Editorial

16.NOV.07 This week the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union (SVGTU) once more organized activities to mark Teachers Week. As has happened ev...

09.NOV.07 Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves once again has managed to steal the limelight and score political points on his opponents. He used the oc...

02.NOV.07 Change is tough, and when one has been operating in a particular manner for ages, change can be a person’s worst nightmare. However, chang...

26.OCT.07 Tomorrow, October 27, 2007, the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, at home and in the diaspora, celebrate their 28th anniversary of t...

19.OCT.07 “People with this kind of attitude should not be in the Public Service” - Hon. Selmon Walters, Minister with responsibility for the Publ...

12.OCT.07 Activities to commemorate World Food Day will be held world-wide next week under the ambitious theme “Food as a Right”. As has become cu...

21.SEP.07 SEARCHLIGHT welcomes the initiative of CARICOM governments to place the issue of healthy living of the Caribbean people so high on their age...

14.SEP.07 The Commission of Inquiry set up to enquire into the failed multi-million dollar Ottley Hall Project has once more been temporarily halted p...

07.SEPT.07 By the time this Editorial reaches most of our readers, our sister state of Jamaica will be in the process of swearing in a new Prime Minis...

31.AUG.07 The generally good academic performance of students in the country is commendable and must be praised. However, percentage pass rates can so...

24.AUG.07 The many thanks and praises that we utter here in SVG for once again being spared the wrath of a rampaging hurricane must be tempered by our...

17.AUG.07 Yet another political row has broken out between government and Opposition, this time over the appointment of Camillo Gonsalves son of the P...

10.AUG.07 By the way, a few thousand copies of Searchlight newspaper were printed here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines last week. For the first time...

03.AUG.07 Just over two weeks ago, the House of Assembly approved, unanimously, the Report of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) and re-commit...

27.JUL.07 Every citizen concerned about life, limb and the pursuit of happiness, not to mention the fundamental rights of women and children, can only...

20.JUL.07 Thousands of our young students and pupils are now savouring their annual long vacation break over the July-August period. For them it is a ...

13.JUL.07 Carnival this year truly lived up to its slogan of “Power of Culture, Spirit of Fun”, as was demonstrated by the superb display of our c...

06.JUL.07 For Vincentians, the annual mid-year Summit of CARICOM Heads of Government often gets subsumed by the Carnival festivities. With both taking...

29.JUN.07 Four to six weeks ago there was an atmosphere of trepidation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as Carnival approached. The spate of brutal m...

22.JUN.07 Caribbean people, at home and abroad, are following with keen interest events in Washington this week where Caribbean leaders have been enga...

15.JUN.07 The entire nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has every reason to be proud of the results of the 2007 Common Entrance examination. We ...

08.June.07 “Police Week” concludes this weekend bringing an end to the activities organized for this purpose. The week could not have come in more...

01.JUNE.07 It happens almost every week. Our reporters are challenged and even threatened by persons holding official positions. These threats usually...

25.MAY.07 Earlier this week St. Vincent and the Grenadines hosted a meeting of CARICOM Ministers with responsibility for air transportation. The meeti...

20.APR.07 Geography can be a powerful factor in the development of a country or region. It can either be an impetus to or facilitate progress or it ca...

13.APR.07 Get your tickets at reasonable prices! Bring your food, your water, your music! Your Conch-Shell, your whistle! It’s cricket Caribbean sty...

05.APR.07 St. Vincent and the Grenadines prides itself on being a “God-fearing society of believers”, even though our actions sometimes contradict...

30.MAR.07 There are rare moments in the history of our country when the national interests take precedent over narrow partisan ones. One such occurren...

23.MAR.07 Two hundred years ago this Sunday, on March 25th, 1807, the British Parliament passed an Act outlawing the grossly inhuman and dehumanising ...

16.MAR.07 In her message to mark Commonwealth Day, Monday 12th March, Her Majesty the Queen stressed the need for mutual respect and understanding in ...

08.MAR.07 Any nation's police forcE is subject to the greatest of scrutiny, and when it is perceived to fall short of expectation - reproach. It is no...

02.MAR.07 The issue of the protection of witnesses scheduled to testify or who have testified in criminal trials is now much more than an abstraction ...

23.FEB.07 The flamboyant Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made his second visit to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, leaving heated discussion in hi...

16.FEB.07 Leaders of the nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) would by now have returned to their respective homes and jurisdictions after the...

9.FEB.07 It is with huge sigh of relief that most Vincentians would have welcomed the resumption of the Ottley Hall Inquiry. After all it has dragged ...

2.JFEB.07 Now that Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr Ralph Gonsalves has made a Parliamentary statement on the release of the prison...

26.JAN.07 The announcement last week Wednesday that the Ottley Hall Marina debt had been reduced from EC$167 million to EC$16.2 million was greeted al...

19.JAN.07 There is absolutely no restriction on the taking of photographs in public places unless specifically barred by a court order. Despite this, ...

12.JAN.07 Last week the police force celebrated the 8th anniversary of the establishment of its public relations department. Searchlight congratulates...

05.Jan.07 The two weeks before Christmas saw three proverbial red herrings being drawn across the trail here. The biggest from Howie Prince, Director ...

When Jill Jackson penned the words to the song "Let there be peace on earth" in 1955 she knew exactly what she was talking about but chances are that ...

Dec.15.06 Congratulations to Arnhim Eustace on his re-election to the leadership of the New Democratic Party at its Convention Sunday. The party rank ...

Dec.15.06 In a television appearance on Saturday and in a press release issued this week, the Commissioner of Police refuted claims made in our front ...

Dec.08.06 It’s that time of year when we celebrate the birth of Christ and most of us plunge headlong into the spirit of giving. If money doesn’t ...

Dec.1.06 There are some mandatory qualifications which journalists must have if they want to work in the field. An associate degree, a Bachelors or Ma...

Nov.24.06 While the subscribers and readers of other newspapers have had to wait until today to read the news of the SVG Air disappearance, Searchligh...

Public relations is a very interesting thing. It can be used to deflect attention or guide the gaze and direction in a totally different direction. It...

WITHIN the space of 48 hours Saddam Hussein and his self-appointed arch-enemy George Bush were dealt death sentences of two different kinds - Bush is ...

The Sunset Legislation has been passed despite documented concerns about the working of the mechanics of the legislation. There are local privacy righ...

Another year of nationhood has rolled by and as we reflect on the past 12 months we reflect on our fortunes and misfortunes, our blessings as well as ...

20.OCT.06 For decades editors across the Caribbean have lobbied for true freedom of speech and a freeing up of the defamation laws similar to those in...

One of the words that should be erased from the English language is the word "objective". When you think about it, it is next to impossible to achieve...

The art of public relations is the ability to influence public opinion, through the presentation of a client's image, message, or product. It is also ...

Transportation is an important part of economic development and communications. History has shown that with the advent of mass transit overland system...

The brouhaha over the Produce and Commodity Act appears settled now that the Chamber of Commerce has met with the Prime Minister and accepted the "wha...

15.SEP.06 Last week Wednesday night at Sion Hill, opposition Senator St. Claire Leacock said that he would pay someone to burn down the Unity Labour P...

The news of an 18-year-old taking his own life last week was troubling and raises numerous questions and issues which our society must answer. Pressur...

Once upon a time not so long ago, residents of St. Vincent and the Grenadines paid different land line telephone rates depending on what part of the c...

Some problems require prime ministerial intervention, and the calamity in which Vinlec found itself over the last few weeks is one such situation. Des...

18.AUG.06 From time immemorial, West Indian people seem to revel in lateness. No matter what the occasion, our people like to turn up after the appoin...

The careful planning, the frenetic organizing, and the reportedly efficient execution of the carnival celebrations for the year 2006 are now all final...

Sacred Fiscal Integrity, among all pubic officials, in the discharge of their public duties is sacred. Nothing less will do. The public perception, ho...

On Emancipation Day, 2006, the people and the nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, find ourselves in a quandary. In relation to government policy...

21.JUL.06 The annual debate which eventually follows our Carnival, is again well and truly on the way. Whether in the media, on the blocks, in bars an...

14.JUL.06 The Good This Carnival, there is much to praise, little to fault. This was by most accounts a good Carnival with our artistes performing at ...

07.JUL.06 The sense of frustration and even anger were all too evident on the face of prosecuting counsel Sandra Robertson when she was forced to aban...

30.JUN.06 It's graduation time again, and congratulations are in order for our graduates at all levels. Graduation time also means job hunting time, a...

We add our voice to that of paediatrician Dr. Bharati Datta in calling for stiffer and more effective laws to be put in place to protect our children....

16.JUN.06 The first paragraph of Interactive Media Limited’s Editorial Policy states that “Interactive Media must attempt to be truly interactive,...

09.JUN.06 Congratulations to the residents of Georgetown and surrounding areas who assisted police with the apprehension of the men charged with the a...

02.JUN.06 The last thing St. Vincent and the Grenadines needs right now is to be hit by a serious tropical storm or hurricane. But the way some Vincen...

26.MAY.06 Events of the past week have brought much pride and joy to citizens of the Caribbean region and in the diaspora. As a unifying force, there ...

19.MAY.06 President and leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) Arnhim Eustace has admitted that his party had serious problems implementing their pu...

According to the Ministry of Health and the Environment, at present, the life expectancy at birth in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is 74 years for wo...

Even as the world forms itself into large trading blocks, and the CARICOM region moves forward with the establishment of the Single Market and Economy...

28.APR.06 For years, through successive administrations, Vincentians have been calling for the enactment of anti-corruption and integrity legislation....

Recent stories published in Searchlight have revealed the findings of two national studies: The National Diagnostic Reading Test and a survey of sexua...

This time of the year is usually marked by dust and wind. Our usually lush vegetation takes on a scorched appearance, and we sometimes experience wate...

The General Employees Credit Union (GECCU) is in the middle of celebrating the milestone of attaining assets of $100 M and a membership of over 20,000...

In recent times a great deal has been said by way of the electronic media about the role of media, particularly the press. The discussions have not be...

by Maxwell Haywood Last week I reviewed some of Hugh Mulzac's experiences and this week I continue to do so briefly and also to see what lessons we co...

The regional media has lost one of its loudest voices with the death of Glenn Jackson, press secretary and personal aide to the Prime Minister. {{more...

March has begun, and we are into Heritage and National Heroes Month, which is being celebrated under the theme “preserving our heritage with pride.â...

By any standards, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a tiny country. All together, we are a mere 150 square miles, with mainland St. Vincent having a t...