Twenty-six persons from several law enforcement agencies around the region are now better equipped in carrying out traffic collision investigations.

Personnel from the police forces of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines along with those from the Barbados Defense Force and Barbados Coast Guard were successful in completing the two-week Accident Investigation programme held at the Regional Police Training Centre (RPTC) in Paragon.

Throughout the course, participants were lectured in topics such as incident scene management, measurement, report writing and recording comprehensive reports to name a few.

Commending the outfit for its completion of the programme, Deputy Commandant of the RPTC Rodney Archer said the success of the course could only be gained if there was a positive change in accident investigations.

He therefore reminded the gathered personnel that it was critical that they took the knowledge and shared it upon return to their respective agencies.

“When you leave the centre and you go back to your respective forces and you employ the same technique and skills that would have resulted in a certain standard of output (before), then this course was a failure. You would have been on a two week vacation. If you have learnt new skills and it is recognized in the improvement of the quality in your work, it is expected that these skills would be transferred to your base of operation,” he stressed.

He also reminded the group that policing was about serving the public and therefore the quality of their work must be at the highest level. (JMB)

Admitting that the National Insurance Fund is facing several issues, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, nevertheless is giving the assurance that it still remains viable.

“Yes there are issues confronting the Fund as is the case with all social security schemes, but the story across the board is that the Fund is viable, the Fund can continue to meet its obligations and commitments relative to the future and that the Fund is not broke, or has run out of money, or is about to close down and leave pensioners in the lurch,” he insisted.

Addressing Parliament yesterday as he led off the debate on the National Insurance and Social Security (Amendment) Bill 2017, Sinckler sought to paint a picture of the history of the fund and its current financial standing.

“In 1967, the NIS had $2.5 million in reserves in its bank account. By the end of 2016, the NIS reserve or the wealth of the Fund was registered at around $4.7 billion … in assets, liquid and fixed assets and investments anywhere around the world. That is a substantial amount of money. In fact, it is so substantial Mr. Speaker Sir, that it is perhaps the single largest financial institution in Barbados by far,” he said.

Sinckler stated that these figures showed the tremendous growth of the society and economy over the years.

“In 1967, short-term contribution income was $2.7 million. By 2000 that had risen to $300 million and by 2016, $527 million. That is just contribution income alone… If we look at investment income, in 1967 the Fund was receiving $24 905. By 2000 it was receiving $87 million in investment income, but by the end of 2016, it was receiving $289.6 million in investment income. This is how huge this fund has become… If you are talking about short-term claims received, there were 3 073 claims in 1967, by 2000 that had risen to 75 956 claims. By the end of 2016, short-term claims, which is when people get ill and they get a few days home from the doctor, it had risen to 63 391 claims being placed on the fund,” he noted.

In addition, he outlined that Sickness Benefits paid rose from $48 747 in 1967, to $19.8 million in 2000 to $24.2 million in 2016, while total benefits paid went from $49 227 in 1967, to $238.8 million in 2000 to $637.8 million by the end of 2016. (JMB)

Frustrated.

That’s the state of mind of Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, when it comes to contentious issue of BAICO and CLICO, saying Government has done all that it was required to do to bail out these failed insurance companies, yet the issue has not yet been resolved.

“In fact between British American and CLICO we are looking at close to 800 million when it is all told... probably close to one billion dollars over 20-plus years that the government and tax payers of Barbados are going to have to underwrite to bail out these two companies.”

Speaking in Parliament on an amendment to the National Insurance legislation, he said, “I want to say and place on record, that it is not for the fault of trying and intervention and agreement by the Ministry of Finance, or the Government of Barbados that anything in relation to those two bailout scenarios have been delayed.” Everything that they have asked me to do I have done.”

“The two companies are under judicial management and under the direction of the Court. We were given a restructuring plan, we were asked to agree to both of them. We agreed to both of them. We were asked to draft legislation to bring here to Parliament to have Parliament sign off for the bailout plan for the bonds and so forth. We brought it here and did that. We were asked to provide 50+ million for CLICO. We took a loan from Central Bank, the money is still there.”

“Everything that we have been asked by the judicial managers and everything I have been asked to sign off on by my staff – by way of recommendation – we have done. We were asked to set up two companies, an asset management company and the new insurance company... I did it, as asked to be done, in the time frame asked to be done, and handed over everything to the people who were supposed to get it done.”

“I too, like everybody else have my frustrations as to why up to now, between the judicial managers, the Court and whoever else is involved in the process at that level that we cannot get these matters dispensed with. I said very clearly that I am not approving another cent of taxpayers money to be spent, until I see that this matter is resolved. Nobody isn’t getting paid another cent until these matters are dealt [with],” he said, conceding that the matter is complicated.

The Minister said he will be very unsettled about the matter during an upcoming meeting with the British American representatives on Friday morning and mused he may have to take “calm down pills”.

“We provided the money – everything is there. Just get on with it and let people get their money, get these things resolved and let’s move on to something else. That is my position on it. I’m not putting blame on anybody, but I know where blame ought not to be placed,” he said. (JH)

More groups are lobbying and making claims and they do not always speak coherently to each other.
This comment was made by Director & Senior Fellow Political Science/International Political Economy, of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute, UWI Cave Hill campus, Dr. Don D. Marshall who was a guest on radio programme Walter.2 which aired on CBC 100.7 FM on Sunday. Dr. Marshall was responding
to the question by the radio host as to whether the Social Partnership is a success.
The topic of the radio show was focus on social partnership, its continuance, relevance and whether there should be changes made to the initiative.

Elaborating on his statement, Dr. Marshall reviewed the history of the Social Partnership noting that the first ten years of the initiative were the best years. However, he highlighted that “interest group politics defined our space” while social capital remains strong and commented on the present climate.

“You can have the unions engaging in a march for symbolism against an austerity that did not include lay-offs. And you have to ask where is the logic behind that? How does that square up with trying to protect due paying members and trying to protect and look after the interests of the unemployed and the underemployed? How do you march against an austerity that does not mirror or reflect what we normally get...from the IMF where it would be cuts in expenditure and spike in revenue generation,” said Dr. Marshall.

During the programme, the political scientist supported the moderators’ point, who highlighted that in 1990s, the unions marched for the eight percent pay cut and loss of jobs. However in 2013, the Government had proposed restructuring measures where 3000 public workers were to be affected with only 1 300 lay-offs, he pointed out that the unions did not strike. This year, with the new budgetary measures where the outcome is unknown and there is a pending increase of the cost of living, he said that Barbadians are extrapolating on what could occur, which he posited is a dynamic competitive economy.

Home Grown measures vs IMF
Dr. Marshall also spoke about the 1990s IMF structural adjustment programme, the major bargain the country received was some policy space for eighteen months to implement corrective measures. To the suggestions by some that in the 2017 economic scenario, the government should seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund rather than home grown measures, Dr. Marshall explained that though the country would get emergency financing as required, the world has changed.

“The IMF has in fact ...some kind of internal reflection all to do with its own legitimacy crisis still has not yet settled the question of whether or not it should engage a trespass into a country’s public policy but it so does. And the question we need to ask ourselves and it seems the Social Partners have not been inclined to question this, is whether or not we would wish an unelected group of officials from the IMF have a hand on the wheel,” said Dr. Marshall.

Noting his previous comment, Dr. Marshall stated that at this time he could not favour an IMF policy at this stage as across the world, there are battles for public policy autonomy, political discretion and an operational space in which to handle questions to do with austerity and managing ones’ debt and public finances.

“The minute you do not have that policy space to manage your debt situation, and the need to economically diversify, the minute you give that up....you are going to set yourself up for a series of crises down the road. Entering into an arrangement with IMF gives us emergency money but it gives us at a cost,” he stated.

He ended by highlighting that the real problem with the Barbados economy is its limited diversification and entering an arrangement with the IMF does not fix the developmental and only temporarily addresseses the fiscal.

A stakeholder in the music industry is adamant that greater attention needs to be paid to copyright locally.

Speaking at a recent event hosted by the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries entitled ‘Talking CARIFESTA: Opportunities for the Creative Sector’ at the BCSI’s office at Harbour Road, Derek Wilkie, Managing Director of the Barbados-based CRS Music explained that copyright today is essential for doing business and he is adamant that musicians and artistes must have a good understanding of it.

Wilkie’s comments came as he explained that there is money to be earned through the various “conduits” that promote music, but the artistes can only benefit if their material is protected. He made the point while noting that apart from performing live and getting paid, “publishing is the next frontier.”

“You have to treat content and copyright as like real estate. You don’t know when it is going to come to the fore but you have to have conduits to allow people to hear it so it is exposed globally so that people can find your music [on] Spotify and Rdio and all the streaming sources provide these opportunities; they are gateways to people hearing your music and wanting to licence it, wanting to use it.”

He added, “Make sure it is protected, get into the conduits and things can start to happen. It is almost like a stocks portfolio where you have a catalogue of music, you have to know where it is, who is using it, what’s happening with it and that way you can protect it and earn your revenue streams.”

Referring then to the development of the cultural industries, Wilkie said he is of the belief that Barbados “is coming of age” in that area, and paying more attention to the role the cultural industries can play. Moreover, he said many are starting to also see how commerce can be created through that sector.

“I believe we have a group of young individuals who are really embracing this from a business perspective and not from just lip-syncing the words cultural industries. I can see it shaping and I have a lot of hope that it is going to be going a lot further than the region. There is money in the region, but real money is outside of the region, in the huge countries and big cities,” the CRS Music official stated. (JRT)

The cash flow challenges experienced by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) over the last few years are “under much better control”.

That’s according to Minister of Health, John Boyce. He told those attending the latest lecture of the Astor B. Watts Lunchtime Lecture Series at the ruling Democratic Labour Party’s headquarters recently, that while all the hospital’s creditors and suppliers have not been fully satisfied, the process of settling those debts has greatly improved.

“That’s why we talk about health care financing, because we have to be able to pay our creditors. So the measures taken by the Ministry of Finance; the approaches and discussions we are having in terms of some kind of health care insurance; the National Social Responsibility Levy as it was originally designed etc, were all designed to help us be able to meet some of these creditors,” he explained.

Minister Boyce added, “It is obviously a buoyant situation which can sometimes go one way or another based on demand. Like everything else the hospital has its heavy times, the hospital has its slow times.”

Touching on the National Social Responsibility Levy, introduced last year to help finance the cost of health care in this country and which as of July 1, has moved from two to 10 per cent, Minister Boyce said this increase is indicative of a recognition of the need for funds to help meet the significant health care costs in this country. He made the point as he noted that the health care expenditure nationally is in the region of $750 million, 55 per cent of which is met by the State and almost half of that, he added, goes towards the QEH.

His comments came as he noted that the island’s main hospital is in high demand, with some 19,000 admission recorded annually, with the average length of stay being six to seven days; and, he said it costs the institution between $1200 to $2000 per day to care for those patients.

Boyce made the point as he noted that the QEH has always been a major source of expenditure for the Barbados Government, noting that between 2000 and 2007 the Barbados Labour Party Administration spent $887 million on the QEH, and between 2008 and 2015, the current Administration has spent $1.35 billion. (JRT)

Come August 2nd, persons will be able to renew their Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) membership at any one of the 19 Barbados Postal Services (BPS) locations around the island.

The Executive Manager of BARP, Elsa Webster, revealed this during a press conference that was held in BARP’s new headquarters at Mervue House, Hastings, yesterday morning. She explained that they pursued this partnership in order to make their services more accessible for their members.

“We know that it will be a much welcomed service by our members because they have been asking for other locations; like an online service in order to pay their membership fees,” she said.

Unfortunately, she noted that they were not able to facilitate an online payment system and hoped that by providing additional outlets for them to renew their membership, members would be just as satisfied.

“It is solely for renewal right now but we plan to monitor the situation closely and if it takes off like we think it will, if it is favourable to members and it is very well used, we will look at the possibility of fine tuning our processes to allow sign ups to take place at the post offices as well,” she said.

Webster envisioned that the new 19 locations will provide not just greater accessibility and options for the members but highlight BARP’s friendliness as they tried to facilitate the needs of their members to the best of their abilities.

She explained that in order to renew, members would have to fill out a very short information document to make sure they have not changed their address or would like their card shipped to a new address. She added that along with the membership fee, they would also be asked to pay a minimum transaction fee of $2 BDS to allow the post office to facilitate the transaction; upon completion, she noted that the BPS would give a receipt to BARP to put on their record.

Usually, Webster noted that the process would take two to four days to complete but added that BPS will also provide a service where they facilitate a rush delivery service. She added that unfortunately, new BARP members and persons whose membership has been in arears for more than three months would still have to make their way down to BARP Headquarters in Hastings.

TO date, 25 Caribbean Vocational Qualifi-cations (CVQs) are offered in secondary schools across the island. Come September however, that number is expected to increase, reaching approximately 40 CVQs.

Henderson Wiltshire, Education Officer in the Secondary Section of the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, revealed the above as he delivered remarks during a grad-uation ceremony held recently for youth who took part in the Youth Farm Programme, hosted by the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA), last summer.

Pointing out that Barbados is moving towards a demand-driven system, Wiltshire also noted that over the next few months, Barbadians will see an initiative being launched where students will be trained in this demand-driven model, leading towards higher levels of employment and teachers will be encouraged to train students to meet industry standards.

“This will be specifically for students in the CVQ programme. To this end, I wish to encourage teachers to seek out attachment opportunities, so that when you deliver your CVQ programmes, you are training students specifically to what industry requires or expects. This would be for all CVQs offered in secondary schools,” the education officer stated.

He meanwhile commented, “It is the mission of the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation to ensure that all students leave schools with some form of certification, whether it is CCSLC, CSEC, CVQs or CAPE.”

“The Ministry therefore will continue to support this very important (Youth Farm) programme, which seeks to further train and certify students in the various agriculture Caribbean Vocational Qualifi-cations,” he further stated, adding that the CVQs are growing in acceptance by businesses and high education institutions. (RSM)

Minister of Finance, Christopher Sinckler, is thanking teachers for the hard work they put into teaching and nurturing the nation’s children, especially amid difficult circumstances.

Delivering remarks at the Deacon’s Primary School 2017 Graduation Ceremony, recently held at Solidarity House, Sinckler indicated that teachers in Barbados often have to teach large classes, work with limited resources while “the pay is not the best”, but many of them go the extra mile to ensure their students succeed.

“The pay is not the best. I am saying that seriously. The pay is not the best. But the stress levels can be very high and therefore it takes an extremely committed set of persons to stick in there, to support those young children, to put up with all of the stresses and strains of school and all that happens in our environment that finds their way into the school system, but still produce gems like these students. This is a work of art, so congratulations teachers,” he said.

Sinckler, who also specially congratulated the “young stars”, noted that graduation ceremonies are usually joyous occasions where teachers and parents see children progress from their early stages at primary school to secondary school, as they continue their educational journey.

“We all want to take the opportunity to congratulate them on a fantastic first stage of their educational careers and to congratulate them for their achievements as well… We must remember that the future of a country is not determined only necessarily by those of us who are here as adults now. The future of a country is really about what is happening with those who are coming,” he said.

“If we do not help these youngsters prepare for the environment to come, then we will have problems in our society, perhaps even greater than the ones we have now.

We don’t know what will happen in the future, only God knows that, but we have to be prepared using the tools that we have and the wisdom God provided us with,” Sinckler added.

At the same time, the Member of Parliament for St. Michael North West also commended parents for the sacrifices they make and the hard work they put into ensuring their charges attain success. He pointed out that parents have to deal with whatever their children may encounter and everything they produce or not produce.

“It is your guidance and your support that brings them to the stage where they are. So, parents, you should be very proud,” he said. (AH)

Children as young as nine years old are experimenting with alcohol and marijuana and this usage only increases by the time these children enter secondary school.

So states Research and Information Officer at the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA), Jonathan Yearwood, who spoke to The Barbados Advocate after the Presentation of Key Findings from the Barbados Drug Information Network (BARDIN) 2015 Report and Trends for the Period 2011-2015 yesterday at their headquarters.

He said that research carried out by his organisation showed that just around four to five per cent of the children would have experimented with alcohol before they even left the corridors of their primary school and this number then jumps to 22 per cent by the time they are in secondary school.

The same statistics hold true for the use of marijuana where they found that it increases almost five fold from the time they leave primary school to the time that they enter the gates of their respective secondary schools.

“Well in terms of alcohol, for instance, it is between the ages of nine to 11. From our perspective at the NCSA, persons have experimented with alcohol. Just about four to five per cent – those between the ages of nine to 11 – would have experimented with marijuana. By the time these persons reach the adolescent age, the secondary school age, in terms of experimentation, it would have increased almost five fold in that it would have moved from say four to five per cent experimenting with marijuana to 22 per cent. So you will find that there is a jump in the 9 to 11, which was reported in the 2010 survey; and in 2013 when they reached secondary school, where the age range is from 11 to 17, that 22 per cent of secondary school students would have experimented with marijuana.”

Aside from the obvious health risks associated with the early use of these substances, it is clear that the young brain is more susceptible to things like drug use and this is why you would find that issues such as binge drinking tend to occur more often than not among teenagers rather than adults.

“So here we see a jump at the secondary school, at the teenage level and it supports the efforts of the NCSA to address the use of marijuana from a very early age and not waiting until you reach the problematic age of adolescence where there is additional evidence that shows that the young brain is still maturing and more likely to facilitate the abuse of substances, including alcohol. That is why we have issues pertaining to binge drinking at a very young age more so than the adults.”

THE heads of this island’s four largest trade unions are pleased with the response received from shop stewards and other members of the public who participated in Tuesday’s walk.

The walk, which moved off around 11:45 a.m., was in protest of Government’s recent budgetary measures, in particular the increase of the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL).

It saw over 500 persons joining the leaders of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) and the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), as they walked from Queen’s Park to the Parliament Buildings.

At Parliament, BWU’s Toni Moore, NUPW’s Akanni McDowall, BSTU’s Mary Redman and BUT’s Pedro Shepherd sought to hand deliver letters to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the two Independent Members of Parliament. They were only successful in presenting a letter to the Opposition Leader.

Speaking to The Barbados Advocate prior to the start of the walk, Moore said the unions had projected that 300 individuals would have turned out on the day. She added, “We are quite happy up to now and the energy amongst the people that we have mingled with so far has been what we wanted it to be – positive but controlled.”

Meanwhile, McDowall said he was “encouraged by the numbers and this is just the first step in many things to come”.

Also speaking to the press, Shepherd and Redman said they were pleased with the response. Shepherd further highlighted the key takeaway individuals should get from being involved in the walk.

“I think the most important thing one can expect from this walk is a show of unity, a show of solidarity. I think one has to recognise that even though there may be some issues in the Trade Union Movement in Barbados that when there is cause for the unions to unite, they will unite and this morning you are going to see four of the larger unions uniting for a particular cause and I believe that this is a movement that will go forward from strength to strength. I believe that this is the first in a series of events that these four unions are going to spearhead.”

THE President of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Akanni McDowall, wants Barbadians to know that trade unions have come together to stand in solidarity to address issues affecting workers.

McDowall said while the trade unions did not come together to stand up for the 3 000 government workers who were sent home in 2013, today the unions have different leaders who are now more united than they were before.

“The difference between 2013 and now is different leadership. Things different now though. It is 2017 and things will not be the same.

“The unions today are together and that is the biggest difference. I have not seen unions together like this, since I have been a part of the Trade Union Movement 16 years now,” he said.

McDowall made the remarks as he addressed members of the NUPW, the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU), the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) and the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), who participated in Tuesday’s march to Parliament to protest the controversial National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL).

The unions are calling on Government to revoke or adjust the tax, which was moved from two to 10 per cent in the 2017 Budget and took effect from July 1.

“I am telling you today that we have to stand in solidarity if we expect this Government to do what we want. If you expect to get salary increases, you have to stand in solidarity.

“If you expect the taxes to be repealed, you have to stand in solidarity. If you expect the taxes to be reduced, you have to stand in solidarity. The only way we will get change is if we stand in solidarity forever,” McDowall said. (AH)

A RECENT report that the hike in natural gas prices is as a result of the increase in the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) is untrue.

This is according to Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, who lamented that the NSRL is apparently being blamed for everything that happens in Barbados.

Speaking in the Lower Chamber on Tuesday on the National Insurance and Social Security (Amendment) Bill 2017, Sinckler sought to clarify the misinformation shared in another section of the press.

“We brought a Bill in here (Parliament) to make adjustments to the natural gas on the understanding that we were increasing the price to give the corporation (National Petroleum Corporation) the opportunity to have the resources to expand gas to more Barbadians, long before the budget and long before the NSRL was increased,” he stated.

Barbadians can rest assured that the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is in good hands and will not be going bankrupt any time soon.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Richard Sealy, noted the above while in the House of Assembly on Tuesday. He was at the time making his contribution to debate on the National Insurance and Social Security (Amendment) Bill, 2017.

“The National Insurance Scheme is in good hands. The Actuarial Review is about to be released, the 15th one and the truth is as we have heard, there’s nothing for us to get flustered about in this Actuarial Review,” Sealy commented.

“The issue that we confront is the issue that the Rt. Hon. Member for St. Peter (Owen Arthur) confronted and for that matter, (former prime minister) Sir Lloyd (Erskine Sandiford) in his administration would have confronted. Barbados is ageing and therefore, the working base that has to provide benefits for our senior citizens is shrinking … and it means that we have to make some difficult
decisions as well,” he continued.

“We don’t want to adjust the rates beyond what they have to be, but the truth is, at some point in time, National Insurance rates will probably have to be looked at as well. It is the reality. We have had to deal with the retirement age issue and make adjustments there, but if you are going to make sure that the Fund remains viable, then you have to be prepared to make those decisions,” he maintained.

He meanwhile took issue with statements made by Opposition Member of Parliament for St. George South, Dwight Sutherland, who suggested that Government is mismanaging NIS funds and the Scheme will be in trouble in a few years’ time.

“At the National Insurance Scheme they work hard … and I think that they need to hear from this Chamber that they are appreciated. They don’t need to hear that the place is going to be bankrupt in another couple of years. That is not true to begin with and it can be demotivating,” Sealy stressed.

“These people are working very hard. Yes, there have been some issues. (We) invested heavily in a computer network; there were glitches and so on. We don’t delight in hearing pensioners are getting their cheques a bit late and so on, but we have to obviously invest in the necessary technology to manage the ever-growing base of beneficiaries and I think that has to be taken into context. (But) it is a well-run organisation, offering a comprehensive range of different services,” Sealy said. (RSM)

Prominent Pan-Africanist and socialist David Denny says he has been receiving reports from the vulnerable in society that they are afraid of the impact the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) is going to have on their already difficult lives.

Denny, also a member of the National Union of Public Workers’ (NUPW) National Council, told The Barbados Advocate that he too was worried that while the cost of living in Barbados is set to rise due to the tax, which came into effect on July 1, “I really do not know how people are going to cope”.

“Therefore, the people who speak out for the vulnerable in this country need to fight the battle on behalf of the workers, senior citizens, students, everybody.

“Looking forward, this tax is going to create serious problems, especially for parents preparing to send their children back to school. Therefore, we as socialists and Pan-Africanists need to put pressure on the Government of Barbados to remove this tax,” Denny said.

The activist was one of the hundreds who participated in Tuesday’s march to Parliament, staged by the four major trade unions to protest the controversial NSRL.

The NUPW, the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) and the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) are calling for the NSRL, which was moved from two to 10 per cent, to be revoked or adjusted.

Denny said he was standing in solidarity with the unions “because this tax is going to affect the working class in this country”.

“I came out to stand in solidarity with the workers of Barbados who are fighting against this tax. As a Pan-Africanist, a socialist and a trade union activist, I will demonstrate my rights to stand in solidarity with the unions,” he declared. (AH)

President of the Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA), Sharmane Roland-Bowen, is calling on Government to move with alacrity to get the proposed changes to the Road Traffic Act passed as soon as possible.

At the end of May this year, Minister of Transport and Works, Michael Lashley, speaking at the launch of a Public Awareness Campaign on Road Safety, indicated that the plan was to seek parliamentary approval for the amendments after the Budget, and certainly before the end of the year, and Roland-Bowen is holding him to that.

In an interview with The Barbados Advocate yesterday, the road safety advocate contended that such changes, which will address drink driving and distracted driving including the use of cell phones while driving, among other things, are needed as a matter of urgency to help reduce the number of serious and fatal collisions on the nation’s roads. To date, she noted that 18 road fatalities have been recorded, the latest being yesterday where an elderly lady was struck at the Westmoreland junction.

“We were told that after the Budget they would be taking it to Parliament and the Budget has come and gone, and we are now in the Crop Over season where we are likely to see persons driving and drinking, and persons driving tired. We have managed to see a tapering off as it relates to fatalities over the last two months and we do not want to see that resurface. So the BRSA is urging Government to put this legislation on the statute books soon,” she said.

Roland-Bowen added, “This legislation can help to save lives, reduce collisions on the roads and overall help to alleviate any burden placed on the hospital to treat persons who have been involved in vehicular collisions. So it is in our best interest not to procrastinate and put any more lives at risk.”

Especially at this time, where the country is celebrating the Crop Over Festival, Roland-Bowen said in the absence of the legislation, she wants motorists to exercise even greater caution so more no lives are lost on our roads.

“We want them to know what to expect and to be prepared; be prepared for persons that will be drinking and getting behind the wheel; be prepared for persons may be fall asleep at the wheel because they are moving from fete to fete; we want them to be on the lookout. We are not telling them not to drink, but that if they do, designate a person who is not consuming any alcohol to take them home safely. We also don’t want them to be distracted and I am not only referring to cell phones, but in relation to passengers in the vehicle,” she said.

With that in mind, she is calling on all motorists to “keep their heads on” and stay focused when they are driving. Moreover, the road safety advocate is also asking Barbadians and visitors alike to slow down on the roads. The BRSA president, contending that speed is a major killer, is appealing to all persons to not only drive within the speed limit, but to ensure that there is adequate time for them to reach their destination punctually and in one piece. (JRT)

Efforts are on to ensure that research conducted on human subjects across the Caribbean, towards a view of obtaining better health for citizens, is done in a safe and ethical manner.

Dr. Derrick Aarons, Ethicist with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), served as the first presenter during the IMPACT Justice/CARPHA meeting held to discuss model legislation, to regulate research involving human participants. The regional meeting was held in the Tides Room of the Radisson Aquatica Resort yesterday.

During a break from the morning’s session, which focused on the Human Research Protection Framework in the Caribbean, Dr. Aarons noted the need to safeguard human research participants and he acknowledged that legislation was being drafted, which regional countries could adopt, to ensure the safety of research participants.

“As a part of seeing that safe research is conducted with humans across the Caribbean, the idea is to not only sensitise persons, but to protect human participants. And so, whilst we need Research Ethics Committees to review all proposals to do research, we also need the regulations that will ensure that what is decided is actually carried through. And so we are going to be looking at drafting legislation for all our CARICOM countries, draft legislation that they can adopt, to ensure that there is safety when research is necessary,” Dr. Aarons told The Barbados Advocate.

“We all know that research is necessary to develop human health and good health is needed for human development and development is needed for productivity in all our countries. And so, this is the cornerstone of ensuring that our country is developed,” he added.

“So I will be presenting on the whole Human Subjects Research Regulation Network, that speaks to both proper conduct of research, research oversight by Research Ethics Committees and the research protection that comes through regulations. So that is an overarching idea of what we hope to promote today,” Dr. Aarons indicated. (RSM)

The Canadian Government funded Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) Project and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) collaborated this week, to sponsor a meeting to discuss model legislation, to regulate research involving human participants.

The regional meeting, which was held in the Tides Room of the Radisson Aquatica Resort on Wednesday, was chaired by Professor Velma Newton, Regional Project Director of the IMPACT Justice Project.

“I first became aware of the need to regulate research involving human participants in the region, in March 2016, when wearing my hat as Officer-in-Charge of the Caribbean Law Institute Centre, I was involved in a project funded by Health Canada, to assist in developing a functional drug regulatory framework for the Caribbean Regulatory System,” Professor Newton pointed out.

“Discussions with Dr. [James] Hospedales, [Executive Director of CARPHA] and Dr. [Derrick] Aarons [Ethicist at CARPHA] led to IMPACT Justice becoming interested in and agreeing to fund this meeting, the objective of which is to discuss what is needed for the purpose of drafting model legislation” Professor Newton added.

She meanwhile noted that in 2008, Guyana passed regulations under its Medical Practitioners Act, which included two short regulations on medical practitioners and biomedical research and human organ transplantation. In 2016, St. Lucia passed a clinical Trials Act and a draft Human Research Regulatory Act was also prepared by Dr. Derrick Aarons prior to that.

“Other legislation may exist in the CARICOM region, but if so, we overlooked it and would like you to tell us about it. It will be of interest to hear what in your views, are the good points, the omissions and otherwise of the legislation before you,” she told participants from ten regional countries, including Barbados.

In attendance at the workshop was Dr. Alafia Samuels, Deputy Dean, Research, Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. She stressed that such a workshop was very important, as there needed to be some level of harmonisation as it relates to the legislation regulating research involving human participants, across the islands of the Caribbean.

“There are predatory people out there who want to do research and are looking for any opportunity to come into a country and use the people and the resources to do questionable research and we really have to protect our people against that,” Dr. Samuels told The Barbados Advocate. (RSM)

The Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) is fully endorsing a project which will serve to improve the financial and operational sustainability of small scale farmers in Barbados and two other regional countries.

BAS CEO James Paul says the project, entitled “Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods among Eastern Caribbean Farmers”, which is being hosted by the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), in partnership with Pro NGO! Germany, with funding from the European Union (EU), will definitely make a difference in the lives of the small farmers involved.

“I think it is going to make a difference and I think through our own efforts and the efforts we will see coming from the (farming) community (involved in the project), I think we can go a long way in having a more sustainable agricultural sector,” he remarked during the project launch, held recently at Almond Bay in Hastings, Christ Church.

With regards to the project, the BAS will serve as a local convenor and as such, the BAS acknowledged the partnership between the CPDC and his organisation.
Turning his focus on the struggles many small farmers face, he noted that a major one has to do with climate change and the variability of the weather, which can at times place many small farmers out of pocket.

“Because of the fact that he is impacted by nature, by the elements which are very unpredictable, it means therefore that one day he could be extremely well off economically, on another day he could be extremely poor,” Paul pointed out.

“That is why I always argue that whatever resources and assistance can be given to the farming community, we should not baulk at it, we should not wonder why. I think in the same way that in other economic sectors, when they ask for things, we give them very readily, we should also do so for the farmers,” he added.

“That is why in the case of the farmer, when you see something happens, it’s not very often because of his own mismanagement that it has happened. It is (at times due to a) quirk of nature that it has happened to him. On an annual basis, we get storms coming through this region and we can see in some cases that some of the storms are even more threatening. So when they do happen and it impacts on a farmer and the farming sector asks for assistance, it is not because of the fact that basically they want a hand out. It is because of the fact that in many cases, they are seriously challenged, in terms of how do we recover from this” Paul maintained.
He meanwhile noted that the CPDC is heading in the right direction, in trying to assist farmers in establishing more sustainable livelihoods.

Caribbean companies are being encouraged to do more to support education.

This call comes from Minister of Education, the Hon. Ronald Jones, who believes “there is a high degree of selfishness by many businesses of the region”.

“If they give you $10 000 they feel that they give you the world. But, yet they make their money from the people of the region – the people of the region educate the people for those same businesses. So, I am saying in these alliances, and in these partnerships – just give a little more. Not to hurt yourself, but a little bit more because we still want you to retain some of your earnings to further build out your businesses, to help take in some of the people we are producing.”

The Minister was at the time addressing the opening ceremony of the 16th Annual Conference of the Association of Caribbean Higher Education Administrators (ACHEA), held under the theme “Expectations in Higher Education: Everybody’s Business” at Hilton Barbados Resort, yesterday.

He told participants that part of the problem that is faced as leaders of education, as governments is that they are no longer listening to each other.

“We are quarrelling with each other. Leaders in tertiary education are saying ‘but we want more’ and the government is saying ‘but we don’t have more’. If we give you more, something across the board will suffer… Therefore, how are we going to discuss this in a sensible and rational way, so that we can still roll out the tertiary education project in the region.

“We have to be frugal, we cannot be as liberal as we used to be. And once that happens there is an impact on the institutions, there is an impact on the people who must access this education,” he pointed out.

Further recognising the financial challenges, Jones is urging tertiary administrators to be compassionate, when dealing with students who have difficulties in meeting their tuition commitments.

“You have to understand and work out financial modalities which will help ease them through the difficult periods,” he said.