STEAMED PUDDING AND SOUSE; COU COU
VEGETABLE RICE; MACARONI PIE
CREAMED POTATOES; SALT FISH AND BREADFRUIT
BBQ SPARERIBS;BBQ PIG TAILS
BAKED CHICKEN; BAKED LAMB
BAKED PORK; STIR FRIED SEA CAT
FRIED POT FISH; FRIED STEAK FISH
GRILLED STEAK FISH; STEAMED VEGETABLES
BEEF STEW; FISH GRAVY
TOSSED SALAD; POTATO SALAD
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The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled to take place later this month, can change the course of history, according to Prime Minister Patrick Manning. He was delivering the feature address at a mock Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting involving 31 secondary schools across Trinidad and Tobago-to debate ways to tackle climate change-at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Port of Spain yesterday. “The Commonwealth Meeting in Port of Spain is the last summit conference anywhere in the world before the Heads of Government meet in Copenhagen in December,” said Manning. “To the extent that no agreement has been struck and there are big question marks over that at this stage, there might very well be an opportunity for these countries meeting around the table to perhaps have some kind of arrangement that can be a preview of coming attractions in Copenhagen and that can be used to bring about an agreement.” The world’s nations will meet in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, from December 7-18, to try to agree on a pact to reduce emissions when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. Meetings held ahead of the negotiations have proven that developed countries and small island states, including Trinidad and Tobago, do not see eye-to-eye when it comes to the reduction of Green House Gas emissions (GHG). “When the countries of the world meet in Copenhagen in the month of December, they are going to be meeting to consider a matter that is life and death in certain parts of the world,” Manning said. |
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Government’s attempt to work out a bailout arrangement with the Hindu Credit Union was frustrated by the less-than-honest attitude of the principals in that company, Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira said yesterday. She said Government twice tried to purchase property from the Hindu Credit Union but found they could not because the property was not free and unencumbered. Speaking on a private members’ motion filed by Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, calling on Government to take immediate steps to protect HCU shareholders and depositors from loss, Nunez-Tesheira, looking directly at HCU members who filled the public gallery in the parliamentary chamber, stated: “I want the persons who are sitting in the gallery to understand Government bent over backward to help.” “They (the UNC) want you to think that we did not care. We bent over backward,” she said, adding that the story of the HCU is tragic. She said when the main players of the HCU came to Government on April 11, 2008, they said they were illiquid, and they needed financial assistance in the sum of $71 million. Government, she said, understanding the implication of the loss to thousands of depositors, decided to give assistance by way of the purchase of a property which Government was interested in acquiring. “It was an opportunity, according to them, to pull them out of a temporary glitch… They had land but could not meet the demands of depositors whose deposits had matured. We said we were interested in the property, which was the Towers in Chaguanas.” She said Government held discussions with the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) about purchasing that property but later found that it could not buy it. “When they could not sell that property, we said, ‘Okay, let us look at another property,’ which Government was again prepared to buy. We again went back to them. It was at Calcutta Settlement in Freeport, and the credit union stated it was free from encumbrances. Mr Speaker, we found out that the property was highly encumbered. We did the title search, and we found out that what we were told was not the case,” Nunez-Tesheira stated. “Not only that but the valuation report that they indicated to us was done by a firm that the Central Bank used, when we checked with the Central Bank, we found out that it was not true. What is the Government to do? You dealing with…the major players, and they are not levelling with you.” She said in the meantime, Ernst and Young went into the HCU, and what they reported was that the organisation was not illiquid (as the HCU stated) but insolvent…and for all the wrong reasons. “So to give the impression to the HCU members that the Government just sat back and did nothing is absolutely untrue. An effort was made. But the attitude is important when you are trying to assist. The major players must come to the table, acknowledge…and be prepared to come with clean hands,” she said, adding that full disclosure was a problem. Addressing the issue of the CLICO bailout, Nunez-Tesheira said Government did not assist CL Financial but was acting in accordance with its responsibility under the law to manage the economy. She said the systematic risk which a CL Financial collapse posed to the rest of the economy was a critical factor. Government intervention was to prevent the contagion effect -the problem of CL Financial spreading to other financial institutions-thereby putting at risk the whole financial system. She noted the CL Financial Group controlled over US$100 billion in assets and had financial interest in several industries, including banking, real estate, energy, general and life insurance, manufacturing, retail, distributive, media and medical services. She said CLICO controlled 52 per cent of the insurance industry, owned 55 per cent of the largest bank and 49 per cent of the total assets of the non-banking sector. In July 2008, HCU assets were frozen and a liquidator appointed to oversee the sale of its assets. |
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Dionne Rose, Staff ReporterA team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently in the island having discussion with the Government on an application for a standby agreement with the fund.
Audley Shaw, minister of finance and the public service, made the disclosure of the team’s presence in the country yesterday at the launch of the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) 2009-10 Salary Survey at the JEF’s Ruthven Road office in St Andrew.
” … Jamaica has an IMF team with us since Monday, and they will be here until next week Friday going through the details of a fund programme,” said Shaw
The Government is seeking a US$1.2-billion standby agreement with the IMF. Shaw had initially said the relationship between Jamaica and the IMF would have been formalised in October, but since then, that date has been moved to November.
Conditionalities
Shaw also pointed out that there would be conditionalities imposed on the country, but that any demands placed on the economy were necessary steps that had to be taken to steer the country on a path of growth.
” … The demands that are to be placed upon the economy would be demands whether we have an IMF agreement or we don’t have one,” he said.
“These are demands that are required, and if we don’t get an agreement and we will, we would still have to put in fundamental transformational changes if we are serious about governance and if we are serious about the future of our country,” he added.
Some 60 countries have also applied to the IMF for standby assistance.
Forty countries have so far received assistance.
dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com
Golding Prime Minister Bruce Golding has pledged to provide cash assistance of $100,000 to each of the vendors whose goods were destroyed in the fire at the Oxford Mall arcade in Kingston earlier this week.
The prime minister, who is also member of parliament for West Kingston, met with the vendors at the offices of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) on Thursday, during which he pledged to provide cash assistance and to look at the possibility of getting waivers for those who might have goods coming into the island, to help reduce the duty.
The Christmas period
He has proposed to put in steel-container structures in the arcade facility to allow the vendors to get back to business as quickly as possible, especially in light of the Christmas period just around the corner. The prime minister said the KSAC would work out the arrangements with the vendors on the terms of occupancy of the facility.
Golding called on the vendors to be more responsible, noting that reports had indicated that the fire should not have taken place and was the result of welding that got out of control.
During the meeting
, the vendors also put forward additional recommendations which, they believe, will assist them in getting their operations back to normal at the earliest possible time.
Jamaica Gleaner
Gayle BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):
West Indies selectors will sit down this weekend to pick the 15-man squad and a captain for the much anticipated three-Test tour of Australia.
The panel, headed by former West Indies off-spinner Clyde Butts and which includes Robert Haynes and Raphick Jumadeen, will meet in Guyana following the completion of the preliminary phase of the ongoing West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President’s Cup.
Much attention will be focused on the captaincy of the squad, with selectors also expected to recommend their choice to fill the role.
This issue is expected to be the crucial one when the WICB’s directors also meet at the weekend in Barbados.
They will be expected to ratify the selectors’ recommendation as well as discuss several matters pertaining to the World Twenty20 Championships, scheduled for next year in the Caribbean.
Chris Gayle, who has led the Windies for the last two years, is among several options to be explored, with Trinidad and Tobago skipper Daren Ganga and his teammate Dwayne Bravo also expected to be considered by selectors.
The composition of the squad has taken on special significance, especially following the recent bitter contracts dispute which led to the top-tier players withdrawing their service and the selection of a makeshift squad for the Bangladesh series and the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
Following the end of the impasse earlier this month, all the marquee players made themselves available for the President’s Cup, which was a major selection criterion for the tour of Australia.
The squad and captain are expected to be announced next week.
West Indies are scheduled to leave on November 9 for Australia where they play Tests in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth before returning home.
BRIDGETOWN will be glowing with the national colours for the month of November from tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
Sybil Leacock will flick the switch to illuminate all Government buildings during a ceremony in Independence Square, The City. All roundabouts are expected to be lighted as well.
Coordinator of the Independence celebrations, Curtis Gibbons, said activities would get under way from 1 p.m. with a fun zone for children in Independence Square.
The evening will climax with Bajan Brew, a concert featuring a number of folk groups, Peter Ram, Li’l Rick, Red Plastic Bag, Mikey, Salt and others. (YB)
Nation News (Barbados)
THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN has taken a US$2.80 million bite out of the net profit of One Caribbean Media (OCM) for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2009, when compared to the same period last year.
Consolidated unaudited financials released by the media conglomerate yesterday indicated a US$3.84 million drop in gross profit after US$21.19 million was posted at the end of the 2008 nine-month period.
Operating profit dipped by US$3.65 million from the US$12.59 million recorded in the previous period.
After-tax profit of the group was US$2.80 million below the US$9.62 recorded by the media group for the same period in 2008.
Against this backdrop OCM chairman Sir Fred Gollop described the performance as a “contrast to the buoyancy for the same period in 2008″ as he pointed out that profit attributable to shareholders of US$6.8 million was 29 per cent less than the US$9.6 million in the previous year.
“In the context of the recessionary conditions prevailing in the global economy and in the markets served by group companies, OCM’s performance is creditable. We have reduced expenses [cost of sale dropped US$7.78 million] and taken steps to restructure some of our businesses,” Sir Fred said.
Total assets of the company were down US$1.38 million from the US$132.60 million value at the end of September 2008 and total liabilities dwindled by US$4.43 million reaching US$22.97 million.
According to Sir Fred’s outlook: “We remain confident about the future and we expect to see improvements in the fourth quarter of 2009.” (SR)
Nation News (Barbados)
AT A LOSS: 46-year-old Reynzill Scantlebury. (Picture by Donnay Deane)
by MELISSA ROLLOCK
THE NEW CEO of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be launching an investigation into claims by a St Michael man that he woke up in their morgue after having an epileptic seizure.
Communications specialist at the hospital, Katrinah Best, said yesterday she had informed Dr Dexter James about the matter surrounding 46-year-old Reynzill Scantlebury, also known as Lorenzo.
The car washer from Whitehall, St Michael, in a recent interview told the SATURDAY SUN that he “came to” in the hospital’s morgue sometime this month after blacking out near Halls Road, St Michael.
“When I wake up I was inside what I thought was a dark room; it was black and cold . . . . When I got up and look behind me, I saw this big refrigerator with drawers. I had just come out of one of the same drawers . . . ,” Scantlebury related.
He said he was not aware of the time lines as a result of his blackouts and could not give a definitive time as to when he was hospitalised, nor for how long.
The matter was even brought up by a concerned caller on Starcom Network’s Down To Brass Tacks radio call-in programme yesterday.
Best said the hospital’s Medical Records Department did not have a record of a Reynzill Scantlebury, but of another man, also a Scantlebury, whose first name was close to his and who had Lorenzo as a middle name.
“The man we have on record was age 49 and he died on one of the ‘C’ wards on October 4. On that same day, he was taken to the morgue and taken out of hospital by the funeral home on October 9.
“We don’t have any record of a Reynzill Lorenzo Scantlebury aged 46 on record,” said Best, who added that she had spoken to the director of Support Services at the QEH, Louise Bobb, whose jurisdiction the morgue fell under.
When the SATURDAY SUN contacted the funeral home in question, one of its directors confirmed that they did remove a body on October 9 and conducted funeral services for the deceased.
“At this moment in time, given the delicate nature of the inquiry, we’re going to conduct some investigations,” said Best, hinting that it could end up as a police matter.
More details in tomorrow’s SUNDAY SUN and online at NATIONnews.com.
Nation News (Barbados)
IN HAPPIER TIMES: Opposition Leader Mia Mottley (left) being congratulated by former Prime Minister Owen Arthur (right) when she was nominated as Barbados Labour Party leader in 2008. (File photo)
THOSE DELIVERIES are best left outside the off stump, was Mia Mottley’s response yesterday to remarks made on Tuesday by former Barbados Labour Party (BLP) leader and former Prime Minister Owen Arthur, about her leadership.
“I have a job to do in relation to leading the BLP and in terms of protecting the people of this country against what is a very difficult economic time as well as a Government that is void of any vision and has been incompetent thus far.
“I am going to stay focused on that job. That is what I have come to public life to do and therefore as I said to you, those deliveries are best left outside the off stump,” she said to the Press at the Opposition’s office.
Arthur said Mottley faced a problem of being accepted by the society at large and being accepted by a cross-section of the BLP.
However, Mottley said it was a given that any person in public life had to adjust to how they were perceived, but she questioned if the same would be said or rumoured about her if she were a man.
She noted that there would be things she would do differently going forward but “I have done things differently already.”
“But I am not in going to respond to a discussion that has been precipitated by something that I said I am not responding to; and I am not going to. I will not get involved in a public spat. I will not be dragged in on any response whatsoever that involves any kind of public spat or any kind of tit-for-tat. I am focused.
“My back is broad and I can deal with it. I know where the BLP must go.
” The parliamentary party is behind me, the National Council last night (Thursday) passed a resolution fully in support of myself and I will stay focused,” she stressed.
She said the BLP would press forward unified and present itself in a way that would “inspire” Barbadians.
“Part of what I have done is to be able to start that process. And I am confident that when the election is called, that we will present to the Barbadian public a set of programmes, a vision, and a team capable of inspiring that confidence.
“I am deeply conscious that we are approaching the mid-term and that the public needs to understand this party is a party that will go forward and defend their interest. That process is not a process that happens overnight; but by the same token I will do all in my power to make sure that you will have a united BLP, that you will have a party that is capable of alternative vision and alternative programmes and an alternative team such that Barbadians will feel that it will not be their lot to choose between bad and bad,” Mottley said.
