Five political parties have selected candidates and are gearing up their campaigns to contest in the St. George North by-election.

The most recent candidate nominated is former West Indies cricketer Floyd Reifer as the Democratic Labour Party’s choice. He was elected by the party’s Executive Council on Wednesday after the constituency branch led the selection process.

Confident in Reifer’s ability to bring home the win for the party, its President Verla Depeiza stated, “He has a record in terms of the community and the work that he has done and we are confident we chose well for this election.”

He is expected to face stiff competition from General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Senator Toni Moore who is representing the ruling Barbados Labour Party.

Meanwhile, the Opposition People’s Party for Democracy and Development (PdP) is expected to announce their candidate on Saturday evening during its first election community meeting at Sam’s Place in the Glebe.

Speaking ahead of that meeting, Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley said their candidate was rooted within that constituency, and with a record of community work, the chances of the PdP having two representatives in the Lower House within a few weeks were “quite good”. In addition, the United Progressive Party’s Ambrose Grosvenor and Solutions Barbados’ leader Grenville Phillips II have also thrown their hats in the ring in seeking  to be elected to represent the people of St. George North.

The vacancy was created as Gline Clarke, who represented the constituency for 26 years, has resigned to take up the post of Barbados’ High Commissioner to Canada.

While no announcement has yet been made as to when the constituents of St. George North will head to the polls, the election must be held by December 31.

THE year 2020 has been a tough one for youth in Barbados. However, those opting to take a positive path have been lauded for the role they have played in confronting various challenges that have arisen, as the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic.

The praise came recently from Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Dwight Sutherland, as he spoke during the National Youth Stakeholders’ Consultation held at

the Hilton Hotel on Caribbean Youth Day.

“The year 2020 has demonstrated the power of discomfort and disruption to fuel development. The current global pandemic has in many ways lifted the carpet and shown the true extent of the challenges that confront young people and their vulnerabilities,” Minister Sutherland pointed out.

He added, “Young people have been on the frontlines of this pandemic, in confronting challenges of unemployment, economic instability, mental health, education and healthcare, as well as serving as intermediaries for those in our population, who are more vulnerable and have assisted where necessary to offer relief and aid. I want to thank you for the role you have played, young people, in this pandemic. You truly have been a tower of strength for us the policymakers and Government.”

The Youth Minister meanwhile spoke of the ability of youth to create new businesses and show a certain level of innovation, even in the midst of the pandemic.

“I think we would all agree, it’s been a tough year. However, what I’ve personally found inspiring has been the ingenuity of young people to rise to the occasion, building new businesses and entering new spaces as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“In many ways, we have done the textbook definition of youth development as well. However, at this juncture, what is needed is a series of disruptive policies, impact strategies and infrastructural changes that will provide scale and ensure more young Barbadians have a greater opportunity to maximise their potential, make greater contributions to our national development and thrive in a contemporary world,” Sutherland said. (RSM)

A call has been made for an appraisal system to be implemented in the public service, as a means of evaluating the performance of public sector workers.

The call came recently from Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Cynthia Forde, as she made her contribution to the Public Service (Amendment) Bill, 2020 during Parliamentary debate.

Minister Forde stressed that whilst she was happy with what was taking place in allowing for workers to be appointed, she wishes to see a system set in place that signals to workers that they must give of their best on the job and there must be some level of accountability on account of how they perform. She meanwhile noted that whilst the majority of workers do give of their best, there are others who do not.

“Often, people take a day off and nowadays, it is for their own birthday, then it is for their husband’s birthday or partner, whoever. Then it is their mother’s anniversary and now we have funerals on mornings and evenings, people just take a day off. They just came back from holiday, but it is time for them to go again and who is monitoring them? So therefore, I want to say, I want an appraisal system, a proper one,” Forde remarked.

Stressing that there are some people who simply do not follow the rules, she added, “It would be useful if the Honourable Member who is in the Ministry of Finance, let people know that when they are consistently absent, that when it is time for them to get gratuity according to my simple understanding, that that is taken out for all of those days absent.”

She maintained, “There are some who are not sick at all and they are at home 24/7, on extended sick leave. I want for the Honourable Prime Minister and her team, get the Medical Board to (deal with) those persons who are home and nothing is wrong with them and sometimes you get to know, but they are just at home because they feel like staying home, because they are still going to get paid anyhow.

“Those are some of the things that we need to look at, because at the end of the day, the drain is on the economy and when you are paying someone that stays at home for six months and nothing is wrong, they just feel like, somebody has to fill in for them. So you are now paying the substantive post, because they are appointed and you are also paying the temporary person who is filling in for that individual, who is out. So you are paying out money twice and we are feeling it in the economy,” Forde said. (RSM)

THE Barbados Arts Council is encouraging Barbadians to support the organisation and its artists.

Yesterday, President of the Barbados Arts Council (BAC), Neville Legall, stated this during a phone interview with The Barbados Advocate.

Due to the recent lockdown, the organisation has only opened up its doors in July and he reported that business is slow. The BAC president attributed this situation to a lack of traffic in the area, especially with a reduction of business in the tourism sector. As a Council, Legall stressed the importance of keeping the cultural industry alive by having space for artists to display their work.

“If the Arts Council has to go out of existence, a number of artists are going to be deprived of that opportunity of getting their work shown in an art gallery,” said Legall.

He acknowledged the effect of COVID-19 on business plans and while it is still important to plan, Legall is aware that there are financial and economic problems that will emerge.

The BAC president disclosed to The Barbados Advocate that artists are facing several challenges. This includes a decrease in sales from the tourism sector, and many of the artists’ clients are coping with unemployment or a loss of disposable income.

He said that artists are using social media to market their work, but he indicated that these platforms are not predictable. At this time, 150 artists are registered with the BAC, and about 70 artists exhibit their work annually. Legall said that art in Barbados is affordable, and many artists are providing prints of their work today.

The Barbados Arts Council was established in 1957, and it provides a home for new and emerging artists who want to showcase their work. Legall, who joined the Council in 1984, explained that the charity was in Pelican Village before and after it was renovated. Queen’s Park was the BAC’s first home.

BAC’s gallery opens on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

THERE are good workers being held back by the leadership in the public service.

This observation was made by Labour Minister Colin Jordan as he joined the debate on the Public Service (Appointment) Bill 2020 yesterday as he highlighted some challenges facing the public service which he said is affecting productivity and must be corrected.

According to Minister Jordan, “I have recognised that the lack of leadership is holding some good public officers, who want to soar, who want to contribute to nation building but are held back by people who feel that their incompetence is going to be showed up.”

“They are not many of them but they are enough to cause us to have to pay some attention to that area. Leadership and allowing younger, or more capable, even sometimes older people to really do what they are supposed to do.”

It is against this backdrop that he called for greater focus to be placed on training of those who will lead in the public service.

“Persons called to serve cannot become leaders only because they have been in a position for the longest period of time. They must and the Service Commission, Public Service Regulations of 1978 speak very clearly to this. There are a number of areas that have to be taken into consideration. General fitness, seniority, basic educational qualifications, special courses of training, letters of commendation, duties to which the person has knowledge. Duties that you are fit for, that fall within the duties. So that seniority is only one of the areas. And the time has come for leaders to be real leaders.”

“Not everybody who has been around long is capable of going to the next step and we have to get to the point in the public service if we are to modernise, if we are to move the country to the point where as we agree, where we are the best place to live, to work, to do business, to enjoy life, to retire ultimately. If we are to reach that stage, then we have to recognise that in all areas of our country’s activity including in the public service, leadership is going to be important and that leadership must be leadership that is equipped to motivate, to coach, to guide and to be effective,” he said. (JH)

THE Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration is throwing its support behind General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Toni Moore, who has been selected by the Barbados Labour Party as the candidate for the St. George North constituency.

Senator Toni Moore will replace long-standing St. George North Member of Parliament, Gline Clarke, who served that constituency for the past 26 years, but who recently announced his retirement from elective politics, to take up the post of High Commissioner to Canada. Moore will now be his replacement in the upcoming by-election.

David Denny, General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration (CMPI), expressed solidarity with Senator Moore just recently, in a publicised statement.

“Our movement wants to express solidarity with Toni Moore, the General Secretary for the Barbados Workers’ Union. We are happy that the Barbados Labour Party has created the conditions for you to become a candidate, for the upcoming by-election in St. George North. This is a major opening for the labour movement at this time and we would like to encourage all of the trade union organisations in Barbados to stand in solidarity with Toni Moore and give her their support, during the election campaign,” Denny commented.

“We also want to say to you Toni Moore, that you have a golden opportunity to represent working class people in the Lower Chamber. We are hoping that you will deal with some of the issues that are affecting working class people, when you reach the Lower Chamber. Our movement would be very happy, because we would like to see the labour movement and the Pan African movement working together, on behalf of working class people and you know in our Parliament we have the Honourable Trevor Prescod, who is the head of the Pan-Africanists in Barbados and you Toni Moore can be considered as the head of the Labour movement in Barbados. Therefore, it would be good for you to join Trevor Prescod in our House of Assembly, so that Pan-Africanists and the labour movement will be able to work together for the working class struggles, right here in Barbados,” Denny further remarked.

He added, “On behalf of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, I want to say to you Toni Moore, that you have our full support.”

Denny also stressed that others in the movement within the designated constituency, are also rallying their support behind Moore and her political campaign. (RSM)

Skills development in this country and the region must no longer be prohibited by outdated thinking and practice.

Saying it was past time to transform such, Chairman of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council (TVET) Dr. Albert Best insisted there was value in this discipline complimenting the mostly academic process which has dominated the island’s education system.

He was speaking at yesterday’s media briefing on the WorldSkills Barbados 2020 Competition, at the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation.

“I grew up on an era where children were told to study hard and become lawyers and doctors, but does it require any less effort to become a competent motor mechanic or executive chef? And is an electrician or skilled farmer any less essential to our current way of life? The World Skills Barbados Competition is a vehicle for changing the archaic Barbadian perspective of the ‘bright child’ versus the ‘dumpsy child’ and we all need to be onboard to nurture the diverse career pathways that are becoming available to all of our children and are being highlighted via these efforts,” Best said.

He stated the programme would do much to improve the quality of Barbados’ national TVET system and ensure this was the key to a highly skilled, competent and productive workforce, and to facilitate diverse career pathways.

“The council is presently working on building a dual educational system for Barbados. This is being done through four modalities: the mapping of curricula to the WorldSkills International standards; capacity building training in several technological areas through partnerships for which WorldSkills International is a major partner; the implementation of higher level C/NVQs- Level 3 and above and; the development fo Applied/Occupational Associate and Bachelor degrees,” he said.  (JMB)

Barbadians are being encouraged not to let their guard down, as the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

The caution came recently from this country’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kenneth George, after he joined United States Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS, Linda Taglialatela on a tour of the state-of-the-art Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory.  Laboratory Director Songee Beckles led the tour. Also present was CDC Laboratory Advisor, Giselle Guevara.

Dr. George acknowledged that whilst members of the Barbadian public and visitors to the island generally have been following the recommended health protocols in relation to COVID-19, there have been a few instances where challenges have arisen.

“There has been good co-operation. The Barbadian public has been cooperating with the protocols, but every now and then we have had issues, which causes us to not be very happy in a few cases and many of you know that’s the role of the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit. They have been working to make sure that our villas are safe, our hotels are safe and our churches and places of social discourse are safe. So generally, we have a good grade, but as more persons come into the island, I keep saying that we can’t let our guard down. We have to be ever vigilant. We will be in this for the long haul and therefore, we expect the cooperation of every Barbadian citizen,” Dr. George commented.

Just recently, health officials indicated that there were two cases of COVID-19 (a 62 year old Barbadian woman and a 25 year old Barbadian man) that were diagnosed as a result of contact tracing, related to a twenty-four year old woman who arrived in the island on Virgin Atlantic on September 19 and who tested positive after a second test on September 24.

Dr. George, whilst noting that the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit deals more so with such cases, however indicated that when contact tracing is able to come into effect, it means that “the system is working”.

“Without speaking directly to that case, contact tracing is a deliberate and purposeful way of making sure that you gain a historical perspective of when a person is diagnosed and who they came into contact with. Each of those individual contacts are then risk stratified, so some may need a test, some may not need a test,” he explained.

“So I would just encourage the Barbadian public that when you see persons being tested, it is not for you to become scared. It’s telling you that the system is working and that we are making sure that we do every step to make sure that every person that the individual came into contact with, we are interrogating and will be testing,” the Chief Medical Officer said. (RSM)

Through a new partnership between the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOCL) and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) some 11 young people will receive scholarships which are expected to go a long way in helping to build out the renewable energy sector in this country.

That is according to Minister of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerrie Symmonds. He made the comments yesterday morning as he delivered an address during the launch of the scholarship programme, as he indicated that increasing the human resource capacity in the energy sector, will assist in rolling out Government’s new energy policy. He said that sector is earmarked for rapid growth and rapid opportunity as it leads the country on the journey of economic development and economic transformation.

“I want to congratulate the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and the National Oil Company for their signing of a memorandum of understanding on the way in which they will work together in the future and that I believe was done in September of this year... it formalises that sense of partnership between the two entities,” he said.

Symmonds continued, “In addition to that I want to congratulate the National Oil Company for being willing to put its money where the rhetoric lies. Far too often in Barbados we hear the language from the corporate citizens, but we do not necessarily see the backing, by way of financial assistance and in this particular venture there are 11 scholarships which have been earmarked in some fundamental areas which will assist us in building out the capacity, the human capacity that we need in order to take us on this transformational journey in the renewable energy sector.”

Minister Symmonds said that education and training are essential, contending that the sector’s potential must be matched with human resource capacity. As such, he said, it is incredibly important that there is an ongoing education platform which allows young people to take advantage of opportunities in the areas of renewable energy and developments that take place within that sector. With that in mind, he lauded the SJPI for demonstrating leadership in pushing training in that area.

Speaking earlier, Principal of the SJPI, Ian Drakes said that the scholarship programme is adding to the excitement at the educational institution, which he said is focused on practicing disruptive technologies with the students.

“These are some difficult times under COVID-19 and our students need whatever support we can give them as adults, and at the training institution SJPI, we endeavour to say to them after you get a wonderful certificate, what is next and this scholarship is part of what is next to motivate our students,” he said.

With that in mind, he expressed appreciation to the BNOCL for partnering with the SJPI to offer meaningful and productive opportunities for the students.

Adding to his comments, Chief Executive Officer of BNOCL, James Browne said they welcome the opportunity to offer the scholarship, which he said is representative of the organisation’s “jump from land based oil exploration into different realms”.

As part of the scholarship efforts, he said they have identified three employees of the BNOCL, who are past students of the SJPI to be ambassadors for the programme. They are Lisa Skinner, a renewable energy technician; Kevin Harding, a welder and Derick Bishop, a pipe fitter. (JRT)

November 11th is the day that the people of St. George North will be heading to the polls to choose their new Parliamentary Representative. This was announced by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley during an emergency press conference held late yesterday evening at the Barbados Defence Force St. Ann’s Fort Base.

With former Member of Parliament Gline Clarke’s resignation becoming effective on September 30, the constitutional machinery has been working and as such, Prime Minister Mottley explained that she received correspondence from Her Excellency Dame Sandra Mason stating that the post had to be filled within 90 days pursuant to the Constitution of Barbados. After yesterday’s Cabinet meeting at the island’s military headquarters, Mottley informed members of the media and all of Barbados via a live stream that both the nomination day and election day were set in stone.

“Her Excellency has now signed the writ and the writ will reflect the fact that nomination day in Barbados for the constituency of St. George North to select the next Member of Parliament for that constituency will be Monday the 26th of October, 2020. And the election date for the return of a representative in the House of Assembly will now be Wednesday November 11th, 2020. It is against that background that we anticipate that the writ will be returned on the following day, as is accustomed, which will be the 12th of November,” she said, adding that there would be a special date for foreign electors and the security forces.

Calling it an unusual election as it falls in the middle of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Mottley asked all parties, candidates and constituents to be vigilant and revealed that the circumstances would force a new element into the local political landscape.

“We recognise that there will likely be far less political rallies than would normally be the situation in an election. There will be some and I think that we have managed to be able to work out the spacing issue. But is also means that there will be challenges in terms of the intensity of interaction and to that extent the Cabinet has been consulting and we have agreed that the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation and all of the media houses, along with the Barbados Association of Journalists should meet because the CBC is prepared to make available for the country broadcast time for three debates within the election because we accept that persons must be informed and persons must be capable of making informed choices. And given the fact that with COVID the level of political meetings as we have come to know them in Barbados is likely to be far less than usual, then we think it is only fair that all of the candidates who are eventually nominated or intend to be nominated should be given an opportunity to participate in these debates on state television,” it was noted.

Going on to state that there were conversations held with the Chief Electoral Officer to further dilute the density of persons as it relates to guidelines and arrangements on polling day, Mottley said that she trusted the officer and his department to formulate the necessary protocols.

“They will now, in the midst of preparing their protocols for the conduct of a poll in a pandemic, take into account the desire of all of us for there to be a reduction of the density of persons going into any particular room at once without affecting the capacity of persons to vote. We now know how COVID is no respecter of man or woman, of status or office, and to that extent, we hope that persons will in fact co-operate and be sensible. And to recognise that we have a constitutional responsibility to fill the seats in Parliament, but we also can do so in a way that does not put people at risk in any way,” she said. (MP)

MINISTER of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan is calling all public workers, whether they are appointed or not, to be paid on time.

He made the call yesterday during the debate on the Public Service (Appointment) Bill 2020, where he related an incident where a constituent visited his home in tears, having visited the bank and finding nothing in her account by way of salary.

“That hurt me. But it is not the first time that I have heard the stories. And I want to say here very clearly to those people responsible for paying the public officers of this country. It is reprehensible... for a person who is guaranteed to go to the bank on payday and find a salary, not to be interested in ensuring that others who do not have the luxury of having been appointed, can also go to the bank on the day appointed and find a salary.”

Minister Jordan said that a result of this late payment, persons find themselves with a bad credit history through no fault of their own.

“This BLP government –  and the reason why I am so happy and proud to be both a member of this party and a member of the government constituted by this party, is a party that faces these issues frontally. And so even though some may say it reflects on us because we are in government, it is a matter that is causing people issues and so it is a matter that we will speak to and address.”

“I just want to put those persons responsible on notice that we are not prepared to allow this kind of situation to continue. It is mistreating people. It is not being fair to the ordinary, hardworking public officers of this country who are not yet appointed and who will hear from time to time that their names dropped off of Smartstream or whatever it is. That is just not the way you treat people and this government is all about treating people properly.”

He noted that once the Act is passed, a significant portion of the backlog should be cleared. “Once this is done, the Ministry of the Public Service has to get on with the work of dealing both with the anomalies that he has already identified but also with the regular work of appointing people once they have been in the service for a particular period of time.”

“...And so the Ministry of the Public Service has a responsibility to the human beings who are working in the public service, in the service of this country to make sure they are treated properly and that they are treated in accordance with the laws of Barbados,” he said. (JH)

The Barbados Labour Party held a Mass Canvass yesterday in support of its candidate Senator Toni Moore, for the upcoming by-election in St. George North.

Gline Clarke, who served that constituency for 26 years as a Member of Parliament, but who recently resigned and is scheduled to take up a new post as Barbados’ High Commissioner to Canada, was on hand to assist, as was Campaign Co-ordinator Pat Parris, Campaign Manager Dwight Sutherland, other MPs and supporters. The Mass Canvass took off from the St. George North Constituency Office and moved into surrounding areas.

Before leaving the Constituency Office, Senator Toni Moore spoke about her strategy for the upcoming by-election in St. George North, as well as the issues identified by constituents to date, which need to be addressed. Expressing confidence that she will emerge victorious over the other candidates also vying for the position, Senator Moore said she was looking forward to working with residents in that constituency, to iron out their concerns.

“We are covering St. George North and our strategy is just to present Toni Moore to the people. Just present everything that the Barbados Labour Party has been doing for the people and allowing the people to be able to make informed choices about this campaign,” Moore told members of the media.

She added, “People don’t want just someone who is of the community. They want some person who is about the community and that is where I think that I have been getting the reception. People understand that I know what service is and what they want is a relationship. Outside of that, people want to see community projects and there are a number of things that have been identified and we are up to it. We are going to be working with them.”

Gline Clarke meanwhile noted that he is giving Toni Moore his full support. He also pointed to a number of targeted areas that will receive some attention, once she wins the seat.

“I have got to make sure that Toni wins this seat. She is number one as far as I am concerned and I am going to work extremely hard, even harder than I have ever worked for myself and I am encouraging all of my BLP people to come and give her the full support that she really needs,” he told The Barbados Advocate.

In terms of the work to be done, he noted, “We are going to start back the pavilion here at the Glebe. That was started back in 2007. The DEMS took ten years and did nothing for it. So we didn’t get any help from the DEMS in the last ten years. So we are going to start back that,” it was pointed out.

“There are also a few roads and tenantries that we want to look at in Newbury, Rock Hall and then in Airy Hill. So we are hoping that we can do some work there as well. There are also few houses, old people’s houses that we need to repair. So we will try to do our best to see what we can finalise over the next couple of days,” Clarke told this newspaper.

Constituents of St. George North responded well to the “Batting with Reifer” Constituency Tour, which took off from Charles Rowe Bridge in St. George yesterday, ending in Lower Estate Tenantry.

Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate for St. George North, Floyd Reifer pointed out the above yesterday, when asked about the Tour. He noted that he was able to hit the ground running and was able to listen to many of the concerns expressed, especially from young people, who essentially are calling for more opportunities to be provided for them so they can have a better standard of living, especially now, given the present COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had a very good reception

from the constituents. What we

did, we wanted to listen to the issues that the people are having. So we talked to them, we listened to them and we just reassured them that we are here for them and I thought that today was very good. The reaction was brilliant” Reifer told The Barbados Advocate.

He added, “We were on the blocks with the young people and the young people need opportunities. They talk about unemployment. They are talking about having the opportunity to do things in life. Those are some of the main issues that came across. Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic has struck and it has people under a lot of pressure. So again, talking to the youngsters, it is all about having the opportunities.”

Speaking about the upcoming by-election and his chances of winning the seat, Reifer meanwhile stated, “Whatever I do, I am a very confident person, but for me it is just talking to the people, listening to the issues and building relationships with people all over the constituency and letting them know that I am here for them. That is me, that is what I am about.

“I am from St. George. I am a son of the soil and I am here for the people of St. George,” Floyd declared, as he pledged to do his effort best to assist constituents, should he win the seat.

JUST over 30 young entrepreneurs were given a prime opportunity to showcase their products and services over the weekend during the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme’s, Youth Enterprise Expo, which was held at Sky Mall in Haggatt Hall on Saturday.

The expo was held as part of the activities to celebrate National Youth Week 2020, which permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Cheryl Alleyne described as a success. According to Alleyne, “Entrepreneurship has been declared as a critical component within the country’s overall recovery strategy and is consistent with the new. This event affords young entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their talent, creativity and innovation as well as earn additional income as they present their business offerings, to a wide Barbadian audience.”

During a brief ceremony, Acting Manager of YES Ryan Moseley explained that coming out of National Youth Week there will be an attempt to create new programmes to cater to the youth, acknowledging the difficulty many of them are currently facing due to COVID 19.
Moseley stressed the importance of showcasing their talents and skills and demonstrating that entrepreneurship is a viable career option.
“It is no longer something you do when you cannot get a job. Young people are naturally progressing towards owning their own business and being creative and innovative in their ideas. YES stands ready to channel and champion the cause of young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship as a whole.”

Director of NSR Ltd Everick Eastmond commended the YES noting that he has had a long relationship with the organisation. He encouraged the young entrepreneurs to grasp the knowledge and expertise provided through mentoring, which he said is invaluable.
He also encouraged the exhibitors to continue to broaden their skills. “This is where the rubber meets the road. Gone from the idea and excitement to actually seeing if it can work. It is the first step in business and there are many steps to go to define yourself as an entrepreneur,” he said, encouraging them to seek out innovative approaches and continuously build their skills.

“YES is helping you to build that skill and impart the fundamental knowledge that you need to be able to start the business and continue it. You have to put in a measure of succession and perpetuity into business and that is when the entrepreneurship mind gets into play.”

Eastmond also issued a challenge to lending agencies to put resources behind innovative ventures in the marketplace. “Asking disadvantaged people to look for three other disadvantaged people to guarantee a venture or prospect is putting everybody in jeopardy. We have to recognise that if we want to build innovation in a society like this we have to be able to throw the kitchen sink behind it. That means providing the mentorship, the skills, the opportunity for people to be able to show what they can do and more so to provide the resources necessary, without all of these three guarantors who are poor just like us,” he challenged.

During the Expo, persons were able to view mounted exhibits of the work of departments within the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, as well as other strategic business support organisations such as, the Youth Mainstreaming Programme (YPM), Youth Development Programme (YDP) and the Community Development Department (CDD). Participants in the Barbados Entrepreneurship Fund $20 Challenge were also present.

Rumours and rumblings of community spread of the COVID-19 pandemic were dismissed yesterday by Minister of Health and Wellness Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, who informed the island of yet another COVID-19 cluster. Speaking during a media conference at the ministry’s Culloden Road headquarters, Minister Bostic revealed the details surrounding a situation which has seen six family members all turning in positive test results in recent days.

A housekeeper and five other members of her family are now wards of the Harrison Point Isolation Facility, after several days of aggressive contact tracing. With the cluster being traced back to a Barbadian woman who returned from the United Kingdom on September 19th and who tested positive for COVID-19 after a second test on September 24th, the housekeeper and her nephew were first to test positive on September 30th. On October 2nd, her niece, niece’s husband and their four month-old baby were diagnosed, while another niece – a 15-year-old student of the Ellerslie School, tested positive on Saturday.

Speaking to members of the media, Minister Bostic was quick to defend the island’s status on community spread, noting that every case diagnosed in Barbados was traced and that rigorous contact tracing was going to continue. “This is the third time a cluster has been identified since the start of the outbreak in Barbados, and as in the other two instances, the public health officers are carrying out their investigations diligently so as to stem the spread. The fact that we have been able to identify these cases so quickly means that we are able to isolate the patients and limit their contact with other members of the community. I assure residents that there is still no evidence of community spread of COVID-19 in Barbados since as long as we are able to trace the source of the infection, as we have in this case, we are able to bring the situation under control,” he said.

With territories such as the United Kingdom being upgraded to ‘high-risk’ as of October 1st, Minister Bostic explained that there was no hard and fast way to treat the ever-evolving situation. “We have protocols in place which are not cast in stone because we are fighting against a virus and we are confronting a situation that is very fluid, and we have to respond to the fluidity of the situation. As a result of that, we have been amending protocols as situations develop and in this particular case, I have to tell you that there were no cracks in the protocols,” he said before going on to explain the rationale behind the second test. “We then decided to implement a second test for persons from medium-risk countries because we saw some activity that made us feel that we needed to introduce such a test and we did so. So that is what happened on this occasion and that test is administered on Day-5, and that is how we were able to get this positive result, but the protocols were not breached in any way.”

Bostic stated that the local government was looking at all ways of minimising risks on our shores given that shutting down the island was not an option. “No country can prevent COVID from entering its borders. That’s a reality that we all have to live with, but the thing about it is to be able to manage the risks and that is exactly what we have been doing. From time to time we have been making changes to the protocols, recognising that we live in a COVID environment. We are not immune to having COVID here in Barbados but life must continue and we must learn to live with COVID and to manage the risks in order to facilitate the kind of life that we want to live,” he said.

Finishing up by assuring the public that there is no community spread and that there was an aggressive approach to containing any spread, Minister Bostic said that in the war against COVID, there were several lines of defence. Highlighting the borders as the first line, testing, isolation and quarantine as the second and the island’s frontline workers as the third, the career military man said that it was the last line of defence that will save us. “I want to say to all of us that the greatest line of defence is actually the last, and that has to do with each and every resident and citizen of this country following the protocols and doing what they are supposed to do. We, each of us, we are responsible for our own safety in this COVID era,” he said.

The Ellerslie School will temporarily be closed for a period of 14 days, due to a female student there being diagnosed with COVID-19, and rigorous contact tracing is currently underway.

This was announced by Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw yesterday evening during a press conference held at the Ministry of Education. The school will be closed from today, Monday October 5th and will reopen on Monday, October 19th.

Bradshaw stated that the decision was made after consultation with the Ministry of Health and Wellness along with union representatives.
The minister also highlighted that the Ministry of Education was confident that the Ministry of Health and Wellness was capable of wrestling the situation to the ground, but the decision was made to protect the students and teachers along with their families.

“Earlier today we met with Ministry of Health officials and Minister Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic, who updated us on the recent cases. They updated us on the efforts of contact tracing and the measures that we must now put in place in order to ensure the safety of our students and teachers at the Ellerslie Secondary School while investigations continue,” announced the minister.

Student doing well
Bradshaw stated that from all reports, the fifth form student was doing well despite having been one of three persons contracting the virus through recent contact tracing. The minister wished the student a speedy recovery and best wishes to her family on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

Minister Bradshaw implored all parents, students and teachers to cooperate with Ministry of Health officials during the contact tracing and asked students to remain at home wherever possible with parents calling the COVID-19 hotline if associated symptoms develop.

As a means of reassurance and peace of mind, Minister Bradshaw also stated that any student or member of staff who had not come into contact with the student, but still wished to be tested could do so at anytime. Bradshaw also made it clear that it was the intention of the ministry to thoroughly have the school premises sanitised under the guidance of the Ministry of Health before students were allowed to return to the school.

President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union (BSTU) Maryann Redman was present during the press conference and said that they had been reassured by the Ministry of Education that the safety protocols and contact tracing would be done to protect not just the students, but their families and communities. She also impressed upon parents to remind and reinforce the importance of masks to their children.

“We are urging that parents underscore the importance of children wearing their masks and that they follow the proper protocols. We are also asking that the principals of schools reinforce this. We are at a very serious stage in this infection and it has to be the number one thing in schools now that students adhere at all times and in all circumstances to the protocols as they have been outlined," said Redman.
Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Kenneth George also asked for the assistance of the public as the Ministry of Health and Wellness conducts the contact tracing efforts, relative to the new cluster of COVID-19 cases. (AS)

The St. Augustine Anglican Church has been hit by thieves.

According to Reverend Yolanda Clarke, they discovered last Monday that someone had broken into the building on the property of the old rectory where they stored the lawn maintenance equipment and relieved them of all the items. She made the revelation yesterday morning while addressing the congregation during the Youth Service, which was attended by the Democratic Labour Party’s candidate for St. George North, Floyd Reifer, his family and members of the DLP executive.

“There was a break-in on the rectory compound, someone thought or believed that they had better use for our lawn equipment and as our warden has told me, they took everything - lock, stock and barrel. So, the lawn mower, the weed wacker, the gas can and the spray cans used to spray the grass, they alleviated from us,” she stated.

She explained that the theft has set the Church back “tremendously” as all the equipment will now have to be replaced. Clarke indicated that money which had been earmarked for another purpose, now has to be reassigned to replace the equipment. With that in mind, she is urging the parishioners to keep an eye out, and if they see anyone suspicious with equipment they did not previously have, to contact the law enforcement authorities.

“If we can recover the equipment it would be a great saving for us, because we are apparently looking at over $2000 to replace the lawn mower and the weed wacker alone and so we need, if we can, to recover these items,” she indicated.

Rev. Clarke’s comments came as she said that the Church will have to look at better securing the compound. She lamented that it is “sad” that the Church must do so, but conceded that “such is life”. (JRT)

A lack of opportunities and unemployment, says the Democratic Labour Party’s candidate for the St. George North by-election, Floyd Reifer, are the main challenges facing the constituency at this time.

Speaking to the media following a service at the St. Augustine Anglican Church, Market Hill, St. George, Reifer said constituents feel unheard and he is particularly concerned about the youth, noting that a lot of them are angry, and so he is on a mission to help them.
“I have some good ideas on how we are going to interact with them and things we can put in place to help them. I’m in discussions with a lot of them and they are feeling confident that I can get that job done and they believe in me,” he said.

He added, “As I said I have a lot of plans, it will involve young people. There are a lot of young people around the community, there are also the older folks around the community that are mentors, we want to involve them as well. So basically we want to rebuild the community spirit and the community life”.

Reifer, who was accompanied at church by his family, including wife Amanda, daughter Victoria and mother Orma, as well as the President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Verla De Peiza and first Vice President Ryan Walters, said he is determined to give the youth a voice and to listen to the people of St. George North, in an effort to ensure their concerns are addressed. The newly minted politician’s comments came as he is promised that over the course of the next few weeks he will be getting out into the community and interacting with as many of the constituents as possible.

“I’m going to talk to the people, I’m going to listen to the people. So I’m coming all through St. George,” an enthusiastic Reifer stated.
His comments came less than 24 hours after a mix and mingle at the DLP’s George Street Headquarters on Saturday evening, where he told those gathered that the country is in need of better.

“I am a humble youth from St. George, a proud husband, a proud dad and a Barbadian who will not be colour-blinded by noisy people shouting for more when we the people of St. George North are getting less... Do not look for big words from me, look for big works from me,” he stated.

He added, “My main concern is to help solve the problems that people experience in St. George North. I do not see a political colour, I see Barbadians who deserve better and with your help, will get better”.

Reifer made the point while referring to the robbery at the gas station in Charles Rowe Bridge earlier this year, contending that “This is not who we are. This is not St. George North”. In that vein, he maintained that the crime situation must be brought under control.

“We must call on Government and the Attorney General to pay attention to the problem of violent crime in Barbados. We all know the social ills that plague this country; that is why to sit and relax is a no, no. I am calling all hands to the plough,” he stated. (JRT)

MINISTER of the Environment and National Beautification Adrian Forde says his Ministry will be taking a zero tolerance approach to dumping in Barbados.

He made his position clear yesterday during the launch of a Clean and Green campaign, which over the next few months will see the National Conservation Commission (NCC) and the Sanitation Services Authority (SSA) working closely together to clean and beautify spaces across Barbados. He said it is intended that with the buy-in of residents and the wider community, Barbados could become the cleanest country in the Western Hemisphere.

He said this can’t be done with the illegal dumping, which reared its ugly head at the site of the launch in Flat Rock, St. George, even though attempts had already started to clean the area.

“We are going to put cameras because it is my determination as Minister of the Environment and National beautification to prevent this illegal dumping and to stop the scourge of illegal dumping as we know it. I am saying to the entire Barbados gone are the days where I will be telling persons to come and clean up after they dump illegally.

“I am not into the business of forgiving. That is what the Church is there for. If they are involved in the activities of illegal and illicit dumping, I believe and I am sure this is the belief of the entire government that they should face the law courts. And that is as simple as it gets for me.

“Illegal dumping will not be tolerated under my watch. After we work assiduously to clean and beautify those areas, those persons who believe because of some flippant gene in their body walking around saying that they can destroy our ecosystem and our biodiversity, I am saying your days are numbered because we are going to put cameras. And when those persons are caught, I am going to ensure that the policemen and the court and the legal system do their job. It is a zero tolerance as it relates to illegal dumping because the communities have a sense of altruism in the project where their environment is beautified.”

Minister Forde explained that benches will be placed in the area known as Flat Rock Woods and there will be community refuse hubs introduced as part of the project. A day will also be identified for bulk refuse to be collected from the community. In addition, he stated that 360 workers will be deployed across the various constituencies, with the responsibility of the monitoring and evaluating work on behalf of the NCC to ensure the areas are maintained. An educational and sensitisation component will also be included in the programme.

Forde, who jumped behind the wheel of one of the trucks yesterday, was joined by Barbados Labour Party candidate for the St. George North by-election, Senator Toni Moore and former representative for St. George North, Gline Clarke.

Minister Forde rubbished claims that the work being carried out in St. George North was politically motivated. “It was conceptualised from the time I entered the Ministry, understanding there is a nexus between cleaning as one aspect in terms of the sanitation and what we do and with greening at the NCC.

“When you hear persons talk because they have nothing better to do, I call it the atmospheric noises. To politicise a project like this that started long before there was even a thought about a by-election, I would like to tell those persons put their hands to the plow...”

Former representative, Gline Clarke, commended the project, noting that the lands were given to the Crown back in 2006. He called on Minister Forde to ensure that the Government follows through with formally accepting the lands, which sit on approximately five acres.

“It is still under Barbados Farms Ltd. It was given to the Crown, but now the Crown has not finally accepted because the resolution has to go to Parliament before it becomes Crown land. Because you don’t know what will happen in another 50 years,” he cautioned. (JH)

WITH Barbados expected to be placed on the European Union’s blacklist today, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has written to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Union (UN) president Charles Michel to register Barbados’ strong objection to the move.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Roy Morris revealed that letters were dispatched to the two officials over the weekend and in them, she described the decision of the EU as “wrong” and “disproportionate”.

In the statement it was noted that when the Prime Minister explained the situation to persons attending a political meeting at The Glebe, St. George on Sunday night in support of her party’s St. George North candidate, Toni Moore, she compared it to a man who was caught with a spliff being handed a death sentence.

At the same time, Mottley placed the blame squarely at the feet of the last Democratic Labour Party administration, saying the then Government repeatedly refused to answer requests from authorities in North America and Europe

for tax information on international business companies that operate from Barbados.

Mottley told her audience: “There is something called the International Business Sector, and those are companies from outside that come and set up in Barbados. They want to set up here because they believe they can do business here, they believe the country has a lower tax rate, they feel the country is safe, and believe they can get for their workers who have to work here, a quality of life that is sometimes better than in Canada, or New York or London.

“But the Europeans, in the European Union, feel that they can … call us to account and tell us whether we should be blacklisted, or whitelisted, or accepted. And why? Because we have been doing so well with respect to attracting businesses here from the days of Tom Adams right through for the last 40 years, that they now want to ring-fence, and to stop us from being able to be attractive globally.

“Now, what does that matter to you? Almost half of the corporation taxes that are paid in this country are paid by [overseas] companies... They choose to put their businesses in Barbados, and because of that, we have been able to ease your burden with the level of taxes that you as a Bajan have to pay in this country.

“Do you understand what I am telling you? You can pay a little less because others are doing business here and are contributing to the same taxes needed to pay for your child to go to university, to pay for the hospital to treat you, to pay for us to do the roads, to pay for us to pay the public servants, to pay for us to do all the things that we have to do as a Government.

“But the European Union is adamant that it has the right to blacklist countries – and even that phrase I find offensive. They are now trying to say “uncooperative jurisdictions”, but they can’t change the fact that they started with “blacklist”. Well, I am black, and I am proud, and if you feel that black is negative well, I don’t feel it’s negative. So let’s start from that premise!”

Prime Minister Mottley reiterated that Barbados is going to get a “lash” globally for something not done by this Government, but by the last administration and is left to “clean up” what was left behind.

“...The EU lagged then and want to lash us today, and is telling us that because the last Government did not exchange information with countries, and because the last Government did not do audits with the people who do business with the International Business Sector, who we call the corporate service providers, we now have to take a lash as a country.

“Well, we will take it, but we will … disagree with them. I wrote the Chancellor of Germany again this weekend, and I wrote the President of the EU Charles Michel again this weekend, and in your name I told them that it is wrong and disproportionate.

“It is disproportionate. And why? They are going to get their banks and their financial institutions to put measures on us. And we say that when they try to do that most of the banks say, ‘But Barbados is too small!’ They don’t even think we are a problem for them because as far as they are concerned, we are a dot on the map. But the dot on the map means they will just say to people, ‘We aren’t banking with you! We aren’t doing business with you!’

“And companies that may have been here 50 years, …100 years, now stand to be affected. And therefore, when I tell you that we are cleaning up, believe you me, as God is my witness, we are.”