Moontown

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, there is no
doubt in my mind that the Democratic Labour Party had
plans of producing more than 65 000 tonnes of sugar in
this country. If one looks at the same Development Plan
that the Prime Minister just referred to, one would see
that …
Aside.

Mr. CHAIRMAN: The present Prime Minister has not
been participating in this debate of late.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: … Okay, that the former
Prime Minister referred to, one would see that the sugar
industry at its maximum would have had 32 500 acres in
production and, if we use 30 tonnes to the acre, one would
see that would give you 975 000 tonnes of cane. If you use
a recovery of 8 tonnes of canes to one tonne of sugar, it is
possible that when all of the sugar land is in production
that you could reach 122 000 tonnes of sugar. Even if you
use the recovery of nine tonnes of canes to one tonne of
sugar, the evidence is here that you can get a production of
100 000 tonnes of sugar.

But, Mr. Chairman, that is not the main reason why
I am speaking in this debate. In August last year we had a
situation where there was severe flooding in Weston, there
was bad weather in the northern parishes of this country
and boats were destroyed in St. Peter, in Half Moon Fort,
in Six Men’s and also at Oistin’s. I would like to find out
from the Minister of Agriculture whether these boat owners
have been compensated or not, because to the best of my
knowledge they have not been compensated. When you
have a fishing industry that is reducing the import bill in
this country, one would have figured that the Ministry
would have done everything in its power to compensate
those workers. When you look at the statistics, you will
realise that the Democratic Labour Party made sure that the
fishing industry, the tourism industry and the agricultural
industry were well served, and we predicted during the
1994 election that the foreign reserves of this country, by
1996, would reach their highest level. One of our main
planks of the stabilisation programme is that we would
have brought back tourism to its peak, the sugar industry
to its peak and that the foreign reserves would have been
back at a level where we could afford to do whatever we
want. Therefore, Sir, my best prediction is that the foreign
reserves today would have to be over $500 000. I do not
know the figure and I would ask the Right Honourable
Prime Minister to tell me what is the figure now for the
foreign reserves. If it is over $500 000, then it means the
predictions we made in St. Lucy and throughout Barbados
were right.

Mr. Chairman, I am happy to say that if the cotton
industry was given the support we were giving it, the
foreign reserves of this country would have been even
higher, but what we have is a situation where instead of
producing the quantity of cotton we had predicted they cut
back on the cotton production, saying that the Japanese
farmers were not interested in buying our cotton. The
evidence is here. They knew what the foreign reserves
would have been and they tried to hold back on the cotton
production to reduce the level of foreign reserves which we
had predicted during the 1994 elections.

Mr. Chairman, we also have another situation under
Rural Development. When the fust supplementary was
brought to this House I supported it and I said at the time
it should not have been $800 000 but at least $10 million.
I said the reason why I would support the $10 million is
that I know the P r ~ ~Mn ein ister would be spending a lot of
money in St. PL, ILw~h,i ch 1 would support, and that I
expected the Prirnc Minister to spend some of that money
in St. Lucy. Today I am an unhappy man. Even though
I begged for more money for the Minister of Agriculture,
none of that money is reaching past the Judge Gap.
Instead of some of that money reaching past the Judge
Gap, I am now hearing that there is a new concept to rural
development and that at the Arawak Cement Plant we will
get rural development in terms of a landfill. Nonsense, Mr.
Chairman! We cannot accept that. When we talk about
rural development we expect. ..

Rt. Hon. 0. S. ARTHUR: Mr. Chairman, Honourable
Members of this House must not mislead this House. We
have already in this House indicated that funds are being
voted this year to establish a landfill at Greenland, and
unless the Honourable Member for St. Luc, a hallucinating
and believes that Greenland is in St. Lucy, he cannot now
say that the funds we spent at a landfill at Greenland are
funds to be spent at a landfill in St. Lucy. I would ask that
the Member’s remarks should not only be withdrawn, but
should be struck from the record.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I am quite
happy to withdraw those remarks and I am proud to
hear the Prime ~ k s t ewr o uld like them to be struck from
the record. I must congratulate the Prime Minister for
informing me that that news report is wrong and that there
will be no landfill in the beautiful constituency of St. Lucy.
As you are aware, Sir, I have always said in this House
that in St. Lucy there is room for tourism development, and
to place a landfill in St. Lucy would destroy all the
prospects for tourism in that beautiful constituency.
As you are aware, Sir, St. Lucy has a lot of land
which is not far away from the marina in St. Peter. It is
good land for villas and things like that. All of that is part
of rural development. All we are asking you, Sir, is to just
put in the necessary infrastructure and we will find the
investors to create some jobs for you.

Mr. Chairman, I have pointed out already the Half
Moon Fort area that can be developed under rural
development. There is the Naval Base facility and I know
the Prime Minister is quite happy to see places like these,
Archer’s Bay, Cove Bay, River Bay, as beautiful projects.
Not only that, people get in here and talk about rural
development as if it is something new, and I want to revisit
a situation. We are still expecting a small airport that was
to have been built in St. Lucy since the 1970s.
Aside.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Yes, Mr. Barrow
promised that. Mr. Barrow said many things and it
took 25 years to see the vision. If we had a small airport in
St. Lucy …
Aside.
Mr. D. St.E. KELLMAN: Yes that is all part of the
land use policy. If we had a small airport in St. Lucy,
places like North Point Hotel, the Naval Base Hotel - I like
to refer to it as a hotel - these would be very viable
projects and you would not even have to advertise for
investors. People would be willing to invest in such
projects.

You cannot have a property like North Point and the
Naval Base and leave it lying like that. One of the main
planks of a rural development plan should be to develop
North Point and the naval base facility. Once you get
investments for those projects as a spin-off from the marina
in St. Peter you would see developments stretching right
through. You cannot deny that and I am saying you have
no other choice but to support me on this particular point.
Thank you.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I must first
congratulate the Honourable Member for St. Peter for
producing figures to show that over the years from since
1986 to now the sugar industry has declined.
Aside.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: And I was the Financial
Controller. I was the Financial Controller at the time the
Honourable Member for St. Peter was at the “Bad MC” or
the ADC.
Mr. Chairman, I will not allow them to sidetrack me
because one missing point has been left out of this debate
and it is that the sugar industry was in decline and also that
the Democratic Labour Party in 1992 made the firm
decision to restructure the sugar industry and also to give
+ to the Honourable Member for St. Peter and all the others
on that side control of the sugar industry. That is why

today we have a situation - and we are not going to
castigate him for that. If he has decided that Bulkeley will
remain open I have no problem with that.
I would appreciate if he would tell this House also
that in early 1990s and late 1980s when Haymans was
about to be closed that there were people who stated that
Haymans sugar factory should remain and that a new
factory should have been built at Bulkeley and there were
good reasons for that. The reason was that if you had kept
Haymans in the North the sugar production of the North
I W O U n~o~t h ave reduced and also that Bulkeley, being the
mecca of the sugar industry, would have allowed all of
those farmers to have confidence in that area, and we
would not be discussing today whether the sugar industry
has declined or not, but there would have been confidence
out there with the small farmers.
A lot of people might not know but the majority or
nearly the majority of farmers …

Rt. Hon. 0. S. ARTHUR: Mr. Chairman, the
Honourable Member has given way. I should just like to
ask the Member, Sir, if he could advise the House to the
extent that the largest proportions of the new lands brought
back into sugar have been in St. Lucy whether the sugar
targets that he is recommending to the House would be
affected by his desire to see an international airport built in
St. Lucy?

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, one has to
look at development and one has to look at the situation to
see which development is going to be the more profitable
of the two choices to this country. One only has to look at
the mouthings of the Honourable Member for St. Michael
North where he is complaining today in one section of the
Press that the Arport is under seize and there is a need to
expand the Airport.

Hon. R. St. C. TOPPIN: Mr. Chairman, on a point of
order. I have not spoken on this issue.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMkV: Mr. Chairman, I am saying
that there is evidence in Barbados today - if he does not
want to acknowledge it, no problem. I can give the praise
to somebody else - that there is room for the expansion of
the airport services. I am saying that it does not make
sense fooling yourself that we will continue 60 have one
airport when there is need for another airport which would
be able to relieve the Grantley Adams International Airport
of the small aircraft, et cetera.

I am saying, Mr. Chairman, that the development I
am speaking about would complement the marina in St.
Peter and the Honourable Member for St. Peter is aware of
this for a simple reason. If you get a smaller airport in St.
Lucy which will be located, as the Honourable Member
knows, between Spring Garden and Spring Hall, and that
is what he is speaking abcut, it does not mean that you will
necessarily take a large i ortion of land out of agricultural
use. That is why he could afford to target us because he
knows that the BAMC is in control of some of that land at
Spring Hall.

That is why I am saying that, I cannot understand
why the Honourable Member for the City would criticise
the Democratic Labour Party over their agricultural policy
when there is evidence that the BAMC is performing well
and that they will turn around the sugar industry.
The sugar industry will improve this year and in
two years’ time, under the management of the BAMC,
from a crop of 38 000 tonnes to 60 000 tonnes. And it
is remarkable, Mr. Chairman. It is remarkable because the
BAMC, in two years’ time would have done what the BSIL
could not do in five or six years with price support.
We also had a situation yesterday, Sir, where we were
discussing whether we should export or import sugar. I
want to make it quite clear from this side, Sir, that when
you look at the carry forward sugar, when you look at the
foreign exchange gains that we stand to gain, when you
look at the fact that if you transfer the right to import sugar
to the BAMC their revenues will increase, I am saying that
if you go ahead with the decision to sell the sugar on the
local market, you stand to lose on three grounds: (1) You
stand to lose foreign exchange, (2) you stand to lose money
that could have gone to the BAMC and (3) you stand to
lose sugar that you could be holding as the carry forward
sugar.
You see, Mr. Chairman, we are dealing with an
industry that depends on the weather.
Asides.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN That is a good point. We
are dealing with an industry that depends on the weather
and in an industry that you have that depends on the
weather, you should be very careful to keep sugar in stock,
just because, if you have a situation where the weather is
not right next year you would have sugar to help you with
your contractual arrangements.
But it goes further, Sir. It has been a long time that
we have not had a situation where world market prices
have gone up significantly, and we cannot tell when it will
happen. But if we had sugar, and our cany forward stock,
we could benefit from the market trends whenever they
happen.
So there are four good reasons why we should keep
carry forward stock. I know that people will laugh at that
point but the Minister of Agriculture will not laugh at that.
The people at BAMC will not laugh at that either. I know
that if you sit down and discuss it with the experts at the
BAMC, they will tell you that it is better to keep that sugar
as carry forward stock, because you stand to gain four
times.

This is not a political point, I have nothing to gain by
making political points. But there was also a point made
this morning that, instead of allowing BSIL to import the
sugar, the Democratic Labour Party allowed the Barbados
Agricultural Development and Management Company to
import the sugar.
But you see people must understand that over the
years the money that financed BSIL, price support, came
from the taxpayers of Barbados. And when the right was
transferred to the “BAD MC,” or whatever you want to call
it, it was by the taxpayers’ money that it was being
subsidised because the BAMC belongs to the people of
Barbados and it belongs to the Govemment of Barbados,
but BSIL was owned by private people. So I cannot
understand how people can argue on behalf of the sugar
growers against the taxpayers of this country. I would like V
just to stop it.

Not only that, Mr. Chairman, there is a another point
that I would like to make, and the Honourable Member for v
St. Peter is aware of this too, that the bonds floated by
BSIL were redeemed by the Govemment of Barbados, and
I believe that the Honourable Prime Minister still has that
problem, because he still has to redeem those bonds. So
there is nothing wrong in the Honourable Prime Minister
having the right to have his hands on those funds instead
of BSIL, because he is the one who had to find the money
to redeem the bonds. So he has the right to have the excess
from the sugar difference when the sugar was imported into
this country.
The next point I would also like to make. Yesterday
I listened to the Honourable Member for St. Philip North.
Certain remarks made by the Honourable Member for
St. Lucy were ordered by the CHAIRMAN to be expunged
from the record.

And dealing with fishing harbours … .rr
Hon. R. N. GREENIDGE: This is the first time I am
rising on a point of order in this House, Sir. I never
addressed the case of Consett Bay. Consett Bay is in St.
‘John and I was speaking about a little nook in my
constituency.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I must t
apologise, I meant Skeetes Bay and not Consett Bay. I am
sorry. I am glad that you corrected the name of the Bay but
not the facts. I am very glad.

Rt. Hon. 0. S. ARTHUR: On a point of order, Sir.
The Member is misleading the House, Sir. The Member for
St. Philip North said that there is need for a facility in
Skeetes Bay but the Member for St. Lucy is now
conceding that there is no need for a fishing facility in
Consett Bay. Nobody has today said that, Sir, but the
decision to put a fishing facility at Consett Bay, Sir, was a
DLP and a DLP decision. - He has told the House, Sir, that there is absolutely no
need for a fishing facility at Consett Bay and we are
agreeing with him, Sir. But we need to remind him that
the Democratic Labour Party decided not to spend money
that was granted to build a fishing complex in
Speightstown where there is a need in the North, and
decided, Sir, to spend money on Consett Bay, where the
Member for St. Lucy, who is shadow spokesman for
agriculture, Sir, has conceded, on the basis of all the
criteria that there is absolutely no need. I want to thank
him, Sir, for the service that he is doing the good
Government.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I would
like those struck from the records because I never said that.
I said that those were the points made by the Honourable
Member for St. Philip North.
Mr. CHAIRMAN: You meant Skeetes Bay instead of
Consett Bay?

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: No, no, no, not the points,
the name. Only the change in the name so you do not go
down that road, Sir. But Mr…
Asides.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: I was talking about
Skeetes Bay. No, no, no. I said Mr. Chairman, when I got
back up, I apologised to the House for saying Consett Bay
when I meant Skeetes Bay. I made that quite clear.
Rt. Hon. 0. S. ARTHUR: On a point of order, Sir. I
am asking that all those remarks be struck from the record,
Sir, because the member for St. Philip North had said that
his contribution was to say that there was a need for …
Asides.

Rt. Hon. 0. S. ARTHUR: … But the man represents
Skeetes Bay. His contribution to the debate, Sir, was to
establish that there is a need for a fishing facility at Skeetes
Bay, the constituency that he represents.

The Member for St. Lucy, Sir, said that there is no - need for a facility at Consett Bay. He could not therefore,
Sir, have been properly representing the views of the
Member for St. Philip North but only had the name wrong.
If he wants to say to the House that there is no need for a
facility at Skeetes Bay, Sir, we agree with him.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, we know
that there is a need for a fishing facility at Consett Bay
because they still have “day boats,” they still have ice boats
and they still have hawkers in Consett Bay. But what I am
saying, Sir, is that the Honourable Member for St. Philip
I North said that there are not “day boats” up there anymore.
Asides.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: … it is at Skeetes Bay, that
there are not “day boats” anymore. There are no ice boats
there, and the ice boats that are from St. Philip are fishing
from Bridgetown, and that you hardly see hawkers
anymore.
I am saying that they are fishing in Bridgetown. He
said that.

Hon. R. N. GREENIDGE: On a point of order, Mr.
Chairman. Just to say that the Honourable Member is
misleading the House. The point which I was making was
a cause and effort point. I was saying, Sir, that the lack of
a facility there had caused those and that is exactly what I
had said, Mr. Chairman. And therefore, the Honourable
Member is really misleading the House.
Mr. CHAIRMAN: Based on what the Honourable
Member for St. Philip North had said, it therefore appears
your remarks were misleading and this is not what he was
saying, and therefore your reniarks should therefore be
withdrawn and expunged from the records.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: No. I said, Mr. Chairman,
that based on the fact, he would not deny that he said that
there are not day boats and that the fishing boats are in
Bridgetown. I would not know that, Sir.
Mr. CHAIRMAN: Honourable Member, the Chair is
ruling that in view of the confusion of your presentation
that those remarks with reference to what the Honourable
Member for St. Philip North said be withdrawn and that
you be allowed to make a speech in which it is clear
exactly what you are saying.
Mr. D. St.’E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I have to
abide with your ruling but I will start.
Mr. CHAIRMAN: That speech that you gave, in view
of the contradictions I am asking that the record with
relevance to what the Honourable Member said be
withdrawn. I am therefore ruling that you be allowed to
make a speech making clear reference to what you are
saying otherwise the record will be confused. You have 15
minutes in which to make your speech.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I think, and
this is no reflection on the ruling of the House, Sir, but I
believe that the records of the House should be called for
in this case because there is conflict.
Aside.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: I am not arguing with the
Chair. I am just asking the Chair for guidance and that is
why …
Mr. CHAIRMAN: The Chair is allowing you to make
over your speech which was withdrawn from the record in
view of the confusion and in view of the discrepancy in
relation to what the Honourable Member for St. Philip
North has said. I am therefore saying that you can begin
your speech now.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I am saying
that the evidence is that at Skeetes Bay there are a number
of day boats, that the iceboats are fishing in Bridgetown
and that you can hardly find hawkers in the area. I am not
attributing these remarks to anybody, but you can hardly
find hawkers in Skeetes Bay and I am saying that in light
of all that information that the opposite of what was said is
happening in Half Moon Fort. I am saying that the finances
would be better spent then based on what was said to be
spent in Half Moon Fort.
I would also like, Sir, for some of the money to be
spent on Consett Bay. I am also saying, Sir, that the Right
Honourable Member for St. Peter should be happy that the
planners did not go ahead with the idea of the fishing
harbour in St. Peter. I am going to tell you why, Sir.
Speightstown as you know, is a very small town and I
believe that if you were to expand Speightstown that you
would need to dredge Speightstown and reclaim some land
in Speightstown. Then there is the possibility of cruise ship
passengers coming to Speightstown. There is the ability
that when you carry out that project that there will be need
for more shops in Speightstown and seeing that there is an
area in Half Moon Fort that can accommodate the fishing
terminal I feel it would be better to have the fishing
terminal at Half Moon Fort and allow Speightstown to
serve its rightful purpose as the second town of Barbados.
In light of having the Marina in Speightstown, in light of
having the cruise ships coming to Speightstown it would be
better if that fishing harbour goes to Half Moon Fort than
in Speightstown. I nearly said Six Men’s but then if it goes
to Six Men’s you would have to realign the roads in Six
Men’s and I know the Prime Minister will agree with me,
on second thoughts, that it is better to have it in Half Moon
Fort and not in Speightstown because it really interferes
with the development of Speightstown.
Mr. Speaker, we also have another situation where I
would like to see the land acreage to small farmers at the
Spring Hall Land Lease Project reduced from 25 acres to
5 acres. There are a lot of people in Barbados who would
like to get back into agriculture especially now that the
Barbados Agricultural Management Company has been
born so it is because of this interest in agriculture that I am
asking the Minister of Agriculture to quickly change the
policy at the Spring Hall Land Lease Project where he can
encourage more farmers to get involved in agriculture by
reducing their lots from 25 acres to 5 acres. Not only that,
but he must, at the same time provide the market for the
farmers. That is why I will continue to call for an agro
processing plant.
Hon. D. A. C. SIMMONS: I am not sure I understood
the Honourable Member properly. Is the Honourable
Member suggesting that Government should terminate the
leases? If that is so then he is asking Government to
commit illegal acts for which the Government would then
be liable to compensate the lessees for the unexpired
portion of the lease.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, no such
thing. All I am asking the Minister of Agriculture to do is
to go and negotiate with those farmers who have 25 acres
of land and who would like only to farm 5 acres to give up
the right without any cost to them or to the Ministry of
Agriculture and divide that land to other farmers who are
willing to work on the Spring Hall Land Lease Project.
So, Mr. Chairman, we have a situation in this country
where we have agriculture about to take off and the
evidence is there. The BAMC has completely turned
around things. The BAMC, not the BADMC. Sugar
production in one year’s time has moved from 38 000 to
60 000. What a good record of BAMC. Iam saying, Sir,
that cotton production was also up under them but because
of a change of policy, because somebody claimed that they
could not find markets you probably will see a drop. I am
sure, Sir, now that everybody knows that there are markets
for the cotton crops that the cotton production will be up.
I also want to say something to the Minister of
Agriculture. Alleynedale Plantation is a plantation that if
the right planning goes into it, it can produce nearly all the
vegetables you want on a yearly basis.
Aside.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: No, I am not saying that.
Nearly all the vegetables in the North and the Honourable
Member for St. Peter is aware of why I am making the
point. It is one of the few plantations in Barbados that has
the capacity to produce vegetables on a yearly basis and I
know the Minister of Agriculture understands what I am
saying. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Speaker, I must again
compliment the member because when he said, “and
he warned the Minister,” he has to be careful of the people
he is prepared to allow to invest in the cotton industry. He
was saying exactly what I said nine years ago because we
must understand, and I know this would not be the first
time you would be hearing this statement, Sir, that cotton
to Barbados is like oil to the Arabs. That is why we have
a war on that section of the world today because people
know that the Arabs had something that was important.

That is why people were prepared to sabotage our cotton
industry because they were aware of the fact that once our
cotton industry got off the ground that we would have been
receiving large sums in. foreign exchange. It was petty
jealousy, not only in the Caribbean, and by some farmers
in Barbados, but by some people in North America and
also in Japan.
Aside.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: I cannot accuse them after
hearing the statement of the Honourable Member for Christ
Church West today.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Oh, he is a convert? I have
no problem with that. I am saying, Mr. Chairman, that I
agree with the Honourable Member for Christ Church
West. There is a lot of foreign exchange to be gained from
the cotton industry and that is why I feel the Barbados
Labour Party should apologise to the Democratic Labour
Party over the things they have said about the cotton
industry.

Mr. Chairman, 18 months ago in this House they
were giving the impression that nobody wanted the Sea
Island cotton, how we had a lot of cotton and we could not
sell it to anybody. I said in this assembly that that was not
true that we were dealing with the wrong people. Today we
are hearing the Honourable Member for Christ Church
West admitting that there are many investors who would
like to get a piece of the cake.

Mr. Chairman, we must understand that Barbados is
a small country and because Barbados is a small country
when we forge forward there are people who are prepared
to sabotage our efforts because there are countries outside
the Caribbean who feel that we should have devalued and
they tried to make sure we devalued our currency and it
has not happened.

I warn you, Mr. Minister, that when the cotton project
comes off the ground, as we have seen it nine years ago,
you will get our support. Not only will you get our support
but we will warn you that you have to watch the people
who you are prepared to invest with. I am not prepared to
warn you about the Americans yet but I believe at this
point in time if they are trying to help you stamp out the
cotton diseases, we can accept their help but we must have
our local experts alongside them because there are not
many large counmes that like to see small countries
progressing. They feel that they must always be depending
on handouts so I leave that one with you.

Now, I want to turn to another matter. Today in this
assembly, Mr. Chairman, the Honourable Prime Minister
said that the reason why they will be shifting, and I want
the Minister of Agriculture to hear this, their sugar policy
from importing sugar for the local market and exporting
our local sugar overseas is because when we sell our local
sugar on the local market that the BAMC and the other
farmers will get more money. That statement is correct, but
that statement can only be correct if he follows the policy
I gave him in the House this morning. That policy is that
I suggested that the BAMC should control the importation
of sugar in this country and they should take that right
away from the BADMC. The impression given in here
today is that you cannot take away that right from the
BADMC until you close it down. That is not true.

I will tell you why you should take it away now. If
the BAMC is allowed to import sugar in this country they
will pay $600 a tonne to get the sugar in Barbados but they
will sell that sugar for $1 600. You understand what I am
saying to you, Sir? On each tonne of sugar they will make
$1 000 and the local market consumes between 14 000 to
15 000 tonnes of sugar and I have the support right there
in the Honourable Member for St. James North. He has this
information too. It tells me that the BAMC stands to gain
between $14 million to $15 million in the importation of
sugar whereas if they use the local sugar on the local
market all they stand to gain in $2.8 million extra.

I am saying, Sir, if we go to the policy where you
allow BAMC to import sugar for the local consumption,
they will gain $14 million to $15 million whereas if we use
our local sugar we will only get an additional $2.8 million.
Mr. Chairman, what they are actually saying to us is that
we would stop importing sugar and we would have to
come to the taxpayers for $12.2 million or $11.2 million
next year and I say that is foolishness. I am saying that we
should continue importing sugar and the savings, if they
figure that $1 1.2 million or $12.2 million is too much, they
could take $6 million at the BAMC seeing that their sugar
vehicles are helping to destroy the roads in rural Barbados,
including St. Lucy, and transfer $6 million that they will be
making from the importation of sugar and help repair some
of the bad roads in St. Lucy.
Aside.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Yes, St. Lucy. After you
pass Judge Gap there is a place called St. Lucy because I
am getting the impression that Barbados ends at Judge Gap
and I am not happy about that, Mr. Chairman.
Aside.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Judge Gap is where Six
Men’s ends and you go to Half Moon Fort or Colleton.
Mr. Chairman, we have a situation where Government
is prepared to adopt a policy that is going to cost the
country between $1 1.2 million and $12.2 million. I am
saying to the advisors to the Prime Minister that the advice
they are giving him is wrong advice and they should go
back and tell him that it is better to transfer the right to
import sugar to the BAMC and allow them to
continue exporting the sugar and he would get an additional
$11.2 million than he would have budgeted previously.
Mr. Chairman, we also have another problem. I keep
speaking about the Agro Processing Plant. Because we do
not have an Agro Processing Plant or a good marketing
agency in Barbados, we have small farmers who should be
in their fields producing and, instead of being in their fields
producing, they have to produce and then go and market
their produce. I am saying, Sir, that is wrong.

A good example is when you go to the Spring Hall
Land Lease Project. The farmers have to take their produce
out and market them themselves and I am saying that is
wrong. Those people should be in the fields producing. It
is not good for the country. We must be efficient and we
must set up an agency where those farmers would be
allowed to produce and leave the marketing and processing,
et cetera, to another sector. People have said to me that we
had an agro-processing plant already. I thought it was
clear that whenever I speak in this assembly about an
agro-processing plant I do not ever refer to the one at Fairy
Valley. I always speak about an agroprocessing plant under
the management of the Barbados Agricultural Management
Company. The reason why I have always spoken about it
in that way is because I understand that when you have one
at Fairy Valley, and you have one at the BAMC
somewhere, or at some other location, you are talking
about a company that has one common cause or should
have had one common cause.

At Fairy Valley you had a war. Do not let us fool
ourselves. You had a war of interest. But at the BAMC
there will be no war of interest. It will be a war to uplift
the development of the poor, small farmers in Barbados.
So do not come and tell me that they had an agroprocessing
plant already. Because that plant, and if you
look at the records you will see that the interest was not to
serve the same people that I am speaking of, or the same
country that I am speaking of. But that plant was set up to
serve self-interest people, not that the intentions of the
Minister was for that to happen.

As 901.1 were aware, the private sector had everything
in it. They controlled everything. But this is a plant that I
am saying, that you should use the same way that you used
BAMC, and the Honourable Minister will tell you, that
when he wants figures now he has no problems with
figures. They are accurate.
Asides.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: You don’t worry.
Aside.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: At the BAMC you have no
problem of anybody shifting costs. In other wor ds…
Asides.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Do not interrupt me, man.
At the BAMC you do not have a situation where
someone can grow a crop and inflate the cost of the
services elsewhere.

And I want you to listen to this. In agriculture before,
there was a possibility, where people could inflate costs. In
other words the sugar industry could have been carrying
their bag of losses where other sectors could have been
making money.

And as you know, Mr. Chairman, there is a
relationship between agriculture and tourism. And I have
seen a shift now, from agriculture to tourism by the same
players. So I am asking the Minister of Agriculture to
speak to the Minister of Tourism, to watch the same
players who are now shifting from agriculture to tourism
because the framework is there for the same thing that
happened in agriculture to happen in tourism again.
But, Mr. Chairman …
Asides.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: No I am not going to
explain that now, I will wait until we deal with tourism and
then I will explain that, just as I will deal with the beaches.
Asides.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Do not worry that I will
get to that another time.
Mr. Chairman, there was an argument in here this
morning. The argument was, that when the Democratic
Labour Party took over in 1986 that sugar production was
11 1,000 tonnes of sugar. That is correct. And that by 1987
it fell to 83,000 tonnes and the Democratic Labour Party
got blamed for the drop in production.
But you know it is amazing, that the Barbados Labour
Party took over in 1994 and sugar production was 53,000
tonnes, and a year after it fell to 38,000 tonnes, but we are
not blaming them. But do you understand that they want to
blame us for the.1986187 decline in sugar? The same time
factor, the same decline but everything must be thrown on
the backs of the Democratic Labour Party.

Mr. CHAIRMAN: The Honourable Member has one
more minute.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Yes, Sir. I have a lot to
say so I will have to come back. Mr. Chairman, I am not
happy with what is happening in Rural Development for
the simple reason that I have supported the development in
St. Peter and I cannot understand how people can look at
what happened on the West Coast and realise that when the
hotels were built on the West Coast, that places like Sandy
Lane, now Westmoreland, areas around the West Coast
were developed. And now you are having development in
St. Peter, people cannot understand that there should be a
trickling effect and it would flow over to St. Lucy.

But it seems to me, and I will repeat this again, and
I want the Right Honourable Prime Minister to understand
this, that Judge Gap, and he must tell his Ministers, I am
not saying that he is doing it, but he must tell his Ministers
that Judge Gap is only part of Barbados and that beyond
Judge Gap there is some place called St. Lucy, the
constituency which I represent and which I have an interest

to protect.

Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, after one
has sat and listened to the Honourable Member for St.
James North, one can only come to the conclusion that the
BAMC is the best company in Barbados and one can
only understand why the honourable gentleman up there is
receiving the salary that he has been given. But, Mr.
Chairman, I would also like to say that the money that the
Ministry of Agriculture is getting through its Revenue
Department can go to rural development., They are two
Ministries in the same and I cannot accept that the
independent farmers of Barbados will be getting $2 million
more whereas the Rural Development Commission will be
getting an increase technically from $3 million to $4
million. How can you as the Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development feel happy to give the farmers of this
country $2 million more and give the whole rural
constituencies $1 million more? I am going to tell you
why. If they are supposed to be getting $2 million more
because of drought and then you continue to show that the
drought has passed, I would like to know why you are
giving those farmers $2 million more? I cannot understand.
Aside.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: I will name the roads that
should have been built. You do not worry. I will get
around to that, Mr. Chairman. We have a situation also that
we are having a Northern Fisheries Development and it is
strange. I do not mine whether it is in St. James North or
in St. Peter, but my problem is that nearly one year ago an
area in Barbados called Weston was described as flood
prone. Now, Sir, we have a situation where we are going
to get the Northern Fisheries Development in that particular
area. That area was not good enough for people to live but
it is now good for the Government of Barbados to
construct a building.
Aside.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I have been
accused of lying. So I am prepared to give way to the
Honourable Minister and to let the Honourable Minister
explain to this Parliament where the Northern Fisheries
Development will be located.
Hon. R. C. EASTMOND: Mr. Chairman, if the
Honourable Member will give way.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: I will.
Hon. R. C. EASTMOND: Mr. Chairman, I did in fact
refer during my opening remarks to a Northern Fisheries
Development Project and the Honourable Member is
questioning whether this is the same or proposed Weston
facility. The proposed Northern Fisheries Development
Project which is attracting $750 000 mainly by the way of
feasibility is contemplated to be done somewhere between
the Gibbs area and down to Half Moon Fort. We are doing
a feasibility study to determine the best site. Now you will
notice that $750 000 is allocated by way of preparatory
work and feasibility. The Weston facility which is indeed
a 1994 Manifesto promise of the Barbados Labour Party
and which promise was made before the battle of 3rd
August, 1994 is a timely facility not attracting anything in
the range of $750 000 and, in fact, will be erected at a
lower cost sometime soon when the existing houses
including the squatters on that side are removed entirely. In
other words, it is north of the fire station which I believe
the Honourable Member for St. Michael South knows the
best having run through that area as a boy before any of us
in here was able to run through it. The area north of the
Weston Fire Station has 3 or 4 houses, 2 of which are
derelict. Those houses will lx removed and then a modest
facility will be installed to make sure that fishers in that
area have better facilities. It is no great grandiose project
and I am sure that it is no threat to the environment nor
will it cause hardship in an area that was hard hit by a
flood recently. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Mr. Chairman, I am
extremely grateful for the explanation but I will still stand
on my point. I cannot see how you can declare an area a
disaster area and then set about to use Government funds
and then you can use the excuse of a manifesto. You see
we have a problem in this country and I keep saying it.
There are people in this country who believe that a
manifesto is a social contract and, whenever you get a
manifesto being a social contract, you get wastage of the
taxpayers money. That is exactly what is happening in this
Parliament because they feel just because they put
something in a manifesto that situations cannot change and
they are bound by that and cannot put it in a better
location. So now you see why, Sir, that there are some
people who believe that when things change one should be
prepared to change. I have no problem in saying this. I do
not believe that a manifesto is a social contract and I will
not depart from that, and I will tell you why. When you
plan things and anybody who is involved in business will
tell you, you cannot make a plan and not change it because
situations change. You are telling me that after the flooding
and Weston has been declared a disaster you are going to
come in here and tell me that you had it in your manifesto
and you are prepared to keep it in your manifesto because
it is a social contract. Well, let me tell you something. The
taxpayers out there will not look at it as a social contract.
They will look at it as wasting taxpayers money.
10.40 a.m.
Mr. Speaker, I want to go on to cane fms. We on
this side do not just believe in glossing over issues, we
believe in solving the issues of the day. We have a problem
in this country with cane fires and that is why we cannot
allow people to accuse people, we must look for solutions.
My belief is that we have a problem with the capacity of
factories to grind canes at the rate that will give a fair
return to cane cutters and allow the plantation managers to
get their holidays in time. I will develop it. You cannot
ask a cane cutter to go into the sugar industry to work,
he has cut a load of Eanes then to hear that the factory
cannot take the canes and he has to go home the next day.
We have one problem, the factory is creating the problem
for the worker. The cane cutters and the people who are
familiar with the cane cutters know that once you have
burnt canes the factories are prepared to take them, not that
they deliberately set about to light the canes, but it so
happens that when you have burnt canes they get to the
factory quicker than when you have green canes, and at the
end of the week the pay packets of the reapers are much
larger than if they reap green canes. I would never accuse
a cane cutter of burning a cane in Barbados; not me.
We have a system where the people who should set
certain policies are not setting them. My suggestion is that
whenever you have a cane fire, if it is on the BAMC land,
that the management of the BAMC should call in all the
workers and ask them to cut those fields and three things
will result:
(1) the canes would be reaped quicker;
(2) the juice quality would not deteriorate; and
(3) the incentives for people to burn canes would
not be there.
The same thing would apply to the independent growers
even though it would be more difficult to manage, and that
is why I strongly believe that the Barbados Agricultural
Management Company should be in total control of the
agricultural industry in this country, because there are many
gains to be got from a policy like that. You cannot ask the
independent growers to come together. That is why when
I saw $2 million, after we were getting so many complaints
about cane fires, in this Parliament, I thought the Minister
of Agriculture would have said today that this $2 million
would be going to the independent growers, but there is a
policy in place to tell the independent growers that if they
expect to get this money, whenever a plantation has a cane
fire they are supposed to help. Those farmers who do not
help the other plantation would not be entitled to any of
this grant. It is my belief that if you had a policy like that
we would not only be getting 61 000 tonnes of sugar, but
there is enough evidence that we would be getting more
than 61 000 tonnes of sugar, because you would not have
to grind stale canes. In one day a field of canes, no matter
how big that field is, could be delivered to the factory and
every time a load of cane is delivered it could go straight
on to the mill belt.
Mr. Chairman, sometimes it is not what you give, but
how you give it. I’l is clear to me that the $2 million given
by this Government to the independent growers will be a
waste of time. Not only will it be a waste of time, but it
will not stop. If you had given them a one off, they would
have no reason to come back next year, but I am going to
tell you that next year they are going to find a reason to
come back and ask for support. You have not learnt from
the 1982 situation. It is regrettable that the Honourable
Member for St. Joseph is not in his seat, because I know
I would have received some support from him. I am sure
I will receive some support from the Honourable Member
for Christ Church South on this, because he knows well,
even though he might not want to support me by getting up
and saying so, but he would tell me so in the comdors of
this Parliament.
Mr. Chairman, the Honourable Member for St. James
North has laid a very, very good foundation for an agroprocessing
plant in this country and I must congratulate
him for that, because it has been about a year and a half I
have been calling for this plant and I did not receive any
support, but today the Honourable Member for St. James
North has finally agreed with me that there is a need for an
agro-processing plant. I will tell you why I am saying this,
Mr. Chairman. Yams, 119.1% increase, potatoes 315%
increase, onions 7 1 .l %, vegetables 297.2% increase,
cucumbers 288.9% increase, beets 252.5%, cabbage 254.6%
and carrots 295.3%. Getting this type of increase after the
BAMC has been formed - it is true we were criticised for
forming the BAMC, but now we can see the success of the
Barbados Agricultural Management Company, but we do
not have any problems with that. The problem is that if we
had an ago-processing plant you would not see cabbage at
254.6, you would be seeing 1 254.6, because there would
be an incentive for farmers to produce more. Because we
do not have an ago-processing plant, we have farmers who
ploughed back carrots this year in their fields, and it hurts.
How can we have a situation where farmers are prepared
to plough back carrots when there are people on the streets
begging for something to eat? Sometimes we do not have
a social conscience and we must do something. I am sure
that if that plantation had belonged to the BAMC those
vegetables, instead of being ploughed back into the fields,
would have found themselves in one of the day nurseries
allowing the Government to help subsidise the cost of those
day nurseries.
You would also have heard the Honourable Minister
of Agriculture speaking about the bad MC. It is true we
have been hearing about this bad MC now for 18 months
and we were promised for 18 months that something would
have been done about that bad MC, but nothing has been
done about that bad MC.
Aside.
Mr. D. St. E. KELLMAN: Are you saying years?
You are making it worse now. From day one you should
have known what you had to do.
10.50 a.m.
Mr. Chairman, what would even make it worse is that
I told them when they were discussing the BADMC
that there are certain aspects of the BADMC that should
have been transferred to the BAMC. Can you tell me why
the ginnery is still at the BADMC? Can you tell me why
the BADMC is still controlling sugar lands? When you
have just invested millions of dollars in the BAMC and
there is evidence that the BAMC is doing the job they have
asked it to do.
I am saying that you cannot continue saying that the
BADMC is not doing the right thing when you know that
you have another entity to which you can transfer some of
the roles played by the BADMC. I honestly believe, Sir,
that if you are going to transfer the sugar lands, if you are
going to transfer the ginnery, then you should also transfer
the right to import onions, the right to import chicken
wings and the right to import sugar to the BAMC. I will
tell you why.
When you have an entity like the BAMC in total
control of those entities, then you have a company that can
dictate the policy for you and it will relieve the Ministry of
Agriculture of having to figure out what other people are
doing, because they will have a company that they can
easily get the information from and they do not have to
worry whether somebody is hiding information from them
or not.
You see, Mr. Chairman, we have a situation where
there are people in this country who are saying that
diversification is wrong. I disagree with that.
Diversification is the thing that is going ,to make the
agricultural industry in this country profitable.
I will have to come back.

VEGETABLE RICE; CREOLE RICE

BAKED CHICKEN; BAKED PORK

CREAM YAM; MACARONI PIE

GRILLED MARLIN; FRIED SNAPPER

FISH GRAVY; LAMB STEW

STEAMED VEGS; SALADS

Stabroek News

Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean have dropped significantly in the first half of this year, according to the World Bank, and are forecast to decrease by 6.9% overall.

In a statement on Monday, the Bank said that remittance flows to developing countries are predicted to decline by 7.3% in 2009. The Bank released its updated estimates on the sidelines of an International Diaspora and Development Conference being held in Washington. For the Latin America and Caribbean region, the new forecasts show a -6.9 percent decline in remittances while it was stated too that flows to this region are expected to level off, with a smaller decline in the second half of 2009.

“Remittance flows to developing countries are expected to be $304 billion in 2009, down from an estimated $328 billion in 2008”, the Bank said. “The predicted decline in remittances by -7.3% this year is far smaller than that for private flows to developing countries”, it added. According to the Bank, remittances are relatively resilient because, while new migration flows have declined, the number of migrants living overseas has been relatively unaffected by the crisis.

However, sources of risk to the outlook include uncertainty about the depth and duration of the current economic crisis, unpredictable movements in exchange rates, and the possibility that immigration controls may be tightened further in major migrant-destination countries. “There is a risk that rising unemployment will trigger further immigration restrictions in major destination countries. Such restrictions would curb remittances more than forecast and would slow the global recovery in the same way as protectionism against trade would endanger a global upturn,” Hans Timmer, Director of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group was quoted as stating.

The statement noted that remittances have slowed in many corridors since the last quarter of 2008. In its Migration and Development Brief, it noted that the top recipients in terms of the share of remittances in GDP include many smaller economies such as Tajikistan, Tonga, Moldova, Lesotho, and Guyana.

In these countries remittances exceeded a quarter of the GDP, providing a lifeline to the poor, it noted. The Bank’s data showed that in 2001 remittance inflows to Guyana were US$22M and this jumped to US$278M in 2008, which was the same figure for 2007. Remittances as a share of Guyana’s GDP were 25.8% (in 2007).

The Bank noted that remittance flows to Latin America have been falling in large part because of a slowdown in the US construction sector. The new forecasts show a -6.9 percent decline in remittances for the Latin America and Caribbean region. Sub-Saharan Africa is also likely to experience a -8.3 percent slowdown in its remittance flows. However, flows to South Asia and East Asia have been strong; but remittances are expected to decline somewhat in 2009.

“Remittances provide a lifeline to many poor countries. Although they remain resilient, even a small decline of 7 or 10 percent can pose significant hardships to the people and to governments, especially those facing external financing gaps. Reducing remittance fees and developing innovative tools to leverage remittances for financial inclusion and capital market access should be a part of our response to the financial crisis,” said Dilip Ratha, Lead Economist in the Development Prospects Group of the World Bank.

Meantime, according to the revised projections by the World Bank, global economic growth is also expected to be negative, with an expected 2.9% contraction of global GDP in 2009. Global GDP growth is expected to rebound to 2% in 2010 and 3.2% by 2011. “In line with this outlook, we expect that remittance flows to developing countries could decline by 7-10 percent in 2009, with a possible recovery in 2010 and 2011”, the Brief said.

It noted that the pace of decline in remittance flows to Latin America and the Caribbean in the first half of 2009 is expected to level off as employment in the construction sector in the United States, a leading indicator of remittances (with an estimated lead of 3 months) to Latin American countries, appears to be stabilizing. Migrant employment in other sectors such as manufacturing and retail and wholesale trade also appear to be stabilizing. Flows to countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean region are expected to level off, with a smaller decline in the second half of 2009.

The Brief also raised the issue of protectionist tendencies in countries. It said that a key source of risk to the outlook arises from rising protectionist tendencies in destination countries. Almost all major destination countries—for example, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, South Africa, Italy, Spain, India–have reduced the annual quotas or imposed tougher standards for immigrant workers.

“There is little evidence to believe that immigration controls would reduce immigration or protect native workers. Businesses facing falling revenues need flexibility in hiring and firing decisions. Migrant workers are on an average more flexible and cheaper than comparable native workers. A market-based approach will not only help preserve the productive capacity—the employers and the firms—in the destination countries, it will also help sustain the lifeline of remittances to developing countries from which migrants come”, it stated.

“The persistence of the migrant stocks, however, will contribute to the resilience of remittance flows in the face of the crisis. However, considering that private flows to developing countries are expected to contract by 50 percent or more in 2009, remittances will become even more important for the external financing position of developing countries”, it added.

 Antigua Sun

The Central Board of Health has ordered the closure of three Chinese restaurants.

Ying Ying and Yang Cheng of the Golden Grove area, the first by the primary school and the second closer to Antigua State College, and Hing Fa on lower All Saints Road opposite the Central Housing and Planning Authority, were cited for health violations following complaints from members of the public.

At least one of the restaurants has been closed previously for similar violations.

Chief Health Inspector Lionel Michael said the establishments were closed two weeks ago and a massive clean-up executed. The owners now have to go through food handling training and certification this week, before being allowed to reopen their businesses. If successful, they would be able to open by week’s end.

As the owners are Chinese, there is language barrier issue that the authorities are trying to overcome.

Michael said the establishments are only supposed to be selling bottled and canned drinks at this point.

He told the AntiguaSun inspections were carried out due to complaints received from the public. He said the conditions they found could have contributed to food borne illnesses.

“It wasn’t suitable for food and the problem with communication is that they are not understanding the recommendations.”

He added that the major problem is the establishments reused their cooking oil for as long as a week and a half before disposing it. The “Jakarta Post” said it was not safe to use cooking oil more than three times. Research has found that the longer the oil is used, the longer it will take to cook the food, which increases the amount of fat absorbed. The general recommendation is to reuse frying oil within 30 days, and only use it twice.

Sources tell the SUN that other complaints include the living and bedroom area (as the restaurant doubles as a home) opening directly to the kitchen, roaches crawling over the kitchen surfaces, rat infestations, mange dogs having access to the kitchen, dogs being housed with the dry foods, food handlers touching dogs then returning to prepare foods without washing their hands, no soap or towels near the sink or in the kitchen, mould and dirt build-up on the refrigerator, clothes including underwear hanging around the kitchen and improper storage of cooked and uncooked foods.

In one case, there was a complaint of the kitchen doubling as a nursery, the food handlers disposing of garbage from the kitchen and used cooking oil at the back of the building.

The SUN understands that there were also attempts at bribery by at least one establishment owner for the authorities to ignore the health and safety violations.

Sources also said that a variety of these violations are widespread throughout the island, especially among Chinese restaurants and Shawarma establishments. They are apparently put into a “high risk” category for frequent inspections.

The chief health inspector said at present there are no safety requirements that food establishments have to satisfy before opening other than obtaining a business licence.

He said the situation should be changed with the implementation of new legislation, which is set to have its first reading in Parliament.

In the meanwhile, he said inspections will continue, especially through Carnival. He said, “We are looking for facilities that will make food safe and prevent (the spread of) H1N1 (swine flu).”

 Antigua Sun

Eastern Caribbean Currency Union member countries will be holding an interactive video-conference on 23 July with the public to discuss the roles that families, businesses and other civic sectors can play in responding to the economic crisis.

The Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) held its 65th meeting in Dominica last week Friday under the chairmanship of Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

As one of the decisions taken at the meeting, the Council agreed to hold a public interactive videoconference cross the eight member countries involving the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Authority, the Monetary Council, and the Economic Union Task Force on 23 July.

This was after a review of the monetary and credit conditions in the currency union which were negatively affected by the global situation.

It was reported that following a slowdown in economic activity in 2008 to 2.2 per cent from 5.7 per cent in 2007, the impact of the crisis intensified in the first four months of 2009, seen by a 3.9 per cent decline in the GDP index compared to the same period last year.

It was thought that the Council needed to recommend to member governments that strong support needed to be given to the regional policy authorities in developing and implementing appropriate communication strategies.

These would help to inform the public of: the current state of the economy and the implications for households, firms and governments; the role of households, firms, trade unions and other civic sectors can play in responding to the far reaching economic crisis; and the role of the governments and regional institutions in responding to responding to the crisis.

Details of this have not been set as yet. The ministry of tourism intends to issue a statement concerning the event plans closer to the date.

Nation News

SANDY LANE GOLF COURSE has become the first in Barbados to be recognised as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary after achieving certification in Chemical Use Reduction and Safety by Audubon International.

The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Programme For Golf Courses, endorsed by the United States Golf Association, provides information and guidance to help golf courses preserve and enhance wildlife habitat, and protect natural resources.

To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that it is maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of categories including environmental planning, wildlife and habitat management, outreach and education, chemical use reduction and safety, water conservation, and water quality management.

Strong commitment

Staff ecologist for the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Programme, Jim Sluiter, said: “Sandy Lane has shown a strong commitment to its environmental programme and is to be commended for its efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property.”

Sandy Lane’s facilities manager Winnie Williams said the resort was “delighted that the many years of planning, dedication and hard work by those who worked on the Country Club Golf Course had been recognised by Audubon”. She thanked golf course superintendent Hanief Gooding for his instrumental role in the closing of the project.

Home of the 2006 World Golf Championships Barbados World Cup tournament, the challenging par 72-course, 7 060-yard Sandy Lane Country Club course was designed by the world renowned Tom Fazio, and affords local and international golfers breathtaking views of the Caribbean Sea. (PR)