#Bajan Newscaps By Stephanie F. Chase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 11/10/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Friday 10th th November, 2017. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing Weekend Nation Newspaper (WN).

SAY YES TO IMF – With a team from the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) currently on island for talks with the Freundel Stuart-led administration, two retired permanent secretaries are calling on Government to bite the bullet and enter into a funding arrangement with the IMF. However, William Layne and Frederick Forde are both cautioning that any such financing plan must be on Barbados’ terms only. The last time the economy was put into IMF hands back in the early 1990s, the bitter fiscal medicine that followed proved too strong for many Barbadians to stomach and was blamed for the eventual collapse of the then Erskine Sandiford-led administration, following crippling street protests. Among the major expenditure cuts instituted then was an across-the-board eight per cent pay cut in the public sector, which was later restored. However, with the economic and social fallout still fresh in its mind and a general election now looming, the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP), though faced with a deficit of six per cent of gross domestic product and dwindling foreign reserves which stood below the desired 12 weeks of import cover at just 8.6 weeks or $549.7 million at the end of September, is very reluctant to seek financial help from the Fund, even though the IMF publicly indicated at the end of its last Article 1V Consultation back in June that it “stands ready to assist the Government of Barbados, including through continued policy dialogue and technical assistance”. (BT)

BARBADOS’ ECONOMIC MODEL OBSOLETE, WARNS INNISS – Minister of Industry, Commerce, International Business and Small Business Development Donville Inniss has rendered Barbados’ economic model obsolete. Echoing many of the views expressed by former Prime Minister Owen Arthur last week when he called for a new model of development, Inniss pointed out that “over the past 50 years Barbados’ growth and development has been based on an economic model which placed much emphasis on preferential access to markets of Barbados’ principal trading partners, incentivized tax regimes for the foreign investors designed to inject foreign exchange earners into the economy and high protectionist barriers implemented to give local enterprise the necessary space to become sustainable”. However, the Government minister warned that this model had now become outdated as evidenced by the demands by international standard-setting agencies to dismantle these systems. It was during last week’s Innovate Barbados 2017 conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre that Arthur, who resides in Inniss’ constituency but currently sits as an independent in Parliament, had issued pretty much the same warning. The way he put it though was that “a developmental model based on protectionism, trade preferences, unique tax benefits and on economic sectors which do not make the fullest use of our human capital will lead Barbados into an economic cul-de-sac”. And without making direct reference to any of the current fiscal policies of the Freundel Stuart led administration or the recent promises of the Mia Mottley-led Opposition Barbados Labour Party that it will make tertiary education free again and that it will immediately repeal the dreaded National Social Responsibility Levy if it is elected to Government in the next election, Arthur cautioned that the heavy provision of welfare services by the state was no longer sustainable with Barbados currently grappling with a high deficit of six per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), a high national debt in excess of 140 per cent of GDP and dwindling foreign reserves in the amount of 8.6 weeks of import or $549.7 million at the end of September. With the situation as it stands, Arthur was insistent that there must be a new model of development in which innovation, technology and entrepreneurship are the principal drivers of economic and social activity. This very point was made by Inniss today as he addressed the second annual Students’ Conference, under the theme Chartering the Course, Exploring the Possibilities. In fact, he warned that Barbados stood to be left behind unless it embraced the international technological revolution that was changing the very way in which the financial system works. (BT)

ENOUGH – Chanting “we need a new school” and “enough is enough”, a group of about 25 parents and students protested outside the Belmont Primary School this morning, complaining of deplorable conditions at the Government-run learning institution. Today’s protest came amid the closure of the school, which has been affected over the past two days by a pungent odour that is said to be coming from a nearby farm. On Wednesday, the doors to the My Lords Hill, St Michael institution were abruptly closed just after 1p.m. on  account of the foul smell, and late this evening the Ministry of Education announced that classes would also be suspended on Friday owing to the environmental problem. “The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation has reassured parents that its officers and those of the Ministry of Health are working assiduously to find the source of the problem,” the ministry said in a brief statement issued by the Barbados Government Information Service this evening. No reference was made to today’s protest. However, when a Barbados TODAY team arrived at the school around 9 a.m. Thursday, it was met by a group of angry parents who openly vented their frustration over the stench, which they said began affecting Belmont Primary over the weekend and was responsible for the invasion of a swarm of flies onto the school’s compound. Today’s protest is second such demonstration in as many weeks following the October 27 action by parents and guardians of the students at the St Mark’s Primary in St Philip institution who also describe the conditions their charges are faced with as deplorable.  (BT)

BALL DROPPED – Barbados’ main advocacy group for men has been given a failing grade for its representation of fathers who have been denied access to their children. The stinging indictment has come from founder of Access for Fathers, Kammie Holder, who said today he was forced to step up and take the lead on the issue because the Men’s Education Support Association (MESA) had simply dropped the ball. “MESA is an organization which has a problem with men calling bad mothers ‘dead beat’ but has no problem with women calling men the same thing. MESA has lost their mandate and it has left me no choice but to start my own [group] to represent men who are going through this issue,” said Holder, who went public on social media last weekend with details of his own bitter child custody battle and has since stepped up a public campaign on Facebook to raise public awareness of the issues confronting men. When contacted for comment today on Holder’s charges, the Chairman of MESA Grantley Osbourne said he preferred to issue his response at a later date. However, MESA is on record as having voiced strong objection to the harsh treatment it says is usually meted out to men when they go to court to deal with paying child support, compared to the women who refuse to let men see the same children they’re providing money for. Back in 2015, MESA went as far as calling for mandatory DNA testing at childbirth in an effort to protect men from paying child support for children that were not theirs. However, while suggesting that MESA is all bark and no bite, Holder also contended that after years of promising to challenge the legal system, the problem remains largely unchecked with frustration mounting among men who continue to be denied access to their children. (BT)

‘NO GENDER BIAS IN COURT SYSTEM’ – A senior jurist has denied that the law courts here are heavily skewed in favour of women involved in custody disputes with the fathers of their children.   Supreme Court Registrar Barbara Cooke-Alleyne said that despite the never ending refrain from male advocacy groups that women seemingly have a license to deny fathers the right to see their children, the court system has made great strides to ensure balance. “I don’t believe that the court is skewed in any way because I am sure that there are some ladies who would say that the court favours men. You can’t win them all and the court is very aware of the gender issues,” Cooke-Alleyne told Barbados TODAY at the Ann Hill School, Pine Road, St Michael this morning following the launch of the Caribbean leadership project, a seven-year, CAD$20 million project aimed at strengthening the capacity of future leaders in the Caribbean to support gender-sensitive public sector reform and work collaboratively towards regional integration. (BT)

ST PETER STUDENTS RECEIVE NEW KINDLES – Class three students of the Roland Edwards and Boscobel Primary schools in St Peter are now better equipped to explore the world of information after receiving new tablets from the Aron & Christina Truss Foundation yesterday. To the delight of the students, the registered charity handed over 78 Amazon Kindle devices, which were donated by Don Thomson, wife Mila and two sons Michael and Daniel, who recently moved to Barbados. Mr Thomson said he was happy to provide the students with the learning tools and urged them to fully use their gadgets. Also on hand for the brief presentation was Barbados Labour Party candidate for St Peter Colin Jordan, who spoke on the behalf of parliamentary representative Owen Arthur. He too encouraged the students to put the tablets to good use and to handle them with care. Founder of the charity Aron Truss heaped praises on the Thomson family, encouraging their two sons and the other students to find ways to give back to their schools and community.   (BT)

SLOW DOWN – Not so fast! That was how Member of Parliament for St Thomas Cynthia Forde has responded to suggestions by some public service vehicle (PSV) operators that students should be banned from their vehicles. Earlier this week some operators called on Government to impose a ban of students travelling on privately run PSVs following an altercation between three students from a rural secondary school and a conductor, which resulted in the conductor sustaining injuries to both arms. However, Forde called for cooler heads to prevail, suggesting instead that all sides meet to explore ways to end violence by students using the public transportation system. (BT)

HAYNESVILLE TENANTS FEAR MASSIVE FIRE – Tenants of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) in Haynesville, St James say they fear it is only a matter of time before a massive electrical fire destroys their homes and their lives. The residents complain that the signs are clear that the 40-year-old electrical system is no longer reliable and poses a threat to the lives of householders. Two weeks ago, fire destroyed one of three bedrooms in an NHC unit in Haynesville, which one of the occupants, 43-year-old Ryan Odle, blamed on an electrical fault. It was the latest blaze which tenants blame on a faulty electrical system which they said keeps showing signs that danger is not far away. The Opposition Barbados Labour Party candidate for the area Sandra Husbands today presented the NHC with a petition bearing close to 200 signatures of concerned tenants demanding that the state agency makes rewiring of the Haynesville units a priority. The BLP candidate said the NHC has been advising its tenants that it did not have the funds to rewire the units or for simple repairs such as replacing doors or toilets. However, Husbands said Government needed to take another look at its priorities and place the tenants at the top of the list. David Rogers was not at home when reporters visited the area this afternoon, but his brother Curtis Rogers explained the challenges facing his sibling. Another tenant, Akera Jones, expressed fears that while her unit has been unscathed so far, it was only a matter of time before fire breaks out there.  (BT)

ST PETER WOMAN MISSING – Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating 29-year-old Roxanne Matthews, of Collins, Boscobel, St Peter. Matthews, formerly of Broomfield, St Lucy, was last seen sometime around 6 a.m. on Tuesday, November 7, by her boyfriend Hugh Thompson at his Collins residence. At the time she was wearing blue leggings and a faded pink shirt. Matthews is 167 centimeters tall, of brown complexion, thickly built, has an oval face, thick lips, thick short neck,and is full breasted with a protruding stomach. She has her hair braided, speaks with a slur, has an erect appearance and is in the habit of swinging her hands. She is known to frequent Speightstown, St Peter and Broomfield, St Lucy and can be considered as a slow learner. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the District ‘E’ Police Station at telephone numbers 419-1730 or 419-1731, police emergency number 211, or the nearest police station. (BT)

UPDATE: PLANTATION MANAGER SHOT DURING ROBBERY – Supervisor/manager at Bulkeley Plantation, Charles Bynoe, was shot during a robbery this morning. The incident occurred around 11:05 a.m. and left the 64-year-old nursing a gunshot injury to his left foot. Police say Bynoe returned to the St George plantation and encountered two men, one armed with a firearm. Two shots were fired at Bynoe and the men then fled the scene with an undisclosed sum of money. Bynoe was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance for medical attention. Anyone who can provide information to assist police with their investigations is asked to contact the District “B” Police Station at telephone 437-4311, CID Oistins at 418-2608, police emergency number 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.  (WN)

THEIVES TAKE MORE CARS – Car thieves in Barbados have seemingly found a niche market and are cashing in on it. Within the past three years the number of stolen vehicles has increased almost five-fold. According to police public relations officer Acting Inspector Roland Cobbler, while there were only 22 reported car thefts in 2014, last year that number had ballooned to 106. That figure was still slightly less than the 111 cars stolen in 2015. In 2012 and 2013 there were 68 and 63 cars, respectively, reported stolen. (WN)

BOYCE ACCUSED OF CAR THEFT – A 28-year-old man is out on $5,000 bail after appearing in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on a criminal charge. Rayon Andrew Boyce, of Charles Row Bridge, St George, was not required to plead to the indictable charge that he took a Suzuki Swift motorcar without the owner’s consent, sometime between October 22 and November 7. There was no objection to bail for the accused man, who is due to reappear before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant on January 4. In the meantime, he must stay away from the complainant in the matter. (BT)

THIEF CAUGHT WHILE POSING AS A HOTEL GUEST – A 40-year-old cocaine addict, who pleaded guilty to theft, will spend the next three weeks at the Psychiatric Hospital. Gaylan Alphonso Marshall, of no fixed place of abode, consented to an assessment by doctors at the institution today after his attorney, Mohia Ma’at, appealed for help for his client who had admitted to stealing two hand towels, four soaps, five bottles of mouth wash, three rolls of toilet paper, one body cleanser, five bottles of water and two boxes of tissue worth $78.30, belonging to the Hilton Hotel. Security personnel became suspicious when they spotted Marshall on the eighth floor of the hotel yesterday, carrying two bags. He was questioned and asked whether he needed help. Putting on an American accent, Marshall answered that he was a guest at the establishment and was on his way to visit friends at Worthing, Christ Church. Police were called in and Marshall was arrested after he could not give an account of the items, which he later admitted to taking from a storage room on the eighth floor of the luxury resort. Ma’at told Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant his client was a former waiter and server who has been “sliding down hill” since losing his job last year. “He found himself using not a little spliff, but dope. He says it is out of control and he would like his life back,” Ma’at told the magistrate while appealing for the first time offender to be considered for drug rehabilitation at Verdun House. Marshall returns to court on December 1 to find out whether he qualifies for the programme. (BT)

TEEN HELD ON GUN CHARGES – A 17-year-old, who is alleged to have had an illegal weapon and ammunition in his possession, was today given an automatic 28-day stay at Dodds prison. Jaquan Antonio Richards, of No.16, Lacelles Terrace, Pinelands, St Michael, is accused of having the firearm and 16 rounds of ammunition on November 6, without a valid licence. The teenager, who is being represented by attorney-at-law Shadia Simpson, was not required to plead to the indictable charge when he appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy Sargeant. However, Richards pleaded not guilty to allegedly having $70 worth of cannabis in his possession on the same day. He is due to reappear in the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on December 7. (BT)

CRIMINAL CHARGES LAID AGAINST BOYS IN SCHOOL BUS STABBING INCIDENT – Police have arrested and formally charged two schoolboys in connection with a stabbing incident which occurred sometime around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 7, on board a school bus. A third boy, who is 15-years-old, was stabbed twice in the upper left side of his back during the incident. The two school boys, ages 14 and 16, were formally charged with the offence of serious bodily harm. They both appeared before Magistrate Wanda Blair in the Holetown Magistrates’ Court today. The 16-year-old was remanded to prison while the 14-year-old was remanded to the Government Industrial School. Both expected to reappear in Court on December 5. (BT)

MAN WHO ASSAULTED POLICE COMMISSIONER BACK IN COURT – The man who assaulted Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith was back in court today. Dewayne Carlo Griffith, 39, of Crab Hill, St Lucy, was arrested and charged for a number of offences which were committed against the Commissioner in the Crab Hill area on Saturday, October 28. He reappeared in the Holetown Magistrates’ Court and was further remanded to prison, and will reappear in court on December 7. Griffith has been charged with obstructing police in the execution of duty, assaulting police in the execution of duty and resisting police in the execution of duty.  (BT)

‘LORD EVIL’ AWAITS BAIL DECISION – The infamous Andre Omar Lord Evil Jackman will find out tomorrow whether he gets to maintain his freedom. After hearing submissions from Jackman’s lead attorney Arthur Holder and Crown Counsel Oliver Thomas in relation to a violation of Jackman’s bail condition, Acting Judge Alrick Scott deferred his decision until November 10. Jackman, 38, of Stroud Bay, Crab Hill, St Lucy, appeared before the High Court judge today accused of breaching the 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily curfew imposed on him back in May 2016. The state submitted in the No. 4 Supreme Court this afternoon that Jackman’s $175,000 bail should be revoked and that he be remanded to HMP Dodds. However, an incensed Holder told the media after the hearing that his client was being discriminated against. Holder admitted that Jackman had breached the curfew on October 28 in the presence of Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith. However, he contended that the breach was “minuscule”, given that his client had complied with every single bail condition since he was granted bail over a year ago on a murder charge. The attorney-at-law added that the submissions made today were unprecedented in his 18-year career.   The attorney-at-law added that the submissions made today were unprecedented in his 18-year career. Claiming that there were other accused persons who had repeatedly breached the conditions of their bail but had not been hauled before the court, Holder insisted that justice must appear to be done. (BT)

UNDER THE INFLUENCE – A 37-year-old car washer, who was intoxicated when he broke a pane of glass, has two weeks to compensate his victim. Devon Mario Sampson, of 3rd Avenue, Chapman Lane, St Michael, damaged the property belonging to Glen Harvey on November 2. Harvey rents rooms to individuals, including a woman who Sampson is familiar with. On the day in question, the woman informed him that she was not feeling well and closed the door leaving him in the gallery. Moments later she heard the sound of breaking glass and realized that the glass on the door was broken and Sampson was bleeding. She reported the matter when he asked for help with his injured hand. “He was intoxicated and didn’t know what he was doing. Thankfully no one was hurt but himself. In his moment of sobriety he has realized that alcohol is not his friend and any company he should keep,” Sampson’s attorney Mohia Ma’at told Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant. In his submissions for leniency, he also urged the magistrate not impose a custodial sentence but an order of compensation on his client, who is a car washer at the YMCA. The magistrate complied and requested that Sampson pays $100 in compensation in two weeks, otherwise he will have to spend six weeks in prison. Sampson was also placed on a yearlong bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. If he breaches the order and is found guilty of any crime during that time he will face a $750 forthwith fine or three months imprisonment. (BT)

CAWMERE NEW V’BALL CHAMPS – CAWMERE are the new kings of Division 1 volleyball. The Waterford lads predictably captured their first ever Goddard Enterprises Limited senior title in a bittersweet moment at the Wildey Gymnasium on Wednesday night. Key man Barbados captain Shawn Simpson suffered an injury in the second set as Cawmere lost to deposed kings Chargers 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 16-25. Ironically, in the preceding match, Progressive needed five sets to stop All Stars 25-16, 17-25, 27-25, 24-26, 15-10. That outcome meant that there was no one who could then catch Cawmere and stop them from ascending the throne. Progressive ended the league with 30 points while Cawmere, with one game in hand, are on 33 points. Chargers, with a game in hand, have joined Deacons on 26 points. All Stars are on 14 points with one game against Foundation United who are on 11. (WN)

FIFA FINALLY HERE – FIFA is here to stay, and so is new regional office development manager for the Caribbean, Marlon Glean. Glean confirmed that he had been on the island for the past six weeks and was in the process of finalising plans to move into their South Coast offices at Welches, Christ Church, early next month. The WEEKEND NATION met up with the new head at the Barbados Football Association (BFA) during a site visit for officials to view the progress of construction on phase one of the refurbishment project at the Wildey AstroTurf yesterday. At a press conference to launch this year’s football season in January, BFA president Randy Harris had confirmed that the FIFA regional office would be set up in Barbados the following month. However, the move took longer than expected.  (WN)

GAYLE: ‘THEY TOOK ME LIGHTLY’ – West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has claimed he was taken lightly in mediation proceedings ahead of his successful bid to sue Australian entity Fairfax Media. Gayle succeeded with litigation against the company for an amount yet to be decided, after it published allegations the batsman had revealed his penis to a masseuse, Leanne Russell, during the 2015 World Cup.  Two weeks ago, a Sydney court ruled that the company had not only acted with malice when it published the allegations but had also failed to establish whether they were true. In typical flamboyant fashion, the batman who had called the allegations ‘deeply hurtful’ has taken to social media platform Twitter, promising to share his story with one lucky media house in an exclusive interview, but there’s a catch, it will cost US$300,000. “I have a very interested successful story to tell!! It can be an exclusive 60mins interview or y’all just have to wait on my next book!” Gayle said via Twitter. “It’s about what transpired in court and behind the scenes in Australia, how they went to bigger heads to get me ban,” he added. “How they want to use me as a scapegoat over a interview-I’ll tell you what I do every day after court, believe me, when I break this down to y’all it will be like a movie!” “No holding back! Bidding starts at US$ 300K ($420,000) for this interview! So much to say & I will! “Even what transpired in the mediation couple weeks before court … they take me lightly but I never scared of the media! I was ready to fight until my last breath! “Who ready for my story just let me know…you will have to visit Jamaica for this interview!”   (BT)

HIT SHOW IS BACK - 1627 And All … back! One of Barbados’ most popular historical and cultural showcases made a triumphant return to the stage last Thursday. At the Ixora Bar and Restaurant at Golden Sands Hotel, scores of people, including tourists, locals and Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy, were present to witness 1627 And All That. After the premiere night, Sealy praised the performances while public relations officer for the event, Jacqueline Collins, said she was satisfied with the response to the event despite having to push it back from the original date. She recalled that the original date for the revival of the historical show was postponed due to bad weather and the closing ceremony of CARIFESTA. The internationally acclaimed presentation with the Pinelands Creative Workshop highlighted Barbadian culture through colourful performances, some drama and skillfully choreographed routines. The event featured folk singing, a stilt walker, the Mother Sally, performers who depicted the traditions and rhythms of the Spiritual Baptist movement and dancers who depicted the revelry of Kadooment Day. (WN)

THE LOGOS RETURNS – The Logos returns It’s been eight years since the world’s largest literary book fair – the Logos Hope- sailed into Barbados waters, and today captain and crew received a warm welcome from officials, who described the visit as long overdue. The mega ship, with its 385-member crew, comprising over 60 nationalities and a library of 6, 000 books, will be docked at the Flour Mill, along the Spring Garden Highway until next Friday. Several dignitaries, including Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education Senator Harcourt Husbands; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education June Chandler; Venezuelan Ambassador Francisco Perez-Santana and United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Linda Taglialatela were among the first to board the ship this morning. (BT)

That’s all for today folks there are 54 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 8/17/2017

Good Morning  #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Thursday, August 17TH, 2017. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Daily Newspaper (DN).

RING THE BELL! – Two of Barbados’ leading political scientists have reiterated their call for Prime Minister Freundel Stuart to call early elections so the country’s critical economic and social problems can be addressed urgently. Political scientist and pollster Peter Wickham and retired Dean of the University of the West Indies Faculty of Social Sciences Dr George Belle were firm in that call, with the latter suggesting that the current administration is bankrupt of ideas to fix the country’s woes. He argued that Democratic Labour Party (DLP) parliamentarians should also be concerned about their political future because they too will be negatively affected the longer the party stays in office. Though not always in agreement with the retired lecturer in political science, Wickham was on the same page with him on the call for an early poll. The pollster argued that an election would either force the DLP to come up with a plan if Stuart did not have one or, alternatively, give way to someone else with a plan. During separate interviews with Barbados TODAY both Belle and Wickham also addressed Stuart’s role in last week’s Social Partnership meeting at the Hilton Barbados Resort, although they had different takes on the issue. Belle questioned Stuart’s chairmanship of the meeting, arguing that the role should have been delegated to Minister of Labour Senator Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo. The political scientist further contended that the country saw no leadership from the Prime Minister, only a “pedantic summation” at the end of the discussions. But Wickham argued that Stuart’s performance was consistent with what he believed to be his function as the country’s political leader. “Stuart has no desire to take control of the situation nationally. I think that we would have been foolish to expect that he would have done something different to his consistent position, which is that the ministers will run the Government, while he supervises as chairman,” the pollster told Barbados TODAY, reiterating that Stuart’s style of leadership was not one of engaging the public. “He has no desire to engage on these issues. None. He has a desire to chair and to facilitate and that is exactly what he did.” Wickham said Barbadians should not expect Stuart to change at this stage of his political career. “That is his articulated and defended leadership style. He is not moving away from it now. He wants to be a chairman, not a leader,” he argued. (BT)

MAXWELL FOLK FIXING ROAD - The badly-damaged Maxwell Coast Road is finally being fixed. That news would undoubtedly make residents happy, if only it was not them who were shelling out thousands of dollars to repair it themselves. In the baking midday sun yesterday, a few irked residents watched as a “Bobcat” laid out marl in an attempt to fill the pothole-infested path in the Christ Church district. They told the DAILY NATION the road had rapidly deteriorated due to the constant traffic of construction trucks from the nearby luxury property, Sandals Royal Barbados. (DN)

CARIFESTA ‘NEVER UNDER THREAT’ - Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer Suckoo has strongly denied reports that CARIFESTA XIII was under threat. In fact, the Government senator insisted recent meetings held at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) involving the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) were only centred around wage negotiations. Meetings were held on Monday and Tuesday at he state-run organisation in the Pine, St Michael, and attended by officials from both the CBC and the BWU. “There was never a threat to disrupt CARIFESTA. The meetings at CBC were merely wage negotiations. There was no meeting about any threat to disrupt CARIFESTA because the unions understand that CARIFESTA isn’t a local event, but a regional one,” she said. “There was never a threat of industrial action by the union.” (DN)

GOING PLACES - Chairman of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI) Alvin Jemmott believes the country’s efforts at expanding the tourism product is bearing fruit, especially as other destinations enter the marketplace. With the country preparing to welcome an estimated 2,000 visitors for the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) from August 17-27, Jemmott said the cultural spectacular was coming at an ideal time for the industry. Meantime, the BTMI chairman has revealed that the former home accommodation programme had evolved from what was envisaged. That initiative, first highlight over a decade ago for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, and was developed to cater for the projected increased arrivals due to the region’s staging of mega sporting event, during what is a peak travel season. Homeowners were invited to use the spare capacity in homes to accommodate tourists. Drawing reference to programmes like Airbnb, he said the number of yearly booking through this platform indicated that market was steadily increasing. He further told Barbados TODAY that effort were ongoing to entice visitors to these shores beyond the tradition means; with a heavy focus on new media. (BT)

PELICAN VILLAGE TENANTS WANT TO TAKE OVER THE CRAFT MARKET - Pelican Village on Harbour Road, St Michael could receive a new lease on life as early as the end of this month, if the tenants win the tender bid to manage the outlets there. In anticipation of taking control of their destiny, they are in the process of forming a cooperative, and have established links with the Barbados Cooperative Society (BCS) to ensure their venture is a success. The tenants have also formed ties with the Barbados Tourism Product Authority, the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, the National Cultural Foundation and the Barbados Museum to draw on their expertise, Managing Director of Bajan Art Forms Onkphra Wells, told Barbados TODAY. Wells is one of the driving forces behind the project. Minister of Industry, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss reported last December that tenants had owed the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) some $15 million in arrears, up from $10 million in 2014. Since then, Government has been seeking to outsource management of the under-patronized Pelican complex. (BT)

TURKEY BUSINESS SOARING AGAIN AT CHICKMONT - Three years after a major fire cost more than $770,000 in losses and depleted the turkey stock at a farm operated by Chickmont Foods Ltd, the company is reporting that things are back to normal. A fire at ZRS Farms on August 26, 2014 damaged a pen and affected the estimated 7,600 two-week-old turkeys that it housed. General Manager and Director of Chickmont Foods Edward Albecker said at the time there was no need for Barbadians to worry about any turkey shortage as a result of the fire. Today, while Albecker did not go into details about the company’s recovery, he told Barbados TODAYin a brief interview, everything was “pretty much” back to normal with the turkey producing arm of the company, and business overall was booming. In fact, he said besides having enough turkeys and chicken to serve the local market, the island’s main poultry producing company had witnessed an estimated five per cent increase in the sales of eggs over the last few weeks. The Balls Plantation, Lowland, Christ Church company is an amalgamation of poultry companies, Montrose Limited, Chickgrowers Limited and Super Poultry Farms Limited. The Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association (BEPPA) gave the assurance that there was no shortage of supply and that the price of eggs had not increased. (BT)

SUGAR TWIST - A fresh attempt is being made to bring the stalled Andrews sugar project in St Joseph back to life. Nearly one-and-a-half years after the High Court upheld an injunction by Andrews Great House owner Emile Peter Elias to shut down the US$250 million venture, Government is returning to court to argue that the wrong officials were sued. With the project on life support, Elias’ attorney Ebrahim Lakhi told Barbados TODAY the Freundel Stuart administration had applied to the court to have Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins and the Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, QC, removed as the subjects of the injunction. He said the administration was contending that it was Stuart, in his capacity as Minister responsible for Town Planning, who should have been sued in the first place. Lakhi said the authorities were objecting to the judicial review application which said the chief town planner had exceeded his jurisdiction in granting planning permission for the project. (BT)

STILL NO SETTLEMENT IN SIGHT TO HYATT CASE - After ten hours of arguments spread over two days, those involved in the Hyatt Centric legal battle are no closer to a settlement. A High Court judge today adjourned the hearing until tomorrow, after close to seven hours of legal arguments today. This after Barry Gale, QC, representing Hyatt developer, the Mark Maloney-led Vision Development Inc, spent three hours last Wednesday trying to convince Justice Sonia Richards at the Supreme Court that attorney-at-law David Comissiong had no legal standing to attempt to stop construction of the US$100 million hotel. The hearing resumed this morning around 10:30 with Gale completing his arguments, followed by Queens Counsel Hal Gollop, who is representing Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. Following an over two-hour session the parties broke for lunch, after which Comissiong began presenting his arguments from around 2:40p.m. on why he requested a judicial review of the permission granted by the Prime Minister, in his capacity as Minister responsible for Town & Country Planning, to Maloney’s company to build the 15-storey hotel on Bay Street, The City. At around 6 p.m. the judge adjourned the hearing until 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, at which time Gale and Gollop will reply to any points that may have emerged from Comissiong’s four-hour presentation. (BT)

LIAT LAUNCHES TICKETING PARTNERSHIP WITH NINE AIRLINES - LIAT, the Caribbean Airline will this week open access to more destinations with the launch of its Interline Gateway. The Interline Gateway hosted by Travel Port will allow LIAT customers to book tickets with LIAT along with any Interline partners. The product which will be available through the LIAT Call Centre will see passengers being able to book tickets which include a LIAT flight along with flights from any of the nine interline partners: JetBlue, Caribbean Airlines, British Airways, Corsair, Virgin Atlantic, Air France-KLM, Air Canada, Surinam Airways, and WinAir. The payments for these tickets will be made via credit or debit cards. This will now allow LIAT passengers to make one booking via LIAT for their travel as well as have LIAT assistance in case of changes. “LIAT is always looking at ways to improve the product we offer our customers and allowing them to access the destinations offered by our interline partners is another way we are doing this” stated chief executive officer, Julie Reifer-Jones. Reifer-Jones noted that the Interline Gateway has been in development and LIAT was happy to bring this added benefit to the market. Customers who wish to use the service can call the LIAT Call Centre and speak to an agent about booking a reservation. The Interline Gateway will be accepting bookings from August 15. (DN)

CITY CRIME PLEA - A leading cleric has called for a national conversation on crime in Barbados, and one that includes those actually involved in criminal activity. Monsignor Vincent Blackett of the Catholic Church made the plea as a consultative process that will see churches, non-governmental organisations and businesses in Bridgetown provide solutions to the upsurge in crime in the area kicked off yesterday. The Henderson Williams City Development Foundation held an emergency meeting at Hilton Barbados where a large contingent from various churches in The City, as well as business and community leaders, gathered. “I came in here this morning and I looked at people around the table, but there are many pockets. Missing are people who occupy The City but do not live there,” Blackett said. (DN)

GUNPLAY IN THE PINE - While residents of The Pine, St Michael said they were used to outbreaks of gunfire, the brazen manner in which two men were shot last night came as a surprise to many of them. At around 9 p.m. 40-year-old Kerwin Depeche and 35-year-old Ryan Quimby were hanging out with other men at a shop in the area of Block 5, Bottom Close in Wildey, St Michael when an unknown assailant exited a van and opened fire on the group of men, injuring Depeche and Quimby. Depeche was shot in his right foot, while Quimby was shot twice in his left thigh. When Barbados TODAY visited the area, known as Dungeon, residents were prepared to comment, but on strict condition of anonymity. Some described the incident as chilling, but most said it was unprecedented in its brazenness. Another concerned person blamed old rivalries for the violence in the community, although he did not suggest this to be the case with last night’s shooting. Another resident sought to hold the country’s political leaders responsible, suggesting they were not setting good examples. He also said the authorities were placing attention of the wrong people, expending energy on the “ghetto youth”, while the real culprits responsible for importing illegal guns were left untouched. (BT)

BRADSHAW CALLS FOR MORE INTERACTIVE FORM OF POLICING - Member of Parliament for St Michael South East Santia Bradshaw is calling for a kinder and gentler form of policing and more community activities to combat the worrying rise in gun violence. In the wake of a shooting last night that left two men nursing injuries, the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) parliamentarian was particularly concerned about the manner in which lawmen interact with the youth in her constituency. It was around 9 p.m. when 40-year-old Kerwin Depeche and 35-year-old Ryan Quimby were hanging out with other men at a shop in the area of Block 5, Bottom Close in Wildey, St Michael when an unknown assailant exited a van and opened fire on the group of men, injuring Depeche and Quimby. Bradshaw said the shooting was unfortunate, considering the fact that there had been ongoing efforts to ensure residents felt comfortable at home. However, she also said the Royal Barbados Police Force needed to change its approach to policing the area, suggesting that the perceived aggressive method was not working. In condemning the violence, Bradshaw said there were several reasons for the surge in gun crimes, with joblessness at the top of the list. The Opposition politician told Barbados TODAY community centres within the constituency needed to be upgraded to offer opportunities for the youth to become engaged in productive programmes. (BT)

LEAVE IT TO US! - Law enforcement officials are cautioning against vigilantism after the latest shooting incident caused shock and fear in a St Michael community. Police reported that sometime after 9 p.m. on Tuesday, an unknown assailant opened fire in the area of Block 5, Bottom Close, Wildey. As a result, Kerwin Depeche, 40, also from Wildey, received a gunshot injury to the right foot, while Ryan Quimby, 35, of Bush Hall, St Michael, was shot twice in the left thigh. Depeche and Quimby were liming by a shop with other men when a van pulled up. The shooter got out and opened fire on the group. The two were transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by private vehicle for medical attention. Some residents accused police of inadequate patrols and only appearing after the fact, and said they would have to defend the block. (DN)

WANTED MAN SURRENDERS - Forty-seven-year-old Shanley Vergusson Stoute, who was the subject of a wanted man bulletin, is now in police custody. Stoute, who is also known as Stoute Man, of Parish Land, Christ Church, surrendered to police, accompanied by an attorney, Tuesday, August 15. He is currently assisting police with investigations. (BT)

BAIL FOR WOMAN WHO ALLEGEDLY HELPED WANTED MAN - A mother of two who allegedly helped a wanted man evade police earlier this year, was granted her freedom yesterday after spending five months on remand at HMP Dodds. Ashley Danica Anita Jones was released on bail after Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant accepted her two $5,000 sureties, but with strict conditions. The No. 17 Birch Path, Regent Hill, Pinelands, St Michael resident had been on remand since February after appearing in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court charged with perverting the course of public justice through a series of acts, when she provided wanted man Livardo Hinds with daily meals, concealed his whereabouts and gave his name as Livardo Weekes to protect him from prosecution. Jones must not associate with Hinds until her case is settled and she will also have to report to the District ‘A’ Police Station every Monday and Thursday with valid identification The accused woman, who was represented by attorney Romain Marshall, returns to court on November 23. (BT)

BAIL FOR WOMAN ACCUSED OF HARBOURING ALLEGED SHOOTER - Twenty-four-year-old Patrice Deisha Downes, who was accused of harbouring shooter Reco Omar Grimes, was released on bail when she appeared in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Grimes was charged with discharging a firearm in the Fairchild Street market on August 11. Downes of Hothersal Terrace, St Michael, was not required to plead to the charge that knowing or believing that Reco Grimes had committed serious bodily harm, she did an act with intent to impede his apprehension or prosecution, sometime between August 11 and 12. There was no objection to bail, and Magistrate Cuffy-Sargeant released her with two sureties of $5 000 each. Downes, who was represented by Angella Mitchell-Gittens, was ordered to report to Central Police Station every Wednesday. The accused returns to court on November 22.  (DN)

HINDS CHARGED OVER KADOOMENT DAY VIOLENCE - A St Michael painter accused of engaging in violent behaviour with other persons on Kadooment Dayis out on $10,000 bail. Thirty-year-old O’Neal Clavis Nile Hinds of Belle Gully, St Michael was not required to plead to the indictable charge when he appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant yesterday, accompanied by his attorney Shadia Simpson. Although Hinds has a case pending in the High Court, there were no objections from prosecutor Station Sergeant Glenda Carter-Nicholls when it came time for a bail application to be made. However, Hinds, who walked with the aid of crutches, must report to Central Police Station every Friday before noon with valid identification as a condition of his bail release. He makes his second appearance in the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on November 10. (BT)

HOLDER GETS $5,000 BAIL - There were no objections to bail when Lamar Jamal Holder appeared before a Bridgetown magistrate today charged with committing two indictable offences. It is alleged that 32-year-old Holder unlawfully and maliciously wounded Ryan Benskin on July 13, and engaged in violent conduct with other people. The 3rd Avenue Licorish Village, My Lords Hill, St Michael resident was granted $5,000 bail and ordered to report to the District ‘A’ Police Station by noon every Wednesday with a valid form of identification. Holder returns to court on October 17 when two other co-accused men are scheduled to appear before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant. (BT)

MAGISTRATE ADVISES YOUTH AGAINST GOING WRONG ROAD - A local magistrate has encouraged Barbadian youth to take advantage of the numerous opportunities being made available to them to be leaders and role models. Magistrate Douglas Frederick gave the advice to the 11- to 16-year-olds who were at the closing ceremony of the Shaping Adolescents to Function in their Environment (SAFE) Zone summer programme last Friday. Broaching the issue of gun violence, the magistrate contended that until a solution is found to address that problem, the island would remain in a worrying state. President of SOS Fabian Sargeant added that more social workers were needed in primary and secondary schools. In light of the acts of violence that have been seen on traditional and social media, he said, an intervention was needed to bring about much change. (BT)

EX-BLOCK LEADER TELLS HOW TO HELP YOUTH - A former block leader has put forward several suggestions he thinks can help get the nation’s youth back on track and away from criminal activity. Winston “Iston Bull” Branch, former block leader from Chapman Lane, The City, said finance was important to make the youth more self-sufficient and able to run their own enterprises.  He listed agriculture as a viable option, pointing out there was a lot of idle land that the youth could be given access to. They also needed access to loans, which would be channelled into money-making ventures where they could work for a salary These points were made during Branch’s contribution at an emergency meeting at Hilton Barbados yesterday by The Henderson Williams City Development Foundation to discuss crime in The City. (DN)

HIV A HARD LESSON - Educating children about HIV/AIDS is proving to be a challenge for social workers. This observation was made by community nutrition officer, Stacia Whittaker, of the HIV/AIDS Food Bank. She said children were joining adults in prejudice against people living with the disease. Whittaker, who has been with the Food Bank since 2003, said the level of discrimination in the country was saddening. She added that teaching children about the illness was proving to be difficult as they ignored the information given by social workers and listened to the myths they heard from adults at home. Speaking on the sidelines of a donation yesterday of food supplies and toiletries by the Barbados Defence Force’s summer camp Camp Energy, she said: “The Ministry of Health, Education and Labour have portfolios that deal with HIV/AIDS education, so there is a lot of information out there. (DN)

LUCKY PINK - Former international cricketers Franklyn Stephenson and Roland Butcher think that even if the West Indies can make the adjustment to playing under lights in the opening Test at Edgbaston today, the three-match series will prove to be a major challenge against an England side in their own conditions. Stephenson, who played County cricket in England for Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire and Sussex, told NATIONSPORT yesterday he hopes the team can quickly adapt to the pink ball, which will be used in England for the first time. “The pink ball is relatively novel and I hope that that works in the boys’ favour. Not all is against them but I am not holding out much hope for the West Indies in this Test series,” he said. Stephenson said that Jason Holder’s men can take some heart from the solid performances in the pre-series tour matches. (DN)

WINDIES NOT FAZED BY UNDERDOG TAG - Inexperienced West Indies will hope to silence their many detractors when they clash with a dominant England in the historic day/night opening Test at Edgbaston here today, in what is likely to be their sternest challenge in recent times. Written off long before arriving here for the three-Test series, the Caribbean side, with just three wins in their last 23 Tests, are expected to be put under intense pressure from an England squad still buoyant from their emphatic series win over South Africa last month. Further, the Windies have not won a Test here in 17 years and are also without a series win in nearly three decades, since Sir Vivian Richards presided over a 3-1 victory in 1988. Captain Jason Holder, on his first tour of England since taking over the helm of the side two years ago, told reporters here yesterday that despite being underdogs, he had been boosted by his side’s form in the recent first-class tour matches.  (DN)

MAXED OUT! - There may be nine Barbadians on the Windies cricket team but most of Barbados won’t get to see them in England anyway. SportsMax, the region’s exclusive rights holder of the England tour, is no longer airing on MCTV, as the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to International Media Content Limited (IMC), owner of SportsMax. SportsMax chief executive officer Oliver McIntosh confirmed the news after IMC issued CBC a termination notice yesterday for failing to “fulfil its obligation to pay IMC as per its agreement” for the last six months. “We would have assumed that since SportsMax is part of a bigger subscription package, that the funds that MCTV received for the channels would’ve just flowed to us, but that hasn’t been the case for a period of time that we estimate to be more than half a year,” explained McIntosh in an exclusive interview with DAILY NATION.  (DN)

U-15S DEFEAT PUERTO RICO - Barbados’ footballers sustained their winning streak yesterday, defeating Puerto Rico 2-0 in a top-of-the-table CONCACAF Under-15 Championship clash at the IMG Academy in Florida. Substitutes Thierry Gale and Nazario Adamson came off the bench to score a goal each in the second half to lead the team to victory. Coach Renaldo “Pee Wee” Gilkes, while admitting the match was harder than the one played against Guadeloupe, said the boys handled the pressure really well, paced themselves and scored at the appropriate time. “It was another difficult one. The competition is very very high over here. All of us [are] in Division 2 of the CONCACAF competition. The weather conditions were a bit more favourable. There was a bit more breeze . . . and I think we were able to settle down and play our brand of football,” Gilkes said. (DN)

34 FOR GOODWILL SWIM MEET - A 34-MEMBER Barbados team will leave the island tomorrow for Guyana to compete at the 23rd Goodwill Swim Championships. This short course meet will be contested over three days from Friday to Sunday and competition is open to regional swimmers in the eight and under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15 -17 age groups. Swimmers who competed at the CARIFTA Swim Championships earlier this year, are not eligible for the meet, which will be held at the National Aquatic Centre on the East Bank of Demerara. Apart from Barbados and hosts Guyana, the other participating countries are Suriname, Bermuda, The Bahamas, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. (DN)

BEAUTY’S BACK - When seven-year-old Beauty was rescued by a team from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) three months ago, she was nothing but skin and bones. Now the loving pitbull crossed with an unknown breed is healthy and lively again, and was the centre of attention yesterday when youngsters from the Barbados Defence Force’s Camp Energy visited the RSPCA on Spring Garden, St Michael.   (DN)

DANIEL CRAIG CONFIRMS HE WILL RETURN AS JAMES BOND - British actor Daniel Craig has confirmed he will reprise the role of James Bond one last time, ending months of speculation.  Craig made the revelation during an appearance on the US TV programme The Late Show on Tuesday. Asked by host Stephen Colbert whether he would return as James Bond, Craig responded: “Yes”, to cheers from the audience.  Craig has appeared four times as the spy with a taste for martini: in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre. Eon Productions, the company that runs the movie franchise, said on its website that the 25th Bond movie would be released in US cinemas on November 8, 2019, with a traditional early release in Britain and the rest of the world. Asked by Colbert whether he would appear in any further Bond movies after that one, Craig said no. “I think this is it. I just want to go out on a high note and I can’t wait,” he said. (DN)

That’s all for today folks there are 136 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 8/12/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Saturday , August 12TH, 2017. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Saturday Sun Newspaper (SS).

‘WE’RE IN TROUBLE’ ECONOMIC SITUATION WORSE THAN WHAT HAS BEEN REPORTED, WARNS ARTHUR - Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur says by any measurement today’s Social Partnership consultation on the economy was an abysmal failure for the simple fact that no common ground was achieved on the vexing issue of the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) or the way forward for the economy generally. Back in May, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler had announced a $542 million austerity package, which included a hike in the NSRL from two per cent to ten per cent, with a view to wiping out a $537 million deficit. However, the onerous tax package has been met with strong resistance from both the private sector and trade unions, who continued today to agitate for relief on behalf of their constituents. While saying he was impressed with the way in which the General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union Toni Moore forcefully put forward the union’s position during today’s consultation, Arthur, who chaired the Social Partnership for 14 years as Prime Minister from 1994 to 2008, said it was telling that the only commitment given by Government at the end of today’s eight hour consultation with the private sector and the unions, was for more dialogue on the economy. “We are in a stalemate!” declared Arthur, who also suggested that the talks had amounted to nothing more that “titillating theatre”. He explained that “a serious social partnership does not have to have a meeting to agree that it should consult. In the absence of any firm commitment by Government, Arthur also said it was quite clear to him that the NSRL was not going to be adjusted, despite the demands for relief, from unions in particular. He also warned that the economic and financial situation facing the Government was far more dire than either Sinckler or the Central Bank was prepared to admit at today’s meeting. “I believe the reserves are now under $600 million, five hundred and eighty something [million]. That puts a new complexion on it, and if you would recall there were certain things that were supposed to have been there to boost reserves  – the privatization of the BNTCL [Barbados National Terminal Company Limited] and the inflows from certain projects and they are not happening. So the prospects for an increase in the reserves, based upon inflows, is something that you have to put a question mark on again, and so we are in trouble,” Arthur said, while stating that a clear explanation still needed to be given on the severity of the island’s fiscal problems. “It is a dangerous stalemate,” he stressed, adding that “we now have to open our minds to new thinking because I don’t think we can go ahead just saying that we can’t make any adjustments, because if we don’t make the adjustments, there is a likelihood that this whole thing can come crashing down around our ears.” Arthur also took issue with the presentation made by Acting Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes for the simple fact that a lot of his financial information was only up to June. On the question of the NSRL, Arthur also said the consultation should have asked and answered the question: “Are we in line at least to achieve the objective of that Budget through the social responsibility levy to have no deficit in nine months?” While suggesting that such would be a massive achievement, he further questioned: “If the policies are not going to achieve their purpose and are counterproductive, what does the Government have in mind to replace it? (BT)

MOORE ANNOYED BY PM’S COMMENTS - Comments made by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart during yesterday’s Social Partnership meeting have offended general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Toni Moore. Speaking after yesterday’s day-long meeting at the Hilton Hotel, Moore said Stuart’s remarks towards the end of the meeting had left a bitter taste in the union’s mouth. Moore said that in delivering his closing remarks, Stuart had given the impression that the unions had agreed with the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL). Stuart said: “When we met with the labour unions on June 23 . . . the unions made some of the same points that they made here today that it should be reduced and that it was potentially going to be a little burdensome and so on.  (SS)

THE BULL HAD TO BE HELD BY ITS HORNS, SAYS STUART - Prime Minister Freundel Stuart told Barbadians today that the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) was not introduced “by stealth”, but resulted from extensive discussions among experts in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Central Bank. Stuart gave Barbadians this assurance today while wrapping up an eight-hour meeting of the Social Partnership at the Hilton Barbados Resort. “The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs is possessed of some of the most creative talent you can find anywhere in Barbados or the Caribbean. We have experts in Government; we have experts whom we consult outside of Government and we have expertise in the Central Bank. There are also very ordinary people in the society who make suggestions to us from time to time. That is where the NSRL had its genesis,” he stressed. The Prime Minister also said that given the country’s serious deficit problem, officials of the Ministry of Finance had sought to deal with it incrementally. However, he said this brought howls of protest from many quarters about how much money the Central Bank was printing for the Government. “The bull had to be held by its horns. I do not get into the business of fortune telling, and economic forecasting is a very slippery business. We need hope that the policy works. That is what every Minister of Finance and every government has to do. It is what every business manager has to do as well. It is what every manager in every context has to do – put policy in place, put all the necessary pillars of support around that policy and work towards its success,” he said. His comments were in response to concerns levelled by the trade unions and the private sector about the way in which Government was going about resolving the island’s economic challenges. (BT)

GIVE NSRL TIME - Give the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) a chance! That appeal has come from Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, who does not believe that the recent eight per cent hike in the controversial NSRL has been implemented for a long enough time for a conclusive decision to be made on its effectiveness. Stuart made the declaration yesterday evening while delivering closing remarks at the meeting of the Social Partnership at the Hilton Hotel. Led by the labour movement and members of the private sector, over 20 000 Barbadians took to the streets last month in protest of the increased NSRL. (SS)

HILTON, BNTCL ‘SALES CRITICAL’ - The expected proceeds from the divestment of Hilton Barbados and the Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL) will be key in boosting Barbados’ flagging foreign reserves. This was the assessment of Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Cleviston Haynes, as he fielded questions from the media at Hilton Barbados yesterday. His comments followed the bank’s release of its review of Barbados’ economic performance for the first half of this year. This showed that despite economic growth of about 2.2 per cent and a slightly narrowed fiscal deficit, import cover stood below ten weeks. Haynes said the reserves dropped because of heavy external debt service obligations, which came during the second quarter. (SS)

NUPW WANTS TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO NSRL FUNDS - The country’s largest public sector trade union wants to know what the Freundel Stuart administration has done with the monies collected from the controversial National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL) introduced last September 1 at a rate of two per cent of the customs value of domestically manufactured goods and on goods imported into Barbados. When Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler introduced the measure last year, he said it was meant to raise $142.1 million annually – $89.2 million in the 2016/2017 financial year when prorated from September 1, 2016 – to assist “in offsetting the costs associated with financing public health care service provision in Barbados”,  to finance a new fleet for the Sanitation Services Authority (SSA) and to procure parts for the existing fleet. The already unpopular tax became a major bone of contention this year between Government on one side, and the trade unions and the business community on the other side, after it was increased to ten per cent effective July 1. (BT)

ANOTHER SLOWDOWN CENTRAL BANK REVISES ITS GROWTH FORECAST FOR 2017 -The Barbados economy, which grew by an estimated 2.2 per cent during the first half of this year, is expected to slow by the end of 2017. Acting Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes gave the revised projection today as he addressed a meeting of the Social Partnership at the Barbados Hilton Resort. While suggesting that growth would be “in the region of 1.3 per cent to 1.8 per cent, compared to earlier estimates of 1.5 to 2 per cent”, Haynes explained that the economy remained very challenged with the international reserves plummeting to $635.5 million or just 9.7 weeks of import at the end of June. This is even further below the 12-weeks benchmark, from the $705.4 million or about 10.7 weeks of import as at the end of March. Making a presentation to Government, private sector and trade union leaders that was also nationally televised, Haynes said the drop in reserves was due mainly to Government’s expected external debt service obligations and the ongoing delays in securing planned foreign investment inflows. He said while the foreign exchange reserves were “still manageable” the situation still offered no comfort as it could put further strain on the island’s ability to maintain its 2-to-1 peg to the US dollar. Haynes warned that even if the reserves should rise in the third quarter, they were expected to dip again at the end of the year due mainly to debt servicing and should therefore be dealt with as a matter of priority. (BT)

NSRL HITS PRICE OF LOCALLY MADE UNIFORMS - The price of school uniforms has gone up and sales have gone down. And it is all because of the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL), says president of the Small Business Association Dean Straker In his address to the Social Partnership at Hilton Barbados today, Straker said sales were down 20 per cent from the start of the month when compared to last year and it was general consensus among other manufacturers. He said it was a “retrograde step” for the NSRL to be applied on final sales and would be less of a burden on inputs like fabric and thread, for example, since the Small Business Association was not against paying its share to grow the Barbados economy. It was also causing a headache for businesses to tender for jobs or make quotations because the cost of inputs was constantly changing. Straker said those who buy local would think twice because it was costing more. “The automatic thing is to look elsewhere and to see how I can get this item at a cheaper price. And invariably if you can get it at a cheaper price in Barbados, it is going to be imported,” he pointed out. These products were likely to be from China and Taiwan and would not be to the same standard. Straker said he also had a big problem with asking workers – whom they were struggling to keep employed – not to take a wage increase when they also have to pay the NSRL. He urged government to reconsider how the tax was implemented since they were paying it at every stage of the process including raw materials, rent, utilities and wages. (SS)

RESIDENTS PARALYZED BY FEAR OF REGULAR SHOOTINGS - A pall of terror hangs over Black Rock and its environs, made thicker by Monday’s killing of 20-year-old Taried Junior Rock of 3rd Ave Chapman Lane, St Michael during Grand Kadooment on Spring Garden Highway, residents say. An explosion of gunfire in the waning moments of the street jump up also left approximately 18 people nursing injuries, including a six-year-old boy who was grazed by a bullet. However, even before Monday’s incident, residents of Black Rock and the nearby Deacons community were no strangers to indiscriminate shootings. Only days earlier, rapid volleys of gunshots rang out in Deacons Farm just after midnight in an apparent celebration of last month’s release of death row inmates Vincent Edwards and Richard Haynes. The violence is generally attributed to gang warfare, a suggestion that was given credence by Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite and Acting Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith who declared on Tuesday that there were 16 criminal gangs operating in the Black Rock area. The fear gripping law abiding residents was obvious when Barbados TODAY visited the troubled communities that straddle St Michael West Central represented in Parliament by James Paul, and St Michael North West represented by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler. Since the most recent outbreak of violence, there has been increased police presence in the Black Rock area. It is a welcomed development for one elderly woman from Rosemont, who said while she did not really fear living in the area, she felt safer knowing that lawmen were patrolling her community. However, not everyone is pleased with the increased police activity. Two Rosemont men who sat in their verandah as they spoke with Barbados TODAY, made it clear they were concerned that children were not playing outside because of the shootings. However, they were terribly aggrieved at the frequent visits by heavily armed police, arguing that Rosemont was being unfairly targeted. “Police come all hours of the night. Police moving through here every minute of the day, even before Monday’s incident. They run through with guns and the fellows on the block feel harassed . . . . All they doing is trying to pressure the fellows into reacting to them in a way that would cause them to arrest them,” the younger man told Barbados TODAY He also bitterly complained that during last Monday’s Kadooment Day the area was almost locked down by police “but still nothing ain’t happen here . . . the shooting happened on Spring Garden”.    In Belfield, Grazettes and Fairfield most of the residents said they were not living in fear because their communities were generally quiet. However they are worried about the safety of their children, and the impact the gun violence could have on the country and its tourism. (BT)

TOO MUCH TALK AND NO ACTION - One social worker is pleading with Government to implement programmes that benefit the youth in order to keep them out of trouble. Chief Executive Officer of Supreme Counselling for Personal Development (SCPD) Shawn Clarke said the authorities promise much, but deliver little, leaving young Barbadians free to fall to the temptation to get involved in crime. Clarke told Barbados TODAY the talk-shop mentality had to be discarded and the mechanisms and programmes needed to help young people, put in place. SCPD is a non-profit focusing in on crisis intervention, with special emphasis on persons experiencing substance abuse, family and behavioural problems and other issues that may arise within the community. Clarke revealed there was an increasing number of troubled young people who need intervention, many of whom were looking for “quick fixes”. The youth counsellor added that too many young people lacked the capacity to be empathetic, nor did they value life. The community activist said a dramatic drop in the number of youth and community groups and programmes had a negative impact on young people, who did not have as many activities to engage their time as was the case in the past. As a result, he said, the idle hands somehow ended up following the wrong crowd and engaging in mischief. (BT)

POLICE APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCE IN FAIRCHILD STREET SHOOTING – Police are investigating a shooting incident that occurred sometime after 3 p.m. today in the area of the Fairchild Street Market, St Michael. The incident resulted in a 41-year-old woman, as well as a man in his late thirties receiving gunshot injuries. Preliminary investigations suggest that the assailant saw the male, who is known to him, in the area of the Fairchild Street Market and opened fire. As a result the female who was sitting by one of the stalls received a gunshot injury to her right thigh, while the male received two gunshot injuries, one to his foot and one to his back.  The woman was transported to the QEH by ambulance, while the man transported himself in private vehicle to the QEH for medical treatment. Anyone who can provide any information to assist with this investigation is asked to contact the CID Headquarters at 430-7189, or 430-7190. Police Emergency at telephone number 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477), or the nearest police station. All information received will be strictly confidential. (SS)

NEARLY FOUR MILLION IN DRUGS INCINERATED - The Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) today continued its efforts at ridding the island of illegal drugs. The RBPF destroyed 7,500 marijuana trees, 1,600 pounds of loose marijuana and 4.5 kilogrammes of cocaine at the incinerator at the Bridgetown Port. Assistant Superintendent of Police Peter Gibson, who supervised the operation, said the marijuana had a total street value of $3.5 million, while the cocaine was worth $250,000. Gibson said the drugs were seized from various locations around the island in 2016 and during the first half of 2017 and that the related court matters had been fully adjudicated. (BT)

UNCERTAINTY OVER DREAM OF BECOMING JOCKEY - Brenda Hinkson was at home when she received the terrible news that her son had been shot. Her son, Akeem Hinkson, was one of the victims of the Monday night mass shooting at Spring Garden. He was hit no fewer than four times – in both legs, an arm and his side. The Chapman Lane, St Michael resident said she couldn’t believe the news at first. “My oldest son get a message and tell me then another family member who works with the NCF (National Cultural Foundation) call and tell me he get shoot. That’s my last son, that wasn’t easy to hear,” she said. Hinkson said Akeem, 18, still has two bullets lodged in his body – one in his right foot and another in one of his shoulders. He was hit in both legs but she said he had not gone to surgery as yet. An aspiring jockey, it is unknown whether he will be able to continue pursuing his dream. “I couldn’t believe that was my son when I went to the hospital. I couldn’t believe how many people there that did get shoot. “My son was with a girl and she get shoot too and she already get surgery but not him and I don’t know why not. He was supposed to go Tuesday and then [Wednesday] night but it keep getting put back,” she said. Hinkson said her son was keeping a brave face but had a swollen right leg where the bullet is lodged. She said she did not know what was happening to Barbados concerning all the gun violence and could only wait and see how her son would fare. The WEEKEND NATION contacted the Queen Elizabeth Hospital about Hinkson but was told they would be unable to release any information on patients. (SS)

BAJAN COACHES IN LEAD - Barbados will be a front-runner in coaching education as a result of the introduction of the CONCACAF B-Licence course. That was confirmed by CONCACAF coaching instructor Joe Supe during the opening ceremony for the second CONCACAF C-Licence course on the island at the Barbados Football Association’s offices yesterday. “Barbados is far ahead of everybody. Once we finish with the B course you’ll probably be the first to be recommended or implemented. You are ahead of Costa Rica now in terms of courses. They kind of stopped and lagged a little bit on the education part. “When we started the programme four years ago we recommended that this country be one of the first to get access to coaching education because of your strategic planning, desire to grow and be better and you have done a wonderful job in achieving the strategic goals,” he said. (SS)

DEACONS COACH WANTS FOCUS ON THE POSITIVES - We need to invest more time, effort, and most of all finance in communities like Deacons. This was the declaration made by Robert Jones, coach of Deacons FC Youth, during a press conference for the Caribbean Children Charity Shield Soccer Classic at the Pinelands Resource Centre on Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate that I should be having this conversation based on all the labels and stigmas going on in our community at present. “Fortunately for us, nothing that happened within the last couple of days was anything affiliated with Deacons; it probably happened within the area, but not a direct affiliation,” Jones said in reference to the Kadooment Day shootings. (SS)

BDF CAMP STARTS ON MONDAY - Eighty children will get an opportunity to learn vital life skills during the Barbados Defence Force’s annual summer camp, which will run from August 14 to September 1 at St Ann’s Fort. Camp Energy, which is in its 11th year, has as its theme: A Day in the Life. In addition to presentations on various professions, campers will visit organisations to receive information and observe the work of a variety of skilled professionals. Some of those areas will include Veterinary Science (RSPCA); Policing (RBPF); soldiering (Barbados Coast Guard); Justice (Oistins Magistrates’ Court); Exotic Pet Rearing (Barbados Reptile Association) and Horse Grooming (Sandy Turf Stables). The campers will also visit the HIV/AIDS Food Bank on August 16, at 1:30 p.m., and a Sports Day will be held on August 30, at Paragon Base, Christ Church, from 9 a.m. There will be a closing ceremony for the camp on September 1 at the Paragon Base, at 10 a.m. Camp Energy provides the campers with an opportunity to enhance their self-discipline; build individual character development; develop an awareness of individual responsibility and appropriate social behaviours; as well as increase their knowledge and awareness of community needs through service projects. This camp is hosted by the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Committee of the Barbados Defence Force. (SS)

COUGARS KEEP PACE - Lady Cougars are still keeping up the pressure on Pinelands. Toni Atherley finished a handful of assists shy of a triple-double as Lady Cougars blew out Burger King Clapham Bulls 62-30 during Thursday’s No.1 Beauty Supplies and Beauty Exchange Women’s basketball league. Playing in Clapham, the national captain dropped 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to help Cougars improve to a 7-1 record – just one game behind unbeaten leaders and defending champs Preferred Insurance Brokers Pinelands (8-0). The contest was never close either, as Cougars led from start to finish after scoring 12 of the game’s first 13 points while holding Bulls to just one point for the opening seven minutes on their own home court.   (SS)

POLLARD SWAGGERS IN TRIDENTS WIN - Rain spoiled an enthralling encounter after heavy hitters Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy slammed exhilarating half-centuries, but Barbados emerged with a 21-run victory under Duckworth/Lewis to hand St Lucia Stars their third straight loss in the Caribbean Premier League, Thursday night. Pollard was devastating in an unbeaten 83 off a mere 35 balls as Tridents, opting to bat first at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, amassed a tournament-high 196 for four off their 20 overs. New Zealander Kane Williamson got his first decent score with a measured 46, while fellow opener Dwayne Smith chimed in with 36. Seamer Kyle Mayers was the best Stars bowler with two for 30.  (SS)

PM’S TOAST TO CROP OVER - It was the last blast for hundreds of guests attending the Prime Minister’s ninth annual Crop Over Reception on Thursday night. Stars of this year’s festival took to the stage to give performances that reflected the excitement of the competitive Crop Over musical events that produced kings and queens. Winner of Sweet Soca, Red Plastic Bag; Party Monarch Lil Rick; Junior Monarchs Sparkle T and Mizz Kibaba and Pic-O- De-Crop winner iWeb transferred their competition night energy to the Ilaro Court stage, belting out their winning hits. In turn, cocktail glasses and plates of sumptuous fare were temporarily set aside as guests danced and waved on the grounds of Ilaro Court transformed with colourful lights and bunting, creating a festival atmosphere days after the curtain officially came down on Crop Over 2017. (SS)

That’s all for today folks there are 149 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 7/30/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Sunday 30th July 2017. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today ((BT), or by purchasing a Sunday Sun Newspaper (SS).

IN THE RED – Some Crop Over event promoters have been swallowing losses all season and may call it quits before next year’s festival. Investigations by the SUNDAY SUN reveal that in the midst of increased operating costs after the National Social Responsibilty Levy (NSRL) was introduced by Government on July 1, many promoters refused to raise their prices of admission, and also held steady on drinks and food, shooting themselves in the foot in the process. Brewster’s Road Crew’s spokesperson Tremayne Austin said his organisation now has its fingers crossed, hoping their final event, Bucketfest, scheduled for tomorrow, can make a windfall.“Everything has gone up in price. But if everything goes well we really need it for that event to make a profit,” he said. (SS)

AIRNB HOST SHOULD PAY – A regional tourism expert is siding with those people who feel providers of visitor accommodation in Barbados through agencies such as Airbnb should be taxed. Former Bahamas Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, an internationally distinguished expert in travel, tourism and hospitality, expressed that view recently. “When the government is going to be bringing in additional airlift to the destination and have to guarantee that airlift, the people who are benefiting from that airlift ought to be contributing to that airlift and one of the ways to do that is through the payment of taxes.” Vanderpool-Wallace who now heads  Bedford Baker Group, the company of professional advisors he founded, was responding to a question about the stance taken by the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA) that Airbnb hosts in Barbados should be taxed. (SS)

STUDY CALLS FOR TAX – A detailed study into home accommodation vacation rentals by the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA) has just concluded that the subsector should be taxed. It also recommended that homes listed on websites such as Airbnb be subject to licensing and registration as well as inspection to ensure that they meet minimum health and safety standards. The study investigated the pros and cons of the tourist accommodation rental platforms but focused on Airbnb, the online marketplace whose success has led to public calls by the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA) for the industry to be regulated. When contacted about the study, Dr Kerry Hall, chief executive officer of the BTPA, told the Sunday Sun that it was one of many undertaken by the BTPA.  (SS)

NO RUSH (SS) TO START SOLAR FARM - Barbados’ first locally owned solar farm has finally been granted approval by Government. But that doesn’t mean it will become a reality just yet. Chairman of Williams Industries, Ralph ‘Bizzy’ Williams had been waiting for nearly four years for the solar farm to be approved by the Town and Country Planning Department, but now he’s in no rush to start throwing money into it. Williams is waiting to see what a planned review of the alternative energy sector by Government turns up before pumping a proposed $5 million into the project. (SS)

CONJUNCTIVITIS ADVISORY: RESIDENTS TOLD TO BE VIGILANT - The Ministry of Health has advised the public to be vigilant following reports of conjunctivitis or “red eye” outbreaks in the region of the Americas over the last 10 weeks. Since May 6, 13 countries have recorded increased cases of the infection compared to previous years. These include The Bahamas, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Suriname, St Lucia, Mexico and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The outbreak in Dominica occurred between May and June, while in St Lucia, increases were noted since mid-July. Laboratory investigations revealed viral causes of infection. While the Ministry of Health in Barbados has not recorded any unusual increase in cases up to the present, it has reminded residents that conjunctivitis can be an infectious or allergic condition and if it is infectious, it is highly contagious with symptoms lasting two days to three weeks. Symptoms include redness behind the eyelid, spreading up to the white of the eye; swelling of the eyes, making them appear puffy; excessive tears; a discharge from the eye which dries up during sleep, causing crusting around the eyelids; and discomfort with bright lights. The Ministry advises that medical attention should be sought if there is discoloured eye discharge, severe eye pain, problems with vision, increased swelling, redness and tenderness in the eyelids and around the eye, and feeling unwell with a fever. To prevent the spread of infection, the Ministry recommends that persons wash their hands often with soapy water and keep hands away from the eyes and the face. Additionally, people should not share items such as eye drops, tissues, make-up, towels or pillowcases. Parents and guardians are also advised that children with conjunctivitis should remain at home and not attend day care or summer camps. (BT)

DOING AWAY WITH DANGER – It’s been an uphill battle ridding the landscape of derelict buildings. It’s also been extremely difficult, said the retired head of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), recouping the cost of that demolition. Jeffrey Headley, who headed the department for over 30 years, told the SUNDAY SUN he had to “fight hard to get a few [buildings] down”. He believed the department was now hamstrung by a lack of finance.  (SS)

7 DAYS STAY UNTIL DEMOLITION – The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has scored a major legal victory in its battle to demolish the derelict Speightstown, St Peter home of the man who composed the music of the National Anthem. Justice Pamela Beckles discharged the injunction which had prevented the EPD and its contractors from touching the Chapel Street two-storey building of Roland Edwards. But their hands are tied for at least seven days as the court granted Douglas Trotman, the attorney for Edwards’ grandson Randolph Woodroffe, a stay of execution. The 19th century stone building has been earmarked by the EPD for demolition since 2003 and came within days of being torn down in May 2008, but was saved by a last-minute court injunction. (SS)

MORE PATROLS FOR SHERATON – In the wake of an upsurge in the number of young people being robbed near the popular Sheraton Mall complex, management of the facility is seeking to ensure the safety of patrons. The Royal Barbados Police Force is about to increase its presence at the Christ Church facility as well. Senior Superintendent of Police Colvin Bishop, who is in charge of the Southern Division, told the SUNDAY SUN that though there had not been a general increase in criminal activity at Sheraton and the surrounding Vauxhall area, police have noticed that on Tuesdays, when a high number of adolescents are in the area, there have been more reports of property being taken. Public relations officer Acting Inspector Roland Cobbler has promised something will be done to stem the tide of assaults on young patrons using Sheraton. (SS)

COPS PROBING VIDEO THREAT – “We will not be intimidated.” That’s the message from the top brass of the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) for those who want to undermine the efforts by lawmen to rid Barbados of illegal guns. Assistant Commissioner with responsibility for crime, Erwin Boyce, was clear yesterday while responding to a voice note and video circulating on social media that served up some serious threats to police. Boyce said the Force would certainly investigate the origins of the video since threats to officers would not be tolerated. (SS)

CHRIST CHURCH MAN WANTED BY THE POLICE – Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a man who is wanted in connection with serious criminal matters. Forty-seven-year-old Shanley Vergusson Stoute, who goes by the alias Stoute Man, last resided at Parish Land, Christ Church. He is about 5’11” in height, slim build, of clear complexion and has brown eyes. Stoute is being advised that he can present himself to the Oistins Police Stationaccompanied by an attorney-at-law of his choice. Any person who knows Stoute’s whereabouts is being asked to contact CID Oistins at 418-2608 or 418-2609, police emergency at telephone number 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477), or the nearest police station. The public is reminded that it is a serious offence to harbour or assist wanted persons and any person caught committing this offence can be prosecuted.  (BT)

GEMS RULE OUT REGIONAL CONTEST – THE CARIBBEAN NETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS return this year from August 20 to 26 after being dormant for more than ten years but it looks like the Bajan Gemswill not be dazzling in St Lucia. Barbados Netball Association president Nisha Craigwell, who is also vice-president of the Caribbean Netball Association, broke the disappointing news just hours after it was officially announced that the Gems had qualified for next year’s Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast. “It is a question of finance as at this stage we have no money to attend the senior tournament in St Lucia. We were in a race against time to qualify for Commonwealth and some of our sponsors like the Barbados Olympic Association, the National Sports Council and the Arts and Sports were very generous in assisting us to take part in the three tournaments to raise our ranking and qualify,” she said. “The timing of the regional tournament would not have helped as the cut-off date for the readjusted rankings was July 1. I had already sensitised the Caribbean Netball Association that it was highly probable that the Gems would not have taken part in the regional tournament. (SS)

PLAYERS GET PRIZE MONEY – THE PLAYERS HAVE been paid. At long last. The Massy United Insurance Clash Of The Titans controversy came to an amicable end when the players finally received their prize money from the Professional Road Tennis Association (PRTA) nearly four months after the tournament’s completion. PRTA chief executive officer Dale Clarke confirmed the news to SUNSPORT after disbursing the cheques on Wednesday at The Sauna in Hindsbury Road. “It’s good to see the issue has been resolved with Dale Clarke and the players because next week would’ve been four months and I think this needed to be settled before the next tournament,” said Clash Of The Titans runner-up Julian “Michael Jackson” White, who collected $6 000. (SS)

STOUTELY TON – Kevin Stoute hasn’t been able find a place in the Caribbean Premier League but he continues to shine on the local circuit. The ICBL Empire all-rounder stroked his way to a century against Home Improvement & Hardware Supplies Maple on the first day of their third round Barbados Cricket Association Elite Division match at Bank Hall yesterday. Batting at No. 3, Stoute ended the day unbeaten on 134 that was the backbone of second-placed Empire’s 284 for nine. (SS)

ALL roads lead to SOCA ROYALE at bushy park, St. Philip but don’t be in a rush to get there. take your time on the road and drive safely. this is going to be one of the best soca royales ever! all the finalists have worked hard so let’s cheer on each and every one of them. Don’t bring any valuables, weapons or pissy bad-mind attitudes! de only thing that we want to be stink & dutty is yuh wukking up! if yuh mash or brush somebody say sorry quick! if yuh gin through a crowd – “say excuse me please”. if a woman or man don’t want to dance wid yuh, don’t get vex, SMILE & move along. All eyes will be on Barbados because this is our PARADISE; don’t mind some people looking for COLLATERAL, they will have to find that in the WINNER’S CIRCLE as all of us do our part to CARRY FESTIVAL cause bet your bottom dollar the artists will GIVE IT TO YA proving that Crop Over is a BLESSING so if you see me faltering PICK ME UP so all of we can enjoy this BOAT RIDE and end the night with an ANTIDOTE.  Men you will be called upon to Infuse the place with your ENERGY cause the women will try to RUN IT as people do bad to the FETING AND BRASS.  As for me & Foxye D 2 AH WE will LEGGO then stand still as we try to figure out if when the FOWL COCK crows SOCA FAMALEEZ will turn the place UPSIDE DOWN but all we know is that Bushy Park TUN UP!

That’s all for today folks there are 154 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 7/28/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Friday 28th July 2017. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today ((BT), or by purchasing a Weekend Nation Newspaper (WN).

MEETING MOVED UP, BUT UNIONS STILL NOT HAPPY – Not enough! That is the stance of the island’s four major trade unions to the news that Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has set a new date for the meeting of the Social Partnership. Yesterday, through written correspondence from the Prime Minister’s office, the trade unions and the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) were notified that the planned meeting of August 18 had been moved up one week to August 11. The news comes three days after Stuart had promised while speaking in Parliament that a meeting would be forthcoming. (WN)

AUGUST GATHERING: PM TO HOLD IN CAMERA MEETING WITH SOCIAL PARTNERS NEXT MONTH – Barbadian workers will have to wait until August 11 to hear whether they will be granted any relief from the controversial National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL). Thursday, Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) Charles Herbert confirmed that he had received written confirmation from the Office of the Prime Minister of the date for the tripartite meeting, which was previously set for August 18. However, following this week’s massive protest led by the BPSA and the country’s four major trade unions in a bid to get the Government to hold immediate dialogue with them on the vexed issue of the NSRL, Herbert said the Prime Minister had now agreed to move up the planned meeting of the Social Partnership by one week. “I am assuming that [this] is the Prime Minister’s concession for dialogue,” said Herbert, whose relationship with Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has been noticeably strained over this week’s demonstration, which attracted over 20,000 people. In fact, the Prime Minister has gone as far as to indicate in Parliament this week that the upcoming talks would be nationally televised so that “Barbadians can hear what the Government is about, what the Social Partners are about, both the labour movement and the private sector”. However, Herbert told Barbados TODAY that he had not been officially informed that this particular event would be nationally televised. In any case, he said he only had one objection to having such a meeting take place in the full public glare. “I believe that if the right discussion happens in that meeting, it would be good for it to be televised. [However], I think if televising it makes it an opportunity for political grandstanding, then that would be a shame it is televised,” he told Barbados TODAY Thursday afternoon. “I don’t expect that we are coming to a meeting to be attacked for having a march or to defend why we had a march. Our intention is to come to a meeting to talk about the country’s fiscal strategy,” he said. However, the two sides remain at odds over their accounts of the circumstances leading up to Monday’s protest, which attracted support from Barbadians of all walks of life, including leading members of the business community. (BT)

MIA SHOULD HAVE STAYED AWAY, ARGUES SCANTLEBURY – The leader of one of Barbados’ newest political parties believes that local trade unions have too much power, and has also questioned the presence of Opposition Leader Mia Mottley at Monday’s massive march by public and private sector workers, which was said to be non-political. Apostle Lynroy Scantlebury of the New Barbados Kingdom Alliance (NBKA), in an interview with Barbados TODAY, further argued that the country needed to be fixed and that it could not be done “by doing the same thing over and over again”. “I think there is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things,” he said in response to the march organized by the trade unions and the Barbados Private Sector Association to press their case for dialogue on the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL). “ I do not think that it is a very good idea to destabilize the country at a time when it is on the ropes,” he said, while taking a shot at the organizers for claiming that the demonstration was not political with Mottley and other Opposition members in attendance. “I say that it was political because the Leader of the Opposition, Mia Mottley, and other members of the Barbados Labour party were very visible in the march,” Scantlebury argued. “ I think both the union and the private sector should have said: ‘Mam, this is not political,” the 46-year-old apostle said, while contending that the organizers should have told Mottley ahead of time that while they appreciated her support, it was best for her to stay away. He also questioned whether the march was successful in sending a message to the Freundel Stuart Government. The apostle also voiced concern over what he saw as “the tremendous disrespect” for the leadership of the country. Scantlebury said the Office of the Prime Minister had to be respected even though he acknowledged that Stuart refused to entertain a delegation of four trade union leaders at his office in Parliament on July 11. At the time the leadership of the Barbados Workers’ Union, the National Union of Public Workers, the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union and the Barbados Union of Teachers were seeking to deliver a letter to the Prime Minister which included an ultimatum for him to grant relief for their members from the NSRL or else. However, after they were turned away by Stuart, the trade unionists proceeded to the Office of the Opposition Leader in the West Wing of Parliament where they hand-delivered a copy of their correspondence to her. Turning to the upcoming general election, the NBKA candidate who officially kicked off his campaign to replace incumbent and former Prime Minister Owen Arthur in St Peter, said he was in the process of meeting with several individuals who have expressed an interest in running under his party’s banner in the poll. Scantlebury gave Barbadians the assurance that if he assumes office he will get rid of the Government’s $15 billion debt in two years. (BT)

CELL PHONE BAN WAS A 'MISTAKE', SAYS JONES – Minister of Education Ronald Jones says his 2009 decision to ban cell phones in schools was a “mistake”. “In Barbados, sometimes out of fear, we are caught up in discussions over whether we should have mobile phones in schools, and I admit banning the use of technology was a mistake I made. “In all honesty, the envelope is being pushed open more than in the past, and if our students are to learn effectively, it is important that they are connected not only to the knowledge flow emanating from the teacher in the classroom, but that they get exposed to information from across the world,” he told the launch of the Caribbean Examinations Council’s CXC Connect new mobile app at Sky Mall Wednesday afternoon, adding that he would have more to say on the matter in a few weeks time. While likening some aspects of the worldwide web to “the Wild West”, the Minister of Education said these elements could be tamed and put to more positive use. He commended CXC for the “dizzying pace” at which it was embracing information and communications technology. Jones admitted that Government was indeed moving in that direction, but said there was still some fear on the part of stakeholders who “feel they will have to take their hands off, but in truth, the hands and technology have to become one”. He made reference to passport applications, which were now done online and delivered to the customer’s door, but pointed out that immigration officers would still be required to stamp them at the island’s ports of entry. Just two months ago, the President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) Mary Redman stepped up her warning to the Jones-led ministry not to allow cell phones in schools, saying these devices will only exacerbate the problem of gang activity and pose a major security threat to schools. (BT)

DIGITAL DIVIDE – A new survey shows that resistance to change is the single biggest impediment to companies achieving digital success. The results of the second annual Harvey Nash/KPMG 2017 CIO Survey were presented Thursday at a Chief Information Officer (CIO) Forum at the Hilton Barbados Resort. Over 20 Caribbean companies participated, including 11 from Barbados in the global survey, carried out in 86 countries among 4,500 respondents. However, the KPMG Island Grouping (KIG) component specifically looked at the operations of close to 70 companies in nine countries. Presenting a snap shot of responses from the KIG component, Manager of IT Advisory KPMG (Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean) Mariette Simmons-Browne said low budget was a major challenge facing IT professionals, who were generally pessimistic about an increase in their IT budgets over the next 12 months, with only 35 per cent of respondents expecting an increase.  (BT)

CHANGES COMING TO TELECOMS ACT - With the introduction of a third player in the local telecommunications space, Government has given advance notice that changes are coming to the Telecommunications Act. The indication came from the Minister responsible for Energy and Telecommunications in the Prime Minister’s Office, Senator Darcy Boyce, as he addressed attendees recently at the launch of Canadian wireless company, Ozone Wireless Incorporated’s flagship store and corporate offices at Manor Lodge Complex, Warrens, St Michael, recently. Boyce revealed that the act would be amended to address service standards as well as landline service. However, one of the main changes expected will deal specifically with the acquisition of telecom companies by others within the same space. (WN)

SHAME ON THE BANKERS, CRIES CLARKE – Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Credit Bureau (CCB) Grady Clarke has launched a verbal attack on the Barbados Bankers’ Association (BBA), saying it should stay out of the credit bureau business and stick to banking. Clarke has also strongly hinted at moves to stop to the association’s plan to have an international credit bureau set up business in Barbados. At a town hall meeting on Tuesday night, at which Clarke was present and voiced objections, BBA Vice President Ian De Souza announced that the association was currently examining the proposals of two international entities to decide which one it would be allowing to establish the local credit information sharing system. Requests for proposals were sent to five companies, including the CCB, which was the only company not to respond. However, in defending that decision, Clarke said the requirements alone were purposely designed to eliminate his firm. Bruised by the news that an international firm would be brought in to do the job, an animated Clarke told reporters at a media conference today that his 24-year-old firm was more than capable of providing the required service. As he prepares to step up his resistance to the plan with a campaign on social media, he warned the bankers that he would be behaving just like United States president Donald Trump. He is also appealing to the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for support in his cause. Clarke argued that an international firm would only drain the island’s foreign exchange and send jobs overseas. Pointing out that he had some long-serving employees, Clarke cried shame on the commercial banks. The CCB, which offers training and consultation services, currently operates with about ten employees, as well as a number of volunteers. (BT)

SAGICOR LOOKS TO DISRUPT CAR INSURANCE MARKET – Insurance company Sagicor General has introduced a new bundled insurance package aimed at disrupting the industry and capturing the young professionals market. Sagicor on Wednesday launched its Young Professional Insurance Scheme, targeting professionals between the ages of 16 and 40. Vice President of Marketing and Business Development Mark Blakeley said the new package was introduced after an assessment of the existing motor insurance portfolio revealed “heavy demand” for such a policy. Sagicor said the policy comes with a number of benefits, including a $50,000 personal accident limit, coverage of up to $3,000 for personal possessions, and the same for medical expenses, as well as a $10,000 content coverage. Vice President of Underwriting Wanda Mayers said Sagicor General’s business had grown significantly within the last year and the new product was another opportunity for further growth. The benefit package is open to third-party policyholders, except for vehicle repairs where the policyholder was found at fault. The Sagicor officials said they did not foresee the new policy taking away from the company’s existing business. (BT)

JAPAN KEEN TO ASSIST BARBADOS WITH DISASTER MANAGEMENT – Japan is willing to lend its expertise to help Barbados improve its disaster management, so as to allow the island to recover in the shortest possible time after a major disaster. Japan’s Ambassador to Barbados, Teruhiko Shinada, gave this undertaking today during a courtesy call on Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Adriel Brathwaite, at his office in Webster’s Business Complex. Ambassador Shinada disclosed that his country had experienced many natural disasters, and was happy to collaborate on any area of disaster management as identified by Government. “Japan is one of the countries that have suffered the effects of many natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons, so we have quite a lot of experience in the damage [that is caused by these disasters] and we have the knowledge and experience that we can share with Barbados,” he stated. Additionally, the Ambassador also mentioned that disaster experts from Japan would be visiting Barbados in 2018 to assist the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) with its capacity building efforts. He pointed out that the experts’ work would not be limited to Barbados alone, but would also involve other countries in the region. In turn, the Attorney General welcomed the gesture of assistance with disaster management from Japan, adding: “We look forward to any assistance for CDEMA and for Barbados in disaster management.  You do have my commitment that we will do all that we can to ensure that this [collaborative effort] occurs.” Ambassador Shinada also disclosed the provision of approximately US $1 million in equipment grant aid, in collaboration with the Department of Emergency Management. He explained that the funds would go towards the procurement of disaster damage management equipment - some of which should be in the island as early as the last quarter of the year. The two officials also discussed areas of cooperation in culture and sports, and possible assistance with water harvesting or other water conservation techniques. Barbados and Japan established diplomatic ties on August 29, 1967. (WN)

LIMING SITE A DUD – It is not easy going for Daniel DeSouza but he is not prepared to give up yet. The founder of cariblime.net, a social media platform geared towards Caribbean people, said the support was not there yet and he finds this slightly puzzling. Cariblime has not been around that long, having launched in April, but the offerings are already distinctly Caribbean and DeSouza is wondering if people were even aware it existed. “We do have more subscribers than before, more than 150 now, but we are still lacking that support from the local and regional organisations or from Government, I don’t know if they even know we exist. Besides, 150 in a Caribbean of more than eight million people is hardly anything,” he said. (WN)

ABANDONED IN ST. ANDREW – In response to numerous calls and complaints, the WEEKEND NATION has brought this series looking at abandoned Government buildings that are eyesores and health hazards. This is the final edition of the eight-part series. THE PEOPLE of Belleplaine, St Andrew are less than pleased with what they see as the mass exodus of Government entities. Over the years, they have seen the exit of the community centre, courtroom, police station, the Elayne Scantlebury Centre and Ministry of Transport and Works depot, some of which have been left derelict. When a WEEKEND NATION team stopped by the Elayne Scantlebury Centre, four men – Winston Ramsay, Keith Newton, Ralph Morris and Jeffrey Blackman – were shooting the breeze nearby. The men said they felt abandoned. (WN)

HORROR STORIES FROM WESTMORELAND – Westmoreland, St James, has been the scene of carnage on numerous occasions, causing the Ministry of Transport and Works to be galvanised into action to implement safety measures. The WEEKEND NATION spoke to two residents, Sandra Clinton and Bridgett Griffith, who gave heart-breaking testimonies of fatal accidents. SANDRA CLINTON will never be the same. On far too many occasions, the 58-year-old has been awoken from sleep by the spine-chilling sound of car brakes squealing only to stumble and struggle to get outside to see what fresh hell awaited her eyes. Sometimes she is so shaken that she can barely dial the numbers for the Ambulance Service. Clinton’s story is one filled with pain, death and scenes she will never forget. “I am constantly getting up in the night to rescue people. I saw three accidents in one evening; the police were investigating one car and another car ran into the first car under investigation,” she said.  (WN)

JESHUA’S HAPPY TO BE BACK – Jeshua Ferdinand is back on Bajan soil and resting comfortably at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The 24-year-old cricketer was playing on the professional scene with Mayfield Cricket Club in the Sussex Premier League when he was suddenly struck down with the paralysing Guillain-Barre syndrome in May. When a WEEKENDSPORT team visited him at the hospital on Wednesday, he was in high spirits, sitting up and surrounded by family and friends. “It is nice to be back home among family and friends. It was a bit challenging to readjust to the conditions, both in the hospital and the climate; it’s very hot here,” he said. (WN)

AMERICAN WOMAN MISSING – Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing American woman, identified as 22-year-old Lauren Asele Broomes who has been residing at Maxwell, Christ Church. She was last seen by her grandmother Ruth Dorinal sometime around 9:20 p.m. on Monday, July 24. At the time she was wearing a pink or peach coloured dress, a pair of gladiator sandals and carrying a brown coloured bag. Broomes is 5ft 5 inches height, stoutly built, of dark brown complexion, has a round face, brown eyes, large nose, normal mouth, thick lips, short neck, full breasted, erect appearance, square shoulders, pleasant manner and has an Afro hair style. Lawmen are asking anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact the District ‘C’ Police Station at telephone 416-8200 or 416-8201; police emergency number 211; Crime Stoppers at 1-800 –TIPS (8477); or the nearest police station. (BT)

FRIGHT NIGHT – The sounds of gunfire shattered the still of Wednesday night, causing residents of Black Rock, St Michael and surrounding areas to throw themselves on the ground in fear. Sources say shots started close to midnight and continued for what some said was half an hour, with a power blackout occurring during that period. “It just so happen that a generator went out at that time and came back on just about the time it ended,” one resident said. Reports indicate the sounds were of automatic fire as well as powerful booming shots, perhaps from hand cannons. (WN)

POLICE LOOKING INTO REPORTS OF GUNSHOTS AT DEACONS – Police are conducting investigations into reports of gunfire being heard in the area of Deacons, St Michael after 11 p.m. yesterday. Police public relations officer Acting Inspector Roland Cobbler said on responding to the report, no one was seen engaging in the activity. However, he said evidence suggested that gunshots were fired in the area. There were no reports of injury or damage. “As we work assiduously to rid our streets of illegal firearms, we are appealing to anyone who can provide any information to assist with the investigation to contact the Black Rock Police Station at 417-7500, 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800 –TIPS (8477), or the nearest police station. All information received will be strictly confidential,” Cobbler said. (WN)

TEEN GETS WINGS CLIPPED FOR CROP OVER – A teenager who pleaded guilty Thursday to assaulting his mother, will not be allowed to attend any night events for the balance of the 2017 Crop Over season. Eighteen-year-old Roeul Anderson Lavine Husbands of Knights Land, Westbury Road, St Michael committed the offence against his mother, Carla King on July 25, 2017. However, it was the mother who appealed to Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant in No.2 District ‘A’ Criminal Court Thursday to get her son some help. In outlining the facts of the case, Sergeant Cameron Gibbons explained that King came home on the day in question and found her house in an untidy state. When she attempted to speak to her son about the mess, he poked her in the left side of her face. “When that clock strikes six you know where you supposed to be? You must be at home, you will not be attending any Crop Over events,” the magistrate said as she imposed a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on Husbands. The teenager, who was released on $2,000 bail with one surety, must also report to the probation office for a pre-sentencing report. He returns to court on September 29, 2017. (BT)

WRONG ROAD – A 27-year-old, first-time drug offender came close to being jailed Thursday. Ronaldo Ramon Irvin Browne of Block 3E, Factory Avenue, Wildey, St Michael pleaded guilty before Magistrate Douglas Frederick in the No.1 District ‘A’ Criminal Court to possession of nine grease paper wrappers of cannabis on July 26, 2017. A remorseful Browne said he used the drug at night to help him sleep, but was trying to quit his marijuana habit. “I got to stop using it. I got seven years working and I can’t afford to lose my job,” he told the magistrate after he was nabbed during a police patrol of the Pine, St Michael on the day in question. However, Frederick was not moved by the accused man’s show of penitence and threatened to make him feel the full weight of the criminal justice system. “You didn’t know that you wanted to keep your job before you started using drugs. You are destined to be a paro. You can’t see it? Look at yourself. Continue on this path and you would end up eating from the garbage. “Your face is already starting to show it. It seems that you have been working very hard to get to this court, so congrats you have arrived. You want to see what being a criminal is all about? Have a seat and let me see if I am going to send you up,” Frederick said. In response, Browne promised the magistrate that his drug use days were behind him and pleaded with Frederick to show leniency. Instead of jail time as threatened, the magistrate ordered Browne to 120 hours of community service and promised that if he did it well, no conviction would be recorded when he returns to court on October 20, 2017. (BT)

RAPE ACCUSED GETS BAIL – A Christ Church man, who is accused of rape, has been granted bail in the amount of $5,000. Owen Oscar Bowen of 1A, Regency Park appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick in the No.1 District ‘A’ Criminal Court Thursday morning charged with having sexual intercourse with the complainant, knowing that she did not consent or was reckless as to whether she consented. Bowen, who is represented by attorney-at-law Vonda Pile, was not required to plead to the indictable offence. He was ordered to return to court on October 25, 2017. (BT)

ZR CONDUCTOR GETS BAIL ON WOUNDING CHARGE – A ZR conductor was released on $9,000 bail with one surety Thursday afternoon on a wounding charge. Rico Jamal Antonio Forde of Haynesville, St James, appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant in the No.2 District ‘A’ Criminal Court, charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding Everet Branch with the intent to do serious bodily harm. The offence allegedly occurred on September 9, 2016. Forde, who is represented by attorney-at-law Shadia Simpson, was not required to plead to the indictable offence and is due to return to court on October 18, 2017. (BT)

MAN FINED $40 000 FOR COCAINE TRAFFICKING – A Christ Church man has until January 31, 2018 to pay a fine of $40 000 or he will spend two years in prison. David Alphonso Harry, 39, of Bourne’s Land, Silver Sands pleaded guilty to four cocaine-related offences when he appeared in the District “B” Magistrates’ Court today before Magistrate Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell. Harry arrived in the island by air from Trinidad on Tuesday and was stopped an interviewed by police. A search of his luggage revealed two transparent packages containing cocaine concealed within false compartments in a portfolio in his luggage. A further check revealed three more packages concealed in his underwear. Police say the cocaine weighed one kilogramme and had an estimated street value of $50 000. Harry was subsequently arrested and charged for unlawful possession of cocaine, possession with intent to supply, trafficking and importation. He was fined $40 000 for the offence of trafficking and convicted, reprimanded and discharged for the other offences.  (WN)

MAN FINED $5,000 FOR GROWING WEED – A 32-year-old St Michael man was Thursday fined $5,000 for cultivating marijuana in his backyard. Edward Ricardo Kellman, of Number 32, Lodge Terrace, pleaded guilty when he appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant in the No.2 District ‘A’ Criminal Court to growing the illegal drug on July 27, 2017. Kellman also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and trafficking the controlled drug. In outlining the facts of the case, Sergeant Cameron Gibbons told the court that police conducted a search of the accused’s home on the day in question and found one marijuana plant growing in a pot, as well as several others in a fish tank in the backyard. On the cultivation charge, the first time offender was ordered to pay a fine in seven months or face 12 months in prison. He was reprimanded and discharged for the other offences, but is required to return to court on February 28, 2018. (BT)

SPRINTERS’ BAD BLOOD – 2015 World 200 metres champion Dafne Schippers has admitted to having a cold relationship with Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson. The Dutchwoman and the Jamaican share perhaps one of the fiercest rivalries in track and field and it has seemingly worked against them being friendly to each other. The two sprinters now rated among the very best to run the sprints in the modern era have had stirring battles over the past two seasons but while they have been cordial, Schippers admits the relationship between the two has been frosty. “It’s very bad,” Schippers says of their relationship. “I don’t know why. Maybe because we are both big talents. If she says ‘Hi’, I will say ‘Hi’. I am more of an easy person,” she said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “With the European athletes, I can have fun with them. I am an easy person to talk to. If she won’t do that, then OK.” When Schippers won the world title in Beijing in 2015, she ran Thompson down to cross the line in 21.63, the third fastest time ever by a woman. Thompson was timed in 21.66, the fifth fastest time ever. At the Olympic Games in Rio a year later, Thompson turned the tables on her Dutch rival, winning the Olympic 200m title in 21.78 seconds to Schippers 21.88. Thompson (10.71) also won the 100m, a race in which Schippers was fifth in 10.90. The two are expected to meet next month in the final of the 100m at the IAAF World Championships in London where Elaine Thompson is the overwhelming favourite to claim her first 100m world title. (BT)

BLAZING RUN BY BAJAN JETBLUES TO TITLE – Barbados JetBlues male rugby 7s team defeated the Morris men to claim victory in the recently concluded Blazing 7s Rugby Tournament in New Jersey. The Bajans also finished second in the Saratoga 7s Invitational Tournament in New York. George Nicholson, manager of the local organising committee for the Rugby Barbados World 7s, said the results were a huge credit to the standard of rugby in the island. “We could not have asked for a better result. Not only does it motivate our local teams to continue to strive for excellence, but it also shows the world that despite being a small island, Rugby Barbados is a force to be reckoned with,” he said. (WN)

RAVENS DO THE DOUBLE – RAVENS DARTS ACADEMY are celebrating a double success. After recently capturing the Barbados Darts Association’s league title, they retained their knockout crown by defeating A Enforcers in the final at Molly’s Bar in Flint Hall on Tuesday night. By dominating their opponents in most of the categories, Ravens emerged 6-2 winners. In block 1 men’s doubles, the Ravens pair of Anthony Forde and Tahir Sargeant defeated Enforcers’ Roosevelt Drakes and Sylvan Graham in 26 and 19 darts with Forde scoring a maximum of 180.  (WN)

FRESH GUARD – Conde Riley is the new president of the Barbados Cricket Association. The veteran cricket administrator defeated challengers Deighton Smith and Erskine King in a landslide victory when the governing body of cricket in Barbados held its elections at the Hilton Barbados Hotel Thursday night. Riley, a former senior banker, received 284 votes, Smith the former first vice-president who acted as president for the past two years, received 80 votes and King, a long-time sports administrator, garnered 85 votes. An elated Riley told the media afterwards that he was surprised but not displeased at his overwhelming victory. The newly elected president said one of his first priorities would be to tackle the issue between the BCA and the Barbados Association of Secondary School Principals. In May the final of the Everton Weekes Under-13 Championship between Combermere and Foundation was abandoned after the schools were withdrawn by their respective principals.There has been a long-running dispute where principals have objected to their best players not being allowed to play for their own schools but mandated to play for the combined schools’ team. Meanwhile, attorney-at-law Calvin Hope is the new vice president. He received 170 votes and in the process defeated Roland Butcher who got 118 votes, Maurice Gaskin who received 107 votes and young Kamal Springer who tallied 37 votes. Hope has been associated with the game for several years both on and off the field of play and as a member of the BCA. He is a former Barbados Under-19 captain and a stalwart of domestic cricket. A large number of members turned out to cast their vote Thursday night, among them were National Hero Sir Garfield Sobers, former Chief Justice Sir David Simmons, Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley, Attorney General Ariel Brathwaite, entertainer Richard Stoute and chairman of the West Indies selectors, Courtney Browne. (BT)

DAVIS WINS BIG WITH COURTS – HARRIET DAVIS WAS chosen as the biggest winner in Courts (Barbados) Dream Cruise promotion.  On Thursday at the Courts Bridgetown branch, Davis, along with about 20 other people, walked away with more than $58 000 in cash and prizes.  Managing director at Courts Trisha Tannis presented Davis with her winnings, valued at $20 000.  A delighted Davis said she planned to take some of hergrandchildren and her boyfriend as she sails the Mediterranean seas. (WN)

TRAFFIC CHANGES FOR JUNIOR KADOOMENT – The public is asked to note that on Saturday, July 29, a number of temporary road changes will be in place to facilitate the hosting of the Junior Kadooment, which will be held at the National Stadium, St Michael. Between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., the following roads will be closed to all vehicular traffic:

* Codrington Road from its junction with Stadium Road to its junction with Bush Hall Road, St.Michael.

* Stadium Road from its junction with Codrington Road to its junction with Bush Hall Main Road, St Michael.

During these hours, no parking will be allowed on any of the following roads except for the purpose of picking up or setting down passengers: Codrington Road, Bush Hall Main Road, Waterford Road, Bow Road and Butler’s Avenue. At the same time, no person shall park or allow a vehicle to remain stationary along the emergency route or alternate route except for the purpose of picking up or setting down passengers. The emergency route commences at National Stadium and proceeds along Bank Hall, Country Road, Roebuck Street, Halls Road, and Martindale’s Road, St Michael. The alternate route commences at National Stadium and proceeds along Butler’s Avenue, Spooners Hill, Green Hill, Everton Weekes Round-a-bout, Clyde Walcott Round-a-bout, Norman Niles Round-a-bout, My Lord’s Hill Road, Welches Road, Belmont Road and Martindale’s Road, St Michael. (BT)

NCF: BIG CROWDS EXPECTED – “The rain hasn’t stopped any of the events so far this year . . . . I am hoping it doesn’t rain as it would limit the scale of the event and also in terms of patronage as well.” Saying he was speaking subject to correction, Adisa noted that: “Judging from the Semi-finals crowd, which turned out to be one of the biggest we would have had in the last four to five years, this Finals is looking to go along that same route.” (WN)

POLICE PUT SOCA ROYALE PATRONS ON NOTICE – Patrons attending Soca Royale at Bushy Park on Sunday have been informed that a number of policies will be strictly enforced by police. Acting Inspector Roland Cobbler said every person and vehicle entering the venue will be subjected to a search. In addition, glass bottles will be prohibited and will not be allowed into the venue by either patrons or stall operators. Cobbler also pointed out that smoking in public places is against the law and therefore it will be prohibited in the venue “which will be transformed into a public place of entertainment”.  (WN)

SWEET SOCA SEMI-FINALS will be broadcast tonight on CBC TV8 at 9:30 P.M for those of you who missed it live.

That’s all for today folks there are 156 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 5/21/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers Here is your daily news cap for Sunday 21st May 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Sunday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS).  

SUSPECTED FOODBORNE ILLNESS AT ST PHILIP DISTRICT HOSPITAL – The Ministry of Health is investigating a suspected occurrence of foodborne illness at the St Philip District Hospital. The incident affected 30 patients between May 15 and 16 and resulted in the admission of one patient, who experienced severe symptoms, to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. According to a senior Ministry official, all of the patients were seen by medical practitioners and samples sent to the Public Health Laboratory for testing. The official added that a Rapid Response Team from the Ministry of Health was investigating the cause of the illness. The Ministry of Health assured the public that all necessary steps were being taken to adequately address the situation. (BT)

NO BED OF ROSES FOR ST MICHAEL SOUTH RESIDENTS – Residents of St Michael South say life in the constituency has not been a bed of roses. Today they joined the man who wants to replace Prime Minister Freundel Stuart as the Member of Parliament for the area in highlighting the issues plaguing them. Kirk Humphrey, the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) caretaker for the area, accused  Stuart of ignoring the plight of constituents. He said the lives of women and children are under constant threat, especially at nights, because of poor lighting in the communities. He added that roads and drains in the area are also in a deplorable state. Humphrey noted that parliamentarians win their seats because of the confidence of the electorate; and if their voices are ignored by the people they elect to represent them, then they have the ability to oust them. Humphrey said the Stuart-led administration had failed the constituents with expensive Grotto and Valerie Housing Projects and residents who were anticipating the opening of the high-rise low-income apartment complexes were left feeling cheated. (SS)

MAJOR UPGRADE FOR THE CITY - Bridgetown is set to get a major facelift with improvement in lighting, sanitation and refurbishment of some of its iconic landmarks. Chairman of the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), Martin Ince, told the SUNDAY SUN work on the repainting and repair of Broad Street’s blue cast iron lights was already in progress, while plans were in train to repair damaged garbage bins and to replace the palms which, like the street lights, were originally placed to enhance the streetscape. The TDC city upgrade, being done in conjunction with the Barbados Chamber of Commerce, is included in the $640 000 package which the TDC plans to invest in tourism-related projects across the island over the next six months. President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Eddie Abed, said that organisation had also been investing in projects to revitalise Bridgetown and had contributed thousands of dollars to the lighting of several streets around the city last year. (SS)

GET DRUNK DRIVERS TOO - Insurers and a road safety advocate have called for breathalysers for the umpteenth time following the disclosure that the laws are to be changed to penalise mobile phone use while driving. Last week, Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley said that the Road Traffic Act and Regulations were being amended to make specific reference to cellphones, tablets and other hand-held devices. Offenders could face fines up to $3 000 and or imprisonment of more than a year. President of the General Insurance Association of Barbados, Michael Holder, in supporting the change, pointed out that an industry survey in 2015 showed that almost four out of every ten accidents resulted from distracted drivers. “We had undertaken an industry survey and what it said was that 38 per cent of these accidents were caused due to driver distraction, the driver was on the cellphone, appeared to be texting, reaching for the dashboard or paying more attention to something or someone on the road,” he said.  (SS)

SCHOOL ROCKED BY DEATH OF TEEN – DESPITE LIVING WITH a life-threatening respiratory condition, Jaquan Turney was bright-eyed and full of life. Unfortunately, he did not live long enough to realise his potential. He was just 13-years-old when he lost the battle against asthma. Still, his death was sudden and has left a veil of sadness at the Princess Margaret Secondary School, which he attended. “He was fun-loving, talkative . . . . He was the centre of attention. He was always saying something to make you laugh,” grieving mother Gail-Anne Turney said.  (SS)

TEENAGER SHOT IN EDEN LODGE – Police are conducting investigations into a shooting incident which occurred around 7:35 p.m. yesterday at Eden Lodge, St Michael. Demarco Cumberbatch, 18, of Eden Lodge was shot in his abdomen during the incident. Police said Cumberbatch was walking through a track in the area when he was approached by a man who shot him before fleeing the scene. He was transported by ambulance to the QEH for medical treatment. Anyone who can provide any information to assist the police with this investigation is being asked to contact the nearest police station. All information received will be treated confidentially. (BT)

CHRIST CHURCH MAN INJURED IN ACCIDENT – A Christ Church man had a lucky escape when he crashed his motor car into a utility pole along Weston Main Road, St James, this morning. He has been identified as 37-year-old Alistair Leppo of Goodland Gardens, Christ Church. Police said the accident happened around 4:45 a.m. Leppo complained of pain to his body and opted to seek private medical attention. Investigations are continuing. (BT)

DUNWOODY SHOWS HE’S ALPHA MALE – ALPHA SHARKS have gone further out front. The defending champs have all but secured themselves another Aquatic Centre Invitational Championship following Nkosi Dunwoody’s latest record-breaking performances in the pool yesterday. With the multi CARIFTA gold medal swimmer recording seven victories on the day, Alpha extended their lead on rivals Pirates to 275 points after finishing the penultimate session on 1 007 points. Pirates did well to tally 732 points behind the efforts of Zachary Taylor and the Treasure sisters McKayla and Danielle. (SS)

BISHOP STARS AS SPOONERS HILL REBUKE NEWBURY – Spooners Hill Firebirds blazed to a 4-1 record by outshining Newbury All Stars 59-29 on Friday in the Division 1 netball league at the Netball Stadium. The experienced Lydia Bishop led the way with 46 goals from 51 attempts as Firebirds, who returned to Division 1 this season, added another win to those secured against C.O. Williams Rangers, Barbados Under-21s and UWI Signia Blackbirds “B”. The lone loss was to Pine Hill St Barnabas. Bishop received support from the shorter Kellyann Knight, who scored 13 goals from 26 attempts. Charlene Jordan (16/31), Stacey Brewster (11/17) and Nicole Gill (2/3) fought to avert Newbury’s fourth successive loss. Newbury started well, locking the scores from one up to eight, and taking the lead at 6-5. However, their challenge fell away and that proved to be their only lead of the match. (SS)

STILL, HAZELL BACK FOR SOL RALLY – After an eight-year absence the pair of Jonathan Still and Heath Hazell are back. But they are entered in Group B for Sol Rally Barbados, so as not to interfere with the other BMW competitors chasing class and championship points this season. “Stillo”, as he is affectionately called in local and regional motoring circles, is a four-time Rally Barbados class winner and is returning to the event in a newly-built Quality Tyre/Markham Construction BMW M3 with long-time friend and co-driver Hazell, with whom he shared his earlier events and championship wins. A favourite with fans both at home and abroad, he retired after his fourth consecutive SuperModified class win in the 2009 Sol Rally Barbados to concentrate his efforts elsewhere, but admits that he has been increasingly feeling like “a fish out of water”, despite driving the Zero Car for a few years at the head of the big event. (SS)

BCA NOD FOR UWI – The University of the West Indies (UWI) will compete in the Barbados Cricket Association’s (BCA) competitions as a club from this season and will no longer be restricted to fielding bona fide students.  BCA’s director of cricket Steven Leslie confirmed the change in status in an interview with SUNSPORT. “UWI, following a recent decision by the BCA board of management, has been given club status and that is reflected in the amendments for 2017,” Leslie said. The changes have been outlined in the BCA’s Special Conditions and Regulations of Play for the 2017 season. (SS)

BAJANS MORE TOLERANT OF GAYS – More than 15 per cent of Barbadians still express hatred towards homosexuals. But a majority of the country is still either tolerant or accepting of homosexuals, with the numbers that could genuinely be described as “homophobic” amounting to approximately 17 per cent of the population, a recent study has shown. The 2013/14 study was conducted by the Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES), headed by political scientist Peter Wickham, and was facilitated through a research grant provided by Barbados’ HIV/AIDS Commission to look at local attitudes towards homosexuals. In addition, the study shows Barbadians are adamantly opposed to violence against homosexuals because of their sexual preference. (SS)

RIHANNA LOVES CHOPARD WITH NEW JEWELLERY COLLECTION - Rihanna made her first appearance at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday night and also debuted some pieces from her jewellery collaboration with Chopard. Rihanna has teamed with Caroline Scheufele, Chopard's co-president and creative director, to produce a collection titled, Rihanna ♥ Chopard. It will include high jewellery pieces marketed as the Rihanna ♥ Chopard Joaillerie Collection and a collection of limited edition pieces marketed as the Rihanna ♥ Chopard Haute Joaillerie Collection, made with “Fairmined” gold The Rihanna ♥ Chopard Haute Joaillerie Collection was officially unveiled to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Festival de Cannes red carpet and celebrate Chopard’s 20th year as the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival. (SS)

ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS – “Love you for who you are, and don’t let society tell you how you should express yourself.” That is the message 19-year-old Theona Hinds aims to communicate through her art. For as long as she can remember, art has been a big part of her life, with her parents Theo and Michelle Hinds being artists themselves. Hinds recalled that she just drew at first and did not take art seriously until a few years ago when her mother’s contagious passion for creating art “spilled onto me”. It was while in sixth form at The Lodge School that she was introduced to clay by her Art and Design teacher. And while she was simply experimenting at the beginning, she eventually grew to love the medium. Hinds now draws, paints, and creates Plaster of Paris moulds, but clay modeling is her main love. Hinds recently displayed two pieces of her artwork in an exhibition at the Barbados Community College (BCC). The two-part series was entitled A Celebration Of Flaws, with the displays My Flaws Are Beautiful and Perfect In My Imperfections. The clay varnished pieces were more than just works of art; they carried strong messages for young girls and women. (BT)

HARD TIMES HIT KAISO TENTS –CALYPSO TENTS finding it harder to attract sponsorship have been told that they need to reinvent themselves in order to remain relevant. Tent officials noted that the funding challenges continued even as the Crop Over Festival generates economic activity second only to Christmas. Eleanor Rice, manager of the All Stars tent, said that according to the economic figures the festival generated significant expenditure from which many businesses across all sectors benefit. “Still the treatment meted out to this economic driver [Crop Over] by many in the public and private sector leaves much to be desired. At government level, the frustrations continue of working with impractical requirements of the Barbados Revenue Authority,” said Rice, who praised her major sponsor Cave Shepherd for its almost two decades of support. (SS)

ALL STARS READY FOR FESTIVAL SEASON – CAVE SHEPHERD ALL STARS is moving ahead with confidence this year as they try to keep the calypso crown on their heads. Last year they copped the monarchy with Aziza who will be leading the other 14 calypsonians as the tent opens May 27 at Almond Resort in St Peter. Tent manager Eleanor Rice said the tent had “established a pedigree among Barbados’ best tents and we value this acknowledgement greatly”.  She was speaking at Cave Shepherd Broad Street, the home of the tent’s main sponsor, in the presence of her calypsonians and supporting sponsors. These are BIMAP, Golden Sands and TMR. Rice said the tent had already prepared itself for the season by having a number of interactions among members. - Rice defended the social commentary element which she said might be elevated to the level of classics but there “are those genres which cause listeners convulsions with the shallow depth of lyrics and absence of creativity, but they get the level of airplay on our radio stations”.  She castigated those businesses that did not contribute to sponsorship to the festival and thanked those businesses which “unequivocally demonstrate social responsiveness, and receive and give, for mutual benefit”.  This year’s cast includes calypsonians Aziza, Colin Spencer, Kid Site, Ronnie De Announcer Clarke, Miguel, Donella, Shawnie, Fabee, Screwface, Niqa, Dija, Charisma, Hee Haw, Camera Man and Richard Antonio. (SS)

SWEET SOCA AT MEGA CALVACADE – The numbers might have been subpar but the soca was sweet for days at the Hott 95.3 Mega Cavalcade at Checker Hall, St Lucy. Those who gathered on the playing field enjoyed every last drop of soca from seasoned artists as well as some newcomers. The Mega Cavalcade, which kicked off the three-month long festival, introduced fresh faces, including Aidan, to the public. Also known as Nadia Holmes, Aidan brought incredible zeal and boundless energy to her performance. Reggae artist Makka Tree was also an unfamiliar face to the crowd but nevertheless, he delivered, rousing loud cheers from his supporters. Things started to get heated when the bashment soca artists hit the stage. As soon as the song by Jah Reddis and Hardware was teased, there was a rush to the front of the stage. Young and old were ready to Up de Ting! The duo maintained a high energy performance which was followed by Scrilla and Faith Callendar who performed Gimme – Callendar’s first attempt at the genre. Marzille and Stabby gave the patrons an impromptu performance of some love music singing hits like Thinking of You and Let’s get it on, to the delight of the crowd. Unfortunately, that was cut short due to time constraints and they quickly moved onto Oops and Peep Back to which the crowd went wild. Another crowd favourite, 2016 Bashment King, Stiffy reminded patrons why he holds the crown. The artist worked his magic on the crowd and had them singing his songs word for word. The Groovy Soca Monarch, The General,  Edwin Yearwood also had his troops chipping and pelting waistline to past and present songs. Meanwhile, Damien Marvay romanced the crowd with his sweet vocals and boundless energy. He was one of the few performers to introduce one of their Crop Over 2017 songs singing newly released Antidote and previous hits Survive The Weeknd and I Know the Face. Closing off the cavalcade with a bang, the Hypa Dawg, Lil Rick had the crowd begging for more with Iz A Bajan, Way Up and All Iz Rum. Even as the crowd lined off to go home, small groups gathered on the field reluctant to leave, highlighting that the Mega Cavalcade was a good party and a good time.(BT)

UP TO $5000 TO PLAY MAS – If you are “kraving” a quality Crop Over experience, look to spend thousands of dollars. But the reason for that, says Avery Hackett, bandleader of Krave The Band, all boils down to quality, craftsmanship and unique designs. It is also about the entire experience. That is why their costumes are being sold for US$2 200 for frontlines; midlines can start at US$770 in some instances and backlines can cost US$525 and more. And while many people are raising eyebrows at the prices, most of the sections have been sold out. To register, revellers have to pay a 50 per cent deposit on costumes, and one of the two queen pieces, which cost US$2 500 each, has already been snatched up. (SS)

Gospelfest 2017 to launch – The 2017 Barbados Gospelfest gets underway today, Sunday, May 21 with a thanksgiving church service at the Western Light Nazarene Church, Oxnards, St James beginning at 8 a.m. The annual Joseph Niles Legacy Lecture will place on Monday, May 22 at the L.V. Harcourt Lewis Room of the Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union on Belmont Road, St Michael beginning at 7:30 p.m. The lecture will be delivered by Austral Estwick, veteran musician, sound engineer and founding member of the island’s number one gospel band, PROMISE. Barbados Gospelfest continues to be an avenue for Barbadians to experience spiritual upliftment through various art forms. (BT)

Christopher, Shaquille’s dream comes true - The suspense and wait are over. Loud cheers erupted when Christopher Millar and Shaquille Haynes were announced as the winning couple in this year’s Forever I Do Dream Wedding Competition at Hilton Barbados last night. The elated couple won the hearts of Barbadians and the judges��before a packed audience shortly before 9 o’clock. Six couples were in the contest with the winners walking away with about $25 000 in prizes. The chief judges were Keith and Kay Robertson. Yesterday’s Forever I Do Seminar and Expo was the final event in the competition now in its 16th year. It is hosted by the Nation Publishing Company. (SS)

That’s all for today folks. There are 224 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 5/14/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers and Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful mothers out there. Here is your daily news cap for Sunday 12th May 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Sunday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS).  

EXPECT SOME BUDGET PAIN – There will be no economic gains in Barbados without some pain. That is the warning from Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) chairman Charles Herbert who gave his take on what Barbadians should be prepared for when Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler reveals his much anticipated 2017 Budget on May 30. Herbert said frankly: “We can’t have austerity without someone hurting.” The BPSA boss said his private sector partners were prepared for belt tightening, though he was uncertain if Barbadians were ready for what could come down the chute on Budget day.  (SS)

ACTION BY TEACHERS FORCES SCHOOL CLOSURE – At least three secondary schools were forced to close early on Friday 12th May as teachers staged industrial action for the second day running. St George Secondary School and Combermere School – both of which have been the subjects of much tension between the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) and the Ministry of Education – along with the Graydon Sealy Secondary School, cancelled classes from about 11a.m. because there were insufficient teachers to oversee the students. They were the hardest hit in an apparent sick-out, as the BSTU increased pressure on the ministry over the dismissal of three teachers. Several other schools were forced to combine classes due to the limited number of teachers at work. Following the walk-out, Minister of Education Ronald Jones had said the BSTU had not advised of any planned industrial action, even as he acknowledged that the teachers were well within their rights to take action. The BSTU has scheduled a meeting with its members on Monday, during which they will decide whether or not they will escalate the industrial action. (BT)

PRISON OFFICER’S COURT DATE – The Prison Officers Association and the Government of Barbados will soon lock horns in court to determine if warders can join a trade union, and represent themselves at the bargaining table. The civil matter, with the association as the claimant and the Attorney General’s Office as the defendant, has been set down for trial on September 18 before Justice William Chandler. The association is challenging the constitutionality of a provision in the Prison Act, which bans prison officers from joining a union. They claim this rule puts them at a serious disadvantage when it comes to collective bargaining. The High Court has ordered the association to file skeletal arguments (written submissions which explain the grounds of their substantive case) by July 31. (SS)

OLD AMBULANCES TO RETURN TO SERVIVCE – A new headquarters has been found for the ambulance service. And Minister of Health John Boyce, who made that announcement on Friday, said while financial constraints may be preventing Government from sourcing new ambulances, some of the older vehicles will be overhauled and put back in operation. He disclosed that the Emergency Ambulance Service (EAS) will be headquartered at the former R. R. Donnelley building in Wildey, St Michael, next door to the Edgar Cochrane Polyclinic. However, he did not give a timeline for the relocation of the department from the Ministry of Health building in Jemmots Lane, Bridgetown. Boyce said the facility is in a central location and will also be used for training, among other activities for staff. (BT)

OISTINS STINK - The man seeking to take the Christ Church South seat from Minister of Health John Boyce is raising a stink over the conditions in which vendors at Oistins Bay Garden are forced to operate. Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidate Ralph Thorne, QC, has described the condition as a disgrace, and has called on the National Conservation Commission (NCC) to re-evaluate its contracts with the vendors. The operators said the conditions were deplorable and unsanitary, with food operator and customers subjected to mounting garbage, overflowing drains, scampering rodents and foul odours. Thorne, who toured Oistins Bay Garden this afternoon, accused the NCC of breaching the contract it had signed with the vendors, while arguing that as owners of the allocated spaces it was the Commission’s responsibility to ensure the safety of its tenants. (BT)

REPUBLIC SAYS ITS DOING WELL – Despite reports that Barbadians were now funnelling more of their money from commercial banks into credit unions, officials at one major bank are still upbeat. Yesterday, Republic Bank’s senior manager for retail Steven Jordan and manager for retail services at the Wildey and Worthing branches Sandra Reifer-Wallerson said the bank was continuing to perform well, as evidenced by the high interest in its products. “Things are going well. Republic bank does what it needs to do to remain relevant in the market. We pride ourselves at being first and coming up with new ways of engaging the public,” Jordan said. “We have 3.75 per cent mortgage rate. That’s the best on the market. We continue to try to be the leader.” (SS)

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD – Minister of Housing and Lands Denis Kellman is proposing a review of the road network in parts of St Thomas and St James as Government acquires approximately 10,000 square metres of land in the Arch Hall, St Thomas area for residential development and road access. The St Lucy Member of Parliament said that with the development in that community, he expects more investment in the vicinity, which should also result in increased traffic. He said it was, therefore, necessary for Government to “go back to the drawing table” to see if tweaks to the road infrastructure there and in nearby communities were necessary. Kellman was on Friday opening debate in Parliament on the divestment of land in Arch Hall, St Thomas to the National Housing Corporation. Member of Parliament for St James Central Kerrie Symmonds said while he supports the development in Arch Hall, St Thomas, he is hoping that it took into consideration churches as well as a recreational area for residents.  (BT)

FRESH OUTLOOK WITH NEW BOARDS – The following is a statement issued by Editor Emeritus and chairman of the Nation Publishing Company Limited, Harold Hoyte, in response to public reports related to the composition of the company’s board of directors. In march of this year, the board of directors of One Caribbean Media (OCM), of which I am a member, decided to effect changes to the operational structure of its subsidiary boards in the entire region and refresh their memberships to make them more responsive to the needs of 21st century media. As a consequence, some board appointments were terminated. Changes to board directorships are standard corporate practice, particularly where significant additional business priorities can benefit from fresh perspectives and skill sets. The board of OCM has been giving thorough consideration to the legal and administrative challenges involved in aspects of the proposed transformed structures of its two major subsidiaries in Barbados, the Nation Publishing Company and Starcom Network. (SS)

LECTURER GIVES CAUTION ON BUSH MEDICINE USE - While not dismissing the relevance of bush medicine, Dame Selma Jackman is cautioning about using folk remedies in trying to cure diseases. She was responding to a question from a member of the audience as to the benefits of bush medicine following her near 45-minute presentation as guest presenter at the annual Olive Trotman Memorial Lecture organised by the Barbados Public Workers’ Cooperative Credit Union Limited Friday night. The theme was An ode To The Overlooked – A Reflective Journey On The Making Of A Dame and it was dedicated to unsung heroes. “It is just that when you go straight to the bushes – there are helpful ingredients in the bushes that are used for medical purposes, but the only snag is that there are lots in there that we don’t know; what effects they will have . . . so it is as if our doctor medicine is the refined part of the bush medicine,” she said during the session at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. (SS)

HALLS OF HISTORY – ST MARY’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL and Wesley Hall Boys’ School have become synonymous with the City and have left their indelible mark on many of the island’s citizens. However, many pass their original buildings, oblivious of their importance or see them as eyesores and receptacles for garbage. But one of the island’s noted historians and an authority on the City-scape, feels the two, as well as the imposing, former belle of a building, Marshall Hall, should at least be maintained in their present states if they cannot be restored to their former glory. The original home of Wesley Hall Boys’ School is the church-like building was near the Tudor Street junction with Sobers Lane. It was built around 1890 to handle the excess boys from the original Wesley Hall (now known as Hurd’s Memorial) in James Street (opposite the James Street Methodist Church). (SS)

THORNE GIVES CHASE PUSH TO PERFORM – Barbados netballer Rashida Chase has been given ahead of her senior debut in next week’s three-test series against Jamaica in Kingston. On Friday Chase, who is also looking to maintain her spot on the Under-21 team that will take part in the Youth World Cup in Botswana in July, was given some financial support by Barbados Labour Party Christ Church South candidate Ralph Thorne at Durham Shop in Upper Carters Gap. With family and constituency members in attendance, Thorne advised Chase to remember that from the time that she stepped on the plane to leave the island until she returned she would be representing her family, constituency and country with pride. While not disclosing the amount of money that he was giving to Chase, Thorne said the assistance would continue once the midcourt player maintained her place on the senior team for engagements against Trinidad and Tobago and Northern Island.  (SS)

SQUASH MASTERS AT MARINE – One of the region’s most celebrated tournaments, the BCQS Jammin Barbados Squash Masters, is set to start on Wednesday at the Barbados Squash Club at Marine Gardens. This year, the tournament has the highest number of overseas entries since its inception in 2008. More than 50 overseas players are coming and along with them 16 non-playing individuals. Players are coming from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Czech Republic, Norway, Tortola, St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago. Competition will be in the men’s 35 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64 and over-65 categories. There will be an open over-35 women’s section. (SS)

FORSAKEN ONE SHINES IN THE MUD – Close and exciting finishes saw several former champions rule the turf at the Garrison Savannah yesterday when the Barbados Turf Club’s second racing season ran off, initially under overcast conditions before some sunshine late in the afternoon. Trainer Andrew Nunes and jockey Anderson Trotman both landed trebles on the soft track, with Nunes saddling winners in the first three races. In the feature race, the Betting Booth Staff Trophy Handicap for the top class over 1 100 metres, it was Sir David Seale’s Forsaken One who capitalised fully on the conditions and a whopping 17 pounds weight advantage. Hot favourites Wild Cat Tea and Lucky Adventure spurted clear, but never in a hurry, Trotman was content to watch from the back as the two speedsters went at each other until Lucky Adventure quit at the top of the hill. This left Wild Cat Tea with an uncontested lead as Forsaken One took closer order on the outside. (SS)

KELLY GETS BETTER OF ELCOCK THIS TIME – THAT KELLY BOY finally unseated Russell Elcock after all. No, not Joshua. Jesse Kelly is looking to make his own piece of history now, having set himself up to complete that ever-elusive National Championships’ double by ending Elcock’s five-year reign at the Barbados Cycling Union’s time trial yesterday. Riding from Beulah Junction, St Philip, to the Boarded Hall roundabout, St George, and back twice, the elder Kelly completed the relatively flat 40K course in 53 minutes and 40 seconds to win his first national title at the elite level. “It’s not really a surprise for me because I knew I was coming in here on excellent form. I went to Colombia this year then France and then I went to Pan Ams and suffered a mechanical,” said Jesse. (SS)

YOUNIS SIGN OFF QUIETLY AS WINDIES TAKE CONTROL - Outstanding Pakistani batsmen Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan signed off their illustrious careers with little fanfare as the decisive third Test continued to lurch unpredictably on the penultimate day at Windsor Park on Saturday. At tea, the visitors had stumbled to 72 for five, an overall lead of 201 runs with just four sessions left in the contest. Younis, in his final Test innings before retirement, was dismissed on the stroke of tea for a top score of 35 while his captain Misbah perished for two. Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo (2-5) and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel (2-19) have both taken two wickets apiece. Resuming from the precarious position of eight for two at lunch, Pakistan made decent if slow progress as Younis and opener Shan Masood (21) added 49 for the third wicket. Younis faced 73 deliveries and struck three fours while the left-handed Masood hit a single four in a 68-ball knock. Gabriel, however, struck in the second over following the drinks break, trapping Masood lbw with one that angled in. Masood’s dismissal triggered a collapse where three wickets in all fell for 15 runs. Misbah followed four overs later, top-edging a sweep at Bishoo to wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich while Younis was on the brink of the safety of tea when he also top-edged a sweep to Kieran Powell at short fine leg. (BT)

TONI’S FINAL RIDE – Members of the local biking fraternity today joined with family and friends in paying their final respects to 43-year-old biker Toni Barrow – a mother of two – who died in an accident on Barbarees Hill on May 1. An unusually large crowd of curious onlookers also gathered at the Better Life Assembly, Hindsbury Road, St Michael to witness what was a first for Barbados, as Barrow’s body was positioned on her motorcycle outside the church instead of inside and in a traditional casket. This proved to be quite the spectacle. And, even as family members sought to honour Barrow’s wish to be buried on a motorcycle, today’s send off proved very difficult for them. Throughout the funeral service they could be seen comforting each other, as they struggled to maintain their composure amid the questioning gazes of some onlookers. Barrow’s funeral service was to be followed by a private cremation. (BT)

JUNIOR’S TRIBUTE TO MAESTRO – No one captures the Barbadian culture through song better than calypsonian Mighty Gabby. And it is because of this distinction that Blackbird Productions will be paying tribute to the maestro during Junior Kadooment with the band A Living Legend And His Music – A Tribute To The Mighty Gabby. The Sky Mall was a hive of activity yesterday as Gabby joined the youngsters under the guidance of bandleader Sanka Price for the band launch. There are six sections each portraying one of Gabby’s most memorable tunes. (SS)

CROP OVER CITY BRINGS FRESH VIBES - With the anticipated return of Starcom Network Inc. to home-base on River Road in the coming weeks, the leading network of radio stations in Barbados has launched Crop Over City. The network has positioned three of its four radio stations as the unofficial home of the Crop Over season and the initiative has already taken over the airwaves with a song of the same name penned and performed by popular local artistes Leadpipe and Saddis.  Ronald ‘Ronnie’ Clarke, programme manager for the four radio stations, said the response to the catchy tune had been enthusiastic and the refrain “Crop Over City, coming to you from River Road” had caught on. The initiative includes the return of the popular Starcom Network’s People Monarch competition and the programme Fireworks with Carol Roberts and Larry Mayers on VOB 92.9FM, and calypso and soca fans can tune in and be fully immersed in the spirit of Crop Over. (SS)

MUM’S THE WORD - Today is Mother’s Day and all across Barbados mothers will be treated to some extra special love, gifts and surprises from loved ones. Yesterday, shops were bustling with business as many tried to get last-minute presents for their mums. (SS)

That’s all for today folks. There are 231 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 5/3/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday 3rd May 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Mid-week Nation Newspaper (MWN).  

WITHOUT DELAY –He was recently fired from the helm of this country’s monetary authority. But that has not stopped former Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell, following his dismissal back in February, from freely dishing out his economic advice to the Freundel Stuart Government, whether it wants it or not. In the first of what is expected to be a series of economic letters, Worrell Tuesday offered his advice on how Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration should proceed in a bid to safeguard the Barbados dollar. Though not seemingly convinced that sale of state-owned assets will achieve the desired economic turnaround, Worrell warned that “a reduction in the numbers employed in public services is inevitable, since the present wages bill cannot be managed without further borrowing from Central Bank! He also said Government would be “well advised” to seek the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “without delay”, explaining that the IMF “can assist in designing the reform process to increase efficiency through the employment of higher levels of skill and the appropriate use of new technology, with no permanent diminution in the quality of public services”. Efforts to reach Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler Tuesday for comment on Worrell’s economic remedy were unsuccessful. However, the former bank Governor’s advice aligns squarely that given by former Prime Minister Owen Arthur and other leading economists months ago, even while Worrell was still at the helm of the country’s monetary authority. Nonetheless, Government remains adamant that it will not go the IMF route at this time, and the closest that Stuart has come to saying that major cuts are in store was in a speech in which he warned Barbadians to be prepared to carry more of the economic weight. He stressed that in the interest of the country, Barbadians would have to be asked to carry a little more of the weight. The Prime Minister’s comments came against the backdrop of a worrying economic situation highlighted by dwindling foreign exchange reserves, which fell precariously from $1.4 billion in 2012 to $681 million by the end of last year. In his letter, Worrell zeroed in on the impact of the current situation on the country’s dollar. In fact, to reflect his primary concern the former Governor, who had developed an aversion for meeting with the media while in office, chose to title his economic correspondence, which he posted on his personal website and also emailed to select members of the media, It’s Worth the Effort to Save Our Dollar Peg. In  his letter, the former Governor called for urgent action in the interest of maintaining the island’s 2-1 peg against the United States dollar. No longer confined by any Governmental agenda, Worrell did not hide how he felt about the country’s public sector. In fact, he described it as “a drag on investment” and warned that it was “living beyond its means”. He also openly complained that two decades after Government had openly committed to public sector reform, public sector performance was now “at its lowest ebb”, while warning that spending cuts would have to be made. “Reduced Government spending and forceful measures for public sector reform are the key to arresting foreign reserves losses and securing the exchange rate anchor,” said Worrell, who remains optimistic about the competitiveness of both the tourism and international business and financial sectors. However, the respected economist warned that despite Barbados’ reputation as both a quality tourism destination and a highly regarded international business and financial service centre, “its promising growth potential will not be fully realized, and may very well be lost, unless there is a turnaround in the performance of the public sector. “. . . the levels of efficiency and productivity in the delivery of public services are not up to par with what visitors and investors have reason to expect, and what our competitors offer,” Worrell stressed. He also restated a warning he had made earlier this year, at the height of disagreement with Government on economic policy, that “the most pressing economic challenge Barbados faces today relates to the excess of public sector spending over tax revenues, and the unsustainable level of borrowing from the Central Bank”. He also reiterated that “heavy borrowing by Government over the past two years has now depressed Central Bank foreign reserves below the equivalent of 12 weeks of imports, and triggered widespread apprehension about the exchange rate anchor. “In order to restore confidence and secure the peg, decisive action is needed to reduce Government’s ongoing expenditure to the amount of tax revenues,” said Worrell.  (BT)

ARTHUR NOT SURPRISED BY WORRELL’S IMF CALL – Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur is not surprised that the recently fired Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell is now publicly advising Government to go the route of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In fact, Arthur suggests that Worrell may have been pushing the Freundel Stuart Government in that direction all along. While those reports have since been denied by the Washington-based financial institution, Arthur said: “If you investigate you might find that it was Worrell who said, ‘look, I’m tired printing money. I know that what I am doing is wrong, this got to stop. I can’t get it to stop unless we have significant help from the international financial community. Fund, come and help’. However, he said, in absence of consensus within Government on taking the country the IMF route, Worrell’s hands were tied. Therefore, ahead of his sacking, Worrell acted against his own best professional advice and continued to print money, even though he knew it was the wrong thing to do and to the detriment of the country’s foreign reserves, which fell below 12 weeks of import cover to less than $700 million last December. Today, Arthur pleaded with Government to set aside all “false pride”, as he again reiterated the urgent need for Government to seek an IMF-sponsored solution to the country’s dire economic position. “You cannot have a false pride. The situation that our country faces is one that can only be resolved with very significant financial help from the international financial community on the best possible terms, properly negotiated to make sure that the problems that are to be dealt with are dealt with effectively, the economy is put on the mend and the society is not put under peril,” said Arthur, who has been calling for the past three years, to no avail, for debt restructuring and privatization. Back in March during the annual Estimates debate, Arthur also put the issue of US dollar parity on the table, and today he strongly reiterated that “the [Barbados] exchange rate is there to work for us, not to be a God that we worship. Arthur, who has recently been sidelined on account of a foot injury, also emphasized the need for Barbados to work with its creditors to fix its situation, warning that “over the next four years Barbados will find itself facing a spike in its debt repayments, where they will virtually double, making it impossible for Government to function effectively”. As for Worrell not being convinced that the sale of assets will yield the desired economic turnaround, Arthur warned that it was not only the sale of assets, but also the rationalization of them. “We have 63 state enterprises and at one stage you had to find $1.2 billion a year to carry them. Now when the economy was stronger, you could,” he said, adding that “the country had now reached the stage were a lot of the entitlements that we give ourselves and the so called free benefits paid for by a strong economy in the form of transfers, you really can’t do that anymore”. “And these things have to be done not because you want to be wicked, but because they are absolutely necessary,” he said, adding that they must be done in an orderly fashion to avoid a “crumbling” of the economy and the civil society. He further warned that countries that have gone this way stayed in the wilderness for a very long time. “That is why it is so important that you act now. It is a message that Grenada understood . . . Jamaica has gone that way, Suriname has gone that way. There are legitimate countries in the world that have programmes with the International Monetary Fund and the Fund is there as a lender of last resort when you have insurmountable problems to deal with.” (BT)

STUART’S WARNING PUZZLES OPPOSITION MP - Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s warning that Barbadians must be prepared to “carry more of the weight” has left a senior Opposition Member of Parliament wondering whether the country’s leader is aware of the burden that people are already carrying. The St Joseph MP and former Attorney General Dale Marshall suggested that Stuart was out of touch with the reality other Barbadians face. Addressing Democratic Labour Party (DLP) supporters and well-wishers during an awards ceremony for outstanding youth over the weekend, the Prime Minister told residents they had come of age economically and could now be weaned off the multiple social services provided by various Governments since Independence. Positing that the present circumstances of Barbados and Barbadians were far removed from the “road blocks” faced by ancestors, the Prime Minister said at the DLP’s George Street headquarters that “we are now at a point of transition to another stage of Barbados’ development”. “There are people in the country who can now better afford to look after themselves in a way that their parents could not, or their grandparents could not,” he said, adding that, in the interest of the country, those persons “will have to be asked to carry a little more of the weight.” But Marshall responded a day later in a post on his Facebook page, saying the only inferences he could draw from Stuart’s statements were that “someone else was pulling the weight for us before now; and we are not pulling hard enough”. “Where in the boundless recesses of his mind does he come up with these things?” the Barbados Labour Party parliamentarian questioned. “Somehow I can’t shake the image of a Prime Minister hovering in the skies above our country, untouched by either reality or the daily burdens of life that the vast majority of Barbadians can no longer bear up under, and he, the all-knowing, after careful consideration and weighing of the issues, declares ‘Bajans must pull more weight’ (to the unenthusiastic applause of a DLP crowd, I imagine). “And then he retreats to his place of peace and quiet, until he emerges again in a few weeks with more of the same – articulate nonsense!” Marshall wrote. Stuart’s comments came days ahead of the Budget which Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is expected to present to Parliament by the end of this month. (BT)

SEALY: DLP ACHIEVEMENTS AN UNTOLD story – Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy is complaining that the story of this country’s successes under the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is not being told.    Addressing the latest in the ruling party’s FACTS conferences Monday evening, he listed a series of achievements that he contended debunked the notion of a country “belly-up [and] sliding down [like] a fallen angel”.    Among the accomplishments he highlighted to supporters gathered at the Belfield Community Centre in Black Rock, St Michael were Barbados’ performance in the World Economic Forum and United Nations Human Development Index. Noting the island’s tourism achievements, in particular, he pointed out that Barbados has won awards from Travel Bulletin and Expedia, and was rated number one in the Caribbean, seventh in the Americas and 46th in the world in travel and tourism competitiveness by the World Travel and Tourism Council. “That is because of a lot of work . . . a lot of sacrifice by so many people in the tourism sector,” he said of the latter accomplishment. The minister also highlighted that the Barbados Hilton Resort was recently rated the best property in the Western Hemisphere and the UK’s leading travel trade brand Travel Bulletin had ranked the country the best destination for luxury tourism. Furthermore, Sealy said, the Barbados passport is one of the most desired passports in the world, referring to that document being rated this year on passportindex.org as the most powerful in the Caribbean and the 50th most powerful in the world. “People [are] still willing to push down fences and scale walls to come to get a piece of this rock . . . and that is a fact. Not only the tourists . . . the investors . . . people looking for somewhere to live . . . people wanting to enjoy a good quality of life would give their eye teeth to get residency here,” he contended. Sealy boasted, too, that Barbados’ health care and educational systems have also been highly rated internationally and have become the envy of the world. He said it would therefore be a backward step to “give this country to the reactionary elements in this society”, insisting that Barbados is on a solid course, despite the economic challenges and difficult decisions Government has had to make. (BT)

WAKE UP CALL – General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) Toni Moore has delivered a stinging rebuke of the Freundel Stuart administration’s handling of the economy, suggesting the authorities were asleep while the prospects remained frightening and grim. In questioning why economic proposals presented to Stuart by two working groups of the Social Partnership had not been discussed with stakeholders, Moore likened the situation to Alice in Wonderland, the 1865 novel in which the main character fell through a rabbit hole into a land of fantasy.     However, in her May Day address at Browne’s Beach yesterday, the BWU leader painted an even more frightening scenario, saying in the present case the country would wake up to an ongoing nightmare. It was one of several scathing comments that Moore made about the administration, charging that it had failed to demonstrate leadership at a time of economic challenges. At the beginning of her speech, the union leader admitted she had struggled to determine the right tone, saying she was also concerned that her statements might be interpreted as political, as Barbados was into the “silly season”. However, she said there were “so many missteps” and “much that isn’t right”, that she could not lower the BWU’s standard “for fear of being politically aligned”. Moore told public and private sector employees gathered for the event that public servants had not received a salary increase for almost a decade, and would soon be asked to accept further wage restraint “at the same time the leaders in Government put back on a ten per cent [on their salaries] which was taken off as a show of identifying with people”, including those who had been retrenched. Among the recommendations put forward by the two committees, mandated by Stuart on March 3 to come up with proposals on how to address rising debt and dwindling reserves, were the reduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) to between ten and 15 per cent and increases in airport and cruise taxes. Moore admitted that some of the recommendations “may turn out to be not too inappropriate under the circumstances”, but insisted a broad discussion was needed on “proposals of such seriousness coming at such a critical time in our economic environment”. The BWU boss said while the union had not yet accepted or rejected any of the recommendations, it flatly rejected the suggestion “that no industrial action would be a criterion by which to measure the success of the proposals”. The labour leader also hit back at Minister of Housing and Lands Denis Kellman, who said in Parliament last week that those opposed to the proposed Hyatt Centric project on Bay Street, The City, were “enemies of the state” – a clear reference to attorney-at-law and social activist David Comissiong, who has taken legal action against the multi-million dollar project. Moore said while Barbadian workers have had to carry more than their fair share of the effects of the economic downturn, “it is scary when in challenging times, economic forces seem to be positive only in the direction of a privileged few. (BT)

BARROW’S DEPARTURE FROM GAIA MAKES WAY FOR BOXHILL TO TAKE FLIGHT - Three months ago he was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) Inc. And Tuesday, Neville Boxhill took over the GAIA reins. Boxhill confirmed to Barbados TODAY his appointment as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the GAIA Inc effective May 1, 2016, following the departure of David Barrow last Thursday at the end of his contractual period. Barrow, the son of late Democratic Labour Party (DLP) founding father Errol Walton Barrow, and a qualified aircraft engineer with a wealth of work experience, was appointed to GAIA in April 2010. His departure makes way for Boxhill, the son and namesake of a former DLP minister in the Errol Barrow era, to take flight. The younger Boxhill served in a number of senior positions in the tourism industry, including aviation consultant to the now defunct Barbados Tourism Authority, and is a former senior director of support services at the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.  (BT)

ICBL BEGIN VOLUNTARY CUTS – More than a dozen workers have officially parted company with the Bermuda-based Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL), after receiving voluntary separation packages last week. However, Barbados TODAY understands that more staff cuts could be in the offing this month, as the company proceeds with its internal restructuring that has already resulted in major payouts. Although those who accepted the packages went home last Thursday ahead of the long holiday weekend, the separation officially took effect on Sunday, April 30, with former managers receiving bonus payments of up to $50,000 in addition to their regular severance and vacation pay, while non-managers were offered as much as $25,000 in addition to severance and vacation pay. When contacted today, Acting Chief Executive Officer Goulbourne Alleyne said he had absolutely no comment to make on the matter. However, shortly after a report was published by Barbados TODAY last month about the then pending staff cuts, ICBL officials had confirmed in a statement that changes in the staff composition would be seen soon, as the insurance giant moves to streamline its operations and improve its overall efficiency. At the time Alleyne had confirmed that the changes were being facilitated by way of an “attractive compensation package”. Alleyne had also described the package as an “enhanced one”, while noting that it was developed by management with a view to ensuring that the staff were treated fairly, and appropriately recognized and compensated for the service they had provided to the company. The latest changes follow closely the sudden departure of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ingrid Innes, who resigned from the top post in January. No up-to-date financial figures are available, but in its 2015 report the well-capitalized company had boasted at the time of shareholders’ equity in the amount of $149.1 million and an investment portfolio in excess of $223 million. However, based on 2013 data, its total staff complement stood at 191 permanent employees, making total staff costs of just over $17 million, including a $14 million wage bill. (BT)

EASY EXAM – After months of preparation and lots of anxious moments, there was joy, as well as relief at the end of what has typically been one of the most stressful days for Barbadian parents – if not for students – as 3,000 pupils completed the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination — commonly referred to as either the Common Entrance Examination or the 11-plus. Some 1,680 males and 1,650 females, including 11 early sitters – four males and seven females who were granted permission to write the exam at age ten – were registered to sit the examination at 22 secondary schools across the island. The day began early as most parents and guardians took the students to the examination centres with plenty of time to relax and settle down, although a few rushed in at the last moment. And if there were any nerves, those at Princess Margaret Secondary School in St Philip displayed no signs as they got last minute hugs and well wishes from their parents before heading into the exam room. Over in the north, there was a mixture of bright smiles, a bit of nerves and confidence as students readied themselves for the test. There were also a few late arrivals, as some were seen hustling in at the very last minute. At Frederick Smith, students from Welches Primary, Good Shepherd and St James Primary gathered from as early as 7:45 a.m. eagerly waiting to enter the examination room. Parents gave hugs, kisses and last minute advice and teachers prayed with them as they sought to comfort them, even though they themselves appeared to be nervous.’ As students were called into the exam rooms, parents waved goodbye and promptly left the school compound. Over at The Alexandra School, where students from Roland Edwards and Gordon Greenidge Primary gathered to sit their exam, parents lingered around a little longer, waiting in the school car park for their charges. At Coleridge & Parry, the students from Boscobel, All Saints Primary and Leacock’s Private School had begun their exam, starting with the Composition, at 9 a.m. sharp and appeared to be settled. The parents brought along picnic chairs and blankets and set up camp quietly outside the school’s gate as they awaited the students’ verdict. It would be 1: 00 p.m. before the students rushed out, many still brimming with the same level of confidence they had displayed when they walked into the room. Students from Christ Church Girls, St Christopher and Milton Lynch Primary, who sat the exam at Christ Church Foundation, emerged smiling and ran into the arms of waiting parents. Describing the test as fair to easy, they told Barbados TODAY that aside from a few nerves at the start, they were able to execute the training reinforced by both teachers and parents in preparation for the test. Over at The St Michael School, there was elation from students from St Ambrose, St Patrick, People’s Cathedral, George Lamming Primary and St Cyprian’s Boys School, who told Barbados TODAY the exam was a lot easier than they had anticipated. Zishan Motara said during the preparatory stages he had struggled somewhat, but he was satisfied with his performance, especially with the Composition paper. With the exam over, the students said they were looking forward to “relaxing, having more fun, focusing on sports or travelling”. Principal of St Cyprian’s Dave Layne said the students had spent a lot of time rehearsing. Having seemingly conquered the most challenging school days in their primary school lives, it was time for some fun and frolic, as well as stress relief. At Chefette Speightstown many ran around in the playground and made merry, something they had not done in a long time, “All the hard work is now done and I did my best. The exam was alright for me,” said Nijayda Greaves of Selah Primary School, who just wanted to have some fun and relax. At Lucky Horseshoe, students from St Gabriel’s, Charles F Broome, Seventh Day Adventist and Lawrence T Gay Memorial enjoyed their after party and feasted on many treats as they discussed plans now the exam was over. Over at the Hilton Barbados Resort, students from George Lamming enjoyed some fun in the sun and simply eased the stress in the pool. Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer Karen Best said everything came off “without a hitch”, with “no complaints or concerns from anyone throughout the day”. (BT)

PRAISE FOR BANK STAFF – STAFF OF THE CENTRAL BANK have been commended for a performance which acting Governor Cleviston Haynes says has made the institution a beacon of financial operations locally. He reflected on four decades of “excellence, stability, innovation and leadership” in a brief address to the bank’s staff on open day, as part of celebrations for the 45th anniversary. The theme for the anniversary week is Celebrating Excellence, Stability, Innovation And Leadership, which Haynes said had been demonstrated in the bank’s high-quality research, its economic and financial leadership, efforts to educate the public, and the social outreach and customer service. (MWN)

BUILD ON GOD, YOUTH URGED - Youth is a gift to be enjoyed and youngsters have been encouraged to make the best of it. Those words of encouragement came yesterday from head of the Collymore Rock Church of the Nazarene, Reverend David Holder, during his sermon at the funeral service for Corey Best, who died while in custody at Oistins Police Station on April 13, at the age of 34. Holder said he had buried many people younger than his 61 years in the last two to five years and, while not referring specifically to Best, he told the gathering that a lot of youths had been perishing. (MWN)

CALL TO OUTLAW BACKYARD BURNING - The head of the Asthma Association of Barbados wants legislation enacted to curb backyard burning. President Rosita Pollard said the much-loved act by Barbadians was one of the main triggers of asthma and should be stopped. “I don’t know why they burn; it’s a bad habit,” she said. Pollard was speaking to the MIDWEEK NATION as her association held its open day, outreach session and membership drive, at Tyrol Cot Heritage Village, St Michael, to coincide with World Asthma Day yesterday. (MWN)

DANGEROUS DRIVING – A 23-year-old man is out on $15,000 bail after appearing in a Bridgetown court Tuesday charged with causing the death of 49-year-old Station Sergeant Clifford Bridgeman by dangerous driving. Tre Shaquile Murray of Spring Hall, St Lucy, who appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick, is also accused of driving without due care and attention and driving without reasonable consideration for others using the road. The charges stem from a five-vehicle smash-up on Carrington Road, at its junction with Edgecumbe Hill, St Philip on March 26. Murray, who was represented by attorneys Sian Lange and Shamar Bovell, was not required to plead to the indictable charges. Prosecutor Station Sergeant Neville Reid did not object to bail for the accused, but urged the court to apply some conditions to his release. The magistrate agreed and ordered Murray to surrender all his travel documents to the No. 1 District ‘A’ Criminal Court by tomorrow. Murray, who secured his bail with one surety, is scheduled to appear in the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court on May 17. Bridgeman, of #4B, Church Village, St Philip, was the front seat passenger in a police vehicle driven by his colleague Acting Station Sergeant Orville Lovell when he met his death. According to reports, the police vehicle was stationary when Murray attempted to overtake a number of vehicles along the road, striking four cars in the process, including the police vehicle. The late police officer had to be freed from the vehicle by personnel from the Fire Department using the Jaws of Life, but died at the scene. Three other people, including Murray, were also hurt in the smash-up. However, their injuries were not life threatening.  (BT)

23-YEAR-OLD ST PHILIP WOMAN REPORTED MISSING – Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing woman. She is 23-year-old Nicola Gittens of Woodbourne, St Philip who left the home of her mother Judine Gittens on Sunday, April, 30, 2017 to go to Bridgetown and has not been seen since. Nicola is 161 centimetres tall, of dark complexion, stoutly built and full breasted.  She has a round head, bulging eyes, big nose and thick lips. Both her ears are pierced once.  Nicola has a tattoo of a lion’s head on her upper left arm and a tattoo of a map of Barbados on her left forearm.  She has knock knees and is slightly slouched. The missing woman is also asthmatic and speaks in a loud tone with a Barbadian accent. She was last seen wearing a flowered short skirt, dark coloured shirt and a pair of blue slippers. Nicola was carrying a grey haversack, containing a pink dress, which she was expected to wear when returning home. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact District ‘C’ Police Station at 416-8200, the Police Emergency number at 211, Crimestoppers at 1-800-(TIPS), 1-800-8477 or the nearest police station. (BT)

WOMAN BEATEN AFTER GOING TO SHOW - She purchased one ticket for Reggae On The Hill and her partner hid it, so she bought another and attended the event. However, when she returned home the morning after, she found the door locked. What happened afterwards left her partner of 13 years, Lennox Culburt Fraser, pleading guilty to assault. Fraser, a 65-year-old carpenter of 3rd Avenue, Free Hill, Black Rock, St Michael, confessed in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court yesterday to assaulting Wanda Lawson causing her actual bodily harm on May 1. (MWN)

CALL FOR MORE QUALIFIED COACHES – More certified coaches will produce more talented footballers. That was the assessment of Barbados Football Association president Randy Harris at the conclusion of the Guardian Group Youth competition at the Widley Astroturf last Saturday.  “We need to have all the coaches dealing with youth football certified. When we do that we will be sure that they are trained to deal with various areas of football in the correct way,” he told MIDWEEK SPORT. This is the second year Guardian Group has sponsored the age-group competitions. Harris said the BFA had done its best in trying to improve the tournament, but there was more to be done by the team. (MWN)

SAUNA STORMS SEMIS - Defending champions Sauna Heats have advanced to the semi-finals of the AS Autostop Village Camp Road Tennis Championship. They brushed aside Presidential Team in the quarter-finals on Monday at the Deighton “Pa” Roach Road Tennis Facility, Bush Hall. The champions suffered a minor scare because of the no-show of Anderson “Black Dog” Richards, with Presidential Team calling for a clash between Richards and Simeon “Taximan” Harewood. Harewood and his team took the default victory but little else, with No. 1 seed Mark “Venom” Griffith not being needed to battle Curtis Jones and Sauna queen Rachel Smith not being called out to face Gale Anne Edwards. (MWN)

REGATTA SETS SAIL THIS WEEKEND – The Barbados Old Brigand Rum Regatta is set to sail of this weekend, with the first race scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Competition will be in three classes, CSA using Caribbean Sailing Association handicap ratings, Non-CSA using local performance handicaps, and the One-Design J24 Class. Last year’s winner Esperanza skippered by Ian Mayers will be defending the title in the very competitive J24 Class, as top local boats Hawkeye, Bunga Bunga, College Funds and Impulse, which have all achieved exceptional results over the past year, will be in contention for top honours, along with the very consistent Die Hard from Grenada, skippered by Robbie Yearwood. The young team of Attitude from St Lucia are also expected to be among the top placed finishers. Vice-president of the Barbados Sailing Association, Kwame Hinds, will lead a crew of very young local sailors on the J24 Undercover, as they continue to show keen interest and ability as a result of the advanced sailing programme conducted by Hinds. Ralph Johnson’s  Rapajam is expected to head the fleet in the CSA class, but will be challenged by Ian Hicklin’s Ten Seven and Dragon Magic sailed by Mike Krimholtz. In the Non-CSA Class, Geoffrey Evelyn’s  Lantana and Bill Tempro’s Sail La Vie will be up against consistent performers  Tropic Bird, Shangri La and Liza. The races will all start in Carlisle Bay, and most of the courses will be along the south coast to St Lawrence, then downwind to Brighton and finish in Carlisle Bay. The CSA and Non-CSA classes will sail two races on Saturday and two on Sunday, while the J24 class will sail three races each day. (BT)

FARLEY TAKES THIRD SPOT IN CHESS – TERRY FARLEY defeated Kevin Denny to edge Orlando Husbands for third place and claim the highest finish by a Barbadian in the annual Heroes Day Chess Festival. It was Farley’s third successive victory and with Husbands losing to Denny in the penultimate round and drawing with Martyn Del Castilho in the last round, both Farley and Husbands finished on five-and-a-half points when the tournament ended on Monday at Divi Southwinds. Farley, an International Master, took third place on the tie-breaker as FIDE Master Husbands missed out on a podium finish in the ten-man tournament that attracted five overseas entrants and was played on a round-robin format over five successive days. (MWN)

BARBADOS FOURTH IN BOXING TOURNEY – Hosts St Lucia, on the back of two victories on the final night of competition last Saturday, emerged winners of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Boxing Invitational at the Beausejour Indoor Facility. They finished with 17 points, closely followed by Grenada on 14 while Antigua and Barbuda picked up 10 points to be third. Barbados were fourth with six points, the same as Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines while the other invited team Guadeloupe, ended with five points. The home team got a late boost in one of evening’s late bouts latter bouts when Lyndell Marcellin won on points against Charles Letham of Dominica in a welterweight encounter. In the penultimate bout of the evening, Vincentian Keithland King stayed dominant in the competition winning a split decision against Marvin Anthony of St Lucia in a middleweight contest. And in the final bout, Antigua and Barbuda’s Yakita Aska also won on a split decision against St Lucian Nyran David in the heavyweight class. In the first encounter of the evening,  Jeremiah Toussaint of Antigua and Barbuda out-pointed countryman Franklyn Spencer  in the bantamweight category for competitors 15-16 years. Kareem Boyce, meanwhile, gave the hosts their first win of the night by beating Nelson Cyrus of Grenada on points in a lightweight bout for the 17-18 year old age group. There were three bouts in the elite division where Simon Joseph of Dominica beat St Lucian Devon Layne on points in the bantamweight category and Brandon Lee of Barbados also gained a similar points decision over Dominican Daly Darroux of Dominica in the lightweights. In the final match-up, Jean-Phillipe Erin of Guadeloupe also won on points against St Lucia’s fast-rising junior boxer, Nathan Ferrari in the light welterweight. (BT)

KIWI CHAMPION DRIVER FOR SOL RALLY –Former New Zealand junior rally champion Craig Marshall will make his Sol Rally Barbados debut this year, following in the wheel-tracks of his father, Kiwi rallying legend Mike Marshall, and brother Nick, who have each made the 28,000-kilometre round trip over the past couple of years. He will be joined by cousin David Proud in a two-car entry with a 13-strong family group travelling to support them . . . and to celebrate ‘Proudy’s birthday, which falls during the trip. In the year that the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) marks its 60th anniversary, the club’s premier event will run from Friday to Sunday, June 2-4, with the all-new Simpson Motors Rally Show and Flow King of the Hill the previous weekend. Entries closed last Thursday (April 27), two days after the European entries set sail from Portsmouth on the English south coast; they are scheduled to reach the Bridgetown Port this weekend. (BT)

BFA WON’T SANCTION ISLANDS Cup – We will not support it! That is the stance of the Barbados Football Association (BFA) on the Islands Cup Open 2017, a Caribbean professional tournament. “We have made a decision that we are not going to sanction [the tournament],” BFA president Randy Harris said in an exclusive interview with MIDWEEK SPORT yesterday. “Any professional competition like that has to be sanctioned by CONCACAF and the CFU (Caribbean Football Union), and I have not seen anything to indicate that they were applied to and they have been given the necessary permission.” (BT)

GENERAL MAY BE BACK – By today, fans of ‘The General’ will know if he will be entering this year’s Pic-O-De-Crop calypso competition. If Edwin Yearwood does compete, it would be 20 years since the man who is the only entertainer to win all four competitions produced by the National Cultural Foundation, graces that stage. The lead singer in the band krosfyah has had many fans waiting with bated breath over the years for any hint that he would be gracing the big yard again since his triple crown sweep in 1995. In an interview yesterday with radio personalities Carol Roberts and Larry Mayers on Starcom Network’s Fireworks show, Yearwood, via a telephone link-up, gave a big hint that he would be entering, saying a final decision to bring both feet through the door would be made after a meeting with his arranger Nicholas Brancker.   (MWN)

DECRIMINALIZE THE HERB - At least two local artistes are reigniting the call for authorities to decriminalize possession of small quantities of marijuana. It was during his performance at the 2017 Reggae on the Hill show on Sunday that internationally acclaimed reggae artist Buggy Nhakente called for an end to charges against people found with small amounts of the herb. The singer, whose given name is Ryan Chase, said the issue deserved more discussion. “I am suggesting that we should find a way to not have to arrest 15- and 16-year-olds and tarnish their life and reputation just because the little man was trying to smoke a joint,” he said. Buggy also called for frank discussion on the issue of paedophilia in Barbadian society. “A lot of us behave like we don’t see it going on. A nuff a we friends and thing we see interfering with the little schoolgirls and don’t tell them nothing. Nuff a we friends, too, we see interfere with the little schoolboys and thing and we don’t tell them nothing,” he lamented. Supporting the call for the decriminalization of small quantities of marijuana was Ozzie Reid, also known as Leadpipe. He said the plant, often referred to as ganja or weed, could be considered a medical drug and has been proven to be useful for many purposes, including relaxation. Jamaican dancehall artiste Carlton Grant, popularly known as Spragga Benz, told Barbados TODAY he was all for people no longer being charged for possession of the drug. “It is just a plant, just like a mango tree and just like a rose. Leave it alone and it [grows]. Suppose [I] decide to start smoking rose bush, they are going to make rose bush illegal?” he said, adding that the criminalization of the plant was just “another way to charge you so they can have more control over you”. His island has joined a growing number of countries that have moved to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. But Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite has stressed Barbados will not be going that route simply because other countries were doing so. He said proper supporting information on the effects of marijuana is required before any consideration is given to decriminalizing it. However, leader of the newly formed Barbados Integrity Movement (BIM) Neil Holder has promised that if his political party wins the next general election, constitutionally due next year, it will take the step. He expressed concern that too many young people were being incarcerated for having “a spliff or two”, and that families and Government were paying dearly as a result of the jailing of men in particular. (BT)

That’s all for today folks. There are 241 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 5/2/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Tuesday 2ND May 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

HUNDREDS TAKE PART IN LABOUR DAY PARADE – Hundreds of workers from the public and private sector turned out on Monday for the annual May Day parade. They were joined by various youth organizations, including the Barbados Cadet Corps, the Barbados Youth Service and the Brownies and Girl Guides for the march which began at the Garrison Savannah. The procession made a brief stop on Culloden Road for the laying of wreaths at the statue of National Hero, the late trade unionist, Sir Frank Walcott, before proceeding to Browne’s Beach where activities culminated with addresses from trade union leaders. (BT)

MOORE BLOWS – The Democratic Labour Party administration has no conscience and has failed at leadership, according to general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Toni Moore. In a no-holds-barred Labour Day address at Browne’s Beach, St Michael, yesterday, Moore said she was not going to allow the fear of being accused of being political to stop her from highlighting the union’s pressing concerns. “We are deemed enemies of the state for speaking out, but the enemy we should be aware and afraid of is the enemy of our democracy, which is telling us that we can’t see wrong and speak about it without recriminations. “So we must see back-door methods being adopted in hotel construction and keep quiet. We must witness approvals to establish a new berth in the Bridgetown Port and see attempts to introduce new ways of doing things there so port work is no longer for port workers and we can’t say anything. (DN)

BEWARE THE ENEMIES OF OUR DEMOCRACY: WARNS MOORE – General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) Toni Moore today hit back at Minister of Housing and Lands Denis Kellman’s charge that opponents to the proposed Hyatt hotel were “enemies of the State”, while warning that the island’s democracy was under threat. Kellman issued the statement in Parliament last week, and while he did not call any names, it was a clear reference to attorney-at-law and social activist David Comissiong, who has taken legal action against the multi-million dollar project. Moore told the annual May Day parade at Browne’s Beach that while the workers of Barbados have had to carry more than their fair share of the effects of the economic downturn over the past five years, “it is scary when in challenging times, economic forces seem to be positive only in the direction of a privileged few. The union leader said that while the BWU believes that citizens must accept their fair share of responsibility for the future they want, the union could not accept that overburdening public servants was equal to giving them a fair share. She pointed to the upcoming Budget, which is expected to be presented before the end of this month, in which she said Barbadians would be asked to make even further sacrifices. In her hard hitting statement, she insisted that Government should not expect some of the lowest paid workers to sacrifice more, while at the same time “they are grabbing and brekkin’ fuh themselves”. (BT)

UNIONS MAKE PRODUCTIVITY PLEDGE – Local trade unions today signed a productivity pledge in recognition of 2017 as the year of productivity. The leaders of the Barbados Workers Union, the National Union of Public Workers, the Barbados Union of Teachers, the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union, the umbrella Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados, and the Barbados Nurses Association, signed the document during the annual May Day rally at Browne’s Beach, in collaboration with the National Productivity Council. The theme of this year’s May Day celebrations was A productive people, a productive nation. The unions have collectively pledged “to participate in the recovery and the growth efforts of Barbados by assisting in the implementation of productivity and development programmes, and by collaborating with Government and all Social Partners in productivity-related activities”. They have also committed “to inspiring [their] constituents towards continuous improvement every day and in everything they do,” according to Deputy General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union Orlando Gabby Scott. Executive Director of the National Productivity Council John Pilgrim told the workers gathered that the success of the push towards increased productivity was up to the individual employees. He also challenged the workers present to think of how they could help their individual organizations, communities, and by extension the country, to be more productive.  (BT)

WELL DONE – General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Toni Moore, praised the private sector for its involvement in May Day celebrations yesterday. She said ten groups had participated in the annual parade by workers on what is regarded as their day, an increase of three. Since the 1980s, she said that May Day activities, including the parade, had been a Social Partnership effort and not just a BWU event, but after the economic recession in 2008 companies started to drop out. “A number of companies had been saying that they could no longer afford to sustain a band, especially as companies are struggling to keep people employed. (DN)

NUPW NOT JUMPING GUN – Public workers are yearning for a salary increase, but the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) does not intend to jump the gun on the matter. President Akanni McDowall, speaking during the May Day parade from the Garrison Savannah to Browne’s Beach, Bay Street, yesterday, said his union would be following protocol. “I have to be responsible too. I can’t just go out there and tell workers to take action because they feel that they should get a salary increase. When the time is right, we would do what we have to do but in the meantime we will follow the process,” he said. The NUPW is asking Government to give workers a 23 per cent salary increase.  (DN)

CALLS FOR HIGHER DRINK TAX – As the government mulls over doubling the ten per cent tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, a former chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association is contending that the tax needs to be much higher. Businessman Alex McDonald is proposing that the measure increase to 50 per cent to help fight the non-communicable disease problem wreaking havoc on the country’s health care system. “Recently, the minister of finance started taxing sweet drinks. In my view it’s a good start but it’s not enough. Professor (Sir Henry) Fraser says tax at 20 per cent. “I say tax at 50 per cent because if you must drink these beverages, let the price reflect the cost of the care that we will ultimately have to give you downstream. (DN)

IMF STUDY FIX THE TAX SYSTEM – Barbados’ taxation system needs fixing, a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) study has concluded.  In a working paper, Tax Administration Reforms In The Caribbean: Challenges, Achievements, And Next Steps, IMF senior economist Stephane Schlotterbeck said establishment of the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA)“has distracted the authorities from the needed reforms, which have, unfortunately, received insufficient attention and resources”. The BRA’s board of management also needs to be strengthened, the study said. Schlotterbeck also raised concern about the value added tax (VAT) system: “In Barbados, the VAT’s architecture has also deteriorated since its inception; nearly 20 broad categories of goods and services are zero-rated.” The research reviewed tax administration reforms undertaken by 20 Caribbean countries with the support of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department and the Barbados-based Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre since its inception in 2001. Schlotterbeck said the study was intended to “describe the main drivers and characteristics of the reforms of the tax systems and their administration(s) in the Caribbean countries, and to determine whether these reforms have achieved their intended outcomes, particularly in regard to revenue mobilisation”. In the case of Barbados, the economist pointed to several shortcomings in the system. One positive, the report said, was that like Jamaica, the authorities “have started to concentrate on institutional risk management in a structured and systematic manner”. Looking at the overall Caribbean tax system, the report said “governments in this region have been confronted with the difficult challenges of addressing short-term needs for mobilising revenues and reducing deficits, as well as of embarking on longer-term structural reforms”. (DN)

ECONOMY ON THE REBOUND SAYS SEALY - Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Cleviston Haynes is expected to announce this week, a drop in unemployment and growth in the economy when that institution holds its first press conference in three years. Haynes, whose predecessor Dr Delisle Worrell had scrapped the quarterly press conferences in 2014, is also expected to tell the country that the crucial foreign exchange reserves have started to improve again. Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy, who has acted as Prime Minister on several occasions, gave a brief preview of the upcoming news conference when he addressed his ruling Democratic Labour Party ‘s (DLP) FACTS meeting at Belfield Community Centre last night. “The unemployment rate that we had at the end of December, which was I think just under ten per cent, is just now over nine per cent. Unemployment is falling . . . and you will hear about that . . . you will hear falling unemployment [and] you will hear inflation is still under control,” Sealy said. He said the Acting Governor will also inform the nation that the economy is growing, albeit not by double digits. “And you will also hear the foreign reserves situation is bouncing back . . . and you will hear of the fiscal deficit and that is also under control . . . and we have made difficult decisions in order to make sure the economy is on a firm footing,” Sealy added. He praised Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler for his handling of the economy and predicted that the ruling DLP would be returned to power with a stronger Barbados. The Minister of Tourism recalled that in 2015, some 292,000 visitors came to Barbados, the largest number in that year, while last year, 631,000 people came to this country, the biggest number in the island’s existence. “We have had more investment than we have ever seen, certainly in the tourism sector,” he added. (BT)

INNISS SLAMS MUDORO GANG- Outspoken government minister Donville Inniss has launched a broadside on equally outspoken activist David Comissiong. This time it is over Comissiong’s support for Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. Inniss bluntly said that if Comissiong so supported the regime of Maduro, which has been the target of nationwide street protests, then he should pack his bags and move to the South American country. Venezuela has constantly been in the news as its currency nosedives and inflation soars, as basic commodities like toilet tissue and bread, for which people line up for hours, become hard to access, and as clashes between protesters, against Maduro’s regime, and riot police leave scores dead. (DN)

BARBADOS ALSO MONITORING KICK EM JENNY ACTIVITY – Disaster emergency officials here are currently monitoring increased activity, recorded since Saturday, at the Kick ‘em Jenny underwater volcano near Grenada. Director of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Kerry Hinds gave the assurance that her department was closely assessing the activity and that updates would be issued as necessary. “We are monitoring the situation, which has been brought to our attention by the Seismic Research Centre of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad,” Hinds said. In the interim, she reminded the public that any official advisories on the volcano, if necessary, would be issued through the DEM and or the Barbados Government Information Service. The National Disaster Management Agency in Grenada is presently collaborating with the Seismic Research Centre on developments with the underwater volcano, which has shown increasing signs of activity over the past three days. The alert level for the volcano is presently yellow, which means it is restless. However, there are no tsunami watches or warnings in effect for the Caribbean. The Kick ‘em Jenny volcano was last active in 2015. (BT)

DENNY RENEWS CALL FOR EXPANDED LIST OF NATIONAL HEROES – A renewed call has been made for two more names to be added to the current list of national heroes. It has come from General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration  (CMPI) David Denny, who contends that the accomplishments of trade unionist Israel Lovell and senior slave Nanny Grigg, who assisted in the 1816 rebellion, have not been adequately recognized. Reiterating his 2012 position at the CMPI’s Labour Day programme at Golden Square, The City, this morning, Denny lamented the fact that his calls for the pair’s induction as heroes, continue to be ignored.  While the historical annals do not greatly detail the exploits of Nanny Grigg, she was said to be one of the senior slaves who helped to plan the Bussa Rebellion of 1816, which earned its main architect, Bussa, the distinction of national hero. Israel Lovell on the other hand was best known for his active participation in the social revolution of 1937. He was credited as one of the leaders of the struggle, which created the conditions for others to participate. Back in 2014, Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley said the list of National Heroes was by no means “exhaustive”.  At the time Lashley was addressing the launch of the Season of Emancipation when he revealed that he had heard the calls “in between” that the list, which now stands at ten should be expanded, but there was no clamour for it. “We will listen to those calls and evolve a structured framework upon which, perhaps, that can be looked at and discussed . . . We should always feel as a nation, that we’ll always have new heroes. I don’t believe that the list of National Heroes is a closed list,” Lashley had said. (BT)

BIKE TRAGEDY – Forty-three-year-old Toni Barrow was an adventurous woman who got her beloved motorcycle just over a year ago. The mother of two was riding that bike around 10:45 a.m. yesterday when she collided with an embankment at Barbarees Hill, St Michael, and died on the spot. “She enjoyed riding that bike. When I heard she got a motorcycle I was like, ‘You get a motorcycle at this age?’ but she said she always wanted to learn to ride, and she did. When she got the motorcycle she was happy and I told her to be careful on the road,” daughter, Sade Harris, 27, told the DAILY NATION. She said her mother, who had been ill last week, loved nature and had planted several trees around her home at Paradise Road, Spooners Hill, St Michael. (DN)

FREE RIDE FOR LAUNCH WINNERS – Class winners of Launch Control 1 of the Barbados Association of Dragsters and Drifters (BADD) will receive free entry to the John “Tiny” Harrison Memorial Race Meet this weekend at Bushy Park. Chairman Jason Downey, in making the announcement, said the committee of management had taken the decision and saw it as an incentive going forward. “You will still have to pay any outstanding membership fees, BMF fees, et cetera, along with your insurance, but instead of $80 to enter, it will be $40 ($80 event entry fee is made up of $40 entry fee and $40 insurance,” Downey noted. The event, the chairman said, is Launch Control 2 and forms part of the John “Tiny” Memorial Race Meet also comes along with the securing of a sponsor who is offering a significant cash prize for the driver of the year. (DN)

DENNY UPSETS HUSBANDS – Veteran Kevin Denny turned back the clock to inflict a first defeat on Barbados’ top-rated player Orlando Husbands in the eighth and penultimate round of games in the Heroes Day Chess Festival yesterday.  In defeating Husbands, Denny, a 14-time national champion, ended the hopes of the 19-year-old securing the seven points needed to achieve an international norm. It was Husbands’ first defeat of the tournament at Divi Southwinds and left him on five points ahead of this evening’s final-round game against five-time national champion Martyn Del Castilho. Despite the defeat, Husbands remained in third place, narrowly ahead of Denny and another oldstager, Terry Farley. (DN)

NEW APPROACH TO COACHING NEEDED – In the West Indies team the support team has grown over the years. Several head coaches and specialists have worked with the team, but did they make a difference to its growth and performance? Specialisation improves performance but only if the specialist units are well organised and closely integrated to align their activities towards the team’s goals. Could poor performance of the head coach and specialists, and their bombardment of players with excessive information confuse team members and interfere with their thinking, concentration, judgement and confidence? That is a question that they should seriously consider. An honest self-examination is required. They cannot continue to do the same things and expect to get different results. (DN)

BE CALM AND DO YOUR BEST – To the more than 3 000 children who will be sitting today’s Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination, one of their colleagues has some advice: be calm and collected and just do your best. That was the message from Rakobe Carrington, a pupil of Gordon Greenidge Primary School in St Peter, who was frolicking at Folkestone Marine Park, St James, yesterday in a scene no doubt repeated at various picnic spots across the island. He told the DAILY NATION: “I am ready and feel very confident for the examination; I expect to do very well. I also would like to attend the Coleridge and Parry School this coming September. To all those who are nervous, just keep calm and do your best.” The children spent the day doing various activities such as playing football, swimming or just relaxing before today’s big test, also referred to as the 11-Plus or Common Entrance Exam. (DN)

HIGH VIBES ON THE HILL – Thousands trekked up north to be part of the climax of the Digicel Barbados Reggae Festival at Farley Hill National Park.  Thousands braved the hot midday sun, with coolers and folding chairs in tow, and battled their way through the long lines into the St Peter location for Reggae On The Hill. Friends and long-time patrons of the festival, Omadel Brewster and Rhonda White, said nothing could stop them from seeing Jamaican artiste Spragga Benz yesterday. “We are looking forward to seeing everyone; but Spragga has been our favourite artiste for a long time,” Rhonda added.  (DN)

REGGAE ON THE HILL WAS SPECTACULAR – The highly anticipated and ever popular Reggae on the Hill was quite a spectacular show, or in the words of the younger people, ‘it was lit’. Reggae on the Hill brought the Digicel Barbados Reggae Festival to a grand climax last night at the historic Farley Hill National Park. Organizers were expecting just over 20,000 patrons for the final show, which continues to be the most popular of its three festival offerings. And even though the final tally is not yet complete, it is expected that their goal was met. While FAS Promotions must be commended for picking the perfect blend of artistes, it was clear that Popcaan was the man most people came to see. When the Unruly Boss was announced, the crowd went wild, and screams erupted from all corners of the hill for about two minutes before he actually appeared on stage to start his performance. He sang hit after hit after hit and the crowd sang right along with him. Included in his set were, Nah Idle, Addicted, Fall In Love, Where We Come From, Everything Nice and Unruly Prayer, among his many popular hits. As usual, the Jamaican artiste expressed his love for Barbados and his countless fans who always make him feel right at home. His hour-long set was truly hyped up from start to finish and left the crowd wanting more. Two stalwarts in the reggae industry followed – Coco Tea and the fireman Capleton. Coco Tea sang hits like Hurry Up and Come, She Loves Me Now and Rastaman. Capleton, decked in a red suit,  brought the show to a close. His set included songs like That Day Will Come, Jah Jah City, Fire and Some Day. They were both a joy to watch on stage and the crowd loved them. Earlier in the evening, Bugle and Spragga Benz also lit up the stage. They had the hill jamming and singing along. Jahmiel was also well received, especially for his hit song Do You Remember Me. The earlier performers, The BCC Ensemble, Triple X, Amber Orano, Super Frost, Buggy Nkanteand the Fully Loaded Band and Sanchez,  did an excellent job in setting the pace, adding to the overall success of the show. One of FAS Promotions directors Freddie Hill told Barbados TODAY he was pleased with how Sunday’s show went. “For today everything has been clean, everything is going good. We had three main events. The first event was Reggae on the Beach. It was a low attendance [but] the performances were great,” said Hill. He added: “Vintage was a great turnout again but we had some technical difficulties with the sound, something that was beyond the promoters’ control, but at least we produced and we thank the Almighty for a day like today, Reggae on the Hill has been a blast. All the performers have performed magnificently and we have to say thanks to the patrons for coming out and supporting FAS Entertainment throughout the years,” he said, adding that the aim was to continuously improve the show and that patrons should expect something “bigger and better” in coming years.  (BT)

SHOW STOPPER – Didn’t disappoint! Rihanna stunned at the 2017 Met Gala, where the singer and red carpet mainstay sashayed in a show-stopping outfit that instantly became the talk of social media. This year’s Met Gala theme was an ode to Commes des Garcons founder Rei Kawakubo, with many of the celebrities in attendance wearing garments both crafted and inspired by the longtime designer whose being honored by the Costume Institute. Rihanna opted for an offbeat gown designed by Kawakubo herself, a billowing, formless marvel seemingly constructed out of floral patterns. The singer finished out the look with a pair of heels that laced up the length of her legs. Other celebrities in attendance for this year’s Met Gala include Courtney Love and daughter Frances Bean Cobain, Katy Perry (who wore a dress by a controversial designer), Nicki Minaj, Nick Jonas and many more. (BT)

That’s all for today folks. There are 242 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

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Bajan Newscap 4/26/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday 26th 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Mid-Week Nation Newspaper (MWN).  

DIRTY MONEY - The authorities here, along with those involved in the international business sector, are perplexed at a United States (US) report that lists Barbados as a “major money laundering country in 2016”. While Government has dismissed the report as baseless, Executive Director of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) Henderson Holmes wants the Americans to present the evidence to support the charge. The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Volume II, which listed over 80 countries and territories, did not say how the US State Department had determined the countries that appeared on the list, which did not include the US. However, the report said an anti-money laundering deficiency here was that the criminal law limited Government’s ability to seize assets acquired through criminal activity, without first obtaining a conviction. It also stated that Government should allot resources to ensure the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), law enforcement, supervisory agencies, and prosecutorial authorities were fully staffed and had the capacity to perform their duties. The March 2017 report also recommended the strengthening of supervision of non-profit organizations, charities, designated non-financial business professions and money transfer services. This, it said, could be done through increased reporting requirements and oversight. The report identified the island as a regional financial centre with a sizeable international business presence, adding that the country’s susceptibility to money laundering was “primarily associated with the domestic sale of illegal narcotics and the laundering of foreign criminal proceeds”. However, Holmes, a senior executive in the international business sector, told Barbados TODAY he could not understand why the State Department would list Barbados as a major money laundering country without producing evidence to support it. With no mention of specific cases in the report, Holmes described it as nothing more than “a baseless accusation”. Apart from Barbados, other Caribbean countries on the list include Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Dominica, Haiti, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite had a similar reaction, describing Barbados’ listing as misleading. In a statement released by the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Brathwaite said while the report cited a number of “generic methods” of money laundering that may be found in any country, the island’s best intelligence did not support the view that they were at proportions which would have a significant impact on the local economy, or cause the faintest ripple in the international financial sector. However, Brathwaite admitted that the illegal drugs trade, which gives birth to other criminal activities, was the crime which was of greatest concern to the authorities. The release pointed out that Barbados had deployed significant resources to combat criminal activity of every description, in particular, to combating financial crime, including money laundering and fraud. This was something the report also acknowledged. The Attorney General said the authorities here would continue to do all in their power to ensure that the country remains “a clean and safe jurisdiction in which to live, work and do business”. Minister of International Business Donville Inniss said he supported Brathwaite’s comments and had nothing to add. (BT)

NO RAISE SINCE 2009 - Teachers want a 12 per cent increase. President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), Pedro Shepherd, said it was more than enough time for them to receive a hike, having not had one since 2009. He told the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday that last Friday, the third meeting on pay in over a year was held, with the negotiating charge led by the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados. The teachers’ fight comes at a time when the National Union of Public Workers is seeking a 23 per cent pay increase for its members. (MWN)

REDMAN IN TEARS – A four-hour meeting between the Ministry of Education and teachers of the St George Secondary School ended this evening with uninhibited expressions of emotion by the educators, who felt their concerns were finally being taken seriously. Emerging from the meeting, which had on its agenda a number of concerns relating to ill-discipline, insufficient curriculum, and environmental problems, teachers openly shed tears, stating that they felt “liberated” and “listened to”. President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) Mary Redman, who was also unable to hold back the tears, told Barbados TODAY that the sensitivity with which ministry officials – which included Chief Education Officer Karen Best – treated the teacher’s frustration, augured well for future industrial relations. “Teachers told me that this was the first time that they felt listened to; they are saying that they feel liberated and they feel as if something would come out of this,” Redman said. “It was a very emotional meeting for many of the members, many tears were shed as teachers spoke about their hurt and frustrations that they have felt. The chief obviously came with a very open mind and listened very attentively and humanely,” she added in reference to Best, a former president of the Barbados Union of Teachers. While no concrete decisions were made at the meeting, Redman revealed that there were promises of a “combined and collaborative look at curriculum reform, strategies to deal with the ill-discipline at the school and the environmental problems. “The issues ran deep, it had to do with the fact that the present programme at the school is not meeting the needs of the children and it is causing a high level of frustration both for the students and the teachers. We think that it is directly linked to the ill-discipline at the school,” the BSTU president explained. The trade unionist expressed the hope that after today’s show of emotion by teachers the public would realize the level of emotional investment the educators put into the profession.  She also pleaded with the public to stop the pervading anti teacher sentiment, which arises whenever teachers express their frustration. “Not many people get to see the level of emotions which teachers put into what they have to do. This is why I say that that anti-teacher sentiment out there, the public vilification of teachers, is so unwarranted besides being so unfair. Teachers in this country do so much with so little, they give of themselves, they give of their time, their effort, their energy and even their limited finances. Teachers work hard and go way above the call of duty to mould the youth of this country,” she stressed. (BT)

MAIL ORDER – Postmaster General Margaret Ashby has defended the General Post Office (GPO) in the face of a suggestion from a former prime minister that it should be the subject of expenditure cuts and rationalization. Although acknowledging that the developments in technology and communication have affected the role of the GPO, she insisted that the postal service was a “social service” amassing a sustainable amount of revenue for its operations. Although Ashby was tight-lipped about the amount of revenue generated by the 164-year-old organization, she said a “significant” amount was accumulated from the mailing services. Earlier this year, former prime minister Owen Arthur singled out the GPO as one of the 63 statutory agencies where the Freundel Stuart administration should revisit its spending. But speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the Working 4 Workers campaign, a partnership between the GPO and Demario’s Cycle World in which local postal workers are honoured, the postmaster general explaiined that sending mail was not the sole occupation of the organization which employs nearly 600 workers. She pointed out that over the past few years, the GPO has delved into numerous other services. Ashby noted that the GPO offers a one-stop bill payment service similar to Surepay. Customers are also able to apply for their United States Visa at the GPO and have their passports delivered to them by courier express. Partnering with retailers and businesses, GPO also engages in target marketing, facilitating the distribution of brochures and flyers for businesses in specific areas. (BT)

RUM PRODUCERS FEAR RESULTS OF FRENCH ELECTIONS - Barbadian rum producers are keeping a close eye on the French presidential run-off election scheduled for May 7, fearing the results could hurt the local industry. The political novice and centrist Emmanuel Macron of En Marche! and Marine Le Pen of the far right National Front will go head-to-head in the final race for the French presidency. Macron, a pro-European centrist, topped the first round of voting on Sunday with 24.01 per cent of the votes – much to the relief of pro-Europeans across the continent – while the anti-immigrant, anti-Europe Le Pen placed second with 21.30 per cent, according to final results released yesterday by the French interior ministry. Le Pen has threatened Frexit – a common name for a hypothetical French withdrawal from the European Union – following the example of Britain, which last month formally advised the EU that it would leave the union in 2019. Many observers believe the EU, which has an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Caribbean Community countries, would not survive a French withdrawal. And outgoing chairman of the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA) Dr Frank Ward said a Le Pen win could have a damning effect on the rum industry. Barbados earned $89.9 million from rum exports to Europe between 2012 to 2016, according to Minister of International Business Donville Inniss at a WIRSPA reception last night at Accra Beach Hotel, at which the minister also said the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom last June posed a potential threat to the rum sector, and would have implications for Barbados and the region, particularly in the EPA provisions for trade and development. Inniss also pointed to challenges facing the rum industry “under the guise of technical barriers to trade, coupled with non-compliance and technical regulations which have been instituted by players in the extra-regional markets”. He made specific reference to heavily subsidized spirits produced in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands through the rum Cover-Over grant, the annual payments from the US government to the two territories out of federal excise taxes on the product. This financial injection, Inniss said, has adversely affected the sustainability of the region’s rum industry in key export markets of some US territories. Nonetheless, Inniss hailed the rum industry as one of the main drivers of the economy, and one of the few sectors that can boast a strong trade surplus in the midst of the current economic decline. He told the reception, held during WIRSPA’s meeting here this week, that rum remained “an important prop in the economy”, and its strong performance has been due mainly to increased exports of high quality rums. He added that Government had launched a project to expand the local rum industry, with the objective of transitioning the output of bulk rum to branded rum, and forming strategic partnerships to expand the market share of local brands in the hospitality sector. (BT)

MIA WANTS MORE MPS – In an unexpected move, Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley has begun lobbying for far-reaching reforms in Parliament, arguing that Barbadians should not be held “hostage” to the legislative agenda of any political party. On Monday night, she began publicly pitching for an increase in the number of representatives in the House of Assembly from the current 30, saying this would allow civil society to have a more direct say. The proposal comes as the Opposition Barbados Labour Party sharpens its electioneering machinery ahead of general elections, and moves to mobilise the wider population, some of whom have vowed to stay away from voting due to discontentment with the political state of play in the country. (MWN)

MP SLAMS HOUSING POLICY – It was government’s failure to follow the financial rules on tendering that resulted in taxpayers footing the excessive costs associated with two major state-owned housing projects. This was the charge of St Michael South East Member of Parliament Santia Bradshaw, as she referenced the special audit of the Auditor General into the National Housing Corporation’s (NHC) high-rise housing estates at Valery and The Grotto, St Michael. The Opposition MP was speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday on a measure for the vesting and disposal of lands where the London Bourne Towers on Bay Street are situated, to the Ministry of Housing and Lands. (MWN)

ENEMIES - In one of the most provocative statements coming from the House of Assembly as the much-anticipated general election approaches, Minister of Housing and Lands Denis Kellman yesterday said people should be deemed “enemies of the state” over their efforts to stop major national developments like the Hyatt Hotel in Bridgetown.  Leading off debate in the Lower Chamber on a measure for the vesting and disposal of lands at London Bourne Towers, Bay Street, to the Ministry of Housing and Lands, the minister implicitly attacked the objectors to the Hyatt project. Kellman did not name social activist and attorney David Comissiong as the target of his criticism, but his comments came on the same day that Comissiong returned to the High Court where he had successfully obtained a temporary injunction preventing work from commencing on the multimillion-dollar brand name hotel planned for Bay Street, just metres away from the high-rise London Bourne Towers. (MWN)

COMMISSION: MY RIGHT TO CHALLENGE – Social activist and attorney at law David Comissiong says Barbadians are entitled to challenge the Government, and they should. He was speaking yesterday outside the Supreme Court Complex following the adjournment of a lawsuit opposing the construction of the controversial Hyatt Hotel earmarked for Bay Street, St Michael. The next hearing is scheduled for May 9. The proposed site has been cleared in anticipation of the start of construction on the Hyatt Centric Hotel, but Comissiong filed suit challenging whether the permission process was legal. Prior to the hearing, he had filed a further application to have that permission halted and so stop the start of the construction. (MWN)

BCC FUND NEEDS HELP – The contingency fund to help needy students at the Barbados Community College (BCC) has almost dried up and the college wants help topping it up. This has been revealed by deputy principal of the Howell’s Cross Road, St Michael campus, Dr Cheryl Weekes, who was speaking after the provision of two scholarships by the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA) to students in the BCC’s Hospitality Institute yesterday. The scholarships are each worth $2 500 and are valid for 2017 to 2019. Stressing thatthe BCC was still a free tertiary education institution with students only paying registration and other general fees, Weekes said thereal costs to studentsand their parentscame in the form of uniforms, books and “paraphernalia they usein their craft”. (MWN)

CALL FOR ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS – Road safety advocate Junior Jordan is calling for a comprehensive road safety educational programme for primary school students. Jordan, a former president of the Barbados Road Safety Association, stressed that in light of the staggering number of road fatalities occurring this year – 14 – an early childhood education programme should be created by Government, private entities or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Making reference to the Canadian city of Edmonton which has a mobile safety city where toddlers are taught road safety procedures, Jordan stressed that individuals must be taught the value of a human life from an early age. One of the instructors for the Barbados Light & Power’s (BL&P) Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Jordan recently accompanied the Barbados Fire Service and the Royal Barbados Police Force in educating students, aged 15 to 18, on the dangers of reckless driving. Tackling the issue of increasing road accidents across Barbados, the board member of the Barbados Transport Authority insisted there was a need for information dissemination and retraining. BL&P’s Managing Director Roger Blackman disclosed that the utility company saw it as its responsibility to execute the Distracted Driving Awareness Month initiative. (BT)

BAD SERVICE – A St Michael woman who failed to adhere to some of the conditions of her community service was Tuesday remanded to HMP Dodds. Ruth Rachel Bernard, of Godding Road, Station Hill, will stay in prison until next Tuesday. She was charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding Stephanie Franklyn on October 26, 2013. When she made her first appearance in the No. 1 District ‘A’ Criminal Court back in February 2015, she denied the charge. However, she had a change of heart in December last year and pleaded guilty. She was then ordered by Magistrate Douglas Frederick to perform 200 hours of community service. However, a report from the Probation Department showed that Bernard was not only verbally disruptive at the places where she was attached, but was also tardy in getting there. As such, the department recommended that Bernard, who had already performed 124 hours, be given an alternative sentence. When she appeared in the court today, Magistrate Frederick remanded her to the St Philip penal institution until May 2, pending sentencing.  (BT)

BAJAN FOUND DEAD IN BRITISH CELL – A Barbadian family in England has been left devastated after one sibling of nine was found dead in a police cell. Leroy Junior Medford, 43, died 24 hours after he was taken into custody by officers and taken to Loddon Valley Police Station. He was arrested at around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, at an address in Reading, Berkshire, on suspicion of assault and possession with intent to supply a Class A drug. His body was discovered in the early hours of the next day. Post mortem results have proved inconclusive. Now his sister, speaking on behalf of the family, said they wanted to know how and why he died. (MWN)

TEEN GETS BAIL AFTER SPENDING NIGHT IN JAIL - A teenager who spent a night on remand at HMP Dodds was released today after securing a surety to post his bail. Nyrad Ashem Prescott, of Neil’s Tenantry, Tichbourne, St Michael, appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sergeant Monday on an indictable charge. It is alleged that the 19-year-old did serious bodily harm to Benjamin Eastmond on April 21, with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him, or to do some serious bodily harm to him. With no objections from police prosecutor Sergeant Martin Rock, the magistrate offered Prescott bail. However, his surety was not able to attend the day’s sitting and Prescott therefore spent the night in jail. When he returned today, however, he was able to post the $8,000 bail, which he secured with one surety, and told to return to court on his given date. (BT)

HUNTE ON DRUNG & GUN CHARGES – A 21-year-old man has been remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds on gun, ammunition and drug charges. Akeem Ricardo Hunte, of St Jude’s Village, St George, was not required to plead to the indictable charge of possession of a .22 revolver and six rounds of ammunition. However, he admitted to having 25 wax paper wrappings of cannabis in his possession. The young man was remanded to prison when he appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick over the weekend. Hunte returns to the District ‘A’ Criminal Court on May 19. He is also scheduled to appear before the District ‘B’ Magistrates’ Court on May 3 on a charge of possession of one round of ammunition. (BT)

PRE-SENTENCING REPORT ORDERED – Magistrate Douglas Frederick has ordered a pre-sentencing report on a 22-year-old man who confessed to three drug offences. When Triston Soneil Alleyne of Morris Gap, Westbury Road, St Michael first appeared before the magistrate, he pleaded guilty to possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking 137 grammes of cannabis. He also confessed to possession of apparatus for use in connection with the misuse of the drugs. The drugs, which had an estimated street value of $627, were found on April 21 when the police executed a search warrant at the residence he was staying at. Police prosecutor Station Sergeant Neville Reid told the magistrate the compressed illicit substance was discovered in Alleyne’s bedroom in a transparent plastic bag. Two blenders containing residue suspected to be from cannabis were also found. Following the reporting of those facts to the court, Alleyne, a general worker, was remanded to prison on Friday, pending sentence. When he made his second appearance in the District ‘A’ Magistrate Court Tuesday, he was granted bail in the sum of $2,000 which he secured with one surety. However, his freedom was limited somewhat, as he now has to adhere to an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. Alleyne returns to court on June 23, when the details of the report are expected, followed by his sentencing. (BT)

ST BARNABAS WHIP BLACKBIRDS ‘B’ – Former champions Pine Hill St Barnabas crushed UWI Signia Blackbirds “B” 41-26 when the Barbados Netball Association’s Division 1 netball league continued at the Netball Stadium on Monday night.  In a rather dull encounter, St Barnabas established their early dominance with an 8-0 opening lead as defenders, captain Shonette Bruce and Shonte Seale, proved rather intimidating for the Blackbirds shooters. St Barnabas had scored their seventh goal when Blackbirds missed their second shot in the quarter. UWI goal shooter Rhea Bryant, a national netballer and volleyballer who ended with 14 goals from 23 attempts, was denied the ball by Bruce and Seale. (MWN)

HOLDER: WINDIES IN A TOUGH PHASE – Embattled West Indies captain Jason Holder conceded yesterday his inexperienced side were enduring a difficult period, after they suffered a seven-wicket thrashing at the hands of Pakistan on the last day of the opening cricket Test at Sabina Park. Behind by 121 runs on first innings, the Windies started the second day on 93 for four but failed in their bid for survival as they were dismissed for a paltry 152. Pakistan then scored the 32 runs required for victory to condemn West Indies to their 11th defeat in their last 15 Tests, with just one victory to show in that period. “It’s a tough phase. It is very tough but it is what it is,” Holder said moments following the Windies defeat. (MWN)

JAMAICANS WIN SHAKEDOWN – Jamaica’s Jeff Panton and Mike Fennell are celebrating after winning Sunday’s Automotive Art Shakedown Stages. Competing in their Rubis/Sandals Barbados/KIG Ford Focus WRC06, Panton and Fennell triumphed in the ten-stage, 37-kilometre event despite being handed a ten-second penalty for a late restart after lunch. The event was the opening round of the Barbados Rally Club’s Drivers’ And Class Championships, and also the final test before the Flow King Of The Hill and Sol Rally Barbados. Last year’s winner, Britain’s Rob Swann, finished second in his Subaru Impreza WRC S12B a little under five seconds adrift, with Roger Skeete and Louis Venezia, in their Impreza WRC S12B, placing third. (MWN)

SHAKIRA CRACKS TOP 15 - Shakira Doughlin has made her biggest breakthrough on the international bikini fitness stage, cracking the top 15 of the Arnold Classic Brazil in Sao Paulo, over the weekend. “I feel great. I loved the stage and it was another way for me to gain experience to improve and become better next time. A couple of officials reminded me that I am the first Barbadian to ever enter their contest and were very welcoming to me,” said a delighted Doughlin on Facebook link-up from Brazil. It was the first contest appearance of the season for the 27-year-old schoolteacher and her third international contest. Last year, she failed to make the top 15 at both the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, in March and the Arnold Classic Europe in Spain in September. (MWN)

WILLIAMS RESPONDS TO NASTASE - Serena Williams yesterday called the alleged comments about her unborn child made by former world number one Ilie Nastase “racist” and applauded the International Tennis Federation for launching a probe into the remarks. Former tennis bad boy Nastase, who won two grand slam titles in the 1970s, was quoted by Romanian and some British media as saying in response to William’s pregnancy announcement: “Let’s see what color it has. Chocolate with milk?” “It disappoints me to know we live in a society where people like Ilie Nastase can make such racist comments towards myself and unborn child, and sexist comments against my peers,” the women’s world number one wrote on her Instagram account. “I am not afraid unlike you. You see, I am no coward. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? You may shoot me with your words … you may try to kill me with your hatefulness, but still like air I will rise.” It would not be the first time Williams has been stung by racism as player. The world number one boycotted the Indian Wells tournament for 14 years after she and sister Venus and her family claimed they were victims of racial taunts while Serena played in the 2001 final. Nastase, 70, has been provisionally banned from all International Tennis Federation (ITF) events following his verbal abuse of British players last weekend in his role as Romanian Fed Cup captain. Williams thanked the ITF and said they would have her full support as they investigated the matter. “(The investigation) is ongoing. At this point, one of the principles that is important is that we want a rigorous process that is fair,” ITF President David Haggerty said on Monday. “We will also hear Nastase’s side of the argument. It will be a thorough process conducted in an efficient manner. I do not think you will be hearing any final decisions in the next two weeks.” British captain Anne Keothavong, who said she was made to feel “uncomfortable” by comments made by Nastase at the official pre-match dinner, said the abuse during play had been unacceptable. “We expected a patriotic crowd for the Romanian team but we don’t expect abusive language to be used … what he said directed to both Johanna (Konta) and myself is … language that is not appropriate for anyone to speak to any other human,” she said. Konta was reduced to tears at one stage. (BT)

BRUDDAH DADDY NEEDS HELP – Actor and popular emcee Antoine Williams, familiarly known as “Brudda Daddy”, needs help.  He has been diagnosed with colon cancer and is scheduled to undergo surgery at Bayview Hospital on Monday, May Day. However, the entire project will require about $200 000 to cover surgery and medical needs. As a result, Williams’ fellow artistes have stepped up to the plate. They will spearhead a drive to launch a charity organisation to assist in securing funds for the well known personality. Sade Leon Slinger-Folkes, Anthony Admiral Nelson, Eleanor Rice-Watson and Stedson Red Plastic Bag Wiltshire are principals behind the initiative. The first fundraising event kicks off at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Saturday at 8 p.m. Several entertainers are in the line-up for the show. There will be a special production of the hilarious Laff-it-Off 2017,which takes a satirical look at local happenings.(MWN)

That’s all for today folks. There are 248 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 4/21/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Friday 21st 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Weekend Nation Newspaper (WN).

BUDGET SET FOR MAY – Barbadians could be in for more bitter medicine, as Government moves to correct its worrying fiscal deficit and foreign exchange problems in its much anticipated 2017 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals, due to be delivered before the end of May. The disclosure came today in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, following economic consultations with select members of the island’s Social Partnership. During those talks, described as “frank and robust”, the need for clarity, certainty and firm action was reportedly emphasized by all. The vital importance of dialogue among all stakeholders at all stages of the process towards solutions of the fiscal deficit and foreign exchange problems was also stressed during the talks held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. It was agreed that key recommendations made by two recently established working groups, which were mandated by the Prime Minister on March 3 to come up with recommendations on the way forward for the ailing economy would be used to inform the upcoming budget presentation by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler. While officials remain tightlipped on the recommendations, the statement said it was also agreed that there would be a meeting held after the Budget to discuss the budgetary measures announced. In recent months former Prime Minister Owen Arthur has been among those warning the medicine to cure the falling foreign reserves would be bitter. The highly respected economist, who led Barbados from 1994 to 2008 and who has been approached to lead the National Economic Council, said Government had retreated from the measures and now time was running out. “The economic situation facing our country is grim . . . . If we don’t stop the slide in reserves then we are in serious problems because if you run out of foreign exchange in a country like Barbados, heaven help you,” he said in an interview last month with Barbados TODAY. However, to date Government, which is on the cusp of a national election, has been reluctant to administer the bitter cure.  (BT)

TRIPLE THREAT – Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has called for urgent consideration to be given to the future of three key state enterprises. Amid mounting pressure on his Government to slash its overall deficit, Stuart has ordered that immediate introspection be made of the operations of the loss-making Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), the Barbados Transport Board (BTB) and the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA), which now appear destined for the proverbial official chopping block. However, it is still too early to say what will be the outcome of the Government-ordered review exercise, even as the local private sector continues to press the Stuart administration to take “decisive action” to address the island’s worrying economic challenges. Just yesterday, the President of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) Charles Herbert repeated his warning that “the deficit needs to be closed and there needs to be fiscal reform to ensure a balanced budget in the short term, so that the credit rating can be improved and allow us to refinance foreign debt that becomes due”. The warning came as the BPSA prepares to update its members on some of its own recommendations to Government. Noticeably absent from the table was the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), which is the island’s largest public sector union. However, sitting with Stuart were General Secretary of the Barbados Workers Union Toni Moore, her predecessor Sir Roy Trotman, and Cedric Murrell, head of the umbrella Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB). The tripartite discussions also involved representatives of the island’s private sector, namely President of the Barbados Private Sector Association Charles Herbert, BPSA Chief Executive Officer Anne Reid and the head of the local Bankers Association Donna Wellington. Stuart’s delegation included Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler, Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer Suckoo and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Senator Darcy Boyce, for the meeting called to discuss the proposals for turning around the economy, with the island’s 2-to-1 peg with the US dollar already showing cracks, and an all-out balance of payments crisis now a possibility given that Government’s debt rose above 110 per cent of gross domestic product at the end of last year while international reserves fell to $682 million, the lowest level since 2009. So far, Government has before it a set of recommendations contained in reports presented by two working groups, which were mandated by Stuart at the last meeting of the Full Social Partnership on March 3 to come up with recommendations on the way forward with respect to the fiscal deficit and the foreign exchange situation. However, the way is still not clear with the Prime Minister cautioning in a statement released by his office today that notwithstanding the urgency of the island’s economic problems, “it was considered imperative [by those in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting] that the proposals be thoroughly examined and discussed by each Social Partner, prior to action”. The statement issued by the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) further suggested that no corrective action was likely to be taken before the next Budget, which was likely to be presented before the end of May. However, “with the sense of urgency shared by all, it was felt that there were certain issues among the recommendations presented by the working groups which would be not addressed within the Budgetary Proposals, but on which engagement could start immediately, with a view to early action,” the statement said.  (BT)

TROUBLE BREWING AHEAD OF NEW SCHOOL TERM – The start to the new academic term next week is under threat of being disrupted by industrial action, as both the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) and Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) seem destined for a showdown with the Ministry of Education over the contentious issue of docked pay. The Mary Redman-led BSTU has called out its members to a meeting on Monday, during which battle plans will drawn in the event the ministry makes good on its threat to dock the salaries of teachers who, earlier this month, attended the union’s March of Respect to press for a resolution to a number of issues, including payment for the marking of school-based assessment projects administered by the Caribbean Examinations Council. The ministry regarded the protest as unsanctioned industrial action, and has threatened to punish those who participated in the march during school hours. It was the same position that the ministry had adopted after teachers represented by the BUT had attended meetings in April and May last year, at the height of a major row with Minister of Education Ronald Jones, who they had been pressuring to meet with them to discuss their concerns. In that case, 80 per cent of the teachers had their salaries docked, angering the BUT, whose President Pedro Shepherd made it clear Thursday his members were no longer willing to talk or write about the matter. Addressing the BUT’s annual conference, which concluded Thursday at Almond Bay Caterers, Shepherd warned that the time had come for militancy, because the usual diplomatic channels were pointless. While he was silent on the form of action the union intended to take, Shepherd made it clear that returning to the negotiating table was pointless. “With all that has been happening in the public service, Parliament and our country in recent times, I have come to the conclusion, like most other trade unionist, that it is seemingly a waste of time trying to engage agents of this Government, particularly so for us, those at Constitution Road [Ministry of Education],” he stressed. (BT)

BUT: DISSOLVE SCHOOL BOARDS – There’s no need for more than four school boards to govern this island’s 22 public secondary schools.  That’s the view of president of the Barbados Union of Teachers, Pedro Shepherd, who has called for the dissolution of all existing school boards. Shepherd said the handpicking of people to sit on school boards as well as principals and senior teachers was creating problems in the schools.  However, some former educators, while agreeing that the composition of boards needed to be revisited, took issue with the limit he suggested.   (WN)

DEMAGOGUES! – The country’s worryingly low foreign exchange reserves could take a further blow from the construction of the US$100 Hyatt Centric Resort on Bay Street, The City – at least in the immediate term, social activist David Comissiong has charged. In a strong retort to criticism by two Government ministers that his legal challenge to the construction of the 15-storey structure was nothing more than political self aggrandizement which stood in the way of the country’s progress, Comissiong was unapologetic, challenging the ministers to explain  “how the process of having Mr Mark Maloney construct a hotel at Bay Street, St Michael would boost Barbados’ reserves of foreign exchange”. “It would seem to me that Mr Maloney would be likely to use up and further deplete Barbados’ reserves of foreign exchange during the process of constructing his hotel, since most of the construction material that he would be using would be imported into Barbados and would therefore have to be purchased with our scarce foreign exchange,” the unrepentant Comissiong told Barbados TODAY. “Any possible foreign exchange earnings from such a project would clearly be several years down the road, if and when the hotel gets up and going and is able to attract additional foreign tourists to our island,” he argued. Minister of Industry Donville Inniss had all but painted Comissiong as an obstructionist who stood in the way of progress. Two days earlier Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler had said the legal challenge by Comissiong was nothing more than “purely a political exercise and anybody could see where that is going but we would let the court deal with it”. Comissiong Thursday described the two ministers as “demagogues”, even as he suggested that those seeking to blame him for holding up the project were misleading the country. After Stuart had in February given his approval to the project, which has been three years in the making, Comissiong filed a claim in the Supreme Court challenging the permission granted by the Prime Minister to Maloney’s company to construct this hotel, asking the Court to examine the manner in which the application was handled and whether Stuart’s decision was legal. The hearing on that matter is set to begin on May 9. The social activist has insisted that an environmental impact assessment ought to have been done before permission was granted for the development of the beachfront property.  (BT)

UTTER RUBBISH! - UPW is “blue vex” over what its Acting General Secretary Delcia Burke suggests is the Freundel Stuart administration’s unilateral decision to extend its garbage collection arrangement with private waste haulers. Burke said the programme, which started last October and was due to end this month, was extended without a word being said to the union, which represents the majority of workers at the state run Sanitation Service Authority (SSA). Though unclear about how long the programme would be extended, the union official warned that the decision would put the jobs of SSA workers in jeopardy. During a meeting of the SSA’s management two weeks ago it was decided that the private waste haulers’ contracts would be terminated on Thursday, April 13, 2017. However, in a subsequent memorandum dated April 18, 2017, Acting SSA Manager Rosalind Knight reversed that decision. “I refer to an operations meeting held April 7, 2017 where you were informed that the Special Collection Programme which commenced on October 10, 2016 will conclude on April 13, 2017. I am to inform you that the decision to conclude the programme is rescinded,” said Knight in the memo addressed to the Authority’s acting superintendents at its north, southwest and southeast depots. However, the workers’ bargaining agent is contending that it was neither officially informed nor consulted on the move. When contacted, waste hauler Michael Forde of Forde’s Freighting and Rental Services Limited said he heard that his contract was to be extended but he was yet to be officially informed. Efforts to reach Minister of the Environment and Drainage Dr Denis Lowe and the SSA’s Acting Manager Knight today for comment also proved futile. However, earlier this year, Lowe had ordered a review of the $411 per hour rate paid to the private waste haulers after the fee became a source of contention between his ministry and the NUPW. However, the minister had denied at that time that his ministry had gone ahead and implemented a reduced rate of $300 per hour after the private haulers had accused the SSA of unilaterally cutting their pay. (BT)

HIGH TECH – Barbados spent about $223 million on the importation of electronic goods in 2016. Minister of Industry and Commerce Donville Inniss made the disclosure here Wednesday night as he welcomed the electronics store RadioShack back to Barbados. Inniss acknowledged that the amount spent on electronics was “significant”. However, he cautioned that while it was important for Government to save foreign exchange, it could not do so at the expense of those interested in purchasing international brands. At a time when its parent company General Wireless Operations Inc is struggling to keep some of its United States stores open, RadioShack is making its comeback to Barbados after a 30-year absence under a different franchisee. Unicomer (Barbados) Limited is the local franchise holder for the cash-strapped American retailer, which has filed for bankruptcy twice in as many years. RadioShack filed for bankruptcy in 2015, resulting in the closure of about half the stores it had then. The electronics retailer again filed for bankruptcy in March this year, which should result in the closure of about 187 of its 1,500 remaining stores. (BT)

BAR WANTS TO HAVE MORE MUSCLE - The head of the Barbados Bar Association wants its disciplinary committee to have more power to deal with dishonest lawyers. The association’s president Liesel Weekes feels such a move would allow for the committee to “have more teeth”. As it stands, the disciplinary committee can only make recommendations for action to be taken against any lawyer who it believes has acted in an unprofessional manner. Only the Court of Appeal can suspend or disbar a lawyer from practising in Barbados. Speaking to the WEEKEND NATION, Weekes said in some Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, the disciplinary committee had the power to disbar a lawyer. While she hasn’t called for such authority, Weekes said she would like legislation to be passed to allow members of the committee to be able to discipline lawyers to some degree. (WN)

TENANT DID NOTHING WRONG - I’m innocent! That was the cry of the tenant at the centre of a dispute with her former St Philip landlord as she vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Sandra Walkes, a resident at Lot 42, Rices, St Philip, had complained that her tenant at the time had refused to pay her rent and move out despite being served with two eviction notices. And when the tenant eventually moved, Walkes said she left owing her over three months’ rent. Additionally, she complained that the apartment had been left in a horrible state. But in an interview with the WEEKEND NATION, the tenant, who requested anonymity, said she had done no wrong. (WN)

BAWL OVER WALL – Some residents OF Cattlewash, St Joseph, are angry about the construction of a large house there. While declining to be identified, one of the detractors, who said he was representing residents who did not want to appear in the Press, said he was tired of construction that was destroying Barbados. “I’m speaking on behalf of residents of Cattlewash. Our main concern is that house is not being built along the proper building guidelines; that house is not being constructed in conjunction with the rules and regulations of construction along the East Coast. “I am speaking on behalf of those who are tired of this . . . . It happening all around the island and it is destroying this island,” he said, adding he heard the owner of the house was from overseas. (WN)

FIRE LEAVES ST JAMES FAMILY HOMELESS – In the wake of a midday fire on Thursday that has left up to ten people homeless and a distraught mother wondering how she would get a roof over her young ones’ heads, Member of Parliament for St James North Edmund Hinkson is appealing to the Freundel Stuart administration not to shut down the Weston Fire Station. There has been no official announcement about the closure of the fire station, but Hinkson, the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) representative, said word had been going around that the station would be closed. If this happens, Hinkson told Barbados TODAY, it would leave virtually the entire north of the island vulnerable. Thursday’s fire at Prescod Road, Mount Standfast, St James razed a house belonging to Elizabeth Richards Miller and her children, destroying virtually all their belongings. Miller told Barbados TODAY that although it was one structure, three homes were lost. Miller said she had no idea where they would sleep tonight, but her main concern was trying to make arrangements for her children and grandchildren. However, Hinkson said he was on the ball and would do all he could to assist. (BT)

NINJA MAN PEPPER SPRAYED – A apparent pepper spray attack on Ninja Man, one of the island’s best known street people, is but a small example of the wilful assaults on the homeless, according to a leading advocate for homeless people. “Ninja Man is not the only case. We have had clients . . . come in here who had their feet run over by a car and the person did not stop. We have had cases where some came in with their faces swollen after being beaten up, some have been complaining that persons are beating them up at nights, store owners are throwing water on them,” President of the Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society Kemar Saffrey told Barbados TODAY after a video emerged of an attacker using mace on the Bridgetown vagrant, apparently on Tudor Street. The video, which was recorded by a security camera and has since gone viral, shows a seemingly animated Ninja Man walking up to a young man and poking him on the chest, before the man sprayed him in the face. Writhing in pain, the homeless man drops to his knees and washes his face with water from the road. Saffrey said it was a vicious attack, and called on the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) to crack down on people who take advantage of the homeless. However, Public Relations Officer of the RBPF Roland Cobbler told Barbados TODAY lawmen could not charge a person unless a formal complaint was filed. And while he did not specify whether or not police were looking into this particular case, Cobbler said any activity deemed to be criminal was investigated as long as lawmen became aware of the situation. This hardly placated Saffrey, who said vagrants often refused to lodge complaints for fear of not being taken seriously. “Most times the homeless don’t want to go to the police for the fear of being victimized or because of how they are looked at or are dressed . . . . Fortunately, this latest incident was caught on camera and had gone viral so the police should be able to bring the perpetrator to justice,” he said, while stressing the potential damage that pepper spray can cause. “Most of us would know that pepper spray is something that would leave a devastating effect on an individual when it’s sprayed, especially when it’s in the face . . . . If the shoes were on the other feet, we know that they would have been dragging Ninja Man off to the Mental or prison,” he said. Meanwhile, Cobbler reminded the public that “pepper spray is illegal [and] no member of the public should be in possession of it”. (BT)

SAFFREY WANTS NINJA MAN ATTACKED ARRESTED – Street character Ninja Man has the same rights as every Barbadian and deserves the protection of the law.  That was the reaction yesterday from Kemar Saffrey, president of the Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society, following an attack on Anthony Fitzpatrick “Ninja Man” Lynch in The City that was captured on video. The attack was circulated on social media and angered Saffrey, who called for criminal charges to be brought against the culprit. He told the WEEKEND NATION while the video was offensive, the most disturbing thing was the part where Lynch was pepper-sprayed and forced to seek relief by washing his face with water from the gutter. (WN)

COMPLAINANT DROPS CASE AGAINST WANTED MAN – A wanted man who surrendered to police yesterday was free to go after appearing in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today. Thirty-seven-year-old Pearson Antonio Bayne of Nursery #2, Four Roads, St Philip charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, theft of a cellular phone and threatening language. The alleged offences were committed at Deacons Farm, St Michael on April 11. However, all of the matters were discontinued after the complainant opted not to pursue them. (WN)

GOING TOPLESS – Spectators could be sitting in some of the stands at the National Stadium again, but without the shelter of roofs.  Minister of Sport Stephen Lashley has revealed that a comprehensive revaluation of the Waterford facility being undertaken by engineers could pave the way for the condemned stands, which have been out of bounds for spectators during the last two years, to be reopened. Lashley said the findings of the engineers could result in temporary use of the stands until funding was obtained to demolish the existing structures and start construction work to build a new stadium.“The engineers have actually looked at the facility and one of the options available as far as they are looking at it, is to remove the entire roofing structure . . . ,” Lashley said. (WN)

BARBADOS EDGE SA – Barbados fought back from 3-0 down to defeat a touring South African polo team 5-4, clinching the first series between the two teams.  The teams entered Wednesday’s game at the Holder’s Polo Club with the series locked 1-1 and both were hoping to play their “A’ game. Under cloudy skies, James Crowe got the tourists rolling by converting a 60-yard penalty. Seventeen-year old James O’Sullivan, who impressed with his riding ability, added the second. Three-goal handicap player Adam Deane had a good chance to open Barbados’ account when he was awarded a 60-yard penalty but he shot wide. Johan Van Reenan, the Most Valuable Player at the Africa Cup in 2016, then scored the visitors’ third goal. (WN)

PARRIS BATS FOR KIDDY CRICKET – Robin Parris is a man who can honestly say he loves his job. It is something he cannot picture himself not doing. Parris has held the post of territorial development officer with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for the past six years, and has seen many things come to fruition through the Kiddy Cricket and Grassroots programmes. “My background is in youth work, so that is where my expertise comes in with Kiddy Cricket and Grassroots cricket. I also come into play with all the West Indies teams at times, juniors and seniors, in terms of their preparation and pre-tour camps, where I would go in and assist them with their batting and bowling drills or whatever they need help with,” he said. (WN)

SABINA MILESTONE - Sabina Park in Jamaica will mark a special milestone today. The ground will stage its 50th Test when West Indies and Pakistan start a three-match series. The West Indies Cricket Board, in association with local authorities, will be hosting a series of events during the match to celebrate the milestone. Both West Indies and Pakistan had their final practice sessions yesterday in the build-up to the match. Here, West Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood pulling in the nets. (WN)

KNIGHT REGIONS TOP JUNIOR – Tyrese Knight emerged as the boys’ champion and Barbados won six medals to finish second at the Caribbean Cadet and Junior Table Tennis Championships in Guyana. Seventeen-year-old Knight was on fire at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Georgetown when the tournament climaxed earlier this week. He defeated Trinidad and Tobago’s Luc O’Young 4-0  (11-6, 11-9, 11-4 and 12-10) in the final. He had earlier beaten Carlos Sanchez of Cuba 11-9, 11-6, 13-11, 11-7 in the semi-final round. Ramon Maxwell and Rashon Goddard captured gold in the cadet boys’ doubles category after beating Jamal Nicholas and Terrence Rausche of Guyana 12-14, 11-7, 12-10, 12-10.  (WN)

CONCACAF SUING WARNER, BLAZER – A federal lawsuit has been filed by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) against disgraced officials Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer, court documents have revealed. The governing body is seeking $20 million (£15.6 million/€18.6 million) damages “to redress the harms caused by Warner and Blazer’s fraudulent, unfair and unlawful acts as former high ranking officials of CONCACAF,” the complaint reads. Ex-CONCACAF president Warner is facing extradition in his native Trinidad and Tobago on charges of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering. Blazer, a former FIFA Executive Committee member and former CONCACAF general secretary, struck a plea deal in 2013 and turned whistleblower for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was key to several FIFA officials being arrested in Zurich in May 2015. The 71-year-old former FIFA Executive Committee member and Warner conspired to accept bribes in connection with the 1998 and 2010 World Cup bid processes, won by France and South Africa respectively. In the complaint, filed at the US District Court in Eastern New York, CONCACAF say the two officials accepted a $10 million (£8 million/€9.3 million) bribe from South Africa to vote for the country in the 2010 race. The complaint also says that Warner knew what was happening with regards to Blazer, but did not act. The CONCACAF was at the epicentre of widespread financial wrongdoing within football, with three of their previous four Presidents before Canadian Victor Montagliani was elected last year indicted by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ). Honduran Alfredo Hawit and Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands were also implicated, along with Warner. They have all been banned from all footballing activity for life, while Hawit and Webb have pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the US. Their illicit actions over the past two decades, largely involving millions of dollars of bribes and kickbacks related to media and marketing rights for major international matches and tournaments, rocked CONCACAF to its core and plunged the governing body into an unprecedented crisis.  (BT)  

UGO EHIOGU DIES AFTER SUFFERING CARDIAC ARREST – Tottenham Hotspur have announced with great sadness that their under-23 coach, Ugo Ehiogu, passed away in the early hours of this morning after suffering a cardiac arrest at the club’s training ground on Thursday. The sense of disbelief at how an ostensibly fit 44-year-old has been taken away is palpable and the Tottenham head of development, John McDermott, did his best to articulate it. The former England and Aston Villa defender was on the training field on Thursday morning when he collapsed. The club’s medics rushed to treat him while an ambulance and a medical assistance car were scrambled to him at 11.30am. They sped into the club’s Enfield training centre, blue lights flashing, and the ambulance took Ehiogu off to hospital about 20 minutes later. The high level of concern was etched across the faces of every member of staff. It was immediately plain that Ehiogo faced a life or death battle. The club’s manager, Mauricio Pochettino, the assistant manager, Jesus Perez, and McDermott had walked over to the academy fields to make their own checks on the situation. Ehiogu received around-the-clock treatment at the hospital but he could not be saved. He leaves behind his wife Gemma, and a son. (UK GUARDIAN)

CUBA GOODING SR FOUND DEAD IN CAR - Cuba Gooding SR was found dead today, several media outlets have reported.  The 72-year-old, who is the father of actors Cuba Gooding Jr and Omar Gooding, was found in his silver Jaguar which was parked on Ventura in Woodland Hills. The fire department found Gooding, who has Barbadian roots, and tried without success, to resuscitate him. Gooding Sr was the lead singer of Main Ingredient, the 1970s soul group. (WN)

FASHION IS GAYNELDER’S CALLING - Gaynelder Grazette was born to design and make clothes. At least, that’s the way it seems when she tells the story of how she started Kudos Designs. And with fashion-forward people wanting to stand out from the crowd, the demand for one-of-a-kind pieces is increasing. From the time she was very young, her dolls – a girl and a boy – had to look good so she made their clothing. At the age of 16, she started sketching designs. Then, in 2005, she attended the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) to hone her skills. (WN)

That’s all for today folks. There are 254 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 3/13/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Monday 13th March 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT) or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ - It was a sea of red in Bridgetown on Saturday as supporters of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) chanted “Enough Is Enough”. The March of Disgust started in Jubilee Gardens and made its way through The City as shoppers, store owners and workers watched from the sidelines. People from all walks of life came out with their placards criticizing the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and their management of the country. Residents from the drought-ridden areas such as St Peter and St Joseph also made a stand demanding water. A large group from White Hill, St Andrew was also present, calling for solutions to their problems and a change of Government. (BT)

GONE WITH THE WIND - KERRIE SYMMONDS is feeling a breeze of change in Barbados. And when it passes, he hopes Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and his entire Cabinet will be blown by the wayside, the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) MP told a large crowd on Saturday night. The St James Central MP ramped the partisan crowd into a frenzy at the climax of the Opposition-led “march of disgust” titled Step Up If Yuh Fed Up that began and ended in Jubilee Gardens, The City. He told them why he thought Barbados would be better off without the current Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration. The rally also included entertainment by Biggie Irie, Peter Ram and TC. (DN)

PILGRIM IT WAS A RENT A CROWD - The ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is charging that Barbadians were paid to participate in yesterday’s national March of Disgust organized by the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP). Speaking on a local radio programme this morning, DLP General Secretary George Pilgrim charged that yesterday’s march, which is said to have attracted about 10,000 people, really was a reflection of how money can influence an election. “Based on my knowledge, people were offered money to come and march,” Pilgrim said on Starcom Network’s Down to Brass Tacks programme. “The fact that people were willing to turn up to the march and receive a gratuity for just turning up speaks [volumes]  of what Barbadians should fear going into the next election,” he said. Pilgrim further claimed that the BLP has opened “a call centre” with paid staff to mobilize people for the march. “The amount of people that were called yesterday for the march, there had to be a call centre in place. That is one thing I want to thank and congratulate the party on, it’s assisting Barbados in reducing the unemployment figure. “It is clear to me that the amount of people that were employed over the last five days that they have made a significant contribution to that [reducing the unemployment figure],” he stressed. Pressed to substantiate the claim, Pilgrim responded: “The supermarkets were bursting on Friday.” BLP representative Dale Marshall, who was also a guest on the programme, rubbished the claim. He explained that the party got volunteers from every single constituency to man telephones at its headquarters. “I know because some of my young people went down to party headquarters and manned telephones. They do it during the general elections, they are not paid a cent. Not a person was paid for this so-called call centre,” Marshall insisted. Pilgrim also alleged that Barbados was being sold out by the Opposition BLP, while warning that as far as the ruling DLP was concerned “Barbados is not on the auction bloc”. He said: “If Barbadians took note of what has been occurring in Barbados they have to ask themselves, . . . ‘who ultimately stands to benefit if Barbados is auctioned . . . by the Opposition?” “They cannot deny that they are telling investors not to invest in Barbados,” Pilgrim said. However, Marshall took issue with the suggestion, saying for the DLP to even allege that yesterday’s mobilization had cost “vast sums of money that the BLP could only get it off the ground if they sold out to the highest bidder is rubbish. The St Joseph Member of Parliament pointed out that political parties in Barbados get a small subvention from Government. Therefore he said: “We all have to go out there and approach our base. There are old ladies who contribute $10, there are some individuals who will contribute more and . . . the reality is that until we reach the stage where political parties in Barbados are funded by the state we have to go out there and we have to get contributions,” Marshall said. Meanwhile, the Leader of the newly-formed United Progressive Party Lynette Eastmond said there was need for a serious discussion about election campaign funding. “I don’t know that there are any rules in place with respect to maybe a rent a crowd, but there certainly are laws in place with respect to the bribing of electors, and individuals who bribe electors and those who receive those bribes are committing a criminal offence under the legislation in Barbados.” she warned. (BT)

RUBBISH - The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) yesterday accused the Opposition of paying people to march with them on Saturday. The accusation, fiercely denied by senior member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Dale Marshall, was made by general secretary of the DLP, George Pilgrim. The two, along with chairman of the newly formed United Progressive Party (UPP), Lynette Eastmond, and Grenville Phillips II, of Solutions Barbados, were taking part in Starcom Network’s Sunday Brass Tacks post-mortem on Saturday’s Step Up If Yuh Fed Up “march of disgust” and rally in The City. “Yesterday’s march shows us how money can influence an election,” Pilgrim said. (DN)

MIXED REACTION TO BLP-LED MARCH – The Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is pleased with the turnout for yesterday’s national March of Disgust, which party spokesman Dale Marshall says has “rattled” the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. “I can’t see that they’d be sitting in their homes today and be thinking that the Barbadian electorate is continuing to be passive, that the Barbadian electorate is continuing to be satisfied with the decline in our standard of living, our economy,” said Marshall, in reflecting on Saturday’s BLP-led march and rally, which culminated in Jubilee Gardens, The City, and is said to have attracted about 10,000 people. However, two of the island’s newest political groupings have sought to downplay the success of yesterday’s event. Former BLP Cabinet Minister Lynette Eastmond, who is the leader of the United Progressive Party, and Grenville Phillips II, the leader of Solutions Barbados, were both guests on Sunday’s Starcom Network’s Down to Brass Tacks programme, along with Marshall. “Elections are won constituency by constituency and how each constituent feels about their current representative,” cautioned Eastmond, while pointing out that the BLP has had “three stabs at mobilizing people to make it appear as though Barbadians actually support the Barbados Labour Party”. “I think in the two first marches it was a bit appalling that the BLP was not able to even mobilize its base, because if you think of the 30 constituencies by how ever many members, they really should have had more people on the street in the two first attempts. In this third attempt, I think they were able to mobilize their base and they worked very hard at it,” she said, explaining that “there are a number of individuals who got telephone calls, even one of our candidates got a call about coming to the march. “So the BLP really did put a lot of effort, a lot of money, into ensuring that it got its base out and I think it managed on this occasion to get its base out, which I think is excellent.” However, Eastmond said the party needed to acknowledge that there were several Barbadians who came out yesterday to march but who had said quite pointedly, ‘we are not here to support the Barbados Labour Party, we are here to say that we are not happy with the various downgrades, we’re not happy with the debt situation, we’re not happy with the lack of growth etc.’  (BT)

DO NOT VOTE FOR BLP - Founder of the new Solutions Barbados party Grenville Phillips II. Also reacting to yesterday’s BLP-led event, which the ruling DLP has dismissed as “a reflection of how money can influence an election”, said his party was in the business of providing solutions to the myriad of problems plaguing the country. “We have not asked people to come out and march because the others can do that. So the BLP has come and they’ve asked people to march and they’ve marched. And I encourage people, ‘go and march, just do not vote for them’. “The gravest error they could make is to go and vote for them,” he said. “We’ve heard our politicians telling us we’re doing well, but it’s easy to say that when you’re spending other people’s money. But now the IMF [International Monetary Fund] is giving the report card and they’re saying that we’re doing abysmally bad,” the Solutions Barbados leader said. Just last week, the island suffered two downgrades at the hands of Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s which have expressed concern about the island’s ballooning debt of 111 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and its falling international reserves, which plummeted below the recommended 12-weeks of  cover to less than $700 million last December. The international ratings agencies also warned that the situation not only poses a threat to the stability of the Barbados currency — which currently trades two to one against the United States dollar — but that it could put the island at high risk of debt default. Phillips suggested that both the ruling DLP and the Opposition BLP were to blame for current poor state of the country’s economy. “We published our solutions about two years ago and we said, ‘BLP adopt these solutions’ and they were not done. I said, ‘DLP do the same’ and they haven’t done it. Almost two years have gone by [and] they have not adopted any solutions or even discussed them with us,” he lamented. (BT)

COALITION OUT TO BREAK DUOPOLY - A new political coalition has been formed. The Citizens Action Partnership (CAP) has been created as an umbrella group for anyone looking to run in the next general elections outside of the two established political parties. Partnership chairman and former Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Christ Church East Member of Parliament, Wendell Callender, speaking at the movement’s launch last week at Sky Mall, called for an end to the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and BLP duopoly. “I’ve gone to all kinds of people, whether they be doctors, lawyers, teachers or vendors. We have spoken to them and we know how they feel about the leadership of Barbados,” he said. (DN)

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STILL A CONCERN – Domestic violence continues to be a “real” problem in Barbados. Minister of Social Care Steve Blackett spoke to the issue just before he and his wife Eleanor joined hundreds who turned out in support of the Life In Leggings march from Queen’s Park through Bridgetown and back on Saturday. “That is principally why we, as a Government, moved to amend the Domestic Violence Protection Order Act to give it more teeth, and give the police wider scope, wider powers, to assist in wrestling this scourge to the ground,” Blackett said. The vocal marchers carried placards and chanted as they walked along the short route to get their messages across. Several of them spoke to the fact that hitting and loving was not a mix that should be tolerated. (DN)

WARRENS DUMP SITE DISCOVERED – An illegal dump site was found right under the nose of the Ministry of the Environment on Saturday. Hidden in plain sight in the middle of the busy commercial centre of Warrens, St Michael, it held all of the waste one would expect in an out-of-the-way gully or cane field. This included fridges, stoves, mattresses, old tyres, the rotting carcass as well as bones of a long-dead animal, in addition to mounds of discarded household waste. The ministry’s headquarters are located in the Warrens Office Complex next door. The mess was discovered by the eagle eyes of a first form boy, who spotted what looked like a washing machine through the tall grasses of an open lot. (DN)

DIRTY HABITS - VISITORS ARE TAKING to social media to talk about the dirty state of the island. And the negative reviews are driving the gatekeepers of the Barbados Brand – the Barbados Tourism Product Authority (BTPA) – to step up  education and guilt trips to drive Barbadians to curb their filthy garbage disposal habits. Chief executive officer of the BTPA, Dr Kerry Hall, made the comments as a clean-up campaign, spearheaded by the Clean Bim programme, removed 415.89 pounds of garbage, in an hour, from a small section of Warrens on Saturday. Stressing that Barbadians should and must clean the island for themselves and then for their guests, Hall said the BTPA had been receiving the negative reviews from the visitors with whom the entity spoke and reading them on social media. (DN)

OISTINS MARKED OUT FOR CHANGES – Oistins Town and its environs in Christ Church are in for major changes based on the draft amendment to the Physical Development Plan 2017. This was revealed at the sixth and final town hall meeting to discuss the amendment held at Oistins Bay Gardens on Saturday. Among the plans are a waterfront pedestrian walkway and relocation of the bus terminal to the inland side of Oistins main road to accommodate a new waterfront park and civic centre. The Berinda Cox Fish Market jetty is being considered as a facility to link Oistins to Bridgetown and other locations on the South and West Coasts by water. Foundation School and Christ Church Parish Church would also be incorporated into key community spaces, while upgrades are on the cards for portions of Maxwell and Enterprise that form part of the Oistins Community Plan. (DN)

TEEN SAVES VISITOR - On Saturday, a 17-year-old’s beach outing with friends took an unexpected turn when he spotted an unconscious visitor and her frantic husband by her side on Browne’s Beach, St Michael. After finding out that the woman, Ann Freeman, had swallowed large amounts of water while diving, Dre Brown’s training instinctively kicked in and he performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on her. Dre, a former Princess Margaret Secondary School student and a Barbados Youth Service (BYS) recruit, is an aspiring fireman, and spent part of his weekend completing the required number of hours for community service. “We had to cut down some trees at Codrington College and after community service, we attended the beach and had some fun and played sport. When we were on the verge of going home, I passed and saw a husband with his wife and she was lying unconscious, so I basically attempted what I was taught to do,” he recalled of the Saturday incident. (DN)

LOW NUMBERS CONCERN ISCF – The once thriving Inter-school Christian Fellowship (ISCF) has seen a dip in numbers, especially at the secondary school level. Speaking to the DAILY NATION after a service yesterday to mark the start of ISCF Week at the First Baptist Church, Constitution Road, The City, field worker Carson Atherley said the drop in numbers might have to do with the “growing trends today”. He revealed that primary schools accounted for about 2 500 members, secondary schools for between 250 and 300, and between 80 and 100 members were at the tertiary level. “Students are not as keen about spiritual matters as they were before. A lot of other things are vying for students’ attention, even in schools,” Atherley said. (DN)

DOMINICA AIRPORT RE-OPENS - Operations are back to normal at the Douglas Charles Airport in Dominica following a temporary closure on Saturday due to inclement weather. The Ministry of Public Works and Ports said the airport had to be closed due to widespread flooding. Heavy rains also caused landslides and led to the collapse of a Bailey bridge in Macoucherie, along the west coast of the island. (BT)

THREE INJURED AT SILVER HILL - Police say three men were injured during a shooting incident at Block 3D, Silver Hill, Christ Church last night. The victims  — all from the same area — were reportedly among a group of men who were liming on the block around 10:50 p.m. when a number of loud explosions were suddenly heard. During the commotion, 32-year-old Randy Went of Green Hill, Silver Hill was shot in his right rib and right forearm and 38-year-old Adrian Cox of Maxwell Hill in his right foot. A third man, 21-year-old Devon Rowe of Block 3D, Silver Hill, suffered a laceration to his right hand. Rowe was subsequently transported by private vehicle to FMH medical centre where he was treated and discharged. Cox was taken by private vehicle and Went by ambulance to the state-run QEH, where they are both listed as stable. Police are asking anyone with information that can assist them with this investigation to contact the Oistins Police Station at 418-2612, 418-2608, Police Emergency at telephone number “ 211”, Crime Stoppers at 1-800 –TIPS (8477), or the nearest police station. They say all information received will be treated as strictly confidential. (BT)

POLICE INVESTIGATE ST JAMES ACCIDENT - Two men were injured in a two–car smash up at Lower Carlton, St James that occurred around 6:45 p.m. They are Ryan Browne, 30, of Denton Road, Grazettes, St Michael and Wilfred Francis, 60, of Sion Hill, St James. Both Browne and Francis received injuries to the right hip, feet and hands. They were transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance. Browne and Francis are said to be in stable condition. Police are continuing investigations. (BT)

GUTSY KING FALLS TO MONFILS – He didn’t get the win, but Darian King certainly won the hearts of many. The king of swing may have turned in his best performance yet, having shocked the tennis world by taking the first set off No. 10 Gael Monfils before ultimately falling to the Frenchman in Saturday’s second round at Indian Wells. Playing in his very first ATP Masters event, the 131st ranked King made the appearance memorable, defying the odds to take an early lead until the heavily favoured Monfils won 12 of the last 13 games to pull out a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory in the BNP Paribas Open. It was a gutsy effort to say the least from the 24-year-old Bajan ace, who took the court against his first top ten opponent less than a month after stunning former world No. 17 Bernard Tomic at the Memphis Open. (DN)

‘POLLY’ AND TINO BURY HATCHET – Three years after a bust-up during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Kieron Pollard and Tino Best find themselves on the same side. Pollard was Barbados Tridents captain and Best was a member of St Lucia Zouks in 2014 when there was a row between them at the teams’ hotel after a match at Kensington Oval where Best was involved in an on-field spat with Tridents batsman Shoaib Malik. Moments after Best was snapped up by the Tridents during the 2017 player draft last Friday, Pollard said the incident was behind them. “As human beings, you get past certain things,” he told NATIONSPORT on a Skype link-up. (DN)

CONNELL DELIVERES DESPITE WEATHER –The weather conditions made it difficult for those seeking to reach the CARIFTA Games qualifying standards at the inaugural Junior Stars track meet at the National Stadium on Saturday. The impressive Hannah Connell of the Foundation School was the lone athlete to meet the standard once again in the Under-18 Girls’ 100 metres hurdles. Though not as quick as the previous week’s 13.89 seconds clocking at the national junior championships, the promising Velocity athlete ran clear of the 14.35 standard, finishing in a time of 14.18 seconds. She was followed home by Velocity’s Dominique Lafond in 15.21 seconds. (DN)

THOMPSON AGAIN TOP UMPIRE – Up-and-coming Elite Division umpire Dave Thompson received the perfect birthday present on Saturday evening. For the second year running, he was the recipient of the President’s Award at the Barbados Cricket Umpires’ Association’s (BCUA) awards ceremony held at Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union headquarters, Belmont Road. Thompson, who was also BCUA president Gregory Brathwaite’s choice for the coveted award last year, celebrated his 32nd birthday on Saturday. Brathwaite cited Thompson’s high work ethic, commitment to the cause and willingness to continue learning as among the attributes that influenced his decision to confer the accolade on the former Benfica off-spinner who first signed up for the BCUA training course in 2012. (DN)

HAITI SAYS FAREWELL TO FORMER PRESIDENT RENE PREVAL - Thousands of Haitians gathered on Saturday to say an emotional final farewell to former President Rene Preval, 74, the country’s first democratically elected leader to peacefully transfer power to his successors. In two hours of religious and civil ceremonies, bishops and family members remembered the soft-spoken former agronomist as a man of simplicity who held the country’s farmers in high regard. “Many people have said that my father did not like to speak too much. In effect, that is true,” said Patricia Preval, his daughter. Rene Preval, who died on March 3, had an understated style, a marked contrast to the fiery oration of his one-time friend, former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, or the showmanship of his final successor, Michel Martelly. Preval will be best remembered internationally for leading Haiti in the immediate aftermath of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 200,000 people. His daughter also said that, despite serving as a prime minister and later a popular two-time president, politics did not even interest him. “Politics was a means to development, (that) was what he loved,” she said during a speech in which her voice occasionally cracked with emotion. Yet local politics were not completely absent from the funeral, in which Preval’s casket stood in the center of a stage draped in Haiti’s blue and red flag. Current President Jovenel Moise’s speech at the end of the service was met with jeers, as some said it resembled more a campaign speech than a eulogy. Preval’s body was buried on Saturday afternoon in his hometown, Marmelade, in the north of the country. “He wasn’t a bad president… he wasn’t a liar,” Anna Lamartiniere, 64, said in the stands before the service. “He did good work for the country, he built roads.” (BT)

QUEEN’S COMMONWEALTH MESSAGE – IN HER MESSAGE for Commonwealth Day, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II reflects on this year’s theme of ‘A Peace-building Commonwealth’ and the onward journey of The Queen’s Baton Relay. “This Commonwealth Day, a baton will set out from Buckingham Palace and begin a long and extraordinary journey. Over the next twelve months, the Baton will visit people living in the nations and territories of our Commonwealth family in every continent and ocean. Carried on its way by thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds, by the time it reaches its final destination, The Queen’s Baton will have brought together through its route and symbolism, almost 2.5 billion people who share the special connection of being Commonwealth citizens. Contained within the Baton will be a written message that will be opened and read at the Commonwealth Games in Australia next year.  However, there is an even more powerful message to be seen and experienced as the Baton passes from hand to hand, from seashore to mountaintop, through cities, towns, and villages.  It is the message of a peace-building Commonwealth. The cornerstones on which peace is founded are, quite simply, respect and understanding for one another.  Working together, we build peace by defending the dignity of every individual and community. By upholding justice and the rule of law, and by striving for societies that are fair and offer opportunities for all, we overcome division and find reconciliation, so that the benefits of progress and prosperity may be multiplied and shared. As members of the Commonwealth family we can find much to be thankful for in the inheritances we have received from those who came before us. Through consensus and cooperation great things have been achieved. We can find further reward and fulfilment by continuing to collaborate with others in a spirit of goodwill to build a peaceful and abundant future for all Commonwealth citizens.” (DN)

That’s all for today folks. There are 293 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 3/12/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Over 10,000 Barbadians of various ethnic, social & religious backgrounds congregated in Jubilee Gardens to stand in solidarity that they were FED up with the constant downgrades, high cost of living, poor social services and lack of competent leadership offered by the Democratic Labour Party. It was their love of country that propelled them to march and they fearlessly spoke of their hardships & displeasure. Would it be wise to ignore the loud cries of the people? Only time will tell.  Here is your daily news cap for Sunday 12th March 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT) or by purchasing a Sunday Sun Nation Newspaper (WN).

MINISTRY RESCUES LEGGINGS MARCH - The Life in Leggings march had a much bigger threat than the perceived clash with the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) Step Up If Yuh Fed Up march. It is understood that funding from an international organisation to the tune of $7 000 was pulled at the last minute, and the march was cancelled. The Ministry of Social Care stepped up and offered the lifeline, which made it possible for yesterday’s march from Queen’s Park through Bridgetown and back. Minister of Social Care Steve Blackett, who walked the route with his wife Eleanor, confirmed to reporters that his ministry helped with “enough” funds to make the march a success. (SS)

DLP FIGHTS BACK THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA – The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has taken to WhatsApp to counter the Opposition Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) criticism of how the Freundel Stuart administration is running the country. According to general secretary of the DLP, George Pilgrim, the BLP is developing a campaign of fear and corrosion with an objective to undermine the image of Brand Barbados. He was speaking Friday at the George Street auditorium headquarters of the DLP, where the party launched its first E-Facts cards with 2018 WhatsApp messages to show its accomplishments over the last nine years. “We don’t believe Barbadians should be burdened by fear in their daily lives. The party councils accept the importance of facts, which should allow for people to have a clear indication of what this party has delivered to Barbados,” Pilgrim said. (SS)

RISE IN ATTACKS ON BUS DRIVERS - Violent attacks against Transport Board drivers by schoolchildren are increasing. Lynda Holder, the Transport Board’s manager of marketing and corporate communications, said drivers are dealing with more of these attacks which are putting them at serious risk of injury. “Right now we have had a number of incidences where passengers and more often than not, it is the minors, school children, who are physically and verbally assaulting our drivers,” she said. She pointed out that the offenders were usually from first to third form, a matter they have already raised with police. Holder said that as recent as last Thursday, schoolchildren threw rocks through a bus window. (SS)

ROUNDABOUT MESS – The Speightstown roundabout is in a woeful state. It is overgrown with bush and weeds, as is the small plot of land opposite that was earmarked for a mini park and garden. Compared to other roundabouts, it is shabby. But it wasn’t supposed to be that way. Back in 2010 the SUNDAY SUN carried an exclusive story that Government had brokered a deal, the first of its kind, for the owner of an offshore company to finance the construction of the roundabout at a cost of $2 million.  (SS)

VAT NOW ON MEDICINES – Pharmacies have been told that they must apply value added tax (VAT) to a host of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs that had escaped the tax for the past 20 years. That means consumers could be paying at least 17.5 per cent more for popular cough medicines such as Histal, asthma inhalers, and skin medications such as Calamine Lotion, as well as painkillers like Panadol, a pharmacist told the SUNDAY SUN. The directive was handed down by the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) at a meeting last Thursday attended by over 50 pharmacists and pharmacy owners. They were told that pharmaceutical retailers had been breaking the law since VAT was introduced in 1996, the pharmacist said. (SS)

BWA GOING AFTER REVENUE – The true cost of the provision of water services will be put on the front burner of the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) under its new management. But that does not mean customers should brace for another rate increase, new general manager Keithroy Halliday has suggested. He is still promising a complete change in how the BWA does business in 2017 and beyond under his watch. According to Halliday, it should not be lost on Barbadians just what a difficult task lies ahead, since the island remains in drought-like conditions, and the BWA has been forced to spend millions on upgrading its mains, some of which are more than a century old, while also dealing with issues at the South Coast Sewerage Project and the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant. (SS)

HAULERS UNSURE ABOUT SUCCESS OF TIPPING FEE – Almost two years after Government introduced a contentious tipping fee, the head of the Waste Haulers Association is not sure if it has served its purpose. The fee was introduced in 2015 as a way of recouping money for waste disposal. Shortly after being implemented, it was met with great resistance by waste haulers, who launched a protest. That eventually led to Minister of the Environment Denis Lowe disclosing that a tipping fee solution was coming. “I really don’t know if the tipping fee has achieved its target. What I can tell you is that it is still in place and there have been no exceptions,” said Charles Read, chairman of the association. (SS)

IN PAIN AFTER ELEVATOR FALL – Elmeanor Forde still remembers the terrifying elevator crash she and six other people experienced last year at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). It was the evening of April 11, 2016, when she and a group, including four nurses and an orderly, got on the lift on the ground floor heading to the A floor. However, when it got to its destination, the elevator, without warning, took a rapid descent, hitting the ground floor with a bang. “I thought there was an earthquake,” Forde said, as she related how she and the other passengers screamed and tried to hold on to anything or anyone “for dear life”. They were trapped in the elevator for 45 minutes, but to Elmeanor it seemed like a lifetime. She recently found out that the lift had fallen 52 feet. (SS)

BARBADIAN IS FRONT-RUNNER FOR LIAT CEO - Barbadian Julie Reifer-Jones is among three people short-listed for the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LIAT. The Antigua-based Observer Radio quoted “a usually reliable source at the airline” who said Reifer-Jones is the front-runner for the position. The source did not divulge the names of the other candidates but has said they are from outside of the region. The source also said that for the first time, a performance clause will be written into the contract of the new CEO. LIAT is paying back a US$66 million loan to the Caribbean Development Bank and the source said the CDB has to approve the appointment of the new CEO. Reifer-Jones has been acting CEO since the resignation of Briton David Evans in April 2016. She also acted as CEO in 2013 following the departure of Trinidadian Ian Brunton. (BT)

COSCAP IN LIMBO AFTER BBS CASE - BARBADOS’ Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (COSCAP) won a legal case against one of this country’s radio stations almost three years ago but is yet to see a single cent. In fact, COSCAP still has no idea how much money it will receive, despite a positive decision from the Copyright Tribunal in a lawsuit against the Astoria, St George BBS radio station. Back in October 2015, the tribunal ruled in COSCAP’s favour, after lengthy evidence was given by BBS owner Anthony Bryan. The tribunal’s attorney, Emmerson Graham, confirmed they had issued an oral decision in the matter, but that a written decision remained outstanding, and would be forthcoming, although he could not say when. (SS)

FED UP WARDERS GO TO COURT - The Prison Officers’ Association is putting its money where its mouth is. The country’s lone membership association for prison warders has followed through with a threat to challenge to the Prisons Act, which currently prevents them from joining a trade union. The civil action was filed in the Supreme Court last week, and a hearing was set down for April 24. The association is challenging a 1982 amendment to the act, to provide for a Prison Officers Association. Previously, the warders were all members of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW). (SS)

REID REMANDED TO PRISON - Anderson Wycleff Reid was remanded to prison when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrate Court today on a charge of criminal damage. Reid, 38, of  Woodstock Road, Spooners Hill, St Michael, was arrested and charged by police on Friday morning. Two workmen at the Carlton & A1 Complex in Black Rock caught Reid damaging the Republic Bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at the complex. (BT)

JAMAICAN PASTOR GETS 20 YEARS FOR SEX WITH MINOR - A Jamaican pastor has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. The sentence was handed down Friday by Justice Lorna Shelly Williams when he appeared in the Home Circuit Court. Pastor Reverend Paul Hanniford of the Pentecostal City Mission Church was convicted by a seven-member jury, on January 24 of having sexual intercourse with a minor. According to Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, the complainant, who is now 15 years old, testified in court that on March 12, 2015, she and her five-year-old brother went to the church for choir practice and after the rehearsal, they asked Pastor Hanniford for a drive out in his van. The pastor took the children to his house in Kingston where he sexually assaulted the girl. According to the evidence presented to the court, after the incident, the pastor gave them some cornflakes to eat and later warned the complainant not to tell anyone as it was their “secret”. In his defence at the trial, the pastor denied having sexual intercourse with the complainant and said that he had given the children a drive out but not on the day in question. (BT)

FIVE MORE MAKE THE GRADE - Five swimmers assured of places in the Barbados team for the CARIFTA Games achieved the qualifying standards in other events on the fourth day of the Barbados Amateur Swimming Association’s National Long Course Championships at the Aquatic Centre on Friday night. Keilani Talma made the mark for the Central American And Caribbean Championships (CCCAN) in the 11-12 Girls’ 200 metres butterfly where she crushed the field to finish 15 seconds ahead of her nearest challenger. Talma won in a time of two minutes, 38.63 seconds, well inside the CARIFTA requirement of 2:51.07 and comfortably clear of the CCCAN mark of 2:44.52. Christopher Pollard, who has been having a good time at the championships, reached the CARIFTA qualifying standard in the 11-12 Boys’ 400 metres freestyle and 200 metres butterfly. (SS)

BCA SET ON RULE CHANGES – When the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) meets for its annual general meeting later this year, one of the major changes to the rules governing the association will be a reduction in the number of directors. BCA president Joel Garner reminded the audience at Friday night’s annual awards ceremony, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, that the new board will consist of nine members, five fewer than it now has. “One of the principal features of the 2016 rules is the reduction of the board of directors from 14 to nine. This decision is taken in concert with our desire to apply principles of best practice concerning governance. “It is a move we hope will redound to the benefit of cricket in Barbados,” said Garner, the current West Indies senior team manager. (SS)

LEGEND BAFFLED BY CHOICE OF OVERSEAS COACHES - SIR GARFIELD SOBERS is confused by the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) decision to appoint a third non-West Indian coach over the past 13 years. Contending that there are suitably qualified candidates in the Caribbean, the legendary former West Indies captain feels the choices suggested a lack of confidence in regional coaches. “If you figure the ones you have at home are not good enough . . . that is the only reason you should bring in outside coaches, because you figure your own don’t have the same skills as the overseas coaches,” Sobers said when asked by SUNSPORT for his views on the appointment of another Australian coach. (SS)

That’s all for today folks. There are 294 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 3/2/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Thursday 2nd March 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT) or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

BLAME MIA - Former Barbados Labour Party (BLP) leader Owen Arthur has suggested that he was not the one who cost the Opposition the last election, instead pointing an accusing finger at the BLP’s current leadership.Arthur said it was really his successor Mia Mottley who was responsible for making the vexed issue of privatization a campaign issue in 2013, an admission that this was the pivotal matter that led to an unexpected defeat.“I have taken a bum rap. Many people felt that I cost the Barbados Labour Party the last election by putting privatization on the table,” he told Barbados TODAY in an interview this week in which he sought to set the record straight on the breakdown of his relationship with the parliamentary Opposition.Arthur, an avid supporter of privatization, said while his focus during his time as this country’s Minister of Finance was on divesting those elements of the financial sector which he felt did not need to be in the hands of Government, the BLP was “stampeded” by Mottley in 2013, who he claimed went before Parliament without reference to her colleagues with an election position on the issue.“We heard for the first time on the floor of the House that the Labour Party was going to sell the airport and the seaport and then we also heard that the Labour Party would have taken the Transport Board and the sanitation authority and either sold or given the trucks to the men to run.”However, Arthur said, based on his previous discussions with former union boss Sir Roy Trotman, “this was never the position of the Barbados Labour Party”.On the contrary, he said the BLP’s position was that “you have a Transport Board with a modest subsidy, but it had to transform its operations and finds a way to link with private transport”.“As for [divestment of] the Sanitation Service Authority, that came out of left field as far as we were concerned and we were trapped with that . . .  Mia made it a people’s issue rather than a financial issue,” Arthur said, while suggesting that he had willingly taken the blame for her.“If you want to blame me, blame me! My back is broad. But that is part of the history that men in the party and I continue to talk about. We were blindsided by that. But I don’t think I should have thrown Mia under the bus then, as I have not tried to throw Mia under the bus now,” he added.As for the current approach needed to be taken with respect to divestment, the former Prime Minister said Barbados had to be “sensible” about privatization, as he reiterated his well-known position that “all [it] means is that you are getting things done in the public sector that can be done in the private sector.“But what we have to do is to condition ourselves to the fact that the assets that are going to be sold are going to be here,” he added, while appealing for “all of the scare tactics” to stop, otherwise “the country is going to collapse around our ears”.The former Prime Minister made it clear he did not believe in privatization of the Margaret Thatcher variety “which sets out just to destroy workers”, even while warning Government that there could be no running away from the issue, which goes against all that they had said during the last elections.“The Government is committed to doing it, but the only reason they are not doing it is because they embarrassed themselves in the election campaign, having themselves said they are not going to privatize, sent an old lady called Ms Mapp, who is my friend, to curse me and say, ‘Owen Arthur is trying to take money out of my pocket,’” Arthur told Barbados TODAY.However, he said based on his experience, privatization has worked in this country’s favour.He pointed out that “the Democratic Labour Party privatized Heywoods before, the [Barbados] Labour Party privatized the two banks [Barbados National Bank and the Insurance Corporation of Barbados], the Democratic Labour Party is now privatizing the [Barbados National Terminal Company Limited], it has privatized part of the Gems of Barbados, so it can’t be if we are opposed to it; it is how best we can do it and that should be the discussion in Barbados”.In the case of BNB, the former Minister of Finance repeated his oft stated position that it went from a loss-making bank to a profitable entity in which Government’s 20 per cent stake was worth more than its 100 per cent stake before its sale, “and rather than lose jobs, it now employs twice as much people”.He also took a swipe at local trade unions for their stance on the matter, saying he was surprised to hear the Barbados Workers Union saying it was opposed to all forms of privatization.“They were not when Mr Trotman and I sat down and we agreed that the Transport Board had to be concerned with its core business [and that] it had no business trying to run a mechanical workshop; that we would create a new entity called UCAL where the workers would own it. I decided to put money in it on the part of the Government and Mr Trotman was then very comfortable with privatizing part of the Transport Board,” Arthur recalled.He also asked: “Didn’t the NUPW [National Union of Public Workers] also take over part of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados?“So that when people are telling you that we are opposed to X but they are doing it, I regard that as a contaminated moral and intellectual environment,” he said.(BT)

THUMBS UP – Owen Arthur’s decision to work with the Freundel Stuart administration, serving on its new Economic Council, is getting the thumbs up in economic and political circles. While members of the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) have remained tight-lipped about their former leader and Prime Minister of 14 years joining forces with the Government, a leading economist told the DAILY NATION yesterday the move was a good decision for the country. Professor Michael Howard, a former head of the economics department at the University of the West Indies (UWI), said: “I fully endorse [Arthur’s] acceptance to head the National Economic Council. I think it is good for Barbados that a statesman like Owen could feel it is important at this time to intervene, because the economy and our policies are not going in the right direction.” (DN)

WHY OWEN? – The decision to appoint former Prime Minister Owen Arthur as Government’s Chief Economic Advisor is an admission that the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is incompetent when it comes to handling the economy, says political scientist Peter Wickham. In an interview with Barbados TODAY this afternoon, Wickham said the move defied logic, as it appeared destined to do more harm than good to the DLP’s political standing. In addition, the pollster said he was unable to determine how Arthur’s distinguished political career could be boosted by the possible alignment since it was difficult to anticipate the former prime minister’s political strategies. Wickham contended that if the appointment becomes official, the DLP Government would be contradicting its longstanding claim that it had inherited an economic mess from the Arthur-led BLP, which lost the 2008 general election after 14 years in power. He was not convinced that the public would see the matter through the same lens as the former BLP leader, suggesting the Opposition party was better off remaining silent about this latest political development. “If there were any Barbados Labour Party supporters who had delusions about his feelings about them and not wanting them to be back in office now, he has helped to confirm that this is his view. He has clearly decided that there is no longer any benefit to him nurturing a relationship between himself and the BLP and he has thrown his lot in with the DEMs and their efforts to make confusion. “I think Miss Mottley is well advised to say nothing. The Barbados Labour Party has one of the most competent economic teams that a person can put together. They have Clyde Mascoll, a former Minister of Finance; they have Ryan Straughn, who is an economist, and Mia Mottley, who is a former Minister of Economic Development in what was the most successful administration in the last quarter century. So I don’t know that they need to worry too much about losing Owen Arthur,” he stressed. When contacted this morning, Mottley refused to comment on Arthur’s pending appointment, while Mascoll, the BLP’s economic advisor, said he did not want to be drawn into the debate. Mascoll, a former leader of the DLP who crossed over to the BLP before losing the St Michael North-West seat to Sinckler, told Barbados TODAY that having “given up politics”, he was concentrating on his work. (BT)

ARTHUR: I AM IN GOOD HEALTH – For the second time in less than a year, there have been unsubstantiated rumours of former Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s demise. And just as he was forced to do last November, Arthur today sought to publicly quell vicious reports, circulating on social media, of his death. Having survived this brush with fate, a thankful Arthur, who was forced to seek private medical attention for neck and back pains in the immediate aftermath of the accident, chuckled saying: “That wasn’t going to take me. I am in good health. I manage my health in the hope that I could live many, many years. However, while acknowledging that he was now at the exact age at which this island’s founding father Errol Barrow died, the 67-year-old former Prime Minister said he was forced to consider his own mortality from time to time. It was in that context that he also sought to downplay recent suggestions of him making one last political comeback, even though he left the question of his political future hanging high in the air. “I do not have to have my hands on the wheels to be influential or powerful. I have a voice and I can make my voice heard and the notion I have is to always be in the trenches . . . and I will make those judgements in due course.” (BT)

TOO MANY CARS ON THE ROAD – Add cycling to the list of suggestions being made to find a solution to easing the gridlock on this country’s roads. As part of the new Barbados National Physical Development Plan, Canadian firm Urban Strategies has proposed that cycling become a major mode of transportation. Associate at the Toronto-based urban design and planning consultancy, Anna Iannucci, said they were in talks with the Ministry of Transport and Works to flesh out the idea. She was speaking on Monday at Alexandra School, St Peter, where the Town and Country Planning Department held another town hall meeting to get feedback from residents on the proposed amendment to the Physical Development Plan. (DN)

ZONE THEM – If Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins had his way, school children in Barbados would be walking to school, instead of driving to get there, as a means of easing some of the current traffic congestion on this country’s roads. However, the Town & Country Planning Department top official said the proposal for full zoning of this island’s primary and secondary schools continues to run into a major roadblock put up by education officials. At the same time, Cummins told participants in Wednesday night’s town hall meeting hosted by his department that the Ministry of Transport & Works also needed to shoulder some of the blame for the current traffic woes, for not keeping pace with the demands for more roads. The meeting was the third of six being facilitated by the Town & Country Planning Office, given that there are currently too few roads to handle the increasing amount of traffic. The town hall meetings are aimed at getting public feedback on the draft Physical Development Plan prepared by a team of consultants. On the matter of traffic jams, Minister of Commerce and Business Development Donville Inniss, who was in the audience, asked whether planners had considered the reason why, “during the summer holidays in particular, you can get anywhere in five minutes that would normally take you 45 minutes”. In response, Cummins said though that difference in traffic was long recognized, his Department was currently hamstrung by the fact that there was no school zoning system in place. (BT)

CUT OUT SWEETS – Ban all sweetened drinks from the island’s schools. The call has come from a minister in the Freundel Stuart administration almost two years after Government implemented a “sweet drinks tax” to dull the taste buds of Barbadians to sugary beverages. Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer Suckoo said yesterday the time had come to bar sweetened drinks from entering all schools. She also wanted sweetened snacks to be replaced by healthy foods to protect the children. She made the comments at a focus group meeting titled Using Workplace Wellness To Increase Productivity And Reduce Health Care Costs, hosted by Pharma Wellness International Inc. at The Maria Holder Diabetes Centre for the Caribbean in Warrens, St Michael. (DN)

BCCI HAS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - The Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) announced that Carlos Wharton has been appointed as the new executive director. He will be succeeding Lisa Gale who will demit office at the end of March having spent seven years at the Chamber. Wharton, a seasoned international trade and development specialist, has over 15 years’ experience working in both the public and private sectors. He has his early groundings in trade policy and private sector development working in the International Business Division of the Ministry of Industry and International Business and the Barbados Private Sector Trade Team. He has also served in senior capacities at the Caribbean Export Development Agency and more recently at the CARIFORUM Directorate of the CARICOM Secretariat as director with responsibility for Implementation of the CARIFORUM European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Wharton holds both graduate and post graduate degrees in Political Science with Public Sector Management and International Relations, respectively. President Eddy Abed, in welcoming Wharton, indicated that given his wealth of experience, the Chamber looked forward to working with him, as the BCCI continued to play a critical role in advocacy, trade facilitation, policy formulation and the development of its members. Wharton said he looked forward to working with the BCCI’s council and its membership as well as with the stakeholders of the Social Partnership with a view to improving the local business environment and maximising Barbados’ export potential. During the month of March, outgoing executive director Lisa Gale will be working with Wharton to ensure a smooth transition.  (DN)

COURT PLEA – There are more than 800 criminal cases to be heard this year, but only two High Court judges assigned to hear them. Amidst fears of this situation further choking the already slow judicial process, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Charles Leacock QC has suggested Barbados move towards a plea bargaining system to alleviate the problem. The island’s top prosecutor made the suggestion yesterday after a weekly lunchtime meeting of the Rotary Club of Barbados South at Accra Beach Hotel. Leacock noted that following the abolition of preliminary inquiries on February 1, cases would be going to the High Court faster than before. (DN)

SHOOTER FOUND GUILTY OF ENDANGERING TEENS LIFE – SEPH NICO JORDAN was found guilty yesterday of endangering the life of a teenaged girl after the jury returned a majority verdict (8-1). The panel had deliberated for under four hours before returning to the No. 2 Supreme Court. Jordan, 25, of 5th Avenue, The Ivy, St Michael, was charged with unlawfully and maliciously engaging in conduct, shooting at another person, which placed 14-year-old Tianna Brathwaite in danger of death or serious bodily harm, on January 28, 2013. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Donna Babb-Agard QC had submitted that Jordan endangered the girl’s life when he shot at “another person” – Ijamal “Charlie Brown” Johnson – while at Blenheim pasture in The Ivy. (DN)

MAN WARNED TO STAY AWAY FROM R.L SEALE – A 49-year-old man has been warned to stay away from R.L Seale locations until the assault and trespassing cases against him are over. But that was just one of the orders Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant handed down on Richard DaCosta Boyce, of Kew Road, Bank Hall, St Michael, Wednesday. He is charged with assaulting Brian Hinds on July 20, 2016 with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him or do him some serious bodily harm. Boyce is also accused of entering R.L Seale as a trespasser, with intent to commit theft. He pleaded not guilty to the offences when he made his first appearance in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court back in December last year. However, he was remanded to prison after the prosecutor objected to him being granted bail on several grounds. Wednesday, those objections were not renewed and Boyce was released on $7,000 bail with one surety. He was warned by the magistrate not to venture near any of the R.L Seale locations on the island and to stay from the virtual complainant. Boyce must also report to the Black Rock Police Station every Wednesday with valid identification. (BT)

FENTY BROTHERS BEHIND BARS FOR 9 MONTHS – Two brothers were Wednesday sentenced to nine months in prison for breaking into a woman’s home. Magistrate Douglas Frederick jailed Jim Ron Fenty and his older brother Jason Nathaniel Fenty, who were both on remand at HMP Dodds, when they made their third appearance in the No.1 Bridgetown Magistrates’ Court. The two, both of #20B Down Hill Drive, Eden Lodge, St Michael, pleaded guilty on January 17 to entering the home of Nicole Branch as a trespasser on December 30, 2016 with intent to steal. The siblings were apparently walking along Clermont, St Michael when they noticed a house they thought was unoccupied. They jumped the guard wall and ventured inside, with one searching and the other acting as the lookout. However, the one on the inside was “startled” when the homeowner called out. They escaped but were later captured.  (BT)

TWO PLAYERS SHOT DURING FOOTBALL MATCH – Two males, including a 16-year old, are nursing injuries after a shooting at Belfield Pasture, Belfield, St Michael, last night. During the incident, 35-year-old Jason White of Fairview, Christ Church, received two injuries to his left foot, and Keymar Holligan of Eden Lodge, St Michael also received a gunshot injury to his left foot. Both White and Holligan are members of the Belfield football team and were playing in a match, when White became involved in an altercation with a player from the opposing team. Two male supporters of the opposing team ran onto the pasture and opened fire on White, which resulted in both players getting shot. White and Holligan were transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance for medical attention and are listed as stable. Police investigations are continuing and they are appealing to anyone who can provide any information that can assist to call Black Rock Police Station at Telephone numbers 4177500, 4177501, Police Emergency 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800 -TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.      All information received will remain strictly confidential. (DN)

BELOW PAR “VENOM” STILL DEADLY - MARK “VENOM” GRIFFITH, a three-time king, battled poor form and the young, talented Emar Edwards to show the stuff that real champions are made of by pulling off a thrilling quarter-final win in the Silver Hill Road Tennis Championship on Tuesday night. With only indecisive officiating marring a tremendous duel, Griffith rose from the death to stop Edwards 23-21, 16-21, 21-19 booking a semi-final date in tonight against Curtis Jones. Edwards had outplayed Griffith to take charge of the first game, particularly with a line gem at 10-6. The resilience of Griffith came to the fore as he engaged in his famous 30-ball rallies to lock the scores at 15. However, in attempting to hit his way into form, Griffith spoiled repeatedly for Edwards to rush to 19-16. DN)

BRIGHT PROSPECTS – “Believe in something or someone more powerful than yourself.” Those were the words of advice given to Barbados’ outstanding badminton players by Glyne Clarke Wednesday evening at the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) when the Barbados Badminton Association (BBA) held its 2017 Junior National Awards Ceremony.  Clarke, manager of the BOA, encouraged the players to set realistic and smart goals in their sports journey, find what excites and drives them, work hard and to remember that nothing comes easy. There were several outstanding performers for 2016 and topping the list were Most Outstanding Junior Male and Female, which went to Gavin Robinson and Krystal Clarke respectively. Shae Martin in the Under-19 Boys and Dominick Scantlebury competing in Under-15 both captured triple gold in their respective age group. Fallon Miller also won two gold in the Under-15 Girls Division and another in the Under-17 category. Fallon was also the recipient of the President’s Award. James Aaron Godding in the Under-17 Boys received a special award for his overall performance and attitude during training and competition.   (BT)

BDFSP THRASHED BRITTONS HILL – Fresh from their 7-0 drubbing of Waterford Compton, heavy-scoring Barbados Defence Force Sports Progamme (BDFSP) thrashed struggling Brittons Hill United 4-1, as action in the Digicel-sponsored Barbados Football Association’s Premier League continued Tuesday night at the Wildey, St Michael AstroTurf. Akeem Hill had a mixed night for the winners. He opened the scoring with a goal in the 17th minute but his night would subsequently go from great to horrid when he was red-carded following two bookings. Ironically, Hill was the only player in the BDFSP’s line-up to go into the referee’s book. The BDFSP’s Omani Leacock has been having a good season so far. Leacock had a hat-trick against Waterford Compton on Sunday night and with nine minutes to go in regulation time before the first-half ended, he found the back of the nets to make it 2-0 and basically seal the encounter. The half-time pep talk seemingly instilled a bit more confidence and spunk in the Brittons Hill side, as they appeared to up their play on resumption. They were more purposeful in the mid-field with a few forays into BDFSP territory without capitalizing on the opportunities.  However all that changed in the 55th minute when Curtis Odle pulled a goal back to the delight of the long-suffering Brittons Hill fans. With a 2-1 score line looking much more palatable, one would have expected that Brittons Hill would have launched a searing attack on the BDFSP while simultaneously tightening up in their defence. But this was not to be. Thoughts of a comeback were dashed within five minutes of Odle’s goal. Rico Forde would deliver the killer blow with a 61st minute strike that deflated Brittons Hill. It came as no surprise when the BDFSP scored their fourth in the 85th minute through Shaquille Boyce, as by this stage Brittons Hill were practically just anticipating the referee’s final whistle. Boyce, like Leacock, had also scored a hat-trick in his last appearance and the goal was just reward for an industrious showing last night. (BT)

CATLIN SCORES BIG IN ENGLAND – Barbados’ hockey player Justin Catlin has been making a big impact in his first year with the Wakefield Hockey Club’s men’s first team in the North Hockey Premier League in England. With two games left in the season, which started last September, the 25-year-old Catlin has been the team’s leading goalscorer with eight strikes while he is also topping the assists charts. But Catlin, who plays as an attacking midfielder or in the forward line, said while he fitted into the team eventually, it wasn’t all smooth sailing trying to acclimatise to English conditions. “I fitted into my team quite well both on and off the field. Good planning, persistent research and strong belief in my own ability propelled me to grasp this wonderful opportunity with both hands, which has led me to achieve my dream,” Catlin told NATION SPORT. (DN)

SMITH CALLS IT A DAY – West Indies batsman Dwayne Smith has announced his retirement from all international cricket. Smith, 33, who is playing for Islamabad United in the ongoing Pakistan Super League, confirmed the decision before the start of the second qualifying final against Karachi Kings in Sharjah. His last West Indies appearance came at the 2015 World Cup. Smith made his international debut on West Indies’ tour of South Africa 2003-04, beginning with the New Year’s Test in Cape Town in January 2004, after Marlon Samuels flew home with a knee injury. He made an impression straightaway, scoring a century on debut – a run-a-ball unbeaten 105, his only international century – in the second innings of the game, to help West Indies draw the match and end their streak of seven successive Test losses in South Africa. The team, however, did lose the series 3-1. Smith played only nine more Tests, scoring a total of 320 runs in the format. His last Test appearance for West Indies was in March 2006, against New Zealand in Napier. Smith had a far more substantial run in the limited-overs sides, where he also made useful contributions with his medium-pace, although his batting returns remained modest. Having begun in the lower order, Smith was promoted to the top order, including as an opener, after 2014 and did better there. Six of his eight ODI fifties came when he batted in the top three, and his average of 25.27 was better than his overall career average of 18.57. Overall, he played 105 ODIs scoring 1560 runs at a strike rate of 92.69. He also took 61 wickets in ODIs, with a career-best of 5 for 45 and three four-fors. Smith was part of two World Cup squads for West Indies in 2007 and in 2015, where his final appearance came against UAE in Napier. Following West Indies’ early exit from the 2007 World Cup, Smith spent close to three years out of the ODI and T20I squads before making his return in 2010. He was part of three World T20 squads – in 2007, 2012 and 2014. While he played only one match during West Indies’ title run in the 2012 World T20, he was picked in the next edition as the side’s designated opener and scored 125 runs in five matches. In 33 T20 internationals, he scored 582 runs at 18.18 with a strike rate of 122.78, although he only made three fifties. Smith has been a popular cricketer on the T20 circuit, over the last few years, turning out to play for franchises in the Indian Premier League, the Caribbean Premier League, the Bangladesh Premier League and the Pakistan Super League, as well as the NatWest Blast in England.  (BT)

WEST INDIES SELECTION RULE NEEDS REVAMPING - Newly-appointed Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams has strongly backed the ongoing review of the West Indies Cricket Board’s controversial eligibility rule. The former Test captain, who has replaced Englishman Richard Pybus in the role, said there was now widespread acknowledgement among stakeholders that the rule was no longer “sustainable” and could in fact be detrimental to the development of West Indies cricket. “I’m not the only one who’s going to be involved in the decision but I’m certainly of the view that it needs reviewing,” Adams said here Monday. “There’s a process behind that. That means it probably won’t happen overnight. The review will be ongoing and it has already started but as to if a change in direction is to happen, that won’t happen overnight because of the process that backs that up, but it is being reviewed.” (DN)

WEBSITE TO PROMOTE BARBADOS AS A FILM SPOT - The Barbados Film Commission’s website is being seen as another landmark in the development of the cultural industries sector in Barbados. This is the view of Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley as he applauded those involved in its creation when the website – www.barbadosfilmcommission.org – went live at an official launch reception recently at Courtyard by Marriott in Hastings, Christ Church. The website aims to assist in the marketing and promotion of Barbados as a prime location for filming. Speaking to an audience that included Film Commissioner Annette Nias, who was the driving force behind the endeavour, Lashley reaffirmed Government’s commitment to the sector. (DN)

ORAN “BOND WILL NEVER BE BROKEN” - Members of the Jewish community and other friends and business associates said farewell to a business stalwart in Barbados as Marshall Oran was laid to rest yesterday. Oran, founder of Oran Limited, succumbed to cancer at age 85. In the traditions of his faith, his life was celebrated in a Jewish ceremony conducted by Yale University doctor Hal Blumenfeld at the historic Nidhe Israel Synagogue in a section of Bridgetown currently undergoing restoration to reflect its Jewish heritage. All men at the funeral service, including the non-Jewish businessmen and male staff of Oran Limited who filled the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, covered their heads with the Jewish yarmulke (skullcap) before entering, in keeping with Jewish law. Blumenfeld, a friend of the local Jewish community, remembered Oran, who came to Barbados in 1963, as a “welcoming and warm, open human being” and a man with “a deep sense of love and dedication to his family”. (DN)

That’s all for today folks. There are 302 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 2/23/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Thursday 23rd  February 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT) or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

MIA: ENOUGH WITH THE ANTICS OF THE PM – The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has had enough of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.  “This country can no longer put up with Mr Stuart . . . . The Prime Minister of Barbados has once again given incontrovertible proof that he is thoroughly unfit to continue political leadership of Barbados,” party leader Mia Mottley told the media at the Opposition’s Leader’s Office at Parliament Buildings yesterday. She had called the press conference to express amazement at the Prime Minister’s response last weekend in New York, to the current court case involving Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell, and Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler. “This is the same Prime Minister who never admitted to Parliament or the public that he had signed the Cahill memorandum of understanding six months before it went to Cabinet or his ministers signed. This is the same Prime Minister who said he would never send home public servants nor would his Government charge students fees at the UWI [University of the West Indies],” she said. (DN)

MARCH ON – Declaring that “enough is enough”, a militant-sounding Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Wednesday declared open warfare on the Freundel Stuart administration, saying it was disgusted with the administration’s handling of the economy. Flanked by economic consultant Dr Clyde Mascoll and several of her parliamentary colleagues, BLP leader Mia Mottley told a press conference at the Opposition’s Parliament office that her party would turn up the heat on Government to force it out before the constitutional deadline for general elections next year. It would begin with a “national march of disgust” on March 11 at which Barbadians are invited to register their dissatisfaction with the Stuart Government, and to make it clear they “cannot bear the weight of the indifference and the incompetence of Freundel Stuart and his Cabinet” for another year, Mottley said. “The parliamentary Opposition will be leading a national march of disgust and rally . . . to protest the situation where Barbados finds itself 50 years after Independence,” a combative Mottley announced. “We call upon all civic minded Barbadians to join with us in sending a message to Freundel Stuart and his Cabinet that their style of governance is not cute.” Mottley led a blistering attack on the Prime Minister, accusing him of engaging in “absurd pretences” and displaying “indifference” and “incompetence”, as she declared that Stuart’s “trifling” approach to serious matters was “incontrovertible” proof he was “thoroughly unfit” to lead the country. The Opposition Leader told reporters the BLP would not sit idly by and allow the “wholesale destruction” of Barbados, simply to allow the administration to “limp its way to the constitutionally-stipulated finish line”, while she stressed that this was not about finishing the five years given to a Government, but about stopping the rot and re-energizing Barbados for the sake of its people. (BT)

MORE ‘PAINFUL’ MEASURES NEEDED, FORUM CONCLUDES – In the wake of Tuesday’s admission by Minister of Agriculture and Water Resource Management Dr David Estwick that his own Government’s economic policies had failed, the Freundel Stuart administration is being advised again to take the “bitter medicine” and “painful measures” needed to breathe life into the struggling economy. Business leaders and economists spent time Wednesday examining the state of the economy and the yet unsuccessful measures taken to try to correct it; and they came up with previously recommended solutions: take the tough decisions, including a cut in Government spending. Among those contributing to the discussion during the annual Ernst & Young/Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry breakfast business forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre was David Small, the director of alternative channels at CIBC FirstCaribbean. Like many of the contributors, Small said he was worried about the continued printing of money by the Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) to finance Government expenditure, including the payment of salaries to public servants. He said the retrenchment of approximately 3,000 Government workers in 2014 was not enough to breathe life back into the economy, and that more needed to be done to cut expenditure. This could mean a further reduction of the workforce – hence the many reference to painful measures – and it could pit Government against a labour movement that has been complaining that public workers have been sacrificing for much too long without a pay rise. It would also mean placing the civil service “in a bind”, according to former Central Bank employee and fledgling politician Ryan Straughn. The Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidate said it was his former employer that placed the peg of US$1 to BDS$2 in jeopardy, contributing to the current economic challenges by satisfying the Stuart administration’s desire for the printing of money. In fact, Straughn said the monetary authority had failed in its duty to the country. In a live television broadcast of the Central Bank’s economic forum, It Matters Fiscally, earlier this month, Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell left little doubt that he would rather see an end to the printing of money. It was the first time that the Governor had publicly expressed his reservations about the practice, which Estwick admitted had been happening since 2010. What Worrell had been warning against more regularly, though, was the need to shore up the foreign reserves in order to avoid devaluation of the Barbados dollar. However, Straughn Wednesday argued that the bank’s primary job was to protect the currency peg at all cost, but it had been failing. The economist charged that the Stuart administration was “bankrupt of ideas” and should seek assistance, although he questioned Government’s ability to negotiate a favourable deal, “given what has happened in the past”. He warned that unless Government got a firm grip on its fiscal position confidence in the private sector would continue to wane. Meanwhile, Strategy and Economic Analyst at CIBC FirstCaribbean Shane Lowe told this morning’s forum it was time for Government to find ways to not only access international markets for funding, but also to accelerate the promised projects. In addition, he said Government must look beyond its foreign exchange reserves to fund its debt, and should adopt the solutions contained in the International Monetary Fund Article IV report, which include public sector reform, divestment of state assets, tax reform, and the elimination of arrears. (BT)

ESTWICK SHOULD JOIN FORCES WITH BLP – Enough long talk! Political scientist Dr George Belle Wednesday called on outspoken Government Minister Dr David Estwick to back up his words with action, while suggesting that Estwick could be the proverbial straw that eventually breaks the back of the Freundel Stuart administration. “It has fallen on him to take action beyond words,” Belle said. “Dr Estwick has to go beyond saying that he told them so, he needs to bring the Government down by resigning. He has to resign from the Cabinet and vote against the Government in a no confidence [motion] against the Government,” he told Barbados TODAY, while suggesting that Estwick was key to any immediate effort to get rid of the Freundel Stuart Government. Belle further suggested that with the Stuart administration currently commanding 16 seats in the Lower House, all that was needed was for Estwick to convince one of his colleagues to join him in quitting the Government. “The people who are holding up this now would be [the independent members of parliament] Mr [Owen] Arthur, Dr [Maria] Agard and Dr Estwick and one more,” Belle said. However, apart from Estwick he was not prepared to hazard a guess as to who on the Government side would be willing to leave at this stage in the national interest, given what he called the Government’s abysmal economic record of failure. (BT)

OIL FIGHT ON – Government may have to overcome a number of legal hurdles before it receives the US$100 million pay day from the presumptive sale of the country’s lone oil terminal, the Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL), to regional petroleum giant Sol Group. Chief Executive Officer of Rubis Caribbean Mauricio Nicholls has put the Freundel Stuart administration on notice that it was prepared to pursue all legal avenues to prevent an oil storage monopoly, should the sale of BNTCL get the blessing of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC). “What sort of message are we sending about Barbados that after making such a significant investment we turn around and give the entire power to a competitor? It isn’t just about Rubis and Sol, we are setting a precedent and it’s a dangerous one,” he argued. This notwithstanding, Nicholls said Rubis was holding out hope that the FTC would rule against the proposed merger, as the consumer would be the biggest loser if a fuel monopoly were allowed to emerge. “It is a very difficult battle that we are facing. It is extreme pressure for the Government of Barbados to prop up their finances; we know they need the money. So the Government has a lot of interest in moving ahead with this transaction. But there is a structure of governance of a country that has these institutions that are supposed to do their jobs and in theory supposed to be independent of the Government. So the Fair Trading Commission is one of them and they have a duty to do what is best for the competition and the consumer,” Nicholls explained. Nicholls said the directors of Rubis Caribbean had accepted that the sale would earn Barbados much-needed foreign exchange. To this end, Nicholls implored Government to consider the option of joint ownership, offering US$50 million for a 50 per cent stake in the oil terminal. “We have been discussing this situation frequently with our headquarters in Paris and they are very concerned. This morning I got the approval to officially say that we are ready to offer US$50 million for 50 per cent. We are ready to review the sale purchase agreement rapidly and we are ready to sign very shortly after that and we are committed to doing that so that the transaction, if the Government and the FTC agree to sell it jointly, will close by March. That way the Government can receive the revenues that they need,” Nicholls revealed. (BT)

OIL TERMINAL SALE WILL HURT – Short-term relief but long-term pain. That was how the Barbados Integrity Movement (BIM) summarized the possible impact of the proposed deal between Government and regional petroleum giant Sol Group for the sale of the country’s lone oil terminal, the Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL). BIM leader Neil Holder said the sale could end up being detrimental to the Barbados economy, despite the anticipated US$100 million windfall that Government would receive. Speaking Wednesday afternoon at a press conference at Divi Southwinds in Christ Church, Holder claimed the arrangement would result in protracted haemorrhaging of badly needed foreign exchange. He argued that “BNTCL will be owned by an external corporation which will have to repatriate profits back to St Lucia in US dollars.” The leader of the newly formed political movement suggested that the private oil storage monopoly created by the sale could also push up the cost of fuel to Barbadians, despite the fact that the agreement states that “the Government of Barbados through the Division of Energy will retain regulatory oversight and control the final pump price to the consumer. The Sol Group’s ownership of BNTCL does not allow it to determine final pricing to the consumer”. It added that “any increase as it relates to the increase in throughput rates for the BNTCL services, will be absorbed by the Government through its cess mechanism and as such the consumer is not impacted by the proposed acquisition”. However Holder is challenging Governments capacity to deliver its promise. In addition, the BIM spokesman accused the ruling Democratic Labour Party of not levelling with the public on the true cost of the BNTCL, as figures ranging from US$60 million to US$120 million had been bandied about since 2016. “BIM needs to know what is the agreed purchase price, as this not clearly stated anywhere. The Fair Trading Commission could not provide BIM with the sale price, therefore we in turn can’t provide Barbadians with the sale price. The FTC is supposed to be investigating this matter but they are asking us to refer to the Central Bank report [of December 2016], which list the price at US$100 million. “Barbadians cannot accept from the FTC that what they are doing could be fair and impartial if they are not operating with all of the information that they need and if they are not providing the public with the actual sale price ,” Holder contended. (BT)

SHUT UP AND ACT – Government’s revenue collection agency must stop “dilly-dallying” and go after businesses and individuals who evade taxes, the country’s oldest private sector grouping has advised. The Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) is arguing that there is too much talk about the private sector owing Government hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, and too little action by the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) to ensure those who owe taxes pay up. “It is time to stop dilly-dallying and deal with the people that are evading taxes. Let us deal with those people,” BCCI Senior Vice President Ed Clarke told the annual Ernst & Young/BCCI breakfast forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre this morning. Addressing the theme What Businesses Need to Know, Clarke acknowledged that private enterprises should be made to pay their fair share of taxes, especially at a time when Government needed to improve its finances. However, he said it was up to BRA to use its legal teeth to get the defaulters to live up to their responsibility to the state, including offsetting what Government owes in tax returns to the businesses against what is owed to the state. (BT)

5 DAYS TO PAY – Time is running out for delinquent employers to pay some of the millions of dollars they owe to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). The island’s social security provider yesterday reminded employers who owed substantial sums in unpaid contributions that the amnesty offered on part of that debt during the last Budget would end next Wednesday. In a statement yesterday, the NIS said Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler had approved a waiver on the interest that was mounting on debts employers owed to the NIS. The waiver was also being offered to self-employed people who were indebted to the NIS. (DN)

BILL COULD IMPROVE BUSINESS FACILITATION – Amid repeated complaints by the private sector and Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss about how difficult it is to conduct business here, Minister of Foreign Trade Senator Maxine McClean has identified a small cog in the wheel of business facilitation. Speaking in the Senate Wednesday on the Notaries Public Bill 2017, the Leader of Government Business said the measure would help facilitate business development, as well as contribute to the island’s competitiveness on the global market. The Bill seeks to increase the number of notaries in order to give the public wider access to public officer who serve in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business. At the same time she called on the business community to play its part in making it easier to do business here. The senator said while it was “very easy and very popular to be critical of Government’s limitations”, business leaders also needed to upgrade their technology and systems in line with the current global practices. In addition to the need for technological advancements, McClean also pointed to the need for improved productivity, insisting that all of Government’s efforts would come to naught if steps were not taken at the operational levels to enhance the quality of service to customers.   On the issue of global trade, she revealed that Barbados was preparing to sign on to a trade facilitation agreement as part of its membership at the World Trade Organization. She added that the Foreign Trade Department had already prepared the necessary documentation, which was being considered by the Ministry of International Business and the Solicitor General before it is submitted to Cabinet for approval. (BT)

3MIL UPGRADE – Close to $3 million will be spent upgrading Time Out At The Gap Hotel recently bought by hotelier Bernie Weatherhead’s Sun Group company. Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy announced Monday that the former Gems Of Barbados hotel had been sold for $7.5 million, as he advised of Government’s intention to get out of the hotel business completely. Weatherhead told the DAILY NATION he made the decision to purchase the Dover, Christ Church hotel, which he was operating under a 15-year lease, after weighing whether it was better to continue to pay “mega” rent for the 76-room property that was desperately in need of an upgrade, or buying it and investing in its upgrade. “Last year I told them I cannot run the hotel in the condition that it is in. The hotel has some very basic problems,” he said. (DN)

DIGICEL CUTTING GLOBAL WORKFORCE – More than 1 500 people, including some Barbadians, are expected to lose their jobs as Digicel restructures and cuts a quarter of its global workforce in the next year and a half. The communications company, which completed a voluntary separation programme in March 2015 that saw 476 of its staff departing, yesterday announced a new restructuring programme called Digicel 2030. It includes a new “Enhanced Voluntary Separation Programme” that starts next month and comes as the company, which has US$6.5 billion in debt, continues to face questions about its financial health. Officials said the core elements of the “transformation” would see the company “undertaking a complete redesign of its organisational structure; putting customers in control and making a commitment to deliver a superior superfast network experience”. (DN)

CALL TO BAICO POLICY HOLDERS - The search is on to find several hundred policyholders who could miss out on benefits from policies they had with British American Insurance (Barbados) Company (BAICO) which collapsed eight years ago.Over the last week, the judicial managers of BAICO have been running an advertisement seeking about 426 policyholders, urging them or agents to get in contact with the office. The list also contained 14 listings for estates. That is in order for them to collect letters advising them of a deadline relating to the final report recently approved by the High Court. In that report are the formal recommendations and outline of the details of the proposed treatment of remaining policies of BAICO. Since the fall of the regional insurance company, the judicial management made arrangements to allow the policies to be transferred to Sagicor. (DN)

47 GET TRAUMA TRAINING – Some Barbadians and others who are in the front line of dealing with victims of crime are being trained how to do so in an effective and compassionate manner. They are among 47 professionals being taught critical techniques by two experts representing the Ottawa Police and theOttawa Police Victim Crisis Unit in Canada. “They have found in the region that many of the police and social services [who] have to interact with people in terms of death notification and dealing with trauma, have not received a lot of training,” said Professor Velma Newton, regional project director of IMPACT Justice, which is holding the activity in partnership with the Canadian government. Participants from 11 countries were involved in the two-day workshop earlier this week at Accra Beach Resort titled Enhancing Support To Victims Of Crime: Building Capacity Through Community Partnerships. (DN)

POLICE PROBE SHOOTING – A St Michael teenager was left nursing a gunshot wound after a shooting at Nursery Terminal, John Beckles Drive that occurred around 4.30 p.m. According to police, Donston McDonald Powlett of 6th Avenue, New Orleans was shot in his right thigh during an altercation with a group of men. He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by private motor car. Police are continuing investigations.  (BT)

TEEN ON BOND – After spending 14 days on remand, a teenager was released and put on a one-year bond yesterday. Joreon Revaldo Cumberbatch, 18, of Yearwood Road, Black Rock, St Michael, was remanded to HMP Dodds pending sentencing, after pleading guilty to burglary. On February 8, Cumberbatch admitted in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court to entering Sylvia Pitt’s home as a trespasser and stealing a car stereo costing $700, five bottles of wine worth $125 and two bottles of vodka valued at $270 on January 19. The prosecutor made an application for a restitution order for the stereo, which was granted, so that Pitt could get back the property. Magistrate Douglas Frederick placed the teen on the bond, which if he breaches, he will spend six months in prison. (DN)

SEALY PUSHING SPORTS TOURISM – Sports are in for a big boost in 2017, branded the Year of Sports by tourism planners. Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy spoke of the tourism sporting thrust Monday while addressing the media on the state of the island’s tourism. Golf is set to take on a higher profile in the island’s tourism marketing and Sealy made mention of a golf-around package that he indicated will afford golfers from key source markets the opportunity to play on three major local golf courses during their stay. Business magnate Sir Charles Williams also spoke about the potential for golf to be a major source of tourism revenue since he said so many people were choosing Barbados as a holiday destination because of its growing reputation for having world-class golf courses. He was speaking last week at his Apes Hill Country Club. (DN)

GREENIDGE ON LOSING END OF UPSET – Two nights after setting the Silver Hill court ablaze in the Silver Hill Road Tennis Championship, the enigmatic Shibbir Greenidge suffered a blackout at the hands of secondary schoolteacher Dwayne Hope when the action heated up on Tuesday night. Hope, who teaches mathematics and music at Frederick Smith Secondary, set a formula for Greenidge which the latter failed miserably 21-15, 17-21, 21-19 to once again highlight why he is often referred to as the Carl Hooper of road tennis. Even after Greenidge dropped the first game and battled to elude a determined Hope, the large crowd of pro-Greenidge fans was confident that their man would pull through. Mixing some solid defence with skilled counters, Greenidge blunted Hope’s aggression to even the contest. (DN)

TIP OFF TIME – Despite a deficiency where facilities are concerned, the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) 2017 Domestic Premier League Season is set to shoot off March 2 at the Barbados Community College (BCC). During a press conference held Wednesday evening at Co-operators General Insurance Company Limited, the main sponsors for the past four years, BABA president Derrick Garrett said that this league season would be a challenging one where venues were concerned with several of their main facilities namely the Wildey Gymnasium, the Young Men’s Christian Association and the Kensington Oval Bond all being out of bounds. A total of nine premier league teams will participate this year including newly promoted Hawks in place of Patriots who were demoted. There has been no real boost or incentives for this season, as the prize money and formats in all divisions remain the same. It hasn’t yet been confirmed but it is expected that some of the big names in local basketball will be wearing Urban Vybz St John Sonics colours this 2017 domestic premier league season. Following the same format as last year, the premier league will be played on a round-robin basis with two rounds, the top four will then advance to the playoffs to contest a two best of three in the semifinals and three best of five in the final. First division is expected to start early April and the women at the beginning of May. Meanwhile the junior tournaments, the Under-19 and Under-16, will be played in July and August during the summer vacation. All games will be played at the BCC on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sunday nights. The premier league tournament will then break in May because of examinations at the college. General manager of Co-operators General Insurance Company Limited Anton Lovell during his brief remarks expressed concerns about the lack of spectator attendance at basketball. He said that local basketball needed a home and even though finances were difficult to acquire for this venture, it was definitely one of the main solutions to re-generate the interest.  (BT)

ZANE BOUNCED BACK IN ITALY – Zane Maloney is holding his own in Italy. Last weekend at the 22nd annual Winter Cup at South Garda, Italy, in ten degree temperatures, the former Barbados Karting Association (BKA) champion driver finished fourth out of a group of 55 and this weekend will be up against some of the same karters at Castelletto for the second round of the WSK Masters. “He was always one of the fastest in his practice sessions and qualified sixth fastest on Thursday after he had one heat and came in P3 which was a great start to the event,” crew chief and father Sean Maloney told NATIONSPORT. The senior Maloney said the youngster had made a few bad choices in his first heat on Friday that created some on-track problems. He finished eighth but the experience served him well, dad said. (DN)

PLAYERS WANTED – Local tennis is looking at widening its base. The Barbados Tennis Association is hoping to see a rise in “tournament players” and the better development of its youngsters after outsourcing the junior programme to coaching company, Simply Tennis. BTA council member Bernard Frost spoke of the new arrangement in a wide-ranging interview in light of the executive’s dissatisfaction with the number of promising junior players in Barbados. “We will be offering a very reasonable price to open the door more or less to the sport for people who may think tennis is not for them or too expensive. We want to create that atmosphere where they want to come out and play tennis. In order to build this nucleus of players we have to open up the sport to as many players as possible,” explained Simply Tennis assistant coach Roger Millar. (DN)

AGROFEST PLANS GOING WELL - With the 13th annual National Agricultural Exhibition, more commonly known as Agrofest, just days away, programme coordinator at the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) Theodore Fraser says plans for the island’s largest agricultural exhibition are going well. It is expected that more than 60,000 locals and visitors will converge at Queen’s Park from February 24 to February 26 for the event. Fraser said that over the years, the BAS had seen a steady increase in the number of exhibits, and noted that this year 360 exhibitors were registered and some people had to be turned away because of lack of space. (BT)

BAJANS PULL NUMBERS FOR FANTASTIC FRIDAY - Marvay will be the first Bajan onstage at Fantastic Friday. The first timer in the competition pulled No. 12 today at the draw for positions for the finals. He comes right after Teddyson John and before Patrice Roberts.  The other Bajan in the group, Peter Ram, will come ahead of Iwer George. He was absent, but manager Ruel Ward pulled No. 16. The two artistes made it the finals of the International Soca Monarch which will be held in Trinidad on Friday. (DN)

Well that’s all for today folks. There are 312 days left in the year       Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase

[stephaniefchase]

Bajan Newscap 2/20/2017

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Monday 20th February 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT) or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

BIM BIGGER – No one is bigger than Barbados, Neither Governor of the Central Bank Dr DeLisle Worrell, nor his now legal adversary Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler.  “It cannot be about the title of my job. It cannot be about the car I drive. It cannot be about the ostentatious lifestyle. It cannot be about any of those things,” declared outspoken Cabinet minister and St James South MP Donville Inniss last night. And he stressed the bitter dispute which was now engaging the attention of the Court of Appeal would work itself out, as the Government concentrated on “ensuring the economy stays afloat”. Inniss was wrapping up a joint meeting of his constituency and those of St James Central, St Michael North and St Michael North East at his constituency office in Wanstead, St Michael. (DN)

BLPITES BLAST GOVERNOR IMPASSE – Four opposition members last night tore into Government over its legal brouhaha with Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell. With the Court of Appeal expected to convene this week to hear the legal dispute over the bid to remove the governor, Marsha Caddle, Reverend Joseph Atherley, Arthur Holder and Member of Parliament Trevor Prescod pulled no punches on the issue during a joint branch meeting at George Lamming Primary School. Caddle, an economist and the candidate for St Michael South Central, warned that this would further hurt investor confidence in the country. “There is no investor anywhere who will look at what is happening in Barbados and want to bring his or her money here. (DN)

SCANDALOUS - Former attorney general Dale Marshall is describing as “scandalous” the ongoing dispute between the Minister of Finance, Chris Sinckler, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Dr Delisle Worrell. Speaking Saturday at a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) press briefing, Marshall also described the on-going situation as a tragedy. “The future of our economy is now to be determined not by fiscal planners, not by economists, but by three judges in the Court of Appeal whose forte happens to be law – now that’s a tragedy,” Marshall said. The BLP representative for St Joseph noted that the impasse was occurring at a time when the economic future of Barbados was uncertain. He held that this was an additional example to the “nine years of poor governance” under the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), administration. “The people of Barbados are the ones whose fate hang in the balance and whose future and whose currency’s future is dependent not on the collective wisdom of our leaders, but it is dependent on a court decision that is to be given [this] week and that’s what Barbados has come to,” Marshall said. “It is scandalous that we should have an Attorney General appearing in court with the Solicitor General to try to salvage a situation that [has made us] the laughing stock of the Caribbean.” News emerged recently that Sinckler reportedly met with the Central Bank Governor on February 9 and gave him the option of either tendering his resignation by February 13, or be fired. However, Worrell, through his attorneys, filed an injunction in the High Court, barring Sinckler from firing him. (BT)

CONSITUENTS GIVE BLACKETT A FAILING GRADE – The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) caretaker for St Michael central, Arthur Holder, has accused Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development, Steve Blackett of being an absentee representative. Addressing journalists outside the derelict home of a family of four in Waterhall Land, Eagle Hall, St Michael, Holder described the state of the constituency as “woeful”. Holder, who toured the constituency on Saturday, said many of the constituents revealed that they had not seen the parliamentary representative for several years. Holder, who toured the constituency on Saturday, said many of the constituents revealed that they had not seen the parliamentary representative for several years. “We have had an absentee representative for the past nine years. It is amazing that when you knock at people’s houses, they say we haven’t seen the person who is supposed to represent us in parliament for the past nine years,” Holder said. “They truly want someone to represent their interests.” Citing issues of unemployment and social services as primary concerns, Holder noted that residents in Quarry Road were complaining of poor street lighting. He said they have also indicated that the Human Resource Centre at Station Hill is now a grazing field for horses. “The issue of jobs is foremost in people’s minds. It is reflective of the poor inadequate policies that cannot be and will never be addressed by the Democratic Labour Party,” Holder noted. “There is a need, obviously, to address our young people. The young out here are crying out for work, people in this country and obviously St Michael central they don’t want to live off welfare,” he added. (BT)

PROJECT HOLD UPS – Prominent businessman Sir Charles Williams has appealed for bureaucratic stumbling blocks, which he said are hindering development, to be removed. At the official opening of his Apes Hill Country Club, Sir Charles expressed frustration at the obstacles he said developers faced while going through the regulatory processes before they could execute projects. The $19 million facility, designed by architect Larry Warren, was funded by the National Insurance Department and Republic Bank. It commands an imposing view across a landscape dotted with luxury villas costing between US$1.3 million and US$6.5 million. Sir Charles sided with views frequently aired by Minister of International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss, who has been speaking out on business facilitation and the problems business people encountered. (DN)

NEW EQUIPMENT COMPANY OPENS – The economy is not firing on all cylinders, but now is not the time for local businesses to retreat from investing. That’s the position of Barbadian construction firm Innotech Services Limited. At a time when some local firms are looking to cut back, management told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY the company recently opened the first stand-alone outlet for subsidiary Innotech Equipment Inc. Overall, the group has pumped more than $8 million in capital investment towards starting the new company. They said it was a signal of confidence in Barbados. Innotech Equipment general manager Martin Deane said there was “a lot of demand” for “skid steer loaders (bobcats), mini excavators, weed whackers, demolition hammers, lawnmowers, plate compactors, and forklifts”. “In addition to the construction industry and the landscaping, one of the things that we are getting heavily involved in, and we have had a very very good response are things for events. “So we have put a lot of investment in stuff like light towers and generators  over the last few months and continue to do so,” he said. Deane said the company, which employs 15 people, saw 2017 as a year of growth “even though the economy is a little tight”. (DN)

SOL PUMP CAP – Consumers will not be exposed to profiteering at the pump with the Sol Group’s pending takeover of the state-owned Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL). Neither will its competitors in fuel marketing and distribution be disadvantaged. Those assurances have been given by parties involved in the January 3, 2017 sale agreement, and ahead of an upcoming review by regulator the Fair Trading Commission (FTC). Further, the agreement effectively precludes the likelihood of other rival terminals, which it was felt would then have an adverse economic effect through a likely increase in pricing to consumers as the unit throughput rate per barrel of product would need to be increased. (DN)

NEW STINK IN WORTHING –The smell of sewage returned to a section of the South Coast yesterday. And while the Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) new director of its Waste Water Recovery Programme said it was as a result of the BWA flushing the system, those in the high-traffic area were upset. In Worthing, Christ Church, water, which smelt like raw sewage, was leaking from two manholes – one in front of FirstCaribbean International Bank and the other outside Worthing Post Office. However, the scent had drifted as far as Massy supermarket and the water was seen running into the drains at the side of the road. There appeared, however, to be no issues to the rear of the supermarket as had been the case during the last sewage leak. (DN)

CULTURE MAY HINDER CARPOOLING –President of the Barbados Road Safety Association (BRSA), Sharmane Roland-Bowen, is sceptical about prospects for a carpooling system for Barbados. She said the local culture may be an impediment to its success. She also did not offer much hope that a park-and-ride system would be successful. “It worked for Cricket World Cup 2007 because the people were all going to the same place at the same time,” she told the DAILY NATION.  “People are not going to put down their vehicle and travel in buses if they do not have the same comfort as travelling in their own vehicles,” Roland-Bowen said, adding Barbadians might try it for a while, but then go back to using their own vehicles. (DN)

TEACHERS SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA - Teachers may be free to do as they wish during their private lives, but they are being asked to keep some activity out of the public domain if possible, even though there is no law governing such. This was the view expressed by President of the Barbados Union of Teachers, Pedro Shepherd, during an interview with Loop News. Shepherd was responding to the suggestion that teachers were being subject to intense scrutiny based on what they do in their private lives. Shepherd noted it would be difficult to keep surveillance on what teachers post to their personal social media accounts. “For me that goes out of the realm of trade unions and out of the Ministry. It’s going to be difficult to actually police it. Maybe if you bring some kind of regulation or include something that says if you are a teacher and you are seen on social media with any lewd or any conduct which may be deemed not suitable for public viewing that you may have a charge to answer for. As it is now it’s going to be very difficult to police it.” However, Shone Gibbs, President of the Barbados National Council of Parent Teachers Association (BNCPTA) said that despite the difficulty in policing, teachers must practice restrain. He told Loop News that even though teachers have all rights to put whatever aspects of their private life out into the public domain that they wish, there still needs to be some accountability for teachers portraying slack behaviour. “If your private behavior brings your profession into disrepute, something’s gotta give. Your private life is linked to your public life and in a case like that what you do in private comes into the public domain and it is not consistent with what is expected of you in public, it is something that should be dealt with.” Gibbs said there are already so many guidelines for teachers but the issue is enforcing these guidelines and taking the necessary action when teachers are found to be in breach. (LN)

MOTHER CURSES TEACHER AS STUDENTS WATCH – The mildest description  a St. Michael mother used to one of her daughter’s teachers, was to call her an “old bat.”  Shevon Natasha Griffith cursed a secondary school teacher last week. She will be sentenced  when she returns before the Holetown Magistrates’ Court on April 24. Griffith’s verbal attack led to her being charged with insulting a teacher. The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to the offence yesterday. The facts revealed that her daughter was in an argument with another student at Daryll Jordan Secondary on February 7. A teacher passed and heard Griffith’s daughter cursing the other student, and spoke to her. The daughter then cursed the teacher.  When she was sent to the Deputy Principal’s office, she refused to go and was later told she would be suspended. Although the student lives with her grandmother, she told her mother about what transpired. So Griffith went to the school the following day with her daugher. However, she refused to accept the suspension letter which the Deputy tried to hand her.  Griffith was reportedly “carrying on” all this time, demanding an audience with the Deputy Head, who refused to entertain her based on her aggressive behaviour.  So, in the presence of her daughter, several students and teachers, Griffith proceeded to call the teacher “an old bat, a nasty ****er and an old greasy ***ch.”  Griffith admitted to the magistrate that she has a problem with anger and needs help. She also said her family and the teacher’s have issues and her daughter complained that that particular teacher “picks” on her.  Magistrate Blair placed the mother on $750 bail and ordered a presentencing report.  (CC)

ALMOST 40 KILLED IN ROAD ACCIDENTS SINCE JANUARY IN JAMAICA  - Statistics from the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport show that 38 people have been killed on Jamaica’s roads since the start of this year. The statistics show that fatal crashes have decreased by 23 per cent when compared with the same period in 2016.The Road Safety Unit says a total of 12 motorcyclists have been killed since the start of the year compared with 26 for the same period last year. The unit says it is pleased with the decrease in fatalities but is encouraging motorcyclists and pillion passengers to wear appropriate helmets. Meanwhile, pedestrians account for 29 per cent of the road users killed since the start of the year.Clarendon, Westmoreland and St Catherine account for 45 per cent of the overall fatalities. (BT)

TRINIDAD TO BAND SOFT DRINK SALES IN SCHOOLS – Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has announced that the sale of soft drinks in schools will be banned come April. Deyalsingh said this plan of action was a way to bring a healthy lifestyle to the nation’s children. Deyalsingh said his vision when he became Minister of Health was to address two issues. These were the problem of maternal deaths, which he said have since decreased, and the banning of the sale of soft drinks in schools. Deyalsingh said he intends to roll out “serious policies” for children to have a healthier lifestyle. He called on parents to support this initiative and asked that they stop giving ­sugary drinks and unhealthy foods to their children. He said he was surprised to see children as young as 15 at dialysis centres. He said it costs the State $130,000 for one person per year for dialysis treatment. (Trinidad Express)  (BT)

BARBADOS EVENTS TO CELEBRATE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FIDEL CASTRO – Two major public educational events have been planned for this Thursday and Friday to commemorate the life and legacy of the late Cuban president Fidel Castro. The first of these events will be a panel discussion on the theme “Reflections on Fidel”, scheduled to be held at the NUPW Auditorium, Dalkeith, St Michael at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The panel will consist of outstanding scholars and activists from Cuba, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands, Canada and Barbados. The second event consists of an all-day Colloquium on “The Life and Contribution of Fidel Castro” which will be held at the Quadrangle, Faculty of Humanities, Cave Hill Campus of UWI, commencing at 9 a.m. on Friday. The Barbados-headquartered Caribbean Chapter of the International Network in Defense of Humanity, the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba and the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will be joining forces with the National Union of Public Workers and with the University of the West Indies’ Department of Government, Sociology and Social Work to stage the events.  (BT)

MISSING GIRL TRACED – Police say 16-year-old Zaria Daneisha Greaves, who was reported missing two days ago, has been traced and is safe. Greaves, of Gibbs, St Peter, was reported missing on Friday, February 17. In a press release, police public relations officer, Acting Inspector Roland Cobbler said he thanks the public and the media for their assistance looks forward to their continued cooperation in the future. (BT)

CLERIC KNOCKS GREED – Politicians and priests came under heavy criticism from a visiting Zimbabwean cleric during the Anglican Diocese of Barbados Annual Diocesan Service held at Kensington Oval yesterday. Reverend Dr James Tengatenga said the gross domestic product of some countries was not what it should be, not because they could not produce enough, but because some politicians and business people were selfish and inconsiderate. “If they do not get that kickback and bribes, nothing works,” he said. Addressing judicial systems, Tengatenga said some courts behaved in such a way that it left people wondering if there was any justice. “The idea that somebody else’s child is your child does not work any more; I take care of mine and mine alone is the operating mode." (DN)

BLESSING THE CHILDREN – The Anglican Church in Barbados is dedicated to doing more work with young people through its youth ministry. So says Bishop Dr John Holder, following the annual Diocesan Service at Kensington Oval yesterday. He also said it was the church’s intent to build the youth ministry by looking at its strengths and weaknesses. “Sometimes you hear that we do not have any young people in the church. This morning you will see for yourself we have a significant number of young people in the diocese,” Holder said. (DN)

EXCITING FIRST DAY IN SUPER LEAGUE – The 2017 Super League show jumping calendar is well on its way, featuring its usual thrills and some spills. The first Super League show of seven for the year, which also introduced a new category in eventing, was recently hosted by the Barbados Equestrian Association at Whitehall Equestrian Centre, St Peter. Sara Jones and Sir Glacken led the way in Class one as the first pair to enter the arena in fine form across the 12 jump course, with a clear round in the 1.20 metres in Table A with a time of 59 seconds flat. The pair won over Paige Tryhane and Daisy, who had eight jumping faults but a quick time of 58.59 seconds. (DN)

EIGHT MORE HIT CARIFTA MARK - The Carifta games’ qualifying rush intensified during Saturday’s February Classic at the National Stadium, with eight athletes reaching the required standards. Last year’s double middle distance gold medallist Jonathan Jones of Elite Distance Programme headed the qualifiers, who also included hurdlers Rasheeme Griffith, Nathan Ferguson, Tre Hollingsworth and Hannah Connell. Also making the grade for the April 15-17 Games in Curacao were sprinters Jaquone Hoyte and Kentoine Browne and thrower Triston Gibbons. Their performances brought the number of early qualifiers to 12, with quarter-miler Antoni Hoyte-Small, sprinter Matthew Clarke, triple jumper Jonathan Miller and javelin thrower Kalvin Marcus qualifying at earlier meets. With a number of local athletes resting, the Classic was boosted by just over two dozen athletes from Bermuda’s Cedar Bridge Academy and Bermuda Middle School, who gave commendable performances, with two of them reaching their country’s CARIFTA qualifying standards. (DN)

SUPER 50 WIN DUE TO UNITY- Preparation, planning and professionalism took pride of place in Barbados’ capture of the WICB Regional Super50 One-Day cricket title. Barbados Pride overcame early hiccups when they batted to post a challenging total of 271 for nine before dismissing Jamaica for 212 to win Saturday’s final at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua by 59 runs. The players returned home yesterday to a VIP reception at the Grantley Adams International Airport where they were met by dignitaries headed by Minister of Sport Stephen Lashley, along with Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) officials, and representatives of the sponsors, ICBL. Manager Wendell Coppin, in revealing a few secrets behind the success, praised team analyst Gary Belle for the work he did behind the scenes in providing information on both the Pride players and the opposition. (DN)

Well that’s all for today folks. There are 314 days left in the year Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #bajannewscaps #newscapsbystephaniefchase