GUARDIAN Life of the Caribbean has made a USD$40 000 donation to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) to go towards the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies, as the country continues to reinforce its defence against COVID 19.

Yesterday morning the presentation of a cheque was made at the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ fifth floor office on Culloden Road.

Speaking on behalf of Guardian Life was Linette Mapp Manager, Administration (Barbados) who said: “In our business we seek to protect our Caribbean people not only through the products and services we offer but also in the financial commitment and support we can extend to the communities we serve.”

“Without a doubt healthcare professionals face imminent danger given the complexity of this virus, juxtaposed by the oath they have taken to provide care and attention whilst trying to save lives. Their efforts cannot go unnoticed and by extension their health and safety must remain paramount.”

It is against this backdrop that she he said Guardian Life is happy to make the donation of USD$40 000 towards the purchase of PPE as well as to boost the QEH’s stockpile as well as to boost efforts to stockpile an emergency supply as part of the hospital’s COVID-19 management plan.

“In Barbados, the management of this disease cannot be understated and we are equally pleased as reported by the Minister of Health and Wellness that we have achieved no new cases to date.”

“Guardian Life also echoes the sentiments of the Minister on emphasising that as a people we must not be complacent as the fight is not over.

Deputy Chairman of the QEH Board of Management Dr. Abdul Mohamed thanked the officials from Guardian Life for their donation to the Martindale’s Road institution as he noted the high costs associated with the treatment of COVID 19.

“In the last six months life as we know it has changed and changed significantly and it has come at a significant cost especially to the health sector. We at the QEH have been surprised by unbudgeted expense in terms of providing facilities, purchases and unprecedented reorganisation and restructuring of the way we do things and it has come at a significant cost. So the donation like this from the public... the private sector is invaluable, it goes a long way in financing the new normal that we have had to adopt at the QEH,” said. (JH)

THE time has come to say goodbye to the Barbados dollar.

This is the view of former Central Bank of Barbados Governor Dr. Delisle Worrell while delivering a review for his July Economic Letter. He pointed out that the fear of the deadly Covid-19 virus has disrupted economic activity everywhere to an extent that calls for a radical and practical change in economic strategy.

According to Dr. Worrell, “Our dollar, like the other currencies of the Caribbean, is on its way to extinction. The currency is of value only within our 166 square miles, and of limited value even at home, because most of what we buy and sell comes from abroad anyway.”

“We earn next to nothing on savings in Barbados dollars, and what local currency savings we do have is under constant threat of devaluation. We needed local currency decades ago when most payments were made with notes and coins, which were scarce in the island. With most transactions now done by cheque, credit or debit card and online, and with a good supply of US dollars from visitors, it makes sense for the Central Bank to redeem all the outstanding Barbados dollar notes and coins, and to abolish the Barbados dollar once and for all.”

Dr. Worrell explained that this move would immediately relieve all Barbadians of fears that their savings will be worthless when they retire and assure foreign investors of the value of their investment and the expected returns from that investment.

“The Central Bank would still be able to provide an overdraft to Government, using the reserves which commercial banks are obliged to hold with the monetary authority.

He explained that the Central Bank would not be able to create new money to lend to Government. “Only the US Federal Reserve can create monetary liabilities in US dollars. The changeover to the US dollar would need to be carefully planned, fully advertised and explained, and skillfully implemented by the Central Bank. It would be advisable to begin the makeover of the public sector with the Central Bank, and task the renewed Central Bank with this as its first assignment,” he said.

He stressed however that the most urgent task is to restart the tourism industry, which he said Barbados cannot do alone.

“The importance of the earliest possible revival of tourism cannot be overestimated. The Barbadian economy is fuelled by foreign exchange, and tourism provides two-thirds of our foreign exchange. Nothing can make up for that loss in the near term.”

“In order to bring forward the procedures and protocols that will restore confidence in Caribbean tourism, an international cast of actors must be mobilized. The systems and guidelines needed must be developed, agreed and implemented by a worldwide coalition of governments, international agencies, international hotels, airlines, travel companies and all other tourism players.”

“The most effective way for Barbados to engage in this global effort might be via the agency of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association. These discussions should be conducted at the highest level by all parties, including the Prime Ministers of Caribbean tourist destinations,” he said.

The David Thompson Health & Social Services Complex at Glebe Land, St. John will introduce extended opening times very soon, rather than go the full 24-hours.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic said this will come into effect when nurses from the Republic of Ghana arrive in Barbados.

Over 100 nurses from the West African country are expected within a couple of weeks, he disclosed.

The healthcare workers who will boost the nursing complement at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), District Hospitals and Polyclinics arrival had been delayed due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

“You would have recalled that we had to put some brakes on the 24-hour service at the St. John Polyclinic, and that was because of issues we had in relation to the nurses from Ghana. Obviously countries started to go on lockdown, Ghana itself had to deal with COVID-19…I would say probably the two last months or so, we have been in constant contact with authorities in Ghana and I had a meeting about a week and a half ago with the Minister of Health of Ghana,” he revealed.

“They are ready to go, everything now on our end has been done, and now we are in the process of arranging for a flight to bring the nurses from Ghana to Barbados within the next few weeks. And once those nurses have arrived and quarantine and so, then we would be in a better picture in terms of determining when we will commence the service at St. John Polyclinic.”

Minister Bostic, having announced that St. John Polyclinic would now be operating later hours than it currently does, said that move is also due to lack of transportation.

He explained, “You would recall that I did indicate that we would not go a full 24 hours initially. It would become first of all an extended hours clinic, so that the clinic would run seven days a week, and later hours than it currently does. And that is because the transportation situation in the country does not facilitate a 24-hour operation at St. John, so we are awaiting the arrival of buses so that we can sit with MTW, Transport Authority to determine some routes that would facilitate easy access to the clinic at St. John.”

“Also, we looked at the volume of traffic that we saw coming into the Winston Scott 24-hour service and the fact that the numbers coming from St. John and catchment areas of St. George, St. Joseph and St. Andrew were not at that high enough level that would have given us the confidence of going full 24-hours. Now, that may not be a result of persons not available or wanting to access the 24 hour service, but obviously the bus situation was a significant problem.”

The Health Minister added, “So, we are going to start with extended hours, see how that goes, we are going to promote it – and then after that we would then escalate to the full 24-hours. But, it is all incumbent on the arrival of the nurses from Ghana which we expect in a couple weeks.” (TL)

The Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration has scheduled another protest, to be held outside the United States Embassy in Barbados, tomorrow July 4th, 2020.

David Denny, General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration (CMPI) says the protest action is scheduled to coincide with the United States’celebration of Independence Day, as well as the celebration of CARICOM Day in the Caribbean and the aim is to again show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement and to also call for a number of local changes.

“The Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration will organise a protest next to the Embassy of the United States of America in Wildey, St. Michael Barbados. This protest will take place on the 4th of July, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Comrades, you know that this day is the Independence Day for the United States of America. It’s also CARICOM Day and the following da,y the 5th of July is the Independence Day for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” Denny indicated, during a virtual briefing.

“Comrades, we will express our solidarity with CARICOM. We will also recognise the United States of America Independence Day by joining with the Black Lives matter movement in the United States of America to demonstrate our solidarity with the people of the United States,” he added.

“We will also send our solidarity to the Government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and we want to say thanks to that government, for showing solidarity with our region,” he noted.

Acknowledging that a number of speeches and performances are planned for the day by leading artistes, he also noted that calls for the statue of Lord Nelson to be removed from Heroes Square will be reiterated, as well as calls for the Queen to be removed as Head of State of Barbados and for the island to become a republic.

“We will also speak to the agenda about economic democracy and the opening up of our country, to give black businessmen and women opportunities in Barbados. Comrades, we will send our solidarity to the Palestine people also. So I want to invite all of you in Barbados to join the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration and for you to participate in our protest,” Denny commented. (RSM)

IT has not been business as usual for the Rotary Club of Barbados West, which like other clubs and organisations in Barbados, has had to make adjustments to its schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

President of the Rotary Club of Barbados West (RCOBW), Trevor Williams, who was recently elected to serve for a Rotary year, acknowledged the above as he delivered his acceptance address during a virtual installation ceremony held for members of the new board, who will be serving for the period July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

“As we are all aware, the COVID -19 pandemic has forced us to make changes that we had not imagined at the start of Year 2020. For the past three and a half months, we have been unable to assemble for in-person meetings and have had to adapt to a new format. Our installation ceremony this year is unique, but not exceptional in the Rotary World. During the past week, the Annual International Conference was held using digital platforms. Our PETS training this year was also virtual. It is true that online meetings might lack many of the benefits of an in-person meeting such as conversations over dinner, face-to-face networking, fresh perspectives that can come from simply leaving one’s home, but there’s a lot to like about virtual meetings and conferences,” he later added.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be a game changer for the majority of us. It has changed the way we behave, how we perceive things and how we do things. I cannot state with any degree of certainty when it will be over, but I can guarantee you that life will go on after COVID -19 and we must be prepared. In spite of all the good work that has been done in the past, I believe that Rotary is more relevant today than it ever was. Our commitment to service will not change, although we are now operating in a digital world. Now is the opportunity for us to be more innovative in our outreach to the communities that we serve. Now is the opportunity for us to create our greatest impact and show our society that Rotarians and Rotaractors are people of action,” Williams remarked.

“We must be prepared and the plan for the Year 2020/21, which the Board has approved, will ensure that our meetings and activities will be just as exciting as they were before. We will have at least one strategic plan this year, which will help us to chart our course over the next five years.

I want to say that we cannot go through life simply remembering, we can’t keep looking back. We have to be forward thinking in our approach,” the Rotary President stressed.

He meanwhile told fellow Rotarians that he is committed to recommencing in-person meetings as soon as possible, providing all the risk management protocols are in place and they are satisfactory.

He said, “COVID-19 is a time for taking on new challenges. The journey ahead of us is not an opportunity for personal glory, but for the good of Rotary. There is no limit to what we can achieve, even in these challenging times. We have started already with significant donations of tablets to schools. Cash donations have been given to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross Society as well as the Household Mitigation Unit. I shall work closely with my predecessor, as well as my successor, to effect the changes and improvements that are required.” (RSM)

Yesterday, Co-operators General Insurance Company Limited presented $100 shopping vouchers to a number of groups who will be donating them to the needy and vulnerable in their spheres.

The Ann Hill School, the Household Mitigation Unit and the Deighton Griffith School Panthers (Breakfast Club) received the donations from Co-operators General Insurance Company Limited at their headquarters in Upper Collymore Rock. General Manager of the company Anton Lovell explained that Co-operators General Insurance decided that they needed to play a part in supporting those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the surrounding neighbourhoods.

“We decided we need to play our part as a good community minded company and a good corporate citizen as we look around and see what is happening in this island today. Mainly because of the COVID-19 experience, not only companies but [what] families are experiencing at this time,” said Lovell.

The Household Mitigation Unit was represented by the head of the unit, Corey Lane, and members of the DGS Panthers squad were present to accept the donation. Principal of the Ann Hill School, Emelda Belle thanked the company for their donation, alluding to the fact that Co-operators General Insurance had been a blessing to the school over the past five to six years.

She explained that the COVID-19 situation had affected everyone and families were hardest hit.

“During this pandemic, we realised that we were not in a vacuum, it affected the livelihoods of some of our families. As you would imagine, restaurants are closed, tourism is down and these things did impact our students and their families and so we are very grateful to Co-operators General Insurance who has continued to be with us as a community partner,” explained Belle.

Lovell also highlighted that members of the Pinelands and Wildey communities had also been recipients of vouchers as well and persons had already collected some of the packages from the headquarters. (AS)

A complete overhaul of the country’s public services remains the key to sustainable future growth.

So says former Central Bank Governor Dr. Delisle Worrell in his July Economic Review where he gave suggestions on how the country could see some improvements in the economy going forward.

He said the need for public services that are led by “executives of proven ability and manned by highly skilled staff” has been highlighted by the Covid crisis.

“A change of the scope and magnitude required is beyond the capacity of our Government and the agencies providing finance and advice to the Government. The skills of a world-leading firm of management consultants is required.”

Dr. Worrell reiterated that in order to reverse the decline in Barbados’ competitiveness, a 21st century public sector is needed.

“The things that have attracted investment to Barbados in the past are the good quality of roads and infrastructure, efficient up-to-date public utilities, good health and educational facilities, a highly skilled and trainable labour force, and macroeconomic stability. The country’s performance in every one of those areas has been compromised because of the continuing decline in public sector performance, over decades.”

He also pointed out that there is a chronic shortage of finance for multi-million dollar public works programmes which are urgently needed in the country. It was posited that a resurgence in private foreign investment, crucial to the economy for the foreign exchange it brings, can be confidently expected when financial markets fully regain confidence in Government’s economic policies.

“There will then be no shortage of foreign investor interest in well thought out projects that offer competitive returns on investment. ”

“However, there is a shortfall in finance for public investment, in sewerage, water supply, sanitation, public transport, the QEH, roads and other infrastructure and equipment.”

He opined that Government’s declaration of a debt moratorium in June 2018 was a severe blow to the confidence of foreign investors, and the heavy restructuring losses suffered by banks, insurance companies, credit unions, companies and individual bondholders have evaporated the appetite for Government debt.

“Government is therefore entirely dependent on the IDB, the CDB and friendly foreign government agencies to fund its capital works and purchases of capital goods.”

It is in these circumstances, Dr. Worrell states, the sensible alternative for upgrading the port and the airport is to secure long-term lease agreements with carefully-selected major global players, who might have an interest in developing the capacity of the port and airport to a high international standard as part of their global network. Such companies would bring their own sources of funding, as well as a large increase in through traffic.

The former Central Bank governor also made a call for Government to create a tangible document with a practical strategy, action plan, deadlines, monitoring and reporting, for replacing fossil fuels with renewables.

“Barbados is squandering an opportunity to gain energy independence by its failure to devise and put in place an actionable 15-year strategy for renewable energy. To ensure its success, the renewables strategy should be actively co-ordinated by a high-level committee led by the Prime Minister. Such a strategy would set clear objectives for the proportion of electric generation by wind, solar, waste-to-energy and bio-fuels by 2035, and for the proportion of vehicles, machinery and other fuel uses to be converted to renewable sources. The strategy would have five three-year benchmark progress evaluations, involving all stakeholders, to make course corrections when and where necessary, to ensure the 15-year goal is achieved.

“Renewables are the energy of the future; the use of renewables saves us considerable foreign currency, making it the equivalent of a second export sector of considerable weight. Equally important, it frees the country of the uncertainty and instability due to oil price fluctuations.”

“However, a 100 per cent renewables target is out of reach for the foreseeable future, because BL&P has been obliged to install a new 33MW plant that runs on fossil fuel, in order to stabilise the grid. That plant probably has a 30-year life span. Moreover, only a tiny fraction of vehicles imported in recent years is fully electric, and most of the petrol and diesel engines imported will still be in use in 2035 and beyond,” he said.

The Covid-19 pandemic is showing clearly the Caribbean region has only paid “lip-service” to building a resilient and sustainable agricultural sector over the years.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Sub-regional Coordinator for the Caribbean Renata Clarke made this clear, while delivering closing remarks at yesterday’s 13th FAO Regional COVID-19 webinar entitled “Private Sector Investment in Agriculture and Fisheries:The Preparation and the Pay-Off”, co-organized with the CARICOM Secretariat.

Saying there appeared to be a lot of scope for domestic and regional business growth in agriculture, she noted that “wanting local and regional businessesto succeed is not enough,” insisting the focus must now be on creating a context where this is possible.

“From the public sector side, we heard a lot of ideas on what a creative ‘self-renovating’ public sector is doing in terms of finding ways to de-risk, ensuring that they are enabling market access by doing investments in public goods like agricultural health, looking for new financial instruments that could promote investment, supporting innovation, promoting local production, including building the capacity of entrepreneurs. So there is a lot happening it would seem from the public sector side to understand how do we enable what we need.

“But, we have heard today from a very responsible and progressive private sector… and have seen an effort on inclusive growth, an emphasis on how insurance facilities can facilitate environmental sustainability – a lot of good ideas including leveraging new technologies to solve those problems, but what is the regional dimension? We have seen the proactivity of the Caricom Secretariat in the face of this crisis and we need a lot more. There is a lot to be gained by all countries by creating this additional facilitating benefit at the regional level,” she said.

Clarke therefore pointed out the impact that Covid has had in showing up the weaknesses remaining in the agricultural industry.

“We know that in the Caribbean as Covid has placed a magnifying glass on all our agricultural sectors, and tells us we have been giving lip service to diversification, we have been giving lip service to resilience and we really do need to invest in resilience and in a resilient and sustainable agricultural sector,” she stressed.

Several students with special needs are being equipped with the tools necessary to ensure they can participate in online classes.

Twenty-one specially designed desktop tablets were presented to the Ministry of Education on Tuesday morning by the Robinson Smiles and Hope Foundation, and businesswoman Shelly Williams for visually impaired students of the Ann Hill and Irving Wilson schools.

Speaking on behalf of the founders of the charity, Julia Robinson and her husband, Dr. Alfred Robinson, who were unable to attend the hand-over ceremony due to current Covid-19 travel restrictions, Board member and journalist Maria Bradshaw, said the effort had come about due to Julia’s desire to help children who may have difficulties in affording devices with suitable large screens.

She therefore set up a Go Fund Me page with the aim of raising US$1 000, but surpassed this, receiving instead US$1 500 in donations due to warm responses to the venture.

“She partnered with a Google company and as a result, she was able to source these devices. As you can see, they are not the regular small devices, they are pretty big, they are desktops and they are very user friendly. Obviously, we had some difficulties getting them to Barbados. There are actually 21 of them. Julia reached out on Facebook, asking for any businessperson who could assist her and Shelly Williams readily agreed. So this was a great partnership between the Foundation and Shelly Williams – because without her help these devices probably wouldn’t be here so soon,” Bradshaw expressed.

Thanking the charity for their donation, Chief Education Officer Joy Adamson admitted the technological devices were very welcome as some students with special needs had not yet participated in any online classes, but instead were physically taken work by principals and teachers.

She also outlined the intention of the ministry to attain some Apple iPads, which have more accessibility for such students as well as several MI5 devices for those students without Internet or Wi-Fi accessibility.

“So we are always looking at ways to make sure the special needs children are not left behind,” Adamson explained.

COME September a new book called ‘Policing a Dynamic Barbados’ will
officially be launched, giving the author, retired Deputy Commissioner
of Police Bertie Hinds, an opportunity to share his research and
observations on the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) over the years.

The original launch date was postponed because of COVID-19.

His work investigates: the nature and extent of public policy support,
the measure of strategic leadership that prevailed; the interplay
between reactive and proactive policing; the empowerment of Senior
Command and their accountability generally, management of white collar
crime, the illicit drugs and crime dynamic, how juvenile and domestic
violence were management and the extent to which ethics and
professional responsibility were embraced, to name a very few. The book also looks
at the contribution of the Police Band to the social landscape and to
regular policing.

The book traces the development of the police and policing from 1940
to 2015. The central theme of the analysis and the discussion in this
book is developing and maintaining a relevant police service; applying
critical criminal justice and criminology theory and perspectives.

His writings conclude with a summary of challenges that have faced the
organisation and its leadership and the various responses to those
challenges over the period. It also highlights future challenges and
proffers solutions for the transformation of the police and policing.

The book draws from the author’s thesis in History,  Law and
Criminology and seeks to inform and guide future outcomes in policing
in Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean.

It was explained that the contents of the book are geared towards
providing a rich source of reference for students and practitioners of
Criminal Justice, Criminology, Police Studies, Penology, Sociology,
Social Work, Law and Political Science.

Hinds retired from the RBPF in January 2013.

WHEN the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination or Common Entrance, as it is also known, rolls around later this month, the students of the Lawrence T. Gay Memorial School will not be disadvantaged by a lack of equipment to get the job done. That is because all 75 students slated to sit this year’s exam were presented with examination kits by parliamentary representative Ian Gooding-Edghill.

With the donation making up part of the annual presentation to students of the school, each child will be armed with clipboards and stationery for the July 14 assessment that will have a bearing on the trajectory of the rest of their lives. Speaking just after the presentation, which was made at the Combermere School yesterday, Gooding-Edghill explained that this was nothing new for him as he has kept the school near and dear to his heart for many years.

“As you may be aware, I have been doing this initiative for a number of years. In fact, on record it is approximately ten years that I have been supporting the pupils with examination kits, presentations at graduations and other donations that I give to the school during the course of the year. I started this initiative long before I became the Member of Parliament for St. Michael West-Central and I intend to continue this initiative throughout the years,” he said.

Noting that he has a passion for and commitment to service, having grown up in the area, the parliamentary representative said that there were a number of other initiatives that would be rolled out for the school.

“It is absolutely necessary that we in the community help those within the community and that will continue to be my mandate – first of all as a former resident of the area, having grown up in Long Gap, Spooner’s Hill; and also in my capacity as their Member of Parliament.”

With the school facing its share of challenges in recent times after environmental issues have rendered the compound unusable for the time being, Gooding-Edghill stated that he was not in a position to speak to what was being faced at the school, but said he was happy about the response by the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training.

“I am very pleased with the progress with the Ministry. I’m also pleased with the arrangements that we have in place for the students. As you can see, the students who are writing the 11-Plus examination are housed here at the Combermere School and that says a lot. The fact that they still have their teachers, who have an excellent job,” he said.

He also took the opportunity to tip his hat to and pay deep gratitude to teachers, especially those at the primary school level, noting that the teachers at the school have gone above and beyond to prepare the students throughout the years.

“That says a lot about the quality of teaching that we have in Barbados. It says a lot about the quality of the teaching service generally and we have a committed principal at the Lawrence T. Gay School who also goes above and beyond, like the teachers, like the ancillary staff, to ensure that the students feel accommodated, that they are very well taken care of and they do their best in very challenging times,” he said. (MP)

ALL is well with National Insurance.

These are the sentiments of the National Insurance Scheme Chairman Ian Gooding-Edghill, as he spoke on the sidelines of a donation of examination kits to students of the Lawrence T. Gay Memorial School yesterday ahead of the upcoming Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Exam.

Speaking to members of the media, he explained that despite the heavy dependence on National Insurance benefits due to the fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the island was still standing strong.

“The National Insurance, over the years, has built up a very strong fund. It is even stronger in the sense that since the Barbados Labour Party came into office as a government, they paid their contributions in cash and not via paper and that is a tremendous departure from what we had before. The fund is safe.

The Government in respect of the Unemployment Fund, if there is any shortfall, the Government has already gone on record that they will replenish the Unemployment Fund,” he said.

Noting that National Insurance consists of multiple funds, including the Unemployment Fund, the Severance Fund, the Catastrophe Fund and the National Insurance Fund, and that the National Insurance Fund alone has over $4 billion in it made up of investments and other sources, Gooding-Edghill said that there was absolutely no cause for alarm and that there were improvements slated for the operation going forward.

“There is no need to worry. We have paid out in excess of $55 million and we are continuing to pay unemployment benefits. We have also commenced the advance payment on National Insurance as well and we are satisfied with the progress and at a later date, I will also be announcing additional initiatives that are going to be undertaken by the National Insurance Board in executing more efficient delivery of services with respect to the operations and how we interface with the public,” he said. (MP)

Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, has taken up the Chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) with a mission to revive regional air transport.

Dr. Gonsalves, who is also Chair of the Transportation Portfolio in the CARICOM Quasi-Cabinet, said that he has already been in touch with several airlines, the principal ones being Caribbean Airlines (CAL), InterCaribbean, One Caribbean and SVG Air.

“The challenge which is upon us in respect of regional air transportation is one which is in our hands to solve,” he maintained.

“I believe that we are going to be able to provide in a very short time a sufficiency of regional transport to serve the sub-region – to serve ourselves safely, reliably, sustainably and reasonably priced.”

Yesterday, he gave this assurance during the 20th Special Meeting of CARICOM after assuming Chairmanship from Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley.

He also revealed that immediately on the agenda continues to be the challenge of COVID-19 and its four interconnected dimensions of health, economy, society and security.

“The socio-economic recovery of our region; the strengthening of our region’s resilience against multiple vulnerabilities; the building of a better, more equal, more inclusive global order in full recognition of a properly articulated small state exceptionalism; and the further upliftment of our Caribbean civilization in every material particular within our region and in our interface with others – in our hemisphere, developing world, major economies and the global institutions.”

The SVG PM, who will hold the post of Chairman for the next six months, commended the work carried out by Prime Minister Mottley during her tenure over the Caribbean Community.

In fact, Dr. Gonsalves disclosed that he has asked Ms. Mottley to continue her leadership work in several areas during his chairmanship.

“We will work closely with one another, with the Secretariat and the Bureau and other colleague Heads of State and Government over the next six months, which will be vital for our Community and its people,” he said. (TL)

THE plans to liquidate regional airline LIAT are not likely to be reversed, with regional governments simply not having the finances needed to keep it in the air.

So says outgoing Chairman of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, who as she spoke on the demise of the airline and the impact of such on intra-regional travel, said Heads of Government decided earlier this week that those countries that are in a position to help stimulate air travel by reducing airline taxes, should seek to do so.  

Speaking yesterday during a virtual ceremony to mark the handover of the chairmanship of CARICOM to her St. Vincent and the Grenadines counterpart Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, PM Mottley made it clear that the decision to wind up the operations of LIAT was not an easy one to make. But, she indicated, they recognised that what may have served the region well in the past, may not now be the right instrument for the region going forward.

Mottley told fellow Heads and those tuning in online, that the decision was necessary given the "heavy debt" which LIAT has been carrying for years. She explained that the Board of Directors advised that it is no longer possible to trade as LIAT (1974) Limited and with the company being effectively bankrupt, it should be liquidated.

"They would have done so conscious of the fact that unless you liquidate an insolvent company, directors would be guilty of fraudulent trading and to that extent, as shareholder governments, we have had to respond simply because to do otherwise would mean providing a level of funding that we simply do not have at this time," she said.

Nevertheless, Mottley said the shareholder governments remain committed to safe, reliable and affordable travel within the Eastern Caribbean. Her comments came as she said there are already 38 airlines flying within the Caribbean airspace. She indicated that the majority of those fly within the Northern Caribbean, with the Southern Caribbean having the greatest gap, but she revealed that since the news broke of LIAT's demise, some six airlines have expressed an interest in filling the void.

"SVG Air and One Caribbean out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines... CAL, which is already an airline known to the region; interCaribbean which is an airline from the Turks and Caicos and is a successor airline to Air Turks and Caicos that has been around for over twenty something years with an extensive fleet as well; Silver which we have asked to meet with us over the course of the next few days, and that is an airline out of the United States of America but working within the Caribbean and between the US and the Caribbean; and of course Air Antilles which is French-based as you know and predominantly between Martinique, Guadeloupe and Paris, but has an interest now in working within the Southern Caribbean," she stated.

Mottley, who holds lead responsibility within the CARICOM quasi-Cabinet for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, indicated that they are satisfied that those six airlines can fill the immediate gap, especially given the reduce travel as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, she said it is hoped that the region can work with other private sector players that have expressed an interest in providing intra-regional airlift either on their own or with existing players.

"Governments have now to use their funds to be able to deal with health expenditure; to be able to deal with water; to be able to deal with other forms of transport; to be able to deal with the fact that our tourism sector as well as our vulnerable populations are all requiring us to hold their hands, because they have come to zero revenue," Mottley stated.

The PM made the point while noting that unemployment across the region is on the rise, with some countries - figures doubling or even tripling in recent times.

"Therefore, we come to this moment not because there is pleasure in coming to this moment; we come to this movement as a matter of practical reality. That governments must focus on keeping their citizens alive; governments must focus on keeping their economies going and if that focus can allow others to come on board and to be able to help us carry the weight well my people in Barbados would tell you, I live by the mantra - many hands make light work," she said.

In that vein, PM Mottley said they look forward to being able to ensure that the people of the region have access to affordable, safe and reliable access to air travel within the next few weeks. (JRT)

New planning regulations, which may force homeowners out of their houses during major renovations, have been put on hold.

Word of this came from Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment, Marsha Caddle, yesterday as she disclosed Government’s decision to delay the implementation of some of the new laws until the public was fully informed on how these will work.

Under a provision of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act, 2020, homeowners are required to obtain an occupancy certificate to be able to live in their homes during or upon the completion of the construction of major renovations.

“This amendment will not come into force right away as we are going to proclaim the part of the Act that speaks to giving timelines for planning and development and those provisions. The part that speaks to these issues is not going to be proclaimed right now,” she said, while speaking on the Down to Brass Tacks call-in programme yesterday.

Caddle insisted the purpose for the legislation was to ensure the safety of the building and the residents within, but assured locals that their practice of building on ‘bit by bit’ could continue without the need for vacating the premises.

“This is how we operate – you save a bit and you build on a bit overtime. There is nothing in this legislation that stops you from doing that,” she said.

The minister stated the reason for the postponement of these laws was to ensure that Barbadians’ concerns were fully addressed before moving forward.

“The reason that we are holding is that we are listening to the people. I would not feel comfortable to know Barbadians feel uncomfortable about how this has been communicated or there is a sense that there is not full understanding and we go and put it into force,” she added.

As the Caribbean continues to grapple with the covid-19 pandemic,
countries in the region will now have access to and benefit from the
Africa Medical Supplies Platform.

Word of this has come from Prime Minister of Barbados and Outgoing
Chairman of the Heads of Government of CARICOM, Mia Amor Mottley.

Prime Minister Mottley made the disclosure during an online ceremony
yesterday morning to hand over the chairmanship of CARICOM to
the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.

During her remarks, she explained that this platform will allow even
the smallest country in the Caribbean to access personal protective
equipment, in vitro diagnostics as well as therapeutics and vaccines
when they become available, in the same way that the largest country
in Africa will do.

“...We would be able to make sure that what transpired in March, April
and May would not be repeated going forward because we have access to
the suppliers, who can supply for us at the scale that we need. And
more importantly, a country like St. Kitts with 40 000 people would be
able to procure goods at the same price as Nigeria with over 200
million persons as their population base,” she said.

She continued, “So that opportunity to be able to be on boarded on the
Africa Medical Supplies Platform, gives us a tremendous chance for our
individual countries, our hospitals, our polyclinics to be able to
fight off the worst ravages of covid-19.”

With that in mind, she expressed sincere gratitude to the President of
South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, and Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta,
in his capacity as the President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific
Group of States, for agreeing to allow the Caribbean to benefit from
the critical medical supplies programme. She made the point while
indicating that such access will be a “game changer” for the Caribbean
in the management of covid-19.

Meanwhile, speaking of the excellent work done by regional
institutions the likes of CARPHA, IMPACS and CDEMA during the
pandemic, she said they have stood the test of time and are playing an
invaluable role in the region, at a time when individual countries do
not on their own have the capacity to meet the demands of their
people.

She made the comments while indicating that covid-19 has scarred 2020
in unimaginable ways and has brought serious economic hardship and
damage to the Caribbean. Mottley explained that this has caused
regional governments to continue to put the case for assistance given
that the Caribbean is the most travelled and trade dependent region in
the world. She noted that in some instances as much as 40 to 50 per
cent of the GDP, directly and indirectly, is as a result of tourism.
(JRT)

Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS),
James Paul, says the low water levels currently existing at the
Bowmanston Pumping Station is a real concern.

During an interview with The Barbados Advocate yesterday, he said
emphasis at this time will be placed on encouraging BAS members to
make water harvesting a priority.

“Anytime we see low water levels, yes, it will have an impact on the
amount of water that is available to the farmers.

So yes, it is a huge concern. We are hoping of course that the rain
falls and that would help to replenish the aquifer.”

However, he said in the meantime, “We are going to have to emphasise
water harvesting as a priority even at this point in time, because we
know that we are getting some rain. It might not be heavy at this
stage but whatever we can do to actually harvest the little rainfall
that we are getting, I think that it is something that of course we
would want to encourage our farmers to do.”

Paul also stated, “Farmers, where it is possible, are trying to grow
crops that deal with drought like conditions, so I don’t think that is
an issue. The issue really is at this point in time that we are going
to have to concentrate on water harvesting. It is going to become even
bigger now [or] more important because I am not sure what the likely
rainfall for the rest of the year will be.”

This week Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Wilfred Abrahams,
Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) Technical Advisor to the Board, Dr.
John Mwansa, and other officials toured the Bowmanston Pumping Station
and the cave beneath it where they viewed first-hand the low water
levels there.

Abrahams in his remarks urged Barbadians to cut back on their water usage.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mwansa spoke about  how the low water levels in the
cave impacts water distribution to residents and businesses in St.
John and St. George, and he explained why the pumping system has to be
switched off at times to permit the reservoir to replenish.

Parents and guardians who have children sitting the 2020 Barbados
Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination on Tuesday, July 14, have been
issued with a number of guidelines by the Ministry of Education,
Technological and Vocational Training.

The Ministry advises that all students sitting the exam should prepare
for it with a good night’s rest and a nutritious, healthy breakfast.
Parents and guardians need to provide a simple packed lunch for their
child or ward for example, sandwiches, a boxed juice, and fruit.

Additionally, each child must have the following supplies: stationery
(pencils, eraser, sharpener, ruler), mask and sanitiser.

Students should arrive at the examination centre early – no later than
8.30 a.m. – and parents and guardians are asked to encourage their
children to do their best, and leave them with positive, uplifting words.

Students should be dropped off at the security gate of the examination centre.

Parents or guardians will not be permitted on the compound and are
urged to observe all of the physical distancing and safety protocols
in effect.

They should also be present to collect students from the examination
centres at approximately 1:00 p.m.  

The Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) is committed to
advancing the services sector in Barbados, but wants to see more
innovative strategies coming to the fore.

Jamal Slocombe, Board Secretary with the BCSI, acknowledged the above
during a virtual press conference held recently by the Coalition, to
discuss the findings of its “Impact Study of the COVID-19 Pandemic on
the Barbadian Services Sector”.

“The BCSI reaffirms its position due to COVID-19 to really take
forward the services sector in the country. We have recognised that an
already struggling services sector in the Barbadian market will now
have to reposition itself to really strengthen our organisations.

“The BCSI has about 50 member associations and when we look at the
data, it presents about 70 000 Barbadians, just around there, that
would be members of the services sector in Barbados, and that is
according to some of the data that we would have previously had,”
Slocombe pointed out.

He added, “The BCSI is a small organisation. Our staff complement is
about four or five members …and we really with limited resources are
doing an extremely great job. I must commend the Secretariat for
really trying to move forward the services sector in Barbados in order to strengthen
our organisations, our members and not only that, the Barbadian
economy at large.

“With COVID-19 unexpectedly coming to our shores – it’s a global
pandemic – we would have seen a crippling of the global economy, and
what we are forced to do now is to find innovative ways as Barbadians,
from a policy perspective, so that the Secretariat can execute now, so
that we can strengthen our services sector, because there are several
organisations, several niche markets within the services sector in
Barbados,” he maintained.

Slocombe meanwhile noted that the BCSI Board just made the approval
for a High Level Advisory Committee for the services industry in
Barbados and a diverse group of industry professionals will be working
with the BCSI to see how they can best take the local services
industry forward.
(RSM)
 

The Young Democrats, the youth arm of the Democratic Labour Party, will be sending a petition to the Fair Trading Commission on behalf of frustrated residents in St. John, who have been constantly experiencing water woes, asking for a rebate on their water bills. 

President of the Democratic Labour Party, Verla DePeiza; Vice President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Andre Worrell and other DLP members joined President of The Young Democrats, Kemar Stuart and Vice President, Shaquani Hunte in handing out bottled water to affected St. John residents yesterday and during the exercise, they sought to garner signatures for the petition, which many residents were eager to sign. 

“The rest of Barbados needs to know that we have been suffering for months without running water and if this was Sandy Lane, we would have had water running through our taps ever since. But because this is not Sandy Lane, St. John people are suffering and we are being made to bear the brunt for drought in Barbados, where other persons are getting water,” Worrell asserted. 

“I would say that this is an injustice. Every single month, these residents get a water bill from the Barbados Water Authority.  I have an example of a water bill here for the month of May. The bill came for two months, 62 days. It shows zero usage of water, but yet still they billed the person for $66.13” Worrell lamented.

“Now the Barbados Water Authority came under the Fair Trading Commission from January 2018. The protocol expires at the end of December. Part of the standard of services that the BWA is supposed to supply, they are supposed to supply all customers with a minimum of eight cubic metres of water every month. That’s the minimum. From the bill, we will see that they were booked for 62 days, the metre was read and the usage was zero cubic metres, but yet still they were charged $66. From the Fair Trading Commission standard, the Barbados Water Authority has a right to compensate those persons one full month bill, for all the months that they have not been supplying water. So I am asking the question, what is the role of the Fair Trading Commission in Barbados? Have they been monitoring the Barbados Water Authority and have they been investigating this outage?” Worrell who lives in St. John and who is also an affected resident stated.

“So the petition is about getting a rebate on the bills already paid for, but it is more so put some pressure on the Barbados Water Authority to get water running through the taps of residents in St. John. We believe that there is a way that they can fix it” he maintained.

President of The Young Democrats, Kemar Stuart meanwhile is calling on Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley to speak to the issue, in the same way she speaks to other local issues and even regional and international ones that need attention. (RSM)