Infrastructure Minister- Phillip J. Pierre says all relevant agencies have put systems in place to guard against the approaching system. Pierre says support has also gone towards protecting vulnerable areas.

The Pre-Strike meeting which is part of normal procedure during bad weather was held at the conference room of the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Commissioner of Police- Vernon Francois says they too have completed preparations; ensuring the safety of the public.

Acting Prime Minister- Philip J. Pierre says the meeting was briefed by all personnel and agencies involved in getting the country ready.

He says so far, all systems are reportedly in place. Meanwhile - the City of Castries will remain open until further notice. Another update will be provided at 5:30am Friday morning.

Dubois added the weather system may affect the island early Friday afternoon. However, rain and bad weather associated with the system may impact the island from Friday morning.

The Deputy Director of NEMO has further advised members of the public to remain vigilant and don’t wait until bad weather starts to take relevant measures.

Those who live in flood prone areas are asked to be vigilant and seek shelter from friends and family members as well as take relevant measures to protect themselves from the possible impending bad weather conditions.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Dervin Wilson, a Police Officer for the past eight years, is now on the opposite side of the law following a sting operation on Tuesday morning.

Wilson who was attached to the High Court appeared in court on Thursday morning charged with possession of illegal drugs and possession with intent to supply illegal drugs.
Wilson had been in Police custody since Tuesday after he took possession of a package containing illegal drugs.

Subsequent to that he was arrested and taken away by officers who sources say had been investigating him for sometime.

He admits it is a constant fight to keep illegal substances out of the facility.

Dervin Wilson faced the court on Thursday, and was granted bail in the sum of $5000. An officer with 8 years experience, Wilson was charged with possession of controlled drugs and possession with intent to supply controlled drugs.

Herman says transactions to get illegal drugs into the prison begin outside the institution since prisoners are not allowed to carry cash on their person.
 

The Bordelais Director vows to continue putting measures in place to intensify the ongoing battle.
He says CCTV Cameras and X-Ray Machines will soon be used in that regard.

Herman warns would be lawbreakers that while some trafficking may succeed; only a limited amount of contraband will enter the facility due to direct efforts to prevent such crimes.

Both individuals were arrested and taken into custody. On Wednesday 1st August, they were both charged for the possession of ammunition and taken to court on Thursday 2nd August to answer to the charges.

Dr Fletcher says the Cabinet of Ministers has made no offers to public sector unions since the body is awaiting a report from its negotiating team.

That report is expected to inform government about the current wage position between that body and the public sector unions.

Dr Fletcher and the President of one public sector union have confirmed a meeting was held two weeks ago between the government negotiating team, public sector unions and officials from the Ministry of Finance.

The Public Sector Union confirmed the information given was similar to another meeting in May last year when unions were told the Stephenson King administration at the time was not in a position to give public sector workers an increase in salary.

Dr Fletcher says that meeting was held to brief the unions on the current fiscal position of government.

The Public Service Minister says all aspects of negotiations between public sector unions and government have been negotiated except for salaries.

In a press release issued on Thursday – the UWP alleges the government stated it does not intend to offer more than 0-0-3% to unions since workers were “over compensated” with the 14% granted by former Prime Minister Stephenson King; and “there is no space in the budget” for “increases for those with jobs” and creating new jobs.

Officials from the Castries City Council are taking steps to ensure the recent incident where a tree Branch fell on seven children near Constitution Park does not occur again.

On Monday a branch landed on the group of youngsters visiting the island from neighboring Martinique.
A number of the visitors were subsequently taken to the Victoria Hospital.

Since then criticism have been leveled against the Castries City Council for not putting measures in place to avoid the incident. However, Officials from the Council have spoken out on the issue, saying there is a trimming program in place and appropriate action will be taken to ensure a similar incident does not occur.

Sperino added however there have been challenges to trim older trees and over hanging branches at Constitution Park.

Sperino says the French nationals have all been released from the hospital. The Acting Town Clarke noted the Council has also contacted the French Embassy to facilitate the quick recovery of the injured and affected.

The Vieux Fort North Constituency Conference was held on Saturday 28th July at the Vigier Primary school.

In attendance was acting Prime Minister and Castries East MP Phillip J Pierre.

He commended constituents and expressed the party’s appreciation for the 2011 landslide victory at the polls in the Vieux Fort North Constituency.

Vieux Fort North is considered an SLP stronghold and its MP for the past two terms has delivered two convincing victories. In 2006 Moses Musa Jn Baptiste won the seat by 998 votes. In the November 2011 election he beat his opponent Nancy Charles by over 1000 votes. Jn Pierre touted the MP as a man of vision drawing particular attention to his handling of the Black Sigatoka issue.

Pierre also took the opportunity to reference the Prime Minister’s much talked about choice observations of the opposition United Workers Party.

He says while the UWP has grabbed at the opportunity to make claims of divisiveness and malice, the SLP governments policies speak for themselves.

He says SLP initiatives such as STEP and the one off school bursaries for first year secondary students are all encompassing and ensure equal opportunity.

The Vieux Fort North Constituency Conference was also attended by other SLP MPs and the party faithful.

On Friday July 27th, the East Caribbean Financial Holding Company unveiled its new website ecfh.com; at a business mixer held in conjunction with the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce – allowing members of the business community and specially invited guests to experience the website first hand. 

The new website is expected to revolutionize the way customers engage with the financial institution.

It has been a two year-long journey leading up to the ECFH website launch. The decision to invest in an all-encompassing site with cutting edge technology is driven primarily by the Company’s commitment to customer service excellence.

Now, two years later, customers can access their financial world at their fingertips, on their time, with services and information only a click away.

Some key features include real-time stock market rates, a wide range of financial calculators and instant insurance quotes.

The new ECFH website serves as a virtual portal for all of the financial institution’s subsidiaries which include Bank of Saint Lucia, Bank of Saint Lucia International and Bank of St. Vincent.

Another major aspect of the new ecfh.com is it can be accessed on different platforms including computers, tablets and smart phones.

Emancipation day activities have been dubbed a success by organizers who celebrated the national holiday in four communities around Saint Lucia.

In Choiseul the organizing committee held a panel discussion followed by cultural activities on Wednesday.

The seminar was organised by EC Global Insurance to better inform its customers of ways they can safeguard and protect their homes and property.

EC Global Insurance CEO Leathon Khan says St. Lucians can make better use of their insurance policies if they are aware of pitfalls to avoid in home construction and security systems.

Guardsman Security made a presentation on ways to safeguard life and property. Another presentation by Severin Francois of EC Global explained the claims process and the factors that affect payouts.

EC Global Insurance partnered in the “Knowledge Initiative” seminar with Bank of Saint Lucia, Caribbean Metals, Guardsman (St. Lucia) Ltd and Construction Engineer Egbert Louis.

He urged attendees to adhere to sound building practices as this can lead to stronger, longer lasting homes and also lower their insurance premiums.

Louis also suggested an engineer be consulted to ensure quality assurance and to carefully study the challenges of slopes being used for construction. This is the second Knowledge Initiative seminar organised by EC Global.

The first was an auto clinic targeting women.