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Press Release
January 13th 2011- : Felicia Yolande Browne was born in 1977 in Soufriere and spent most of her adult life in the community of Morne Du Don, Castries, St. Lucia. At an early age, Felicia developed strong leadership abilities which she acquired being the first child of seven siblings.
Her love of reading was encouraged because of her father, a security guard at a public library. She participated in many youth projects such as local teen pageants, and was a member of the church choir. She was also a participant in Youth–Talk: a radio programme designed for young people and spearheaded by Mr. Jacques Compton.
Felicia attended the Vide Boutielle Secondary School. Immediately after graduating high school, she gained employment in the tourism industry at the Green Parrot Hotel, the Wyndham Morgan Bay Resort, and the former Hyatt Regency Hotel. In 2001, with funds from her personal savings, she applied and enrolled with the New York City College of Technology (CUNY).
However, after the traumatic events of 9-11, she returned to the Caribbean to continue her studies, but this time, with an emphasis on Philosophy and Information Technology. In 2006, she graduated with honors from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, with a double major in Philosophy and Information Technology – a first for the University.
Because of her love for teaching, she devoted a lot of her time while at university to tutoring and assisting local students from her homeland, to achieve their goals of university education through mentorship. In 2007, she left for Jamaica to pursue a master’s degree in Philosophy, with a concentration in Social and Political Philosophy, and Philosophy of Law.
She is currently a part-time lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, where she lectures in Gender, Philosophy, and Science, Medicine and Technology. She is also the founder of the Caribbean Mentorship Initiative (CMI) which guides and advises Caribbean nationals on educational and professional goals.
Her interest areas are Metaphysics, Epistemology, Gender and Philosophy of Law. She has written several articles like Exploring Sexual Morality; Caribbean Mysticism; The Idea of Death: A Philosophical Analysis; The Nature of Numbers, and The Metaphysics of Homosexuality: Gender, Law and Morality.
Ms. Browne is pursuing her PhD at the University of the West Indies with a concentration in Gender and Development Studies. She lives with her husband, 15 year old step-son; younger brother and sister who are studying under her guardianship.
23rd. Dec
Dr. Lewis' statement is unsatisfactory
The LPM has outrightly dismissed the SLP’s statement last evening on how to address the escalating and unprecedented level of homicides and crime in St. Lucia as unsatisfactory and short of any substantive and or innovative suggestions to addressing the problem. The LPM says that the Labour Party Executive does not have the right to indulge in any idealistic approaches to the problem since the Party was in government for a decade before the UWP took over and is, in-part, responsible for the present day situation.
Dr. Lewis’ statement on setting up a national “symposium “on crime is simply a rehashing of some of the ideas that the LPM has put forward to the nation on its website almost a year ago. These suggestions have remained largely ignored by the government of Stephenson King as the country continues to sink deeper and deeper into a state of anarchy, lawlessness and a total disregard for human life.
The LPM, has repeatedly stressed the need to set up a national consultation on crime that would include all individuals, organizations, social, economic and political thinkers, actors on the national stage, youth organizations, churches, teachers, doctors, nurses, farmers, business men and women, unions and taxi-drivers.
The LPM Executive says that the SLP's statement made by Dr. Lewis failed to provide a clear vision for the future. It also failed to acknowledge that both the St. Lucia Labour Party and the United Workers Party have failed the nation and it seems that neither one of them has a clue on how to approach or address the problem.
What the country needs now is a more effective and competent government working hand in hand with a competent and upright law enforcement arm which the LPM can provide.
The LPM, believes that there is a need for greater coherence between economic and social policy, in order to mitigate poverty and inequality, strengthen diversity and entrepreneurship, and exercise judicial justice. The LPM says that greater emphasis needs to be place on education, knowledge transfer and increasing capacity to innovation, in an effort to reduce crime.
The LPM will in the New Year, restate and present in printed form its body of ideas on how it plans to tackle crime if given a clear mandate
Dec. 6th, 2010
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Nov. 2010
The St. Lucian People’s Movement has called upon all friendly and compassionate nations of the world to come to the assistance of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia following the passage of Hurricane Tomas which passed over the island on the night of October 30th, 2010. This Hurricane caused untold damage to the island’s infrastructure and wreaked havoc and destruction on the lives of the island’s population.
Leader of the LPM, Therold Prudent, says that the extent of the damage has not been totally assessed, but as communications are restored to the various sections of the island, the damaged so far seemed to be quite catastrophic.
Mr. Prudent says that many people and children are without food, adequate clothing and shelter and any assistance that could be offered by friendly and compassionate countries would be welcomed and appreciated by the people of St. Lucia.
Farewell -Sir George!
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LPM speaks on murder at PM Office
The Political leader of the LPM, Mr. Therold Prudent, says that the murder of an individual in the balcony of the Prime Minister’s constituency office as he waited his turn to see the Prime Minister is a wakeup call to the government and the opposition that things aren’t what they use to be in the country.
As a result of this recent killing, Mr. Prudent believes that St Lucians ought to be fearful going into the next elections because the Prime Minister and his government have not been able to offer them adequate security during what seems to be relatively peaceful times.
As long as Mr. King and his government continue to play politics with suggestions offered by civil society groups on how to combat crime, very soon, not even thepoliticians will be able to consider themselves immune from the senseless violence that continues to grip the nation, the Political Leader said.
Mr. Prudent predicted that within a matter of days, some politicians will move on along their merry way as if this latest murder so close and within the physical proximity ofthe Prime Minister was just another isolated incident.
But he warns, those politicians who pretend to see no evil and hear no misery from their luxurious governmental suites and offices, are unwittingly contributing to the deteriorating state of crime in the country.
The LPM once again, calls on the PM and his government, to seriously entertain the idea of bringing all civil society groups and community leaders together for a long overdue–National Consultation on crime.
Mr. Prudent says it is time that we look each other in the eye and ask the tough questions that need to be asked now. We can no longer pretend as if this escalating violence does not threaten our traditional way of life and the image of St. Lucia abroad,Mr. Prudent says.
There are lots of anger and a growing restlessness among a large section of the island’s youth Mr. Prudent says, and unless priority is given to understanding the cause of this anger and frustration then there is little hope that the country will change for the better.
LPM Calls For Dismissal Of David Cox
The Chairman of the LPM has called on the head of the Constitutional Review Commission , Suzie D’Auvergne , to relieve Commissioner David Cox of his position on the Commission because he has bias the work of the body by stating what he believes a majority of St. Lucians want even before a referendum is taken on the issue.
The LPM Chairman, Mr. McDonald says that Cox has chosen to ignore history or is ignorant of it when he states that, ‘in order for the Constitution to be changed it requires a majority in the House and Senate and a majority vote from the electorate in a referendum.’
This statement, The Chairman says, clearly demonstrates that Mr. Cox is totally oblivious to and or is ignorant of the fact that a constitutional change was effected by an act of Parliament and no referendum taken to lower the qualifying age for senators from 35 to 28 to accommodate Dr. Kenny Anthony - thus making him a senator and a minister. In light of this historical reality it is incumbent on Mr. Cox to say whether this constitutional change was legal or not.
Mr. McDonald says that if Mr. Cox wants to play politics with the work of the Commission by making statements that does not seem to jell with the historical realities of constitutional change in St. Lucia, he should get on the platform of the Party he supports and stop fronting himself as an unbiased commentator on constitutional change and review in the country.
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September 15th, 2010
LPM on new Foriegn Affairs office
The move by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prime commercial space in the center of the tourism district in Rodney Bay is yet another glaring example of the financial recklessness of the King administration and one that demonstrates quite clearly that Prime Minister King and his government is certainly out of touch with the plight of the suffering and unemployed masses of St. Lucian people.
So says the Chairman of the LPM, Franklin McDonald. Mr. McDonald says that this action speaks volumes about whether or not the Prime Minister is in complete control of the finances and spending of the country and whether his government could be trusted, in the future, to use the country's financial resources prudently.
A government that is more concern about making its minister more comfortable in his commute to work than it is about using the country's meager resources to create employment for its people is a government that is simply heartless and out of touch with the current plight of the unemployed.
Mr. McDonald believes that the Foreign Affairs Minister is also trying to deceive the people when he says that the cost of the new, luxurious digs at EC$135,000.00 per month is only marginally higher that what the Ministry is currently paying but does not volunteer to give the nation the figures.
With the present low salaries that some workers are receiving in St. Lucia and the great number of unemployed men, women and graduates, $135,000.00 a month can put hundreds of St. Lucians to work in these hard economic times, the LPM Chairman says.
It is sad, Mr. McDonald says that the Foreign Affairs Minister is more concern about his comfort zone than he is about the thousands of unemployed St. Lucians in this country.
September 13th, 2010
LPM SAYS : Top priority will be given to citizens with disabilities
The LPM has expressed concern about the way citizens with disabilities
are treated in St. Lucia and vows to change that regime when an LPM
government is elected. Political leader of the LPM, Therold Prudent,
says that an LPM administration will protect and safeguard the rights
of all citizens regardless of their abilities or disabilities in this
country.
Mr. Prudent says that for too long, persons with disabilities have
been treated as second class citizens in this country and in some rare
cases even mocked and ridiculed by persons who ought to be more
sensitive to the plight of the less fortunate St. Lucians.
Mr. Prudent believes that government needs to do more by way of
removing the physical and mental hurdles and impediments that persons
who are physically and mentally challenged encounter on a daily basis
in St. Lucia.
People who are mentally or physically challenged need to be afforded
the same respect and rights as those who are not, he said.
Persons who are wheelchair bound need to have the same access to
government buildings and sidewalks as those who aren?t. An LPM
government will mandate that all government buildings be equip with
wheelchair ramps so that the physically challenged will have the same
easy access as all other persons using those buildings.
Mr. Prudent says that an LPM government will be a more compassionate
and kind government. Under an LPM administration persons with
disabilities will be given compassionate considerations when they
visit medical facilities around the island, by ushering them to the
head of the line if there are no serious emergencies that need
immediate attention.
An LPM administration supports the idea of giving persons with
disabilities discount considerations for needed medication and medical
supplies. The LPM will also streamline the process and make it much
easier for them to apply for and receive government assistance by way
of home care, medical supplies and financial assistance.
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LPM Sadden By Tisson's Death
The Lucian People’s Movement has expressed its greatest sadness at the passing of one of one of our national soccer stars, Isidore Phillip Tisson, who was shot and killed in Brooklyn in the early hours of Monday morning after he left a nightclub at which he was celebrating his Sunday-afternoon goal winning kick that led his team to a 1-0 victory over St. Kitts-Nevis.
Tisson who was shot by an unknown assailant was 27 years old and was in Brooklyn for the past four months participating in the Digicel SoccerTournament.
Mr. Therold Prudent, the leader of the LPM, says that the organization is saddened at this senseless killing and will do all that it can to help the Tisson family in the time of the greatest need. To this end the LPM ( New York Chapter) has organized a fund-raiser at the St. Lucian Paradise on Friday night, September 3rd to help the family defray the cost of transportation and burial. Calypsonians Jaunty and Rootsie have
agreed to perform at the fundraiser. All St. Lucians have been urged to attend this event so that the community can help in some small way to ease the burden on the Tisson family.
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August 4th, 2010
LPM looking towards a sustainable energy future
Written By: Dr S Julian Best on Aug 4th, 2010
As the devastating effects of climate change continue to escalate around the world, many countries are devising policies to enable them to secure and maximize the potential for sustainable use of their renewable energy and natural resources. St Lucia should be no different. The Lucian People’s Movement’s leadership therefore insists, that among other things, given the opportunity to govern the country, it will move quickly to amend existing legislation to widen the scope of sales of electricity to the country’s sole electricity provider. This, it maintains, will enable purchases from emergent alternative energy suppliers. To be fully open for business, the LPM contends that even if all the challenges of generating electricity from our geothermal resource were overcome, St Lucia would still have to enable private electricity generation in the future, by manufacturing companies in particular, that wish to do so. A prime example would be the installation of small wind turbines by factories wishing to control operating costs. This will only happen if there are cost efficiencies to be exploited (for example, lower cost per kilowatt-hour, resulting in a competitive lower cost per unit of production) with the opportunity to sell any surplus energy generated, by way of connectivity to the national grid.
The LPM considers that the general upward trend in the world price of oil, and our dependence on external supplies, must be addressed with a comprehensive and cost-effective national alternative energy strategy. The situation warrants a diversification of our energy supply portfolio, by making alternative energy an integral part of our energy supply mix. In addition to supporting wind-generated electricity at the national and private sector levels, the party intends to initiate the usage of alternative fuels, the preheating of water with solar panels for manufacturing purposes, and visits abroad for energy usage reduction and benchmarking exercises.The party welcomes each incremental step made towards an energy future based on reducing our dependence on external supplies of energy, using especially, our geothermal energy resource. In addition, the resulting and expected competitive advantage benefit of a general reduction in the national average per unit cost of production, regarding everything that we produce in St Lucia, plus the annual savings in foreign exchange, are worthwhile goals to be pursued. And this is so, despite all the challenges.
Moreover, the nation’s energy policy must be based on a mix of energy sources to include energy conservation savings and energy cost reduction as integral parts of our country’s national energy policy portfolio. To this end, should the opportunity arise, the LPM will support the retrofitting of electricity generating turbine units to use more than one type of fuel input. This is aimed at utilizing the cheapest fuel available in the marketplace, such as ‘bunker C’. Further, LPM supports the view that newly constructed residential units be wired for dual voltage (110/240 volts) to exploit the installation and use of lowest operating cost household appliances. Arguably, this facilitates the sourcing; and stocking of the lowest operating cost and energy-saving consumer equipment by our local retail outlets, from any part of the world. The LPM therefore pictures an energy future, based on exploiting as far as practicable, all cost-effective ‘green’ technologies for the development of the country.
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LPM envisions a much brighter future for our youth
The LPM says, that if elected to form the
next government, it will seek to reopen,
and vigorously engage in all arrangements
related to the training of qualified St. Lucians
to pursue studies abroad.
The LPM laments the inability to take
advantage of the great training opportunity
recently offered to our youth, and the
diminished hope to create a better future
for themselves and human capital for the
nation. The party, however, has great
hopes for a bright future for our youth,
despite such setbacks.
LPM too, is heartened and encouraged by
the depth of character displayed by the students
involved. Moreover, it greatly admires and
applauds the ‘can do’ attitude and initiative –
although that went largely un-rewarded, in
terms of outcome -- to raise the necessary
funds locally.
Such initiatives burnish the image of our youth
as those who have the strength of character to
go forward in a highly-competitive world.
LPM, nonetheless, regrets the outcome, and
empathizes with our youth and their deep
sense of frustration, while it remains pained
by the strange lack of vision regarding their future.
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LPM proposes new legislation on public access to lands
By Dr S. Julian Best
The leadership of the Lucian People’s Movement (LPM), wishes to voice its concern regarding the issue of access to our public assets. The LPM contends that the potential for the indiscriminate privatization of lands opening out to the sea and the subsequent loss of public access by way of outright sales, warrant better management and control. This concern also extends to lands and shorefronts artificially created and facilitated by way of public sector support and/or funding opening onto the sea or a river.
The LPM strongly affirms the totality of the need, both to attract and retain lucrative FDI, as an economic imperative. However, the LPM believes that this can be secured within a compatible legal framework that grants the necessary permissions to build using public assets, while respecting the time-honoured traditions of St Lucians regarding reasonable access to our open spaces for public recreation and enjoyment.
As a ‘green’ party, the LPM seeks not only to protect the underprivileged and the marginalized groups of our society, but also to champion the rights of St. Lucians regarding their enjoyment of the outdoors. Therefore, the lands associated with those public assets should be strictly reserved from sale and any disposition.
In addition, the LPM wishes to increase the participation of St. Lucians in the future development and expansion of the island’s tourism industry, and to share directly in the income streams flowing from tourism investments related to those public assets. This, the LPM believes, might be secured by active shareholding, and by way of long leasing of lands falling under the rubric of the Queen’s Chain and Crown Lands.
As has been done elsewhere in the British Commonwealth, the LPM wishes to give notice of its intention to deal with this difficult aspect of the law, and to protect the right to public access in St. Lucia. The LPM also seeks to enshrine the benefits identified with lands falling under the definition of the Queen’s Chain, by way of new legislation.
Equally important is LPM’s wish to put this generation on notice, that posterity will judge it harshly, if it in anyway facilitates the transfer of public lands out of the hands of St Lucians into those of foreign nationals and firms, which in turn, leads to further restrictions on public access and the separation of St Lucians from their patrimony.
Current law falls short of the necessary clarity and enforceability. The proposed new law intends the creation of transparency regarding the process of consent for an overseas person or company purchasing land adjacent to, or opening onto the sea or a river. The objective here is to make relevant law more enforceable through a new legal mechanism. Therefore, this new law would enshrine and extend the customary practices relating to the Queen’s Chain.
LPM GEAR UP
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The Political Leader of the Lucian Peoples Movement, Therold Prudent, said the party is gearing up for the 2011 general elections and moving into the next stage of preparedness with the selection of candidates to contest the seventeen constituencies around the island.
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| Therold Prudent, political leader of the Lucian People's Movement (LPM) |
Prudent called on all St Lucians of goodwill, at home and abroad, who are tired of the tribal nature of St Lucia's politics, and who have the courage to offer St Lucians a decent alternative in 2011, to come forward now and offer themselves as candidates and/or volunteers for the LPM.
The Political Leader said that, unlike other party or parties in St Lucia, where bureaucratic maneuvers, secrecy, blatant exclusion, personal infighting, and academic credentials are normative practices and mandatory prerequisites in the selection process, the LPM wants to let the public know that its selection process will be an open and public affair based on the simple principles of honesty, fairness and integrity.
Prudent said that persons wishing to offer themselves as LPM candidates need not worry about past political affiliation or socio economic background. The minimum pre-requisites the LPM requires are good character, a commitment to public service and to the development of St Lucia and a willingness to put country ahead of selfish and narrow partisan interest.
He said that the LPM would like to extend a special invitation to the youth of St Lucia to come forward and seize this historic opportunity to become one of the future leaders of this country and to ensure that the next government has the right balance of youth and experience, and is truly representative of a cross section of the St Lucian society.
Prudent said that St Lucians should not allow this opportunity to become part of the movement that will charter the course of change in St Lucia's political future to pass them by.
“Now more than ever,’ he said, “all St. Lucians can and should be a part of the solution to the problems that afflict and affect our society. “St. Lucians ought not to sit on the sidelines and gaze in wonder and disbelief as the current crop of politicians tear each other and the country apart.”
"We have to address the current problems that currently affect us," Prudent said. “We must address the problems of high unemployment, crime, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancies, drug addiction and inadequate job training that currently affect us."
Prudent said that the LPM will converge on the town of Gros Islet in August 2010, to officially launch the Lucian People’s Movement. |
The political leader of the LPM is calling on Prime Minister King once again to put aside his ego and show leadership by galvanizing the resources and thinking of all St. Lucians and organizations to fight the scourge of rising crime in St. Lucia.
The Political Leader, Mr. Prudent, says that with the unprecedented level of homicides in St. Lucia, now at 45, the time has come for the Prime Minister and his government to rally the entire nation in the struggle to make this country once again a peaceful and safe place for all St. Lucians.
He says that in the aftermath of hurricane Tomas, the government and people of St Lucia have a great opportunity to rebuild, not only the physical infrastructure of our nation but also the spiritual pillars of a just and ethical society as well.
Mr. Prudent says that nothing short of comprehensive approach in battling crime is needed now. The Prime Minister must be bold and courageous enough to do what is necessary and engage everyone in this struggle to fight crime since it is had become quite clear that his government has failed miserable in managing lawlessness in St. Lucia.
Mr. Prudent says that while the creation of a task force is commendable, the same thinking and strategic approaach should be used to fight crime. He calls on the government, once again, to set up a national consultation on crime that would include all individuals and organizations and all the social, economic and political thinkers and actors on the national stage.
Mr. Prudent believes that everyone can contribute since crime affects us all. Everyone should be consulted, including youth organizations, the churches, teachers, doctors, nurses, farmers, business men and women, unions and taxi-drivers.
Mr. Prudent believes that the rebuilding of the infrastructure of St. Lucia should be done with a holistic and strategic view to reducing the level of crime and lawlessness in the country. It makes little sense, he says, to rebuild the infrastructure of a nation and leave its people vulnerable to crime, chaos, disorder and unruliness as it was in the past.
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New political party urges St Lucia's youth to fight poverty wars not gang wars
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| Published on Thursday, February 18, 2010 |
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CASTRIES, St Lucia -- The co-chairpersons of The Lucian Peoples Movement, the newest political party in St. Lucia, have called upon the youth to prepare themselves to take their future and that of the country into their hands in order to move their lives and that of St Lucia forward.
Interim Co Chairman Therold Prudent, in his Independence Day message, told the young people that they should learn from their mistakes and not compound them with further mistakes and blunders.
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| Therold Prudent |
“You should be fighting poverty wars and not gang wars. You should be shooting down false ideologies with rational and sound arguments and not your fellowman with rifles and shotguns. And you should be killing arrogance, bigotry and injustice in our society and not your brothers and sisters,” he said.
Prudent told the youth that, ‘It is their time to define the kind of Lucia in which they want their children to live and grow up in. A St Lucia build on the foundation of moral and ethical values, and one which adopts a non violent approach to problem solving and resolution.”
Interim co-chairman, Franklin McDonald, told the youth in his statement, that they should take the opportunities that now present themselves to get an education. The foundation of every country, he said, is the education of its youth. He cautioned, “When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long. Look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. They cannot change the past but you can change the future.
McDonald told the youth that making mistakes are part of being human and they should see their mistakes as important life lessons that can only be learned the hard way but should not be repeated.”
Both Messrs McDonald and Prudent said they pray that St Lucians, on this the occasion of the country's 31st Independence, receive the blessings of the Almighty and the wisdom and guidance that’s needed to make St Lucia a safer and more benevolent place for all. |
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LPM Opposes Political Solution for Crime!
By admin on 5/19/10 •
PRESS RELEASE: The Political Leader of the Lucian People’s Movement believes that the spate of criminal activity in St. Lucia last weekend which saw the shooting death of a grandmother is not an occasion that calls for loud and vociferous political condemnations or strident calls for regime change.
At such times and occasions, Mr. Prudent says, calls for thoughtful and reflective considerations about what we, as a nation and a people, could do on the national, community and individual level to get a handle on this scourge. Mr. Prudent says, that The Lucian People’s Movement, believes that the nurturing of a criminal mind is not solely the product of government’s failure to address some social wrongs and inequalities in St. Lucia but is also, in part, the result of some dysfunctional family units that are unable to meet the challenges or address the problems that confront our youth today. Our youth, Mr. Prudent says are growing up in an uncertain and uncaring world without a father’s love and presence. The much needed guidance within the home is left to the mothers, grandmothers and sisters who themselves are on a daily basis confronted with the economic and social challenges of gender discrimination within our society. The majority of these young men and an alerting increasing number of young women participate in these criminal activities for various reasons which we, as a society, have not had the urgency to thoroughly analyse.
The Political Leader, while admitting that though more effective law enforcement is needed to curb the criminal activity that now seems to engulf us, he strongly recommends that government invest more of our capital and human resources in our youth through education and sports. Our government should invest more in afterschool programs and assist single-parent families where mothers are too often times left alone to fend for themselves and their children.
Mr. Prudent sys The LPM subscribes to the belief that, it takes a whole village to raise a child,âand maintains that our children are our greatest blessings and we must protect them from harm until they are able to make good choices with the adequate resources that we have made available for them.
As the decent alternative which the LPM is offering to the St. Lucian electorate, Mr. Prudent says that if the youth are our future; then, today and tomorrow, we must take care of the mothers and care givers in whose hands our future lies.
LPM Leader Therold Prudent.
In light of the recent debate on the controversial gas station initiative, the Political Leader of the LPM, Mr Therold Prudent says that he understands and welcomes the suggestions from all who in one way or another, believed that this current policy can become unworkable, given the nature of our society.
The LPM leader says that the gas station idea was an immediate, proactive suggestion, as a response to the series of assassinations that have taken place in St Lucia to provide back-up evidence to help the police. Mikey Fedee was ambushed, shot and killed; a Jamaican national relaxing at Happy Day bar in Rodney Bay was shot and killed; a magistrate was ambushed and shot but managed to escape, a businessman leaving his home in Becune Park was ambushed and shot in the head; and two innocent persons were randomly killed in Marchand when the intended victim was not found.
Mr Prudent says that the LPM remains convinced that for any approach aimed at curbing criminal activity in St Lucia to be successful, it must encompass and respect the input of our courts, the judges, educators and teachers, nurses, farmers, the clergy, social service workers, mental health professionals, the police, prison wardens, correctional officers, probation officers, politicians and the unemployed youths, in essence every citizens of our country. This is why, the LPM leader says, his party has called for an a-political national consultation on crime which will not be held behind closed doors but in full public view and will also include the family of the victims of some of the most senseless crimes that have been committed in St Lucia of late.
Prudent says that the LPM strongly believes that it takes a whole society to raise a child, and consequent upon that, members are convinced that it will take that same society, in its entirety, with all its political trappings and social shortcomings, to keep our sons and daughters, on the straight and narrow path and away from a life of drugs, crime and other paths which may lead them astray.
LPM regards the escalating crime rate against persons and property as being part and parcel of a very complex and intertwined set of social, economic and psychological problems. Crime reduction therefore, requires a combination of actions and strategies that will synergise to the benefit of the country, when properly coordinated and executed.
Mr Prudent says that The LPM laments the attendant situation that continues to florish in underprivileged areas like the Grass Street, Wilton’s Yard and New Village. The LPM views these criminal manifestations as resulting, in part, from a lack of gainful and meaningful employment for many of the unskilled, semi-educated and unemployable youth of today.
The LPM’s education and reduction programmes will tackle this concern with an adult education component (to teach learning skills and job skills), a technical component (to teach new skills that will fetch higher pay because of their professional content and skill component) and a micro and small business component (to get people to be self-employed and to be in a position to employ others).
An LPM administration will also present residents in low-income neighbourhoods that are susceptible to crime, a bundle of incentives and initiatives (including re-education and training—even reverse mentoring of adults by young people, especially in the area of information technology) so that they can adopt a new approaches and productive lifestyles that would give new meaning to their lives.
We believe, the political leader says, that if St Lucians have a greater stake in their country they will be more inclined to do the right thing and walk on the right side of the law. To this end, the LPM will institute a vigorous anti-gun “buy-back” programme. To reduce the number of guns available to commit crimes, guns will be exchange for cash, with “no questions asked.”
Mr Prudent says that the LPM believes that there cannot be two St Lucias in one country. If St Lucia is a paradise, it must be a paradise for all, at least, to a certain extent. An LPM administration will create a new national housing, refurbishing and rehabilitation programme that is aggressively anti-slum in focus and orientation.
The LPM believes in providing people with low-cost hurricane resistant housing units for lower- and middle-income families, where rents will be converted to payments towards the outright purchase of those homes, with ownership rights transferable to the offspring of deceased parents.
LPM believes in community policing (neighbourhood watches) to complement the work of law enforcement, crime prevention and crime reporting and will be instituted.
For regular policing, an LPM administration will invest in, and extend the use of mobile police stations and mobile sentry units manned 24/7 in critical crime areas.
Like fuel station outlets, video cameras with recording equipment will form part of an expanding but permanent monitoring system for all sensitive areas all around the country.
Additionally, the new LPM administration will enact legislation making it mandatory for first time offenders charged with crimes associated with alcohol and drug abuse and found guilty, to undergo mandatory drug rehabilitation treatment. If the defendant refuses to undergo the recommended drug treatment, or if he/she fails to complete the course of treatment, the defendant will face the full penalty of the law.
St Lucia political party calls for support for correctional officers
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| Published on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 |
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CASTRIES, St Lucia -- The Lucian People's Movement (LPM) has called on the government of the United Workers Party to provide correctional officers at Bordelais state prison with more effective training and better working conditions if the fight against the escalating crime rate in St Lucia is to be successful.
The political leader of the LPM, Therold Prudent, in repeating his call for an open national consultation on crime, said that correctional officers must be included in that consultation because they would have a lot to offer in any discussions about reducing the phenomenal rate of recidivism here.
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| Therold Prudent, political leader of the Lucian People's Movement (LPM) |
Prudent said that correctional officers are the custodians of the incarcerated and it would be remiss of government if they are not included in any strategy to combat crime.
“While the government is doing the right thing by reorganizing the police force it ought not to neglect Correctional Officers who are critical in the fight to rehabilitate individuals given a custodial sentence,” Prudent said.
He said that the LPM regards correctional officers as vital players in the protection of our society because they spend more time than any other element in society with prisoners and could therefore contribute tremendously in changing the mindset of those who are imprisoned.
Prudent said that the LPM believes it is important to spend more time and resources on law enforcement and keeping the society safe, but it is equally important to spend additional energy and resources on rehabilitating those who are found guilty by the courts and sent to Bordelais.
If we cannot successfully rehabilitate and reeducate individuals who have transgressed the law, then the problem will not go away any time soon but will continue to escalate, Prudent said.
He added that the training of correctional officers as well as the police ought to be continuous, dynamic and goal oriented. He calls for more than a six-month training period for officers and the hiring of more workers to man the prisons.
He also called for the Commissioner of Police to have a meeting of the minds with the rank and file at Bordelais so that they can be motivated and encouraged to do the best that they can do in rehabilitating prisoners. He says prison ought not to be seen as a holiday from crime but a time of reflection and change for those sent there.
Prudent called on government once again to hold an a-political national consultation on crime which will not be held behind closed doors but in full public view and will also include the family of the victims of some of the most senseless crimes that have been committed in St Lucia of late.
This consultation should also include the courts, the judges, educators and teachers, nurses, farmers, the clergy, social service workers, mental health professionals, the police, prison wardens, correctional officers, probation officers, politicians and the unemployed youths, in essence every citizen of the country.
The party called on the government to prove that it is serious about combating crime- by acting quickly on the LPM's suggestion. |
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St Lucia political party wishes Britain's Liberal Democrats well in next week's election
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| Published on Saturday, May 1, 2010 |
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CASTRIES, St Lucia -- The St Lucian Peoples Movement (LPM) has written to the Liberal Democratic Party in the United Kingdom wishing them well in the upcoming general election scheduled for May 6, 2010.
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| Therold Prudent, political leader of the Lucian People's Movement (LPM) |
Therold Prudent, the Political Leader of the LPM, says that the Liberal Democrats have a lot in common with the LPM as it relates to domestic and international relations perspectives and also because of the fact that they are both third parties challenging the dominant established ones.
Prudent says that it was also important to write to the Liberal Democrats because all the parties contesting the general election are canvassing for the support of the 70,000 Caribbean nationals who are eligible to vote in the British elections. Prudent hopes that the Liberal Democratic Party’s policies will find favour with those Caribbean nationals.
The Political Leader of the LPM believes that a win for the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom will reverberate throughout the English speaking Caribbean and send the message that the time has come for third parties to be given the opportunity to govern. |
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LPM leader says Government is taking a calculated risk to depend on handouts
By Franklin McDonald, Chairman of LPM on 4/28/10 •
Prudent
Political Leader of the Lucian People’s Movement (LPM) Therold Prudent says that the 21-million dollar gift pledged by the Taiwanese Government to help finance the 2010 Budget of Prime Minister Stephenson King is a Trojan Horse, that will inadvertently undermine the territorial sovereignty and political independence of St. Lucians.
Prudent believes that with so much Taiwanese money already pumped into the economy after the 2006 general election, such a large sum, given before the 2011 electoral exercise, may very well influence the electoral choices of the vulnerable beneficiaries of this financial largesse.
“They will not be voting for the Taiwanese, but they certainly will be grateful to the government that brought the money into the country,” Prudent stated.
Prudent says the 2010 Budget is not a road map to the economic recovery of St. Lucia, as described by the Prime Minister, but a highway to the financial and economic ruin of the country and people.
He believes that that a government which intends to finance 266 million dollars of its 1.2 billion-dollar budget, some 22 percent, with handouts or grants from the European Union and Taiwan and loans from the Caribbean Development Bank and World Bank, will not fare too well in this global economy, if it does not cut down on domestic waste and spending.
“The government is taking a calculated risk, if it depends so heavily on handouts. The problem is not recovery but sustainability and that’s where the government’s attention ought to be focused,” Prudent lamented.
The political leader says that he is also troubled by government’s intention to finance a part of its budget, no matter how small, with the proceeds from the sale of St. Lucian land. He is of the view that in times of economic hardship, such as these, government should parcel up crown lands and virtually give it to St. Lucians at the lowest price possible instead of depending on 13.4 million dollars from the sale of land to finance its budget.
“Who will the land be sold to? Will it be St. Lucians or will it be foreigners?” Prudent asks.
Mr. Prudent believes that when the rubber of the government’s 2010 Budget meets the road, the government may very well find itself the victim of highway robbery that may very well spell the financial doom for many St. Lucians in the coming year.
St Lucia government called on to clear minister's name
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| Published on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 |
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CASTRIES, St Lucia -- Therold Prudent, the political leader of the Lucian People's Movement (LPM), has called on the St Lucia government to provide the public, in a timely fashion, with all the relevant documentation and evidence to discredit the information provided in the Weekend Voice on the situation involving the Minister of Communications and the AMG Company.
If the government of Stephenson King fails to do so, Prudent said then all right thinking St Lucians have a constitutional right to protect the country by doing whatever is democratically possible and necessary to stop this development project for Hewanorra Airport from moving forward at this time and in its present form.
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| Therold Prudent, political leader of the Lucian People's Movement (LPM) |
Prudent said that the information in the public domain speaks of a government and a minister embarking on a development project for Hewanorra Airport that will burden St Lucia with a debt of nearly half a billion dollars, equivalent to two and a half thousand dollars per living soul in the country.
Prudent called on Guy Joseph, the Minister of Communications and Works, to prove to the public that his Ministry is constructing the agreement with AMG on a foundation of truth, openness, honesty and accountability and that the affairs of state are being handled in good faith and in a manner that will not put the country’s finances at risk by guaranteeing a loan for the project and giving AMG the authority to use the terminal as collateral for the loan.
If the Minister of Communications fails to comply with this request, Prudent says St Lucians, regardless of their political affiliations, whether they are UWP or SLP, LPM or ONE supporters should demand the stoppage of all negotiations with AMG and ask the Minister to step aside and demit office. |
Did the Prime Minister tell the nation how much is being spent on refurbishing The Helenites Center?
Ambassador St. Aimee paid a surprise visit to the Helenites  Center on 30th December 2009 to take a first hand look at the refurbishment taking place there. Many St. Lucians upon hearing of his visit were surprise because they were unaware that the St. Lucian government had decided to undertake this refurbishment with monies that either should have gone to or remained in the Consolidated Fund. One St. Lucian who was ignorant of the decision of the King administration said that he was willing to help raise the necessary funds as it was the request of the late Sir John that St. Lucians in New York do so. It is not known how much it will cost the King government to refurbish the property in Brooklyn but many St. Lucians feel that they should have been given the opportunity to raise the monies themselves by holding dances, raffles or other fund raisers.
“If we can help St. Lucian and our people in times of need then we can certainly help our selves when we need to do so” another St. Lucian said.  It is not known whether the monies used to refurbish the Center came directly from the Consolidated fund or from the proceeds which the New York mission deposited into its accounts when it sold the diplomatic residents for ambassadors in Rye, New York. At the time of its sale, before the last general election held in 2006, the property was valued at over one million dollars. Many St. Lucians believe that if the monies used to refurbish the Center came from the proceeds of the sale of the Rye property, this money should have been deposited back into the Consolidated Fund where it originated, and not kept in New York where it supposedly is being used as a lucrative slush fund for spending and other expenses not documented or mentioned in the national budget or accounted for in parliament. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
COMMENTARY
DO THE RIGHT THING THE RIGHT WAY
by Franklin McDonald
For a government facing the looming prospects of borrowing to pay the salaries of civil servants, the Stephenson King administration is certainly spending a whole lot of the taxpayer’s money and ambassadorial time on the refurbishment of the Helenites Center - a center St. Lucians in New York were willing and able to refurbish themselves.
When Ambassador St. Aime was spotted leaving the Helenites Center at high noon on 30th December, 2009, a time of day when he ought to have been at his desk working for country and people, one had to wonder what was his calling, at such a time, and not so evidently alone, at the Compound.
It may very well be that it was more important to him personally to supervise and inspect the refurbishment process of this recreational digs which he and his government had all but agreed to sell to a private individual, had it not been for the forceful persuasion of the President of Lucian Power, who reminded King that it was Sir John’s wish and policy that the Center remain in the hands of the community of St. Lucians in Brooklyn.
But maybe, it could be, that with two highly paid ambassadors doing the work previously done by one, St. Aime could now find the time, within the ambit of his cronyistic appointment, to journey from Manhattan across Bridge and Highway into Brooklyn so as to inspect the work taking place at the 48th Street location.
It may also be that in light of the Ramsahoye Report of the non-supervision of the Highway Project by the Minister of Communications, Dr. St. Aime was compelled to do the right thing by keeping a close eye on the process. Nonetheless, if that were the purpose of his Brooklyn mission, which only a precious few would accept, why is it that the government is doing the supposedly right thing by refurbishing the center with St. Lucian taxpayers money, in such grand secrecy, unknowing to many St. Lucians in New York and to most in St. Lucia.
What is most disturbing about this process, is not the secrecy that surrounds it, but the unnecessary spending by the Prime Minister of the people’s funds at a time when King and Cabinet should be cutting down and cutting out overseas trips for discussions on topics and issues which have no direct impact on our people and nation.
Interestingly enough, although Sir John had resolved to save the Center, he intended its salvation and refurbishment to be undertaken by the community with help from the central government if necessary. King did not want to save the Center. He wanted to sell it. But for some unknown reason, he has undertaken its refurbishment, not with the help of St. Lucians in New York who are quite able and willing to raise the monies for such a task, but with the use of monies from the Consolidated Fund or monies that should have rightly been deposited in that Fund. A Fund that has undergone such abject depletion under past administrations.
Nonetheless, it is commendable in and of itself to do the right thing. But in the totality of one's civic duties, one must not only do the right thing - one must do the right thing the right way.
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