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Dad will not forgive son’s attacker

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Family members of the 22-year-old man captured in a viral social media video being struck in the head with a piece of wood at Fitts Village in St James are feeling his pain.

At the home of victim Ramar Nurse at 4th Avenue, Pickwick Gap, St Michael, his father Ronald Nurse told Barbados TODAY he had little knowledge of the details leading up to the attack on his son, which has left the young man in hospital, nursing injuries to his head and ear.

“I don’t know what happened. I don’t know the man [perpetrator], I don’t know who he was with, nothing like that. The police are dealing with it,” said Nurse who described his son as a man who “just likes to look pretty”.

Regardless of the circumstances, Ronald said, “All of us [family members] feel one another’s pain, while revealing that Ramar is the second of three siblings, a brother and a sister, who all live in the family home with both parents.

“I wouldn’t even want to tell you how I felt when I saw the video and I don’t want to tell you how I feel now,” he said of the brutal attack.

“I will never forgive that. Even if the Almighty God came down and tell me to forgive him for that, there is no way. I am just a man and I would never forgive that.”

His father is adamant that the unemployed, former Alexandra School student is no troublemaker.

“The neighbors would tell you he is unemployed but he is from his house, to his car and from his car to his girl. He doesn’t go by any corner and lime or anything like that. So for some person who is just about their own business, I don’t see why he should be involved in that,” he said.

While refusing to disclose his son’s condition, Ronald said, “I ain’t really want to state how he’s doing right now . . . I understand that there are people out there saying that he is dead, so I would leave it at that.”

Given that the full details of the incident have not yet come to light, given the incident’s wide circulation on social media, Ronald is appealing to Barbadians to stop jumping to conclusions.

“It is a fact that people are walking around saying ‘why did he get out of the car?’ and I agree that he should not have gotten out of the car . . . . Maybe he could have just driven along. But that does not give the man the right to hit him with a piece of wood. Perhaps he had gotten out of the car to explain himself better. That is the choice that he made.

“The public looks at a picture or a video and decides the whole story, just from looking at a picture. A lot of things that are being said are untrue. They don’t have a clue and people should keep their mouths quiet and look and observe. That is how they would learn,” the father said.

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Market ‘chaos’

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Vendors at two public markets today complained to Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir of chaos and poor security ruining business for them.

As the minister toured the Six Roads and Eagle Hall markets, vendors painted a picture of a “free for all” at the state-owned markets where anything goes - from homeless men using them as sleeping facilities to drug abuse.

At Six Roads, one vendor told Barbados TODAY that alcohol and marijuana abuse were rampant on the premises, leading to further misuse of the market's facilities.

“People come across here and roll their spliffs in the open. Then people come from all over and drink alcohol and when they get drunk they lose their aim and ‘pee’ all over the bathroom. You have people parking where and how they feel like. You have to bring back discipline in this place or things going to soon get out of control,” said the vendor, who did not want to be identified, saying that those who complained in the past were threatened.

Vendors who ply their trade at Eagle Hall told a similar story of poor supervision of the premises. Vendors complained that their concerns were by no means new, blaming successive administrations for failing to tackle issues at the market on the outskirts of the capital.

[caption id="attachment_287000" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Margaret is calling for a watchman at the Eagle Hall market. Margaret is calling for a watchman at the Eagle Hall market.[/caption]

Two years ago, a middle-aged, homeless St Michael man was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service for defecating in the market while in the nude. The man was asleep on a box when the caretaker at the market spotted him on his morning rounds. The caretaker left to report the matter to the police, returning to find the man had gone, leaving behind faeces and urine where he had been sleeping.

This morning the vendors told Barbados TODAY that nothing had changed and that the market continued to be thoroughfare for the homeless.

Vendor Sheila Greene said: “Everyday you come you find people sleeping in the market and leaving the things they ate and slept in in the market. They leave all of the containers leaving the place in a mess. So there is definitely a need for security.” She also complained that the market had no storage area for vendors' items at the end of the workday.

[caption id="attachment_287001" align="aligncenter" width="400"]Vendor Sheila Greene Vendor Sheila Greene[/caption]

A fellow vendor, who referred to herself only as Margaret, also said nearby residents were dumping their garbage in bins designated for market use.

“Young fellas sleep in here and when you come you see the garbage and they even empty the garbage from the cans all over the place. At night we definitely need a watchman. When people come they say the place smell awful because people from all up the gap come and dump their garbage in the bins outside or wherever they want to put it,” she said.

Following the tour, Weir pledged to address the vendors' concerns, especially the issue of security.

“We have to look at security within the markets and some of the things that have been raised with me,” the agriculture minister said. “The one that stands out is security, to make sure that people can come to the markets in a very safe environment. People must feel comfortable and don't feel as though the markets, especially given the current conditions on crime, are a risky place to come to.”

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Lashley wants Glendairy Prison to become a rehabilitation center

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A former member of Parliament is charging that the defunct Glendairy Prison could be transformed into a rehabilitation center for first offenders in the criminal system.

Hamilton Lashley who was the representative for St Michael South East from 1994-2008 told Barbados TODAY that the prison which burned in a riot by inmates on March 29, 2015, would be ideal for a rehabilitation programme supervised by the Barbados Prison Service.

“The former Glendairy Prison should now be a center where our young people can be rehabilitated, particularly, first-time offenders.  Because, we have to curb this high rate of recidivism,” he said, adding that the rehabilitation center would be managed by members of the Barbados Prison Service.

The oldest penal institution in Barbados was officially decommissioned on October 25, 2016, when all prison-related activity at the site of the prison officially stopped.

However, Lashley told Barbados TODAY that once the prison is made into a rehabilitation center it will be a 'one stop shop for first offenders.”

“It should be a center where you teach them skills, give them a newness of life. It should be a one-stop shopping agency for social rehabilitative services for the young people of Barbados with special emphasis on first offenders and their reintegration into the society,” he said, adding that the rehabilitation center could be a tourist attraction as persons could come and enjoy the architectural design of the former facility which housed 1,000 male and female inmates.

“Tourists can come in and view the historical architecture and learn the history of the place. But, of course, when they come they will have an opportunity to interact with those first-time offenders and see how they're rehabilitated and can make a contribution,” Lashley said, adding that he believed this project would be one in which philanthropists would invest in.

“There are a bunch of philanthropists who would contribute to this type of programme,” he told Barbados TODAY. 

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Man shot in Wanstead Gardens

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Police are investigating a shooting in Wanstead Gardens, St Michael.

Around 8:10 p.m. last night, police responded to reports of a shooting in the area.

On arrival, police said they were told that a young man was shot in the area of his right thigh and had been transported to QEH via ambulance.

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Barbados represented at OECD meeting in France

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A Barbados delegation is to hold talks next week with officials from the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

A government statement said that the team from the Ministry of International Business will be attending the Forum on Harmful Tax Practice (FHTP) from January 9 to 11.

It said that during the forum, the final review of Barbados’ response to the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative will take place.

“Barbados was one of the first countries in the world to converge its local and international tax rates, making its tax system globally competitive.  From January 1, this year, domestic companies started paying the same tax rates as international companies.  The move sought to bring the country in line with the BEPS initiative, while avoiding severe international sanctions,” the statement said.

It said that after the FHTP meeting, the OECD will disclose its decision about Barbados’ response to the BEPS initiative.

The director of International Business, Kevin Hunte is being accompanied by the principal Legal Officer, Amanda Osolo; and Special Advisor to the Government on International Business, Ben Arrindell, at the meeting.

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PSV owners speak out

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The organization representing public service vehicle (PSV) owners has broken its silence on the latest action by workers to protest the conditions under which uniforms must be worn.

The Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) is insisting that drivers and conductors must wear the disputed crest of the state-owned Transport Authority (TA).

It is the requirement to wear that crest on their shirts while at the same time having to buy the same top for $60 from the TA, that led the workers to go on strike Wednesday and launch a new bargaining agent.

The drivers and conductors contend that they should not have to wear the Authority’s logo and buy the shirts too, especially for double the price it would cost at most stores.

But president of the AOPT Roy Raphael said wearing of the Authority’s logo makes the drivers and conductors legal and cannot therefore be compromised on.

“We are well aware that the cost was a little expensive…we had to negotiate with other suppliers as well who entered the market. I want to make it clear that the logo system is not something that just came about. It was part of the last Administration when we were looking at regulating the PSV uniform,” Raphael told Barbados TODAY.

He suggested that one of the reasons for insisting on the wearing of the uniform and crests was because PSV operators appearing before the law courts are fined as much as $1,000 for not adhering to the correct dress code.

“There was a situation where we got 65 per cent of people out there who are not conducting legally, [and] they continue to create problems for us,” he complained.

However, Raphael said the private owners of the PSVs would still like to continue negotiating with the Transport Authority with a view to being able to wear their own crest if the operators requested it, alongside the TA’s own.

“We are still maintaining that the Transport Authority logo should be worn so that they can regulate the uniforms, because you can’t just walk into a store and buy a Chefette uniform,” he said.

The AOPT leader also gave the assurance that it was willing to work with the new Public Service Vehicle Workers’ Association (PSVWA) and to assist its members with training.

He said the PSV owners are focused and committed to fighting for members and to pursuing all legal avenues to resolve their concerns.

Raphael also defended his organization’s involvement in the acquisition of the shirts by the Transport Authority.

He assured that there was no way the Alliance would have agreed with any two suppliers of the shirts in order to get “kick-backs.”

“I want our members to know we are focused; we are committed, and we are prepared to work with those persons who are willing to come onboard with us. But one thing we are not going to stop to engage, is any issue in the public sector that is going unsolved,” added Raphael.

At the same time though, the PSV owners’ spokesman is appealing to all parties in the privately-run transport sector to have level heads to allow the industry to go forward.

He argued that the association of owners would not be side-tracked in its efforts to represent its members, contending that the issues being pushed by the new organization have been on the table for years.

He rejected claims by some PSV workers that AOPT – and the Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO) - have not been doing a good job of representation.

“We are well aware of the issues. The issues are on the table. We continue talks and dialogue with the Ministry of Transport, Works and Maintenance. We are confident that those issues will be dealt with and that everybody will be happy.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the newly-formed PSV Workers’ Association are to hold talks to try to resolve all outstanding concerns, especially those of the uniforms and the revocation of drivers’ licenses after two breaches of the Road Traffic Act or related regulations.

But while most of the members heeded the call by the leadership to return to work after about six hours off the job, a handful of defiant workers continued industrial action Thursday but with minimal affect.

However, the association has warned the authorities that if their grievances are not settled at the upcoming meeting, strike-action would resume and intensified. (EJ)

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‘Go and look for employment,’ centenarian tells youth

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Centenarian Leroy Pitt, famously known as Kitty, worked tirelessly all her life  - an attribute she wants to be passed on the younger generation of Barbados.

As the island’s newest centenarian celebrated this momentous occasion surrounded by family and friends and in the presence of Governor General Dame Sandra Mason in her Sergeant Village Christ Church home, she urged the youth to tighten their boot straps.

“I want the young people to behave themselves and go and look for employment. Every morning you wake up you hear somebody dead,” Pitt warned.

The former agriculture worker was married to Athelbert Pitt (deceased) and  is the mother to six children, 17 grandchildren, 38 great grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren.

Pitt is the first in her family to reach 100, a feat she never imagined she would achieved.

Pitt attributed her longevity to her faith in God, hearty appetite and also to her active lifestyle. Despite her age, she possesses a sharp memory and helps her family with household chores.

“If there is anything to do [at home] I will help, I don’t sit down and draw up. I does turn around and whatever I could do I do,” Pitt told the media this morning.

She also makes and sells rag mats/rugs to keep herself occupied.

“I does still pick a little dollar, I like my money,” Pitt said with a laugh.

The youngest of her surviving children, Lionel Pitt shared that his mother had immense love for her children, often taking them on tours across the island during the bank holidays but she was also quite the disciplinarian.

“Licks like fire if you do anything wrong but the only thing I didn’t like was because I was the last she never used to beat me she used to say ‘wait until you father come home.’”

“I remember my mother leaving to go to work on mornings, she think that we sleeping but we could smell the food cooking. She used to tell our grandmother ma make sure they get to school hear,” he added.

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Ross University opens Barbados campus

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The state-of-the art Ross University School of Medicine was officially opened last night at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw, president of parent company  Adtalem Global Education, Lisa Wardell, Dean William Owen Jr and Vice President of Operations Carey James, university officials, Members of Parliament and  business stakeholders were present as the 40-year-old institution opened its new permanent campus in Barbados with classes expected to begin on Monday.

The LESC-based institution consists of a digital anatomy and medical imaging lab, living anatomy lab, clinical lab space with SimMan 3G advanced patient simulator.

RUSM Barbados is one of five accredited simulation campuses to be established outside of the United States.  It also have 14 small group classrooms on campus, a digital library, faculty lounge, faculty meeting space, faculty work space which is shared space with a collaborative open floor plan.

According to Prime Minister Mottley, the LESC facility had been restored to its educational purpose.

During her feature address, Mottley urged Barbadians to embrace the 1350 students like their own.

“Let us embrace the children of Ross recognizing that they are our children, they are our partners and our family. Let them understand what a wonderful place this country will be,” she said.

She assured that her Government will be looking to make good on its promise of a partnership with Adtalem’s for-profit nursing school Chamberlain University and the Barbados Community College.

“There is a cry across the world for nurses, good nurses . . . We have to reset the things that our population see as possible opportunities for careers and  regrettably many young girls have not seen the nursing profession as that profession that can create that career and vocation for them as their grandparents and great-grandparents have done,” said Mottley.

“The ability of the Caribbean to continue to produce large numbers of nurses is constrained only by our capacity to educate them and we stand here today ready to work on that partnership with you to significantly expand the number of nurses that we can produce not to send out to the rest of the world and immigrants but to send to the rest of the world for sale of services for 6, 9 ,10 months never forgetting where you come from and where you might return to,” she continued.

The construction projects  for the living and academic facilities has provided work for over 1,000 Barbadians and the annual economic benefit of the RUSM is estimated to be between US$55 to 65 million. President of Adtalem Lisa Wardell, revealed that to date there are 40 new permanent employees in Barbados with an anticipated number of 150 for the new year.

While welcoming RUSM flagship to Barbados, Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Santia Bradshaw also expressed her anticipation at the future collaborations that her Ministry and the University will embark on to ensure high quality education.

“While the economic impact may be apparent, their commitment to collaborative research and development alongside our local tertiary institutions aligns well with our strategic goal to wider access to allied health programmes in Barbados,” Bradshaw said.

“Ross University School of Medicine will certainly contribute to Barbados moving forward the modernization of community health care structures,  while at the same time, becoming a stronger competitor in the global health education arena,” she added. (KK)

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Police investigating death of woman in Husbands Heights

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Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Gabriel Brace, 23, of Husbands Heights, St James.
Brace was found in her bedroom around 8:53 p.m. on Saturday with a leash around her neck, hanging from a post attached to a bunk bed, police said.
She was taken to the QEH by ambulance where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

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Boost for Barbados’ literary awards

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Barbados’ most prestigious literary recognition scheme, the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment has reached 21 years and was handed $1 million for coming of age.

Cleviston Haynes, Governor of the Barbados Central Bank that created and funded the Endowment throughout the years, announced the birthday present during the 21st FCLE awards ceremony in the Bank’s Courtney Blackman Grand Salle last evening.

“We have established an endowment of $1 million to provide the FCLE with additional financing,” Haynes announced. “We will invest the funds as soon as market conditions allow.”

The Bank has been funding the prize money for winning writers of the Frank Collymore Literary Competition and financing of annual workshops for writers.

Four prizes are up for grabs annually, but this year there was no first prize or the Prime Minister’s Award for a special submission.

Second prize went to UWI Professor Emeritus Hazel Simmons-McDonald for ‘A collection of Short Stories’.

Poet Sonia Williams won third prize for her poetry collection ‘On Livity’. (GA)

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Consumers to pay less for gasoline and diesel

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Effective midnight tonight, the price of gasoline and diesel will decrease, while that of kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will remain unchanged.

The price of gasoline will be adjusted from BDS $3.71 per litre to BDS $3.60 per litre, a reduction of 0.11 cents.

The price of diesel will decrease by 0.17 cents, moving from $3.17 per litre to $3.00 per litre.  Kerosene will continue to retail at $1.44 per litre.

Liquefied petroleum gas will continue to retail as adjusted at December 2, 2018. The LPG 100lb cylinder will be sold at $163.07, the 25lb cylinder at $45.87, the 22lb cylinder at $40.53, and the 20lb cylinder at $36.84.

These price adjustments are in keeping with Government’s policy of allowing retail prices to be reflective of those on the international market.

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Man’s body pulled from Careenage

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Police have pulled a man's body from the Careenage.

Police said they were called to the area around 5 p.m. on Sunday for reports of a body floating in the water.

The body was removed from the water with the assistance of the Coast Guard and Marine Unit.

More details as they come to hand.

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Tourist dies at Enterprise Beach

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Police are reporting that an American visitor died while at Enterprise Beach, Christ Church, on Sunday January 6.

He has been identified as 59-year-old Aaron Cofield who was staying in the same area.

According to lawmen he died around 1:30p.m.

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Ward remanded for attack caught on video

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The man who allegedly struck a motorist with a piece of wood, which was caught on video, was today remanded to prison. 

Canute Hiran Ward, 36, of Dayrells Road, Christ Church, was remanded by Magistrate Wanda Blair when he appeared in the Holetown Magistrates' Court this morning.  

He was not required to plead to the charge of causing serious bodily harm to Ramar Nurse with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him or to do some other serious bodily harm on January 2, 2019. 

Ward will make his next court appearance on February 1, 2019. (RB)

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St James woman wanted by police

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The Royal Barbados Police Force is requesting the public's help in locating a woman wanted for questioning in connection with a serious criminal matter.

She is Louann Merlaine Gibson, of N0. 4 Thorpes Terrace, St James.

The 47-year-old is approximately 5' 5'' tall, brown in complexion, of medium build and has an oval face.

Gibson is being asked to present herself to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) accompanied by an attorney-at-law of her choice.

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of this woman is asked to contact the CID at 430 7190/7191, Police Emergency 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 or the nearest police station.

The police has warned the public that it is a serious offence to harbour or assist wanted people.

Anyone caught committing this offence can be prosecuted.

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Confidence trickster on the prowl

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Police are on the hunt for an unknown man who robbed two elderly citizens of their money on Sunday night.

The culprit is between 5' 9" and 5' 11" tall, of medium build and brown in complexion. His hair is cut low, he wears a thin moustache, has a rotten front tooth and teeth missing on both sides of his mouth. He was wearing a faded dark blue shirt, gray track pants with two white stripes on the sides and sneakers at the time.

His first victim was an elderly woman who lives at Black Rock, St Michael.

Police said the culprit gained entry to her home by requesting a glass of water.

"Having gotten the water, he was able to convince the complainant that he had package for her granddaughter. She then handed over a sum of money to the man at his request in exchange for the package which he told her was in his car parked a short distance from the residence. The man then walked away in the direction of Black Rock Main Road and did not return," lawmen reported.

The culprit reportedly targeted his second victim, an elderly man, around 1p.m.

The man met the complainant in the car park of a store in the Black Rock, St Michael and told him he had a parcel and some US currency for his girlfriend.

"The complainant then gave the man directions to his residence and left the car park. The man followed him to his residence and on arrival requested a glass of water. The complainant let the man into his residence and went to get him the water, on his return with the water both the man and the money [the complainant] had left on a computer table were gone," the police said.

As such the Royal Barbados Police Force is reminding members of the public, particularly senior citizens, of the following crime prevention tips:

Do not to allow strangers to talk their way into their homes under any circumstance.

Do not allow any strangers to draw them out of their homes under any pretext especially if they are home alone.

If persons suspect that they maybe the victims of a crime or are aware of any suspicious activity in their area, they are to contact Police Emergency at 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477), or the nearest police station.

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Roadblock!

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Member of Parliament for St Thomas Cynthia Forde is up in arms over a developing situation at Vaucluse where a public road has been blocked and there appears to be a move afoot to permanently limit public access to the area.

An aggrieved Forde, who took Barbados TODAY to the area, where a section of the road is currently blocked by marl, forcing vehicular traffic to drive on an elevated piece of land in order to access the other side.

[caption id="attachment_287097" align="aligncenter" width="600"]This public road has been blocked with marl in Vaucluse, St Thomas. Inset Cynthia Forde This public road has been blocked with marl in Vaucluse, St Thomas. Inset Cynthia Forde[/caption]

“This has been a public road for many centuries. It should not be blocked. And the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) did not block the road as far as I have been told. So it has to be some other private citizen, or businessperson, or somebody. I don’t know, nor do I care at this point in time. I will call MTW, and I will write officially to ask them to please have this road opened up.

“But the story here is that this race track was developed. I believe it had gone through the measures with the Town and Country Planning Department. I know at one point, the Town and Planning did not approve it, up until 2008. I am not going to say that it has still not been approved because I don’t have the facts on that one. I have the facts on other things,” she said.

The area MP also lamented that wells in the same area have been capped, causing the area to flood whenever there is heavy rainfall.

Forde added: “However, there were some wells that the older generation, I believe it would have been from the time when sugarcane was king, all in the 18th and 19th century, there were massive wells that took off the water. And now, those wells have been capped. I don't know who capped them, but whoever capped them was wrong.”

She noted that on numerous occasions the MTW managed to clear away water that was settled on the road. Forde also said that on at least one occasion, a private contractor was hired by another businessman to clear the road to make sure it was passable.

Barbados TODAY also understands from a source, that an application has been made to the authorities to have the same road converted to a private road.

When asked if she was aware of the application for a change to a private status, Forde said she had been told. However, she made it clear that she would not stand by and allow the road that is a major artery to be closed.

She said the only solution the road needed was for the wells in the area to be opened up by whoever closed them, and for the road to be properly paved.

“You would appreciate that Earthworks is down the hill from here. If you come up from the western side, you have the St Thomas Church, the rectory and other
places of interest with heritage attractions and so.

“When you want to get from where you are on the West Coast, to get to Earthworks, and then leave Earthworks, to come to Highland Outdoor Tours, to see the bridge at Dukes that was built from eggshells and egg yolk and so on to Welchman Hall Gully, this is the best road. I will not support this road being closed,” Forde stressed.

Managing director of Eastern Land Development Ltd, Michael Cozier, who owns the land on both sides of the road, told Barbados TODAY that he did not know how the road got blocked.

When asked if he was the person who applied to have the road made private, Cozier said he was unwilling to discuss the company's business with Barbados TODAY.

“I am not discussing with you all, any of the company's business. I am not entertaining any questions at all about the company's business. The company's business is not the business of your newspaper or the business of Cynthia Forde. I will go no further with this matter,” Cozier told Barbados TODAY.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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Massy seven per cent dip in Barbados

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Trinidad and Tobago conglomerate Massy Group is reporting a decline in profits in Barbados due mainly to a slowdown in consumer spending.

Despite this however, the company is reporting an overall commendable 2018, after two previous years of disappointing performances.

In its annual report for last year Chairman of the Board Robert Bermudez said overall the performance was admirable due mainly to “cost compression initiatives and the indirect procurement programme that was implemented in the year”.

While profits from operations in Trinidad and Tobago remained flat versus a three per cent decline the prior year, profits from operations in Barbados declined by seven per cent, which Bermudez said was “largely driven by the slowdown of consumer spending that accompanied the government’s austerity measures”.

On the other hand, profits from Guyana grew by ten per cent as that country continued to hold out high hopes for its oil industry.

“Our operations in Colombia turned around the energy business there and nearly trebled the profits from the automotive business. We continue to see Guyana and Colombia as our most important geographic growth poles in the near term,” said Bermudez.

Stating that the group was on an “excellent trajectory” for future growth, he said this year the company would be enhancing its initiatives to communicate with shareholders, investors, analysts and brokers “to make sure that the efforts and progress of the Group are well communicated to those stakeholders who participate in trading the Group’s shares”.

In 2017, the Group suffered setbacks from the discontinued operations of Massy Communications and an investment in an IT services company in Costa Rica.

Chief Executive Officer Gervase Warner said last year the group achieved a strong performance despite the recent “economic challenges” in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, which impacted Massy’s heritage companies in the automotive and retail sectors.

“The Group’s balance sheet remains strong. The debt-to-debt plus equity ratio reduced from 31 per cent in 2017 to 30 per cent in 2018. Cash flow from operating activities before tax was $971 million, and Group cash grew from $1.57 billion to $1.63 billion,” said Warner.

“The Group also incurred significant losses claims relating to three category five hurricanes that hit the Caribbean in the final two months of the 2017 financial year. In comparing the Group’s continuing operations from 2017 to 2018, profit before tax increased by 16 per cent,” he said.

Officials said the Massy Group faced “an exciting future” with a strategy in place, adding that while there are still challenges to be met in economies like Barbados, there are significant opportunities to be explored in Guyana, Colombia and other Latam countries in the Caribbean basin.

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Step up, men

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Even with a policeman in almost every community in Barbados, there is no significant intelligence provided by these lawmen on criminal elements and activities in their own neighborhoods.

This assertion comes from the head of the Criminal Intelligence Department (CID), Eucklyn Thompson who said that while calls continue for members of the public to provide intelligence on the criminal elements, many police officers were not leading by example.

“Not because somebody lives in a particular area means that they are going to act in a particular way. We are dealing with human beings and while as a police officer you are called upon to provide information on issues in your domain, not everyone is so minded. We have our own faults, we are not above faults and while we have a calling to respond to things in our environment, it is not always the case,” Thompson stated.

The senior lawman provided no data to support his statement but one retired senior police officer told Barbados TODAY that during his 20 years as an investigator, only once did a fellow officer provide him with a tip from his community that led to the successful conclusion of an investigation. He said this was the case even with the implementation of the Resident Beat Officer scheme and officers being assigned to specific communities.

Despite difficiencies in information flow from both internal and external sources, s Thompson has given the assurance that there will be very few hiding places for crime in 2019. He vowed that the intelligence-gathering arm of the police would be kicking over every rock to get to the root of serious crimes, especially illegal guns.

He warned that no one was beyond the long arm of the law and therefore all avenues would be followed, including the money trail leading to the head of criminal enterprises.

“There is legislative framework to deal with tax evasion, money laundering and so on...We still operate under the premise that no one is above the law and whatever intelligence is available, we are duty-bound to follow,” said Thompson.

Noting that he did not want the criminal element to be forearmed with advanced knowledge about police plans, the senior lawman did not divulge the details of any imminent strategy. However, he made it clear that intelligence related to gun violence was a priority.

“It is a concern and the blindest person can see that things of that nature are occurring and we have to address those issues as a matter of urgency. I cannot reveal our strategy but suffice to say that gun crimes are a serious concern to the Royal Barbados Police Force and we are strategizing on the best ways to deal with this serious issue,” he said.

Thompson pointed out that while the police had always held high standards for investigating crime, there was always room for improvement. He also repeated the call for more members of the public to come forward with information on crime.

“The police service has always operated with the support of the public. We can have our own intelligence network but critical to what we do is the support of the public. This goes a long way in resolving a lot of the critical issues, so we can never get enough information on crime issues. From our standpoint there is always room for improvement in terms of our crime-fighting strategies,” he stressed.

The post Step up, men appeared first on Barbados Today.

Appointment of additional judges delayed

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Government's plan to tackle the worrisome issue of backlogs in the judicial system by bringing on additional judges, has been put on hold until repairs to the Supreme Court Complex at Whitepark Road are completed.

This afternoon Attorney General Dale Marshall told Barbados TODAY that the promise of three additional judges to assist the decongestion of the court system was not feasible when there are not enough secure locations to conduct criminal matters.

“In relation to criminal matters there are some practical difficulties and the completion of the work in Whitepark Road is one of those issues. In order to be able to do criminal trials there are certain arrangements that have to be put in place. You have to have cells as well as other security measures and when we looked at the cost it was not feasible,” said Marshall.

The AG explained that two courts at the Cane Garden complex are currently being used for criminal High Court matters because they already have holding cells. He said that to retrofit other courts with cells because of a temporary displacement, was simply not a good use of the taxpayer dollar, especially since additional courts are being built at the Supreme Court Complex.

“We have committed to bringing in additional temporary judges and those trials will have to take place in a court with cells. We have investigated the possibility of retrofitting a number of installations but those all prove to be challenging in terms of cost benefit analysis. Therefore, we have decided just to delay the bringing on of those additional judges until we come back to Whitepark Road. Three additional court rooms are being built in the Whitepark Road Complex. So, in these trying economic times it makes no sense to retrofit facilities for a few months,” he said.

Back in May sections of the court were relocated after workers, through the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) complained that they were falling ill as a result of environmental issues related to mold. When the problem reared its head in April, NUPW General Secretary Roslyn Smith condemned the court as a “sick building”. The Civil Court and Court Registry were relocated to Manor Lodge, at a rental cost of $200,000 per month.

Last November Marshall assured the public that the Barbados Supreme Court will be back under one roof by March this year. This represents a two-month delay in Government's original January timeline to return the Supreme Court back to its Whitepark Road home.

“I'm really holding the individuals, the contractors to this. The current estimate is that all of the work will be done by the end of February. I had anticipated that we would have been moving back in January, but we have now slipped by two months. So, we're expecting to move back in during the month of March and I am holding everybody's foot to the fire to make sure that this can happen,” Marshall said at the time.

“The work both inside and outside of the building is progressing and we think that we are still on target for the courts to be completed for the end of February so that the move from Warrens to Whitepark Road can be accomplished by the end of March. This is still our latest project completion and occupation date,” he stressed.

colvillemounsey@barbadostoday.bb

The post Appointment of additional judges delayed appeared first on Barbados Today.

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