Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily newscap for Monday 23rd January 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT) or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).
LOOKING TO BARROW - Prime Minister Freundel Stuart says he will be guided by founder leader Errol Barrow’s principles and lead the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) to its third straight general election victory. Stuart, who is leading Barbados through two terms of economic difficulty, said even though Barrow died 30 years ago, for the DLP he still lived because the things he stood for were deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of party faithful. And so when they felt challenged by the pressure of events, they looked to Barrow’s examples. Speaking to his Cabinet colleagues and party members attending the annual Errol Barrow Memorial church service at the Crab Hill New Testament Church of God in St Lucy yesterday, Stuart said to loud applause: “Do not get distracted by the incoherent noises you hear from time to time. Those issues are going to be settled on a date that I will determine and we will root out adversaries and put them to flight.” He used the example of a race horse preparing for competition and looking very fast while training by itself. However, he said on race day when the animal came face to face with real competition, it was realised that the horse was nothing at all. (DN)
BNTCL SALE A STRATEGIC MOVE - The Freundel Stuart administration has outmaneuvered its opponents once again, and will soon be able to focus solely on winning the next general election. That’s why Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler was so strident in the House of Assembly last Tuesday as he declared that the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) would not devalue the Barbados dollar, and he would resign first rather than oversee such. He also denied that Government had engaged in, or authorised any approach to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout programme. The question, though, is whether this DLP victory was part of a well-planned strategy that was in the best interest of the party, but not necessarily in the interest of Barbados’ long-term financial health? Sinckler brims with such confidence because of the US$100 million in foreign exchange Government is set to earn from the sale of the Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL) to the Sir Kyffin Simpson-led Sol Group. (DN)
JAMAICANS INVEST HEAVILY IN QUEST TO REACH U.S. - Jamaicans paid over $5 billion in non-immigrant visa fees to the United States Government last year, based upon a calculation of data provided by the US Embassy in Kingston. This comes at a time when newly sworn-in US President Donald J Trump has said that he will review immigration laws in that North American country with a view to clamping down on illegal immigrants, many of whom gain entry by using non-immigrant visas and then overstay their time. Last year, Counselor for Public Affairs at the US Embassy Joshua Polacheck said that the Embassy had been swamped with an excessive number of applications for non-immigrant visas that was putting a strain on its system. The US diplomat revealed that the Embassy was processing an “unprecedented number of non-immigrant visas”, and was handling up to 1,000 a day in some instances. The cost that goes with a non-immigrant visa application is US$160 (about $20,480), meaning that if 1,000 such visas are processed per day, it would amount to $20.5 million daily. For a week at the same rate, the overall cost would be nearly $102.4 million. Based upon what Polacheck described as the rapid growth in demand for US visas, which he said had zipped from 85,000 applications in the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) of 2013, to 185,000 up to the middle of last year, the annual overall spend on trying to procure US non-immigrant visas would jump significantly. Over 52 weeks, the total cost would be $5.3 billion. That sum does not include fees for student visas, crew members, or temporary workers. It would represent around one per cent of Jamaica’s annual budget. (BT)
SHEEP SKIN GOODS –A major breakthrough has been made involving the Barbados Blackbelly sheep, which has the potential to revolutionise the industry and rake in significant sums. The skin is now being transformed into leather, an initiative led by the Centre for Food Security and Entrepreneurship of the University of the West Indies (UWI). Samples of the finished products for shoes, bags, belts and other items – are on display at the centre’s base in the CARICOM Research Building, Cave Hill. “In the commercial production there would be the widest possible assortment of leather goods. These are really just a sample. In the context of the display, what you have are some sheets of leather in different colours that were polished and treated differently for different things. It’s just to give Barbadians an idea of the possibilities,” Professor Leonard O’Garro told the DAILY NATION. (DN)
SICK LEAVE CONCERN - Workers in Barbados should never exploit the privilege they enjoy of paid sick leave and uncertified sick days. Chairman of the Productivity Council Dr Akhentoolove Corbin said abuse of the long-held legal requirement that workers be allowed a certain number of uncertified sick days each year as well as paid sick leave, was a matter that should be addressed. His call came after the Productivity Council started its period of awareness with a church service at St George’s Parish Church yesterday. Calling for re-education of workers, the University of the West Indies lecturer in management told the DAILY NATION that too many workers believed they had “a right” to take the full number of uncertified sick days they were allowed in a year, even if they were not sick or incapacitated. Workers in the private sector are afforded six uncertified sick days annually, while in the public sector some get up to 21. (DN)
UNION CELEBRATES SHOP STEWARDS - Shop stewards of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) were recognised for their contributions at the annual Errol Barrow Day celebrations on Saturday at the Frank Walcott Labour College in Mangrove, St Philip. Calling them the union’s backbone, eyes, ears, hands and feet within workplaces as it fought to strengthen workers’ protection, BWU general secretary Toni Moore said the awards would become an annual event. “I am sure that all our shop stewards can identify that being bold and standing up for what they believe has often cost them promotions, has cost some of them their jobs and therefore it impacts significantly on their livelihoods.” “Often these sacrifices are made for their peers who don’t even value the sacrifices, who often want things but who don’t stand by your side to effect the change. (DN)
GOSPEL FETE - Over 5 000 PEOPLE gave new meaning to “people like sand” when they thronged Brandons Beach, St Michael, on Saturday to enjoy five hours of captivating gospel music. From as early as 4:30 p.m., a sea of people engulfed the Brandons area by all means of transportation and took choice spots to enjoy the Sunset Gospel Show sponsored by the St Michel North West Development Council. When Kritojay Paul took to the stage just after 5 p.m., the crowd was already in a worship mode. Hours later, when Jamaican Junior Tucker closed the event, the worshippers still had enough energy to follow suit in dancing, waving and singing to the contagious lyrics and tunes. The gem of the night was the presentation from the popular Bridget Blucher who interspersed many of her hit tunes with medleys and lifted the crowd when she declared that she could not come to Barbados without going “old school”. (BT)
CARNIVAL IN BOSCOBEL –‘ALL A WE IS ONE’ was the theme of Boscobel Carnival as residents of St Peter revelled under the Saturday afternoon sun. The inaugural festival saw scores making their way along the Diamond Corner to Boscobel Pasture route. The event was organised by resident Sasha Edwards, as a release for the residents who have been subjected to nearly a year without water. Edwards said it was also meant to revive the once close-knit community. “After the water shortages I find the community became disconnected so we wanted to bring the community back together,” she said. Edwards added that she was inspired by her 14-year-old daughter to reach out to the frustrated residents. She indicated she is already planning for carnival for 2018, given the positive response to this year’s event. (BT)
CHARITY SAYS GOVT RED TAPE A PAIN - As the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust rolls out this year’s million-dollar philanthropic works, the principals are bemoaning Government bureaucracy which is stopping them spending their funds. Trustee Derrick Smith, who is also part owner of Sandy Lane Hotel, along with trustee Phillipa Challis, made the comments as they hosted the annual charity auction and dinner last Friday night at Sandy Lane. They were joined
by fellow trustees John Lodge, bassist of the Moody Blues, and Julian Sacher. This year, the trust is looking to build a Psychiatric Children’s Centre on the grounds of the Black Rock facility mooted in 2009. It would house children, who required help, in a facility away from the general adult population. Challis revealed the trust had “put in the planning, but we are waiting for Cabinet to approve the project. (DN)
GROUP RAISES FUNDS TO HELP SICK child - Eight men from the Danesbury, Black Rock community are on a mission to change the way society views the fellows on the block. On the sidelines of a donation made to one-year-old Nazari Smith of that St Michael district, spokesman of the Team Bless Family Greg Jones told the DAILY NATION they were determined to encourage other young men to make more positive decisions. The Team Bless Family raised over $5 000 to assist Nazari’s grandmother Felicia Smith with purchasing medication, clothing and other daily essentials she had difficulty acquiring for youngster Nazari, who was born with fluid on the brain and requires surgical intervention. Nazari’s mother Natasha Smith, 29, died in hospital on December 30, 2015, after giving birth. (DN)
FATHER GRATEFUL AFTER FINDING SON - Don Reid’s faith faced the ultimate test when his four-year-old son went missing minutes after school was dismissed last Tuesday evening at George Lamming Primary School. The devout Christian and father of three told the DAILY NATION when he heard the news that his boy could not be found, he immediately called a taxi and left work. “My wife Tamara called me about 3:30 and told me that she and the teacher could not find Jeremiah. “When we got by Belle Gully main road, a guy stopped the car to let an ambulance reverse and a voice told me: ‘Get out and ask a question’, but I didn’t budge, I sat there crying. I was flustered and concerned about my wife who recently gave birth to our third child, ”he said. (DN)
THORNE WANTS NEW ATTITUDE TOWARDS WASTE MANAGEMENT - Barbados Labour Party (BLP) representative for Christ Church South, Ralph Thorne, wants to see a change in the way communities manage their garbage. Speaking at the Atlantic Shores Network (ASN) recycling project, Thorne said that the resources of the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) are overburdened. “We have overburdened the SSA by our own bad attitudes towards waste disposal and waste management. We buy things, we use those things and…we literally put them outside our house…in a barrel and demand the SSA comes every day and twice a day,” Thorne said. “The problem is with us and (the) attitude we hold towards waste management.” Thorne, an attorney, said that the government is incapable of sending a truck to every community across the island. He implied that the role of the waste disposal unit could be modified to a critical response team, saying “the SSA can be a response team in a situation of crisis but where there is no crisis, where there is everyday management, private enterprise can carry it.” (BT)
‘PLEASE USE’ FREE LEGAL clinics - Come talk to us about your legal problems.That is what president of the Barbados Bar Association (BBA) Liesel Weekes encouraged Barbadians to do, as the BBA officially launch the pro bono clinics last Friday evening at its Perry Gap, St Michael offices. Speaking to the media, attorneys and Professor Velma Newton, regional project director of Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean Project (IMPACT Justice) which is funding the free legal clinics, Weekes said only two people attended the clinic at the Alleyne School in St Andrew two Saturdays ago and to date, no one had asked for advice on criminal matters. She said BBA hoped the public would “embrace it and participate more fully than they have in the past [and] take advantage of it.” (DN)
IFILL TO ANSWER FOR $608,000 WORTH IN DRUGS - Police say 28-year-old Jamar Ifill, who surrendered to them last week after he was the subject of a wanted bulletin, has been charged in connection with the discovery of 152 kilogrammes of cannabis, valued at $608,000. This follows a police operation at the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex on December 29 last year in which seven packages of cannabis were found in an ice box aboard a fishing vessel. Investigations were conducted which led to Ifill being brought into custody and subsequently charged. The #17 Development 3, Gall Hill, St John resident is due to appear before the District ‘A’ Magistrate Court tomorrow on charges of possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking in cannabis. (BT)
CANADIAN NABBED WITH $32,000 WORTH IN DRUGS - A 22-year-old Canadian visitor is due to appear in the District ‘B’ Magistrates’ Court tomorrow after he was nabbed on arrival at the Grantley Adams International Airport here on Friday with four pounds of cannabis, valued at $32,000. Police say a search by customs officers of Gurkirat Singh Sraa’s luggage revealed 16 transparent vacuum-sealed packages, each containing cannabis, concealed in a false bottom of his suitcase. As he result, the visitor, who arrived from Canada, was arrested and charged with possession, possession with intent to supply, trafficking and importation of the illegal drugs. (BT)
USA: 15 PEOPLE KILLED IN SEVERE STORMS –The death toll from an outbreak of severe storms and tornadoes across the U.S. South has jumped to 15. Georgia Emergency Management Agency officials told the Associated Press that 11 people died in southern Georgia and 23 were injured as the storms hit the area. Agency spokesperson Catherine Howden said Sunday morning that the deaths occurred in Cook, Brooks and Berrien counties. Two of the deceased were killed by a possible tornado early Sunday morning, officials from the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office confirmed. Both victims were in the same home in Barney, which was displaced onto Highway 122. (BT)
FOGGING SCHEDULE - The Ministry of Health’s Vector Control Unit will continue its fogging programme this week in an effort to reduce the mosquito population on the island.
Monday, January 23, a team will head to St Andrew to spray Savannah Road, Shorey Village, Doughlin Tenantry, St Andrew’s Church, Walkers, Bawdens, Babylon Road and environs.
Tuesday, January 24, fogging will take place in the St Michael districts of Ellis Village, Halls Road, Bibby’s Lane, Marl Hole, School Lane, Belmont Road, Carrington Village, St Hill Road, Alkins Road, Quakers Road, Northam Road, Chadderton Road, Tweedside Road, Arthur Land with avenues and surrounding areas.
Wednesday, January 25, a team will return to St Michael to spray Perry Gap, Harmony Hall, Dr Kerr Land, Greenidge Road, School Road, Springer Gap, Taylor Gap, Brathwaithe Gap, Prescod Bottom and environs.
Thursday, January 26, Atlantic Shores, Coral Drive, Pearl Drive, Spring Terrace, Light House Lane, Oyster Crescent, Seaside Drive, Ocean Mist Close and neighbouring districts in Christ Church will be fogged.
Householders are reminded to open their windows and doors to allow the spray to enter. Fogging will take place between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. each day. (BT)
There are 14 Days until Girlfriends Expo & Arts Festival (February 4th & 5th) and you can purchase your tickets from Ticket Pal. Well that’s all for today folks. There are 342 days left in the year ;) Shalom! #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news.
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