Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony says Sir John Compton’s announcement yesterday regarding the construction of a casino in Castries is not a new revelation.

He says the information contained in the USVI Daily News article has been placed in the local media. A daily news article dated January 18 spoke of a 15,000 square foot facility to be built in Castries by December.

Dr Anthony says Cabinet has approved the issuance of a license after public announcement in the Gazette and public debates on the issue.

According to the Prime Minister there are many unresolved issues regarding the terms and conditions of constructing the casino which need to be address before the actual construction.

Sir John has expressed his concerns not about the morality of the situation but the location of the casino which he says could lead to other negative consequences.

Minister of Communications Felix Finisterre says of the five recommendations made by the consultants, the proposed national system was never going to be approved by his Ministry.

Minister Finisterre says when the report is tabled at the Cabinet of Ministers meeting next week; it will be presented with his Ministry not supporting the proposed elimination of the current bus route system.
Not so says President of the National Council on Public Transportation Guy Joseph who says the mere presence of the recommendation despite the Minister’s assurances that it would be removed from the scope of the investigation is a cause for concern for his membership.

Joseph is very critical of the Ministry he says has made plans with a foreign bus company to introduce a newly revamped bus system to the country.
He says his membership will not take such a threat to their livelihood lying down.

For his part, Minister Finisterre says the public including bus drivers needs to await the outcome of the Cabinet meeting to know whether they should expect a changed bus system.
He also states without reservation that there is no plan afoot to introduce a foreign bus company to the country’s roads.

The Ministry of Communications says they will recommend three of the five proposals suggested by the Halcrow consultancy.
Minister Finisterre says these recommendations do not involve approving a change in the current bus system.
Whether or not his recommendations are accepted by the Cabinet of Ministers remains to be seen.

Members of the Saint Lucian Parliament including Cabinet Ministers and opposition members took part in a sensitization workshop organized by the Saint Lucia HIV/AIDS project Friday morning at the Royal Saint Lucian hotel.

The workshop began with a very sobering look at the HIV/AIDS situation in the country delivered by Director of the National Aids Programme Secretariat Nahim Jn Baptiste.

Jn Baptiste says the island has as of the end of 2005 recorded 547 AIDS cases; a figure he says is only representative of 20-25% of total cases in the country.
He says underreporting accounted for this phenomenon.

In delivering his welcome address to the workshop participants, Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony spoke of the crippling nature of HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Anthony says he was very heartened that members of the Parliament had also been joined by representatives from all political parties on the island to discuss a disease of great threat to citizens.

Delivering the keynote address Friday morning was Sir George Allenyne, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean Region.
Sir Alleyne is a former director of the Pan American Health Institute as well as the current Chancellor of the University of the West Indies.
Dr. Anthony says Sir Alleyne’s presence would make the workshop a very challenging one he hoped could be peppered with intellectual debate.

Prime Minister Anthony is the Chairperson of the National HIV/AIDS Coordinating Council.

Unlocking the potential within- that’s the theme of this year’s celebration of Nobel Laureate Week which climaxes this weekend.

Today saw the traditional laying of wreath’s at the grave site of one of the most brilliant minds to walk the face of the earth, Nobel Laureate, and St. Lucia’s pride Sir Arthur Lewis.

Sir Arthur was laid to rest at the community college named in his honor on The Morne. Sir Arthur won the Nobel Prize for his work in the field of economics in 1979.

in a brief address, McDonald Dixon of the Ministry of Commerce describes Sir Arthur Lewis as a source of inspiration for young ambitious St. Lucia’s who strive for excellence.