Barbados Blackbelly rams are fit and healthy enough to produce the necessary semen for a countrywide artificial insemination (AI) programme that will rapidly multiply the number of Blackbelly sheep on the island.

This is according to experts Dr Raymundo Rangel-Santos and Dr Jose Garcia-Muniz from Universidad Autonoma Chapingo of Mexico, who along with other specialists from the Inter-American Institute For Co-operation On Agriculture (IICA) toured a number of island farms this morning to get a preliminary look at sheep stock before going into talks with the Government of Barbados.

Dr Jose Garcia-Muniz and Dr Raymundo Rangel-Santos of Mexico.

“Once you have identified high quality animals like the ones you have here in Barbados you can get high genetic females and males, and you can apply some of these reproductive technologies that we already know to be able to multiply those numbers. For instance, bring a ram, collect the semen sample, and with one sample we could AI or process the semen to be able to AI between 50 and 100 ewes. And if you consider that, you could collect from a ram twice a day, so you could AI between 100 and 200 ewes in a single day,” Rangel-Santos said.

He explained that this move could have a great impact for Barbados’ shipping industry once the sheep produced lambs and that other Caribbean countries should seek to get into AI also.

“It is something that is not impossible to do and the process will take two to three months without any problems; and instead of waiting for somebody else from another country to do it, we should take advantage of it.”

According to Rangel-Santos, such an undertaking would cost US$250 per embryo transfer procedure and US$10 to US$12 for each AI. He said around eight to ten good quality embryos could produce four to five lambs.

The doctors’ visit to Barbados was arranged after their meeting with Barbadians Greg Welch and Dr Jamekal Andwele, who took part in an agricultural programme launched by IICA and the Ministry of Agriculture. The two Barbadians were attending a three-week training course on sheep production at Universidad Autonoma Chapingo in Mexico to enhance the capacity of approximately 200 Caribbean farmers and technicians.

From left, Barbadian Dr Jamekal Andwele and Mexican doctors Raymundo Rangel-Santos and Jose Garcia-Muniz observing a few blue-eyed sheep closely.

Both Welch and Andwele told  Barbados TODAY it was a gainful experience in which they learned quite a lot and that they would be looking to test their knowledge once they had engaged the Barbados Government in talks with the idea.

At present the idea is in developmental stage, but they intend to focus their attention on record keeping because that is one of the main problems sheep farmers face on island, they said. Tomorrow the group is hoping to engage Government in discussion.

Farm manager at Greenland Livestock Research Station, John Vaughan, said the Blackbelly sheep was the only indigenous animal that Barbados had and therefore needed to be preserved.

“What happens is that in case of a natural disaster like hurricane, earthquake and the island is devastated and the animals are all eliminated and you don’t have embryos or semen stored, then the breed will become extinct. And as you know Barbados Blackbelly sheep is the only indigenous animal we have. We have to do all that we can to preserve them.”

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite said today he was anxious to see a fully operational drug treatment court in Barbados to save more young people from incarceration and to help address challenges in the prison system.

“We are very keen on seeing our court rolled out. We believe it is the right thing for us as a country to save more of our young people,” he told the opening of a two-day regional workshop on the Monitoring and Evaluation of Drug Treatment Courts at the Crane Beach Resort in St Philip.

Brathwaite, who suggested there was a case to be made for imprisonment as a last resort, pointed to the current challenges facing prisons across the region.

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite

“Most of our prisons are overcrowded and short of staff of the requisite personnel. No one really volunteers to work in prison in terms of psychologists, psychiatrists etc.

“There is no prison in the region that I have heard about that has adequate staff when it comes to treating offenders who have medical or psychological problems and therefore we need to look exactly at what we are doing to tackle the problem outside of the prison setting and certainly save more of our young people from returning to prisons.”

While admitted that there were strong, differing views about the success of the drug treatment court model, he noted that this could be easily be addressed by a mechanism that would monitor and evaluate the court’s operations.

“I am advised that the cost of incarceration of individuals in Barbados is about $35,000 per annum, so certainly we can begin there as a benchmark a year from now when we look at the success or failure of our model and see whether or not it is more expensive to have a drug treatment court model, or is it less expensive or is it on par . . . it is important for us to be able to have this mechanism in place to evaluate all that we are doing.”

Brathwaite also told the legal officers present that it was critical for regional officials to take ownership of the training and make it relevant to the needs of the Caribbean.

Canada and the United States have been supporting the region’s efforts to establish drug treatment courts.

Canadian High Commissioner to Barbados and the OECS Richard Henley noted that drug treatment courts had enhanced the safety and security of Canadians and he stressed that they should be considered as an alternative to imprisonment.

“It is our hope that over time drug treatment courts in your countries will significantly reduce crime [and] recidivism in the prison population.

“Drug treatment courts in Canada have been recognized as an innovative approach to help offenders address the cycle of criminal addiction and behaviour. It is a public health issue as well as a criminal justice issue. They provide treatment to the addicts and safety to the community,” he said.

He was strongly supported by Deputy Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), who said monitoring and evaluation were essential in  keeping track of the planning process and measuring implementation.

“Scientific evidence shows us that if we follow a methodology for the review of the DCTs (Drug Treatment Courts) we cannot only strengthen but expand the programme across the hemisphere generating evidence which will allow each and every one of us to demonstrate that the objectives have been reached.

“We evaluate because we need to know exactly how we are doing. We need to monitor processes in order to be certain that we are able to react and adjust our goals and activities in the implementation process of the initiative.”

The newly appointed Principal of the University of the West Indies Open Campus Professor Eudine Barriteau is concerned that not enough young men in the Caribbean are tapping into the opportunities provided for them to complete their tertiary education.

Principal of the University of the West Indies Open Campus Professor Eudine Barriteau (right) was accompanied by the campus’ Director of Academic Programming and Development Dr Joel Warrican at today’s media briefing.

And as the campus prepares to expand its programming, she is hoping to “get them off the blocks and in front their laptops” engaged in higher learning.

The former head of the UWI’s Centre for Gender and Development Studies for 15 years and deputy principal of the Cave Hill campus, was appointed on August 1 to her new position.

During a media briefing today at her office, she said the Campus would be utilizing a CAN$21 million grant provided by the Government of Canada last year in its drive towards “expansion, penetration and financial sustainability”.

“The young men are a special target because in terms of the senior administration of the university,” she told reporters.

“We are concerned that a lot of young men don’t tap into tertiary education, and to the extent that we can design programmes to attract them we would want to do that. We want them to realize their fullest potential.

“In a sense they represent an untapped market. If I could get them off the blocks and in front their laptops, I would be very thrilled that they’re doing something,” she said, while noting that “they are attracted to different types of programming and as educators we have a responsibility to cater to them”.

Also taking part in the press conference, the campus’ Director of Academic Programming and Development Dr Joel Warrican said recognizing the “changing landscape” in education, “we have some programmes that we are thinking about.

“These ones we think are the most exciting, that we imagine will get the males coming into the campus.

“We are thinking about multi-media design and development with majors in graphics and multi-media management design and development; web game design, apps development, cyber security,” he explained.

The campus currently serves 17 Caribbean countries with actual campuses in seven territories, including one at the Pine in Barbados. For this academic year, there are 4,700 persons engaged in online programmes and over 20,000 in face-to-face classroom sessions.

A former Guyanese policewoman has found herself on the wrong side of the law in Barbados.
Nicolle Monroe, 44, was due to appear in court today to answer a number of drug offences.

Monroe, who arrived at the Grantley Adams International Airport on Tuesday from Georgetown, is charged with, importation, possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of half a kilogramme of cocaine, as well as four and a half pounds of cannabis.

The drugs were concealed in the tights she was wearing in a number of taped packages.

A Fort George Heights, St Michael man, who has been on remand at Dodds Prison since February 19, accused of killing his estranged wife, has been trying unsuccessfully to get back onto
the streets.

Attorney at law Andrew Pilgrim, who represents Colin Hadley Reifer, told Barbados TODAY this afternoon that his client had been refused bail as recently as two weeks ago.  Reifer, the brother of High Court Judge Margaret Reifer, first appeared in a magistrate’s court about nine months ago, charged with the murder of his wife, 46 year-old Cheryl Bourne-Reifer.

Bourne-Reifer, who was a full time shop assistant and worked part time at a beauty salon attached to her former Fort George Heights home, was discovered dead on February 15 in the bathroom of the home.

The Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) has been given assurances by Government that recent cash-flow challenges of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) are being addressed.

At a meeting convened by Minister of Health John Boyce on Tuesday, Government also sought assure the doctors that the hospital’s financial commitments to suppliers would be met.

In this regard, “negotiations to secure funding of $25 million are quite advanced, and will be completed within the next two weeks”, the Ministry of Health said in a statement issued via the Government Information Service (GIS) this afternoon.

Minister of Health John Boyce

“These funds will be complemented by weekly transfers from the Treasury Department to the QEH to guarantee a continuous flow of service. It is anticipated that these measures will allow the QEH to meet its obligations on a timely basis and minimize any major inventory shortages in the future,” the statement added.

It comes in the wake of a stern warning issued last week by BAMP, backed up by the Junior Doctors Association, that doctors would be treating to emergency cases only at the state-run hospital, which they said was facing a critical shortage of medical supplies.

It was met by an angry response from the hospital’s CEO Dexter James, who described the move as both “irresponsible” and “reckless”.

However, today’s statement said the QEH management team and BAMP had agreed “in the spirit of forging improved communications and building a partnership between the doctors and hospital administration” to hold monthly meetings going forward to share information on the operations of the QEH.

“The date and time for the first meeting is to be determined by the two parties,” the statement added.

With respect to the hospital’s system of inventory management, the CEO has given a further commitment that immediate action would be taken to update the already installed SmartStream Supplies Management software.

“This includes inventory for the operating theatres, laboratory, pharmacy and the food and central stores. The management of the QEH will also expand the level of clerical support to these areas to ensure that the integrity of the system is maintained.

“These improvements are anticipated to be fully operational by December 31, 2014,” the release said.

The Ministry also acknowledged that “a more sustainable economic model for financing health care” was necessary for the long-term provision of the quality health services to which Barbadians have become accustomed.

“The Ministry of Health has committed to finalize a concept paper on options for financing health care. This is to be submitted to Cabinet by January 31, 2015, for its consideration. This paper will form the basis for national discussion,” the statement added.

It is not a done deal.

But Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have now signed a fishing protocol, setting the foundation for the long awaited fishing agreement.

Commenting on the new arrangement he signed in Port of Spain on Tuesday with Trinidad’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran, this island’s non-resident Ambassador to the twin island republic, Robert Bobby Morris, told Barbados TODAY this afternoon that the protocol formalises common procedures related to the arrest of crew and detention of                       fishing vessels.

“What this protocol does is that it sets out best practices in terms of how you deal with these persons if they are found to be in your waters. One of the first things it does is to have a contact position, focal point in the consulate of the two countries, so that if anything happens they had to be informed,” Ambassador Morris said.

He also said it seeks to provide information on the coordinates of detained vessels, the time of capture, if persons were to be charged, the nature of the offences and where the suspects were going to be held.

It also details the amount and types of fish seized.

“It gives us an agreement in matters relating to fisheries, which [provides] the groundwork for now trying to go ahead with the long-mooted fishing agreement that lasted for one year between 1990 and 1991.”

Noting there were difficulties since then, ambassador Morris said the protocol now “leaves room for us to start back the negotiations trying to get a fishing agreement between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago”.

“What we are getting from the authorities [in Trinidad] is a willingness to start talking . . . but we have to look at the economics of the sea. In other words, the same discussion our Prime Minister is having about the blue economies for Caribbean development, Trinidad is talking about that.”

Morris said any new fishing agreement must consider the requirements of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy that allows for the free movement of capital, labour and services, as well as rights of establishment.

“These things were not there before 2006,” Morris noted, adding that there was reason for optimism.

However, he said the biggest hurdle was being able to allay fears that there would not be over-fishing.

“I think we have to rely on scientific calculation about how much fishing on an annual basis could be allowed and once we have an assurance that there would not be a depletion of the flying fish stock from our waters . . . I think that is going to be the number one thing,” added the ambassador.

He did not think there were any political issues standing in the way.

“I think the major thing is about conserving resources.”

Head of the Barbados National Union of Fisherfolk Organisations (BARNUFO), Vernell Nicholls was unavailable for comment.

The Barbados Investors & Policyholders Alliance (BIPA) today served notice to Government that it was not prepared to wait any longer, and that it intends to seek justice in the law courts on behalf of thousands of out-of-pocket policyholders of CLICO International Life (CIL).

The warning by BIPA that it will be pursuing legal action against the directors and others in CIL came in a press statement this evening in which the Association accused the Government of reneging on its commitment to its members.

“Promises may be a comfort to a fool, but when they come in the form of a series of written undertakings, approved by Cabinet and issued by Government officials at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs which are then reneged upon, that is an extremely serious matter which sends out worrying signals locally and internationally,” said BIPA President June Fowler in the release, in which she made reference to a series of documents dating back to April 3, 2014, which were issued by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, confirming its approval and commitment, as well as that of Cabinet, to a detailed plan for CIL.

That plan was proposed in December 2013 by the company’s Judicial Manager to restructure the company and preserve the savings, investments and pensions of thousands of traditional and non-traditional policyholders.

Fowler also pointed out that subsequent written commitments were given, including a specific undertaking for funding, which was due to be paid in August 2014, to contribute towards the costs of the first phase of the restructuring plan.

In view of what appeared to be progress, she said BIPA had previously decided to focus on supporting the restructuring plan rather than pursue its civil case against the directors of CIL and others.

However, as the restructuring process seems to have come to a complete halt, BIPA will now resort to its legal action, which will include a requirement for disclosure of the previously sealed Forensic Report, which provides evidence central to its case.

BIPA President June Fowler

“There has been much reference recently to the phrase ‘causing annoyance, distress and anxiety’. Anyone who wants to know what that really feels like, might ask a CIL or BAICO [CLICO’s sister company] policyholder who has saved for their retirement and spent the last six years wondering if they will ever see their money again, whilst Government continues to procrastinate and fails to fulfil their own written undertakings and commitments,” Fowler said.

Against the background of the massive ‘hole’ in CIL’s finances, the BIPA head said her organisation finds it difficult to believe the Government would risk the consequences of a complete collapse of the company, rather than honour its written commitment to inject the necessary funding.

She pointed to the fact that the Judicial Manager had been able to manage CIL’s cash flow sufficiently well over the last four years to meet its obligations to some 17,000 traditional policyholders locally without a single cent of support from the Treasury. But noted that internally generated income through premium payments and the like had now all but run out, as had time.

“Many people do not realise that the company has been paying out monthly pensions on matured traditional and certain other policies ever since, representing millions of dollars which has found their way via policyholders into the local economy,” she said.

However if the written commitment by Government to fund the first phase of restructuring, which was originally scheduled for payment in August 2014, was not made immediately, Fowler stressed that policyholders monthly pension payments would stop.

“Not only will this devastate thousands of pensioners, but it will also dramatically reduce their spending at a time when businesses are already closing down and jobs are being lost due to a reduction in trade,” the president explained.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

Nearly a month before a section of the road at White Hill, St Andrew was extensively damaged by heavy rains, Government had already completed five houses at Farmers, St Thomas, for the relocation of residents whose houses had been threatened by soil slippage.

Additionally, Government had plans to offer a grant of $25 000 to assist the affected homeowners in relocating.

Minister of Housing, Lands and Rural Development Denis Kellman made the disclosures in an interview with Barbados TODAY this afternoon in which he said the matter was the subject of an October 30 Cabinet Paper and that 25 houses at White Hill were earmarked for relocation, five of which had already been completed at Farmers for five families.

Minister of Housing Denis Kellman

“We have also set a policy that where homeowners own the land on which the house is located [at White Hill], they would get land at Farmers, St Thomas. If you do not own the land, you would be able to buy the land at $2.50 a square foot,” Kellman explained.

He also said Government would be seeking to ensure that “no one will be able to return to White Hill because it will be a swap”.

“It means that when the resident leaves White Hill the land automatically goes to Government,” the Minister of Housing and Lands added.

Following a tour of the collapsed section of the community last week, Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley had reported that the impassable section of the St Andrew road would be closed while the Government considered alternatives for assisting residents in the rural district.

However, the Minister of Housing stressed today that the relocation process had started, while pouring cold water on suggestions that the area should be abandoned.

“We did not wait for the last slippage in November this year. Some people are saying that as many as 100 houses would have to be relocated, but that is if you do not repair the road. However, I believe that the road is too important an artery to be abandoned.

“In my opinion the cost of relocation will be much higher than reconstructing the road,” he argued, pointing out that “where there is land slippage in other places, Government will be offering a grant of $25 000 to homeowners to resite themselves”.

Meanwhile, residents in White Hill have been calling on the Government to provide temporary access to their homes following closure of the collapsed road last week.

“I have been living in this district for the past 57 years and I have never seen it like this,” complained Arlington Murray, who has been a resident of White Hill all of his life.

“We would appreciate if every house in the district was relocated, but I am aware of the economic concerns. I am aware that any relocation programme will take years. However, our immediate concern is a temporary road to get in and out of the district.

“If a resident has to travel from White Hill to Hillaby, which is about three minutes drive, the resident has to travel to St Andrew. You either go around Belleplaine or around Sturges, just to get back here,” he said, while appealing to Government to do something about the situation.

“People in White Hill are cut off from churches. We are cut off from shops. We are cut off from our families. Owners of mechanic workshops and bodywork facilities are now cut off from their customers.  Most of the residents who have relatives in Farmers, Braggs Hill and Hillaby [in St Thomas] are now cut off from them,” Murray said, adding that, “up to now no one in Government has come to us to say how we are going to get in or out of White Hill.”

Murray further noted that while officials had abandoned the White Hill Road, no one had come up with an idea of putting in a temporary road.

“The Transport Board has provided a shuttle service, but it is only coming from near the collapsed road to the bottom of road and that is linking up with the Shorey Village bus, but what happens to residents who work after 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.?

“I feel that Prime Minister Freundel Stuart should make a statement on the matter,” Murray added.    

Another resident, 68-year-old Lionel Lowe, who has driven minibuses in the area for more than 30 years, described his hometown as “no one’s place”.

He said over the weekend residents came up with an improvised solution of a footpath.

“It is a sad disaster. We need urgent assistance because there are many sick people in the White Hill area,” he said.

Shopkeeper Dianne Clarke, who has been living in the district for the past 11 years, complained that while the parliamentary representative for St Andrew George Payne had visited the district, Democratic Labour Party candidate in the 2013 general election Irene Sandiford-Garner had been a no-show.

“I would like to be relocated as soon as yesterday,” she added, pointing out that “as the land continues to slide it is affecting the functioning of my toilet facilities and I have to be calling the plumber on a regular basis to fix my plumbing.

“The slippage is pulling out the pipes all of the time and that is not healthy.”

Shopkeeper Allison Jemmott, who has also been operating a shop to the northern side of White Hill for the past four years, complained that since the road collapsed, she has had to have suppliers drop off her goods at her mother’s residence in Chapman Village in St Thomas.

While lauding the work done by the Barbados Light and Power Co., in having the power supply restored in short order, she complained that none of the Government officials had returned to village to carry any further evaluation since last week.

Jemmott also complained that there was a pile of garbage in White Hill for over seven weeks.

nevilleclarke@barbadostoday.bb

Members of this country’s East Indian community have presented Parliament with a framed photograph of the original Speaker’s Chair, which was gifted to Barbados by the Indian Government shortly after it achieved Independence 48 years ago.

This afternoon’s presentation took place in the Committee Room of Parliament, and was attended by Speaker of the House Michael Carrington, as well as several members of the Barbados Muslim Association, including one of the surviving persons in the photograph, Mohammed Patel.

From left, Speaker of the House of Assembly Michael Carrington, Honorary Consul of India in Barbados Dr Mohini Harris, President of the Barbados Muslim Association Suleiman Bulbulia, President of the Sindhi Association of Barbados Mahesh Mahtani, author of Bengal to Barbados Sabir Nakhuda and Mohammed Patel, who is one of the individuals in the photograph being presented.

Author of Bengal to Barbados Sabir Nakhuda (right) presents his book to Speaker of the House of Assembly Michael Carrington.

Author Sabir Nakhuda, who recorded the event in his book Bengal to Barbados – A 100 Year History of East Indians in Barbados, acknowledged the efforts of Parliament to document and record its history for the benefit of Barbadians and visitors to the island.

In thanking members of the East Indian community for the gift, Carrington said he was “extremely appreciative” of the gesture, which “highlights the cooperation and generosity which exists between members of the Commonwealth”.

“I am also aware that there are third and fourth generations of the East Indian community here. I do hope that this book helps to create a better understanding of each other and aids in bridging the gap,” he added.

The students of the Alleyne School were reminded this morning that excellence begins in your mind with just a thought. These words came from the featured speaker at the school’s speech day and prize giving ceremony, Desirée Gibson, and were certainly in keeping with the theme Achieving Exellence Is Only A Thought Away.

Gibson, a former student and the current human resources manager at the Sandals Resort, challenged the students to change the way they think. She encouraged the power of positive thinking, which would “surely lead to positive results”.

“Creating a mindset of excellence is the first necessary step to everything,” she advised. “It can either limit your potential, or control your self-esteem. The way you think influences your self-esteem, your confidence and your creativity.”

Gibson also shared four tips for achieving excellence. First of all the students were informed that they had control over their thoughts. They needed to be constantly aware of what they were thinking –– especially the negative thoughts.

Secondly, students should “expect awesome and amazing things to happen to [them]”. Gibson stressed that in order for excellence to be achieved, you must want it to happen, because it did not happen automatically or accidentally. Fighting fear was pivotal for excellence, she said.

Next, Gibson advised that the students spend time with motivated, inspiring and positive people who would provide encouragement and support when needed. People who were surrounded by those kinds of friends tended to be able to bounce back quicker, she suggested.

Finally, Gibson reiterated the need to think excellence.

“You are excellent because you have greatness and excellence in you,” she stressed.

The students were encouraged to dispel fear as it was an enemy of excellence.

She then left them with some statements of affirmation, which the entire assembly repeated including: “I can succeed”, “I can work hard”, “I made a mistake but I am not a mistake”, and “I am important enough”.

Gibson was then joined by a section of the choir for a renditon of the popular gospel song I Know Who I Am, after which she recited some of the lyrics from Katy Perry’s hit Roar, encouraging the students to take the words to heart.

Alleyne School principal Julia Beckles, in her remarks, praised the staff, parents and guardians for keeping the students focussed and grounded, and contributing to their success. Beckles, the first appointed female principal of the school, shared that she had a vision of the school being the “most disciplined in Barbados with a high performance culture in which students are socially developed and the weakest among them is able to leave school having attained at least five subjects at CSEC or five at CVQ”.

Beckles also made mention of the Principal’s Good Deed Award, an initiative birthed from her vision for the school. It it awarded to students who excel non-academically or in the area of sports; and named two students who were already recipients.

In the area of academics, the principal was pleased to announce that EDPM, food and nurtition, home management, music, technical drawing, theatre arts, woods, and metals all received 100 per cent passes. However, the results for geography, French, Spanish, biology, chemistry and Electronics –– areas that usually register good results –– were not satisfactory. Beckles noted that investigations had begun to change these results  by next year.

Parents were urged to motivate their children after they chose their subjects for CSEC in order to ease the burden that was placed on teachers to ensure that students handed in their assignments on time. Parents were also told to remind their children about the importance of gaining CSEC certificates, especially due to the competitive nature of the current job market.

Beckles thanked the alumni and other well-wishers for their donations and ended by congratulating all the prize winners.

Special donations were made by former teacher and recent recipient of the Silver Crown Of Merit, Kathy Harper-Hall, who donated 70 chairs on behalf of the alumni, and parent Baldwyn Haynes who donated a framed picture of the school band to the principal and band director Gary Goodridge.

Special mention must be made of John Sampson, who was named Sports Personality Of The Year and received the Carol Bourne Trophy for good all-round performance in academics, sports and practical areas. Katelyn Bryan received the Cyril Thompson Memorial Prize for best CXC results, and was also awarded the Canadian Alumni Scholarship.

Sports Personality Of The Year John Sampson.

Hugh Sandiford (right) presenting Katelyn Bryan with the Canadian Alumni Scholarship and the Cyril Thompson Memorial Prize.

Cody Jones with his prizes for leadership, discipline and outstanding CXC results.

The McDonald Smith Memorial Prize for leadership went to Cody Jones, who also received the prize for Most Disciplined And Exemplary Student, a prize for outstanding CXC results and a subject prize for theatre arts.

kamilahcadogan@barbadostoday.bb

Government will on Monday receive over two million dollars (US$1,284,882) in compensation under its excess rainfall insurance policy, or CCRIF, as a result of recent heavy rains.

Representatives of the CCRIF, formerly known as the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, are due to make the official presentation to Government on Monday during a ceremony, which takes place at Government Headquarters at 10 a.m.

Director of Finance and Economic Affairs Martin Cox and CCRIF Board members Desirée Cherebin and Faye Hardy will deliver remarks at the ceremony, which will also be attended by representatives of the the Barbados Meteorological Service, the Department of Emergency Management, Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency and the Caribbean Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology.

In a statement, the CCRIF noted that Barbados was the only CCRIF member country with an excess rainfall policy that was affected by the passage of a trough system from                 November 20 to 21.

It however said that the pay out brings to four the number of payments made by CCRIF this year on members’ excess rainfall policies, totalling approximately US$3.4 million. Anguilla received two disbursements for Tropical Cyclone Gonzalo and a trough that occurred on November 7, while St. Kitts and Nevis received a payment, also for the November 7 trough.

In the meantime, eight CCRIF member countries – Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti,

-St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent & the Grenadines – purchased excess rainfall policies for the first time for the 2014/2015 policy year.

The excess rainfall product is aimed primarily at extreme high rainfall events of short duration (a few hours to a few days), whether they happen during a tropical cyclone (hurricane) or not. Therefore, excess rainfall policies complement countries’ tropical cyclone policies, which are based on losses from wind and storm surge. If both policies are triggered by a given hurricane, then pay outs on both policies are due, the statement said.

The Barbados Vagrant and Homeless Society today received a cash donation from the Barbados Consulate in New York and the Barbadian Diaspora.

Consul General Dr Donna Hunte-Cox hand delivered the cheque to the head of the association Kemar Saffrey at the group’s Tudor Street, Bridgetown office.

Dr Donna Hunte-Cox handing over a monetary donation to Kemar Saffrey.

Dr Hunte-Cox said her consulate thought it necessary at this time to share with persons who were less fortunate.

“We wanted to make a contribution to a charity and we felt at this time that the Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society was the ideal charity we wanted to contribute to. So it was an opportune time when I was able to come home to deliver the cheque personally,” she told Barbados TODAY.

In accepting the donation, Saffrey revealed that the money would be used to help the society’s Christmas programme.

“It’s a good thing that it is coming at this time. We are going to have our massive event of December 13th in Queen’s Park where we will be giving away food, clothes, doing HIV testing, blood pressure testing and counseling on the spot.

“It will come in handy to help for that day where a number of our clients turn up for that and obviously it’s Christmas time where everybody is looking for a gift and it’s where we close off the year with a bang,” he said.

Edu-Tech was introduced into the island’s school system not only to familiarize students with modern technology, but to change what we learn and to change how we learn.

Opposition Leader Mia Mottley made this observation yesterday while delivering the feature address at the annual speech day and prize giving ceremony at Parkinson Memorial Secondary School in The Pine, St Michael.

Student Of The Year Matthew Carrington accepting his prize from Margaret Broomes, wife of principal Jeff Broomes.

Most Outstanding Physical Education Student Lavaar Chase accepting his prizes from Vincent Broomes.

Mottley, who once held the portfolio of Minister of Education under a Barbados Labour Party administration said: “It is on those two objectives that I believe that there is still work to be done. And the work that is to be done largely coincides with the theme of this speech day, which is Meeting The World Of Challenge With Creativity, Skills And Positive Values.

“When we change how we teach as teachers, and when we change what we teach as teachers, it is intended not to have a student leave school with the greatest amount of knowledge in their heads, but it is intended to allow students to be able to think critically and creatively.”

The St Michael North-East MP argued that with the rapid changes that had overtaken the world, it was important that students leaving school in Barbados be able think creatively and critically in order to face the challenges of the world. Taking a critical look at the current social and economic challenges with the delivery of services to the island’s people, Mottley contended that for the first time Barbadians had begun to doubt themselves as a people.

“We have begun to doubt ourselves as to what we must do. And all of the things that should be protected the most become the first things and the easiest things to be dismantled.

“Today I have watched the children come on the platform achieving within the school. However, I ask myself how many of these children in two, five, seven years will be given the opportunities like those who attended Parkinson like director of the National Insurance Scheme, Ian Carrington, Colonel Alvin Quintyne of the Barbados Defence Force, Dorsie Boyce and Rodney Grant of the Pinelands Creative Workshop, who showed the role non-governmental organizations can play in development.

“How many of the present school population would get the opportunities of students attending Parkinson Secondary School between 1961 and 2013?” Mottley asked.

Mottley argued that there was a Barbadian DNA or a Barbadian way that stressed the importance of education in a country that had 200 primary schools in the 1900s and  six secondary schools.

The Opposition Leader said: “Education was the watchword. We were also told, ‘Own a piece of the rock’. That was the Barbadian way. We believed in supporting those most incapable of supporting themselves, the weakest among us. We believed in a strong sense of social justice.

“What we have begun to gut is the very things that make us Barbadian.”

Principal of the Parkinson Memorial Secondary School Jeff Broomes is putting his money where his mouth is.

While presenting his annual report at the school’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony yesterday, Broomes announced the launch of the annual $5,000 Jeff Broomes Parkinson Student Support Fund, beginning next year.

Principal of the Parkinson Memorial Secondary School Jeff Broomes

“My life has always been guided by the ‘weakest link principle’ and believe that when we help those most in need we strengthen the entire body, be it school or country,” said the principal, who was tranasferred to the sub-urban school last year.

Broomes, who was prevoiusly the principal of the Alexandra School in St Peter,  said he was also willing work with the guidance counsellor, the school’s administration and supportive friends, parents and old scholars to host different events to augment the dollar value of this fund.

“I remember my first term at university in New York where when the cold weather came in I had no bed spread, no comforter and only a half of a blanket after my mother had cut off the edges. This forced me at times to choose between covering my shoulders or my toes. I was one of the weakest links and to this day believe that the blanket I got for that Christmas is one of the most impactful gifts I have ever received.”

The veteran educator, who has hinting at retirement today expressed his love for both the profession and his students, while adding that he was prepared to share what little he had “to ensure that they [students] avoided being forced into having to make such choices”.

“This is my leadership style; it is ethics-based and it defines who and what I am,” said Broomes, who has faqced problems with teachers at both Alexandra and Parkinson over his leadership style.

He also announced that Parkinson has institutionalised a breakfast programme with the clear position that “no one should be expected to study while hungry”.

“We appreciate the hardships of families that have suffered as a result of the many layoffs in the public sector. We sought the help of the students, staff and supportive partners to prepare and disbuse monthly hampers so such families could keep their heads high.

“We look after our children and their families, that is the Parkinson message,” he said.

Taking a look at the school’s academic performance for 2013-2014, Broomes noted that the school’s overall CXC pass rate of stood at 52.9 per cent.

The outspoken principal argued that this rate was consistent with the 53.9 per cent of the previous year and continued to stay above the 44 per cent that defined the two years preceding his arrival.

Contending that every student will not be good in English, Maths and History, Broome acknowledged that the school has established a programme where every student leaving Parkinson would have been exposed to a two-year programme in carpentry, plumbing, food preparation, cake icing agricultural production, sound production or cosmetology.

“Somewhere someone will find an alternative career as a result and that is our duty to have them so prepared,” he said.

nevilleclarke@barbadostoday.bb

Minister of Education Ronald Jones has hailed the peaceful atmosphere that now exists at The Alexandra School while warning that trouble could be brewing elsewhere in the school system.

Against the backdrop of a dispute between the former principal Jeff Broomes and teachers, which led to the order of a commission of inquiry by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and the eventual transfer of the school’s head and some teachers last year, Jones saluted what he described as “peace” at the St Peter institution.

Education Minister Ronald Jones at Alexandra today.

“I’m pleased with what I’m seeing, with what I’ve heard. I love the peace which is down here at Alexandra,” he said in an address to the school’s Speech Day.

However, hinting that there may be trouble brewing elsewhere, he said, “I want that peace to be at every school, including the one in the Pine. When there is no peace I can’t sleep,” the Minister said, adding that his sleeplessness was caused by “somebody greater than I, and not the Lord”.

Jones also spoke  of the importance of the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ) to students with poor academic records while noting that some Alexandra teachers had been obtaining CVQ teaching certification.

“We need to accelerate our competency-based training in this country because it makes the child ready to almost move into the world of work, to set up an entrepreneurial activity.

“And we’ve been slow in Barbados, actually too slow,” the Minister said.

During the feature address, Jones sang the praises of teaching staff as he urged them to place more emphasis on vocational education.

“Continue what you are doing well. . . Lead the way, set the stage,” he said, adding “the development of the nation depends on what teachers do, not what politicians say, because I can say it today with the left side of my mouth and as circumstances change, switch it to the right side, and hope that people aren’t listening”.

Barbados’ High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago Robert Morris (left), and that country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Dookeran signing the Protocol. (Photo courtesy Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have taken steps to protect the crew and fishing vessels of their nationals when detained in each country’s territorial waters.

Barbados’ non-resident High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago Robert Morris and that country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Dookeran signed a Protocol on Common Procedures for dealing with this issue earlier this week.

The Protocol will set out standards and procedures on how fishing vessels and crew are handled in the event that they are detained or arrested by either party.

According to the document, where crew members are arrested or a fishing vessel detained, both parties shall maintain a log of events relating to the arrest of the crew or the detention of fishing vessels.

Within 48 hours of the docking of a detained fishing vessel, the detaining state shall provide information to the other state, which includes the registration and name of the fishing vessel; the date and time of the detention coordinates of the location where the fishing vessel was fishing; the numbers or weight and the type of fish on the vessel when detained; and the names and addresses of the persons on board.

Morris noted that the fishing protocol codifies the best practices in relation to how fisher folk would be treated by both states.

The envoy further stated that the protocol upholds the national sovereignty of both countries, and would only be used when citizens found themselves in the areas in question.

The University of the West Indies (UWI) has moved a step closer to opening a campus in the heart of Bridgetown.

This morning, representatives of Sagicor handed over the keys to the old Mutual building in The City to UWI Principal Sir Hilary Beckles.

“Just this morning in Bridgetown city we received the Sagicor Financial building, the old Mutual, to begin our journey into the city as a university,” Sir Hilary announced during an event at Browne’s beach in which the S/V Ruth became the first vessel to be commissioned under the Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative.

However, it is not clear if the city campus, which has been earmarked to hold evening classes, would be open by yearend as was being targeted.

Sir Hilary has said that the campus will revitalize the capital and help drive economic growth.

After being under construction for more than 10 years, the SV Ruth took to the seas at Browne’s beach this morning in what is anticipated to be a boost to the food security thrust in the region.

Powered by wind and solar energy, the schooner will sail the Barbados to Dominica route under a pilot project.

Scores of residents flocked the beach, among them acting Prime Minister Richard Sealy and Principal of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Sir Hilary Beckles, for the commissioning.

Minister Sealy said he hoped this would lead to the resurgence of maritime transport between Barbados and the Caribbean, while

Acting Prime Minister Richard Sealy.

noting that this country’s history in inter-regional agricultural trade goes as far back as the 1950s.

He described the initiative as bold, and said hoped it would be mimicked by others in the region.

While noting the partners who were involved in the initiative, Sir Hilary said bringing it to reality was a “triumph” of entrepreneurship, international diplomacy, and UWI project management.

“For many decades we have tried our best in this region to give effect to the movement of food between these islands to remove volatility in prices and to enhance the quality of our produce and to lower the cost of foodstuff in each island while improving, at the same time, the quality,” Sir Hilary noted.

“This project is part of that continuing relationship of moving the university into the heartland of entrepreneurship and to participate with all of our international investors in adding value and developing projects for Caribbean peoples.”

Meantime, chief executive officer of SV Ruth Limited Ian Dash said despite the time taken to complete the vessel, which he conceptualized as a young boy, he remained very committed.

He used his struggles as an example to the country’s youth that they should never give up their dreams.

“The struggle will be long, definitely real. There may be lots of tears and unprecedented amounts of worry, stress and sleepless nights literally to get here. But, if I can do it, you can do it too,” Dash said.

“Go after your dreams brick by brick and day by day and one day soon you will right here in the reality of that dream.”

The SV Ruth is the first vessel to be commissioned under the Caribbean Sail Cargo Initiative, a project of the Centre for Food Security and Entrepreneurship.

That project focuses on the marine shipping sector between the Windward Islands, Barbados, and Trinidad.

Santa and his helpers were out in Bridgetown yesterday evening spreading Christmas cheer.

Gifts were handed out to children, some of whom also got their faces painted.

It was all part of a parade and concert held by Digicel.

The concert, which featured the Police Band, showcased other performances, including the St Martins Mangroove Primary Choir, Coleridge and Parry School Choir and the Digicel Choir.

Janine White

Prizes were awarded to some of the children present.

Towards the end of the activity, there was a countdown to the lighting of a Christmas tree at Heroes Square.