Barbados does not support a public register of beneficial owners of enterprises.

Making this clear while opening the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Caribbean Conference, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, forecasted that there would soon be a focus on developing programmes or policy perspectives on a public register for the beneficial owners of businesses, “under the guise that such a practice will help eliminate corruption and other illicit activities of corporations”.

However, he challenged this position.

“As I have had to say to my counterparts in the British Government and my colleagues in the Global Forum, Barbados does not support a public register of beneficial owners of enterprises. To do such would place the lives and well-being of private citizens at great risk and only create a more underground market for some kind of corporate structures. I look forward to the position of the US Government, in particular,” he said.

Addressing the audience gathered at the Hilton Barbados on Monday, he reiterated his stance on the blacklisting of Barbados and other small island states by international agencies and called for transparency.

“Many of us have been erroneously placed on various kinds of negative lists and as a result have been forced to spend much of our limited resources on getting struck off the said lists. We have become victims of overly zealous regulators who spend every waking moment making up new rules, for example, for commercial banks, who are then compelled to create and sustain large risks and compliance departments to focus on making life a living hell for even the best governed corporations or the most legitimate high net worth person. We in the Caribbean, for example, have severely felt the effects of de-risking,” he said.

Inniss added, “As we continue to engage with the EU, the OECD and our partners around the world, we do so with a firm determination that there must be transparency in rule setting and there must be consistency in the application of such rules. We must not settle for anything less than that.”

Addressing high youth unemployment is one of the main issues attracting the attention of Kemar Stuart, who is hoping to secure a seat for Solutions Barbados in the upcoming general election.

Stuart, who at 23 years old is perhaps the youngest candidate currently contesting the election, spoke to the need to find employment opportunities for Barbadians, in particular the youth, as he spoke to the media recently.

His comments came on Monday afternoon at the St. Matthew’s Primary School, where he went to be nominated to contest the St. Michael North East seat.

The university student, who noted that Barbados is a service-oriented economy, said he wants to change the way in which persons ply their trade. His ultimate goal is to push wealth creation, so that persons are not relying on a salary of $300 a week to get by, but are able to earn more. By doing that, he said, it would give Barbadians the opportunity to enjoy what the island has to offer, as much as the tourists who visit here do.

“The way in which I am looking to achieve that is through wealth management services and innovating the financial sector. I am seeking to have my Barbadians growing their wealth into millionaires, billionaires, so that they can contribute significantly to the economy,” he said.

Last week when he visited the Treasury Department to pay his deposit in order to contest the election, Stuart said Solutions Barbados is committed to innovating the local finance sector through the introduction of legislation, to revolutionise that sector and broaden its base. He had also made mention of their plans to encourage venture capitalists to invest in the youth in enterprise, so that they would not have to rely on the commercial banks and through that they would not only create wealth, but a new cadre of entrepreneurs.

The St. Michael North East candidate had also expressed concern about too many youth being involved in crime and drugs and his desire to make a difference in the country, so that young people like him can have a brighter future. Such was the message he left with the Class Four students of the St. Matthew’s Primary School on Monday, as he urged them to put their best foot forward and strive for excellence at all times. (JRT)

Regardless of the outcome, one thing is certain – the principals and the teaching staff at the primary schools have done their best to ensure that the students were well prepared for the exam.

Speaking with The Barbados Advocate yesterday, Natalie Francis, the teacher of Class 4 Francis, said that they had lessons after school and during the Easter vacation where they focused on the essentials necessary to get through the exam.

They sent in 79 students altogether and she had 18 students in her class with 12 boys and six girls. Some of the areas that she personally covered were composition strategies, locating information, how to answer a composition, subject-verb agreement and how to begin a question; while in Maths, she focused on the areas that she noticed consistently gave the students issues such as fractions, percentages, charts and statistics.

“They would have also done a lot of past papers under exam conditions and then gone through these papers in detail, looking for areas where the students made mistakes and correcting these mistakes,” she said.

During the school term, the lessons were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. while during the vacation, lessons were held three full days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Francis said that the students showed consistent improvement as the time to the exam drew nearer and this is due to a combination of factors, from the efforts of the teachers to the hard work that the students themselves put in, to their parents working with them on their homework and doing any extra work. “They (parents) really went beyond the call of duty.”

She said that she spoke to the students before the day of the exam and she told them to go to bed early, have a good breakfast, be on time for the exam and once you get into the exam centre, read each question carefully before you answer it and make sure everything is good.

Deputy Principal of The People’s Cathedral (TPC) Primary School, Janice Lewis, said that the students went through a lot of past papers and they even had two exchanges with The St. Cyprian’s Boys’ School where the TPC students went to St. Cyprian’s and those students came to TPC. One of these was held at the end of April and the other at the beginning of May, where they wrote the past papers under exam conditions.

They also brought the students to The St. Michael School before the exam, so that they would become familiar with the environment.

Lewis said that they prayed with the students prior to them heading into the exam room and she encouraged the students to do their own praying before they started the exam.

She advised them to put God first and do their best and once they did these two things, they would be successful.

Dave Layne, Principal of St. Cyprian’s, said that all 31 of the young men that did the exam were well prepared, had a good attitude and were looking forward to doing the exam.

He said that the students usually do well in the 11-plus with approximately 90 per cent going to one of the older sec-ondary schools, usually Harrison College or Queen’s College.

He advised them to read through the material carefully, use their time wisely and remain focused. (PJT)

A video, which has gone viral, showing three young women being heckled by a driver as they canvassed a neighbourhood for the Democratic Labour Party, has drawn the ire of one government minister.

Insisting that this should not happen in modern-day Barbados, Minister of Education and candidate for Christ Church East, Ronald Jones, said this type of behaviour should not and must not be condoned.

“These beautiful young ladies were simply sharing their support and then this person started harassing them and criticising them as though they were doing something wrong. We live in a democratic society, but some people do not act so,” he said.

At the time, Jones was addressing a spot meeting in Lower Burney, in support of the St. Michael South East candidate, Rodney Grant.

Insisting that the driver’s actions reflected poorly on the society, he lamented that such behaviour was also becoming more commonplace, especially during this election campaign.

“We have had changes in government in Barbados overtime without rancour or open rancour, without dissent, without persons destabilising the economy and the society, but over the last nine years, one has been seeing this,” he claimed.

Minister of Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick has hinted that sabotage could be the reason why sewage is still spilling into the streets on the South Coast.

Estwick, the candidate for St. Philip West, was speaking on Sunday night as the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) launched its 2018 election campaign “Do D Ting! Vote DEMS.” He revealed that four of the six deep injection wells proposed to help address the sewage problems are complete, but that the “catastrophic failure” of a piece of a equipment prevented the draining of the sewage system recently.

He told the crowd of thousands gathered on the outskirts of the National Stadium, that the wells the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has proposed have his full support. His comments came as he said that diverting sewage to such deep injection wells, is done in other jurisdictions here in the region and elsewhere and he has confidence in the technical staff of the BWA to get the job done.

“We consulted with engineers in Canada, engineers in America, engineers all about the place... and the recommendation was we should use deep injections wells that are used in the Bahamas, in Florida, in North Carolina, in Canada and Europe; and the wells were to be used to divert the sewage so we could drain the system and when it drains you could then go down in there and fix it,” he said.

However, Estwick hinting at sabotage, announced that when attempts were made to make the four wells operational, – which were finished last week – moving to connect the pipes to the pumps and drain the system, there was a catastrophic failure of a screw lift “all of a sudden”.

His comments came as he again defended the DLP Administration’s handling of the South Sewage Plant problems, contending that the challenges being experienced are not the fault of the present government, but due to the poor construction of the plant, which resulted in its collapse. He maintained that the problems with the plant have nothing to do with maintenance, but instead the collapse of the distribution plant, which is located 15 feet under the ground.

“If you go on the coast and dig five feet down you find water. All of the sewage pipes are 11 feet down, 20 feet down covered in water. The sewage pipes, there are two – one carrying sewage to the plant and one carrying sewage from the plant. The two of them are encased in concrete... and no connections at all,” he said.

His remarks came as he said that dye testing showed that there is a break between the two sewage lines and he said that could only happen if the foundation of the distribution lines has been destroyed.

“They walk up and down the country trying to blame the Democratic Labour Party for the problems when in fact the problems actually started from the beginning....”

“You may not remember when the South Coast Sewage Project was started in 1997; by 1999 they had to fire one of the contractors for bad work… They fired them because they were having problems in the same site that we are now having the issues,” he stated.

Meanwhile, turning his attention to proposals put forward by the Barbados Labour Party, including shutting down the system and paying wages to the affected businesses, he dismissed the suggestions.

“I want Mia to answer two questions. Mia, seven million gallons of sewage go to the plant everyday, in order to fix the plant you got to drain the system… where are you going to put seven million gallons of sewage everyday?”

“I want you to tell Barbadians, because you attacked me and my ministry and I will not sit idle for it.

Tell Barbadians where you would put seven million gallons of sewage coming everyday in order to start a dig?”

PRIME Minister the Right Honourable Freundel Stuart is sticking to his word that, despite working against the odds, the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has delivered for Barbados.
This is why he is asking Barbadians who have shown patience in difficult circumstances, to vote for the DLP when they go to the polls on May 24.

“The record of the Democratic Labour Party in Barbados is far superior to that of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). The fingerprints of the Democratic Labour Party can be found in every aspect of this country’s life.

“Therefore, we have to protect the Democratic Labour Party from the slandering of our opponents in the Barbados Labour Party. Our work is not yet complete. We still have other things we have to do in Barbados…,” he said, urging Barbadians to go out and vote in their numbers to return the DLP to government.

Speaking at the presentation of DLP candidates for the 2018 General Election, last , at the Bay Street Esplanade, Stuart reminded Barbadians that the Administration which he leads is providing housing solutions for families; overseeing the introduction of an Employment Act; passing the Sexual Harassment Bill; making amendments to the Domestic Violence Legislation; appointing teachers, and 600 public workers while another 300 more are in the pipeline.

He said his government has also added offshore medical education, a creative industry and renewal energy, to the country’s sector industry.

“All of these things happened in Barbados before your very eyes. An enlightened government was busy looking after your interest and promoting the objective society for which purpose the Democratic Labour Party was called in the first place.

“And tonight Barbados is a just society, after ten years of Democratic Labour Party ruling, than it was in 2008 when we came into office. Let me make that clear. And when we came into office, against the odds, the world plunged into a deep financial crisis in the last quarter of 2007, we came in in January 2008. The previous administration did not have to deal with any of that crisis at all.

“At the height of that crisis, as many as 750 000 workers were losing their jobs in the United States per month. The British economy contracted and only in the second quarter of 2015 got back to the size it was at in 2008, that’s how serious that crisis was,” Stuart reminded the crowd that gathered at the Esplanade.

Prime Minister Stuart, who is the candidate for St Michael South, also said that the DLP was instrumental in saving the financial service sector through putting appropriate measures in place to stop businesses from leaving the island.

“As a result of decisions taken in Canada, in order to save the financial business and financial businesses service sector here, we had to put measures in place to ensure that businesses that had started to leave Barbados from that sector … We had saved the sector and that sector is well on its way back to a state of vibrancy. But those are decisions we had to take…,” he said.

“I cannot stand before you tonight and say if I had to do it all over again, I would do it differently. I frankly believe that there comes a time in the life of a country, there comes a time in the experience of a country, when people have to stop and determine whether their individual interests are to be elevated above the interest of the majority of people.

“We took the position that the interest of Barbados required that we hold our social services intact and ask who could afford it to pay a bit more,” Prime Minister Stuart added as he delivered his firing speech. (AH)

The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is promising to make unsecured loans available to ordinary Barbadians through a trust loan fund.

Leader of the BLP, Mia Mottley said that fund will be capitalised with $10 million every year of their five-year term, if they secure the reins of power. She spoke to this as she said that the fund is intended to give persons the opportunity to build a credit history, so that when they do approach the commercial banks or the credit unions for financial assistance, they are not considered as much of a liability.

Mottley was addressing those gathered at Pie Corner, St. Lucy on Tuesday night for a BLP national meeting.

“The Inter-American Development Bank, the IMF and others have said that we probably have more than $500 million in tax waivers that we forego every year. Now $500 million is a lot of money. This Government spends $4.5 billion a year and earns just under $3 billion a year. If we could forego tax incentives from Bushy Park Racing Circuit, to all kinds of housing and tourism ventures… you mean to tell me that the Barbados Labour Party Government that I will lead with your help, can’t find $10 million a year to be able to offer unsecured loans to ordinary Barbadians up to five years up to $5000?” she said.
Mottley went on to tell those present at Pie Corner, St. Lucy, that once that money is paid back, persons would be given the opportunity to borrow up to $10 000 unsecured.

“When we put $10 million every year for five years that’s $50 million revolving for poor people, ordinary people, and if it so sweet you want it again then give us $100 million in that trust loan fund… We trusting you to pay back. When you go to the shop what you used to do when you didn’t have enough money? You trust. When we do meeting turns, what we doing? We trusting. What is the best name to call this loan when we believe in you and taking a chance on you? We trusting,” she said.

The BLP Leader’s comments came as she said that her Party is also committed to providing education and employment opportunities for the youth. She told those gathered that where the youth do not attend university they will have access to a slew of training opportunities.

“You heard me talk at Weymouth on Saturday about a national first jobs initiative… because there are too many young people in this country [who have] left school and after six, seven, eight years have never held down a full time job… The last thing I am going to say to you is that we are going to have to be able to give opportunities, because not everybody wants to study in university, not everybody want to train necessarily to be a tradesman; there some of you who want to do a little business,” she said.

With that in mind, Mottley said in respect of the latter, that is where a trust loan fund will become vital in helping them to secure the capital to create such enterprises. (JRT)

On Monday, five candidates handed in their nomination papers at the Daryll Jordan Secondary School in Trents, St. Lucy.

The candidates vying to represent the St. Lucy constituency are the incumbent, Denis St. Elmo Kellman of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Peter Ricardo Phillips of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), three new faces, the Rev. John Wesley Carter of Solutions Barbados as well as Wayne Theodore Griffith of the United Progressive Party (UPP) and Richard Ronald Roach of the Barbados Integrity Movement (BIM).

Kellman arrived at 9:55 a.m. and was greeted by several DLP supporters, some of whom were dressed in yellow T-shirts.

The incumbent hopes to secure a sixth term and spoke to The Barbados Advocate about his achievements. He stated, “I have improved the housing stock, I have insured that the flooding problems have been resolved and I have insured that the productive sectors have increased and I have been able to lift the morale of the people of St. Lucy.”

Kellman said his party has created jobs and that the road problems are being tackled, repairing the necessary sections while new roads are also being constructed. In terms of the bus service he revealed that more private sector solutions have been brought on board, that includes ZRs, ZMs etcetera. A change in the bus routes is also on the cards.

He then made his way to the auditorium to file his nomination papers. His nomination was proposed by 99- year-old Giddeon Lescar Carrington, seconded by Mildred Yearwood. The witnesses were Rosheda Mayers and Sandralena Howell. Kellman left and it was thought that all was said and done, but he had to return to the centre at around 12:55 p.m. to clear up a description aspect of the process.

BLP candidate, Peter Phillips, who is looking to be third time lucky, arrived at 11:15 a.m. and was cheerful as he was accompanied by a large group of supporters, wearing red shirts, hats and carrying placards. They arrived on foot from St. Lucy’s Parish Church. One person there to throw their support behind him was former UPP candidate, Linda Field, who said she was now canvassing for Phillips.

As the May 24 election approaches, he revealed that the campaign was going well and that “the feedback on the ground has been excellent”. He stressed, “My first election I lost by 1 421 votes, my last election I lost by 422, a difference of almost 1 000 votes which have been eroded... The feedback that I have been getting as I canvass tells me we are going to make it right across the finish line.”

He also expressed what people have told him they would like to see happening in the parish. “The people have expressed an overwhelming need for proper transportation, housing, proper roads and social services in terms of training being available to our young people. Those are some of the overwhelming issues ...”

Phillips’ nomination was proposed by Ottaline Brathwaite. Chiwale Wilkinson was the seconder, while the witnesses were Danny S.A. Babb and Synthia James. After the filing, his supporters cheered jubilantly as he exited the auditorium. Then, the candidate interacted with children from the secondary school and the nearby primary school before leaving.

Third to arrive was the Rev. Carter, who entered the nomination centre at 12:30 p.m. The publication noted an absence of visible supporters but Carter revealed that there has been a good response to his campaign because “though some are settled where they are, people want change”.

The candidate revealed that he decided to run with Solutions Barbados after he saw their webpage last year, read their policies and wanted to share some ideas, especially about agriculture, for which he has a great love. He went on to contact the leader of the party, Grenville Phillips II, who asked if he wanted to be a candidate. Though initially hesitant, Carter thought and prayed about it and decided it was the right move to make.

Clear in his vision for St. Lucy, Carter sees several areas for improvement, including a better bus service. “We need a system down here, where if you have an electronic device, you can key in where you are and it will tell you where the bus is and how soon it will arrive.”
He added that the roads are in a poor state and footpaths are needed. “Elderly people and children are fighting with the traffic.”

Also for the youth he is looking to make sure that young people on exiting school have at least one marketable skill “that can generate income for them even if they haven’t achieved any certificates”.

The proposer, seconder and witnesses of Carter’s nomination declined to give their names.

Roach arrived at 1 p.m. Joanne Burnett proposed his nomination, it was seconded by Elvis Cadogan, while his witnesses were Makayla Cadogan and Michelle Cadogan.

There was an absence of BIM supporters, but the confident candidate expressed that “the people of St. Lucy deserve better”.

“From the time I was a boy – bad transportation, bad roads, poor water systems, sometimes you turn on your pipes and the water is brown,” he stated.

He continued by saying that a comprehensive approach was needed. “If we look at replacing those mains, we will have to dig up the roads; at the end of the day, the roads were bad so we pave the roads and we would be able to put buses on those roads because it does not make sense to put buses on bad roads.”

Speaking to The Barbados Advocate about his chances, Roach said, “I stand a great chance. David did not fear Goliath, Giddeon did not fear the Midianites... We are here to bring change.”

Arriving at 2 p.m. was Wayne Griffith in a bright orange dress shirt. While there was no large group of supporters, there was a four-year-old that stood out as she held tightly to her UPP poster.

Griffith shared that his campaign is going “excellently” and that he believes people are looking for a change through a new political party. He said there is a definite response to the policies of the UPP and according to the candidate, “There is no investment in St. Lucy in the last 20 to 25 years, not since the Arawak Cement Plant was constructed. Even agriculture is still happening or not happening the way they expected it to be. They want to know what is happening and why is St. Lucy being left behind. They are concerned about the transportation and why they have to pay two busfares to get from Bridgetown.”

Uplifting the communities and developing agriculture are areas that are seen as priorities. Kirk Griffith proposed the nomination and Marion Griffith seconded it. The two witnesses were Cleopatra Gilkes and Michael Gilkes.

The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) will be stamping out corruption.

Candidate for St Michael North, Ronald Toppin, is assuring Barbadians that this will be a priority.

“There is a cost to corruption; money spent on corruption is money that cannot be spent on beneficial and developmental projects and programmes for this country,” he indicated.

He therefore revealed that if the BLP wins the upcoming general election, the necessary legislation will be passed to deal with that issue.

“There has been a lot of corruption in this country in the last 10 years – you know it, and I know it. I believe that serious investigations should be carried out to get to the bottom of all the corruption that has taken place in this country,” he stressed.

“I believe that you agree with me that when those investigations are carried out, whoever is found to have been involved in that corruption should see a piece of prison, no matter how ‘big-up’ the person might be. The corruption in this country in the last 10 years has been too blatant and it has cost this country heavily and it must stop and the BLP will stop it.”

Toppin, who was addressing the BLP’s National Meeting held at Farm Road, Deacons on Wednesday night, also assured supporters that under a Barbados Labour Party government, misplaced priorities will be a thing of the past.
Moreover, he threw his support behind the candidate for that St Michael North West constituency Neil Rowe, who will go up against Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Christopher Sinckler.

“…Over 20 downgrades under the stewardship of Chris Sinckler, which is his greatest failure to date – we are the laughing stock. And every time when you bring these issues up, the DLP likes to play the blame game, it is always somebody else’s fault, or they give some other reason other than their own sheer incompetence…

“Our debt is still exceedingly high, our fiscal deficit is still nowhere near being balanced, our foreign reserves are at an all time low, and prices have gone up at least by 45 per cent in the last 10 years under the DLP.

“I am here to tell you that better can be done and that better will be done. Team BLP will rescue this country – it will be hard work, but we have done it before and we are going to do it again. We have a plan,” Toppin assured. (TL)

A second chance for people whose past criminal records create obstacles for steady work.

This is one of many promises to the constituents of St Michael North West from the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidate, Neil Rowe.

Addressing the BLP’s National Meeting at Farm Road, Deacons on Wednesday night, the political newcomer stressed the need to create opportunities for all Barbadians.

“There are a lot of young men in this constituency that may have had run-ins in the past with the law and some find it very challenging to get a get a clean police certificate of character. I want to assure those people that when I am elected, I will work with you in giving you a second chance in society, by having minor criminal records expunged against your name.”

“Those are the things that I want to do to help transform the lives of those people that continue to sit on the blocks and just find it very challenging to progress,” he expressed.

“…Because of the hardship that the country is experiencing right now, where the economy is concerned, we have people who will like to start their own businesses but there is the lack of resources and tools in order to get their small businesses off the ground. I want to assure these people that I will provide the necessary resources needed and create the opportunity for these small entrepreneurs… I will help them to live their dreams.”

Furthermore, Rowe promises that if he defeats the Democratic Labour Party’s Christopher Sinckler, who has held the constituency since 2008, he will not only implement programmes across the communities, but address the calls for lighting, speed bumps in parts of Deacons Farm and an end to the continuous flooding being experienced at Deacons Primary School.

“It is also my aim to deliver natural gas to the people in this community. This is something they have been requesting for years and I made a promise to myself that the first thing I would do is a feasibility study and I will deliver the results of that study to the people to let them know how possible it would be to deliver that resource at their doors,” Rowe said.
(TL)

THE year 2017 proved to be a record one for cruise tourism arrivals in Barbados, in spite of two major hurricanes which passed through the neighbouring islands.

This is according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), William Griffith, who delivered remarks at the Opening Session of Connect Barbados 2018, which was held at the Hilton Hotel Barbados yesterday.

“The cruise sector continues to show its enormous potential for contributing significantly to the local economy. The island recently celebrated a record year of arrivals in spite of the passage of two hurricanes which severely impacted a number of leading cruise ports in the region. By the end of 2017, 506 cruise ships called at the Bridgetown Port – an increase of 19.3%. They arrived with a record 822 275 cruise visitors to effect a significant increase of 12.7% when compared to the 729 645 arriving in 2016 on board 424 ships. For 2018, the Port’s projections are approximately 810 000 cruise arrivals,” Griffith stated.

He noted that these increases are due, in large part, to the efforts of the newly appointed Cruise Director, Cheryl Franklin, who took up the position a little more than a year ago.

Added to these figures, there was also an increase in the number of cruise ship passengers who viewed Barbados as a favourable home port destination, with 141 064 of them choosing to start and end their cruise ship experience in this country.

An increase in the airlift coming out of the major tourism source markets of the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada also helped to contribute towards this growth, said Griffith.

In fact, such was the success in this area that the BTMI would be looking at enhancing their efforts at promoting Barbados as an ideal homeporting destination to these and other tourism source markets, said the CEO of the BTMI.

“A growing strategic focus of the destination will be the further development of the homeporting segment to maximise on opportunities to extend economic impact through the expansion of the pre and post vacation sub segment.”

DESPITE fighting to overcome tough economic times, the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has done its best for the growth and development of education in Barbados.

Delivering some of the facts as it relates to what the DLP has done to boost education since 2008, Minister of Education, and candidate for Christ Church East Central, Ronald Jones, said his party has overseen the building of several new schools across the island, teachers being appointed, the introduction of sixth form to many secondary schools, and expanded programmes to enhance the curriculum at tertiary institutions, as well as paving the way for more Barbadians to receive higher education.

“An important part of what I call the new economic sector of Barbados was using our excellence in education. We didn’t do the study, but Barbados was recorded and viewed as the ninth best education system in the world. We are proud of that. We want to become number one. So there are many stones to be moved to get to that level…

“But this government, against the odds, continues to spend over 500 million dollars in education in this country. About six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Barbados, and between 18 and 20 per cent of government’s expenditure, reflecting that commitment long established in December 1961 and put into play in 1962. . .,” Jones said, as he spoke at Wednesday evening’s presentation of the DLP candidates who will be fighting for seats in the May 24 General Election.

Jones appealed to Barbadians to go to the polls and vote for the DLP candidates, to make it possible for the party’s return to office to continue its work of developing the nation, including the education sector.

“Sometimes it is difficult to find the truth amidst the noise, and the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has been a beehive of noise, constant noise every day. We have had more marches and demonstrations in this country in the last five years, than we have ever had in the history of Barbados.

“And, not led by trade unions you know, led by the Barbados Labour Party because somebody wanted power before the due time. Part of the aim was to run us out of office, but they don’t know [Prime Minister the Right Honourable] Freundel Stuart. Nobody runs Freundel Stuart,” Jones said. (AH)

Say goodbye to road tax as you know it.

Under a new Barbados Labour Party government, road tax in its current form will be scrapped for a smaller levy according to that political group’s economic consultant, Dr. Clyde Mascoll.

Addressing a massive crowd last night at the Plumgrove Pasture, Kingsland, he stated that those who used the island’s roads the most, would be those required to pay more.

“Do you know that the road tax on a business vehicle is $400? Do you know that you have to pay $900, $1600 dollars all kinds of things? Well that has to change. It has to change because the tax does not make sense. You are taxed for the CCs of a car to determine road usage. What we are going to do is we abolishing road tax,” he said gaining loud cheers and applause.

Mascoll detailed however that as a responsible government, it would shift the incidence of the tax towards the business community.

“Those people who use the road most, should pay the most. It is called equity and justice, so therefore we are going to transfer the road tax to a small tax in fuel and as a result those businesses that use the heavy vehicles on the road and are on the road all day will pay it proportionately,” he added.

Mascoll insisted that the island was in dire straits, but it was time to think “your way out of the box”.

Earlier in his speech on how Barbados could make its way out of the current situation, he noted that it called for the re-profiling of the island’s domestic debt as had been suggested by both former Prime Minister Owen Arthur and Agriculture Minister David Estwick, remarking that it would save the country hundreds of millions of dollars. (JMB)

This island’s top judge has called on the newly appointed ‘silks’ to be mentors to the younger members of the Bar.

“Show them the path that you have taken and show them where it has led, and you will be certain that they will follow,” Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson stated.

He was at the time welcoming the outstanding legal professionals to the Inner Bar before a full sitting of judges, magistrates, lawyers, family and friends at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) yesterday.

The 18 newly appointed Queen’s Counsels are: Junior Allsopp, C. Anthony Audain, Andrew Ferreira, Emerson Graham, Michael A. Griffith, Mary Haynes, Fiona Hinds, St. Clair Howell, Maurice Adrian King, Michael Lashley, Dale Neblett-Brown, Philip Pilgrim, Dawn Shields-Searle, Larry A.C. Smith, Rosalind Smith-Miller, Monique Taitt, Andrew Thornhill and Michael Yearwood.

“You are standing where you are because you have demonstrated leadership at the Bar. Each of you has demonstrated a level of excellence in your varied practice from Canon Law to Intellectual Property to Corporate Practice. Our areas of expertise have gone far and wide and it speaks volumes to the level of excellence which you demonstrated,” Sir Marston said.

Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite QC, moved for the admission of 17 of the attorneys to be elevated to the level of Queen’s Counsel, while former Attorney General, Dale Marshall QC, moved for the admission of Andrew Thornhill.

On behalf of the new Queen’s Counsels, St Clair Howell QC not only expressed his gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen for their elevations, but pledged to uphold the high standard of the legal profession.

“…Our training might have taken place at various institutions, in different parts of the world, but the purpose and the object has always been the same – we shall aspire to give of our best professionalism of all our various clients.

“My learned colleagues and myself acknowledge that we have a heavy responsibility in our society. Lawyers are important people… This is a proud profession; this is a courageous profession. Yet in the spirit of true professionalism, my experience is that we do it all by the grace of God and with humility. There can be no doubt that the legal profession in Barbados is most certainly in good hands,” he assured.

Earlier this week, Registrar of the Supreme Court, Barbara Cooke-Alleyne, and her husband, Attorney-at-law Ramon Alleyne, as well as Acting Judge, Alrick Scott, were also admitted to the Inner Bar during a special sitting at the Supreme Court. (TL)

By the start of the new school term, Codrington College will be looking to introduce a Diploma of Spirituality to their curriculum.

This was revealed by Reverend Canon Noel Burke as he spoke with the media on the sidelines of their two-day symposium, which took place on the grounds of Codrington College yesterday morning.

“We are hoping that we can have the Diploma in Spirituality in place by the new academic year, which begins towards the end of August this year,” he said.

“We are hoping that the diploma will attract all persons. We hold the view that the diploma is simply not for church folk, but it’s for any person who would like to deepen their knowledge and understanding on matters that are spiritual.”

Canon Burke revealed that he realises businesses and business persons have a particular interest in spirituality, as there have been a number of instances where he would have been asked to go to companies and conduct devotions. As such, he is of the opinion that this new course is a chance for them to delve a bit deeper into the world of spirituality.

He stressed that they placed an emphasis on knowledge as the course was not strictly academic in terms of passing exams. However, he stated that persons would be asked to give reflection papers on what they read.

Meanwhile, the Reverend Dr. Von Watson believed that yesterday’s symposium marked a watershed in terms of opening the doors to the number of initiatives they are looking to bring on stream at the College.

“There is some excitement going around and we are all excited because we understand the great possibilities that can emerge in the area of bringing people from all walks of life to sit together, experience together and have conversation together,” he said.

“We need that now because we always talk about the world becoming a global village and it’s interesting that we’re able to find time to examine our diversities and things that divide us as opposed to looking for that one bridge which we can all travel on to and fro, so we’re hoping this two-day experience would do some of that.”

Among the projects that they are looking to bring on board at the College, according to Watson, is to launch a Creative Arts Festival in the summer.

In addition to that, he revealed that they are looking to construct a Centre for Physical Health and Wellness and Experience, in the not-too-distant future.

After spending close to Bds$17 million on a facelift, Sea Breeze Beach House is officially open for business.

Speaking during the reopening ceremony, General Manager, Patricia Affonso-Dass, expressed that she was incredibly grateful and delighted to celebrate the reopening of the established institution. She noted that tourism was the lifeblood of the Barbados economy as it is the engine of growth, so ensuring an environment in which it can grow and flourish was critical to the continued development and success of the island.

“The near 17 million-dollar investment we have made in Sea Breeze Beach House, showcases our commitment to the industry and to all that I have highlighted,” she said.

“Tonight marks the culmination of a year of transformation that has taken our property from very good to extraordinary and we are absolutely delighted to have so many of our trade partners, local hospitality colleagues, accommodation providers, government partners, guests, staff and friends to celebrate with us tonight.”

She revealed that over the course of the year-long renovation, every aspect of the hotel was transformed.

“Our principal motivation was to ensure that in all that we did, that we highlighted and showcased an experience that was truly Bajan,” she said.

“We wanted to be sure that when our guests visit us at Sea Breeze Beach House that they feel a sense of connection to the island, the people, the local sounds and flavours and more than anything, felt that they were at home and being cared for, rather than served.”

The general manager reported that over the course of the 12 months, they completely transformed all 78 of their existing rooms, now referred to as their “Classic Collection”, with totally renovated bathrooms, furnishings, amenities, lighting and artwork; and added an additional 44 “super comfortable” ocean front junior suites and multi-bedroom suites.

“As a nod to the beautiful mahogany trees that were lost to make room for these new suites, we repurposed as much of the wood as we could in various aspects of the furnishings, including the mirrors, live edge shelves and one of a kind 12-foot mahogany slab that takes pride of place in the buffet room,” she said.

Affonso-Dass expressed that she was proud of the beautiful new product and added that as she looked around, she was confident that the decision made to invest in the renovations, was a wise one.

THE push for girls to enter into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields continues as the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation has provided another opportunity for young girls to be exposed to areas in STEM through ‘Girls Power Tech – Barbados 2018’.

The initiative is being facilitated by the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, the Cisco Networking Academy, the Data Processing Department and the Caribbean Science Foundation.

At the recent opening of the event at the Data Processing Department, Baobab Towers, Warrens, Charles Cyrus, Acting Director of the National Council on Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, indicated: “Girls Power Tech is a mentoring event for girls between the ages of 13-14. The workshop is focused on computer and digital technology. The focus is on girls because girls are underrepresented in high tech computer and digital careers and we really want to address that imbalance by exposing young students to the world of digital technologies, the possibilities and trying to influence them in careers in these areas.”

He added, “We have been focusing on awareness and there has been an improvement in girls getting more opportunities to become involved in this field as they have been a number of initiatives seeking to expose them to STEM career possibilities. The focus is on awareness at this point, the next step will be providing the skills, but we have been working on exposure and we see positive results and increased interest from girls.

“There is also a need for the private sector to be involved. We have Cisco Academy on board for this mentoring opportunity. However, there are always opportunities for private sector to come on board to promote STEM because it has significant potential for generating jobs and can meet the needs of the private sector. We have initiatives coming in the primary schools because we want to get them aware of the possibilities in STEM from an early age.”

Codrington College is hoping that their two-day international symposium will open the doors to the discussion of spirituality among all persons.

Speaking with the media following the morning session of their symposium, which was held on the grounds of Codrington College yesterday, Reverend Canon Noel Burke noted that the symposium is focused on spirituality.

“We realise that the Caribbean is a place where people take their religion very seriously, so we’re having the two-day symposium so that persons would get the opportunity to know where the world is at in terms of spirituality,” he said.

“There is quite a lot happening in the world and so we brought in a lot of experts in the area of spirituality. These experts are here to help us as we seek to put some flesh on the notion of spirituality.”

Burke noted that the symposium was the beginning or rather the start of a diploma in spirituality, where they will examine over a two-year period more of the elements and themes that come up in spirituality as well.

“One of the things that we realised around the world, and the Caribbean is not exempt, is that we have become rather materialistic. We have a materialistic approach to life and we focus so much within the context of the things that are passing away, rather than things that we should endure,” he said.

“So one of the things about the symposium that we are doing is getting persons to concentrate on the matters of the spirit, so that they realise that a human being is more than physical as we are spiritual beings as well.”

He explained that we were spiritual beings who were created by God Almighty, which is why it was important to pay attention to this spiritual aspect of our lives as well for our general well-being. He believed that while material things did hold a certain value, it was important for persons to remember not to give more value to things that are material.

“So material things do have value, but they mustn’t be given more value than things that are sacred and divine,” he said.

A Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government does not intend to remove any ladders to social mobility in this country, nor any of the social services Barbadians are accustomed to.

This assurance has come from the Party’s St. Michael North candidate, Kim Tudor. She was speaking on Thursday night at the Rices Playing Field in St. Philip, where the DLP staged a national meeting. She told the scores of people present that the decision to increase taxes was not one taken lightly, and was done to ensure that the country could continue to provide much needed social services for the people.

“When you are facing a decline in money, do you fix potholes or do you put services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital? Last night Donville explained to us that there are about 300 persons who require dialysis and that dialysis is $400 a day, and the Government, has despite the circumstances, against all odds, has tried to make sure that those services are still provided. So these are some tough decisions that the Government has had to make,” she told those all those within earshot.

Tudor made the point while contending that the Freundel Stuart-led administration has remained committed to looking after Barbadians’ well-being.

“It took me back to the 60s when the Right Honourable Errol Walton Barrow would have faced similar challenges, and had he made the decision to cut free education, I wouldn’t be standing before; I would not have had the chance of being the first CEO [of the National Initiative for Service Excellence]. Adriel would not have had the chance to be the Attorney General of Barbados, and I dare say, the Right Honourable Freundel Stuart would not have had the opportunity to be the Prime Minister. So therefore we are committed to ensuring that this same ladder that we climbed, you are also able to climb,” she added.

The first time candidate made the comments as she said that the DLP Government is committed to also maintaining the parity of the Barbados dollar vis-à-vis the US dollar to ensure that Barbados does not suffer the same fate of some of our Caribbean neighbours. Contending that the DLP has worked hard to ensure the dollar remains stable, Tudor said some sacrifices had to be made.

“The sacrifices that we are making now, are those sacrifices that are enabling us to have our dollar remain stable and to have the social services that we need. Every generation, let me remind you, faces challenges… We are also facing the challenges and our challenge is coming from the global economic recession and the challenge is also coming from the fact that we are no longer isolated, we have to participate in the global economic environment,” she stated. (JRT)

William ‘Billie’ Griffith, CEO of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) has reaffirmed the focus of the organisation is to continue to drive business for Barbados and forge the connections needed to continue to develop the brand.

While speaking to The Barbados Advocate at the Connect Barbados Farewell Reception at Sandals Royal, in the midst of election time on the island, he indicated, “Everyone is into the local politics, not discounting that, but what I have instilled in the BTMI is that our job is to drive business, our focus is to continue to push business for Barbados and expose the brand to different markets.”

In terms of Connect Barbados, he explained, “Connect Barbados is in its 13th year and this year the theme is ‘Blending Opportunities’ and blending business opportunities ties into the Year of Culinary Experiences which we have as our theme for this year...”

“.. We have had actually 50 tour operator companies on the island, over 70 delegates from those companies, they range from the US, UK, Canada, Caribbean and Latin America, the largest contingent is from the UK. The objective of the week was to meet with the hoteliers on the island, we had over 92 hoteliers who registered and it was a structured programme where people request appointments with each other. The idea is that we bring these tour operators to the island because not every hotel has the opportunity to go out and do the tours and trade shows.”

The CEO highlighted, “The feedback from the tour operators has been excellent. Our tourism performance continues to trend well, it has been a positive season in terms of growth, when we look at the advance bookings on all the major airlines, all the major tour operators and the feedback that we have received this week is that the summer and the upcoming winter seems to be trending well. The real growth driver has been the increasing seat capacity that we have had on the island. When we look this summer and into to winter as well it is positive, we are cautiously optimistic but we are going in the right direction.” (NB)