A former Senator is raising a red flag on what he describes as an abuse of power by Government, in its move to acquire property at Bay Street for “tourism development”.

Vice President of the Democratic Labour Party, Andre Worrell, who served in the Senate under the Freundel Stuart administration, expressed concern about the recent move in Parliament to use the Land Acquisition Act to acquire property at Bay Street. He believes that it begs to question Government’s involvement in the Hyatt Project.

“The resolution was passed in the Lower House, which is the first part of the hurdle. A Government that controls all the seats in Parliament would not have a challenge passing legislation. For that reason, one would also expect that a Government with such a mandate would be very cautious, open and fair in the manner in which they exercise that mandate.”

He said that the impression was given during the debate that the property will be used for tourism development. “All signals point to the Hyatt Project, which as far as we know is a private sector, hotel development project. The glaring question which remains unanswered is, ‘What role or interest does the Government have in the Hyatt Project?’

“This is a fair question as the purpose of the Land Acquisition Act is, ‘to authorise the acquisition of land for public purposes’. What is the public purpose or interest which the Government of Barbados has in the Hyatt Project?

“We learned from the debate that it is the intention of the Government to ‘transfer the property to a private developer’. They did not say engage the services of a private developer to further develop the property on behalf of the Government. How does this qualify as a public purpose? Why is the Government using such a restrictive, heavy-handed piece of legislation to act as an intermediary between two private commercial entities?”

Worrell stated that raising the concerns is not to object to the development of the hotel.

“The project would have been ongoing and contributing to the economic development of Barbados if an injunction was not brought by persons who are now integrally involved with the present Government.

“What we are concerned about is the manner in which this Government appears to be trampling on the rights of other citizens...”

He charged that once the land acquisition resolution is passed by Parliament, the landowner has very little recourse to challenge the acquisition or the price paid for the property.

In fact, he said that it is not far-fetched that smaller landowners or families who own prime property along the coastlines can face a similar fate.

“It is clear the Mia Mottley administration finds itself in a difficult situation to identify growth and development strategies. However, a heavy-handed approach and abuse of legislation is not the way to bring about this economic stimulus. The Government is on the verge of creating a dangerous precedent with the manner in which it intends to use its overwhelming majority to compulsory acquire the land at Bay Street,” he said. (JH)

TWO junior performers have been allowed to take part in this year’s Cave Shepherd All Stars Calypso Tent.

This was announced by Tent Manager, Eleanor Rice-Watkins, who spoke during the official launch of the event, which took place at Cave Shepherd last Friday evening.

Rice-Watkins explained that they recognised that in order for the event to have longevity, it was important to include these younger performers.

“At some point in time, the older calypsonians will decide that they are finished for a season. If we intend to carry on what we are doing with the Crop Over festival, we have to encourage the younger people to come into the senior tents. So that by the time they get of age, they would be in there already and continue,” she said.

The Tent Manager went on to note that even though last year’s event was successful and spectacular, performers this year can expect a number of changes; the most notable change relating to the grand prize of $100 000.

Rice-Watkins expressed that persons could eagerly anticipate spectacular performances from Donella Weekes, Colin Spencer, Ronnie “The Announcer” Clarke, Kid Site, Structure, Jude Clarke, Raheem, Charisma, Sparkle T, Niqa, Shawnie, Ishaika, Francoise, Dragon Slayer and Jael, along with Sammy Delo and Dr. Sparman and Troy Special.

“The venue for the shows is the auditorium at the St. Gabriel’s School, and the dates are Saturday, June 1st, Sundays June 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th. July 6th is the final date before judging, with the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre being the venue for judging on Thursday, July 8th, at 8 p.m.,” she said.

“Admission to the performance nights is $30 and judging night is $40.”

She added that on June 23, the venue would switch from the St. Gabriel’s School hall to the Alexandra School for another fresh and new addition to the tent schedule.

“We believe in taking the product to the people and this year we are going north. Expect that we will have the Father’s Day Special when we honour some of those father figures in our society, as we have been doing in the recent years,” she said.

“We aim to maintain the same high standard and quality which is expected of our Tent and we look forward to entertaining you and delivering $100 000 worth of Calypso and entertainment again.”

The Tent Manager gave a hearty and sincere thank you to title sponsor, Cave Shepherd, as well as TMR Sales and Services, BIMAP, Ocean Fisheries, Golden Sands Hotel, Collins Limited, Armstrong Agencies, All Phases Electrical, BIMPAK, H. Jason Jones, Mel’s Beauty Salon, MSR Ltd., Sky Mall, Bridge Street Mall and Eye Focus Inc. for their generous sponsorship this season. (CLF)

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has taken serious issue with the treatment meted out by the international world to small island nations like those within the Caribbean, particularly in terms of climate and disaster risks, contending that our nations, despite our inherent vulnerabilities, continue to be severely disadvantaged.

She was delivering the keynote address on Monday evening at the opening ceremony of the Understanding Risk (UR) Caribbean Conference, which was held at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society. PM Mottley told the large gathering, including representatives of regional governments, disaster risk management experts and players in the insurance industry among others, that while countries have individual responsibilities to move from risk to resilience and to make the requisite changes to practices and laws to promote such, the international community too has a role to play. She made the point while referring to this region’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, which she noted is as “negligible as our capacity to destroy global trade in goods and services”.

“I use that deliberately as the reference point because for more than 25 years, this little region has tried to advance a simple argument for special and differential treatment with respect to our international trade obligations that has been largely unsuccessful, because we have been invisible and disposable for most persons. The bottom line is, for more than 25 years we have literally tried to sustain an argument against a one-size-fits-all prescription and that recognises that the inability to distort global trade in goods and services ought to matter, because there is a disproportionate consequence to enterprises within our region, who in many instances were forced either to shut down production or to become marginalised because of the removal of non-tariff barriers and the reduction of tariffs as a result of our becoming signatory to the WTO [World Trade Organisation] and participating in a global trading bloc, that was intended to bring sustainable development and progress to people,” she said.

With that in mind, PM Mottley indicated that if the region has been unsuccessful for all those decades, she wonders how triumphant we are likely to be in the climate change fight. She made the point while noting that Caribbean countries remain on the “frontline of a war we did not start, nor do we sustain”. As such, referencing the vulnerabilities of our countries, she hinted at the challenges countries in the region face in accessing concessional financing because of the ranking they receive based on the gross domestic product (GDP), contending that this needs to change.
“…The continued belief that countries can be graduated on the basis of middle income status purely on GDP, and precluded from access to critical funding to be able to modernise their infrastructure in the face of inherent vulnerability, has really to become a historic topic rather than a fight that we are continuing to wage on a daily basis.”

She added, “I’m not even going in at this stage, to the extent that politics has been allowed – global politics and power relations have been allowed to literally creep in to the determination as to who can benefit and who shall not benefit. The battle is being waged not at the level of the technocrats or the management of international organisations, but is being waged regrettably at the level of capitals.”

Adamant that this is unsustainable, PM Mottley said we have, if we really want to make progress against the “battles” that cause tremendous risks, and become resilient, we need to start doing things differently. Moreover, she said we must recognise that failure to act is for the most part because persons do not believe that the problem is important enough to guarantee action, or to require it.

“You ask yourself on what basis can there be a sustainable platform for international cooperation and development if the very right to life and the very right to sustainable nature, to sustaining our societies is not accepted as a perquisite for action. I hope that your gathering here will help continue the process of being able to change minds and hearts and not to build the action, for the foundation is action is not with us,” she contended.

Mottley added that there is need for a moral and ethical discussion worldwide on topics of climate and disaster risks. She argued that only when moral and ethical leadership is given at both the national and international levels, will there be courage to fight such battles.

“Until such time, it is a form of idle entertainment for those who choose to watch,” she stated.

She added, “I say so, not intending to shock, nor not intending to be rude. But I say so conscious that with every hurricane, the place of choice for those who don’t go to shelters is a bathroom. I say so conscious that for every meeting I make in September or October, I know that there is a risk or a likelihood of cancelation because we do not know what could befall us within 72 hours. I say so conscious that irrespective of whatever else you have to say about Haiti, it has not received 20 per cent of the pledges pledged to it in the post-earthquake environment.”

In that vein, she maintained that if the region is to benefit there must be domestic and international political will, for without that, we would just become “a footnote in the history of mankind”. (JRT)

BARBADOS has one of the highest consumption rates per capita of cannabis in the region.

This was stated on Wednesday by Dr. Machel Emanuel of the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, who at the same time called for an integrated approach by Caribbean governments to develop a cannabis industry for medical usage.

Speaking at the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Annual General Meeting Luncheon, Dr. Emanuel said that consumption in Barbados translates to a very high value, “meaning that cannabis fetches the highest price in this country”, and higher than prices globally.
According to him, Barbados is unique because of the cross linkages that can be made between various sectors, ranging from agriculture to health, wellness tourism and pharmaceuticals.

As such, Dr. Emanuel believes that this country can get the true potential from cannabis, and must ensure that sustainability can be maximised from cannabis as a commodity.

The UWI lecturer noted that cannabis is the most traded agricultural commodity in its raw state the region.

He highlighted that several countries in the Caribbean have amended heir laws to facilitate medical cannabis. Jamaica was the first followed by Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and more recently, St. Kitts and Nevis.

He stated that there needs to be an integrated approach to developing the cannabis economy by setting the policy and legal framework by looking at the historical and cultural experiences, business and marketing, and other approaches to the issues.

He recalled that data have shown that economic growth in the Caribbean was forecast to reach 0.9 per cent in 2017, two per cent last year and it is projected to reach 2.9 per cent this year.

He added, agriculture is still one of the main contribution to GDP and that within the new Caribbean region we have strengths and weaknesses.
(JB)

President of the Small Business Association (SBA), Wayne Willock, has expressed concern about the potential withdrawal by commercial banks from the Caribbean Integrated Financial Services Inc. (CarIFS) system.

CarIFS, established in 1998, is the locally-based Automated Banking Machine (ABM)-network provider, which allows customers of various financial institutions to have 24-hour access to cash from their bank accounts via any CarIFS-affiliated banking machine and point-of-sale terminals.

“My research recently has indicated that there is currently a movement which seeks to take the CarIFS national debit switch out of operation, in favour of a Visa-branded product,” he told the “Digital Payment Transformation Workshop: The Way Forward”, hosted by the Cave Shepherd Card Unit at the Savannah Beach Hotel.

“If this comes to fruition, it could mean lots of dollars going outside in foreign exchange transaction fees to Visa and of course this is undesirable at this time. We may see then a hike in merchant fees on debit card transaction reaching three, four, or five times the current rate.

“This development, if allowed to take place in the not-too-distant future, will lead to the marginalisation of our credit unions, who also depend on CarIFS and with whom the SBA and its members currently have active partnerships,” Willock pointed out.

He went on to explain that the credit unions would then be forced to adopt either a Visa or Mastercard product, “since with the CarIFS switch, there would be no alternative. Cardholders’ fees might increase and of course a non-competitor monopoly might be created”.

The SBA President is therefore calling on Government to “look at mandating that all local payment transactions or a high per cent of debit transactions, must remain local since we are in a period of retrenchment”.

“Also, maybe the Fair Trading Commission should consider the impact of banks taking this movement, which would be a monopoly of which I spoke on our card payments,” he added.

AT long last a national shutdown policy, to be implemented in the event of a climatic event, has been created and is ready for circulation.

That’s the word from Minister of Home Affairs, Edmund Hinkson. He made the disclosure yesterday morning during the annual Hurricane Preparedness Month press conference held at the Department of Emergency Management. According to Hinkson, Cabinet has approved the systematic national shutdown and reactivation policy framework and standard operating procedures, but he has not ruled out the possibility of giving it legislative effect if such is warranted. His comments came as he indicated that the police will be requested to enforce the shutdown procedure and ensure the safety of persons.

“We would urge the Department [of Emergency Management] as well, to make this policy framework as well-known as possible. The approach to a national shutdown will be on a staggered basis and there is nothing new about that, this will ensure that key elements of national operations are allowed to maintain an effective level of operation for as long as possible, while at the same time facilitating the systematic closure of non-essential operations,” the Home Affairs Minister explained.

Hinkson told the media that as is customary, schools and day-care centres will close first and this will free up the public transportation for adults. He added that non-essential operations of the public service would follow in closing and non-essential operations for the private sector should be considered at that time.

“We know that this has been a problem in the past in terms of the private sector closing. We have stated as a policy in this manual that private sector entities, companies, shall close their operations taking into account the provision of their disaster management or business continuity plans… We urge the private sector to have continuity plans for after the disaster passes. We urge the private sector to have disaster management plans just as we urge all government agencies to have,” he said.

The minister indicated that the private sector will close, taking into account the security and operational procedures of the company or entity; the welfare of their employees and the need for them to take their own domestic precautions, especially those living in remote, flood-prone areas; and the operations of public transportation, given that public transportation will have to close off at some time before the weather event. He said, however, that should the private arrangements be made to transport the staff home safely, that would be acceptable.

“In other words, we’re asking employers to be caring,” he stated.

Giving more details to the plan, he said if there is a threat of a direct or severe hit to the country, efforts will be made to get as many tourists off the island as possible before the event, and where some remain, contingency plans will be put in place to ensure safe accommodation for them.

Meanwhile, referring to the theme for the month “Prepare and Be Aware”, he said it is imperative that Barbadians are well prepared for the season and are stocking up on non-perishable items and water, as well as securing their homes.

“…This month we will continue to sensitise Barbadians, people living in Barbados, including persons with disabilities, as to the real possibilities of hurricanes hazards. In this regard, we implore people each and every one to ensure that your own properties, your own backyard, your own communities are as secure as possible, as free as possible from debris, and that your gutters are clear, the gutters outside your house.”

He added, “Don’t wait on Government now to come and clear it or don’t feel it is the responsibility of Government alone to do this. Government can’t do everything in this country, we don’t have the resources to do it.” (JRT)

The Supreme Court is back in operation at its Whitepark Road home, there is an increase in the number of functioning courtrooms and there are efforts on to increase the number of High Court judges as Government seeks to address the issue of crime and violence.

That’s according to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall. He was speaking at a public rally in The City to mark the Barbados Labour Party’s one year anniversary of winning the general election, as he offered a report of the performance of his ministry over the past year.

“When we came to government, we came to a court that was non-functioning; we came to a backlog of cases in the civil jurisdiction of many, many, many thousands; we came to find the backlog of over a thousand cases waiting for trial in the High Court in the criminal division – those are the things we came and found. For years we had been preaching to the Government of the day that they needed to take the issue of gun violence seriously,” he said.

He added, “We came to find a level of don’t-carishness that had beset our country, but we came to put things right”.

With that in mind, he said while the former Government failed to ease the pressure off the existing judges, the Mottley Administration is working assiduously to increase the number of judges, so as to share the burden of cases more evenly.

“We have put a new system in place for the appointment of judges, we are recruiting because we are not satisfied that the people of Barbados should have a case pending for 10 years and five years and four years without getting justice. How can we claim to be a just society, if people cannot get justice from our courts? And on the criminal side of things, do you know that we have had 26 murders for the year? I count them every day, 26 murders and of those 26, 15 were by firearms. Last year there had [been] a total of 27 murders for the entire year, but up to the end of May, this little beautiful Barbados is struggling under the weight of 26 murders, some of which you know were callous [and] in public places,” he said.

But Marshall is adamant that this situation did not evolve overnight, contending that the BLP’s offer to help the former government was ignored and he lamented that “the chickens have now come home to roost”. He said as a result, the current government has been left to deal with a problem that should been dealt with five to 10 years ago.

“In order to make sure that is done, we have provided the Port with the necessary finances to be able to bring in new scanners to stop the guns from coming in. It will be the job of the police to deal with the ones that are here now,” he stated.

He made the point while speaking about the limited success of the recently held gun amnesty, which netted 38 guns and 843 bullets, noting that gun violence has continued. Noting that some young men and women have gone astray, he said Government is determined to rescue them. To help the police in doing its duty to maintain law and order, he indicated they have appointed two deputy commissioners of police and additional assistant commissioners of police, which will help to strengthen the leadership of the Force.

“The Prime Minister understood the importance of many hands making light work, well if it is important for Barbados and our Cabinet, why would it not be important for the Royal Barbados Police Force? And we have come to government and given the police additional funding, additional resources, additional equipment so as to be able to help them do the job and we’ve added the BDF [Barbados Defence Force] to that profile as well, so as to help them do even more,” AG Marshall declared.

The Attorney General spoke to this as he noted that it will take some time to eradicate gun violence from our shores, explaining that it is not an issue that can be overturned in one year. But, he gave the assurance that Government will do all it can to rid Barbados of gun violence. (JRT)

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Dale Marshall has defended Government’s decision to engage the services of the London-based White Oak Advisory in the country’s restructuring efforts, contending that the state of the Barbados economy last May, did not give any leeway for a tendering process to be done.
He was speaking Sunday night at a political rally to mark the Mia Amor Mottley led administration’s first year in office, following its historic and unprecedented win at the polls. He told those gathered in Carlisle Carpark. The City, the Barbados Labour Party’s stomping ground, that had the current government waited to go to tender to engage help with the debt restructuring plan, the country would have been put in a far worse position than it had already been in, contending that Barbados at the time was on its “deathbed”.

“When we came to government we had no time to tender. If we had come to government and tendered, a tendering process by the time we got the ad in the papers would have taken two weeks; and then the tenders got to be out there for another six weeks cause you can’t find people in Barbados to do it, so you have to tender all over the world and then you have to make a decision… by then the patient called Barbados would have been stone cold dead,” he insisted.

The Attorney General continued, “The matter for discussion at our first Cabinet meeting was whether or not we should engage this same company White Oak that has done seven of the largest restructurings, seven of the last 11 restructurings over the last 10 years; a company with an impeccable record and we did it, we made the decision in our first Cabinet meeting”.

Marshall’s comments came as he said that the company was not unknown to the previous Government, indicating that there was correspondence sent to the Democratic Labour Party Administration as far back as 2011 by White Oak, offering to lend its expertise in addressing the debt situation. Marshall said that the company again sent correspondence to the Government in 2014 and 2017, but were on both occasions not taken up on the offer. He argued that had the former Government taken the offer, today there would be buses on the road and a better road infrastructure.

“This company White Oak that we are criticized for hiring, in 2011 on the 28th of June, 2011 wrote to the then Minister of Finance… and they introduced themselves to the government of Barbados and they said this - ‘In recent months we have been closely following developments in Barbados. We understand that there has been some deterioration in public debt indicators and that you are currently in discussions with the IMF over possible strategies for placing the debt burden on a declining path over the medium term. We would welcome an opportunity to present our credentials and to discuss with you how White Oak could leverage its sovereign debt management expertise to help the Barbadian government achieve its debt objective’,” he added.

Marshall’s remarks have come a few weeks after criticism was made both here and abroad about the use of White Oak and the hefty bill associated with that company’s services. This was sparked early last month when an article appeared in the UK’s Financial Times about the deal which was struck between Barbados and the company, soon after the BLP took a clean sweep at the polls. But Attorney General Marshall is adamant that there was nothing nefarious about the agreement, which he maintained has actually saved this country significant amounts of money over the last 12 months.

“White Oak came in and assisted this Barbados Labour Party Administration, saving us a billion dollars a year in interest payments… White Oak is saving us a billion dollars a year and their fees are millions of dollars. But we recognise that our situation was so grave, grave is the word, we were in the grave, that we had to find the finest, the finest skills that money could buy, to help to resurrect this country and White Oak was it,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, Marshall voiced some concern about the relationship between the external creditors and company they have engaged for advice to recover the debt owed them. He raised the alarm while revealing that the said company, an independent advisory firm, had previously done work in Barbados under the previous DLP administration. (JRT)

Unless a clear alternative is given, Barbadians will continue to find imported chicken wings in retailers’ freezers.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Indar Weir emphatically stated that he was not going to push any ban or reduction on the imports of the poultry product into the island.

Delivering his one-year report on his ministry’s performance at the Barbados Labour Party’s Sunday night rally at the Carlisle car park, he told the gathered crowd that it would be unfair to ban the commodity when so many small business owners were dependent upon them to earn money.

“I cannot ban the importation of chicken wings, neither can I speak to the reduction of its importation until somebody is willing to come forward and fill the void, and as a responsible human being I understand that Barbadians must find a way to participate and be part of the economic structure of this country, I refuse to pursue any conversation where I am going to stop, reduce, ban chicken wings from coming into Barbados or turkey wings unless you can give me the alternative,” he stressed.

His stance came in clear opposition to that of Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agriculture Society James Paul, who has continually urged successive governments to stop such imports due to the impact on the local poultry industry.

Weir therefore said “I want James Paul to know that when he is constantly making his noise about chicken wings, you have got to understand the poor people and you claim to be part of a party that said that it stood for poor people and now you want to ask me to come and tell Barbadians they can no longer sell chicken wings. I can’t do it unless there is an alternative,” he added.

Saying he would soon be meeting with the dairy and beef farmers, the minister expressed that there would be no change in this stance.

“My conversation will not change in this country if I cannot see the numbers to justify the action. Go away, get the information ready and present me with it,” he said.

On the matter of actions to be taken against praedial larceny, he said a consultation would take place with farmers this week to wrestle the issue to the ground. (JMB)

Transport woes across the island will be a thing of the past as more buses will soon be on the roads.

Pointing to an aging bus fleet which has resulted in a major bus shortage, Chairman of the state-owned Transport Board, Ian Gooding-Edghill is assuring commuters that a plan is in the works to remedy the situation.

He shared this with supporters gathered at Carlisle Carpark for the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) meeting to celebrate its first anniversary, Sunday night.

“We came to a situation where the average age of a bus in Barbados is 18 years old. We have a situation where those buses have accumulated more than a million kilometres and the Democratic Labour Party refused to buy a bus during the 10 years they were in office.”

According to the newly appointed Chairman, “My first task was to stabilise the bus fleet and I think we have accomplished that. The next phase is to ensure that those buses that were parked under the Democratic Labour Party are ready for inspection, and when they come out we will have close to another 40 buses.”

Moreover, Gooding-Edghill disclosed that the Transport Board will also retrofit 30 buses.

“We are going to take the ones they had lingering and fix those – new transmissions, new engines – a bus when you see it you will not believe that bus is about 20 years old.”

“We also have to get some new units too and we are working on that to ensure that we enhance what we have,” he said. (TL)

PRIME Minister Mia Amor Mottley says no one can hold the White Oak Advisory over her head since it was made public by the Barbados Labour Party.

Speaking in the Carlisle carpark on Sunday night, Mottley said, “You know who laid White Oak’s documents in Parliament? We! You think somebody could blackmail me or curse me about a document that I laid? We are the ones that made it public. And we made it public because we said that we are not doing any deals behind door behind the cover of night,” she stated.

In fact, Prime Minister Mottley stated that it was through that relationship that numerous jobs were saved. “The amount that we have gotten in terms of what White Oak has saved us is what has stopped us from having to send home people in this country. It’s what has allowed us to stabilise this economy.”

“In 1991 to 1994,we had a problem with our foreign reserve. Today we have a problem with reserves and debt. In 1991 to 1994 they sent home 4 500 and cut salaries at 8 percent. In 2014 when we met here the DEMS had already sent home 2 000 people. ...This BLP, said N-O. We are not putting workers in the frontline of change in this country. And that we would ask the people who were making profits in the banks to share the burden. That is what White Oak helped us to negotiate.”

She said monies for White Oak will not be paid in a year. “We’re spreading it out over four years...and by the time we told them we need help to restructure the arrears....remember we had told you the last government over $1.9 billion when we came in. And we put all of that in the pot. And they are getting 29 cents to every 100 dollars [saved].”

Prime Minister Mottley said she told Opposition leader Joseph Atherley that even as he wants ten dollars White Oak is only getting 29 cents in 100 dollars.

“What madness am I hearing? What is sad is that [they] are trying to titillate people because of the numbers, without telling people what they have saved this country and how they have allowed us to be able to move forward,” she stated. (JH)

Changes are coming to the Liquor License Act. Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland has given the assurance that the long overdue changes will make the process of obtaining the licence easier.

He made this disclosure during the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Administration progress report to the nation at Carlisle car park on Sunday night.

“Within a couple of weeks we will be going to Parliament with a new Bill to repeal and replace the existing Liquor Licence Act. You will apply for your liquor licence online and pay at the post office – you don’t have to wait three and four months,” he revealed.

The Liquor Licence Act has been in effect since 1957. Over the years show promoters, restaurant owners and shopkeepers have described the process of renewing their license as “frustrating!”.

“For over 20 years we have been trying to reform the Liquor Licence Act… It is outdated legislation,” he pointed out.

“The process was too bureaucratic. When we did our mapping of the system, we found 1 000 liquor licences sitting waiting to be approved”, he remarked.

“What we have done; I am proud to report that the Chief Parliamentary Counsel within the Attorney General’s office have asked me to begin the marketing of the new liquor licence regime, moving it from the Magistracy jurisdiction to the Ministry of Small business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, to be managed by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs,” Sutherland said. (TL)

Government has been conducting studies into the possibility of having three islands around Barbados.

Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy, Kirk Humphrey disclosed this as well as highlighted actions that are being taken in other areas within his ministry. He was addressing the gathering at Carlisle Car Park for the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) first anniversary political rally on Sunday.

“We promised to look into islands and Barbados has already started to do all the studies, and the studies tell us that we can have at least three islands around Barbados. One in the north, one there by Brandons [in St. Michael] and one in St. Phillip and now we are continuing these studies because we will be guided by the science and the economics of it, but Barbados is on the move.”

Humphrey in his remarks also said government has ordered equipment to tackle the excessive amounts of Sargassum seaweed that has been washing up on beaches around the island.

“We have already ordered equipment and as a matter of fact by the end of this month, you will see that we have a boat now to address the Sargassum seaweed and more coming because we know we have to face problems and fix them, that is why we were elected.”

The St. Michael South Member of Parliament additionally spoke about the repair work and improvements that have begun at three of this island’s major fish markets. He said at the markets in Bridgetown, Oistins and Speightstown “new counter tops, new piping” are being installed and tiles are being changed. (MG)

The minimum wage in this country is set to increase.

That’s according to Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations, Colin Jordan, who made the disclosure in the House of Assembly yesterday morning while making his contribution to the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill.

Jordan, the Member of Parliament for St. Peter, indicated that this expected increase in is keeping with a commitment the Barbados Labour Party placed in its election manifesto last year.

“We have met with the Minimum Wage Board – the Minimum Wage Board is a tripartite construct that is tasked with advising the Minister responsible for Labour with recommendations on the level of minimum wage and how and if it should be adjusted. We’ve met with the Minimum Wage Board including independent representatives, representatives from the business community, employers, and representatives from workers’ organisations, and we have indicated to them that Government is moving
forward with the process of revising upward the minimum wage for workers in Barbados,” he told the Lower House.

He added, “That is a commitment we made to the people of this country; it is a commitment we intend to keep.”

Jordan said it is also in keeping with the Government’s thrust to promote fairness among the social partners.

He made the comments while noting that Government has improved the business environment for entities operating in it, by decreasing the corporation taxes that they
pay.

“After coming into office we have reduced corporation taxes significantly from 25 percent to a maximum of five percent, there are some business who will pay maybe three percent in corporation tax and we are saying to businesses in Barbados today, that we expect them to come to the table. And there is at present consultation as it relates to increasing that minimum wage for Barbadian workers and we expect that we will progress in that over the coming months. Businesses have to be fair to workers and this Barbados Labour Party Government is a government that like I always say, was built out of the struggle of workers in this country,” he stated.

Speaking more on the efforts to help workers, he referred to the Mottley Administration’s First Job Initiative which is intended to allow young people to be able to get 12-month internships with organisations in the public sector, private sector and the third sector in this country. Jordan alluding to the benefits that will accrue from that programme, said there is definitely a role for the local business community to play.

“…We expect businesses to partner with us – small business, medium businesses, large businesses – we expect them in response to the environment that we are creating for them and for the country to respond and assist government with the load, the burden of financing these internships for the young people of our country,” he said.

He made the comments while suggesting that the programme would be a great help in engaging the youth and ensuring that they do not get involved in deviant behaviour. He said while he is not suggesting that every young person involved in deviant behaviour, is due to them not having access to opportunities, Jordan acknowledged that when people feel disconnected from the system, it becomes easy for them to turn against that system.

“We are calling on business owners, business managers, owners of capital, controllers of capital in this country, to join with us. We’ve already reached out to many businesses and we are calling publicly on businesses to join with us in this National First Jobs Programme. We must give opportunities to our young people, opportunities to be workers... opportunities that would allow young people to recognise that maybe I don’t want to work for somebody, maybe I want to start my own business,” the Labour Minister said.

With that in mind, he said that through the First Jobs Programme, they will not only be attaching young people to established businesses, but also attaching some of them to master tradesmen. This, he said, would allow them to develop a skill which they can in turn use to become entrepreneurs and employ persons as well. (JRT)

Even though alternatives to cash such as credit and debit cards and mobile wallets are increasing in popularity and appear to be replacing traditional payment instruments, there will always be a place for cash in the economic atmosphere.

This assurance came from Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Cleviston Haynes, as he delivered remarks during the launch of the Currency Exhibition, which took place at the Exchange Interpretive Centre, Central Bank yesterday morning.

Given the growing popularity of alternative payment instruments, the Governor said the Bank understands the need to adapt in general, and adapt to the requirements of the digital age.

He explained that being able to collect and make payments more efficiently is a key part of the transformation that the economy will undergo, and it has the potential to enhance productivity and overall competitiveness.

It is for this reason, he said, that the CBB is committed to working with Government to improve the payments infrastructure, including through the reduced use of cheques and cash.

However, the Governor stated that while they aim to reduce the use of cash, they could not ignore that the currency in circulation in Barbados currently is about seven per cent of our GDP.

“While cash remains relevant now, it is facing increased competition as an instrument for payments. We do believe however that there will remain a place for cash..."

He stated that the importance of retaining some level of cash is widely acknowledged, as even countries like Sweden, which is leading the world in the adoption of alternative forms of cash, acknowledged this. He added that the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank in Sweden made reference to the fact that cash will always be beneficial.

“Cash can no longer be king, but it will remain in the mix,” he said.
(CLF)

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The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) has received a failing grade from its staff.

The unionised staffers who stayed off the job since Monday are now officially on strike after the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) and CXC’s management were unable to come to an agreement after meeting yesterday.

From as early as 9 a.m. scores of staffers made themselves comfortable in the parking lot of the Pine Plantation Road Headquarters, armed with their chairs, umbrellas and plenty of water, communicating throughout with the BWU’s representatives who secured a meeting with management just before 11 a.m.

“The Barbados Workers’ Union met with the management of CXC and conditions that would form the basis for further discussions were presented, and the management indicated that they could not accede to the conditions presented. So, for now we continue to demonstrate on the outside,” Executive Assistant to the General Secretary of the BWU, Sindy Green told members of the media.

The staff held up their placards which stated their frustration, giving the regional examination body a Grade 9 – “Zero Integrity, Zero Respect and Zero Empathy”.

Earlier this week, a reliable source shared with The Barbados Advocate that CXC staffers were upset about how the current restructuring process is being handled by the organisation.

While waiting to resume talks on Monday, persons were told that their posts will be made redundant effective the end of June. Also, at least two people have seem their posts being advertised among the numerous vacancies published on the Caribbean Examination Council’s website.

CXC released the following statement late yesterday. It stated that “the Management of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of fair business practices to achieve individual and organisational goals. In order to ensure full and open communication on issues brought to the forefront by the Barbados Workers’ Union, the Management of CXC has participated in consultations. Throughout discussions, good industrial relations practices, as well as the rules that govern the organisation, have been adhered to. At this time, Management of CXC has referred matters under discussion to the Chief Labour Officer. During this process, Management is firmly committed to ensuring that the business of the Caribbean Examinations Council will continue without disruption”.
(TL)

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The Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) wants to see a collaborative approach in the fight against drugs.

In addition to education and detection by law enforcement officers, Inspector (Ag) Roland Cobbler said that parents have a responsibility to ensure they are actively involved in their children’s life.

“You must familiarise yourself with their friends and their activities. Have dialogue with their teachers in relation to their behaviour and their performance.”

He offered this advice during the 2019 Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) Graduation and Awards ceremony of the Wilkie Cumberbatch School at the Prince Cave Hall, Police Band Headquarters, District “A” Complex, on Wednesday.

The ten-week programme carried out by the RBPF is designed to assist students in making safe and responsible choices.

“Parents and guardians please understand that you have a pivotal and supportive role to play in this process. It is important that you set good examples and reinforce the importance of positive values,” he stressed.

Director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit in the Attorney General’s Office, Cheryl Willoughby, further insisted that the home is the most important institution at building good characters and transmitting values in youth, since parents are the greatest influences in the lives of children.

“Parents are the first teachers and role models for their children. As children grow they look to their parents to provide nurturing, guidance, morals and values…Therefore, parents are the best source to keep their children safe from drugs as well as to help them develop skills they need to make positive choices,” she said, revealing that research has shown that children of offenders often follow in their parents’ footsteps and become part of the criminal justice system.

“Teachers and other staff members are also important in the lives of children. Teaching is a profession that cannot be done by any and everyone. Qualifications are only one part of the process of being a teacher. I see teaching as a profession that should be reserved for persons who love children and want to make a difference in the lives of young people.”

Moreover, the Director said that research has shown that drug abuse and drug trafficking are two serious problems that contribute to the increased level of violence and gun-related crimes.

She explained there is a strong correlation between the drug trade and the illicit firearm trade which not only effects individuals and families, but society in general given Barbados’ dependence on tourism and foreign investment.

“It is therefore important for every Barbadian both here and across the Diaspora to assist with charting more productive paths and opportunities for our youths.”

Willoughby therefore believes that the DARE programme performs a vital role at educating young people about drugs and diverting them from the criminal justice system, through aspects of decision-making; risk and consequences; peer pressure; communication skills; and bullying among others.

“These are addressing a number of the risk factors to violent crime identified through the research conducted by the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit… I am confident that the DARE programme provided the students with all the necessary information and skills that will allow them to make wise decisions about their health and the importance of being productive citizens,” she further expressed. (TL)

LOCAL entrepreneurs were given a prime opportunity yesterday to showcase their goods and services to local and international buyers.

The fourth Buyers’ Programme now in its fourth year, is being hosted by the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation in collaboration with the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association and the Caribbean Export Development Agency. It is intended to be a supporting activity for BMEX which takes place over the weekend.

BIDC Manager, Export & Business Development, Paula Bourne was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a programme where she highlighted the myriad of opportunities that were available under one roof at the Bagnall’s Point Gallery yesterday morning. The event included pre-arranged meetings or matches between buyers and local manufacturers and services companies; brunch and a sampling and networking session.  

She noted that there have been as many 40 Barbadian companies that have participated in the buyers’ programme over the years, and over 30 distributors. “If we add this year’s numbers we would say we have approximately 60 buyers that would have participated in the programme by the end of 2019. What we expect is that networking takes place and business opportunities are derived from it. We know that from the past, we have had contracts signed by some of our manufacturers and we’ve also had long lasting relationships between our manufacturers and some of our buyers.”

“Our mandate is to increase the value and the range of exports that we export from Barbados. We have several programmes that we initiate to be able to assist the manufacturing sector to do so – one of which is this programme.”

She also stressed the importance of the “Export Readiness” Programme which takes manufacturers through the paces of export, particularly across the region.

“As it relates to the CARICOM market, it is our major export market. At the end of the Export Readiness programme we give the opportunity for the participants of that programme to visit a CARICOM market of choice and they get the opportunity to go through the paces of experience. We also recognise of course that it takes a while to develop a relationship with a buyer within a market in order to really have an impact. So we don’t expect any quick fixes but we believe that our developmental role is such that this type of role is important if we want to see the benefits down the road.”

“The CARICOM market is one that we target for our start-up manufacturers who wish to export because it is a smaller market. We also look at the Diaspora. So we will take our manufacturers through CARICOM to many of the markets in the region, then to the US the UK and Canada.

Yesterday approximately 25 local businesspersons had an opportunity to meet buyers from a number of countries including the United Kingdom, the USA, Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada and other countries in CARICOM.

Success in the Byers’ Programme and an increase in exports can potentially result in employment growth, import replacement, export earning and improvements in the industrial sector’s contributions to Barbados’ Economic stability and transformation.

Digital currencies are an inevitability and do not pose any additional risks so far as money laundering and the financing of terrorism are concerned.

So says Sade Jemmott, General Counsel for the Barbados-based financial technology company, Bitt.

Delivering a presentation titled “A Whole New World! Anti-Money Laundering in the Digital Currency Era”, at the Barbados Bar Association’s Conference yesterday morning at Sandals Royal, she maintained that in respect of digital currencies the benefits afforded to the financial system are undeniable, noting it is no longer a question of whether such currencies will be used, but rather when.

She went further, contending that with digital currencies there is a level of transparency that did not previously exist, and added that those who embrace the technology, including lawyers, will benefit.

“I’ve had one law firm for example express interest in accepting digital currency and I think that’s progressive and it is an opportunity to be cutting edge and to be ready – ready to adapt your practice to where the world is going. Digital currencies are an inevitability at this point in time,” she contended.

Putting a case for greater use of digital currency in this country, Jemmott noted that it is estimated that some 70 per cent of business in Barbados is conducted in cash, which she hinted could pose more challenges in respect of money laundering than a digital currency would.

She explained that cash affords the person using it a certain level of anonymity, given that when that cash is paid you cannot tell where it has originated. She indicated that there are no safeguards as with the use of digital currencies.

“If you take mMoney for example, it is a closed system with known actors. In order to get onto exchanges, in order to access digital currency in the forums that it exists on, you have to go through an entity that has very high KYC [Know Your Customer] standards to even get an account to access it. It means then that typically, every actor on that system, on that network, is a known player, which is a marked difference from an economy that is primarily cash based,” she added.

Bitt’s General Counsel went on to argue that cash in a traditional banking system has and continues to be used for nefarious activities, including money laundering and financing of terrorism. She argued then that digital currencies do not present any special vulnerabilities that did not already exist or even more so to a greater extent, in our largely cash based economy.

“Laundering money via a technology that adds your transaction details to an immutable chain, is not a good way to launder money and smart criminals know that… Remember how the technology works - block chain strings together the transactions into an immutable chain, which means that there is a paper trail that never disappears,” she stated. (JRT)

While adjustments have been a “bitter pill to swallow” for service providers across this island, they remain confident business will turn around.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) Executive Director, Graham Clarke, outlined feedback from its members indicating that while they found the government’s moves to get the economy back on a path to growth tough, the majority felt they were necessary.

“So I think the stance is that people feel that we had to make some serious adjustments and even though these adjustments have been fairly tough on the bottom line, I think there is a willingness out there to see this through and make sure that businesses turn around in two to three years’ time,” Clarke said.

Speaking moments after the doors for the Barbados Manufacturers’ Exhibition (BMEX) 2019 were officially opened by Minister of International Business and Industry Ronald Toppin, Clarke noted the BCSI’s decision to partner with the association was to showcase that services are an undeniable part of the manufacturing process.

“Many people do not realise that there are services related to financing, accounting, marketing et cetera,” he said, adding the new Firefly brand was also being showcased through a Creative Village and would be highlighting a wide variety of the industry in its own space at the exhibition which is being held over the next three days at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

The Village features up and coming entrepreneurs in the Creative Industries, particularly in the Fashion, Jewellery, Arts and Craft and Music Industries and those participating in the village have received pop-up shop space at BMEX 2019, an opportunity to showcase their work through live demos, fashion shows and concerts as well as business development training. (JMB)