The President of Saint Lucia Craft and Dry Goods Vendors has called for a more significant police presence in Castries, especially during cruise ship visits.
Peter ‘Ras Ipa’ Isaac made the call while expressing concern over attacks on cruise ship passengers.
Isaac recalled that last week, police arrested a man who snatched a chain from a female passenger in the City.
He acknowledged that his call for enhanced police presence during cruise ship visits might attract criticism.
“Some people say we are just doing things for tourists. I don’t think so. We need to protect an industry that we consider to be the mainstay of our economy,” Isaac asserted.
He noted that in addition to Saint Lucia benefitting from head taxes, passengers who disembark patronise local businesses.
According to the Vendors Association President, the visitors represent an asset.
And he declared that nothing should occur to damage the tourism industry.
“It is paramount we ensure that when cruise ships are there, especially when we have that volume of people here – three, four cruise ships sometimes, up to eight thousand to nine thousand people are in our harbour, we need to do all we can to protect that industry because as we always say, that is the breadwinner for this economy,” Isaac told St Lucia Times.
i totally agree with ipa cause these past weeks the cruise ships have been staying later than usual in the ports some of them are there all nine o clock in the night. Also the enhancement of castries which they plan to do when this happens there really needs more police presence for true. Castries does not have anything going on in the night it needs something to pull more money in.
I do agree with the president Ras.Ipa, but I do have a solution for MR ISSAC and the Vendors.Pay more dues and create your own SECURITY Service,! PEOPLE! Please stop demanding from the Government to fix our current situations on the Island..
Governments are Tax collectors, and stop depending on Them…… Let us do our home work for our selves..Mr ISSAC, should contact the Tourist industry, Hotels, Chief of police to come to Solution’s.. Try to create a fair living wage especially for the hotel workers who have to leave home so early to facilitate the hotels,.
I proposed a three 8hrs Shift @$10 per hour work will put a dent in our current situations..
We must get help from the Hotels, some of the workers leave their children unsupervised from 4am to? ?? and some of the workers children associates with the criminals..
It’s time for us think outside the box..
Just a thought! Every Tourist who stays at the hotels pays at least $4 000 US and they’re all filled and building More.,so definitely the hotels must split the cost with the workers..
I endorse my options
Before Central police Station was Demolish in Castries there was no police Presence in the City whether by day or night and this is effect up to this present day