Moontown

CHICKEN CHOWMEIN; SPLIT PEAS AND RICE

MACARONI PIE; BBQ PORK

FRIED CHICKEN; FRIED SNAPPER

GRILLED SNAPPER; GRILLED POT FISH

TURKEY STEW; FISH GRAVY

TOSSED SALAD; STEAMED VEGS

-dismisses TCL suit
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday dismissed a claim by Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) against the Caribbean Com-munity (CARICOM) for suspending the CET on cement imports, but it has set criteria for the Secretary General to follow in future considerations on the issue having found a procedural flaw in the just concluded case.

The CCJ declared yesterday that Secretary General Dr. Edwin Carrington was “wrong” to accept the “no objections” response from Trinidad and Tobago as a sufficient answer to his inquiry into a request for suspension by Jamaica, adding that this practice “must cease.” It ruled that the Secretary-General, before authorising a suspension, must satisfy himself that he has received specific answers that would allow him to determine whether the quantity of the product being produced in the Community can satisfy the demand of the requesting state. “Before the Secretary-General may exercise his discretion to authorise a suspension, the treaty provisions require that he must be satisfied as to the relationship between demand and supply with respect to the commodity concerned and not with whether a Member State objects or does not object to a request for suspension,” the CCJ said.

In its judgment, the CCJ suggested that the regional Secretariat have a form drawn up and provided to competent authorities for them to complete and submit to it. The form would require the authority to disclose, inter alia, what entities, if any, a competent authority has consulted and whether there is a local producer able and willing to satisfy the demand on a timely basis of the member state requesting permission to suspend. According to the court, this would greatly assist the Secretary-General in the discharge of his functions.

TCL challenged two decisions of the Community which had resulted in authorisation being granted to suspend the Common External Tariff (CET) on imports of grey cement into certain countries- in each case the authorisation granted was for suspension of the CET for one year. TCL, in its application heard in April this year, claimed that each of the two decisions was ultra vires and should be quashed by the Court.

Edwin Carrington

The first of the two decisions was made by the Secretary-General on or about 23rd September, 2008. It authorised suspension by Jamaica from 10th September, 2008. The quantity of grey cement in respect of which that suspension was sought and granted was 240,000 MT. The second decision challenged was made by the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) at its 26th Meeting held in Guyana on 24th November, 2008. At that Meeting COTED authorised suspension of the CET on cement for one year for the Member States of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname.

Feedback

Prior to reaching a decision in Jamaica’s case Caricom’s Secretary General had sought feedback from countries in the region and received a “no objections” response from the Competent Authority in Trinidad and Tobago where TCL is headquartered. The authorization was then granted. But TCL complained however that it was not consulted before the decision was made.

TCL had not claimed damages in the action but was seeking relief to quash and revoke the decision of the Secretary-General. But the CCJ observed that while “the Secretary-General’s procedural flaw must attract an appropriate declaration it is not in these circumstances of a sufficiently serious nature to warrant the annulment of his decision.”

The court concluded that in the future when the Secretary-General takes a decision to authorise a suspension his authorisation should be supported by a brief statement of the reason or reasons for arriving at his decision. The CCJ also registered its concern that COTED too must be supplied with accurate, relevant and timely information when it meets to consider a suspension of the tariff, noting that in this regard appropriate forms must also be devised for both importers at the domestic level as well as for competent authorities. “The importer should provide evidence of unfulfilled orders; evidence of the response of the regional producer including transportation logistics (force majeure excepted) and information showing what efforts they have made to obtain regional supplies,” the judgment stated.

Ultra vires

However, the court noted that as it related to COTED’s authorisation, in all the circumstances, it found no basis for regarding the decision made as being ultra vires.
“This Court is unable to say that COTED in the exercise of its discretion to authorise the suspension could not rationally rely on its past supply experience and use that as a basis for being sceptical about the actual delivery of supplies of cement in a timely manner. The amount of cement in respect of which the suspensions were given and the fact that the suspensions were only for a one year duration, although suspension for two years was sought, indicates an observance of the principle of proportionality which must at all times be adhered to by COTED. As previously indicated, in reviewing COTED’s discretion this Court is not entitled to substitute its own judgment for that of COTED. If COTED’s decision is so wholly disproportionate as to be unconnected with the facts, the decision might be set aside and the application for the suspension remitted to COTED for fresh consideration. Moreover, as previously indicated (See: [27] above), COTED deliberations properly emphasised that their dealings in the market would follow the rule: “no matter what, we source first from within”. The Court wholly endorses this principle and considers that it should at all times be reflected in the actions of the Member States.”
It therefore, dismissed all the other claims by TCL for relief. However, it ordered that Community should bear one half of the costs of TCL.

CCJ judges comprising its President, Michael de la Bastide and Justices Rolston Nelson, Adrian Saunders, Desiree Bernard and Jacob Wit presiding in the case, observed that given the court’s duty to enforce the rule of law and to render the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) effective, competence to review the legality of acts adopted by Community institutions must perforce include competence to award appropriate relief to private entities that have suffered and established loss as a result of an illegal act or omission on the part of the Community.

TCL had contended that it was in a position to satisfy more than 75% of the regional demand for cement and that according to the applicable rules there was no basis for either the Secretary-General or COTED to authorise a suspension of the tariff.
But in its interpretation of Article 83, the court rejected the argument of TCL that the CET on cement may not or ought not to be suspended if a supplier was in a position to satisfy in excess of 75% of regional demand ruling that the RTC makes no such suggestion. According to the court, Article 83(2) (b) of the RTC gives as one of the criteria for triggering the exercise by COTED of its discretion to authorise a suspension of the CET the circumstance that “the quantity of the product being produced in the Community does not satisfy the demand of the Commun-ity.”

The judgment noted that this criterion does raise a question of interpretation. Offering the example of cement, the court asked whether COTED has the power to authorise a suspension of the 15% rate on cement under Article 83(2) (b) only if TCL’s actual production does not satisfy regional demand. “Or is it that quite apart from and without prejudice to that circumstance, COTED’s power to authorise a suspension of the rate also extends to situations where a particular Member State is not having its unique demand met by regional producers?” the court asked.

Sensible
It held that Article 83(2) (b) must be interpreted in a sensible manner. It pointed out that a suspension of a rate is intended to be a temporary measure and that authorisation to suspend is granted only to a particular member state or member states in response to a specific request from that or those member States. It said further that, COTED may authorise a suspension of a rate not only where the quantity of the product being produced in the Community does not satisfy the demand of the Community as a whole but also where the ongoing demand of a particular member state will not be met either on a timely basis or at all by the regional producers of the commodity.

“Chief among these consequences is that under the RTC, both at the domestic and the international level, a duty exists to ensure that all the processes involved in making and determining requests for the reduction or suspension of rates under the CET should be transparent and efficient,” it ruled.

The court said that COTED and the Secretary-General might consider whether under the RTC it is still necessary for the Secretary-General to make an inquiry of the competent authority of member states which clearly do not produce the relevant commodity since unanimity is no longer a guiding principle and the relevant articles of the RTC provide for criteria relating to the production and quality of the particular commodity. It added that in any event, the member states inquired of are required to respond and to give (and the Secretary-General should insist upon receiving at least from those member states known to be producers of the commodity in question) a specific answer to the question posed.

Further, the judgment pronounced on a letter dated September 22, 2008 which the Chief Executive Officer of the TCL Group wrote to the Secretary General expressing surprise that TCL had not been contacted with respect to its ability to supply the quantities of cement demanded by Jamaica. According to the court, the Secretary-General does not admit receiving the TCL letter before he issued his authorization. The letter was sent the day before he granted Jamaica’s request.

“On balance, the Court cannot make a finding that TCL’s letter of 22nd September 2008 was in fact received by the Secretary-General before he issued his authorisation. The Court, however, considers that while the Secretary-General has no duty to solicit the provision of information by private entities, if information comes to his attention from a private entity that contradicts or casts a different light on the submission received from a relevant Competent Authority then, as indicated above, the Secretary-General has a responsibility to ascertain from the relevant Competent Authority whether there has been the requisite level of consultation between the Competent Authority and all relevant producers of the commodity in question,” the court said. It added that there may be serious implications if there is a failure of the duty to consult.

Also, the court observed that a reversal of the commercial trade arrangements put in place by private sector bodies in Jamaica on the strength of the Secretary-General’s decision may take some time, perhaps months, to be realised in an orderly manner. It added that a decision to annul a decision of this nature without an adequate grace period being provided can cause serious disruption of commercial transactions already concluded. “Even though this case was accorded urgent treatment, it was not possible to hear and conclude it before the beginning of April 2009 by which time the suspension had only some months left to run,” it explained.

In a separate matter, the CCJ recently reserved judgment in the case of TCL and TCL Guyana Incorporated (TGI) against the Guyana Government over the application of the CET. Guyana has conceded that it was wrong for breaching the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas by unilaterally suspending the CET on cement imported from countries outside of Caricom.

TCL and TGI which are seeking damages in the case against Guyana had accused the government here of breaching the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas by unilaterally suspending the CET on cement imported from countries outside of Caricom and was later granted leave to sue the government after approaching the CCJ.

TCL and TGI alleged a breach by Guyana of the provisions of Article 82 of the revised treaty under which Guyana is obliged to establish and maintain a Common External Tariff on cement imported into Guyana from outside of Caricom. The CET is incorporated into the laws of Guyana.
But Guyana has argued that TCL and TGI were unable to meet the demands of local distributors, and that the company’s inability to do so has continued.

St. Lucia Star

How do you get people to wake up early? Promise them breakfast!

The promise of breakfast certainly gets people out of bed early. Couple that with the launch of an exciting new product and suddenly everyone’s a morning person. On Tuesday 4th August, staff, business partners and customers of 1st National Bank, along with representatives from LIME, gathered at the Bay Gardens Beach Resort to witness the unveiling of 1st National Bank’s latest banking product and to eat a hearty breakfast. For the first time in St Lucia, 1st National Bank customers have the ability, from the convenience of their mobile phones, to transfer funds from one account to another, pay utility bills, receive account alerts, modify account settings and access other innovative services.After a short introduction from the emcee, Mr Robert Fevrier, the floor was handed over to Dr Charmain Gardner, chairperson of 1st National Bank who noted the progress the bank had made.

Managing director of 1st National Bank, Carlton Glasgow said that the bank plans to remain community oriented.

Mr Carlton Glasgow, managing director of 1st National Bank described the event as “historic,” considering the institution started with a Share Capital of just $50,000. Established in 1938 as the Saint Lucia Cooperative Bank Limited, the bank served Saint Lucians as a small savings and loans operation. Glasgow commended the company on its level of customer service over the past 71 years, a standard that he promised “will in no way be sacrificed to accommodate technology.”“Given our history,” he went on, “we see ourselves as a community bank engaged directly or indirectly in national development,” said Mr Glasgow. “That was a founding principle of the institution and it remains so today. But we will not set aside sound business practices in pursuit of this noble purpose.”

Not forgetting their business partner, Glasgow acknowledged the important role played by LIME (currently the sole provider of support services for MoBanking), represented at the function by the acting country manager, Mrs Cheryl Francis.

Glasgow announced that the same product is being launched in two other OECS territories under a strategic alliance with the Eastern Caribbean Investment Corporation.

A very excited acting country manager of LIME, Cheryl Francis, admitted that many years ago she worked at 1st National Bank.

Mrs Francis, also expressed her satisfaction with the partnership. She said that the collaboration came out of the fact that LIME listens to its customers—and what its customers want is the level of service they see elsewhere in the world.“They want the products and services that are available in the US, Canada and Western Europe at rates that are affordable. They want great value.”

She also remarked on the fact that these days, most of us are never far from our mobile phones. With the new service provided by 1st National Bank and LIME, customers are now never far from their bank accounts either. Later in her speech she announced that LIME will be donating mobile phones and free top-ups to 1st National Bank for use as giveaways in the MoBanking promotional campaign.

The speeches were followed by the presentation of two new television commercials for MoBanking, one of them filmed at the 1st National Bank on Bridge Street, Castries. These commercials are to be aired in Saint Lucia and in other regional islands that will be launching MoBanking.

The government of Antigua and Barbuda is preparing for the arrival of an IMF team by the end of September, according to Finance Minister Harold Lovell.

“There is a timetable that we are trying to arrange with them, but as it stands, it’s unlikely that they would be able to come to Antigua before the end of September,” Lovell, who is acting as prime minister in the absence of PM Spencer from the state, told the AntiguaSun yesterday.

With the state of the country’s economy coming under severe strain, an approach to the IMF became an option for the government of Antigua and Barbuda.

Lovell, in response to critics of the idea, has stressed that Antigua and Barbuda is not the only country that has decided to take this course.

He hinted at the worrying state of the economy with all the borrowing options that were available to the government now shut off, making the prospects of an IMF approach more of a necessity than anything else.

“The fact is we have closed all our borrowing options having borrowed from most of the agencies and friendly countries who would assist us, and in most cases with loans that extend for 40 years in some cases, we have had a delinquent record,” Lovell told the SUN.

He said it means that Antigua and Barbuda has become very limited in terms of its borrowing options and so the IMF approach has emerged as the correct thing to do.

He dismissed suggestions that approaches could be made to other Caricom and OECS countries for finances to inject into the Antiguan economy, noting that these same countries are already in discussions with the IMF as well.

He again maintains that the IMF has become more negotiation friendly as opposed to the enforcer role it is known for playing that wreaked havoc on the economies of countries like Jamaica and Guyana years ago.

“In our approach to the IMF, we wouldn’t need the IMF to dictate to us what needs to be done. I think anybody who has looked at the economic circumstances of Antigua and Barbuda and our fiscal position must know that there are certain measures that must be taken. And so it is not the IMF that will be saying what needs to be done,” Lovell stated.

He said by the time the IMF team arrives in Antigua and Barbuda, it would find that the government is well advanced in putting its house in order through the implementation of various cost cutting and saving initiatives.

He said the government has cut travel in half, reduced gas allowance, and is in the process of rationalising the use of government vehicles.

He, however, said reduction of the public sector is still “a measure of last resort.”

On the option of salary cuts in the same area, Lovell said this will be a subject that will have to be discussed with the unions. There will be a meeting with a representative group of these organisations on Thursday.

Jamaica Gleaner

Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner WriterWater supplies in some areas of St Ann, St Mary and Portland are being adversely affected by the current dry spell being experienced across Jamaica.

Haining and Turtle River in eastern Portland and Avisfield, Dowsan Town, Content, New Ground, Higgin Town, McDowell, McNie, Cascade and Colegate in St Ann are some of the areas currently being affected.

National Water Commission (NWC) area manager for St Mary and Portland, Anthony Cornwall, told The Gleaner that Haining and Turtle Crawl were the most badly affected communities in the two parishes.

“Portland is severely affected. We have lost about 90 per cent of our water with Haining and Turtle Crawl literally dry, we have had to be trucking water,” Cornwall said. “The areas affected mostly are served by springs, which are affected first when there’s a dry period.”

Worst dry spell in years

However, a shortage of trucks has compounded the problem as vehicles from the Rapid Response Unit are unavailable.

Cornwall said, although there is an annual dry spell, this year it started early and is much worse at this stage than in recent years.

He said other areas beyond Drapers, such as Manchioneal and Hector’s River, are also being affected.

Cornwall said pre-emptive communication with residents of areas such as Long Bay and Rural Hill prevented them demonstrating over the lack of the commodity.

“We advised them early, that’s why there’s no outcry. Over the years, we have been working with the communities and they understand we’re trying to help.”

Cornwall said St Mary is not as badly affected as yet, but areas such as Sanside and Castleton are already having shortages.

“We are watching Iter Boreale, which is a spring that serves one-third of the parish and which is going down,” Cornwall said.

Areas such as Annotto Bay, Agualta Vale, Islington, Robin’s Bay, Highgate and surrounding communities are served by the Iter Boreale station.

Cornwall said the amount of water the NWC has been able to source from springs has been steadily declining over the last five years. Coupled with the decline is the increase in use of the liquid as residents have become more urbanised in terms of building inside toilets. Water use, he said, has quadrupled over the period.

Major challenge

Meanwhile, NWC community relations officer for the western division, Julia Gordon, in an emailed response, said the prolonged drought has adversely affected the NWC’s ability to adequately serve customers in St Ann and other areas in western Jamaica.

“The decline in production of water at many of our water sources, particularly the springs, has been a major challenge in providing a reliable and consistent supply of water to areas that are usually adequately served as the demand for water is now more than the supply,” Gordon said.

Gordon said the situation is further exacerbated by larger-than-usual usage by customers during summer months, illegal connections, unreported leaks, improper use of water, such as to wash driveways and walkways, and the use of water for irrigation purposes.

To address the situation, the NWC has adopted several approaches, including water lock-offs to control distribution, trucking to customers who are in need and increased vigilance to detect illegal connections. The commission has also increased its public-education campaign to encourage conservation.