Six people are homeless following an early morning blaze in Passage Road, St Michael.

Matriarch of the family, 84 year-old Beatrice Seale, told the media at the scene that she was at church leading the song service at the nearby White Park Wesleyan Holiness Church. Someone asked her to step outside and delivered the tragic news.

“Everybody came rushing hugging me up but I am good in Jesus’ name. The Lord will provide for me and I am not worried about what happened,” she said.

Seale said that she took one of her great grandchildren with her to church and left another at home with two adults.

She added that she was unsure if the wall and timber house was insured as the owner lived in Florida, United States.

Seale’s daughter, Sherry-Ann Seale, was on her way home from work when she found out the house had caught fire.

“A man in a ZR said he saw a house in Passage Road burning and I told him I hoped it wasn’t mine. When I got here and see the house burning I was shocked,” she said, adding that what stopped her from crying was to see that her family and dog were safe.

Acting divisional officer Wayne Vaughan said an emergency call was made around 8:11 and initially, two tenders from the Bridgetown station responded.

He said that another truck came from Worthing.

In total, 11 fire officers responded to the blaze.

Member of Parliament for St Michael West Christopher Gibbs said he was grateful no one was harmed, adding that his mission was to find somewhere for the family to stay and help them get back on their feet. (SZB)

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Nurses need opportunities and resources to ensure they can sustainably protect the health of the nation, says acting Chief Nursing Officer Annastacia Jordan.

She said it’s critical that nurses are further trained in various skills to enhance what they offer professionally and are equipped with the necessary tools.

“We must protect and support our nurses by providing the needed education and the resources to deliver safe and effective nursing care. As we look to the future, we must transform our profession from invisible to invaluable in the eyes of the public… We must chart the future direction of nursing, to build capacity in all areas, to ensure the sustainable growth of our profession [and] to meet the ever changing complex health-care needs of our citizens,” she said, while addressing a ceremony at Savannah Hotel on Friday to launch Nurses’ Week 2023.

“As such, our goal is to strengthen our health-care systems by investing in our workforce to address the changing and growing health needs of our population. Upscaling our nursing skills and capacity is an important step in giving nurses a greater say in decisions, affecting scopes of practice, competence and safety.

“Nurses will be better able to manage client conditions using innovative ways to work within existing constraints and perform their jobs more effectively. Consequently, our practice will play a strategic role in the future delivery of more efficient, accessible, affordable, acceptable health-care services for Barbadians and those visiting our shores through the pandemic.”

In his remarks, Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr Jerome Walcott said that although the local nursing fraternity is faced with a myriad of issues, including fighting non-communicable diseases and the migration of health-care workers, Government is committed to putting measures in place to ensure the health-care industry is a desirable sector in which to work.

“In order to adequately address these challenges, we must pay close attention to the entire health workforce and especially the nursing component while ensuring that it remains fit-for-purpose to effectively deal with the aforementioned multitude of changing health concerns.”

The Health Minister said: “My Government has and continues to make significant investments in improving the capacity of the nursing profession. We recognise that nurses are critical in the government’s road map to achieving the sustainable development goals and ensuring Barbados’ commitment to universal health coverage.”

Walcott explained that his ministry has been listening to the complaints of health-care workers and is addressing them.

“We have been listening to your complaints about nursing shortages and conditions of work and lack of opportunities. We will work with you in this regard.”

He added that training opportunities are being provided and nurses are being trained in the areas of dermatology and public health. He said that midwifery training will resume next January.

Walcott also indicated that 40 people will soon be trained in pediatric nursing at  the diploma level.

The theme for Nurses’ Week this year is Our Nurses, our Future. The week is internationally recognised from May 6 to May 12. (SZB) 

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The Barbados Fire Service is making an appeal to only contact the service in the event of a real emergency.

Station officer Roger Bourne made the appeal after responding to an accident along My Lord’s Hill, St Michael.

Bourne said an emergency call was made around 10:30 a.m. today and a tender from the Worthing Station and a rescue tender from the Bridgetown station responded.

However, upon arrival, fire officers assessed that the incident was in fact a minor road collision.

He said: “We were called out to this incident but it is not a major incident. Two vehicles [collided], no one is trapped [and] the vehicle is not compromised in any way. Make sure that when you call the fire service it is worthwhile.”

Bourne also encouraged members of the public to obey road signs and traffic laws.

“Road safety is paramount. It is important to adhere to the road signs and highway codes.”

No major injuries were reported. (SZB)

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Fire officers are currently on the scene of a grass fire at Groves, St Philip.

The fire started at around 3:00 p.m. today.

One fire tender has responded and is monitoring the blaze.

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The island’s Criminal Justice System will come into sharp focus again on Monday during a symposium being hosted by the Office of Attorney General.

Part Two of the Symposium on the Criminal Justice System in Barbados will be held at the Hilton Barbados Resort, and participants will include members of the judiciary and magistracy, the Barbados Bar Association, and civil society.

The Barbados Bar Association and Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds from Trinidad will make presentations.  At the end of the session, concrete actions on the way forward are expected.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall, reiterated the importance of the discussions, saying that useful suggestions had already emanated from the first meeting, which was held in April.

“The reform of our Criminal Justice System is absolutely necessary, and I look forward to actionable results from the upcoming session.  We had robust discussions on the first occasion, which reflected the stakeholders’ commitment to the process and desire to see an improvement in the system,” Mr. Marshall stated.

The Attorney General is on record as saying that a candid discussion on criminal justice reform was long overdue.  He added that a key deliverable from the symposium would be the establishment of a Criminal Justice Sector Committee to monitor implementation of the initiatives and decisions coming out of the symposia, as well as receive feedback from all stakeholders. (BGIS)

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The Barbados Police Service says the two teen girls who were reported missing last month are now in police custody.

On April 27, police issued two bulletins seeking the public’s assistance in locating two 14-year-old girls – Tanik Jemmott, and Ranika Zayla Husbands.

Jemmott, a third-form student of the Parkinson Memorial Secondary School left home on Tuesday, April 11, and Husbands, a second-form student at the Ellerslie Secondary School, was last seen on Thursday, April 13 by her mother Kimberly St Louis.

In spite of  pleas by their mothers, the two teens did not return home and were seen in videos being circulated on social media.

This prompted Inspector Stephen Griffith to issue a caution to members of the public that it was a serious offence to harbour the young girls.

Griffith thanked the members of the public and media for their assistance.

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Consumers will pay more for gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products but less for diesel and kerosene, effective midnight, Sunday, May 7.

The retail price of gasoline will be $4.24 per litre, an increase of 12 cents.  Diesel will cost $3.48 per litre and kerosene $1.81 per litre, reductions of 23 cents and 19 cents, respectively.

The adjusted price of LPG will now be $163.76 for the 100-lb cylinder; $46.04 for the 25-lb cylinder; $40.68 for the 22-lb cylinder, and $36.98 for the 20-lb cylinder. (BGIS)

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(FRONT PAGE AFRICA) — Nearly 160 years after hundreds of Barbadians travelled and settled in Liberia, a group of diaspora and home-based Liberians are preparing for a historic pilgrimage to the Caribbean island bearing significant historical ties to Liberia.

Under the umbrella of The SANKOFA PILGRIMAGE TO BARBADOS, the trip is being organised by Ambassador Llewellyn Witherspoon in collaboration with the Barbados government, 159 years after the forebears departed Barbados for Liberia. It is a product of dreams of Barbadian-Liberians in Crozierville and Prime Minister Mia Mottley to “revitalize the deep historical ties between Barbados and Africa.”

Liberia has produced two presidents of Barbadian ancestry, including President Arthur Barclay, who, as a boy, spent the first 11 years of his life in Barbados, and his cousin, Edwin Barclay, who was born in Liberia.

John Prince Porte emigrated from Barbados to Liberia in the mid-1860s.

The lineage is well documented in the 2021 Report, “Portes Find a New Home in Liberia: Story of the Post-emancipation Emigration of the John Prince Porte Family from Barbados, West Indies, to Liberia, West Africa, in 1865 and The Family’s Quest for Ancestral Citizenship” published by Ambassador Witherspoon. The Report is complimented by the Passenger Manifest of the Brig CORA, the vessel that brought 346 emigrants from Barbados to Liberia on April 6, 1865, arriving on May 10, 1865.

The document includes A History of Crozierville, the first-ever Porte Family Tree, a Porte Family Photo Gallery, and two separate documents portraying the Prominent Roles played in Liberia and internationally by Direct Descendants of John Prince Porte and Prominent Positions held in Liberia and internationally by other 1865 emigrant families from Barbados and their descendants who settled in Crozierville. It also included references to several important research work on the Barbados – Liberia bilateral agreement conducted over the years, which enabled the 1865 emigration.

In January 2020, Prime Minister Mottley designated and introduced 2020 as the year for Barbadians and those who love Barbados to come home, reconnect with family and friends and invest in the rebuilding and development of Barbados. Under the theme “We Gatherin’ 2020”, it was a clarion homecoming invitation symbolizing a recommitment to the core Barbadian values that define who we are as a people. It is an event to reunite all Bajans.

Barbados maintains the world’s second-largest archive of slavery-era records, second only to the United Kingdom’s, which the Government is keen to preserve and make available to future generations using modern technology.

The Prime Minister’s plan hopes to diversify and grow the economy and boost its population, currently 290,000, by availing multi-generational diaspora descendants citizenship of the island. The change would mean that providing they can prove it, descendants of the island who settled in Liberia beginning in May 1865 and after could be in line for the coveted citizenship of Barbados.

In addition to 10 acres of fertile land per person and 25 acres per family, each Barbadian emigrant was granted citizenship on arrival in Liberia.

Ambassador Lorenzo Witherspoon, who has written extensively about the Barbados-Liberia connection, says he is grateful for the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Mottley, who requested during a 2021 meeting at Ilaro Court in Bridgetown, that a plan for a pilgrimage “home” of Liberians, to be followed by one of Barbadians to Liberia,” be undertaken.

Says Ambassador Witherspoon: “Like the British Slavery Abolition Act, whose passage was delayed until 1833, Liberian descendants of Barbadian emigrants and African-Barbadians who didn’t leave the island have, until recently, done little as a collective to reconnect and reunite families on both sides of the Atlantic and to build a robust and formal connection between the island and Africa. The generational change in Africa and Barbados and interest in revisiting their roots have served as a catalyst for breaking this barrier to reintegration.”

Dr. Ophelia Weeks, Co-Chair of the soon-to-be-launched Foundation, The Africa – Barbados Heritage Initiative (TABHI), laments: “We are today what we did yesterday. We will be tomorrow what we do today. The history of the relationship between Liberia, Barbados, and Crozierville should be preserved; it needs to be unearthed and celebrated. That history recognizes significant building blocks in Liberia’s development, then and now.”

Sean Williams, Co-Chair of TABHI, added, “Despite not having the opportunity to experience Liberia growing up due to the conflict in the 90s, his family’s stories of their ancestral home left a lasting impression on him. “Last year, I visited Liberia and discovered that our ancestors had arrived from Barbados after the abolition of slavery on May 10, 1865, which coincidentally is also my birthday. This realization inspired me to help others connect with their ancestral roots, leading me to join the effort to bring the “Back 2 Barbados” experience to life. By promoting awareness of our shared histories and cultural backgrounds, we can foster greater understanding and appreciation among people of African descent, break down barriers, and create economic and cultural exchange opportunities between Barbados and Liberia. Let us use our shared heritage to build bridges and work towards a brighter future for all.”

In a previous meeting with Ambassador Witherspoon, Prime Minister Motley gave assurances that the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. resources and others of the Government would be made available to assist in making the pilgrimage a reality, as well as facilitating Barbadians who wish to make the connection.

The former diplomat also complimented Barbados on its maintenance of the world’s second-largest archive of slavery-era records, second only to the United Kingdom’s, and urged the Government to take steps to preserve it in a manner that would make it available to future generations using modern technology. The Ambassador offered to leverage his fundraising experience and global reach to raise funds for digitizing slave-era records in the Barbados Archives.

The Prime Minister assured Ambassador Witherspoon that the archives project was a priority of the Government, and considerable discussions had already taken place with a view to digitizing the records.

From the hundreds of Barbadians who returned to Liberia in the 1860s, that country has produced two political leaders, including President Arthur Barclay, who, as a boy, spent the first dozen years of his life in Barbados.

Settled by returning, formerly enslaved Africans from the United States in 1822, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire border Liberia. Although Liberia declared its independence on July 26, 1847, it was not until September 23, 1862, that the United States recognized it.

Under the auspices of the Barbados Company, Sarah Ann Bourne Barclay, daughter of Black business luminary and abolitionist London Bourne (who was born a slave in Barbados), together with her husband, Anthony Barclay Jr, led the 346 emigrants to Liberia in 1865.

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Two people are suspected to have died in an early morning house fire at Heddings Development, St Philip.

Chief Fire Officer Errol Maynard told Barbados TODAY that the call about the fire came in around 4:35 a.m.  When fire officers reached the scene, neighbours reported that some individuals were unaccounted for.

Maynard said: “After officers brought the fire under control, they discovered what appears to be human remains in the structure.” Investigations are continuing.

Two fire tenders, one from the Worthing Police Station and the other from Bridgetown,  under the command of Divisional Officer Tremelle Perch responded to the blaze.

Video by BT’s Haroon Greenidge

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The haunting screams of a young man calling for his mother sent chills through bystanders who gathered in a St Philip district early Monday morning where two people died in a house fire.

There was growing horror as Barbadians awoke to the tragic news that 43-year-old Kim-Marie Greenidge and her daughter, eight-year-old Nazariah Greenidge, perished in the early morning blaze at their Heddings home.

The young man’s screams pierced the air and he had to be physically restrained from going towards the burnt house as lawmen conducted their investigations. The young man, the deceased’s son, whose name was not given, cried out to see his mother. Eventually, he was taken to a nearby residence, where relatives made an effort to calm him down.

The pain was etched on the faces of relatives and friends who gathered at the scene and looked helplessly at the destroyed two-bedroom concrete and timber house.

Tears flowed freely as loved ones struggled to contain their grief. From a distance, residents from the immediate area and surrounding communities huddled in groups.

The Barbados Police Service reported that around 4:30 a.m. on Monday they received a report about the fire. Two tenders from the Worthing and Bridgetown fire stations and nine fire officers under the command of Divisional Officer Tremelle Perch responded to the blaze.

Relatives told members of the media that they were too distraught to speak. However, several of Kim-Marie’s friends who gathered at the scene described her as a “nice lady”.

They said Nazariah; a student of Christ Church Girls’ School at Water Street, Christ Church, was a precious child who had gone too soon.

One man who did not give his name told Barbados TODAY that he was Kim Marie’s friend and that he last spoke to her on Sunday morning on the telephone.

The man said even though he rushed to the scene and saw the condition of the house, he was in denial that his friend and her daughter were gone.

“When I heard the news this morning, I was shocked, all like now I got cold bumps. She was a very nice person. We talked yesterday morning and she told me she had to go and do something for somebody and that is the last time we talked.

“She usually calls me at night, but I didn’t hear her last night. Nazariah was a very nice little girl, a pretty little girl. I know Kim from the time the little girl was born. This just got me shocked. I really can’t believe it,” he said.

Meanwhile, another friend who also requested anonymity indicated that Kim-Marie, whom he knew through her son, loved her children. The friend described the circumstances surrounding the death of the mother and daughter as “strange”.

“I was home. Her son lives behind me with his father, and one of his brothers called and let him know, ‘I hear that your mother house burning and I think she might be inside’. So he and his father bound cross by we now and give we the story.

“Them wake we up, so you know you get up in a daze and was like ‘what?’. Then he get another call telling him that the two of them in the house dead, that the two of them burn alive or something like that. But I know she ain’t gine kill herself. I don’t believe that she gine kill herself. I don’t believe that.”

“My heart aches for the little girl. That child ain’t see a star pitch yet, and she gone. This is very sad,” another resident told Barbados TODAY.

Member of Parliament for St Philip South Indar Weir, who spent some time at the scene said he was familiar with Kim-Marie and her daughter. The woman, he said, had visited his constituency office on numerous occasions.

Weir recalled that Nazariah spent a lot of time running up and down in the office.

“I would want to express my condolences to the family and hope that they can rally through this difficult time.

“My team and I would obviously have to come together and determine how we can assist the family…I would await any additional information as it comes to hand,” Weir said.

Police Inspector Stephen Griffith said law enforcement officials were continuing investigations into the fire.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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If there is one area of discussion that people are warned not to engage in, it is on the subject of religion. It is a rabbit hole from which there is little chance of finding a desirable exit point.

At the same time, we must acknowledge that religion and faith have played a defining role in how Barbadians have interacted with each other for generations.

The traditional religious groups such as the Anglicans and Methodists have made significant contributions, for example, in the provision of education for the mostly poor, black Barbadian children. That educational intervention provided the foundation for upward mobility of many young people in poverty stricken households.

Sadly today, there is a growing level of irreverence and intolerance to religion and religious teaching that has caused some elders in our communities to lament the moral slide of the Barbadian society.

They are convinced that when tragedy befalls, it is directly linked to the shift away from the fundamental religious mores upon which our society has been founded.

At the same time, however, there are many who are convinced that religion has been used as a tool to control and manipulate. That indoctrination of some religious practices has also contributed to division and has promoted more intolerance of others than those who are ambivalent about all religions.

On Sunday morning, when tragedy struck a working class neighbourhood on the outskirts of Bridgetown, a home was destroyed in a blaze of unknown origin.

The event left a family of six homeless with only the clothes on their backs. They were, however, thankful that their pet dog Emily was unharmed and everyone at home at the time managed to escape safely.

What struck many who heard and read of the events which left the Seale family without a roof over their heads was the remarkable faith of matriarch Beatrice Seale.

Ephesians 6:16 reminds us that because we live in a world that is sinful, we are likely to face difficulties of one form or another. However, it is our faith that helps us to remain strong during the most difficult of times.

It is  our faith that acts as a shield to protect us  and “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts”.

Ms. Seale, who was serving at her nearby Whitepark Wesleyan Holiness Church, was called out from the morning’s service and alerted her home was on fire.

Her response to the loss of all her possessions seemed to shock and stun even the harshest of social media commentators, most of whom marvelled at her calm demeanor and faith that her God will provide. Many of them admitted that in the face of such a tragedy, they would have been undone by the events.

Ms. Seale’s display of faith, and not in an arrogant manner but a calm assurance, caused many to pause and reflect on their opinions about faith and religion.

She calmed the younger members of the household including her great-grandson Ashannico who were traumatised. “We will get somewhere to stay, don’t worry,” she assured him.

Knowing very little about this family except what we have garnered from the tragedy, we are left with the impression that the elder Seale’s influence is significant.

Another occupant of the home that was destroyed in the blaze was Ms. Seale’s daughter Sherry-Ann. Though shocked by the events, she remarked to the media: “At least the dog was saved; thank God for that. That stopped me from crying. At least my [grandchildren] and my mum are here with me.”

The swift attention to the issue by MP for the area Christopher Gibbs with promises that the social agencies will move quickly to provide temporary accommodation for the family was commendable.

We are also convinced that the Seale family will receive the kind of community support that will restore this longstanding Passage Road, St Michael family to their former status.

Most of all, we salute Beatrice Seale for helping to ground us in the importance of faith and positive thinking. It is an attribute that many of us have yet to master.

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Counselling has been ordered for a young man who was caught masturbating over a sleeping woman on Batts Rock Beach last weekend.

Kyle Obrian White, a 24-year-old labourer from Ricks Land, St James, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Alison Burke on Monday to committing the act in public on May 6.

Two women were walking in the area around 11:45 a.m. when they observed White performing the act. They walked passed and spoke to another gentleman about what was happening.

The trio returned and observed White still in the act, standing by the head of a female who was sleeping on the beach. He then lay down not too far from the woman and continued his act.

The man whose help the women had solicited called the police and recorded what was going on. He then went up to White and told him ‘don’t move, I call the police for yuh’.

White was subsequently apprehended.

When asked whether he had accepted the facts read by Sergeant Verdon Forde, the now-convicted man who has four prior convictions, none of a similar nature, replied, “yes”.

Asked whether he wanted to address the court, White, who also stated that he was not under the influence of any mind-altering substance, said: “I ain’t got nothing to say.”

However, he later added: “I just do it. I can’t really explain it now. I can’t explain it. I ain’t know what to tell you.”

Attorney-at-law Simon Clarke then intervened, as a friend of the court, on White’s behalf.

After speaking to the lawyer, White apologised for his actions.

“I sorry for doing it. It won’t happen again . . . . I did it to feel good,” he said before the attorney added that the offence seemed to be “out of character” for the convicted man.

Clarke then urged the court to impose an order for counselling through the Probation Department for White to get the help he needed.

“It is a serious act, an act that cannot be tolerated and won’t be tolerated. You can’t go to the beach and do this,” Magistrate Burke told White who said he usually went to the beach to “relax my feet”.

After White agreed to attend counselling, Magistrate Burke made the order that he report to the Probation Department. He returns before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court for an update on September 11.

In the meantime, he is also on a bond to keep the peace and be on his best behaviour for the next nine months.

If he breaches the order, he will have to pay the court $500 forthwith or spend the alternative of three months in prison.

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By Jenique Belgrave

Attorney General Dale Marshall is in favor of introducing plea bargains to Barbados’ justice system to help reduce the current backlog of criminal cases.

“I’ve had some discussions with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and in fact, I had discussions as recently as today with the Acting DPP and he has indicated that having plea bargaining legislation will be a great boon to the system, and it is something that I’m certainly prepared to (take) to Cabinet,” Marshall said.

Plea bargaining is a feature in the court systems of the United States and several European countries. It allows defendants in criminal matters to plead guilty to benefit from shorter sentences or to have their charges dismissed.

The AG’s comments came on the heels of comments from Judge Jacob Wit of the Caribbean Court of Justice, who at last month’s regional Crime and Violence Symposium in Trinidad and Tobago, made a case for the implementation of the practice.

Calling for a robust overhaul of the region’s justice system, Wit advised, “There needs to be much more plea bargaining. That is what the Americans do where 70 per cent of all the cases are plea bargained. That’s why they can get their cases done. That’s only very small here.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the second Criminal Justice Symposium at the Hilton Barbados on Monday evening, Marshall indicated that while the plea bargaining system is just one of the solutions being considered to bring down the mountain of cases clogging up the judicial system, the major issue with having this dealt with quicker is outdated legislation.

“To be very candid, a lot of our laws, and they’re not all old laws, some of them date back 20-25 years, some of them are older, but a lot of them have simply not kept pace with the developments of the law, or developments of technology. So something that might have been relevant only 10 years ago is really not so much relevant now.

“We have a very clogged up system that is typified by backlog. By now we have about 100 homicide trials that are waiting to be heard in the system…We have just shy of 300 relating to firearms. So we simply must get rid of the backlog and no matter how many judges we throw at the system, unless we change the underlying structures in terms of the legal framework, in terms of procedural framework, in terms of our staffing, our use of technology, we will simply not be able to achieve the kind of results that we want in terms of getting rid of the backlog,” the legal affairs minister stated.

He also disclosed that the stakeholders are in agreement with the expansion of the powers of magistrates to remove some pressure from the High Courts. However, he warned that this must be done strategically to ensure that the burden is not shifted from one court to another.

“We have to find ways and means of reducing the magistrates’ courts’ own backlog and there are a number of things that I think that we can look to do fairly quickly like introduce a ticketing system in relation to road traffic offences. This is actively being discussed, between myself and the minister. It is something that has been knocking around for a long time, but simply hasn’t happened and I think this is the time to do it,” he added.

During the first Criminal Justice Symposium in April, Prime Minister Mia Mottley suggested that the judiciary convenes a second meeting to thrash out all of the issues hampering the swift dispensing of justice in this country and reducing the growing backlog of criminal cases, stressing that the system is “going nowhere”.

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

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Former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) general secretary Guyson Mayers has suggested that the Government should assist in providing healthy food options for students whose parents cannot afford to give them meals or snacks in compliance with the recently introduced National School Nutrition Policy.

He has also recommended that farmers be included in that effort.

Addressing DLP supporters at Sunday’s joint zonal meeting at Mile Tree Bar, Arthur Seat, St Thomas, Mayers said while he believes the policy is good, in theory, a well-thought-out framework to support it is lacking.

One of the key objectives of the National School Nutrition Policy is to ensure that only nutritious foods and beverages that enhance the health, learning and well-being of school children are sold, served and promoted in school environments.

However, Mayers charged that these targets do not account for the economic circumstances of many Barbadians.

“You want children to have nutritious meals but their parents can’t afford nutritious foods. How can you tell me that my child must eat well but I cannot eat well? You cannot impose those standards at school when parents cannot afford to provide those meals for the children. If I can only afford macaroni pie and ramen, what am I going to provide for my child?” he questioned.

“If the Government does not have control of the meal, it cannot control the standards. So if you are going to insist that children must eat in a certain way, then provide the food.”

Mayers added that farmers should have been invited to the table to offer their produce as part of the push to get healthier food alternatives into students’ hands.

“Every year, farmers dump [produce] that they can’t sell or give them away free…. Why should farmers not be able to find a market for nutritious foods? You are telling people to feed nutritious foods to their children; you have a School Meals Service that can purchase the produce from the farmers, and provide them to the children,” he said.

“You [will be] providing almost a guaranteed market for rural farmers. Small farmers should not be dumping food or not be able to sell [produce]…. Let the School Meals Service be a market for those people and then provide the food to the children.”

Mayers further suggested that vendors be connected to small farmers to help them better source fresh produce for students.

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb

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President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Dr Ronnie Yearwood has expressed concern that Barbadians are being left out of important development decisions, even as they lose their lands to foreign investors.

He said this was happening despite assurances from the current administration to the contrary, and citizens must pay closer attention to what is happening.

Speaking briefly at his party’s joint zonal meeting at Mile Tree Bar, Arthur Seat, St Thomas on Sunday, Yearwood made reference to the recent fight by St Joseph residents to get the developer of the old Edgewater Hotel property to remove columns blocking their access to the riverbanks on both sides of the Joe’s River Bridge.

“The reality is, the land issues in St Joseph cannot be dealt with privately. The land issues in St Joseph are a national fight; they are not only the fight for the people in St Joseph. There is a fight for the people in St Andrew; there is a fight for the people right here in St Thomas,” he declared.

He said the St Joseph issue, the lack of attention being paid to the Graeme Hall swamp area in Christ Church, and the relocation of administrative buildings in Holetown, St James to make way for a new seven-storey Royalton Hotel were all connected to the same problem.

“There is a fight for all of us because what they are doing to the people in St Joseph, they will do to you. They will do it to you in Dover, they will do it to you at Graeme Hall, they will do it to you and take away the post office in Holetown. They will do these things to you,” Yearwood asserted.

He insisted that addressing this is a top priority for the DLP and one from which it would not back down.

“When we are fighting, we are fighting for the folks in Six Men’s . . . . When we are fighting, we are fighting for the folks in Holetown who will not have access to the beach when they remove the post office and the police from there. That is what we are fighting for,” Yearwood said.

He repeated his call for the Government to offer leasehold arrangements on properties slated for development projects rather than allowing them to be sold outright to foreign investors.

“The reality is, we have to have a national land development policy where the land in this country is leased to non-Barbadians. You should not have the right to purchase and own land directly in this country. It is not your land; you would have a right to lease it, to benefit from that land, but at the end of that lease that land goes back to the heirs of this country,” the party leader said.

“That land goes back to the future of this country so they can use it and do things for their children. That is how you create generational wealth. That is the vision and the dream of the Democratic Labour Party for you and your children of this country.”

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Fire officials are on the scene of a blaze at Mayers Road, My Lord’s Hill, St Michael where one house has been destroyed.

The three-bedroom wall and timber house was occupied by a mother and her five children. ( anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)

( more details as they come to hand)

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Caribbean Airlines’ (CAL) launch of direct flights between Tobago and Barbados will satisfy an apparent interest in travel to Trinidad’s sister isle.

At a press conference hosted by the Tobago Tourism Association Limited (TTAL) in partnership with CAL on Monday, a day before Barbados hosts the 41st edition of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace, officials said the twice-weekly flights will make travel between the two Caribbean islands easier, with flight times of just one hour from Grantley Adams International Airport to A.N.R. Robinson International Airport.

The flights will depart Barbados on Wednesdays and Sundays and return on the same days.

“Our research shows that the number one regional web searches for Tobago come from Barbados. Clearly, there is interest there,” said TTAL’s executive chairman Alicia Edwards who emphasised the importance of inter-island travel for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region.

“Increased travel between our two islands not only helps support our tourism industries but it also helps to forge personal relationships that can lead to more trade across all sectors. Now that we have direct air service, we look forward to welcoming Barbadians to Tobago, and vice versa.”

Edwards noted that while Barbadians already enjoy beautiful beaches and great weather, Tobago also had a lot to offer.

“Our slogan is ‘unspoilt, untouched and undiscovered’. We offer a fabulous product for outdoor enthusiasts and eco-tourists with everything from hiking to bird watching, diving, waterfalls, and more. We have a great food culture; friendly, locally-run hotels; and dramatic villas. Our currency, the Trinidad and Tobago dollar, makes Tobago an affordable option for Barbadians looking for an experience beyond the ordinary,” she said.

Vice President of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association Maria Yip-John who represented the island’s hotel industry at the press conference said she was looking forward to building relations with local hoteliers and welcoming Barbadians to properties in Tobago.

“Yours is a mature industry with an international reputation for excellence, and we look forward to exchanging ideas with local hoteliers in Barbados during this week’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace,” she said.

“We have everything from small guest houses to eco-lodges in the trees to luxury hotels. The main thing they all have in common is the sense of heartfelt welcome. Tobagonians are friendly and would love to meet more Barbadians thanks to this new direct flight.”

The TTAL also hosted a reception for Barbados-based travel agents and tour operators, who will be participating in Caribbean Travel Marketplace, as part of the celebrations to launch the service.

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Youth officers have been mandated to start new community clubs across the island to keep young people engaged in structured activities.

Concerned about the level of deviance among the youth and the negative impact it was having in society, Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Charles Griffith said there was a need for additional community groups to allow children, teenagers and young adults to be part of a structured environment that would guide them in the right direction.

He said the ministry’s youth officers have been instructed to implement such programmes in communities across the country.

The minister was speaking to the media on Monday at the Eagle Hall Primary School, where he delivered the featured address at the opening of the school’s Male Week 2023.

“The concern is there. We continue to be proactive in terms of our programming at the ministry and Government as a whole in relation to wrestling all of the deviance to the ground.

“We have started again, after 13 years, the National Youth Awards, and this is one of the initiatives that we are hoping will trigger young people to get involved in positive activities that will be recognized not only by their peers but also by people in the community on the whole. So we are doing all we can,” Griffith said.

Meanwhile, the minister indicated that the proposed hotline through which young people could get help for mental health issues and a transition programme for students entering secondary school were still on stream.

Griffith explained that persons who will be manning the 24-hour hotline were being trained on how to appropriately respond to the needs of young callers through a partnership with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.

“We believe that there are a lot of things that are happening in the youth population that maybe we can assist with by pointing them in a direction where assistance can be had for all of those who are having stressors. Mental health is a serious concern for me and the Government so this hotline is one of those initiatives to help in relation to mental health in the youth population,” Griffith said.

The minister added that his ministry also planned to implement a Moving On project which would seek to help 11-Plus students entering secondary school with the transition process.

“There is the need to have parents on board as well. So hence we are going to match that particular project, Moving On, with a parenting programme,” he said.

(AH)

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Barbados now has a commission in place, tasked with reviewing the processes and procedures of Parliament to make them more relevant to a modern society.
On Monday, eight members of the Parliamentary Reform Commission were sworn in at State House by acting President The Very Reverend Dr Jeffrey Gibson.
Former President of the Senate Sir Richard Cheltenham, King’s Counsel, heads the panel as chairman and his deputy is veteran trade unionist Sir Roy Trotman. The other members are Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson; noted cardiologist Dr Richard Ishmael; historian and attorney-at-law Professor Velma Newton; columnist Dr William Chandler Jr; former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade under the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Maxine McClean and
Corey Beckles of the former Opposition People’s Party for Democracy and Development.
After the oaths were administered, deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw acknowledged the importance of the development.
“This is the culmination of several discussions which we’ve had as a government in being able to appoint these individuals to be able to undertake some very important work for the government, which is the reform of Parliament. I think the last time that we would have had any significant reforms was back in the early 1970’s, when we would have made a transition to single-member constituencies.
“I think we all recognise that in this age, where persons want to perhaps understand and appreciate more of what we’re doing in Parliament, the institutions which would have served us several decades ago can no longer serve this country as such,” she said. “They’ve already started some of their work. We’re hoping that within the next few months, that work will be concluded.”
She explained, “Their work will entail looking essentially at all aspects of reform of Parliament; being able to help us with a number of procedures and processes; being able to make Parliament more relevant to the people of this country; being able to look at the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Barbadians and to educate the public in the exercise as they go through this process over the course of the next few months.”
Bradshaw said some of the commissioners had experience in parliamentary processes and this was a plus as they would not only be able to understand the concerns of the public but also address some of the issues based on their own lived experiences.
Bradshaw said she was not aware of any challenges so far in the process.
“I think the work is ongoing and I believe that all of these individuals are up to the task of what lays ahead. Obviously, the engagement with the public is going to be very significant and I think that they have started that process and that will continue over the course of the next few months.”
The Deputy Prime Minister added it was time for a major overhaul of the existing parliamentary system.
“I think that the time has come for the overhaul of the current system. Sometimes when I look at the public gallery, we don’t see the numbers that we saw and yes, we have the technology nowadays to be able to allow persons to come in on social media to be able to see what is happening.
“I think that we have to go a step further, particularly when we have a 30-seat government, as well to be able to ensure that people understand the business that we are doing on a day-to-day basis and we can’t take anything for granted. We have to give more opportunities for persons to participate, hence the reason why the House (of Assembly) would have approved the Standing Orders committees – one is on governance, one is on economic policy and one on social and environmental matters.
“We’ve set up those three committees essentially to do a further deep dive into a number of legislative matters. [We] don’t want to just go to Parliament, pass laws and the general public does not fully understand or appreciate the extent of how these policies will impact on them . . . We owe it to the people because that is why we were sent here in the first place – to ensure that we engage with them in a meaningful way.”
Bradshaw added that in six months a document should be in place to present to Cabinet on the proposed reform.
In February, Attorney General Dale Marshall announced at a post-Cabinet media conference that a Parliamentary Reform Commission will provide recommendations on how the legislature could be transformed to better suit the country’s needs.
(SZB)

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A former Minister of Economic Affairs in Barbados is forecasting that this country’s debt service and debt stock will continue to rise “dangerously,” and could become an “albatross” around taxpayers’ necks.

Dr David Estwick, who held the ministerial portfolio during the administration of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), said he came to that conclusion following a comprehensive analysis of the overall economic situation here and the 2023/2024 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure and the Budget presentation.

He said his evaluation found a profound disconnect between the Estimates and Budget exercises which he contended will lead to poor public finance management.

“Recall that the 2023/24 Estimates document stated that the deficit of $844 million was to be financed from foreign borrowing of over $400 million and the remaining $400 plus million would be financed by domestic sources. But notice that the Leader of Government Business in the Senate [Senator Lisa Cummins] is telling you that the foreign borrowing for financial year 2023/24 will now be over $1 billion for budget support,” said the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors to late Prime Minister David Thompson’s government.

In his 29-page assessment which was shared with Barbados TODAY on Monday, he added: “The Estimates document is indicating one thing and (Senator) Lisa Cummins another. This is precisely the result of the disconnect [with] introducing a budget directly after an Estimates of Expenditure and Revenue when you have no data to determine whether you will meet or not meet the revenue expectations in the Estimates… a colossal error.

“Furthermore, the disconnect is even more obvious, when additional annual expenditure is introduced in a Budgetary Statement directly after the Estimates that is not accounted for in the Estimates of that year,” Estwick asserted.

The former Member of Parliament for St Philip West who also headed the Infrastructure Committee of Cabinet under then Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said the confusion goes further in relation to the accrual accounting system.

He explained that expenditure is booked when it is incurred, and therefore all the additional debt that was incurred in 2023/24 must be accounted for in that financial year.

“The additional $1 billion in project funding has to be booked as well and recorded as public sector debt when incurred. If these projects are not revenue-generating, then the debt must be repaid by the Consolidated Fund. This is why I said that the country’s debt service and debt stock will continue to rise dangerously,” Dr Estwick added.

“The debt service outlined in the Estimates for 2021/22 was $780 million, and in 2022/23 it was $980 million and now in 2023/24 is projected to be a massive $1.3 billion.”

The former cabinet minister warned of the consequences of this increasing debt.

“This debt service in Barbados will be much greater than $1.3 billion and without doubt be an albatross around the neck of the economy and the people in this country,” he declared.

Dr Estwick suggested that the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme which is financed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has failed to achieve critical objectives in rescuing this country’s economy.

He cited, for example, the restoration of fiscal and debt sustainability which he maintained have both worsened.

The DLP stalwart also argued that while BERT was to address falling foreign reserves, the programme had instead facilitated the borrowing of money from the IMF, China, the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank.

The former MP pointed out that the external current account deficit is worse and the aim to increase economic growth has turned out to be poor real economic growth. He added that the agreement to protect vulnerable groups through strengthening the social safety net is not happening. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

Estwick recalled that Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey stated in March this year, that the number of welfare recipients had doubled from 3,000 plus to over 6,000 and that the Welfare Department’s budget for paying rent for Barbadians went from $1 mill to $2 million.

“However, in spite of the agreement of the Government with the IMF, by the end of financial year 2021/22, the Barbados economy was saddled with a current account fiscal deficit of $981 million, which means that the government was spending $981 million more than it was collecting in revenue; an external current account deficit on the balance of payments of $1.2 billion, that is government was spending $1.2 billion more on foreign goods and services than it was collecting in foreign exchange; a debt stock of $13 billion, a debt service of $770 million annually and an unemployment rate of over 10.4 per cent,” the ex-cabinet minister pointed out.

Estwick said this data presented a picture of deep macroeconomic challenges and instability in the year 2021/22 which was compounded in 2022 by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“The above macroeconomic picture should have clearly guided the Estimates and the Budgetary Statement and Financial Proposals of 2022/23 given that we had ‘Mission Critical, Mission Survival’ and we were now heading into ‘Mission Transformation’. The Prime Minister is watching too many war movies. In war it is operation this or operation that or mission this or that,” the former government member added.

Dr Estwick said that in financial year 2023/24, the overall fiscal deficit is $884 million, interest debt service is now $652 million, which is higher than between 2019-2023.

He has also predicted that the debt stock in 2023 will balloon to over $16 billion.

“The government can attempt to kick the decision to take the difficult and critical steps required to put Barbados on a sustained economic path down the road, but the day of reckoning will come regarding compliance with the IMF dictates in the BERT 2 programme. Very soon the can will be too large for you to kick. Barbados will face very difficult social and economic challenges in the near term. Our children and grandchildren will inherit a Barbados that has mortgaged its future revenues and one that will lose the capacity to manage its own fiscal and monetary affairs,” Estwick cautioned.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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