The Week at the SLHTA, October 12th, 2012

Proprietor of Crown Food – Kevin White

Crown Foods Ltd, St. Lucia’s Frozen Food Specialists are the premiere wholesale suppliers of quality frozen meat and seafood on the island supplying St. Lucia’s top Hotels, Restaurants, Luxury Yachts and Villas with the finest quality frozen foods and gourmet provisions.

Crown Foods boast a large and varied inventory that includes USDA Prime and Choice cuts of meats, seafood, pastas, pastry, dairy, vegetables and much more. As the sole Certified Angus Beef Licensed Food Service Distributor they stand head and shoulders above the rest with a reputation as the number one choice of discerning chefs from hotels, restaurants, luxury yachts and villas.

Our professional, qualified experienced management and staff with over thirty years experience in the gourmet food industry are ready to satisfy your frozen and gourmet food requirements making your stay in St. Lucia one never to be forgotten.

On Thursday October 4^th, 2012, the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association, held a meeting for members of the Independent Restaurants and Food and Beverage Distributor Sub Sector, and was convened in the Eileen Paul Board Room.  The meeting was called to order at 11:10 a.m. and chaired by Mr. Bobo Bergstrom, SLHTA Board of Directors Representative for this Sub Sector.  The below was the Agenda charted for the meeting:

1. Call to Order and Welcome Remarks – Chair Person; Mr. Bobo Bergstrom
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting
3. Matters Arising from last meeting
4. VAT
5. Beautification of Rodney Bay Village
6. Any other business

A conclusion was made coming out of this meeting to engage all members of the Restaurant Sub Sector to pen their concerns and issues affecting themselves and their establishments.  Members are reminded to contact your Board representative Mr. Bobo Bergstrom;edgerestaurant@gmail.com or Ms. Yola St. Jour, Finance & Administration Officer at yola.stjour@slhta.org to forward all your trepidations, grievances and issues as it relates to all matters affecting your establishments no later thanOctober 16^th, 2012.  The compilation of this information is a first step to formulating an AGENDA to then arrange an official meeting with the relevant Policy Makers to assist with addressing all issues penned in order to finalize a more positive way forward.

It was a night of excitement, optimism and anticipation as the night grewat the Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort as we conducted the semi – finals of the Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Associations’ Woule Labar Cricket Competition. Woule Labar as most St. Lucians know it, is properly called under arm cricket. Woule Labar is an indigenous version of cricket to St. Lucia and usually played in rural areas in St Lucia.

 

Five teams from member establishments came out to play, eager to make it to the finals as they battle their way through the night. Underarm Cricket also known as “Woule Labar” is an indigenous version of cricket to St. Lucia and usually played in rural areas in St Lucia.

 

Participating members in this round of competitions were; LUCELEC, Jade Mountain, Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa, Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort, SunSwept Resorts, IGY Rodney Bay Marina, Jalousie Plantation.

 

Points standing for the matches played are located to the left side of this article.

 

The grand finals will be held in Soufriere where Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort will play against Jalousie Plantation on the Soufriere Basketball Court. Match starts at 6pm, see you there.

Customers of the St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) are in line for a further reduction in the electricity tariff. These funds are distributed equitably among all qualifying customers and reflected as a reduction in the price that customers pay per unit each month until the pool of funds are used up.

The reduction comes as nearly eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000) is being made available by LUCELEC for redistribution to customers, in accordance with the requirements of the Electricity Supply Act. Under the Electricity Supply Act as amended in 2006, LUCELEC is required to set aside 50% of profits above the Company’s allowable rate of return each year to be redistributed to qualifying customers. Qualifying customers are identified by the Electricity Supply Act as “industrial and hotel consumers” and “consumers or groups of consumers in need of special protection” as determined by the Minister of Finance.

Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Hon. Dr. Kenny D. Anthony and LUCELEC have now agreed to distribute the accumulated balances of these funds, which total nearly $800,000, through the tariff reduction mechanism to all qualifying customers.

Saint Lucia should see an increase in passenger arrivals from mainland France and other nearby European destinations via a code share agreement between Air France and Air Antilles. The move will result in increased airlift capacity for the island from Europe.

From October 28, Air France will commence flying passengers to Saint Lucia via direct connections from Air Antilles in Fort de France, Martinique to George F.L. Charles airport in Castries Air France is the national flag carrier and the airline of choice for all French speaking markets in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

In welcoming the news on the new code share agreement, Tourism Minister Lorne Theophilus said “not only will Saint Lucia benefit from increased passenger traffic from a source market that we have been working hard to develop, but both Saint Lucia and France will get a chance to again strengthen longstanding historical ties that exist between our peoples.”

The flight, which originates from  Paris Orly International in France will be three times weekly; Tuesday, Friday and Sunday and will connect with Air Antilles Express flights from Martinique which arrive at G.L.F. Charles airport at approximately 6pm.