FORMER Barbados Ambassador to the European Union, Errol Humphrey, is telling Barbados that it must be more proactive in going after benefits once the United Kingdom exits the European Union.

In a presentation at the recent Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB) conference, Humphrey advised that “we must not simply sit in a corner waiting to be called”.

His comments came amid concerns that with the UK leaving the EU, there will be uncertainties for Barbados and CARIFORUM relations with both regions and fallouts with respect to benefits, including the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

Instead, Barbados and the other countries must seek assurances about continuity of long-term UK and EU development assistance, Humphrey advised.

“We must seize the opportunity to pursue any EPA-related concerns with the EU-EPA,” he stated.

“Despite prevailing uncertainty, Barbados and CARIFORUM must not sit idle waiting for outcome,” Humphrey advised.

He told the ICAB function that while the UK might be willing to help, we need to help ourselves by telling them what we want.

The former ambassador indicated that CARIFORUM states have agreed with the UK to roll over EPA provisions as an insurance policy and we must be prepared to engage with post-Brexit UK, seeking enhanced development support.

Humphrey believes that there is a role for the local private sector institutions including ICAB, which must push Government to timely action. “Government needs effective feedback from private sector to ensure appropriate preparations
for addressing post-Brexit fallout,” the official said.

In addition, he believed the private sector needs to implement well-conceived strategies to take advantage of favourable access to the EU and UK.

Students of the Frederick Smith Secondary School received a comforting and encouraging word from one of their own.

A national spotlight was placed on the St. James school in recent weeks following the stabbing death of 16-year old Tremario Holder by another student while on its compound. But in her feature address last Friday during the school’s Independence Awards ceremony, old scholar and paralegal Keisha Worrell told her young audience that despite the comments they may have to face about their school from some members of the public, to remember the positive achievements of former and current students over the educational institution’s four decades of existence.

She used the examples of 2012 Olympian Shane Brathwaite, West Indies Cricketers Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards and Deandra Dottin, well-known star athlete Tanya Oxley and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Neil Rowe and urged the current crop to build on these accomplishments and to aim for even higher.

“There are many more students who left this school and did well for themselves in tourism and hospitality, construction, entertainment, the medical and pharmaceutical industry, insurance, retail, the legal profession and the list goes on,” she noted.

Worrell insisted that education was still the number one mechanism through which upward social mobility could be achieved and noted the opportunity of being provided with free tertiary education was one opportunity which should not be squandered.

Several students received awards including Jalani Agard, Gineva Alleyne, Jada Amor-Gittens, Elecia Bowman, Ashanti Boyce, Shaunje, Lashley, Abdul M’hammed, Diamond Phillips, Zion Roach and Jamol Williams, while Antonio Seale was received a special award as the Most Outstanding Cadet.

“Awardees do not stop here, further your studies and sharpen your skills because knowledge widens your transition into success and having better luck,” she said. (JMB)

THE highly-anticipated Hennessy Artistry show coming up this weekend has seen a decrease in sponsorship but directors of FAS 7 Star, producers of the event, are giving the assurance that any fall off will not affect the show.

Speaking to members of the media following a site visit with vendors and other support staff at Kensington Oval yesterday morning, Directors Al Gilkes and Allison Hunte said they are mindful of the economic challenges which has hit both sponsors and patrons and are working accordingly.

According to Hunte, “They (sponsors) are also experiencing what is happening in the economy. So we are seeing a decline in sponsorship; not because they don’t want to sponsor the event but because their budgets have shrunk and therefore what they extend that they can offer has also declined.”

“There will be no fall out from that fall in sponsorship. We have our standards and we will still deliver... The show must go on as they say,” she mused, adding that new sponsors have also come on board.

She said a concerted effort has been made to keep prices down, recognising that the economy has been really “tough” on people.

“Like everything else in Barbados we are also feeling the effect of additional costs and expenses to produce the event on the scale that we produce it. If a service provider goes up on their costs it gets extended to us and it increases our costs. But we have done our best to keep our tickets at an affordable costs because we recognise that this is a trying time.”

The directors also gave the assurance that adequate security will be put in place during the show.  Gilkes told the media that security has always been a primary focus of the organisers even though there have never been any major incidents of people breaking the law, being injured or property being damaged. They noted that if the Buju Banton show held earlier this year is anything to go by, security will be well taken care of, as the necessary support precautions will be put in place for the event. Hennessy Artistry will take place on Saturday at the Kensington Oval while Hennessy Artistry on the Beach will be held on Sunday at Daiquiri Beach. (JH)

A call has been made for areas of land to be identified which are suitable for bee-keeping purposes, so more local youth can get involved in apiculture.

Damien Hinds, President of the Barbados Apiculture Association and National Programme Officer with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) made the call recently, as he spoke with The Barbados Advocate during a break from IICA’s recently held Future Farmers Forum for school children, which was held at the Baobab Tower in Warrens, St. Michael.

“We need to identify areas where people can adequately house apiaries (a place where a collection of beehives are kept). It is not a situation where all environments are best for bee-keeping, so it is perhaps a good idea to look at some of these parts of Barbados that are most suitable for bee-keeping and allocate land for young people in these particular areas,” Hinds commented.

“Outside of that, the Ministry of Agriculture actually has a pretty good incentive programme, where you can get several rebates off the equipment and so on, but I think like most peers in agriculture, one of the concerns is access to land and with bee-keeping, whilst bees themselves forage over a wide area, their apiary may not necessarily be more than a quarter acre or half acre, at the very most. So we are not looking for tracks of land, but again, land in suitable locations. And I think that is something that perhaps we can put our heads together to try to identify, in terms of those areas,” the President of the Barbados Apiculture Association stated.

He meanwhile registered his delight about the number of young people showing interest, in becoming a part of the Apiculture Association.

“One of the things that we are very pleased about, is that we have a lot of young entrants into the Association over the last year, even more so for the last six months, as we have been getting the message across about bee-keeping and how we can transition into bee-keeping, in a short period of time. So the interest is there amongst the young people,” Hinds maintained.

A candlelight vigil was held on Sunday night to observe and pay tribute to victims and survivors of domestic and gender-based violence.

The joint initiative was hosted by Soroptimist International of Barbados and Soroptimist International of Jamestown at the Jesus the Good Shepherd Church in Fitts Village St. James.

The harsh and sobering reality of the severity of this problem came when President of the Soroptimist of Barbados International Lisa Toppin- Corbin read the names of women who died as a result of gender-based violence since 2003. A moment of silence was observed in their memory.

Cheryl Niles President Soroptimist International of Jamestown said the evening’s activities were all about persons who would have endured domestic violence at any level. “Although we focus mainly on women, there are children, men and the elderly who endure violence at some level. It’s all about them and holding a candle for them.”

This point was driven home by psychiatrist Dr. Ermine Belle who delivered a presentation on the causes and warning signs of domestic and other types of violence and how persons can avoid, escape or prevent any volatile situation from escalating. Failure to do so, she lamented, often ends in death.

According to Niles, “Dr. Belle made us aware of what to look for in our families, workplaces. That it is not for one stereotype, but it’s everybody’s problem.”

Toppin- Corbin also reiterated the point made that all Barbadians must play their part by reaching out to our neighbours and by being our brother’s keeper to end gender-based violence.

Niles encouraged persons to light a candle for those victims and survivors of domestic violence until December 10, which officially marks the end of 16 days of activism being celebrated worldwide. (JH)

Students involved in the agricultural science programme at the Daryll Jordan Secondary School are being encouraged to not only hone the skills they learn at school in the fields, but to replicate what they have learnt at home, so they can become self-sufficient by growing their own crops.

Timothy Kellman, Agricultural Science Teacher at the Daryll Jordan Secondary School recently spoke with The Barbados Advocate about the work being done with the students at the school, who have shown a keen interest in agriculture. His comments came after there was further buzz at the school, as Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley along with Cabinet colleagues launched the Million Trees for 2020 Project at the school recently.

“The Agricultural Science Programme here has recently just taken a very good upturn. We have had input from the Inter-American Development Bank through the Skills for the Future Programme. So we have been able to improve a lot of our facilities here,” Kellman explained.

“We have been able to add a shade house, which was very important for us, so we could do our own seedlings which we would then transport into our main field. We were also able to improve our irrigation systems and just bring the entire unit into this century, because we were using what we had, but we wanted our students to be able to operate at industry standards. So that was extremely good for us. We’ve been able also to set up a small aquaponics (centre) at the front of the school as well. That has generated quite a buzz. Children love fish and they love food. So you can see the increase in the excitement, the increase in the involvement. Students who are not even doing the programme are involved,” he further commented.

Pointing out that students of the programme were able to grow watermelons, cucumbers, squash, cantaloupe and other crops at the school, Kellman noted an agri-business side was also introduced, so they could make the connection between rearing the crops and selling them. They also now have extra knowledge about how to grow fruit trees, through the new project. So they are being encouraged to replicate what they have learnt for themselves, at home.

“Some students have already told me that they have started to do some production at home, on their own. I am sure now that they are getting the different types of plants that are indigenous to Barbados and they are learning of their properties. The next step is now in the tasting, but I think they are already sufficiently encouraged to do it at home and given that the resources that we use to produce the plants and to plant them is not too far beyond them. They are eager and willing to do it and we are going to definitely encourage them,” Kellman said.

President of the Barbados Road Safety Association, Sharmane Roland-Bowen is urging government to utilise some of the money being collected via the fuel tax instituted in July 2018, to assist with much needed road repairs and maintenance.

Roland-Bowen made the call in a recent interview with The Barbados Advocate during which she bemoaned the poor road conditions in this country, which she said was putting added wear and tear on vehicles and possibly contributing to accidents. The road safety advocate said that while she appreciates that the economy is still clawing its way back, she believes the revenue collected through the fuel tax was putting more money into Government’s coffers than when persons were required to pay road tax for their vehicles.

“We are 100 times more compliant with the fuel tax and we have more money, a lot more money than before. Where before we had a lot more cars on our roads not paying road tax, now every vehicle on the road basically has to pay the fuel tax. Where people were not paying insurance, they now also have to pay the insurance to get that information to take to the Ministry of Transport to get their registration sticker. So money is more plentiful in that area and some of it should go back to our roads,” she maintained.

Meanwhile, the road safety advocate commended Government for the efforts made to fix certain sections of the ABC Highway, while admitting that the road conditions are certainly not as bad as they were before. But, the BRSA president argued even with that work undertaken there are still too many roads, particularly minor roads, which she believed if repaired would be more readily used by motorists and could help to take some of the pressure off the major roads, helping to ease congestion and lessen the occurrence of accidents.

“A lot of the times accidents happen because people are frustrated, people are stressed with the long lines and it can lead to aggressive driving, which leads to accidents. If we could put more focus on these roads that have the potholes and need repairs it would divert some of the traffic. So we are asking that the money collected be used to help make our roads safer,” she sated. (JRT)

In a bid to improve the delivery and quality of public sector services, government is establishing an Internal Audit Office by September 2021.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn, told yesterday’s Barbados Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) 20th Anniversary event, “Unless we are committed to improving our processes and lifting our standards then unfortunately the quality of public service will continue to deteriorate, because we are not keeping up with the times and so therefore the challenge is to do things differently, but to bring the average citizen along as to how this will impact on them.”

Addressing the group gathered at the Radisson Aquatica Resort Barbados, Straughn insisted that dissecting “every single part of the process every department engaged in” is critical to how the island was being transformed.

“The truth is the internal audit presents that skillset to determine whether internal policies are indeed effective in terms of delivery, and this is why we have determined it is important that not only from a financial perspective that there needs to be an internal audit office, but from a process review and consistent improvement in the way that government delivers. I would hope that the private sector sees the benefit in terms of engaging in terms of internal audit professionals because unless we are committed to a constant review for improvement, then Barbados would become less competitive going forward,” he added.

He explained the office, which would maximise the delivery of services so that the taxpayer could have confidence in the management of public finances, would be led by a Director reporting to an Internal Auditing Committee.

Admitting government previously had employed internal auditors to look at various departments, he said this had been challenged due to a lack of resources.

In delivering her remarks, President of the Barbados Chapter of IIA Esther Griffith gave support to the move. “The Chapter supports the Government’s initiative to implement an Internal Audit Office in the government Sector with the recent enactment of the Public Finance Management Act, 2019. The Chapter stands ready to assist the Barbados Government with this project,” she said. (JMB)

A SENIOR Police Officer is reminding members of the public that in order to maintain a low level of crime in communities across Barbados residents need to share information on suspicious criminal activities with the Police.

Superintendent of Police, Mrs. Elphene Moore, has told this to residents of Enterprise, Christ Church, who on Sunday evening officially launched their Neighbourhood Watch.

The Police Official told the audience of about 30 people, including other officers, that a stranger climbing the fence of a resident and then pulling at the door of that house must not go unnoticed. “They are also to share information on vehicles parked for extended periods, on pastures and on the roadside in communities,” Superintendent Moore said.

She also advised that the Police must be alerted about situations where vehicles without number plates are seen speeding through neighbourhoods.

The Senior Officer noted that while there might be legitimacy to some of the issues highlighted – one never knows – and therefore the information can be useful.

She pointed out that the Mission of Statement of the Royal Barbados Police Force is to provide the highest quality police service in partnership with all communities, to ensure a safe and stable environment.

As such the officers are mandated to work in partnership with all communities. “So for a strong relationship to be sustained between the Police and your community, we have Community Police Officers who are trained to provide this interface,” she explained.

Superintendent Moore remarked that the ultimate aim of a neighbourhood watch is to eliminate criminal activities in the community. She said this can be done through the combined efforts of residents supported by the Resident Officer of the RBPF, who serves the district.

Superintendent Moore who has been with the Police Force for the past 40 years, indicated that such a watch is a community-based and crime prevention initiative undertaken by residents of the neighbourhood to provide.

“It is set up to ensure the security of persons living in the district and those and others who come into the district where the Watch is located,” she noted while adding that success of the Enterprise Neighbourhood Watch will depend on residents.

Leroy Straker who has been instrumental in getting the organisation going, said that this Enterprise Neighbourhood Watch promises to be one of the best in Christ Church although there are some challenges ahead.

“But I am grateful for the support you people have given me and it shows the level of unity when people can stand behind me in light of the prevailing circumstances,” he said.

Caption:Leroy Straker (left) talking to Superintendent of Police, Elphene Moore.

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Government has moved to correct an error in the law where divorces granted by the Master of the High Court were invalid, which meant that divorcees who remarried were committing bigamy.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall explained that under the old rules it was possible for the Master of the Court to grant uncontested divorces, but he explained that with the new rules that was no longer permitted, however he said the practice continued. He was speaking in the House of Assembly as he piloted the debate on the Family Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the Family Law (Dissolution of Marriages) (Validation and Indemnification) Bill.

“A very convenient practice having commenced, it just continued unabated and therefore parties would go before the Master in an uncontested divorce and seek the necessary orders under Section 27 and under Section 42. Problem is Sir, the Master had no jurisdiction to make those orders under the new rules. And therefore Mr. Speaker parties would have been divorced by order of the Master of the Supreme Court at a time when the Master of the Supreme Court did not have the lawful authority to do so,” he said.

AG Marshall said in essence an individual who was divorced in a situation where the Master exercised the discretion that he or she did not have, meant that that divorce was “void ab initio”, and that in fact the parties were still married.

“Problem is of course that the individuals acting in good faith on the strength of an order from the Master saying you are now divorced, they would have gone on and remarried. But Sir we all know that if you are not divorced, by engaging in a second marriage to another party you are now committing a grievous criminal offence called bigamy. I regret to say Sir that if we do not pass this law today, and it difficult Sir to begin to find out the numbers of people who are potentially affected by this, but any of them who would have gone on to get married Sir, in a situation where their divorce is in itself not lawful, then that person is unwittingly committing a criminal offence,” he stated.

The Minister of Legal Affairs said this matter should have long been addressed and therefore, he said, the amendment being provided would not only validate the divorces granted by the Master of the Court, but any future marriages and preserve arrangement entered into by the individuals after the divorce.

“Through error a good practice developed and that practice has some value even when we changed the law, because everybody knows that the judicial system in Barbados is overburdened by cases and it really became convenient for persons to get divorces pushed through the system in this way,” he said.

Given that reality, he said the decision was taken to formally extend the powers to the Master of the Court to grant uncontested divorces, which he said would help to take some pressure off the court system.

“Having cases decided swiftly will not just depend on bringing on additional judges and I think Sir that is an important element that needs to be stressed. You can bring on more judges and we have done so, but unless we put other arrangements in place to be able to help the judges themselves do their work in a more efficient and effective way, then we really would not have made the kind of strides that we need to in order to wrestle the problem to the ground,” he stated.

The Attorney General made the point while contending that diverting part of a divorce application to the Master, allows an additional set of judicial individuals to help make decisions and move things more quickly through the courts. Marshall added that he has petitioned Prime Minister Mia Mottley for a second Master to be employed, and he indicated, she is prepared subject to financing, to accede to that request.

“Having two family law judges doing all of the divorces in Barbados is itself a challenge because we have a large number of divorce applications and family law applications, because divorce is not the only thing that judges deal with. But we have a lot of applications that would be heard by the family court, but at that point where you only have two judges, the pipeline becomes very narrow and it is therefore a prudent thing to allow the Master to take some of this pressure off of the court Sir,” he added. (JRT)

Barbados is said to suffer from a major case of employee absenteeism and one university lecturer believes that addressing the wellness of the employees could put a dent in the growing number of cases of absenteeism.

Speaking during yesterday’s Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s Work-Life Balance Workshop, Dr. Dwayne Devonish, Senior Lecturer, Management, Faculty of Social Sciences noted that many persons were of the view that Barbados had an absenteeism culture, however after carrying out research at a few companies, research revealed that most of the cases of absenteeism were legitimate.

He believed that one way to put a dent in the high level of absenteeism, based on research, was a change of policy which, when enacted, allowed employees greater time in their jobs to look after some of their personal needs. He noted that this would be done by allowing employees to legitimately and sensibly control thetime that they left and came into work.

He noted that persons also complained of the fact that Barbados had a customer service problem, but he argued that this was not the case.

“We don’t look at social wellness often enough as a component of wellness,” he said.

“Someone told me the other day that Barbados has a service problem, and I said no it has a wellness problem, because you have a lot of employees who fail to manage their mental health either due to organisational pressures or demands and personal life that they react to customers in ways that customers would say this is a customer service problem.

“I want us to understand that we have to change the conversation and it is not the customer service that is a part of the problem it is really a wellness problem that we have, and as we you will see that wellness cuts into every aspect of life.”

He noted that the same way employers are expected to clean up their air-conditioning units to ensure their employees do not get sick, and persons are encouraged to clean up their diets to avoid getting sick, cleaning up the social environment of a workplace was also paramount.

As part of the  National Consciousness Conversation, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley yesterday visited the Frederick Smith Secondary School, where she spent two hours conversing with fourth and fifth form students.

The children shared their plans for the future with the Prime Minister and told her where they would like to see their country 10 years from now.

Ms. Mottley shared some vital life lessons with the children and encouraged them to make their plans and ensure they become a reality.

Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw believes services teaching parenting skills should be decentralised and offered within various communities across the island.

Identifying this as one step to helping correct several of the maladaptive behaviours of some of society’s children, she stated many parents were at a loss as to how to raise their offspring in correct ways, but due to other commitments could not attend classes at institutions such as Paredos.

The attorney-at-law highlighted for example while in family court cases some parents were ordered to attend classes, many could not due to work obligations.

“As a consequence, while in some cases it may have helped some families, issues of employment and the inability to be released from employment for others, resulted in them not having the full benefit of it.”

“I am a firm believer that a number of these services need to be decentralised and instead of having a central point where sometimes parents are able to participate in these sessions, learn about parenting and be able to cope that perhaps we need to utilise our community centres in a different way…I think they need to be points where entities like Paredos and other NGOs can play a part in organising events that will engage parents and help them to cope,” she said.

At the time, she was speaking in the Lower House on the Family Law Bill, 2019, and pointed out that many children in today’s were dealing with feelings of anger over family issues that could be addressed if handled correctly.

“They are angry at parents, they are angry at people within the communities for not looking out for them, they are angry because sometimes they do not have activities to be able to engage them, they are angry because the court makes a decision that they are supposed to stay with a parent that may not spend a lot of time with them and they are angry because sometimes the parent may not be working to provide the financial support and when you live in a household where there have siblings, who have other parents that are able to provide for those children, they are angry because they are not getting what they believe they should be entitled to as well,” Bradshaw said.

She also stated it was necessary to empower the youth with an understanding of what is required in being an adult, not just having the ability to get a driver’s license and vote, but of the consequences of having unprotected sex. (JMB)

The delicate discussion of Gender identity is still being whispered about in the island after the circulation of a petition by a mother who was frustrated by a school’s refusal to allow her child to wear the female uniform. The child, who was 14 at the time, was born a male but identifies as female. It is said that the school required the student to adhere to the school rules which would require that a male uniform be worn.

The issue between the mother and school led to widespread conversation island-wide about the transgender community and the implications of their accommodation into schools and work places. The contention does not appear to be one caused by homophobia or transphobia, but one caused by lack of knowledge and confusion about the intricacies of transgender lives.

The Church in Barbados has a strong voice and religion is often seen as a guiding factor in public decisions. The Chairman of the Barbados Christian Council has stated that from a Biblical view, gender cannot be chosen, he maintained a firm stance that this behaviour should not be condoned. However, everyone on the Island does not adhere to religion and some people have alternative belief systems. The issue then becomes one of human rights and basic human decency.

The School uniform issue is not a new one as religions have historically had to petition the government to allow for exceptions to the general dress codes of schools on the Island. There are still only limited exceptions to these rules which often include more modest clothing for students who adhered to certain religions.

A Country must be very careful in its derogation of rules in the School system as this could easily affect the discipline and order in the system.

At some point a government policy on gender and sexual identity will become necessary, however as the legal system is sluggish to address matters, with Employee rights and Sexual Harassment only recently receiving legislative intervention, it is unlikely that this will occur in the near future.

The concept of preferred pronouns is one so novel to the Barbadian society that most persons who are not exposed to it in the international media will not understand the idea of referring to a person by a pronoun which they feel comfortable with. The mother in the controversy, in conversations with the media, referred to the child as her daughter which is something that Barbadians would find unusual.

Even in more progressive societies the media often infuses such situations with a sense of comedy when persons are trying to learn how to properly address transgender individuals. Everyone’s beliefs must be respected, this does not mean they have to be shared or agreed with but basic human decency must be observed. As society evolves, issues surrounding gender and sexual identity will arise. It is hoped that these issues, to which many persons are sensitive, will not further fracture our society.
There must be a way for the rights of each person to be protected and for our residents to continue to live peacefully together.

The inaugural Worldskills Barbados Juniors (WSBJ) Competition will be a biannual contest and two skill categories will be added every time it is offered.

Education Officer with the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (METVT), Henderson Wiltshire disclosed this as he addressed Monday’s WSBJ Closing Ceremony at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

He stated the addition of new categories will mean “when it comes around to 2021, we will have six skills rather than four”. On this occasion, students during the past week competed in four areas – cabinet making, hair-dressing, cooking and electrical instillation.

Wiltshire said the aim of the inaugural competition was mainly “to find out what skills students possess and what were the skill gaps”. He said this “would aid in preparing students in secondary school to Worldskills standards for the same competition”.

From this year’s contest, which was presented by the METVT in collaboration with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council (TVETC) Barbados, Wiltshire said it was evident students were highly skilled.

“One noticeable fact that came out through the competition was that students were in possession of high skills and that can only be linked basically to the implementation of the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) programme in schools. The advent of CVQs, which includes the training of teachers as well, has resulted in the improvement of grades at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level for students and improvement in the quality of products whether it be cooking or furniture making. We found that students who are taking part in the CVQ programme along with your CSEC programme demonstrated higher skills when it came to School-Based Assessments (SBAs),” it was explained.

Also sharing his own assessments, Chairman of the Worldskills Barbados Programme, Dario Walcott said over the past week he has “seen a passion and drive” from the participants “on par with what I have seen at Worldskills international competitions”. He additionally said he learnt that with “the right mentorship and guidance our young people can grow and improve at a faster rate if we expose them earlier”. Furthermore, from the response to the training sessions, he learnt that “our young people need more exposure to industry at this age”. (MG)

Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Santia Bradshaw says plans are afoot to develop a new National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy.

She stated this Policy, which builds on the achievements made by the TVET Council, “is expected to be launched shortly”. She added, “The Ministry will be exploring the upgrade of the education system to place greater emphasis on practical, or vocational, learning so that it better compliments the existing system.”

“The reality is that Barbados can no longer afford to overlook persons who sometimes fall through the cracks of the education system because their learning style being different from others and we therefore have to be able to create a system that is better suited for a more practical and integrated approach to learning.”

Her comments came as she addressed the Closing Ceremony for the inaugural Worldskills Barbados Juniors (WSBJ) Competition. This was held on Monday at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

She also told the gathering she is in discussions with Barbados Vocational Training Board and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology to assess what skillsets are available among the trainers and tutors there and what improvements can be made.

“As a Government we remain committed to incentivizing teachers to acquire skills qualifications so that all teachers will be ‘double qualified’ with both academic and skills qualifications. That process has already started and I can say to you that currently, I am in discussions with the Barbados Vocational Training Board as well as the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology to look at a number of the skills which a number of their trainers and tutors have because it isn’t sufficient for us just to ensure we have the right skillset in the schools, but we have to make sure that we have the right people being able when the children leave school to be able to continue to create those opportunities of training for them outside. [Therefore] we are currently doing an audit to see what skills we have, to see where we need to improve, to ensure that when all of you as young people leave your secondary education institutions that you are able comfortably to move on to do level two or three or four as the case maybe.”

During Monday’s Ceremony several awards were presented to the finalists who excelled in the competition. Students competed in the skill areas of cabinet making, cooking, electrical installation and hairdressing. Taking the top spot in cabinet making was Eden Edghill of Queen’s College with 85.6 per cent, in cooking it was Deryka Grazette also of Queen’s College with 84.8 per cent while in electrical installation it was St. Leonard’s Boys’ School’s, Jalani Yearwood, with 92.8 per cent and in hairdressing it was Graydon Sealy Secondary School’s Tamea Small with 57.9 per cent.

Yearwood additionally successfully won the Best in Competition award for amassing the highest percentage overall. Meanwhile, the prize for the top school overall went to Queen’s College. A special award was given to the Frederick Smith Secondary School in memory of the late Temario Holder who was a finalist in the contest. (MG)

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will be working with the Barbados Government to establish a Digital Dashboard, to help monitor public spending.

Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment, Marsha Caddle, revealed the above as she delivered remarks during the IDB’s Book Launch and Panel Discussion on “Barbados: Better Spending for Better Lives”, at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel yesterday. The Barbados Book Launch was based on the IDB’s Development in the Americas Report for 2018 and Caddle sought to address some areas in that report.

“The report makes the point that for example, that public investment in infrastructure has been one of the areas historically in Latin America and the Caribbean, where there have been high levels of inefficiency in spending, high areas of what we call leakage and we know that in the decade between 2008 and 2018, there was a lot of that inefficiency,” Caddle remarked.

“And so what is the government of Barbados to do? One is reforming our procurement practices. Another and it is quite simple, but it works, is looking at how you approach project management. IDB is helping us with the establishment of a Digital Dashboard and that Digital Dashboard is going to help us monitor, but also help people monitor how we are doing on our public spending, to be able to see clearly what the expenditure is, when it is being made and to see that capital projects are implemented in a way that is timely and that minimises inefficiency losses,” Caddle further commented.

A closer look at the 2018 edition of the Development in the Americas (DIA) Report shows that it reviews and provides region-wide evidence of how fiscal efficiency and smart spending, rather than the standard solution of across-the-board expenditure cuts, can achieve fiscal sustainability.

According to the IDB, “These issues are extremely relevant for Caribbean countries and Barbados’ current economic context.”

Alejandro Izquierdo and Carola Pessino, Publication Co-Editors of the IDB’s Book entitled “Better Spending for Better Lives: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Do More with Less”, meanwhile noted that Barbados perhaps needs a Spending Quality Agency that could be in the Ministry of Finance for example, to look at the different types of expenditure being dished out and to also reallocate spending in some parts of the budget, to other areas which could prove more profitable.

The session later closed with a panel discussion, which focused on relevant lessons learned and policies related to Barbados’ reform efforts.
(RSM)

THE management and staff of Tamarind Hotel recently hosted a group of extra special guests comprising close to 80 five- to six-year-old Infants A students of the West Terrace Primary school for lunch and an etiquette session.

Infants A teacher, Yvette Archer, explained that the activity was the school’s way of fulfilling a section of the Health Science curriculum.

“We are to expose the students to social skills such as table manners, eating with knife and fork and the like. So we decided the best way to do this would be for them to actually experience a formal lunch activity.

“We saw this as very important in reinforcing what they are being taught at home and at school, where they would be able to practise what they have learnt. We want to thank the management and staff of Tamarind for hosting us. We have had a good working relationship with them over the years and this is another successful activity we have embarked on with them, which we wish to make an annual event.”

Tamarind’s Operations Manager, Antonia Hinds, explained that since adopting the school a few years ago, they had enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship.

She said, “When we got the call to host the children we jumped at the opportunity as we are always willing to assist wherever we can in the community, especially when it involves children. Added to that, the fact that we are a family hotel made this a perfect fit.”

Tamarind also hosts a similar annual event with the Nightingale Children’s Home every Christmas, where the children spend a day at the property as guests.

Hinds noted, “They have lunch, play games and use the pool among other activities and, of course, they all leave with Christmas goodies and gifts. This is a highlight for us during that time of the year and we are already preparing for it.”

A MEMORANDUM of Understanding (MOU) was signed yesterday between the Government of Barbados through the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), The University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

As Health Minister Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic explained, the signing was really a formality, one which recognises an arrangement of collaboration that was formalised back in 1967.

According to the Minister, “I call it a formality because the extent to the relationship between The UWI, MOHW and QEH transcends the MOU. The level of collaboration that exists is nothing that anyone can scoff at. We have been able to do a lot together. The bedrock of the healthcare system in Barbados really is The UWI School of Medicine,” he said. “It could have not been sustained without that level of co-operation and collaboration.”

The Minister alluded to the fact that in coming days, a similar ceremony will take place in Kenya where the Minister of Foreign Affairs will sign a MOU on behalf of the Government of Barbados with the Government of Kenya.

“That Memorandum of Understanding has to do with health and it is a result of the bilateral discussions that were held here in Barbados between the Government of Kenya. I am pleased to say that during those deliberations, health was the major topic discussed and at the forefront of my mind, and I believe the Prime Minister, really was how do we involve The University of the West Indies in this process.

“So some of the things that will be included in the MOU with Kenya is first of all, the possibility for Barbadian medical students to be able to do their internships at hospitals in Kenya because we do not have the capacity to take care of all of our people. So that is one thing that we discussed.”

Minister Bostic noted that while there is a shortage of nurses worldwide, Kenya has a shortage of doctors.

“We were able to discuss with them first of all, the possibility of the Government of Barbados facilitating with the Government of Kenya for Kenyan students to be able to come and enrol at The UWI Cave Hill campus and also for doctors from Barbados, and I would say ultimately the region, to be able also to go and work in Kenya.”

The Minister said research is another area in which there can be greater co-operation between the two countries.

“We had some lengthy discussions with the President of Kenya in relation to establishing collaborative initiative or effort between Kenya, the Ministry of Health and The University in the area of research and NCDs. I think that is something that will benefit both of our countries.”

It is a feat that could not be accomplished without the generosity of the Barbadian public.

With the support of 3 000 bank staff, major sponsors and participation of over 20 000 Barbadians, the mammoth fund-raising efforts of one regional bank has resulted in a donation of BDS$200 000 to the Barbados Cancer Society’s (BCS) Breast Screening Programme.

Managing Director, Retail & Business Banking and Co-Chair Walk for the Cure, CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, Mark St. Hill expressed his appreciation during his brief remarks at the Donation Ceremony held at Hilton Barbados recently.

St. Hill noted that the (BCS) CIBC First Caribbean Walk for the Cure, a major fund-raising event was held on October 6 and it has become the largest corporate social responsibility activity of the bank’s charitable arm – The First Caribbean ComTrust. He revealed that the event was the largest cancer fund-raising activity in the Caribbean yet there were some shortcomings due to the devastation during the 2019 hurricane season.

“This year we saw a fall in our overall regional total of funds raised as for the first time in several years we dipped below the US$500 000 minimum target by about US$50 000. We attribute this to the effects of Hurricane Dorian on some of the islands of the Bahamas leading to the cancellation of the walk on Grand Bahama. I am optimistic that next year our numbers will be back up and we are aiming for even higher,” said St. Hill.

CIBC FCIB staff make small gestures, big results

The corporate social responsibility of CIBC First Caribbean International Bank is not only recognised by the bank as a whole but through their individual bank departments. Managing Director, Barbados OpCo, Donna Wellington highlighted the efforts of staff as they came up with ideas to raise funds for the cause.

These included raffling off car spots of executives, wearing pink socks and making a donation, bake sales, flea market, Paint for a Cure, hikes and basketball matches. However, Wellington also recognised the fund-raising initiative of the bank’s Client Credit Management department which single-handedly raised $10 000 for the cause.
Wellington ended her comments by thanking the bank staff and all those who participated in the event.

“To our corporate sponsors who pitched in and fully supported including having their staff outfitted in their branded shirts, thank you, and to the public – those 20 000 persons who came out and turned Warrens into a sea of pink, thank you for being a part of it,” said Wellington.