Bajan Newscap December 20th 2014
Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Five more days until Christmas. People got paid are broke already and still have not received their income tax return. Now if some don't pay their consolidation tax I wonder what would happen. Let's see what's making the news today.
BARBADOS DOWNGRADED - The international ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) today threw another spanner in Barbados’ works by lowering this island’s long-term sovereign rating to “B” from “BB-”, while warning that the potential existed for a further economic downgrade. The rather negative economic forecast came just in time for Christmas –– a time when Barbadians traditionally put their economic and other challenges aside. The statement, which painted a gloomy picture of things to come, seemed to fly in the face of –– and even contradict –– the upbeat forecast delivered last Tuesday in Parliament by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler in his Ministerial Statement on the economy.
NO RECOVERY IN SIGHT - Two political pundits see no hope of economic recovery anytime soon and they suggest the ministerial statement delivered by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler on Tuesday is further proof the island is going no where. David Comissiong and Robert “Bobby” Clarke are not only taking issue with the non-delivery of the budget, they are also blasting the Government’s decision to extend the 19-month Fiscal Consolidation programme. “We don’t seem to be going anywhere in Barbados, this is seven years now of this Democratic Labour Party Government and there has been abysmal leadership. For seven years they have fed the Barbadian people this notion that we are helpless, there is nothing that we can do, that we are in the throes of an international recession and all we can do is wait and hope. As a result of seven years of that kind of rhetoric it has de-motivated, dispirited and depressed the Barbados population, so we are at a low now and there is absolutely nothing in the minister’s statement that offers any real leadership to the country or any real hope,” Comissiong charged. He insisted the island was not facing an economic crisis, but a crisis of leadership and for the country to move forward there had “to be a change in the political leadership of the country”. “You cannot tax your way out of a recession, you have to grow the economy. You have to find areas that you can focus on and inspire new growth in the economy and for seven years we had no economic growth policies in Barbados. So I really don’t know where we are going, I have basically given up on this Government!”
ESTWICK'S WOES - Outspoken Government Minister Dr David Estwick says he is barely “hanging by a string”, having recently tendered his letter of resignation as chairman of the Infrastructural Committee of Cabinet. However, he said Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has been refusing to accept his decision, and has even torn up his recent letter in which he had formally indicated his decision to quit. In terms of Cabinet, Dr Estwick, who has recently been at odds with the Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler on a restructuring plan for the sugar industry, also complained that his role as chairman of the Infrastructural Committee was being seriously undermined by ministers who have been making public pronouncements about projects coming on stream “next week or next month” without his prior knowledge. A frustrated Dr Estwick says he was prepared to quit the committee once and for all. He has also not ruled out the possibility of quitting the Government and crossing the floor.
SAYING ALOT BY SAYING NOTHING - Minister of Education Ronald Jones is mum on the matter of Government’s promised bursaries for students of the University of the West Indies (UWI). The Minister, who had also promised that 2,500 first year students would benefit from loans under the Student Revolving Loan Scheme after Government ended its policy of free tuition payments at the UWI from September, was equally silent on the situation at the Alma Parris and Parkinson Memorial, following complaints made by teachers at both secondary schools about the conduct of their principals. “There is nothing to update where Parkinson Memorial or Alma Parris is concerned and I have nothing to say [on the bursaries],” said Jones after taking part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a state-of-the-art nursery school at Church Hill Road, Gall Hill, Christ Church.
BAJANS ARE JOKERS - William Layne A former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance today suggested that Barbadians were being too soft on officials of the cash-strapped CLICO International Life (CIL), while arguing that those responsible for creating the current mess should have been dragged before the law courts to face criminal charges by now. “It is only in the Caribbean that people mismanage companies and still walking ‘bout the street. That is a sad reflection of us . . . we are jokers!” he said, insisting that “only in the Caribbean” no one is held accountable. “[Texan billionaire Allen] Stanford is in prison, David Smith from Jamaica is in prison because of the United States and the British, but nobody from CLICO . . . has been arrested or charged or in prison, but people are going to lose a lot of money and that is a sad thing about this whole situation and people are still walking about [freely] flaunting their wealth. “That is how I feel about this whole situation, but I don’t think the judicial manager has any choice because if the assets are not in position, they can’t do anything else,” argued Layne. The retired civil servant said he did not see any of the policyholders getting 100 per cent of what they were owed.
BUS DUTY - The Transport Board will be rostering senior managers after-hours in its quest to offer a more efficient service to the travelling public. Minister of Transport Michael Lashley spoke of the change, which should take effect in the New Year, at a staff appreciation function at the Weymouth complex yesterday. It was one of the “exciting things” he said people should stay tuned for in the near future. He was specific to the Fairchild Street Terminal, where a senior staffer will be stationed to deal with any queries or issues that may arise between the peak hours of 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. when revenue is earned.
CTUSAB - The congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations (CTUSAB) is hoping the Employment Rights Tribunal will be up and running by the end of January. Terming the recent resignation of eight of the nine members “very unfortunate” and “to be regretted by all”, president Cedric Murrell said yesterday that the congress was in the process of identifying and recommending a new set of people to sit on the tribunal. Murrell said CTUSAB was aware of the problems being faced by the tribunal, and had highlighted them in writing and offered suggestions on how they could be overcome on two occasions this year. Given the difficulties and the subsequent resignations, Murrell said the congress would not be making those nominations until it was assured that the necessary procedures and infrastructures are in place this time around.
BAGSHOT SOLD - The over 70-year-old, bright yellow 16-bedroom Bagshot House Hotel along Worthing main road has changed hands after six years of not being in operations. Bagshot House Hotel, one of the islands longest operated small hotels along the south coast, is located on approximately 24,167 square feet of land and was a regular accommodation spot for many tourists including a number of famous people. The main reason for selling the hotel was because of the cost of maintaining the property while paying taxes.
PASTOR HOLMES WILLIAMS IS DEAD - Pastor emeritus Dr Holmes Williams, regarded as the father of evangelism in Barbados and a national honouree for his religious work, died yesterday surrounded by his family. Williams, who would have been 76 on Saturday, became a household name with a reputation for spreading the gospel and empowering the church as the founder of People’s Cathedral on Bishop Court’s Hill, St Michael. He had been a patient for the last three weeks at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where his son, Peter Williams, reported he was hospitalised for the last three weeks with chikungunya and dengue fever.
ROAD SAFETY - Excess household work could be as deadly as excess drinking during the Christmas season, warned road safety experts. Senior traffic police and a road safety advocate want drivers to not only pay attention to how much they drink before getting behind the wheel but how hard they have been working or how much they are sleep-deprived. Assistant Superintendent of Police Ronald Stanford, Inspector Richard Boyce and Sharmaine Roland-Bowen, president of the Barbados Road Safety Association, made a collective appeal to all road users as the Yuletide season kicks into high gear with Christmas next week and an anticipated spike in road accidents.
