Soufriere "under water" - Hospital Evacuated: King Enjoying Royal Wedding

Honorable Dalson warned them in the last budget debate - they laughed. Listen to him in this video.

LORD HAVE MERCY ON US!

From day one, the PowerHouse has been lamenting on the misfortunes of Saltibus, Daban and Fond St. Jacques. With those monster showers on us, all we can do is to pray and hope for the best.

The Met Office reported that a record-breaking total of 354.4mm of rain for this month has been dumped at Hewanorra - the highest for the month of April since 1973 which recorded only 66mm.

The weather map shows signs of activity. We expect a clearance over the next day or two.

While the PM and his wife continue to lavish in Buckingham Place at our expense, some of us live in mortal dread of death because of potential geo-technical disasters which hang over our heads like the Sword of Damocles; because we do not have the resources to retrofit or relocate to safer ground, all we can do is to pray and call on the Lord for mercy and protection.

Travelling under the prevailing conditions is very risky; moreover, the Met office has predicted more bad weather until tomorrow afternoon. If the prevailing weather conditions persist, my own guess is the rainfall for this month will come pretty close to 400 mm. Given those conditions, my heart goes out to the people of Fond St. Jacques and I’m very nervous about the people of Daban and Saltibus. They have informed me that Lorne has made a few calls for feedback on the conditions on the ground and their own feelings in the circumstances. With the creative disaster management strategy he has formulated plus his overall plans for the area, there is hope for the constituents. While Tucker is busy buying votes, Lorne is constantly reviewing and refining his “community needs analyses” to help ameliorate the difficult conditions which the people of Choiseul/Saltibus are left to cope with. May God continue to give him the strength!

Further afield, we have learnt that Soufriere/Fond St. Jacques is in a state of high alert – thanks to the district rep who is taking no chances. The Soufriere River overflowed its banks and slightly changed course. To the affected residents, it was like Tomas revisiting a second time. In fact, at one point it looked so bad, that Hon Dalson was exploring the option of mobilizing for possible evacuation; but God put a hand and the water receded slightly. He risk his own life to be with his constituents at Fond St. Jacques where he had a close shave as the river overflowed over the Bridge by Raymond’s Disco where he was trapped there for hours.

Hon Dalson is on record warning the authorities of the impending disasters in Soufriere and Fond St. Jacques; but they do not seem to care.

While Hon Dalson demonstrated admirable heroism and courage for the safety of his people, Chastenet was comfortably ensconced in his air-conditioned office. More and more, the people of Fond St. Jacques are beginning to see the true colours of this poster boy. Not too long ago, he was berating the UK for an Airport Passenger Departure (APD) tax and now the same thing has been implemented in St. Lucia (an additional $94 tax to enter or depart the country). What hypocrisy!

There is also news that the new Anse La Raye Bridge was impassable earlier. However, all of the “Cost-overrun” bridges from Soufriere to Black Bay passed the Hurricane Tomas Test with flying colours. They are as solid as a rock! River Doree is perhaps the best bridge ever built in St. Lucia. Thanks to “Cost overruns”.

We also understand that the Bexon River overflowed its banks; that’s what happens when timely de-silting is not done.

Castries, watch out! I hope the Parish Drains were unclogged and properly de-silted. Otherwise, you may be in serious trouble.

LADY COMPTON WEEPS; HURT BY TREACHERY AND DECEPTION

Submitted by BourneLucian

Lady Compton reveals how Rufus Bousquet drank coffee at her home with her husband, Sir John, before stabbing him in the back. Should we re-christen a fourth time with the name "Judas" or should we simply call him Tucker, the Judas? Can Tucker be described as the worst traitor in St. Lucia history?

Sir John surrounded by the King and "Tucker, the Judas" days before his death

Here are some of the revelations from Lady Janice which may bring tears from your eyes:

1. Twice before Sir John's death, certain elements in government tried to remove him as Prime Minister.

2. Government and Party moved away from Sir John.

3. People from Saltibus did not want Bousquet.

4. Sir John made coffee for Bouquet. He trusted and loved him even when Tucker plotted against him.

Like he did to Sir John, Tucker also stabbed the people of Choiseul/Saltibus in the back. That is why, day after day, he is discovering his political dilemma. Many of the love-faring people from the constituency complain of his treachery. They remember him as penniless politician who they rescued when he landed in Choiseul after his release from the US Federal Prison. Like Sir John, they offered him coffee, tea, lunch and dinner but he has never showed any gratitude to them; only political opportunism.

Meanwhile, we are informed that Tucker held a strategy meeting at his constituency office in Reunion last night. Sources close to him and who were at th meeting indicated that despite his bravado in the House, he appeared to be extremely nervous about his impending and overwhelming defeat at the polls. Even the "strategists" seem reluctant to identify with him, as they all hid the vehicles into the woods.


A summary of the discussions will be posted here later.


In the meantime, the people of Choiseul/Saltibus empathise with Lady Janice for all the atrocities meted out to her by Tucker, the Judas of Choiseul/Saltibus.

Retrofitting St. Lucia

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that Honourable Dalson’s presentation to the Budget Debate was perhaps one of the most relevant contributions.

Firstly, Dalson’s characterization of the Budget as “quick quack” was spot on; and apparently, the senior public servants who crafted it were embarrassed and disappointed by the charade that passed in the House in the name of a Budget Debate. So, they have apparently decided to compensate for the extremely poor debate performances of their ministers by hosting a live roundtable TV discussion to expound on the programmes funded by the Budget which was missed by almost every government minister. The issue is: will we hear anything about the “Quick Quak” that the sea was sold? My own view is absolutely NO! That prevarication by Richard, Rufus and Guy was as extraneous was as it was criminally disingenuous.

To some extent, I empathize with Tucker and Guy because they are both desperate and power-hungry politicians who perhaps don’t know better. But Richard – a student of Dr Anthony – does know better. I’m sure Dr Anthony taught him well and that he knows the definition of “corporation soul” and its nexus to government; but that’s what excessive venom does to the mind.

Secondly, Dalson also sounded a grave warning of an impending active hurricane season where the experts have predicted at least six potentially devastating category 5 storms. With all this intense off-season weather activity we are now facing, Dalson’s warning is now beginning to sink in.

St. Lucia was perhaps expecting this year’s Budget to have a presidential “State of the Union” orientation and to generate some serious proposals for retrofitting the island after the passage of St. Lucia arguably worst natural disaster. Never has our island been so badly bruised and fractured in living memory; but the budget debate did not reflect on that. All we got was “quick-quak” fairy tales about Kenny “selling the sea” and “the minister” being paid royalties. For the enlightenment of listeners, I hope the Budget Director explains the role of the Minister of Finance during their discourse tonight.

Six months after Tomas, there has been little progress in retrofitting St. Lucia. According to the World Bank /IMF assessments, those costs approach one billion dollars. Government missed a glorious opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to a comprehensive and meaningful post-Tomas recovery by integrating its “retrofitting” initiatives into the national budget.

With the weather prediction by experts and early warning signs thus far, the country is getting scared. The hurricane/rainy season has not officially started and we are already experiencing heightened “tropical weather” activity by way of recent “strong” troughs (one of which came perilously close to an off-season storm) and heavy rainfall.

I deeply empathize with the people of Saltibus, Daban and Gertrine; the people of Fond St. Jacques, Columbette and Soufriere town; and the people of Bexon, Marc, Tete Chemin and Venus who were devastated by Tomas but have been left to their own devices, even when they do not have the resources to fend for themselves!

In the absence of a caring government, may God cast an eye on them!

TUCKER SAYS "QUICK . . . QUAK!"

When Hon Harold Dalson told the House of Assembly that the 2011 Budget was an exercise in “QUICK QUACK”, he indeed hit the nail right on the head. After the presentations by Bousquet, Richard and Guy and the final rebuttal by Prime Minister King, St. Lucians had no doubt in their minds that the member for Soufriere was not only on course but he was also articulating a profound truism! Hon Dalson appropriately compared the Budget to St. Lucia’s wake where the Members of Parliament had assembled to pay their respects to a country killed by the long hands of malfeasance, corruption and incompetence.

A fair question now is: Is it true that the same murderers of Sir John were the same murderers of Helen? They killed the father of the nation and now they have also killed the nation! Or shall we say that they killed both "father" and "daughter"!

The story has many similarities to two of Shakespeare’s plays: “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” and “Julius Caesar”. Perhaps, Derek Walcott should consider writing one more book: “The Trial and Murder of Sir John” or even “The Daggers of Disrespect and Dishonour that Killed the Father of the Nation”. Janine’s father’s ghost - just like Hamlet’s father’s ghost - is at large. He wants revenge for his death and the death of his daughter (Helen) by St. Lucia's notorious Super 8 gangsters. Sir John is roaming the land looking for a Hamlet to do the job for him and will not rest until he has fulfilled his mission.

In the meantime, Helen’s wake continues and the Ghost of Sir John dwells amongst us (in much sorrow and pain) in pursuit of a “Hamlet” or even a “Mark Antony" to fulfill the mission on his behalf. Yet, regardless of his doom, Tucker dabbles in QUICK QUAK and he laughs! 

Let us quickly profile three of "Tucker "Quick! Quak!" pronouncements" in the House and you can judge for yourself.

Quick! Quack! NO. 1

Tucker said: Kenny sold the sea around St. Lucia. The fisherman can no longer go to sea!

Quick! Quack! NO.2

Tucker said: In all the politicians that have served Choiseul, RUFUS HAS DONE THE MOST! If Tucker can say that, then the allegations of murder against him must also be true!

Quick! Quack! NO.3

Tucker said in the House of Assembly: He never broke his Mom’s arms. He said they were wrestling and when he gave her a “German Suplex”, she fell to the ground and broke her own arm!  

Mamuy la . . . I di Quick! . . . Quak!

WHY IS APRIL SO HOT?

St. Lucia seems to be experiencing rather strange weather behaviour these days. About 2-3 weeks ago, we were affected by an “unexpected” weather system which brought about strong and sustained shower activity. Meteorologists explained that it was as a result of the passage of an upper level trough. We learned that St. Vincent suffered significant damage as a result of its passage.

This passage of that weather system was immediately followed by a period of extreme calm marked by “scorching heat” – the type that is associated with the imminent approach of a storm or hurricane.

Many of us may have been wondering what’s going on. 

Well, the answer is: it has to do with an unusual area of disturbed weather north of the Leeward Islands.

While the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts in June, meteorologists will be watching this area of disturbed weather over the next several days for potential development. Expert Senior Meteorologist, Alex Sosnowski explains that “This feature is merely a close low or cold core system at this time but could develop some tropical characteristics in the days ahead.”

He predicts that even “if this system develops, it is not likely to become very strong and could bring beneficial rains to some needy areas in the vicinity of the Tropic of Cancer.”

Area of disturbed Weather over the Atlantic Ocean

Although the system is expected to be carried off to the northwest, away from any land areas, it is still being monitored as there is a possibility that it could develop into a tropical storm. If this happens, it will be the second tropical storm on record for the month of April. Tropical Storm Ana was the first in 2003.

This phenomenon underscores Hon Harold Dalson’s concern expressed in the House of Assembly. It may be also a valid predictor  - as well as fitting reminder - of what to expect later this year. it's not to early to start planning the way forward.

Bousquet's Declaration of War against Lorne and Budget Bluffs and Lies!

 

Rufus started his budget presentation in the House of Assembly with the excuse that he was sick. I wish he would make full disclosure about his illness to us in the way that Magic Johnson did to the world. He only confessed that he felt better after a magical dose of Bush Tea medicine from an old lady from La Fargue, Choiseul.  Based on information from Rick Wayne on “Talk”,  a Minister of Government some time ago infected a young lady with a deadly virus and according to information circulating on LucianTalk (a Lucian Blog), the culprit is none other than Bruce Tucker! So it is no wonder that from time to time that the Minister has to go through those painful “crises” which render him ill and even bed-ridden.

As Tucker prepares to make his exit, our fear is his legacy: not the illusive achievement he claims but a dozen fatherless kids and a decimated Choiseul/Saltibus population. Nonetheless, we want him to know that while we may have issue of a political nature with him, we do empathize with him and his health issues; and we truly wish him the best.

Yesterday, he sounded a somber note toward the end of his presentation. It was as if he had sensed his imminent demise and was therefore bidding us farewell; and we understood that very well. But even in his twilight moments, he continued to mislead the House of Assembly and the people of St. Lucia on vital issues.

During his presentation, Tucker peddled a proliferation of lies and bluffs; and even went as far as to declare ‘War on Lorne”. The reality however is if he knows Lorne, he would know that he is fighting a losing war just as his colleague Kaddafi is; for Lorne has in record time broke the back of his support base like no other politician could.

Let us look at some of the budget bluffs and lies which we have come to associate with him.

LIE #1: BREAKING MOMMY'S ARM

Everybody knows that Tucker broke his mother’s arm; she herself confirmed the fact. Yet as is typical of any criminal, he had the audacity to deny that fact, even in the House of Parliament. How boldface he can be!

LIE # 2: KENNY SOLD THE SEA AND THE FISHES

“St. Lucia no longer owns the sea. Kenny sold the Sea around St. Lucia to a private company for a royalty of $26,000” to be paid to the “Minister”. This must be the “lie of the century”. How can anyone sell the sea? Who has ever sold the sea?

Obviously, it was a prevarication from the Flambeau handbook designed to brainwash the people of St. Lucia. It was a Super 8 strategy. According to the prevarication (which was obviously masterminded by Richard Frederick), Kenny gave an exclusive maritime lease to RSM for purposes of oil exploration; and under that lease, an amount of $26,000 was due and payable to the Minister of Finance (on behalf of the State); but Tucker never said anything about monies being paid to him by the Taiwanese, Portuguese and Moroccan governments which never went into the state treasury.

LIE # 3: TOP STUDENTS GOT COMPUTERS

Tucker lied when he claimed that top students got computer. A member of “Biscette” family from Reunion and a “Simeon’ from Saltibus were maliciously deprived of their just rewards. It was a sad day for education in Choiseul/Saltibus and a heart-wrenching one for the children victims who felt betrayed by their district rep. However, in the end, the communities and relatives came together to raise funds to come to the children’s rescue.

LIE # 4: NO OTHER DISTRICT REP HAS ACHIEVED SO MUCH

Even when Tucker had done nothing in Choiseul, he claimed that he had done everything. That’s the extent of his dishonesty! I reproduced a part of an earlier post by Cyberboo:

“Here are 12 development projects that happened under the SLP during Fergy’s tenure that we all can be proud of:

(1)         Between 80 - 90% of the road network was rehabilitated. The RDP 1 & 2 cost over $100 million; the TRRP roads which started from Victoria – and going through Mongouge, Le Riche, Morne Portalese to lower Morne Sion, La Pointe - Delcer and going all the way back to Etangs; also from Ravineau to Derriere Morne; from the Le Riche Junction to Constitution park. Then the Cafeiere/Dugard road; the Morne Road. The total cost of those roads is in excess of $150 million.

(2)         The construction of the Piaye School and the expansion of the Choiseul Secondary School; the refurbishment of the Delcer and the Mongouge schools; the Saltibus Water upgrade and Health Centre were started during Fergy’s tenure.

(3)         We also benefitted from Universal Secondary Education which ensured that no child is left behind in education.

(4)         Universal Health Care was on well its way; today, the people of Choiseul have to depend on a Good Samaritan for paying the bills for medication and transportation of the elderly from Roblot to and from the Health centre. What about the ambulance service we have?

(5)         The people of le Riche, Mongouge, Morne Sion and Ravineau enjoyed a quantum leap in telecommunications with high speed internet and Cable TV

(6)         The Choiseul Fishermen got a state of the art Fisheries Complex

(7)         The people of Piaye and throughout the constituency of Choiseul/Saltibus benefitted from the Piaye/Balembouche development where land was being sold at $1 per square foot.

(8)         Choiseulians received countless scholarships to pursue university education in medicine, engineering, nursing, education  etc.

(9)         The Miracle eye care programme helped many Choiseulians with eye care problems

(10)     The STEP programme provided employment for the poor and unemployable.

(11)     The liberalisation of the Telecommunication sector resulted in a “communication revolution” which brought about huge benefits in the mobile phone service sub-sector and now the service is universally available.

(12)     The timely de-silting of rivers as a proactive disaster management/prevention strategy

The total value of those achievements approaches ¼ billion dollars, if not more. Compare that to Tuckers “Ti Canal” achievements which are perhaps total less than 5 million dollars.”

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Quick Synopsis of Tucker’s Lackluster Presentation

Tucker’s presentation in the house today was most unimpressive. It was just full of untruths and “may-pwee”. Tucker in a television interview once said that he headed the most important ministry - paradoxically, he spent a total of 5 minutes speaking about the ministry he classifies as the most important. The foreign affairs minister’s presentation lacked class and professionalism. Instead of focusing on the budget presented by his Minister of Finance, he resorted the act of name calling. Tucker was incoherent, illogical and disorganized.

LIES

- Bousquet claims that his government favors Taiwan over China, because Taiwan is democratic and China is not. This is a bold lie. Bousquet recently established diplomatic relations with Libya(a country headed by the world's most oppressive leader); and to this day when the whole world has condemned the dictator and killer, Kaddafi - Bousquet continues to support him.

- Tucker(sorry about the interchange of names – this man has so many names - I have difficulty keeping up with him) said in his presentation that he did not participate in the negotiations to relocate to the $114000/month Baywalk office. Then he proceeds to shower praise on his tenant for accepting him into the building. How disingenuous can Tucker be – we all know that the decision to move to the mall was his, aided and abetted by his minister of finance, King.

- Tucker said the Labour party can’t pull a crowd at the events held so far. Is Tucker delusional? Can the editor please repeat the photos of the launching of the Castries candidates? Where in St. Lucia has a bigger crowd ever gathered before?

ILLOGIC

- Bousquet blows his own trumpet over his government’s ‘4.4% growth’ - in the same breath he takes over an hour to blame his government inability (to stimulate development and employment in St. Lucia) on external international conditions. How has the St. Lucia economy grown when the latest World Bank report describes us as one of the poorest in the Caribbean?

DISORGANISED

- Tucker seemed very much disorganized in his presentation. He had a hard time locating his paper scripts. Despite previous requests by the speaker of the house to turn off your cellphone when at the mike, Tucker seem unable to do so. He was the only speaker with this problem. At times he appeared to be under the influence of an uncontrolled substance.

TUCKER BANKRUPT OF IDEAS

- Tucker was bankrupt of ideas in this debate. He had very little to say about his constituency. Oh, but there is nothing for him to talk about. Where are his achievements? After 5 years in office, all Tucker has to show are Ti-Canals "here, there and everywhere" and a mini-stadium bluff? Tucker spent about half his presentation time rumbling on the “Dauphin Oil Project”. He spoke about it like it was something new – he appeared lost as he does not seem to understand the language of contracts. This is an issue which has been talked about by Richard Frederick in every budget debate. Earl Huntley has written several articles in the Newspapers to explain this project. Grenada and St Vincent signed similar agreements. Dr. Anthony has made it clear that St. Lucia is under no obligation to RSM/Grynberg since neither party kept to their side of the agreement. What may jeopardize this agreement is the way that the Attorney General and Richard Frederick have handled this matter. Like all other situations they’ve handle in the past, they are making a mess of this one.

I was embarrassed to see Bouquet in the house today. Though we may be on opposite sides of the political fence, he is the current rep for Choiseul – and I feel sad when things “Choiseul” appear so lackluster, mediocre and ridiculous. How much more must I suffer this embarrassment? What will I tell my co-workers tomorrow? Come on Choiseul, please do something about this. I’m tired of being ridiculed by my coworkers. Tucker must go.

DALSON SAYS "IT'S A QUICK QUAK BUDGET!"

Hon Dalson was in fine form in the House on Monday! Combining his brilliant wit with sound and evidenced-based logical analyses, he scored heavily with listeners and even with the members of the House; but the word around town is the Dirty “Super 8” House Ring who “brought down” Sir John are planning to take aim at Dalson on Tuesday, because of a lightning “knock-out punch” he landed on the flat-footed King in only the first few minutes in the early round of the Budget Debate.

King tried to get on his feet on a point of order that never was there. Dalson who has a reputation for his quick wit and gifted rebuttals, brought down the PM within seconds as he tried to rise on his feet, and hence pre-empting the speaker in the process. It was an awkward moment for both the speaker who was apparently nonplussed and the PM whose face assumed a sulky look.

Soon after Dalson finished his presentation, a premature break was hastily taken and during that break, it was reported that the PM was seen fulminating anathema at the poor Madame Speaker in the gallery. Apparently, it had to do with the embarrassment that they both suffered.

The Pit Bull who has lately become King’s Chief Security guard must have agreed to reciprocate on his behalf. So, he carved an opportunity during Hon Pierre’s masterful representation to throw dirt at Dalson, using the notorious 2003 Juke Bois missive, authored by Baden Allain for the purpose of not only checkmating Dalson’s tenure on the Soufriere Foundation; but also aimed at destroying Dalson’s Career generally. That missive which was penned since 2003 was deliberately passed on to Juke Bois to finish the job; but again Dalson’s innocence and repartee foiled the Pit Bull’s attack when Dalson simply replied "You have to die”. Apparently, there is something that the Speaker and Hon Dalson know about RF that we do not know.

Hence, whether by her own free will or by political decree, she ended the Monday session with a misplaced reprimand of Dalson. Naturally, that brought smiles to the PM's sulky and frozen face. After all is said and done, history and the laws of natural justice" will certainly set Dalson free.

I suspect Honourable Dalson’s characterization of the budget as a “quick Quak” event must have hit King’s tender sensibilities very hard. 

Let's see what happens on Tuesday!