It was her first time participating in a speech contest and Gabrielle Anderson walked away victorious.

The fourth-year student of the Christ Church Foundation School (CCFS) on Friday won the Black History Month Secondary School Speech Competition. It was held in the Liberal Arts Auditorium at the Barbados Community College.

This is the third year for the annual contest which is organised by the Embassy of the United States of America to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS.

A total of six schools- CCFS, Combermere School, Springer Memorial Secondary School, The Lodge School, The St. Michael School and Queen’s College were involved in the competition. Each school was represented by one student who was required to speak for five minutes on the speech prompt that they selected. They were additionally required to respond to follow-up questions asked by the judging panel.

Speaking to The Barbados Advocate, Anderson said she was “in shock” and was “very excited” to have won the grand prize package valued at US $1 000 for her school and herself. She additionally thanked God, her teacher and everyone who played a role in her winning the competition.

English teacher, Dr. Agnel Barron who accompanied Anderson said she was “ecstatic” that she came out on top.

“I am very proud of Gabrielle. She worked really hard and she really represented us quite well. So I am thrilled.”

The second prize during Friday’s competition was awarded to Jaheim Thomas who is a fourth-year student of The Lodge School. In third place was third-year pupil, Crystal Headley of the Combermere School.(MG)

The Pride of Barbados Awards will not be a one-off event in St. Peter. Rather, Member of Parliament for that constituency, Colin Jordan is hoping to make it an annual occurrence.

He told this to the audience at St. Peter's Parish Church on Sunday night during the Awards Ceremony. This event, which was one of the activities on the national We Gatherin' calendar, was staged by the government in association with the St. Peter Parish Organising Committee. 

Thirteen residents were honoured for their invaluable contributions to the parish, and by extension the country, in different fields. They were: Haynesley Benn, Denis Bovell, Kenneth Yeoman, Colin Brathwaite, Aird Atherley, John Gary Edwards, Barry Downes, Pierre Dave Hurley, Cavil Best, Charles Sandiford, Simeon Alisop, Sherryl Griffith and Henry Rock.

Those we award this evening are not all of the persons who deserve to be awarded and so this is going to be an annual exercise where we award persons year by year and persons, not just those who live on the island, but Barbadians who live aboard but who have contributed either while they were here or continue to contribute as residents in a foreign country.

Speaking about the We Gatherin' events held in St. Peter, Jordan said it has been a good month so far. He highlighted those events occurring this week and he encouraged Barbadians to support these as well as the upcoming events which will occur in St. Thomas in March and other parishes during the year. 

We Gatherin' Barbados 2020 is not just about Barbadians who live outside of Barbados and them coming home, that is a significant part of We Gatherin' Barbados 2020, but We Gatherin' Barbados 2020 also includes Barbadians from across the country who are still here enjoying the country parish by parish and making that decision to recommit to the process of nation building. So we encourage all of you to move from parish to parish. (MG)

It was announced by Minister of Agriculture, Indar Weir that the sugar havest would begin yesterday, February 24. So said, so done. The Barbados Advocate was able to capture some of the freshly harvested cane being transported from Edgecumbe, St.Philip to Portvale Sugar Factory yesterday.

Around 12:40 pm, a large transport vehicle arrived to collect the cane from two new in-field tipping trailers parked in a field in Edgecumbe. This publication understands from sources on the ground that these new pieces of equipment were being used for the first time. This method will be replacing transport stations due to its cost-effectiveness.

The first black person to be elected as Speaker of Barbados House of Assembly will be honoured later this week when a road is renamed after him.

Member of Parliament for St. Peter, Colin Jordan told the gathering at St. Peter's Parish Church on Sunday night that this will occur on Friday. 

Cabinet met and approved a proposal to rename what is now called the Speightstown by-pass road after the late Sir Kenmore Husbands, K.N.R. Husbands.

He added, The Prime Minister and her Cabinet thought it fitting that as St. Peter celebrated its month and as that month coincided quite nicely with our theme of celebrating heritage, but also as it is African Awareness Month, that celebrating the contribution of the first black speaker of the House of Assembly was something that we had to do. So on Friday afternoon we plan to unveil a sign that will indicate that road will be renamed after Sir Kenmore Husbands and the Prime Minister will share a few remarks at that event.

The Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations was at the time addressing the Pride of Barbados Awards Ceremony. This event, which was one of the activities on the national We Gatherin' calendar, was staged by the government in association with the St. Peter's Parish Organising Committee.

Jordan explained to attendees that the late Sir Kenmore, whose full name is Kenmore Nathaniel Rhystone Husbands, was an icon for St. Peter, an icon in Speightstown and an icon for Barbados.

The late Sir Kenmore Husbands died in 1991.

Government is moving forward with its plans to abolish the Common Entrance Examination, and Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw says they are hoping that this year will see the last cohort of students sit that exam.

Speaking during day one of the Estimates Debate, as the budget allocated for the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training came under scrutiny, Minister Bradshaw, as she sat in the well of the House at the temporary location at the Worthing Corporate Centre, indicated that the days of that examination are numbered and if all goes well, 2021/2022 is expected to see a new initiative being rolled out. The disclosure came as she made it clear that the decision on the way forward will not be the Government’s alone, noting they intend to consult with the public from as early as next month to determine the type of model that will suit this country.

Her comments came as she explained that the goal of eliminating the Common Entrance is to not only improve the education system, but the future of students and society in general.

“We have recognised that at many of our institutions, students feel as though in many cases when they hit 10, 11, their future has already been predetermined and we are seeing a significant fallout, where students when they go into secondary school, are exiting school without the relevant qualifications. It is an area, Ma’am, that I don’t think any of us can continue to ignore... I think a lot of what we are seeing across the society in terms of the fallout of crime and the number of socio-economic issues confronting the society, all make their way back to a very frustrated student population, which emerges into an adult population unable to have the requisite skills to be employed and also be employers themselves,” she said.

Speaking more to the process of doing away with the 11-Plus Exam, Minister Bradshaw said they are in the process of looking at various systems to see what would be best for Barbados. That, she indicated, has included the idea of middle schools and high schools, looking at the best practices internationally and regionally as it relates to such.

“A few weeks ago I established an advisory education committee to be able to delve into not reform in relation to the 11-Plus, but to dig deeper into whether our system is working for us in terms of teacher training and evaluation, continuing education, tertiary education – what is it that we need to now project in terms of the type of educational system that we want to see. And a large part of that transition obviously starts with the 11-Plus Examination, whether a decision will be made in terms of extending the age for primary, so that you would extend it for a longer period – those are all considerations that we are making,” she stated.

Bradshaw spoke also of developing specialist schools in areas such as the arts and agriculture, indicating that the ministry has been engaging the principals and boards of some of the schools regarding the students’ academic performance. She said they have been looking at the deficits that exist and the interest students have so as to shape the school plants accordingly. The Minister also broached the topic of zoning, explaining that one of the recommendations made is for children to attend schools closer to where they live. (JRT)

“WE are ready to do the people’s business.”

Speaker of the House, His Honour Arthur Holder, gave this assurance on the steps of the Worthing Corporate Centre yesterday.

Holder spoke briefly to the media, indicating that he was grateful to the persons who worked assiduously, above and beyond the call of duty, to ensure the Parliament of Barbados was ready.

He noted that he is unable to say how long Parliament will be held at the Worthing, Christ Church location. In response to a question from the media about the cause of the move, Holder responded that there are environmental problems. He added that the move to the new location will ensure that the issue is fixed and they will be able to return to the original location.

“We are here temporarily; (this is) to give the buildings enough time for consultation and quotation, special dimensions and ensure all the problems are remedied,” said Holder.

Leader of the Opposition, Bishop Joseph Atherley, said that the change is necessary and he commended the efforts of those involved in the move.

All Members of Parliament were present for the Estimates yesterday.

Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Sandra Husbands, told the media that she believes the environment will be a lot better than what her colleagues have been experiencing. She added that it will lend itself to all the liberations and create comfort and convenience to do their business.

She said that it is a good move, which will allow the Government to finally deal with the Parliament buildings and make sure those historic buildings are preserved and at the same time, create a healthy environment.

Smooth transition

From 9 a.m. yesterday, the Worthing Corporate Centre was abuzz with activity as private security and members of the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) secured the temporary facilities put in place for Parliament proceedings.

Parliament staff members and Members of Parliament started to arrive as early as 9 a.m. with the Opposition Leader Bishop Atherley and Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley entering the new Parliament at 9:52 a.m. and 10:01 a.m. respectively. One observation made by members of the media was the absence of the national flag on the exterior of the new Parliament. (KB)

Government remains on track with its drive to create additional nursery schools on this island.

Saying the existing 12 nursery schools had a total complement of 1 047 students, Acting Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson noted work was ongoing to increase the number of these facilities to meet the demand for access.

We are currently working with the Maria Holder Memorial Trust and we have started to do expansion work at the Government Hill Nursery School. and we have other plans coming on stream at Sayers Court and Deacons and we are also looking at Holders Hill, so we are looking to expand the number of nursery schools available and that would also increase the number of students that would have access at the age of three, she noted yesterday during the debate on the Appropriation (Amendment) Bill 2020.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw said while the 2013 project which started with the Trust to create six such educational establishments had faced several delays with the last administration, the work needed to ramp up their construction has begun.

We recognise that while it may not have started with us, there was merit being able to provide watchmen for children and therefore we saw it with a great deal of urgency. Government Hill is on track presently, we had some setbacks which have been resolved and we are now about a month behind. In relation to the other projects, we are working with them so that we can finalise all of the necessary arrangements to be able to bring them about, she stated.

Bradshaw insisted government was working to ensure all the necessary systems were put in place to accelerate not only the lease of the lands, but also all of the maintenance arrangements that are necessary for the projects to get underway.

There is now movement on the additional three schools, and the drawings for the other two are completed and it is just a case of finalising the details, but I suspect that within the next year to two, we should be able to have the full complement of what was initially envisaged in terms of being able to get early access to nursery schools for a wider cross section of the population, the minister said. (JMB)

Leader of the Opposition, Bishop Joseph Atherley, has expressed concern about deviance in our schools, and is questioning what is being done to address it.

He raised the concern while making his contribution to the debate on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure yesterday, as the budget for the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training was being discussed. Bishop Atherley spoke to the issue of deviance, while suggesting that the Estimates do not reflect whether or not the Ministry has been able to get a grasp of critical issues like that which surround education in this country.

“One could easily walk away, if one did not read too much further beyond, that there is not a signal here of an intention to robustly and urgently address some of these issues. A couple I would like to raise, Madam Chair – the spread of deviance in the school system in Barbados today... What is the intention of the Ministry in the plan with respect to addressing deviance in the school system, and beyond that, the extent that the Ministry of Education can be involved?” he said.

Beyond deviance, the Opposition Leader is asking for a clear plan to address the “seeming sense of disillusionment” among many school-leavers from both secondary and tertiary institutions. He said they are very negative in terms of their outlook, in respect of their chances of finding career and job opportunities in this country.

“Barbados is faced with some economic constraints. We understand the level of employment that now is current, but I have repeatedly said that beyond the level of unemployment, there is what I call the scourge of underemployment in Barbados and certainly that is something with which the Ministry would have to be significantly concerned,” the Bishop stated.

Atherley’s comments came as he noted that this country invests millions of dollars every year in the education system and we are “producing good products” from the system, but he lamented that beyond that, the situation they find themselves in on completing their studies, does not lead to great optimism.

“I would want to think that this is one of the things with which we would concern ourselves as we talk here over the next period with respect to the intentions of this ministry,” he said.

Bishop Atherley also spoke to the apparent growing tension between the Ministry of Education and teachers. Referring to the many public spats between the ministry and the teachers’ unions, the Opposition Leader frowned on such, contending that the country can ill afford for such taking place.

“With all the other challenges we have, we really cannot afford adding that to the mix,” he maintained. (JRT)

THIS country’s tough economic conditions are continuing to have some impact on the School Meals Department (SMD), which administers lunches daily for primary school students and some with special issues at the secondary schools.

Yesterday Ms. Dawn Browne, the Acting Manager of the School Meals Department, put the issues in perspective while responding to a query from Opposition Leader, Bishop Joseph Atherley, during consideration of the 2020/2021 Appropriations Bill.

Bishop Atherley had queried the $19 million transfer to the Department as outlined in the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for next year. He said that he also got the impression that some of the agencies and entities involved had recognised the financial constraints.

Ms. Browne, in response, said that as far as the SMD is concerned, they have had to make changes in the menu in relation to the nutritional quality of the foods served to the children.

According to her, the Department has had to use more locally produced items by getting supplies from the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC).

She said that those supplies from the BADMC were more nutritious and that it meant reducing the volume of imported items used in the school feeding programme.

Those imported supplies were sourced through the tendering process, Ms. Browne added.

The Estimates show a small reduction in the allocations for the Department for next financial year. They have moved from $22.5 million this current year to $20.3 million for the coming year.

Personal emoluments will fall from $12.1 million currently, to $10.6 million. No new vehicles will be made available next year for the Department, and supplies and materials used in the school feeding programme have been slashed from the current year’s allocations of $7.1 million to $6.1 million next year, according to the Draft Estimates.

However, machinery and equipment will absorb just under $400,000 and whereas this year the bill for travel was given as $35,000, it will be lowered to $30,000 next year. (JB)

Invest in your heritage, and use its richness to expand your creative horizon, is the advice young artists are being given by two international designers.

Mahdiyyah Muhammad and Malcolm-Emilio Yarde, two young creatives from North America and Canada respectively, have honed their skills in embracing their African heritage, with modern insights. Recently, the pair visited the island to interact with some young designers, and in doing so, created a small clothing collection that has been inspired by the island’s beauty.

Emilio was the brains behind the initiative, and recently during a sit-down with the group, he expanded further on what first inspired their vision.

“My father is from Barbados and I have been visiting the island for years. It took me a while, but now during this visit to Barbados, I am coming with more of my creative crafts and my intent on connecting with my generation a lot more. I’ve been doing my work and personal study for the past 7-10 years, and I have not felt like I’ve created a familiar space here where my family is from. I’ve done it all over the world where I had no personal connection, so it was important for me to begin a creative space here on the island,” he explained.

In creating his space that would uplift his art to new heights by appealing to the mind, soul and body of clients, Emilio sought the advice and artistic partnership from Mahdiyyah, who up to this point has been seen as a must-watch fashion mogul from the New Jersey area.

Unlike other designers, 29-year-old Mahdiyyah prefers a more hands on approach to her art; her unique sew skills added to her Sudanese background gives her a vivid flare with her pieces that her clients gravitate towards to.

Though it is her first time on the island, her experience so far during her meetings with local artists has been an inspiring one.

“I definitely feel as though I’ve had a warm welcome here from everyone I met so far. Being able to just move around and speak to people from various walks of life has been inspiring. I did a few e-mails out to persons and some messaging on Instagram to reach out to people and they have been very receptive,” she said.

The new collection, called ‘Earth Rhythms’, intends to be the amalgamation of the group’s skill and experience over the years in fashion, as well the addition of West Indian vibes. Not only were all the designs for the new brand done here on the island, but all the material was sourced on the island as well.

“Well I am a seamstress by trade, and have been sowing since I was about 10 years old. Malcolm himself had the vision and designs for a lot of the pieces, while I added in what was also in my mind to the fabric. We really thought it was important to create our own textiles and not just purchase fabrics and just make anything. We really wanted to take our inspiration, energy and vibe that we were receiving here on the island and channel that into the final pieces,” Mahdiyyah revealed.

With their experience on the international platform, the two designers both believe it is important for artists from African descendants, to fully leverage their background when creating new pieces for market, as this approach would inevitably help them stand out in the fashion world in what has proven to a very competitive field.

Government is seeking to introduce school counsellors to the educational system to aid guidance counsellors in their duties.  

Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Santia Bradshaw said that with immense tragedy experienced in our schools in recent times the ministry is looking to how best to respond to these challenges. Speaking during the debate on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the 2020/2021 financial year at the Worthing Corporate Centre, where Parliament is being temporarily being convened, Minister Bradshaw said they have had to relook the intention to place additional guidance counsellors in secondary schools.

When we started out thinking about guidance counsellors and adding just that additional support for the existing guidance counsellor, who really is managing not 200 or 300 but in some cases 800 or 900 students on the roll; and out of that number you are having sometimes  20, 30 per cent of students having to face the guidance counsellor at some point for some type of intervention, she said.

Minister Bradshaw explained that particularly after the events at Frederick Smith Secondary School, which saw one student lose his life, they looked at retitling the new position to that of school counsellors. She explained that while the existing guidance counsellors needed the additional support, they also recognised that there was a need for someone who could focus on assessments, home visits, share the workload and also capture information to assist the Student Support Services Department within the ministry. Such information, she said, would help the senior psychologist within that department to develop a database that identifies the challenges across the system.

No more would it be a simple case of waiting until something happens to identify that a child was exhibiting symptoms from primary school and then entered secondary school and we wait until that headline hits us in the paper, but rather that we are proactive in identifying through the support systems now, a whole-school-approach to interventions which did not exist before. We are trying to break down what they call the silos, trying to break down the miscommunication where some people may not quite appreciate that the sharing of information is critical to being able to get to the root cause of the problem, and we have been working assiduously to try to deal with that, she indicated.

With that in mind, she said the new school counsellors will be employed by the ministry, but be stationed at the schools, working closely with the existing guidance counsellors, the principal, the Student Support Services Department and the various support entities that come into the institutions such as Supreme Counselling for Personal Development.

We have focused on building out the support services team beyond the Ministry of Education, but looking at all of the additional support personnel who can be involved in the system, in helping us, but mainly to be able to capture data. There is no point inviting an entity to come into the school to talk to children and when they unravel behavioural problems, that we are not able to know as a ministry what interventions may be necessary. Mentoring is fine, talking to a student is fine, but often there are some deep-rooted issues that as a ministry we need to be able to provide that support and that counselling immediately to help to address, Bradshaw stated.

She said in addition to these new counsellors, there will also be safety officers and social workers deployed into the schools. Her comments came as she said have had to re-advertise the post of school counsellor, and expect that by the start of the new term all the various positions will be filled. (JRT)

MINISTER of Education Santia Bradshaw says it could take another $3 to $4 million to finish the School Meals Department (SMD) in Six Roads, St. Philip.

She was responding to a question posed by Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley on the first day of the Estimates debate yesterday.

According to Bradshaw, Last year when we spoke on the issue of Six roads I indicated that as I came to Office assuming that we were going to be able to turn keys and move into the Six Roads facility only to discover that there had been significant cost overruns at that facility under the last administration.

We had spent the last few months negotiating with the contractor; we have had to meet with the sub-contractors as well on the site with the view of trying to negotiate.

There are lots of legal issues that I suspect will arise in relation to the non-payment of funds by the main contractor to sub-contractors. The matter is currently before the Planning and Priorities body 

so that we will return to them on Friday with a view of putting a plan of action in place to take back over the facility by the ETMU (Education Technical Management Unit) department to 

ensure that project is completed, she added.

In its current form we have not been able to reach an agreement in terms of the way forward with the contract and we have spent a lot of meetings trying to come to consensus but we have not been able to come to consensus on the monies that he believes are owed to him, she continued.

She told those gathered, When we went to the facility there was tremendous equipment in the facility. It is perhaps about 70 per cent completed but it will probably take between another $3 or $4 more million to be able to complete. And there is lots of landscaping work that still has to be done. There was a dispute initially regarding the kitchen pipes, and that led to a long protracted, drawn out process of negotiation.

The contractors indicated that they could proceed with the pipes as they work and the project manager disagreed with the installation of the pipes and the ability of the pipes to take the temperature that would emanate from the kettles in the kitchen. As a consequence we have agreed that we will move toward a termination of the agreement with a view to moving forward to restart the facility and get it back into operation in the shortest time frame, the education minister stated.

Back in 2018 Minister Bradshaw lamented that the facility started out at $19 million and six years later the cost had shot up to $26 million and counting.

The building was expected to improve accommodations for the staff of the SMD now headquartered in Country Road, The City, and double as a mass feeding centre in times of natural disaster.

PRINCIPAL of the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College (ETTC) Dr. Patricia Saul has given the assurance that a concerted effort has been made to ensure that teachers are equipped to identify challenges in students.

Her comment came during the Estimates debate yesterday, as she responded to Member of Parliament for Christ Church West Central Adrian Forde who queried about the established procedure, if any, to deal with students having challenges and the role of the teachers.

In response, Dr. Saul said, “I am pleased to report that our teacher training programmes are all structured to include components on human growth and development which facilitate an understanding of how children grow and how their differences can be detected and also activities that could be used to address those differences. In addition to that, there are courses in differentiated instruction which allows teachers to select different courses to address those needs which are deviating from the norm.”

“Particularly, there are courses in special needs education. So that those persons who might have areas like dyslexia and so on, are identified and strategies put in place to deal with them. However, we recognise that because of the number of students who are presenting [with] these problems, there is a greater need for us to pay attention to this particular aspect of care.”

Dr. Saul explained that the college started a Diagnostic Unit for children who present with certain difficulties especially in the area of literacy. “Not only diagnosing their needs, but also developing strategies which teachers can use to intervene on behalf of these students, so that these deficits are compensated so that these students don’t leave school with those deficits.”

She added that the Diagnostic Centre provides more discreet analysis for those children who might have been presenting with difficulty in school.

“So if you have a child in the school who is at Class 2 and is not reading and you can identify that particular child at the Diagnostic Centre, we can do the investigation to find out exactly where the problem is and then identify, having profiled the child, identify the strategy that can be used to move that child forward. That is what we can do as a college,” the principal said.

The principal conceded that there are some students who have difficulty dealing with conflict. “And so we have started to renew our emphasis on values education so that we are teaching our children how to deal with conflict in a very different way. So these are some of the ways we are trying to address the difficulties which have presented in the education system to ensure that all of our students get to achieve their full potential.”

“All of our training programmes whether it be at the primary of secondary level includes components which allow teachers to be able to recognise differences and difficulties. However, when it comes to specialised intervention, we do not have the skills to do that. That specialised intervention is done by the Ministry of Education through their psychologists and through their social workers.”

“What we can do, we can implement some classroom strategies to help to differentiate the instruction so that those children who have different learning needs and learning styles are accounted for. However when it comes to really specialised care we can only relay that information to the Ministry of Education and the officers there are skilled to do that sort of intervention,” she explained. (JH)

There is an ongoing process of auditing secondary schools and an intended audit of primary schools with the aid of the Inter-American Development Bank, which will allow the Government to analyse and repair school infrastructure.

These comments were made by Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Santia Bradshaw, at the debate on Government’s Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
“Why this is important is because we are not waiting for funds to become available in this economy, then make the hard decisions to assess what finding is necessary. I believe that while we are trying to out the fire, we have to lay the foundation for what is to come.”

Bradshaw noted that with the improving economy, the plan was to utilise the information gathered from the audit to better use the funds to build out the infrastructure in a way that is necessary. The leader was responding to a question posed by St. Michael South representative Kirk Humphrey, Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy. Humphrey inquired about the outcry about recent school closures and wanted to know the plan for more efficient repairs of the infrastructure.

In reply, Bradshaw lamented the fact that the Ministry was one of emergency response, answering calls about cow-itch or damaged pipes and other environmental issues.

She also contended that though that was the case, the ministry would continue to deal with current issues, which mainly stemmed from external factors and water-related issues.

The minister then highlighted that the ministry had taken the stance to not put the lives of students and teachers at risk and once the problem was identified and there was no other option, school closure was necessary.

“What I saw as I visited plant after plant was an environment in which I could not talk about big picture topics like reform until I settled the environment where people were going to school to teach and to learn.”

Another challenge faced by the administration to an efficient repair schedule was the time frame. According to Bradshaw, the summer time span of eight weeks in reality turned out to be five to six weeks with one or two weeks lost due to teachers moving back into the school at the end of the break and also cleaning the premises.

A key problem mentioned by Bradshaw also came from the effects of painting where even with the use of low odour paint, there were still complaints across the board about the smell. To try to bring the work to an earlier end, meant that contractors had to work overtime. Funds allocated to the ministry for the repair of plant infrastructure increased from Bds$3.2 million to over $5 million and allowed the ministry to impact more schools. (AS)

After taking a break last year, Miss Holetown Queen of the Festival is back.

Seven young ladies will be in the spotlight when the pageant is held on Sunday, September 20, 2020 at Queen’s College School Hall.

Normally, the Queen of the Festival pageant culminates the week-long activities of the Holetown Festival every February.

It is a spectacular production showcasing the many attributes of young women across Barbados. Talent, beauty, eloquence and poise are just a few of those attributes.

During the opening of the 2020 Holetown Festival, reigning Miss Queen of the Festival 2018, Sheryl Forde, revealed that the pageant took a short break to make some improvements, and it was decided to shift the date this year to be part of the St. James We Gatherin’ Barbados 2020 celebration activities in September.

“To the disheartening of many last year, we did not host our Queen show. We took a year to revamp and bring to you a new concept and an even more spectacular show in 2020,” she indicated.

“Therefore, it is with great felicity that I announce that Miss Holetown Queen of the Festival pageant will be held during the St. James We Gatherin’ celebration. The Holetown Festival Committee concluded on the great decision to bring a piece of the Festival, and what I believe to be the climax and the heart of it, to the festivities in September, as we celebrate the spirit of community and who we are as Barbadians.” (TL)

Selected CARICOM countries came together yesterday at the Hilton Barbados Resort for a workshop with the objective of raising awareness on the importance of becoming party to and fully implementing the Universalisation of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT), the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its 2005 Amendment.

The eleven countries met in the Peninsula Room of the Hilton Resort for the workshop done by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Canada. Didier Trebucq, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Barbados and Eastern Caribbean States thanked the Government of Canada, represented by the High Commissioner of Canada in Barbados Marie Legault, for the crucial role they played in the promotion of the international framework against Nuclear Terrorism and for the financial support that made the workshop possible.

Seeking to “deliver as one”, Trebucq stated that as UN Resident Coordinator in Barbados and the OECS, he was mandated to co-ordinate the work of the UN Sub-regional team, to ensure the operational efficiency across the board. He also said that he was honoured to support this initiative substantively led by the colleagues from UNODC headquarters in Vienna, in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the international centre for co-operation in the nuclear field for the UN.

Senator Dr. Jerome Walcott, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados was one of the featured speakers at the opening of the workshop and explained that the government of Barbados understood the importance.

“The Government of Barbados recognises that these two conventions have an important role to play in the maintenance of international peace and security by seeking to foster co-operation amongst UN member states thereby ensuring the safety of their citizens while eliminating the dreadful scourge of terrorism.”

Walcott highlighted the fact that radioactive materials were being used in the region and it was necessary to be aware of that fact.

“We should of course recognise that in the vast majority of states, there are radioactive substances or isotopes which are used in numerous medical, industrial and other purposes outside of nuclear facilities. The common example is the use of Cobalt-60 which is widely used for the treatment of certain cancers.”

The acquisition of these substances, according to the senator, was a target of creative and disreputable terrorists. Walcott then reiterated that the Government of Barbados wanted the island and the region to be seen as a peaceful zone.

“We will willingly and according to our means and our resources, join with regional and international partners to work together in preventing acts of terror and the misuse of nuclear material thereby making sure that our region remains a zone of peace.”

The workshop which continues for the next three days was designed to deliver the specific learning objectives in an interactive manner. It includes plenary sessions in order to engage the participants in discussions, followed by expert presentations and a practical exercise.

The workshop will equip participants in the requirements of the two conventions, inform them about the benefits and challenges of adhering to the legal instruments and incorporating their provisions into national legislation.

Legislation is coming to deal with the matter of discrimination in the workplace.

That’s the word from Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations Colin Jordan, who said that the Bill has already been approved by the Cabinet and it is expected that it will make its way to Parliament to be debated soon. He made the revelation yesterday morning as the second day of the debate on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure resumed at the Worthing Corporate Centre, where Parliament is being temporarily held while environmental problems at the Parliament Buildings are being rectified.

Sitting in the Well of Parliament, flanked by senior officials from his ministry – Permanent Secretary Dr. Karen Best and Chief Labour Officer Claudette Hope-Greenidge, Minister Jordan said that workers are being discriminated against for a number of things and the proposed legislation is intended to prevent such from happening. He went further, indicating that the Prevention of Discrimination Bill will seek to prevent employers from using “frivolous reasons” for terminating employees or putting them at a disadvantage or refusing to even hire persons because of such things as ethnicity, class, gender and disability among other things.

“We have a responsibility really to safeguard the dignity of our people, we have a responsibility to make sure that there is inclusion, so that when an employer seeks to pick on a person because of their colour or shade, because we have some of that in Barbados as well...in certain jobs you had to look a certain way to get the job, employers would tell you this is a frontline job and I want a person who is not too this or is not too that. Those kinds of views have no place in a modern Barbados, in a developing Barbados, in a Barbados that is seeking to build its people and so we see ourselves as protecting the dignity of our people; we also see ourselves as facilitating the inclusion of everybody,” he said.

Minister Jordan said that every Barbadian and person residing in this country has the right to contribute to their own development and the development of the country and not to be discriminated against in those efforts.

“We believe the discrimination bill will start to create in the minds of employers that we are dealing with human being, we are dealing with people who have to be treated as human beings,” he stated.

He spoke to this just moments after indicating his ministry is cognisant that the power relationship in the workplace is not equal and that they have a responsibility to bring some equity to the matter. With that in mind, he appealed to all employers to treat their staff as people. He made the point while indicating that too many employers focus on labour and do not focus on people.

“It has to be understood they come to the workplace, not as machines with algorithms driving them, but as people who have woken up, some to a sick child, a nagging somebody, to all kinds of issues and illness and these are persons who are expected to perform. Now machines do not have to take those other things into consideration, human beings have to,” he maintained. (JRT)

The Coleridge and Parry School brought the curtain down on its month-long celebrations in a big way yesterday with several activities at the school.

These were held in celebration of the educational institution’s 68th anniversary of its amalgamation and they formed part of the day’s ‘CP Gives Back’ initiative. They also coincided with the school’s contribution to the national We Gatherin’ celebrations in St. Peter.

Chief among yesterday's happenings was the unveiling of an Anti-Bullying Mural on the school’s compound. This mural, which carries positive messages such as ‘It’s not cool to be cruel’ and ‘Respect Everyone’, was conceptualised by English teacher, the late Corileus Barrow. It was painted by the Students Council and other pupils. They were assisted by teachers Cindy Broome-Webster, Richard Alleyne and Lydia Lawrence.

Other activities on the day included monetary presentations by students during the morning’s full assembly to the Barbados Cancer Society (BCS) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

CDEMA’s Deputy Executive Director, Elizabeth Riley, accepted a cheque in the sum of $3125 to go towards the Barbados Bahamas Relief Fund. Meanwhile, BCS’ Walk Manager-Breast Screening Programme, Michelle Straughn, accepted a cheque in the sum of $1930.00, which were funds raised by pupils during the school’s Pink Day event.

Also during morning assembly old scholar Alvin Jemmott addressed the student body and presented a copy of his book to the school.

Additionally on Tuesday, as part of ‘CP Gives Back’ students visited five persons from the St. Peter community. Each individual was given a hamper to express appreciation for the contribution they have made to the educational institution over the years.

The Coleridge and Parry School’s choir also paid a visit to a nearby nursing home to perform for the seniors.

Principal, Sonja Goodridge, described the February’s activities as “an awesome experience”. She added, “It was busy but I do believe that it was a good idea. The initiative was a good one and some of the activities are activities that we will keep. Not everything can be done again but the 6K and the cricket competition will be features now on the annual calendar for us.”

Speaking about the ‘CP Gives Back’ initiative, she said, “It was all about showing the students that they need to give back” and helping them to have a better understanding about the importance of giving to others.

Some $1.5 million have been earmarked within the upcoming budget of the Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations, for the National First Jobs Initiative.

According to Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations, Colin Jordan, this money is to assist in executing the pilot of the National First Jobs Initiative, dubbed Job Start Plus.

During the debate on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for his ministry yesterday at the Worthing Corporate Centre, the minister indicated that the pilot programme is expected to cater to 500 young people.

“The intention is to be fair in terms of the persons who are involved in the programme... While the programme is ours, located in our ministry, we will use as part of the basis of our populating the programme, those households that have been identified as the most vulnerable regardless of the spread, in terms of geographic spread. That will be for one of the bases, but outside of that, we will try to be fair across the board,” he stated.

Jordan explained that through the initiative, persons will get the benefit of much needed “real work experience” for a period of 12 months. He said the programme will address head on the challenge faced by young people to get job experience.

“We’ve recognised as a government and as a ministry that what our young people are saying to us is correct. Whenever they look at job advertisement, there is the requirement for at least 12 months of work experience – nobody gives them that 12 months of work experience, but everybody wants them to have that 12 months of work experience. Many of them are caught in that vicious circle,” he lamented.

Additionally, he said the programme is intended to instil in the participants the discipline that is needed to help them excel in life and the world of work.

“...Our young people have to learn you get up at six o’clock in the morning, you have to get a cup of tea and two biscuits or two slices of bread. You have to bathe and brush your teeth, put on your clothes and get the six o’clock bus and get to work by eight o’clock. Put in your eight hours of work; dress appropriately for that work; understand that a lunch hour is what it says, one hour for lunch; that you don’t leave before your closing time and you go home. And when you get your stipend, that you learn that you have to put aside a little bit, you have to put some down for bus fare, some for lunch – these are the things that too many of our young people are no longer being exposed to,” the labour minister lamented.

Jordan said that this is because we live in an era where parents are spoiling their children, giving them everything, and not instilling the necessary discipline that would stand them in good stead to properly navigate the work environment.

“The Jobs Start Plus, government’s First Jobs Initiative, is intended to create in young people that discipline in work and that attitude to work, that allows them to be productive citizens in this country. We expect that the private sector will partner fully with us in this programme. We have gone out to many of the private sector partners already; we will be intensifying that reach and
be requesting that they partner with us on that programme,” he added.

(JRT)

Defaulting is not “a catastrophic exercise”.

This was the suggestion made by Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations, Colin Jordan, while defending his Government’s decision to default on its external public debt in June 2018.

He was taking issue with the statements made by former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart recently as he addressed a packed hall at the Princess Margaret Secondary School.

“If the country had paid the debt that was due in 2018, by the time Christmas came around, whoever bought toy cars, LEGO sets or new curtains would not have been able to do that because our foreign exchange, whatever little we had left, would have disappeared. Now I do not know what the administration would have planned to do by not defaulting and paying it. It is one thing to ask the Central Bank to keep printing money, to keep absorbing the appetite the last government had for credit … but they probably would have devalued. That would have been the only option,” he said.

Speaking in the Lower House during the debate on the Exchange Control (Amendment) Bill, 2020, Jordan claimed the former government refused to consider alternatives to take the country “out of the hole”.

“Defaulting is not a good thing, but it was spoken to last weekend as though it was a catastrophic exercise. But I started by speaking to confidence, because a government like this Labour Party government is in my view at 21 months is an exemplar of what good governance is all about,” he added.

The St. Peter MP said for there to be continued growth in the country, citizens had to focus more on earning than on spending.

“There are many large economies that have a significant component to drive economic activity. Barbados also has a certain degree of that, but as a small economy without many natural resources, we have to fix our minds on how we earn foreign exchange,” he stated.