The Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS) has discontinued the high wind advisory for the island, citing a reduction in the threat of strong winds.

However, a small craft advisory remains in effect with moderate winds of 20 to 25 knots and occasional gusts still expected across the country. Mariners and seagoers are urged to exercise caution, as rough seas with swells between 2.0 and 3.0 metres continue to pose risks, particularly to smaller vessels.

The BMS said the Atlantic high-pressure system currently influencing weather patterns is responsible for the current conditions. A gradual easing of both wind speeds and sea swell heights is anticipated after today.

It added that operators of small craft should be aware of challenging sea conditions and the potential for large open-water swells. Beachgoers are also advised to swim only at beaches supervised by lifeguards and to secure loose objects near the shore that could be swept away by wave action.

The small craft advisory will be updated at 6 p.m. or earlier if conditions improve. ( BMS/BT)

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Attorney General Dale Marshall has warned that lawyers will have to start paying more to fund the growing costs of regulating the legal profession.

Speaking on Thursday at the opening of a two-day symposium on the draft Legal Profession Bill, Marshall said the Bar Association could no longer depend on outdated fee structures as new administrative responsibilities come into effect.

“Bar fees have gone unchanged for decades…. Young attorneys will pay $300 and silks, whether you consider yourself KC, SC or what, only pay $1 500,” he said.

“Speaking as a part of the executive, it will be difficult for us to ask the taxpayers to carry the administrative burden for these things that your professional organisation is going to have to grapple with. The time has come, perhaps, when you need to consider increasing the fees.”

He was responding to Law Reform Commission Chairman Sir David Simmons, who warned that parts of the new legislation, like accounting rules and mandatory continuing legal education, would come at a cost.

“It is clear from reading the Bill that it calls for a substantial increase in the administrative and regulatory obligations of the Bar,” Sir David said.

In his response, Marshall noted that while he is prepared to make a case for additional support to the Prime Minister, who heads the finance ministry, “the Bar is really going to have to look seriously at increasing its fees.”

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Classes were suspended today at the Frederick Smith Secondary School following an incident on the school’s compound, Barbados TODAY has learned.

The nature of the disruption has not been officially confirmed.

Representatives from the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) and the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) are currently on-site, meeting with staff.

More details will be provided as they become available. (SZB)

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The Frederick Smith Secondary School will be closed tomorrow to facilitate a meeting between staff and education officials, following an incident today when a female teacher was struck by a student.

The Ministry of Educational Transformation confirmed the incident in a statement this evening and said it will be meeting with staff at the school at 9:30 a.m.

“The Ministry of Educational Transformation strongly reaffirms its zero-tolerance policy with regard to violence in schools and is committed to ensuring that schools remain safe environments for all staff and students,” the statement read.

No word was given on when classes would resume.

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Attorney General Dale Marshall has dismissed as “absolute nonsense” suggestions that the Mia Mottley administration’s push to regulate vehicle tint gives the impression it is soft on crime.

He was responding to concerns raised in the Senate on Wednesday during debate on the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, where Independent Senator Dr Crystal Drakes warned that the messaging surrounding the legislation may not inspire public confidence amid rising violent crime.

When asked specifically whether the measure made the administration appear weak on crime prevention, Marshall firmly rejected the claim, pointing to a series of policy and legislative actions he said reflect the government’s tough stance on law enforcement.

“That’s absolute nonsense. We have appointed judges to make sure that criminal cases go through the system quickly. We have increased the number of prosecutors. We’ve funded the police service at a higher level than ever in its history. We’ve passed stronger bail legislation,” he told Barbados TODAY.

“We’ve done so many things to make the life of criminals harder. Look at the success rate of the Police Service—they have what they call a solvability ratio of 66 per cent, which is higher than anywhere else in the region. So to say that we’re soft on crime is absurd.”

Marshall stressed that the new tint provisions, which take effect on September 1, were introduced at the request of The Barbados Police Service and are intended to improve officer safety and enforcement clarity—not serve as a crime deterrent on their own.

“What they’re not getting is that we’ve never said that regulating tint will solve or prevent crime. We never said that,” he stated. “There’s currently a law related to tint, but it’s very subjective. What we’ve been asked by the police to do is to put a measure in place that protects them. If a vehicle is black out, what police officer is going to approach it?”

The attorney general maintained that the legislation is a practical, narrowly focused intervention that complements a wider suite of measures aimed at tackling crime across the country.

Also speaking on the matter during a press conference held on Thursday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley strongly defended the move, underscoring that the decision was driven by security concerns and not political calculation.

“A political party and a government doesn’t like to do what is unpopular, but when the police, the people who protect us, come to us and say, ‘prime minister, members of the Security Council, we need this measure introduced’, we have to act,” she said.

Referencing a recent shooting on Broad Street involving a dark-tinted vehicle, Mottley, like the AG, said officers approaching such cars are often unsure of the danger they might face.

“They don’t know whether they’re underreacting, overreacting, whether their life is in their hand, whether they will be standing,” she said. “That is the reality of what we are facing.”

Prime Minister Mottley identified widespread use of dark tint and the concealment of identity using masks and hoodies as two specific elements that increase public and police risk.

“While I would like to be able to say that we cannot cause everybody an inconvenience, when I put the inconvenience to the individual in the scales against the risk to the life of the handful of people who we have protecting us every day and every night, I don’t need to tell you where the scales are landing,” she said.

The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill outlines specific limits on the darkness of vehicle tints and introduces penalties starting at $500 for non-compliance.

It also grants exemptions for vehicles assigned to the president, prime minister, law enforcement, prison and emergency medical services, the Defence Force, and persons with approved medical conditions.
(SM)

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Prime Minister Mia Mottley has called on Barbadians to recognise that addressing crime requires not only decisive law enforcement but also a concerted national response to underlying issues such as anger management, conflict resolution, and dishonesty.

At a press briefing at Ilaro Court on Thursday, Mottley acknowledged that crime remains a pressing concern, but emphasised that law enforcement agencies are actively and effectively tackling many of the incidents.

“The reality is that the nature of the concerns we’ve had this year has changed,” she told journalists. “We’ve had 22 homicides for the year, but 13 of them have been guns, the rest of them have been knives, which tells you, and when you look at what happened with respect to them, the issue is not simply a gang issue.

“The issue is one of how we manage anger, how we resolve conflict, and how indeed we deal with issues of dishonesty, whether it be outright stealing or aspects of corruption.”

Despite the challenges posed by crime this year, the prime minister expressed confidence in law enforcement, following recent meetings of the National Security Council.

“I am satisfied that the police and the other law enforcement agencies are, in fact, executing a robust plan with the appropriate equipment and with the appropriate skills available to them, to contain and fight the crime,” the PM said. “I think the attorney general has advised me that at least three-quarters of the incidents from this year, the police have been able to get on top and charge persons with it.”

But Mottley urged law enforcement to improve public engagement, suggesting more regular updates on their progress.

She said: “In the same way that they have Monday Wanted that they should perhaps be also communicating with the public on a weekly basis, letting the public know when they have reaped success and when they have been able to contain situations as a result of the excellent work that they have done on the ground in communities.”

As part of the government’s efforts to bolster public safety, Mottley announced the Cabinet’s decision to extend and expand the collaboration between The Barbados Defence Force and the Barbados Police Service for another year.

Mottley said: Typically, there have been joint operations as Barbadians know, you most know it and see it on Kadooment Day when the BDF is out in support; we’ve done joint tourism patrol engagements, we’ve also dealt with counter drug, operations, particularly in the waters, but we are broadening it to include other serious matters of serious concern to the country to ensure that The Barbados Police Service has the fullest possible support.”

The prime minister also underscored the importance of regional and international partnerships, highlighting ongoing support from the Regional Security System (RSS), particularly in financial crime investigation, and announcing new training initiatives with the United Kingdom. This followed talks with her British counterpart, Keir Starmer when Mottley visited No. 10 Downing Street “some time ago”.

She said: “We have agreed that the British will work with us through the identification of persons to do training In-situ. We currently have two senior Barbados police officers who have been on long term training in the United Kingdom with another two to go off very shortly before the end of the year, but we took a decision that simply sending elements of the high command alone will not be sufficient. Therefore what we want to have is comprehensive training In-situ as far as possible on site so as many officers can continue to benefit from the increased skills and enhanced skills that we need.”

Mottley further expressed satisfaction with the performance of recently established units, including the anti-corruption and counterterrorism unit and the organised crime unit. (SB)

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A teacher at Frederick Smith Secondary School in Trents, St James, was hospitalised on Thursday after being struck in the head with a rock by a student—the second violent assault on staff at the school in as many weeks.

The situation prompted urgent calls for reform from teachers’ unions and reigniting national debate on school safety.

The Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) and the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) responded swiftly to the latest attack, joining school staff on site to hold emergency meetings with the principal and ministry officials. Union leaders expressed outrage, citing a growing climate of fear among teachers and a string of unaddressed violent episodes affecting educational institutions across the island.

The teacher injured in Thursday’s attack sought medical attention after experiencing dizziness and general unwellness. According to BSTU President Mary-Anne Redman, the union member also visited the police station to file a report, consistent with the union’s advice for teachers to pursue charges in cases of physical violence.

“We are emphasising to our members that when there’s any violence against them, they are to report the children and to say that they want the children charged,” she said.

Redman disclosed that just over two weeks ago, another BSTU member at the same school was struck with a bottle, causing liquid to splash into her eye. She is still receiving medical treatment.

“It is very worrisome to us,” said Redman. “This is a situation that is complex. It is the schools as microcosms of the wider society . . . . These children are inundated with violence. They see it, they hear it, they practise what they’re seeing.”

In an ironic twist, the incident occurred less than 24 hours after Minister of Educational Transformation Chad Blackman publicly denounced school violence and affirmed the ministry’s commitment to zero tolerance.

“Violence in schools is unacceptable, and I want to make it abundantly clear that the Ministry of Educational Transformation has a zero-tolerance policy towards this state of affairs,” Blackman said in a statement issued on Wednesday, following a series of student-teacher violence at several schools recently. “Our nation’s teachers must never, and I repeat, never be threatened, attacked or made to feel unsafe whilst doing their job.”

Redman confirmed that a teacher was hit in the back of the head with a rock.

“This is the second such incident where a teacher has been struck with a missile by a student. So we came immediately to speak with the staff, who voiced deep concern over the unsafe conditions that they are experiencing. They feel very threatened in the workplace, and they expressed that very openly to us,” she said.

Teachers demanded the principal meet immediately with students to reinforce a zero-tolerance policy against violence, she added.

Redman said: “The teachers decided . . . they would sit under the tree and remove themselves from the hall area while the assembly was going on. They felt that this is something that the principal needed to handle with the students by himself to reinforce the seriousness of the situation.”

Current disciplinary systems are ineffective, she declared, adding that teachers are no longer willing to tolerate threats to their personal safety.

She said: “Across the system, teachers have reached their boiling point. They are not willing to sit down and take threats to their well-being and their lives lightly . . . . Until we start holding parents accountable, nothing fundamental is going to change.”

Julian Pierre, the BUT’s first vice-president and chairman of the health and safety committee, confirmed that Thursday’s assault was not an isolated event.

“The BUT has been made aware of the situation . . . where a teacher was struck by a student,” Pierre said. “Since that time, there have been four separate incidents at the school—students on students.”

He emphasised that teachers across the country are living with a sense of fear and unpredictability.

“No one wants to come to work to be fearful. Everyone assumes that we will have a safe day at work. For some of us, however, it is a luck and chance situation—and it shouldn’t be,” he said.

“The teachers of the Frederick Smith Secondary School are frustrated. They are fed up. They think enough is enough. There must be some firm intervention.”

Adding to the chorus of concerns was BSTU’s third vice-president, Leslie Lett Jr, who linked indiscipline to inconsistent enforcement of the national grooming policy.

“It needs to be properly policed and clarified,” Lett said. “Because people have interpreted, with the lack of clarity, what it means . . .  and they have operated to suit. So it has contributed to the lack of stability and discipline.”

He added: “Teachers now have to . . . spend so much time dealing with matters related to how children are dressed. And they feel that because they’re dressed in a certain way, they behave in a certain way . . . . Yes, clarification and enforcement. That’s very important to note.”

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb

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Prime Minister Mia Mottley has urged Barbadians to engage in a nationwide conversation on tackling social dysfunction, with a particular focus on challenges facing the island’s youth.

Addressing journalists at Ilaro Court on Thursday, Mottley disclosed that the Advisory Council on Citizenship Security, established in response to concerns from the private sector and the chief education officer, has raised alarms over the premature exclusion of children from the school system.

She said: “The country will have to have a national discussion about the extension of the school age from 16 to 18 or 17, depending on what the country is comfortable with. I know what my own views are, but similarly, we will also ensure that rather than children being put out of school with nowhere to go, that we develop a programme that allows them to be taken out of that individual school system if they are giving trouble.”

The prime minister indicated that the government is developing an alternative pathway for students who struggle within traditional schools. Rather than expulsion and exposure to greater risk, these young people could be transitioned into structured programmes involving the Barbados Defence Force and the Barbados Youth Advance Corps.

“If you don’t deal with the problem at this stage, you’re going to deal with it at another stage,” Mottley declared.

She also emphasised the vital role of families and communities in instilling discipline and values, cautioning that the state cannot shoulder the entire burden of correcting troubling behaviours among young people. She called on parents and guardians to take greater responsibility for their children’s upbringing.

The PM said: “During the last few weeks, I had calls to say that the government cannot go into people’s houses and say, send your child to Sunday School. But I have said it now sufficient times, including within the context of the leadership of my own political institution, that this must be a project undertaken by us as a political institution. We have not come only to represent people in circumstances where it is just simply about talk. We have to ensure that in our own house, in our own families, that children are getting the groundings and the rooting.”

Addressing the growing mental health crisis, the prime minister noted that Barbados continues to grapple with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also expressed concern over rising substance abuse among youth, pointing to the use of substances such as ‘Molly’, ‘purple drag’ and even cough syrup to get high, often in the absence of effective parental oversight.

“How many parents out there know what ‘Molly’ looks like? How many parents out there know what ‘purple drag’ looks like? How many parents know that people are using cough syrup as a way to be able to get high and to do foolishness?” Mottley asked.

“I need to see the National Council of Substance Abuse out there in communities, not just on social media, but actually in supermarkets, in communities so that people can be shown and understand this is what to look for, because if the fight is going to be across the board then it means that we have to equip people with the knowledge.”

The prime minister reaffirmed that legislative reforms are advancing rapidly following public consultations, citing the introduction of plea bargaining and judge-only trials as evidence of progress. She also pointed to ongoing support for The Barbados Police Service, including upgrades in equipment, technology, and pay equity for detectives.

Looking ahead, Mottley appealed directly to the political opposition, urging them to join the national effort to address crime and social challenges.

She said: “You were given a chance to come on a citizen advisory council. Fine, you don’t want to do that . . . but I’m asking the opposition to meet with a team of Cabinet next week as well, because they cannot simply be on the sidelines of this effort to fight crime.

“I don’t know how we can have a whole-of-nation approach without everybody buying into this. This is too critical for the country. I am not standing on ceremony . . . . I remain focused on what is the national issue at hand.” (SB)

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New legislation to permit the use of wireless surveillance as admissible evidence in court and lie detector tests for individuals with access to sensitive areas is to be introduced in an overhaul of the national security framework, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced on Thursday.

A draft of the proposed wireless intercept law had been reviewed by a subcommittee of the Advisory Council on Citizenship Security, chaired by legal scholar Professor Velma Newton. That subcommittee has now completed its work, and the legislation is currently awaiting consideration by the full council before being sent to Attorney General Dale Marshall.

Mottley told reporters at a press conference: “We would have spoken previously to you that a consultative process on wireless intercept legislation and being able to use the intercepts as evidence in a law court is something that we would wish to pursue. The subcommittee that has reviewed the legislation, has finished their work.

“It has now to go to the full council. The Cabinet and the Parliament will take the necessary steps to introduce that legislation, conscious that in many instances intel is available, but if you can’t use that intel as evidence, there is then a break between what you can carry to court and what you know,” she added. “The government has determined that we cannot continue to have that situation obtain, and therefore we want to bridge the gap with the passage of the legislation. Once we get it back from that advisory council, that will move with dispatch.”

In a parallel initiative, the prime minister revealed that Barbados is also preparing to introduce “truth verification” or polygraph testing to strengthen national security protocols.

The policy has been the subject of months of discussions led by the attorney general and the permanent secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, who also serves as secretary to the National Security Council. These talks have included workers’ representatives, trade unions, and private sector stakeholders.

Mottley explained: “The truth verification testing is not focusing on any category of worker; it’s focusing on persons who have access to certain secure spaces. If you have access to certain secure spaces, then we need to ensure that you are acting with the integrity that we need you to act with such that the rest of the society is not put at risk.

“The truth verification testing, therefore, is a fancy set of words—effectively a lie detector test—and therefore it will be subjecting both public and private sector persons. We accept that persons cannot be forced in certain circumstances to do it and therefore if they can’t work they won’t have access to those areas and may have to be placed in other jobs, but the AG will continue those discussions and set a timeline.”

To support the implementation of this initiative, the government has spent the past year building capacity, training personnel, and acquiring the necessary equipment. Mottley noted that Barbados is now in a position to begin administering the tests.

“We are at a stage now ready to execute and I expect therefore that the AG will be meeting with the unions in the next week, ten days, to be able to set the timelines for that to become live,” she said.

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb

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A groundbreaking partnership between Barbadian and Canadian researchers could revolutionise the island’s response to the annual sargassum crisis, with scientists developing advanced technology to predict and intercept the masses of sargassum seaweed before it invades beaches, marine life, and the economy, the experts said Thursday.

The Rapid Sargassum Modelling (RSM) initiative is the result of the collaboration of University of Calgary computer scientist Professor Mario Costa Sousa and University of the West Indies at Cave Hill renewable energy lecturer Dr Legena Henry. Dr Henry is currently pioneering the production of biofuels from a mixture of sargassum and agricultural waste.

At the end of a field trip to Consett Bay, St Philip—where a large mat of sargassum has blanketed the coastline—Professor Sousa disclosed that the project will equip UWI scientists with an early warning system for approaching sargassum, allowing the weed to be collected out at sea.

The team used a drone to map out the quantity of sargassum at Consett Bay to be analysed in the UWI laboratory on Friday.

“I am really here to discuss the one year of planning and writing the science we want to develop together to help to mitigate the problem of sargassum, creating new computational tools involving a bit of graphics, visualisation, [artificial intelligence] to really help to develop tools to predict sargassum expansion, where it’s going to land, to really try to mitigate it,” he told Barbados TODAY, after leading a local team of university science graduates who are being trained to take the venture forward.

“And that [mitigation] will also involve use of drones and different technologies to help with that… but also mapping the coral reefs of Barbados, using submarine drones, and similar technologies will be employed for sargassum modelling.

“This technology will also allow us to monitor the geological formations of the island for mitigating natural disasters. So, essentially, better planning, understanding erosion behaviours on the island… erosion in general. You can encompass all that in environmental modelling that involves sargassum, coral reefs and geology.”

He also addressed the impact which the seaweed will have on Barbados over time, once it reaches land and is allowed to accumulate.

“The danger here is that, not only will it affect the coral reefs, but also health, fisheries, the tourism industry… because it’s a problem you cannot currently predict where it’s going to land,” Professor Sousa said. “And once it lands on the beaches and on the coasts, then it’s a big problem. So, the main disaster here is economics; health, because the sargassum is bringing heavy metals—the deterioration creates poisonous materials. It is not good for humans, it is not good for the economy because it pollutes; and that’s the main aspect that we are trying to mitigate.”

The RSM initiative is a long-term, multidisciplinary effort which will be rolled out in phases, the Canadian computer scientist said.

“The problem will be addressed or solved in steps. It is hard to predict when, but given the nature of how the research goes from fundamental to applied and tested, we can estimate that in three years, we can have people already using the tools and having some positive impact,” he said.

“The advantage is… you test in Barbados and in Antigua and Barbuda, you can basically then expand the solution to other parts of the Caribbean or other parts of the world.”

He said the plan now is to move forward with the project by establishing proposals and sponsorships and recruiting students.

As a result, the professor said he will be returning to Barbados regularly.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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A long-standing farmer at the centre of a controversial land dispute in St Lucy has accused state officials of “unjust displacement” after being abruptly informed his five-acre plot would be slashed to just one acre to make way for another veteran farmer—prompting urgent calls from the Barbados Association of Retailers, Vendors and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN) for high-level government intervention.

Speaking to reporters on a plot of land at Content, part of the government-owned Spring Hall Land Lease Project, an emotional and visibly distressed Bryden Springer described his consistent engagement with agricultural authorities and a documented effort to rehabilitate degraded land over several years.

He recalled: “Around 2017, with the Canadian Hunger Foundation through a technical assistance programme with [the state-owned Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation] and [the Barbados Agricultural Society], my land was selected for soil fertility testing. The results came back indicating that my land needs resting . . . and not only resting, but there was a hardpan (a dense, compacted soil layer that limits root penetration and water drainage) that had developed from poor cultivation.”

No exact timeline was given for him to resume cultivation by the experts, he added.

Springer explained that he followed the recommendation to rest the land, waiting for indicators such as earthworms and centipedes to return before resuming cultivation. In December 2022, he observed those conditions and started planting butternut squash on one acre.

“They told me when you see earthworms, centipedes, and millipedes return to the soil, it is ready for cultivation,” Springer told journalists. “That was communicated to the BADMC personnel. I communicated that . . . and started cultivating the land.”

In a detailed letter dated Tuesday and addressed to BADMC Agricultural Services Division Manager Dr Jamekal Andwele, Springer outlined his investment in the land, his adherence to expert advice, and his business development plans. He noted that the land had been in active use since early 2023 and requested clarity on its status following the unexpected appearance of bulldozers in May 2024.

Springer said he received no formal communication from BADMC until Thursday morning, when a letter was delivered to his home informing him that his land allocation had been reduced from five acres to one. The note did not specify who would receive the remaining four acres.

He said: “I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, I only received a handwritten note from BADMC this morning . . . telling me that they have reduced my land from five acres to one acre. The other four, they haven’t said what they would do with it.”

According to a letter from BADMC also dated Tuesday, the agency’s board of directors decided to reduce Springer’s allocation due to his “failure to utilise the complete acreage for over five years”. The letter also cited an outstanding debt of $13 877.80 owed to the corporation for rental and water, with the reduction set to take effect on July 6.

The situation reached boiling point during the media interview when Springer was interrupted by neighbouring farmer Robert “Bobby” Griffith, who accused him of “lying” and insisted he had rightfully been allocated the land.

“They offered me Mr Springer’s land right up to the top,” Griffith later told reporters. “Mr Springer planted nothing for years. He let it run to bush. I cleared it after they offered it to me . . . It took almost two months to clear that land . . . I have my contract, signed since April.”

Griffith, another long-standing farmer, presented a copy of a contract/licence for the four acres, dated April 25.

Bryden Springer (left) showing the letter he received from BADMC as BARVEN President Alister Alexander looks on.

He said he had been asked by BADMC to cultivate the area, and claimed Springer was in breach of his lease agreement due to inactivity.

Griffith said: “If you don’t plant the land in five years, they give you an extension. If you still don’t do anything with the land, they take it back . . . The land is for production, and he wasn’t producing.”

But Springer disputed those claims, insisting the land was left fallow based on expert guidance and that he resumed cultivation in 2023. He said the recent squash harvest — 110 bags weighing 78 pounds each from half an acre — proved that the decision to rest the land was agronomically sound.

“It shows that the resting of the land was the right thing to do,” said Springer. “I have already sacrificed the rest of the land — no income. I have also secured markets and obtained product liability insurance to supply a major chain.”

The psychological toll on him had been immense, he said.

“Imagine you planting your land, and a tractor is in your land and you’re being told it’s being ploughed for [someone else] . . . It had me under severe stress.”

BARVEN President Alister Alexander, who was present at the scene, fiercely condemned BADMC’s handling of the situation and accused the state agency of administrative injustice.

“This is unjust. Totally unjust . . . Even if they were revoking his lease, there must be decent correspondence. BADMC cannot produce any legitimate correspondence with this gentleman. None at all.”

He continued: “The first piece of written correspondence he has gotten from BADMC is today . . . You cannot treat the citizens of Barbados this way.”

BARVEN is now calling for high-level government intervention, arguing that the case goes beyond bureaucratic oversight and touches on fundamental issues of equity and transparency in land distribution. “We are calling upon the Government of Barbados to right this wrong,” Alexander declared. “This kind of injustice cannot stand in our new republic.”

Multiple calls to BADMC CEO Frederick Inniss for comment were not returned up to publication. 

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb

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The nation’s electric utility on Thursday declared itself “fully prepared” for the  Atlantic hurricane season, pledging swift and safe restoration of electricity across the island if disaster strikes.

After months of simulations, equipment checks, and staff training, the company said it is ready to keep the nation powered through the unpredictable months ahead.

Director of Operations Johann Greaves gave an assurance that the company has done its groundwork to protect and restore power islandwide.

“We are at the point now where we have, I can say that we’ve done months of preparation, simulations and we are ready for the season. Every season is different as I said but we are prepared to face whatever comes our way. We can’t give you a guarantee and the timeline of the restoration because each system is different and the damage has to be assessed for each individual situation.

“But you can be certain that if your power is on that there are 400-plus persons behind the scenes who are working diligently to restore your power safely and as quickly as possible.”

Speaking at a press briefing at the company’s Maynards substation in St Peter, Greaves detailed the wide scope of pre-season activity, from staff training and vegetation management to stockpiling critical supplies.

“Over the past few months we would have completed a lot of our preparation and what you heard today was a lot of what we would have done over the past few months. Light & Power has over 400 employees who train, who do simulations continuously throughout the year to be able to respond to any event that comes our way. Now while I say that we are ready, every system is different.”

Safety, he stressed, remains the company’s top priority in all restoration efforts.

“You heard the importance of safety with every system. The paramount importance is to ensure that we can restore power safely. Okay, so safety is a big item when we are doing any restoration.

“We want to be able to restore your power as quickly as possible, but we want to ensure that it’s done as safely as possible and as such all of our employees train to be able to do that safely.”

Beyond the frontline workers, Greaves highlighted the contributions of support staff, subcontractors, and government agencies that collaborate with Light & Power during major weather events.

“This morning you saw a number of the persons from the operations team, from customer care, you saw persons from safety, but there are many, many other persons behind the scenes… who may not be visible to the public but extend tremendous effort… We also work with a number of contractors or subcontractors who, without their assistance, would make our job a lot more difficult… all the other agencies, government agencies and whoever else will contribute towards the overall process of restoration.”

Preparations for the season begin well in advance, Greaves explained, including trimming trees near power lines and ensuring that equipment and parts are on island or en route by early June.

“We start our preparation from the end of one season to very early in the year… to ensure that we have — by this time of the year — if not all of our critical stock on island, they will be on the sea to arrive here within another few days or few weeks.”

Once the all-clear is given, Light & Power is expected to deploy restoration teams — beginning at power generation plants and working outwards towards rural customers.

Greaves added that the utility remains connected to the regional network of Caribbean utilities, CARILEC, and is able to both lend and receive support when necessary, though in most recent cases it has managed internally.

“Luckily… we’ve never had to call any significant persons to assist us,” he said, noting that the last time CARILEC was last asked for support was during Elsa, to help with restoration.

“[We recognised] that our employees… were getting to the point where they were tired and we obviously needed to ensure that we did not have fatigue and accidents starting to set in,” he said.

While no utility can fully predict or prevent storm damage, Greaves insisted that Light & Power has taken every measure possible to face the months ahead with confidence.

“We recognise the importance of electricity to everyday life and therefore we understand the inconvenience of not having power,” he said. “So as far as possible with every system we devise a plan to come up with a means by which we can supply power as long as possible.” (SZB)

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Barbados’ legal profession is set for its biggest overhaul in more than half a century, with draft legislation that would allow lawyers to advertise for the first time while imposing mandatory requirements for continuing education and stricter accountability.

A two-day symposium by the Law Reform Commission, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, is focusing on the Draft Legal Profession Bill that aims to replace the Legal Profession Act that has been in force since 1973, when there were only 192 practising lawyers in Barbados.

Chairman of the Law Reform Commission Sir David Simmons said the new legislation reflects legal, constitutional, and societal changes that have unfolded over the last 52 years.

“The draft Bill… engrafts onto original principles, new ideas, rules and principles to ensure that the Bill is reflective of and congruent with the several legal, constitutional and societal changes that have evolved,” Simmons said.

Major proposed reforms include the creation of professional legal companies; a framework for continuing legal education (CLE) and development; new accounting and compliance rules; and permission for attorneys to advertise their services.

Simmons noted that the Bill was not imposed without consultation, revealing that, following a year-long internal review, the Bar Association submitted a Table of Proposed Amendments and a report.

He further shared that the commission adopted the vast majority of the recommendations.

The chairman also warned that some parts of the Bill, especially those involving accounting and CLE, would require adequate staffing and support, advising a phased rollout to avoid overwhelming the system.

Delivering the keynote address, Attorney General Dale Marshall welcomed the reforms, describing them as long overdue.

“We are practising law in a very different environment to the time when it was Sir David and . . . other people,” he said. 

Marshall added that several issues the profession now faces, such as compliance, were unheard of in earlier years.

“Compliance was never something that we even thought about before. It is putting a tremendous financial burden on law firms… because of the administrative responsibility that goes with it,” he said.

He also raised an unresolved issue not addressed in the Bill—how to treat Barbadians trained outside the regional system who want to return and practise law.

“I have at least 10 or 12 letters from Barbadian individuals who… have a keen interest in coming back home. But obviously that presents a difficulty. It is something worth considering,” Marshall said.

The symposium will also hear from Jamaican attorney Annaliesa Lindsay, a member of her country’s General Legal Council, who has experience with similar reforms already implemented in Jamaica.

Simmons said the discussions would help “re-establish a strong foundation” for the legal profession in Barbados. (SM)

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The Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BLPC) is trialling innovative materials such as fibreglass poles for the island’s electricity grid. For now, the company maintains that traditional wooden poles remain the safest and most practical choice for much of Barbados.

Speaking to reporters at the Maynards substation in St Peter, Director of Operations Johann Greaves outlined the company’s approach to infrastructure. While alternative materials have been considered, wood remains the backbone of the network.

“Currently on our network we have around 70 000 poles. The majority of the poles are wood poles,” Greaves said. “We do have a few concrete poles in a few areas and we have a very, very small amount of metal or aluminium poles. Traditionally, we have used the wood poles.”

Greaves explained that safety and maintenance are the primary factors influencing the continued use of wooden poles. With many poles positioned close to roadways, vehicle collisions are not uncommon, and wooden poles are designed to break on impact, potentially reducing the risk of serious injury.

“If those were metal poles, the poles are not going to snap and there will be a lot more serious injuries to persons and probably more fatalities as well,” he said.

Wooden poles also offer advantages for maintenance crews, who find them easier to climb compared to concrete alternatives. Nevertheless, Greaves confirmed that Light & Power is conducting trials with fibreglass poles, which are lighter and more durable, making them suitable for densely built or hard-to-reach areas.

“Poles that are made out of fibreglass… those poles are a lot lighter. They’re supposed to have a very long duration as well,” he noted. “Our personnel normally have to drive the pole—get a number of persons and drive the pole to the location to erect it. The composite poles are very light… one man can move the pieces because they come in sections and we actually assemble it at site.”

Although fibreglass poles are more costly, their longevity and ease of transport present an attractive option for specific applications.

The company is also collaborating with developers to improve pole placement in new housing developments, aiming to position them further from roads where possible. Greaves acknowledged that available space often limits how far poles can be set back.

“There’s only a certain distance that we can go off the road in terms of planting poles,” he explained, citing road reserve restrictions.

Developers are given the choice between overhead and underground cable installations, but Greaves pointed out that underground systems are significantly more expensive.

“The underground installation is a lot more costly—sometimes as much as 20 times the cost of going overhead—simply because there’s a lot of cost in terms of the digging because of our coral rock,” he said. “Usually in any development, if requested, we would give the developer price proposals for overhead and underground and they would normally make the decision.”

While overhead systems remain the preferred option for most developments, some high-end or strategically important projects opt for the aesthetics and resilience of underground systems. But the Light & Power official cautioned that faults in underground lines are more difficult and time-consuming to detect and repair.

“When there’s a fault [overhead], we can drive down, we can look up at the line, we can see that there’s a fault there—a kite or something on the cable—and within a few minutes we’re up in the air and we can start addressing the fault,” he said. “When the fault is on the ground, it is not immediately visible… you have to get permission from MTW, dig up the road, identify the fault, repair it, and then reinstate the surface.”

Despite these challenges, Greaves recognised the importance of underground systems for critical infrastructure.

“There are certain areas that make sense to go underground—definitely the hospital, airport, seaport, police stations,” he said. “Once it’s possible, it would make sense to have those underground because you’re looking at resilience.

“If cost was not a factor, you would probably put everything underground and probably have backup feeds… but it’s always trying to match resilience with cost.” (SZB)

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Attorney General Dale Marshall has made it clear that the government will not cover the mounting administrative costs tied to major reforms of the legal profession, urging lawyers to foot the bill themselves for modernising the sector.

Speaking at the opening of a two-day symposium hosted by the Law Reform Commission on the Draft Legal Profession Bill, Marshall said the time had come for the legal fraternity to consider increasing Bar Association fees, which he noted had remained unchanged for decades.

“Young attorneys will pay $300 and silks, whether you consider yourself KC, SC… [will] only pay $1 500,” he said.

“Speaking as a part of the executive, it will be difficult for us to ask the taxpayers to carry the administrative burden for these things that your professional organisation is going to have to grapple with. The time has come, perhaps, when you need to consider increasing the fees.”

He was responding to Law Reform Commission Chairman Sir David Simmons, who earlier warned that several new responsibilities under the proposed legislation including modern accounting rules, stricter compliance requirements, and mandatory continuing legal education would place a significant strain on the Bar’s operational capacity.

“Some of the new initiatives will necessarily require careful planning, recruitment of personnel and the provision of adequate funding to ensure the smooth implementation of these initiatives,” Simmons said.

“Firstly, it is clear from reading the Bill that it calls for a substantial increase in the administrative and regulatory obligations of the Bar. These relate to new rules for accounting, CLPD[Continuing Legal Professional Development], advertising and contingency fees.”

The chairman further noted that the new Accreditation Committee and other administrative bodies would need training and resources.

He also shared his support for a staggered implementation of certain sections of the Bill to allow time for proper systems to be put in place.

Marshall, while agreeing that the profession must modernise, said the cost of doing so cannot fall on the public purse.

“I don’t think that Sir David, having sat in the chair he is now sitting in, was suggesting that the State should pay but I am minded to tell you… it will be difficult for us to ask the taxpayers to carry the administrative burden,” he said.

He cited specific examples, including the need for the Bar to step in and manage the affairs of attorneys whose practices have ended due to death or disbarment, which he said would require staffing, physical space, and proper accounting systems.

“These things come at a high cost,” the AG said.

“And Sir David did indicate that even with continuing legal education, there is going to be a high administrative cost.”

While not ruling out some assistance from the government, Marshall stressed that the responsibility ultimately lies with the profession.

“While I am prepared to make a case to the prime minister and the minister of finance for some additional support, the Bar is really going to have to look seriously at increasing its fees from its members so as to be able to carry those additional costs,” he said.

In a follow-up interview with reporters, Marshall added, “If the lawyers are the ones who are practising the law and earning the dollars, I don’t think that’s fair [to ask taxpayers to pay].” (SM)

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Shakeena Lynette James agreed to bring in a family friend’s suitcase on her visit to Barbados but failed to check its contents.

That lapse in judgement landed the 40-year-old before the Oistins Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where she pleaded guilty to four drug-related offences, including the importation of cannabis valued at $176 000.

James, of Massachusetts Avenue, Southwest Marietta, Georgia, in the United States, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Deidre McKenna accused of possession, trafficking, possession with intent to supply, and importation of 24.2 pounds of cannabis on Tuesday.

The court heard that James arrived at the Grantley Adams International Airport on board a Delta flight from Atlanta. After clearing immigration, she collected a hard-shell suitcase and proceeded to customs, where personnel interviewed her. The bag was searched, and 20 black vacuum-sealed packages were discovered containing vegetable matter. The police were contacted.

James told the court that a few days before boarding the flight, her deceased husband’s friend asked if she wanted to be a part of his entourage on his trip to Barbados, and she agreed. He provided her with the flight information and other details. On the mentioned date, he took her to the airport and asked her to take his luggage with hers as he was flying in the following day. She went along with his request.

“I am guilty. I should have checked, and I apologise to the country of Barbados cause this is not me,” James stated.

“Ma’am, you are 40 years old. How many TV shows are there where people get caught bringing in things and say that it is somebody else’s, whether it is true or not? By now, everybody should know, you don’t bring things for people without checking to see what they are giving you to bring. A whole suitcase and you don’t know what is in it?…. You should have said, ‘Unless you’re packing this suitcase in my presence or unless you are opening it in my presence, I am not taking it.’ You cannot trust anybody nowadays!” Magistrate McKenna stressed.

James, a first-time visitor to Barbados, was fined $80 000 forthwith for the trafficking offence, or 12 months in prison if unpaid. She was convicted, reprimanded, and discharged on the remaining charges.

“As you are a visitor, if the fine is not paid today, you will have to go to prison until it is paid,” the magistrate warned. “On your release, I am going to order that you be handed over to Immigration. Please do not find yourself in this position again.”

“Never,” James responded, thanking the court as she left the dock.

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A former elder care minister has called for urgent action to tackle the abuse and exploitation of elderly people, warning that unlicensed care homes and unscrupulous individuals are preying on some of society’s most vulnerable.

St Thomas MP and Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Cynthia Forde, issued a plea for greater protection and respect for the island’s elderly population on Thursday.

In a candid keynote speech to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day at the Soroptimist International Village in Eden Lodge, Forde recounted a recent phone call she received from a concerned individual in the United States about alleged mistreatment at an unregistered senior care home in Barbados. The story, she said, left her deeply disturbed.

“The story that was given of what is happening in Barbados in some homes broke my heart… that one took away every piece of energy from me yesterday evening,” she said.

Though she did not give specifics on what was allegedly occurring at that particular home, the veteran MP disclosed that she immediately attempted to contact the chief medical officer to initiate an investigation, noting that, unfortunately, many such facilities are operating without official approval from the Ministry of Health.

Forde said: “One or two, I understand, are not properly registered. They just open up their house, refurbish it, open it up and take in senior citizens, and then they don’t have the adequate staff or they don’t have the adequate space or they don’t have the adequate training to be able to look after the needs of seniors, but [are] charging big money.

“It has to stop. I understand some of them are illegal. They’ve opened them up without the permission of the Ministry of Health, and therefore the clients there are suffering; they’re substandard homes, according to what I’m hearing.”

She revealed that she also continues to receive reports of financial abuse, where elderly persons are stripped of their pensions, benefits and personal property.

“They are going to attorneys-at-law and little old folks are giving away their rights. This power of attorney and deed of gift and all those areas—financial challenges. Not all will be like that because there are some families who said from the beginning, ‘I am going to bequeath so and so and so to this child’ and they’ve done it the legal way and it works out,” she said. “But for strangers to come in to befriend the seniors and then take away the pension cheques or whatever cash they have, or take them to the bank to sign and sign away their lives, and then all the money goes….”

Forde decried a particular case in which a senior’s burial funds were allegedly withdrawn by family members without her consent.

Forde applauded the government’s efforts to develop an elder care department, but warned that more decisive enforcement is needed.

She said: “I just want to see two or three get locked up, though. I know that once two or three get locked up, I believe the trend will just drop and therefore other people will be sensitised.

“…. We are working as best as we can to be able to bring such matters, but we want to follow the legal route. We can’t just go and point a finger.” (SB)

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A man was fatally shot and another wounded during a robbery at a business place in Six Roads, St Philip, on Thursday night.

Police at the Operations Control Room received a report of the incident around 9:07 p.m.

According to initial investigations, a family was in the process of securing their business when they were confronted by two armed assailants who demanded jewellery from one of the family members. A struggle reportedly ensued, during which several shots were fired.

Two male relatives were injured during the altercation. One of the victims was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by private vehicle, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The second victim was taken to the hospital by ambulance and is currently receiving medical treatment.

Investigations are ongoing.

Police are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has information that could assist with the investigation to contact the Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477, Police Emergency at 211, or the District ‘C’ Police Station at 416-8200. (TBPS/BT)

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GRAMMY®-winning multi-platinum global superstar Tyla is set to headline the 2025 edition of Tipsy Music Festival (TMF) in Barbados, marking her debut performance in the Caribbean during the island’s renowned Crop Over season. Tyla has captivated audiences worldwide with her music by fusing R&B, Amapiano, and Pop into a sound that is uniquely her own. Her debut album,
TYLA, was the highest charting for an African female soloist in Billboard 200 history. “Water,” her triple-platinum superstar-turning hit, helped the singer achieve the same feat on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following her first-career GRAMMY victory in 2024 — ”Water” for ‘Best African Music Performance’ — Tyla has received nods at the BET Awards, MTV VMAs, American Music Awards, MTV European Music Awards, and a plethora of others. Her appearance at TMF 2025 is expected to set a new benchmark for festival experiences in the Caribbean when she takes center stage on Day 2 – the TMF All White Experience on Sunday, July 20

“We are proud to welcome Tyla to the TMF stage for the very first time,” said TMF organiser, Zamani Moodie. She is one of the most exciting global voices of this generation – a trailblazer whose energy, artistry, and cultural relevance make her a perfect match for the Caribbean’s most dynamic summer festival. TMF has always been about creating experiences that blend international energy with Caribbean soul and Tyla is the perfect match!”

TMF’s 2025 edition will also feature Soca legend Machel Montano, joining Tyla in a powerful cross-genre lineup that merges Afrofusion and Caribbean rhythms in a weekend of unforgettable performances.

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Barbados has launched the second phase of its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) procurement process, a critical step in tackling ongoing grid congestion that has stalled the growth of the renewable energy sector.
The tender process will open the door for developers to bid for up to 60 megawatts of battery storage.

Projects must be at least 1 MW in size, and each bidder can be awarded up to 30 MW or 120 megawatt-hours in total.

The official Request for Proposals will be published on July 9, when the full set of documents will be uploaded to the Government’s Bonfire procurement portal.

These include the Energy Storage Agreement, Energy Storage Licence, Interconnection Agreement, and along with the terms under which developers can participate.

Energy Minister Senator Lisa Cummins described the move as a turning point for the country’s clean energy push.

“The media has carried stories that have referred to [a] gridlock. I want to stand here today and say that the launch of this project is about grid unlock. That’s what we’re here for this morning,” she said.

“This project this morning  is the transition from not being able to connect people’s projects to the grid at an individual level… not being able to unlock over $500 million in potential investment that has been trapped in the banking system because these projects need to be operationalised.”

She further pointed to the country’s hefty fossil fuel import bill, noting that these funds could better be spent on national development priorities.

Senior Technical Officer in the Ministry of Energy and Business, Destine Gay, said strong interest was shown during the preliminary Request for Information issued last year, with 11 companies submitting 39 prospective projects, only two of which came from international developers.

“This is where interest becomes action and ideas become investment. Only two of the companies that responded were international. All the rest were local,” she said, noting that the responses signal that the market is ready.”

The battery storage rollout is expected to help clear the backlog of renewable projects awaiting grid connection and support Barbados’ target of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2035. (SM)

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