Agreement over tariffs imposed by Brussels on Latin American banana producers “will more likely come after ministers meet” in Geneva from Monday to Wednesday, the source told AFP.

The Latin American producers feel penalised by the tariff-free treatment of imports from mostly poor former European colonies in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific region (ACP).

Bananas vendor stand at a market in Fort De France on the French Carribbean island of Martinique. AFP PHOTO

“We’re still very close to a deal,” said the source, referring to negotiations led by outgoing European Union Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton, who has cancelled a number of engagements since being nominated for the role of EU foreign affairs chief.

“All the parameters are in place (but) we are still finalising the elements (and) it isn’t easy.

“We thought it would be done before Geneva, but that will be difficult.”

WTO member states have been trying since 2001 to forge a global trade pact under the Doha Round of negotiations — with the EU banana war coming to symbolise the difficulties it faced down the years.

The Doha talks have largely stalled since July 2008, but diplomats in Geneva said last week that a deal on bananas was in sight after Latin American banana producing countries agreed to an EU offer to cut the tariffs.

All that stands in the way of an end to the dispute is agreement between Brussels and African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries on how they could be compensated for the competitive advantage that would be eroded once Latin American bananas benefit from lower tariffs.

According to an internal European Commission memo obtained by AFP last week, ACP countries would be paid up to 190 million euros (284 million dollars) over four years to help them cope with the tariff changes.

But ACP countries are still not satisfied, with representatives saying the tariff cuts were too deep and ACP banana producers asking for financial aid of 250 million euros to cope with the changes.

The negotiations are “stuck on several points,” notably compensation, but also “over discussions with the United States,” the source underlined.

British Airways at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in St Kitts (Photo by Erasmus Williams)

This will be the highest number of visitors a weekly airline service has ever brought to St Kitts over a 12-month period.

Minister of State, for Tourism, Sports & Culture, Richard Skerritt said the BA arrival figures will surpass all expectations and the airline’s decision to begin operations to St Kitts in these challenging market conditions, has proven to be a success.

This will be the largest number of visitors a weekly service has ever brought to St Kitts over a 12-month period.

“We remain optimistic that passenger numbers will continue to increase well into 2010 as the travel business steadily regains momentum,” said Minister Skerritt in a statement released by the St Kitts Tourism Authority.

According to advanced booking numbers, “we should reach the 10,000 BA passenger mark in December, and projections for 2010 are already looking promising.”

Minister Skerritt continued, “St Kitts looks forward to being part of BA’s long-term Caribbean strategy and to continuing our special relationship.”

More than 10,000 passengers are expected to travel to St Kitts from the UK during the first year since British Airways commenced operations in January 2009.

The figure will represent a 50 percent growth for the second half of 2009, after more than 4,000 passengers had travelled to St Kitts on BA between January and June this year.

The growth in UK passenger numbers to St Kitts is set to continue through 2010, following the start of BA’s second weekly service on 30 March 2010.

On the back of the new twice weekly BA service, the St Kitts Tourism Authority has dedicated 2010 as ‘Celebrate St Kitts’ year, to mark a programme of marketing and promotional initiatives, celebrating the key niche markets of Heritage, Culture, Sports and Cuisine.

The new mid week Tuesday flight will immediately increase capacity to St Kitts while offering even greater flexibility to the duration of visitor nights.

British Airways will use a similar configuration to the existing Saturday flight with a three class, 280 seat Boeing 777 aircraft holding 40 Club World seats, 24 World Traveller Plus and 216 World Traveller seats. (C’bean Net News)

Finance and the Public Service Minister,  Audley Shaw (right), having a light discussion with World Bank representative in Jamaica, Badrul Haque (left), at the 15th International Development Partners retreat, November 24. Shaw was guest speaker. At centre is the German Ambassador to Jamaica, Jurgen Engel. (JIS photo)

The facility has become necessary in the face of a fall-off of some US$1 billion in the Government’s revenues, consequent on the global economic downturn and its impact on key foreign exchange earners such as bauxite/alumina and remittances.

Addressing the 15th annual International Development Partners (IDP) retreat in Port Royal on Tuesday, Shaw said the Ministry was in the “final stages” of preparing the Letter of Intent, which will form the basis for a formal agreement.

“I don’t want to be preemptive of the internal processes of the IMF. They have their own bureaucracy, in terms of how they pass the Letter of Intent through the system to the ultimate approval. Let’s just say it’s going nicely, and they themselves have issued two statements to say that we are making good progress, and what I can now say to you is that, we are making even better progress,” the Finance Minister assured.

Alluding to fears regarding the attendant conditionalities, as well as questions regarding the timeline for finalizing the negotiations, Shaw pointed to the administration’s commitment to performance-based loans.

“We have put in place ambitious targets, self-imposed, by the way, for fiscal responsibility, for placing limits on our debts to GDP ratios, placing limits on our fiscal deficit targets, imposing very important plans,” he said.

However, Shaw said that, despite his confidence, he would not give a timeline for completion of the negotiations.

“I’m not going to do that, except to say that I am confident as Minister of Finance. So confident that we will have an IMF agreement that my job could very well rest on that kind of confidence,” he stated.

The IDP comprises international donor agencies that primarily have offices in Jamaica. These include: the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank.

The retreat is being held November 24 and 25, and aims to promote frank and fruitful discussions among members of the global donor community, in order to facilitate consensus on a cogent and coordinated approach to Jamaica.

Joel Julien jjulien@trinidadexpress.com

INSTEAD of focussing on the pay, attorneys should view legal aid briefs as an opportunity to gain experience and a chance to give back to society, Senior Counsel Gilbert Peterson, chairman of the Legal Aid Board, said yesterday.

Peterson made the statement after the new members of the Legal Aid Board received their instruments of appointment from Legal Affairs Minister Peter Taylor at the Legal Aid’s office in Port of Spain.

Peterson retained his position as chairman of the board.

Earlier this month criminal defence Legal Aid attorneys claimed they were being paid less than minimum wage.

Legal Aid attorneys representing those accused of murder were previously paid $1,500, before their payment was increased in 2000 under then attorney general Ramesh Lawrence, with the proclamation of the Legal Aid and Advice (Amendment) Act of 1999.

’It (discrepancy in pay) will always be an issue because legal services are an expensive commodity … we try to give something that bridges the gap but there will always be a gap,’ Peterson said.

He said attorneys, especially young ones, should view legal aid briefs as a ’very good opportunity to get experience’ and it should also be ’recognised as giving back’.

Peterson also praised the previous Legal Aid board, which he chaired, for its ability to decrease the waiting period between ’application to appointment’ of Legal Aid attorneys from 24 months to three weeks.

Taylor said a new remuneration package for Legal Aid was currently before Cabinet, which Peterson said would be ’sufficiently reasonable’ dollar value.(Trinidad Express)

Joel Julien jjulien@trinidadexpress.com

FORMER assistant commissioner of Police, Rodwell Murray, was found dead inside an hourly-rented hotel room on Tuesday night.

Murray, 72, was found on the floor of one of the rented rooms at Mariana’s Hotel in Petit Bourg around 9 p.m. on Tuesday.

Police officers went to the hotel after a frantic phone call was received from a 49-year-old female, who was sharing the room with Murray.

When officers arrived at the scene, Murray was discovered dressed only in a vest lying dead on the hotel room’s floor. Murray allegedly took three tablets of the erectile dysfunction drug, Cialis, before he died, his female friend told investigating officers on Tuesday night.

An autopsy performed at the mortuary of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope yesterday, revealed that Murray died as a result of heart failure, a police source said. The autopsy was witnessed by Murray’s nieces.

When the Express called the phone number for Murray’s home at Grace Gardens in Santa Cruz, a female who identified herself as his wife said she was ’too distraught’ to talk.

In 1992, Murray was thrown into the national spotlight after he alleged that there was a drug cartel operating within this country’s police service.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning was at the time in his first term in office, and Scotland Yard detectives were called in to investigate Murray’s claims.

Police Commissioner Jules Bernard was this country’s top cop at the time of Murray’s allegations.

Murray was labelled a whistle blower by his colleagues and treated as an outcast, but nothing substantial came out of the visit by the Scotland Yard detectives to this country. (Trinidad Express)