Moontown

The Review Meeting also featured an overview/status of implementation of the CSME within the Member States of the Caribbean Community as a whole. The presentation was done by
Wanya Illes of the CSME Unit in Barbados. Dominica’s Director of Trade, Dr Eisenhower Douglas delivered the opening remarks.

Under the CARICOM-CIDA Trade and Competitiveness Project which was launched in Dominica in April, 2009, Attorney-at-law and a former Trade Minster of Barbados, Kerrie Symmonds, presented a draft report to stakeholders in the public and private sector.

The report is entitled: Component 100- The Harmonisation and Standardisation of Administrative Practices and Procedures.

The report looked at the legislation, regulations and administrative practices impacting movement of Services, Goods, Capital, Skills and Right of Establishment in Dominica, the five core regimes established under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (2001). The study entailed an investigation into existing legislation with specific emphasis on subsidiary legislation and /or regulations in the Member State with a view to determining the extent to which the said legislation meets the expected needs of the CSME.

Some of the impediments/weaknesses identified include:

• The Caribbean Court of Justice Act (CCJ), though enacted has not been formally brought into force
• The Movement of Factors Act has not been enacted albeit the administrative practices in country were deemed to be operating smoothly.
• There is not yet in existence in the law provisions to cover Fair Competition rules and the provision of penalties for anti-competitive business conduct
• There is need for greater capacity in legislative drafting at the national level

In addition, the Consultant added that in the case of Dominica, the Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals Act “is being administratively applied in accordance with its letter”. Additionally significant progress has been made in the full implementation of the Accreditation Act which came into force in February, 2007.

The Meeting provided a forum for feedback on the draft report by Symmonds from the various stakeholders on the basis of which a final report will be produced.

The idea to create a CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) was born in Grand Anse, Grenada in 1989 at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM. The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas which provides the legal basis for the CSME was agreed by Member Governments of the Caribbean Community in 2001; the Treaty was adopted into Dominican domestic law in 2006.

It is expected that through this CARICOM-CIDA Trade and Competitiveness Project, implementation deficiencies and related legal and administrative obstacles can be removed to allow Dominica to benefit fully from the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.

The tournament will be held at the Barbados Yacht Club (BYC) and will feature two segments: the International Championship from April 26 – April 30 and the World Championship during the period May 2 – May 7.

The regatta will be produced by the Barbados Sailing Association (BSA) on behalf of Fireball International (FI) with sponsorship support from Virgin Atlantic, Mount Gay Distilleries, Digicel, the BYC and the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA).

Speaking on behalf of the BSA, Peter Marshall (above) expressed sincere thanks to Senator Peter Gilkes, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA), for his instrumental role in securing the championship.

“He made contact with Andrew Davies, the Fireball secretary. Andrew visited Barbados in March 2009, met with Minister Sealy and other local officials and was satisfied that Barbados could host the 2010 event. We at the BSA are very proud and excited about being awarded the 2010 World Championship. Not only from the point of view of sailing but being able to make a contribution to Barbados’ Tourism.”

Presently there are 18 countries with fireball teams drawn from Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia, North America, the Netherlands and South Africa, all of which are expected to generate over 80 boat teams to compete in the 2010 championships. There is also an opportunity for four local teams to participate.

A contingent lead by Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Richard Sealy, will travel to the 2009 Fireball Worlds in La Rochelle, France to host a “Barbados Night” on August 25. The event will assist in the promotion of the 2010 event, as well as serve as an appetizer for potential visitors to the island.

The event will consist of a slide presentation highlighting Barbados’ beaches, hotels and night life, and of course sailing conditions, against a backdrop featuring steel pan music, rum cocktails and special giveaways.

The 2009 winners will also be presented with complimentary air and accommodation, which will guarantee their ability to defend their title in 2010, while Virgin Atlantic has committed to offering special rates for all persons travelling from London to Barbados for the tournament.

Back in June 2009, Barbados organized another world class sailing event, the highly successful International One Meter Championship featuring radio-controlled boats at the Boatyard. That event attracted 69 competitors representing 15 countries and 14 international judges who were joined by their partners, friends and family members.

The tourism value of that tournament was also augmented by online streaming which was conducted throughout the week-long tournament, which attracted over 34, 000 unique visitors from around the world.

HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) – Texas financier and cricket mogul Allen Stanford is so broke he is struggling to find a lawyer while he sees his Caribbean islands, mansions and a fleet of jets sold off to pay victims of an alleged seven-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Stanford, who is being held without bail in a prison north of Houston has already lost one defense attorney for not paying his bills and is having trouble finding another who will defend him without guaranteed compensation.

Allen Stanford. Bloomberg Photo

Meawnhile, the court-appointed receiver in the civil case filed in Dallas has seized everything and is selling off the entire lot to compensate jilted investors — charging Stanford’s estate more than 27 million dollars so far for the privilege.

US District Judge David Hittner, who is presiding over the criminal case filed in Houston by the Justice Department, refused earlier this month to allow Dick DeGuerin to withdraw as Stanford’s counsel until another attorney could be found willing to work without guarantee of pay.

Powerhouse Washington law firm Patton Boggs LLP was denied its motion to take up the case on an interim basis to argue for the release of frozen assets including the proceeds of a corporate insurance policy meant to cover Stanford’s legal expenses.

According to court documents, the former chairman of the eponymous Stanford Financial Group who was knighted by the Commonwealth of Antigua and Barbuda, has complained of crowded conditions in jail and insufficient air-conditioning in the heat of a Texas summer.

“We are Mr Stanford’s counsel of choice,” said Robert Luskin, a partner at Patton Boggs who last made headlines when he defended former presidential aide Karl Rove for his role in revealing the identity of CIA covert operative, Valerie Plame.

“But we are not prepared to provide representation unless there are sufficient resources available for compensation.”

The issue of Stanford’s legal representation will most likely be resolved by US Judge David Godbey, who is overseeing the civil action against Stanford.

He has received numerous complaints — not only from Stanford representatives — that the court-appointed receiver in the case, Ralph Janvey, has overstepped his authority in going after assets, not to mention the millions in fees he is charging.

According to court documents, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates the US financial markets, has argued that the receiver’s actions are “supported by neither logic nor the law.”

“It’s rare for the SEC to be so publicly in conflict with a receiver,” said James Sallah, a former attorney for the government agency and now a partner with the firm of Sallah & Cox.

Sallah in particular challenged the receiver’s claim that proceeds from Stanford’s legal defense insurance policy are “receivership assets.”

The receiver, Janvey, did not respond to a request for comment.

Luskin said the case hinges on Judge Godbey’s decision on Stanford’s insurance policy. “He’s the one who can cut this Gordian knot.”

Stanford, who sports the clipped mustache and Savile Row style of English aristocracy, has insisted he is innocent of the charges and determined to stand and fight.

He faces up to 375 years in jail if convicted on 21 charges of multi-billion-dollar fraud, money-laundering and obstruction.

Stanford, 59, had become a larger-than-life figure in Antigua, where his company was the largest employer.

He was once listed by Forbes as the 405th richest person in the world.

He came to cricket prominence when he announced he was putting 28 million dollars into funding a Caribbean-wide Twenty20 tournament in 2005.

Stanford then went on to unveil in 2008 a 20-million-dollar winner-takes-all Twenty20 match between his Caribbean Superstars and England, which shocked and appalled many in the traditional cricket establishment.

HAMILTON, USA (Reuters) — Bermuda advised its residents on Friday to stay off the streets to avoid rain, battering surf and flooding as Hurricane Bill, weakened but still a powerful storm, followed a path between the island and the US East Coast.

The core of the large hurricane was expected to stay over the open Atlantic as it passes west of Bermuda early on Saturday and east of Cape Cod in Massachusetts early on Sunday, before starting to skirt eastern Canada later on Sunday.

NOAA satellite image shows Hurricane Bill, now a category 2 hurricane and winds have decreased to 115 MPH(185 kilometers). Bermuda was on alert as Hurricane Bill churned closer, sending dangerous ocean swells to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. AFP PHOTO

Bill could threaten some oil and natural gas platforms and refineries in eastern Canada.

Officials from the Canadian Hurricane Center said they expect the storm to pass along Nova Scotia’s eastern shore on Sunday and hit southeastern areas of Newfoundland and Labrador on Sunday night or early Monday morning.

The US National Hurricane Center said Bill, the first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season, had become a little less organized and its maximum sustained winds had dropped slightly to near 105 mph.

It was a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity and its strength was expected to fluctuate in the next day or two.

Shops and businesses closed early in Bermuda to allow people in the 20 square mile (53 sq km) British territory, which is a center for the global insurance industry, to go home and prepare for Bill’s passing 230 miles to the west.

The Bermuda weather service said Bill’s storm tide would raise water levels by as much as 3 feet (1 meter) above ground level along the coast, and cause “large and dangerous battering waves”.

At 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), the hurricane’s center was about 235 miles south-southwest of Bermuda.

Bermudian authorities warned the island’s 68,000 inhabitants to stay alert.

“Stay off the roads, stay off the beaches and stay close to home — please think safety first,” Acting Home Affairs Minister Walter Roban urged.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, wrapped up a brief private vacation in Bermuda and left the island ahead of the storm on Thursday, the State Department said.

The Miami-based NHC said there was only a 25 percent chance of Bill’s tropical storm force winds reaching the extreme southeast of the New England coast in the United States.

The hurricane center said large swells generated by the hurricane — which whipped up dangerous surf and rip-currents — were already affecting Bermuda, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. Over the next day or two such swells would also be experienced on the US East Coast and Canada’s Atlantic maritime provinces.

High waves along the north coast of the Dominican Republic had caused some coastal flooding with damage to roads and houses.

The US forecasters were also keeping watch on a small disturbance off the Atlantic coast of Africa, 525 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

Any development would be slow and there was less than a 30 percent chance it would grow into a tropical cyclone in the next two days, they said.