17. November 2009 by admin.

DENIS KELLMAN’S COLUMN  - THE DEBATE

APRIL 26, 2006

Last Saturday, a stage 2 Negrocrat used the playground of the other newspaper to display a level of arrogance based on an excerpt published by the same paper. This fed-up Dem who believed that I am a little child looking to be fed by someone else, suggested that a Parliamentarian should be censored by his equal. These persons are always waiting to see if I am going to put my foot in my mouth. It is clear that this person has a problem with this writer, or he or she would have called the writer to clarify the misinterpreted statement.

It is rather interesting that these same persons would be fast to cry out when the party is protected and personalities left hanging. Somebody should have told the writer, that I am not only a seasoned Parliamentarian, but a long standing supporter of over 35 years of association. It is also known that I am only known to one political party and anything I say conforms with the philosophy of the party.

The writer wants sensible people to believe that the work done by the great leaders of the past with Carifta, Caricom, and CMCF was wasted because there was no court to guide their decisions. This writer who seems to have a special interest in this court should tell the public why he or she thinks that litigation is better than revenue and foreign exchange.

It is also clear that the writer does not read on Fridays and should be introduced to The Debate on Friday in the Advocate Newspaper. Had the writer being reading to increase his or her knowledge, the writer would not have missed this: “The formation of the CCJ is the best example of how to work the E in CSME. The same way the Governments came together to find and implement the CCJ, they should have used the formula to create economic activity to generate foreign exchange and revenue to run the CCJ and all other Independent bodies. The cart has been placed before the donkey and the only way that the CCJ can be relevant is if it is amended to manage the E in CSME, otherwise, the large sums invested in the CCJ would have been wasted.”

The debate in the Caribbean about whether the Attorney General of Trinidad should resign has far reaching consequences for both countries, because Barbados gave the impression that it was negotiating rights for its fishermen and seeking to protect its minerals rights. Trinidad, on the other hand, negotiated to keep its fishing rights and to claim additional mineral rights. In the end, Trinidad was able to retain what was theirs by maintaining the fishing rights, but was not able to claim minerals that belonged to Barbados. People are now claiming that the win win is only a confirmation that both countries had rights and that these rights have been confirmed. It is being said that if the Trinidad Minister wants to exploit our resources, he has to negotiate with us and if we want to fish, we have to negotiate with them to share their fishing rights. Neither Trinidad nor Barbados did not lose or win anything. They just confirmed what was theirs.

What was interesting was that both Prime Ministers behaved like Statesmen, while others behaved like jackpot winners, only to find that they were rejoicing about what was theirs. This has caused the constituents in both countries to behave as if they had achieved something more that what they started with.

We in the Caribbean must be careful how we create false hope among our own, because this can create animosity among our people at a time when we should be coming together to create the E by helping the Guyanese to take back over their country that has been blessed with the resources that can be found there. We must ensure that Guyana belongs to Guyanese and not the Brazilians or Venezuelans. The coming together of the Caribbean can occur in Guyana. The E is not about currency, but about the economy using resources to export. There is no need for a common currency, but there is a need for a common approach to the resources of Guyana.

World Cup 2007 taught the Caribbean to use money to create the right climate and we should now use the CCJ and World Cup approach to solve the E and then deal with the CSM.

What is needed is a practical approach to correct the problems of the Caribbean and our solutions will not be in books. We have to appreciate that our problems are unique and practicality is expected because theory can only show us how others have dealt with theirs. Ours must be dealt with differently, and we must do everything to ensure that the Caribbean is seen by the international players as an effective and competitive market.

I have read that Brian Charles Lara has turned down the Captaincy for the West Indies Cricket team. This must be reversed and the leaders of the Caribbean must have a meeting with him to point out the importance of World Cup to us and request to him to captain the team until the completion of World Cup.

Peace, love, unity, humility, wisdom and understanding.

(Denis Kellman is the Parliamentary Representative for St. Lucy, Barbados)

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17. November 2009 by admin.

The stars duetted on Run This Town and Umbrella Enlarge Image

Rap star Jay-Z joined Rihanna on stage for two songs as she launched her new album, Rated R, in Brixton, London.

The Barbadian singer, 21, was playing her first show since she was assaulted by her ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, in February this year.

She emerged on stage in an eye mask and studded leotard to perform a selection of new songs and hits like Take A Bow.

Jay-Z made his surprise appearance for the finale, performing his recent hit, Run This Town, and Rihanna’s Umbrella.

Several members of the audience, made up of competition winners, held aloft umbrellas during the song in an unorthodox moment of crowd participation.

The 45-minute show kicked off with two songs from Rihanna’s new album - Wait Your Turn and Russian Roulette.

Rihanna’s new album will be released on 23 November

Slow-burning and dramatic, they set the tone for a concert where many of the star’s hits were reinvented with distorted guitars and dark, pulsing synths.

The set-list included fan favourites such as Don’t Stop The Music and Disturbia, while Rihanna was also joined by rapper Young Jeezy for Hard, a track which is set to be the second single from her new album.

Jay-Z, who signed the singer to Def Jam records, had previously appeared at his wife Beyonce’s concert at the O2 on Sunday night, alongside Kanye West.

Star guests at Rihanna’s show included Adele, Keisha Buchanan, Tinchy Stryder, Emma Bunton and Chipmunk.

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17. November 2009 by admin.

RICE AND PEAS; MACARONI PIE

SALT FISH AND BANANA; BBQ SPARERIBS

BBQ PIG TAIL; BAKED PORK

BAKED CHICKEN; FRIED POT FISH

FRIED STEAK FISH; GRILLED STEAK FISH

STEAMED FISH IN TOMATO SAUCE; TURKEY STEW

COLE SLAW; TOSSED SALAD

STEAMED VEGETABLES

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17. November 2009 by admin.

By Mark McGowan

Some members of the Trinidadian business community are skeptical about the TCL Group’s “monopoly” on their cement market and they favour the removal of the Common External Tariff (CET) to permit more options. But TCL Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Rollin Bertrand says the company does not have a monopoly and is urging that businessmen consider the CET a long-term investment in regional development.

Dr Rollin Bertrand

During a recent trip, a team of local journalists interviewed a few Couva-based clients of the Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) and they shared their views on the company’s service. Derek Dindial, General Manager of Dindial’s Central Hardware Ltd, has been selling cement for over 30 years. During this time, he has been regularly selling the TCL brand of cement, which he says is of a very high quality. According to him, customers are clearly satisfied with the product since he receives few complaints from them.  But he feels that the cost of purchasing the cement from TCL is a bit high and says that this is because the company has a “monopoly” on the market. A few years ago when another brand of cement was being imported into the country, he related, TCL reduced the price of its cement. He thinks that the current price could be reduced and says that he has raised the issue with various sales personnel but there has been no reduction in the price since. Stabroek News was told that the cost for a bag of cement from TLC is currently about TT$43..

Dindial believes that the “monopoly” which the company has on the market is “a bad thing” since customers are being robbed of the more competition in terms of prices and services provided. Consequently, Dindial is in favour of cement imports sans CET. He says, that “once there is a little competition on the market, it is better at the end of the day for the customer down the road.”

Overall Dindial feels that the quality of service provided by the TCL Group is good but believes that this can also be improved.

Another businessman said the quality of cement produced by TCL is very good and that the service is excellent. He said that the plant supplied sufficient cement and that there was not an occasion when he could not get cement when in need.  His only concern was the price of the cement, which he said was a bit costly. He added that this was only expected since the company is ‘monopolising’ the market.

He said previously when another brand of cement was available on the market, he purchased it because it was cheaper, but the quality was inferior to that produced by TCL. When asked about the removal of the CET on cement, the businessman said that as a Trinidadian, he would not support its removal since it would result in the loss of jobs for several persons. However, from a business perspective he said he would be in favour since it would provide options. He added that if he could find similar quality cement at a cheaper price, he would pursue the option.

‘An investment’

In response to the concerns raised by the businessmen, Bertrand said that TCL did not have a monopoly on the market since the businessmen were free to import. “Fifteen percent CET does not create a monopoly,” he said, while stating that the CET charged on a bag of cement would cost only a few cents.

The Group CEO suggested that one of the reasons why the brand is so popular in Trinidad is because of the economical cost of the product. He stated that if the price was not competitive, there surely would have been an influx of other brands on the country’s market.

Regarding the support shown by some businessmen for the removal of CET on cement, Bertrand said that “businessmen and traders often have a very short look on life” during which they fail to take into context the importance of long-term investments.  He said that if these businessmen and traders had their way, the region would only be “buying” all the time and not be developing their own industries.

President Bharrat Jagdeo has been calling for the removal of CET on cement, saying that it is an issue the Heads of Government had previously reached a consensus on. During a recent press conference Jagdeo said: “we have argued that the …CET should be removed from cement, based on an earlier decision of Heads, that all internationally competitive goods should not be protected by the CET and oil and cement were listed as two, so we’re are hoping that that would happen.”

The TCL Group had accused the Guyana Government of breaching the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas by unilaterally suspending the CET on cement imported from countries outside Caricom and was later granted leave to sue the government after approaching the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The court in its ruling on August 20, 2009 held the view that the company is entitled to the benefit of having the CET maintained. The CCJ later ruled that Guyana restore the tariff within 28 days, stating that without the coercive order there would be grave consequences for the rule of law in the single market – a directive to which the government adhered. (Stabroek News)

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17. November 2009 by admin.

The Caricom Secretariat intends to use the upcoming bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet-ing (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago to plug the importance issue of Climate Change, Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington disclosed yesterday.

The Caricom Secretariat yesterday launched its special Climate Change campaign under the theme ‘1.5 ˚C to Stay Alive’.  The theme reflects the fact that if world temperature rises by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius the low-lying countries in the Caribbean and small island states “will be at serious risk of economic hardship, poor health and environmental degradation from rising sea levels, severe weather, coastal erosion and coral and sea life deterioration” .

Carrington told reporters that the campaign will be taken to Trinidad during CHOGM, which will be held from November 27 to 29. He said this campaign has the full support of Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Carrington said Manning recognises that the meeting is the last major gathering of several world leaders before the Copenhagen meeting in December, and believes it should be used to push this critical issue.

The Secretary General said prompt action is needed and noted with some concern that some of the major perpetrators seemed not to appreciate the importance of the issue. However, he said he was optimistic that the region will experience favourable responses coming out of Copenhagen.

Prior to the official launching of the campaign Garfield Barnwell, the director of the Secretariat’s Sustainable Development Programme conducted a power point presentation highlighting the impact of climate change.

The campaign was then officially launched by the Secretary General in the foyer of the Caricom Secretariat. (Stabroek News)

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17. November 2009 by admin.

The first round of talks between negotiators from Caricom and Canada on trade relationships saw the regional team emphasising the need for a development-oriented agreement to benefit the region, Ambassador Gail Mathurin said yesterday.

Head of OTN, Ambassador Gail Mathurin (right) and Deputy Director General of OTN, Carl Greenidge during the video-conferencing session yesterday.

Mathurin, who is the Head of the Office of Trade Negotiation (OTN), told Guyanese and Barbadian reporters that during the discussions, Canada indicated its recognition of the need for symmetry as it related to the trade agreement and signalled its willingness to recognise various levels of development in the Caricom territories.

She made these disclosures during a press conference where members of the Caricom Secretariat and local reporters participated via video conference.

According to her, during the discussions which took place in Barbados last week representatives from the OTN “placed great emphasis” on the part of Caricom’s mandate, which calls for a development-oriented agreement. According to her, this development is seen in two main ways. She said in the first instance, the region is seeking a distinct chapter on development co-operation. Secondly, she noted that “in each subject area, we are putting forward specific development oriented proposals which the region hopes will become articles in the various facets of the agreement.”

Mathurin noted that issues such as market access, as it relates to agriculture and industrial goods, services, culture and investment as well as institutional issues and dispute settlement were all discussed.

According to her, the Canadian negotiators were interested in Caricom’s current position in working with suppliers throughout the region, to bring them together to develop standards, as well as the systems which will be used to help service providers. The Canadian negotiators also wanted to know what Caricom is planning to do with regard to the regional regulating system for financial services and also asked for information on the Common External Tariff (CET) and how it operates.  She also said that the negotiators required information on rum, since this product is of much interest in these negotiations.

Meanwhile, Mathurin expressed concern about the slow pace of the Doha negotiations which she said was hindering progress in the region.

She also underscored the importance of the involvement of the private sector and non-state actors in preparations for external trade negotiations. She further stated that the OTN had in train outreach programmes to augment these sectors’ involvement in the regions’ trade and development agenda.

Additionally, Mathurin said her office was working closely with the Implementa-tion Unit of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), to ensure that arrangements were in place for the execution of the EPA, which Caricom signed with the European Community (EC) in October 2008.

The OTN body was established after the 30th Caricom Conference of Heads of Government where it was decided that the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machi-nery (CRNM) would be renamed the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN). Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington told reporters yesterday that the OTN now has responsibility for the coordination, development and execution of negotiation strategies for all the external trade negotiations of the community.  He explained that previously the Secretariat negotiated some of these external trade negotiations.

“Two-way merchandise trade between Caricom and Canada averaged more than US$700 million over the last ten years with a surplus averaging more than US$60 million in favour of the region,” the secretariat stated in a release.

According to the Secretariat, “current trade and economic co-operation relations between Caricom and Canada are covered under a number of instruments.” These include “the 1979 Caricom-Canada Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement and its Protocols, including the 1998 Protocol on Rum; CARIBCAN which grants unilateral duty free access to eligible goods from beneficiary countries in the English-speaking Caribbean up to 2011.” (Stabroek News)

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17. November 2009 by admin.

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17. November 2009 by admin.

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17. November 2009 by admin.

Nurses in Antigua and Barbuda say they are frustrated and fed up with what they consider to be moves to frustrate and rush them into leaving the Mount St. John Medical Centre (MSJMC), without knowing critical aspects of what to expect in their immediate to medium term future.

Their concerns were heightened recently when they received letters signed by acting Permanent Secretary Edson Joseph demanding that they state their intentions of continuing their employment at MSJMC or taking the option of being assigned to the civil service.

The correspondence was copied to the Chief Establishment Officer Chairman of the MSJMC Board Sam Aymer and the human resource director of the MSJMC.

“I wish to inform you that Cabinet at a meeting held on 1 Sept., 2009 agreed to a termination date of 31 Dec., 2009 for officers who no longer wish to be seconded to the Mount St. John Medical Centre and are requesting to revert to the civil service.

“The ministry has reviewed the process and is now requesting in writing whether it is your intention to remain at the Mount St. John Medical Centre or to revert to the civil service on or before 30 Nov., 2009.

“A prompt response is appreciated in order to facilitate a smooth transition programme before 31 Dec., 2009,” the letter stated.

The nurses to be affected are contending that before they can be expected to make any responses to the requests outlined in the letter, they would need to be informed as to what will happen regarding their years of service, for instance.

“Some of us have a lot of years in the service and we are not being given any ideas as to what happens to those in that situation.

“In fact, we are of the opinion that this letter says absolutely nothing, especially since we were either employed through the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Establishment Division and not the Ministry of Health,” one nurse said.

She added that as a consequence she does not see how anything outlined in the permanent secretary’s letter will get any useful response, especially by the deadlines stipulated in the letter.

“But they are trying to intimidate the nurses and people will not understand that we are just trying to have things done the right way and a way that is satisfactory to all parties, especially the nurses,” the source added.

She added that there is little consolation that MSJMC has been actively recruiting nurses from other countries.

“They have recently been to St. Vincent & the Grenadines and right now the CEO, Randall Arlett, is in Jamaica trying to get nurses to work at the hospital.

“They are trying to force us out of the place to bring in who they want,” the nurse who requested anonymity, said.

Marketing and Comunications Manager of MSJMC Salma Crump told the AntiguaSun that the company’s search for nurses has nothing to do with government’s proposed plans.

Crump said there is a worldwide shortage of nurses and MSJMC simply has to ensure that it has the numbers required to do the job efficiently and effectively.

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17. November 2009 by admin.

European steel makers called Monday on European Union antitrust regulators to block a joint venture between the world’s No 2 and No 3 iron ore miners, BHP Billiton Limited and Rio Tinto PLC, that they claimed could hike prices for iron ore.Eurofer - which represents ArcelorMittal SA, ThyssenKrupp AG and Corus Group - said the two companies’ plan to combine Australian iron-ore operations would allow them to share information on output that could affect industry negotiations to set benchmark prices and volumes.

The steel makers said the deal “will have the same impact on the iron ore market” as a merger between the two miners.

Last year, BHP Billiton had made a hostile US$68 billion bid for Anglo-Australian rival Rio Tinto. BHP Billiton abandoned the takeover attempt after EU regulators opposed it because they said it could harm competition. Rio Tinto also complained that it was undervalued in the bid.

- AP

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