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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 12/19/2018

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Wednesday 19th December 2018. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) OR by purchasing by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (MWN).

BREATHE EASY – Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley says Barbadians can “take it easy” this Christmas knowing their country is “punching above its weight” again. And while making it clear she could not “promise a rose garden” in 2019, she promised that by this time next year, fewer people would have reason to complain. Delivering an hour-long Ministerial Statement in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Mottley rattled off a series of achievements of her administration in its first six months in office. “As the first six months leave us, we have reached our milestone, the first bell can be rung, Barbados is back. This Christmas you can take a breather, but being back is never enough because the journey has to continue. We are on track, we are passing the right road signs, but there is still much further to go,” the Prime Minister told the Lower Chamber. “I am proud to report this evening that using every yardstick and every other measure available to me, that this noble mission has been accomplished. Barbados is on the road again, Barbados is this evening punching above its weight and for this, we must thank the good people of Barbados.” (MWN)

REPORT CARD IN – Six months in office, the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Government declares it has delivered on its promises, as Prime Minister Mia Mottley delivers her own report card to Barbadians. Mottley today gave the country a laundry list of accomplishments in a ministerial statement. She boasted that foreign reserves had reached their highest level in four years, the dollar was no longer in danger of devaluation, debt to GDP ratio had fallen to 123 per cent and the country received its first credit rating upgrade in 15 years. And while Barbados was not yet completely out of the woods, Government had met most of its goals thus far, she said. “To say we have come a long and far way would be to make the understatement of the year,” the Prime Minister insisted as she addresed lawmakers in Parliament. “What we assured the people of Barbados six months ago, was that we would work assiduously and selflessly to turn the outlook and the fortunes of this country around. We promised that we would stop the decay and decline. That we would stop the haemorrhaging, and that we would return pride to, and confidence in, the Barbadian brand. “We promised six months ago, that we would bring Barbados back to where it belongs . . . in the region, in the world and in the psyche of Barbadians, living at home and abroad. I am proud to report this evening, using every yardstick and every other measure available to me, that this noble mission…has been accomplished. Barbados is punching once again above its weight division,” Mottley added. While she once again expressed her regret at having to retrench hundreds of workers as part of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transition Programme (BERT), she said several important targets had been met. “The plan has halted and reversed the six-year slide in our reserves, which have jumped from just $400 million to over $1 billion. Indeed today our Gross International Reserves stood at $1.044 billion – the first time since 2014,” Mottley noted. “Our dollar has been brought to safety…and in a few months we executed one of the largest exchanges of government debt as a percent of national income in world history. We will now save approximately $500 million of interest per year. “As a result of this and the economic adjustments we have made, the Government will not need to borrow domestically for the next four years, and our debt levels have been put on a downward sustainable path. It has already fallen from approximately 170 per cent of national income to 134 per cent. If we use the new GDP numbers, as we must now, our debt to GDP ratio is 123 per cent Our goal is to get it below 100 per cent in five years,” she said. Between April and November of this year Barbados’ gross tax revenues increased by $118 million compared with last year and expenditures fell by $322 million, leading to an improvement in the country’s fiscal position of $430 million, the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance told fellow MPs. BERT had also seen international credit rating agencies give their support with the first credit upgrade in over 15 years, she added. “As the first six months leave us, we have reached our milestone. The first bell can be rung. Barbados is back. This Christmas you can take a breather,” Mottley declared. “But being back is not enough. The journey continues. We are on track, but there is much further to go. “I cannot promise a rose garden in the next 12 months, but what I can say, is that I am confident that by December 18th 2019, fewer persons in this country will have reason to complain. Fewer persons would be without a job. Fewer persons will be living below the poverty line. Our infrastructure would have undergone a major overhaul and the standard of living of our people would continue to rise.” (BT)

‘NEW DEAL’ – Government stands to save at least $36 million in ‘bad’ contracts left by the previous administration, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has said in a fiery, update on her administration’s first six months. In an End of Year Ministerial Statement in Parliament, Mottley issued a stern warning to any company or individual with plans of trying to hold Government hostage. “Those hoping that this Government will be taken in like the last Government was and become submitting and yielding, often for a payment or two . . . had better abandon hope for all of that right now,” Mottley declared. “We draw the line today. No more and never again.” Her comments have come just one week after Minister of Water Resources Wilfred Abrahams accused Innotech Services Limited of trying to “bully Government” after the contractor removed several water tanks after the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) failed to pay its outstanding debt. During her hour-long presentation, Mottley said Government was currently renegotiating several contracts which had been awarded by the previous administration, including BWA contracts. The Prime Minister said it was expected Government expects to save over $30 million alone by altering contracts which it had with the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) and the BWA. Mottley contended that many of those contracts locked Government into unfair arrangements for long periods. “We need also to remedy the unfortunate and the egregious aspects of what we inherited as contractual liabilities from the last Government. We have been renegotiating a number of one-sided contracts struck by the last Government. “While we are not finished, we are now confident that we can save at least $36 million per year from renegotiating contracts struck during the previous administration with the BWA and SSA alone . . . . In one contract we hope we can save at least $17 million per year over the remaining life of the contract, which is for at least another 10 years,” Mottley disclosed. “That is more than it cost us to pay the salaries of all who have been sent home from Central Government, which is almost 1000 workers and they come up to $29 million a year.” And while Mottley maintained that Government was not asking companies or individuals to underprice their products or services, she said her administration was not prepared to pay exorbitant prices, insisting that a middle ground must be reached. “What is important to remember is that we are not asking for any companies to sell goods and services at below market prices, not one. But equally, taxpayers should not be required to pay egregious amounts such that companies can get back their investment in extremely short order, in some cases a year, or two or three, when we would expect them normally to have a return that carries them out over a much longer period,” Mottley told the Lower House. “I want to say simply that under my watch nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to be allowed to juck out the eye of this Government,” she added, while pointing out that the process of reviewing those contracts would continue into the next calendar year. (BT)

NUPW TO PM: ‘TALK TO US’ – “Confusion” in the Government’s ongoing retrenchment process has frustrated the country’s largest public sector union to the point that it is demanding the Prime Minister’s direct response. Less than one week before Christmas, National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) officials have confirmed that Mottley will be on the receiving end of an urgent letter from the union, outlining a number of “important matters” to be addressed. While not divulging further, NUPW General Secretary Roslyn Smith told Barbados TODAY of “some concerns . . . relating to how things are being handled”. When pressed for further details, Smith would only say, “It relates to the whole issue which needs to be dealt with. There are a number of issues, which I am not happy about.” She also gave no indication of a timeline in which she was expecting the PM’s response. When asked what, if any, action would be taken if the concerns are not addressed within a reasonable time she said, “I will write her and outline the areas that we are concerned with, then we will go from there. I will send off the letter by tomorrow and put the issues into perspective.” The Government has completed 85 per cent of the first phase of retrenchment, it has said. So far, 1,282 workers out of a planned 1,500 have been dismissed, as part of an International Monetary Fund-backed restructuring programme. The layoff process has attracted claims that it was rushed, leading to questions about whether Government has in fact observed the last-in, first out principle as was promised. Mottley charged that Government’s retrenchment exercise had fallen victim to sabotage, a claim which the NUPW has challenged her to prove. Acting NUPW General Secretary, Delicia Burke described the layoffs as “the most confusion that I have ever seen”, with a lot of missteps. (BT)

DLP: ‘REVEAL BWA-INNOTECH TANK DEAL’ – Accusing Government of releasing only snippets, the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is demanding full disclosure of the controversial 2015 tank lease arrangement between the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) and Innotech Services Limited – signed during the DLP’s regime. Verla Depeiza contends that Barbadians are being asked to make judgements about the five-year deal for the rental of 104 tanks at a cost of $51,000 per month, without knowing all the facts. Since the BWA claimed that the local construction firm uprooted the community tanks from around the island specifically to sell to help recoup some of the millions of dollars owed to it by the authority, the DLP has been on the receiving end of much criticism for presiding over the deal. The DLP leader told Barbados TODAY that she was not in Cabinet under Freundel Stuart and therefore had no knowledge of the details of the contract or who authorized it. She therefore argued that Government owed it to the public to be fully transparent on the matter. “I can’t make any determination on the issue. I just have a lot of questions. I want to know who negotiated on behalf of Government of Barbados and I also want to know who negotiated on the part of Innotech. I think both of those are very important questions and I would also like to see the contract because we have been all talking in circles but no one has seen the details of the deal,” she said, referring to an apparent contradictory account from a former BWA manager. Former manager of the BWA’s since-disbanded Corporate Communications and Rapid Response Unit, Joy-Ann Haigh, told Barbados TODAY she had given Innotech Services verbal instructions to remove, sanitize and reinstate all the community tanks during the weeks leading up to Christmas, as was the standard practice under the programme since 2016. “I did send the instructions, which is a fact. I told them verbally. I received correspondence from them to confirm receipt. I believe that there was miscommunication, because people in there [BWA] should have known that this [removal of the tanks at this time] was the norm. It seemed to be a genuine mistake,” said Haigh, one of the scores of BWA employees sent home earlier this month as part of Government’s restructuring programme. BWA Chairman Leodeane Worrell was adamant that the timing of those instructions was totally unrelated to last week’s action by Innotech to take up the tanks which it had leased to the BWA for the supply of potable water to northern parishes of Barbados which had been experiencing chronic outages and shortages. Depeiza argues that Government was now duty-bound to end the confusion by releasing all documentation pertaining to the deal. “I am hoping that there would be some sort of press conference that will give us all of the information to the questions that people are asking. I think it is important that we know everything and if we could see the contracts and signatures then that will be great,” she said. The DLP president added that seeing the supporting paperwork for the arrangement, which dates back to 2015, was the only way that the public “could have a meaningful discussion on the basis of something that we have seen and not innuendo where one side is saying one thing and the other side saying something else”. (BT)

SENSELESS WATER DEAL – The contentious issue of the $51,000 per month contract between construction firm Innotech Services Limited and the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) for the supply of community water tanks, reached the floor of Parliament today with a Cabinet minister declaring that the people of Barbados have been taken for a ride. Leading off debate on the Public Finance Management Bill 2018 in the House of Assembly, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn was adamant that such a contract made no sense whatsoever. Straughn said somebody in the former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government seemed not to have read all of the existing financial rules – which are reflected in the new Bill – that require the accounting officer in a department to challenge, in writing, an injudicious financial decision of a minister with which he does not agree and cannot defend. He said the contract, under which the BWA rented the tanks from Innotech to provide emergency potable water supplies to water-scarce districts in northern Barbados at a cost of more than $3 million over five years, was the result of people allowing a lot of nonsense to take place. The minister noted that it was therefore necessary to clearly outline in the pending legislation the specific roles and responsibilities of all senior public officers, including Cabinet members to ensure accountability. “So when we reflect on this issue of the water tanks, sir, somebody should have written something to somebody to say that this thing did not make sense. Nowhere is it written sir, that I am aware of now, that anybody raised this as an issue,” he told the House of Assembly. He insisted that ministers of Government have to take responsibility for their actions, so too must chief executive officers of state-owned enterprises. “So you cannot say you are going to engage in something that does not make sense and then excuse yourself by feigning you did not know. Much has been represented to me over the last six months where people either forgot there was a rule or some strange thing sir, simply because people allowed a lot of nonsense to take place. Now that we have come to correct a lot of these issues, people now recall what the rules are,” the minister in the Ministry of Finance pointed out. Straughn warned that ministers who now get involved in the day-to-day running of SOEs must be prepared to face the consequences, including having to pay back money which is wasted or mismanaged. “If you do [get involved in daily running of a SOE] then you must be prepared to face the consequences. If you direct something to happen, sir, that does not make sense and is not in the interest of Barbadians, then, sir, you’ll have to be prepared to foot the bill,” he warned. While Straughn suggested that he might accept Government paying in the region of $250,000 to install 100 water tanks that involved the construction of concrete bases, there was no way such work could cost taxpayers millions. “So even if we wanted to install 100 water tanks and we said they required some infrastructural work to be done, plumbing and all of these things, for 100 water tanks…even if we’re generous and we say that all of that infrastructural work to pour the cement and steel and all of that, for the concrete bases and installation and we say that that cost $250,000, we cannot be paying millions of dollars renting water tanks,” insisted the minister. He urged public officers to bring questionable transactions to the attention of ministers to avoid a repeat of the type of contract that was entered into between the BWA and Innotech. “We are not everywhere all the time sir. So when something does not make sense, people have to bring it to the ministers’ attention that this thing isn’t making sense because when you look at the fine details this is what matters. If we continue to engage in that sir, the people would want to know if we’re mad,” Straughn declared. (BT)

NOT BUYING IT – When it comes to relief for farmers from a new water usage fee, the chief executive of the Agricultural Society, James Paul, is not buying what Agriculture Minister Indar Weir is selling. Weir said he was still awaiting information from farmers on the impact that the Government’s Garbage and Sewage Contribution was having on their operations, but Paul said data was already submitted. A spreadsheet showing the effect of an estimated 50 per cent increase in water bills from the levy, which is tacked on to an average poultry farm’s production costs, had been sent to the minister, Paul told Barbados TODAY. Only yesterday, Weir said he was yet to receive evidence from farmers that the new GSC levy was negatively affecting their operations. “So far I have not had any information giving me the detail, the quantitative analysis to show how the water is affecting the farmers in terms of inputs, in terms of unit costs, in terms of costs to the final consumer, and that analysis has to be done,” Weir had told Barbados TODAY, following a tour of Chickmont Foods Ltd on Monday. But Paul insisted that he was not aware the minister needed the actual bills. “I don’t know if the minister wants additional information in terms of the actual water bills that the farmers have,” he said. “We were not told that before. So if he wants the actual water bill that the farmers have, I guess that is something that you will have to get copied – the farmers will have to provide copies of their water bills and send to him – the before and after.” The farmers’ advocate said he would now have to encourage farmers to come forward with their water bills for the past four months, as well as bills for months prior to the tax, to show the level of increase. “I could only encourage them, if that is what the minister wants for the individual farmers to come forward with bills . . .I would tell the farmers now that is what he wants to see,” he said. During the tour of Chickmont’s Christ Church facility, Weir also indicated that he would soon be reviewing the poultry industry to determine what measures should be put in place to safeguard producers against the importation of chicken wings. But Paul told Barbados TODAY that research had been done and presented to the Ministry of Agriculture recently. “We have done the study and we have provided the results of that study to the minister and of course we are waiting on his comments as far as the study is concerned,” said Paul. “The conclusions are that the levels of chicken wing imports do impact on our local poultry production in terms of sales.” Weir had promised to do a thorough review to find out what impact, if any, a limit on the importation of chicken wings would have on the tourism industry, other businesses and consumers. He said that this issue was one that his ministry would need to move with “some alacrity” to address. (BT)

HARD CALL – The local construction sector is in for a major shakeup in costs as cement prices are set to rise once more warns Executive Chairman of Rock Hard Cement, Mark Maloney. As a matter of fact Maloney has charged since the Caribbean Court of Justice’s recent rejection of Rock Hard’s application for the removal of the injunction prohibiting Barbados from lowering the tariff on imported cement from 60 per cent to five per cent, Trinidad Cement Limited subsidiary, Arawak Cement, has already increased prices. “There will be an impact on the country because Arawak Cement has already raised its prices. They have already raised the price of cement to the public of Barbados by $2 per bag,” said Maloney. Barbados TODAY contacted Arawak Cement’s Marketing Department but when the question of a price increase was posed, the employee abruptly hung up the phone. Further attempts to make contact proved futile. However several construction companies revealed that they were informed of a price increase for Arawak Cement, which will take effect next year. Currently Arawak Cement retails at $15.25 at most hardware stores. In an interview back in 2016, Maloney said that when Rock Hard entered the local market, cement was being sold at US$220 per tonne, but the price has since fallen to US$160 per tonne. However the businessman told Barbados TODAY that while his company remains committed to providing “reasonably-priced cement” to Barbados, he could not guarantee that the market will not return to the days of a cement monopoly if things remain the same. “If Rock Hard Cement is going to be restricted to selling cement in this country that has to have a 60 per cent duty on it in the future, the business will shutdown and Arawak will continue to take advantage of the people of Barbados by inflating prices in a monopoly because they have protective mechanisms in place to stop competition,” he said while arguing that protectionist polices run counter to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) view on free trade. “The WTO is about stopping exactly what they [Arawak Cement] is trying to do. The WTO is trying to create a level playing field for people around the world to compete. A non-competitive environment does not help anyone and Arawak Cement has operated in a non-competitive environment from day one. If that is allowed to continue then we will go back to the days when Barbados had the highest price of cement in the world,” Maloney stressed. There is still some hope for the local importer as the court is required to make a determination on exactly the classification of hydraulic cement the Barbadian company is importing for its local operations. Depending on the determination, Rock Hard could be placed in the protected category, which enjoys lower tariffs. Hydraulic cement is used to stop water and leaks in concrete and masonry structures. It is a type of cement, similar to mortar, that sets extremely fast and hardens after it has been mixed with water. In the meantime, Maloney told Barbados TODAY that his company is prepared to weather through the market conditions for as long as possible. “We are going to try to do our best to provide cement at the best possible price. We will work to allow the people of Barbados to benefit from the best quality cement at a price that we can afford to sell it at. The more pressure that comes to us to stop us from doing business, we will have to consider and if it gets to the point that doing business is too difficult then we may have to stop supplying the Barbados market with cement,” he said. Maloney made it clear that his company’s record has shown commitment to the Barbadian consumer for the long haul. “We have helped the public of Barbados in being able to build and to help the economy in the tough times that we are in and we hope to continue,” said the local cement importer. (BT)

SAGICOR TO BEGIN FIRST PHASE OF ‘$400M INVESTMENT’ NEXT YEAR – Sagicor Financial Corporation is to embark on the first phase of a $400-million, 20-acre retirement village and medical centre early next year, the insurance giant has announced. Phase one will be the three-year construction of a retirement village at Boarded Hall, St George, for which approval from the Town and Country Planning Department has already been granted, it said. In the second phase a state-of-the-art medical complex is to be built “later in the year”. Both independent living and assisted care will be available to more than 170 retirees 55 years and older. “That has received government’s approval. We have actually gone out to tender for the infrastructure work on that project and we have received those tenders. That is in excess of US$100 million and we expect that this ground-breaking will start early in the first quarter [of 2019],” Chief Operating Officer of Sagicor Life Inc. Edward Clarke told the media during a breakfast meeting at the company’s Wildey office on Tuesday. Planning for the medical complex, which will also cost roughly $200 million, was “still in the very early stages”, said Clarke. “The medical complex is going to be a very high-end complex, very modern, and we expect once we get approvals for change of the use of that land, which we do hope to get shortly, we expect that we will start early in the new year to go out to do plans and for full approval from town planning. That obviously will come on later in the year,” he said. The medical complex is to offer specialist heart disease and cancer care, which Sagicor executives say will put a dent in the medical bills of Barbadians and Caribbean nationals who would otherwise have to travel outside of the region for advanced treatment, Clarke declared. “That is one of the reasons we are seeking to have a facility that we can lower the cost of excellent health care across the board. The cost of going overseas for medical care that is not available locally is very, very high. “Our role is to try and provide top-class medical care at a cost that is more affordable than going to the USA or any other location for such care. These are going to be well-trained, appointed cardiovascular and oncology specialists,” he said. Avoiding details, Clarke said Sagicor already had a “proposed partnership with a North American medical facility” to provide some of the services, while pointing out that “we will be involving a lot of local medical professionals in the complex”. Sagicor’s research identified oncology and cardiovascular treatment as the two most needed at this time, but the company has not ruled out the possibility of adding neurology to the mix of specialized medicine in the future. Patients will be able to pay for their treatment by self-funding or health insurance policy, the Sagicor Life boss said. “The expectation is that we will be working with Government as well, because the government still does provide some [assistance for] international services for people if a service cannot be provided locally. Our expectation is that due to our lower cost it will be more accessible to more people,” he added. He said the $400 million investment was “a sign” of Sagicor’s confidence that the economy is going to pick up. “We are extremely confident that as the top insurance company in the region we need to participate in the provision of such health care and retirement living. We believe that it will spread throughout the Caribbean, and this is the first phase of doing such,” said Clarke. President and Chief Executive Officer of Sagicor Financial Corporation Dodridge Miller said the medical centre would help save critical foreign exchange. (BT)

UNDER SCRUTINY – Public officers, including Cabinet ministers could soon be sent to jail for refusing to appear before the Accountant General to give an account of state funds over which they have responsibility. During debate on the Public Finance Management Bill 2018 in the House of Assembly this afternoon, Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment Marsha Caddle said this is one of the provisions of the proposed legislation, which she described as fundamental and transformational. Referring to the role and responsibilities of the Accountant General, Caddle noted that he or she may summon a person for the purpose of conducting an audit or examination under the Act. The Accountant General may also require a person to produce any records or information, she added. “A person summoned under sub section 3A, who, without reasonable excuse, fails to obey the summons, is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $5,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months, or to both,” the minister added, quoting the Bill. She contended that a public officer cannot simply decide they do not want to be held accountable under the provisions, institutions and systems that have been established to hold “us all” accountable. Caddle said there are also provisions in the proposed legislation intended for those, like some under the former administration, who when asked questions by the Accountant General and the Auditor General or are summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee, decided these key institutions and laws meant to hold them accountable, did not matter. “And what were they saying? That the people of Barbados did not matter and they could do as they liked without fear of consequence and with impunity. We are here today to say that those days are over, she cautioned. She said this proposed law was being introduced to deal with the “worse that might come up among us” in the future. Minister Caddle said the Bill requires the Ministry of Finance to prepare a document known as the fiscal framework which will review the performance of the previous financial year against the fiscal objectives, present a macro economic outline for the country and set out the fiscal objectives and policies for the medium term. She noted that fiscal framework would also include the information and statement and the Minister of Finance would provide that framework to the Cabinet for approval, no later than July 31 of the year preceding the annual budget. “I want us to understand how fundamental this part of the Bill is. It gives the country a timetable to expect its Government to be able to plan and report. So none of this last minute guessing about when will Estimates be, when will the Budget be, when will we know what has happened in the year before. We are binding ourselves to be able to report and to be accountable,” Caddle told the House. She noted that the fiscal framework must also be laid in Parliament no later than August 15 of the year preceding the annual budget and any recommendation regarding this shall be considered by the Cabinet. (BT)

WORRIED ABOUT BABIES – The Child Care Board is conducting an island-wide probe to determine if sporadic garbage collection is posing any health risks to children enrolled at its day nurseries. Investigations by THE NATION revealed yesterday that some workers at the board’s Bagatelle day nursery feared garbage woes in the St Thomas community were posing a health hazard to children in their care. Garbage has not been collected in that area for over three weeks. Several piles of waste, some almost six feet high, litter the streets and neighbouring communities. One source connected to the nursery lamented the stench coming from the refuse, especially when it was windy. “It is horrible,” she said. “Some of the garbage is across the road but directly in front of the baby section. It is a concern for us because the environment is unhealthy; it can affect those with sinus problems and other allergies.” (MWN)

A FOND FAREWELL FOR ACTRESS – Cultural icon Andrea Gollop-Greenidge who for many generations captured the attention of thousands as she brought all things Bajan to the stage, took her final applause today. This afternoon, Prime Minister Mia Mottley a close family friend, joined family and scores of friends, including members of the media and entertainment industries, at the St David’s Anglican Church to celebrate the life and contribution of the 74-year-old Gollop-Greenidge. Her portrait adorned the closed casket as those filing past captured a glimpse of the woman who brought so much laughter to Barbadians. And while there was no eulogy, a touching poem about life was read by Ian Walcott-Skinner and Canon Noel Burke remembered the actress as a talented child of God who brought joy and laughter to “our hearts”. “It is through her theatre arts, through her performances, both live and on radio, she would have brought joy and laughter to our hearts. She was proud and epitomized the essence and spirit of what it means to be Bajan, of being Barbadian through her works of art along with others in the field. “Even when she was scolding someone, she did it in a way that would eventually bring a smile to the face,” he recalled. “We cannot help but stop and listen when we hear those performances on the radio, even now. “She made us all pleased with her work. Those in the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) remember her for strictness for protocol, which is something that we need to pay particular attention,” the priest said. Canon Burke also told the congregation that he believed Gollop-Greenidge would have made a dramatic entrance into Heaven. He told the gathering that as they reflect on the actress’ work, they must also think about how much our society needs more joy and laughter urging that the violence and negativity that exist in society be replaced with these. “We must seek to recapture those aspects of Barbadian life that our departed sister was seeking to [capture]. Sometimes we take each other too serious,” he said. Prime Minister Mottley, who greeted and offered condolences to Gollop-Greenidge’s relatives had released a statement at her passing which recalled her friend’s her passion for Barbadian theatre that was matched by only a few. Andrea’s voice may have been best known in the work of acclaimed broadcaster and writer, Jeanette Layne-Clarke and especially in the trio Gwennie, Hushfield and Dora in “Dumplings in De Stew”. Gollop-Greenidge was honored by Queen Elizabeth with an Order of the British Empire in 2010, for her services to the performing arts in Barbados. She was the daughter of the late Sir Clyde and Undine Lady Gollop. Her remains are to be cremated. (BT)

BODY FOUND AT CAVE HILL - The body of a man was discovered in a track near the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, Cave Hill, St Michael. Police are at the scene of what they are treated as an unnatural death. They received the call earlier this evening and are conducting preliminary investigations. (MWN)

MAN SHOT AT RENDEZVOUS CHRIST CHURCH – Police are currently on the scene of a shooting at Evelyn Road Rendezvous Christ Church. A male was shot in the abdomen and is on route to QEH via ambulance. Anyone who can provide any information that can assist us in the investigations is asked to contact Police Emergency at 211 Crime Stoppers at 1800TIPS Worthing Police Station at 4307614 or any Police Station. (MWN)

STABBING AT BRIAR HALL, CHRIST CHURCH – Police responding to a “shooting incident” instead found a man bound with rope and stabbed in Briar Hall, Christ Church this afternoon. Lawmen said that the man who had injuries to his stomach and chest was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance. The incident occurred around 2:27 p.m. Investigations are continuing. (MWN)

HUSBAND JAILED – A man who denied assaulting his wife was released on $2000 bail when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today. Frederick Kaylon Grant, 44, of Brewster’s Road, Rendezvous, Christ Church, pleaded not guilty to assaulting Honuka Grant, occasioning her actual bodily harm on November 29. Grant was granted bail by Magistrate Douglas Frederick and will return to court on May 22, next year. (BT)

BAILED, THEN ARRESTED AGAIN – Moments after being granted bail by Magistrate Douglas Frederick, an accused car thief was whisked away by waiting police officers as he descended the court steps. When he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today, Kismar O’Brian Bynoe, 33, of Browne’s Avenue, Bayland, Christ Church, was not required to plead to stealing a $49 000 motor car belonging to West End Car Rentals between December 4 and 5, 2018. He was released on $10 000 bail by the magistrate and told to appear in the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court on January 8. Bynoe’s freedom was short-lived though, as he was held by a plain-clothes police officer seconds after leaving the courtroom. (BT)

TELEVISION THEFT CASE FOR HOLETOWN COURT - Malavi Alexander Velloza will be required to turn up at the Holetown Magistrates’ Court early in the New Year to face a theft charge. The 24-year-old of 2nd Avenue Sealy Land, Bank Hall, St. Michael, was not required to plead to stealing a television valued $3240 belonging to Sandy Lane Hotel. The alleged offence occured on December 14. Magistrate transferred the matter to Holetown and released the young man on $5000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on January 4, 2019. (BT)

MUM BAILS GUINNESS THIEF – After spending five days on remand at HMP Dodds for stealing Guinness, Neil Linton’s mother came to his rescue. Linton, 40, of St. Barnabas, St Michael, had been in prison since last Wednesday after pleading guilty to stealing four bottles of Guinness valued $15.86 on December 12 from Channell Supermarket on Collymore Rock. On his initial appearance Magistrate Douglas Frederick had been willing to offer him bail, but because he was unable find a surety he was remanded. When he reappeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today, his mother was present to sign his bail. She told the magistrate she was actually quite shocked to find out that her son had been arrested for stealing. “I was quite shocked to hear the officer on the phone. I make sure that he gets food and everything. When I go in the supermarket I take up his bread first,” she told the court. “I give him everything.” The magistrate ordered a pre-sentencing report and released Linton on $1000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on January 15, 2019. (BT)

ACCUSED SECURES BAIL – Despite an attempt by the prosecution to have him kept in prison, Shakir Akil Waithe was granted an opportunity to spend Christmas with his family. The 23-year-old of #70 Groves Cottage, St. George, was released on $5000 bail by Magistrate Douglas Frederick when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today. Waithe was not required to plead to the charge of dishonestly assisting in the disposal of a motor car belonging to Ross Clarke on December 5, 2018, knowing or believing it to be stolen. Prosecutor Station Sergeant Carrison Henry objected to the first-time offender being granted bail, citing the seriousness of the offence and that investigations were still at a delicate stage. “Investigators are seeking other persons in relation to a spate of crime relative to other vehicles and these investigations are at a delicate stage,” Henry argued. “There are numerous agencies and persons under investigation and if granted bail we fear that the accused would interfere with those investigations.” However, attorney-at-law Angela Mitchell-Gittens who represented Waithe maintained her client was no threat to those investigations. “My client has spent the last seven days in custody. That is an inordinately long time… and after seven days how much more delicate can these investigations be?” she asked. “If the police are looking for other persons so what? What has that got to do with him? How will he stop the hundreds of police officers from finding these persons?” Mitchell-Gittens further questioned. She contended that the prosecutor’s fear that her client would interfere with investigations was “baseless” and described Waithe as a “fit and proper candidate” for bail. After listening to both arguments, Magistrate Douglas Frederick agreed with Mitchell-Gittens and granted the accused bail with a surety. “I don’t see any reason to keep him. I don’t see how he could interfere with investigations,” the magistrate said. Waithe will return to court on January 9, 2019, at the District ‘B’ Magistrates’ Court. (BT)

MICHAEL FLYNN SENTENCING POSTPONED AFTER JUDGE ISSUES BLISTERING REBUKE – The sentencing for President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn was postponed until 2019 after a dramatic federal court hearing Tuesday. Flynn, who pleaded guilty last year, said "I was aware" that lying to the FBI was a crime, but prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller's office had called for him to get little to no jail time because he has cooperated extensively. They also said Flynn may continue to cooperate in a future trial. Judge Emmet Sullivan of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said he was "not hiding my disgust, my disdain for your criminal offense." "I want to be frank with you, this crime is very serious," Sullivan said. "Not only did you lie to the FBI, you lied to senior officials in the incoming administration." "All along, you were an unregistered agent of a foreign country while serving as the national security adviser to the President of the United States," Sullivan said. "That undermines everything this flag over here stands for. Arguably you sold your country out." Sullivan later corrected himself, noting Flynn's foreign lobbying ended prior to the beginning of the Trump administration.Both sides now have until March 13 to file a status report with the court. Flynn left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. (MWN)

GILKES: AIM FOR PREMIER LEAGUE – Head Coach of the national Under-17 national team Renaldo Gilkes is calling on Barbados Football Association (BFA) heads to give them the opportunity to take their game to the next level by putting the squad in the local Premier League. His comments came following the team’s 2-0 defeat by the Argentina under-17 national team on Thursday. The young Bajan Tridents, who return to the island today, are fresh off a week-long training session at Boca Juniors Club in Buenos Aries, Argentina, which was organised by Argentina Ambassador to Barbados Gustavo Martinez Pandiani. “For me the major issue is the measure of consistency for training. We can’t get better and get to the heights which we intend by training three days a week. We can’t train the boys how we like or push them how we like if there is no field for the boys to push. The clubs too also need to support the programme, as well as the parents,” Gilkes told NATION SPORT. The head coach said the ideal situation would be to have the team feature as a team in the BFA’s Premier League. (MWN)

SMITH PEEVED BY TRIDENTS NON-PAYMENT – Marquee Barbados Tridents batsman, Dwayne Smith, is upset over the non-payment of the final part of his Caribbean Premier League contract, and says a lack of information from authorities is making the situation even more untenable. The veteran 35-year-old short format specialist was a member of Tridents for the 2018 CPL season but said he and other members of the squad were still awaiting final payments, in the wake of the campaign. Smith was picked up the draft for US$90 000. “There was payment. It is the last payment that we’re waiting on and nobody knows what’s going to happen,” Smith said in an interview with Line & Length Network. “I think it’s something that the CPL should have sorted. They said the last time it happened, it wouldn’t happen again. They gave us their word that they would make sure that this doesn’t happen and it’s still happening.” The tournament ended September 16 with Trinbago Knight Riders retaining their title, after beating Guyana Amazon Warriors in Port of Spain. Tridents endured a wretched run with eight defeats in their 10 matches and bowed out the tournament before the playoff stages. Smith said he was hopeful the payments could be made before year end and said he did not want a scenario which occured in the past, when players were paid just before the next draft. He also hopes CPL organisers can address the issue for the sake of the tournament. “I don’t know what they can do but this is something that could hamper the tournament,” he pointed out. “The CPL has been a talk-a-about tournament since it was introduced and I’m sure that people love to come to the Caribbean to play the cricket and I would never want to see CPL finish but it is something that we really want to get sorted,. “If it happens before the end of the year I would be happy. The last time we only got paid like two days before the draft. You don’t want that again, but at this point in time, no one knows what’s gonna happen,” said Smith, pointing to his uncertainty over playing in 2019.” Smith is a popular figure with Barbadian fans and has been one of the more successful batsmen in the league with four hundreds. And while he too looked forward to playing before his home crowd, Smith said he also needed to be remunerated. “Everybody knows that Dwayne Smith loves Barbados, but Dwayne Smith also needs to be paid, he needs to feed his family. This is the third time this is happening and you don’t know about it,” said the former Barbados and West Indies batsman. “I’ve probably had one or two times [when payment was delayed) but it wasn’t for such an extended period of time. “This is creeping in now and if it doesn’t stop, you’re not going to get any players so it really needs to get sorted.” More worryingly for Smith is the news of the Tridents franchise owner, Dr Vijay Mallya’s pending extradition to his native India to face alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to nearly US$ one billion. Mallya, who purchased Tridents two years ago, has been holed up in England while fighting extradition but a London court ruled last week he could be extradited. “We are unsure about what’s gonna happen. The news about Dr Mallya is even more disturbing. The thing is, we’re trying to get information. I don’t know, but I’ve been trying to get information,” Smith said. “If I sign a contract and I fulfill my contract, I’m supposed to be paid. It is something that is bothering a lot of the players and some won’t speak out. I know I may get bashed for it, but I am one that speaks out and I would like to know what’s happening.” (BT)

MILLION-DOLLAR MAN – Call it a million-dollar Christmas gift. Barbados star and West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite landed another lucrative deal in the glitzy, high profile Indian Premier League when he was snapped up in Tuesday’s draft by Kolkata Knight Riders for US$694 000 (BD$1.39 million). The 30-year-old was the subject of a bidding war between KKR and Kings XI Punjab over his all-rounder services, before KKR finally struck the right price. For Brathwaite, it is the second time in three years he has breached the million-dollar mark in the IPL. Back in 2016, Delhi Daredevils secured his services for BD$1.25 million, following his exploits in the Twenty20 World Cup in India earlier that year, when he struck sixes from the first four balls of the last over of the final, to earn West Indies a dramatic win over England. “What a fantastic buy. We all know what Carlos did at Eden back in 2016! Everyone remembers the name!” KKR tweeted after securing Brathwaite’s services. KKR’s managing director, Venky Mysore, hailed Brathwaite’s acquisition as key for the franchise in the upcoming campaign. “It’s great to get Carlos Brathwaite to the KKR set up. He’s a quality player, a terrific individual, great attitude. He will fit in nicely into the KKR setup,” Mysore said. “More importantly, I think the multiple skills that he brings will supplement what we already have so we’re really looking forward to working with him.” Mysore, who is also one of the principals behind Caribbean Premier League side Trinbago Knight Riders, said the Eden Gardens crowd were unlikely to forget Brathwaite’s exploits there in the T20 World Cup final. “He’ll remember that, the Eden crowd will remember that and all the fans that saw that exciting moment,” Mysore said. “Hopefully he’ll be able to create some magic when he plays and I’m quite confident he will so I’m looking forward to that.” At the two-time champions KKR, Brathwaite will now link up with West Indies teammates, off-spinner Sunil Narine and fast-bowling all-rounder, Andre Russell. And Mysore believes the West Indies trio could make for a dynamic combination at the franchise in the upcoming season. “I think the think tank has ideas about how to create certain combinations and a lot of it depends on the opposition and conditions, but that could be a very interesting proposition,” he said. “… to have the luxury of three world class all-rounders could make a big difference .” The contract will also offer Brathwaite a chance to revive his IPL fortunes after enduring a tough period in the cash-rich league. He managed just 83 runs and seven wickets in his debut season for Delhi and got even less opportunities the following season with just two appearances. Last season, he turned out for Sunrisers Hyderabad but yet again had little impact, appearing in only four games. Brathwaite was one of six West Indies players picked up in the auction on Tuesday with attacking left-handers Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran both going for US$583 000. While Hetmyer was bought by Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pooran was claimed by Kings XI Punjab, which already boasts West Indies superstar Chris Gayle in their ranks. All-rounders Sherfane Rutherford (US$277 000) and Keemo Paul ($70 000) were picked up by Delhi Capitals while fast bowler Oshane Thomas was snared by Rajasthan Royals for $157 000. The 12th season of the IPL bowls off in March next year. (BT)

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