Bajan Newscap January 18th 2015
BARBADOS A LEADER IN REGIONAL TRADE - Despite a 17.5 per cent decline in global merchandise exports, Barbados’ manufacturers and producers remain competitive in the export of goods to markets in CARICOM when compared with other exporters within the region. Statistics gathered from the UN COMTRADE database demonstrate that Barbados remains the second highest intra regional trade exporter of goods when compared with all other CARICOM countries. The latest available figures for the 2013/14 period show that Barbados exported a total of US$292 million to the region. Trinidad was the highest exporter to CARICOM with over US$1.6 billion in exports, while Guyana was the third highest intra regional exporter with US$155.1 million. According to the statistics, Trinidad is the most receptive to Barbadian exports, importing US$53.9 million in goods for the 2013/14 period. Guyana was the second highest, importing US$21.4 million of Barbadian goods, while Jamaica imported US$20.7 million in Barbadian goods. The top exported goods to these countries were mineral fuels and oil products (Trinidad), earth and cement (Guyana), and pharmaceutical products (Jamaica). Exports to the OECS were also substantial with the most exported item to Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and St. Lucia being pharmaceutical products worth US$8.47 million.
EASE SOON - RELIEF IS ON THE WAY for restaurants and hotels afflicted by low natural gas supply for the last four weeks. And it could come as soon as the end of this week. According to Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for energy matters, Senator Darcy Boyce, Government is exploring a number of options, including the importation of natural gas to supplement the local supply. He said officials were in negotiations and if they can be concluded quickly, the gas shortage could be no more. “We’re doing all we can do to get gas into the system. We’ll get over it hopefully by next week, if not by the end of the month,” Boyce said yesterday.
BARBADIANS TRUST ATTORNEYS - This is according to President of the Barbados Bar Association Tariq Khan who contends this is demonstrated by the small number of complaints received relative to the 1 030 attorneys who practise here. Though he acknowledged there may be some attorneys who do not live up to the high standards expected of the profession, he said these were few and far between, and was no different from any other professional body. Khan said that generally the public understands that attorneys play a critical role in ensuring their affairs are solved, and he appealed to Barbadians who feel they have been wronged by their attorney not to suffer in silence, but to seek redress through the Disciplinary Committee.
BRIDGE IN NEED OF REPAIRS - That’s because Bawden’s Bridge, which spans the road from Turner’s Hall to the Rock Hall junction (known as Swans), has been closed. As a result, the St Andrew’s Church bus that services the picturesque area can no longer do so. The bridge was closed last Tuesday after it was discovered that a section of the abutment (or support) wall beneath it had broken away, making driving on it hazardous. The Transport Board announced last Friday that the St Andrew’s Church bus will no longer turn left to circle the bottom of Rock Hall. Instead, it will now turn right and continue on its normal route to St Andrew’s Church.
BARBADOS NATIONAL TRUST POWERLESS - That is the situation the Barbados National Trust says is plaguing it as it fends off criticisms from people who say it should have saved the slave hut owned by the Leacock family, especially as there is a BNT plaque affixed to the historic building. The structure, believed to be about 175 years old and referred to as the Leacock Slave Hut, is situated at Walmer Lodge, Black Rock, St Michael. Members of the Leacock family, who own the structure, have complained they thought the National Trust would have restored the slave hut, especially after BNT officials placed the Trust’s highly recognisable blue sign, which deemed it a building of historical interest. But Watson said the Trust’s hands were tied by a lack of legislation and compared the situation it faced with the slave hut to a similar situation involving the ancestral home, in St Lucy, of National Hero and first prime minister of Barbados, Errol Barrow. -
SANDALS BEACH QUERY - SOME LOCALS AND VISITORS who frequent the popular beach at Dover in Christ Church are drowning in suspicion over Sandals Barbados’ construction work taking place there. But the resort has insisted that there is nothing to worry about, and the work should result in a bigger and better public beach. Sandals, which is completing a multimillion-dollar upgrade next to the beach, also known as Casuarina Beach, recently commenced a shoreline stabilisation project involving the construction of three groynes, the rebuilding of an existing one and placement of sand between the groynes. Some of the regular sea-bathers expressed concern about the construction work querying if it meant the beach would become “exclusive.”
SHIFTING SAND - BRIGHTON BEACH in Black Rock, St Michael, looks like a mini replica of a cliff side, made up of sand. But this is not a sculpture made by man but rather caused by man. The nearby “hot pot” is known as a relaxing spot to bathe but it is also known for rapidly shifting sand due to the warm water coming from the nearby power plant. Recently the landscape has changed, leaving nearby residents and some beachgoers concerned about their properties, the beach and the turtle nesting grounds.
SOCCER SCHOLAR RETURNS - Soraya Toppin-Herbert recently returned home after completing her undergraduate studies at the Purdue University in Indiana, United States. The 21-year-old had mesmerised spectators, embarrassed defenders and angered goalkeepers with her ferocious shots, technical ability and confidence during her early years in the local football arena from age six to 16 as part of the Pro Shottas club, along with the national Under-20 and Senior women’s teams. The former Queen’s College student has returned with a bachelor of science in movement and sports science after four successful years in the classroom and two exciting years on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 Big Ten soccer conference.
FIRST CLASS TRACK - THE TRACK is just fine with Ryan Brathwaite – both for competition and the bearing of his name. He might not be in form just yet, but the former World champion hurdler is already distancing himself from the naming controversy surrounding the UWI’s Usain Bolt Sports Complex, having said he is proud that the surface is called the Ryan Brathwaite track. “That’s something I’m certainly not getting into,” said the 26-year-old athlete when asked about the decision to name the entire sporting facility after Bolt. “I’m just very, very happy about the actual track being named after me. It’s a good scenery with great atmosphere outside with the kids running around, so I am happy to see they are making good use of it.”
SAILING SEASON - CREWS FROM BARBADOS and a number of international countries hit the water off this island’s West Coast yesterday, on the first day of competitive action in the Mount Gay Round Barbados Series of sailing. The event, the first of the region’s 2015 sailing season, is being hosted by the Barbados Cruising Club in association with Barbados Tourism Marketing Incorporated, and runs until January 24. In conditions perfect for sailing, local crews held their own yesterday, with local boats Hawkeye and Conviction raising eyebrows with their impressive performances. Here, the boats shuffling for position during one of the races held in Carlisle Bay, off Bay Street, St Michael, yesterday.
MISSING SCHOOLGIRLS - Police are seeking your assistance in locating two missing girls, ages 14 and 17. Kiza Amanda Barton, 14, of Central Close, Haynesville, St James left home about 7:45 a.m. on Thursday dressed in her school uniform and has not been seen or heard from since.The St George Secondary School was carrying a mauve ‘Northface’ bag. She is four feet, eight inches tall, has a stout build and of a light brown complexion. Her hair is plaited in one; she has brown eyes, an oval face and thick lips. Meantime, 17-year-old Tonichia Réna Jordan of Coles Cave, St Lucy left home about 8:30 a.m. yesterday, dressed in her school uniform and was last seen in Speightstown about 1 p.m.The fifth form student of the Darryl Jordan Secondary School was, at the time, holding a black leather one-strap bag with short brown handles.She is five feet, six inches tall, has a slim build and of a medium brown complexion.Her hair is black and cut in a short bob style. She has thin eyebrows, small dark brown eyes, a flat forehead and is knock-kneed. She has tattoos of a cross on her right wrist and a red bow in the middle of her shoulder blades, police said. (no pictures provided)Anyone with information relative to the whereabouts of Tonichia Jordan and Kiza Barton is asked to contact Police Emergency number 211, or the nearest police station.
POLICE CONSTABLE CHARGED - A police constable has found himself on the wrong side of the law. Thirty-eight-year old Winthea Lynch is due to appear in court today after being slapped with four charges: assault occasioning actual bodily harm, indecent assault, assault and threatening words. Lynch, who is scheduled to appear in the District ‘A’ Magistrate’s Court, is accused of committing the offences against two persons while at Woodbourne, St Philip.
ATTEMPTS TO POISON KARTEL DENIED- Rumours have been swirling that attempts at poisoning the popular DJ have been made. According to the Jamaica Observer, which quotes Kingston Western Division Senior Superintendent of Police Steve McGregor, checks were made and the claims were unsubstantiated. “We have heard the rumours that attempts were being made to harm the entertainer and we would have visited the area and spoken to officials there and found these rumours to be false,” said McGregor. He also dismissed claims that a female was arrested trying to smuggle poison into the correctional facility to harm the artiste. “All of these allegations are false. The police have made checks and found rumours to be untrue,” McGregor emphasised. Kartel (Adidja Palmer) is serving life imprisonment for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams in Havendale, a suburb north of Kingston, on August 16, 2011. He was sentenced on April 3, 2014 and will not be eligible for parole for 35 years. Kartel and three co-convicts have filed appeals against their conviction and sentences, claiming they got an unfair trial, and that there was a miscarriage of justice in the matter.
ST. KITTS INJUNCTION GRANTED - An injunction was granted yesterday afternoon restraining the government from proclaiming the constituency boundaries changes ahead of impending general elections. Chris Hamel-Smith, the senior counsel representing the opposition, told WINN FM that the injunction was granted even as the government was moving to have the boundaries changed. “The judge has issued an injunction restraining that proclamation from being made in order to stop the report from coming into effect,” Hamel-Smith said. “In layman’s terms it means that the judge has said things must not change until the court has an opportunity to look at the whole matter properly, and not under the unfair and undue pressure and haste . . . ,” the senior counsel said. The matter is scheduled to be heard in the High Court next week, according to Hamel-Smith. Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas announced yesterday that he had advised Governor General Sir Edmund Lawrence to dissolve Parliament with immediate effect and that an election date would be announced later. Elections would held on re-aligned constituency boundaries, the Office of the Prime Minister stated in a release.
Well that's all for today folks! Have a beautiful Sunday.