ZJB News Thursday September 27th 2001
The decision by the government to build a temporary airport at Gerald’s continues generate debate on the island.
In announcing its decision last week Chief Minister John Osborne said the government had looked at all the options and decided to proceed with the fixed wing airstrip at Gerald’s.
This despite the short length of the proposed runway – five hundred meters - and the fact that at least twelve persons will have to be uprooted from their homes in Gerald’s.
Montserrat has been without an airport since 1997 when volcanic activity forced the closure of the W.H. Bramble Airport.
In a live radio interview today acting Chief Minister Lowel Lewis said the government’s decision was based on the reality that it does not have the funds to build the airport at a more suitable location.
Hot key: duration: 53 secs Acting Chief Minister Lowel Lewis.
The question of where the airport should be located has become a major topic of discussion among residents.
And they have been expressing their views.
Hot key: duration: 1 min 24 secs
The Montserrat Football Association is hosting a major programme this weekend.
The MFA has announced that FIFA’s World Fair Play Day will be held on Saturday and Sunday at Little Bay.
President Vincent Cassell is appealing to players, referees, fans and officials throughout Montserrat to help spread the word.
The initiative has the personal support of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and Mr. Cassell says it is good to feel part of the global football family when it is working to promote good sportsmanship.
He says Fair Play is not a new idea, and boys and girls, men and women, professionals and amateurs are invited to take part.
The programme would include demonstrations, basic football skills and seven-a-side games.
Meanwhile FIFA President Joseph Blatter has stressed the importance of education in helping strengthen fair play in football everywhere.
He draws particular attention to the problem of racism in football, the subject of a major FIFA conference this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
This conference was attended by MFA 1st Vice-President, James White Jr, and General Secretary, Mrs Melvina Duberry.
This year’s FIFA World Fair Play Day is the fifth since introduced in 1997.
Previous occasions have been marked by a wide range of activities in dozens of countries around the world, from grass-roots to First Division football, and many community-based projects.
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