Black Immigrant Daily News

Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, October 25, 2022: Ms. Lanien Blanchette has been officially  elected the new Speaker of the House of Assembly.  

Hon. Lanien Blanchette is officially the third female Speaker of the House. Preceding her was  Ms. Ada Mae Edward, who was elected the first female Speaker in St. Kitts and Nevis pre independence, in 1978. Her Excellency Marcella Liburd was the second female Speaker [first  female Speaker post-independence].  

During the Opening of the New Session of the National Assembly, the Speaker and Deputy  Speaker were elected by the Members of Parliament.  

According to Section 32 of The Constitution of St. Christopher and Nevis:  “(1) When the National Assembly first meets after any general election and before it  proceeds to the despatch of any other business, it shall elect a person to be the Speaker  of the Assembly… 

(2) The Speaker may be elected from among the members of the National Assembly who  are not members of the Cabinet or Parliamentary Secretaries or from among persons  who are not members of the Assembly but who are qualified for election as a  Representative or appointment as a Senator.” 

Hon. Lanien Blanchette is a value-driven Attorney-At-Law who was raised in the community of  Saddlers but has resided in her father’s hometown, Green Valley, Cayon, for the past 14 years. In  2008, Lanein earned her bachelor’s degree with Honours in Criminal Justice from Monroe College,  New York. Shortly after her return she landed a secretarial position in 2009 with the Government of  Saint Christopher and Nevis in the Ministry of National Security. Her introduction to the public service  fueled a passion for helping others while her role in the Ministry exposed her to matters that further  provoked her curiosity and desire to explore her love for Criminal Law and the Justice System.  

Hon. Lanien Blanchette took a leap of faith in 2012 and enrolled in the Bachelor of Laws programme  at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus (Barbados). During her tenure, she served as  Vice President of the St. Kitts Nevis Student Association and was also elected Law Society Sports  Chairperson 2014-2015 where she was able to continue to pursue her passion for sports alongside her  studies. 

The Hon. Speaker graduated with honours in 2015 and moved on to pursue an intense legal training  at the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica where she obtained her Legal Education Certificate in  2017. 

After being called to the Bar in November of that same year, she was able to combine her training and  experience from her internships at the Attorney General’s Chambers, Intellectual Property Office, and  the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to serve her Country as a Crown Counsel in the Office  of The Director of Public Prosecutions where she prosecuted criminal matters federally in the  Magistrates and High Courts until June 2022.  

Her personal mantra is to “finish the race strong, no matter how long or hard, slow, and steady at all  times” 

She is now the founder and Lead Counsel at Blanchette Law Chambers. 

Hon. Lanien Blachette’s election to the of Speaker of the House is in keeping with the government’s  stance in ensuring that gender equality is a priority, and that women and youth are empowered to  serve at the decision making level. 

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Member of Parliament for St Thomas Eastern, Dr Michelle Charles is calling for the removal of the sub-contractors from package four of the South Coast Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP).

The sub-contractors–NF Barnes Construction & Equipment Company Limited and Kinetic Engineering Services–are answerable to the main contractor, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC), on the multibillion-dollar project.

Residents of the communities of Leith Hall and Lyssons mounted roadblocks in August and September over the ongoing roadworks. The roadblocks inconvenienced residents travelling to or from communities such as Bath, Port Morant and Dalvey.

The segment of the two-phase SCHIP comprises 15 packages and runs from Harbour View in St Andrew to Port Antonio, Portland and from Morant Bay to Cedar Valley in St Thomas. The other segment runs from May Pen, Clarendon to Williamsfield in Manchester.

Charles made the call for the sub-contractors to be sacked while making her contribution to the 2022/23 state of the constituency debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

She noted that the roadworks started one year before she was elected to the House in September 2020.

“The progress has been slow, and the maintenance and protection of the traffic way extremely uncomfortable and downright disrespectful to the people of St Thomas Eastern,” she began.

She noted that in her state of the constituency contribution last year, she reminded her constituents that “we are uncomfortably under construction and pleaded for their understanding while I negotiated with the contractors”.

“I invited the member from St Catherine South West (Everald Warmington, who is the minister with responsibility for works) to tour our road, and he came. He evaluated the progress of the roadwork and made his recommendations. The prime minister has met with the same contractors as well. My people have demonstrated, I have negotiated, and we are still left frustrated. After three years, I can no longer ask them to be patient,” Charles told the House.

She added: “I want to inform this Honourable House that I will always stand with the people of St Thomas Eastern. The people of St Thomas Eastern have spoken, and I am here to deliver the message: We, the people of St Thomas Eastern, are calling for the immediate removal of the sub-contractors, NF Barnes Construction & Equipment Company Limited and Kinetic Engineering Services. We call upon the chief contractors, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited to completely take over the daily operations of the roadwork of package four in St Thomas Eastern.”

Charles said the poor condition of the road and slow progress of the work can no longer be tolerated.

“We trust that CHEC will expedite the work in a manner that is acceptable to all. The people of St Thomas Eastern are holding me accountable, and the contractors must be held accountable as well,” she said.

Meanwhile, Charles said the people of St Thomas Eastern welcome the road improvement works. However, she lamented that the dust nuisance was causing health problems.

“Our hospital, our schools, our churches, the vendors, and our residents are along the main road, and I get calls every day. I get daily complaints from the doctors, the nurses, the residents, the patients, the business community, everybody, even the teachers have demonstrated,” said Charles.

“Traversing our main roads in St Thomas is extremely difficult, and very frustrating and hard on our pockets. Wi car frontend lick out, middle-end lick out, backend lick out. Chassis twist, rack and pinion gawn, shocks nah shock again,” she added.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

An unidentified man was shot and killed during an alleged dramatic confrontation with members of a police team in Cambridge, St James on Wednesday afternoon.

A handgun was recovered during the operation.

Preliminary reports are that about 1:50 pm, the law enforcers were on an operation in Jungle district, Cambridge when they spotted a group of men before a shop.

One of the men who was armed with a handgun, ran into nearby bushes and was chased by the police.

Members of the police team allegedly came under gunfire from heavily armed gunmen who were in the bushes, resulting in a shootout.

In the process, unidentified man was shot, and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The other gunmen escaped.

Members of the Independent Commission of Investigation (INDECOM) have commenced an investigation into the fatal shooting.

On Monday INDECOM reported that it had responded to and commenced investigations into three separate police fatal shooting incidents on the weekend of October 22-23, increasing the total to 19 security force fatal incidents for the month up to that point.

The three fatal shooting incidents occurred in Rocky Point, Clarendon; Rockfort, Kingston East; and Nain, St Elizabeth, resulting in the deaths of three men and the reported recovery of two firearms from the incident scenes, INDECOM stated in a release.

That total has risen to at least 20.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Ministry of Education and Youth says it has launched an investigation to help determine the protocols for school devotional exercises.

This follows an incident at Oberlin High School on Wednesday morning that forced the early closure of the West Rural St Andrew-based institution after a number of students began ‘acting abnormally’ during devotion.

“While we encourage devotion in school, our school leaders have a responsibility to exercise caution as to content and likely impact on students as evidenced by the reaction of students at Oberlin High School this morning,” said Education Minister Fayval Williams in a statement on Wednesday evening.

Williams noted the early dismissal of classes at the school after a series of events led to a disruption of normal activities there.

The minister said the school administration reported that during the devotional exercise, a teacher who was leading the worship had an experience that included an extended period of “speaking in tongues”, which triggered a chain reaction of similar expressions among some students.

“Some students reportedly became overwhelmed, some falling to the ground. Other students and teachers attempted to bring calm to the situation, including praying with the affected children. Some were taken to the school nurse’s office,” said Williams.

The minister shared that after the devotion, the students were sent to their classes.

However, the agitated environment led some students to express feelings of being afraid, and others displaying what was described as “abnormal behaviour”.

The administration said given the overall circumstances, school was dismissed at 10am and the students were allowed to leave, except for those on the PATH programme, who were allowed to stay on the compound to collect their lunches.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Jamaica has received its first batch of the monkeypox vaccine.

The 1,400 single-dose vials of the vaccine JYNNEOS, which is approved for the prevention of monkeypox disease in individuals 18 years and older, arrived in the island on National Heroes Day, Monday, October 17.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.

“The vaccines, which have an expiry date of June 2025, will be administered on a priority basis to healthcare workers involved in direct care of monkeypox patients and without the appropriate personal protective equipment; adult household contacts; and sexual partners of a confirmed case. Vaccination is not at this time recommended for the general population,” said the ministry.

It reminded that the spread of monkeypox may occur when a person comes into close contact with an infected individual.

Person-to-person spread may occur through direct contact with monkeypox skin lesions or scabs, including:

-sexual contact

-close personal contact

-contact with contaminated personal items, such as clothing, bed linen or towels used by an infected person; and

-respiratory droplets by way of coughing or sneezing of an individual with a monkeypox rash.

The symptoms of monkeypox are usually mild to moderate, and include fever, intense headache, swelling of the lymph nodes, back pain, muscle ache and/or rash on the skin. Members of the public who experience these symptoms should immediately isolate and call ahead to their health centre or doctor before visiting.

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, in a statement to the House of Representatives in September, said the country was set to receive 3,500 doses of the scarce vaccine by the end of that month.

But, with the vaccine being in high demand and being gobbled up by richer countries such as the United States, Tufton warned then that the 3,500 doses were not guaranteed.

He said the acquisition was being facilitated through collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), which announced that it had secured 100,000 doses from the Danish manufacturers.

“We are advised that the manufacturers of the smallpox vaccine that has been shown to be effective in protecting persons from moneypox, has supplied limited amounts to the market and, as such, only approximately 3,500 doses of the vaccine have been promised to us. It is to be noted that we may not receive this amount, as the supply of the vaccine is in high demand with very limited supply,” Tufton said.

Jamaica has to date recorded 15 cases of monkeypox.

Of the 15 confirmed cases, 12 have recovered, while two cases remain active.

One death of a person with a positive case is currently under investigation.

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