By Chevanev Charles The views in this article are the views of the writer only. There is a statement that goes “without seafarers, half the world would starve while the other half would freeze.” The shipping industry would grind to a halt without seafarers and their contribution to their countries is a key factor in economic development. Hundreds of thousands of seafarers are currently stranded on ships which cannot proceed to sea because of “no sail orders” and cannot be allowed to disembark because of lockdown initiatives. The novel COVID-19 Corona Virus has caused many nations to close their borders…
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The NDP has been championing the cause for our sailors and oil rig workers to return during the COVID- 19 pandemic. It is disingenuous for spokespersons of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) regime to imply that the New Democratic Party (NDP) is opposed to bringing Vincentian sailors and oil rig workers home. Dr. Friday is consistent on this issue. He addressed the nation on 1st April and advised the government on a number of measures that it should take to reduce the spread of COVID- 19. He recommended that the borders be closed for a while but our nationals should…
(Jamaica Star)Prime Minister Andrew Holness was blunt. “The possibility is that all of us, at some point in time, will get it,” he said about the coronavirus, which has had a crippling economy on the country since the first case was discovered on March 10. “The COVID-19 is not a death sentence. It is not something that individuals should be scorned because the truth is the probability, and indeed the possibility is that at some point in time, maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but this disease is going to be around… This virus is around now and the possibility…
Premier of Nevis, Mark Brantley, in an unprecedented show of solidarity with the people of Nevis impacted by loss of income owing to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 global pandemic, has announced that he will forgo his entire monthly salary for the foreseeable future, the Jamaica Gleaner reports. On April 22, the premier informed the public, and wider federation, that “I have since last month forgone my salary and benefits in full and shall continue to do so until we are past this crisis.” Across the region and in the international arena, many leaders have recently taken 30 to 75 per…
The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne, today urged for vaccination programs to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. “If we fall behind on routine immunizations, particularly for children, we risk outbreaks, thus overwhelming hospitals and clinics with preventable diseases in addition to COVID-19,” said Dr. Etienne. In a press briefing updating the situation, Dr Etienne said, “until a vaccine for COVID19 is available, immunizations can and must be delivered by the health services alongside the response” to the pandemic. If countries fail to do this, “the impact on our health systems would take months or…
With the creative sector being a major component of almost every “Tourism Product” globally and with the significant contribution being made by DJs regionally and internationally to their respective Tourism and Entertainment industries, we cannot continue to operate with the notion of “business as usual” here in SVG. We are at a stage where it is empirical for us to now harness, advance, standardize and professionalize our DJ Art form, if we are serious about our music and growth of our developing music industry. There is absolutely no other way!!! For whatever reason in SVG, being called a DJ is…
Mystery surrounds what transpired at the Argyle International Airport on July 28, 2019 when Jamaican Novian Travis Vaughn Mullings was arrested while supposedly attempting to leave the island with 30.85lbs of cannabis with intent to supply. Such was the crux of defense attorney Grant Connell’s summation as he presented his final review of the evidence brought before Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne at Kingstown’s Serious Offenses Court. The burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt was the standard Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delplesche had to, and according to the Court did, satisfy in order to secure a conviction. While campaigning for the…
Youths in conflict with the law, those in care and protection, and other youths are to benefit from a donation of musical instruments to the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) Band. The RSVGPF Band received a complement of instruments through the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Juvenile Justice Reform Project (JJRP). Items donated include audio and sound equipment, guitar, and keyboard, among others. Commissioner of police, Colin John, expressed thanks to all stakeholders in the project. John said projects like these form a nexus between…
By Nathan “Jolly” Green There are 300 Vincentian professional seamen caught up in the coronavirus pandemic. Their employers have been housing them on cruise ships, and the men and women want to go home to St. Vincent. The employers have stated their willingness to get them, at the company’s cost, back to St. Vincent. Surely, at that moment of stepping on Vincentian soil, they are the responsibility of the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. How can the cruise companies be responsible from there on for the keeping of these people in quarantine in SVG? Getting them home is…
May 1 is observed each year in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as International Workers’ Day or May Day, in recognition of the sacrifices and contributions of Vincentian workers. This year, the COVID-19 Task Force/Health Services Subcommittee of the National Emergency Committee would like the Vincentian public to specially acknowledge and celebrate the outstanding work of our teachers and first responders, nurses, police, immigration and customs officers, coast guard and doctors during this challenging time of COVID-19. We suggest that a good way to recognize and acknowledge this outstanding work and help them to do their jobs more efficiently, will…