
Minister of Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick.
Minister of Water Resource Management, Dr. David Estwick.
From left: Prime Minister Freundel Stuart; Minister of Housing, Lands and Rural Development, Denis Kellman; Minister of Industry, Commerce, International Business and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss; Leader of the Opposition, Mia Mottley; and Director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, Alissandra Cummins, toast the new Mount Gay’s Commemorative 50th Anniversary XO Cask Strength Limited Edition Rum.
Managing Director of Mount Gay Distilleries, Raphael Grisoni (centre) talking to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart (left) and Leader of the Opposition, Mia Mottley (right) about the operations at the St. Lucy Distillery yesterday.
From left to right: Social commentator, Corey Layne; Director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), Dr. Don Marshall; Reverend John Rogers, Rector of the St. George Parish Church; and Principal of the Queen’s College School and historian, Dr. David Browne, during the recent Elsie Payne Memorial Lecture/Discussion at Queen’s College.
The New Dimension Dance Ministry doing a dance titled ‘Village Priase.’
Reverend Dr. Lucille Baird while delivering her sermon yesterday.
From left: Prime Minister the Right Honourable Freundel Stuart; CARICOM Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque; Pim van Ballekom, Vice President of the European Investment Bank and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Senator Darcy Boyce were among those attending the opening ceremony of the conference
“Barbados also intends to achieve an economy wide reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions of 44 per cent compared to a Business As Usual scenario by 2030. These targets will be achieved through a diversified portfolio of renewable energy projects and energy efficiency programmes which include waste to energy, bio-mass, landfill gas to energy and bio-energy projects,” he said.
PM Stuart added that in order to achieve the targets, he told the audience which included representatives from 50 countries around the world, that his Government has been granting attractive fiscal incentives for green energy initiatives and has also legislated a new regulatory regime to enable Independent Power Producers at the distributed and utility scale level to sell electricity to the grid from renewable energy systems. The Prime Minister further stated that that regime will be fully implemented by the mid-2017.
“There are now over nine megawatts of intermittent renewable energy generating systems connected to the grid with most of these being solar photovoltaic units. Another ten megawatts will be commissioned this month and we expect that by this time next year we would have issued licenses for 65 megawatts of renewable energy generation capacity to be commissioned by early in the year 2018,” he stated.
His comments came as he explained that to date, over 1 000 households and businesses have had such systems connected to the grid. This, he said, is a clear demonstration that success can be achieved in that area, just as the country has reaped success with solar water heaters which has a penetration rate in excess of 34 per cent. (JRT)
Governor General of Barbados His Excellency Sir Elliott Belgrave meeting students of Half Moon Fort Primary School.
HALF Moon Fort Primary School has been making great strides academically, socially and athletically.
However, the one challenge is the number of students it attracts each year.
With a roll of less than 100, Principal Veronica Best revealed that in order to participate in many activities, children are drawn from throughout the school.
“This puts an extra burden on some classes… This, however, will not deter us from reaching our goals,” she expressed to His Excellency Sir Elliott Belgrave during his official visit to the St. Lucy school, yesterday.
The students and staff of Half Moon Fort have been eagerly anticipating the visit by the Governor General of Barbados for over a year. He has been visiting the primary schools across the island with the hope that the visits will motivate, encourage and inspire principals, teachers and especially the students, to do the best they can at all times, in their respective roles.
“We at Half Moon Fort Primary School see Your Excellency as the embodiment of those good Barbadian values which speak to honesty, decency, respect and dedication,” Principal Best pointed out.
“Your presence will therefore help significantly in motivating and inspiring our students as they go about their various pursuits.” (TL)
Deacons Primary School choir performing “A Tribute to Gabby”, which won them a NIFCA prize last night.
Juniors participating in the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) will once again have their special night.
Yesterday, the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) launched NIFCA 2016 – I’m Possible Sagicor Juniors Night at Deacons Primary School.
Chief Cultural Officer at the NCF, Andrea Wells, recalled that about three years ago the NCF wanted to celebrate the fact that about 80 per cent of participation across all disciplines at NIFCA comes from the schools, especially primary schools.
“There was a misperception that the juniors competed for the same prizes or at the same criteria as the adults in the competition – it has never been so. A junior gold is understood to be quite different from a senior gold, because it is not really fair to compare junior achievement to adult or professional achievement,” she explained.
“We thought a way of bringing greater focus to those who have always been a part of NIFCA, is to give them their special night. From its inception, it has always been the most popular night in the NIFCA finals – it is always sold out… I believe it is here to stay on the NIFCA programme.”
Wells also took the opportunity to thank Sagicor for partnering with the NCF to make NIFCA Juniors Night possible.
Agency Manager at Sagicor Life Inc., David Cave, said that their support of young people is one of the pillars of Sagicor’s commitment to improving the lives of people in communities in which they operate. He also observed that for the past 175 years, Sagicor has supported initiatives in the areas of health, sports, education and youth development.
“NIFCA therefore is a programme we are proud to support, as it provides not only a showcase of our culture, but also means to cultivate and develop the arts in Barbados, and pass on our heritage to generations of tomorrow,” he expressed. (TL)
Harriet Gay of the Charles F Broome Memorial Scout group (back centre) aka 'Purple Beaver' showing fellow beavers and scouts the proper way to pick up Sargassum seaweed with little sand.
International Officer – Americas at the University of Northampton, Catherine Yates (right), talks with these students about some of the programmes that the university has to offer at the International College Fair at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) recently.
Acting Hospital Director of the Psychiatric Hospital, David Leacock (left) and Minister of Health, Hon. John Boyce (far right) watch as PAHO Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne (second from the right) receives an art piece made by one of the hospital’s patients.