Moontown

 A Letter to the Editor in the Barbados Advocate Newspaper dated Wednesday, July 15, 2009.

By William Skinner

“He predicted that such a development would place enormous pressure on the social services. It would lead to squatting and then to avoid this problem, Government would have to provide them with housing, ‘taking away from those who are legitimately citizens of Trinidad and Tobago and therefore entitled (to housing)’. Government would also have to provide school places to the children of illegal migrants, as well as health care, he noted.”

Believe it or not, the above speech was not taken by our Prime Minister, Mr. David Thompson, but by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Patrick Manning. Mr. Manning was addressing his party members and trying to explain why he was seeking a union with OECS Countries. He was making the point that it was better to have such an economic union and strengthen the OECS countries than to have their citizens come into Trinidad illegally and put pressure on the Trinidad Economy and the social services.

It is absolutely incredible, that Trinidad and Tobago, the richest country in CARICOM, can see the dangers of illegal immigration, while we believe that our social services, with a backlog of housing needs stretching back to almost three decades, can afford to have all and sundry just come into Barbados.

Note:

Ambassador to CARICOM, Mr. Denis Kellman MP, has for several years now, being championing the cause for richer CARICOM countries to unite to help to solve the economic problems that the poorer countries within CARICOM face. Mr. Kellman had  advocated that citizens of poorer members countries should remain in their country and help to build that country’s economy, but with the support of the more developed countries.

FIELD PEAS AND RICE; CREAMED POTATOES

MINCED MEAT AND ELBOWS; TURKEY SOUP

FRIED SNAPPER; GRILLED MARLIN

BAKED PORK; BAKED CHICKEN

MACARONI PIE; LAMB STEW

FISH GRAVY; STEAMED VEGS; SALADS

by: LIME

BVI News
Region’s biggest full service telecoms provider responds to customer requests with big value, fixed price offer

LIME, the BVI’s premier full-service telecommunications company, has unveiled its Ultimate Unlimited Mobile Plan which allows customers unlimited calls to any local carrier, to LIME fixed and mobile numbers across the Caribbean and to popular international destinations. The plan also includes unlimited GPRS service and unlimited text messaging worldwide, all for the low cost of $99*.With the Ultimate Unlimited Mobile Plan. LIME is giving customers the ability to manage their telecoms spend in a challenging economic environment by offering a fixed price package that covers local, regional and international calling and text messaging.

“Our customers have asked for more value for their money and we have responded,” said Joel Abdinoor, LIME’s Country Manager for BVI and Executive Vice President Offshore Financial Centres which includes the BVI, Cayman and Turks & Caicos.

“In response to our customers’ requests LIME has designed the Ultimate Unlimited Mobile Plan which gives them unprecedented value which is the most important thing to consumers in these uncertain times. The plan covers most of our customers’ needs because for one great price they can stay connected to their business and personal contacts locally, across the region and internationally,” he added.

The Ultimate Unlimited Mobile Plan offers the following:

• Unlimited Calls to local LIME Mobiles
• Unlimited Calls to local LIME Landlines
• Unlimited Calls to all local 3rd party mobiles (CCT & Digicel)
• Unlimited Calls to regional LIME Mobile and Fixed Lines
• Unlimited Calls to the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands & UK Landlines
• Unlimited GPRS
• Unlimited Global SMS

To mark the launch of the Ultimate Unlimited Mobile Plan, LIME has announced a special introductory price of $99 per month for the first three months of service. The promotional offer will be available to customers who sign up for the plan between now and July 31. Following the promotional period the plan will be priced at $119.

*Introductory rate available until July 31, 2009

 Bahamas News

By VERNON CLEMENT JONES ~ Guardian Business Editor ~ vernon@nasguard.com:

Usually talkative, Digicel is now mum on what if any interest it still has in bidding for that 51-percent stake in BTC, the deafening silence coming days after the government put out the call for potential buyers.

“Many thanks for the queries you sent…” writes Antonia Graham, Digicel’s head of Group Public Relations, in a statement sent Guardian Business Wednesday, “however, on this occasion, we would prefer not to contribute.”

The comments come on the heels of the government’s move to extend a formal invitation for bids in what it calls the pre-qualification process. The hope is that other telecoms, those either regionally or globally focused, will line up for that majority share in the public corporation. It then falls to the government, based on its own criteria to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Cable and Wireless Limited (CWL), another global player with Caribbean interests, has announced its own preliminary interest.

Still, it’s Digicel’s current silence that may not bode well for just how well received the bid request is. That’s given the faltering global economy and fears that recovery won’t come until late 2010, with the real possibility of relapse shortly following. That rocky road has compromised the ability of many telecoms to secure the more than $200m most likely needed to clinch the deal. The estimate is based on the past offer submitted by Bluewater and hammered out by the previous government in 2007. That UK telecom is now preparing for arbitration, concerned that its own bids were dispensed with unfairly.

Digicel’s aggressive expansion strategy in the Caribbean, say analysts, may have eroded any real shot at buying the BTC stake.

It has poured tens of millions of dollars over the last two years into extending its reach in relatively virgin markets like Haiti.

Still, as its head of Turks and Caicos operations Jay Saunders told Guardian Business last summer, the company is also keen on exploring entry into the market only after privatization and the sector liberalization to follow. Delaying that move would limit its upfront financial commitments while still affording the room to tap into the lucrative and burgeoning cell phone market in this country. It also saves Digicel having to pay for land line and other service rights outside of its core mobile business.

 Stabroek News

– Carrington
Caricom Secretary-General Edwin Carrington says the public service is critical to advancing regional integration arrangements, in his address at the Caribbean Centre of Development Administration (CARICAD) meeting last Wednesday.

“The public service must be made aware of their integral role in advancing the objectives and implementing the decisions of the Caribbean Community,” Carrington told the 29th CARICAD Board meeting held at the Caricom Secretariat. In a press release Caricom said CARICAD focuses through various interventions, on upgrading and strengthening the managerial capability of the public sector for the more effective implementation of public policy across the Region.

The Secretary-General acknowledged CARICAD’s role in boosting the efficiency of the public sector by employing technology, and in connecting with the Region. He also told the meeting that the other “key core” factor of the regional integration arrangements was its human resources. Carrington said the public service’s role in advancing the integration process is critical as public officers are at the forefront and in a position to make an impact. “Unless there is a commitment to the idea of regional integration by the people on the frontline, no amount of technology will move the process forward,” he said.

It was against this backdrop, that Carrington said that the Conference of Heads of Government at its 30th Regular Meeting had agreed on the importance of training and sensitising public officers, particularly immigration officers. He said such training is critical as the Community’s decisions “lies essentially in the province of Member States.”

“The CARICOM Secretariat and the regional institutions have their role in facilitating and co-ordinating, cannot implement at the national level; whether it is in agriculture, free movement, contingent rights, security and investment” Carrington said. He also said that there must be an understanding and acceptance that national goals are not distinct from the Community’s goals, and that there was no contemplation of replacing the national public services with a gigantic regional public service. “The objective is for a seamless space that will strengthen the parts to ensure a solid whole,” Carrington said.

To achieve this goal, he posited that national public services across the Community should all be operating on the same basic principles in the conduct of their duties. In this regard, Carrington said the work of CARICAD became more significant in establishing coherence and harmonisation among its stakeholders to redound to the benefit of the integration process. “Our quest for a viable, prosperous, secure and sustainable Community for all requires all hands on deck,” the Secretary-General said.

Edwin Carrington

According to the Secretariat, since its establishment in 1980, CARICAD has been working to advance public sector reform, particularly in providing technical assistance to support member governments in their quest to boost efficiency through initiatives which seek to transform and modernize the public sector. In this regard, one of the organisation’s key tasks has been promoting an E-government project that aims to open communication between people and their government, and between governments of the Region through the use of technology.

CARICAD has a current membership of 14 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands are associate members.

Jamaica Gleaner

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

Taxpayers might have to cough up $540 million to help in the production of sugar for the export market this year.

Minister of Agriculture Dr Christopher Tufton told Parliament yesterday that the Government has entered into an arrangement with an overseas entity for the production of 79,000 tonnes of sugar. He said Swiss company, Eridania, would prepay US$15 million (J$1.3 billion) for the production of the sugar, which they will purchase at a minimum price of €335 (J$41,540) per tonne.

Jamaica and Eridania would share the estimated €30 million gross profit.

Tufton said the estimate for the production of the 79,000 tonnes of sugar is US$21 million (J$1.9 billion).

The minister told Parliament the taxpayers’ input would be “a very significant difference from the $4.1 billion that the taxpayers had to fork out to subsidise the industry last year”.

However, there is a possibility that taxpayers might still not pay to keep sugar alive or to produce sugar this year.

Restructuring arrangement

“If the divestment process is concluded long before we reach the stage where there is going to be the need to deliver that 79,000 tonnes,” Tufton said, “if that is in fact the case, it will provide for us a restructuring arrangement which will avoid the Government coming up with that $5 million-$6 million.”

Government sold the St Thomas Sugar Estate and the Trelawny Sugar Company for a total of $180 million and is in the process of divesting itself of the responsibility for the other loss-making entity.

Yesterday, Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr Omar Davies said the projections for the 79,000 tonnes at US$21 million suggest that it would be about 10 cents per pound, down from 26 cents per pound. He said that despite the efforts to produce sugar more efficiently, it is difficult to see how production cost would fall so low.

However, Tufton said he anticipated that the cost of producing sugar was going to be “significantly less”. He said the ongoing restructuring of the sugar factories will mean a more efficient operation.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com

Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
Summer camp students from Vaz Preparatory School enjoy the cool waters at the Bournemouth Bath in east Kingston yesterday. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

Temperatures in Jamaica have jumped by around two degrees Celsius since the start of July and Jamaicans are sweating in what could be the hottest summer since 2005.

And the news is, August is expected to see a continuation of the scorching heat.

In June, the average temperature was generally around 30. However, this jumped to 32 approaching the middle of the summer, and for several days this month touched 33.

On Tuesday, despite morning rainfall in some areas, the temperature was 33, which is 91 on the Fahrenheit scale.

Validity questioned

To many Jamaicans, the days have felt hotter than the thermometer suggests, tempting some persons to question the validity of the readings mentioned above.

But, according to head of the Climate Branch at the Meteorological Service, Jeffrey Spooner, there is reason for this perception.

“The humidity plays a significant role in how hot or cold one feels. It’s a matter of the heat index,” Spooner explained.

“If the humidity is high and temperature is high and the wind is fairly light, you will feel much hotter than it really is,” he explained.

Spooner said the Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change has noted that Jamaica (and other countries) will record increased temperatures.

The scenario ties in with United Kingdom weather experts, who had predicted that 2009 would have been warmer than 2008 and could turn out to be the hottest year since 2005.

The high temperatures have also caused a hike in electricity usage, according to the Jamaica Public Service (JPS), as air-conditioning units, fans and refrigerators are brought more into play.

“It happens every year, actually,” said Audrey Williams, JPS corporate communication officer.

Electricity consumption rise

According to Williams, the JPS has seen an increase of approximately five per cent in electricity consumption over the past month. Consumption, she said, has moved from a peak demand in June of 588 megawatts to a peak of 620 megawatts since the start of July.

She was not able to immediately say how this compares to figures from last summer.

However, with the heat on, Jamaicans are now concerned about how to beat it and keep cool.

Spooner said Jamaica is blessed to have access to the sea breeze but suggested: “Keep out of the direct sunshine, stay in shaded areas as much as you can and you should be able to survive.”

This suggests that going to the beach might not be so helpful, unless you spend most of your time under an umbrella.

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com

Cool ways to beat the heat

1. Fans help you keep cool but the fan motors generate heat so if you are leaving the room, turn it off.

2. Use a bath fan vented to the outside, and a kitchen exhaust fan, to remove heat from the bathroom and kitchen, respectively.

3. Using fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent ones reduces the heat in the room.

4. Don’t stay in the kitchen for extended periods, or the house for that matter, unless, of course, you have air conditioning.

5. If you live in a multi-storey house, remember the lower floors are cooler.

6. Turn off anything that gives off heat.

7. Let in the wind by opening doors and windows.

8. Take a cool shower, although some suggest that having a warm shower will make you feel cooler after you finish.

9. Consume cool beverages and food. Ice cream and popsicles are good but make sure you stock up on water.

10. Preferred clothing includes cotton, light colours, and loose-fitting attire.

11. Avoid direct contact with the sunlight as much as possible.

While the Eastern Caribbean Monetary Council has made plans to keep CLICO and British American Insurance Co. (BAICO) alive, at least one of the countries has stated that they will not be contributing to the effort because of debt.

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) plans to appoint consultants to lay the groundwork for a new company to take over the operations of British American Insurance, a member company of the troubled CLICO group.

The decision was taken at last Friday’s meeting of the eight OECS finance ministers held in Dominica.

The company’s parent, Clico or CL Financial, was taken over by the Trinidad & Tobago government in January, after it ran into financial trouble.

The ministers also said that they would also seek approval for a judicial manager to oversee the affairs of British American in the interim.

They concluded that extreme urgency was required to bring the matter to a successful conclusion.

In April, the OECS countries made the decision to take over the cash-strapped insurance company and contribute US$10 million as part of a rescue package.

The aim is to create, in conjunction with the governments of Barbados, the Bahamas and Trinidad & Tobago, a US$80 million fund to increase liquidity in the region’s financial sector. The OECS ministers also called for the urgent finalisation of a memorandum of understanding between the countries.

The government of St. Kitts, however, has indicated that it does not believe it is in a position to bail out British American Insurance.

As reported in the Sun St. Kitts/Nevis on 6 July, Minister of Finance Dr. Timothy Harris made it clear the government is not intervening as a guarantor of the funds of depositors and investors of BAICO.

He further pointed out that St. Kitts does not have the financial wherewithal to bail out the company “for its failed management and investment policies and action.”

He added that it was not in public interest to overwhelm the country by adding further debt.

In St. Kitts the Board of BAICO conceded that their financial situation has spiralled to a level, which is now beyond control and policy holders and investors stand to lose $135 million.

The government had intervened at the request of the board of directors who had stepped aside and allowed the regulators to take control. The government worked to verify claims and information presented by BAICO to the register.

Although meetings with BAICO and the government are proceeding in Antigua and Barbuda, there has been no word about the status of investments by policy holders and investors.

St Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who heads the OECS ministerial committee to tackle the issue, reportedly said that in the ECCU, the exposure to CL Financial was in the region of EC$1.6 billion or about US$500 million.

Antigua Sun

Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer stressed that Caricom economies are very vulnerable and are not impervious to external shocks such as the current economic crisis.

Spencer, while delivering the feature address at a Regional Symposium on Services at the Royal Antiguan resort yesterday, said the downturn in the world’s economy has negatively affected important sectors in the region. Some of these he cited were tourism, construction, the finance, oil, alumina and aluminium industries, as well as the public sector. .

He used Antigua and Barbuda as an example saying that the country’s financial sector has been placed under stress due to the collapse of a regional financial conglomerate and as one of the major offshore banks became the subject of investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission of the United States of America.

He said while agriculture and manufacturing will remain important for the regional economy, for many member states, the services sector is their future.

The PM added that governments have the responsibility to provide the enabling environment and other incentives for the development of the services sector.

He called on private sectors operators to do the rest in making this happen.

PM Spencer believes that it is time for the private sector to organise themselves particularly in the newer areas, just as traditional sectors have or are doing to their advantage.

During the symposium, they will establish the linkages between investment in, production of, and trade in services. It will also facilitate detailed discussions on the wide range of services with the expected output of identifying the elements of the draft strategic plan for the sector; and chart the way forward, given the current economic circumstances, and taking into account the medium- and long-term prospects.