MINISTER of Tourism and International Transport, Kerrie Symmonds believes that sustainable development tourism must be placed at the top of the awareness of Barbadians.

His comments came during a loyal visitors reception held on Friday night at the Cricket Legends Museum.

He stressed that Barbados as a country must continuously keep at the forefront of its ambitions, a developmental trajectory which sees sustainable livelihood and sustainable tourism.

“I am very keen on making sure as we go forward, to speak to you and to all the countries that you come from in a language that expresses our own concerns about climate change, our own concerns about sustainable development.”

Minister Symmonds assured that Barbados understands and stands shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the world in what must be an ongoing struggle to make sure that sustainable development is at the forefront of the global agenda.

“We in small societies like ours perhaps have the most to lose, perhaps because we are small islands and can be destroyed by one hurricane. I want to say to you that the type of tourism that we need to practice must also include those people who want to come here voluntarily to help us clean the ocean floor, clean the beaches, re-vegetate the coastline, rebuild the coastal infrastructure.”

While thanking the visitors for making Barbados their “home away from home”, he also noted that in a study carried out by the University of North Carolina, it was found that nearly half of the people who come to the Caribbean would not return if the quality of the environment was to deteriorate significantly.

“Imagine, if you will, a Barbados if where you scuba dive you would find single-use plastics and straws and Styrofoam containers littering the ocean floor as we have seen them unfortunately litter the streets of the country. You would not keep coming back here, but that is happening in other parts of the world today. Imagine if you will, a Barbados in which the beaches were so severely eroded that there was nothing between the sea water and the shore.”

He said that it must be ensured that all of which visitors come to support and invest in is not lost for generations to come. (JH)

The Barbados Orchid Society (BOS) has been commended for successfully reaching its 80th anniversary.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Indar Weir further wished the organisation continued success while acknowledging “that the business of cultivating flowers and the cut flower industry in Barbados is thriving and gaining recognition beyond our shores”.

He was among guests at the BOS’ Gala and Presentation of Trophies event on Friday at the Barbados Horticultural Society’s headquarters at Balls Plantation in Christ Church.

In his address, Weir sought to dismiss the notion that his Ministry has focused solely on food crops and animal husbandry over the years. He stated that “for some time the Ministry had a Cut Flower and Foliage Programme managed by the Home Agricultural Station in St. Philip”, adding that “the essence of this programme has been to target the production, promotion and development of a viable floriculture industry”.

Weir however noted that “while my Ministry had undertaken some research to improve the genetic characteristics of the orchid through crossing and selection, this activity has been recently halted. Consequently, within the last three weeks approximately 1 000 orchids have been transferred to the Soil Conservation Unit for sale. I understand that sale of these plants, which are mainly dendrobiums, is going quite well.”

Friday’s ceremony was also attended by Barbados’ Governor General, Her Excellency Dame Sandra Mason and Accredited American Orchid Society (AOS) Judge and Chief Judge of the BOS’ 80th Anniversary Orchid Show, Robert Fuchs.

Addressing the gathering prior to the presentation of awards, Fuchs noted that the BOS has grown over the years and the flower quality has increased. He also spoke about the continued success of BOS’ members.

“We used to come and give two or three awards and at this show…we gave 12 awards, which is unprecedented by the Barbados Orchid Society.”

The night’s top achievers included Rohana King, who received prizes for the Best In Show, Best Species, Best Catasetum and Best Epidendrum; Michael Waithe, who was awarded for Best Cattleya Alliance and Best Cattleya and BOS’ Immediate Past President, Michael Marshall, who was awarded prizes for the Best Vandaceous, Best Dendrobium (Phalaenopsis Type) and Best Phalaenopsis. (MG)

In his first visit to Barbados, Dr. Philip Gosselin, Chairman of the Sathya Sai International Organisation Zone 1, believes it’s long past time for societies to return to the pillars of human fruitful interaction.

The Sathya Sai International Organisation (SSIO) is a non-denominational organisation which was founded during the 1960s by the late Sathya Sai Baba. With SSIO’s main objective being to “help man recognise the divinity that is inherent in him”, their motto of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-Violence goes a long way in helping its members share and teach others in the way of being selfless and taking a keen interest in looking after their fellow man.

Dr. Gosselin is in the island during this time to visit the local branch of SSIO, which is currently being run by Mr. Chandru J. Thani. During his eight-day visit, he also plans to hold a public meeting today on the grounds of the Courtney Blackman Grand Salle Hall, with the subject of “Achieving Peace in the World – The Global impact of the Sathya Sai Education in Human Value Programme”.

During his exclusive interview with The Barbados Advocate, Gosselin spoke about how important he believes the motto his organisation stands on, is for the benefit of the wider population. With service of others being paramount to finding purpose with oneself.

“The idea is service unifies us with other people; if we are unified with other people, we are feeling our divinity and our inward God nature. So it’s for our own benefit we are doing service, really we are making a better world, person by person. This is sort of an internal back and forth with what you think of your conscious and your daily situation.”

With education being on his slate of topics to dive into during the public meeting scheduled for today, Dr. Gosselin made it clear education without character investment is something his organisation is looking to correct with in societies.

“[SSIO] emphasises heavily on education; and a certain kind of education, not just compiling facts and being similar to a Google search engine. His [Sathya Sai Baba] brand of education is more targeted towards character education, and it’s relatively simple. He saw the value in us as individuals having a deep character development which goes with their education, and not just academic [achievements],” he said.

During the sit down, he was also accompanied by a representative of the local SSIO branch, Lalu Vaswani. Mr. Vaswani, who also happens to be the past chairman of the local branch, mirrored the thoughts of Dr. Gosselin with respect to the need for linking education with character development, and for him, the breakdown of the level of empathy towards our fellow citizens with the wave of shootings Barbados is experiencing, has a big part to do with that.

“A few of us had the fortune of growing up in a complete family that was full of love and support. Even in that environment we made a fuss, we wanted more control, we wanted to do what our friends [told] us to do, but we still had that love and care at home. On the other side of the spectrum, we have too many who are not part of that structure and don’t grow with the stability and foundation that such a structure would have given us. Things that were taken for granted – for example, you were in the community and you saw my son do something wrong. You spoke to him, and when you spoke to him, he came home and we also spoke to him. Nowadays, if a teacher tells a child something that is within their right as a teacher to say, they might get violence from the parent. So what is the solution? Our organisation feels that the solution is to emphasise the development of values,” Vaswani shared.

It is the development of values, the local branch of the organisation hopes to share with the wider public this evening during a lecture at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle, and also transition these teaching practices into the school, like how they have done in the past with a programme they had back in the 1990s here on the island.

Barbados is in crisis, and an educator is confident that the teaching profession has a critical role to play in addressing the challenges this country faces.

Dr. Henderson Carter, Senior Lecturer in History, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, as he delivered the featured address at the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College’s graduation ceremony at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Saturday night, maintained that at the core of the problem is the growing inability of our children to read and reason.

“This crisis is characterised by an emerging block culture, or perhaps we might want to say, an established block culture, which militates against pride and industry and pride and productivity. The crisis is also characterised by a sub-culture of savagery, which has no regard for human life, hence the shootings and the recklessness on our roads,” he said.

Carter added, “It is also characterised by the erosion of the values of our villages, and their capacity to raise a child. It was once said that the village raised the child, now some villages are places of war and children can no longer play outside. This crisis needs a multi-sectoral response – the church, government agencies, the private sector, the schools and Erdiston must play a role in reversing these trends that we now see.”

Carter, a former secondary school teacher, said in his opinion students are disruptive primarily because of reading difficulties and challenges with following the syllabus. As a result, he said more of them are leaving school uncertified. But, contending that reading is at the core of development, the university lecturer explained that even where students are placed in a vocational stream, they must still have a good grasp on their literacy skills to be successful.

With that in mind, he said Erdiston is well positioned to help address the deficits, and believes the College can work to find the extent of the problem and the reason for it. Moreover, he said the College must examine how it can expand its training in remedial education, so that each primary and secondary school can have specialised teachers in that area. Additionally, he said schools must abandon the “unwritten policy of up and out”, and instead adopt the approach of “you are not leaving until you can read”.

Dr. Carter is also of the belief that the Ministry of Education should set national reading targets, provide support and mobilise the entire community to ensure all Barbadians can read. He said such reading programmes must include stories on Barbadian culture and history, so that persons have a better appreciation of the country’s past.

“I call again on the Government of Barbados to reintroduce history and geography as discrete subjects from Form 1 to 3 at least, in our secondary schools. And the history should not be boring, cannot be boring… If you want to engender love for your country and pride in your country, we need to tell and teach our children about our culture, Barbadian culture and Barbadian history,” he contended.

Carter made the point while contending that there is economic value in reading, preparing Barbadians to work here and abroad. His comments came as he said that reading will also assist in the strengthening of the STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

“We must talk about STEAM and not STEM because Engineering, Mathematics, all of these things are built on the Arts, they are built on reading,” he maintained. (JRT)

There is a call for a suspension to be issued on the approval of any change of land use applications in this country as it relates to agricultural land.

It has come from Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul. Speaking to The Barbados Advocate recently, Paul maintained that this growing practice of applying for change of use of land, is working against the country’s agricultural sector and any prospects for its future development.

“I am really concerned about the rate at which I see agricultural land being alienated. From what I can see, we have a situation where people are actually sitting down and planning to take their land out of agricultural production,” he said in the interview.
Paul added, “Then there are people who acquire agricultural land and are deliberate in trying to ensure it is taken out of agriculture into other purposes, and we need a moratorium.”

The BAS head said while he is accustomed to the argument that the land is needed for housing purposes, it is one that he finds difficult to support, as he contended that there are a number of abandoned residential properties which can be put back into use, or the land used to build new accommodation.

“…We have a situation where we have places in Bridgetown which are empty and not being used and we are still trying to look at agricultural land for further construction. To my mind that represents poor planning in this country,” he said.

It is with that in mind, that the former parliamentarian said he believes a land needs analysis should be done as a matter of urgency. He is adamant such must be the order of the day, as there is clearly too much land being transferred out of agriculture and putting that sector in jeopardy. He said while new techniques are being employed in agriculture which would not require as much open field farming as in the past, there should not be a complete abandonment of the land and therefore, he said, steps must be taken to strike the appropriate balance and preserve the best agricultural land available for future generations.

Making reference to the recent pronouncements in the Budget regarding land tax, in particular the increase in the rate of tax on vacant lots over 4 000 square feet, from 0.8 per cent to 1 per cent, Paul said he is fully supportive of this measure. Describing it as a “positive move”, he took the opportunity to laud Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley for the initiative, agreeing that it could help to encourage persons to make productive use of such lands.

At the same time, Paul feels that Government should look seriously at providing greater incentives to the owners of agricultural land to keep it in production. (JRT)

Plans are in the works for the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College to set up a diagnostic and early intervention centre geared at cutting down on the number of students experiencing literacy deficits in our education system.

Word of this has come from Principal of the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, Dr. Patricia Saul, who said that the proposed date of commencement of that centre is the start of the new academic year in September. She made the disclosure while deliv-ering her report at the College’s graduation ceremony at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Saturday night.

“It is envisaged that this centre will provide literacy testing, intervention approaches and monitoring services for students in primary schools, who have been identified by their teachers as having literacy problems. A cadre of teachers will be trained by Erdiston College in assessment and intervention. These trained teachers in the area of literacy diagnosis, will assess students using a battery of tests. The information obtained from the assessments will translate into curriculum modifications and specific intervention programmes to match the individual needs of students,” she stated.

The Principal added that the College will also be offering a parent education programme through its Continuing Education Division from September this year as well, which will equip parents with simple tools that they can employ to help their children acquire literacy competence. She also explained that the programme will seek to teach parents coping skills to assist them in their parenting tasks.

Her remarks came as she noted that the College is cognisant that there are a number of students exiting secondary school with “serious deficits” not only in the area of literacy, but numeracy as well. Saul said that these deficits have in fact resulted in some students actually leaving school without any certification and this, she lamented, is causing them to not be able to function effectively in the society.

In that vein, she expressed support for Government’s proposal to put master teachers within the school. Such teachers, she said, would provide mentorship for newly trained teachers, so they can feel confident to experiment with new strategies in a supportive and enabling environment, and allow them to hone their craft in the process. With that in mind, she said the College stands ready to provide the training that master teachers would require to equip them to carry out the mentorship and coaching that would be needed. She made the point while insisting that trained teachers must have support systems within their schools, so that they can practice and become competent in the strategies and approaches they have learnt. (JRT)

Last Saturday night Corey Lane, founder and director of Nature Fun Ranch, was bestowed with an Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence, but what was most notable, was the fact that Lane was the youngest person to win such a prestigious award.

Lane, who received the award for his work Public and Civic Contributions to Barbados, accepted the award during Saturday night’s awards ceremony, which took place at Sandals Royal.

Among the other 2019 laureates were Danielle Dieffenthaller, of Trinidad and Tobago, who received the award for Arts and Letters, Kimala Bennet of Jamaica, received the award for her work in entrepreneurship and Professor Michael Taylor, also of Jamaica, received the award for his work in Science and Technology.

During his remarks, Dr. James Husbands, the first Barbadian laureate, explained that the distinguishing difference of this award was that prize money was given to the laureates to help them fulfil their dreams, which makes a huge difference as taking your work forward required resources.

“This evening we are here to celebrate the achievements of our 2019 laureates, to bask in their success and to encourage them on their way of achieving bigger dreams and bigger success,” he said.

Norman Sabga, Executive Chairman of the ANSA McAL Group of Companies and Chairman of the ANSA McAL Foundation went on to note that the people of the Caribbean could only go forward in their identity if resources were invested for its preservation and strengthening.
“We are a proud people, a creative anda dedicated people, and this is something that we should all be proud of. There are times when I feel like we don’t boast enough about our accomplishments in the Caribbean, our culture, our religions, our festivals our values our sports and other forms of self expression,” he said.

“The needs of our region are many and the laureates have used their mission to advance their work and improve the lives of communities in their respective
countries.”

During their 14 year history, Sabga noted that they recognised that even though they have made great strides in growing the prestige and recognition associated with these awards, they acknowledged that in order to truly be a Caribbean award, they could no longer limit the celebrations to Trinidad, adding that only last year, they had a successful staging in Jamaica and a successful hosting in Guyana in 2017.

One week. That’s how long individuals with illegal firearms and ammunition will have to bring those items to the Police without fear of repercussions; after that, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall says the “gloves are off”.

This one-week gun amnesty, starting this coming Sunday, April 7 and running until midnight on April 13, announced yesterday on the floor of Parliament by Attorney General Marshall, is intended to help rid our streets of illegal firearms, and he promises at the end of the amnesty to report to the public what has been recovered. His comments came as he noted that repeated calls for the amnesty weighed into the decision to offer it.

With that in mind, he indicated that the initiative is a part of Government’s multidimensional approach to deal with firearm-related crimes. According to the AG, such crime is significant. He said between 2010 and 2017 there were 2 908 victims of firearm-related crimes and some 1 836 persons were arrested and charged for such crimes.

As he piloted the debate on the Bail (Amendment) Bill in the Lower House yesterday morning, AG Marshall said this amnesty will not be for an inordinately long period of time, as was the case in 1983 where it ran from July 1 to December 31 that year. Nevertheless, he said it allows persons who have unlicensed firearms, parts of firearms and ammunition to carry them to any police station, day or night, no questions asked.

“This firearm amnesty Sir, guns and ammunition, will not be so generous. You have a week, a week Sir. Anybody who has in their possession an unlawful firearm or ammunition, the amnesty runs from Sunday 7th of April, 2019 to Saturday 13th of April, 2019 at midnight. At midnight Sir, gloves are off,” he contended.

He added, “Somebody once said to me that a gun without a bullet is just a hammer. Well Sir we want the hammers and we want the nails. But it’s just a week Sir, because if you have an unlicensed firearm it does not take you six months to figure whether or not you want to hand it in.”

Marshall was adamant that the amnesty would only last one week because the criminal element in this country must understand that Government means business. He made the point while contending that a government is elected for the purpose of protecting the citizens and “not to coddle criminals”.

“There are people who believe that an amnesty is not the solution. There are people who believe that the kinds of guns we want to get off the streets don’t come in, in an amnesty. Somebody who spends $10 000 on an AK-47 – I hear that’s the going price on the street – is not likely to show up at a police station and say ‘Sir I am washing my hands of this’, but he could never say that he didn’t have a chance to do so.”

Reiterating Government’s intention to address firearm-related crimes, he sent a stern warning to the criminal element in this country not to test their resolve. He emphasised that point while contending that Government is committed to protecting the lives, livelihoods and interests of the majority of the people, and therefore will not allow a handful of hoodlums to “mash up” this country.

“Firearms have become the scourge of modern day Barbadian existence, plain and simple. We could put icing on it, we could do all kinds of things to decorate it, but the bold truth Sir is that it has become the scourge of modern day existence and threatens to unwound all of the achievements that we have made as a nation over the last 50 years, and in particular Sir, all of the economic and other advances that we have made in recent times and especially over the last ten months,” the Attorney General lamented. (JRT)

THE Barbados Government is being told that the present IMF programme that the country is pursuing is not going to be the solution to the island’s economic woes.

This bold assumption has been made by a top University of the West Indies (UWI) official, who maintains that something significant has to happen in order for the depressed Barbados economy to register growth.

Professor Densil A. Williams, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Academic -Industry Partnerships and Planning, said so yesterday as he zeroed in on the performance of the island’s economy, which is projected to register a decline of under one per cent in 2019.

Speaking at a UWI-Private Sector-Government Consultation at the Three W’s Pavilion, Professor Williams said that the solution to the problems being encountered both in Barbados and the wider Caribbean will reside in how to stimulate aggregate demand.

He wanted to know how is it that with the austerity measures currently in place, Barbados can reverse the contraction in GDP and actually grow the economy in a sustainable way in the long run.

Arguing that the present trajectory with the Barbados economy cannot continue, the UWI official said that the areas which stimulate aggregate demand in an economy are consumption, government spending and private investment.

“But at the moment they are not going to be the greatest forces that will drive that sort of stimulation in the economy,” he remarked.
Professor Williams said that right now consumers are feeling the pinch from austerity programmes, investors will have to recalibrate their portfolios given the contraction in the economy and logically with the primary surplus of six per cent the Barbados government does not have the money to spend.

“So the real stimulation is going to come from improving the competitiveness of the enterprises that operate in the Barbados economy,” Professor Williams reasoned.

He pointed out that the only other lever which the Barbados economy has at this time despite austerity, is to improve the international competitiveness so that the country can trade and improve its net trading position with the rest of the world.

“So international business becomes a key pillar for growth and development of the Barbados economy and for the rest of the Caribbean,” the Professor remarked.

To get that improved competitiveness, the Pro-Vice Chancellor is of the view that the country has to start with the improving the country’s human capital asset. that can drive the transformation at the enterprise level, suggested while also noting that the consultations such as what took place yesterday between the UWI, the Private Sector and the Government can also be useful.

The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus has crossed “the 90 per cent threshold for the first time for its Student Retention Rate”.

Deputy Principal, Professor Clive Landis revealed this recently as he addressed the 16th annual Students Awards Ceremony in the Roy Marshall Teaching Complex on campus. He stated this figure came from tracking the academic progress of the entire student body.

“The Retention Rate is defined as the proportion of students registering for year two who registered in year one – and a 90 per cent Retention Rate is considered an international quality benchmark. At both the elite level and the population level, therefore, the Cave Hill Campus celebrates with our students in achieving these awards and benchmarks.”

During his remarks, Professor Landis also spoke about the strides the campus has made “to develop well-rounded highly qualified and ethically aware graduates who can leave their mark on the local, regional and international landscape”. In this regard, he stated “The Smart Campus Initiative was introduced to ensure the delivery of educational goods of the highest quality that are continuously updated to meet the changing human resource needs of Barbados and the Caribbean.”

He outlined that it “has entailed laying a fast Wifi network and undertaking active curriculum renewal that in the past year alone has introduced new programmes in Chinese, Creative Writing, Environmental Science, and Early Childhood Care and Education. The Campus has also opened a Centre for Professional Development and Lifelong Learning to offer short courses and workshops geared towards adult learners or working professionals who are looking to acquire new skills to launch or accelerate a career.”

He noted the collective investment in their students leaves the tertiary institution “confident that we are creating the leaders of distinction who are empowered to take the next steps in the positive transformation of the Caribbean and the wider world”. (MG)

Earlier this year the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) renewed its call for teachers to be compensated for correcting School-Based Assessments (SBAs).

However, according to President of the BSTU, Mary-Anne Redman, “The BUT [Barbados Union of Teachers] has not come on board with us in this fight, so that when BSTU members refuse to correct [SBAs], then the BUT members step in to [correct them] and so it weakens, realistically, our fight that we are having.”

Despite this, Redman declared that the movement to stand in solidarity against correcting the SBAs without proper compensation is spreading.

Back in 2016, the Caribbean Union of Teachers backed the BSTU’s call not to correct SBAs without payment.

And following the BSTU’s annual general meeting which took place at the National Union of Public Workers yesterday evening, the BSTU President stated, “Of course the movement is spreading – Grenada is involved and St. Lucia is involved now as well, and we spoke about it here today, and some teachers continue to be adamant that they are not correcting them.

“Other teachers have reported that in some schools, especially unappointed teachers are afraid and so they are not as strong in that resolve as we would want,” she said.

She explained that this means that some of them will be correcting the SBAs, as not every teacher is a member of the BSTU.

Redman went on to note that the meeting held yesterday was productive as the Union looked at the work that they did over the past year. She concluded that the year was especially busy, as they sought to deal with issues at various schools, including a number of environmental matters and violence against teachers.

While concerns are being raised from within the business community as to the number of public holidays on Barbados’ calendar, one trade union is sending a clear message that May Day is here to stay.

“There is a discussion ongoing that in Barbados there are too many bank holidays, too many occasions that workers are not working, and that if they work, they get premium pay. And when you hear discussions like that coming up you know what is likely to follow? A consideration that you need to repeal some of them,” General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Toni Moore stated.

Noting that her union has fought diligently over the years to ensure that Independence Day and May Day especially were public holidays, she stressed, “We want to send a message to the powers that be, that on May Day we will celebrate our day; not working or slaving away behind any counter, but we are going to celebrate our day as workers.”

She made the comments yesterday while speaking to the media on the union’s upcoming May Day event, urging all workers to come out and help bolster the message of this celebration.

With no walk scheduled this year, she said the focus was being placed on families and assured that the free event themed ‘Revive, Re-energise’ will feature a host of activities geared towards a fun day for all.

These include: a Kids Zone, Flea Market, Exhibitions Showcase, Karaoke, Cook-Off, Mixology Competition, Raffle for a trip to St. Lucia with accommodation, giveaways and performances by Sweet Soca Monarch Lil Rick, with deejay entertainment by Alvin Toppin later in the evening.

Speaking on the opinions voiced by some members of the public on the low visibility of the union in the past months, Moore insisted “The BWU is not an organisation that goes flat, we just step back, introspect and see what we can do different when situations turn to lift spirits and that is what it has been about. We are not an organisation that is about survival, but we are about thriving with passion and compassion to people and that is in part what this day is all about.” (JMB)

A total of 95 scholarships have been awarded to outstanding students from across all faculties of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.

These were presented on Tuesday during the 16th annual Student Awards Ceremony held in the Roy Marshall Teaching Complex at the Campus.

Delivering remarks, Chairman of the Campus Council, Sir Paul Altman said the donors providing the scholarships were private citizens, foundations, and corporate entities. He thanked them all for supporting the academic journey of the university’s students.

Sir Paul stated that this year there were three new scholarships. These were namely the Marie Downes Memorial Scholarship valued at BDS$3 000, the Soroptomist International of Barbados Scholarship valued at BDS$2 500 and the Elliott and Loretta Belgrave scholarship, which is offered by the previous Governor General, Sir Elliott Belgrave and his wife, Lady Belgrave. Sharing more about the latter scholarship, he said “the Elliot & Loretta Belgrave Scholarship Trust now offers five scholarships at BDS$10 000 each to assist financially disadvantaged Barbadian students.”

Sir Paul in his remarks also lauded top and longstanding donors. These were the CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank, “who has regularly contributed
15 undergraduate scholarships every year valued at US$ 2 500 each, demonstrating consistent support to our students from throughout the region at a cost of US$37 500 per year” and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) who provides “14 scholarships valued at BDS$6 000 each, a grand total of BDS$84 000”.

He added the RBC has “further expanded their remit by hosting the RBC UWI Race for the Kids with the Campus over the last three year to raise further funding to support our ‘First Year Experience programme’ offered by the Office of Student Services.”

Sir Paul additionally acknowledged the university which “still remains the single largest donor of scholarships at the postgraduate level, providing six UWI General Scholarships this year valued at BDS$22 000 each per annum for two years, accumulating to a grand total of BDS$132 000.”

He reminded the donors that their “donation has undoubtedly made a significant difference in the lives of many of our students who experience financial challenges. Even in light of the reversal of the tuition policy, there are many needs that have to be met in a time of recession such as food, transport, books, amenities fees etc. These students who have demonstrated the capacity to perform excellently, yet have challenges meeting their basic needs are the true beneficiaries of these awards. For that we at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus say, ‘thank you to all our donors.’” (MG)

The Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health and Wellness reported last month that it is projected that 87 per cent of the deaths in our population will be caused by a non-communicable disease by 2030.

Reports such as these continue to surface and in an effort to directly respond to the deleterious effects of these diseases, ICBL created its easyWELLNESS programme which was launched in October 2018.

ICBL’s easyWELLNESS programme is an evidenced-based, comprehensive, cost-effective intervention for improving the health status and health expenditures of its participants.

The programme is designed utilising several components to meet our health and wellness needs. The mission of the programme is to empower participants to engage in pragmatic solutions to improve their health, wellbeing and productivity.

In an effort to continue promoting practices and activities that promote longevity amongst our population, ICBL introduced the easyWELLNESS Sneaker Day.

This saw staff members wearing sneakers with their uniforms and being more active; taking the stairs instead of the elevator for example. There was also an “ambush workout” hosted by Thorn Wood of Califit 246 who went through an impromptu workout in the lobby of the Head Office much to surprise of staff and customers alike who then joined in and jumped, squatted and ran on the spot to some popular Crop Over and Carnival selections.

Lisa Brathwaite-Graham, ICBL’s in-house nurse reported, “I am pleased to see the response to Sneaker Day by the staff. People expressed that they were more active throughout the day and felt more productive. We at ICBL are charged to change the culture of the sedentary lifestyle.

Sneaker Day exists because we are committed to create a culture of movement and take charge of our health.”

The Erdiston Nursery School Parent Teacher Association (PTA) will host a Fund-raising Fish Fry and Barbecue today, Saturday, April 6, from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Bay Street Esplanade, Bay Street, St. Michael.

With the funds raised, the PTA is seeking to renovate the slides, repair or replace several missing and damaged swings, as well as repaint and upgrade the tree house.
Tickets are $30 and they are redeemable in food and a drink. On the menu is a wide array of Bajan delicacies including macaroni pie, sweet potato pie, barbecue chicken, fish and salad.

Parking for patrons attending the event will be the car park of the Barbados Government Information Service.

Persons with tickets will have the opportunity to win exciting door prizes from the Atlantic Submarine, Harrison’s Cave, Beyond Surf and the Shoe Palace.

Anyone interested in purchasing tickets can contact the school at 535-9362 or PTA members at 240-8532 or 233-2892.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is pressing ahead with discussions on policy options for health care financing.

In fact, a Health Care Financing Commission will be established in the coming weeks with a mandate to “deliver on healthcare financing within the next 18 months”.
Word of this comes from Minister of Health and Wellness, Lt. Col. the Hon. Jeffrey Bostic, as he stressed that this is urgently needed to underpin the provision of universal health coverage.

“Some of the major issues which need to be examined include a fair means of raising funds and an agreed guaranteed package of services that people can access when needed. In addition, mechanism such as pooling of funds and the management and strategic purchasing to incentivize appropriate quality and quantities of health care will also be critical to our decision making.”

His comments came during World Health Day celebrations held at the Garrison Savannah yesterday. The 2019 theme, “Universal Health: Everyone, Everywhere”, he explained, is also consistent with the policy goals of the Government of Barbados, which places a high priority on providing universal access to high quality health
care for the people of Barbados.

He said that the Government is committed to achieving a number of new initiatives which it believes will transform the health care landscape of Barbados, such as the implementation of a 24-hour system at the Winston Scott Polyclinic and the David Thompson Health and Social Services by June 1 of this year.

“This new service will cater to patients who require primary and urgent care services such as acute asthma management, treatment for minor wounds, simple fractures and cuts; as well as abdominal pain and other such complaints. We believe that once operational, this new service will go a long way to helping to relieve some of the stress on the Accident and Emergency Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.”

Moreover, recognising the importance of well-trained health care workers to the functioning of the health sector, Minister Bostic revealed that earlier this week his Ministry and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) convened consultations on the development of a human resources for health policy and action plan for Barbados.

He said that discussions were held with senior staff in the Ministry, as well as partners from the public and private health sectors, and from civil society.

“By taking this proactive approach, it is envisioned that this policy, once finalised, will inform decision making to strengthen the human resources workforce in the coming years,” he pointed out, also noting that already, discussions are on-going with Ross University for the establishment of a School of Nursing here in Barbados, with the aim of expanding the availability of trained nurses for Barbados, the Caribbean region and even the world.
(TL)

As several derelict fishing boats were demolished and carted away from the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex yesterday, one government minister gave the assurance that legislation is coming to prevent such premises from becoming junkyards.

Looking on as one of the vessels was bulldozed, Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Environment Kirk Humphrey said that before year end, legislation would head to Parliament surrounding the fisheries sector as a whole.

“I am promising before the end of the year you are going to see new legislation being brought to the Parliament that addresses a number of concerns as it comes to the boatyard, fishing and fisheries in general; a more comprehensive piece of legislation as it speaks to our fishing habits, penalties for certain indiscretions and so on,” he said.

Chief Fisheries Officer Steven Willoughby said that several of these boats along with old engines, ice boxes and other parts had been congesting the boatyard for as long as ten years, while stating that five would be removed in the yesterday’s process.

Outlining that six had already been removed from Oistins, he said it was possible more would be taken away as well in time.

“So far we have put notices on all the derelict boats around the island, asking the owners to come in and discuss the matter with us. We have published the notice in the
papers and if there is no response we will move the boats at the owner’s expense,” he told the media.

Explaining that some boat owners have come forward and started to repair their boats, while others chose to remove their vessels from the yards, he lamented that many
vagrants and homeless people had been using these abandoned units for shelter.

When the media took a short tour of the site, one old ice box, which was set to be demolished, bore evidence of being someone’s home, with a current calendar on one of its walls.

Humphrey insisted that government would reach out to these individuals.

“The state of the markets was shameful and the fact that there were some people living in the derelict boats and ice boxes speaks to two things – we have to be cognisant that there are people living below the radar for whatever reason and that as a government we have to have the capacity not only to reach them, but to show that we care for them; and the other is that we have to take care of these government premises,” he stated.
(JMB)

IT was a show of solidarity at the Garrison Savannah, yesterday.

Barbados joined others around the globe to form a human chain as a symbol of commitment to bridging gaps and working collaboratively towards universal health coverage.

The Chain, which stretched from the 50th Independence Anniversary National Monument – led by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Ministry of Health and Wellness, was in observance of World Health Day 2019, which will be celebrated on Sunday, April 7, under the theme “Universal Health, Everyone, Everywhere”.

“Universal Health means that all people have access, without any kind of discrimination, to comprehensive quality services, wherever they need them, without facing financial difficulties,” said Dr. Godfrey Xuereb, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean countries, explaining that it requires the definition and implementation of policies and actions with a multisectoral approach to address the social determinants of health and promote the commitment of the whole society with health and well-being.

He also emphasised that universal health is not just about ensuring everyone is covered, but that everyone has access to care when they need it, wherever they are.

“It means that we need to provide HIV screening services in all our health care centres/polyclinics; we need to have immunisation services available at a time when working mothers can take their children; it means that we need to have prostate screening and breast screening services available at the primary health services; that we have medication treatment that is affordable and access to all for all our non-communicable diseases; it means that our children and adolescents should have good sex education and live in an enabling environment that is not contributing to obesity, asthma, diabetes and heart disease.”

Minister of Health and Wellness, Lt. Col. the Hon. Jeffrey Bostic, said that the World Health Organisation and its representation here in Barbados, PAHO, continue to play a crucial role in national development. He noted that this is achieved through support for the capacity building of the health care workforce, especially in nursing; as well as the provision of technical assistance in various programme areas and rapid responses during times of health crises and disease outbreaks.

“I am extremely pleased to join with Dr. Xuereb, other PAHO staff and all of you to raise awareness of this year’s theme for World Health Day, ‘Universal health: Everyone, Everywhere’. This theme underscores the need for every woman, every man and every child to receive the full range of quality health care services which promote wellness and treat conditions that affect them,” he expressed.

“Furthermore, this theme strongly points to the value of having a sound primary health care system as the foundational approach for promoting well-being among the population, and one that is rooted in the needs of individuals, families and communities, meeting them in their everyday existence, where they live, work, learn and play.”

Dr. Rufus Ewing, Advisor of Health Systems and Services at PAHO/WHO Office for Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean Countries said that participation in the human chain formation was not just symbolic, but a demonstration of a strong commitment towards the advancement of Universal Health coverage and access in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries and the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“Your exposure to the elements today and during formation of the human chain is testament of your sacrifice in solidarity for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and barriers to improve access to health care as a basic human right,” he added. (TL)

WORK will begin on upgrading the Bridgetown, Speightstown and Oistins Fisheries Complexes by month-end.

“The markets in these three major towns will be upgraded,” Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy, Kirk Humphrey, told the media yesterday, revealing that Government has already signed off on these improvements.

“Within this month, April/May, work will certainly be started and by the end of the quarter, the work in the markets should be completed. So you are going to see a different looking fish market, because I believe you must give people good conditions in which to work,” he insisted.

Underlining Government’s intention to ensure that these complexes were improved as much as possible with limited funds, Humphrey told the fishermen and vendors that much would also be expected of them.

“So I feel as part of the legislation we are going to be implementing a new dress code, a new code of conduct, terms and conditions for work, so that the market does not only look good, but the practices in the markets reflect the Barbados that we want to live in,” he stressed.

Admitting that fixing Bridgetown market alone would run a bill of over $1 million, he said that so far in terms of funding, “we have looked at $200 000 in Bridgetown, most the same in Oistins and almost $100 000 in Speightstown”.

“That is not going to do everything in the market, but for sure will fix the thing that irks me the most, which is the immediate conditions the vendors have to work in. So it is going to fix the countertops, the sinks, the drainage underneath it and so on and I hope that overtime we will be able to do the rest, but those things will make a significant change in the look of the market,” he added. (JMB)

Former Parliamentarian James Paul is adamant that to get the crime situation in this country under control, concerted efforts must be made to address the root causes of that criminal activity.

In a recent interview with The Barbados Advocate, Paul, reflecting on the 20 murders recorded so far for the year –12 of which were gun related – expressed concern that gun related incidents were becoming too commonplace in Barbados and he lays the blame to some extent on the breakdown of societal values.

To that end, he said there needs to be an all-of-society approach taken to get a better handle on the situation. In that vein, he said this is not a job only for Government, but the schools, churches, community groups and families have important roles to play.

“Parents have to take responsibility to talk to their young boys and spend time with their children in general. We have become a jump and wave society where parents now find it more important to go out every night, than to spend time with their children in the home. There are too many instances where children are being left to fend for themselves, unsupervised, and they then get into all kind of things. There is also a breakdown in terms of discipline in the schools, where teachers cannot discipline children,” he said.

The former two-term Member of Parliament lamented that the bold and brazen manner in which some of the murders and other gun related crimes in particular have taken place, shows that the perpetrators have wanton disregard for human life and seem not to even fear the consequences. But, he is adamant that all is not lost, as crime, though affecting the entire country, is being perpetrated by a minority grouping.

He made the point while expressing concern about repeat offenders in the system, and the rate of recidivism in the prison. Paul is of the firm belief that more needs to be done when persons are charged with crimes and convicted, to get them on the right track.

“We have to also revisit the penalties and examine whether or not the penalties are effective deterrents, and we have to rethink the death penalty. Some say the death penalty is barbaric, but what is more barbaric than an individual thinking that they can take the life of another person just like that and then go and spend 10 or 15 years ‘up the road’ and say, ‘Well I coming out when I young anyhow’?”

Additionally, he noted that rising unemployment has also contributed to some persons turning to a life of crime, and he believes more needs to be done to ensure the youth are gainfully employed.

He said agriculture is an area that such persons can be encouraged to get involved in. Paul noted that steering more youth in that direction would go a long way in reducing youth unemployment and helping the country to grow significantly more food than it currently does.
(JRT)