Barbados’ South coast hotels are in need of a serious upgrade.

That is the view of managing director of developers Blue Tourism Inc Phillip Tempro, who believes the island’s hotels on the south coast need to be on the same level of those on the west coast if they expect to continue to attract tourists.

While Blue Tourism Inc is responsible for the redevelopment of the Blue Horizon Hotel in Rockley, Christ Church, which is expected to be completed by 2021, it has also had a hand in west coast projects such as Port St Charles, Port Ferdinand and St Peter’s Bay Resort.

Tempro said with other islands opening major hotel chains, hotels on Barbados’ South coast had to be improved.

He also noted that Prime Minister Mia Mottley had set a goal of 5000 additional rooms in the next five years.

“One of the things that we lack in the season is we can’t get more business class seats.

“By increasing and bringing the standard of the south coast product up, we are going to be able to get more airlift, because not only are we going to get the business class, we are going to get the guys that want to be in Barbados and that is where these projects become critical,” Tempro said.

“So for us, our focus is not just building the west [coast], but let’s build some other product so that we can support both coasts…These projects and the regeneration of the south coast is what is going to make that happen.Tourism is our business. We don’t have another business.”

Meanwhile, architect and consultant of Elements Ltd, Douglas Luke, who is also involved in the Blue Horizons project, said

Barbados was competing for tourists with not only countries in the region but also with Florida, Miami. Mexico and Columbia.

He said while Grenada had recently opened “four or five big hotels”, Barbados was falling behind.

“Both St Lucia and Grenada have jumped in front of us…Barbados is under serious competition from other islands,” Luke said.

“From what I understand from all the experts in the hotel industry both locally and regionally, Barbados has very tired product.

“The south coast is at the epiphany of tired and this is all meant to start that process of upgrading the south coast and heralding it back to being one of the premier spots, not only in Barbados, but in the Caribbean,” he said.

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The Labour Department has reminded businesses they are required by law to have safety and health procedures in place and ensure they are properly administered and modified where necessary.

The Labour Department’s Safety and Health Officer, Errol Goodridge, told a one-day workshop on Emerging Issues in Health and Safety in the Workplace of the legal requirements of risk assessment for business processes and a workplace overseer to ensure health and safety standards are maintained.

Goodridge said: “The general principle of the Safety and Health at Work Act is to guarantee safety, health and welfare at work for all employees in Barbados. It requires organisations to do a risk assessment before they undertake any process or activity or use any equipment and put measures in place to protect their workers.”

He said that the law mandates companies employing 75 or more people to establish a Safety and Health Committee, while smaller operations (with up to 25 people) were expected to choose a Health and Safety representative, whose job it was to “liaise between bosses and the workforce on safety matters”.

Goodridge, a 16-year Ministry of Labour veteran who previously worked at the Arawak cement plant, outlined the different aspects of the so-called PDCA Model - Plan, Do, Check and Act - which covers the full gamut of occupational safety and health issues.

He said: “In the planning phase, you must create a hazard profile for your organisation. For example in an office complex or a call centre, you will have to concentrate on psychosocial and ergonomic issues, but in a factory or engineering workshop, you will have to look at different things. The aim is to know what hazards exist, what aspects of the Safety and Health at Work Act apply to you, then you set your safety objectives and plan accordingly.

“In this process, you must keep dialogue open with the workforce. You do not necessarily have to spend lots of money sending workers on training courses; set up a suggestions box, encourage them to submit their ideas, and then discuss the suggestions with them.”

The “check” element is important for companies once they establish such procedures to ensure that they were indeed effective. Goodridge said: “There are two ways to measure, namely proactive and reactive monitoring and you have to do a bit of both.

“Proactive involves workplace inspections to see that standards are being met, while an example of reactive monitoring is accident investigation.

“In that respect, companies must develop a culture where staff can be ensured management is not looking for scapegoats when something goes wrong, but looking out for the overall welfare of everyone.”

After companies carry out their audits, Goodridge advised: “If you encounter any discrepancies or mismatches based on your audit, seek to rectify them, because the aim is continuous improvement and it is not in your best interest to become complacent.”

He also called on firms to give their safety and health committees and representatives a high profile within the organisation, given the importance of safety and health to the overall wellbeing of the workforce and its positive effect on productivity and worker morale.

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Two Barbadian pioneers, one who invented the internet search engine and the other who created some of the most inventive calypsoes of the age, are to be awarded honorary doctorates by the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, UWI has announced.

Alan Emtage, the father of Archie, the world’s first search engine and Stedson Red Plastic Bag (RPB) Wiltshire, the ten-time calypso monarch and cultural ambassador, are to join the Trinidad-born Global Head of Diversity at Facebook, Maxine Williams, in receiving honorary doctorates  at the university’s graduation ceremony later this year, it said.

[caption id="attachment_304552" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Alan Emtage and Red Plastic Bag[/caption]

Emtage is to receive a Doctor of Science (D.Sc) for “his sterling commitment to scientific invention” and Wiltshire is to receive a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) for “his contribution to entertainment”, the university said. Williams will be conferred a Doctor of Laws (LL.D) for “leadership”, UWI added.

The world has Alan Emtage to thank for writing the code that opened the Internet to everyone. As a student at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he conceived and implemented Archie, the world’s first pre-Web Internet search engine, which provided the foundation on which all public search engines operate to this day.

For his groundbreaking invention, Emtage was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2017, its first Caribbean member and person of African descent.

Born and raised in Barbados, Emtage attended Harrison College before moving to North America, where he received his B.Sc. from McGill in 1987, before going on to complete his M.Sc. in Computer Science in 1992.

In 1992, Emtage along with Canadian Peter J. Deutsch, founded Bunyip Information Systems Inc., the world’s first dedicated Internet information services company. This company distributed a licensed, commercial version of the Archie search engine.

Emtage is a founder member of the Internet Society and has chaired several working groups at the Internet Engineering Task Force, including one which established the standard for Uniform Resouorce Locators (URLs), the address codes for internet sites.

Red Plastic Bag began his calypso career in the late 1970s in a local competition in his native parish of St. Philip, and on his national debut in 1982 captured the Calypso King title with Mr. Harding and Sugar Made Us Free.

He would go on to win the Calypso Monarch title nine more times between 1984 and 2012, along with two Tune O’ De Crop titles in 1987 and 1999, and also achieved two victories in the Sweet Soca competition. In addition, he has penned hit songs for several artists including Ras Iley, Alison Hinds and another pioneer who helped put calypso on the world music map, the late Alphonsus Arrow Cassell from Montserrat.

RPB was given the Barbados Service Star in 1995 and a Barbados Jubilee Honour in 2016 in commemoration of the island’s 50th anniversary of independence. He has also received recognition in several cities in Canada and the United States for his contribution to entertainment.

An entertainer who has formally studied Bag’s contribution to Barbadian culture has described news of the latest honour for the calypso stalwart as “a happy day for the people of Barbados, St Philip in particular, and the world.”

Comedian, long-time friend and fellow St Philip resident, Carl Alff Padmore, who has written a thesis on Red Plastic Bag’s work, said: “Red Plastic Bag was the last of 11 children, who rose from humble beginnings and used calypso music as a vehicle to reflect the joys and sorrows of the masses of Barbados, and has remained true to the artform over the years.”

He added that the ten-time Calypso Monarch was the only calypsonian who reached the finals every time he took part in the Pic-O-De-Crop competition, and also broke the Mighty Grynner’s stronghold on the Tune O De Crop titles in 1986 and 1987, as he wrote Spring Garden on Fire performed by Ras Iley in 1986, and wrote and performed Can’t Find Me Brudda a year later.

Padmore, who said he plans to publish photos of RPB on the exterior walls of his home in light of this honour, also mentioned the artist’s work in the Caribbean Broadcasting Union Song Contest, where he wrote the winning song for Sheldon Hope -  Caribbean Song - in 1998, as well as songs for calypsonians outside of Barbados.

Maxine Williams, in her role at Facebook, is mandated with ensuring that the internet giant’s talent and partner bases are as diverse as its users. She took up this post in 2013, after serving as Director of Diversity at a global law firm where she was responsible for devloping and implementing a diversity plan.

An alumna of St. Joseph’s Convent in Trinidad and Yale University in the United States, Williams created an interdisciplinary major in Caribbean Studies at Yale. A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, she read for a first-class honours Law degree.

In the Caribbean, Williams has worked with several international organisations on human rights issues and has represented clients at criminal, civil and industrial courts in Trinidad and before the Privy Council in London. She has also worked as a broadcast journalist, a presenter and actress.

The post Top honour appeared first on Barbados Today.

Former MP for St Michael South East, Hamilton Lashley, is advocating the creation of tenants associations in public housing areas nationwide in a bid to prevent the neglect that he blames for the death of teen, Kyrique Boyce.

But while declaring that neglect of areas in The Pine led to Boyce’s death which he said was avoidable, Lashley has categorically rejected blame for maintenance neglect during his tenure as MP in the riding, which is made up mostly of public housing areas.

He insisted that during his stewardship of St Michael South East from 1994 until his retirement from active politics in 2012, he had a comprehensive plan in place to address concerns.

Lashley told Barbados TODAY: “When I was representative for St Michael South East I had a maintenance committee in place to deal with these issues as it relates to the houses, as it relates to the environs by itself, so as to make the community as safe, as aesthetically pleasing as possible to the eye and you don’t have to take my word; you can also ask the residents.

“We had also embarked on... a maintenance programme where the tenants and the Urban Development Commission had launched a painting programme that saw the majority of houses being painted.

“What they did was to naturally enhance the landscape of Pinelands, it also gave the residents a personal stake in housing development and in their own community.”

The nation’s first minister for social transformation has urged Minister of Housing George Payne to develop tenants’ associations in the housing areas to prevent any further tragic deaths owing to a lack of upkeep in the community.

“With the formation of the tenant’s association, you would create ... a lasting relationship with the residents.

“So, when incidents like these occur you do not have the blame game being pushed and if you leave it to the politicians, they would only push it for political expediency.

“We have to make sure that something like what happened in The Pine never ever happens again in no part of Barbados. So, there needs to be a joint national effort in dealing with these issues.”

Lashley said: “Unfortunately, in Barbados, it always takes a tragedy or a death to spring various sectors of the society into action.

“What happened in The Pine, St Michael, is what I would consider a national tragedy from the perspective in my view that for too long the housing areas across Barbados have been virtually neglected as it relates to the maintenance of Government houses across the island by the National Housing Corporation (NHC).”

Boyce, 17, of Regent Hill, The Pine, died after he fell into a 100-foot well behind an NHC-built home at nearby Martin Road. A team of fire officers led by Acting Deputy Fire Officer Errol Gaskin pulled Boyce from the well and he was rushed to hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead.

Lashley told Barbados TODAY that Boyce’s was the first such death to occur in The Pine but he noted other members of the community had fallen into wells before, managing to escape with their lives.

“The issue of the wells in The Pine is one that needs to be seriously addressed.

“One recalls the lady, Miss Boyce, who fell into a well by Parkinson Community Centre and she is lucky to be alive.

“I am hoping that she is getting well [as] it is my understanding that she is still suffering from some of the injuries of that fall.

“Also, Stephen Ice Man Yearwood also fell into a well two years ago and had to seek medical attention.

“What happened in The Pine could happen in other housing areas and there must be urgent action.

“If you leave it to the Government alone it becomes political. There must be a synergized relationship between Government and the tenants in Government housing areas.”

The maintenance of wells in the housing area which dates back to 1947 has been an ongoing problem which needs to be urgently addressed, he said.

“There are many wells in the housing area that need urgent attention both by Government and private [interests] but at the same time one has to come to the realisation that if one is going to deal with some of these issues it has to be a shared responsibility between Government, the tenants, and Barbadians that are living in similar conditions,” he added.

Expressing his condolences to the Boyce family for the loss of their son, the former social transformation minister urged bereavement agencies in the area, including churches, to assist the family in their time of grief.

He said: “They would have experienced a number of challenges over the years and I want to convey to them my sympathies to them and wish them well.

“I really believe that the kind of anguish that they are currently experiencing all of the social systems must be brought to bear particularly that of the bereavement agency.

“That family needs a lot of intervention, social intervention and I believe churches in the community must also have a holistic social development programme for the community.”  

The post ‘New lease’ appeared first on Barbados Today.

Another St Michael teen has been remanded to Dodds on a murder charge.

He is 17-year-old Joshua Shakeem Alexander, of Well Gap, Cave Hill, St Michael who is charged with the murder of Emilien Peter.

Peter was this island’s 30th murder for the year. The 28-year-old, of Meadowville, Prior Park, St James was found lying in a pool of blood around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 16 at Well Gap, Cave Hill, St Michael.

Alexander was not required to plead to the indictable charge when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court this morning.

The accused will make his next appearance before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant on August 8.

The post Teen remanded for Well Gap, Cave Hill murder appeared first on Barbados Today.

The parents of 17-year-old Kyrique Boyce will never forget the sad look on his face moments before he took his last breath.

It was just minutes after he was pulled from a 100-foot well in his Pinelands neighourhood.

Cedric Boyce said not only was the loss of his first child causing him heartache, but also the look Kyrique give him while laying on a stretcher in the ambulance, is one that would forever be etched in his memory.

Boyce, who reflected on the final minutes of his son’s life, told Barbados TODAY that he felt helpless when he saw a weary Kyrique open and close his eyes.

[caption id="attachment_304610" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Kyrique (Inset) mother’s Tonya Francis (centre) is comforted by loved ones at his vigil last night.[/caption]

“The last time I see my son was as he come out that well. His eyes barely glimpse at me when I went to hold he hand and he did gone. I was right there as they put he on the bed. I see he look at me and he hands drop off the bed the same time. I don’t know if he was trying to reach out to me, or what, but I got that last look from him.

“Them rush he off so quick that the only thing I could try to tell he was ‘Try to hold on son. Please try to hold on.’ But on he way down [to the hospital] he was gone. I could look and see that my son was going though.

“But when he was down in the well I was telling myself that my son still alive because I didn’t get that bad feeling then. It was only when my son come out the well and I saw the condition he was in, and then that last look, I say to myself ‘my son now gone,” Boyce recalled.

Kyrique’s mother Latoya Francis said she had been trying to forget that moment she last saw him alive.

Francis recalled that though there were scores at the scene who gathered hoping and praying Kyrique came out of the well alive, he spotted her in the crowd, “and me and he eyes meet four”.

“When they were bringing he to carry he to the ambulance me and he eyes meet four. I really ain’t want to remember that moment because it is hard,” Francis said.

Kyrique died just after midday last Thursday, when the cover of a well collapsed under him at #16 Martin Road, in the Pine, St Michael.

After being in the deep dark hole for about an hour, the teenager was eventually pulled unconscious from the well by officers of the Barbados Fire Service.

He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), but just minutes later, distraught residents in the close-knit community were screaming and bawling when they heard that he had passed.

The former student of the Daryl Jordan Secondary School was on his way to purchase a roti when the unthinkable happened.

Outraged residents blamed the National Housing Corporation (NHC) for Kyrique’s death, claiming that they had been contacted repeatedly about repairing that well, and others in the area.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY as family and friends comforted her during a candle light vigil for Kyrique on Thursday night; Francis said she agreed with the residents in the community.

“I have friends that say last month when the big officials come round them show them the well. So the same way that them could get a whole stage and put on the well after my child did done drop in it, them could have done that before and prevent it. It could have been anybody out here, any of the little children from out here. The little children does always be running on the well, always playing. I am so angry. I am so frustrated,” an aggrieved Francis said.

Francis said that while she was aware that some people were wondering whether she would be exploring the possibility of taking legal actions against the NHC, she wanted to leave people to wonder.

She said that the same way people have been commenting on the circumstances surrounding her son’s death, “they need to wonder what I gine do next and if I gine do something next”.

“I leave people to wonder. It really don’t bother me what people say because my son just like any other child. All people got to do is make sure that them child will always be how they want them to be.

“I ain’t have no perfect son, none of my children ain’t perfect. All of us make mistakes; all of us come up in a world where mistakes will be made. So people out there that talking rubbish and have perfect children, congratulations to you all,” Francis said.

Kyrique was like any ordinary child, the mother said.

She said he was sweet, loving and always smiling.

Francis said that the teenager also paid a lot of attention to his attire. This is why she was also disappointed that he never got to see the outfit she was planning to surprise him with to wear to an upcoming event.

“I love my child, Kyrique was sweet in his own way . . .I wanted to make Kyrique an entrepreneur,” she said.

Boyce said he was struggling to face reality that his son, whom he raised, lost his life so quickly and tragically.

He said his younger son keeps asking for his brother, and the only answer he had for him was that he was in heaven.

“I missing he every minute of every day. This got me so lost I don’t know what to do. I does call he mother and ask he mother what to do. She would tell me that she feel the same way.

“I would never forget that look on his face. But I thank them [Barbados Fire Service] for getting him out. I know everybody try them best and I thank everybody. One hundred feet is deep. It look like he fall into hell itself. They tell me I can’t go near the well because I wanted to go down in there for my son,” Boyce said.

“It got me offset too to see that that well was in that condition and nobody ain’t do nothing about it. My son had to die for something to get done about it. When I was first there I see a brek up well. When I come back and look at the well, the well pave up nice like it never happen. But we just trying to get we son buried first and then anything after,” the father added.

Forty-five-year-old Boyce said that he and Francis were preparing for a funeral for Kyrique later this month.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

The post Missing Kyrique appeared first on Barbados Today.

The head of the Bar has expressed ‘elation and relief’ as the Court of Appeal held that lawyers must be members of the association in order to practise here, under current law.

In a landmark judgment written by Justice of Appeal Kaye Goodridge, the three-panel court struck down a lower court ruling last August by Justice Pamela Beckles that an attorney-at-law’s mandatory membership of the bar association was unconstitutional.

Justice Goodridge had ruled that Section 44 of the Legal Profession Act which compels membership of the Bar Association was in violation of the right of freedom of association guaranteed under Section 21 of the Constitution’s bill of rights.

In reaction to the ruling, president Liesel Weekes declared that the Barbados Bar Association is not just a professional association but also a regulatory body that acts in the public interest.

“I am elated and relieved,” said Weekes, who before the appellate justices’ decision feared the legal profession was in jeopardy.

She told Barbados TODAY the scope of the bar association’s authority stretches beyond mere association to oversight of the actions of attorneys in the public’s interest.

“The bar association sets up a disciplinary committee which maintains the standards of the profession.

“We have certain responsibilities to the public including a compensation fund, which allows members of the public who have suffered detriment as a result of the dishonesty of lawyers to receive a grant from a fund which is managed by the bar in the public’s interest.

“The court agreed with us that these functions are sufficiently important and in the public interest to be a necessary qualification on any freedom to associate which an attorney may claim is fettered by section 44 of the Legal Profession Act which requires you to pay a fee to validate your practising certificate.”

The issue became contentious last year when attorney Tariq Khan applied for since-disgraced lawyer Vonda Pile to be denied the right to represent her client because she did not pay her subscription fee to the bar association and therefore did not possess a valid practising certificate.

Pile had argued the annual subscription was an imposition on her guaranteed right to freedom of association under Section 21 of the Constitution, making void section 44 and 45 of the Legal Profession Act, which requires an attorney to pay the annual subscription fee and become a member in order to receive a practising certificate.

Khan appealed Justice Beckles High Court decision last September and on Tuesday it was overturned.

In a 19-page judgement, Justice Goodridge said: “In Barbados, the right to practise law, like medicine, dentistry and other professions is regulated by statute.

“Section 3 (1) of [the Legal Profession Act] Cap. 370A mandates the Registrar of the Supreme Court to keep a register of attorneys-at-law, to be known as “the Roll” on which shall be registered the name of every person entitled to practise law in Barbados.

“And according to section 10, while every person whose name is entered on the roll shall be known as an attorney-at-law, he/she cannot practice unless the person holds a valid practising certificate and pays the annual registration fee.”

Praising the decision as “well-reasoned”, bar president Weekes said any conclusion to the contrary would place the bar association’s regulatory role “under siege”.

She said: “It would be left up to each practising attorney whether they would submit to the bar and whether they were going to be able to fund the kind of regulation required of the profession in order to ensure the highest standards are maintained by practitioners.

“It really would have presented a significant challenge and would have been detrimental to the public if the court had found otherwise and I would want to venture as far as to say that if it had that some steps would have been taken to have this tried at the highest court in Barbados. It is that significant.”

Last month, Pile convicted of stealing $191,416.39 belonging to her former client, Anstey King, between April 2009 and October 2010.

She was remanded to prison pending her sentencing.

kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb

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Rubis Caribbean is still very much interested in purchasing the state-owned Barbados National Terminal Company Oil Limited (BNTCL).

However, the company’s chief executive officer Mauricio Nicholls has said he is content to have BNTCL store its oil even if Government chooses not to sell the business.

He made the comments following a courtesy visit by Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce Dwight Sutherland to Rubis’ Welches, St Thomas headquarters this morning.

Government had initially agreed to sell the BNTCL to SOL for US$100 million back in 2017.

However, Rubis, which wanted a stake in BNTCL and offered to pay US$50 million, strenuously objected to the deal and argued that the sale would be unfair and would hand a monopoly of the oil market to SOL. The agreement included a15-year moratorium clause in the Sale and Purchase Agreement.

Rubis filed for a judicial review of the approval and on November 23, 2018, the Fair Trading Commission ruled against the sale, saying that the proposed transaction, as it stood, would be anti-competitive.

The post Eyes still on BNTCL appeared first on Barbados Today.

Days after a revelation that plastic replacement containers have tested positive for high levels of a potentially dangerous chemical, officials in the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy are yet to respond.

But a longtime distributor of plastic products has broken his silence, claiming numerous attempts to alert authorities of cheaper and more hygienic alternatives were continuously ignored.

The well-known businessman, who requested anonymity, told Barbados TODAY of a degradable and biodegradable plastic product called D2W, which allows plastics to break down to nothing and break down with “no toxic residue at all”.

“All of this information I have shown the Minister and I have explained it to him… I am saying to them there is an alternative to every single thing that is coming in. It is a cheaper alternative, a more hygienic alternative, but the Minister is adamant that he does not want any petro-based products,” the businessman complained.

He pointed to countries like Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, which had embraced the alternative products, stressing he was willing to engage Government on the way forward.

On Wednesday, just ten days into Government’s ban on single-use plastics, news emerged that some of the replacement products coming into Barbados tested positive for high levels of fluorine, which, according to the European Consumer Organisation is suspected of having a negative impact on the immune system and increases the risk of miscarriages.

But Barbados TODAY research also suggests the products are also extremely resistant to degradation, even at high temperatures.

“The country should really be going to degradable products that break down to nothing, but they are not listening,” the businessman argued.

“I am all for the ban and for making sure plastic products disappear and don’t end up in the sea, but we can’t just say single-use plastics, because bottles are plastic, detergents and disinfectants are all plastics and probably will end up in the sea if we don’t improve our public awareness campaigns.”

The businessman shared correspondence sent to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy with reports on the safety and effectiveness of the D2W technology along with a legal opinion from a UK-based attorney on the technology’s safety.

The reports also indicated the technology required no new machinery or workforce retraining and was awarded an internationally-recognised eco-label.

While Symphony Environmental, the company which produces D2W has successfully entered the Middle Eastern and African markets, the European Union’s Commission is yet to be convinced.

When the issue was raised at a Town Hall meeting on the ban on single-use plastic in April this year, Minister Humphrey shot down the suggestion, arguing the countries that accepted the alternative had a vested interest in retaining petro-based products.

Amid hundreds of thousands of dollars reportedly lost because of the ban, the businessman said he and other distribution companies remain disappointed in the level of engagement from Government on the issue.

“If the Minister wanted to have a ban, he should have brought all the players on board, people that were in this thing for a long time and take information, go back to the drawing board and analyse the information.

“We all want the best for the country; we all want to make sure there is no litter on the street. But we have to do it the right way. We just can’t jump one morning and make a statement in September that you are going to ban plastics at the beginning of January when we’re heading into the hype of Christmas,” he complained, adding that many business people remain confused about exactly which products are banned.

“We wanted the Minister to send us a list of things being banned, but up to now there is no list. So every now and again we are hearing that plastic bags are banned but no they are not banned. Food bags are banned and then they aren’t banned again and these are the kind of things that we’re going through,” he said. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb

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Rubis Caribbean’s multi-million dollar investment in Barbados is paying dividends, as it now controls almost half of the fuel market.

And the France-based international petroleum company’s stake could increase even further with its plans to build two more service stations on the island, Rubis’ chief executive officer Mauricio Nicholls had revealed.

Nicholls disclosed that the company’s market share had grown substantially by 64 per cent since relocating to Barbados in 2011.

“When we started in Barbados our market share for fuel was 28 per cent and last month our market share for fuel was 44.4 per cent, so we have grown our business quite substantially.

“These numbers come from the official fuel sale numbers of BNOCL [Barbados National Oil Company Limited], so we know exactly what our market share is.

[caption id="attachment_304624" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Rubis’ chief executive officer Mauricio Nicholls (right) and Minister of Commerce Dwight Sutherland.[/caption]

“That has been as a result of the addition of new service stations to our network and we plan to continue to be along that same path with the two new stations we are adding and the two more that we are refurbishing.”

Minister of Commerce Dwight Sutherland paid a courtesy visit to Rubis’s headquarters at Welches, St Thomas, this morning.

The Rubis chief said that since building its headquarters in Barbados at a cost of $12 million, Rubis had continued to invest heavily in the country.

The CEO did not say where the two new service stations would be built, but he described them as “significant investments”.

He however noted that Rubis was awaiting permission to begin building the service stations which he hoped to be completed by the end of 2020.

Nicholls said: “When we started in the region in 2011 we had 12 service stations and now we have 17.

“We plan to add two more and of those 19 we plan to fully refurbish two of those existing locations, so that is a big investment as well.

“These are not small investments, these are investments that are significant.

“A brand new station is probably around $8 to $9 million and a refurbishment of a service station is probably in the neighbourhood of $3 million, so these are substantial investments.

“We are doing this because we are aware that we need to offer to the Bajan consumer a very good shopping experience when they buy their fuel and convenience store goods at our stores.”

Declaring that the calibration of its petrol pumps was extremely important, Nicholls said Rubis would be investing in technology to ensure that consumers got exactly the amount of fuel they paid for.

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb

The post ‘Gassing up’ appeared first on Barbados Today.

Investment opportunities in Guyana worth millions of dollars appear to have captured the attention of dozens of workers and entrepreneurs eager to tap into its growing market.

Authorities are also touting Guyana as a key component of Barbados’ quest for economic growth amid assurances from the South American CARICOM nation that Barbadian talents in agriculture, renewable energy, construction, the creative industries and other sectors would receive first choice.

At a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade seminar on Exploring Potential Investment and Trading Opportunities in Guyana at the UWI Cave Hill’s School of Business, scores of Barbadians heard experts speak on Guyana’s investment potential.

[caption id="attachment_304628" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Minister of Foreign Trade Sandra Husbands
(left) and Guyana’s Consul General Cita Pilgrim.[/caption]

Minister of Foreign Trade Sandra Husbands told the seminar that as Guyana’s oil bounty moves the country from a Gross Domestic Product of $3 million to $14 million; the country was well-positioned to meet the growing demand, allowing them to expand their businesses outside of Barbados.

She said: “280,000 people [in Barbados] will not give you enough demand to build your business. If there’s going to be room enough in our economy for new business and businesses are to grow from strength to strength, we must find more people to consume our goods and services. Hence, export is the answer to our growth.”

Exports, she explained, is why Prime Minister Mottley continues to push the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

Husbands said: “[The Prime Minister] recognised that without creating the market space for the enterprises to grow, we could not hope to generate the GDP that Barbados was going to need to provide goods and services for citizens, provide opportunities for our young people, to generate wealth and broaden wealth participation by more and more people in Barbados.

“Hence you would see her moving throughout the Caribbean with the CSME laying that foundation.”

While acknowledging citizens did not always appear to understand the CSME, the trade minister stressed free movement of labour, people and goods across the region was crucial.

“I believe Guyana presents one of the best opportunities not just for Barbados, but for CARICOM,” Husbands continued.

“In Guyana there are hundreds of business people as I am speaking, who are there looking for the opportunities that will flow out of that oil wealth. They are coming from France, England, Japan, Canada, China, and the United States.

“Guyana’s position is that CARICOM must be present and the Guyanese have welcomed us with open arms. We have had invitations from Presidents of the Chamber of Commerce and the question is always, ‘where is Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean’.”

Guyana’s Consul General Cita Pilgrim praised Government’s forward-thinking approach on Guyana.

Pilgrim said: “Your presence here in such large numbers suggests that you, too, recognise the opportunities which are opening up in Guyana as a result of the exploitation of vast amounts of oil.

“As production comes on stream next year, the need for goods and services will expand exponentially. As a country on the move we are very open to investment and you should bear in mind that the level of competition will be very stiff. So your Government is to be commended on its efforts to guide you accordingly. Our counsel is pleased to help.

kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb

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ST JOHN’S, Antigua - The Antigua and Barbuda government says it is not aware that negotiations with Barbados regarding the sale of the shares of the cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT, owned by Bridgetown are in limbo.

Media reports in Barbados had suggested that the talks, which began a week ago, had broken down after only “a few hours”.

But in a WhatsApp message sent to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that he is “not aware that it has stalled”,  adding, “not to my knowledge”.

Browne said that “a counter offer was made by Antigua” telling CMC he would not be disclosing the counter offer “at this time.

“I am not at liberty to discuss the details,” Browne said.

Barbados’s negotiating team is led by Attorney General Dale Marshall and includes the Minister for Tourism Kerrie Symmonds and Director of Finance and Economic Affairs Ian Carrington.

The Barbados media reports had indicated that Bridgetown was not impressed with St John’s initial proposals.

Antigua and Barbuda is seeking to become the largest shareholder government of the airline and is in negotiations with Barbados to acquire most of that country’s shareholding in the Antigua-based airline. The other shareholders are Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.

Antigua and Barbuda currently holds 34 per cent of the shares and if it succeeds in convincing Bridgetown to part with its LIAT shares, would have 81 per cent of the airline that employs over 600 people and operates 491 flights weekly across 15 destinations.

St John’s said it would seek to acquire the LIAT shares owned by Barbados through a take-over of the liability of Barbados to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

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The Pine St Michael community got together last evening to reflect on the life of 17-year-old Kyrique Boyce who died after falling into a well at Martin Road, in that area.

There was no loud wailing or bawling as was the case the afternoon news spread among the close-knit community that his young life had been lost on the way to the hospital.

However, the pain was etched on the faces of the young man’s family and friends who walked through the neighbourhood singing and calling his name.

The scores that attended the candlelight vigil carried candles and wore white t-shirts on which a picture of Kyrique was printed.

[caption id="attachment_304639" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Family and friends of Tyrique Boyce gathered in front of his house before the start of Thursday night’s vigil.[/caption]

His mother Latoya Francis also participated in the event and wept quietly at times during the walk, but was comforted by warm arms that embraced her.

Members of the Barbados Fire Service turned out in their numbers, including officer Joron Goddard who retrieved the teen’s body from the well.

Following the walk, which lasted for just under an hour, a powerful session of prayers and worship.

Francis was too shaken up to speak before the large gathering, however, her daughter Shaniah Francis read a poem she penned to express how she felt about the bond she shared with her brother.

“Dear Kyrique, now that you are gone you are no longer here to share the bond we had together. A bond of love and care yet something tells me you are watching over me. I miss you so much, my tears I cannot hide. Yet within my heart, I feel you are always by my side. Ever since you have left me nothing has been the same, yet it comforts me to know that one day we will meet again,” Shaniah read to the quiet congregation.

Member of Parliament Santia Bradshaw, who addressed the gathering, spoke about how proud she was of the residents of St Michael South East for standing with Kyrique’s family. She said though many had unanswered questions regarding the tragedy, now was the time to pray and ask for God’s guidance and strength for the family and the community.

“In the last couple weeks, this community has been affected by tragedy after tragedy, and I have been away. I have not been able to be here with you because of treatment. But the one thing that has kept me during my difficult time has been the people in this community, and it is something that I am eternally grateful to all of you for.

“It is something that certainly when I realised what happened to Kyrique, I could not continue my appointments in Miami because I have known Latoya’s family for years, from when I was a child.

Noreen, her mom, was somebody who was always there for my dad and for my family, and I had to cut my journey short to be here for her and for the rest of the family and for the rest of the community,”  Bradshaw said.

Resident Lisa Hackett, delivered a moving rendition of Wiz Khalifa’s See You Again and encouraged Francis to pray for strength since she was going to need a lot of it to help her to cope.

“You are going to only know how strong you are by travelling through this journey. You were there for me, and for sure I will be there for you. I know Kyrique before he was even born, so I feel your pain tonight Toya,” Hackett said.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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Fewer Foreday Morning bands will be jumping down the Mighty Grynner Highway this year.

There are only 30 bands participating in this year’s BL&P Foreday Morning Jam, compared to 44 in 2018.

Meanwhile, Crop Over bandleader Bryan Worrell has reported slow sales for the J’ouvert.

Worrell, the manager of the popular Colorz Entertainment which caters for Grand Kadooment and Foreday Morning, boasts of 17 years in the business.

He informed Barbados TODAY that, business has been “a bit slow” for both Foreday Morning and Grand Kadooment in comparison to last year.

The festival will climax in three weeks but Worrell stated there has been a fall-off in sales for the J’ouvert slated for August 2.

“Normally for Foreday, we would have been sold out completely by now. We don’t usually go into July with spaces. If anything we are extending at that point. But this year we still have tons of space . . . the number of women is the same but the men’s registration has fallen off a lot,” he disclosed noting that his band caters to 1,000 for the Foreday jump.

The Foreday Morning Jam has faced intense competition from the private jumps in recent years.  Worrell suggested that a revitalization of the signature event was needed. He said that an extension of the Foreday Morning route could bring new life to the event which has two starting points at Queen’s Park and the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) carpark.

“An extended route, longer time, a change in scenery,” are among his suggestions for changes to the event. “We could look at doing a more scenic jump but change the whole set up,” he added.

Having participated in the Foreday Morning Jam for close to two decades, Worrell stated that the assumption that the event was unsafe was not true.

“It is somehow seen by the public as an unsafe event when it is really not,” he said. “We have bands year in, year out and there are no police recorded incidents in these bands and we push people to register and jump in bands and not just do the last truck.”

Despite the rising popularity of private jumps, Worrell contended that locals should hold onto the tradition of the Foreday Morning Jam.

“A lot of people want the Foreday Morning experience. I still think there is space for traditional things in Crop Over with Foreday Morning being one that we should maintain. . . . We should maintain what is ours rather than running after what people think maybe alluring to other people.”

Chocolate Army bandleader, Shane Blackett also reported that the flow of customers was “a little slower than previous years” but the band was steadily approaching its target of 800 revelers.

“We are pretty comfortable and happy with the response,” he commented. “There is a slight decline in participation of the actual event but that could be for a number of reasons like economical, concerns of security
. . . But people are coming out.”
katrinaking@barbadostoday.bb

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There has been a further delay in paying the disability benefits which the Mia Mottley Administration promised it would restore to pensioners after their monies had been cut without notice.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Colin Jordan confirmed to Barbados TODAY, “There has been a slight delay and the expectation is for July month-end. I don’t have any more details.”

On June 28, president of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Akanni McDowall told Barbados TODAY he had been informed by the Ministry of Labour that the payments would be made by the middle of this month.

This, after McDowall stood side-by-side with 55-year-old NUPW member Janice Harris and heard her grievance during a one-woman protest outside the head office of the National Insurance Department against non-payment of her fully reinstated benefits.

On June 1, Minister of Labour and Social Security Colin Jordan had also given the assurance the benefits would be restored in days.

Norman Blackman, a former police constable, who left the force medically unfit in 2006, said last month that with three school-aged children to support, his invalidity benefit had been reduced by nearly $1000, leaving him to survive on a $179 cost of living allowance.

Harris first staged a protest outside Parliament early last month after receiving a cheque for $47.51 for the month of April.

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The Labour Party’s turn at bat for some form of devolved government to ordinary citizens in community assemblies appears to have found favour in an informal Barbados TODAY survey on the street.

The Thorne Commission on Local Governance, launched to establish “community-based, people participatory governance structures” and give communities a say in local and national matters, has been described as a “great idea”.

But when Barbados TODAY took to the streets to speak to Barbadians, several people also expressed the view that they needed to be further informed on the People’s Assemblies.

Suzette Atherley said she supported the establishment of local governance that represented the “ordinary man”.

“I think it is a good implementation because if you have concerns within your community or parish and you are not in a position to speak with your representative personally, you can go to the assembly . . .  then we have a collaboration in the community, togetherness more or less,” Atherley told Barbados TODAY.

She expressed the hope that the assembly would converse with the people in the community and give Government feedback on policies before they were implemented.

Although he supported the concept, a Warrens supermarket shopper said she wanted to see the mandate of the Government’s proposed “People’s Assemblies” and Thorne Commission properly outlined first.

He said: “I have realised with this government that they have a lot of good ideas but they implement things too fast and then they have to take a step back and reassess what they want to implement.

“They had to push back the ban on the plastics, they had to rethink for the bus fare.

“So I really hope they would take the time to work out the intricate details before they execute because they are going to be wasting resources if we just do things blindly.”

“I think it is great to have an intermediary body between Government and the citizens.”

The commission’s chairman, Government backbench parliamentarian and prominent lawyer, Ralph Thorne, QC, disclosed on Wednesday that 20 People’s Assemblies will be organised in the nation’s 11 parishes.

Unlike the last administration’s constituency councils, the assemblies’ members will be elected and their mandate will cover a cross-section of issues, he said. 

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It was a night of praise and worship when the Church of God of Prophecy opened its 23rd regional biennial Convention at Solidarity House last night.

Members from Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines joined their local counterparts and other church officials for the three-day event, which is being held under the theme United as One.

It started with performances of song and dance from each of the islands, followed by a near 45-minute praise and worship session by choir members from the four countries.

Also among last night’s congregation were Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Cynthia Forde - who is also responsible for ecclesiastical affairs  - and Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley.

[caption id="attachment_304648" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Prime Minister Mia Mottley (right), Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Cynthia Forde (centre) and Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley (left) were among last night’s congregation.[/caption]

Mottley reminded the church members of the importance of coming together and sharing fellowship and “resetting the mission”.

She said: “Even though we are committed, there are times when we need to pause and to refocus what is the mission.

“And I am even more comforted by the fact that even as we, on our parallel journeys… are motivated by the recognition that that which we can do on our own dwarfs in comparison to that which we can do together as one.”

Mottley also pointed to the need to uphold principles and values as Barbados continues with the task of nation building.

“In order to be able to say to the people of Barbados that before we can get to the programmes and the promises, what matters first are the principles and the values.

“And I therefore speak to you tonight conscious that irrespective of whether we walk on the path of the State or whether we walk in pursuit of the works of the Lord, that principles and values matter.

“And I don’t say so idly because for too many it is easy to abandon principle when it becomes inconvenient or difficult to adhere.

“But principles only mean something when it is inconvenient to stand by them.

“Does it mean that there are times therefore when we will be found wanting? Yes. But it is not ours to be divine, it is ours to be faithful to the divine.”

Minister Forde also brought a message of unity, adding: “Unless we do it together, none of us in the world can go anywhere without putting God in front.”

Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley praised the church. He described it as “a powerful regional organisation that demonstrates unity to the extent that no other organisation has been able so to do”.

Atherley, who broke ranks with the BLP last year following the historic 30-0 victory at the polls to become Leader of the Opposition, also appealed to the congregation to embrace the role of politics in the development of society, despite their misgivings about politics and politicians.

“Politics is about a mix of power relations in the society.

“And it is the context of that power mix of relations in any society, in any country that policy is conceptualised, is formulated, it is even implemented.

“It is incumbent, absolutely and frighteningly incumbent upon the church that the church understands it becomes a part of that power mix because it is out of that policy comes which affects the lives of all of our people.”

But it was Atherley the priest and not the politician who stood before the congregation, when he told them that entering politics was part of his calling to serve.

He said: “So I prayerfully urge you to understand. Don’t say ‘I have nothing to do with politics, politicians are the worst people in the world’.

“If they are the worst people in the world then those are the people you need to confront and to mix with so that you make instruments of change in their lives.”

He added that politics will impact their lives and those of future generations and they should seek to understand the process.

Atherley said: “More than any other process in life it will impact your life and create your circumstances.

“You can go into your bedroom and you can close your door to politics, but politics will come uninvited into your bedroom and render you sleepless, or give you restful sleep.

“It will determine whether your children can be educated, whether they’re fed properly; where you live; what roof you have over you; it will come uninvited. Embrace it. Be an agent of change; make the system better; pray for our leaders.”

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Twenty-nine employees of the privately-operated Bayview Hospital have been honoured for their years of service to the institution.

As the hospital marks its 30th anniversary, staff members were recognized for over 10 years of service. Nine of these staff members have served more than 20 years and one staff member has been with Bayview for the 30 years.

During a ceremony to mark the anniversary, hospital Administrator Julie ‘Jules’ Reid said the Intensive Care Unit, which was opened a year ago, has been a significant asset to the expansion of Bayview in its ability to provide an increased and higher level of medical attention.

“In addition to this service, since the beginning of July 2019 we have introduced 24-hour physician support to the hospital, which means that we have a Doctor in house available continuously to support those physicians who have privileges at Bayview and the nursing staff,” Reid said.

The hospital Administrator also introduced the new Resident Medical Officer, Dr Melissa Branford Jones and the supporting Senior House Officers, Dr Donn Brathwaite, Dr Ashlyn Scott-Williams, Dr Travis Warner, Dr Christopher St Hill and Dr Ariane Sandiford.

“This service along with our continuous training of staff, the acquisition of new medical equipment and full-time engineering company maintaining the equipment allows Bayview to deliver high quality medical care in a ‘home away from home’ environment,” she said.

“Combined with the reduction of deposit requirements and our payment plan options, it makes Bayview the preferred choice for private healthcare to the general public.”

Reid thanked employees for embracing new initiatives as the hospital moves forward.

“I also extend my gratitude to the physicians of the Bayview Hospital Medical Staff Association who have offered suggestions, guidance and feedback. Your continuous support does not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated. Without all of you we would not be here today,” Reid added.

“It is my hope that my third speech as Administrator will be in the near future at the opening of our planned Urgent Care Centre, which will then truly bring Bayview Hospital to the forefront of medical, surgical and emergency services. This I look forward to with enthusiasm as we continue to expand our range of healthcare and excel in the delivery.”

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A new CARICOM/Caribbean private sector organization has been established to facilitate the planning processes of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and to help with implementing some of the various initiatives under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

This was disclosed by Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM, David Comissiong, during a press conference on Thursday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade to highlight some of the decisions coming out of the 40th Regular Conference of Heads of government of the Caribbean Community, held in St Lucia, from July 4 to 6.

Ambassador Comissiong explained that CARICOM Heads of Government recognized that if significant progress was to be made with implementing the CSME in the future, then the private sector had to be involved in both the planning and the decision-making.

He noted that last year, the Heads of Government of CARICOM accepted a proposal by Prime Minister Mia Mottley to invite the Caribbean private sector to put together a regional representative body that would be installed as an associate institution of CARICOM.

“The regional private sector came to the St Lucia conference and presented the work that they have done on this matter over the past several months, and what they presented was the establishment of a new CARICOM/Caribbean private sector organization.  It is being proposed and is being accepted that that organization will establish an office, right here in Barbados,” he said.

He added that sufficient resources to finance the Caribbean organization had already been put together to last for the next five years, with the organization negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding with CARICOM to work out the modalities for its engagement with that body.

Ambassador Comissiong noted that the organization was mandated to come up with a programme to develop food production, and to have this presented in a report on September 15, 2019.

“So, this is a major step forward and it is a major vote of confidence by the regional private sector in CARICOM to the extent that they are actually prepared to bring their financial resources to the table and to establish an office in Barbados,” he said.

“Here, we have the private sector talking the talk and walking the walk, [and] actually organizing themselves regionally and establishing the structures to be part of the planning processes of CARICOM and to help with implementation of the various CSME initiatives,” he stated.

The envoy commended the regional private sector for setting “a very good example”, noting that negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding, and setting up a regional headquarters would be a good model for the regional labour movement and civil society.

Ambassador Comissiong explained that Barbados was chosen as the home of the organization because Barbados has lead responsibility for the CSME, and was the location of the CARICOM Secretariat’s CSME Unit.

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CARICOM has re-established a CARICOM Commission on the Economy, with Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados on Investment and Financial Services, Professor Avinash Persaud, returning as its chairman.

This announcement came from Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM, David Comissiong, at a press conference, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade on Thursday, about issues pertaining to the just concluded CARICOM Heads of Government meeting.

He said that Professor Persaud presented an interim report at the conference that gave broad outlines on how the commission identified the problems facing the region, and what solutions they believed were appropriate for economic development.

“Professor Persaud was very clear that we now have to pursue a people-centred developmental model, where the emphasis will have to be on education, skills and innovation. He was very clear that we have to take concrete measures to solve the problems of intra-regional transport, [and] freight, as well as people. And the fundamental thinking of the commission is that we have to create greater access.

“The buzzword he used, or the central word was…access for our people.  Our people must have enhanced access to financial resources; enhanced access to the banking system, to education, to training, to health services; [and] access to every citizen.  We must now, in going forward, pursue a people-centric developmental model  based around the idea that we must enhance access of the individual citizen to education, to entrepreneurial [and] financing opportunities; access in ownership of wealth, [and] access in every dimension,” Ambassador Comissiong outlined.

The commission is expected to report in six months, with a fully fleshed out action plan based on those broad principles.

Last year, CARICOM Heads of Government reconstituted a high-level commission on the economy led by Professor Persaud of Barbados, comprising experts with regional and international reputations to help CARICOM craft a new economic developmental strategy, and to break the syndrome of low growth and economic stagnation that many member states have been experiencing since the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008.

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