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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 5/13/2018

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Sunday, 13th May 2018. Remember that you can read full articles via subscribing to Nation News Online, purchasing a Sunday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS), via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS).

ELECTIONS: SPECIAL POLLING ON MAY 17 –Election day workers, including police, are to cast their ballots a week ahead of the May 24 general election. The announcement came in a public notice released at the weekend by Chief Electoral Officer Angela Taylor in which she said special polling will take place on May 17, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Following is the full notice released by the Electoral and Boundaries Commission. “THE GOVERNOR GENERAL, by Order, appointed the 17th day of May, 2018 as the date of the poll for election officers voting at the election to be held on the 24th day of May, 2018. The Supervisor of Elections, in accordance with rule 30(3) of the Rules for Conduct of the House of Assembly Elections set out in the Second Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, Cap.12, hereby gives notice that the poll of election officers including members of the Royal Barbados Police Force will be taken on THURSDAY THE 17TH DAY OF MAY, 2018, during the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the following polling stations:-

Constituency                    Centre

City of Bridgetown              Donald Henry Auditorium, Bethel, Bay Street

St. Michael South              Dalkeith Old School

St. Michael East                Barbados Community College (Auditorium)

St. Michael South Central     Pax Hill Girl Guides Head Quarters, Belmont Road

St. Michael Central                 The Library, Combermere School

St. Michael South East        Church of the Nazarene, Collymore Rock

St. Michael North East   Grace,    Grace Hill, Moravian Church, Spooners Hill      St. Michael North                                          C.E.F Miracle Centre, Lodge Hill

St. Michael North West             Carlton Club House, Carlton, Black Rock

St. Michael West                    Bethany Evangelical Church, Eagle Hall

St. Michael West Central           Skills Training Centre, Belfield Pavilion, Black Rock

Christ Church West                Bonnets Resource Centre, Bonnets, Brittons Hill

Christ Church West Central          Christ Church Parish Church Hall

Christ Church South            Cuthbert Pilgrim Memorial Hall, Maxwell Road

Christ Church East Central          Garfield Sobers Gymnasium

Christ Church East               Waithe Memorial Auditorium, Providence,

St. Philip North                      Shrewsbury Methodist Church

St. Philip South                      Methodist Church, Rices

St. Philip West                        Wayne Daniel Pavilion, Brereton

St. George North                     Valley Resource Centre

St. George South                     Ellerton Community Centre

St. John                                  BRC Building, St. John’s Parish Church

St. Joseph                           Clifton Hill Moravian Church

St. Thomas                           Vestry, Sharon Moravian Church

St. James North                   Sion Hill Community Centre

St. James South          Caribbean Meteorological Institute, Husbands, St. James

St. James Central             Trents Community Centre

St. Peter                          Alma Parris Memorial School

St. Andrew                    St. Saviour’s Church Annex

St. Lucy             The William Donald George Parish Centre (Old St. Lucy’s Rectory)

(BT)

GRANT CRITICIZES BLP MANIFESTO – The worst manifesto ever! That was how first-time candidate for the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Rodney Grant described the recently publicised manifesto of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). The St Michael South East hopeful, who has contributed to several manifestos in the past, made the declaration when he addressed party faithful at a spot meeting in Tweedside Road tonight. He charged that not only were many of the proposals nonsensical but they were potentially detrimental to all Barbadians. Meanwhile, St Michael North East candidate Patrick Todd described St Michael South Central candidate Richard Sealy as one of Barbados' best tourism ministers. And according to Todd, anyone who disagrees is "just jealous".  (SS)

SANDIFORD GARNER SAYS MP GAVE ST ANDREW 27 YEARS OF 'NOTHING' – What has he done for you lately? That was the question repeatedly asked by candidate for St Andrew Irene Sandiford Garner to residents of Orange Hill, St James. She was speaking at a Democratic Labour Party meeting Friday night where accused MP George Payne of doing nothing for the past 27 years. “When you want to represent people you have to ensure that their lives are better than you found them. If an individual did not work for you at 60, they can’t work for you at 70. You need energy, you need vision, you need intelligence. What has he done for you lately? What has he done?” She pointed out that when she first contested the seat in 2008 her slogan was “ready to serve”. However, she accused Payne of using the same slogan which made no sense because he should have been serving all along. “How can you sit in a seat for 27 years and wake up in 2018 telling the good people who repose their confidence in you that you are now ready to serve? What do they do to serve you? What do they do to earn the money that the State pays them? How does your representative pass that hardcourt that is not utilised and ask you for a vote? I am not your MP but I made sure that the Buccaneer works. Why, because I see the value of having those facilities for the youth. It is now refurbished. It now has air-conditioning. It now has 17 computers. I didn’t need to be a MP to do it. I just needed the will to ensure the minister responsible did it.” The DLP candidate said it wasn’t only Orange Hill that was neglected. “It burns my heart to know that I grew up in St Andrew and witness the MP allow the centre down there to run to ruins to the point where men were playing dominoes under a light of a lamp with no water borne facilities. It was not a problem for him to see the degradation of Belleplaine and come back to those people every five years asking for support. What type of conscience does that?” Sandiford Garner also said there was something very telling about the fact that five people are vying to represent St Andrew. “This constituency has about five people looking to unseat the incumbent, it tells you something is very wrong with that individual. One of them is from right here in Orange Hill. You have a very important decision to make for your future and for your children’s future,” she said. (BT)

LASHLEY STANDS BY DLP POLICIES – Minister of Transport Michael Lashley has appealed to the people in the St Michael East constituency to give Democratic Labour Party candidate Nicholas Alleyne “a chance” to represent them. Saying there was “no comparison” between Alleyne and Prescod, Lashley described Alleyne as “a Cadillac” and Prescod as “a donkey cart”. “I want you to give this young man a chance. He is a man for the future,” Lashley said in support of the DLP first-timer during a DLP spot meeting at Licorish Village Thursday night. A former Minister of Housing, Lashley was critical of the Barbados Labour Party’s record on housing and reminded his audience of a DLP policy of transferring National Housing Corporation Units free of cost, once the tenant had occupied the unit for 20 years and paid the rent during that period. Lashley warned the St Michael East constituents to beware of what he described as “fake promises” from the Opposition Leader Mia Mottley, advising his audience to “analyse” those promises against the policies of the Democratic Labour Party He referred to observations made by former Prime Minister Owen Arthur on BLP proposals to fix the economy and urged the Licorish Village audience to “take heed” of Arthur’s warnings that the economic policies proposed by Opposition leader Mottley were “unrealistic.” “It took Owen Arthur to come out in the Press to say that the policies they bringing to you would mash up the treasury, burn up this country.” Lashley pointed out that Prime Minister Freundel Stuart was also constantly reminding people that his government was stabilising the economy, protecting jobs and making sure that social programmes and access to social programmes continued for the vulnerable and the poor.  (SS)

BYER SUCKOO: DEMS PROTECT WOMEN – Don’t tell Esther Byer Suckoo and the women of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) they don’t protect women because they laugh at a joke about Mia Mottley. Byer Suckoo said she, Irene Sandiford-Garner, Kim Tudor and Verla Depeiza had been the targets of members of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and at no time did party leader Mottley stand in their defence. The candidate for St George South said she belonged to a party which had been protecting women all along and she had been doing the same for the past ten years. As the Minister of Labour, Byer Suckoo said, legislation on domestic violence, sexual harassment and child maintenance were all done under her tenure. In fact, she stated, Mottley was not in parliament when debate was held on the Domestic Violence Act. She said it was the norm to attack opponents in politics, but suddenly, that seemed to be changing. In endorsing St John candidate George Pilgrim, their general secretary, Byer Suckoo told the residents if he worked as hard for the party as he did for them, they would have a great representative. Earlier, Christ Church West Central candidate Stephen Lashley, who was born in St John, told the residents to reject the narrative that the BLP would win the constituency and send a strong message during the May 24 General Election.  (SS)

BLP TO TACKLE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is promising a multi-tiered approach to dealing with domestic violence. The vow was made by former Minister of Energy Liz Thompson at a spot meeting at Savannah Road, Bush Hall, St Michael Friday night. "Domestic violence has reached epidemic proportions in this country, and the BLP is taking a zero-tolerance approach for domestic abuse tow ard women, children and men," she said.She added that the party intended to hold abusersaccountable, and intended to put a number of actions in place to help combat these issues.Some of the proposed solutions include anger management and conflict resolution classes, community-based counselling, safe houses for those abused with an equal space for men and restitution and compensation for abuse victims. "We are prepared to give men counselling and put them in programmes to make them feel better about themselves," she said. Meanwhile, Barbados Labour Party leader Mia Mottley said change was going to come.  "To borrow the words of Errol Barrow 'half a loaf is better than no loaf at all' . . . . Give us a chance to show you what we can do for Barbados, because in doing so change will come," she said. Additionally, she said the BLP would run a clean campaign. "We will keep things clean and focused on you. Come out on May 24 and vote. Change has come and we want back our Barbados," she said. (SS)

AIRPORT PRAYER ROOM PROMISE – The Barbados Labour Party is going to add a holy touch to the Grantley Adams International Airport if elected to office. Party leader Mia Mottley, along with candidate for St Michael West Joseph Atherley and City candidate Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, met yesterday with several worshippers at the Jumma Masjid in Kensington New Road, St Michael, following a worship service. And in responding to their concerns, Mottley confirmed that a BLP Government would be constructing a prayer room at the airport. “We cannot have an international airport without an area that accommodates meditation for prayer for all religions . . . . To that extent, therefore, if we want to ensure we walk the walk and not just talk the talk, we must be prepared to make those adjustments as a country which people come to from all over the world,” she added. Mottley said this was a “reasonable” request and one that was “too simple to be denied”. Additionally, the St Michael North East candidate noted that one of their first orders of business if successful in the General Election would be to address problems with Muslim women and photo ID. “With respect to the issue of photographs of the female members of the community, we recognise that we have to ensure that we meet the concerns of both the international security, but equally the concerns of your community and religion,” Mottley said. “To that extent, I give the commitment myself that within the first month in office, we will meet with members of the community and Immigration Department to ensure there is an acceptable protocol,” she added. (SS)

ST. JOHN MEMBER 'DISGRACEFUL' SAYS CLARKE – Mara Thompson will go down in the parliamentary history of Barbados as the five-minute woman, according to long-serving Barbados Labour Party (BLP) St George South representative, Gline Clarke. Speaking at BLP meeting in Massiah Street Tuesday night, Clarke said Thompson, who succeeded her late husband and former Prime Minister, David Thompson as the Member of Parliament for St John, was known for short speeches.  “The last representative in Parliament in Mara Thompson never lasted more than five minutes any time on the floor of Parliament. It is disgraceful,” Clarke said. He further noted Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s “bloodline” attack on Opposition Leader, Mia Mottley at the DLP's meeting outside the Netball Stadium in Waterford on Sunday night is contradictory. “If you want to hear about bloodline, Thompson and his wife is bloodline and the Democratic Labour Party cannot come to you and tell you about bloodline because that is bloodline,” Clarke stressed.  (SS)

HIGH PRAISE FOR PILGRIM – Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate for St John, George Pilgrim, has received a ringing endorsement from Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite. During tonight’s national meeting at Gall Hill, St John, Brathwaite, the candidate for St Philip South, likened Pilgrim to two former prime ministers who represented the constituency. Brathwaite said the party’s general secretary should not be seen in any lesser light than the late Errol Barrow, the founding father, and David Thompson. He said Pilgrim was more qualified than most, earning his degrees and opening a business when others were still looking for a job or were working on qualifications. Brathwaite said the “bright, articulate young man” not only had a vision for the people, he had a vision for St John and urged the constituency, which has been very loyal to the DLP, to give him a chance. Pilgrim also should not be counted out because he was not born there like the candidate from the Barbados Labour Party. (SS)

UPP READY TO BRING RELIEF – The United Progressive Party (UPP) is ready to rescue Barbados from the clutches of the labour parties. In its efforts to do this, its 23 candidates are ready to usher in a new creative industries-based “orange economy” and revitalise the island’s struggling fortunes. UPP leader Lynette Eastmond made this pledge to the public Saturday evening as she spoke at the party’s presentation of candidates in National Heroes Square, The City. “The Progressive Party is here to take Barbados out of labour. The United Progressive Party is here to tell Barbadians that, for the first time, we will be looking to own Barbados,” Eastmond said. “No longer must it be that one per cent of the population are to be owners of wealth in this country while the rest of us hold on, hoping to get a pick from somebody,” she explained. With the economy contracting by 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, Eastmond said the UPP could bring relief to the country’s economic woes by tapping into the creative sector, which she said was valued at $2.3 trillion globally. Instead of solely focusing on tourism, the party leader said, more emphasis would be placed on creatives and other sectors like agriculture, helping to diversify Barbados’ economy for the first time since 1980 and contributing an estimated $3 billion to the economy. While there was not a large audience gathered at National Heroes Square, many passers-by did stop to take note of what the UPP leader was saying. As she grabbed their attention, Eastmond said the new orange economy made plans to provide free tertiary education, cut the food import bill and cut the energy bill, among other plans. Having served as Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Business Development under the Owen Arthur-led Barbados Labour Party Government from 2003 to 2008, Eastmond said she knew the way to make the plans work. “The question is how are you going to earn more money and the United Progressive Party is the only party that has come to you with an answer. “I know how to do it because I was there when it was being done in the international business sector,” she added. (SS)

UPP CONFIDENT OF WINNING ST JOHN – The United Progressive Party (UPP) candidate for St John Hudson Griffith is confident of capturing the majority of the over 5,000 votes in that rural parish in the May 24 general election. St John, which has long been a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) stronghold, is also being contested by the DLP’s George Pilgrim, Charles Griffith of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Cherone Martindale of Solutions Barbados and independent candidate Leroy McClean, who is also a member of the DLP. In the 2013 election, the UPP’s Griffith, who was then a member of the BLP, had captured 1,091 votes, losing to Mara Thompson, who copped 4,025 votes for the incumbent party. However, addressing his party’s launch in Heroes Square on Saturday night, he said expects to win the seat in the upcoming poll. “We are going to bring home this election from St John,” declared the former BLP representive who previously lost in both a by-election and a general election in St John. However, while boasting that he was the third person for the BLP to capture over 1,000 votes in the DLP stronghold, Griffith said he was pleased to be representing the UPP this time around, adding that the BLP’s candidate Charles Griffith “cannot pull it off”. “I have outlasted Mara Thompson in St John. I am the next rightful person to represent the St John constituency for the United Progressive Party,” Griffith added.  (BT)

CCJ ARRANGES UNPRECEDENTED SUNDAY HEARING TO CLARIFY RIGHT TO VOTE IN BARBADOS – The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has responded with haste to an appeal from Barbados where a resident of that nation is fighting for his right to vote. The CCJ has set the hearing for tomorrow, May 13 at 11 a.m. Professor Eddy Ventose, a St Lucian national who has lived in Barbados for several years, is seeking to be included on the Barbados electoral register. He alleges that under the prevailing laws he is qualified and entitled to be registered. The Chief Justice of Barbados, sitting as a trial judge, after hearing arguments on the matter, had issued the order compelling the Chief Electoral Officer to allow Professor Ventose to be registered to vote. The Court of Appeal in Barbados on Monday, May 7 ruled that Professor Ventose was entitled to be registered to vote but stopped short of compelling the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to do so, instead the Court ordered the CEO to determine Professor Ventose's claim within 24 hours. Professor Ventose is asking the CCJ to declare that, as a person who satisfies the necessary requirements, he is entitled to be registered to vote and to order the CEO to enter his name on the final voters' list ahead of its publication this week. The Court’s decision on the matter will also affect other Commonwealth citizens, resident in Barbados for the relevant qualifying period, who are also claiming a right to be registered as voters under the Barbados laws. The application by Professor Ventose for leave to appeal came to the CCJ on Friday afternoon and, in light of the acknowledged urgency of the matter, the Court responded by scheduling the hearing for tomorrow, May 13. The President of the CCJ, the Right Honourable Sir Dennis Byron and the Honourable Messrs Justices Saunders, Hayton, Anderson and Barrow will hear the appeal. It was noted by the CCJ President, Sir Dennis Byron that the Curia court management system played a crucial role in allowing the hearing to heard in such an expeditious manner. The application for the appeal was sent to the CCJ after court hours and the Judges and Registry staff were able to access the documents remotely and quickly put in place the necessary arrangements to hear the appeal. As one of the ways that CCJ aims to be accessible, the Court has embraced the technology which enables the CCJ to have a virtual courtroom. For this matter, the attorneys will have the ability to appear from their Chambers in Barbados while the Judges of the CCJ have chosen to hear the matter in the courtroom. CCJ’s video-conferencing capabilities include a bridging solution where all parties can appear by using internet-connected computers that are equipped with a video camera and a microphone. By using this technology, there is greater flexibility in how matter can be heard, both for the CCJ and for court users. This also has the effect of ensuring that justice moves swiftly. The matter is being live-streamed, as are all the CCJ matters, from Courtroom 1, and the broadcast can be accessed at http://bit.ly/2GaJFlc or from ccj.org.  (SS)

BODY IDENTIFIED AS DAVID DACOSTA KING – Following the unnatural death of Onica King on April 14, David Dacosta King was investigated as a person of interest. On Thursday, April 19, the body of a male was discovered lodged in the rocks along the inner careenage. At the time of discovery, it was in a state of decomposition and further investigations were conducted to determine the identity. This included working closely with the family members of David King. The body was identified by a family member as that of David Dacosta King, the husband of Onica king, and following the positive identification, and the completion of the post-mortem his body was handed over to the family.  (SS)

MURDER ACCUSED REMANDED – Murder accused Adijah Jahmani Younge appeared before Magistrate Wayne Clarke at the District ‘A’ Magistrates Court today. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge of murder and was remanded to Her Majesty's Prison at Dodds until May 15, when the matter will be heard at Oistins Magistrates Court.  (SS)

BOURNE AND HARPER REMANDED TO PRISON – Following an urgent plea from his mother, 21-year-old Hakeem Bourne will be assisted with the rehabilitation that he needs. Bourne, of 2nd Berly Land, Sayer’s Court, Christ Church, appeared before Magistrate Wayne Clarke in the District  ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today, charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding 48-year-old Terryl Sayers, of No 5052, Millennia Boulevard, Apartment 207, Orlando, Flordia, USA. Bourne’s mother told the court that the 21-year-old had a drinking problem and this was the second altercation he was involved in while under the influence of alcohol. “I think he needs to grow up . . . . I think he needs an environment of rehabilitation,” she said. On Friday, May 11, while in St Lawrence Gap, Christ Church, Bourne got into a dispute at the entrance of the Old Jamm Inn Night Club over the entrance fee. After being removed from the premises by security, he armed himself with a glass bottle and threw it into the night club, resulting in Sayers receiving a laceration to her throat. Bourne was remanded until June 8, 2018. Meanwhile, Jason Omar Harper, of Rochampton Road, Jackson, St Michael, also appeared before Magistrate Clarke in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today.  He was not required to plea to the indictable charge of possession of a firearm without being the holder of a licence to do so. Harper was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds until June 8, the date of his next court appearance.  (BT)

ON REMAND FOR FIREARM CHARGE – Jason Omar Harper of Rochampton Road, Jackson, St Michael appeared before Magistrate Wayne Clarke at the District ‘A’ Magistrates Court today.   He was not required to plead to the indictable charge of possession of a firearm without being the holder of a licence to do so. He was remanded to Her Majesty's Prison at Dodds until June 8 to reappear at the District ‘A’ Magistrates Court. (SS)

TWO HOUSES RAZED IN BLAZE – A substantial community effort in Fairfield, St Michael, could not save two houses from being razed and three more from being damaged. When a NATION team arrived at the scene of the blaze around 1 p.m., firefighters could be seen still battling the fire in an effort to save the nearby houses as the inferno had already claimed two homes, despite starting just 30 minutes earlier. A shaken Sophia Jaimangal, who lived in the larger of the two homes with five family members, said the fire started at her next-door neighbour’s house and quickly spread to hers. What made the ordeal more difficult for the Jaimangal family was the fact that the home was renovated just a few months ago. “I just realised I smelt smoke and when I looked through my bathroom window I realised the house next door was totally engulfed and mine would’ve already caught,” Jaimangal said. “There wasn’t really much we could’ve done and I recently renovated my home, it would’ve recently painted and stuff. The house caught quickly and everything was gone,” she lamented. “When I got out there, the older house was on fire and we couldn’t do anything to save that one. So we were trying to see what we could do to save the blue one,” one man called Spooner said. “I just saw the smoke and I ran up there and the family like they were in shock, so I just went and tried to help them get things out of the house,” another resident who went by the name “Sam” chimed in. Both said they were lending a helping hand but had to retreat when the heat and smoke became too much to handle. Other residents were seen filling up buckets and some helped the fire officers with their hoses. Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate for St Michael West Central, James Paul, and Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidate for the area Ian Gooding-Edgehill, both offered their sympathies to the family and said they would be assisting them in getting back on their feet. The number of people who were displaced was unknown up to Press-time.  (SS)

EXPERT READY TO SOLVE SEWAGE PROBLEM – As Minister of Health John Boyce assures the public that the injection wells will be ready by month-end, a sewerage system expert says there is no need for them and he could solve the sewage crisis in a matter of weeks. And, said Murray Chandler, the owner of Polly Septic Services & Equipment Rentals, this would be done without digging up the extremely busy Highway 7 to access the blocked lines. Chandler was one of hundreds of Barbadians who turned up at Accra yesterday morning to take partin the Future Centre Trust’s Walk To Take Back Our Coast. The South Coast sewerage system has been experiencing problems for more than a year caused by blocks and breaches in the network. “We are prepared to go in and clear the line, flush the line, inspect the line and put it back in order within one month. “I will have the lines cleared both here and up by RTs and the line by Bird’s Eye View, by the old Scotiabank right out to Big B Supermarket cleared, flushed and running again and I am going to clear the one by Kentucky within two weeks,” Chandler said. He stressed there need not be any disruption to traffic as his plan did not entail excavating the road to reach the sewer pipes. Chandler went on to dismiss the Barbados Water Authority’s (BWA) much touted 300-foot injection wells which are being readied to take millions of gallons of effluent so BWA officials could get to the blockage in the line. He believes that effluent should be pumped out to sea. “If you have 300 feet of rock, where you will be digging into the aquifer, you do not have any displacement of filtration to take place. “I would say the best way out is out to sea because the sea can handle that pressure. If we contaminate that [ground]water we will have to start drinking bottled water forever because once we make that mistake, we cannot go back and make any changes because it will be underground pollution that we cannot control,” Chandler declared. Meanwhile, Minister Boyce, who is the Democratic Labour Party candidate for the area and who was present at the start, said the injection wells would be ready to take effluent by the end of this month. “Once that is done, the engineering team and the repair team could have access to the pipe which carries the sewage itself,” he said. “The presence of sewage on our roads is something which concerns all Barbadians,” he noted. “We have certainly, at the Water Authority, been putting processes in place to mitigate that and the Ministry of Health continues to monitor the situation to issue the appropriate advisories, to take the appropriate action to make sure that threat to Barbadians’ health and lives is absolutely minimised and that people are aware of what we can do,” he said. (SS)

SEA BREEZE COMPLETES $17M REVAMP –The Barbados’ tourism product has been enhanced with the virtual reconstruction of Sea Breeze Beach House to the tune of almost $17 million. The West Coast property was showcased and officially opened to scores of tourism officials, tour operators and Government officials Thursday, and described as a transformed four-and-a-half star all-inclusive hotel. “We virtually re-built the hotel,” group general manager of Ocean Hotels, Patricia Affonso Dass, said. The investment was welcomed by Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy who stated that close to 7 000 rooms, a record high, would be available in Barbados by the end of 2018.      Affonso Dass said the new 44 luxury suites and 78 other rooms reflected a transformation of the property, in terms of its Barbadian and culinary appeal, substantial reclamation of beach areas and enhancement of its wedding and other services. A Bajan Rum Shop has been added, while lighting and Barbadian art aesthetics are included and an additional 60 staff employed. “We wanted to be sure that when our guests visit us at Sea Breeze Beach House that they feel a sense of connection to the island, the people, the local sounds and flavours and more than anything else felt they were ‘at home’ being cared for rather than served,” Affonso Dass told the function. Sealy stressed the value of a modernised tourism plant and increased rooms to grow the island’s main economic sector. While applauding the investment by Peter Defreitas, chairman of the three-hotel Ocean group, the minister said the island’s room capacity was expected to increase to 8 000 by 2020. “We are on an upward trajectory. This is good for Barbados. Tourism is still at the core of the economy,” Sealy remarked.  (SS)

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