The next step for the Caribbean Cuisine Culinary Institute (CCCI) is to introduce dual certification for chefs.

Speaking during the graduation ceremony of the CCCI, which took place recently, Senior Technical Officer of the TVET Council, Rosaline Cumberbatch revealed that there was more to the culinary industry than cooking and as such stated that they were working to develop a standard with members of the industry, who had the knowledge of what it took to develop this standard.

Through working with Chef Peter Edey, a prominent and trained chef in Barbados, they were able to develop these standards and introduced the CCCI, adding that their next step was to introduce dual certification.

“We continue to work towards some new things as you would have heard in a little sneak peak this evening – dual certification, that is the next step that we are working on right now. So as we build additional standards, moving through the industry we will be seeing more of that collaboration that we have with this centre,” she said.

“So the TVET council is making the kinds of strides that are necessary for the development of not just the culinary industry but several other industries as we roll out moving from the young ones in the schools right up to developing young people and ensuring that they meet the kind of standards required for such an industry as this,” She continued.

Cumberbatch believes that they are on the right footing and said that the TVET Council wants to ensure that they remain on the cutting edge.

She encouraged the young chefs to take every opportunity that is available to them and urged them to continue to do the excellent work that they had been doing.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Senator Dr. Rommel Springer, believes that it is important for the graduates to continue to pursue the path of certifications, as the world of work is changing, and the days where you needed to have a degree or CXCs as the only way to success are gone.

“Today the focus is on technical and vocational training and so it is imperative that you understand the importance of this programme today,” he said.

He encouraged the graduates to take every opportunity the certification offered them and to go wherever their skills took them.

The belief that the region is experiencing more periods of prolonged heat has been verified.

According to Climatologist Dr. Cedric Van Meerbeeck, if global temperatures continue to increase, these heatwaves could become a common occurrence.

During a press conference on Friday afternoon at the Husbands, St. James Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology to discuss the ongoing dry spell, he outlined the number of heatwaves being seen across the region were on the rise.

“The number of heatwaves in the Eastern Caribbean has enormously increased since 1995. Again we are not the agency to issue a statement saying that Barbados is now in a heatwave, but if you take a methodology that is globally accepted, the number of heatwaves have definitely increased since 1995 and as was mentioned, heat and drought go together,” he stated.

He continued, “In September and October particularly, we had many days that were really warm and more so than on average than we would have had in history. So it’s not just that the daytime and nighttime averages have increased, but also the heatwaves that have increased in frequency and intensity and that amplifies droughts.”

Van Meerbeeck explained one of the reasons behind last year’s low rainfall was the presence of the El Niño phenomenon.

“When there is more heat in the upper levels of the atmosphere, it is going to become harder for thunderstorms and rain showers to become more intense, so that is one of the reasons we would have had less intense showers,” he added.

“What our expectations, not for the next ten years but for the end of the century is that the El Niño situation would become more of the norm and based on that it is unfortunate that more likely than not Barbados’ drought situation will worsen over the course of the century, in terms of drought frequency and drought intensity,” the climatologist explained. (JMB)

IT’S never too early to prepare for the hurricane season and Barbadians are being encouraged start their preparations as early as possible.

This came from Dr. David Farrell, Principal of the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, during a recent press conference.

“I think it is important that people should be secured in the region for worst case scenarios and that preparation starts now and not the day before the event,” he said.

When asked if they could give a prediction for this year’s hurricane season, the Principal admitted that he believed it was too early to give an accurate prediction; however he was positive that updates will be given to persons at the opportune time in terms of the number of active systems persons can expect.

“I think it is too early to do an accurate prediction and so I don’t want to give you an accurate prediction on what the hurricane season is going to be like. But just remember that the prediction has an uncertainty to it, so don’t say that we said they’re going to be 16 and you start counting and you only get to 15, and you go and say ‘the prediction was blown’,” he said.

“I think it is important that people pay attention to the information that is coming out and treat the information appropriately.”

The Principal went on to note that 2019 was a “benchmark” year for the island as it was recorded as being the driest year over the last 50 years.

Unfortunately, he added that this year would be no different, reporting that the island may face some challenges in the water sector.

He stated that they were currently working feverishly to try and address these problems but there would still be a significant lack of water and Barbadians should prepare themselves for what this year may hold.

One local religious leader is urging Barbadians to respect the life that God has given them. 

Reverend Canon George Harewood at the St. Stephen’s Anglican Church told the congregation this during his sermon yesterday. 

He added that nothing in this world should take precedence over it. He said people must love and honour those that we come in contact with and live with. He stressed that everyone was made to have a part of what God has provided for us and it is not right to take a human’s life. 

Reverend Canon Harewood highlighted that during the 1980s, people in Barbados had suggested that children should not be given toy guns because they would ultimately want to have the real thing and use them later on in life.

“Life is always subjected to disrespect. Whenever there is selfishness and greed present, you can look out for trouble, ” said Reverend Canon Harewood.

He added that people must remember that no matter how developed our societies are, they will never be able to achieve their maximum if sacredness is lost. 

The religious leader said there is a need to make sure that there is sacredness wherever we find ourselves.

Earlier in his sermon, Reverend Canon Harewood spoke of the sacred nature of life and the strong relationship God has with the world. 

“God will never leave us or forsake us,” said Reverend Canon Harewood. 

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is supporting the call by her Trinidadian counterpart Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley for the issue of energy to be placed at the centre of regional discussions.

Speaking yesterday in Trinidad during the opening of an energy conference at the Hyatt Regency, she insisted that CARICOM member states must develop among themselves an appropriate protocol governing how countries deal with each other first and foremost as it relates to energy.

“That is the first principle of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that we treat each other better than we treat anyone else as a third party. That is the principle that has allowed manufacturers here to be able to reap the bounty of exports to a region that has been prepared to accept its goods, while not allowing the level of competition from the outside world by reason of the reduced access and duties, duty free access for Trinidadian goods, as opposed to persons from outside. It is the reason why Barbados has benefitted from an export of service once we moved from CARIFTA to CARICOM, and moved from an area of trade in goods to one that admitted trade in services,” she said.

Mottley continued, “And it is an understanding from a very simple premise that we learnt in primary school – that many hands make light work. If we accept that this approach to burden sharing is one that we would want to pursue and sharing in the bounty, then we begin to understand that there are some issues we have simply to address. I speak here as the person who was the Attorney General when we pursued maritime delimitation with Trinidad and Tobago”.

She insisted that those who believe that that maritime delimitation remains a risk, need only look at how financiers and commercial players treat to the issue of risks. The PM noted that such players exact premiums in a manner that they should not, given that there is no science equal to the pricing of risks.

“It therefore means that we can choose to dig our heels in and fight for every ounce or we can remember that we are family in a community of sovereign nations and pursue approaches that other parts of the world have pursued such as Australia and East Timor with the establishment of joint cooperation zones,” she said.

Her comments came as she reflected on the words of the late Jamaican leader Norman Manley, who once referred to the Caribbean Sea as a patrimony of this region. She said then that regional leaders should recognise that only lawyers and scientists benefit from aggressive maritime delimitation programmes and not the people of the region.

“There is no doubt that renewable energy comes from the patrimony of our people – the wind that blows, the sun that shines, the geothermal energy that is available and who knows what may come with waves and tidal energy in the future with the technological innovations that are being done. It would be a crying shame if the opportunities for investment in those areas do not include ordinary people – ordinary workers [and] ordinary households,” she said.

To that end, she said it is imperative that as a region we find creative financial instruments to allow our people to participate in the renewable energy sector. While noting it does not necessarily require the same level of investments as the hydrocarbon sector, she said such financing is needed, so people will understand that the current generation of Caribbean leader will not leave them to be “tenants in their own land”.

Mottley said that the courage that both she and Prime Minister Rowley have shown through the signing of a cooperation agreement shows that this generation of Caribbean leaders is prepared to “put first the patrimony of our region and the benefits of our people at all costs”.

“We recognise that in our family there is a player that has virtually a century of oil and gas experience, you cannot make that up, you cannot fabricate that experience and to that extent, Trinidad starts as a first mover always in the Caribbean community with respect to oil and gas,” she added.

To that end, she argued that this region will only mean something “if we are prepared to leverage our expertise for the benefit of each other”. She added then that as we move towards the basin in the Guianas that experience should be relied on. (JRT)

Minister of the Environment, Trevor Prescod says the possibility of using the vehicle tyres found at the Mangrove Pond Landfill to generate energy is being explored.

He stated this while speaking to the media yesterday at the St. Thomas Landfill where authorities at the time were working to bring a fire in the tyre section of the Landfill under control. The fire there started just after 6 a.m.

“We have limited space, even in relation to how we dispose of waste of all kinds, including tyres, we know that we have to find alternative means. We have been looking at the options of utilising the tyres for energy. So there is a Waste-to-Energy Programme that we are contemplating but obviously because we have to look to see if we have the required amount of materials.”

Prescod added that they are currently “doing a lot of scientific research” to ensure it will be feasible to generate energy in this manner.

“If we are going to use those tyres in the kilns either at the [Arawak] Cement Plant or any other company for energy, we have to make sure we have the required amount to be able to sustain the functioning of the institution for over a year. So based on discussions that I have had today…informally, with [Deputy Chief Environmental Health Officer Ronald] Chapman and Mr. Chapman told me that some research was done before and at that time when the research was done, the amount of waste that we had in the form of tyres was only enough to sustain a kiln for about six months.”

He added that if there are not enough tyres, the Ministry “would have to look at the countries that we can import these tyres from in order to sustain the amount of tyres that will be required in order that we can keep the Arawak Cement Plant functioning for an entire year.”

However, he said relevant agencies such as the Health Ministry would have to give their input before such consideration is made.

The legislation regulating the Central Bank of Barbados is still being worked on, and Governor of the Bank, Cleviston Haynes, is optimistic that it can be finalised during this last quarter of the current financial year so as to get the necessary parliamentary approval.

At a recent press conference, he said while all the details have not yet been “locked down”, the piece of legislation is expected to address issues in relation to how the Bank interacts with Government in general, and give it the independence that is required.

“I think that is what we are trying to refine to make sure that the Bank is not sort of held captive to an Administration, that’s where the autonomy will come... The Central Bank doesn’t exist in a vacuum so we have to be able to function within the society, but we need to be able to provide our advice from time to time to Government,” he said.

Haynes went on to explain that the legislation is expected to address how the Bank hires and dismisses governors and how it provides financing to Government, where there is a shortfall in public financing.

“So I think it will be, once completed, a piece of legislation which the average person will feel comfortable, or certainly more comfortable with how the bank functions going forward. As I said there are still a few nitty-gritty details that we have to sort out, but I am hopeful those will be sorted out in the coming weeks and the legislation should be going before Parliament, certainly before the end of this quarter,” he said.

Additionally, he said legislation relative to a credit bureau is also being developed. He said a draft of that legislation is currently being assessed by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel’s office and he believes that it will not be long before that law makes its way to Parliament as well. He explained that it will set out the broad framework for regulating and licensing credit bureaus in this country.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank chief when asked about further developments in relation to the regulatory sandbox previously introduced by the Bank together with the Financial Services Commission, said that two other entities are looking to utilise the service. This initiative allows entities in the financial technology (FinTech) sector to perform live testing of their products and services.

“We see these as opportunities for persons who have developed products or services to be able to experiment on sort of a low value, and ultimately some of the projects in the sandbox will come to maturity and those who have developed will be able to make them commercial,” he said.

He continued, “I think we need to see the sandbox not solely as an activity where you – let’s say – do something like the mMoney, but it could be a service which other financial sector firms can purchase from you. So mMoney is just one type of example of what we want to look at in the FinTech space, we are recognising you may also want to sell the product that you have to other financial firms such that it helps to ease how financial services are delivered.”

He went on to tell media personnel that during this year, focus will be placed on strengthening the legislative framework for dealing with new and emerging businesses. He said the hope is that in a few months’ time, legislation will be launched that will deal with the payments landscape generally, not only in relation to FinTech.

“There is a lot that is happening within the payments landscape and we need to make sure now we have the appropriate infrastructure to be able to deal with that,” he stated.

Haynes made the comments while acknowledging that as electronic services are relied on more, there is likely to be in the future a digital currency in this country. But he said no definitive position has been taken on it as yet. (JRT)

Government has ensured that residents who occupy National Housing Corporation (NHC) Units in Haynesville, St. James can rest easy and not be fearful that a fire could break out at any moment due to outdated electrical wiring.

Member of Parliament for St. James South, Sandra Husbands disclosed that some residents are currently benefiting from the rewiring programme, which is being carried out to the tune of $2 million.

In December 2017, fire destroyed a housing unit occupied by Sinclair Alleyne, and two others were damaged. Back then, Husbands pointed to the exposed electrical boxes outside the units, and insisted that they needed to be fixed immediately.

Also recognising previous fires at that Haynesville Housing Estate assumedly caused by electrical problems, she went to residents with a petition to have the hazard addressed by NHC through a rewiring programme.

“In the housing area, the wiring is more than 40 years old... Modern families have a lot of appliances such as hairdryers, washing machines, and microwaves so it cannot carry that load and breakers were tripping, sparks were flying and then we had four house fires and six units were destroyed,” she said.

“Constituents have complained especially women that they cannot sleep at night because every time they hear a pax, they have to get up and go check to make sure why because the memory of another neighbour losing their home, now makes it impossible for them to sleep. Also, they dread the call at work that their unit is on fire.”

Minister Husbands made it clear that despite the limitations and heavy demands to allocate money to buses, sewage, drainage, sanitation, Prime Minister the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley sought to prioritise the rewiring to ensure residents don’t lose their properties.

The rewiring programme started in October 2019 and a number of contracts have been distributed to small contractors.

There are over 250 units affected by wiring issues, and according to Minister Husbands, “They have started and a number of homes have been redone. Residents now have three outlets in the living room, three in the kitchen and two upstairs in each bedroom. That makes a tremendous difference to their lives.” (TL)

Environment Minister, Trevor Prescod has dismissed that the notion that “deficiencies in the manner in which things are managed” at the Mangrove Pond Landfill might have led to yesterday’s fire.

He emphasised this point as updated the media while at the St. Thomas Landfill where a fire at the time was ongoing in the northern section of the dump. Vehicle tyres are stored in this area and the blaze is said to have started just after six in the morning. Authorities including personnel from Barbados Fire Service, Sanitation Service Authority (SSA), Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre (SBRC), Ministry of Transport, Works and Maintenance and private companies jointly worked to contain the fire and bring it under control. One strategy used was to place top- soil on the cell which had the burning tyre piles.

Dark clouds of smoke from the fire could be seen in the sky from distances away.

“The probabilities are always high as long as there are challenges deriving from climate change and there is heat intensity on the landfill or in the landfill, the chances are that combustion would occur. The landfill accumulates gas and all over the world there are clear times you will find gardens burning now, you will find forest fires [and] you will find combustions in landfills. So the highest probability of the cause at present is as a result of heat. At intervals we are going to have these fires. So it is not a case of the deficiencies in the manner in which things are managed or anything like that. So I just want to make that extremely clear.”

Adding to this, Chief Fire Officer, Errol Maynard said investigations were still to be carried to determine the cause of the fire. However, he noted that “once we have that amount tyres in any area, there is a possibility of having a fire.”

“I am not sure of the cause of this last blaze but we could appreciate that within landfill if we don’t have everything right, the possibility of having a fire in a landfill is always there but we would have to wait until we thoroughly investigate this fire to determine the cause of this one.”

Also speaking to the media at the time was Deputy Chief Environmental Health Officer, Ronald Chapman. He said an assessment was done in the communities downwind from the fire and there was no “significant amount of smoke in areas which would range from Holders Hill going down to Trents.” He advised “residents to be mindful, that those persons who are asthmatic or have any respiratory challenges can move out the area for the time being.”

At the time this update was given, it was anticipated that the fire would have been brought under control by evening.

Within the next two weeks, Barbados will have the capacity to test for the presence of the 2019 novel Coronavirus.

Stating this assurance had been given by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kenneth George highlighted this was important as no other Caribbean island had this capability.

“CARPHA at the moment cannot test for the virus and we have personally intervened with PAHO to make sure that this is fast-tracked. We will be the first island in the region doing this. We are trying our level best to let persons know that we have put a plan in place and there is always need for a review of the plan and improvement of the plan,” he said.

George pointed out that as the island was in the midst of an economic recovery programme, funds were not readily available.

“We had issues with getting the quarantine stations up and have taken an active approach as to how we are going to solve this,” he said.

Speaking on Sunday night’s episode of The People’s Business, he explained while there were quarantine stations at the ports of entry, these were only equipped to handle four to six persons and not for the 14-day incubation period of the coronavirus.

“We are in the process of scaling these up. Those quarantine stations were never intended to keep persons quarantined for 14 days to three weeks. Those were simply transfer holding areas. That is not the solution for this particular virus. However, we intend to pursue that. There are quarantine stations at both the seaport and airport. The airport one needs some infrastructural work done,” he added.

The Ministry of Health’s Port Health Specialist, Stephen Harte said one of the major issues encountered with the facility at the airport was that since it was not used on a regular basis, deterioration had set in.

“So we have been having discussions with GAIA Inc. in terms of having a a mobile hospital that can do the triage and assist with the public health emergencies that may occur and they were looking at sourcing the tent that could be used for that. At the seaport, Barbados Port Inc. has been working to get that back up and running, but at the seaportm passengers who are sick are actually isolated in their cabins or the medical facility on board the ship,” he noted. (JMB)

One of the We Gatherin’ activities conducted in St Lucy and which coincided with the celebration of the Right Honourable Errol Barrow’s birthday was the Dipper’s Cook–off Competition, held at the Daryll Jordan Secondary School. Coordinator, Fiona Griffith felt the need to pay tribute to Mr. Barrow as cooking was one of his many hobbies.

Three primary schools – Half Moon Fort, Ignatius Byer and Selah Primary participated in the Bake-off competition and Daryll Jordan Secondary School participated in the Cook-off competition. The primary schools were given the challenge to prepare two pizzas – vegetable and meat or fish based as well as cupcakes. The secondary school students prepared a main course suitable for fine dining.

The students demonstrated very good skills when executing their tasks and also displayed a high level of confidence, team work, collaboration and creativity. Although the primary school students were guided by their teacher to create the dishes, they showed a high level of skill beyond their age which was impressive for students who are not exposed to the subject Home Economics. Half Moon Fort Primary prepared a bay leaf, ginger, coconut cupcake and bul jul pizza which was outstanding, however all dishes prepared by the students were well presented and tasty.

The Daryll Jordan Secondary School students focused on preparing dishes from the recipe book Privilege Cooking in the Caribbean by Errol Barrow and Kendal A. Lee. The dishes presented by the students could rival chefs in the industry. They had good balance of flavours, pleasing fusion of colours and were very appealing to the eye. They ably communicated to the judges what they presented.

The Right Honourable Errol Barrow would have been very pleased with the students’ performance. The performance of the primary and secondary school student’s is an indication that culinary arts is in good hands.
In the end, Half Fort Primary was named the winners in the Bake-off competition and the lone boys’ group were the winners in the Cook-off competition.

Barbados is sticking to its decision not to restrict travellers from China, but is taking necessary precautions to prevent any outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) on its shores.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kenneth George revealed on the People’s Business on Sunday night that currently several persons who had travelled to the island from China were currently under quarantine within their own homes.

“Barbados does not have travel ban, so there have been persons who have entered Barbados from China, not Wuhan, and we are monitoring those individuals daily and there is a process,” he said.

He explained these persons had come from Beijing and were asymptomatic, meaning they presented none of the symptoms of having the virus which include; mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath.

The CMO also stated citizens were being urged not to travel to Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus.

The 2019-nCoV is a new virus that causes respiratory illness in people and can spread from person-to-person mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other viruses that cause respiratory illness spread. It was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan and has since led to several cases in other parts of the Western Pacific, South East Asia, the USA, Canada and Europe.

“Barbados at this point in time has not instituted a travel ban, and based on the current information, I think that is a wise decision. Now this may change, but with respect to the movement of people from other countries that decision comes from higher levels…Be assured, if someone came from Wuhan we would make certain that person did not put the population at risk, but as we speak the movement of people from China is not restricted,” he added. (JMB)

While six other Caribbean territories have made the decision to enforce a travel ban on passengers coming out of China, the Government of Barbados has decided not to take the same route.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic revealed that this was Barbados’ position coming out of the CARICOM Health Ministers Meeting that discussed the coronavirus epidemic.

During yesterday’s press conference the Minister told media that the decision was not made solely because of health, as there were other things involved.

“We in Barbados made the determination based on evidence, based on science, based on past history, based on everything that we have seen happening and evolving over the last several weeks that we were not going to go that route, we will follow the WHO instructions and PAHO not to inhibit trade or travel, but to significantly enhance our regime at the airport in terms of surveillance,” he said.

“We are confident that, for example, given the layers of screening that has to take place before people get here and our ability to provide this coverage here in Barbados that we can make determinations that will keep this country as safe as possible and that is what we have been doing.”

He stated that the Government of China was also making comprehensive efforts to try to contain the virus as China was on quarantine from airlines and other places, which restricted travelling in a significant way.

Additionally, he believed that the fact that there were no direct flights between China and Barbados provided an extra layer of coverage in the sense that persons coming from China would need to go through Europe and America in order to get here and those countries, in the Minister’s opinion, were doing a fairly good job in terms of screening.

Bostic noted that there have been a dozen international incidents in terms of public health over the last 50 years and Barbados has never closed its borders, not even for Ebola, as the country has been able to rely on its people and the competence and collaborative nature of people at the ports of entry in order to keep the country safe.

LET us see those up to date financial statements for public sector enterprises.

This request is coming from Economist, Dr. Delisle Worrell in his February 2020 Economic Letter.

The letters which are published monthly highlight key economic issues, economic policy making and what he described this month as the inept policies across the government service.

Dr.Worrell said that the most recent report he could find for a public sector institution among a list published in the local media was that for the Barbados Revenue Authority. “Their most recent Report is for 2017,” Dr. Worrell remarked.

“There are no reports for the NIS (National Insurance Scheme), the Customs and Excise Department, the Transport Authority, the Corporate Affairs Office, or the Ministries of Public Service, Transport or Education,” the economist said in his letter.

He went on, “We can expect orderly implementation of new policies and effective public services only with a systemic, multi-year modernisation of public services.”

Dr. Worrell, a former Governor of the Central Bank, stated that the country requires new leadership with the required technical skills, organisational experience and modern management expertise; and we need new systems of organisation suitable for the modern world.

According to him, the Barbados public will know that this process has begun in earnest “when we begin to see annual reports being published within three months of the end of the Financial Year by all Government entities.”

His comments come in the wake of the agreement between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Government of Barbados, which among other things make provision for reforms of public sector entities.

He charged that these failures are the most recent evidence of the ineptitude of the Barbados public services.

According to Dr. Worrell, our public services are organised as they were for the society of the 1950s and 60s; teachers rode to school on Raleigh bicycles, few households could afford a Morris Minor car, and you could shop for fruit and vegetables from schooners moored in the Careenage.

The Economist maintained that the leadership of the public sector lacks the expertise and experience of implementing modern systems of organisation and management.

He remarked that the clearest evidence of public sector incapacity is the failure to publish annual reports in a timely fashion.

“The annual report is the place where departments and agencies ought to report on their stewardship,” he added. (JB)

Authorities worked for a second day yesterday to bring the fire at the Mangrove Pond Landfill under control.

The fire at the St. Thomas dump started on Monday just after six in the morning. It was mainly in the northern section of the landfill where vehicle tyres are stored.

When The Barbados Advocate visited the site on yesterday morning, there was a significant reduction in the plumes of dark smoke coming from areas where the tyre piles were burning. Assistant Manager, Engineering in charge of Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) Landfills, Leona Deane stated then that personnel worked all day on Monday into the wee hours of the following day to achieve this.

“We fought the fire all of yesterday [Monday] from about six o’clock after the event occurred. We were here until about three o’clock this morning [Tuesday]. We are finished on the south side. The north side however is posing a little bit of difficulty because there is a large hole that poses a difficulty for tractors. So in other words, they may fall down into it. We have to fill that hole in, in order to push off and get rid of the rest of the smoke and that is what we are working on today [Tuesday].It is not as bad as yesterday [Monday] but there is some smoke fall out and we are trying to get rid of that before nightfall so it is doesn’t affect residents as much.”

After 3 p.m. however the fire flared again. A spark from some of the burning tyres ignited a grass section at the Landfill. SSA’s Public Relations Officer, Carl Padmore said then this section was an area where the fire had previously been contained.

“It is a small grass area and the Fire Service is on the scene. They have given me the assurance that in a short time that fire will be out because it is mainly some grass and tyres in that area – small tyres.”
Padmore gave the assurance that the authorities were “still very much on course to finish getting the original situation under control as well.”

He added that the black smoke from the grass fire at that stage was posing “no major hazard to the residents in Arch Hall.”

“We want to continue to thank them for their patience in this matter. We know it is a very trying time for them but whatever caution they have to continue to take until end of the day, we urge them to do so.”(MG)

LITERARY giant and cultural icon Edward Kamau Brathwaite has died.

The Barbadian born scholar and award-winning Caribbean poet was 89 years old. He would have celebrated his 90th birthday in May.

News of his passing quickly spread around the island yesterday with many cultural practitioners taking to social media to express their disbelief and shock about his passing.

These included CEO of the National Cultural Foundation, Carol Roberts-Reifer said: “Rest easy Kamau Brathwaite. Love and light always!”

Senior Business Development Officer from the NCF Andre Hoyte, who in simple message said, “Rest In Peace Edward Kamau Brathwaite Great son of the soil.Icon of Culture! Fly with the Ancestors.”

Veteran musician Richard Stoute noted, “Greatness has left us. A beautiful human being, may he rest in peace.”

Brathwaite holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex (1968) was the co-founder of the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM). He received both the Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships in 1983, and is a winner of the 1994 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, Bussa Award, the Casa de las Américas Prize for poetry, and the 1999 Charity Randall Citation for Performance and Written Poetry from the International Poetry Forum.

He is the author of numerous collections of poetry, including Elegguas (2010), the Griffin International
Poetry Prize winner Slow Horses (2005), Ancestors (2001),Middle Passages (1992), and Black + Blues (1976). His first three collections, Rights of Passage (1967), Masks (1968), and Islands (1969), have been gathered into The Arrivants: A New World Trilogy (1973). He is also the author of Our Ancestral Heritage: A Bibliography of the Roots of Culture in the English-speaking Caribbean (1976) and Barbados Poetry: A Checklist: Slavery to the Present (1979).

A playwright, critic, poet and historian, Brathwaite’s work dealt with the complex Caribbean heritage and its African roots. Brathwaite has been a major proponent of the use of “nation language,” which is closely allied to the African experience in the Caribbean. It is not dialect or creole merely, but as Brathwaite had defined, “the kind of English spoken by the people who were brought to the Caribbean, not the official English now, but the language of slaves and labourers, the servants who were brought in”.

Brathwaite has worked in Ghana’s Ministry of Education, as well as teaching at Harvard University, The University of the West Indies, and New York University.

Given the ongoing drought conditions in the country, Barbadians will have to change the way they use water to conserve more of the precious resource.

This is according to Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Wilfred Abrahams.

Speaking to the media recently, he acknowledged that the drought conditions have been persisting for some time now, indicating that he will soon give an update by way of a press conference on the steps to be taken to further mitigate against drought conditions, and to also supplement the water supply.

“We had a problem coming on to the end of the dry season, where the levels of the wells and a lot of the aquifers were low. By the end of November, December, our aquifers should be at their peak, so when in that time you have almost record low levels, then you know you are in for a very rough time,” Minister Abrahams stated.

Noting that efforts are on to tackle the problem of a limited water supply, the Minister pointed to an extended hours programme which has seen the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) trying to identify as many burst pipes across the country as possible and have them fixed.

He however stressed that Barbadians must be more responsible in the way they utilise water.

“The usage of our supply by Barbadians has to change. How many of us turn on the tap to brush our teeth and leave the tap running the whole time? How many people [leave the shower running while they are lathering]? How many people flush the toilet constantly? We keep having inefficient toilets that use up three times more water than they need to use and that accumulates. So it can’t just be the Water Authority trying their best to fix pipes and mitigate their losses, but it also requires a change in the approach by Barbadians as to how we consume what is perhaps our most precious resource,” the Minister responsible for Water Resources stressed.

Abrahams later revealed that coming soon will be a major announcement with respect to Government’s policy on water tanks, and a move by the BWA to assist persons in paying for tanks who otherwise may struggle to own them. He meanwhile added that he is satisfied the BWA is doing all it can to address the problem of a low water supply, as “all possible options” are being explored, including efforts at water conservation, conducting repairs and sourcing additional water. (RSM)

Employers are being encouraged to equip themselves to deal with the possible increase in levels of violence in the workplace, which could come about as a spill-over effect from the upsurge of violence and violent crime being witnessed at the level of the society.

Yvonne Hall, President of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC), yesterday suggested that the rise in violent crime is now of major concern.

Speaking during the “Violence in the Workplace” Seminar held by the BEC at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, she cautioned business owners and employers to be on their guard.

“One of the major concerns on the minds of many is the upsurge in violent crime, especially the recent spate of gun-related crime, which has been the main cause of the unprecedented murder rate for Barbados, which stood at an alarming 49 deaths for the year 2019 and has so far reached five for 2020,” Hall remarked.

“Additionally, we seem to be faced with a more aggressive society, which when coupled with the harsh economic realities faced by Barbadians, could lead to increased workplace violence, including an increase in robberies. Whilst it has been reported by police that major crime overall declined in 2019, the level of violence in society is still of significant concern, as it affects people from all walks of life in our society, and by extension the perception of our tourism product. Therefore, employers and business owners must ensure they are equipped to deal with the eventuality and possible increase in violence in the workplace,” the BEC President maintained.

Hall later stated that with the hike in violent crimes and the International Labour Organisation’s adoption of the new Violence and Harassment Convention, those at the helm of the BEC thought it an opportune time for the business community to evaluate the effect of violence in the world of work and discuss mitigating strategies.

“This track record has prompted the BEC to engage in dialogue with the competent bodies of the Ministry of Labour, the Labour Department, The Royal Barbados Police Force, Evergreen Associates, the Barbados Workers’ Union and the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at the Cave Hill Campus, to produce this seminar,” she indicated.

Presentations were later given on the role of the police force and security personnel as it relates to workplace violence, as well as on emotional and ethical considerations surrounding violence; and a panel discussion was held on the topic during the seminar.
(RSM)

OPPOSITION Senator Caswell Franklyn believes that relocating the fire station in the City to the Pine Plantation Road could be a recipe for a disaster should there be another fire in Bridgetown.

His comments came in the Upper Chamber yesterday, on a resolution – Crown Lands (Vesting and Disposal) Act Cap 225 Pine Plantation Road.

During his contribution to the Bill, which was introduced by Senator Lucille Moe, he stressed that there was no need to rush to create another green space in the City, since there is one just a few metres away in Independence Square.

Furthermore, he lamented that Barbados could find itself reliving the horrors of the Campus Trendz tragedy where six young women lost their lives, should a fire truck not be able to get into the City.

“Many more would die,” he said.

“That is called Central Fire Station for a reason. Because it is centrally located, just like Central Police Station. You wouldn't have a fire station in Bridgetown anymore. That is not foresight, that is madness,” he charged.

“Pray tell me, what sense that makes, you put it up in Pine Plantation?”

Franklyn further pointed out that with a school in the area, it would make it virtually impossible for fire officials to navigate traffic to get out of their headquarters.

“What are we thinking? What is the motive behind this move…why are we now pulling down the old National Insurance building, destroying the fire station?”

He added, "Yes, the fire station needs fixing. It might even need re-doing, but re-do it on the same spot and make the green space smaller.

“You are putting Barbadians at risk. You are putting people in these big buildings in Bridgetown at risk.”

He suggested that this decision should have been taken to the country “and let people have their say”.
(JH)

Forty Barbadians seeking employment could land themselves jobs working in the housekeeping department at Canada’s Blue Mountain Resort.

Senior Recruiter, John Barrie, and Human Resources Coordinator, Lauren Struthers, were both on hand at the Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations yesterday where they conducted interviews with potential candidates.

Barrie explained that this is the third time Blue Mountain has sought to recruit staff from Barbados. He added that those selected will work with the resort for a period of one year and they will commence work
in “April, May or June, whenever we can get all the paperwork and everything done”.

The recruiter said there was great interest shown in the past by locals in working at Blue Mountain and there has been a similar response on this occasion.

“The last year I was here – which was a year-and-a-half ago – we interviewed 115 people for 30 spots, and this year I think we are interviewing 40-ish.”

He continued, “Some have already been chosen because they are already returning, so we will be looking at 40 people for maybe 15 to 18 spots. So it is very, very popular, large numbers. That is why we come here because we really do get selection and we get top quality. It is really hard to say no because even if we go with 15 or 20, easily 30 we could have hired.”

The senior recruiter said they will be seeking to hire a diverse group made up of both men and women. He noted that the last time they recruited staff from Barbados the youngest person hired was 20 while the oldest was in their early 60s.
(MG)