Head of one of the island’s main taxi associations says with a growing number of tourists visiting our beaches on a daily basis, there is need to ensure that these areas are in pristine condition.

Adrian Bayley, President of the Bridgetown Port Taxi Co-op Society Limited, made the point to the media yesterday morning on the sidelines of a beach clean-up being conducted by around 40 taxi operators at the beach located behind the Holetown Police Station. His comments came too as he said that there are business opportunities to be had in close proximity to the beaches, but he maintained that beaches must be inviting. He made the remarks while pointing to the growing number of beach bars on the South Coast, for example.

“These guys down here who would have created their own niches with swimming with the turtles, even before the conglomerates would have gotten involved in it; these guys with these glass bottom boats were the persons who started it… For these guys to survive, business has to come down here and for business to come down here, it is quite rustic with the foliage, but at the end of the day, being rustic and it is filthy, it makes no sense persons coming to Barbados and coming to a filthy beach,” he said.

While commending the National Conservation Commission for the work it has been doing, he said they cannot do it alone and pledged the Co-op’s willingness to assist where it can. He made the point while issuing a call for other associations or companies to also lend a hand to maintain the upkeep of the beaches.

“I would hope that some other organisation can recognise the uses of beaches in Barbados; they can come two weeks after us and put in the same effort… Our next intervention would be to do a marine clean-up. Clearly on the landside it is prevalent, in front your eyes, but if you are one who goes into the ocean and do any snorkelling or diving in the ocean, clearly when you get into the bottom of the ocean, there is so much [more] garbage inside the ocean than on the land,” he said.

Bayley said he hopes to speak with Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy, Kirk Humphrey, about undertaking such an initiative, but could not say which beach they would target at that time.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has made it clear any attacks on teachers by students will not be tolerated.

Speaking to the media on Saturday night after marathon talks with what she described as a standing committee aimed at addressing issues within schools, she asserted unequivocally that acts of student on teacher violence was unacceptable in any form.

“There can be no tolerance in this country for any child to believe that they are in any position to threaten or to attack any teacher or even their parents or any adult in this country. If we allow this to happen, we will be surrendering our country to lawlessness at a very, very wrong time and to young people who will not come to appreciate their behaviour is unacceptable in any form. There will be a zero tolerance policy to those who believe they can threaten teachers in the system,” Mottley stated unequivocally.

Insisting children involved in such cases should not be written off as their behaviours could be corrected, the Prime Minister said that immediately a day facility would be created to concentrate on this effort, with the intention of having it morph into a residential one for periods of over three weeks.

“The government will work immediately to create what was always intended to be an appropriately skilled residential facility to move and build upon the work of Edna Nicholls as I am told the Edna Nicholls Centre is now stretched and therefore will require an additional review … The one thing you do not want to do is send a child on suspension and they remain at home or in the community doing nothing,” she added.

She disclosed that the Education Ministry would be implementing legislation where children can enter the facility by parents’ requests or in the absence of such consent, through the request of the Chief Education Officer following talks with psychologists and school principals.

“This is not a case of anybody with a conviction going to Dodds, or the Government Industrial School; this is a case where we try and prevent them from ever going to these,” she stressed.

In addition, both the police force and Barbados Defence Force would be stepping up patrols around several schools.

The gathering at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre included Education Ministry officials, representatives each of the teachers’ unions and principals’ associations including: the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union, the Barbados Union of Teachers, the Association of Public Primary School Principals and the Barbados Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, several other ministers and youth affairs officials, Police Commissioner Tyrone Griffith and BDF Chief of Staff Colonel Glyne Grannum. (JMB)

The efforts being made across the region to stimulate and propel a culture of entrepreneurship, especially as it relates to digitisation, is being commended.

Patrick McCaskie Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce spoke to this on Friday as he delivered the feature address on behalf of the Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland during the closing ceremony of the first cohort of the Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Programme (CTEP), which was held in the conference room of the Caribbean Development Bank.

Addressing the audience, which included the top three entrepreneurs in each of the three categories of the programme from across the region, he told them that they represent a major pillar of growth in the Caribbean, which at present has very low levels of growth. Moreover, he said that in an age which is shaped by convenience, efficiency and connecting people, goods and services at the touch of a fingertip, the business skills they have learnt are certain to place them at the forefront of the technological era.

“Today we celebrate you the enthusiastic participants and we acknowledge you the dedicated experts and mentors from the Caribbean Development Bank, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission, the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship and of course Orbit Innovation Project Inc. Your combined efforts are sure to position this region to be competent global competitors. It is quite evident that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us as we observe the explosion of smart devices, piloted by new technologies and the creation of new business models based upon the formation of collaborative digital platforms,” the PS noted.

He added, “For you the participants, the culmination of the Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Programme is but the first step in positioning yourselves to attract new opportunities for business, find creative solutions for regional challenges, build new industries and engender a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation amongst your peers”.

Additionally, McCaskie indicated that as some of the region’s forward-thinking entrepreneurs, they are definitely on their way to “becoming future trailblazers, future pioneers, future business leaders and the next affluential pathfinders”.

He added that through strategic partnerships and programmes such as CTEP, which create safe spaces for innovation, encourage reaching beyond one’s imagination and challenge the existing paradigm, the region’s economies can be transformed by leveraging the youths’ talent, imagination, creativity and commitment.

“If we as a region want to be the fore-runners, the game changers and carve out a place of prominence as a global leader in technological entrepreneurship we must be the pioneers of innovation, the pioneers of education and even get into the trenches and “bring the hustle” in order to be dominant in technology,” he stated. (JRT)

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is impacting black women at a younger age.
That’s according to Dr. Juliet Daniel, Professor and Cancer Biologist in the Department of Biology at McMaster University.
She said that women in Barbados diagnosed with TNBC, an aggressive breast cancer sub-type, are diagnosed younger than Barbadian women that are non-TNBC.

“And this is consistent with what is seen in the United States, where women as young as 30 are diagnosed with TNBC. As we know, most women at 30 are not even thinking about getting TNBC or even doing a breast self-exam, because most mammograms and recommendations are that you do a breast self-exam and mammograms in your 40’s or 50’s.

“So, this is one of the reasons that we are very concerned about this – that TNBC is impacting young black women at an age when they are not even thinking about breast cancer and consequently they are succumbing to this a lot earlier,” she explained.

Dr. Daniel’s research expertise is cell-cell adhesion and signalling through transcription factors, and how their malfunction contributes to cancer. Her research led to her discovery and naming of a new gene “Kaiso”, coined after the popular Caribbean music “calypso”. Kaiso regulates the expression of genes that control cell proliferation and adhesion. Consequently, Kaiso’s malfunction in various human tumours – e.g. breast, colon, prostate – contributes to tumour progression and spread.

Dr. Daniel’s research team is currently focused on the aggressive and difficult to treat triple negative breast cancers that are most prevalent in young women of African ancestry and Hispanic women – groups that paradoxically have a lower incidence and lifetime risk of breast cancer.

She was at the time delivering the 2019 Olive Trotman Memorial Lecture “It’s In Your Genes: Cancer, Kaiso and the Audacity of a Bajan Girl”, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, on Friday night.

The noted Researcher, who was born in Barbados, said that breast cancer is actually the most common type of female cancer in the world, which can be inherited genetically.

“But, most women actually get breast cancer through random DNA damage from environmental factors, such as smoking and the foods we eat, some of the toxins are in the foods which we eat.”

Dr. Daniel also shared that the incidence of breast cancer world-wide is approximately 1 in 9 women, and 1 in 28 women will die from it. She said that men also develop breast cancer and every year approximately 200 men are diagnosed and approximately 60 men die every year from breast cancer.

“…In the ‘80s the survival rate from breast cancer was only about 50 percent or so, however the five year survival rate is now almost 90 per cent. So breast cancer is very treatable if is discovered early and treated. So, that is the good news.

“However, the bad news is that triple negative breast cancer that is disproportionately affecting black women, does not have any specific targeted drugs to treat it,” she said.

Moreover, Dr. Daniel noted that black women tend to actually have a lower incidence of breast cancer, “we actually don’t get breast cancer as much as Caucasian women. But when we do get breast cancer, we seem to be getting this very fatal triple negative breast cancer sub-type”.

“Kaiso expression is very high in triple negative breast tumour cells… And it turns out kaiso expression also correlates with poor survival of TNBC patients,” she added. (TL)

Trinidad – The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday dismissed an application for special leave in the Original Jurisdiction matter of Tamika Gilbert, Lynnel Gilbert, Royston Gilbert, Glennor Gilbert and the State of Barbados. The applicants were mother, father and two adult daughters. They were nationals of Grenada, seeking to take legal action against Barbados, having accused Barbados of violating their right to freedom of movement under Article 45 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and under a Conference Decision made by the Heads of Government in 2007.

The family had visited Barbados for a day in October 2016 when they were arrested and detained for 6 1⁄2 hours. No charges were ever laid against them. Tamika and Lynnel claimed that they were subjected to degrading treatment by the police and Tamika alleged that she was made to remove a portion of her written statement recounting the degrading treatment before the police would allow the family to leave.

The applicants had therefore claimed that Barbados had violated their right to move freely within Barbados and to depart Barbados without unnecessary harassment or impediment. Barbados denied their claim and opposed the grant of leave, arguing that the applicants had not fulfilled the requirements of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) needed to commence legal action.

The CCJ pointed out that the applicants were taken into police custody for the purpose of police investigations and that freedom of movement did not immunize CARICOM nationals from the operation of law enforcement agencies in the receiving State. In addition, the CCJ held that the applicants would have had to set up an arguable case of discrimination based on nationality only, prohibited by Article 7 of the Revised Treaty, in order to be granted special leave to bring their claim against Barbados. This, they failed to do. The application was therefore dismissed.

WHILE giving some background into the gains seen over the years and the legislative changes which formed a part of her lifework over the past four decades, Ambassador at Large and Plenipotentiary Dame Billie Miller expressed concern that some of the worrying issues affecting women in the past, are still here in the 21st century and must be tackled.

She was speaking during a Women Share Conference hosted yesterday by the High Commission of Canada in collaboration with the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business & Management Inc., yesterday morning.

Dame Billie who was elected to parliament back in 1976, noted that she would have to wait 18 years under the next set of females would join her in the House of Assembly. These included [now] Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, whom Dame Billie noted she mentored from the time she was 15 years old. The other was Elizabeth Thompson, now the Ambassador to the United Nations.

The retired politician lamented that to date there are still issues of gender equality as well as maternal and infant mortality and morbidity affecting both developed and developing countries.

According to Dame Billie, “Women do deliver and not only babies. All over the world. We deliver fire wood, we deliver water, we deliver children to school, water, clean, in today’s world, you name it and women can, will and do deliver. That’s who we are.”

“Gender equality continues to be under severe threat in many of the same old and often different ways. Everywhere in the world, both developed and developing... For those of us who have toiled in this vineyard, many times in the past it is going to mean rolling up our sleeves and starting over again and again as we have in the past many decades.”

“The politics of it is well known to us. I had hoped that in the new century, a new millennium that the health and rights of women and girls would have been enlarged. Now strategies are being designed to reverse the gains of the 20th strategy as we speak. It is very hard to accept that in both the developed and developing world infant and maternal morbidity and mortality are in reverse. And especially in the process of pregnancy and delivery I have difficulty with this.”

Dame Billie made a clarion call to the ladies in attendance to step forward in this fight. “We can do this ladies. It is what has to be done that we do. So the ball is in our courts again. I had hoped that we would have been going forward at a pace in the 21st century but now we have to backtrack to recover ground lost,” she said. (JH)

The Embassy of Japan in Barbados is ensuring that students of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus gain a better understanding of Japanese life and culture. A donation of books on contemporary Japan has therefore been presented to The Sidney Martin Library.

Principal, Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor V. Eudine Barriteau accepted the literature which covers Japanese history, economic conditions, life and culture from Ambassador of Japan to Barbados, H.E. Teruhiko Shinada, yesterday.

“I am told that this generous contribution was as a result of the hard work and ingenuity of Ambassador Shinada, who recommended to The Nippon Foundation that our Library be considered for such a donation. Of course, I am not surprised, as Ambassador Shinada has always demonstrated a keen interest in the academic development of the Cave Hill Campus,” Professor Barriteau pointed out.

“I am sure that these books will foster a deeper knowledge of historic and contemporary Japan, providing valuable knowledge of one of Asia’s and indeed the world’s, strong and continuous civilizations.”

The Principal further expressed that The University is excited at all the opportunities presented by the educational material to advance new prospects for cooperation and benefits. In fact, she disclosed that the Cave Hill Campus will be exploring with incoming Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, Professor Frederick Ochieng-Odhiambo, the establishment of a Minor in Japanese Studies.

“It is critical that Cave Hill continues to reflect the wider world in which our students will live and work...I want to say to all young people that an education in the Faculty of Humanities and Education will take you all over the world. Do not overlook that faculty – we are waiting here to receive you. We do a number of languages and who knows, we might soon be teaching Japanese.”

In addition to the donation, the Embassy of Japan also launched “Japan through the Eras: A Showcase of Japanese Life and Culture”, which will also be hosted at the Cave Hill Campus Library over the next four days.

Ambassador Shinada highlighted that on display will be various aspects of Japanese culture, including today’s showing of the film “Bushi no Kondate – A Tale of Samurai Cooking: A True Love Story,”.

“The timing of our event has a very symbolic meaning,” the Ambassador expressed, revealing that May 1st this year, marked the accession to the Throne of His Majesty the Emperor Naruhito, and the beginning of the new Japanese era called “Reiwa”, which means “Beautiful Harmony”.

“On April 30th this year, the former Emperor of Japan, Emperor of Heisei, abdicated the throne due to his age and health conditions. The last abdication of a living Emperor took place more than 200 years ago. This fact proves just how incredibly rare abdication is within the unbroken Imperial line…The son of the Emperor Naruhito was enthroned as the 126th Emperor of Japan”.

To mark this historic occasion, the Ambassador has extended an invitation to members of the public to sign a congratulations book which will be opened at the Embassy of Japan until Wednesday.

“The signed book will then be sent to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo as a testament to the amicable relation between our two countries,” he said. (TL)

Postal services in this region are being told that the market changes that are taking place must not be ignored.

The advice has come from Patrick Richon, Chairman of the EMS Cooperative. He was speaking during the opening ceremony of the Express Mail Service (EMS) Symposium for the Caribbean region, which was held in the conference room of the General Post Office yesterday morning.

According to Richon, these changes include the threat of a trade war between major economic zones, which he explained will no doubt have a negative impact international trade. Additionally, he said the strengthening of customs regulations is being pushed by countries, aiming to raise more revenue from cross-border ecommerce and to regulate unfair competition created by e-commerce – that is unfair competition between local shops and international e-commerce.

“These regulations create additional barriers and extra costs for entering local markets with a clear focus on security and taxation of e-commerce flows,” he said.

His comments came as he noted that there is increased competition in respect of last mile delivery from private operators, as both traditional competitors and e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Alibaba initiate their own transport and delivery services. Richon added that there is increased competition between the biggest e-commerce platforms to gain market share. This, he explained, has resulted in a rise of such services as free deliveries, same-day deliveries and time-slot deliveries.

“The four largest e-commerce marketplaces represent 65 percent of worldwide online sales. Amazon’s shipping costs are illustrative: US $16 billion in 2016, US $22 billion in 2017 and more than US $23 billion in 2018. In contrast, La Poste Groupe 2018 revenue was 24.7 billion Euro,” he stated.

Meanwhile, speaking to the EMS operations in 2018, he said that despite the growing challenges, the EMS global volumes grew significantly last year, almost eight percent compared to the previous year. As a result, Richon was pleased to note that they had broken the 70 million annual EMS volume barrier for the first time. Moreover, he revealed that end-to-end performance was maintained with 10 percent of the EMS items delivered within two days, and about half of the volume delivered within four days’ time.

“However, EMS performance dropped during the last quarter of 2018. Indeed certain countries with huge inbound EMS volumes need to pursue additional efforts in order to improve delivery performance and ensure the smooth and successful switch to EMSEVT v3; stabilise IT platforms; and improve management of e-commerce high volume periods,” he stated.

The EMS Cooperative Chairman made the point while explaining that Black Friday and Cyber Monday EMS traffic is far exceeding Christmas volumes. As such, he noted that this is leading to an early start to the year-end peak season and a longer peak season, to that end, he hinted that meeting the above mentioned goals is needed now more than ever. (JRT)

Growing indiscipline amongst school children must be dealt with.

This view was recently expressed by retired educator John Goddard, as he spoke on the topic “Advancing the Education Agenda”, during the Astor B. Watts Lunchtime Lecture Series held at the Democratic Labour Party headquarters.

“Government needs to appoint social workers at schools, to investigate special problems faced by some students and work with the students and families to tackle them. Guidance counsellors are important, but they are not trained to deal with social issues. Government must realise that it costs less to employ professionals to help modify the behaviour of children, than to maintain prisoners later,” Goddard remarked.

He meanwhile is calling for a mandatory National Youth Service to be set up for youth who leave school with limited options.

“There is an obvious need for a well-structured national youth service which should be mandatory for all youth over sixteen, who are not working or enrolled in an educational/training institution. We cannot afford to have hundreds of strong, able-bodied young people not gainfully occupied and ill-prepared for productive activity. Democracy must have limits if our society is to remain safe,” Goddard stated.

Goddard has also expressed some concern about how society currently deals with children who run afoul of the law and are sent to the Government Industrial Schools.

“At present, the schools fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. I propose that these young offenders become the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, which can provide the teaching and other resources available to regular schools. Most of the inmates have special learning challenges which require adequate attention that only the Ministry can provide. Incarceration at the Government Industrial Schools should not simply be a period for punishment, but also an opportunity for rehabilitation. Those who go there should exit better equipped to face the challenges of living,” Goddard said. (RSM)

Come September, several schools will be seeing additional personnel to help identify and work with children in need of intervention.

Addressing the end of marathon talks at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Saturday night, Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Santia Bradshaw disclosed that several secondary schools will have an additional guidance counsellor assigned to them in the new school year to help at risk children.

Meanwhile, at the primary school level, for the first time social workers would be working with the teachers and students to help combat instances of violence.

“Nobody becomes deviant at the age of 16, the patterns have shown that the signs are there often at the primary school level, sometimes even manifesting at the nursery school level and it is really a situation that we have to start and deal with this issues at the root cause,” she argued.

Bradshaw joined with Prime Minister Mia Mottley in pleading for parents to step up to their roles and be more active in their children’s lives, noting that often youth needed a loving guiding hand, not only during times of examinations and career choices, but throughout their transition to becoming an adult.

“It is high time that we don’t only pay attention when the children have gone into secondary school or when it is around the exam or third form year where they go on to specialize,” she stressed, adding that “it is now time for parents to pay attention to their charges on a regular basis.”

Bradshaw therefore urged parents to get involved in Parent/Teacher Associations and to attend the meetings, noting that the dwindling numbers of parents and caregivers who showed up for these was concerning. (JMB)

The Barbados Horticultural Society (BHS) has copped its 20th gold medal at the just concluded prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London.

The exciting news broke yesterday that Barbados now has under its belt a total of 20 Gold medals, 11 Silver-Gilt and one Silver over the course of 35 years at the Chelsea Flower Show, over a remarkable 32 consecutive appearances.

In a press statement issued yesterday, it was noted that the high standard of the flowers and foliage used this year were exceptional, a remarkable feat given the recent dry spell in Barbados.

Led by co-ordinator Shirley-Ann Howell, this year’s team comprised Jenny Weetch, Reverend Wayne Ramsey, Jacqui Ferdinand, Sally Miller, Julie Alleyne, Etwyn Humphrey, Trevor Hunte and Orson Daisley, with Keith Miller assisting with PR and media work. The team was ably supported by a small army of volunteers working diligently behind the scenes.

“The outstandingly high level of success consistently achieved by the Barbados Horticultural Society would be commendable at any level of competition, but it is truly exceptional in the case of Chelsea, which is widely regarded as the Olympics of the horticultural world with the highest and most demanding standards,” said the Miller.

In choosing this year’s theme, The Charter of Barbados 1652, the group knew they were setting themselves a major challenge to recreate that nebulous concept as an attractive floral display. However, embracing the mantra that every challenge represents an opportunity, they worked relentlessly to initially design and ultimately deliver a Gold Medal winning exhibit.

The team flew overnight last Wednesday, accompanied by 81 large shipping boxes, carefully packed with a vast array of blooms and foliage of all hues, shapes, sizes and textures, the team immediately got down to work on Thursday morning. After four days of relentless hard work and long hours, the display was completed late Sunday night, just in time for judging on Monday.

It was explained that the display is mounted on a 20ft x 20 ft standalone platform that allows visitors to walk around, the flamboyant floral display surrounds a wooden façade, made in Barbados by Anthony Roett, to depict The Mermaid Tavern in Oistins where the Charter of Barbados was signed, complete with a table and a replica of the Charter. A set of 3 open double-doors allow views of the beach area on one side and the land on the other. The land side features a blaze of reds and purples, created with Prince of Darkness, Volcano and Richmond Red Heliconias, Anthuriums, Stralitzia and Orchids, along with ‘flaming coal pots’ of Exotica and Crotons, and ‘market trays’ of Tropical Ornamentals such as Pink Pineapples and Purple Bananas. The beach area is a resplendent bank of magnificent pink and white Anthuriums and Gingers, orange Exoticas and River Salmon Heliconias, all delightfully finished off with a spectacular display of indigenous palms and coconut tree saplings. The vast majority of these plants were grown in Barbados, hand-picked and packed last week by society members and other volunteers, and then flown to London for the show along with the team.

The team sent special thanks to main suppliers including Michael Gill, C.O. Williams Flowers, Hunte’s Gardens, James Taylor, Coral Reef Club, Cobblers Cove Hotel, Audrey Thomas, Jenny Sisnett, Michael Stoute, Julie Landis, June Hutson and a host of individual BHS members.

Also recognised were the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Virgin Atlantic and other corporate and individual sponsors whom have undoubtedly done an outstanding job of spotlighting Barbados to a massive British and international audience. In addition to the approximately 160,000 people who will visit the stand throughout the week, Barbados can benefit from the huge amount of media coverage that the Chelsea Flower Show attracts annually.

In order to avoid any future litigation that could possibly present itself based on the fact that conversations with external creditors have reached a stalemate, one Opposition member is urging the Government to keep these talks ongoing.

Opposition member, Senator Crystal Drakes, made this comment during a press conference which took place at the Opposition Headquarters
yesterday afternoon.

Drakes revealed that to date, the negotiations with external creditors have not been completed, adding that for whatever reason they are not being told why these negotiations have been in a stalemate.

She highlighted that many of the external creditors have noted their dissatisfaction with not only the terms of the restructuring of the debt, but also the compensation that has been awarded to debt advisors White Oak.

“What we have to think about when we talk about the international credit negotiations is that if all parties are not satisfied, we run the risk of [facing] a litigation going forward which is something that has happened in the past. Research shows that some creditors have tried to settle outside of court for very large, profitable sums of money. If that is the case, that has a direct implication on Barbados’ performance on the IMF programme going forward,” she said.

“And I’m not saying this is the case, but that is a very plausible situation given the historical trend."

(CLF)

Businesses are already feeling the pinch of last month’s hike in bus fares.

As he and members of his team continued their ‘Face to Face’ tours yesterday, this time visiting the Cheapside market, Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley made it clear that vendors are complaining of a serious fall-off in sales, as citizens are finding it difficult to make purchases while paying bus fares of $3.50 per trip.

“In some instances, people complain that business has fallen off…and when we queried what they thought the reason was for that, repeatedly you heard the problem of bus fare. People are not paying bus fare to come; the cost of bus fare already adding to people’s already high cost, preventing them from buying fish to the extent they would have or even shop in the fruit and vegetable section, so the bus fare thing runs far more deeply than people in Barbados imagine,” he told the media.

“It is all right to talk about meeting your targets in terms of reducing your debt in a statistical way to satisfy the IMF, and talk about increasing your foreign reserves by access to borrowing from IADB, CDB and the IMF. This is where the rubber meets the road and the pain down here is real,” he stressed, describing the hike in bus fares as “a killer”.

Atherley noted the tours would help to shape a policy that responded to people’s challenges, explaining that this would be one of the main priorities of his new, soon-to-be launched political party.

He outlined that the team is also slated to visit the facilities of the Barbados Light and Power in the north and south of the island as well as the offices of the Fair Trading Commission.

“It is really an attempt to face off with people at all levels of business, the public sector and private enterprises,” he added. (JMB)

Students of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) have been issued a challenge to convert diesel vehicles to electric ones.

In an address yesterday, Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Wilfred Abrahams, told the technical and vocational students that with the Transport Board possessing around 140 non-operational buses, there is no reason why they could not work on a few of these “shells” to be able to achieve the redesign.

“There is no good reason that SJPI should not work with the ministry to provide the resources for you students to try your hand at it. You have nothing to lose. All of the great success stories did not come overnight…I will work with you to make sure that it is done.

“I want the challenge for the SJPI to be able to convert those buses in an efficient way that we do not have to bring in
hundreds of buses, because we can retrofit what we already have as this saves money, develops students and enhances the capacity of Barbados…If we get that done in Barbados, there is no reason we could not export that to the rest of the Caribbean and become the hub for changing them out,” he added.

Abrahams made the comment as he delivered feature remarks at the commissioning ceremony for the 109 Kilowatt solar voltaic system at the Institute, and outlined that the movement towards the 2030 vision of making this island 100 per cent carbon neutral would create a multitude of opportunities that students and youth as a whole could use to create their own businesses within the renewable energy sector.

“This is where you come in. Ten years ago the energy sector was not seen as something to aspire to…but it is becoming commonplace now. So for you students that are wondering what to do, this revolution is real. Our government is hell bent on achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity generation in Barbados by 2030. That means that opportunities arise for you students in the technical and vocational sector to become designers, installers, maintainers, manufacturers, the possibilities are open to you all,” he stressed. (JMB)

The Association of Barbados-China Friendship (ABCF) has been launched in an effort to create and strengthen the bond between Chinese and Barbadians.

During the launch, which took place at the Hilton Resort Barbados on Thursday night, President of the ABCF Dr. Delisle Worrell noted that
it is a “people-centred organisation with an emphasis on facilitating personal contacts between Barbadians and Chinese”.

He believes this is important as everyone was able to benefit from the productivity of the Chinese, which has made goods and services much more affordable for Barbadians and consumers around the world.

He reported that China is now the second largest economy, which means it is Barbados’ “second most important friend”.

“The Association for Barbados- China Friendship aims to help Barbadians to get to know China and the Chinese better,” he said.

“The Association has just published the first issue of our annual magazine, ‘Exchanges’, which contains articles on Barbadian experiences in China and Chinese experiences in Barbados. You will read stories of students, business people, tourists, and of Chinese immigrants to Barbados. The magazine highlights Rihanna’s contribution to the career of a leading Chinese designer as well and the magazine also introduces the Chinese global television network.”

Furthermore, Worrell was pleased to note that the ABCF also had its own website, abcf-bb.com, which would have information for travellers, business persons, students, and anyone with an interest in China.

“We invite all to join the ABCF and contribute to the magazine and the website. We intend to make the website a networking hub for business people, cultural practitioners, students, visiting people to China and everyone who has an interest in China,” he said.

The President also announced that the ABCF will be arranging a Travel and Food Expo to be held in September this year.

It is the Association’s intention to facilitate travel to China, and have an annual group tour to China beginning in 2020. (CLF)

Government continues with its drive of making Barbados fully carbon neutral by 2030 as the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) has been added to the list of public buildings with solar voltaic systems.

“The estimated energy which will be produced from this system is over 200,000 KWh per year with an estimated revenue earning potential of $85,000 per year and was installed under government’s Public Sector Smart Energy Programme,” indicated Minister of Energy and Water Resources Wilfred Abrahams.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony for the 109 Kilowatt solar voltaic system at the Institute yesterday afternoon, he stated that while the project was deemed ambitious when conceptualised, was given a target of 1.14 MW of solar PV to be installed.

According to the minister however, to date, the combined energy production from the installed systems under this project is a 2.486 MWh with estimated revenue earnings of BBD $2 million per year and growing.

He extended his thanks to the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Union for the BDS $50 million provided in grants and loans for the programme.

“With specific reference to the solar PV installation on government buildings, the contract was awarded via public and international tender to Solar Watt Systems Inc. at a cost of BBD $9.6 million for 2.4 MW with the work allocated to the company for installation in lots with total installations on 16 government buildings. This system at SJPI was the one of the first systems to be completed and we are pleased to know that its commissioning coincides with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the SJPI,” Abrahams added.

The Minister also highlighted the need for more investors in renewable energy, stating “As a ministry we also acknowledge the critical role that legislation and regulation must play in the equitable distribution of wealth from the sector, along with the need to ensure we provide clear market signals for investors.”

“We cannot do it alone. Our ministry is working assiduously with our stakeholders including the regulator, the utility and other organisations to develop as progressive an energy space as we can conceptualise at this time,” he stated. (JMB)

The Barbados Government spends as much as $64 million annually on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Acting Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Senator Lucille Moe quoting statistics from 2017 compiled by the World Health Organisation, she said that this “extravagant cost” to the Government has resulted from poor dietary habits and unhealthy food choices. She made the point while delivering the feature address at the launch of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados’ mass media campaign dubbed ‘Switch It Up’ at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

“Let me remind you that this figure will increase substantially if the dietary habits of our school aged children are not changed. Barbados like the rest of all other nations pass on their traditions from generation to generation, whether it is religion, different beliefs, different systems, but of course also food. Now such practices are passed on, not necessarily by word of mouth, but by learning through observation while growing up in households… so if we see a certain type of cooking within our homes and certain foods that we eat, often times we will continue that,” she stated.

To that end, she said it will have to be a two-pronged approach to deal with childhood obesity – first reducing or limiting our love for and ingestion of sugar drinks and secondly, she stated, we must engage in more active lifestyles. Her comments came as she lamented that children are nowadays often having sugary drinks and sweet pastries for breakfast and she is adamant that this has to change.

“I would be happier if I saw them having an apple, or a banana, or a piece of fruit,” she stated.

She made the point while indicating that 20, 30 years ago the consumption of soft drinks was not as prevalent as it is today and persons were more inclined to use natural juices from local fruits. Moreover, she added that over the years there has also been a drastic decrease in physical activity and she said that parents need to look at engaging children in more physical activity and perhaps look at limiting the time they spend using electronic devices which help promote the sedentary lifestyle.

“…My appeal to the parents and caregivers of our nation’s children is to be cognisant of the pivotal role that you play in making this campaign a success. We are the adults and must be always aware that the way in which we nurture and nourish our children from infancy will impact on what they do at present or what they will do in the future and how they develop in the future,” she stated. (JRT)

There continues to be a steady increase in bilateral engagements and a marked enhancement of collaboration between Barbados and Argentina.

Minister of International Business and Industry, Ronald Toppin, highlighted this as he addressed a recent Cocktail Reception to celebrate Argentina’s National Day at the Argentine residence. This event was attended by Governor General Dame Sandra Mason, current and former members of parliament, dignitaries and heads of local organisations.

Toppin stated over the years the two countries have collaborated in areas such as “education, agriculture, the development of small and medium-sized businesses and more recently sports”. He however said over time, the “most active engagement has been in the area of technical co-operation”. An area, he noted, has “increased actually exponentially” since the Ambassador’s arrival.

“You have not only sought to deepen relations, but also to expand areas of collaboration. Ambassador Pandiani, if your level of commitment is typical of what your country ascribes to your bilateral relations, then the relationship between Barbados and Argentina can only grow from strength to strength. Therefore, not only have we witnessed an increase in cultural co-operation, but the stage is set for even greater things to happen between our two countries.”

His kind comments were accepted by Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Barbados, Gustavo Martinez Pandiani. In his own remarks, he spoke about the achievements Barbados and Argentina collectively have accomplished during the past year. Included in his list was the inaugural performance of an Argentine reggae singer, who performed during the 2018 Crop Over Festival.

He additionally highlighted the establishment of an Argentina Tango Club and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries’ football and cricket associations. He added they “are currently working on bringing together boxers, netballers, wrestlers and Polo players from both countries”. (MG)

A recent ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in a case brought by two policyholders against the Barbados-based Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO), could open the door for other policyholders seeking to recoup money they had put into the regional insurance company.

Just over a month ago, the Trinidad-based CCJ ordered the Judicial Manager of CLICO International Life Insurance Limited, to pay over US$500 000 to two brothers, Octavius and Laurent John, who invested in several executive premium annuity policies, which were intended to aid them in their retirement in Dominica.

Speaking to The Barbados Advocate recently, attorney-at-law Zahidha James, who successfully argued the case before the five-member panel of judges, said her clients, one of whom was diagnosed with cancer and had hefty medical bills, are pleased and relieved at the outcome of the case and to finally have their money back.

“CLICO was offering these policies that promised people to get certain returns if they invested in the policies and several people all over the Caribbean invested in them. For many people, they were investments in their future for when they got older. With respect to my clients, they said to the court those were all their savings and the expectation was that at a certain age they would surrender their policies and get back quite a bit of money and live on that as their retirement income,” she explained.

James further stated that when the brothers started to hear “rumblings” that CLICO was having financial difficulties, the two sought to surrender their policies, but were assured that the rumours were false and were persuaded to reinvest with the company, after being told it was sound and had numerous assets. She added that on hearing more about the difficulties of the insurance company, they sought again to surrender their policies, but the company refused to pay. As a result, she said the John brothers started legal proceedings against the company to recover the money due to them, and on September 7, 2010, obtained judgement against CLICO in the High Court of Dominica and CLICO was ordered to pay them.

The attorney indicated that CLICO did consent to pay the money and it was agreed that the payments would start April 30, 2011. But James explained this never materialised, as on April 14, 2011 CLICO was placed under judicial management, which stayed the brothers’ proceedings against CLICO.

“This meant that if you wanted to enforce your judgement, you had a problem and then anybody else who had policies, whether they were ready to surrender them or not, would have to wait for the period of judicial management to be over for them to sue CLICO. So the John brothers had a judgement, but could not collect on it because when a company is under judicial management, the rule is you cannot sue them unless you have leave of the court. Our application asked the court for permission, in spite of judicial management, for the brothers to sue CLICO, so they could collect on their money.”

The brothers’ attorney explained that while they were successful with that application in the High Court of Barbados, the matter was appealed and the decision overturned.

“So we were unsuccessful at the Court of Appeal, but successful at the Caribbean Court of Justice. The CCJ being convinced by the evidence and arguments as presented by the Johns, exercised their discretion to award them their monies immediately, as opposed to allowing the litigation process to continue,” she said.

James explained that while the judicial management process that CLICO engaged in was to be temporary, it has been a far cry from that, resulting in many persons being put at a grave disadvantage. She contended that the judicial manager failed in its role to come up with a plan in a reasonable time, that stated how the company was going to pay its creditors and policyholders.

“We argued that three months is a typical time that a company should get itself in order… But what we found is that rather than not being temporary, it was indefinite and technically, I have not heard anything to suggest that the judicial management is over and at the time we went to court, the judicial manager could offer no plan of how the policyholders were going to be paid. That was an issue we raised in the High Court and the Court of Appeal and even when we got to the CCJ, they still had nothing to show,” she opined.

James insisted, “If this ever happens again, or if people are still finding themselves in a situation like the brothers, where you are faced with illness and financial difficulties and there isn’t a viable plan by a company under judicial management that can address your issues, then you might very well be one of the people who can be compensated by the company.”

Referring to the insurance acts in this country and across the region, she said under those statutes, governments have a supervisory role and the relevant authorities should have done an audit of the company and ranked policyholders according to priority. She is also adamant there should be a system, by CLICO or whatever Government body is in charge, for people who need money urgently to have their needs met.

“It is not clear that was done. So if people had major surgeries or major injuries, there was never an indication that there was ever a policy, in any of the countries, that said let’s take care of these people. So for example, like my client when he had the cancer diagnosis, you would think in a situation like that there would be some sort of set up where they would say let’s advance some money to this person, at least for his treatment. That didn’t happen,” she stated.

The attorney told The Barbados Advocate that in light of the CCJ ruling, where the justices were sympathetic to people who had financial difficulties and health issues, it no doubt sets a precedent for what people in a similar situation can hope to accomplish. But, she noted that it is unclear how many people could be affected in that way.

“We are hoping that everyone is paying attention to what is acceptable and what is not,” she affirmed. (JRT)

“TO be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord.”

This was the comforting reminder and Biblical perspective the Reverend Michael Crichlow of Trinity Outreach Ministries International shared on the occasion of the Official Funeral of Harold Fitzherbert Hoyte, Co-Founder and Editor Emeritus of the Nation Publishing Co. Limited, on location at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex yesterday.

Local dignitaries, including Governor General of Barbados, Her Excellency Dame Sandra Mason; Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley; members of her Cabinet and Parliamentarians, as well as hundreds of Barbadians turned out to pay their final respects to the man described as a “journalism giant and media titan”. Mourners, who filed past Hoyte’s open casket to get a glimpse of him for the final time, offered words of comfort to his widow Noreen, children Harold “Bobby” Hoyte, Tracy Hoyte-Jones and step-daughter Jalesa Kinch, as well as sisters Sheila Brewster, Colleen Brennan, Gloria Harvey and other relatives, as well as present Nation staff.

It was during his brief sermon that Hoyte’s pastor, Reverend Crichlow, told those gathered that Hoyte, who served faithfully on one of the leadership committees at Trinity, was a man of tremendous faith, who loved God, who loved his fellowman and who promoted the concept of country above self. He stressed that the nation of Barbados could be completely transformed, if only persons would learn from Hoyte’s example.

“Harold loved the Lord. I saw a different side of Harold than the public saw. He loved his family and he loved his country. He loved Barbados. He was a nation builder. He also loved the wider Caribbean,” Rev. Crichlow said on reflection.

“Over the past few years, Harold would come to my office, always making an appointment for one hour. Those turned out to be one-on-one sessions with his pastor, as he shared from his heart. As he talked about his beloved Barbados, tears would come to his eyes and his voice would crack. He was deeply hurt by the decline in behaviour exhibited by some of his fellow countrymen. He would reflect on the Barbados of yesteryear, and ask questions such as what has happened to our love for each other, what has happened to treating others the way you want them to treat you? What has happened to our love for our communities? What has happened to our love for country,” Crichlow revealed.

He added, “And this was a big one with him and we discussed this on numerous occasions. What has happened to so many of our fellow countrymen, that they no longer feel compelled to put love for country before love for self or any particular group, and are no longer prepared to go the extra mile for the good of the country, failing to realise that a rising tide rises all ships?”

“Today, as we give thanks for the life of our brother Harold, can I make a suggestion? A suggestion that this society can be transformed, if we had more Harold Hoytes. Transformed if we had more persons who would develop a loving relationship with God. Transformed if we had more persons who would develop a loving relationship with their fellow brothers and sisters and transformed if we had more persons who would develop a love for our country Barbados,” the Reverend further commented.

“This nation has a great future, but we need to get back to the old value of love for God, love for each other, love for our communities and love for our country,” Crichlow concluded.

Hoyte, who passed away on May 12, 2019 at the age of 77, was interred at the Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens. (RSM)