre-mier’s pronouncements of the continuity of work cre-ation in the construction field and later potential of fi bre optics, opposition leader Donaldson Romeo a week ago, issued and pub-

by Bennette Roach

lished a statement in which he accused the Premier and his MCAP government of failing to improve the economy and the welfare of Montserrat residents.

“Montserratians are concerned about the state of the economy and bread

Marine Village, Little Bay

Newly pave road, Woodlands

some homes at the new MAPS shelter

Page 2 Friday, September 20, 2013

Karen McGeough leaves the Montserrat department in London

Governor speaks of civil service processes and sickness days “entitlement”

His Excellency the Governor Adrian Davis continues to speak on efforts to improve the civil service process and about the new public administration bill and regulations due to be tabled soon.

At his postponed monthly press confer-ence on Tuesday, September 10, 2013, he introduced the topics in his opening state-ment. “Along with others, I think, we’re hav-ing a push on trying to improve civil service processes and the new public administration bill. The regulations are in an advanced stage of drafting, I’ve given some comments on it, I think the major change is in it as far as from my point of view is, that there is going to be a more strategic role for the public service commission, not dealing with every individual appointment or recruitment; and there will be a more rational approach to sickness absences.”

The Governor has spoken to the issue before, but said this time, “My view on sick-ness is that if you are sick you do not come to work, but there should not be written into regulations an entitlement to sick leave of a

On Thursday, September 19, 2013, the Hon Premier Meade hosted primarily Ms Karen McGeough, DFID’s coun-try manager for Montserrat to say goodbye. The reception at Pont’s Beach Bar and Restau-rant (Ponteen’s Cabin) served also to welcome Moira Mar-shall to the country manager’s position.

The first visit we recall by Ms McGeough was as Head of Britain’s Department for Internat iona l Deve lopment (DFID) Economic & Budgetary Aid Mission in February, 2011. She met with members of the press at the conclusion of a week of meetings with the gov-ernment’s budget team to look at the island’s needs for the coming fiscal year and beyond.

At the time Karen Mc-Geough said resources would

number of days a year because I think that system has been abused in some respects.”

He said that the current regulations, and the draft regulations he has seen, “speak of an en-titlement, an entitlement to twenty fi ve days sick leave.” He said, “I don’t think there should be an entitlement. I think there should be a principle that if you are sick you do not come to work. I am proposing that we keep the principle that you can have two days sick without being sick, saying you’re sick without a certifi cation from the doctor, anything after that has to be certifi ed. If the sickness becomes of such a severity that you can’t do your job then this need to be a discussion between you and the line manager.”

The Governor clarifi ed that the idea that you can have twenty fi ve days working days and for some reason at the moment weekend’s are not counted, “so your twenty fi ve days is twenty fi ve working days which seems a bit absurd, because it implies that you are sick during the week and not sick at the weekend,” he said.

He concluded that he would like to see the matter, “treated more rationally, so it doesn’t just speak of an entitlement.”

be better spent on capital investments and technical capacity than maintaining the government of Mont-serrat’s recurrent budget. Since then the birth of a strategic growth plan grew strength.

Mrs. Angella Green-away, Cabinet Secretary and head the Premier ’s office led a very brief fare-well ceremony that pro-vided gifts to the departing Karen. She noted Karen, “has been with us for the

Above: Karen McGeough receives gift from GOM and below: DFIDleft: l-r Moira Marshall, Karen McGeough, Premier Meade

Governor Adrian Davis

left - Angella Greenaway bids farewell and welcome

cont’d. on page 3


Six Jamaicans to face court after Eastern Caribbean drug bust

Montserrat Cultural School of Arts on the go

Karen McGeough leaves


BANK OF MONTSERRAT LIMITEDASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER

The leading Commercial Bank in Montserrat, is seeking to fi ll the position of Assistant General Manager.

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Candidates should have at least 10 years’ banking experience with a minimum 5 years’ experience at a senior management level in Operations, Investment Banking and Credit.

They should have a good understanding of financial markets, financial instruments and risk management policies, procedures and practices.

Candidates must also have a proven track record of analytical and investigative skills.

A University Degree, preferably an MBA is required.

The Candidate should also be acquainted with the latest trends in Banking and shall have exposure to latest Technology/changes in the Banking Industry and should possess requisite expertise to provide corporate excellence.

Applications from suitably qualifi ed candidates should be addressed to:

The General ManagerBank of Montserrat LimitedP.O. Box 10BradesMONTSERRAT

Deadline for Submission: September 30, 2013.

past three years as the program manager DFID,” but she also wanted to give a warm Mont-serrat welcome to Moira, who takes over from Karen.

S h e r e m e m b e r e d a n d similarised the condition that seemed seamless between Roger (Clarke) the previous country manager, and Karen, as she observed then that Karen was small in stature, like I am..”

“We established a very good relationship very early on, we seemed to have wanted the same things etc…” Mrs. Greenaway said.

She said that “she (Karen) was very professional in what she did and I think the bottom line was we knew that she had Montserrat’s interest at heart.” Concluding, “I just want to say how much we appreciated the time and effort that you have dedicated to the Montserrat cause we really appreciate it…”

She then said to Moira, “Welcome, don’t feel left out, no pressure, you’ll be back with us in another two weeks and that’s when the real pressure will start…”

Premier Meade did not disappoint saying a little more than brief words. He told Kar-en, “For the past three years that we’ve worked together I ’ve en joyed t remendous ly working with you, we had our differences of opinion but they have always been very amicably dealt with… but we really do appreciate the work that you have for and with us on our behalf…We’re not saying farewell to you, we’re just showing you appreciation for the services that you have given us…” After some more words, the Premier called for a gift to be presented.

Dr. Kato Kimbugwe who serves as DFID’s private sec-tor advisor and in -country representative following a few brief words, saying he would not comment to the Premier’s friendly accusation of suggest-ing that Karen be sent to Africa for the experience on that side, also asked for a gift to be pre-sented on behalf of the local DFID office to Karen.

In her response, Karen said she felt, “very overwhelmed and even emotional.”She said, “I’ve really enjoyed working

with the Montserrat program,” informing that she has been working with DFID for over 30 years.

She said, “this is the best by far job, and I’m not just saying that because I’m here and I’m under pressure to say something nice, I real ly do mean it.”

She said that she isn’t leaving the program in hands she doesn’t trust, “…so Moira is here, she will be fighting for you in Montserrat’s corner as best she can within the confines of working in a UK government department,” call-ing for Montserrat’s support.

“It isn’t that easy some days,” she said, “but she’ll try her best and with your sup-port she’ll be able to justify the developments that need to take place.”

Karen thanked everybody, “that’s here, I’ve really enjoyed working with you, I’m goanna miss you,” promising that she will return. “…I’ll come back and see you all and hope to see you with a port, a town, geothermal energy and the place thriving and buzzing…” she finished.

cont’d. from page 2

Keithroy ‘De Bear ’ Morson is the architect and director of the new Mont-serrat Cultural School of Arts, a school that has been a passion for him for some

that there is to be added another instrument as part of the curriculum. However, De Bear warns that space is limited for some of the classes. That is so because

he says, “Unless you have your own, I can accom-modate eight students for now, I have eight guitars, just brought them in from Antigua, thanks to the Pre-mier…”

However, he warns that the lessons are for begin-ners. “If you are already playing, probably that’s not

for you,” he said.The school will stage

a show during festival, but he cautions, “…let me make it absolutely clear it’s a school, and when I show-case children in December, it’s what the school is doing, so if your child doesn’t at-tend the school don’t expect me to put your child on the

show it’s as simple as that.”While encouraging

more participation Mr. Mor-son cautions that only chil-dren who attend the school will be able to perform on the show.

He also points out that masquerade drumming lessons will commence shortly.

time now. The School of Arts is located in Brades.

As he invites children and adults to register for various classes in music and drums, he has announced

Keithroy ‘De Bear’ Morson

KINGSTON, Jamai-ca — Six Jamaican men are to appear before the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate’s Court today on multiple drug-related charges.

The men were arrest-ed during a probe by the Transnational Crime and Narcotics Division (TCND)

in collaboration with the US Coast Guard and the British Navy, which began on August 31 when a Ja-maican-registered vessel laden with 2800 pounds of ganja was intercepted in the eastern Caribbean.

Seven men were aboard the vessel at the time—two Guyanese men

and fi ve Jamaicans.The boat, and the drug,

which has an estimated street value of J$14 million were seized, and the men arrested. The Jamaicans were handed over to in-vestigators at the TCND, while the Guyanese were incarcerated in the US.


A Place In HeavenThe psalmist wrote, “Even if

my father and mother left me all alone, the Lord would take me in.” - Psalm 27:10 (CEB)

When my mother was diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer, she was given only weeks to live. The news was devastating. Suddenly, I felt alone, sad, and totally disconnected. I had no idea what would happen to me after my mother died. The emptiness would be enormous. At that moment, I remembered Psalm 27:10. I was comforted to remember that God is always with me.

During the 18 months my mother endured her illness, God sustained me

with the psalm quoted above. I was able to interact fully with her. When my mother breathed her last, I simply asked God to stand by me. God gave me the strength and wisdom to carry on. As always, God was faithful, remained close, and never let me falter.

Now, months after my motherÊs death, I continue to feel the pain of her absence. However, I am grateful to God that my motherÊs suffering has turned to joy and her pain has ceased. I am at peace, secure in the knowledge that both my mother and I rest in GodÊs loving arms.

Georgina Mattute Henze (Federal District, Mexico)

Our Scripture Verse TodayOur Scripture Verse Today

Letters/Opinion

Published by: Montserrat Printing & Publishing, Inc. - Editor: Bennette Roach - Offi ce: Davy Hill, Mailing Address: P.O. Box 306, Davy Hill, Montserrat, W.I.Typeset and Printed by Montserrat Printing & Publishing, Inc. - [email protected]. (664) 491-4715 Fax: (664) 491-2430 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] - Web Site: http://www.themontserratreporter.com

The Montserrat Reporter

E D I T O R I A LA need for informing towards

knowledge and educationWithin the last few weeks, we have witnessed the call that we

have been highlighting for some time, the need for communica-tion and the provision of information and the education associated with it.

The youngest of our readers would have seen or heard the phrase and explanation of it somewhere. “Information is knowl-edge” and “knowledge is power.”

The experts on these subjects have all kinds of simple ways of informing how the lack of information and suppressing thereof can destroy a community, be it a home, village to a continent. It is part of the necessity of life achieved only through the educa-tion process.

Ute Schaeffer a German editor writes, “Education means more than acquiring knowledge. It empowers people to develop personally and become politically active. That’s not always in the interests of rulers.”

Education empowers, and education promotes greater partici-pation. Knowledge is power, and education is the fundamental precondition for political development, democracy and social justice. And, even in our parts we acknowledge this to be a fun-damental human right

What may be even more atrocious is that we may well have rul-ers who will say, they are transparent, and even believe in providing information. However they do not accept the responsibility of their obligation and do not recognise that propaganda is suppressive.

Their citizens live in poverty and are surrounded by their pro-paganda. Where there isn’t the opportunity and the ability to compare independent information, and as long the people are not facilitated to engage in open exchanges with each other, they are really no more than dictators ensuring their security.

DFID on at least three occasions within the past year have found fault with Montserrat’s level of communication.

CARICOM is fi nding out that their level of communication (education of what the Community means and is about), as well as the OECS struggling to cement the benefi ts of the Economic Union, leave much to be desired. They are hearing and it is now left to see what strategy they will use to change their direction. Without the communication and the education, they are doomed.

Montserrat would date to be surprised being accused of short-changing its people of the information and the education to lead to the kind of progress that will make a difference to basic liveli-hoods much more prosperity.

If they believe it is, and it is, their responsibility and obliga-tion to ensure that there is justice for all, is a right for all as Chief Justice Pereira and our law fraternity posit, democracy would be truly alive in Montserrat. That should encourage the rulers also to recognise the rights of all to a fair opportunity for existence to do even that which they believe runs contrary to their dubious desires.

For those who see as their privilege or obligation pretend to do and do otherwise, they need to learn that God may not operate in a speed boat. To advise otherwise or follow their perception does no good to the people they serve.

Providing information and educating the people is a necessity and urgent attention is needed.

Jamaica to host major Caribbean conference on health fi nancing

Cuban Cathol ic b ishops cal l for pol i t ical reform

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ / As-sociated Press

HAVANA (AP) — Roman Catholic bishops in Cuba called for political reform in tandem with social and economic changes already under way, issuing their fi rst joint pastoral letter in two decades that was presented to reporters Monday.

The document from the Con-ference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba urged authorities to bring about a political opening that in-cludes ‘‘the right to diversity with respect to thought, to creativity and to the search for truth.’’

‘‘As has been happening with the economic aspect, we believe that in our Cuban reality, a renovation or updating of national legislation in the political order is essential,’’ reads the letter, titled ‘‘Hope Does Not Disappoint.’’

Jose Felix Perez, secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, said a copy was delivered to island offi cials and ‘‘it is hoped that the letter will be read with the same spirit with which it was written ... constructively.’’

There was no immediate public reaction from the govern-ment, and authorities did not respond right away to a request for comment. Offi cials have re-peatedly said that changing Cuba’s

Communist political system is off the table.

The Communist Party is the only one allowed in Cuba, though membership is not a requirement to hold political offi ce. The govern-ment does not recognize any legal status of opposition groups, which it accuses of being fi nanced from overseas and trying to undermine the revolution.

It was the first pastoral letter from the Bishops’ Confer-ence since 1993’s ‘‘Love Awaits All,’’ which stirred controversy at the time for its criticism of the government.

The new document also ap-plauded President Raul Castro’s reform program begun in 2010, which has included things such as increasing private small business activity, legalizing home and used car sales, decentralizing state businesses and ending a widely detested exit visa requirement that for decades made travel abroad diffi cult for many.

But the bishops said much remains to be done.

They highlighted as an ex-ample the low salaries of profes-sional and government workers in key sectors such as health and education, something that Castro recently acknowledged is a prob-lem that must be solved.

The Church also called for dialogue between Cubans of differ-ing opinions, and for Washington to end its 51-year-old economic and fi nancial embargo on Cuba.

‘‘The geographic proximity and family ties between the two peoples are unavoidable realities that should be taken into account in order to encourage an inclusive policy, through respect for differ-ences,’’ it said.

Cuba has a relatively low percentage of practicing Catholics compared with elsewhere in Latin America — less than 10 percent, next to 84 percent in Mexico. But the church has played an important role in recent years as one of the few independent institutional voices on the island and an inter-locutor with Castro’s government.

It was instrumental in nego-tiating a pact under which the last of 75 opposition activists jailed in a 2003 crackdown were freed from prison in 2010 and 2011.

Last year, then-Pope Bene-dict XVI made a high-profi le trip to the island and met with both Raul and Fidel Castro.

He was following in the footsteps of his predecessor, John Paul II, who visited in 1998 and famously urged Cuba to open itself to the world, and the world to open itself to Cuba.

Jamaica Observer KINGSTON, Jamaica

(CMC) – Jamaica will host the host the annual Caribbean Conference on Health Financ-ing Initiative in November.

Chief Executive Offi cer of the National Health Fund (NHF), Everton Anderson,

said the November 12-14, conference would provide opportunities for best practices to be garnered, and also help Jamaica to harness crucial information in the quest to fi nalize a national health fi -nancing policy.

“This year’s event pres-

ents an opportunity for further sharing of information, and at this time where there are global challenges in fi nancing not only healthcare, but most countries’ activities, it is an opportune time for Jamaica to host this event, and to add to



Pope Francis: It’s OK not to believe in God if you have a clean conscience

Curtly Ambrose suggests strong measures to

improve criicket in Antigua

Pope Francis doesn’t think all atheists

go to Heaven

NewsmaxBy Courtney Coren

It’s not belief in God that counts, but a clean con-science that determines who gets to heaven, Pope Francis tells atheists in a letter writ-ten to the Italian newspa-per La Repubblica.

The 2,500-word letter was a response to questions

asked by the paper’s co-founder and former editor, Eugenio Scalfari, over the summer about whether God forgives those who don’t be-lieve in him, The Indepen-dent of London reported.

“You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith,” the Pope wrote. “Given — and

this is the fundamental thing — that God’s mercy has no limits, if He is approached with a sincere and repentant heart, the question for those who do not believe in God is to abide by their own con-science.”

“There is sin, also for those who have no faith, in going against one’s con-science. Listening to it and

We present this feature as a follow-up to articles ap-pearing in this medium where we posit that doing the right thing (doing good) will lead to progress

abiding by it means making up one’s mind about what is good and evil,” he added.

According to The Inde-pendent, Scalfari appreciated the papal comments, saying they were “further evidence of his ability and desire to overcome barriers in dia-logue with all.”

This isn’t the fi rst time Pope Francis has offered an olive branch to atheists. In May, he told a Catho-lic who asked if Jesus had redeemed atheists that the unbelievers should “just do good, and we’ll fi nd a meet-ing point.”

By Indo-Asian News ServiceSt John’s (Antigua): Former West Indies pac-

er Curtly Ambrose believes that an overhaul of the entire structure of Caribbean cricket is needed for the game to improve.

Ambrose said more at-tention should be paid to development of talent at the grassroots level, reports CMC.

Ambrose bemoaned the lack of Antiguans on territo-rial teams citing demise of quality in the island’s crick-eters.

“I mean, when you look at Antigua national team, Leeward Islands and even the West Indies team, we don’t have any Antiguans really on the West Indies team and that to me is sad because when West Indies were at their

Tim StanleyOkay, so I’m starting

to get a bit frustrated about having to do this every other week. Here’s yet another of my “what the Pope really said” posts.

The mainstream media is going wild about a let-ter that Francis has written about atheists and agnostics, in which he appears to say that belief in God isn’t a re-quirement to get into Heav-en. Of course, it absolutely is. If you arrive at the pearly gates and still refuse to ac-cept that God exists then the odds are that St Peter won’t let you in. Everyone has to confront that reality at some point in their lives – so only the mad and the stubborn are likely to spend an eternity as unbelievers.

But putting that simple point aside, here’s the con-troversial bit of the Pope’s

The media just doesn’t understand him

remarks.The question for those

who do not believe in God is to follow their own con-science. Sin, even for a non-believer, is when one goes against one’s conscience. To listen and to follow your conscience means that you understand the difference between good and evil.

He added that, “the mercy of God has no limits.”

We Catholics believe that nobody should be com-pelled to share our faith, hence atheists are at lib-erty to “follow their own conscience.” But we also believe that “conscience” is not a relativist thing that varies from individual to individual. The conscience is the seed of truth implanted in us by God when we are born and anyone who listens to it opens themselves up to the cont’d. on page 9

strongest they had Antiguans on that particular team and I am proud to say that,” said Ambrose.

“I think we need to look after our cricket here in An-tigua a bit better and a little more so that we could get a few more international crick-eters,” he said

Ambrose said the struc-ture at school-level must be changed fi rst.

“I believe that the whole structure needs to change from schools level and come right up because you can’t change the top level and the bottom isn’t good. You have to start from the grassroots level.

“I believe sometimes there are too many teams and you got some teams that are just not ready and I believe we should not just have 12

teams so we have numbers. If it means taking six teams so that you can get quality, then so be it,” said Ambrose, who turns 50 next Saturday.

Ambrose, who played

his last Test for the West In-dies against England at The Oval in 2000, took 405 Test wickets and 225 in the ODIs. In all, he played 98 Tests and 176 ODIs.

Photo: Curtly Ambrose feels the need for a drastic struc-tural improvement in the way cricket is played in Antigua © Getty Images


MAPS celebrates opening a new animal shelterSally Simpson MAPS secre-

tary, read from the Bible book of Genesis 1: 21-26, which spoke of God’s creation of animals… as Fr. George Agger, parish priest of the R C Church in Montserrat, opened with prayers to mark the ‘grand’ opening of the Montserrat Animal Protection Society (MAPS) new shelter. Several members of the Society gathered on location to witness like they did for the turn-ing of the soil on April 5, 2013.

The area is located above the Montserrat Community College campus on the way to Duck Pond.

Fr. George who six months ago prayed over the spot at the ground breaking, prayed, “…all the animals are God’s gift to us and today we gather for the blessing of this new home for the stray animals of Montserrat and just remind us that what we’re doing is in the context of Gods almighty plans. God our creator, yours are the praise, the glory, the honor and all blessings to you alone do all things belong be praised for giving us the animals…may we think of you and thank you when we play and care for them, be praised for

making us happy to have them as pets and to have them answer our needs of companionship. We ask you Lord that we may be good to our animals as always so that they may be happy also…”

MAPS president Nigel Harris after thanking Fr. George invited the Friendly Society’s patron His Excellency Governor Adrian Davis to give remarks and to cut the ribbon to officially launch the operations of the shelter.

The Governor on April 5, when the Society broke ground to construct the shelter compound, said that he was delighted “to be

here partly as patron of MAPS, partly as the Governor and partly as a great dog lover…” He re-peated his delight to come back to what, “was a rather barren landscape and to see,” he hasn’t been in the six months to see progress, “but the completion of these facilities within six months seems to be a remarkable testi-mony to a community spirit and a will to achieve something which is absolutely wonderful and an example to us all,” he contended.

He thanked, making apolo-

gies deferring to Nigel Harris later to fi ll in the gaps. He began with institutions such as, the Govern-ment of Montserrat for making the land available; the hard work of the MAPS committee, UK agen-cies like RSPCA and thanks also to Corel Cay, and again Cabinet who had just agreed to duty-free access for all the equipment that’s coming in, “because you’re a friendly society,” he informed.

He, “above all,” thanked “the MAPS community and ev-eryone that’s concerned about the

welfare of animals on our island,” thereafter proceeded to cut the ribbon and declared the compound open for the shelter of stray dogs and cats.

Minister of Agriculture Easton Taylor-Farrell on invita-tion gave brief remarks in which he expressed pleasure at the occasion, and informed that on request by the MAPS committee, after clearing with the “MSS and with the college, which we did and

cont’.d on page 7


MAPS new shelter

Next month is Eastern Caribbean Central Bank FIM Month

Invited guests across the region participated in the ECCB workshop during August campaign :Reshap-ing Our Future. Starting Now.

Next month October is cel-ebrated by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) as Financial Information Month, and they began preparing for this year few weeks ago.

The Eastern Caribbean Cen-tral Bank (ECCB) local Agency joined the other ECCU on August 15 and hosted a regional meeting which was conducted via video conference from the ECCB head-quarters in St. Kitts.

An invited cross section of the public participated along with the other regional as well as the media in a three-hour mini workshop session to explore the campaign challenge, the theme “Reshaping Our Future. Starting Now.

Other objectives of the ses-sion were aimed, To provide a forum for closer networking be-tween partners from the fi nancial sector, the real estate sector and the media; Energise media at-tendees around the FIM campaign theme an programmes and get them in action mode; Solicit the collaboration of all the sectors in driving the campaign initiatives.

The theme seeks to inspire and challenge all citizens of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) to pursue the right actions

that will result in stronger fi nan-cial foundations, more competitive business offerings and higher levels of economic growth.

The video conference ses-sion included a power point pre-sentation, discussions and a survival challenge using analo-gies and metaphors. Participants throughout were tested on their survival skills; they were put in an unknown territory in North America, in the woods. The chal-lenge intended to be engaging, interactive, stimulating and fun.

Questions from the challenge included, “you are in a snake country. Your best bet to avoid snakes is to?” the options given were, (a) make a lot of noise, (b) walk softly and quietly, (c) travel at night. Most of the participants chose (b) but the correct answer was (a) to the surprise of all.

Financial Information Month forms part of an ECCU public edu-cation programme and promotes awareness and understanding of general financial and economic issues, that is, functional fi nancial and economic literacy among the masses.

The theme for FIM 2013 is designed to inspire and challenge all citizens of the ECCU to take ac-tion at the individual, business and

institutional levels that will result in stronger fi nancial foundations, more competitive business offer-ings and higher levels of economic growth.

FIM seeks to begin the pro-cess of educating the citizens of the ECCU on the basics of per-sonal fi nancial management and consumer skills in order to set the framework for fi nancially stable consumers of fi nancial products and services.

To achieve this, financial institutions, the Ministries of Edu-cation and Finance and the media plan implemented several initia-tives aimed at preparing citizens to make the fi nancial decisions that can result in an improvement in their quality of life.

Some campaign initiatives will include: Programmes for students in primary schools, sec-ondary, high schools and colleges; Programmes for Teachers, which will include a Train the Trainers Workshop in Innovation and Busi-ness Planning. A Tentative date for this is September 25.

Programmes for Businesses: – promoting fi nancial education in the workplace, ECCU Busi-ness Symposium and Innovation Forum, Small Business Train-ing Workshops and a Train the

Trainers worshop for fi nancial practitioners.

Programmes for the General Public, to include, Tips, newspaper articles and interviews on fi nancial, eco-nomic, business and entrepre-neurial issues. Use of social media tools to promote the message of the campaign. FIM walk-a-thon. Church and Community presentations; and a FIM Financial clinic. FIM Charityinitiative and FIM thematic t-shirts.

it was all easy going from there.”He concluded, “I’m very

pleased you have exerted some energy and effort and funds to provide the animals with this permanent home, which I think is permanent. On behalf of all of us the government and the people of Montserrat, I want to thank you for your hard work and we look forward to continue support as we go along.”

Nigel Harris described the

purpose of MAPS. “What we’re actually trying to achieve here. We have established a refuge a shelter for animals, those that are being neglected, those that have been abandoned, those that need care. We provide medical facilities…so we look to everybody. Please come see these animals, meet them, come and play with them in the garden,’ requesting, “we would like you to adopt them there are other dogs out there waiting to come in; so the sooner we can

get dogs adopted to nice loving families, then we will indeed bring other animals in,” he concluded, inviting as many to be come vol-unteers to the help, “for an hour two hours a week...“

He added thanks and named David Hodd for his help in the designs, as well as (father) Greg, “the guy is here he’s either work-ing with the dogs or he’s digging the ground, he has been an abso-lute star.”

Harris also informed, “We have achieve this largely through donors but almost entirely through the Governor, who very kindly mentioned Denise Lutzs and her family.” Further information says that Denise Lutz of Michigan, USA has continued really carrying out her former husband Bob Lutz’ donation.

The previous shelter was located at Cavalla Hill.

cont’.d from page 6

New Animal shelter compound


MCAP and the ECONOMY by Don Romeo, Sept 13, 2013Fellow citizens, residents and friends of Montserrat:

Monday, Sept 9th just past marked four years under the MCAP government led by our Hon Premier, Mr Reuben T Meade; four years in which they repeatedly told us we elected them to make decisions for us and apparently did not need to listen to the people. But, election is coming, so for a while there is no longer the need to publicly disgrace civil servants and to put down its own people. All of a sudden, it is now time to listen to the people and time for some nice sweet talk.

Campaign fever is already in the air and the MCAP government is suddenly on a roll to deliver important manifesto promises; promises they have mostly ignored for four whole years. So, in addition to taking credit for all good things that have happened during their term of government there is now a sudden hype over a national song, street naming and more. These things are good and important but certainly not what the people of Montserrat are most concerned about right now.

Montserratians are concerned about the state of the economy and bread on their table. This is the third week since school has opened and some parents still cannot fi nd money to buy books needed for their children. People need work and many are behind on their rent and loan payments. One leading retailer asked me just the other day to let him know what the GoM is going to do about the state of Montserrat’s economy. “The economy”, he said, “has never been so dead in a long, long time”.

But I am sure you would agree that it is only fair to use MCAP’s own standards to judge MCAP’s performance with our economy over the past four years. For there is one thing that our Government would not want to face up to and that is their own standards in handling our economy for the past 4 years.

Strangely enough, in 2005 our Hon Premier -- while in Opposition -- set those standards when he moved a vote of no confi dence in the John Osborne Government for its failure over the economy after four years in power. In 2005 Mr Meade, our Hon Premier now, led the charge in accusing the John Osborne led PLM team of ‘incompetence and the inability to provide the leadership needed to arrest the continuous decline in the economy of Montserrat.’

In 2005 our Hon Premier, Mr Meade and colleagues (in Mr Meade’s own words) spoke of ‘the unbearable pressure that was brought upon the people of Montserrat through policies implemented by the PLM Government....’

Just as our Hon Premier did in 2005, it is my duty to call on our Hon Premier and government to face MCAP’s own words and to account for the constant hard times and poor state of our economy over the past four years. Let us carefully listen to what Mrs. Roselyn Cassell-Sealy said, as Opposition Leader then, in support of the vote of No Confi dence in the John Osborne/PLM government’s handling of the economy in 2005, eight years ago:

…. But, Mr. Speaker, we are back at that place again and we are back at a place that has become a worse place than the place we were in when the Honourable Chedmond Browne brought that Vote of No Confi dence…. We are at a place”, continued Mrs Sealy, “where too many people are unemployed. We are at a place, Mr. Speaker, where the economy is at a standstill. We are at a place where we, all of us, fear that there will be a further increase in crime because we can’t see anywhere on the horizon where the situation, the economic situation, is going to get better any time soon.

So to be specifi c, I need to ask our Hon Premier and government just a few questions to get them back on track:

1. In 2005 our Hon premier claimed that the John Osborne government was responsible for the poor state of the economy and the higher than normal level of unemployment. My fi rst question is:

Was the economic situation and the level of unemployment under the John Osborne Gov worse or better in 2005 than it is now in 2013 under the present government?

My next question is: Is the GoM willing to take responsibility for the similarly dead economy and high level of unemployment we face in 2013?

2. One Non-National told me that after living on Montserrat for over 18 years one still has to go in every three or six months for time. And what has the GOM done about that in four years? The GOM did just as it did with passports, property tax, food etc; Our Government increased the cost of work permits from $75 to $100 for Non Nationals.

So the question then is: Does our Government forgot their promise to grant temporary resident status to all Caricom nationals who have resided in Montserrat for 3 years?

A similar question is: Does the GoM remember promising Non Nationals during the 2009 campaign that they would extend eligibility to

become residents to Non Nationals who could prove that they owned property in excess of $5,000?

3. In 2005, Mr Meade claimed that the John Osborne government’s failure to provide the Police with suffi cient funds for equipment contributed to the high incidents of crime in 2005.

My last question is: In the past four years has the MCAP government provided the police with adequate funding and equipment they require to combat crime?

With their last pay raise being 10 years ago. plus no increments under this government, civil servants are not going to fall for the one time bonus hype. Nor can anyone expect labourers, clerks and cleaners who get the smallest pay and feel the squeeze the most to be bought with small change and one belly full gifts. One belly full promises and gestures in the 4th year -- just before elections -- is certainly not going to fool those in the private sector or the civil service.

Maybe those who boast of building so many houses in four years can explain why, after 17 years (12 plus 5 MCAP years), there are still over 300 evacuees on island living in government built and other houses that are not hurricane worthy. Why have our contractors and tradesmen had so little work for 4 years when there are so many houses and rugged vehicle destroying back roads to be built.

People need to know what is going to be done about their ever increasing light, food and other bills that force many to live from hand to mouth, week to week and month to month.

It is not good enough to boast that Geothermal has happened under this Government-- especially since it fell into their laps. For what has the government done to support those who fought for a sounder approach to energy, not only geothermal but wind, solar, bio-fuels, energy effi ciency and more? What we really need is a government that will make sure that geothermal development and other energy initiatives do not end up in the wrong hands at the mercy of deals struck behind closed doors and (at) the costly wishes of wheelers and dealers.

Time for the Br Ananci politics to go.

Time for the one belly full, hungry for the next four years voting to end.

Time for heads I win, tails you lose poly-tricks to go.

The time is ripe for good intentioned men and women to come forward and change the ‘prosperity for some’ to ‘opportunity for all’; The time is ripe to elect good intentioned men and women who will make sure that our geothermal and all other natural resources are developed by HMG to be rightfully owned and one day run by our Government and people to the advantage of each and every one of us, and our children to come. That way we will sooner stand on our own two feet again and not be a burden and forever dependent on British tax payers.

A paid for political statement

Opposition Leader, Hon. Donaldson Romeo


Cimate Change could affect Tourism in the Caribbean

Cimate Change already affecting life, threatens water supply in the Caribbean

ISLAND OF MONTSERRATA.D.2013

[PROBATE DIVISION]LEGAL NOTICE

In the Estate of ELVA MIRELYN SWEENEY, deceasedNOTICE is hereby given that after the expiration of 14 days from the date of this notice, an application will be filed at the Registry, High Court of Justice for a Grant of Letters of Administration of the Estate of ELVA MIRELYN SWEENEY deceased, late of LookOut, Montserrat who died on the 11th day of August 2013 be issued to LAUREN IRISH of Davy Hill, the lawful attorney of MARGARET SWEENEY, mother and personal representative of the deceased and one of the persons entitled to a share in the Estate.

ALL persons claiming to be benefi cially interested in the Estate are requested to send written particulars thereof to the undersigned within 14 days from the date of this notice.

FURTHER any person objecting to the issuance of a Grant of Letters of Administration to the said applicant should notify the Registrar of the High Court of Justice whose address is: Offi ce of the Registrar General, Brades, Montserrat not later than fourteen (14) days from the publication of this notice.

Dated the 11th day of September 2013

Marcelle E.M. WattsAttorney at law for the Applicant

ISLAND OF MONTSERRATIN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

A.D. 2013[PROBATE]

In the Estate of PAUL LAVOIE, deceasedLEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that after the expiration of fourteen (14) days from the date hereof, application will be made in the Registry of the High Court of Justice for an Order that Probate of the Last Will and Testament of Paul Lavoie late of Golden Years Home Brades, Montserrat who died on the 16th. August 2013 domiciled in the Dependent Territory of Montserrat be granted to Roger Allen of Jones Hill, Montserrat the Executor named in the Will of the said deceased.

ALL persons claiming to be benefi cially interested therein are requested forthwith to send particulars to us the undersigned.

FURTHER any person objecting to the issuance of a Grant of Probate to the Applicant should notify the Registrar of the High Court of Justice, whose address is: Offi ce of the Registrar General, Brades, Montserrat, not later than fourteen (14) days from the date of this notice.

Dated this 27th. day of August , 2013

……………………………………….ALLEN MARKHAM & ASSOCIATES

This notice is published by Allen Markham & Associates Barristers & Solicitors whose address for Service is Banks, Montserrat.

St. John’’s, 18 Sep (Prensa Latina) Experts from Antigua and Barbuda called on Caribbean coun-tries to raise awareness regarding the effects of climate change in the tourism industry, vital to the economy of most of these nations.

Antigua and Barbuda needs to place more emphasis on aware-ness and the inculcation of best practices into the minds of the population with regards to Climate Change and its likely effects on tourism dependent nations such as ours.’, said Yendi Jackson, an offi cial of the Ministry of Tourism, to the digital paper Caribbean News Now.

After participating recently

in a project of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, in Saint Lucia, Jackson, along with other experts on the topic, Jackson agreed on the need to know the effects of the climate change and how to adapt to it in touristic and agricultural areas.

In that sense, he reported that those present at the meeting analyzed sustainable land manage-ment and agriculture, adaptation measures for farming, maximizing business benefi ts through building resilience and reducing risks to the tourism sector from climate change.

Jackson says it is necessary to create groups that instruct the

broader population about the con-cept of climate change and all of the diffi culties and potential haz-ards that can be caused by it, as well as the mitigation procedures that can be undertaken in order to combat these occurrences.

He added that the use of social media would be the most effi cient way to develop an aware-ness campaign, since it could have a greater impact on young people.

“We need to focus more on our youth and not just at the tertiary and secondary level but at the primary and kindergarten age. If we get that engraved into their minds from an early age then we could infl uence the mindset of the new and upcoming generation”, he concluded.

Based on reports coming out of the seminar, the region may produce less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions; however it is the most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change.

By Randy O’Brien, BREATHEcast News Reporter

Rising sea levels could contaminate supplies of fresh

water and changing climate patterns could result in less rain to supply reservoirs in the coming decades, scientists and

offi cials caution at a recent conference in St. Lucia.

Experts are sounding a new alarm about the effects of climate

change for parts of the Carib-bean - the depletion of already strained drinking water supplies throughout much of the region.

Lystra Fletcher-Paul, Carib-bean land and water offi cer for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Or-ganization. “The water resources will not be available.”

Many Caribbean nations rely exclusively on underground water for their needs, a vulnerable source that would be hit hard by climate change effects, local non-profi t environmental groups say.

Parts of the Caribbean have been experiencing an unusually dry spell that began last year.

In August 2012, some is-lands reported extremely dry weather, including Grenada and Anguilla. By July of this year, those conditions had spread to Trinidad, Antigua, St. Vincent and Barbados, according to the Carib-bean Institute for Meteorology & Hydrology.

Intense rains have been reported in recent months in some Caribbean areas, but that doesn’t mean an increase in fresh water supply, said Bernard Ettinoffe, president of the Caribbean Water and Sewerage Association Inc., a St. Lucia-based group that repre-sents water utilities in the region.


Pope misunderstoodpossibility of doing good and – eventually – to fi nding God. When we see someone in pain, our conscience tells us to help them. That is the “good” in us. If we feel noth-ing and do nothing for them, that is the “evil” in us. Ergo, the Pope is entirely right to advise atheists to follow their conscience, because that is the path to enlightenment.

What if someone’s con-science tells them that God doesn’t exist and the Pope is a silly man in white ped-dling antiquated nonsense? Well, we would say that a truly tested conscience will always conclude that the Church offers salvation. But if an individual continues to

assert the opposite then they are best advised to be honest about their feelings. One of the greatest sins in the world is to participate in the Church and not really believe in its teachings. That’s a sure way to get to Hell.

Finally, the phrase “the mercy of God has no limits” is important. In the same way that Catholics have faith that the Almighty will forgive them of their sins, so we have faith that he will do the same for others. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t – we don’t know what he’s think-ing so we don’t try to second guess him. Believing that the Church offers the keys to the kingdom of Heaven, we do our best to be good

Catholics. We often fail.Is all of the above really

so hard to grasp? I’m getting tired of the media’s constant reinterpretation of the Pope’s words, usually with the spin that he’s “liberalising” the Church. They used to do something similar to Bene-dict, although in his case they said that he was turn-ing back the clock and was one encyclical away from burning a witch. But maybe the problem isn’t helped by Francis’s constant, hyper-energetic desire to speak to anyone and everyone about everything. For his own good, and the good of all his Church, the Pope needs to let his pen rest for a few days.

Heavy rains mean there’s not enough time for water to soak into the ground as it quickly runs off, he said. In addition, the cost of water treatment increases, and many islands instead shut their systems to prevent con-tamination.

Some of the possible solu-tions include limits on develop-ment, increased use of desalina-tion plants and better manage-ment of existing water supplies, but all face challenges in a region where many governments carry heavy debts and have few new revenue streams.


Caribbean school leavers struggle to fi nd employment - World Bank

Caribbean gathering focuses on reparations battle

Caribbean health conferenceCARIBBEAN COMMUNITY SECRETARIAT

STAFF VACANCIESApplications are invited from interested and suitably qualifi ed nationals of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States and Associate Members of the Caribbean Community to fi ll the following

positions:DUTY STATION – GUYANA

(i) Assistant General Counsel, Legal and Institutional Framework(ii) Programme Manager, Communications Unit(iii) Programme Manager, Procurement Unit(iv) Project Offi cer, Procurement Unit

DUTY STATION – BARBADOS(v) Systems Administrator, CSME Unit

Full details of these positions may be obtained by accessing the following web sites-www.caricom.org; www.caribank.org; www.oecs.org; www.crnm.org and www.caribbeanjobsonline.com Applications in English Language with full curriculum vitae details, including nationality, work experience, educational qualifi cations and/or expertise, language profi ciency, coordinates (including email addresses) of three referees (at least two of whom must be familiar with the applicant’s work), and other relevant information, should be addressed to the Executive Director, Human Resource Management, Caribbean Community Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana and sent by email to [email protected]. The deadline for the submission of applications is 6 October 2013.

Las Vegas Sun The Associated Press

Politicians, lawyers and academics gathered Monday in St. Vincent & the Grena-dines to advance an effort by more than a dozen regional nations to seek slavery repa-rations from three European countries that benefi ted from the Atlantic slave trade.

The three-day confer-ence is the fi rst major step forward since the Caribbean Community announced in July that it intended to demand compensation for slavery and the genocide of native peoples from the governments of Britain, France and the Neth-

WASHINGTON (CMC) – The World Bank says despite spending nearly 11 years acquiring an education, school leavers in the Caribbean often struggle to fi nd formal employment.

The Washington-based fi nancial institution has released a new report titled ‘Quality Education Counts for Skills and Growth’ and offers some suggestions why it is diffi cult for Caribbean students to obtain em-ployment, highlighting key areas where system-wide changes are needed.

It said while early childhood education is essential to a child’s development as it builds the foundation for primary schooling, unlike primary and secondary education, “there has been no national push for pre-school education.

“This has resulted in huge variations to education services and often meaning children from rural areas or lower income families miss out,” according to the report, noting that, currently, fewer than 15 per cent of school leavers in the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) move on to further education.

“Consequently, boosting tertiary education attendance is key,” the report said, adding that attracting qualifi ed teachers is a “chronic

challenge” for the Caribbean, and is particularly pronounced within the core subjects -- English, Maths and Science.

With such a predominance of unqualifi ed teachers, the report says the pass rates for these subjects in particular have suffered.

In 2009, the report said fewer than 50 per cent of students region-wide passed CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certifi cate) exams in English and Maths.

With a highly centralized system, the report said there is little decision-making authority within the schools themselves in the Carib-bean, stating that international studies have shown that giving schools the ability to make certain decisions themselves is closely linked to education quality.

The World Bank report also indicated that closing the digital skills gap would be key if graduates are to fl ourish in the quickly-evolving Caribbean labour market.

It said as traditional trades and sources of employment disappear, 21st century technology is taking their place, “but employers regularly complain that school leavers do not have the appropriate skills for a digital workplace”.

Bernadette Lewis of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) said it was vital that the region’s youth were sufficiently

supported to realise the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

“It calls for a certain amount of education and awareness. We have seen tremendous talent in the area of young people, making innovative use of ICTs, but there’s little support.”

Noting that critical soft skills such as ICT are best taught within a formal education setting, the World Bank report highlights a need for them to be maintained within the private sector.

“Learning is a life-long activity, and as such, both public and private sector involvement is needed to support learners throughout their career.”

“School leavers struggle to fi nd formal employment because their education doesn’t suffi ciently prepare them for the job market and employers are then left to train up those who they do hire.

“Systemic changes with the education sector are, therefore, needed if learners in the Caribbean are to be given the opportunity to realize their potential,” it adds.

Predominance of unqualified teachers in region, reports says

erlands. Representatives from all the member nations and territories of Caricom, as the group is known, are attending the gathering.

St. Vincent Prime Min-ister Ralph Gonsalves, who is leading the effort trying to force the region’s former colonial powers to pay repa-rations, said the matter is a “fundamental, defi ning matter of our age.”

“The European nations which engaged in conquest, settlement, genocide and slavery in our Caribbean must provide the reparatory resources required to repair the contemporary legacy of

their historic wrongs,” said Gonsalves, who takes over the rotating leadership of Caricom at the start of 2014.

Gonsalves and other Ca-ribbean offi cials say coming up with a fi nancial estimate for reparations is critical for coming to terms for what they believe is the lingering legacy of slavery in the region. His-torians and economists will assist in the process.

There has been no mon-etary fi gure mentioned yet, but the St. Vincent prime minister said reparations must “bear a close relationship to what was illegally or wrongly extracted and exploited ...

from the Caribbean by the European colonialists, includ-ing the compensation paid to the slave owners at the time of the abolition of slavery.”

At the time of emancipa-tion of slaves in 1834, Britain paid 20 million pounds to British planters in the Carib-bean, the equivalent of some 200 billion pounds ($315 bil-lion) today.

The Caribbean govern-ments have brought on the British law firm of Leigh Day, which waged a success-ful fight for compensation for a group of Kenyans who were tortured by the British colonial government as they

fought for the liberation of their country during the so-called Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s and 1960s.

Firm lawyer Martyn Day said the Caribbean nations are seeking to negotiate a settle-ment “based on the impact of slavery on Caribbean societ-ies today.”

“All the Caricom coun-tries are keen to seek res-olution amicably with the former slave nation states like Britain, France and the Netherlands,” Day said at the conference.

But, he said, if that does not succeed, they will go to the International Court of

Justice, the United Nations’ highest judicial organ.

Gonsalves said he ex-pected all Caricom’s member states will have their repre-sentatives include a strong message about reparations in their speeches at the U.N. General Assembly next week.

“The awful legacy of these crimes against humanity _ a legacy (that) exists today in our Caribbean _ ought to be repaired for the developmen-tal benefi t of our Caribbean societies and all our peoples,” he said.

David McFadden on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmcfadd

our overall strategy of fi nanc-ing our healthcare,” Anderson said.

This is the fi rst time Ja-maica is hosting the confer-ence. The inaugural confer-ence was held in 2006 in the Turks and Caicos, and since then, other conferences have been held in Aruba; Trinidad and Tobago; Saint Marten; Belize; Bermuda and Curacao.

The annual event arose out of the desire of social security organizations in the Caribbean to enhance their capability and capacity to assume greater roles in the administration of national health fi nancing initiatives, as mandated by most Caribbean governments.

“This year’s conference will provide a forum to explore

opportunities for collaboration and networking in the area of health fi nancing among Carib-bean health and social security organizations.

“Topic for discussions will include policy concerns and best practices in secur-ing added value in healthcare services, health promotion and prevention strategies to manage non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the application of information and communications technol-ogy (ICT) tools to modernize healthcare systems,” Anderson added.

During the three-day event, individual countries will make presentations on the performance, challenges, and strategies used in the fi nanc-ing of and administration of national healthcare programs



Antigua politician criticises regional governments on LIAT

Jamaican drug bustcont’d. from page 3

Pilot error caused Caribbean Airlines crash, GCAA

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is inviting applications, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)

from suitably qualifi ed Nationals to fi ll the position of Coastal Resources Specialist, OECS Climate Variability and Climate Change Project.”

Applicants are requested to obtain full lists of responsibilities and other details associated with the post from the OECS website www.oecs.org or URL http://www.oecs.org/about-the-oecs/who-we-are/job-opportunities.

Deadline date is Monday 30 September 2013.

G E O R G E TO W N , Guyana (CMC) – Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Zulfikar Mohammed says pilot error led to the July 30, 2011 crash of a Caribbean Airlines fl ight.

According to Moham-med the report on the mishap will be studied and released by Transport Minister Robe-son Benn.

O n T h u r s d a y, t h e GCAA boss explained that the report would say exactly

what happened and empha-sise several areas for safety. “They will tell you what actions should be taken in terms of improving safety, preventing accidents of this sort from happening again,” he said.

Mohammed’s explana-tion followed confi rmation by Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira earlier Thursday of what had been known hours after the crash -- the pilot engaged in a “long-landing” on the CJIA runway that prevented him from stopping the Boe-ing 737-800 before it could

have ran off the 7,400-long runway half way over a ravine. The plane cracked in half.

The GCAA-led probe received support from the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Caribbean Avi-ation Safety and Security Oversight (CASSOS), Ca-

ribbean Airlines, Trinidad and Tobago’s Civil Aviation Authority and Boeing Air-craft Company.

In July, eight Guyanese passengers filed lawsuits claiming a total of GUY$8 million associated with al-leged negligent operation of Caribbean Airlines Flight # BW52.

Jamaica ObserverDominica (CMC) –

Leader of the main opposi-tion Antigua Labour Party (ALP), Gaston Browne has criticised Caribbean Com-munity (CARICOM) gov-ernments over their failure to support the cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT.

Browne, addressing the delegates conference of the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) here on Sunday, said that the regional govern-ments should have followed the positions adopted by Antigua and Barbuda, Bar-bados, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica in becoming shareholder governments of the airline.

Browne praised Prime Minister Roosevelt Sker-

rit for becoming the latest shareholder of the Antigua-based airline, “while oth-ers unjustifi ably sat on the sidelines content to benefi t from its service and selfi shly refusing to contribute to its service delivery.

“This is a typical exam-ple where the commitment and practice of some Carib-bean leaders is incongruent to the espoused commitment of Caribbean integration,” Browne said.

Las t month , LIAT signed a US$65 million loan with the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to fi nance the purchase of aircraft in the context of a fl eet modernisa-tion project.

LIAT said that the loan

agreements “provide for the loans to be on lent-to and repaid by LIAT over a 13 year period following a grace period of two years”.

The fl eet modernisation project involves the replace-ment of LIAT’s aging fl eet through a combination of lease and purchase of aircraft; the transition costs associ-ated with the changeover; the upgrade of maintenance fa-cilities and other institutional strengthening activities.

LIAT, which fl ies to 21 destinations in the Caribbean, said reliable and effi cient air transportation is essential for connectivity, mobility and accessibility within the region, and for some islands, LIAT provides the only air links with the rest of the

region.Browne told the DLP

conference that Skerrit has had the courage “to speak out against those who pay lip to freedom of movement of people in our one Caribbean.

“He has pointed out that while our Caribbean brothers and sisters are being denied entry into our countries to contribute their skills, work permits are being issued to persons from outside the region. “Roosevelt Skerrit has stood up for regional causes and in so doing he has stood up for the rights and entitlements of Dominicans, of Barbadians, St Lucians, of Grenadians of Antigua and Barbudans,” Browne added.

The sixth Jamaican, who was found to be the owner of the vessel, was picked up during follow-up investigations locally on September 11. More than US$2000 and other items were also seized in that operation.

Charged with posses-sion of ganja, dealing in ganja, exporting ganja, conspiracy to export ganja and traffi cking ganja are:

Robert Lindsay, oth-erwise known as ‘Robbie’, a chef of Nannyville Gar-dens, St Andrew;

Stephen Watt, a fi sh-erman of Mountainside, St Elizabeth; 46-year-old Owen Dunkley, otherwise known as ‘Egg Head’, a fi sherman of Black River, St Elizabeth; 56-year-old An-thony Augustus Williams, otherwise known as ‘Lara’, a fi sherman of Lacovia, St Elizabeth;

49-year-old Bernard Knight, otherwise known as ‘Powder’, a fi sherman of Parottee district, St Eliza-beth; and Byron Forrest, 44, a fi sherman of Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth.Gaston Browne


Rebuilding progress in an election year...cont’d. from page 1

www.themontserratreporter.com

Opposition Leader’s accusations

the year during which the constitutionally due date for general elections ap-proached, Premier the Hon. Reuben Meade has been responding to the call for the creation of jobs.

During the past month he has pronounced on the ongoing infrastructural development works which he said have created a sig-nificant number of jobs for many residents, as he referenced the current A1 road works, the Little Bay Development Project and the Lookout school expan-sion project among others, adding that more jobs were due to come on stream.

ZJB reporters reported him saying: “When you look at the road works you look at what is happening there on Gun Hull; if you go into Little Bay where you’re having four huts being put up for business purposes; when you start adding up the numbers there, looking at the road project in terms of the pri-vate sector involved in the ducting work and what’s happening on the Ministry of Agriculture building.”

He spoke about, “the MCRS Building here at Government Headquarters that also will be going out to tender, it’s a design build facility which we fi nd allot

on their table,” he said.He continued negating

the impact of the continu-ity of work in the con-struction fi eld. “This is the third week since school has opened and some parents still cannot fi nd money to buy books needed for their children,” he informed, add-ing, “People need work and many are behind on their rent and loan payments.”

Romeo quotes ‘One leading retailer, ‘who asked him,’ “just the other day to let him know what the GoM is going to do about the state of Montserrat’s economy. “The economy”, he said, “has never been so dead in a long, long time”.”

The opposition leader states that “Monday, Sept 9th just past marked four years under the MCAP gov-ernment led by our Hon

Premier, Mr Reuben T Meade; four years in which they repeatedly told us we elected them to make deci-sions for us and apparently did not need to listen to the people.”

Romeo snidely notes that with Campaign fever is already in the air, “the MCAP government is sud-denly on a roll to deliver important manifesto prom-ises; promises they have mostly ignored for four whole years.”

He further notes, “But, election is coming, so for a while there is no longer the need to publicly disgrace civil servants and to put down its own people. All of a sudden, it is now time to listen to the people and time for some nice sweet talk.”

(see the ‘paid for’ State-ment by Mr. Romeo’ in this issue.

more convenient to do be-cause it offers opportunities for a wider range of skill sets to participate in the overall development…””

He spoke of, “…the not too distant future,” which he said will see a continuity of work, such as the primary school de-

velopment. “All of these have people employed on them,” he said.

During this month the Premier has been pro-nouncing on the creation of a national health insurance scheme.

Earlier he spoke of the infrastructure development

and the laying of ducts to facilitate a fi ber optics project. “There is also fi ber optics and underground utility services,” he said.

Looking ahead, he said, the fi ber optics con-nectivity is critically im-portant for the future de-velopment of Montserrat,

“as we look at creating employment in high value areas.”

“High Speed internet will provide for example additional employment op-portunities through whatev-er you can think of whether its education, medication, call centres in the health

fi eld, name it, it opens up a wide range of opportuni-ties,” he said, concluding that “putting the ducting in now while you’re doing the main roads means that you don’t have to dig up the roads later on to come and put those in,” which is in fact the reality.

Excavator working on Gun Hill

Hon. Donaldson Romeo


The Montserrat Reporter - September 20, 2013

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