Leader of the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Mia Mottley, has given the assurance that the controversy in the party’s Christ Church West constituency will be resolved soon.

Last month the constituency’s MP, Dr Maria Agard, was involved in a public spat with the branch’s executive, and subsequently stated her refusal to work with the newly-elected district executive.

At the time, one BLP member also told Barbados TODAY, on condition of anonymity, that several members of the constituency were dissatisfied with Agard’s representation.

BLP leader Mia Mottley addressing the party’s 77th annual conference

But addressing the BLP’s 77^th annual conference last night, Mottley said the matter will be addressed in the interest of the party.

“I give you the assurance that the matter of Christ Church West will be resolved well in advance before the next general elections, and it will be in the best interest of the Barbados Labour Party,” Mottley said.

Party members attending this weekend’s conference.

“If healing does not happen, there are mechanisms and conventions within this party that provide for dealing with such scenarios,” she added.

Mottley insisted, however, that there is no crisis within the BLP.

Opposition leader Mia Mottley has told members of the Barbados Labour Party it is possible that another waste to energy project could be on the cards for Barbados.

Mottley told the Barbados Labour Party’s 77^th annual conference last night that she has posed questions to Government in parliament regarding the memorandum of understanding, the implementation agreement and the power purchase agreement for the controversial Cahill project, but they have so far been unanswered.

She also disclosed that while Government was yet to respond to her queries, “I want to alert you to a Cahill number two that is in the making”.

“Any day now this Government will have another government entity sign yet another power purchase agreement with yet another Canadian outfit, called Deltro Electronic Inc, to provide power to a new utility company for 20 years in the first instance, and 80 years after that, a maximum of 20mw by way of photovoltaic energy,” Mottley charged.

BLP leader Mia Mottley says another waste to energy project is on the cards

The Opposition leader added that while she welcomes renewable energy projects for Barbados, one of her concerns was that the contract is to be signed by the National Conservation Commission – a Government agency that is not legally entitled to manage such projects.

She also questioned the intended location of the plant. “The land in my constituency already designated for almost 10 years as the National Botanic Gardens; land on which there is the Codrington water well.”

Mottley also told party members at last night’s meeting she had evidence to suggest that the South Coast and Bridgetown sewerage systems could collapse soon.

She quoted a report from her political opponent in the St Michael North East constituency, Patricia Inniss, a biochemist and researcher, who warned the Barbados Water Authority of an imminent breakdown of the sewerage systems.

Mottley said that on September 10, Inniss, who is also a Government consultant, addressed a memorandum titled, ‘Funds are needed for our collapsing sewerage system’, to the BWA Chairman, Dr Atlee Brathwaite, and copied it to the Minister of Water Resource Management Dr David Estwick.

Mottley read extensively from the memo, which she said was compiled after a six-month analysis by Inniss.

“‘If funds are not urgently sequestered to correct the multiplicity of problems plaguing both our sewerage treatment plants and their surrounding networks, we face the real possibility of their soon collapse.

“You are aware that the South Coast Sewerage Treatment plant has been virtually non-functioning for over a year, as over 90 per cent of the sewage entering the plant is now being diverted from the influent pumps to the effluent pumps’.”

Mottley also quoted Inniss referring to customer complaints given to sewerage plant workers: “The last documented complaint I am aware of sent to the BWA on May 11th, 2015, from the Ministry of Health stated that sewage is contaminating the Graeme Hall Swamp.”

Mottley said, “I am therefore asking the Prime Minister, in the interest of all of us Barbadians, to instruct his Minister of Finance on Monday morning to make the funds available to the Barbados Water Authority.”

The BLP’s conference ends today.

Police are yet to positively identify the remains of a woman found last night.

However, earlier today, a team of officers was back on the scene feverishly searching for clues, after lawmen pulled the decomposing body from a ravine at Halton Plantation, St Philip with the assistance of members of the Barbados Fire Service.

They shared strong bonds, partied together, all loved life and as fate would have it, they died together.

Barbadians woke up to the shocking news this morning that a birthday celebration ended tragically for four young women from St Philip who lost their lives on their way home from a night out.

Shameka Shepherd, 23, Shakira Shepherd 22, Waveney Johnson, 25 and Kayrie Brathwaite, 18, died this morning when the silver grey Suzuki motor car they were travelling in crashed into a guard wall on Two Mile Hill, St Michael.

From left, Shakira, Shameka and Nakisha Shepherd.

Waveney Johnson

Nakisha Shepherd, 23, who was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance is fighting for her life.

Barbados TODAY understands that the girls were making their way home following an evening of fun to celebrate Shameka’s birthday, which was on Saturday.

The gut wrenching cries of the mothers and family members who gathered at the scene could be heard in the distance as they got a glimpse of the lifeless bodies, the mashed car and streaks of blood on the road. Some of them called out their loved ones’ names, one mother even asked her daughter to wake up.

This is how they met their death.

A sombre mood hung over communities in St Philip, especially those where the girls were from.

It was a double blow for a Long Bay family who lost two relatives in the accident. Shameka, a nursing student and Shakira, an employee at the Grantley Adams Airport, were cousins who lived in the same house with their mothers, two sisters.

Nakisha, who graduated from the University of the West Indies last week, lived just a stone’s throw away with her mother, their aunt in the close-knit community.

The deceased girls’ mothers were too distraught to explain their emotions.

They were locked away in the house as they grieved together for their daughters.

Other family members were gathered outside, some of them still teary eyed.

However, opting to give a comment on the family’s behalf was aunt Roslin Bradshaw who said she spoke to her nieces yesterday.

She said a prayer group had visited the home and prayed for the mothers who had also been counselled.

Roslin Bradshaw (right) and Sherry-Ann Bradshaw (left) spoke on behalf of the families.

“They [the girls’ mothers] are taking it very hard. I was in the shower when I got the call getting myself prepared for church. I don’t know if I dried my skin or what, I don’t know what I did,” the eldest of the sisters said in a composed tone.

Their cousin Sherry-Ann Bradshaw said they all attended Deighton Griffith Secondary and have remained close from childhood.

She said her cousins were fun loving, always smiling and got along well, causing most people to think they were sisters.

“They live in the same household and most people would think they are sisters rather than cousins. They were always together. It is s a pretty close-knit family. There are a whole lot of sisters and they are all very close,” Sherry-Ann said.

Preparing to make her way back to the hospital to stand by her daughter’s side was Nakisha’s mother who also was too distraught to speak.

The Shepherd family lost a family member last October in a road accident overseas.

Meanwhile, there was much comforting going on at Minister of Transport Michael Lashley’s mother house.

Waveney’s mom was too distraught to speak to the media. Here she is comforted by a family friend.

Waveney’s mother Carmalie Johnson is a close friend of Lashley’s family and they were together just last night at an event.

Resting on a friend’s chest, a grieving Johnson was too weak to speak about the death of her only daughter, a former student of the Seventh Day Adventist school and employee of Do It Best, Sheraton Mall.

Lana Butcher

Friend Lana Butcher, who spoke on Johnson’s behalf, said the mother had an admirable relationship with her respectful daughter who was working towards resuming studies at UWI from next September.

“As you can see, her mother is not taking it well. This is not easy for any of us. But we are here for her and will stay by her side. Waveney was a nice girl, she loved life and having fun,” Butcher said.

Lashley, who also expressed sadness and shock at the scene, said he was familiar with the girls who had previously participated in the St Philip Carnival.

As a mark of respect, Lashley who expressed condolences to the families, has cancelled his annual karaoke event, which was scheduled for later today.

“It is a very horrific accident and it touched me from the point of view that one of the parents is extremely close to my family.

“She is my sister’s best friend and she is always there for my family. She is a very caring and responsible parent,” Lashley noted.

The Minister also warned Barbadians to desist from taking pictures at accident scenes and sending them out on social media.

One resident of  Two Mile Hill who was awakened by the loud hit and crashing sounds that followed said she believed she was watching a movie during the hours following the accident.

“I would never forget looking down and seeing heads bobbing in the back of car,” she said.

The resident told Barbados TODAY that after hearing a crashing noise she rushed to her window and through the darkness she could see that one of the girls was laying on the ground. She said at that point she had not known that more people were in the vehicle.

She said she rushed to turn on her outside lights so that any vehicles coming down would see the body there and then turned her attention to calling for emergency response teams.

“When I came out some people were there and they asked me to bring two sheets. Then when I looked, I saw that there were more people in the vehicle, so apparently that young lady was ejected from the vehicle.

“People just started gathering. Family members were crying, one woman was so loud that she could have woken up the whole of Barbados,” she said.

The resident, who expressed concern that too many accidents had happened in that area, called on authorities to put up a sign for traffic approaching the area, warning motorists to be cautious.

Independence Square was filled with the sounds of worship as over 30 church leaders from across the island led a prayer and evangelism crusade for the nation’s ills.

Organisers said the event, which ran from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., was hosted by Night Ride Prayer Ministry and Operation Intercession, out of concern for the spiritual and moral path that Barbados was taking.

“There is much violence and crime in this nation, a lot of ungodliness, a lot of pornography, abuse of children and then of course the economy itself is a challenge to the leaders of our nation, so we have come to pray that God will turn around this nation in every aspect,” said Reverend John Carter of Messiahs House Wesleyan Holiness Church.

Reverend Carter noted that the spirituality of Barbadians had dropped significantly in recent years and this was due to a lack of religious education being provided to the nation’s children.

Some of the participants at the day’s prayer session for the nation

“In the past we had children in our Sunday schools, in our churches …the church had a very high percentage of young people and preteens in it but now that is weighing significantly, but then of course a lot of parents don’t understand the importance of spiritual covering for their children, they are not praying for their children, they are not bringing them in the house of God,” the former St. Leonard’s Boy School teacher said.

He also suggested that the community needed to stand firm in their beliefs.

“We need the communities to get back caring about itself, to get back (to) caring for other members of the community by standing firm against all these ills that people are seeking to impose on the nation.

“The public has to stop protecting the lawless and the criminals in our society. We have a proliferation of guns in Barbados, there are people who know how they are coming in … but they are not saying.”

Pastor David Durant addressing the event

These sentiments were echoed by Pastor David Durant of Restoration Ministries who said, “Rebuilding and getting back to place of being our neighbour’s keeper is needed again in Barbados”.

The senior pastor mentioned that his ministry was taking steps to reach a consensus between community, the church and the police as a joint town hall meeting will be held next month to find solutions to these problems.

Rev Carter disclosed that the church is hoping to hold a 366 day prayer event from December 1, 2015 to November 30, 2016 in celebration of Barbados’ 50^th independence anniversary. (KK)

Newly-elected president of Barbados’ National Organisation of Women (NOW), Avelyn Brome-Christie, is encouraging young girls to leave a positive footprint as they journey through the rest of their lives.

“If you are going to leave a footprint on the internet, let it be for something that is positive…something that will leave a legacy,” Brome-Christie told NOW’s 45^th anniversary celebrations held at Gun Hill St George.

Pointing to the increase in deviant behaviour among young women, Brome-Christie argued that “the question is whether there is more deviancy or the fact is we are seeing deviancy more.”

She stated that there needed to be more education and advocacy for young women.

“If you really know your worth, your purpose you would therefore seek to ensure that what you do, what you put out there for the world to see is something that is positive.

“I would like to say to our young ladies, you are beautiful, you are full of potential full of inherent power, so let’s use it, channel it for the things that are positive,” she said.

Brome-Christie disclosed that upon taking on the office of President, her focus will be female empowerment.

“We…are aiming to bring our women to a place of empowerment , I think if we as women understand who we really are and the power that is trapped within us and the potential that we have, we would recognise that we can make a great change in our land” she said.

She noted that to achieve this goal, a series of workshops will be facilitated under the instruction of NOW,  targeting education, leadership and advocacy.

“We keep saying that our children are tomorrow’s future but our children are also today’s future and it is important that they be educated about their purpose from young,” Brome-Christie said. (KK)

Police have charged two more men with murder in connection to two separate incidents.

Johann Layne, 19, of Tudor New Road, Grazettes, St Michael became the latest man to be charged with the October 2 shooting death of 23-year-old Jamal Worrell, who was gunned down in Indian Ground, St Peter.

Layne, who is the eighth person to be charged in relation to this murder, was also charged with endangering life and the use of a firearm.

He was remanded to HMP Dodds until November 9 after appearing at the Oistins Magistrates Court today.

Also, 17-year-old Kelly Javanni Prentice of Ellis Village, St Michael has been charged with murdering Brinsley Warde.

Warde was fatally stabbed along John Beckles Drive on October 9.

Nishawn D’Andre Prescod, 18, of Hinds Gap, Halls Road, St. Michael and Nickolai Matthew Thompson, 18, of Chadderton Road, Carrington Village, St. Michael have also been charged with serious bodily harm in connection with the incident.

A joint operation carried out by members of the Drug Squad, the police Marine Unit and the Barbados Coast Guard yesterday netted 492 pounds of compressed cannabis.

Three Barbadian nationals who were on board the fishing vessel when it was intercepted about four miles off Needham’s Point, St Michael are assisting police with investigations.

Policyholders of CLICO International Life Insurance (CIL) who have been awaiting a financial settlement which has been dragging on since the company’s collapse in 2009 have received a further setback and do not now know when they will receive payments on their investments.

A resolution to the matter has been deferred indefinitely as expectant representatives of the policyholders await a ruling from the High Court in Barbados. They were hopeful of a resolution last week when they, along with other stakeholders, met with the judge presiding over the case. Instead they were delivered an additional dose of disappointment.

The court is to decide on a proposed Barbados plan to restructure the beleaguered insurance company on behalf of policyholders here and in member countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

“What I would say is that we are disappointed that the decision from the court is taking this long. We know that the judge has a critical role to play in making the best decision for all policyholders, including Barbadians and regional policyholders, but we did not anticipate it taking this long; because now all the timelines that were to be met based on the Barbados first proposal would have to be pushed back and pensioners have not been receiving any pension,” chairman of the Barbados Investors and Policyholders Alliance (BIPA) June Fowler told Barbados TODAY this afternoon.

Fowler said it was disheartening that BIPA members had been forced to wait this long, but noted that she was hopeful of a settlement by year end.

“We’re still remaining hopeful that we can have a decision before Christmas and a favourable one,” she said. “Not just a decision, but a favourable one before Christmas,” she repeated.

The judicial manager, who had earlier asked the court to liquidate CIL due to a lack of financing from the Stuart administration, has since reversed this position after meeting with Government officials, and has withdrawn the request to liquidate the company.

The judicial manager has instead agreed to approve the restructuring plan, to be financed by the Barbadian taxpayer.

The plan, referred to as “Option One”, and yet to be approved by the High Court, provides for the formation of a company called New Life Investment Company Inc (NLICO), “which shall, on or before 31 October, 2015, issue bonds to CIL valued at about $34 million.”

NLICO and the judicial manager are to agree the real estate assets in Barbados to be transferred to NLICO by CLICO, which would then transfer these assets to the investment company before October 31, provided that the value of those assets is equivalent to the worth of the bonds.

The court had been hearing evidence from the judicial manager’s representative Patrick Toppin, who was being cross examined by Queen’s Counsel Ralph Thorne on behalf of the policyholders challenging the restructuring plan, and the attorney for the East Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) Sir Richard Cheltenham, QC, who has been working in association with Shelly Seecharan.

Earlier this year, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves wrote his Barbadian counterpart complaining of what he called a “Barbados-only” plan for policyholders, and reminding Stuart that the people of the OECS also invested in CLICO.

When contacted at the time, Dr Gonsalves told Barbados TODAY he was giving Prime Minister Stuart time to respond.

BIPA, which has been battling on behalf of investors and policyholders, has sanctioned the restructuring plan and has withdrawn its own court application against the judicial manager.

The plan would allow for the appointment of a BIPA representative to the Board of Directors of NLICO and a director on the board of the new insurance company, which is to be established.

The court has given the judicial manager $4.5 million in interim financing to sustain its operations between now and when the court process is complete.

A board of directors of the new company has already been established.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite has called for a universal training protocol for regional emergency services personnel, fashioned upon the Regional Security System (RSS), and designed to standardize training methods across the Caribbean.

Speaking during the launch of the Caribbean Association of Fire Fighters (CAFF) eighth biennial conference this morning at the General Post Office, Cheapside, St Michael, Brathwaite said such an approach would facilitate the movement of officials across jurisdictions to assist during emergencies.

The attorney general also questioned the logic of individual territories establishing their own respective training facilities, suggesting that a regional approach was more sensible.

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite

“I want to suggest that we embrace more of what I call the RSS model where they try to have as many trained personnel across Barbados and the OECS [Organization of Eastern Caribbean States] so that when training is required they extract personnel from wherever they are and let them go into the jurisdictions,” Brathwaite, who is also the Minister of Home Affairs, explained.

“What that does is that it ensures an acceptable minimum international standard. That way it does not matter what language you speak if you are trained to an acceptable minimum international standard, so that you are then able to work with your colleague from wherever he comes from.”

Brathwaite said this was especially important considering that the region was expected to be affected by more natural disasters.

He pointed to the situation in Dominica where emergency personnel from across the Caribbean were called into action following the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Erika.

“I am being told that as a region we can expect more environmental challenges such as more severe hurricanes, which means we may have to respond more frequently to assist our neighbours,” Brathwaite noted.

Meanwhile, acting Chief Fire Officer Errol Maynard stressed the need to place greater attention on prevention. In his remarks at the opening, Maynard emphasized the importance of training, but called on fire and rescue officials to rearrange their priorities and place prevention at the top of their agendas.

“While training is paramount and cannot be substituted, it is not enough. Our training must be complemented with appropriate policies, regulations and required resources. Our planning must be inclusive of all the players, those locally, regionally and internationally.

“A modern and evolving fire and rescue service can no longer have suppression and response as its primary focus. Don’t be mistaken, these two areas are important and cannot be neglected, but we must focus on preventative measures. We need to prevent the next fire, we need to be able to prevent the next building collapse, we need to prevent the need to rescue the next man or the next woman,” Maynard stressed.

The week-long conference is being held under the theme, Redefining the Caribbean Fire Service – A New Perspective, and involves fire officers from Dominica, Guyana, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.  

The Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) plans to have a contract with Barbados ready for public scrutiny by the end of this year.

General Secretary Dr Jerome Walcott said the hi

Dr Jerome Walcott

ghlight of yesterday’s closing session of the BLP’s three-day conference was a discussion on the proposed “Covenant of Hope” between the party and the people.

While not divulging details of the proposed pact, Dr Walcott said it was a “work in progress” and would be ready by year end and available for public discussion during the first quarter of 2016.

He said another conference highlight was the adoption of the BLP’s first pledge “to serve the people of Barbados at all times; to remain committed to our values and to one another; to work together to keep our party relevant; and to build a better Barbados and a better life for our people.”

Dr Walcott described the just-concluded 77th annual conference as “a resounding success”, adding that based on “content, attendance and delegate participation” it was “unquestionably” one of the BLP’s best annual conferences.

In addition to BLP leader Mia Motley’s address, the conference also featured a youth forum, which dealt with problems affecting Barbados’ youth and made suggestions for stemming “the growing tide of hopelessness and deviant behavior” among the country’s young people.

Peter Phillips, the party’s candidate for St Lucy, was named Conference Chairman for 2016. (PR)

A New Juvenile Justice Act will be enacted by the end of March next year, which will place additional responsibility on parents and guardians to ensure that they “correct the environment” in which the island’s youth live.

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite told a joint meeting of the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) Christ Church constituency branches at the Deighton Griffith Secondary School last night that a lack of proper parenting has led to a disconnect between young people and their caretakers, resulting in a rise in deviant behaviour.

He added that there were families where several generations ended up before the courts and said Government was moving to break the cycle.

“The disconnect has been that you focus on the boys and girls and then they go back into the same environment and revert to the same bad behaviour. So unless you correct the environment, you are going to have the same cycle over again. That is the kind of action we are taking. We are treating the root cause. We want to ensure that we save more of our young people,” Brathwaite told supporters.

He cited a case where a recently released prisoner who was offered accommodation at his uncle’s home was encouraged by the uncle to sell drugs if he expected to continue living at the residence.

The St Philip South MP argued that the DLP had taken a more hands-on approach to combatting the recent spike in violent crime among the island’s youth, claiming that unlike the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) which produced policy papers and established a task force on crime “and let them sit on shelves and do nothing”, the Freundel Stuart administration was taking action.

“The response to crime cannot be, and will not be, ‘let us go into the media and make lots of noise’. The response has to be, ‘Why are so many of our young people involved in crime today? What makes it seemingly easier for some of our young people to be involved in violent crime? So let us look at the root causes. Let us go back into the system; let us see where they are failing’. We believe that they are failing in the family. What have we done? We started by having parenting classes. We have to revisit that because the parents who need to come to us for assistance are not the ones who are volunteering. I said to my colleagues we need to go to them where they are,” Brathwaite stressed.

Two men and a woman were remanded when they went before the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court on Friday on
drug charges.

They are Richel Shakera Johnson, 21 and Jamal Damar Stanford, a 27-year-old bartender, both of Groves Land,
St George and Kyle Rudolph Elcock, of Collins Road, St Peter.

The trio is accused of possession of cannabis, having a traffickable quantity of the substance and intent to supply it on October 21. The charges relate to over 25 pounds of marijuana.

The accused went before acting Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch, who transferred the matter to District ‘B’ Court where the accused are to appear on Wednesday.

A man known for entertaining and witty social commentary on stage took a serious message to the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) 77th annual conference over the weekend, providing shock treatment to delegates in the process.

Literary artiste Adrian Green told party supporters there was need for a change in the country’s politics and not necessarily a change in the governing party.

“I am not here to tell you what you want to hear, I’m here to tell you the truth,” Green said, as he launched into his appeal for change.

“I am not necessarily talking about a change in Government. That may come, or it may not. I am talking about a change in the political culture across the board, because as strong [and] devoted as you may be in here, this room cannot win an election. There are a number of people outside of this room, like myself, who are looking on and looking to see who is willing to really make the difference.”

Contenting that Barbadians are disenchanted and are showing little interest in politics, he told a packed Christ Church Foundation Secondary School auditorium that the voter turnout for the general election was a clear indication
of this interest.

“The low turnout at the polls suggest to me that despite the enthusiasm in this room there are a lot of people in Barbados who are less than enthusiastic about what the political parties are offering. This is a challenge for the Government and for the Opposition, and the party that rises to this challenge the best should be the party that prevails,” said the entertainer.

He however appeased the BLP faithful by advising that
it should be easier for the party in opposition to bring about change because governing parties were less willing
to take risks.

Green added that in order to make the necessary changes, the leadership needed the support and, when warranted, chastisement of the party members.

“If a leader has no one around him or her who he or she can listen to and let them know you going in the wrong direction you need to turn, that leader is in trouble.”

To loud applause, Green asked delegates whether the BLP leader Mia Mottley had their support and if they were willing to allow her to lead and make the “hard decisions, the sometime unpopular decisions”, that are necessary for change.

He however warned of party supporters who were “steeped in the old political culture” which no longer served the country well.

“It may not necessarily mean that what we were doing is wrong, it may just be a time for change,” Green concluded.

Jason Forde has a case to answer.

After hearing evidence over the past few months from the police officer who arrested Forde, employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General’s Office which received correspondence from Britain requesting Forde’s extradition, Magistrate Graveney Bannister has determined that a prima facie case had been made against the former male nurse.

Forde, of #2 Constance Drive, Seaview, Chancery Lane, Christ Church is wanted by British authorities to stand trial for eight sexual offences allegedly committed just over ten years ago while he was working at a British hospital.

When the extradition hearing continued last Friday in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court, Bannister responded to and ruled against a no-case submission entered by Forde’s attorney Hal Gollop Q.C on the last occasion.

Forde is accused of engaging in sexual conduct with a person with a mental disorder by a caregiver, sometime on or before May 10, 2004. The alleged offences took place at a Psychiatric Hospital in Westminster, United Kingdom while he was employed there as a nurse.

Forde will be given an opportunity to put his case on November 20. However, Gollop informed the court that he and his client will be unavailable on that date, which is too soon for him to properly get in touch with prospective witnesses who reside in England and “not in Brereton or some place like that”.

Gollop asked for a six-week minimum instead but it was not granted.

The Crown was represented by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Donna Babb-Agard Q.C. and Principal Crown Counsel Elwood Watts.

Forde remains on bail until the next date of hearing.

A landlord and tenants of a Belle Main Road, St Michael property were left shaken yesterday afternoon following a police raid which ended with the arrests of two men and the reported seizure of firearms and allegedly stolen electrical items.

Landlord Julie Stewart said the search, which resulted in a bedroom door being knocked down, was a surprising and frightening experience for her and tenants even though police assured them they were not in harm’s way.

She said what left her stunned was the fact that the man she considered to be a perfect tenant, who paid his rent in advance, and was always helpful around the house and to his roommates, was handcuffed and taken away, along with another male who was in his company at the time.

“I was downstairs in my apartment and I came out and they [police] told me to go back down and they would come and talk to me,” Stewart said, relating the experience. “I really was not looking for this because he was the perfect tenant. He cleans, he would help the old guy. I was really frightened because there were all these guns up here.”

Stewart said the police officers were professional throughout the exercise and at no time did they make her or her tenants feel threatened.

The wanted man reportedly jumped off a patio, which is about ten feet high, and landed on the edge of a gully, in an attempt to evade capture by the police.

One tenant said he had just gone on to the patio to relax when he heard footsteps, looked up and saw a group of policemen heading in his direction. He said they told him to remain where he was.

“I thought they were making sport until I see the guns and them looking serious. But them tell me I ain’t in trouble, them say, I good,” the tenant recalled.

The tenant said the individual who was arrested was always nice to him, even offering him a plate of food sometimes. However, he said he always thought something was strange about the man who, in recent weeks, was repeatedly saying that he wanted to leave the house.

As the operation took place, onlookers gathered on the other side of the busy road, waiting to see the faces of the men who were taken away in police vehicles.

When Barbados TODAY contacted police spokesman, acting Assistant Superintendent David Welch, he was unable to give any details, except to say that police were continuing investigations into the matter.

A senior police officer has downplayed reports of a breakthrough in the Gillian Bayne murder investigation.

The decomposed body of the 18-year-old former Barbados Community College (BCC) student was discovered at the bottom of a 70-foot well at Groves Plantation, four days after she disappeared from her Kirtons, St Philip home on August 12, 1996.

However, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police responsible for Crime Livingstone Eversley said today he was not in a position to corroborate reports that the man held at the weekend in connection with the disappearance of 75-year-old Marcelle Smith, was also a suspect in Bayne’s murder.

“I am not aware of this. There is nothing to tell that is like that,” the crime chief said.  (EJ)

Once again an attorney’s bail application on behalf of Jamal Jarrel Thomas has been denied.

However, Magistrate Douglas Frederick told the prosecutor that the court would “feel much more comfortable” if he ascertained the status of the file related to the five charges which Thomas faces, by finding out how far from or close it is to completion.

The 23-year-old is accused of the indictable offences of raping a 14-year-old girl, assaulting her, knowingly having pornography in a computer system for the purpose of publication, that he published that pornography by circulating it through a computer system and used a computer to send an electronic communication which was obscene and intended to cause distress to the complainant.

All of the offences allegedly occurred between November 1, 2014 and June 29 this year.

In his bail application today, attorney-at-law Dr Waldo Waldron-Ramsay QC said that although he “would have to concede that there are serious charges,” he also said, “at the end of the day he [Thomas] could be found not guilty”.

“Justice and jurisprudence” should prevail, the attorney said.

“If he is found not guilty what does he get? Nothing . . . meanwhile he is suffering,” the lawyer said.

When the accused first attended court, the prosecution objected to bail on the grounds that there was a fear that Thomas would interfere with the girl if given bail; the prosecution also asked the court to take note of the dates of the alleged rape on June 20 and the assault, which is said to have taken place five days later.

Thomas’ cases will again come before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on November 24.

Carmalie Johnson is a woman in agony. You can tell by the look in her eyes as she talks about the loss of her first born. It’s evident in her tone, which reflects raw and biting pain. Her internal turmoil is clear and the hurt is deep as she struggles to accept that her daughter Waveney Johnson will never walk through the doors again, will never, ever come home again.

“I still expect my daughter to come home,” Carmalie told Barbados TODAY.
“I want my daughter to come home.”

Waveney Johnson

Waveney died in the early hours of Sunday morning when the car in which she was travelling crashed into a guard wall along Two Mile Hill, St Michael around 3 a.m. The 25-year-old’s friends Shameka Shepherd, 23, Shakira Shepherd 22, and Carey Brathwaite, 18, also lost their lives. A fifth passenger in the silver grey Suzuki motor car driven by Shameka, Nakisha Shepherd, 23, was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance and is fighting for her life.

The girls were making their way home following an evening of fun to celebrate Shameka’s birthday, which was on Saturday.

Carmalie is the first of the mothers to speak publicly since the accident and it was evident that she has lost more than a daughter; that she has lost a critical part of her, the very engine of her life.

“She is my first born. She is half of my heart,” she said in a telephone interview, referring to her dead daughter in the present tense. “I still can’t believe it.”

The mournful mom was alerted to the tragic news by a police officer who rang her early on Sunday morning. When she arrived home after leaving work at midnight her daughter was out. She thought nothing of it, she told Barbados TODAY. She left the door unlocked and went to bed.

Then the call came. The officer on the other end of the line asked for her daughter’s name and a description, then told her about the accident. She would later receive the dreadful news no parent wants to hear.

“When I got home she wasn’t there so I said to myself that she probably gone out with Shameka and them.

“She sleeps in late on Sunday mornings so when I got up when I got the news her door was opened,” Carmalie explained, still struggling to manage the torture that she felt.

She said that while she was not aware her daughter would have been attending the birthday celebration, she was not surprised that the girls were together because they lived like sisters. They were like a family that played together, and laughed together, and stuck together. They died together on that dreadful Sunday morning.

“If you see one, you see all of them; they were that close. I moved to St Philip when Waveney was a teenager and Waveney became friends with them, I don’t know if through school or on a bus. But they just formed a bond that nobody could break.

“If you see one anywhere, you would see the rest. They were that close,” she repeated.

Johnson said that as she struggled to cope, family, friends and co-workers were rallying around her and kept her busy answering her cellular phones, calling often to make sure she was doing okay.

Also close to Waveney was her younger brother who now lives in Canada. The grieving mother said that he too was not coping well with his sister’s death.

“They were very close. When he was living here they were inseparable. Right now, he is not doing well.”

Just recently Waveney told her mother that she planned to attend the University of the West Indies (UWI) from next September.  She told Barbados TODAY she had encouraged the young woman to take that step and assured her that she would assist with the tuition fees. That dream died with the 25-year-old.

Even as she fights the pain inside, Carmalie remembers the sole survivor, saying that everyone was praying for Nakisha. She also shares the agony of the other parents whose daughters perished in the crash as well.

“I am mourning for all of them because I know all of them,” she said.

She visited the mothers of two of the deceased girls last night and they talked, cried together and reflected on the good friendship the girls had built.

“I was talking to Shameka’s mum and Shameka’s mum told me, ‘Waveney was like my daughter. Waveney used to push my door and come in and say, ‘what’s up mum’. Everybody is trying as best as we can. It is not going to be easy, but we are there for each other,” she said.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

The Freundel Stuart administration is continuing to grapple with a serious debt problem which worsened during the first half of the year.

Reviewing the performance of the economy in a prepared statement today, Central Bank Governor Dr Delisle Worrell reported that Government’s net indebtedness to the private sector at home and abroad continued on “an upward trend”.

He said this result reflected “the fact that the fiscal deficit continues to exceed the growth of GDP [gross domestic product]”.

Central Bank Governor Dr Delisle Worrell

“The net public sector debt to GDP, which was no more than 28 per cent in 2008, has now risen to 68 per cent,” Dr Worrell observed. “The major burden of this debt is the interest cost, which absorbs 29 per cent of all Government revenues.”

Another notable highlight of the 2015 first half was a $22 million decline in revenue from value added tax (VAT), which Dr Worrell partly blamed on industrial action by Customs officers at the Bridgetown Port earlier this year.

Overall, though, there was a $50 million increase in Government revenue.

The industrial action, in the form of a go-slow taken by Customs officers towards the end of May, was to protest against the proposed absorption of the Customs Department into the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA).

Dr Worrell said the higher revenue intake was mainly due to property taxes yielding an additional $99 million. Excise taxes were also up by $15 million.

“Receipts were especially high because of the rate increase in lieu of the now repealed Municipal Solid Waste Tax and the fact that tax bills were distributed earlier than in 2014,” he explained.

The fiscal deficit for the period under review was $19 million less than for the same period last year.

Government spending, however, was up. Dr Worrell said it was primarily because of an additional $17 million in domestic interest payments and a $20 million increase in transfers to public institutions.

However, the Central Bank chief pointed out that tax changes were expected to yield $81 million in additional revenue during the second half of the fiscal year.

“Tight controls on Government’s expenditure will be maintained to stay on course for the fiscal year target deficit of
four per cent of GDP,” he said.

Net private capital inflows fell to $417 million up to September, compared with $542 million one year ago, said Dr Worrell.

Additionally, “the public sector recorded a net outflow of $178 million, primarily because of significantly higher amortization payments, and the payment of Government’s equity subscription in the Andean Development Bank,” he said.

“Commercial bank financing expanded by $108 million for the fiscal year, up to September 2015. Banks’ holdings of Government paper increased by almost $1 billion between 2011 and 2013, and after a small cutback in 2014, their appetite for Government paper appears to be returning. Private individuals and companies subscribed $82 million in Government securities, mainly Savings Bonds,” reported Dr Worrell.

He also highlighted  a dramatic fall in payments for imported fuel and lower commodity prices, saying these developments have had a major impact on the country’s inflation rate.