HYATTGATE: Are St Lucians any clearer about the $30 million controversy?

There are some who will say the PM was good and shed light on everything we wanted to know so we must put the matter to rest. However, I am not any clearer about the facts but Martinus really shook him up! We all knew the PM would sidestep the issue of the $30 million so what’s next?
I Man

The PM’s performance was like a dough-nut—nothing in the middle! We aren’t any clearer about what the $30 million was used for. All he could say about the matter was that it was supposed to provide jobs for St Lucians. As someone asked: Were the cost overruns for the hotel’s construction or for the debt the hotel accumulated while in operation? I have not heard the answer.
Dough Nut PM

We can jump high, jump low because of our varied political agendas but the PM has the mandate to run the country and take crucial decisions for our improvement and development. We can all sit on the sidelines and criticize, because our party is dysfunctional.
The PM is not mad, it’s true $30 million seems like an awful lot of money but we would have lost more than that if the hotel closed. Some claim that there were only a few jobs, but let us examine the benefits on a larger scale.
Quite apart from the direct employment provided by the hotel, there are taxi drivers and entertainers, airline staff and airport workers, farmers, and craftsmen who also stood to gain. Certain shops will also have increased sales and some tourists would patronize the night-life, though the hotel might’ve been an all-inclusive.
With more visitor arrivals, it means St Lucia will experience growth of its foreign exchange earnings and general revenue, so the $30 million will be realized in quick time. As for the Parliament issue, it’s true Parliament’s permission must first be sought before approval is granted, but that’s a waste of time.
Parliament in St Lucia is just a formality. The “ayes” always have it. It is not like the US, where members of the ruling party debate and even veto bills put forward by their own party. So what’s all the fuss about?
Let’s Face It

If the hotel is pumping money into the St Lucian economy as you claim, why haven’t stay-over arrivals increased? Considering the closure of several other hotels, does St Lucia now have more or less hotel rooms than if the Hyatt had not been built?
Let’s Face Reality

Let’s Face It, you seem to be missing a very important point. When the PM guaranteed the $30 million, not one block was laid in the construction of the Hyatt Hotel.
So there was no “protecting jobs” at that point. Furthermore, even if he is the country’s CEO, the PM has no authority to enter into such agreements without parliamentary approval. That is in breach of the Finance Act.
Please check the facts and forget party lines. I am a strong SLP supporter, but I believe there is more to this whole issue than the PM is letting on. To be honest his performance on IPI, for me, was a total letdown!
Confused

Lets Face It, if Parliament is just a formality and the ayes always have it, then what’s the big deal about bringing the matter before Parliament? Let’s focus on the issues at hand and stop the partisan crap! Policy is policy and it applies to all.
Chem Dog

Sing Pelay’s calypso “Too many questions, too little answers” but instead of Rick put in Kenny. If you juggle the lyrics around a bit to reflect the fact that Kenny ain’t showing up on TV to explain the $30 million, you’d have one heck of a kaiso.
P 2003

There is a “high likelihood” that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1, will be busier than usual, US government forecasters said Monday.
Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are predicting 11 to 15 tropical storms over the season, said James Mahoney, deputy NOAA administrator. The season officially ends on November 30.
Six to nine of the storms are expected to become hurricanes, two to four of them “major storms” reaching Category two or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale, he said. Category two storms pack winds of 96 mph to 110 mph. Category five is highest on the scale, with winds exceeding 155 mph.
The average Atlantic hurricane season has 10 tropical storms, with six reaching hurricane strength and two classified as major storms. Mahoney said a number of factors could influence the number of storms this season—including wind conditions and warmer waters in the Atlantic Ocean.
He said there was also a 70 percent chance of La Nina conditions—unusually cold water in the Equatorial Pacific—that could make the storm season even more active.
Mike Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, urged people living near the East Coast to be prepared.
“Whether these predictions turn out to be true or not true, I can guarantee that there will be some sort of tropical storm, there will be some sort of hurricane,” Brown said. “If not those, there will be some major rain storms, there will be some flooding and to the extent that we can prepare the population for those kinds of incidents the better off all of us are.”
The 2002 Atlantic hurricane season was a mild one, producing 12 named storms, of which four became hurricanes. Hurricane Lili was the only hurricane to make landfall in the United States, hitting the Louisiana coast in early October. Lili weakened considerably in the hours before coming ashore and did not cause widespread destruction.

Dog gone: Two former stray dogs rescued by SLAPS, spayed and neutered by IVA, adopted and shipped to England. Picture shows them on their arrival at quarantine kennels.

The St Lucia Animal Protection Society’s volunteers are preparing for next week’s anticipated arrival of eight International Veterinary Assistance volunteers who will continue the SLAPS hosted spay and neuter clinics.
Their first stop will be Anse La Raye, where a three-day spay and neuter clinic is scheduled to start on May 28th at the Skills Training Centre which has been loaned by the Youth Ministry.
Volunteers from both organizations are hoping their efforts will help with the targeted villages’ dog and cat over-population and thereby alleviate the problems caused by stray animals. A newly introduced component of these clinics will be visits to schools by one of IVA’s volunteers and members of SLAPS’ education committee, who will be talking to children about animal welfare.
SLAPS president, Jane Tipson said: “We are fortunate to have forged strong partnerships both locally and overseas which enable us to conduct these clinics. It is equally important though, for people to understand their responsibility towards these animals.”
“Spaying and neutering will not stop hungry dogs and cats from foraging in garbage bins,” she went on, “but it is our hope that the reduction in population resulting from our clinics will make people better able to feed and care for a smaller number of animals.”
Ti Kaye Village resort has organized the group’s accommodation for the first three nights, after which they will move to the north of the island to continue their efforts in Gros Islet. Transportation has been provided once again by Drive-A-Matic, who together with Rex Resorts continue to make an invaluable contribution to animal welfare in St Lucia.
For further information, please visit SLAPS’ website http://www.stluciaanimals.org or call : 758-457-7527.

One of St Lucia’s principal tourist attractions, the Sulpur Springs, has been receiving a multi million dollar facelift, under an EC $4.5 million Sulphur Springs Enhancement Project. St Lucia, Canada and the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation are joint sponsors of the project.
Director on the Board of the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation Hamish Philip says the project aims to raise the overall standard of Sulphur Springs site.
So far, two components of the project have been completed, which include among other things, development of a trail and construction of an interpretation centre and a service building. The government of St Lucia’s contribution to the project include all infrastructural works, such as the new road from the Rabott Estate, leading to the solid part of the Sulphur Springs Park, and the provision of utilities such as electricity, water and telephone.
Phillip indicated that following the completion of the Sulphur Springs Project in June this year the public can expect the entrance fee to be slightly higher.
“It will be at seven dollars for visitors and five dollars for locals. The board of the Soufriere Foundation is of the opinion that the entrance fee to the park is under priced as compared to the other sites and services here in the island,” he said.