Arthur Langilier (l) and Darius Cetoute will once again square off in the boxing ring when the St Lucia Amateur Boxing Association stages a grand exhibition Sunday on the market step.

The St Lucia Amateur Boxing Association (SLABA) is preparing to stage what one official called a very special exhibition, on the market steps on Sunday beginning at 3 pm.
Special! You better believe it. In the past the SLABA has staged numerous exhibitions, but this promises to be the Mother of all boxing exhibitions. Plans for this extravaganza were recently announced at a press conference at the Wharf Restaurant.
At that time Acting President of the SLABA, Joseph “Reds” Perreira, and Public Relations Officer, Brian McDonald, provided the press with details of this special boxing exhibition.
Perreira who is sold on the idea of boxing on the market steps said: “I think this is a real new day for amateur boxing to be able to have this public exhibition. We have a track record of taking exhibitions to different parts of St Lucia and this is a new day where we can take it right to the doorstep of people in Castries and the greater environs.”
The Acting SLABA President was extremely grateful to the Castries City Council and Royal St Lucia Police Force, for their cooperation when it came to staging the event.
So far 10 bouts are scheduled to take place inside the ring that was used at Showtime-the biggest boxing event in St Lucia.
Mc Donald pointed out that the boxers earmarked for the exhibition are the cream of the crop of the SLABA. He mentioned names like Boxer of the Year Lyndell “The Russian” Marcellin, Alex Poyotte, Arthur  Langilier, Travis Maynard, Miguel Auguste, Dalton George all of whom represented St Lucia at one time in competitions overseas.
SLABA will use this opportunity to showcase not only their top boxers but some of their promising junior boxers. Of course the boxing association is also looking for new blood and feel this is a perfect opportunity for youngsters in Castries, to see what the sport is all about.
The St Lucia National Lottery is the main sponsor of this boxing exhibition which is expected to attract a large crowd.
Following are the matchups for the boxing exhibition which gets underway at 3 pm.
Travis Maynard vs Yanic Leon, Alex Poyotte vs Leroy James, Niaran David vs Kyghan Mortley, Miguel Auguste vs Giovanni Ermay, Lindell Marcellon vs Dalton George, Joshua Brown vs Melvon Phillip, Najsum Cox vs Trevor Lynch, Jamal Michael vs Brad Lewis, Joshua Duberry vs Hesley Lewis and Arthur Langilier vs Darius Cetoute.

Producer Barry George continues to highlight the lack of support for the Arts.

Dance, visual and audio illusion, combined with humor and nonstop surprises in 16 remarkable dance stories created Silver Shadow’s “Dance Mirage” was staged at the National Cultural Centre on Sunday 29th January 2012.
Business was initially dawdling but as the start time drew ever nearer, audiences increased in number and the show soon took in a full house. In attendance were Dame Pearlette Louisy, Kennedy Samuel, and Jerry George among other well-known public figures.
According to Barry George, the producer of Silver Shadow Performing Arts Academy’s 5th major production, “Dance Mirage is staged in an urban setting revealing chronicles of urban life from an artistic point of view.”
Mr George also took some time to point out that this production also highlights the journey of Silver Shadow Dancers who have struggled to stay alive after 21 years in existence. Dance Mirage is a Contemporary dance production which highlights the unique talents of St Lucian dancers created in choreographic illusions using dance forms such as, modern dance, contemporary, hip hop, Ethnic, African and Caribbean, while exploring the movement in tasteful breathtaking moments.
The show started off with an intro into the creative industry, what it is and what it can do for young talented St Lucians. This was followed by a thought-provoking performance in dance called “vocea.” The third act blazed even more when dancers performed to the remix of Super Sick–Angels and Demons which had the crowd sitting at the tip of their chair. Later in the first half of the show was the best and most captivating performance of the night— “Family Portrait” was performed by Gideon Ambrose, Soriah John and Akina Randolph. This performance depicted the societal family issues that are hidden away in the closets of many families for fear of what may happen should the truth emerge.
George also told the story in dance of the lives of the St Lucian youth who would end up “on the block” finding nothing but trouble. It depicts the frustration among young people in the absence of mediums to express themselves creatively and how idleness can lead to some of our social ills.
Finally, George turned his “Urban Controversy” into a coded message to send to the relevant authorities saying, “they don’t really care about us.” This was a military themed dance performance of Michael Jackson’s “They don’t really care about us.” The dance and choreography was of course, similar in many ways to Michael Jackson’s.
Speaking after the show ended on a high note, the producer expressed satisfaction with his team members.
“I feel relieved and happy because I think our team, the dance company executed and that was the result I was looking for,” he said. When asked about the last performance, the producer smiled before saying, “I have made it very clear; they don’t care about us.” George expressed disappointment with St Lucians who, according to him, “only know Silver Shadow when they want to have their cocktail parties or their functions, they just want to pay us to dance.” He further stated that these same individuals or companies would be approached for sponsorship and would refuse to help with the development or production of the group.
George explained that this show cost nearly
EC$30, 000 to produce but by opening time, they had only managed to raise EC$12,000.         “We were hoping that the gate receipts would cover our bills and that will not happen,” said George. Nevertheless, the producer said this is not about the money but rather it is about the impact.
“I’m hoping it can generate or stimulate something that people would invest in as time goes by.”
George encouraged young people to make use of this art.
“We are trying to encourage children from four years and adults to join our after school program at the old Girls Vocational School from Monday to Saturday.
So, what’s next for Silver Shadow?
George hinted this may be his last production but added, “if we obtain enough resources to keep the arts alive, then I will be glad to continue but for now . . . it may be my last.”
Silver Shadows has received a number of awards nationally in the performing arts category. Like the earlier masterpieces, Dance Mirage was well planned and the crew ensured that there was continuity throughout the entire show. Fourteen senior dancers were featured in the production including, Crystal Octave, Iva Satney, Ron Gill and Macy Brisfere. Some junior dances were also in the last few pieces.

Beginner:
Squat jumps x 10. Side shuffle x 10. Side lunge x 10. Tricep extension x 10. Burpes x 10?

Advanced:
Squat jumps x 15. Side shuffle x 15. Side lunge x 15. Tricep extension x 15. burpes x 15

•    For help with the exercises go to www.facebook.com/cyanfitness and view the photos

STAR publisher Rick Wayne (l) former ambassador Earl Huntley (r)

It was in November 2004 that Prime Minister Kenny Anthony released the findings of a one-man investigation into what the press referred to as “the Helenites Affair” and the day’s government as “the circumstances surrounding the attempted transfer of title to the property situated at 438 East 49th Street, Brooklyn, New York and the facilitation of a mortgage of US$150,000 on the said property.”
The man chosen by the prime minister to conduct the probe was a retired judge named Albert Matthew who had famously determined in favor of Sir Fred Phillips when a concerned citizen challenged his ability to conduct without prejudice an inquiry into the alleged sourcing and misuse of UNDP funds by Dr. Charles Flemming, at the time Saint Lucia’s permanent representative to the United Nations.
The 2004 Kenny Anthony government had also charged Matthew with determining whether the behavior of the parties in the Helenites matter constituted criminal misconduct, acts of corruption or other acts of impropriety, misfeasance or illegality, and to make appropriate recommendations. By all Matthew learned from interviewing foreign affairs personnel, the government had decided for various reasons to purchase the building situated at the above-mentioned New York address, declare it in trust and place it in the hands of trustees in New York who would manage the property.
The accountant at the Saint Lucia mission in New York told Matthew the government’s intention was “to ensure the Saint Lucian community would continue to have a place to meet and maintain connections.” Moreover, that upon registration of title in the name of the government, tax exemption status would be acquired from the U.S. authorities and a trust established to handle the operation of the building, “thereby relieving the government of the day-to-day financial obligations for the building’s maintenance.”
As too often happens with even the best-laid plans, the government’s intentions in relation to the so-called Helenites Building, for several reasons including negligence and incompetence, went awry. For one, there was the recurring matter of unpaid property taxes. Some US$31,000 had to be paid by, of all people, a debt collector who, having acquired a lien on the property, now threatened foreclosure. It was in such circumstances, noted Matthew in his report to the prime minister, “that the transfer—not merely an attempted transfer—was made to Michael Bartlett [a Saint Lucian and long-time New York resident] and the facilitation of the mortgage over the property occurred.”
For the purposes of his investigation, Matthew quoted information supplied him by the former U.N. ambassador Earl Huntley, under whose watch the transfer of title had occurred: “A member of one of the associations who had a long history with the building [Michael Bartlett] offered to raise a loan to pay the lien and repair the building for rental. The proceeds from the rental would be put toward the loan. This would involve the transferring of the title to the property to him, so that the loan could be raised. I agreed to do this on the clear understanding that it would be a temporary transfer and that the government of Saint Lucia would continue to remain the legitimate owner of the property.”
As it turned out, the loan sought amounted to US$150,000, to be used as payment for back taxes, repairs to the center and for clearing up earlier title screw-ups. According to information Matthew received, “the lending period was from 29 April 2003 to 29 April 2005 and required the interest of US$2000 a month to be paid during the period. . . The mortgager pays only interest during the two-year period and what is known as a balloon-mortgage rider requires the principal of US$150,000 to be paid on the termination date.”
The lender turned out to be a loan shark, hardly a reputable banker. A member of the Saint Lucia consulate explained that when a foreclosure notice was served on the mission in 2002, “numerous banks and mortgage firms were contacted, to no avail. Because of its diplomatic immunity regular lending institutions were unwilling to loan money to the government of Saint Lucia. Members of the Helenites Association had also refused to help out, all except Michael Bartlett.”
Matthew received from the accountant at the Saint Lucia mission a breakdown of how the borrowed US$150,000 was used. The borrower, having paid outstanding tax and other bills, was left with “about US$53,000 which was given to the accountant and placed in the building account.” (At the time of his investigation, Matthew noted in his report, the accountant was making monthly US$2000 payments from the proceeds of the rental of the Helenites Center for various activities.” The problem was that such rentals would “not be able to provide for the balloon payment of US$150,000 due next April.”)
As outrageous as are the details of the Helenites story, no aspect is more shocking than the fact that the government of Saint Lucia was never informed, not about the transfer of the title and certainly not how the loan would be spent. Indeed, Huntley told Matthew there was no need to seek the prime minister’s permission for what he had done with Michael Bartlett, since as U.N. ambassador he had plenipotentiary powers to act on his own.” To which Matthew had said: “I am of the view that the ambassador was misguided. The ambassador is an agent of his government and as such he must act in accordance with instructions on all matters pertaining to the disposal of the property of the government.”
Moreover: “It is an elementary principle in English law that a person cannot give away or dispose of what he has not got.” Wrote the ex-judge, “There can be no reason why the ambassador should cause a loan to be made without the authority of the government of Saint Lucia. If an ambassador has the powers as claimed [by Huntley] then he would have the authority to sell Saint Lucia without reporting.” (The unsettled Grynberg matter comes to mind at this point, but that’s for another show!)
Matthew found that Huntley’s actions in the Helenites matter amounted to “impropriety and misfeasance.” Nevertheless, he stopped just short of saying the involved individuals were guilty of “corruption”—which Matthew defined as “reprehensible behavior or conduct from which a party gains or expects to gain financial or other reward.”
As I say, there might well never have been even a one-man investigation but for the related stories in the STAR that generated several questions, both here and among the Saint Lucian community in New York. Finally Earl Huntley had convened a press conference at which he attempted, to no avail, to put the public mind at rest. It was only after the particular press conference that the government announced its one-man inquiry.
Huntley’s press conference also drew numerous comment from STAR bloggers, at least one of which formed the basis for a libel suit against the publishers of this newspaper, lodged shortly before Huntley declared his interest in running as the Labour Party’s 2006 candidate for the Gros Islet seat, then held by Mario Michel. Alas, his political ambitions received a slap in the face. He was badly beaten in a run-off with Alexis Armstrong.
Yesterday, Justice Rosalyn Wilkinson dismissed Huntley’s suit and ordered him to pay costs. Full details in Saturday’s issue!

Former Press Secretary Earl Bousquet and SMA prez Paula Calderon.

An issue raised in St Lucia by the local manufacturers association has grown legs. SMA president Paula Calderon told the STAR yesterday that since the organization spoke out over the issue of Chinese involvement in the business sector in St Lucia the issue has been receiving attention from other Caribbean territories and even the United States.
In a story published yesterday the Antigua Observer notes the SMA president’s concerns about Chinese investors in the region. The local association has been arguing for protection of local businesses much in the same way China protects its own businesses.
“I really did not realize that what I said would have impacted so greatly outside the region,” said Calderon. “A company out of the US has contacted me on this issue and has decided to come here to look at it. The fact is this is not just affecting the region and St Lucia right now but other parts of the world.
“We have got to decide what type of investment we want to bring into St Lucia and we need to be creative about the type of investment we bring in and to make sure it is not competing with our local people,” she said.
And it seems the issue is gaining support. The Antigua Observer also quotes past vice president of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce Michael Astaphan, who says that the region’s relationship with China is actually retarding development.
Astaphan was quoted as telling the news source that it seems as if the political parties, and not the nation, are the ones that are really benefitting.
He said: “A lot of them feel that we should be very much grateful to the Chinese for their investment of the capital projects that they put in our countries. Now this is a serious problem for us. I think that China has to look after their people but what are the politicians in the OECS doing? They seem to be defending China and the policy to go Chinese seems more associated, not with the development of the country, but (with) what it can do for the political parties and I think that this is something that the people should look at very closely.”
But the local manufacturers association has stared clear of bringing politics into the issue. In fact the SMA president Paula Calderon has demanded an apology from local China-St Lucia Friendship Association member and former press secretary to the prime minister Earl Bousquet. In an article published in the Weekend STAR, Calderon claimed that Bousquet grossly misquoted her.
In a statement sent out on Monday, Calderon demanded an apology from Bousquet.
“It is unfortunate that a writer of the experience and seniority of an Earl Bousquet should find it necessary to distort truth as he did in the recent article in the STAR Newspaper ‘What China Syndrome’ to make his point, Mr Bousquet states and I quote ‘The St Lucia Manufacturers Association has argued against restoring ties with China, which it blames for the presence here of Chinese persons doing business. The general claim is that St Lucia will be better off with Taiwan than China and local small businesses and manufacturers would do better without Chinese-owned businesses operating here.’”
The SMA statement goes on: “At no time have I ever made any such comments in any newspaper or interview that I have given, nor to the best of my knowledge have any of my predecessors articulated this view.   Unless Mr Bousquet can produce contrary evidence I would hope that he is a big enough man with a sufficient concern for his reputation to apologize to the St Lucia Manufacturers Association, on all public media. Neither I nor the Association which I represent are involved in the decision making as to which of the two Chinas St Lucia should affiliate with, but I do know that I am for what I perceive as best for the people of this country. We know all about trade agreements and the WTO, yet countries all over the world are using tools to protect their local companies.”
Calderon quoted from A Global News article “Government Protection Makes Marketers Job Harder in China” that stated: “China is a key market for multinational but it is also a challenging and confusing place to do business especially because the Chinese Government is eager to protect local companies in key areas . . . Global financial firms for instance are limited in the services they can offer Chinese consumers—and last month the government officially withdrew support for foreign capital in auto manufacturing putting global automakers on edge in the world largest car market.  And few global internet companies have succeeded in China, where government policies favor local giants like Baidu, Sina, and Alibaba.”
Finally the SMA president said: “I am delighted that the original press release has stimulated a debate on this important issue which will have a fundamental effect on our homeland.   I think it is each person’s duty to protect our people, to shape our country.”
In a further statement to the STAR, Calderon made it clear that the membership has not stated which of the two Chinas the St Lucia government should affiliate with.
Calderon also responded to the issues raised by some vendors about the low cost of Chinese goods.
“What we should be more concerned about and what the visitors to St Lucia would like to see is something made in St Lucia and not made in China,” she said. “We have to be a little more creative.”
Regarding the comparison made by some between the Chinese and St Lucia’s large Syrian population that has have started businesses and thrive in St Lucia, Calderon said: “They have basically taken over. Is that really what we want to happen with everyone who comes to do business in St Lucia? Where will we be? That is an obvious response.”
Calderon also took issue with another aspect of Earl Bousquet’s article where he spoke to the issue of the selling and buying of passports.
“He is very myopic in his view because whatever the OECS countries do impact the other islands. We are one unit. So it doesn’t matter if it’s Dominica that sells the passport, it is going to impact on St Lucia,” she said. “The OECS heads of government have to make a decision as to what they want to do.”