caribbean graphic march 2014

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March 12, 2014 CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 1

ENJOY RESPONSIBLY

Explore the true taste of Demerara

VOL. 8, NO. 05 March 12, 2014 Website: www.caribbeangraphic.ca Tel: 905.831-4402 Fax: 416.292.2943 Email: [email protected]

Different & Dynamic. Bigga, Brighta, Betta!

J

amaicas power-house vocalist Tes-sanne Chin, who

won season ve of NBCshit singing contest The

Voice in December, willbe honoured this monthat The University of the

West Indies Fifth AnnualToronto Benet Gala. Theevent,slated for March 29 atthe Ritz-Carlton Hotel, pays

tribute to leaders of Caribbean

and Canadian heritage and will

see the reggae-fusion songstress

presented with a Luminary

Award alongside reggae legend

and The Harder They Come

star Jimmy Cliff.

Chin, who recently inked adeal with one of the worlds larg-

est talent agencies ICM Part-

ners, will release her self-titled

album later this year.

The 28-year-old singers

father-in-law, Jamaican broad-caster Michael Anthony Cuffe

Sr., will host the Toronto gala.

The events patron is Ray-

mond Chang, former Ryerson

University chancellor and phi-

lanthropist, who like Chin is of

Chinese-Jamaican descent.

The annual University of West

Indies event raises funds for

scholarships for outstanding

students in the Caribbean. To

date, nearly 150 scholarships

have been awarded.

The reigning Voice winner

will return to Toronto on May 17

for a concert at the Sony Centrefor the Performing Arts with her

Bread & Butter Band.

Grammy Award-

winning gospelmusicartist Heze-

kiah Walker will be theheadline act for this yearsMay 18 - 25 BarbadosGospelfest.According toBarbados Gospelfests Executive

Director Adrian Agard we are

responding to repeated request

from the regional and Barbadian

audiences for Hezekiah Walker

to Minister at the festival. We are

all excitedly anticipating Walk-

ers rst ministry experience at

the Barbados Gospelfest and we

are condent that his presence

will be enjoyed by visitors to the

island and local patrons, as well

as sponsors and other partners

Toronto Honour For Tessanne Chin!

Hezekiah Walker To Headline Barbados Gospelfest!of the festival. His signing is con-

sistent with the high quality and

standards upheld by the Carib-

beans Premier Christian Music

and Arts Festival.

Hezekiah Walkers latest hit,

Every Praise, from his album

Azusa: The Next Generation

has enjoyed an astonishing 23

week run as number one on the

billboard gospel char t.

Azusa: The Next Generation

is Walkers 14th album. He has

received signicant airplay on

radio in Barbados with gospel

station Life 97.5 playing the song

Every Praise for a record ve

(5) hours from 12:00 midnight to

5:00 AM on Independence Day

November 30 and again on New

Years Day. This is the rst time

in Barbadian radio that any song

has enjoyed continuous play for

this length of time.

Programme Director of Bar-

bados Life Radio 97.5 FM Ron-

nie Clarke says Every Praise

is without doubt the most

impactful song on Life 97.5

Hezekiah Walker brings over

twenty years of quality music

ministry there is more to him

than a good song his message

is timeless and his impact life

changing.

Many of Hezekiah Walkers

songs have also been featured

in worship, mimes and dances

within Barbados Christian

community.

Walker, is also the founder

and leader of the Love Fellow-

ship Choir (LFC), and Pas-

torand Bishopof the Love

Fellowship Tabernacle, with lo-

cations in Brooklyn, New York,

and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in

the United States.

Tessanne Chin

Hezekiah Walker


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March 12, 2014CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 2

Meet your localMortgage Advisor.

Bianca Aziz

Home Financing Solutions

As a Scotiabank Mortgage Advisor, I am committed to providing you with

excellent service and innovative mortgage solutions that are right for you. I am

committed to finding the most appropriate solution to meet your unique needs.

Are you thinking of

Buying or building a home?

Refinancing your existing mortgage?

Renovating your home?

Consolidating existing debts?

Bianca Aziz


Greater Toronto Area

647.983.6826

[email protected]

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Registered trademarks of the Bank of Nova Scotia.

t t t t .

Meet your local MortgageAdvisor.

Bianca Aziz

Home Financing SolutionsAs a Scotiabank Home Financing Advisor, I am committed to providing you with

excellent service and innovative mortgage solutions that are right for you. I am

committed to nding the most appropriate solution to meet your unique needs.

Are you thinking of

Buying or building a home?

Renancing your existing mortgage?

Renovating your home?

Consolidating existing debts?

Bianca Aziz


Greater Toronto Area

647.983.6826

Holi (Phagwah) The Festival of Colours And Love

Holi is also knownas Phagwah, the Fes-tival of Colours and

sometimes the Festival of love..It is primarily observed in In-dia, Nepal, and other regionsof the world with signicantpopulations of majority Hindus

or people of Indian origin. It is anancient Hindu religious festival whichhas become popular with non-Hindus

in many parts of South Asia, as well as

people of other communities. Outside

India, Holi is observed by the minor-

ity Hindus in Bangladesh, Pakistan as

well in countries w ith large Indian

subcontinent diasporapopulations such

as Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and To-

bago, South Africa, Malaysia, the United

Kingdom, the United States, Mauritius,

and Fiji. The Holi rituals and customs

outside South Asia also vary with local

adaptations.

The festival has, in recent times,

spread in parts of Europe and NorthAmericas as a spring celebration of love,

frolic and colours. Traditional Holi cel-

ebrations start with a Holika bonreon

the night before Holi where people

gather, sing and dance.

The next morning is free for all car-

nival of colours,where everyone plays,

chases and colours each other with

dry powder and coloured water, with

some carrying water guns and coloured

water-lled balloons for their water ght.

Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend

or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman,

children and elders. . Children and youth

spray coloured powder solutions (Gulal)

at each other, laugh and celebrate, while

elders tend to smear dry coloured pow-

der (Abir) on each others faces.

The frolic and ght with colours oc-

curs in the open streets, open parks,

outside temples and buildings. Groups

carry drums and musical instruments,

go from place to place, sing and dance.People move and visit family, friends and

foes, rst play with colours on each other,

laugh and chit-chat, then share Holi deli-

cacies, food and drinks. In the evening,

after sobering up, people dress up, v isit

friends and family.It is a national holiday

in Indiaand in Guyana also.

Holi is celebrated at the approach of

vernal equinox , on the Phalguna Purn-

ima(Full Moon). The festival date var-

ies every year, per the Hindu calendar,

and typically comes in March, some-

times February in the Gregorian Cal-

endar. The festival signies the victory

of good over evil, the arriva l of spring,

end of winter, and for many a festiveday to meet others, play and laugh,

forget and forgive, and repair ruptured

relationships.

There is a symbolic leg-

end to explain why holi is

celebrated. The word Holi

originates from Holika,

the evil sister of demon

king Hiranyakashipu.

King Hiranyakashipu had

earned a boon that madehim virtually indestruc-

tible. The special powers

blinded him, he grew arro-

gant, felt he was God, and

demanded that everyone

worship only him.

Hiranyakashipus own son, Prahlada,

however, disagreed. He was and re-

mained devoted toVishnu. This infu-

riated Hiranyakashipu. He subjected

Prahlada to cruel punishments, none of

which affected the boy or his resolve to

do what he thought was right. Finally,

Holika - Prahladas evil aunt - tricked

him into sitting on a pyre with her.

Holika was wearing a cloak (shawl)that made her immune to injury from

re, while Prahlada was not. As the

re roared, the cloak ew from Holika

and encased Prahlada. Holika burned,

Prahlada survived. Vishnu appeared and

killed Hiranyakashipu. The bonre is a

reminder of the symbolic victory of good

over evil, of Prahlada over Hiranyaka-

shipu, of re that burned Holika. The day

after Holika bonre is celebrated as Holi.

In Brajregion of India, where Krish-

na grew up, the festival is celebrated for

16 days (until Rangpanchmi) in com-

memoration of the divine love of Rad-

ha for Krishna, a Hindu deity. The

festivities ofcially usher in spring, withHoli celebrated as festival of love.

There is a symbolic myth behind

commemorating Krishna as well. Baby

Krishna transitioned into his charac-

teristic dark blue skin colour because a

she demon Putana poisoned him with

her breast milk. In his youth, Krishna

despairs whether fair skinned Radha

and other Gopikas (girls) will like him

because of his skin colour. His mother,

tired of the desperation, asks him to

approach Radha and colour her face in

any colour he wanted. This he does, and

Radha and Krishna became a couple.

The playful colouring of the face of

Radha has henceforth been commemo-

rated as Holi.

Beyond India, these legends to

explain the signicance of Holi (Phag-

wah) are common in some Caribbean

and South American communities of

Indian origin such as Guyana and Trin-

idad and Tobago.

Holi festival has other cultural signi-

cance. It is the festive day to end and rid

oneself of past errors, end conicts by

meeting others, a day to forget and for-

give. People pay or forgive debts, as well

as deal anew with those in their lives.

Holi also marks the start of spring, and

for many the start of new year.

Holi is an important festival to Hin-

dus. The festival has many purposes.

First and foremost, it celebrates the

beginning of the new season, spring. In17th century literature, it was identied

as a festival that celebrated agriculture,

commemorated good spring harvests

and the fertile land.

Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying

springs abundant colours and saying

farewell to winter. Holi festivities mark

the beginning of new year to many

Hindus, as well as a justication to reset

and renew ruptured relationships, end

conicts and accumulated emotional

impurities from past.

It also has a religious purpose, sym-

bolically signied by the legend of Ho-

lika. The night before Holi, bonres are

lit, known as Holika Dahan (burning

of Holika) or Little Holi. People gather

near res, dance and sing. The next day,

Holi, is celebrated .


3/20


CARIBBEAN

JEWEL

CARIBBEAN

JEWEL

The members of Torontosmost exciting live band,Fuh Fun, Wayne Dalmada,

Rick DaSilva, George DeSilva,Brian Irwin and Ingrid Veeras-ammy, will on April 19th bring

their outstanding musical talentsto the assistance of the CraigGonsalves Cancer Fund. FuhFun will play at a Dance To YourFavorite Classics Fundraiser.

The April 19 Fundraiser has been or-

ganized by Craigs dad, Mike Gonsalves,

to help offset the medical expenses

associated with his sons ongoing cancer

treatment. Substantial expenses, the

majority of which are unfortunately not

covered by OHIP.

A single father of four young children,

Craig Gonsalves had been battling two

brain tumours for three and a half to

four years. A third very aggressive Type

4 tumour appeared in August 2013,

necessitating treatment in the form of

a cancer drug named Avistan. Unfortu-

nately Avistan, which is very expensive,

is again not covered under OHIP. As

such Craig now has cover its cost out ofhis own pocket.

Pickerings Recreation Complex,

located at 1867 Valley Farm Road, will

be the venue for the dance which gets

started at 7:30 pm and will run until

1:00 am. The ever popular Canadian

Guyanese Community DJ Bakes Pereira

will be spinning tunes in between Fuh

Funs sets. There will also be tasty West

Indian cuisine dishes available for pur-

chase and of course a CashBar.

Tickets for this most worthy cause are

only $25 per person. The organizers are

hoping for a sold out attendance.

Fuh Fun Helping ToRaise Cancer Funds!

BEAUTIFUL BETI:In honour of the forthcom-

ing Holi (Phagwah) Festival,we thought we should share

this very Beautiful Betisphoto. Our tribute, so to

speak, to the highly captivat-ing, oftentimes mind blowing,beauty of our Indo-Caribbean

women! Happy Phagwah all.


4/20


Publisher/Editor: Tony McWatt

Contributors: Sandra Ann Baptiste, Akua Hinds,

Christine Reid, Sir Ronald Sanders,

Legal: Oumarally and Baboolal

Graphic Design: Adryan Manasan (www.echodesign.ca)

Website: www.caribbeangraphic.ca Tel: 905.831-4402 Fax: 416.292.2943 Email: [email protected]

Sir RonaldSanders

Guyana: Money Laundering And Anopportunity For Real Democracy

The governing PeoplesProgressive Party/Civic(PPP) and the opposition

parties in Guyana are locked ina unique governance struggle in

which two combined oppositionparties command the majorityin the legislature and, thus, can

block legislation introduced bythe government.

The PPPs Donald Ramotar was

elected President of Guyana by a plural-

ity of votes in November 2011 generalelections, but the party failed to win an

overall majority in the legislature. Since

then the country has had to experi-

ment with a novel model of democracy

because the elections produced no

overall winner and, therefore, there has

been no winner taking all. Instead,

the government and the two parties that

comprise the opposition have had to

bargain with each other to accomplish a

legislative programme.

The two opposition parties in the

legislature are: A Partnership for

National Unity (APNU) and the Alli-

ance For Change (AFC). APNU is itself

a coalition of political parties, mainly

the Peoples National Congress (PNC)

and the Working Peoples Alliance

(WPA). In combination, APNU and the

AFC have a one-vote majority over the

governing PPP and they have used the

one-vote majority to stop government

legislation and spending to which they

object and to demand changes that they

favour. The process has been acrimo-

nious as each party tries to win public

support for its positions.

In time, this period of Guyanas

governance will be an interesting and

instructive study for scholars of gover-

nance, politics, democracy and constitu-

tions. It may, in fact, point to new ways

and more democratic forms of gover-

nance not only for Guyana but all Carib-

bean countries. Right now, however,

the newness of the situation and the

rawness of the inter-party bargaining in

the legislature and in the court of publicopinion are too urgent to allow for sober

reection and benecial renement of

a system that may come to be the norm

in Guyana. That system could be one

in which no political party ever wins an

overall majority in the legislature and

bargaining, comprise and a real ef fort

at consensus among elected parties

become the standard. In other words,

no one political party would be able to

rule the roost and inter-party bargain-

ing in the legislature would become the

mechanism for national policy setting

and budget allocations with the govern-

ment as the implementing machinery.

None of the political parties in Guy-

anas legislature will ever stop hoping

for an overall majority and, undoubt-

edly, each will continue working

toward that objective. To do so, there

wil l have to be a rad ical change in the

politics, policies and programmes of

the PPP and PNC.

Historically, the PPP has cultivated

its principal support among the people

of East-Indian extraction while the PNC

(the main party in APNU) has sought

its main backing from the people of

Africa n ancestry. Neither of these two

main ethnic groups in Guyana is now

numerous enough to give either party

an overall majority; each would have to

broaden its base signicantly and that

process will take time. Even if the pro-

cess is launched now, it certainly wont

produce benets for the next general

election due by November 2016.

The success of the AFC in securing

representation in Guyanas parliament

is an indicator that there is a substan-

tial number of people who see little

national benet in race-based politics.

The younger generation of Guyana (and

there is now a signicant number of the

population under 35), show a greatertendency not only to racial tolerance

but also to integration. Like ever ywhere

else, they also want change from the

entrenched political system that has

dominated the country.

The experiment in Guyana of a ruling

party that does not control the major-

ity in the legislature is experiencing its

most severe test so far over Anti-Money

Laundering and Counter Terrorism

Financing legislation. The Guyana gov-

ernment is required to achieve the adop-

tion of this legislation by Parliament as

the initial measure to avoid the country

being black-listed by the Geneva-based

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for

non-compliance with rules that have

been accepted by the powerful govern-

ments of the world, including China and

India, as international criteria. As a

former Chairman (2003-2004) and Vice

Chairman (2001-2002) of the Caribbean

Financial Action Task Force (CFATF)

that conducted a review of Guyanas

situation and found it decient, I under-

stand fully the adverse implications for

Guyanas nancial services sector, busi-

nesses, and even ordinary citizens of the

legislation not being adopted as a rst

stepin a raft of compliance machinery

that Guyana is required to implement.

The passage of the legislation is en-

meshed in the power struggle between

the governing PPP and the two opposi-

tion parties in the legislature. All parties

recognise the importance to the country

of Guyana not being designated as non-

cooperative and, therefore, blacklisted

internationally. The opposition parties

are, therefore, pressing the government

to deliver on demands they have made

that are not related to the anti-money

laundering legislation (although some

amendments have been suggested) as the

principal condition of agreeing to it. Thegovernment on the other hand is relying

on both international pressure and the

rightful anxiety of the private sector to

cause the opposition parties to pass the

legislation without their ancillary de-

mands being satised. Each side blames

the other for the legislation not being ad-

opted and representatives of each party

have imputed links to drug trafckers as

the motivation for the others failure to

pass the law.

The nancial services sector, businesses

in Guyana and any member of the Guyana

public who sends or receives money from

abroad, including Canada, have genuine

cause for concern. The Guyana economy

could itself suffer a setback.

At the time of writing, the negotia-

tions between the government and the

opposition show no sign of an early

resolution. These negotiations will be

the biggest test of the political parties to

operate Guyanas new form of democrat-

ic governance in the national interest. It

is time for maturity on all sides to work

for balance and compromise.

(The writer is a Consultant, Senior Fel-

low at London University and former

Caribbean diplomat) Responses and

previous commentaries: www.sirron-

aldsanders.com

The Importance Of Insurance

The rst job I ever got wasas a Life Insurance SalesRepresentative. As such

Ive always appreciated howvaluable and essential life in-surance is to anyones nancial

well being. Within recent years,events that have unfolded in the

lives of individuals Ive knownhave only served to heightenthat appreciation.

A few weeks ago a former MoneyGram

International co-worker of mine, Eric

Pena, suffered a massive heart attack

and died. He was only 47.

Among those left behind to mourn

his loss was his wife and two young

children. Although wed worked

together fairly closely at MGI, in all

honesty I have absolutely no idea as to

whether he was insured or what ef fect

his sudden and unexpected demise has

had on the nancial well being of his

immediate family.

Upon hearing the sad news of Erics

passing, my rst thoughts, not surpris-

ingly, were to hope that he was insured.

The thought that his familys already

catastrophic loss could be made even

more by nancial burdens resulting

from his demise was worrying.Erics passing was yet another stark

indication of our mortality and the fact

that tomorrow is promised to no one.

It also serves as a reminder that when

our time has come, as it inevitably will,

there are those that will be left behind

to bear the burdens of our passing.

Foremost among such burdens are

the associated immediate final ar-

rangements expenses. Beyond those

there is also the short and long term

effects arising from the loss of income

if, as in Erics case, the departed was

in their prime working years.

With such stark reminders ever pres-

ent why is it then that so many of us

place such little value on ensuring that

we are properly insured?

Here in Canada, car insurance is

mandatory. It also almost impossible

to get a mortgage without proper home

insurance. We readily accept that bothare essential. We can nd the funds to

secure the required insurance for our

cars and our homes, as material as they

both are. Yet insuring our l ives and

health, for the good of both ourselves

and others, is far too often viewed as a

nancial burden not worthy of its costs.

Life insurance costs increase with

age. There are those of us that may be

un or under insured and unfortunately

also at an age that renders the acquisi-

tion of adequate coverage cost prohibi-

tive. There are however relatively inex-

pensive nal arrangements policies

now available that have no age restric-

tions. Acquisition of such would at

least ensure that passing, when it does

inevitably occur does not inict any

nancial burden on those left behind to

bear the loss.

Advances in medicine have radically

increased survival rates among those

aficted by diseases that were once

terminal. Necessary ongoing care and

treatments can sometimes however bequite costly and required drugs are of-

ten not covered by Government Health

Insurance plans such as OHIP. Critical

Illness insurance, introduced in the

eighties, now provides coverage access

to lump sums of money that can be used

to offset ongoing treatment costs.

Whatever the type required life, liv ing

expenses or nal arrangements, insur-

ance coverage should be a must have for

every individual and household within

our community.

Tony McWatt


5/20



6/20


FishermanConquersSharkBRIDGETOWN, There was no epic

battle pitting sherman Don Archer

against a JAWS-like shark. In fact, for

the shark, the battle was over in about

ten minutes.The shark was brought to

shore; its future is now in a sh market,in therapeutic oil and in trinkets and

the victorious Archer is looking to his

next conquest.

For Archer, March 8 began like any

other day of shing. He said he collected

some dead chickens from a chicken

farm in St Lucy, hooked them on his

line, with its cork oat, which he trailed

about 100 yards off the Animal Flower

Cave and then waited.

And when the oat started to bob in

the water, he knew he had caught some-

thing. It was a smooth skin shark, he

revealed. It was about six feet long and

weighed about 110 pounds.

Asked abou t the t ype of f ight the

shark put up, Archer said, matter-

of-factly: Actually it wasnt much of

fight due to my experience. And it

was quite smal l as we ll. It wa s ou t in

about ten m inutes.

The hardest part, he admitted, was

hauling it out of the sea. That took the

help of a group of men.Archer, a craftsman who has a handi-

craft stall at the Animal Flower Cave,

explained: Normally I sh here all the

time and I catch about four or ve a

year. The biggest one I caught was about

15 feet in length and a tiger shark. That

was in 2012.

The fisherman of many years said

he plans to sell the meat in the mar-

ket and possibly boil some of it for its

shark oil. I took the jaw and teeth and

head and I will cure them. Its a nice

conversation piece so what I would do

is take some of the teeth and make anecklace, he mused. His next fishing

trip is tomorrow and Archer is hoping

for the same luck again.

Fishing is something that I love and Ilike to eat my shark, he laughed.

KENSINGTONNOT INSURED!BRIDGETOWN, Extreme hard times

have left one of Barbados most famous

and expensive sports and entertain-

ment properties dangerously exposed.

The more than 10 000 mainly Bar-

badian and British cricket lovers who

descended on the world famous Kens-

ington Oval on March 9 to watch the

West Indies-England T20 would have

watched the match in a $100-plusmillion facility that has no property

insurance coverage.

However, acting chief executive

ofcer Kensington Oval Management

Inc. (KOMI), Ben Toppin, was quick to

explain that while the property might

be exposed, patrons denitely would

not be. Thats because public liability

on the Oval is up-to-date.

He noted that the situation with in-

surance at the historic ground did not

result from negligence on the part of

the owners or managers of the facility,

but simply because they just could not

afford to pay.

HAPPY AT 100!BRIDGETOWN, Machel Montano

may believe he is the happiest man

alive, but in fact there is one happier.

He is Marcus Augustus Corbin. Corbs,

as he is affectionately called, was ac-

corded the honour as friends gathered

with him at his French Vil lage, St

Peter home on March 7 to celebrate

his big 100.

I am glad to reach this standard,

the islands latest centenarian said

as members of his church, those

cramped inside, as well as under

a tent adjacent his house, sang the

birthday song to him.

Im glad I reach . . . to see who

come to lift me up and give me praise,

for I come with Jesus. Who bring me

to this stage? Jesus, he said as he

smiled, punctuating it with his favou-

rite quote in Jesus name.

In his younger years, Corbin wasa man who loved to work with his

hands. For sometime he kept a shop,

but for the majority of his work ing

life, he was involved in agricul-

ture, cutting canes, digging cane

holes and digging soft stone. He was

predeceased by his wife ve years

ago. They had one daughter, who

resides overseas.

When asked about his recipe for

reaching the ripe age of a century,

not very talkative, he gave all credit

to the Lord. Before he could attend

school, Corbin was in church and

had committed himself to God. Up

to his early 90s he would walk overthe hill to attend church and give

testimony.

I cant tell [others] what to do . . .

. Just do all that is good. They got peo-

ple going to church and it aint no help

to them, he said. Or one can catch

him walking around and doing what

I can do for myself. That includes

cooking a mean meal for himself,

sometimes washing, and basically

everything else, except cleaning.

SPARMAN COVEREDBRIDGETOWN, Patients who receivecardiac treatment from Dr AlfredSparman should have eligible healthinsurance claims honoured.

This, says Sparmans attorney SirRichard Cheltenham, is a key out-come of the High Court decisionon February 19 by Justice Dr SoniaRichards that the doctor can con-tinue working as a cardiologist untilthe court hears his case against theBarbados Medical Council for refus-ing his registration.

Sparman led for a judicial re-view of the councils decision not togrant him registration as a specialist

required by the then new MedicalRegistration Act 2011-1.Unlike the old 1971 act under which

Sparman was registered to practiceas a cardiologist here from 2001 afterpresentation of certicates, the newlaw requires a two-tiered registration rst as a general practitioner andsecondly as a specialist with proof ofqualications and/or experience withafrmation.


7/20


BANKCUTS

LOOMINGBRIDGETOWN, Scores of joblosses will be in the ofng when theRoyal Bank of Canada (RBC) shutstwo branches here.

The banks action is due to theconsolidation of operations of theUpper Broad Street and LowerBroad Street branches, as well asof the Hastings and Lanterns [Mall]branches in Christ Church.

The bank did not say when theclosures will take place and declined

to state how many people it em-ployed and how many will be cut.

In both cases, the branches arein close proximity to each otherand we do not expect any signi-

cant impact on our clients businesswith us, the bank stated in a writ-ten response to questions posedby local media.

The bank, which has been op-erating in Barbados for more than100 years, said: While there willbe impact to our staff at the fourbranches identied, all the branchteams have already been informedof the consolidations, and wehave been working to manage thisimpact and achieve efcienciesthrough varying means.

Oval JamBRIDGETOWN, It was a Jampacked party at Kensington Ovalon March 9 during the West Indies-England 1st T20 International. Andto add icing on the party cake, theWest Indies won too.

There was standing roomonly at The Mecca as

eager spectators lled everyavailable seat to witnessthe rst Twenty20 betweenEngland and the West Indies.And it turned out to be aperfect Sunday outing formost of them, as they wit-nessed the home side rompto a comfortable 27-run winover the visitors.

It was a kaleidoscope of colouracross the Hewitt & Inniss,Greenidge & Haynes, Hall & Grif-fith and 3Ws stands, while flagsof all nationalities could be seenflying high.Every boundary, espe-

cially those made by West Indianbatsmen, was greeted with thesounds of thundersticks, whistles,claps and screams, which addedto the festive mood.

Over in the Party Stand, it was aCarnival-like atmosphere as pa-trons wined and dined to the latestsoca, calypso and reggae tunes.

There was even a raging bullon hand for those daring peoplebrave enough to ride it, althoughthey all suffered the same f ate ofbeing tossed off. And even hour s

after the match had finished,the Party Stand resembled thatof a fete, with the majority of itspatrons opting to stay and enjoythe entertainment.

For 26-year-old Josh Taylor fromBirmingham, England, his rst visitto the island was turning to be avery enjoyable one.

The atmosphere here is unbe-lievable, its quite awesome to tellthe truth, he told the DAILY NA-TION while gyrating to RihannasDrink To That as it blasted fromthe speakers. Its my rst time

here and I really came to watch thecricket, but I havent been able todo much of that as yet.

Up in the third oor of the 3WsStand, things in the BarbadosCricket Associations PresidentialSuite were a bit more relaxed.

Among those opting to watch thematch from the Suites birds eyeview was Attorney General AdrielBrathwaite, Minister of Youth, Sportand Culture Stephen Lashley andDirector of Sport at the NationalSports Council, Erskine King.

START THE CROPBRIDGETOWN, The Barbados Ag-

ricultural Society (BAS) boss has a

strong message for those involved

in negotiations for sugar workers:

stop playing Russian roulette with

the economy and get the sugar crop

started . Chief executive officer James

Paul says its too important to con-

tinue delaying it a ny longer.

I really think that the parties in-volved need to recognize that whatever

negotiations have to be conducted, get

them over with. This is not the time

to play song and dance and play Rus-

sian roulette with peoples lives and the

economy, and with a whole sector, he

told local media as the country awaits

the start of the harvest which was ini-

tially to be the end of last month.

What people dont understand is that

the agriculture sector needs sugar to

survive and when people continually, on

an annual basis, play Russian roulette

with it, it does not help investment in

the industr y.

The Barbados Workers Union (BWU)

has been representing sugar workers and

has been in talks with the Barbados Sugar

Industry Limited (BSIL) on a range of

outstanding matters related to the hoursthe workers would be required to give,

considering there is only one sugar factory

at Portvale, St Thomas, in operation; the

waiting time for people hauling canes;

how employees will be compensated in

the event they have to remain on the job

for long hours doing nothing; and pay-

ment for general eld workers.

get your every praise on withHezekiah Walker

MAY 1725, 2014

For more information, visit BarbadosGospelfest.com or VisitBarbados.org.

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8/20


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Camillo Gonsalves Renounces US CitizenshipKINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, ForeignAffairs, Foreign Trade, Commerceand Information Technology, Camillo

Gonsalves, has defended his right to be

appointed as a legislator in St. Vincent

and the Grenadines (SVG), insisting

that he has always been a national of

the country. The minister, the eldest son

of Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves,

was born in Philadelphia in 1972.

In an Open Letter citing the St. Vin-

cent and the Grenadines Constitution,

Gonsalves said that he automatically

became a Vincentia n at the moment

of his birth and that while his birth in

the United States does not disqualifyhim from holding his senatorial post,

he had quietly renounced his American

citizenship ahead of his appointment as

a legislator on September 16, 2013.

To be clear: I am not a citizen of the

United States of America. I took that

decision as a mark of my personal and

unambiguous commitment to public

service in St. Vincent and the Grena-

dines, said Gonsalves, a lawyer and for-

mer ambassador to the United Nations.

The decision was compelled not by

law, but by my own conscience andmy private determination about what

I consider to be the best way for me to

serve the Government and people of St.

Vincent and the Grenadines , he added.

The disclosure by Gonsalves follows

recent comments on social media and on

political talk shows here questioning his

eligibility to serve as a parliamentarian.

Gonsalves said he likened the state-

ments to those made by the so-called

birthers in the United States, who,

despite ample legal and factual evidence

to the contrary, continue to question

Barack Obamas constitutional right to

serve as President of his country.

He, however, said that some parlia-

mentary members of the opposition

New Democratic Party have recently

decided to give credence to these false

claims, and have also raised questions

about my eligibility to serve in my cur-

rent capacity.

It is regrettable that, almost six

months after they welcomed me intothe Parliament of St. Vincent and the

Grenadines without objection, some

members of the Opposition have al-

lowed themselves to be misled on this

issue by fringe elements and Internet

crackpots.

It is even more unfortunate that

opposition parliamentarians with

extensive legal training have been so

completely bamboozled by the mindless

patter of the uninformed chatterati,

Gonsalves wrote in the Open Letter.

He said he listened with dismay to

a radio programme late last month in

which opposition members, with no

knowledge of the facts, and precious

little understanding of the applicable

law, made a series of false statements

that would have confused Vincentians

not only about my situation, but may

have had a chilling effect on other, simi-

larly situated individuals who may have

an ambition to serve their country in a

similar capacity.In light of these recent ights of

fancy by otherwise credible individu-

als as opposed to the earlier rants of

uninformed partisan zealots I now

feel compelled to set out the facts and

the law related to my citizenship and

allegiance, Gonsalves wrote in his ve-

page letter.

LIAT CHANGES

NECESSARY SAYS

ANTIGUAS PMST JOHNS, Antigua, Prime Minis-

ter Baldwin Spencer called for bold

changes at regional airline LIAT.

He was attending a special meeting

of LIAT shareholder governments in

Barbados last night. In a pre-recorded

message, Spencer told supporters at a

political meeting in Buckleys Thurs-day, that changes must take place at

all levels in LIAT.

The time has therefore come for all

of us concerned with LIAT to make bold

and innovative decisions to make LIAT

competitive and efcient, he said.

Changes have got to take place

from the board level, the management

level, and the level of the employees.

Spencer told supporters that people

at LIAT must be held accountable for

their actions. There is no doubt that

there needs to be a new culture and

LIAT which holds people responsible,

rewards those who achieve, reprimand

non achievers and eliminate inefcien-

cies, the prime minister said.The importance of LIAT to our

economies and our families require us

to do something and do it now.

UNION PLEASED

WITH PROTESTST. GEORGES, Grenada, The Grena-da Union of Teachers (GUT) has said

that it is pleased with the response ofits members to the rst wave of pro-test action to force the Keith Mitchellgovernment to pay arrears to publicservants.

Last month, the government saidit was unable to pay as schedulethe EC$12 million (One EC dollar =US$0.37 cents) in retroactive pay-ment to public servants.

The government said that while theprocess of preparation for paymentis almost completed, it was mobiliz-ing external funding which has notyet arrived.

The third installment of the retro-

active payment to public ofcers,teachers, prison ofcers was due tobe made on Friday and the state-ment said that all unions and welfareassociations have been informed of

the situation. The total cost of thisinstallment of retroactive payment is$12 million. This third installment willbring the total retroactive payment to$30 million with Government havingpaid $18 million in 2013, a govern-ment statement said, adding that anupdate will be made on March 17 asto when payment would be made.

But the GUT said that the govern-ments approach compromised itsmembership and was demandingthat payment be made by March 12.

If its not done by that time we willdenitely heighten our process, saidLewis who claims that governmenthas not met with his union executiveor membership to explain the issueof the non-payment and when it willbe resolved. Last month, the govern-ment said it was urging trade unions

to accept a three-year wage freeze asit seeks to enter into an agreementwith the International Monetary Fund(IMF) to deal with an ailing economy.

Meanwhile, a statement from the

Government Information Service(GIS) noted that since coming to of-ce a year ago, the Mitchell admin-istration has made two sizeable pay-ments to public ofcers; honouredthe six per cent increase in salaries

and still managed to pay salaries ontime despite the nancial situationfacing the country.

Apologising for the delay, thestatement said some members ofthe trade union movement haveexpressed disappointment that theywere not inform earlier.

Government understands and

accepts that reaction. It was remissof us, and for that we apologize, thestatement added.

Camillo Gonsalves


9/20


Caribbean Airlines Eyeing St Vincent RouteKINGSTOWN, St. Vincent,The Trini-

dad-based Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has

neither conrmed nor denied reports

that it was conducting inquiries into the

possibility of including St. Vincent and

the Grenadines on its Caribbean routes.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves told

the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC)

that while he had not been formally

approached on the matter I understandfrom our authorities that they have come

in and they were doing inquiries. But I

havent seen anything formally coming to

the state administration.

An airline industry ofcial told CMC

that CAL ofcials came to St. Vincent

recently to do a site inspection and that

they were accompanied by personnel

from its security, engineering, opera-

tion, and marketing departments.

The source further said that CAL has

contacted at least three local companies

about the possibility of one of them be-

ing handlers for the airline.

CAL Communications Manager Clint

Williams, while he would not conrm

nor deny the possibility of the airlineservicing the route, said Caribbean

Airlines is continuously evaluating new

routes and new opportunities.

Currently with our new business

plan we are evaluating all the fly-

ing on our fleets including our ATR

fleets, he added.

Gonsalves, who is chair of regional

carrier LIAT, had in the past objected

to CAL servicing the same routes as the

Antigua-based airline while CAL was re-

ceiving a fuel subsidy from the Trinidad

and Tobago government.

He said that the subsidy was illegal

under the treaty that established the

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and

had threatened to go to the CaribbeanCourt of Justice if the matter could not

be resolved through arbitration.

But the Kamla Persad Bissessar gov-

ernment subsequently discontinued the

subsidy that in 2012 was estimated at

US$40 million.

Gonsalves told CMC that he was no

longer opposed to CAL ying to St.

Vincent, there could be a par tnership

between the two a irlines.

Williams said that CAL would naturally

be looking at the regional situation, y-

ing without our fuel subsidy and that the

airline had certain elements of its busi-

ness plan that needed to be put in place.

So we are considering all the oppor-

tunities that are available to the airlineat this time, he added.

Gonsalves said that in the past, LIAT,

which is owned by the governments of

St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barba-

dos, Antigua and Barbuda, and Domi-

nica, has had competition from several

other carries.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, The

regional airline, LIAT, says it willtake decisive action to deal withunprotable routes as the Antigua-based airline seeks to make itsoperations nancially variable.

We have been trying, beforegoing the harsh route, to persuadepeople to invest. We have metwith a number of governmentsand Prime Ministers... we haveexpressed to them that we will haveno other option but to cut the ser-vice, LIAT chairman Jean Holdertold a news conference on Thurs-

day evening.

I think we have reached thepoint, after a lot of challenges,where we need to do as we say thatwe will do. That may after all bemore effective than the persuasionroute, Holder said after a meetingof the shareholder governments.

Well have to take a very hardlook at our current schedules andthe protability of our currentroutes. We have brought in someexperts to assist us in lookingmore deeply into the route analy-sis issues, but it is clear that LIAT

LIAT Planning On DumpingUnproftable Routes

cannot continue to provide essen-tial social services to 21 countriesin the Caribbean on a daily basis,offering close to 1 000 ightsweekly, and only four countriesput any funds into this operation,

said Holder.In October 2012, then chief ex-

ecutive ofcer of LIAT, Ian Brunton,had warned that the cash-strappedairline would soon be dropping atleast eight routes deemed to beconsistently unprotable.

Holder said that the company hastaking the stance that it needs to bemore professional and implementthe changes needed to keep theairline on an even keel.

St. Vincent and the GrenadinesPrime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves,

who is also chairman of shareholdergovernments, told reporters he hadbeen putting public pressure onhis counterparts across the region,particularly from those countriesthat benet considerably from the

operations of the airline.The prime minister said Holder

and acting chief executive ofcerJulie Reifer-Jones had made pre-sentations to the meeting whichoutlined a plan for sustainablerecovery of the airline, as well as animmediate programme for imple-mentation.

LIAT said it would employ anexpert to assess the unprotableroutes which would not only entailcutting, but rescheduling or review-ing them.

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FOR LINK SHOWGEORGETOWN, FLY Jamaica in collaboration with Mr Ron Robinson of the Link

Show will be presenting one lucky patron with a ticket to any of the airlines desti-

nations.

A representative of the airline said that they are elated to be given such an oppor-

tunity at this years Link Show. The drawing will take place at the held-over show

at the National Cultural Centre on Sunday, March 9th.

GEORGETOWN, Two major Canadian

mining companies, Goldsource Mines

Inc. and Eagle Mountain Gold Cor-

poration have merged forces with the

aim of accelerating the development

of the Eagle Mountain Gold Project,

near Mahdia in Region Eight (Potaro/

Siparuni).

Eagle Mountain Gold Corp. which

has exclusive rights to Eagle Mountain

announced the merger with Gold-

source earlier this week. As a result,

the company has become a wholly-

owned subsidiary of Goldsource.

Meanwhile, top ofcials of both

companies have expressed optimismthat the merger will deliver good

results for the Eagle Mountain gold

mining venture.

Ioannis (Yannis) Tsitos, Chief

Executive Ofcer (CEO), of Eagle

Mountain Gold Corp. said that the

merger had received the overwhelm-

ing support of the shareholders and

he believed that this new era wi ll

drive signicant growth and sustain-

able value for them.

J. Scott Drever, CEO of Goldsource

Mines, disclosed that he was pleased

that the business combination had

been successf ully completed.

He said: The new Goldsource Mines

brings together a powerful combina-

tion of well-dened gold resources

and dynamic, successful people with

strong nancial capabilities.

He added: We are convinced that

these attributes will set the stage

for accelerated development of the

Eagle Mountain Gold Project a nd

enable us to commence gold pro-

duction in Guyana on a phased

production basis prior to yearend.

Goldsource also reported that it had

recently raised Cdn $2.4 million bymeans of shares.

Drill results to date have shown that

Eagle Mountain contains a resource of

188,000 ounces of gold (indicated) at

an average grade of 1.49 grams per ton

(g/t) and 792,000 ounces (inferred),

average grade of 1.19 g/t gold. Eagle

Mountain Gold Corp. previously dis-

closed that with the current resource

covering only a small portion of Eagle

Mountain 250 hectares inside the

5,050-hectare property there was

excellent potential for expansion.

Mining Companies MergeJAPANESE

AMBULANCEGRANT FOR RED

CROSSGEORGETOWN, THE Guyana RedCross Society has received a grantof US$6,1478 from the Governmentof Japan, for the procurement of anambulance to be used for rst aidservices. Japanese Ambassador toGuyana, Mr. Yoshimasa Tezuka andSecretary General of Guyana RedCross Society, Mrs. Dorothy Fraser,signed the documents for receipt ofthe cheque on March 3.

The assistance is for the Grass-Roots Human Security Project,designed to promote grass-rootsprojects worldwide by assisting non-prot organisations, the envoy said.This particular programme will allowthe Red Cross to improve the qual-ity of its rst aid services and better

equip it to save lives, he explained.Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsa-

ran, who was present at the sign-ing, expressed his gratitude to theGovernment of Japan for, yet again,assisting the sector.

He acknowledged that the RedCross has kept volunteerism aliveand commended its efforts indoing so. Ramsaran also said theMinistry of Health will extend ahelping hand to the Red Cross forit to collaborate in the training ofits personnel in the proper use ofthe ambulance.

The vehicle will benet the FirstAid Department of the Red CrossSociety, tremendously, since it of-fers rst aid posts to many nationalevents, like Mashramani, GuyExpo,schools sports and motor racing, toname a few.

Such rst aid posts are manned byRed Cross staff and volunteers whohave been trained in mass causalitymanagement, as well.


11/20


GEORGETOWN, An Air Trafc Control-

ler (ATC) exited the tower at the Cheddi

Jagan International Airport around

midnight March 7 at the same time aCaribbean Airlines aircraft was prepar-

ing to land.

Reports are that the controller was

angry that he was not relieved of his

eight-hour shift which ended at mid-

night particularly at a time he was

feeling unwell. The young man report-

edly left the facility after informing

his colleagues that he could not work

through the night, a clear breach of the

ATC profession if one is not relieved of

his/her duty, sources noted.

Local media were told that when

the young man left the facility, his col-

leagues scrambled to nd someone totake over the shift, even as the Caribbe-

an Airlines 425 ight, which was head-

ing to the CJIA from Trinidad, neared

Timehri for landing. The aircraft was

forced to circle the airport during which

time a senior controller was scurried up

to the tower from another unit to pro-

vide landing clearance and instructions

to the Caribbean Airlines aircraft. The

other unit is usually very busy at nights

when there are numerous overights.

Air Trafc ControllerAbandons Post As FlightPrepares To Land

A Caribbean Airlines source said the

ight landed about 10 minutes late. The

source explained that the plane left

Trinidads Piarco international Airport

a bit early so its scheduled arrival was

not affected.

The incident is likely to draw a sig-

nicant investigation, since air trafc

controllers share a substantial depth

of responsibility for all aircraft whose

position in the air or on the ground , fall

under the mandate of the facility.

GEORGETOWN, Overseas banks arethreatening to close accounts be-longing to Guyanese and Guyanesebusinesses, according to Minster ofFinance, Dr Ashni Singh. The Minis-ter was a part of the panel that heldrecently a press brieng where hestressed that as a result of Guyanascurrent blacklisted status by the Ca-ribbean Financial Action Task Force(CFATF), business transactions havebeen rendered more complicated.Dr. Singh said he received a reportfrom an individual who said that theywere told that their account in an over-seas bank would be closed if they con-

tinue to do transactions with Guyana.That is happening now, accord-

ing to the Finance Minister, whoadded that he was also in receipt of areport of overseas banks refusing totransfer funds until lengthy detailedinformation is provided.

This, he said, is putting pressure onlocal businesses, because they are be-ing rendered into a position where theyare unable to complete their transac-tions. He said that these businessesnow have to incur additional costs.

Dr. Singh spoke too of nancialchallenges being incurred by localbusinesses because they are unableto have access to their money, ulti-mately placing the wellbeing of thesebusinesses and the welfare of theirworkers in jeopardy.That is a fact

that is occurring right now.He said that even if the opposition

was unable to secure an agreementwith the Government on their pro-posed amendments, APNU and theAFC hold the majority to take it toHouse and pass it, they dont needsupport of Government.

As such, according to the Minister,there is no reason why they need todetain the Bill and await agreementon their amendments.

So the deliberate act of detainingthe CFATF-compliant Bill on accountof these amendments is unnecessaryand places Guyana in jeopardy.

Dr. Singh was asked what guaranteethe opposition has that the Presidentwould assent to their amendmentswere they to proceed with the Billwithout their amendments and bringit at a later date.

He responded: The President(Donald Ramotar) didnt say that heis guaranteeing that their amend-ments would be enacted as is.Dr. Singh reminded that what thePresident said, was that he is willingto consult with CFATF and once thatbody endorses their amendments asrecommendable and acceptable andwill not place Guyana in default, thenhe is providing the Leader of theOpposition with the assurance thatGovernment will support them.

He said that the caveat is that the

Overseas Banks Threatening Closuresamendments would not collide withCFATF and the Financial Action TaskForce (CFATF) standards and itsobvious why he would want to insertthat caveat.

The Finance Minister said thatno responsible Government wouldenact amendments that would bringGuyana in default where prior, wewere not in default. According toDr. Singh, CFATF identied specicdeciencies that the Bill now seeks toaddress. In defending the 2009 Act,which Government is now seekingto amend, Dr. Singh said that while

CFATF did identify some deciencies,it was a strong piece of legislation.

He said that the Act was verysubstantial and was the subject ofintense deliberation.According to the Minister, when theoriginal Act was submitted it spenttwo years at the level of the SelectCommittee before it was unani-mously approved by Government,AFC and APNUs predecessor, thePeoples National Congress Reform.Dr. Singh added that with the newamendments, the Act will certainlybe strengthened further.

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Visas No Longer RequiredFor Bermuda Travel

KINGSTON, The Jamaica government has announced thatnationals travelling to the British Overseas Territory of Ber-muda for vacation or to conduct business would no longerrequire a visa. But Foreign Affairs Minister AJ Nicholson toldthe Senate that for Jamaicans to be able to take advantageof the waiver, they must be in possession of a multi-entryvisa to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Jamaican nationals who hold such multiple entry visas forthe USA, Canada or the UK must be careful to ensure thatthe visas are valid for a minimum of 45 days after the expiryof the planned stay in Bermuda. They must also ensure thattheir Jamaican passports have a validity of at least 45 daysafter the expiry of their planned stay, Nicholson said.

Nicholson said that Jamaica a few weeks ago signed anagreement with Brazil to facilitate visa free travel for Jamai-cans to that South American country.

TessanneWowsWhiteHouseKINGSTON, Jamaican singer Tes-

sanne Chin delivered a scintillating,

high-energy performance of Donna

Summers Last Dance at the White

House on March 6, earning sustained

applause from an audience headed byUS President Barack Obama and his

wife Michel le.

Chin, who performed after Patti

LaBelle, Janelle Monae, and Melissa

Etheridge, justied her inclusion in the

stellar line-up for the Women of Soul:

In Performance at the White House

staged by the US rst lady.

At the end of her performance, as

Chin returned to her seat, she was

greeted with a hug and a kiss by Patti

LaBelle

JMFADeniesLoanSharking

KINGSTON, The Jamaica MicroFinancing Association (JMFA) saysit is alarmed and concerned by DrChristopher Tuftons characterisationof members of the micro-nancingsector as loan sharks.

Dr Tufton has described as bur-

densome the interest rates beingcharged by micro-nance lendersand urged the Government to lookseriously at regulating the sector.

Addressing a Jamaica LabourParty (JLP) constituency confer-ence in Southern Trelawny, Tufton,a minister of industry, investmentand commerce in the previous JLPGovernment, appealed to Jamaicansto apply caution before acceptingloans from micro-nanciers as often-times the terms and conditions areso harsh that they place borrowersbusinesses in consistent debt.

He argued that individuals whotake loans on those terms are re-duced to working only to pay backthe loan sharks.

However, the JMFA responded

saying that Dr Tufton was quick to

point out that micro-nance com-panies are charging interest rate ofsix per cent per month, but failed tomention that there are several micronance companies offering loan atrates between two and four per centper month.

According to the group, micro-nancing is short-term loans andrarely exceed fteen months.

Turning to the case of a publicpassenger bus operator that DrTufton cited, it is very, very, un-likelythat just had difculty meeting a fewpayments would have resulted inthe scenario he claimed the man has

found himself in, the JMFA said.In his speech Dr Tufton made

reference to the case of a public pas-senger bus operator who, he said,borrowed J$40,000 from a micro-nance agency in July 2013 and haddifculty meeting a few payments.

The mans bus was seized bythe loan shark, Tufton said, andalthough he has already paid back$144,000 he was still told that heowes $126,000, and would not beallowed access to his bus until theoutstanding amounts are fully paid.

This is tantamount to abuse, aseven though the lender has beenmore than compensated, there is noway that that small minibus operatorcan sustain that kind of repaymentschedule and still operate a success-

ful small business, Tufton said.

However, the JMFA insisted thatmost micro-nancing companies offerre-nancing products (loan arrange-ments) for circumstances like that

mentioned by Dr Tufton, nonetheless

adding that delinquent loans requirethird parties intervention (bailiffs,wrecker service, and storage) anddoes become quite expensive.

Industrial ActionThreatened

KINGSTON,More than 4,000 thou-

sand sugar workers have threatened to

take industrial action following weeks

of failed negotiations involving their

unions and the Sugar Producers Federa-

tion (SPF) for improved wage and fringebenets. The three un ions representing

the workers and the Sugar Producers

Federation (SPF) are still at a stalemate

in hammering out a wage and fringe

benets agreement as a March 7 mara-

thon meeting at the Ministry of Labour

ended without a settlement.

The SPF has offered to increase wages

to 7 percent in year one and 3 percent in

the second year. This, however, has been

rejected by the unions.

First Vice President of the University

and Allied Workers Union (UAWU) Clif-

ton Grant says the SPFs offer has only

served to anger the workers.

The union wants a 13 percent (in-

crease) in the rst year for the employees

and an 8 and a half percent in the second

year. The federation says they are not in

a position to change. So we have commu-

nicated this to the employees. They arevery very upset. The feedback that we

are receiving is that the workers wanted

to take industrial action, but we have

asked them to give the Ministry of La-

bour and the minister and opport unity

to try and broker an agreement between

the parties, Grant said.

However, the SPF is insisting that the

industry stands to lose millions during this

crop season due to increased international

competition. But the unions are insisting

that they produce gures for both rum and

sugar production to support the prediction.

Another meeting was scheduled be held on

March 13 at the Ministry of Labour.


13/20


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Were in your Kitchen more than you Think!TM

ReggaeGoesCarnivalKINGSTON, REGGAE held centre-stage during last weekends Flo-rianopolis Carnival in Brazil which

involved a number of Jamaicanpersonalities. Singers Bunny Wailerand Andrew Tosh, music industryveteran Maxine Stowe and formerMiss World Cindy Breakspeare werejoined by former Jamaica footballcoach Rene Simoes, and Brazilianmusic promoter Chritiano Andrade,on a oat saluting Jamaican music.

The experience made an impression

on the 65-year-old Wailer.

Being my rst time in Brazil, to see

and feel the love of reggae and the

Wailers there, in their National Carnival,

is an indication of the impact that reg-

gae, Rastafari and Jamaica has there,

Wailer said. The oat touched on all

aspects of our music and culture.

With Brazil hosting the World Cup in

a matter of weeks and the Olympics in

2016, Wailer believes Jamaica should

strengthen ties with the South Ameri-

can country, one of reggaes biggest

markets.

Jamaican music has a massive fol-

lowing in Brazilian cities such as Riode Janiero and Sao Paulo, which has

populations of 20 million and 12 million,

respectively.

Salvador de Bahia, which has the

largest population of blacks in the

Western Hemisphere, is another major

reggae centre.

Jimmy Cliff was the rst reggae

artiste to make a mark in Brazil, during

the mid-1970s. Bob Marley, Jacob Mill-

er, Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs

also performed there in the 1980s.

The Congos, Eric Donaldson and The

Gladiators are also popular in Brazil.

Counterfeit CigarettesKINGSTON, Jamaica, Cigarette manu-

facturers Carreras have urged consum-

ers to check their cigarette packs as

attempts are being made to sell counter-

feit Craven A cigarettes. According to

Carreras, the counterfeit cigarette packs

can be identied by the best before

dates and accompanying product codes

that can be found on the bottom side

panel in gold on each cigarette pack:We wish to remind the public that

the illicit trade in cigarettes not only

hurts the Company, but it also denies

the Government of well-needed revenue

from taxes authorised by law, and de-

prives the National Health Fund of rev-

enues, Carreras said in a news release.

The company also cautioned that it

could not attest to the safety and quality

of counterfeit products.

In the meantime, Carreras urged the

relevant law enforcement agencies to

increase their vigilance and continue

its efforts in clamping down on the pres-

ence of illicit cigarettes.

Million Dollar RevenuesFor Grace KennedyKINGSTON, Jamaican conglomer-ate GraceKennedy Group has realised

record revenues of JA$67.3 billion

(TT$39.5 million) for 2013. This repre-

sents a JA$5.9 billion increase or 9.6 per

cent over the previous year.

This is the rst time the group has

exceed revenues by more than JA$5 bil-

lion, group chief executive Don Wehby

has said. This revenue increase was ac-

companied by a JA$973 million or 23.7

per cent increase in pre-tax prots.

Wehby said he was satised by the

groups performance in what he described

as a challenging economic climate.

Prots before tax amounted toJA$5.075 billion, and the company paid

JA$1.28 billion in taxes. Despite the

signicant increase in pre-tax prots,

2013 net prots were at when com-

pared to 2012 due to a one-off change in

the companys deferred income tax in

2012, he said.

Wehby also noted the added impact of

the National and Private Debt Exchange

programmes in which the company

participated, which led to a one-time loss

of $293 million in the income statement

arising from the exchange of instruments.

The company had a live audio online

stream media brieng in Jamaica on

Thursday featuring Wehby and several

of GraceKennedys top executives.

Wehby acknowledged Jamaicas dif-

cult economic situation, and said he was

encouraged that the country had passed

the rst three International Monetary

Fund tests but cautioned the against

too much optimism, encouraging the

government to meet its targets.

He said the all sectors besides insur-

ance had seen increased performance,

and international markets were also

strong, especially the UK.

The company has also expanded into

Ghana over the last year, he said.

High energy costs in Jamaica are hav-

ing constricting impact on GraceKenne-

dys desire to increase its manufacturing

capabilities, chief executive of GraceK-

ennedy Foods, Michael Rangling added.

Energy in Jamaica costs US$0.30 per

kilowatt/hour, compared to US$0.06 in

Trinidad and Tobago.

If we were able to lower costs to

US$0.10 or US$0.15 per kilowatt/hour

we could signicantly increase our

capacity, he said.


14/20


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PORT-OF-SPAIN, Minister of The Arts

and Multiculturalism, Lincoln Douglas,

has hailed Carnival 2014 as one of the

most successful Carnivals we have had, if

not the most successful Carnival we have

had. Douglas was speaking at the March

6 post-Cabinet media conference at the

Ofce of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

Questioned on the complaints from

spectators, masqueraders and vendors

about Carnival in the capital city, Doug-

las said Carnival was not conned toPort of Spain alone.

He said there were Carnival celebrations

in 52 regions nationwide and there was a

signicant increase in participation. He

said from this as well as a security and -

nancial standpoint, Carnival was a success.

He said there was proper manage-

ment of the funds and there was no debt

incurred. He praised all stakeholders

involved in making Carnival a success,

adding that all events and shows were

successfully produced.

Douglas said there were issues to look

at in terms of copyright and the paraderoute and these will be ironed out be-

fore Carnival 2015.

One Of The Best CarnivalsEver, Says Minister!

Rajins West Indian TakeoutExperience the taste of the Caribbean

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Extra Time For JackPORT-OF-SPAIN, A High Court judge has givenformer national security minister Austin Jack War-

ner until March 19 to le a defence to a lawsuitbrought against him by his one time Cabinet col-league and Attorney General Anaand Ramlogan.

Warner had sought a three week extension, butJustice Robin Mohammed also warned Warner,the interim leader of the recently formed Inde-pendent Liberal Party (ILP), that if the defenceis not led by March 19, he would be debarredfrom defending the claim brought against him.

Ramlogan had taken issue with statementsmade by Warner on the political platform during

last years Local government elections.The lawsuit alleges that Warners words, in theirnatural and ordinary meaning, were under-

stood to mean that, among other things, Ramlo-gan was involved in corruption and scandal andwas guilty of corruption, abuse of power or mis-

conduct in public ofce.Justice Mohammed also ordered Warner, the

former vice-president of the International Foot-ball Federation (FIFA), to pay costs estimated at

TT$12,000 (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents).

DOCTOR

SUSPENDEDPORT-OF-SPAIN, The doctor whoperformed a Caesarean sectionduring which a baby boys headwas sliced, penetrating his braintissue, has been suspended pend-ing the report of an independentinvestigation.

Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan toldlocal media that after receiving areport on the incident he indicatedto chairman of the North Central

Regional Health Authority (NCRHA)Dr Shehenaz Mohammed that thedoctor be immediately suspended.

On Carnival Saturday, a C-section was performed on QuellyAnn Cottle, 38, at the Mt HopeWomens Hospital during which herbaby died .

The babys father, Emil Milling-ton, pleaded for answers surround-ing his sons death and called onthe authorities for action, claimingthere was an attempt to cover upthe incident by cremating his babythe very day he died.


15/20


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BELLY BUSTAS: TAKE 3!

1. MEDICAL ADVICE

Morris , an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gor-geous young woman on his arm

A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, Youre really do-ing great, arent you?

Morris replied, Just doing what you said, Doc: Get a hot mamma and be

cheerful.The doctor said, I didnt say that.. I said, Youve got a heart murmur; be careful.

3. WISHING WELL

A married couple walks up to a wishing well. The guy leans over, makes awish and throws in a penny.

His wife decides to make a wish, too, but she leans over too far, falls into thewell and drowns.

The guy says, Wow, it really works.

2. CLAIMING OWNERSHIP

A husband and wife were having dinner at a very ne restaurantwhen this absolutely stunning young woman comes over to their table, givethe husband a big sensuous kiss, then says shell see him later and walksaway. The wife, glares at her husband and says, Who the hell was that?

Oh, replies the husband, shes my mistress.

Well, thats the last straw, says the wife. Ive had enough, I want a divorce!.

I can understand that, replies her husband, but remember, if we get adivorce it will mean no more shopping trips to Paris, no more wintering inBarbados, no more summers in Tuscany, no more Inniti or Lexus in the ga-rage and no more yacht club. But the decision is yours.

Just then, a mutual friend enters the restaurant with a gorgeous babe on his arm.

Whos that woman with Jim? asks the wife.

Thats his mistress, says her husband.

She replies Ours is prettier.


16/20


HOME AFFAIRS

GettingReady ForSpring!

As spring brings about therenewal of plants andadds colour to the out-

doors, it inspires us to dreamup plans for the indoors where

weve been holed up all winter.Renovations are done for several

reasons, from adding living space and

increasing home equity and market

value, to repai ring dama ge, be com-

ing more energy efficient, or simply

to improve comfort and convenience.

Maintenance and repair renovations

focus on protecting and improving our

investment and should be the prior-

ity as they usually require immediate

attention. Retrofit projects usually

focus on the homes shell or mechani-

cal systems like replacing a furnace,

adding siding, a new roof, or upgrad-

ing insulation. Lifestyle renovations

are the most varied. They can help

improve our way of life or give us a

chance to redecorate, rearrange andredo. Some projects offer a payback,

depending on how long you plan to

stay in your home. Bathroom, kitch-

en, furnace/heating and basement

renovations typically offer the highest

payback. Sometimes, it takes a only a

little effort to make a big

difference. Painting is the quick-

est way to fre shen up a home and

is easy to do yourself. A new colour

can dramatica lly improve the look

and feel of a room. In the kitchen,

new efficient appliances add appeal

as well as save energy and money.

Simply replacing bathroom fixtures

can add new spark le, and replacing

light fixtures c an shed new light on

any room. Its also the season for

reno or home repair scammers. A

friendly, knowledgeable construc-

tion professional might knock on

you r door and o ffer a s pecial di s-

count to do a must-do repair job he

just hap pened t o n ot ice while h e

wa s wor ki ng in the n eig hbo urhoo d.

Perhaps theyll offer to do a free

inspection and then find a serious

problem. There might be pressure

to make a quick decision a nd pay a

deposit for the required materia ls.

Avoi d any p ote nt ia l f or home r epa ir

fraud by dealing w ith a reputable

contractor and getting a detai led

contract in writing.

Do your homework. Know your

budge t, check references . Have a

plan. Most of all enjoy it!

*The information in this article is not

intended as specic investment, nan-

cial, accounting, and legal or tax advice

H

ave you ever been at a party

where everything is going

great? The music is good, thevenue is fantastic and then suddenly

without warning, someone who is a litt le

too happy spills their drink on you? I

confess not only have I been doused but

I have witnessed many such events.

I recall some time ago my wife and I

were on an island vacation and we were

at an outdoor event with live music.

Much to our chagrin, a gentleman who

was well past intoxicated and carrying

two drinks came and stood close by. As

fate would have it, he spilled his drink

on my wifes top. The bumbling spillers

wife/girlfriend was quick to apologise

but ten minutes later, he did the same

thing again. In retrospect, that manmust have nine lives because I am not

sure how my wife did not do a matrix

manoeuver on him. Believe me she

is not the type of woman to hold back

when annoyed. The typical response

when this type of spil lage occurs is to

tell the bumbling spiller off. It is more

likely you would want to look him in

his glazed eyes and say Man, I could

cuff you down right now; or perhaps I

could ring you blasted neck right here.

However, before you vocalize, it is

better to internalize and think before

you speak. The reason I would admon-

ish you to take this guarded approach

is that in the heat of passion, we may

often say things we would not normally

say. We may allow our tempers and

emotions to get the better of us and that

could spell trouble.

Why? That is because it is a cr iminal

offence to utter threats. Section 264.1 of

the Criminal Code:

264.1(1) every one commits an of-

fence, who, in any manner, knowinglyutters, conveys or causes any person to

receive a threat;

(a) to cause death or bodily harm to

any person;

(b) to burn, destroy or damage real or

personal property; or

(c) to kill, poison or injure an animal or

bird that is the property of any person

In terms of the elements of the

offence, you should know that what

you s ay w ill be vie wed obje cti vely to

determine whether under the cir-

cumstances your words or gestures

UTTERING THREATS Think Before You Speak Or Act!

constitute a threat. In effect, would

a reasonable person under the same

circumstances interpret your wordsor gestures as a threat?

In the scenario above, you would

want to say that you were just f rus -

trated and upset but the important

aspect or question is, would a reason-

able person interpret your words to be

a threat to them?

The law is well established that it is

irrelevant whether or not you had the

means to carry out the threat. For

instance, if you say to someone I am

going to shoot you, it does not matter

if you did not own or possess a gun at

the material time. Furthermore, it is

not necessary that the threat be con-

veye d to the intended vic tim for t heoffence to be committed. Again, as-

sume you call up Bob and leave him a

voice message stat ing that you are go-

ing to break his friend Johns legs. In

AT A FUND-RAISING DANCE

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DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 19TH, 2014TIME: 7:30p.m. to 1:00a.m.

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Dress: Elegantly CasualFood& Beverage: West Indian Cuisine

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TICKETS: $25.00 per person

Tickets may be obtained from:

Mike Gonsalves - 416-420-0565George de Silva - 647-248-1377Joe & Anne Castanheiro - 416-286-19 56Karen Heifa - 416-720-69 02Raymond Pereira - 905-471-8965

"Painting is thequickest wayto freshen upa home andis easy to do

yourself. A newcolour can dra-matically im-

prove the lookand feel of aroom."

this case a conviction can be s ecured

if the Crown can establish that the

word s were meant to inti mida te or

be tak en s erious ly. The fact that the

threatening voice message was left for

Bob and not John is irrelevant.

Note: A threat can also be non-

verbal. A common example is running

your nger across your throat as if cut-ting or slicing or holding your palm out

with the nger pointing as if it were the

nozzle of a gun.

So, the next time you are at a fete and

someone spills an alcoholic concoction

that is sure to stain your outt, think

before your spea k or act. Choose your

words carefully and refrain from any

threatening wo

caribbean graphic march 2014

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