Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Denis Kellman offered his support for a Resolution yesterday to establish a Heritage Village and Freedom Monument at Rock Hall, St. Thomas. He said that while the intent was good the project was going to create some injustices.
Kellman was concerned about people who owned the five parcels of land that were being compulsory acquired because he believed that they would have wanted to remain a part of the continued history of the community.
Noting that the people of Rock Hall had rights too, he said that those owning land near the facility would benefit from higher property values and more opportunities. Furthermore, he stated that the land Acquisition Act should be changed, giving the vendor more options and more power so that they would not be powerless against Government.
Kellman noted that if you are creating a Freedom Village, the process should not deprive some people like those with established businesses. You do not tear down history to create new history, Kellman argued, especially if you want to promote heritage tourism.
The St. Lucy MP also had problems with the conceptualization of the project saying that it should incorporate nearby tourist attractions like Harrison’s Cave. The project should benefit residents.
My reputation has been put on the line in defense of Dwayne Smith. As a consequence, I have received my usual share of criticism for defending this great player who continues to be misused by the captain and the coach. They seem to be doing to Dwayne what was done to my other cricket hero, Brian Lara. Lara was good enough to be playing for the West Indies long before he was selected.
This week, we saw Dwayne finally getting his day. Commentators are now expressing comments about him, which they could not see before when this writer was prepared to express an opinion contrary to others, particularly those in the cricketing world.
It is clear to me that common sense is not being used when dealing with Dwayne and the position at which he bats is self defeating to the West Indies. You cannot have Dwayne in the team and send him to bat when the bowlers have already dominated the so-called top line players. Dwayne’s role in the team has to do with confidence, something no other player in the team has displayed and this should be used to frustrate the fast bowlers who would feel wounded and down fallen at the type of attack that comes from the blade of his bat.
It is my conviction that we can win, but we just do not have the know how to allocate our players and like politicians, believe that cricket and politics are disciplines that scientific formulas can solve. It is also known that my critics will say that I am not qualified to comment on cricket since that is not my calling and if I cannot get my own to appreciate my experience of thirty-four years in politics, spanning the past and present, how can I expect those who believe that cricket is a science to accept my opinion on cricket.
My answer to my critics is that I am a follower of the New Testament and saw someone greater than myself not being accepted, accused as a sinner, even though all he did was preach the gospel of His father. He was even offered the earthly things that belonged to His father by a former believer and Angel. I lived long enough to experience the same feeling and can understand why Jesus Christ had to speak in parables, his critics would have crucified him before his time.
Love and unity must come back to the West Indies team when we can appreciate that Lara’s captaincy was not the problem, but the lack of appreciation for his greatness. Instead, we praised non performers and elevated players to positions that their performance could not substantiate and the worst was blaming the captain for players who did not perform.
A careful analysis will show that Lara, like Sir Garry, was a dynamic captain allowing players not to use the same old approaches that cannot match the modern usage of technology to create flaws. My problem with Lara is that he refused to bowl, and it is clear to me that you have to demonstrate to your equals in the Caribbean by showing them how to do it. I have been criticized of dabbling in too many things prior to 1999 when we had enough seats, but after 1999, and when we had two seats, my biggest critics were the first to request of me to do the things that my predecessor had advised me to do. That advice has served me well, even if I have to say so myself, since love and jealousy seem to have the same meaning but only when the occasion differs.
Dwayne, you must understand that you have displayed an ability that supports what Sir Garry speaks of when he speaks of what makes a great player. You must understand that spectators in the Caribbean expect players they like to dominate at all times and the best example of this is the criticism that is given to Lara.
Your equals will not praise you because you have an ability that they cannot match.Some people have even been verbally abusive of my support for you. They claim that I have to know you: something that you would find very surprising to hear, because all you know about me is that I am the Parliamentary Representative for that great constituency Lucy, which will make Barbados a developed Country.
Lucy is interested in providing sustainable foreign exchange for Barbados and through her son Elmo will continue to deal with subjects like consumption versus production, profits versus deficits, foreign exchange versus revenue and capital plus labour equal production.
Please, I beg you send Dwayne at number 3. Please accept what I am saying for once for the sake of the West Indies cricket and the team. The team and its supporters are more important than the personal interest of a few and it is time that the Board understands that it is the players who will make the West Indies a team and not the sponsors.
This weekend, the St. Elmo’s St. Lucy Competition Cricket final will be played at North Stars, Crab Hill on Monday, 16th May, 2005 between Windsor Sports Club and George’s Eleven. These two teams have dominated this competition in the last ten years and will provide some exciting rivalry.As usual, I will be backing the winners and you are invited to North Stars to see a cricket ground that could provide development to Barbados at reduced costs without traffic congestion or interfering with the historic value of Kensington Oval, best known for test cricket.
Afterwards, you can enjoy the “Lights” of St. Lucy to the west or Happy hour in Moon Town.
(Denis Kellman is the Parliamentary Representative for St. Lucy, Barbados).
GOVERNMENT’S NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY, announced in a ministerial statement by Prime Minister David Thompson, is now online.
The full text of the statement, made in parliament last Tuesday, can be found on four websites: barbados parliament.com; gisbarbados.gov.bb, investbarbados.org and foreign.gov.bb
The public is invited to share their views on the Green Paper: A Comprehensive Review Of Immigration Policy And Proposals For Legislative Reform by emailing gapplewhaite@ barbados.gov.bb
BANKS SEEM not to be interested in putting the necessary procedures to facilitate e-banking activities.
So said Pearlie Drakes, manager, indigenous services export, Invest Barbados, as he was responding to a question of what role Invest Barbados could play to encourage e-banking.
This was during a recent briefing about upcoming missions to MIDEM 2010 and South By Southwest (SXSW) Music And Media Conference, Texas - joint ventures with the Association of Music Entrepreneurs and Invest Barbados.
“It is an issue that Barbados, overall, has to deal with seriously as much of the international business now is done on line via e-commerce.” Drakes said.
“I believe it is more so a commercial banking issue given the structures of our banks more than any other constraint - whether it be regulatory or any other.” (JS)
THERE WILL BE A POSITIVE IMPACT on Barbados’ tourism sector coming out of the recession.
Financial analyst and advisor Geoffrey Bell gave the prediction yesterday at the Central Bank’s seminar called Governance And Regulation Of The Financial Sector Post Meltdown: What has Changed held Frank Collymore Hall.
“I know you have been having a difficult time but the world economy is beginning to improve. Will it have any effect on tourism? The answer of course is that it is going to have a positive impact on tourism but it is going to come out relatively slow,” he said.
He noted that Barbados had set the way by having the highest standards: “If I may say when I look at you in Barbados, and the high standards that you keep, and the high standards that Governor [Dr Marion] Williams has insisted upon . . . it is now seeing you through.”
Additionally, Belle said Barbados’ off-shore sector would weather the storm better than most.
“Many many off-shore sectors are beginning to lose business. You [Barbados] are not. I suspect that what we are going to see is that whilst it is going to be a difficult period of anybody, because we will be going into a period of slow growth, that Barbados, by having the highest standards as you do and particularly in the financial sector, will serve you in really good stead,” he said.
He said the island would also be strong when it came to the role of the dollar.
“You will work in Barbados [because] a stable strong currency really does serve you well. If you are going in the opposite direction, the next thing you do is get interest rates going up, import prices start to rise and that reduces the possibility of growth in the United States.
“Also if the Euro goes higher, that is also not good for European exports and the net result is that a widely moving currency and especially one like the dollar that accounts for more than 60 per cent in the reserve, will be an inhibition to future growth,” he added.
That’s what Government’s top financial watchdog has been told was usually responsible for people being allocated lots or units when the board of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) had neither seen nor approved applications.
As a result, Auditor General Leigh Trotman has recommended the NHC adopt a policy which clearly outlines to staff and the public, the selection criteria used to allocate housing units to applicants.
The recommendation was contained in a “Special Audit” of the NHC covering the five-year period April 1, 2003, to March 31, 2008, in which the Audit Office sought to establish what policies the corporation instituted for the allocation of units/lots, and how these were applied.
The process, it noted, was that people who wanted to buy a lot or property must follow a set of procedures: an application must be completed and submitted; the application must be processed by the corporation to determine eligibility; the application must be recommended to, and approved by, the board; and then offers must be made to the persons approved by the board.
“There were a number of housing solutions and lots which were offered or sold to persons who were not approved by the board, or had no record of a completed application form as required,” the Audit Office found.
“In some instances, persons recommended by the board were not allocated lots, but instead were replaced by personnel of the corporation.”
In response, the NHC said: “It was stated that lots were allocated to persons for whom either application or approval by the board was not seen. While that may be true it should be noted that this is usually the case where there is political intervention.”
According to the report, in 2004, the NHC had established a policy on the number of lots that should be allocated to applicants from the parishes.
Guidelines
This policy stated that the percentage of lots allocated to applicants from the area should not exceed 25 per cent; but in parishes with a larger number of constituencies, such as St Michael and Christ Church, the allocation should not exceed 50 per cent; and other parishes with three constituencies should have a cap of 40 per cent.
“Since these criteria were set in 2004, no further evidence has been seen to indicate that it was changed,” the report said. “A sample of lots allocated in a number of areas revealed the following:
“(a) In 2007, at St Ann’s, St Joseph, all the lots (17) were allocated to the applicants of that area after being recommended by the Parliamentary representative;
(b) In 2006, at Arch Hall, more than 90 per cent were allocated to applicants from the area; and
(c) In 2006, under the Primary Homes Programme at Lower Burney, 60 per cent of the lots were allocated based on the recommendations from the ministry.
“This sample of areas has shown that the criteria have not been applied as recommended and approved.
“The corporation needs to consistently follow its selection criteria for the distribution of lots and this selection process should be known to applicants. Under the current system, often individuals are not aware that an application is only relevant to the specific area they had applied for.”
Clyde Mascoll (right), who is appearing on behalf of the Barbados Small Business Association, and public counsel Eli Edwards among those at the BL&P rate hearing. (Picture by Nigel Browne.)
by WADE GIBBONS
AMERICAN EXPERT WITNESS Robert Camfield yesterday avoided committing himself to a definitive answer on the fairness and timeliness of the Barbados Light & Power Company Limited’s (BL&P) proposed rate hike.
Economist Clyde Mascoll, appearing on behalf of the Barbados Small Business Association at the rate review hearing at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, suggested to Camfield during cross-examination that the BL&P’s requested rate hike had to relate to prevailing circumstances in Barbados and noted that any increase did not have to “correlate positively with time”.
“If we consider the value of service principle, in which we need to look at the situation with the customer in this environment where water rates, food costs and everything else are up, is it not possible for the company to move to a fair and reasonable rate of return, a rate that is less rapid?” Mascoll queried.
Mascoll explained that BL&P’s existing rate of return on the rate base was 6.07 per cent as calculated at the end of 2008, and their proposed rate of return was 10.48 per cent which was effectively 72.5 per cent more.
He pressed Camfield on the possibility of the BL&P moving to a fair and reasonable rate at a pace that was more consistent with the expectations of the customer.
“I am afraid that is not a question that I can answer,” Camfield responded.
Camfield, a vice-president at Christensen Associates Energy Consultancy, conducted the study for the BL&P on which it has based its request for a rate hike. The company is seeking to increase electricity rates in an effort to raise an additional $28.2 million in annual revenue.
Mascoll acknowledged the BL&P had to look at all their underlying costs, but noted that ultimately led to operating income and then a rate structure was designed to raise the required revenue. He suggested to Camfield that fairness was not a “point in time” issue.
“Is there a possibility that there is some intervening rate to which we can move, and then make an assessment as to whether the expected rate, without compromising the company’s position, but also taking into consideration the customers’ position in these prevailing circumstances?” Mascoll asked.
To a rejoinder from Camfield, Mascoll responded he was not suggesting the BL&P deviate from established principles to determine the rate of return or the eventual price to the costumer. But, he added, since rate-fixing was both an art and a science, the artistic part of the equation and fairness to consumers had to be considered.
Camfield responded: “I respect the questions that you are asking, but my testimony and the task before me is somewhat more defined.”
There seems to be an increase in the number of vehicles being reported stolen to the police.
On the weekend a Renfrew man reported to the police that a masked man held him at gunpoint and robbed him of his vehicle.
The victim told the police that while sitting in his light blue Toyota Rav 4 A14135 a masked gunman approached his vehicle and demanded that he (the victim) get out or be shot.
Reports are the man reportedly complied with his attacker’s request and the gunman entered the jeep and drove off in an easterly direction along the Old Parham Road.
Now, the police are investigating an incident where a man reported that his white Toyota Cressida motorcar A31668 was stolen from Bishopgate Street.
Allegations are the victim parked his vehicle on the said street about 10:50 a.m. and went about his business.
However, upon his return about 2:15 p.m., he discovered that his vehicle was missing.
A report was made to the police.
The incident reportedly occurred on 13 Oct.
This is the second incident within days and third within two weeks.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) – Cricket Australia on Wednesday welcomed a breakthrough in negotiations over a West Indies’ player dispute, opening the possibility of a full-strength team to tour Australia next month.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) said in a joint statement on Tuesday that nearly all the outstanding matters in their dispute over pay and contract issues had been settled.
A severely depleted West Indies team, missing stars such as captain Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was well beaten by Bangladesh in recent Test and one-day matches in the Caribbean last July.
There were fears a similarly understrength touring team might also be headed for Australia, leading to lopsided matches.
The breakthrough in the impasse was welcomed by Cricket Australia (CA).
“We are seeking confirmation, but the early reports we are seeing reflect the encouraging private noises we have been hearing from West Indies cricket in recent weeks,” CA chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement.
“Test cricket is about the best versus the best and we are looking forward to an exciting summer against the West Indies and also the talented Pakistan team.”
Australia are scheduled to play three Tests against the West Indies in November and December, starting at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 26, as well as two Twenty20 games and five one-dayers in February.
Pakistan will also play Test and one-day series and a Twenty20 match against Australia.
