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The Batral Francis Garnier is a beach landing craft based in Martinique and has a crew of 52 officers and men under the Command of Lieutenant Commander Thibaud Bezacier.
During the visit, the ship hosted a cocktail party on board and the Commanding Officer paid courtesy calls on His Excellency the Acting Governor, Sir Howard Fergus and the Honourable Chief Minister, Dr Lowell Lewis. Divers from the ship also examined the condition of the sunken barge below the waterline in Little Bay. It is hoped to cut up and move the barge later this year as it causing damage to reefs in the area.
The beach landing exercise at Carr's Bay drew crowds of interested spectators as the Batral Francis Garnier came within 10 metres of the shoreline and dropped her bows down close to the beach.
Pictures show: (left)The Batral Francis Garnier in manoeuvres at Little Bay; (right) Commander Bezacier and his First Officer make a presentation to Chief Minister, Dr Lowell Lewis
The official celebrations kicked off on Monday 7 January as this was the date in 1947 when the first governing body of the then named University College of the West Indies assembled for its first meeting in Jamaica.
The local alumni group celebrated the day by unveiling a welcome sign at Gerald's Airport which is in keeping with their plans to raise awareness and engendering loyalty for the university within the Caribbean region. The local UWI Resident Tutor, Miss Gracelyn Cassell said at the unveiling of the sign "The Chapters of the UWI Alumni Associations had the vision to place a welcome sign at all the international airports in all UWI countries to increase public and international awareness about our regional institution and to enable UWI graduates travelling within the region to get in contact with each other."
The sign at Geralds Airport is mounted in the arrivals hall and was unveiled by the President of the Montserrat Chapter of the UWI Aumni Association, Miss Laurine Fenton.
The students were from a diverse group of subjects including geography, bio chemistry, law, medicine and political science and came to the island to view the Soufriere Hills Volcano. The leader of the expedition, University Lecturer Dr Joseph Trocino explained that the University of Maryland has a study programme in the French Caribbean and his students were part of that programnme. He explained that Montserrat was chosen specifically because of the volcano and for the unique undevelped landscape of the island.
Dr Trocino further explained " We go to islands that are not visited by large cruise ships with few tourists and are reflective of the cultural influences of the English, French and Spanish which have caused the Caribbean to be what it is today." The students studied the geography, geology and cultural geography of the island and interviewed local residents on various subjects to learn more about Montserratians as a people.
Discussions on updating environmental law began in 2005 and the draft of CEMA has been prepared through extensive consultation with stakeholders, including environmental managers, decision makers, land owners, and resource users such as farmers, livestock owners, and tourism interests. The natural environment in Montserrat has many values to people including food security, water supply, recreational & tourism opportunities, and contains unique plants & animals as well as symbols and places of national pride.
CEMA addresses both green issues (e.g. plants & animals) and brown issues (e.g. pollution & waste management) and its main purpose is to provide the legal framework for:
It is expected that CEMA will call for the setting up of a National Environment and Conservation Council which will be drawn from a wide variety of different agencies.
Currently, groups, individuals, and cultural organisations from Montserrat who might wish to appear at CARIFESTA 10 are being invited to register their intention to appear at the bi-yearly festival organised by CARICOM. Producers of arts & craft items, books, CD's, preserves and other appropriate products who wish to have their products to be sold or displayed are also being asked to register.
Registrations close on Friday 8 February 2008 and the appropriate forms can be obtained from the Deprtment of Culture's Office in Brades (telehone 664 491 8555). Further information about Montserrat's participation in CARIFESTA 10 can be obtained from Mr Francis by E mailing him at culture@gov.ms
It is appropriate that Guyana is hosting the tenth CARIFESTA as it was the venue for the very first event when the Emerald Community Singers represented Montserrat.
The course contains information on communication skills and customer care, basic facts about the history and geography of Montserrat, environmental management and beautification, the volcanic experience and will examine Montserrat's culture and folklore.
The competition is a straight knock-out one and Montserrat were drawn against newcomers Turks & Caicos Islands in the first round.
The competition was created in 2006 by financier Sir Allen Stanford with all matches taking place in the Stanford Cricket Ground adjacent to the VC Bird International Airport in Antigua. The competition has traditionally drawn large crowds to the matches, the majority of which are played in the evenings under floodlights. The matches are preceded by entertainment packages featuring some of the Caribbean's leading performers. The opening match on 26 January featured Beenie Man dubbed as King of the Dancehall as well as a huge fireworks display.
As well as the Montserrat team taking part, local umpire Mr Basil Morgan has been appointed to officiate in some of the matches in the tournament.
The strategy has been described as a "key strategy" for the Government of Montserrat in the rebuilding of a viable private sector on the island. The ongoing consultancy is designed to provide a set of goals which include:
At the start of the consultancy period there was an opening ceremony for its launch. At this event, the Financial Secretary, Hon John Skerritt reminded participants that Government's stated policy has for several years been to rectify the perilous state of economic affairs and that this is still the plan, even though the desired reversal has so far been realised only to a limited degree. He further stated:
"Government's expressed policy is to change the tendency for the public sector to grow bigger and bigger while the private sector shrinks."
The Ministry of Finance is the lead ministry in requesting the consultancy, which will be spread over a 13 month period, and the Financial Secretary pointed out that it could only proceed to full completion if there was local support for outsourcing.