Patrol boat at Admirality Bay in Bequia delayed

The placement of a patrol boat at Admirality Bay in Bequia has been delayed.{{more}}

Minister of Tourism Saboto Caesar, in his presentation during the 2012 Budget Debate, said that he had been advised by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard and the Police that while patrols around Admirality Bay and other bays of the northern Grenadine island have already started, the request for a patrol boat for the Admirality Bay will be addressed by the end of January.

This after Caesar, at the November 22, 2011 sitting of the House of Assembly, responding to a question posed by Area Representative Dr Godwin Friday, on measures being taken to curb the problem of yacht break-ins on the island, had indicated that a patrol boat was to be deployed in the area “within the next two weeks,” or by the end of the first week of December.

Meanwhile, during his presentation at the Budget Debate, Friday said that it was disappointing to hear that the patrol boat was not going to be put in place until the end of January.

“I cannot take him at his word, Mr Speaker, because we were told that it (patrol boat) would be there at the end of November and it isn’t and the people are very, very upset about it,” Friday said.

He contended that the minister “needed to do better than that.”

“The Commissioner of Police was there over the weekend and he had a very rough time for it, from the people who spoke to him, Friday continued.

“There’s a patrol boat in Mayreau for many, many years and the member for the Southern Grenadines will tell you that it works very well. Is it so difficult to put something like that at Admirality Bay?” Friday questioned.

“Excuses, excuses, excuses and we continue to lose out to Grenada and St Lucia,” Friday continued.

Meanwhile, Caesar also said that there was an increased police presence along the streets of Port Elizabeth to decrease movement of stolen items to the ferries.

He added that there was some talk of installing cameras on the beaches, but noted that he was not going to advise Cabinet to implement this strategy, as some persons had their qualms about this particular measure. (DD)