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Monday, October 31, 2011

SLP LEADER TO ADDRESS THE NATION TONIGHT


Political Leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party, Dr Kenny D. Anthony, will, tonight, address the nation in reply to the address made by Prime Minister Stephenson King last Tuesday evening. The address will focus on the economy, the series of mistruths and faulty statistics used by the Prime Minister in his address, the heavy borrowing by the UWP and generally, the plight of Saint Lucians.

The address will be carried at 8.00 p.m. on DBS and on Choice at 8.30 p.m. It will be carried later on Helen Television at a time and date to be announced.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

ANOTHER KWEYOL DAY; BUT WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF KWEYOL IN ST. LUCIA?


A KWEYOL PALACE IN GUYABOIS?
The British have always been exceedingly proud of their language; so are the Americans, Russians, Chinese, and Indians etc; and it may not be farfetched to say that all languages have their origins in folk. 

Just think for a moment that it was the Americans who owned our Kwéyòl as their native language. What would our Kweyol "bashers" think? 

There are apparently at least two contending views about American(ized) English. One view is: American English is a “Kweyolised” version of Anglo-Saxon incorporating several dialects. Another view is, it is a “paradigm shift" from Anglo-Saxon to a simpler “rhotic” American language. In either case, it’s a matter of perception.

KWEYOL TRANSPORTATION
What about St. Lucia? In the first place, do we have a language? And if we do, then what is it? We have been told over and over that we do not have a language; we have a vernacular! While the Jamaicans have preserved and developed their English “Patois’, many St. Lucia have attempted to tear our “little” Kwéyòl into tatters!

Naturally, being a country boy who knew no other language until the age of 5 or 6 years when I entered the Choiseul Infant School, I can’t subscribe or identify with any destructionist view. Kwéyòl is the de facto spoken language throughout the length and breadth of Choiseul/Saltibus and, for all intents and purposes, I regard it as our first language. It may also be the “X factor” attributable to our perceived “genius”.

KWEYOL MUSIC

Just think about the unknown young boy or girl dwelling in the deep hinterlands of Choiseul/Saltibus and whose first language was Kwéyòl; yet, sh/e went on to break "record" barriers - cultural and otherwise - to top Common Entrance or CXC or even to go on to win the prestigious island scholarship or even a University Scholarship to pursue a PhD.
KWEYOL CUISINE

Consider role models such as Tennisia Peter, Leonard Johnny and Gregory Louisy all from Mongouge; Tennisia topped the Common Entrance, Gregory won the island scholarship a couple of years ago and Leonard earned a UWI scholarship to pursue a PhD in criminology. All emerged from pure Kwéyòl backgrounds that were not necessarily blessed with any significant “socio-economic” endowments.
CHARCOAL-MAKING: A KWEYOL TRADITION

The same can be said of the Lafeuillee, Saltibus, Anthony, Antoine, Isaac and Jean families from Choiseul/Saltibus who have elevated themselves to unprecedented levels of academic/professional excellence. All of them emerged from humble communities with strong Kweyol backgrounds and today they stand out (albeit unassumingly) as giants of St. Lucia’s intellectual world.

KWEYOL CRAFT
To make a long story short, the point is Kwéyòl may well have the main ingredient, that driving force behind the inexplicable “conceptual magic” of rural, Kwéyòl students; and the time may well be right to consider conducting deeper, scientific research into the impact of Kwéyòl on learning and achievement!

KWEYOL POTTERY

Kwéyòl adds new dimensions to creativity and imagination along both the linguistic and conceptual planes. Consider the a story told in Kwéyòl and then repeated in English: It is simply impossible to replicate the built-in Kwéyòl nuances in rhythm, pattern; the idioms, metaphors and other expressions of figures of speech etc in English! Kweyol is simply magical.

One of the greatest ironies about our Kwéyòl language is the fact that many of us still claim we can’t converse in it - our own language; yes, that may be a fact that we all understand – especially in the context of the tabooing of the language. (I can vividly picture Massa during the days of slavery seeking to destroy it to restrict communication among his slaves.) But in spite of the tabooing, I am betting my bottom dollar that perhaps 99% native St. Lucians understand it very well.It's in our blood!
WE STILL CATCH OUR TUNA IN CANOE BOATS

However, it is a sad fact that many St. Lucians appear to be genuinely “fluent" in English, French and Spanish but are left grossly wanting in Kwéyòl. How do we rationalise this? Is it pride or shame?

CANOE BOATS LINING ON OUR SHOES
I submit that we are “quintessentially” a Kwéyòl society and we can’t run away from it. Although we romanticize and celebrate the Kwéyòl once a year, the reality is we live it every day. Even those who claim that they can’t speak it can’t run away from it. The fact that they understand it without difficulty is resounding testimony that they also “think in it”. Our daily lives, our “rhythm”, our heart beat, our thinking are all characteristically Kwéyòl. To pretend to be anything else is naively hypocritical.

BURNING COALPOTS IN MORNE SION
The FRC's slogan for our first Kweyol Day which was held in La Fargue, Choiseul was a well-crafted one . "Kwéyòl la en san nou” (meaning “Kwéyòl is in our blood”) as it was called, still rings in my ears. It was profound and it was relevant! Perhaps, that prototypic event was the best Kwéyòl Festival both in terms of the quality of the product and turnout. The annual event since then seems to have progressively changed its orientation, resembling more and more a massive “block-o-rama” with just superficial glimpses of genuine Kwéyòl.


STONES FOR A LIVING? TOUGH KWEYOL TRADITION
HOT BAKES
Another issue is: Is Kwéyòl Day now a festival for mostly commercial exploitation – just like many other festivals? Why is it arguably still Taboo in many households and even neighbourhoods? Although that seeming taboo appears to be more prevalent in the city, it is still "peripatetic" throughout the length and breadth of the island and perhaps gaining momentum in that regard. The fact that we may have been indoctrinated so badly into rejecting ourselves and our identities may well the reason for the wanton killings of our own brothers and sisters.

BARBEQUED CHICKEN: IS IT KWEYOL?

The corporate area is perhaps the platform for the destruction of the Kwéyòl. If the rest of Saint Lucia had followed the example of the city, then St. Lucia today would be another Trinidad and Grenada; there would be none or just a trace of Kwéyòl left. 

Saturday, October 29, 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS & VIEWS


STARTING THIS WEEK, WE WILL BEGIN A WEEKLY POWERHOUSE PUBLICATION "COMMUNITY NEWS & VIEWS" TO UPDATE OUR READERS ESPECIALLY IN THE DIASPORA ON EVENTS HAPPENING AROUND CHOISEUL/SALTIBUS.

IF YOU'VE ANY NEWS ESPECIALLY RELATED TO YOUR COMMUNITY, PLEASE SHARE WITH US BY EMAILING US AT:



HERE ARE OUR STORIES THIS WEEK:

The PRO Cheque Book Story:
UWP PRO
A regular caller to all the TalkShows who professes to be the PRO of the United Party is a very expensive commodity. He has a "United" Cheque Book all for himself while the Roblot massive are scrunting to pay their bills and send their children to school.

Since Mose told Choiseulians to get up and go and get their money from Bruce Tucker, all the UWPees are scared to death about the ripple effects. Perhaps the most scared is the UWP PRO who is holding one of the people’s cheque books in his back pocket. Now that Bro Mose has opened the people’s eyes, they are getting more and more angry; while the "cheque book holders" and "United contractors" are getting more and more scared!

Mose hit the nail on the head when he said, "the UWP eating all the meat and throwing the bone to us, as if we are dogs!"

$200 to vote and a new Candidate for Choiseul/Saltibus?
A United Team has been campaigning hard in the Cafeiere/Dugard Area for eight (8) days non-stop. Most of them belong to the "UNITED GROUP OF CHOISEUL/SALTIBUS CONTRACTORS Inc.". 

The young people of Cafeiere/Dugard have reported that they are being offered a down payment of $200 to vote for Tucker with the promise to pay the balance after the elections. However, community news is rife that the United Party is now seriously considering replacing Tucker with a noble member of the Charles family because none of the fellahs around him "en ready yet". They just working for their money! Young people of Cafeiere/Dugard, don't be bribed. Educate your neighbour about the danger and insult.

Massive Air Pollution in Reunion
Reunion residents won a nice victory over Tucker. They charged him and his PRO (Nin-Com-POOP) for air pollution and they won the case. They claimed that every time these two guys bounce up in the Constituency Office, they have to call solid waste to quickly dispose of diapers. So the United office has now moved to a more convenient location elsewhere because reunion cyan dealt wit all that "pee-pee" and "poo-poo"

Heavy Roller ain’t Easy
A parliamentarian who returned to the St. Lucia from Canada only on Wednesday had to be flown back again on Friday for more treatment. It is reported that he has serious lower bowel movement problems since his colon was severed. He thought the heavy Roller was easy. He should have asked Rick.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

CHOISEUL DECIDES: IS POLITICAL OFFICE THE PLACE FOR THE SICK?


It was just a public meeting; but it turned out to be a massive evening rally which filled the parking lot, the "area" around the Administrative Building, the old fisheries, and the portion of JEM Salmon Street from the Credit Union down to the new Fisheries Complex. As an excited village supporter appropriately remarked, that the massive crowd filled "Theophilus Street”.

The stage was star-studded with high-calibre speakers, including Tom Walcott and Honorable Dr Julian Hunte; but only six of them spoke.

All the speakers were in fine form - from opening batsman Albert Fregis to the Lorne Theophilus who closed the innings hitting the winning run, not out.  In the end, the massive crowd in hand had a treat in “the politics of enlightenment”

Albert Fregis opened the innings; he was followed by Hon Harold Dalson; then Shawn and  Menissa. Need I tell the other two? Obviously, Dr Anthony and  Lorne Theophilus! Yes, uncharacteristically, Kenny spoke before Lorne and then introduced him. It was a resounding statement about the confidence that the Prime Minister designate has in Lorne Theophilus. Kenny spoke for roughly 20 minutes; and Lorne spoke for almost 40.

What did the “Star” speakers say? Fregis gave a very good exposé on National security policy and issues. He revisited the Richard Frederick visa revocation issue and the implications for St. Lucia.

Hon Dalson was in his usual fine form. He spoke on issues of economic importance and the impact of Hurricane Tomas, Tourism development and a host of other issues. He said it was unconscionable that Chastenet could speak of $120 million available from Taiwan for development and that Fond St. Jacques was in that deplorable state. He also spoke on the failed tourism projects that were promised in Black Bay and River Doree. He said that it was a travesty for a small island like St. Lucia to lose 500 acres of prime lands because of the bad judgment of a government.

Shawn spoke on youth policy. Menissa gave a moving address spanning various issues and weaknesses of the King government.

And then Kenny took the podium to the delight of the massive crowd. Despite all the attempts to demonise him, he is much loved, especially in Choiseul/Saltibus where he has his roots. In fact, upon arrival, it took him well over 30 minutes to move through the crowd unto the stage.  

Radiating overwhelming and unshakeable confidence and command on the platform, Dr Anthony reported that the government was not answering his questions, despite all attempts. He said the government had gone “mute” in that regard. He also expressed best wishes to Rufus Bousquet and wished him a speedy recovery; but he also warned him that if despite his illness, he decides to run, there will be no "discrimination"  - he will be treated like all other candidates. 

Then it was Lorne’s turn. The Choiseul/Saltibus parliamentary rep designate stunned the crowd with his 40-min presentation, which got better and better as he moved along. As has become typical with all his platform presentations, he focuses more on policy than politics. He continued to unveil his vision and plans for Choiseul doing so methodically, moving from community to community, ridge by ridge. There is no doubt that Lorne has a clinical command of all the development issues affecting Choiseul, from Anse L’Ivorgne to Gertrine.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

THE EMPEROR HAS TURNED HIMSELF IN FOR SERVICE . . . BUT IS THIS THE ANWSER?


The Emperor talks too much, acts too little and he is always too late; but at this late stage of the game, talking is not the answer and will not help either. His government has been St. Lucia’s biggest five year talk-shop with so many different mouthpieces “talking the talk” but with the Emperor “not walking the walk”. And now, with his new Talks Shop series  (At Your Service), he has brought himself in "for service", saturating the nation with even more Talk backed up with little or no action.

Ossie Boy talks everyday on every talk show, making a fool of himself most of the time. The Emperor’s Incredible Hulk (Darnley Labourne), former Mr Universe (Rick Wayne), the Leprechaun (Timothy Poleon) and Gwan Djòl-Pat Fin (Sam flood) fill our heads with talk, talk and more talk - day after day, week after week and month after month. We are now “talk-weary” and now we have the "Emperor in the Pack" bringing himself in for servicing at the “ At Your Service” talk garage for still more talk. Mr emperor! We want no more talk. We want action on the Bar de L’Isle, Bexon, Columbette, Fond St. Jacques, Gertrine, Saltibus and Daban. We want action on unemployment. We want action on Rufus Bousquet and Richard Frederick etc etc.

Is there a correlation between the "amount of talk'" that the Emperor does and the the number of "cut and paste" speechwriters he has? There is a general perception in the country that the Emperor has too many speech writers. Some pontificate on economic recession and others pontificate on economic growth, confusing the emperor.  Some even plagiarise, as was the case on Tuesday night when within the first two minutes of his “At Your Service” speech, an excerpt from a speech delivered as part of an Economic Overview by a guest speaker at the SLPYO Retreat was recited.

For 4 ¾ years, the Emperor sang the “sanngki” of economic recession; but as we approach the general elections, he has changed to a happy “soca” of prosperity boasting that our economy has grown so much that we have now overtaken Antigua as the largest economy in the OECS.

While the Emperor is on the stage singing his happy “Soca” song, someone backstage is applauding him for the brand new clothes he is wearing; but the sorry truth is the Emperor has no clothes on and he does not seem to have the “presence of mind and being” to understand his dilemma before the national audience. So regardless of his doom, the emperor reads merrily along, not even aware of his imminent demise being crafted by his own circle of speechwriters who are themselves used to nude performances.

While the ECCU is predicting a slowdown which is truly reflective of the recession, the emperor is painting a bright picture of economic growth as if to suggest that St. Lucia does not belong to the ECCU. In 2011, the World Bank and IFC ranked St. Lucia 42; in 2012, we slipped 11 places down to 53; in the 5-year period, we  slipped 26 places (from 27 to 53), with the biggest slide recorded between 2011 and 2012. Yet, the emperor glorified our present rankings, proclaiming that we are now ranked number 1 in the Caribbean, suggesting that we were – more or less - recession-proof.

How can we experience growth when so many people are unemployed and losing their jobs? How do we reconcile St. Lucia’s record unemployment figures with the emperor’s impressive economic figures? Where are the indicators of that growth? Where is the physical evidence of that growth?

Beneath the World Bank rankings, there is an obvious story of economic decline and perhaps even failure as indicated by the positively skewed distribution of rankings. St. Lucia may be number 1 in the OECS; but she only achieved that by a precipitous nosedive from 27 in 2006 to 53 in 2012 in the world rankings. Can we rationally equate that nosedive with success? Yes, it can be success only when you butcher the statistics and make them lie.

The World Bank “Ease-of-Doing business” rankings can be compared to the results of a test administered to an “F class” where every single member in that class has failed the test. The ranking therefore will only be a ranking of the failed members of the class and will have nothing to do with success. In fact, if you look at our graphs, you will see that St. Lucia performed way below the Latin America/Caribbean average for all the indicators and this is what the WB/IFC report said about us:

“St. Lucia’s overall Doing Business 2011 ranking has declined this year, reflecting lower scores in all the indicators.”

Yet, the Emperor reported that St. Lucia is “number one” in the Caribbean for 2012.

The emperor also said that the economy grew by 4.4% growth; because that growth was the result of statistical re-engineering (rebasing) of the GDP, it is therefore intellectually dishonest to compare the “rebase” figure (of 4.4%) with it the figures for previous years unless we “normalize” them.

We can butcher statistics and make them tell any story – as King is currently doing with the GDP statistics (and the dishonest Ossie Boy would wish the Department of Statistics do with the unemployment figures); but what matters is the reality on the ground – how people feel it in their pockets, in the gas pumps, in their bank accounts, in their bellies etc.

The Labour Party is indeed correct when it said “what they (the King Government) have not succeeded in accomplishing over nearly five years, will not be achieved in five speeches between now and General Elections”.

Too much talk and spin and too little action by the Emperor! The crankshaft of Government has a serious bearing knock and servicing the engine with five speeches will not solve the problem; we need a brand new engine.

Monday, October 24, 2011

WHAT HTS DID NOT SHOW YOU?

WAS IT PERHAPS THE LARGEST TURNOUT AT A POLITICAL EVENT IN ST. LUCIA? WAS THE TURNOUT LARGER THAN LORNE'S?

IT WAS SO LARGE THAT IT COULD NOT EVEN FIT ON THE POWERHOUSE PAGE! 


IF YOU MISSED IT, THEN YOU MISSED SOMETHING "HISTORIC"!

THE US AND CARIBBEAN POLITICAL DELINQUENCY


AN EDITORIAL IN THE STARBROEK NEWSPAPER

LIKE BUJU AND DUDUS, HIS VISAS WERE REVOKED
"But contemporaneously, at the other end of the Region in St Lucia, after what has turned out to be much prevarication by the authorities, it has become known that, to their knowledge, including that of Prime Minister Stephenson King, the diplomatic and personal visas of Minister of Housing Richard Frederick, have been revoked by the American authorities."

For most of this year, the United States has been visibly in pursuit not only of persons in the Caribbean allegedly involved in drug trafficking, but in so doing, the authorities seem to have been seeking to ensure that those perceived to be involved in behaviour deemed unacceptable, do not received the protection of  Caribbean governments. In the wider Caribbean, the saga of what seemed to be deliberate temporising by the Jamaican authorities in the Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke extradition request, has had the most dramatic consequences including the resignation of Prime Minister Bruce Golding, the selection of a new Jamaica Labour Party leader and putative Prime Minister, and the likely calling of general elections, which many had thought would take place in 2012.

There is a long history of United States-Jamaica relations involving Jamaican nationals perceived as being involved in the drug trade, and leading either to requests for transfers to the United States, or deportation after the offenders have served their sentences. Not long ago the well-known singer Buju Banton was apprehended, charged with extensive involvement in the drug trade and convicted and sentenced, the US legal process paying no heed to pleas for leniency because of his status as a Jamaican musical icon, famous, among other things, for a beautiful rendition of the 23rd Psalm. But the events surrounding Dudus Coke, a person without Buju’s international reputation took, as is now well known, a different turn as Coke, a notorious individual in Jamaica, seemed to be given much sympathetic consideration by the political authorities there.

It is now accepted by most observers, and seemingly by the Jamaican public, that the efforts apparently made by the Jamaican authorities, from Prime Minister Golding down, stemmed from the fact that the wanted man was a significant player in Golding’s constituency, a so-called urban garrison constituency held for many years by former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, and which Golding inherited. To Jamaicans, the term garrison has connoted a constituency dominated largely by one political party, organized along quasi-military lines with the appropriate armaments, and controlled by the representative in tandem with those dominating the drug trade with which such constituencies have come to be associated. Golding, originally a member of Parliament from the more rural constituency of West St Catherine, inherited from his own longstanding JLP father, seems to have felt on uncertain ground in the urban environment, still, in the eyes of many, controlled by Seaga.

In that context, Golding certainly seems to have had a sense of political weakness or even isolation; a sense that must have been reinforced when as Prime Minister, he took his courage in his hands, and ordered a police-military invasion of his own constituency in search of Dudus, to much criticism from Seaga himself. The conclusion must be that Golding’s feeling of political weakness, inhibited him from treating what would have been a routine extradition matter, in the appropriate manner. So domestic political considerations came to dominate, and then to sully, Jamaican-American relations. Domestically, Golding’s recalcitrance alienated more and more of the electorate in his own country, leading to a strong sense that he had compromised his own government, and compromised too, good Jamaican-American relations by which his fellow countrymen place great store.

It would appear that Golding made one fundamental error, understandable in these Caribbean states where politicians often feel that they can influence legal processes. Obviously he misunderstood the tradition of separation of powers that exists between the US legal process and the American political process. He therefore came to believe that political lobbying, in this case using a legal person with standing in his party, but not in the administration, could create a change of mind on the part of the American legal authorities. The roadblocks to this effort in effect paralysed Golding and led to condemnation at home and abroad.

In the course of the Dudus affair, the diplomatic visas of a Minister of the Jamaican government were revoked, and there are now indications that further action is to be taken against other Jamaican politicians. But contemporaneously, at the other end of the Region in St Lucia, after what has turned out to be much prevarication by the authorities, it has become known that, to their knowledge, including that of Prime Minister Stephenson King, the diplomatic and personal visas of Minister of Housing Richard Frederick, have been revoked by the American authorities. This has led to his resignation as Minister, much concern as to possible next steps by the Americans, and gathering internal disturbance within the ruling United Workers Party. Within the country there is now a strong sense that, by way of damage control, Prime Minister King will call a general election in the near future, ahead of the last general election date of December, though constitutionally the government is entitled to go on until March 2012.

The link between the Jamaican case and that of St Lucia is, fortuitously, indicated in released Wikileaks Papers. There, it is indicated, that as far back as early 2006,much concern was being expressed by the American Embassy in Barbados (which serves the Eastern Caribbean), about Frederick, continuously described during his participation in a by-election in March of that year which he won, as an “individual suspected of drug trafficking”. The allegation was made that he “is currently under investigation by the U.S. and St Lucia law enforcement authorities for involvement in a trafficking operation that uses St Lucia as a transshipment point for Colombian cocaine”. What has led, a little over five years later, to the revocation of Frederick’s diplomatic visas is up to now unknown. But both the public and his party seem to have drawn certain conclusions, Frederick having been recently refused permission by his Party’s authorities to sit on the platform during a mass political rally ahead of now expected elections.

Richard Frederick was asked by the Prime Minister to “clarify” his situation with the American authorities. But it is surely likely to be the case that they will find as an impediment to any political intervention the same rampart of the American separation of powers that Prime Minister Golding has found.