John Reid, president of Columbus Communications

Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) and Columbus International will, from Monday, embark on a major public relations campaign in the wake of widespread criticism of the deal brokered between the two companies.

In a release issued today, the companies said special “consumer panels” would be convened in 14 markets throughout the region effective Monday to facilitate constructive discussion about the proposed merger.

“These panels provide an excellent opportunity for our customers to understand the vision of the new company and the benefits that they will enjoy as a result of this merger,” said John Reid, president of Columbus Communications.

The media release stated, “CWC and Columbus will also use the panels to give customers and stakeholders a greater understanding of how the merger will impact the Pan-Caribbean region. These discussions will highlight the pro-competitive nature of this deal, as well as the far-reaching benefits it will have on the development of the region’s infrastructure and the furthering of its general information and communication technology (ICT) agenda.”

Yesterday, it was announced that CWC shareholders had voted overwhelmingly in favour of the merger.

An early morning shooting near Kensington Oval has left a man in serious condition at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Police say the man, who is in his 20’s, was shot several times at about 4 a.m.

Investigations are continuing.

A major drug bust has been made off Strouds Bay, St Lucy.

Police say 621.5 pounds of cannabis and a boat were seized this morning during an operation conducted by members of the Drug Squad with the assistance of the Police Maine Unit and the Barbados Coast Guard.

Three men are currently in custody assisting with the investigation.

Marissa Griffith speaking following the screening, while Alexa Hoffman listens.

Marissa Griffith openly admits to her sexual orientation, while Alexa Hoffman acknowledges she is transgender.

They are among several Barbadians, who identify themselves as being part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in a just-released video documentary VOICES – Speaking Out.

Griffith said taking this step was not easy.

“This is important, very, very important. It is very scary, extremely, extremely scary but it’s important and I feel like it’s going to get very, very difficult but it’s going to be worth it,” she said last evening at the screening of the documentary at the Courtyard by Marriott.

“I think for the next couple of months the more people see this, the more difficult life is going to be for the persons who participated in the video but if nobody ever gets on TV and says ‘I am gay’, well, nobody is ever going to be able to walk the streets comfortably and be gay. It is going to be hard. It is very difficult and it’s going to get more difficult but it is very important.”

The video project was funded by the British High Commission.

The Barbados – Gays, Lesbians, and All-Sexual against Discrimination (B-GLAD) said it highlights injustices by gender and sexual minorities throughout the country.

“Some of the issues included in the documentary are abandonment from parents, trouble with self-acceptance, job discrimination and homeless,” B-GLAD stated.

It explained that the project seeks to sensitize and educate residents “one the social ills the LGBT community faces in the hope [of achieving] behavior change towards the LGBT community.

A country report on Barbados was also presented last evening.

TORONTO — Bob Verdun begged Ontario’s Superior Court for mercy Friday, telling a judge he’d like to spend the winter in Barbados before serving out an expected house arrest sentence in Kitchener.

The former publisher of the Elmira Independent newspaper tried to strike a deal with Justice Robert Goldstein at his sentencing hearing for his second contempt of court conviction, his latest in a string of legal troubles.

“I have been absolutely beaten down by this and I have learned, learned, learned,” Verdun said. “I accept full responsibility for my actions and I beg this court for mercy.”

The self-described “public interest crusader,” who was convicted of defaming former Clarica executive Robert Astley in 2011, has falsely accused Astley of cheating taxpayers in Waterloo’s RIM Park financing scandal.

Verdun now owes Astley, the former chair of Wilfrid Laurier University, more than $900,000 in damages and costs after a long legal battle. His first conviction for contempt of court came in October 2013, after he approached Kitchener Centre MP Stephen Woodworth to discuss RIM Park — breaking a court order not to speak about Astley.

He was convicted of the same charge a second time last month, after he continued a European vacation despite being ordered back to Kitchener to finish out his first house arrest sentence.

On Friday, Verdun asked his new sentence be delayed so he can winter in the Caribbean with his common-law wife, for health reasons. He told the court he’s her primary caregiver and she has difficulty in wintery conditions.

Astley’s lawyer Brian Radnoff was having none of it.

“You’ve heard this before, and yet, here we are again,” the lawyer said. “He’s consistently disobeyed court orders, and shown a significant level of disrespect for this court. A message must be sent.”

Verdun, 64, started his sentencing hearing by dismissing Arnold Zweig as his legal counsel, telling the court “my lawyer has abandoned me.” He represented himself for the rest of the hearing, and apologized to Justice Goldstein for his “error in judgment” for defying the court again.

Verdun said he stayed in Europe despite the court order because he had to care for his common-law wife, who has back problems. She needed therapeutic swimming sessions at a friend’s pool in France and had an osteopathic appointment in London, he said.

Last week, the judge blasted Verdun for “wilfully and intentionally” ignoring the court order to return to Canada and resume his sentence — saying he “thumbed his nose” at the justice system.

Outside court Friday, Verdun was adamant he’d done nothing wrong in the defamation suit and objected to how he’d been characterized since.

“I’ve been pilloried for something I didn’t do. Judges don’t understand me, lawyers don’t understand me,” he said, in an interview.

Verdun said everything he’d done was “always in the public interest,” whether he’s fighting for the environment, women’s rights or shareholders.

Verdun also described a $30-million plan to redevelop an abandoned hotel site in Barbados into a vacation condominium complex. He said he’s the project’s chief marketer and consultant, and if successful, it could make him a “prosperous man, for the first time in my life.”

He said he’s working with a team of people trying to drum up investment in Canada to buy the site and begin construction at the unused, 40-year-old resort — but that work is best done on the ground in Barbados.

Verdun said he intends to pay the money he owes Astley. He hasn’t filed for bankruptcy for that reason.

But Astley, who recently retired as chair of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is doubtful he’ll ever see a penny from the former newspaper publisher, his lawyer said.

“My client has no hope of ever getting any money from Mr. Verdun,” Radnoff said.

He strongly opposed Verdun’s request that any new sentence be delayed so he can return to Barbados, where he and his wife rent an apartment for the winter.

“We are not here to make things convenient for Mr. Verdun or impose penalties that are consistent with Mr. Verdun’s travel plans,” Radnoff said.

Verdun was ordered to stay in Ontario and leave his passport with the court office until Justice Goldstein hands down his sentence next week.

And while Radnoff is asking the judge to impose a punishment of 90 extra days of house arrest for this latest breach, the lawyer said jail time isn’t out of the question.

“There is an appropriate basis here to send Mr. Verdun to jail,” he said. “The penalty must be severe enough so Mr. Verdun and the public understand this type of behaviour will not result in light sentences.” (Waterloo Region Record)

Police are investigating the unnatural death of 20-year-old Albert Boyce of Reed Street, Bridgetown.

He died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital earlier today after he was  shot sometime around 4 a.m. on Sunday, whilst at Lower President Kennedy Drive, St Michael.

Boyce had reportedly just left the Hennessy Artistry show when the incident occurred.

Albert Boyce in happier times

However, when contacted for comment today on his death, organiser Freddie Hill sought to distance his event from the shooting death.

“It has nothing to do with Artistry. It was a clean show and no incidents were reported at the event,” Hill said.

This year’s show featured American R& B singer Joe as well as Jamaicans Sizzla, Konshens, Taurus Riley and Etana as headliners.

Thirty year old  Amando Browne of 7^th Avenue, Skeetes Road, Ivy, St. Michael was due to appear in court here today to answer a series of charges,  including two counts of  resisting arrest and two counts of assaulting  police.

Browne also faces charges of  possession of cocaine, possession with intent to supply and trafficking in cocaine.

This follows a shooting incident at Browne’s Beach on December 1 in which he was allegedly caught  selling illegal drugs. During the arrest,  police say Browne armed himself and attacked the police officers who feared for their lives.

As a result one officer drew his service firearm and shot the suspect in his right arm. He was immediately taken to the Hospital for medical attention by police officers. Both officers also sought medical attention for their injuries, lawmen said.

Central Bank Governor Dr Delisle Worrell has told employees of the Bank that they need to be prepared to face up to changes that are to come.

Dr. Delisle Worrell

In brief remarks at a ceremony held at the Crane Resort over the weekend to celebrate employees who have given 40 years of service, Worrell said: “The challenges that we face, both within the bank and within the country are nothing compared to what we have gone through, particularly within the early years.

“I can personally remember times when I was about to resign because of my fundamental disgust with policies which the board of this institution had decided to implement,” said the island’s top economist, who served at the Bank from 1973, working as Manager of the Research Department, moving up to Deputy Governor, at which point he left in 2000 only to return as Governor in 2009.

As he congratulated the staff for their steadfast service, Worrell hinted at coming adjustments telling members of his staff, “you have laid a solid foundation for the changes which are to come as we re-focus on the challenges ahead.

“Like the rest of the public sector, the Central Bank faces challenges we have never faced before, and as in the past, the Central Bank has to give leadership in this process of change. We know we can face the music because we have done so in the past.”

He told the six long-serving workers – Sheila Legall, Yvonne Parris, David Boyce, Marlene Bayne, Linel Franklin, and Angela Griffith – “an institution is as good as its people. The reason we are so good is because of yourselves and our colleagues”.

He described the Bank’s 42 years of existence as “a tale of success through adversity”, adding “this is not the first time that we’ve faced adversity. And, that is what gives us courage and confidence to do the things that we must continue to do in order to overcome our challenges”. 

A million dollar renewal energy project that could slash local water bills is expected to be in operation by February.

The European Union-funded initiative, according to EU Programme Director for the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) Joseph McGann, will significantly reduce the Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) biggest operating cost – energy.

However, speaking to Barbados TODAY on the sidelines of a national agriculture consultation at Savannah Hotel this morning, McGann made it clear that any decision on whether those savings were passed on to consumers would have to be taken by the authority.

He said the venture entails the installation of solar panels at a water treatment plant at Carlton, Black Rock, St Michael, which would replace the fossil fuels that provide the energy to the pumping station at Carlton.

“We have also planned to invest, which we hope to be completed in another couple of months, US$500,000 for solar panels to do fuel-switching for Carlton Water Treatment Plant in Barbados,” he said, explaining that those bids were currently out to tender until December 16.

If successful, the solar panels could be installed as early as January next year. Therefore, “Barbados will have renewable energy for its water pumping station at Carlton.”

Residents of Foster Hall, St John say they have been faced with dry taps for several months now and are appealing to the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) to urgently address their plight.

When a team from Barbados TODAY visited the area yesterday, some openly voiced their concerns, including Shauna Mayers, who did not hide her disgust over the quality of service provided by the BWA.

“This is very ridiculous. Water outages have been going on for many months now. When you return from work there is no water and even on weekends when most housewives do their washing there is no water,” Mayers said.

“What makes it so frustrating is that when you try to call the BWA you cannot get through to anyone,” she added.

Her sentiments were echoed by Veronica Springer, who also highlighted the fact that her monthly bills were high, despite the frequent water outages.

Springer, who has problems with her back and legs, told Barbados TODAY the situation was proving to be physically challenging for her, as she was now forced to drive her car to Belleplaine, St Andrew to fetch water in buckets for use at her home.

“Mostly on mornings the water is off. Around 9 a.m. it comes back on and it is just a mere trickle. By 10 a.m. the water supply goes of for the remainder of the day,” she explained.

The St John resident, who said she had been told by her doctor not to do any heavy lifting, also reported that she was presently on sick leave because of the water situation, which she said has been ongoing since last year.

“I am appealing to the BWA to do something about it,” said Springer, who is a nurse by profession.

“What is also frustrating is that the bills come in . . . the range of $365 for water I did not use,” she added.

Elsa Walrond also reported that the water problems have been a daily occurrence for most of the year, making it difficult for residents to carry out basic household chores.

Elda Walrond of Foster Hall, St John identifies the burst pipe that has been running for the past three months.

“If I do not bathe by 5:30 a.m., I have to bathe out of a bucket,” said Walrond, who explained that “initially it used to be a weekend issue” but now the problem has intensified.

“When people in the district are sleeping around one and two a.m., I have to be doing my washing,” she explained.

While most residents were unsure about what was the source of the problem, Walrond reported, “there has been a burst pipe in the area with potable water being wasted for the past three months and no one has come to fix it”.

Asenath Hope also expressed concern that when water finally came through the dry taps, it was always filled with debris while Malinda Greene complained that due to the constant water outages she had to break up her sleep pattern to ensure that she was up in time to meet the water truck whenever it was in the district.

Small farmer Marcia Inniss was forced to invest in water tanks, but she would still like to have access to running water through her taps so too would Archibald McClean, who assists his daughter and grand daughter in operating a small shop and in chicken rearing.

Pig farmer Marcia Inniss has had to buy water tanks to ensure that she has an adequate supply of water.

Like others in his district, McClean complained that in spite of the non-delivery of the service, the monthly water bills generally remained unchanged and in some cases were even higher than normal.

When contacted, the BWA’s Corporate Communications Specialist Joy-Ann Haigh promised to get back to us but until publication time we had not heard from her.

nevilleclarke@barbadostoday.bb

Albert Boyce was among the thousands who attended last Saturday night’s Hennessy Artistry show, which featured American R&B singer Joe, as well as Jamaicans Sizzla, Konshens, Taurus Riley and Etana as headliners.

Albert Boyce died at the QEH this morning.

Unfortunately, the 20-year-old, who reportedly left the Kensington Oval before the show had finished to make his way home, never made it back home alive.

Today, his emotionally-shattered mother Glenda Boyce was still searching for answers as to why her son is now the island’s latest shooting victim.

Police are also investigating the unnatural death of Boyce of Reed Street, Bridgetown, who died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) earlier today after he was shot twice in the abdomen sometime around 4 a.m. on Sunday, whilst at Lower President Kennedy Drive, St Michael.

Tears did not flow from her eyes, but as she softly pounded on her chest with one hand and rubbed her head with the next, it was evident that 54-year-old mother was not only hurting but struggling to put the pieces of the puzzle surrounding her son’s death together.

“I don’t know why somebody would shoot him in the belly while he on his way home to he mother house,” she quietly declared, during an interview with Barbados TODAY at the home she shared with her deceased son, who she last saw moments before he died.

As other family members sat quietly and listened as she told her sad story, the mourning mother said this was one of the saddest days of her life.

“I would like to know why somebody kill my child. I would like police to find the person who do it as soon as possible,” she said.

“I want them to find the person that did it to him. He just turn 20 years old on November 9th and as a mother it hurts my feelings to see that he gone just like that,” she said.

Boyce described the former Grantley Adams Memorial School student as a quiet individual who stayed out of trouble’s way. However, she said he had many friends who also cared for him and suggested that nobody “but God” could understand the pain she felt when someone knocked on her door and informed her that her son who had left home in good spirits to attend the event, was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

“It hurt me and I just begin to cry because I couldn’t believe somebody leave a show half of an hour before it finish because he wasn’t feeling well and when he walking coming home all of a sudden somebody just come and shoot him,” she said, adding, “I don’t feel good about that as a mother because he was coming home.”

Clearly nursing a wounded heart, and with head bent, Boyce said she loved her last born of four children unconditionally and did her best to raise him, giving him whatever she could have afforded to, just to make him happy.

When contacted for comment today on Boyce’s death, organizer of the Hennessy show Freddie Hill sought to distance his event from the death which has put a damper on an otherwise incident-free show.

“It has nothing to do with Artistry. It was a clean show and no incidents were reported at the event,” Hill said.

Before the curtain came down on the show, at Kensington Oval, Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley had praised the organizers for putting on a quality show.

“The Hennessy Artistry production has continued to excite Barbadians and visitors alike. I think that the crowd so far tonight shows that the brand is really taking off in Barbados. It is a calendar part of the cultural agenda in Barbados Persons have actually demonstrated that this is a good show, and I think it is going to be fantastic going forward,” Lashley said.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

Cabinet is considering mandating Government institutions to buy at least 40 per cent local produce.

Local produce available in the market.

Speaking at a national consultation, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Esworth Reid also disclosed that the state-owned Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) had been mandated buy produce, wherever and whenever practicable from farmers within the food zone currently located in St George.

“Central to the effective and efficient operation of the food zone and probably the whole agricultural secretor, and this is especially so when the food zone programme is rolled out nationwide, will be a web based information and knowledge management system,” the acting permanent secretary pointed out.

He said this would allow all farmers to have ready access to relevant information to drive the agricultural sector forward.

“It will also create a forum to network all relevant stakeholders in the sector. At the same time, putting buyers in touch with producers at the right time.”

Reid said an agricultural marketing information system had already been established as a precursor to a more expansive information and knowledge management system.

“There has also been an augmentation of the number of extension officers in the field to assist food zone farmers with technical advice as it relates to crop production and crop management.”

Reid called on farmers in the food zone to channel requests for certain inputs through the BADMC so that the cheapest input prices could be sourced.

The acting permanent secretary also disclosed that the ministry and the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) were collaborating on an administrative and legislative framework to address praedial larceny.

“The ministry is now being positioned to alleviate the agricultural sector from praedial larceny. The targeting of food and livestock feeds has already started and some culprits are being arrested and brought before the law courts,” Reid said. He gave the assurance that this effort would continue with the aim of freeing Barbados of crop theft. 

If local bus manufacturer L&N Workshop gets its wish, at least 30 decommissioned Heino buses will soon be back on the road, thereby reducing the need for new imported vehicles.

Following a tour of the business today, Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley reported that one Heino bus was currently under repair at the Cane Garden, St Thomas facility, and that L& N had also submitted a proposal to Government for fixing of another 30.

While the proposal remains subject to final approval, Lashley said he was very impressed with the level of work being done by the local manufacturer.

He also noted the Transport Board had a number of decommissioned buses that could be put back into service “at a cost that would save the board some money” and that “once the local bus industry can produce buses that the Board wants, then it would not have to import 100 buses”.

“The Transport Board has had no complaints about the quality of L & N’s work. We want to get additional rolling stock. We want to get more buses on the road. We need to get at least 25 to 30 buses back on the road. That is what we are aiming at and there are buses that can be refurbished,” the St Philip North MP explained.

Lashley said he had been informed that once the Heino buses were refurbished the Transport Board could get another six to seven years out of them.

Some of the buses in the workshop.

He also said he had been assuranced by the management of L& N that, once repaired, a Heino bus that is 17 years old could give the Transport board another six to eight years service.

“We are impressed with what we saw here today. We are impressed with the tour bus. That is something too that we can look at as a revenue arm of the Transport Board. The Transport Board can acquire a tour bus and take visitors on tours of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison and other historic sites across the country,” said Lashley, adding “it is really refreshing to be here”.

However, he dismissed suggestions that he had ever intended to import buses for the Transport Board through Courtesy Garage Ltd, saying he had merely accepted an invitation from the company to view their buses.

A new study is forecasting a bleak future for this country’s food and livestock industries, including rising chicken deaths.

The draft report on Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) study was presented this morning by lead consultant Professor Bhawan Singh and agriculture specialist Dr Kenel Delusca during a national consultation at the Savannah Hotel, Hastings, Christ Church.

The four-month research, which examined the impact climate change on both sectors, found that, with an expected one degree Celsius increase in temperature predicted by 2030 and a further two degree Celsius rise by 2060, along with a drop in rainfall and persistent drought, the livestock industry was likely to be negatively affected.

The study revealed that the greatest impact was likely to be felt by poultry, beef cattle and dairy sub-sectors with “direct impacts will be triggered by the exposure of chicken, beef cattle and dairy cows to adverse climate conditions”.

The 183-page document further warns of reduced feed intake, fertility levels and increased mortality in the poultry sector.

In his presentation, Dr Delusca pointed out that the climate in the region was already changing, with Barbados becoming warmer in recent times.

He also cautioned that future food crop and livestock yields would decline.

In the case of sugar cane, the expected change was expected to be “between minus three and minus 34 per cent, for tomatoes between minus 13 and minus 59 per cent”.

He however said that cassava was considered “the crop for the future because it has a big tolerance to drought”.

Dr Delusca however warned that very significant losses in meat production were likely and that cows would show signs of serious illness and may ultimately die.

“So this is telling us that we have to be careful with the cow activity or performance in the future, because we are going to have high temperature and high humidity.”

The researcher therefore suggested that going forward there was need for more experimental data in order to present a more comprehensive and effective model, which would allow Barbados to better adapt to the impact of climate change on its agricultural industry.

Today’s national consultation was expected to come up with a final adaptation document for climate change.

Three men are due to appear in court today charged in connection with Sunday’s seizure of 621 pounds of cannabis off Strouds Bay, St Lucy.

Forty-year-old fisherman Colin Oneal Little of Oistins, Christ Church; fish cleaner Kadeem Joseph, 24, of Tudor Bridge, St Michael and unemployed man Richie Boyce, 33, of Boscobelle, St Peter are scheduled to appear in the Holetown Magistrate’s Court.

They are jointly charged with possession of cannabis, possession with intent to supply, trafficking and importation of the drug.

A Jamaican national appears in the District “B” Magistrate’s Court today to answer drug-related charges.

Thirty-six-year old Shutclisse Valintine Davy, who arrived at the Grantley Adams International Airport on December 1, was interviewed by Drug Squad personnel after clearing Immigration.

He was subsequently referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he passed 120 packets of cannabis weighing two pounds, which he had ingested.

The Jamaican has been charged with possession of cannabis, possession with intent to supply, trafficking and importation.

Owner of Scoopie’s Jazz Bar Jefferson Jackman is now counting his losses after several pieces of equipment at his bar on Rogers Road, the Ivy, St Michael, suffered water damage following the rupture of a 20-inch water main.

Owner of Scoopie’s Bar Jefferson Jackman identified the refrigerator that was damaged during the flooding.

Jackman told Barbados TODAY the water, which had risen as much as three feet in his bar and kitchen, damaged refrigerators, stoves, furniture and newly purchased clothes stored on the premises.

Jackman complained that the damage done to his appliances would lead to loss of earnings since he would not be able to offer his Saturday dish of pudding and souse to his regular customers.

In addition, Jackman said he would not be able to cater to his customers who come to his bar on Friday and Saturday night to enjoy refreshments.

Tenant Henderson Bennett, who runs a repair shop on the premises, was also affected with several pieces of equipment receiving water damage.

Henderson Bennett identifies the damage done to his workshop at Rogers Road, the Ivy.

Jackman and Bennett told Barbados TODAY they would be contacting their attorney-at-law in an attempt to access compensation for loss of earnings from the relevant authority.  

Two alternative “solutions” for rescuing the struggling sugar industry have been tabled.

However, investigations by Barbados TODAY have revealed that a recent proposal made to Cabinet by Barbados Farms Limited, a subsidiary of Sagicor Finance Corporation, has since been withdrawn. Mention was made of the proposal by Minister of Agriculture Dr David Estwick in a letter to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart dated November 17, 2014 in which he complained that Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler had told Cabinet that Sagicor had no interest in the restructuring project.

“I said to Cabinet that Sagicor does not direct me and that I am instructed by the Cabinet of Barbados. I reaffirmed the said position I held and placed in a meeting between Sagicor, BSIL, the Prime Minister and me in July 2014,” Estwick wrote.

Dr David Estwick

In the meantime, the Chairman of the BSIL Patrick Bethel confirmed to Barbados TODAY this afternoon that a second plan was now under consideration by the growers.

He was adamant that if the US$250 million loan plan, which is now before Cabinet, did not materialize, “we have as Barbadians to find a solution and I believe we have one”.

Bethel stressed that the second plan was an “in-house” proposal that was separate and distinct from the one that was withdrawn.

“I am not prepared to say any more at this time,” he told Barbados TODAY.

However, the BSIL Chairman was insistent that matter had to be resolved.

“The Government is negotiating. We have to wait and see. The Prime Minister has stated he is going to support the industry, so I have to act on that. But all I am saying is, if this doesn’t pan out, I am not going to throw my hands up in the air and say it’s all over.

“We have to find an alternative and I believe [that] with the best of wills, we have an alternative.”

Concerned that men could be victimized under proposed Sexual Harassment Bill, the head of the Men’s Education Support Association (MESA) is demanding that the authorities impose harsh fines to deter women from making false claims against them.

MESA President Ralph Boyce told Barbados TODAY this should be clearly stated in any new law.

He said the legislation should also clearly indicate that once a complaint is made against an individual an investigation must be done even if the accuser withdraws the charge.

Ralph Boyce

“We have instances where women tear off their own clothes . . .  we’ve had cases of schoolgirls doing that, so it is a common thing in Barbados,” Boyce said.

“We’re saying that given our situation, unless you have that simple stipulation that where the lady (accuser) says she won’t continue, the tribunal should look at the circumstances and if the woman has been deliberately malicious . . . [give them] some big, heavy fines.

“The women are not going to like that and they’re going to tell us [this is going] to stop the women from coming forward.”

However, the MESA president, who stressed the importance of such a legislation, insisted this would help deter women from deliberately making false claims.

“We need to have the Sexual Harassment Bill like yesterday, but we have to be careful and cautious and we’re asking that the comments we make be taken into consideration, if not, and I’m not threatening, we’re going to persist in making sure that the public understands what we are saying,” he asserted.

Boyce was clearly displeased about the length of time taken to draft this and other pieces of legislation.

Noting he was already 75 years old, the MESA president said he could not afford to wait another 25 years for the proposed legislation to become law.

“We’ve been saying to which ever Government, there are things you can do. For example, giving out contracts for people to do drafting. I’ve heard people saying nobody can draft for us. Just pay a person who is a draftsman, either here in Barbados or in another country, and also the University of the West Indies (UWI),” he suggested.

Boyce noted that Antigua, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago already had sexual harassment legislation in force and, as a result, Barbados did not have to “reinvent the wheel”.

carolwilliams@barbadostoday.bb  

The swords have been drawn and the rift between two senior ministers in the Freundel Stuart Cabinet has reached boiling point, with outspoken Minister of Agriculture Dr David Estwick now calling on the Prime Minister to move against Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler.

But so far Estwick’s demands have been met with silence, with sources suggesting that Stuart, who is currently in Cuba attending the Fifth CARICOM-Cuba Summit, still hopeful the matter can simmer down.

In a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister last month, Estwick stopped just short of calling for Sinckler’s head on the proverbial platter or for him to be fired as Minister of Finance.

However, the Minister of Agriculture did suggest that Sinckler should be both “reprimanded and charged”, after stating that Cabinet had been misled on the proposed US$250 million Barbados Cane Industry Restructuring Project (BCIRP).

Barbados TODAY has obtained a copy of the seven-page letter to Stuart, dated November 17, 2014, in which Estwick listed nine areas, which he said were “inaccurately” presented to Cabinet.

It follows what inside sources say was a “very robust” Cabinet session on November 13, in which Estwick did not hide his feelings about his Government’s handling of the sugar revival proposal. In fact, the former economic affairs minister bitterly complained in his letter to Stuart that he was asked at short notice by the Prime Minister to give an update on the contentious BCIRP, without having prior notice so he could adequately prepare.

On the other hand, Estwick said it appeared as if the Minister of Finance was “apprised” since he came prepared with “a Ministry file in hand” from which he spoke to a memorandum of understanding between Inter-Sugar Partnership, the current negotiators of the half a billion dollar sugar restructuring loan, and Marubeni, the Japanese concern that was originally scheduled to finance the restructuring project but later pulled out.

However, in his letter Estwick told the Prime Minister that in order to protect the integrity of his ministry, the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) and the Barbados Cane Industry Corporation (BCIC), he was providing him with enough supporting documentary evidence to rebut a number of the claims made at the November 13th meeting.

Sinckler and Estwick have been at odds in recent times over a proposal to have the St Lucia-registered ISP negotiate the multi million-dollar sugar loan through the US-based National Standard Finance (NSF) for the restructuring project.

Describing the entire episode as “depressing”, Estwick was at pains to point out to the Prime Minister that the BCIRP proposal, which was at the time before the Ministry of Finance. was not a debt offer,  but an equity investment.

“It has nothing to do with the MOU between ISP and Marubeni,” said Estwick, who also summed up the November 13 discussion as not only a “brave attempt to mislead and confuse the Cabinet  but also as “diabolical       and laughable”.

Estwick also sought to warn the Prime Minister that “no minister should be allowed to deliberately mislead the Cabinet of Barbados, saying such would constitute a “grievous offence” for which the offending minister should be seriously “reprimanded and charged”.

Estwick ended his letter to the prime minister by putting him on notice that “this is the last time I will raise this matter with you”.

“I have written to you twice regarding matters of this nature and I want to give you every opportunity to define the authority of the Cabinet. I have no intention to continue to serve in a Cabinet where its instructions to ministers and ministries are not carried out with fidelity,” the outspoken St. Philip West MP declared.

Barbados TODAY understands that the proposal to fund the Barbados Cane Industry Restructuring Project of which Estwick has been complaining, is now before Cabinet for consideration.

In his November letter to Stuart, Estwick complained that the proposal had been before the Ministry of Finance for the past three months.

When contacted, Minister Sinckler was unavailable for comment, but a source within his ministry told Barbados TODAY that Government could not afford to rush into any arrangement since there was simply too much at stake.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb