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Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Tuesday 28th August 2018. Remember you can read full articles by purchasing Daily Nation Newspaper (DN), via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS).

INTEGRITY LAW MIGHT FAIL – A rare open hearing of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on the proposed Integrity in Public Life Bill 2018 was warned today that the legislation alone would fail to keep politicians honest. The warning came from Sir David Simmons, the former parliamentarian, cabinet minister and attorney general under several administrations of the governing Barbados Labour Party who rose to become Chief Justice of Barbados. But as he addressed the parliamentary committee, Sir David spoke as the man who helped establish the Turks and Caicos Islands Integrity Commission he currently chairs. The former Chief Justice, one of two eminent persons making oral submissions to the Committee in the Senate Chamber, recommended that an Integrity in Public Life Act must be part of a package of related laws in order for it to get the job done of fighting corruption. “This legislation must be part of a package.  It cannot exist on its own. It cannot adequately do the job. We agree that there must be a code of conduct developed which must provide for sanctions for breach of the code,” said Sir David. “You need a code of conduct, but more particularly… I would like to suggest, you need legislation to regulate campaign financing of political parties…and you need a Freedom of Information Act. I think those two, plus the code of conduct and this legislation [Integrity in Public Life Bill] as a suite of legislation will ensure that Barbados has taken proper steps towards providing minimum standards for good governance and the conduct of persons in public life,” the leading Caribbean jurist told the Select Committee chaired by Attorney General Dale Marshall. He recommended a sliding scale of sanctions, instead of the automatic dismissal of corrupt government ministers or judges which is required under the British overseas territory’s constitution. He suggested such penalties should include a reprimand or suspension. Sir David stressed that Barbados needed to get its house in order for the treatment it is likely to face from the international financial sector including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with regards to corrupt practices. He added there was no time for Barbados to turn back in its quest to tackle corruption and should follow the examples of countries such as Jamaica, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos which have Integrity Commissions. “Corruption is attracting the attention of world leaders and the international financial institutions. The Summit of the Americas was held in Peru in April this year and the hot topic was how governments can combat corruption at the highest level throughout the Americas and that would include us. In the same month of April this year. “The International Monetary Fund that we are dealing with now, promulgated a framework for enhanced engagement with countries on governance and corruption issues. And the objectives, according to the release from the IMF is to ensure that issues of corruption are dealt with ‘systematically, effectively, candidly and in a manner that reflects uniformity of treatment’,” said the former Chief Justice. The IMF will begin to comment on actual or perceived corrupt practices in a particular country when it conducts its usual Article IV reviews, he predicted. “It behoves us to start to put our house in order to align ourselves to the rest of the world and the best practices that are being developed to enhance good governance,” Sir David said. But in a frank declaration, Sir David blamed the private sector for corruption in Government. “Corruption in the public sector is a direct consequence of willing greedy and corrupt persons in the private sector. There is big money in Government contracts, everyone knows that. And where legislation for election campaign financing is non-existent and public procurement legislation is toothless, I don’t think it is fanciful to suggest that financiers of election campaigns of parties expect that if the donees of their funds are successful they would have access to lucrative Government contracts,” he contende. The ex-judge also made a strong case for whistleblower legislation with provision to protect the informants, a major public education programme to ensure the widest possible buy-in and much stiffer penalties that would deter potential corruption. The other oral submission was made by Head of Management Studies at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Dr Philmore Alleyne, whose doctoral thesis was on whistleblowing. Dr Alleyne, who also taught governance and ethics at the Cave Hill Campus, shared some of the findings of a 2017 study he conducted on behalf of the UWI on corruption. He said 89 per cent of respondents believe there is political interference in business and the judiciary. “There is also belief that there is pervasive corruption and fraud in business and Government. There is also a belief that Government is perceived as not being accountable and transparent,” the senior university lecturer told the Joint Select Committee, which includes the Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley and Opposition Senator Caswell Franklin. Dr Alleyne also found that people saw Government as not being serious of tackling corruption. Without naming former Minister of International Business Donville Inniss, who is currently facing US money laundering allegations linked to alleged bribery, the academic pointed to the case as another reason for Barbados to have integrity legislation. Heartened that Government was taking a bold step in seeking full stakeholder participation in the final drafting of the Integrity in Public Life Bill, he nevertheless said that its implementation and enforcement remained a concern, he said. He agreed with Sir David’s suggestion for a public education campaign to address the negative perceptions in the public domain concerning politicians and business people. He told the hearing that just before coming before the Committee, he carried out a cursory survey among some members of the public and discovered that people felt it was just a talk shop. But Committee members Senator Lisa Cummins and Ralph Thorne MP said this was far from the truth, pointing to Dr Alleyne’s own submission and the invitation to all stakeholders to take part. The UWI lecturer agreed to make his research available to the Committee and promised to return to the parliamentary body if needed. He also sided with Sir David’s call for stiffer penalties in the legislation, a mechanism to protect confidential information, the expunging of the record of declared assets after a public official has left office and greater vetting of appointments to the Integrity Commission. At the end of the three-hour session, which was carried live on television and streamed on the Parliament’s website, the Chairman of the Joint Select Committee Dale Marshall announced that 14 entities or individuals had made written submissions and seven of them would appear before the body. The Democratic Labour Party, which held office until the May 24 election heads the list of organizations expected to address the Joint Select Committee, along with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB), the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, the Mens Education Support Association (MESA), the Office of the Ombudsman and the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) Financial Intelligence Unit. The hearing was adjourned until Friday, September 7th at 1.30 p.m.  (BT)

BILL PROBED – Credit card charges for supermarket shopping, a $900 restaurant bill, a television and more than $1,000 in duty-free purchases by yet another leader of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) are being challenged as unauthorized transactions, Barbados TODAY has learned. And the decision-making body in the NUPW, concerned at a two-year pattern of high credit card spending, has called for scrutiny of the union leaders’ charge card bills. Just one month after President Akanni McDowall was called to account for alleged unauthorized use of the union’s credit card, General Secretary Roslyn Smith is to be quizzed by the union’s national council later this week for a credit card bill of $13,262.57, a source close to the development told Barbados TODAY on condition of anonymity. But Smith, backed by General Treasurer Asokore Beckles, has rubbished these accusations of unauthorized purchases in the last ten months. But the source said that McDowall, who is chairman of the National Council, has been instructed to summon Smith in writing to a meeting on Wednesday. McDowall would neither confirm nor deny this account when contacted today. In documents seen by Barbados TODAY, Smith charged $4000 at Popular Discounts and Massy Stores supermarkets from September 2017 to March 2018. Other charges included a $937 bill at Brown Sugar restaurant, $773 for a television at Courts and $1,196.28 in purchases at Duty Free Caribbean. Smith told Barbados TODAY that the charges were nothing short of a malicious attempt to besmirch her name because purchases were made with the expressed authorization of the union. “All those things were discussed before. The supermarket purchases were for the hurricane relief effort in Dominica. I couldn’t use the card unless I have permission because I return the card to the union after every purchase. So I am not too bothered by what anyone says. When you have persons that have done things that they should not do they try to implicate people that are above board,” the NUPW general secretary said. Her position was fully supported by the treasurer, Beckles, who denied Smith was being investigated. “I am the general treasurer of the organization and I can say to you emphatically that the general secretary is under no investigation or under any disciplinary action under any circumstances when it comes to financial matters. Any financial spending has to be approved by myself or by the president and one of the first-vice presidents. So even if the general secretary had to make a transaction it would come to light when it came time to paying,” said Beckles, who added he personally combed through the union’s spending each week. “There were various ways in which we had to go about purchasing stuff for Dominica disaster relief. These matters were urgent to get relief to our brothers and sisters out there. So, given the speedy nature we had instructed the general secretary to go and purchase these items as well as find ways to get them to Dominica,” he added. The National Council, the union’s highest decision-making body, met on July 30 and August 2 and moved that “all documents in respect of the credit card should be brought to Council including the General Secretary’s use”. According to a report of the meeting, a copy of which Barbados TODAY has obtained, the National Council expressed concern over the pattern of spending on the union’s credit cards in the last 24 months. The committee recommended that all credit cards be destroyed and that a sole credit card be issued for NUPW use, limited to overseas charges and for emergencies.  (BT)

TRUCKS STILL COMING – Thwarted in their attempt to bring in cheaper garbage trucks, sanitation officials are still working to source the extra vehicles from Britain – but they will cost the taxpayer a little extra. The trucks are to be ordered within six to eight weeks of being initially announced by Prime Minister Mia Mottley in her June 11 mini budget – albeit at a “minor additional cost”, said Minister of Environment and National Beautification Trevor Prescod. The 15 used trucks would come at a cost of about $15 million, as the delivery time for new trucks would be around eight months and Barbados could not wait that long, the Prime Minister had said then. But a week ago Mottley told a St Michael South East constituency meeting that she ordered a group of Government officials sent to Europe to source the vehicles to return to Barbados after they reported the mysterious, simultaneous, appearance of a private sector firm’s representative. Barbados TODAY later revealed that Courtesy Garage was the company whose representative had shown up in Europe. Plans to source more than two dozen second-hand garbage trucks was still on the table, said the minister in an impromptu interview during the Down to Brasstacks radio talkshow today, ahead of a tour of the site of the old Fairchild Street market. He could not give an indication as to when the used trucks would arrive in Barbados as a result of the “unconventional things” that resulted in the recall of the officials on a UK trip, but said Government was “hoping that we are working within the same schedule. “As a consequence of what has transpired, the reality because there are cloudy areas, we have to wait until the clouds are cleared,” said Prescod figuratively. The buyers team of SSA chairman Jeffrey Headley and two technical staff members had examined the trucks at the three locations they visited and had already “sent forward reports on the experience up there,” he added. “They saw enough. The reality is that in arranging the trip, it was not Barbados to St Lucia, Barbados to St Vincent. So you had some extra time which would have been there. So although the mission was cut short the reality is that the department did what it had to do,” he said. Without giving any estimate, the Minister for the Environment said Government was likely to incur “minor additional cost” as a consequence of cutting the trip shorter than expected. Explaining that the country was in “a bad situation” when it came to the shortage of garbage trucks, Prescod said only about 16 trucks were functioning at times “but on a regular basis sometimes those numbers drop down to about four or five”. He said ahead of the additional trucks arriving, the SSA was also taking steps to improve their efficiency. “What we have also been doing is rather than having one shift or so, sometimes two or three shifts, and you will probably see garbage trucks out on Saturdays and Sundays and bank holidays. Sometimes when a situation becomes extremely intense and excessive amount of garbage accumulate in some areas we have a special service that will go out to that location and clear it,” he explained. He said the decision to explore the trucks in the UK was based on the experts’ opinion, adding that they also did cursory checks in other markets. “They felt that the English market was the best market. We obviously looked at China, we looked at Japan, we looked at Brazil [and] we looked the United States of America. We didn’t exclude anybody,” said Prescod. Explaining that the Garbage and Sewage Contribution (GSC) that was introduced at a rate of $1.50 per day for households and 50 per cent of the water bill for companies on August 1, would help finance the SSA and the Barbados Water Authority, Prescod assured that “proper checks and balances” would be in place. “We are going to be very prudent and I don’t want you to judge us based on what you have experienced within the last 10 or 11 years in Barbados. You can rest assured that we have designed a progressive programme as a political party and I believe that we also have competent persons,” he said. (BT)

MARKET VENDORS TRASH DUMPERS – Stall owners and vendors are demanding the Government tackle a stinking mountain of garbage at the Fairchild Street Market site that attracts illicit dumpers. But the mini-‘Mount Stinkeroo’ not only earned the ire of the market’s users but brought out the Minister for the Environment Trevor Prescod, senior civil servants – and a clean-up crew from the Sanitation Service Authority today. Armed with skid-steer loader and two trucks the SSA sought to clear the mess – discarded household items, food containers and cardboard boxes, even disused appliances. And the people who make the market their place of business accuse previous and current administrations of turning a blind eye to the problem. Irate business owners called on Government to take serious action against people who use the demolished market as a dumping ground in order to avoid paying the tipping fee for proper disposal of their refuse. “People does come from all over the place and dump their garbage. Just last night one man came here with a grey Suzuki (jeep) and dumped a whole heap of fridges and when people tried to talk to him he start cursing,” said one bar owner, who referred to herself only as Janice. “Trucks does come here and dump things because they don’t want to pay the tipping fee. This is just nasty and Government need to install some cameras around here so that they could catch some people and make them pay. This is downright nasty and it is years now that we suffering with this problem and it takes months before [SSA] comes,” said another stall owner, who did not want to be identified. But Prescod said it was therefore unfair to blame the SSA for the lack of garbage removal because the market has a private contractor for garbage disposal which uses a skip to retain refuse. The Minister also warned that Government is considering stiffer penalties for persons who use the market as a dumping ground. “This skip belongs to a private hauler and it is not the Government department that is responsible for having the skip here and it is not the Sanitation Service Authority that is responsible for the accumulation of garbage.  The reality is that when that skip on more than one occasion becomes full, the private hauler moves it but leaves all the garbage that overflowed and accumulated around the skip,” said Prescod, as he oversaw the unsightly mound with top officials from his ministry and the SSA. And the Minister revealed the possible implementation of garbage separation in homes for recycling and other alternative waste disposal. “If we try to use moral suasion in the months ahead and we discover that society is not responding then we would have to use the legislature in order to use that muscle. We came into office and realized that a lot of these deficiencies existed in the system,” he stressed. (BT)

SCHOOL READINESS – Eagle Hall Primary will likely be unable to open its doors on the first day of the school year, the Government said this afternoon on its yearly race to spruce up the nation’s schools. The extent of refurbishment work at the urban school “may make it impossible for that institution to welcome students in time for the start of the term” on September 10, said the Ministry of Education in a release. “The time frame and the amount of work left to be done may not allow those schools to be ready in time,” said Acting Minister of Education Senator Lucille Moe. “We have to wait a little longer and see how far within the next two weeks the contractors are able to get [in completing] the work. Certainly Eagle Hall [Primary] will be one of those schools and so we will be monitoring that situation closely to see if we will be able to make any kind of adjustments in regard to that situation. “Whatever money that has been made available for this refurbishment we will ensure it is provided to the contractors so they can complete the work,” the minister said.  “Most of the island’s schools should be ready to open their doors to students at the start of the new school term,” the statement said.  The news came as Acting Minister of Education Senator Lucille Moe joined the top brass of the ministry of a tour of schools across the island. Standing in for ailing minister Santia Bradshaw who has begun treatment for breast cancer, Senator Moe was joined by Parliamentary Secretary Senator Dr Romel Springer, Permanent Secretary Janet Phillips, and Chief Education Officer Karen Best. The officials assessed the progress of repairs being carried out, then declared that most of the schools should be ready when school opens on Monday, September 10. “Some of the schools are almost ready; they still have some way to go. I think the contractors are trying to complete what is left outstanding. Certainly, money is always a concern and Government is trying to ensure they can provide the funding to the contractors so that they can get the jobs completed,” Senator Moe said. The refurbishment works included replacing tiles, windows and counter tops; repairing roofs and ceilings; and ridding school buildings of mould, which was due to the schools’ location, she said. Most of the problems could be rectified with proper maintenance, the minister said. The Acting Education Minister urged pupils to take care of their school when they returned in September. “I would say to students that it is their school and to be proud of their school and to make sure the environments they will find themselves in every day are maintained to an acceptable standard. I would also like to appeal to the parents to speak to their children at home and ensure that they impress on them the need for them to take care of their schools and [have] pride in their surroundings,” she said.  (BT)

NO STATISTICS ON LOCAL CXC FAILURES, SAYS OFFICIAL   - Education officials here are yet to determine the number of Barbadian students who failed to pass a single subject in this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination set by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). Some 11,000 students from across the Caribbean had failed every subject, CXC Registrar Glenroy Cumberbatch said at a function in Grenada two weeks ago during the release of the results from the May/June examination. “This year we had over 60,000 candidates doing five or more CSEC subjects and 59 per cent of them gaining acceptable grades,” Cumberbatch said then, while noting that just 20 per cent of the Caribbean CXC-age population get to write the CSEC exam, and of this cohort some 13 per cent fail every subject. Local CXC Registrar in the Ministry of Education Dr Roderick Rudder told Barbados TODAY he was unable to say how many of the 11,000 students were Barbadian. “We have not gone into details in terms of looking at the national performance as yet because we were really and truly caught between facilitating our students who are applying for sixth form and we were at the tail end of dealing with the scholars and exhibitioners. So, we have not fully analyzed our statistics as yet, we are in the process of doing that,” Rudder said, adding that the ministry was in the process of doing some other “very critical things” at this point.  He explained that normally the ministry would have been able to provide the updated statistics on the CSEC results, but this year had been a challenge due to clashes with other key events.  “We are in the process of now going through the stats,” he emphasized. The examination body had put “corrective” measures in place to assist students writing the various exams, CXC’s Public Relations Manager Cleveland Sam told Barbados TODAY.  “We have study guides for CSEC and CAPE [Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination] subjects. We have for almost all of those subjects by now. We have been publishing those study guides . . . [and] we have also made the syllabuses available online free of cost for everyone to access them as well,” Sam said.  The CXC spokesman revealed that the school reports, which allow students to review past results, were also accessible online at no charge.  “With respect to specific subjects [such as] Maths, English and Caribbean History, CXC has set up three working groups to examine the issues affecting the performance of candidates in those subjects. And those committees are expected to present those reports to Council in December,” he revealed.  CXC had not conducted an investigation into the reasons behind the 11,000 failures, but it had noticed that in some of the subjects, such as Social Studies, the students had been inadequately prepared for the exam, he said.  “The examiners have observed that the students are not presenting Social Studies answers. They are presenting everyday answers as if they are having a conversation with someone down the road. So, they are not taking the time to learn the language of the subject, for example,” Sam said. Data provided by the CXC shows that in 2016, there were 13,388 pupils who failed to secure a single pass, while there were 11,751 failures cases last year.  (BT)

ON-THE-JOB PROTECTIONS FOR THE DISABLED ‘COMING’ – A new Disability in the Workplace Act is on the cards for the three-month-old Barbados Labour Party administration, three years after it was introduced, Home Affairs Minister Edmund Hinkson has declared. And Hinkson, a leader in the disabled community now a Minister of Government, has also promised that the department is to complete its move to a new building, which began construction under the previous administration. The lawyer was speaking on the sidelines of a recent tour of the House of Assembly by pupils of the Gordon Greenidge Primary School in his St James North riding. “The establishment of a Disabilities in the Workplace Bill which has been knocking around for three years when I was an opposition Member of Parliament – and as you know I also sat as Director of the National Disabilities Council – and I would have gone to a couple meetings which would have included that disability in the workplace bill. Obviously, from a legislative viewpoint [the Act] will prohibit discrimination among persons with disabilities in the workplace” he said. The current way of defining someone as disabled and medically unfit needed revamping because disabled people still have their mental facilities functioning and are capable of working, he said. “The workplace as is reasonable would have to retrofit the workplace to accommodate a person with a disability, or they may have an employee who became disabled in terms of mobility as a result of an accident.” Under current law, workers who become disabled during their employment must wait a year before applying to a medical board, constituted by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), that makes the declaration of incapacity. “You may end up on the public purse through NIS where nothing is wrong with your brain, your mental capabilities and you should still be able to work,” he said adding that people with disabilities were more appreciative of jobs than those who were able-bodied. “A lot of persons with disabilities, visual, mobile disabilities are as bright or brighter than persons who do not have those abilities, and of course they treasure a job more because they realize that they have been given an opportunity to show their worth, invariably you would find that they concentrate more on the job,” Hinkson said “So we are committed to bringing that in legislation.” The Home Affairs Minister criticized the Freundel Stuart administration for never bringing a comprehensive disability law to Parliament since he proposed it in 2015.  “I would have laid in Parliament a resolution calling for comprehensive disability legislation now in March 2015 and it was never debated by the previous government; certainly that is something that we need to look at,” he said. The then Minister of Social Care Steve Blackett assured the disabled community earlier this year that the National Disabilities Unit would have been relocated to the new building under construction in Collymore Rock, St Michael. “It ought to have been completed by now”, Hinkson said. “When I was a Director for [the National Council for the Disabled] we would have agreed for the Disabilities Unit to be relocated into that building and we were told that it would have been completed a while ago. “Certainly, the then Minister Steve Blackett in the month of March earlier this year said that it would have been finished. Minister Forde has visited the building and we hope that it will soon be opened,” the Minister said. He added that it was impractical for members of the disabled community to have to do business in a two-storey building. (BT)

WOMAN BREAKS POLICE ‘GLASS CEILING’ – A Governor General, a Prime Minister – now add an Assistant Commissioner of Police to the list of women breaking the glass ceiling in Barbados this year. And while she does not see her appointment as major, Lila Strickland, who has been acting in the position for the last five years, has acknowledged that it was definitely a breakthrough for females. “I was doing the work since December 2013. It is not a big deal for me [but] it is an achievement for the female section,” she said. Strickland, 62, was on Monday presented with her letters of appointment from Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith during a short ceremony at Police Headquarters.  “I have been in it for a while and I don’t think of anything that is new that is imminent but I have been making inroads,” she said. She pledged to continue to give of her best at all times and continue to work closely with her colleagues to fulfill the mandate of the Royal Barbados Police Force. Strickland’s appointment came exactly three months after Barbados witnessed the election of its first female Prime Minister Mia Mottley, 52, and about seven months after 69-year-old Dame Sandra Mason began her term as Governor General. A record six women now serve as Members of Parliament in the 30-seat House of Assembly. Eight of 20 members of the Senate are female. Commandment of the Regional Police Training Centre Sylvester Louis and Senior Superintendent of Police Eucklyn Thompson have been made Assistant Commissioners of Police. The appointments will take effect from September 1. (BT)

EX-COP ON BAIL OVER FRAUD CHARGES - A former police officer-turned-taxi driver, was granted $30,000 bail when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrate’s Court on fraud charges today. It is alleged Denoredo Dajoephie Denore Mundle, of Austin Drive, Eden Lodge, St Michael with intent to defraud, endeavoured to obtain from CIBC First Caribbean International Bank Limited, on August 21, $76,280. 22 and $94, 820.55 via two forged cheques made payable to him and drawn from the account of W.H. Bryan Limited. Mundle was not required to plead to the indictable charges when he appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick with his attorney Naomi Lynton. Prosecutor Sergeant Rudy Pilgrim objected to bail on the grounds that investigations were not yet completed with detectives still looking for other individuals, and there were suggestions that Mundle might interfere in the course of justice. The prosecution also pointed to the “potency” of the evidence against the accused. Mundle was a former police officer who would have been involved in investigations of this nature and could “influence or coerce” the situation if granted bail, the prosecutor contended. He also submitted that the accused as a flight risk. But defence attorney Lynton argued that her client was a fit and proper candidate for bail given that he had no prior convictions and was not currently on bail. She further submitted that he was not a flight risk although he was Jamaican by birth. “He has been here since he was five years old and is 30 years old now. He doesn’t have a passport, be it Barbadian or Jamaican. He was a police officer for four years and left in 2013 and has been working as a taxi man and valet on the West Coast,” Lynton added. The Bail Act did not specify ongoing investigations and search for individuals as reasons for withdrawing bail, as the Crown contended, she told the magistrate. “He is not on bail, has no [prior convictions], had nothing to support that he will abscond if granted bail. It is inflammatory; a red herring…. to make it more dramatic than it needs to be. I don’t see the connection to the charges with him being a former police officer which should disturb his right to bail . . . he is an extremely fit candidate for bail,” Lynton added. Magistrate Frederick ruled in favour of the accused man and granted him bail, which he secured with two sureties. But Mundle must now report to Central Police Station every Wednesday before 10 a.m. with valid identification. He is barred from applying for a passport and cannot travel without a court order. The accused fraudster who is to make his next appearance in court on December 5 has also been warned not to approach any witnesses in the case. (BT)

HOPE PLEADS GUILTY - A Guyanese woman was handed over to immigration officials today after pleading guilty to a theft charge. Crystal Saskiea Hope, 20, of Halls Road, St Michael admitted that she stole $55.15 in items from Popular Discount on Spry Street, The City, on Saturday. The prosecutor said the security guard on duty observed Hope placing canned foods and meats into a bag. She was then stopped as she approached the exit and searched when the stolen items were found. “I don’t know why I do this,” she is said to have told supermarket managers before the police were called in. After addressing Magistrate Douglas Frederick this morning immigration officials were called in and it was disclosed that Hope arrived on March 4 and was granted a six-month stay as a visitor. Magistrate Frederick then convicted, reprimanded and discharged her on the charge and released her into the custody of immigration officials. (BT)

FREE TO GO – Shopkeeper Anthony Winston Alleyne has been freed of the murder of Tyrone McDonald Babb, after the Crown dropped its case for lack of evidence. Babb died last December 17 after an alleged altercation with Alleyne, while at 1st Ave, Goodland, St Michael. The deceased, who lived at Goodland Main Road, St Michael, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance for medical attention the following day after complaining of head injuries and later died. Alleyne, 33, also of 1st Ave, Goodland, St Michael, appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrate’s Court on December 22, last year charged with the capital offence. He was remanded to prison at HMP Dodds where has been an inmate for the past eight months. But when Alleyne appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick today the case against him was discontinued through a warrant from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. It said the charge against the accused “cannot be [proved] beyond a reasonable doubt” and advised that the criminal proceedings against him be discounted. Moments later, the shackles and manacles where taken off and the shopkeeper emerged from court a free man. (BT)

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Thursday June 7TH2018. Remember you can read full articles by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN), via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS).

4.5 PAY HIKE – You can forget all about the National Union of Public Workers’ (NUPW) demands for a 23 per cent pay hike for its members. Those demands by this island’s largest public sector union have apparently died with the last Government. Today, the NUPW, which had been holding the feet of the Freundel Stuart-led administration to the fire for more than a year in support of its demands for a double-digit pay hike, made a major about turn on the issue. Barbados TODAY understands that after initially rejecting the significantly reduced offer from the new Government yesterday of a 4.5 per cent increase over three years, the union’s national council met today and approved the single digit salary offer, with only one council member abstaining and all others voting in favour of the proposed hike of two per cent in the first year, 1.5 per cent in the second and one per cent in the third for the 2016 to 2019 negotiating period. At the same time, the NUPW has no intention of relinquishing outstanding backpay covering the period 2011 to 2016. However, informed sources say they are prepared to put those talks on hold for the time being, as Government begins formal negotiations on a balance of payments support programme with the International Monetary Fund. Today, NUPW President Akanni McDowall was tightlipped on the offer, saying he did not want to circumvent the ongoing negotiations with the Ministry of the Civil Service. “We don’t want share the details until Government agrees to what exactly we are discussing because technically speaking we are still negotiating. So once Government accepts what the union is suggesting, which is in line with what they are offering, then we would explain to the public what the proposals are,” he said, while confirming that the union had accepted the latest pay offer from Government. However, the NUPW president said there would be certain conditionalities attached to the wage increase, which amounts to a major step down by the union from its pre-election pay demands. “We had a meeting this morning of the council to discuss the proposal presented to us by the Ministry of the Civil Service. Those discussions lasted for approximately an hour and we came up with a decision where we would look favourably on the proposal sent to us by Government. It is now up to the Government to determine whether or not they agree, but once it is finally agreed, public servants should be a little happier,” is all that McDowall would say on the current pay proposal. It was last December that the then Stuart-led Government had offered the union a $49 million lump sum payment that would have seen civil servants at the higher end of the salary scale receiving a two per cent payment for one year and those at the lower end a five per cent hike, based on a sliding scale. To sweeten the deal, the former Government had also proposed to make the payments tax free and devoid of any National Insurance deductions. However, the proposal still did not sit well with the NUPW’s executives who said the payments would have amounted to less than $2,500 per worker. This gave rise to demands by the union for $11 million more. A breakdown of talks followed with the NUPW opting to embark on industrial action last January to little effect and following the dissolution of Parliament in March, the Stuart administration announced that it would be ceasing all salary negotiations with the union given the poor state of economy. However, during the recent election campaign Mottley had promised that the first order of business would be to meet with the trade unions to secure a pay increase for the workers. At that time, the then Opposition leader had also declared that if there was no agreement within three months of talks, a cost of living allowance would be paid to every public servant. (BT)

THEY ARE ‘POLITICAL PROSTITUTES’, SAYS FRANKLYN OF THE NUPW – Opposition Senator Caswell Franklyn has criticized the leadership of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) calling them “political prostitutes” over their acceptance of a paltry 4.5 per cent pay offer from the less than two-week-old Mia Mottley-led Government. Barbados TODAY understands that the union, which had been demanding a 23 per cent pay hike from the last administration, in a significant change of heart today agreed to a two per cent increase in the first year, 1.5 per cent in the second and one per cent in the third for the 2016 to 2019 negotiating period. The decision came during an hour-long meeting of the NUPW’s national council at its Dalkeith headquarters today. However, reacting to the union’s apparent U-turn, Franklyn argued that the membership of the NUPW ought to call the executive to account, while accusing the union’s leadership of using the workers’ plight to accomplish political ends. “Remember these were the same people saying that they wanted 23 per cent and that they were not backing down from that position. It reeks of nastiness and political nastiness at that. The [last] Government was unpopular and union tried to make it even worse. The membership of the NUPW needs to make their leadership give account,” said Franklyn in his typical unabashed manner. The Opposition Senator went further to accuse the NUPW leadership of using its influence to attempt to bring down the former Freundel Stuart administration, which was decimated in the May 24 general election in which it failed to hold on to a single seat. He also argued that had the NUPW’s offer been reasonable in the first place, workers would have received a pay hike a long time ago. “Maybe if the NUPW had offered Stuart 4.5 per cent they would have reached a settlement a long time ago. But they didn’t want a settlement, they wanted a change of Government. I too am happy that the Government has been changed, but at the same time I would not have done anything using my union to help to effect that because that is not our role,” said Franklyn, who is also the leader of the Unity Workers Union. “It is really shameful and the members need to call them to account. If they get into bed with this Government now, when this Government starts operating in manner they don’t like, are they going to get into bed with somebody else? They [NUPW] are prostitutes for political gain and God knows what else they going to get,” the trade unionist added. With the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Government in office for just two weeks, Franklyn also expressed suspicion over how quickly a deal was reached on this long running issue. “To come down from 23 per cent to 4.5 per cent is like dropping off a cliff. Everybody knew that the [previous] Government was mismanaging the economy and that the whole country was going to hell in a handcart, yet they [NUPW] insisted on 23 per cent. “I can’t say if this Government is being reasonable, but you can’t just settle in one meeting after elections. It smells like a bag of rotten shrimp,” he stressed. (BT)

DON’T BE DECEIVED BY MOTTLEY, WARNS DLP SPOKESPERSONS – The St George South branch of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has sought to warn the country that despite her clear mandate, Prime Minister Mia Mottley will not be able to deliver on the promises made in the recent general election campaign. These include a repeal of the National Social Responsibility Levy; an increase in old age pensions; a repeal of tuition payments for Barbadian students attending the University of the West Indies and a salary hike for public servants. In a post made this week on its Facebook page, a spokesperson for the branch, which is led by former Minister of Labour and Social Security Dr Esther Byer Suckoo, also accused Mottley of seeking to blame the former Freundel Stuart led Government for everything. “Clearly, she set about to deceive the people,” the poster said. “Well, we have her and her team now and therefore will have to tighten our belts. But in all fairness, do not blame the DLP for the policies which are about to be wrought upon this island by the Mottley crew,” the writer insisted. The DLP spokesperson also took Mottley to task over her handling of the 2017 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff Report, which she released to the public immediately after the BLP victory. The Prime Minister had expressed alarm over the contents of the report in which the Washington-based lending institution warned that the Barbados economy was slowing, following its recovery in 2016, reflecting an increased pace of fiscal consolidation and policy uncertainty, partly related to the recent general elections. It said that international reserves, which were already low, continued to decline. And while there is significant progress in reducing the high fiscal deficit, Government would fall short in meeting the ambitious fiscal adjustment targets set in the May 2017 Budget. “The adjustment, if maintained, will lead to a decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio, but debt will remain unsustainable. Further delays in privatization will lead to a continued decline in reserves, while large financing requirements remain a serious challenge,” the report added. However, the unidentified spokesperson for the party’s St George South branch said Mottley was well aware of the state of public finances while in Opposition. “[Therefore] for her to come and release the IMF Article 1V report the day after elections is a joke. She has had it in her possession for several weeks prior and even quoted from it during the campaign as proof of how bad the economy was,” the poster said, stressing that “as a parliamentarian she was acutely aware of the levels of foreign and domestic debt. “So to come now and behave as though this is all a surprise is an insult to all Bajans,” the poster added. Similar sentiments were expressed by former DLP Cabinet minister Donville Inniss about Mottley’s handling of the IMF report when he addressed a recent meeting of his St James South supporters. However, the former Minister of Commerce said while the BLP must be congratulated on its clean sweep of the May 24 polls, the ousted DLP had nothing to be ashamed of. “Even in the midst of such an electoral defeat we need not hang our heads in shame,” Inniss later told Barbados TODAY, while maintaining that “what we did was right and in the best interest of the island”. Nevertheless, the former St James South representative congratulated his opponent Sandra Husbands on her electoral victory, as well as Prime Minister Mottley who he said “has been given a clear mandate to govern and as such, I wish her all the best”. In terms of his own DLP, Inniss said “our first order of business as a party is to focus on rebuilding and rebranding,” adding that “I stand ready to help in that exercise”. Addressing his St James South supporters, Inniss said he would be eternally grateful to them for allowing him to be their parliamentary representative for ten years and gave the assurance that he would remain with them for the foreseeable future. “My relationship with St James South residents goes beyond party politics. I have learned a lot from them and will always be among my people,” he promised. (BT)

DOWN AGAIN – Barbados has been hit with the major credit rating downgrade Government said was likely after it suspended foreign debt payments to commercial creditors. But having lowered the island’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating to Selective Default (SD) yesterday, international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) also warned that a default on Government’s local currency debt obligations was now “a virtual certainty”. “We could lower the local currency sovereign issuer credit rating to SD if Barbados fails to make debt service payments on its local currency debt or executes an exchange with bondholders,” it announced. S&P said it took action yesterday after Barbados “failed to make an interest payment due on its 6.625 per cent notes due 2035”. It said that payment was due on Tuesday. The rating agency revealed that Government’s next significant domestic bond maturity was the $100 million 4.375 per cent Treasury notes due on June 30. S&P said it believed the Mia Mottley administration “could miss payments on its foreign and local currency debt within the next three months”. Last week, Government announced the suspension of debt payments due to external commercial creditors. The authorities said they would “endeavour to make scheduled domestic interest payments, but domestic creditors will be asked to roll over principal maturities until restructuring agreements are concluded”. (DN)

BES HEAD SEES UPSIDE TO BARBADOS’ CREDIT DEFAULT – There is an upside to Government defaulting on its debt, says President of the Barbados Economic Society (BES) Shane Lowe. Lowe told Barbados TODAY that it could give the country needed “breathing room” to implement a much needed adjustment programme. However, he acknowledged that with the decision, Barbados was also exposed to tremendous risk. “The main benefit of a country defaulting on its debt is that it gives the country enough breathing room to implement a structural adjustment programme, normally under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” Lowe said. “This structural adjustment programme attempts to address the underlying cause of the problem driving the demand for debt as well as the balance of payments disequilibrium,” he explained. As part of a major plan to tackle the island’s massive debt of over 170 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and low international reserves of only US$220 million or seven weeks’ worth of import cover, newly elected Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Friday announced that her Government would be seeking balance of payments support from the IMF. Since then, a team from the Washington-based financial institution, led by Dr Bert van Selm, has arrived here for talks with key officials of the Mottley Government, as well as private sector and trade union officials. In the meantime, Government has decided to default on its foreign debt payments, a move that is expected to be followed by an adjustment by ratings agencies of Barbados’ credit rating to “selective default”.

Already, the value of the island’s international bonds, which carry a maturity date of 2019, 2021 and 2035, have plunged to about half their value, as investors seek to get rid of them. However, pointing out that several Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda, had chosen to restructure their debt in recent times, Lowe said the main benefit was a reduction in interest payments that allowed them to cut recurring expenses, improve their fiscal position, realize faster economic growth and lower their overall levels of debt. However, he warned that the key problem with a reprofiling exercise was the enhancement of financial sector vulnerabilities as institutions who own Government’s debt incur losses. The BES head also said there was the chance of reputational risk, loss of future access to the international credit market due to further credit rating downgrades and the potential for prolonged legal battles with vulture funds. “However, in the absence of access to international credit markets, a financing programme with the IMF provides a cheaper source of foreign financing to stabilize the foreign exchange reserves in the medium term,” he said. “The ability to regain access to international borrowing and reverse any deterioration in reputational risk will require a sustainable reduction in the Government’s debt. Ultimately, it will lead to the restoration of Barbados’ international credit rating to a more credit-worthy status,” he added. At the end of fiscal year 2017/18, the Government’s external debt obligations were approximately BD$2.7 billion or approximately 29.6 per cent of GDP while domestic debt, including that held by the National Insurance Scheme, was approximately 120.9 per cent of GDP. And while the country’s external debt has been declining since 2015 when compared to its domestic debt, it has become increasingly difficult to rollover foreign debt due to the island’s falling external credit ratings, which are now in junk status. While noting that external debt was an important source of financing that allowed small states to minimize the negative impact of new projects on their foreign exchange earnings, Lowe said Barbados’ debt problems were due in large measure to a slowdown in private capital inflows. “This reduction in capital inflows leads to a fall in foreign exchange reserves and makes it difficult to continue to pay for imports of goods and services as well as to make payments on external debt,” he said, while noting that the island’s foreign direct investment fell from US$316 million in 2014 to US$156 million in 2017. “This decline in FDI inflows, along with other factors, resulted in the international reserves falling from US$527 million to US$205 million between 2014 and 2017,” he explained. (BT)

ON EDGE – Local creditors are anxious to hear what path Government’s debt restructuring programme will take, following Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s announcement last Friday that her week-old Barbados Labour Party (BLP) administration would ask local creditors to roll over principal maturities until restructuring agreements were concluded. Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) Charles Herbert confirmed to Barbados TODAY this afternoon that local creditors had “lots of concern” about the path Government was taking, adding that the main concern was the lack of details at this point. However, he quickly pointed out that they were not about to rush the process, since they wanted the officials to “get it right”. “I think there are lots of concern, but at the minute there are no specifics. So we don’t know whether the ultimate restructuring deal that will be recommended, will deal with all of our concerns,” said Herbert, moments after members of the private sector emerged from talks with visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials. Government’s overall bonds, loans and other financial liabilities are estimated at nearly US$9 billion currently, with more than two-thirds being domestic debt owed to local investors and banks. Barbados TODAY understands that there has been some concern that a harsh restructuring programme could create a number of risks to the local financial system. Herbert did not want to get into the specific concerns, but insisted that “everyone said clearly that we want to get it right the first time”. “Nobody can make specific comments or be specific about what they are worried about because you don’t know if what you are worried about is in the recommendation because there are no recommendations yet. There is nothing you can do until there is a firm proposal on the table. You can’t worry about the diagnosis until you hear the diagnosis. So we are all waiting to hear, but there is nothing to hear at the moment,” he explained. “What everyone said very clearly is that we want to get it right the first time. That is the experience of other countries. So we don’t want to rush it, we want to get it right. We need to let the consultants do their job, come back with recommendations and then there will be something to discuss. But right now there is just the knowledge that the consultants are in, there is something that they intend to do, but there are no specifics,” added Herbert, who described today’s talks with the IMF as “cordial and non-specific”. He explained that the meeting was simply intended to bring the IMF up to speed on the general spirit of cooperation that existed between the Social Partners – Government, labour and private sector – in order to formulate a national framework. Herbert said he understood the process leading up to a decision on a programme between Government and the IMF could take several weeks and the general consensus was that a viable framework was needed. “It is really just the beginning of the process that will take some time. There are a lot of creditors who are worried and therefore from that point of view, it is in our interest to get past the process as quickly as possible. But we have a lot of groundwork to deal with in getting it right,” he said. (BT)

US EXPERT: OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGION IN GANJA TRADE – Caribbean governments contemplating the decriminalization of the cannabis industry have been warned by one United States expert not to overtax the sector. Jamaica and Antigua already have decriminalized the use of small amounts of the herb for personal consumption, with the recently elected Mia Mottley-led administration in Barbados promising to consult with Barbadians on the decriminalization of recreational marijuana. Brian Staffa, chief strategist at the cannabis consulting company BSC Group, told officials attending Caribbean Week in New York this morning that while taxation may be necessary, governments must strike the right balance in that area. “The government often assumes that taxation is the cash cow and I just want to give a cautionary tale. While taxation can be one way, taxation directly on the product, directly on the operators that are creating it, and then at some sort of end of the sale perhaps with sales tax, that’s only one portion. “And I caution to not create too high of a tax burden because you will have a black market continue proliferating, and it will be harder and harder to regulate that programme if it’s too burdensome.” Equally important, Staffa said, was not to have too low a tax structure, because the programme would not be funded effectively. He noted that in the case of medical cannabis, there were funding alternatives, for example, low patient fees. “The big thing is be very cognizant of what the market will bear in your region, and perhaps take note of what black market pricing is, because your ultimate goal is to stamp out that black market, get everybody on to the regulated side because it is much safer, and it is much more beneficial to the local economy” he said. He explained that in the US where the use of cannabis was now legal, taxes could be as high as 40 per cent, which was proving “a little bit too high and causing some challenges in some states”. “Colorado is really seen as more of the bellwether in that it’s doing things a little better. Their taxation varies between 23 and 26 per cent, so it’s toward the lower side of that range, and as a general rule, Colorado is the most successful. “In 2017, in one year they took in $247 million in taxes and fees. That’s just the cannabis programme with which they can do whatever they want from it. And they’ve been putting that back to roads, schools, a whole number of things.” Staffa told the gathering of ministers of tourism and other industry officials that apart from taxation, there were several other revenue earning opportunities in the cannabis industry, the most important being research. “Research has been stifled throughout the world, especially in the US, for the last 80 years on cannabis. Mostly because of federal law that disallows it. If you’re looking to establish yourself as a research hub for cannabis, you could be the first to do so and the only other country right now that’s doing anything remotely close is Israel. They’re taking the lead and you can look at them as a great example, but no one else is doing it. Be the first,” he said. Transportation of people and tourists, as well as construction of buildings for cannabis businesses is another area to be looked into. “Often in the cannabis space and throughout the industry, it is a social responsibility that we see to be able to take some of the underperforming areas, maybe that ugly duckling building that no one else wants to do anything with, to purchase it at perhaps a little bit of a discounted rate and make that investment to be able to revitalize that area to turn it into something new,” he said, while suggesting that Caribbean brands, and the accompanying licensing opportunities should also be explored. “When you think of Blue Mountain coffee, it’s only coming from one area for it to be true Blue Mountain coffee . . . . There’s so much history, so much culture, so much heritage that can be built into these types of brands and then taken outside of the country and elsewhere, because people are going to come, they’re going to have that experience in your region and want to relive that over and over again,” he said. Another area that should not be overlooked, Staffa said, was the potential market for medical cannabis. “If you are open to the idea and you’re trying to understand how best to be able to capitalize on the medical cannabis tourism market immediately, as you’re developing your programme you must consider what we call reciprocity . . . where so long as the individual coming to your area has a legal right and a legal use in their home country or home state, to be able to use medical cannabis and they can provide that documentation, they will then be able to make that purchase in your country.” Staffa noted that as of May this year, there were 2.1 million medical cannabis patients in the US. He expects that number to increase to three million by next year, as new programmes in Florida and other states are now coming on stream. “We should be focused on the baby boomers and potentially that slightly older crowd that has that disposable income. And the great news is that the average medical cannabis patient in the US is 46 years old. Only 27 per cent are younger than 40 . . . which means they’re going to have a lot of disposable income and the means to travel and the desire to travel. “And one of the biggest aspects of this, when medical patients have found that cannabis works for them, they typically don’t want to give it up. They don’t want to leave it home, just like any other prescription that you won’t want to leave. ‘If you have a destination that is open for medical cannabis patients to come to to purchase legally, you’re going to open up a market that doesn’t yet exist,” Staffa said. (BT)

SENATE TO MEET ON FRIDAY – The newly appointed Senate of Barbados will meet for the first time on Friday. The main item for discussion will be the Constitution (Amendment) (No.1) Bill 2018which was passed yesterday in the House of Assembly. The motion was brought by Prime Minister Mia Mottley, clearing the way for Senators Rawdon Adams and Kay McConney to take their place in the Cabinet. They were not resident on the island for 12 consecutive months prior to their appointments. People who hold dual citizenship will also now be eligible. Adams, a financial analyst, is the son of former Prime Minister Tom Adams, while McConney is a consultant and former consul general to Canada. In tabling the motion, Mottley said the Constitution was framed in 1966 and it was time to make the changes so Barbados could "draw on our talent wherever it is found".  (DN)

UWI STUDENTS’ GUILD ON BOARD WITH MOTTLEY’S FREE TUITION PLAN – Newly elected President of the Guild of Students at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Christian Attong has welcomed Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s announcement that students attending that institution will no longer pay tuition fees from September. He told Barbados TODAY the move should result in more students being enrolled at the learning institution and a return of the “buzz” that quickly faded when the former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration implemented its controversial policy back in 2014, requiring Barbadians pursuing studies at all the campuses of the UWI to pay tuition fees, while Government continued to foot their economic costs. This was met with an immediate outcry from university officials and students, with enrolment numbers instantly taking a plunge to 1,468 new students for the 2014 academic year, compared to 2,240 at the start of the academic year in 2013. It is expected that some 1,164 new students will enroll at the campus this year. However, leading up to its victory in the May 24 poll, the Mottley-led Barbados Labour Party promised to restore free tertiary education for Barbadian students attending the UWI, a pledge that was echoed at the opening of a new session of the House of Assembly on Tuesday. Delivering her Throne Speech, Governor General Dame Sandra Mason said, “my Government is committed to safeguarding our future generations and empowering them to have the best quality of life our country can give them. From next semester in 2018, therefore, it will pay the tuition fees for Barbadians to attend the University of the West Indies”. Responding to that announcement, Attong told Barbados TODAY “the Guild of Students under my leadership can safely rely” on those words, while disclosing that “unofficially, I have been in conversation with Government officials about the reinstatement of the ‘no tuition’ policy”. “As the President of the Guild of Students, I will always be in support of any Government, regardless of the party, that creates student-friendly policies, especially with tuition grants for Barbadian students,” Attong said. “We believe the more people enrolled in the university will always be more beneficial, not only to the Barbadian economy, but beneficial to the wider Caribbean region . . . . By adding more students to the campus, this will bring the buzz back to campus life, that was diminished in 2014, and Barbados at large,” he added. The student representative explained that it would also result in more activities on campus with the student clubs, societies, and associations’ events being better patronized. “In essence, these social interactions are critical for the development of our Caribbean region as it lays the foundation for inter-regional relations,” he stressed. Attong said he would be seeking to meet with the new Prime Minister as well as the Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw “regarding further discussion on the policy in which the Guild can give suggestions and recommendations for improvement”. “We also hope to build a strong working relationship with the Government in order for us to outline our expectations of each other,” he added. However, Attong, who was recently elected president of the Guild, said despite the restoration of the policy, the Guild would continue to assist students who were facing economic hardships in the form of scholarships. (BT)

FRESH COMPLAINTS ABOUT MOUNTING SEAWEED IN BATHSHEBA – The dreaded Sargassum Seaweed, which has been washing up on beaches across Barbados, is currently proving to be a nuisance for vendors, fishermen and tourists alike in Bathsheba, St Joseph.

On Monday, several sea turtles and other species of marine life had to be rescued by residents and workers from the Bellairs Research Institute, as the brown algae blanketed the picturesque east coast beach venue. And yesterday when Barbados TODAY visited the area, veteran fisherman Shirley Small, complained that “this is the worst time I have seen seaweed down here. “Right now I can’t go out and fish mainly because the seaweed is too thick. It will cause more damage to try to go out there, than to relax and let it come and go,” he said, adding that while “it has been a nuisance for the past three years, only yesterday we started to see all of this seaweed. “The rest of days were so nice, but after the tropical depression, we saw a lot of weed,” he said while making reference to a recent weather system that was threatening to dump heavy showers on the area. Also bothered by the irksome seaweed was beach vendor Jacqueline Holder, who complained that “the smell is really affecting me”. “I suffer with sinuses so as I inhale the horrible scent, it also affects my throat very bad. Sometimes it has me coughing a lot.” However, Holder, who sells jewellery on the beach, said she was currently taking the situation in stride until the seaweed, which generally comes and goes at particular periods of the year, vanishes again. “Between February and March is when we really started to see this influx, but the sea comes and takes it back out, so sometimes we only need a big wave,” she said. “It smells awful, but I don’t think we can really do anything about it. When you clean it up, it comes back again and it takes more than just a few people and rakes to remove it, because it is a lot of work.  You would have to stop the source of seaweed from the sea to get rid of it, but until then we have to live with it. It is Mother Nature,” she told Barbados TODAY. However, Small suggested that more could be done on the part of the authorities to control its spread to the island’s beaches. “We have to deal with it outside where we can get a couple boats and trap it out there [at sea], then we can put it on one spot to keep it from coming on the beach where it is a disaster,” he said. Also commenting on the situation was Victor Barnes, a first-time visitor from the United Kingdom. Barnes told Barbados TODAY he was concerned about the seaweed’s impact on the island’s main money earner – tourism. “I came to Barbados to see the beautiful beaches and the seaweed has really spoilt them, but it is nature so you can’t do anything,” he said, while suggesting that machinery should be readily available to clear the beach on a daily basis. (BT)

THREE LODGE PETITION AGAINST BUGGERY LAW – Three members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community have officially lodged a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Twenty-four-year-old Alexa Hoffman, a transgender woman, and the two other petitioners, a lesbian woman and a gay man who remained anonymous, officially made the stance before a small crowd in the moot courtroom, Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus moments ago. They are unanimously contesting Sections 9 and 12 of the Sexual Offences Act, which deals with buggery and serious indecency respectively, to be able to live their lives openly and as they see fit. Currently, as it stands, the law which is over 200 years old does not make allowances for people within the LGBT community to have consensual relationships between themselves, and further sees some acts between a man and a woman as a crime. If charged under this law, a person can face lifetime imprisonment.  The trio, were supported by Jamaican Maurice Tomlinson, senior policy analyst, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, and Canadian Yvonne Chisolm, pro-bono litigation counsel. (DN)

NURSE BARRED – The only time Psychiatric Hospital staff nurse Jason Jamal Phillips should be venturing onto the Black Rock facility should be when he is attending his disciplinary hearings. Other than that, District “A” Court Magistrate Douglas Frederick warned Phillips, who allegedly beat a patient, against going to his workplace until the conclusion of his case before the court. Phillips, 32, of Madison Terrace, Deacons, St Michael, yesterday denied he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Alden King, the patient in a video that went viral on social media, on June 2. Prosecutor Sergeant Rudy Pilgrim did not object to Phillips being released but this prompted questions from Magistrate Frederick. “This was a matter that would have incensed the public and the public would be so incensed by this type of allegation that he might very well be in danger. Did you look at that? Did you look at the public interest in this matter? That the public might be so incensed that he could very well be in danger? That his protection might be necessary?” he asked the prosecutor. “I looked at that and I also looked at the fact that he did not appear to be a flight risk,” Sergeant Pilgrim replied. “I am not talking about a flight risk, I am talking about his safety in society. And not only that, but that he was in a position of trust and confidence being a trained person in trust and confidence of a patient, and the nature and seriousness of the offence,” the magistrate said. Frederick continued that he had had people appear before him on “some simple allegations” and the prosecution would point to the nature and seriousness of the offence as it opposed the granting of bail. “So what about the nature and seriousness of this offence, given the totality of the allegation?” he asked. But Pilgrim countered that every offence was serious and, while he was not downplaying the charge, “this was a matter that was being done summarily”. “But this is a serious matter. This is one that the public would be concerned about because it involves an allegation where he is said to have been in trust and confidence of the person whom he is alleged to have caused the allegation against,” Frederick said. Pilgrim then revealed he had a briefing with his superior and there was no aspect in relation to bail. “It concerns me because I am always hearing for matters that are less serious, I hear you say ‘the seriousness of the offence’ and ‘for his own protection’ and that sort of thing, but none of these submissions are raised here. But you have said you have consulted with your superior, so who am I to stand in your way,” the magistrate said as he prepared to release Phillips on $15 000 bail with a surety. (DN)

VIRAL VIDEO NURSE RELEASED ON BAIL – The male nurse charged for wounding a Psychiatric Hospital patient was released on bail when he appeared in the District A Magistrates Court. Jason Jamal Phillips, 32, of Madison Terrace, Deacons, St Michael, pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding Alden King on June 2. Magistrate Douglas Frederick released him on $15 000 bail with a surety, forbid him from having any contact with the complainant, ordered him to report to Black Rock Police Station every Wednesday and adjourned the matter until October 30.  (DN)

BIG HAUL – A 35-year-old fisherman, who allegedly imported half a million dollars worth of cannabis into the country, has been remanded to Dodds until next Monday. Christopher Dave Johnson, of Martindale’s Road, St Michael, also faces charges of possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of 124.4 kilogrammes of the illegal drug sometime between March 19 and 23 this year. The accused was not required to plead to the indictable charges when he appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick today with his attorney Leslie Cargill-Straker. Sergeant Rudy Pilgrim objected to bail given the quantity of drugs involved, the nature and seriousness of the charge and the fact that the accused was the subject of a police bulletin. However, Cargill-Straker submitted that her client was a fit and proper candidate for bail. “Being charged with 124.4 kilogrammes, does not mean that he is guilty,” she said. She also argued that the prosecutor never submitted that her client would interfere with any witnesses or the investigation “therefore the issue of public interest does not arise”. She also pointed out that her client had no previous convictions and no pending matters before the court. “Yes he did not turn himself in right away [as a result of] the bulletin because he was trying to pursue his rights of having an attorney. He is a Barbadian and does not have ties anywhere else,” she added. After taking the submissions into consideration, the magistrate granted Johnson bail in the sum of $250,000. However, up to the end of the day’s sitting his surety had not returned to court with the necessary papers to show that the bail sum could be honoured. The accused will therefore make his second appearance before Frederick on June 11. (BT)

ACCIDENT BLOCKS ENTRANCE TO SUGAR FACTORY – A police officer was involved in a collision with a recycling truck at the entrance to Portvale Factory, Blowers, St James, this morning. According to an eyewitness, the recycling truck was travelling towards Warrens and turned right into the factory. At the same time, the policeman, on a motorcycle, attempted to overtake and the collision occurred. Several factory workers and a passing driver stopped to render assistance. The road is blocked and police and emergency medical technicians have been summoned to the area. (DN)

FIRE GUTS DERELICT BUILDING – Fire gutted a derelict building before midnight. Fire officials responded to a call at 11:38 p.m. with two water tenders and seven officers from the Bridgetown Fire Station under the command of Station Officer Hinds. The fire involved a two-storey wall house. The roof was extensively damaged. The incident occurred at Dalkeith Road, Dalkeith, St. Michael.  (DN)

BARBADOS LOSES A CALYPSO GEM – The entertainment community has lost one of its gems. Charles Romeo Smith, a former calypso monarch, has died at age 71, throwing the fraternity into immediate mourning. Following a bacterial viral infection and spinal surgery in 2005 doctors had told him he might never walk again. However, Romeo had refused let that stop him from performing up until 2008 and remained supportive of the calypso art form even in the face of physical and health challenges. Today, Minister of the Creative Economy, Culture and Sports John King, who is himself a former calypso monarch, paid tribute to the outstanding calypsonian and songwriter. King said Romeo had a wealth of information and always sought to impart important life lessons on upcoming calypsonians. “In my own career he was there giving me a lot of advice, and also I would spend a lot of time in Queen’s Park for rehearsals. In watching him, I learnt so much,” King said. “One of the things he always mentioned to me was the importance of how you dress, and anyone who knows Romeo knows that he was always sharp,” he added. The minister of the Creative Economy, Culture and Sports also indicated today that his ministry, in collaboration with the National Cultural Foundation, would find some way to honour Romeo during the upcoming Crop Over festival. Meantime, former Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Stephen Lashley, in a glowing tribute, described Romeo as a cultural pioneer. Lashley said Romeo would be remembered for his significant contribution to the development and enhancement of the calypso art form in Barbados and beyond. He hailed Romeo as one of the veterans of his time, while noting the central role he played in the discovery and training of many Barbadian artistes and the profound impact he has had on Crop Over. The former minister also saluted Romeo as a committed member of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) as he recalled a recent picong he did with The Mighty Gabby in the lead up to the May 24 general election. “Romeo has left an indelible mark on the history of calypso in Barbados and we applaud his selfless contribution, even during times of personal difficulty. “On my behalf and that of my family and the entire DLP family, I extend deepest sympathy to his widow Cecily, family and friends,” Lashley said. (BT)

HOLLA BAK CONTINUES TO SOAR – Twenty-six-year-old Rico Holla Bak Goddard is continuing to develop hits even with his 2018 song for this year’s Crop Over Too Sweet amassing 14,154 views since being uploaded on YouTube on May 14th, 2018. He released the official Music Video for Too Sweet on YouTube on May 27th and it has received over 2 000 views thus far. Speaking to Bajan Vibes, Holla Bak said that 2017 was his comeback year. Despite the bittersweet element with Admiral Nelson, he was pleased with how Crop Over 2017 went for him as an artiste. “2017 was a comeback year for me after 2014 with my hit My Life which people know as Drinking Rum and Watching Girls. It felt like I was shelved, so 2017 was a year in which I told myself I need to be back on and I need to do a record that people cannot deny. Sweet Like Oooh was that record [the video amassed 36,000 views on YouTube since being released last year],” he said. He noted that after the controversy that surrounded him with Festival Stage, he received a lot of support from Barbadians. “There is controversy in everything that you do and that is a great thing. I appreciate that and I appreciate the support that people gave me. So for 2018, I just come to do music for my people,” he said smiling. Asked how he manages his success as he enters Crop Over 2018, he said that he remains true to who he is as an artiste. “I am always me. I am always myself… It is something magnificent, but I still believe that I have not done anything yet, so that is why I remain this way,” he stressed. Speaking about Too Sweet, he said that he was overwhelmed with the response the song has received thus far as his goal for 2018 was to give persons good music. “It is great because you could do a record and get that response when you actually release it. It is like WOW, I speak this and it manifests. I just want to give people great music; that is all I want to do,” Goddard said, adding that he had found the formula to provide quality soca music. “You have to be interesting, you have to have a very wild imagination. I found the formula as I was doing records that people love well [and] that I believe that people will love. For 2018, I am the formula, because I start creating what I believe in and people start to gravitate towards it. So that is the recipe,” he said. Holla Bak said that he wrote the song himself and his dream is to take Barbadian soca music to another level. “Crop Over means everything to me right now because I sacrificed my 9-5, my family for this. People told me that you cannot do this, you cannot do that, but I just knew I had something in me to contribute and offer to the world. Same way the Trinidadians [are] working to get their soca music to the world and [on] billboard, I want to be a person to contribute towards that,” he said. Contrary to popular belief, Holla Bak did enter his song Sweet Like Ooh in the 98.1 MQI Soca Royale Competition in 2017 but was displeased with the way in which he was treated by the National Cultural Foundation judges. “I was in the semifinals but my personal opinion on this is that you have to experience things to speak on it. My take on it is [that if you are being judged in a competition] for stage performance, stage presence, [and] for lyrical content, then I think at the end of the competition, if you are looking to build [the] artiste, then the artiste should know what they scored so that when they come next year, they would know where they have to improve. If you don’t let me know what I scored then how can I improve? It makes me [wonder] if this competition [is] here to build me. A lot of people did not know that I entered Sweet Like Oooh, which did not make it in. But at the end of the day it did not defeat the purpose because it was a good song,” he said.  (BT)

BACK TO SCHOOL FOR HOUSE OF SOCA – The House of Soca is ready for Crop Over. From earlier in the year, one of the island’s oldest calypso tents has been busy gearing up for the Sweetest Summer Festival. However, its preparation not only included dress and technical rehearsals, but kaisonians putting down microphones and going back to the classroom. Last Saturday at the Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity (BIMAP) in Wildey, St Michael, several of its entertainers took part in a seminar facilitated by management counsellor Marqita Phillips. (DN)

RAHEEM SHINES AS ALL STARS TENT OPENS – Sunday’s night opening of the Cave Shepherd All Stars Tent at St Gabriel’s School was not the spectacular affair it has been in previous years. Still, there was much to recommend and to enjoy for the many patrons in attendance. One of the most impressive on the night was former Junior Monarch competitor Raheem with both of his selections De Bus Ride and Why Vote receiving very warm and encouraging response. The former song delivered at medium tempo was an object lesson for those inclined towards deviancy. He sang that the only way he would ever be on a prison bus was if he was the driver. His second song looked at a number of social issues and the reasons why an 18-year-old should go the polls. He delivered his songs well and was a picture of confidence in both of his appearances. Jude Clarke – who seems to have dropped his sobriquet Hee Haw – was also among those who impressed. His two selections Great and How Wrong Things Get Right were delivered with his usual high-quality rendition. The former song, in particular, looked to inform Barbadians that the process of nation-building was a collective effort. He sang that despite “the potholes in the economy” and that “nobody wants to lend we money” Barbadians were in the prevailing situation together and could only get out of it if they pulled together. Clarke is a class act. Making a return to the local calypso stage was Structure. The veteran calypsonian who is now resident in Canada delivered two numbers entitled Stenton Master and the lyrically strong Work. However, in both songs Structure and the band had difficulties keeping on the same page and in the latter in particular, they went their separate ways on a few occasions. However, Structure is a quality performer and it is anticipated that as he gets deeper into the season there will be greater cohesion between himself and the band. Donella was in excellent voice as usual with her selections We Aint Changing and Pray For The Children. She sang that despite the changes which might be made in Barbados across the political landscape there were some things that would never change such as Bajans’ propensity to litter, argue and eat pork. The songs were not outstanding lyrically but Donella’s beautiful vocals would make Baa Baa Black Sheep inviting. Colin Spencer was also in fine voice with Come Back Dear Father, a sweet entreaty to the Almighty to return to these shores. His treatment of the subject was well conceived. He gave a snippet from a song that is a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) apology and from the verse which he delivered there is every indication that it will be worth returning to the tent to hear the remainder. He quipped that he had to scrap a song which he intended to perform celebrating the DLP’s victory at the polls on May 24. He might have to keep that one under wraps for about another decade at least. De Slayer has shown promise for several years but seems not to be progressing and most of this stems from the fact that he is yet to turn up for the Crop Over festival with two strong songs. With his better than average vocal ability, the first time Slayer gets two solid songs he will go places. He won’t be this year with Trojan Horse and Peace. De Announcer’s ode to the festival entitled Crop Over was somewhat lacklustre both lyrically and in rendition. He ended the show in the second-half with the up-tempo Glad which was among other things a celebration of the DLP’s demise at the polls. This was marginally better than his first-half offering. Also performing on the night were Charisma who accredited herself well, Franswaa, Niqa, Sandman, Jael and Lynchie. The backing band was generally on point and emcee duties were shared by the comedic team of Jennifer Walker and Eric “Queen” Lewis. (BT)

SOCA IGNITION BRINGS DOWN THE ‘HOUSE’ – Soca Ignition was dubbed the unofficial, official start of the Crop Over Festival 2018.  The ‘Soca Kingdom’ as it was nicknamed, didn’t get started at the call time of 9 p.m. but got underway just after 10:30 p.m. However, DJ Tammy and John Doe kept the early birds engaged until the five-hour show got started, while Leadpipe and Saddis performed a full set of their biggest hits.  Kirk Browne picked up where they left off and kept the crowd entertained with help from the Dancing Africa group. The audience, made up of mainly mature persons, showed that they still had their moves as they danced the night away to performances from the star-studded line-up which included Alison Hinds, Sanctuary, Hypasounds, Red Plastic Bag, Lil Rick, Edwin Yearwood and international acts, Ravi B, Lyrikal and three-time International Soca Monarch Voice. Promotions officer at Starcom Network, Julie Jones told Bajan Vibes the event was a success after capturing a large crowd who packed into the Bagatelle Great House on Saturday night. She said they aimed to have 1, 800 persons attend. Jones said, “We are very excited about the show, this is the second installation of Soca Ignition. We had the first one in 2016 and we took a break last year but we are back with royalty.”  She said, “The response has been great, it really picked up in the weeks leading up because we really increased the momentum with the artist coming into the studio. We really let the people know it was a top-class event.” Some of the patrons at the event reported that they had a good time. One woman told Bajan Vibes “It was a great show and I will be back next year. My favourite artist was Voice.”  Another patron said, “Even though it started late, the show was a great start to Crop Over. I am definitely looking forward to the other events, it was good clean fun.” (BT)

KING BUBBA’S ‘ILLUMINATE’ WAS ELECTRIFYING – It was full steam ahead for the unofficial launch of Crop Over this past weekend, with the huge second-year deliverance of King Bubba Illuminate. After the well-attended first production last year, patrons were clamouring for another show from the “Bubbaling” artist. He promised and delivered, what was arguably the perfect start for this Crop Over season. Once again Illuminate, in association with SLAM 101.1FM, brought to us a fully featured lineup of local and regional performers, which included some of the biggest DJs currently operating on the Caribbean scene. King Bubba himself was on fire that night; his presence on stage backed up by his dancers from Riddim Tribe, proved effective amongst his fans in the crowd as he wooed them with all of his hits ranging from Calling in Sick to his new 2018 party starter Jiggle Jiggle. It was clear a lot of effort went into perfecting his presentation on stage during the night; with the use of flames, his numerous outfits and well-choreographed dance routines, Bubba truly put on a flamboyant show of his brand. As always, Peter Ram and Stiffy commanded the full attention of the crowd, with Peter Ram specifically teasing a controversial, yet crowd-pleasing song for the season. He was confident in the song being banned from the airwaves, and we here at Bajan Vibes have to concur. DJ Puffy with the assistance of Scratch Master serenaded the crowd for almost 30 minutes with rhythmic selections that moved through the Soca, Hip-hop and Dancehall genres. Teddyson John out of St. Lucia was the favourite during the night for many in attendance. With his own special genre of conscious soca song, the crowd was hanging off of his every beat as he had them grooving to all of his selections. His songs included the regional 2016 ‘Alez’ and his recent 2018 collaboration with Int’l Stephen dubbed ‘Vent’. Though these songs were obviously slower in tempo than other selections heard throughout the night, his energy on stage never skipped a beat when it came to controlling the mood of the crowd. This review of the night would be incomplete if we did not mention the King of the Dancehall himself, ‘Mr. Zagga’ Beenie Man. It comes to the surprise of no one that the music veteran wasted no time in igniting the crowd into a frenzy with all of his greatest hits like King of the Dancehall, Girls Dem Sugar and Toyfriend, just to name a few. Speaking to Bajan Vibes after the show, King Bubba thanked all the persons who contributed in any way to the success of this year’s event, saying that though it was sold out, he had no current intentions of shifting locations for next year’s iteration. “I like the exclusivity… if you couldn’t get in this year, you have to come next year, so it makes people buy their tickets early. But I plan on in the future, bringing another event in the heart of the season… that is the one I would target [the audience of] 5000 and up. But right now, Illuminate is exclusive. We cater to 1500-2000 people, and we are grateful for everybody being here and giving us a fantastic show.” (BT)

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Thursday 13th 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

C&W, DIGICEL DENY TALKS OF MERGER – TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPETITORS Cable Wireless and Digicel have dismissed reports that they are to become one under the ownership of international cable TV giant Liberty Global. The information was also rejected by Minister of Commerce Donville Inniss, who is responsible for telecommunications sector regulator, the Fair Trading Commission. Information reportedly circulating yesterday on social media and via email asserted that “in the next six weeks Barbados telecommunications industry will be changed back to a monopoly”. The author claimed to be a former longstanding employee of “LIME/Flow” and said they were a shareholder of the company. (DN)

NOT DUTY BOUND - We don’t have to hire you back! That strong message was sent yesterday to retrenched workers of the National Conservation Commission (NCC). Minister of Environment and Drainage Dr Denis Lowe, made the declaration as he sought to address claims that the NCC had recently hired 170 people, none of whom were part of the group of 186 workers laid off three years ago as a cost-cutting measure by Government. He denied the rumours and insisted that the NCC was not under any obligation to rehire workers from that group whenever a vacancy arose. (DN)

NOT ONE CENT – Scandalous! That was the stinging response from the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) to comments today by Minister of the Environment and Drainage Dr Denis Lowe that Government did not owe retrenched National Conservation Commission (NCC) workers a single thing. “This is scandalous. How could he say something like that?” NUPW President Akanni McDowall told Barbados TODAY soon after Lowe had adopted the emphatic position in the wake of concerns raised by frustrated current workers and the union that the state agency had hired new workers, none of whom was among those severed three years ago. Addressing the media following an NCC meeting at Almond Bay Caterers in Hastings, Christ Church Wednesday afternoon at which 103 workers were appointed, Lowe made it clear that the NCC’s duty of care to the dismissed workers had ended when they received severance payments awarded by the Employment Rights Tribunal last July. The tribunal, headed by Hal Gollop, QC, had ruled that the workers were unfairly dismissed, and had ordered compensation equivalent to 52 weeks’ wages. In addition, Government had agreed that the retrenched workers would be given first preference for any future vacancies at the statutory body, according to the NUPW. However, Lowe contended that this was not the case, stressing that all vacancies at the state agency were now fair game for anyone who submitted an application. “Let me be clear in saying that unlike the claim that is being made, the NCC has no obligation to anybody who has not applied or who would not apply, and that retrenchment is not a condition for engagement with the NCC. What we will do is give full consideration to anyone who expresses an interest in working with the NCC,” the minister insisted. (BT)

CXC TIME TABLES IN MAIL THIS WEEK - The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation is reminding persons that all timetables for CSEC and CAPE will be sent in the mail by Thursday, April 13. Students who do not receive these by Friday, April 21, are advised to call the Examinations Section of the Ministry at 535-0650, 535-0654, or 535-0649. The timetables are important for verifying the dates and times of examinations, and students are urged to bring these along with some form of picture identification to gain admittance to the examination centre. Candidates without the proper means of identification will not be allowed to take the examination. CXC May/June examinations are expected to begin on Monday, May 8, although orals in Spanish and French will be taken this month. (BGIS)

CALL FOR EQUALITY AMONG MARKERS – The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) is still mum on the issue of payment of teachers for correcting its School-Based Assessment subjects.  Registrar of the Barbados-based regional examination organisation, Glenroy Cumberbatch, avoided giving a direct answer after he was quizzed on the matter on Tuesday night. Secondary school teacher Charlotte Alleyne-Greene raised the issue with Cumberbatch following his presentation of a lecture organised by the Barbados Museum at the Queen’s Park Steel Shed. Alleyne-Greene, who corrects SBAs noted that languages’ teachers are paid to conduct oral examinations which are considered Paper III for those subjects in the same way the SBA is considered Paper III for other subjects. (DN)

APARTMENT IN A MESS - The delinquent tenant is gone, but Sandra Walkes’ problems certainly aren’t. Three weeks after her problematic encounter with a negligent tenant was publicised in the March 24 edition of the WEEKEND NATION, Walkes has successfully managed to regain control of her property. Or what remains of it. At the time, Walkes had complained that the tenant had refused to pay rent for three months or to move out despite being served with two eviction notices. (DN)

EXPLOSION FEAR & WATER LEAKS – CAVENDISH ATWELL is afraid his neighbourhood is in danger of going up in smoke. All due to a gas meter which, because of its placing, is usually surrounded by flammable materials.  “When the wind blows, leaves and stuff go in that recess. The owners of the property should put up a gate to stop those from going in. I’m afraid that if a car backfires or someone thoughtlessly throws in a match or cigarette, then that gas could explode and destroy the district,” he said. The meter belongs to a neighbour who runs a large estate on Dover fenced off by “galvanise”. Because the meter is located on the back end of the property, along Syndicate Lane, the fence has been built around the meter so National Petroleum Corporation (NPC) workers could easily access it for reading purposes. (DN)

FISH PRICES BLAMED ON SCARCITY – THE PRICE OF flying fish and dolphin has gone back up, conveniently in time for the Easter weekend. However, fisherfolk at the Bridgetown Fish Market said the rise had less to do with cashing in for Easter and was more about scarcity. “Two weeks ago flying fish was $15 a pack of ten and now it is $18 a pack and dolphin is now $10 a pound. They expensive because the boats ain’t bringing in much. It’s all supply and demand,” said vendor Nicole Worrell. Another vendor and former fisherman, Anthony Winston, empathised with buyers but said the prices were a necessary evil. (DN)

STUMPED ON JOB - A National Cricketer is charging unfair dismissal from her job by a Christ Church hotel. Sherika Lopez says she was dismissed after reporting for work late on the two days she was called up to play cricket for the Barbados team. “They (hotel) were saying that I was supposed to ask them if they got the letter, but the BCA (Barbados Cricket Association) sent the letter to them. I was told that the letter was faxed and mailed to the workplace. They were saying that I should have asked them first if the letter had gotten to the workplace, which I didn’t. And I told them yes, I accept the fact that I did not ask no questions whether the letter had got there or not, because the two days I played the cricket I called and said I would be late,” she explained. The commis chef said she turned up late on the days she played cricket, as she had done in the past. (DN)

LACK OF TOTAL EFFORT – West Indies captain Jason Holder has once again lamented the lack of an all-round team effort, following his side’s 2-1 series loss to Pakistan. Chasing their first series win over the Pakistanis in nearly three decades, West Indies succumbed to a six-wicket defeat at the Guyana National Stadium on Tuesday, with only a few players coming to the fore. Shai Hope (71) and Jason Mohammed (59) got half-centuries, but just one other batsman passed 20 as the Windies were restricted to 233 for nine off their 50 overs. “We’ve got a few positives to shout about. Obviously credit must go to [Jason Mohammed], I thought he played a really good series,” said Holder. (DN)

ARTISTES URGED TO DO MORE IN REGION - Local professionals across a range of industries including the cultural and performing arts are being encouraged to do more business in the region as well as in Europe. However, Minister of International Business, Industry, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss says for this to take place it is critical that bilateral agreements, that would promote trade and facilitate market access between each country in the region as well as between the European Union, were put in place. Over the years a number of mutual recognition agreements have been negotiated that would be the basis for greater market access to the European market. Inniss also called on entrepreneurs here to make themselves export ready, adding that it was critical that they know how to develop satisfactory business proposals. (BT)

AG: LGBT COMMUNITY NOT PERSECUTED IN BARBADOS - Persons who identify as homosexual in Barbados are not persecuted for their sexual orientation. This was the assertion from Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, who sought to dispel the notion that gay men and lesbians were being targeted across the island. The Barbados Government Information Service reported that during a courtesy call yesterday with Canadian High Commissioner, Marie Legault, at his Wildey, St. Michael office, Brathwaite maintained that although buggery was still illegal in Barbados, this did not impact two consenting adults. While acknowledging that Canada “thrives on diversity”, High Commissioner Legault stated that she hoped Barbados would eventually come to a place where it was “different from the rest of the Caribbean”. The two officials also discussed the introduction of plea bargaining to reduce the backlog of cases in Barbados’ judicial system; measures to lessen gun-related crimes; finding innovative ways to reduce the resurgence of property crime; and retrofitting the island’s schools to become multipurpose facilities.  Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Gayle Francis-Vaughan; Deputy Permanent Secretary, Deborah Payne; Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Attorney General, Charles Piggott; and Supervising Officer for Juvenile Matters and Prison Matters, Joyanne Blackman Jarvis, were also present at the meeting. (BGIS)

GUN CRIMES HAVE POLICE ATTENTION – Barbadians are being assured that the worrying gun violence sweeping the island is getting the highest level of attention from the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF). Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs Adriel Brathwaite admitted that the authorities were concerned about the spate of gun related incidents, but said he was confident the police force continued to effectively tackle the issue. The rise in gun crimes has prompted the perennial recommendation of a gun amnesty as part of the strategy to combat the problem. However, the Attorney General said the RBPF was not convinced that an amnesty would be effective. While statistics were not immediately available on the number of gun-related crimes committed so far this year, police have been kept busy dealing with such incidents. Brathwaite had said in 2014 that consideration was being given to introducing a gun amnesty in a bid to get illegal firearms off the streets and reduce gun crimes. Then Acting Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith had revealed at the time that males in the 15 to 29 age group were responsible for the majority of those crimes, and that up to September that year 30 illegal firearms had been seized and 20 people charged in connection with those seizures. However, in 2015 Brathwaite had said a gun amnesty would not work because Government could not afford to waive prosecution in every case for people turning in firearms. And again last year he reiterated that a gun amnesty would not solve the island’s illegal firearms problem. Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the US Embassy Drew Blakeney Wednesday gave the assurance that the US federal law enforcement agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration, continued to work closely with the drug squad here to dismantle the illegal drug trade and recover more illegal firearms. (BT)

COURT DRAMA - John Nathaniel Bancroft of Odessa McClean Drive, St Michael will spend a further 28 days on remand despite a dramatic application for bail by his attorney-at-law in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court Wednesday. The 42-year-old man was remanded to HMP Dodds on March 14, accused of knowingly possessing without lawful authority or excuse, two forged US$50 bank notes, purporting them to be genuine notes issued by the Federal Reserve of New York. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge when he made his first appearance before Magistrate Douglas Frederick in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. Wednesday, before the same magistrate, Bancroft’s lawyer Mohia Ma’at made another application for his client to be released pending trial. Ma’at admitted that his client had eleven such charges before the court, which could see him facing a maximum of 14 years on each count if found guilty. As part of his bail application Ma’at submitted to the magistrate that stringent conditions be imposed on his client. However, prosecutor Neville Reid in his objection to the bail application, told the magistrate: “I will be doing an injustice to society, Sir, if I agree with counsel. Our objections stand, Sir.” Magistrate Frederick ruled in favour of the prosecution saying that the solution did not lie with a counterfeit pen. He then pointed out that the aggravating factors of the case were such that he could not grant the accused man bail, as one of the Crown’s objections was the allegation that Bancroft was in court “when he was caught passing the money”. “I will monitor the situation . . . but I cannot accommodate you at this time,” Frederick told Ma’at as he adjourned the matter until May 10. (BT)

NURSE REMANDED - An unemployed man was Wednesday remanded to HMP Dodds after appearing in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on gun and ammunition charges. Temar Damien Nurse of Fordes Road, Clapham, St Michael is accused of possession of a firearm on April 10 without a valid licence. It is also alleged that the 24-year-old had ten rounds of ammunition without the necessary permits. Nurse, who did not have legal representation, was not required to plead to the indictable charges read to him by Magistrate Douglas Frederick. The accused will make his second appearance before the No.1 District ‘A’ magistrate on May 10. (BT)

 HAREWOOD CHARGED FOR STEALING $50 SCREW - A 20-year-old woman is out on $1,000 bail after making her first appearance in a Bridgetown Court Wednesday, charged with theft. It is alleged that Shenice Aliya Harewood of Combermere Street, St Michael stole a $50 screw belonging to Chefette Restaurants Limited on March 14. Harewood who did not have legal representation, denied the charge read by Magistrate Frederick Douglas in the No.1 District ‘A’ Criminal Court this morning. “What kind of screw is this,” the magistrate asked Prosecutor Station Sergeant Neville Reid, who responded that it was for one of the machines used at the establishment. With no objections from the prosecutor, Harwood was granted bail after the magistrate accepted her surety. She is scheduled to make her second appearance before the court on May 30. (BT)

I WAS ON CRACK – A “petty thief” in his 30s Tuesday told Magistrate Elwood Watts at the Oistins Magistrates’ Court that he was on crack when he committed a number of crimes between June 2015 and July last year. Anwar Sadat Admin of Block 7D Sliver Hill, Christ Church pleaded guilty to stealing a vacuum worth $120, a motorcar stereo worth $100 and a chamois worth $10 belonging to Brent Garvey sometime between June 30 and July 1, 2015. He also pleaded guilty to damaging a motorcar belonging to Mangera Car Rentals and another belonging to Naomi Luke without lawful excuse during that same period; as well as damaging a motorcar belonging to Cornelius Manasseh John on June 28, 2016. It was revealed in the No.3 Supreme Court that in all the cases the rear windows of the vehicles were damaged. In addressing the court, Admin told Watts that he was “smoking crack” when he committed the acts. However, Watts pointed out that Admin had 13 convictions for stealing “petty things you are walking around and doing”. The magistrate sentenced Admin to three months in prison on each of the four charges, to run concurrently with any other sentence that the convict is currently serving at HMP Dodds. Watts advised the man to take advantage of the programmes offered at the St Philip penitentiary in order to “stop this behaviour” and become a “productive” citizen. Admin returns before the Oistins Criminal Court on May 9 to face an indictable charge of unlawfully removing Kibbi Stuart from Silver Hill without her consent on November 19, 2013. Over in the Distraict ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, Magistrate Douglas Frederick sentenced Thomas Andrew Bailey to nine months imprisonment for burglary. The 37-year-old who has no fixed place of abode has been on remand for the last four months, charged with entering the house of Glory Donawa on December 8, 2016 as a trespasser, with intent to steal. He pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared before Frederick in the No.1 Criminal Court recently. However, taking into account the amount of time already spent on remand, Bailey only has another five months to serve at HMP Dodds. “I thank you, Sir,” was Bailey’s response to the sentence as he made his way out the dock. (BT)

FORCE MOURNS A GOOD MAN – Doleful strains of music from the Royal Barbados Police Force band and the sound of muffled drums filled the air at Christ Church Parish Church yesterday when members of the Royal Barbados Police Force bade farewell to “a comrade in arms who fell in the line of duty”. Detective Station Sergeant Clifford Bridgeman was accorded full military honours when he was laid to rest following a ceremony attended by Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave and Lady Belgrave, Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, members of the judiciary, top brass of the Royal Barbados Police Force and members of the Ex-Police Association. They were among the hundreds from all walks of life paying last respects to a “shrewd and industrious police officer” and “a decent person with a magnetic personality”. (DN)

REGGAE FESTIVAL PROMOTERS HAPPY WITH TICKET SALES – Promoters OF Digicel Reggae Festival are breathing a sigh of relief that their marquee shows would not be affected by a lack of attendance from visitors coming from the United States following the immigration policy of that new government.  Al Gilkes of FAS Entertainment, the team responsible for the festival, said that initially they had concerns about the Donald Trump administration’s controversial travel rules that placed restrictions on travellers from six predominantly Muslim countries. “What we were concerned about initially was whether or not we would be trumped by the restrictions or the threats that were being made by the new American administration in terms of allowing people out and in. (DN)

AJA’S APOLOGY TO BUSSA – Barbadian rhythm poet and cultural activist, Adisa AJA Andwele, has released a music video to accompany his latest work which pays homage to National Hero and freedom fighter, The Right Excellent General Bussa. De Apology – Bussa I’m Sorry is a cinematic-styled music video which was shot at various locations across the island to portray a pivotal point in Barbadian history that is not widely known. AJA’s work examines the role which slaves at Mt Wilton Plantation in St Thomas played during the Bussa-led 1816 Rebellion which started at Bayley’s Plantation in St Philip and their compensation which led to the establishment of the First Free Village at Rock Hall, St Thomas. The work also highlights the deceptive role that the Black Army played in defeating General Bussa and his troops in the rebellion which was the first major attempt by enslaved Africans in Barbados to secure their freedom, inspired no doubt by the earlier success of counterparts in Haiti. AJA is a descendant of Robert Downes and his wife, Hagan Jane, who are both founding members of the first free village. In this regard, he is making the apology on their behalf to General Bussa and all those who died in the battle to free Barbados from slavery. The music video produced by AJA Productions & Bajans in Motion Inc., was filmed at locations which were part of this history. They include Bayley’s Plantation where Bussa lived and where the final battle was fought during the 1816 Rebellion; nearby Golden Grove Plantation where Bussa was killed; and at the Freedom Monument at Rock Hall, St Thomas. (BT)

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday 29th March 2017. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Mid-Week Nation Newspaper (MWN).

BLP READY FOR BATTLE - Barbados is in a worse condition today than it was during the economic crisis of the early 1990s, which led to the downfall of the then Erskine Sandiford (now Sir Lloyd) administration, Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) leader Mia Mottley has charged. And a confident Mottley has told party supporters, just as the BLP had done after it assumed office in 1994, it was prepared drag the country back from the economic crisis it currently faces. “In 1994, we came to office against the background of a country that had seen wage cuts and had seen 4,500 people go home. We thought Barbados had seen its darkest days and we came with hope and we told the country we could do better,” Mottley said Sunday night as her party gathered in the conference room of the Island Inn hotel to mark the commencement of Founder’s Month in April, under the theme, The Right Excellent Grantley Adams, Father of Democracy. “The days of difficulty of 1991 and 1992, you would have never believed that in our lifetime that we would see not just a repeat but a worsening of the conditions.” The Opposition Leader said the country had emerged from the crisis of the 1990s with a determination to improve the lives of future generations, while the BLP had built a legacy that “you don’t stop until you include everybody in the journey of economic and social enfranchisement” and to include all Barbadians in the decision making process. “Hence, what we are confronting in Barbados has been the greatest shock for us,” she said. Stressing that the party was primed for battle against the governing Democratic Labour Party “for the battle of politics and we are always ready for the battle of the development in this country”, Mottley said nearly 3,000 BLP members and supporters would be on the roads canvasing for the election. (BT)

CALLING MIA – Barbadians should put aside whatever misgivings they might have about Opposition Leader Mia Mottley and give her a chance to reverse the country’s economic woes, says a former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate. Businessman Taan Abed, who fell out of favour with his party ahead of the 2013 general election when he was replaced as a candidate in Christ Church West by attorney-at-law Verla DePeiza, has switched allegiance to Mottley and the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) after 28 years as a member of the DLP. Abed argued that the BLP leader is the only one at present with the skill, competence and charisma to lead the country amid a crippling economic crisis. “Why don’t we give Mia Mottley a chance? She is a great woman . . . . Mottley has a vision for Barbados and in addition she has come from a good family. The type of leadership shown by the late Right Excellent Errol Barrow no longer exists in the DLP. Put Mia as leader and the country will go forward. She has the charisma to attract most things to this country,” he told Barbados TODAY in an interview Monday at his Rockley, Christ Church home. Despite being rejected by the Freundel Stuart-led DLP General Council in 2013 after winning the nomination, Abed said Stuart was a decent leader. However, he contended that unlike Mottley and some within Stuart’s own Cabinet, the Prime Minister simply lacked the gift of charisma.    In addition, the businessman argued, Mottley would get sound economic advice from people like Dr Clyde Mascoll, something he contended Stuart could not get from Minister of Finance Christ Sinckler. (BT)

AKANNI RESPONDS TO JONES & IRENE – President of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Akanni McDowall, is querying why the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) administration is making such ado about the union’s upcoming elections. Calling it “a distraction”, he told the MIDWEEK NATION: “The elections of the union should not be such a great concern to any Government, unless the Government is in fear of the leaders of the union.” McDowall made the comments following criticism from Minister of Education Ronald Jones at the DLP St Andrew branch meeting at Alleyne School on Sunday. Jones claimed there were Barbados Labour Party (BLP) supporters seeking to become trade unionists to further their personal and political aspirations. (MWN)

BSTU: PRINCIPALS TO BLAME - The President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) Mary Redman believes that principals must take their fair share of blame for the current breakdown in school discipline. Speaking on a television programme on Sunday night, Redman complained that many school administrators were not enforcing the rules when it comes to suspension of students. “When you are suspended, the parents are supposed to come back with the child at the end of the suspension [but] too often it is not happening,” she said. “The children come back to school, the parents do not come back with them. . . . [and] often we hear parents say, ‘don’t call me again with him or her . . . I’m not coming back’. “What happens? The principal takes the child back into the school, without having followed the rules of the school,” the BSTU president lamented. To make matters worse, Redman said many administrators felt their hands were tied when it came to the controversial matter of corporal punishment. “And so, there has been a heavy dependence on suspension,” she said, explaining that “when I was in school, when you were suspended, that was a very serious offence. “[But] now, because it is the go-to form of punishment, it means very little to the students, and it means very little to parents,” she added. Also participating in the programme, President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Pedro Shepherd said at-risk children were a major problem for the educational system on a whole. He pointed out that the Ministry of Education only had one psychologist to deal with the entire system, a situation which he said had proven quite inadequate. “That psychologist has to deal with not only secondary [school] students, but primary students, because we have in the primary system, children who are suspended as well . . . children who are experiencing serious challenges; and so the psychologist in the Ministry is overworked and therefore cannot see children as often as they would,” the BUT leader said. Turning to the standoff between Government and the teachers’ unions over payment for School Based Assessments (SBAs), Shepherd said his union fully supported the BSTU’s position that teachers should not be marking those Caribbean Examination Council papers without compensation. “Our members are saying that the SBA has now become too onerous, it is now becoming more headaches, . . . more stress, too many subjects are now being added, the number of SBAs per subject is also increasing and so the workload is increasing,” Shepherd said, while expressing concern that some teachers were still correcting SBAs for “chicken feed” and for a “pittance”. (BT)

DENNY BANKING ON PUBLIC SECTOR PAY HIKE – Pan Africanist David Denny has come out strongly in support of the 23 per cent pay demand being made by the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW). Speaking in the wake of concerns raised by key Government officials, including outspoken Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss, who had earlier suggested that the union’s demand was downright unreasonable, Denny, who is currently vying for the post of 3rd Vice President in the NUPW, sought to make it clear that the position was not that of the union’s executive alone, but its general membership. However, the Government employee, who is currently attached to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth as a youth projects coordinator, said he was open to a possible compromise on the union’s across-the board pay hike. In fact, Denny suggested that with the economy as it is, workers at the bottom of the ladder should be afforded the highest wage increase at this stage. He also highlighted the issue of appointments in the public service, while recalling that in 2015 he had tabled a resolution, which was subsequently passed by the union, for the appointment of all public officers working within the civil service for more than three years. Denny further pointed out that there were many workers in the public service with more than ten years experience who were yet to be appointed. Ahead of the April 5 internal ballot, in which NUPW President Akanni McDowall faces a challenge from the Deputy General-Treasurer Roy Greenidge for the leadership of the country’s largest public sector union, Denny, who is running as an independent, said he has been meeting with several workers and he was pleased with their response to his campaign.  (BT)

PRISON GUARDS FED UP OF WAITING FOR OUTSTANDING PAY – Some frontline workers at Barbados’ main correctional facility say they are “frustrated” over Government’s non-payment of their “flexibility allowance”. The prison guards at Dodds say they have not been paid the allowance — in some cases for almost three years — and are owed thousands of dollars for services rendered. “We work eight hours, but when we go over we are supposed to be paid for it. We ain’t getting paid for it at all. All they say is the Government does not have funding,” a spokesman for the workers said. He pointed out that, in some cases, the workers had completed as many as 60 hours per month in overtime but “not a cent” had been forthcoming. The situation affects those guards who escort inmates to court for their appearances, as well as those assigned to the state-run Queen Elizabeth Hospital and at polyclinics, where prisoners are transported for health checks. “The police does get a little money when they go out there on duty and we don’t get ours and it is simply not fair,” one affected officer said, pointing out that he is owed monies for duties performed at the QEH dating back to October 2016. Barbados TODAY understands that 17 escorts and eight drivers perform those duties on a weekly basis. As an alternative to the outstanding pay, the officers were offered “special days” which could be attached to their annual leave. However, this has been rejected by the officers on the grounds that “we can’t carry days to the shop”. “They tried to replace it with special days; escorts work Monday to Friday, so that’s like 80 special days owed to them. It can be attached to your vacation, but after working so many long hours everyone prefer the money than the days,” the spokesman emphasized. When contacted, President of the Barbados Prison Officers’ Association (BPOA) Trevor Browne told Barbados TODAY he was aware of the situation. However, he was unwilling to discuss the matter publicly at this stage, saying, “I am addressing it at another level right now. “There was discussion and it had stopped . . . . We put a case in court last Friday relative to all of our matters and it also includes flexibility allowance,” he explained. “Really and truly it had stopped for a while and I don’t really want to speak to it because we are trying to address it at a level where we could come to some sort of agreement,” Browne added. With the case due to be heard in the High Court on April 24, he said the association was seeking to get back the powers it had surrendered under the Prisons Act, which he described as “cumbersome”. Attorney-at-law Gregory Nicholls is representing the BPOA in the matter. (BT)

WORK TO FINALLY BEGIN ON WYNDHAM HOTEL THIS FRIDAY – Fourteen years after the historic Sam Lord’s Castle Hotel closed its doors to business, and seven years following its destruction by fire, construction of the much delayed US$200 million Wyndham Grand Resort in St Philip is due to begin on Friday. Chief Executive Officer of the state-owned Barbados Tourism Investment Incorporated (BTII) Stuart Layne revealed to Barbados TODAY Tuesday morning that work on the 450-room facility would begin on schedule, nine months after the old burnt out historic buildings were demolished to make way for the project. The plans for the project on the 58-acre property were approved since 2008, with construction initially earmarked to begin towards the middle of 2015. Several delays later, Layne had told Barbados TODAY in early January that it would finally get under way by the end of the first quarter of 2017. The project is being financed by China, with the China National Complete Plant Import Export Corporation as the main contractor. The Wyndham resort is one of a series of tourism-related development projects on which the Freundel Stuart administration is relying to spur economic growth, increase employment and restore foreign exchange reserves. Layne said the project would create up to 1,000 temporary jobs during construction, and would employ a similar number upon completion. The tourism investment executive said while the new property will be built to the highest international standards associated with the Wyndham brand, what is left of the castle – a local heritage building – would be retained and restored. With the summer tourist season normally slow, Layne said the new hotel would be designed to attract summer travellers, but accommodate tourists who travel at anytime of the year. It is for this reason that the hotel will have large conference facilities, including 20,000 square feet of convention space to attract the meetings, incentives, conferences and events market, he said. In addition, the Wyndham will go after the family market, as well as the weddings and honeymoons and spa business, he disclosed. The project was initially expected to be completed in early 2018. However, Layne did not reveal a new completion date. (BT)

COSTLY BABY CARE – CARING FOR BABIES at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) has a high price tag. According to head of the Department of Paediatrics Dr Clyde Cave, it can cost up to a $1/4 million per baby. He said it involved incubators, monitors, ventilators and sometimes three infusion pumps to ensure that blood flowed throw each little one. Cave explained that because of international standards, some pieces of equipment had a relatively short lifespan. “I don’t think people realise how much is involved and the amount that goes into treating a sick baby. And for us there are challenges because medical equipment in other countries is designed to be obsolete in five to ten years . . . and we can’t to afford to replace it in that time,” he added. (MWN)

ELDERLY TENANT GETS EVICTED – With tears streaming down her cheeks, a distraught and at times inconsolable Edmunda Gittens could only watch on in disbelief as the house she had called home for 80 years was stripped down to its foundation. Yesterday’s development was the end result of a bitter feud between the owners of the plot of land at Kendal Hill, Christ Church, and Gittens, 86, over the non-payment of land rent.  Just after 8 a.m. yesterday, a female marshal drove on to the plot of land where the elderly woman lived with her son and demanded that the items be removed from inside the house in which she had lived from the age of five. With three of her eight children and a few grandchildren on hand to lend assistance, Gittens could not hold back the tears as two carpenters began to dismantle the wooden house. (MWN)

CASE MADE FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING – Government has been called on to utilise the former Louis Lynch Secondary School to provide emergency housing for fire victims. The school at Whitepark Road, St Michael, was closed in 2005 over health and environmental concerns. It remains in a derelict state. Parliamentary representative for St Michael West and Speaker of the House of Assembly, Michael Carrington, made the suggestion while addressing a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) branch meeting at his Westbury Road constituency office on Sunday. “I’ve said that I feel the time has passed when there is some sort of emergency housing available for fire victims. I really don’t see why we can’t refurbish an old school building. Government has a number of buildings lying around.  (MWN)

NO DEAL! COURT INJUNCTION STOPS BNTCL SALE - The controversial multi-million dollar sale of the state-owned Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL) to regional petroleum products giant Sol has been stopped in its tracks by two legal challenges mounted by Sol’s competitor Rubis Caribbean. The High Court last Friday granted Rubis an interim injunction until April 3, 2017, throwing a spanner in the works of Government’s plan to beef up the dwindling foreign exchange reserves, which had fallen to a 14-year low of 10.3 weeks of import cover as of the end of last year. Rubis had lodged an application for a judicial review, challenging the inclusion of a 15-year moratorium clause in the agreement between the Freundel Stuart administration and the Sir Kyffin Simpson-led Sol for the US$100 million merger, which the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) is currently probing to determine whether or not it should be approved. The clause prohibits the construction of another oil terminal in Barbados, as well as the granting of licences for the storage of fuel, aviation fuel and jet fuel for the commercial and industrial purposes. Chief Executive Officer of Rubis Caribbean Mauricio Nicholls told Barbados TODAY this evening that his legal team had advised that “this moratorium should not be granted because it would constitute an illegal restriction” of the right granted to the Minister of Energy by law to decide on such matters.  The Rubis executive further revealed that the High Court will on Thursday hear submissions from relevant parties to determine whether the injunction should be lifted or even extended. Barbados TODAY understands that attorneys for Rubis filed a second but separate legal claim against BNOCL on Monday, challenging the fairness of the tendering process for the sale of BNTCL, on the basis that the conditions offered to Sol were never offered to Rubis. However, when pressed for details on the offers referred to in the claim, Nicholls stressed that due to the sensitive nature of the case he would not comment further. Rubis has been opposed to the deal from the very beginning, arguing that the sale of the island’s lone oil terminal gives its competitor the monopoly in oil storage and distribution, and would lead to existential solipsism. Nicholls, last month put Government on notice that it was prepared to pursue all legal avenues to prevent an oil storage monopoly, after it was revealed that as part of the sale agreement, made public by the FTC, the administration had committed to maintaining a single terminal here until 2032, albeit under private ownership. After the international ratings agency Standard & Poor’s had downgraded Barbados from B- to CCC+ last month, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler had said he was confident the FTC would approve the sale which, when taken with a draw down which was expected from the Sam Lord’s Castle development project and a First Citizens bank loan, would return the reserves to “well above” the desired 12 weeks of imports. (BT)

MAGISTRATES’ COURT PAYS TRIBUTE TO DECEASED OFFICER – Magistrates Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant, Douglas Frederick and Graveney Bannister today joined with police officers, staff and 32 recruits in paying tribute to late Station Sergeant Clifford Bridgeman. A minute’s silence was observed in the District ‘A’ Court in memory of the deceased officer who was killed in a five-vehicle smash up on Carrington Road, at its junction with Edgecumbe Hill, St Philip around 6 p.m. Sunday. “I have not recovered yet, I really haven’t come to grips with his death,” Police Constable Kenmore Phillips told Barbados TODAY. Bridgeman and Constable Phillips were course mates when they first joined the Force back in July 1990. “He was a wonderful and dedicated person. His death will leave an indelible mark and a void in the Royal Barbados Police Force,” PC Phillips added. Earlier, Prosecutor Sergeant Martin Rock had described the deceased officer as “a soft spoken but forceful person” who was “very serious and was very trustworthy”, while Police Constable Edrick Murray said Bridgeman was a “very nice, very cool, reserved person” who would be missed. Bridgeman was the front seat passenger in a stationary police vehicle, driven by Acting Station Sergeant Orville Lovell, when 23-year-old Tre Murray of Spring Hall, St Lucy, who was reportedly attempting to overtake a number of vehicles, struck three cars and slammed into the unmarked police jeep. “It was heartbreaking to hear that he died in such a manner,” Station Sergeant Neville Reid told Barbados TODAY. “He was a very nice person who was dedicated to his job and always treated people with respect,” he added. (BT)

SCHOOL BOY ESCAPES SERIOUS INJURY AFTER BEING STRUCK BY A CAR – Six-year-old Arimani Greaves escaped serious injury after being struck by a motor car along White Park Road, St Michael today around 3:30 p.m. According to police, Greaves was attempting to cross the road at the pedestrian crossing when he was struck by the vehicle driven by 28-year-old Andre Sobers, of White Hill, Terrace, St Thomas. Greaves, of 3rd Avenue, Station Hill, St Michael suffered pain to the buttocks. His mother opted to seek private medical treatment. Police are continuing investigations. (BT)

WANTED MAN TURNS HIMSELF IN – Wanted man Akem Jabary Leon has turned himself in. Twenty-four-year-old Leon who is also known as “Pet”, “Peck Head”, or “Bobby” surrendered to police today accompanied by an attorney-at-law. Leon, who lived at Eden Lodge and 3rd Avenue, Manning Land, Bank Hall, St Michael is currently assisting police with investigation. (BT)

GET OUT – A 37-year-old mason who admitted to assaulting his girlfriend has been ordered by a Bridgetown magistrate to vacate their shared accommodation. Jonathan Alexander Worrell of Ocean View, Bush Hall, St Michael, told Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant in the No. 2 District ‘A’ Criminal Court that he assaulted Shakita Walton occasioning her actual bodily harm on March 27. Station Sergeant Janice Ifill revealed that the two had been involved in an intimate relationship for the past four years. However, Monday Walton informed Worrell that she wanted to end the relationship, which apparently did not sit well with him. The two quarreled and an angry Worrell took up a scissors and said to Walton: “You next to me talking about another man. I taking my money and giving you, supporting you. I going to barely but kill you.” The Crown’s representative said Walton attempted to call her father after Worrell slapped her on the left side of her face. But he took the phone away from her and punched and kicked her about her body. Station Sergeant Ifill said Walton was able to reach for a knife which was in the kitchen, and she stabbed Worrell in his left shoulder and escaped. Walton reported the matter to the police who investigated and later arrested and charged Worrell. Walton, who was also in court Monday, told the magistrate she wanted Worrell to stay away from her. The magistrate then asked Worrell whether he had anything to say. ”I do not have anything to say, Ma’am,” he said at first, but then added: “I just want to know how I will get to see my daughter.” The magistrate informed the two that arrangements would need to be made for a neutral third party to act as a go-between. Worrell was then ordered to compensate his former girlfriend $300 in one week’s time or spend six weeks in jail. He was also placed on a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for the next six months. If he breaches the order, he will have to pay the court $750 forthwith or spend three months in jail. The magistrate also ordered Worrell to give his keys to Walton and seek alternative accommodations immediately.  (BT)

‘HOT’ FIVE - The Royal Barbados Police Force is working with a theory that five men are driving around in a vehicle committing a number of serious crimes across the island. Police said yesterday that while the suspects were committing these acts, they were also targeting victims. Last Friday night five bandits, all armed with guns, stormed into Taitt Hill Mini Mart and Bar, in Taitt Hill, St George, robbing customers on the inside and outside of the business. The crooks also made off with $600 from the cash register. (MWN)

JOLLY ROGER PATRONS FACE DRUG CHARGES – Three people who went to a Jolly Roger cruise on Sunday appeared in a Bridgetown court Monday and pleaded guilty to separate cannabis charges. When Rashida Akilah Gilkes of 1st Avenue, #8 South Lowlands Drive, Friendship Terrace, St Michael went before the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court, she admitted to having the illegal drug in the country’s territorial waters. Gilkes, who was onboard a sunrise cruise, was seen smoking what appeared to be a cigarette on the upper deck of the vessel. She was approached by security who informed her that smoking was prohibited and asked whether she had any other substance in her possession. The 24-year-old handed over a plastic bag containing four Ziploc bags with 10 greaseproof wrappings. The quantity of vegetable matter weighed four grammes and had an estimated street value of $50. Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant ordered that Gilkes pay the court $1,500 in costs which she must pay in one month time or face an alternative of three months in prison. If Gilkes settles the total amount by May 2, her criminal record will be kept clean, as she was not previously known to the law courts. Sheldon Adolphus Howell, 39, a resident of Venture #3, St John who is known to the court, was fined $1,500 for having cannabis in his possession. He was about to embark the vessel to attend a 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. cruise when he was caught with the drugs. While performing a routine check of the patron, security felt a bulge in his groin area. He was asked what it was and admitted that it was cannabis, and removed a clear plastic containing a loose quantity of vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis and four cigarettes, weighing four grammes. The magistrate gave Howell six weeks to pay the fine, with an alternative of six months in jail. He returns to court on May 8 to show proof of payment. Kamal Kimami Nurse, 31, also of Venture #3, St John, has six weeks to pay his $1,000 fine for possession of cannabis. If he fails to pay the amount by May 8, he will spend three months in jail. Nurse was also caught during routine searches carried out by Jolly Roger security personnel. He had a transparent plastic bag in his groin area containing four cigarettes. The drugs weighed two grammes.  (BT)

LOITERER ASKS FOR RESTRICTION – A ‘peeping tom’ who was stoned by residents, asked the court to restrict him from returning to the “dangerous” area. A heavily bandaged Kensley Donald Jacob, 55, of Rendezvous, Main Road, Worthing View, Christ Church, pleaded guilty to loitering on Forde’s Road, Clapham, St Michael, on March 25 and being unable to give a satisfactory account. Criminal Court No. 2 of the District “A” Magistrates’ Court heard that Jacobs was seen coming from behind a hedge in front of apartment block No. 3 in Forde’s Road by two residents who were heading home. Jacobs looked in their direction and then disappeared from sight. Another neighbour was alerted and they searched for Jacobs, who was spotted hiding under a mango tree in some bushes. (MWN)

TWO MEN ACCUSED OF ASSAULT GET BAIL – A 24-year-old unemployed man was released on $5,000 bail after denying an assault charge. Andrew Ramon Watson, of 6D Field Road, Wildey, St Michael is accused of unlawfully assaulting Danielle Forde-Riddick on March 26, occasioning her actual bodily harm. Police prosecutor Station Sergeant Janice Ifill had no objections to bail and Watson was released after Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant accepted his surety. He makes his second appearance before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on June 12. In another case, Station Sergeant Ifill also had no objections to bail but urged Magistrate Cuffy-Sargeant to impose a condition on Ryan Addison Payne if he was granted his freedom. The 41-year-old taxi driver from Frenches, St George was not required to plead to the indictable charge of indecently assaulting a woman on March 24. He was granted $8,000 bail by the magistrate, which he secured with one surety. Payne must, however, report to the Boarded Hall Police Station every Tuesday and Friday by noon, with valid identification. He is expected to return to court on June 22. (BT)

TWO MISSING MEN – Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating two missing men. They are 50 year-old Kenmore Decoursey Hinds of Skeetes Road, Mile and a Quarter, St Peter and 34-year-old Kenville Noel Clarke of Nursery #2, Four Roads, St Philip. Hinds was last seen by his sister Marva Hinds around 9:30 a.m. last Wednesday when he left his residence to visit the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. At the time, he was wearing long Khaki pants and a blue and white shirt with buttons to the front. He was also wearing a green cap and tan boots. Hinds is six feet in height, slim built, of dark complexion, with a bald head, long nose, and is approximately 160 lbs. Clarke was last seen by his sister Gail Clarke during the month of February 2017 when he was making plans to visit Trinidad and Tobago to attend Carnival. He  is 5 5 in height, of slim build, dark complexion, with a round forehead, thick lips, brown eyes, small ears pierced once, shoulder length Rasta locks, and a thin moustache. He also has tattoos on both his hands and his chest. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of these two men is asked to contact Emergency number 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800 –TIPS (8477), or the nearest police station. (BT)

TRINIDAD: NOT SAFE – A threat by an 11-year-old boy to stab someone at school reignited protest action by parents of pupils attending the Santa Rita Roman Catholic School in Rio Claro on Tuesday. The school was shut down as parents burned tyres outside the gates preventing pupils and teachers from entering the compound. The parents are demanding a meeting with Education Minister Anthony Garcia. Savitri Persad, a parent, said parents were not prepared to endanger their children’s life by sending them to school. She said, “The boy told a taxi driver yesterday that he was not feeling to go to school and he was feeling to stab someone at school. The driver became concerned and informed the parents. That was when we decided to take action. We are not comfortable sending the children to school with him there. This is becoming unbearable.” Persad said parents gathered at the school at daybreak and blocked the entrance. She said parents were not satisfied with the response of the Education Minister, who proved that he was unable to deal with the situation. Persad said Standard Two pupil who had attacked pupils and teachers on numerous occasions attended school on Monday. “Test is going on at school. The Standard Five pupils are preparing for SEA. This boy came to school and was beating drums and steelpan and disturbing the other children. The teachers don’t stop him because they too are afraid of him,” she said. Persad said parents have taken a decision to keep their children away from classes until the ministry takes action. She said ministry officials assigned to the case have failed. The parents began protest action last week after a child was attacked by the bully. Garcia said last week that he was unable to visit every school with problems. He said the matter was being addressed by the ministry’s Student Support Services Division. And Mayaro MP Rushton Paray has appealed to the Children’s Authority to intervene. Paray said the Ministry of Education had failed to address the concerns being raised by parents. And he believes the Children’s Authority can provide the guidance and help to the alleged bully. He said preliminary investigations have determined that the child was not well and needed urgent treatment. Paray said the boy had displayed symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder. “This is treatable; however the treatment cannot be provided in a normal school environment. We must do everything in our power to treat this child to ensure that he has a brought future,” he said. (BT)

STRANGE TACTICS LET DOWN PRIDE – Injury AND faulty tactics were two factors that compromised Barbados Pride’s victory bid in the eighth-round Digicel 4-Day encounter against Guyana Jaguars that ended in a draw at Kensington on Monday.  The Pride picked up 11.8 points and the Jaguars 6.6, but Barbados needed an outright win against the table leaders to strengthen their chances of winning the regional first class title. Guyana held on for a draw after batting deep into the day despite losing Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Vishal Singh before lunch. Set 93 to win off 12 overs, the Pride fell short by 18 runs with five wickets still standing. “There were some times when we could have been a bit more dynamic with our field placing, especially late on when Guyana had lost eight wickets,” Pride manager Wendell Coppin told NATIONSPORT after the match. (MWN)

BLACKBIRDS TO CLASH WITH ST. BARNABUS – Defending champions UWI Signia Blackbirds will battle Pine Hill St Barnabas in Saturday’s finals of the senior netball knockouts after both teams advanced to a replay of the 2016 finals with relative ease on Monday night at the Netball Stadium. Blackbirds, who won every senior title in 2016, destroyed the newly promoted Spooners Hill Firebirds 51-28, with goal shooter Shonica Wharton leading the way with 34 goals from 37 attempts before taking a rest in the final quarter. Her replacement, the acrobatic Rieah Holder, scored 6 from 8 attempts, while Sheniqua Thomas sank 11 of 16. However, it was Blackbirds’ fast-paced midcourt artistry and mean circle defence which denied and frustrated Firebirds, allowing the feared Lydia Bishop and young Quantya Rudder one shot less than the goals scored by Wharton. (MWN)

MIXED VIEWS ON CORNED BEEF – Where’s the beef? Right back on Barbadian shelves. But while many Barbadians are over the moon about corned beef going back on sale, some still have their doubts. On Monday, the temporary ban placed on all corned beef from Brazil was lifted. During a media briefing at the Ministry of Agriculture, Chief Veterinary OfficerDr Mark Trotman said he had no further concerns about either the sale or consumption of the Brazilian meat in Barbados following a rotten meat scandal in the South American nation. Yesterday, the MIDWEEK NATION caught up with some of the patrons at retail outlets to get their views about the staple being put back in circulation. (MWN)

FISH NOT BITING - The fish are not biting in the north this Lenten season, forcing vendors to go south for their catch. And with Easter just 19 days away, the neighbourhood fisherfolk are worried that business simply will not rise to the surface this year. A visit to Six Men’s in St Peter and the Millie Ifill fish market in Weston, St James revealed concerned fishermen and vendors feeling like fish out of water, hoping for an Easter miracle, but accepting the cold, hard fact that the waters around them seemed devoid of fish. He has concluded that it all has to do with climate change, arguing that those who were successful at catching the favourite flying fish, for example, were the owners of larger boats with sufficient ice to venture far out to sea. This is not the first time that Hinds has experienced ups and downs during the Easter season. However, this year seems particularly bad, and this has driven up demand in Bridgetown, thus pushing up prices for vendors and customers alike. For Keely Gibbons, a vendor at the Millie Ifill fish market, the shortage has hit her pocket hard. Forced to travel to Bridgetown for supplies of about 1,000 flying fish, Gibbons must compete with other vendors just to get her hands on the catch so she can have something to sell. With the price higher than usual due to the fierce competition – coupled with the fact that this is the Lenten season – Gibbons must add transportation and other costs, yet keep prices down, she told Barbados TODAY. Another vendor, Cynthia Holder, who plies her trade at Six Men’s, would have liked the fish to bite so local fishermen could haul in their catch in the small fishing community just north of Speightstown. However, with the current scarcity, she has adopted a philosophical approach to the situation.  (BT)

MANDELA STILL SEES POCKETS OF RACISM – Despite the efforts of late freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, racism continues to be an issue in South Africa. However, his grand daughter and social activist Ndileka Mandela said she believed that economic equality could lead to a decrease in discrimination. While giving a lecture at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination (EBCCI) yesterday, the founder of the Thembekile Mandela Foundation said racism in South Africa existed both covertly and overtly. However, it was the covert type that was the most problematic. “You still get pockets of racism to this day, and we heard a scenario where people are still called kaffir [an offensive ethnic slur]. I was called a kaffir not too long ago in a theatre in one of the centres,” she said. (MWN)

Good Morning #realdreamchasers!. Here is your daily newscap. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today Online (BT) or The Midweek Newspaper (MWN).

NO UWI FEES UNDER BLP - The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has given a strong hint that it will reverse the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government’s decision to have Barbadian’s pay tuition fees for their university education. BLP candidate for St Michael South Kirk Humphrey told a constituency branch meeting over the weekend that the children of the poor should never have to pay for their education. Government introduced tuition fees for university education at the start of the 2014/2015 academic year, and University of the West Indies officials have since blamed a dramatic drop in enrolment on the fees. Humphrey said he empathized with those who were forced to drop out of school or defer post secondary education because they could not afford it, backing up his empathy with a story of his own hard times while attending university in the 1990s after his mother had lost her job as a bus conductor during the Erskine Sandiford (now Sir Lloyd) administration.   (BT) 

NO PRIVATISATION - THE NATIONAL Union of Public Workers (NUPW) is saying a resounding no to privatisation in any form or fashion, not only of the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA), but also of the Transport Board and the Barbados Water Authority.  “We will never agree to privatisation of the SSA, and we feel the same way about the Transport Board and the Barbados Water Authority,” general secretary Roslyn Smith told the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday. Smith’s comments came a few hours after general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Toni Moore, sided with the NUPW in slamming the decision to contract private haulers to help collect refuse across the country in a $3.3 million project which started last week. “We are in full agreement with the BWU. We are in this together and feel the same way and will defend our position,” Smith added. (MWN) 

AKANNI DEMOTED - President of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Akanni McDowall today learnt the hard way what it means to fall victim to Government. McDowall, who has been carrying his union’s fight to the Freundel Stuart administration for well over a year since his ascension to the presidency back in May 2015, was unceremoniously removed from the senior position of Acting Health Planning Officer 1 and sent back to his substantive post of Environmental Health Assistant 1. In an immediate reaction, the NUPW said the “sudden reversion of its president” was nothing short of victimization, while pointing out that he had recently been vocal in his opposition to what the union sees as Government’s efforts to privatize the state-run Sanitation Service Authority. The NUPW is therefore demanding an urgent meeting with the Chief Personnel Officer to discuss the situation. In a media release, the union noted that McDowall had previously acted in the post of Health Promotion Officer for two straight years and had received favourable performance reports. It also pointed out that when its president was appointed to act in June, he was placed in a vacant position. The union also argued that McDowall, who has a Masters in Public Health, possesses the qualifications to fill the temporary post. However, it expressed concern that “this reversion places him at the entry level in his department”, adding that senior personnel in the Ministry of Health were neither notified nor supported the decision to demote him. (BT) 

ARAWAK CEMENT TO CUT MORE STAFF – The St Lucy-based Arawak Cement Company today formally offered its staff voluntary separation packages as part of its financial and operational restructuring programme started in October last year. Sources close to the company told Barbados TODAY this afternoon that management met with the workers today to make the offer and gave them until Thursday next week to respond. In September this year, the company had issued a statement which said that Arawak would offer voluntary separation packages because the first phase of the restructuring had not yielded the results necessary to attain profitability and competitiveness. The company cited the cost of energy and labour – which it said were significantly higher than regional competitors – combined with a slowdown of the construction sector worldwide, as two of the key factors that have challenged the business in Barbados. It was no immediately clear up to the time of publication, how many workers were offered packages or the content of those packages. (BT)

WORK ON HALEQUIN TO RESTART - HARLEQUIN SAYS IT IS PREPARING to restart work on its H Barbados property next year through a joint partnership. But the controversial British company, which is still indebted to a number of local companies and has faced financial strife, has not said if and when it will return to its other venture at Merricks, St Philip. At the same time, a spokesperson for the company told the MIDWEEK NATION that the pending insolvency of Harlequin in neighbouring St Vincent and the Grenadines had been misrepresented. “Harlequin’s ambitions for Barbados remain unchanged and we expect development to continue at H Barbados in 2017 with a joint venture partner,” the official said when asked about the St Vincent development. (MWN) 

NEW AIR CANADA DEAL NEAR – A NEW AIR TRANSPORT AGREEMENT between Barbados and Canada is in the works. Negotiations are also ongoing for a bilateral agreement that will liberalise trade between CARICOM and Canada. Making the announcements on Monday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Maxine McClean said the air transport agreement was expected to be concluded “in the coming weeks”.“All that remains is for CARICOM and Canada to make the final push to conclude a mutually beneficial free trade agreement,” she added. The long-standing relationship between Barbados and Canada was highlighted by McClean as she welcomed new Canadian High Commissioner Marie Legault during a cocktail reception at the Canadian High Commission. (MWN) 

ARRIVALS BOOST - TOURISM OFFICIALS are anticipating a good November as Barbados’ best known export Rihanna and members of the diaspora fly in for the 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations. Rihanna is slated to sing the National Anthem, backed by a choir of children from schools across the island, during the grand climax at the Garrison Savannah on the night of November 30, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart revealed yesterday. Chief executive officer of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., William “Billy” Griffith, gave an update as he addressed a media conference to outline activities in the coming days to celebrate the anniversary. He said even though flights were not fully booked, hoteliers were anticipating a “really good November month in terms of arrivals”. (MWN) ACTIVITIES UNDER BUDGET - THE ISLAND’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY INDEPENDENCE activities are “securely within” budget. So said Prime Minister Freundel Stuart as he hosted a media conference yesterday at his official residence Ilaro Court to detail a number of events, over the next 42 days. Flanked by the chairman of the 50th Anniversary of Independence Celebrations Secretariat, Senator Maxine McClean, and the deputy, Senator Esther Byer Suckoo, and surrounded by the heads of a number of key departments, Stuart said it was not possible “to give a breakdown of the funds”. “What I can say is up to now the 50th anniversary celebrations are securely within budget,” he said. (MWN) 

INDEPENDENCE GAMES - BASKETBALL has been added to the list of two dozen sports that will be featured at the 50th Anniversary Independence BOA Gamesslated for November 16 to December 11. Yesterday, chairman of the Independence Games, Trevor Browne, confirmed that basketball and shooting, both small and full bore, will be part of the historic three-week festival. No dates have been set yet for basketball and the shooting competitions with planning sessions in progress. However, Barbados Amateur Basketball Association president Derrick Garrett said that an English club side would be playing against some premier league and Division 1 teams. Garrett said that Premier League champions Pinelands and former powerhouse Station Hill Cavaliers would lead the local challenge. (MWN) 

MONUMENTS TO GET FACELIFT - At least 10 of the island’s monuments are in line for a major sprucing up over the coming weeks, thanks to the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC). Making the announcement recently, chairman of the product assessment committee of the TDC Mark Thompson also said that once the monuments identified were given a facelift, the TDC would be seeking partners to maintain them. Ince said the Independence Arch in Bridgetown was at the top of the list of monuments to be refurbished. He indicated that once the project was successful, the TDC would seek to spruce up some more. The intention, Ince said, had been to have the refurbishments completed by the end of November to coincide with the island’s 50th Anniversary of independence. However, given the process required, it will take longer than initially anticipated. The TDC chairman could not immediately say how much the organization had spent to date on the research or how much it expects to spend in total on that project. But the corporation spends approximately $1 million each year in marketing and improvement projects. The 29-year-old TDC, which currently has just over 40 members, gets its funding from members’ contributions. (BT) 

CHINESE DJS - IT IS THE Year of Cultural Exchange for China, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Chinese artists are touring the territories. A delegation is in Barbados preparing for Beijing Sunset, which will be held at the Copacabana Beach on Saturday between 5 p.m. and 2 a.m. Mexico was the last stop, and some representatives are currently in Costa Rica for a showcase. Saturday’s show will see performances from three Chinese DJs, who will take turns on the wheels of steel with six local jocks and one each from Spain and Denmark. (MWN) 

LAWYER LASHES DPP - A PROMINENT DEFENCE ATTORNEY lit a fire under the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) yesterday, complaining that her client had been remanded on a murder charge for three years, with no word on when his file would be ready to allow the case to start. While many in the society, including “politicians”, were complaining about murder accused being granted bail, said Angella Mitchell-Gittens, it was “neither right nor fair” that three years after being charged an individual could be sitting in Dodds Prison with no idea when his file would be ready. Mitchell-Gittens said it was now becoming a joke that her client, Kobia Jamal Robinson, was on remand without sight of a prosecution file. Robinson, 28, of Reed Street, Bridgetown, is accused of murdering Robert Rupert Jones on October 5, 2013. (MWN) 

MARSHALL GRANTED BAIL - The second person charged with the death of six-year-old Jahan King has been granted bail. Dwayne Marshall was released from HMP Dodds today where he has been on remand for almost six months. He was granted $20 000 bail with one surety when he appeared in the No.2 District ‘A’ Criminal Court  before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant. Marshall’s release comes almost a month after his co-accused, Jahan’s mother, Lasonta Gill was released from prison. She secured bail in the sum of $20, 000 on September 20. The two who are scheduled to re-appear in court on December 15 are charged with unlawfully killing the six-year-old last year. (MWN) 

COMMUNITY SERVICE - Two St James residents who admitted to having small quantities of marijuana will each have to perform 80 hours of community service. Romario Ricardo Watson, 22, of #2 Morne Close, Thorpes, and Cardinal Courtney Webster, 24, of 1st Avenue Thorpes, pleaded guilty to the offences when they appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court Tuesday. According to the facts presented by the prosecutor, the two men were in a car when police stopped the vehicle. It was while they were stopping that lawmen observed Webster, who was in the front passenger seat, throwing a plastic bag out the window. It was retrieved, examined, and found to contain the illegal substance that had an estimated $15 street value. Watson, the driver of the vehicle, had $20 worth of cannabis. It was found in the compartment of the driver’s door. When police asked him to account for it, he reportedly said: “Sir, to be honest, I don’t know about them.” The two return to court on January 19, 2017. (BT) 

DEMAND FOR SEX - A 55-yerar-old St Michael man has been warned to stay out of trouble for the next six months. If he doesn’t, he will spend three months behind bars at HMP Dodds. That was the sentence handed down yesterday by Magistrate Douglas Frederick to Ruel Clairmont Springer, of Deacons Main Road, after he admitted to assaulting Tammika Nicholls. According to the facts read by police prosecutor Sergeant Neville Watson, Springer and Nicholls live together. On the day in question, Nicholls was asleep in their bedroom when Springer woke her up with his amorous intentions, but she rejected his advances. He reportedly got upset when Nicholls continued to deny him the intimacy he sought, and he tried to take off her clothes. Nicholls then called the accused a derogatory name and he slapped her. He allegedly slapped her a second time when she repeated the remark. In his explanation to the court, Springer said he provided “everything” for Nicholls and when he arrived home on October 16, “I ask her for sex and she refused and I got vex and slapped her on the leg”. “I love de woman; I love her very deeply,” Springer told the magistrate. “I won’t do it no more.” Nicholls also took to the stand and requested that Springer stop saying mean things to her, to which the accused replied: “I am not going to do nothing so no more. I mean her no harm.” However, Magistrate Frederick made it clear to Springer that he could not take advantage of Nicholls “because she lives with you”. He then placed the accused on the bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, saying: “Try and behave yourself in relation to the complainant. She loves you.” Springer agreed, and as Nicholls stepped out of the witness box, he declared loudly: “I love you so bad!” (BT) 

PROBE LAUNCHED INTO SEX TAPE - The principal of one local secondary school has been alerted to the existence of a video, which today has been making the rounds on social media, showing a young man soliciting sex from an underage girl in school uniform. The mother of the teenager, who has reportedly been identified, has also been contacted by police, who have launched a probe into the matter. Today, Deputy Director of the Child Care Board (CCB) Denise Nurse also confirmed that the child protection agency was looking into the matter and was prepared to provide counselling as required. The video shows the young man exposing himself to the girl, who resisted his numerous attempts to put his hand up her skirt and to force her into various sex acts, including oral sex. At one point, the male, who was dressed in a red shirt with three quarter jeans and a blue cap, also reached into his black haversack and pulled out a condom, but this was met with more refusal on the part of the girl.  The three-minute video was apparently shot from a peep hole in an area, which Barbados TODAYwas unable to independently identify, even though there were unconfirmed reports that it was shot some where in Queen’s Park, The City. When contacted this morning, Public Relations Officer of the Royale Barbados Police Force Acting Inspector Roland Cobbler said police were aware of the video. Since then, Barbados TODAY has obtained a copy of a second video, showing a different girl and boy engaging in sexual intercourse at the same location, which according to officials appears to be a popular location for such acts. (BT) 

ARREST WARRANT FOR IAN ALLEYNE -  It was a very bad day for former talk show host Ian Alleyne Tuesday. He awoke to find a bailiff levying on his personal property, moved to tears asking his fans to help him pay a $748,000 debt, then arrived late for his court case, resulting in the Magistrate issuing a warrant for his arrest. The court ordered than upon his “arrest”, Alleyne be granted $5,000 bail, but in the end the warrant was not executed, after Alleyne came to court to explain how his day had gone. At daybreak, Court marshals accompanied by police officers levied on his house at Rivulet Road, Couva, and took possession of his furniture, appliance and electronics. And after his family’s home was invaded and his refrigerator, television, bed and other items were carted out, Alleyne found himself in more hot water regarding another court case. Alleyne was due to appear in the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court on that morning for offences which he allegedly committed in February involving rival talk show host Inspector Roger Alexander at the home of used-car and real estate dealer Sheron Sukhdeo in Chaguanas. But when he missed his appearance without an excuse being delivered to the court, the magistrate issued a warrant in the sum of $5,000 for his arrest. Alleyne in a video on Facebook, said the warrant was issued despite his claim that he had “called the court when everything was going on”. He went to the courthouse before midday, and the matter was again called by the court. During his appearance before magistrate Joanne O’Connor, the warrant for his arrest was withdrawn, and the case involving the offences of resisting arrest, using annoying language and obstructing a police officer was postponed to May 9, 2017. The levy on his house brought Alleyne to tears as he told Facebook viewers in a video that his son was awaken from sleep and escorted out of the family’s home by police. The writ of execution was taken after Alleyne failed to pay businessman Shaun Sammy $630,000 for a defamation case. He called on supporters to make contributions through a bank account. Alleyne called the incident a personal attack on his family. (BT) 

FIANCEE’S GRIEF - When 48-year-old Edward Eddie Watson gave his girlfriend of three years Joanna Astley an engagement ring last month, the 28-year-old woman was certain they were on the way to a long and happy life together. They had not yet set a date for the wedding, but, basking in the joy of her engagement, Astley was fervently discussing marriage plans with her husband-to-be. Now, instead of preparing for what she was sure would have been the happiest day of her life, she has to make funeral preparations for her partner, as her wedding plans were shattered by the bullets from a killer’s gun. Watson, a Dominican national who came to Barbados about ten years ago, was shot sometime between 1:30 and 1:45 Monday afternoon while working at a private residence at Golden Plover Road, Inch Marlow, Christ Church. Neighbours said they had heard loud explosions, and his body was subsequently discovered slumped face down in a patio with gunshot wounds to the chest and leg. Watson was said to be working on the home of former England cricketer, Barbadian-born Roland Butcher, who declined to comment at this time. (BT)

FAMILY TORN - THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING the disappearance of an elderly Black Rock, St Michael man has his close relatives shaken and in a state of disbelief. According to police reports, 62-year-old Carson “Bird” Cumberbatch, of Yearwood Road, was last seen around 5 p.m. last Friday Since then cousin Andrew Goddard, who lives in nearby Wavell Avenue, said he had been searching for Cumberbatch every evening. Yesterday, police officers and soldiers from the Barbados Defence Force also joined the search. (MWN) 

FILTHY WATER - As if the prolonged water crisis in St Joseph has not created enough anxiety, residents are now questioning the sanitation of the community tanks placed in the parish by the Barbados Water Authority (BWA). Some residents have reported feeling ill after consuming water from the tanks, while others stated that they had limited the use of water collected from the tanks to washing and cleaning. Persons bitterly complained that BWA workers would refill tanks that had been empty for several days without any form of sterilization. In addition, some residents have noticed a rank smell emanating from the stagnant water. (BT)