Shopping for a Building

The positives of taking over such a building are that the government is trying to avoid wastage and also generating economic activity in the process. It is also probably trying to service a loan that it is attached to, by that I mean The Bank of St Lucia may have outstanding loans attached to this project. It is also taking over a building that has lain inactive and is an eyesore in the country.
Looking at this from and objective perspective because the building has laid dormant for a few years, monies has or will be spent on structural assessments and more will be spent on renovations or retrofitting since it was not originally designed for the purpose the government now intends it. There is also the possibility that the building is not worth what it is being sold for.
Finally I am sorry to say it but in this case the responsibility of an ill fated investments should first and fore mostly be swallowed by the primary investor and then the bank and other creditors should get whatever can be salvaged. The investment should be allowed to fail and if it does fail the lead investor should take the losses. Private investors like me and you are not bailed out with government largess if our investments fail. Comparing the bailout actions taken by the Obama administration in order to protect whole industries such as the Auto sector, Banking and Housing sector to buying the Daher building is unconscionable.

Keep It St Lucian

We need new and innovative approaches
Selling St Lucia’s strategic assets would be a gross mismanagement of the countries resources, not to mention a short sighted approach. In the case of Point Seraphine while the sale of the Castries duty free port facility would not destroy the country by any means, selling this critical gateway baffles me. I would liken it to selling the islands international airport. St Lucia’s ports are too important to be sold to foreign entities, these are areas where goods and services enter and exit the country and should not be controlled and foreign owned. Such a proposition relegates too much of the countries resources to the whim of external forces. The concept of self determination is grossly neglected if such a situation is allowed to unfold.
It however makes no sense to criticize without offering up solutions. If there is mismanagement of the facilities and it is not performing as expected, i understand the need to tap into the expertise of foreign management because of the skills and knowledge that would be brought forth. If any action is needed to increase the efficiency and productivity of the port, a needs assessment should be conducted. In addition, there are a plethora of alternatives that do not entail sale of the port, which could result in increased efficiency and productivity. For example, the facility could be leased to a management company.
I hesitate to offer more solutions, because it is still unclear to me and others the rationale for selling the port.

The second issue is the apparent lack of innovative solutions employed by the leaders of the country. I have a problem with the under utilization of our trained and competent human resource, because it is known that in the country, are many persons who can offer expertise and new approaches to problems, and are not brought into the fray. This is evident when the old boys club is constantly being used as a base for expertise, whether the expertise and skills exist or not. Our approach to the marketing of St.Lucia as a tourism destination appears to be geared towards the use of methods that although tried and tested, are being made obsolete with the advent of the internet as a marketing and household tool. The internet is just a click away, and as such we need to be more innovative and tap directly into that medium, especially since it is not vastly used by other Caribbean islands as yet. We have to be at the forefront of new marketing approaches and initiatives, and we can focus our energies into inundating the World Wide Web with advertisements that promote our island as a choice tourism destination. The internet is the best encyclopaedia and the most accessible information gateway for clients from developed countries who are our target population.

This land is your Land

This land is your Land

It makes sense that responsible citizens would exercise their democratic rights and enquire about a loan that has been granted by the World Bank through the IMF to the government of ST Lucia. St Lucia has presented a proposal for a loan and a loan was granted. In the name of good governance, transparency and goodwill the people deserves to see a copy of both documents the proposal and the loan document. We are simply being good citizens when we inquire about the welfare of our State
When I contemplate what it requires of me to be a good citizen, I marvel at the strength and resilience of my grandmother. She grew up in St Lucia born in a small village in the 1920s. One of the toughest the most resilient persons I have ever known. My late grandmother Ethel David epitomized what it meant to live. She smiled and laughed all while working her hands off at the same time. She really and truly showed me how to live.
In her day my grandmother had the ability to direct her 1000 pound bull, help her husband drag a fishing net across the shallows of the bay and stick her hand down a crab hole and retrieve a crab who’s claws were big enough to encircle a grown mans wrist . She was truly the master of her own land and house always exuding the qualities which I aspire to emulate, qualities that I may spend my whole life trying to achieve. She knew how to cook a family meal, how to celebrate Christmas and how to enjoy your afternoons after a hard day’s work. She knew how to have a Friday soiree, no matter whether times were good or bad.
Today I stand in her legacy, because as St Lucians it is our duty to aspire for the best and work hard to achieve the best, no matter our circumstances. We are the shapers of our own destinies and we can steer ourselves along the paths we chose. We choose our leaders; we ask questions about things that affect us. We do these things because we are also expected to work hard for what we want in life and to be productive law abiding citizens.