RICE AND PEAS; MACARONI PIE
SWEET POTATO PIE; VEGETABLE CHOWMEIN
BBQ SPARERIBS; PORK CHOPS IN APPLE SAUCE
BUFFALO CHICKEN; GARLIC ROAST POTATOES
FRIED SNAPPER; FRIED STEAK FISH
GRILLED FISH; STEAMED VEGETABLES
CHICKEN STEW; FISH GRAVY
TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW
The Guyana and Suriname ferry service is to resume today following the completion of an emergency bypass which had to be created after the Jackson Creek bridge collapsed on Thursday.
The collapsed bridge at Jackson Creek
Engineer Walter Willis confirmed to Stabroek News early yesterday afternoon that the bypass was ready for traffic.
Meanwhile Work Services Group Rickford Lowe noted that it could take as much as a week for the bridge to be repaired, something which depended too on whether all the parts required could be readily located.
The bridge collapsed after one of the side cords of a truck transporting a dragline became hooked up, causing the vehicle to topple, taking the bridge with it. The mishap happened after four in the afternoon. No one was reported injured but persons using the bridge on foot had to negotiate with care.
Following the accident the ferry service was forced to close, since the bridge was on the route to the ferry stelling and many vehicles planning to cross that day had no choice but to return to the city.
Creating the bypass
A source in the area told Stabroek News that when heavy vehicles of the type which damaged the bridge drove across it, certain precautions had to be taken, but these may have been ignored on the day in question.
The steel bridge at Jackson Creek is the first of three bridges leading to the Moleson Creek ferry stelling.
Meanwhile, the popular backtrack route at Spring-lands, Corentyne, continues to be used; however, it is the ferry service which caters for vehicles and heavy equipment. (Stabroek News)
BRISBANE, Australia (CMC):Opener Adrian Barath has hailed batting star Brian Lara as a major reason for his success, following his maiden Test century against Australia at the Gabba yesterday.
The 19-year-old became the youngest-ever West Indies batsman to score a hundred when he hit a stroke-filled 104 as the Caribbean side crashed to an innings and 65-run defeat in the opening Test of the three-match series.
“Brian has played a part in my development. He has given me a lot of support from as early as age 11,” said the right-hander, who became the 11th West Indies batsman to score a century on Test debut.
“He kept all the way with me and I’m sure he will be proud of my achievement for me. My family has been very supportive of me and the team here in Australia has backed me and given me the confidence that I can perform at this level.
“It is just the beginning. I know I have a lot ahead of me and I have to keep my focus.”
Lara, the record holder for the highest Test and first class scores, has mentored Barath in recent years, taking him to England two years ago to witness part of the Windies tour there.
Digicel photo
NIneteen year-old Adrian Barath cutting to the boundary in the first Test against Australia yesterday. Barath, 104, became the youngest-ever West Indies player to score a Test century but the Caribbean team was beaten by an innings and 65 runs at the Gabba. BRISBANE, Australia (CMC):
Adrian Barath rewrote the record books
, becoming the youngest-ever West Indies player to score a Test century, but the Caribbean side imploded spectacularly on the third day of the opening Test against Australia, staggering to a painful innings and 65-run defeat at the Gabba yesterday.
The diminutive right-hander unleashed a scintillating 104 but the innings proved in vain as the Windies capitulated for 187 in their second innings, after being forced to follow on by 252 runs.
At 19 years, 226 days old, Barath eclipsed the 79-year-old record held by the legendary George Headley who was exactly a year older when he battered an England attack to reach three figures in Bridgetown in 1930.
Barath also inducted himself into the pantheon of greats to have scored a century on debut, joining the likes of Headley, Lawrence Rowe and Gordon Greenidge as the 11th West Indies batsman to achieve the feat.
Oozing confidence even as his teammates buckled under the Aussie pressure, Barath stroked 20 glorious boundaries off 138 balls in a breathtaking innings that lasted a shade over three hours before he was lbw late in the evening with his side sliding towards defeat.
Showing a penchant for the off-side, he was severe on anything fractionally loose and cut and drove with an audacity and style that betrayed his maturity. The opener reached his maiden Test half-century with a daring uppercut for four off fast bowler Peter Siddle and raised a deserved century with a full-blooded square drive off medium pacer Shane Watson.
“I just feel really great. This is better than a dream,” Barath beamed.
“It is a privilege to play for West Indies against Australia in Australia. It was really emotional for me, very exciting and I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Gayle first to fall
He was the only bright spot in the Windies batting however, as it again collapsed spinelessly in the face of disciplined Australian bowling led by seamer Ben Hilfenhaus who finished with three for 20.
Only Dwayne Bravo with 23 showed any resistance and he was only one of four batsmen to reach double figures. He and Barath engineered a stay of execution for West Indies with a crucial stand of 66 for the fourth wicket after the tourists had stumbled to 39 for three, thanks to Hilfenhaus’ opening salvo.
For the second time in the match, captain Chris Gayle was the first to fall, leg before wicket to the tall 26-year-old Tasmanian for one with the score on six in the third over of the innings after lunch. Also for the second time in the match, Gayle challenged the decision but it was yet again upheld by the third umpire.
Travis Dowlin, the top scorer in the first innings, did not have the same fortunes the second time around and was bowled for four after being cramped for room on the back foot at 18 for two.
West Indies suffered their biggest blow, however, when they lost Shivnarine Chanderpaul to an uncharacteristically loose stroke. Having scratched around for 14 balls over two, the left-hander essayed a hook at a short ball and was caught by Simon Katich running around from short mid wicket to square leg.
It was left to Barath, in partnership with Bravo, to hold up Australia’s advance. Well organised in defence and free flowing in attack, Barath entertained the small crowd while reducing his senior partner to the role of spectator.
He was fluent in his stroke-play and never showed any signs of nerves as he cantered into the 90s with a disdainful pull through square for four off Mitchell Johnson off the first ball of an over from the left-arm seamer.
File
Brian Wynter, governor of the Bank of Jamaica, to get personally involved in IMF talks.
Lavern Clarke, Business Editor
Brian
Wynter has found himself in the role of student, spending last week
reacquainting himself with an institution where he worked in the past
decade, but now returns to head in a period of turbulence and a great deal of controversy.
The new Bank of Jamaica governor, who was called early to Nethersole Place, is on a very short learning curve, however, telling Sunday Business
on Thursday that he would not be leaving the critical International
Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiations to other officers at the central bank
but would be getting personally involved, though he is taking over at
what the markets hope is the tail end of the talks.
“I don’t have the luxury of standing by,” said Wynter. “This is obviously very significant.”
Dismissed BOJ governor Derick Latibeaudiere was leading the talks for Jamaica up to his departure in October.
Not the same supreme role
But
while deputy governors Audrey Anderson and Myrtle Halsall were heavily
involved in the negotiations, Wynter says he has been briefed and would
step in as the BOJ’s chief representative, but he would not have the
same supreme role. Financial Secretary Dr Wesley Hughes now heads the negotiating team.
Wynter took up his posting 10 days ahead of schedule, a circumstance dictated, he said, by the fact that “there is a lot of work to be done”.
The
new governor has been away from Jamaica for two years, but is likely to
need little reschooling, coming to the job with deep knowledge of the
financial system as a former deputy governor up to 2000, and later as
executive director of the Financial Services Commission for more than
six years to the close of 2007.
Jamaica is attempting to strike a
US$1.2 billion deal with the IMF for balance-of-payment support, which
in turn should loosen the purse strings of other multilateral lenders from whom Jamaica is seeking budgetary support and cheap funds to replace expensive and burdensome debt.
Outside
of its own budgetary load, three watchdogs for investors - the ratings
agencies - have been pummelling Jamaica with downgrades of its
sovereign credit, negative-watch labels, and not-so-subtle
psychological pressure from warnings that any ‘debt restructuring’
would for them be a default - even though that is the outcome no one
wants.
Wynter on Thursday was clear that he would not at this
stage be going into policy issues, nor negotiating positions, and he
flatly declined to speak on a potential wind-up date for the IMF talks,
the issue that is making Jamaican markets - and the ratings agencies -
the most nervous.
A deal was first expected at the end of
September, then October, then November. No other timetable has been
advanced since sister publication Wednesday Business reported
that the last date would be missed and that the talks would extend into
December. There are now reports that the Government and big financial
institutions are close to finalising a new liquidity-management
programme, being crafted to avoid the technical default that the rating
agencies have threatened.
Latibeaudiere’s philosophy in 13 years
as governor was clear: keep inflation tamed through aggressive use of
interest rates to curb money supply and keep the dollar stable. His
most infamous move was the 20-point hike in rates in two adjustments
done in one week that placed benchmark six-month rates at 33.15 per
cent and the one-year at 35.95 per cent back in March 2003.
Creating headaches for corporates
That
aggressive monetary position has fostered a landscape of high interest
rates for Jamaica, creating headaches for the corporates on two fronts:
having to compete with a debt-addicted government for capital; and
declining competitiveness against regional and global trading partners
who have access to cheaper cash to finance their businesses.
The
big commercial banks have got uber rich in the process, with the
largest two reporting a combined $21.8 billion of net profit in the
past few weeks.
Latibeaudiere was said to have been dismissed
because his potential $38 million salary package was too attractive for
a capitalist but near-bankrupt society like Jamaica to stomach.
At that pay scale, his salary would have been comparable to the big bankers whom he kept in line.
But before the issue of pay was ever raised, Latibeaudiere for two years, as the Financial Gleaner
reported twice, found himself in the position of denying that he was on
his way out because of tensions between him and the Bruce Golding
administration.
He was a man who thought interest rates were to be used as he saw fit, while others were saying bring them way down.
Rates are still hovering at around 17 per cent.
The November auction on Wednesday signalled that the market was willing to continue lowering the floor on rates.
The
yield on the six-month benchmark treasury fell about 10 basis points to
16.936 per cent, from October’s 17.04 per cent. The three-month bill
yielded 15.992 per cent.
With Latibeaudiere’s departure, the
pundits, former government officials, and even the premier trade lobby,
Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), have called for the
central bank to be restructured.
Wynter said while he has not
studied the various positions, the reconfiguration of the central bank
is not something to be rushed, but he was not willing to signal his
thinking on the issue, nor even to say if it had come up in
conversations with Finance Minister Audley Shaw or Prime Minister Bruce
Golding.
Don Wehby has suggested that the governorship be
separated from the chairmanship of the BOJ board, and that a
nine-member monetary policy committee, including central bank senior
staff, government representatives, and independent members, be created
to set interest rate policy, a function now strictly guided by the
governor.
Amending the law
The PSOJ agrees with the
committee’s creation, insists it can be done quickly by ministerial
order, but says the composition should be seven members - four from the
BOJ and three independents - eschewing the need for finance ministry
representation as Wehby had proposed.
Governor Wynter said
Thursday he would have to study the proposals more carefully before
coming to a position, but said, in contrast to the PSOJ position, that
such fundamental changes could not be rushed and was not now the most
urgent issue.
“It may require amending the law,” he said, “and you don’t do that rapidly.”
But
governor and board chairman Wynter seems to think the central bank is
doing fine as it is currently configured, and was complimentary of the
team he has found in place.
“This is a fine institution with first-class staff,” he said. (Jamaica Gleaner)
Coore AN AUTHOR of the country’s Constitution has warned that Jamaicans might no longer enjoy the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
David Coore, the first chairman of the People’s National Party (PNP) and one of the authors of the Constitution, has warned that the United Kingdom Parliament has changed the structure of the Privy Council and this could strip Jamaicans of the right of appeal.
“The Constitution had committed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the country’s final court of appeal. The English Parliament has made such a radical change by amending the law establishing the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and which has just come into effect, that it can be legitimately contended that the Privy Council court which was put into our Constitution has been superseded by a new court, which, though bearing the same name, is substantially different from that which existed in 1962,” Coore said.
He was speaking at the People’s National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) 40th anniversary awards banquet at the Terra Nova Hotel last Thursday.
Serious problem
Said Coore: “This could raise a serious problem of constitutional law, with far-reaching consequences, because our Constitution committed to something called the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, but that to which we committed ourselves no longer exists in the form that it did when we made that commitment.
“It may well be the case that there is no longer anything to which our Constitution provision shall apply. The far-reaching consequences of that could be obvious,” Coore said, as he called for the Government to replace the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice.
This issue has been a major source of disagreement between the PNP and the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
The PNP is adamant that Jamaica should abandon the Privy Council, but the JLP has argued that the people should decide the fate of the court by way of a referendum.
“We are in the ridiculous position that we are paying our share of the cost of the CCJ but only able to access its original jurisdiction, which is confined to trade disputes,” Coore said.
He added: “We are in the ridiculous situation of paying for a court that we do not use, while claiming to be able to use a court that regards us as an unwanted burden and may no longer exist.”
Honour commitments
Coore told the PNPYO that it should work closely with Generation 2000 (G2K), the young professionals’ affiliate of the JLP, to pressure their parent parties to honour commitments for constitutional reform.
“Both youth organisations should join together to insist that their respective parties take the issue of constitutional reform seriously and act upon it,” Coore said.
“There are many aspects of our Constitution that need to be rectified and brought into the 21st century,” he said, pointing to removing the British queen as head of state as one desirable amendment.
“It is ridiculous for us in the 21st century to have as our head of state, a hereditary monarch of another country, to which we need to have a visa to enter and special permission to remain,” Coore said. (Jamaica Gleaner)
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Winning the war on crime as well as illegal drug and human trafficking and terrorism are issues that would be ’addressed more thoroughly outside’ of the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Port of Spain, says British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The CHOGM agenda, in fact, was dominated by the issue of climate change. Brown outlined his administration’s position on key issues in response to questions submitted by Express chief political reporter Juhel Browne to No 10 Downing Street in London through the British High Commission in Port of Spain. Q: Is Prime Minister Gordon Brown satisfied that the Commonwealth still holds the influence and relevance needed to have an impact on key issues such as climate change, crime, terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking, developmental challenges and economic challenges affecting its member states and the rest of the world? A: Yes, I firmly believe the Commonwealth still holds influence and relevance across many of the key issues facing the world. Its members include a quarter of the G20 and more than half of the G77. It’s responsible for a fifth of global trade. Our collective opinion is respected across the world. But like any international organisation, the Commonwealth must evolve to remain relevant. In Port of Spain this year, we have a real opportunity to demonstrate such relevance by agreeing to a strong statement on climate change-something made more significant given the Copenhagen summit in December. But we also need to recognise that there are other international organisations that focus specifically on issues that the Commonwealth need not duplicate. And bilateral cooperation between the UK and the Caribbean is important, too. Through such cooperation, we can support growth and economic prosperity, tackle the harm to the region and to the UK from drugs and crime, and promote good governance and human rights. Our Regional Development Programme in the Caribbean-of around £13 million ($135m) per year-aims to cut poverty by boosting economic growth and reducing the risks to growth. But this is only a fraction of the UK’s total support to the region. We provide some £70 million ($730m) per year in development support, mainly through contributions to the World Bank and EC as well as international NGOs and global funds. What are your expectations for the outcome of CHOGM 2009 regarding the issues of climate change, crime, terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking, development challenges and economic challenges that Commonwealth member states are now facing? We need a strong message from the Commonwealth on the dangers of letting climate change continue unchecked. The environmental and financial risks to the Caribbean of not doing so are enormous. Sea-level rises are expected to threaten vital infrastructure, settlements and facilities that support the livelihood of island communities. The annual economic damage caused by climate change in the Caribbean is estimated to reach US$11 billion ($70b) by 2080. Tackling crime, terrorism, drug and people trafficking as well as development and economic challenges are priorities, too, although these will be addressed more thoroughly outside of CHOGM. Is the British Government satisfied with this country’s efforts to address climate change since it is hosting CHOGM, during which the issue is to be a main item on the event’s agenda? The people of Trinidad and Tobago should be proud of the prominence that climate change has at CHOGM this year. Indeed, a strong message from the Commonwealth on the dangers of climate change can create the momentum needed for a global response at Copenhagen next month. And it’s urgent that we act now-what happens to our environment has serious social, political and economic ramifications. For instance, in the last 30 years, coral reef cover in the Caribbean has fallen by 80 per cent. The impact that a continued decline would have on the tourist industry in the region could be disastrous. How would you define the United Kingdom’s relationship with small island states within the Commonwealth such as Trinidad and Tobago? For a start, there are strong links between our people. We value the enormous contribution that the Caribbean community has made to the UK over the last 60 years. Members of this community can be found today in all walks of life, including government, business, education, health and the armed forces. They are a vital bridge between the UK and the Caribbean. We are proud of the ministers of Caribbean heritage in my government, including Dawn Butler MP, David Lammy MP and Baroness Scotland. And of Baroness Amos, now our High Commissioner to Australia. At a government level, we have close relations with all the Commonwealth Caribbean countries and continue to be heavily engaged in the region. We are working closely with governments to support growth and economic prosperity, to address climate change, to tackle the harm to the region and to the UK from drugs and crime, and promote good governance and human rights. The UK is also committed to the small Commonwealth island states in the Pacific region. We have regular ministerial participation in the Pacific Island Forum and contribute significantly through the EU and the UNDP to development programmes. Do you, Mr Prime Minister, who have also been a former chancellor of the exchequer and a well-respected economic expert, believe that CHOGM would provide an ideal opportunity to discuss international financial-system reforms, given the impact of the most recent global economic meltdown? I know the Commonwealth finance ministers looked at these very issues in Cyprus last month. And I expect that CHOGM will present an excellent opportunity to continue these discussions. The diverse membership of the Commonwealth, where every stage of economic development is represented, gives us a unique perspective on the importance of reforming the international financial system. Is the Commonwealth meeting the needs of its member states as defined by its charter? This year marks the 60th year of the modern Commonwealth. We should all be proud of our achievements over the past decades. Yet for any international institution to meet the needs of its member states, it must be committed to reform. This year presents the Commonwealth with the ideal opportunity to continue its reform, such as through revitalising the Harare declaration. This will help ensure all Commonwealth countries continue to benefit from this vibrant and unique Commonwealth of Nations. (Trinidad Express) |
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Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretary General Edwin Carrington anticipates the 15 member regional trading block that includes Trinidad and Tobago will make a ’dent’ on the climate change issue that is dominating the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Port of Spain. In an interview with the Sunday Express yesterday at the Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre (TTIFC) in Port of Spain, Carrington said that St Lucia Prime Minister Stephenson King, who is the lead Caricom Head of Government on climate change matters, was to have been a full participant in the talks on the issue during the CHOGM. King arrived in Trinidad and Tobago for the CHOGM yesterday afternoon. Carrington also noted Guyana President Bharat Jagdeo has also made strong statements on the issue, ’especially in the aspect with respect to forests’. Carrington made reference to the Caricom Heads Liliendaal declaration on climate change in Georgetown, Guyana, in July and what he described as their very active participation in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) meeting on the issue on September 21 in New York, USA, to stress how much the regional body has done to push the cause of saving the environment. ’I think we have put a lot into it and I see no reason why we should not be able, with what we are going to do here (during CHOGM), to make our dent or our imprint in some part of this climate change matter,’ Carrington said. The matter was at the top of the agenda of a Caricom caucus meeting that took place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Thursday evening but Carrington noted there was one slight hiccup in the talks. ’We had a little problem because some Heads were not here It was really to brief them, make sure they were up to speed and, let me put it this way, we took the opportunity to ask their guidance on a few issues and to take note of a few other things that have come up since the July meeting. All in all it was valuable,’ Carrington said. As for Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s remarks during the opening of the CHOGM at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) yesterday that the event was a ’Caricom initiative’, Carrington expressed his pleasure at that declaration. ’I think that was wonderful and everybody applauded that. We have to thank Trinidad for that again,’ he said. (Trinidad Express) |
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Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, continued to captivate the imagination and attention of the youths, many of whom did not mind cutting short their Saturday morning sleep to greet her during an early morning visit to Queen’s Hall, Port of Spain, yesterday. Dozens of young people, some of them dressed in school uniforms and others adorned in colourful costumes, flocked to Queen’s Hall to see the Queen and her husband, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The youths also got an opportunity to show off their talent to the Royal couple during a special cultural programme to showcase the contribution of young people to culture. The visit of the Queen and her husband created a wave of excitement in the normally quiet St Ann’s community which came alive with the sound of steelpan music and the colourful splendour of Carnival costumes. The Queen and her husband arrived at the Hall around 10.15 a.m. Inside the foyer, the Royal party was serenaded by 2009 Junior Calypso Monarch, Megan Waldron, who performed Denise Plummers signature tune ’Nah Leaving’ which set the tone for the high-powered cultural programme that was to follow. The Queen viewed various items on display at an exhibition that was specially designed to showcase local art and craft and other cultural artifacts unique to Trinidad and Tobago. The Queen seemed particularly interested in a floral arrangement designed by florist Joan Wilson who has won more than ten medals at the prestigious Chelsea Flower show in London. Wilson told members of the media yesterday that this was not the first time the Queen had seen her work and she said she was simply ’honoured’ and glad for another opportunity to showcase the tropical plants which were unique to this island. After viewing the exhibition, the Royal party was then escorted to the auditorium which was immediately filled with the piercing screams of more school children who had been seated there, awaiting fthe Queen. The Queen and her husband were treated to a cultural mix of folk songs, parang music and dances by a number of cultural groups. Before leaving Queen’s Hall, the Queen took time out to greet the young masqueraders with a warm smile, complimenting them on their costumes. The Royal couple was expected to leave Trinidad last night. |
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Prime Minister of Vanuata, Edward Natapei, arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday. On Friday, he lost his seat in the Parliament of Vanuata, a tiny island in the Pacific. Natapei was fired for attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) currently taking place at the Hyatt regency hotel in Port of Spain. According to the standing orders, Natapei forfeited his seat in Parliament after missing three consecutive sittings without notifying the Speaker. Natapei missed the extraordinary sessions of parliament being held in Vanuata to debate the budget, because of his trip to this country to attend CHOGM. On Friday, CHOGM was officially opened in this country by Queen Elizabeth II. On that very day, Vanuata’s Speaker, Maxime Carlot Korman, told Vanuata’s Parliament that MPs will need to elect a new Prime Minister by next week. Korman said there will also be a by-election for the Port Vila seat left vacant by Natapei. Korman told Vanuata’s Parliament that Natapei had not informed the Speaker’s office that he would not be attending Parliament. Korman was a former prime minister of Vanuata. Natapei was elected Prime Minister on September 22, last year. Reports state that the week before Natapei left Vanuata to attend CHOGM, he had expelled two coalition parties from the Government, saying that the level of support they were offering was unsatisfactory. Both the National United Party (NUP) and the Vanuata Republican Party (VRP) were banished by Natapei. As a result of the re-shuffle by Natapei, Korman, the Speaker of Parliament and head of the VRP, was set to be dismissed from his position. However, Korman could only have been removed as Speaker at the next ordinary sitting of Parliament which is scheduled for December 7. Up to last night Natapei was said to be still in attendance at CHOGM. This was confirmed by both the liaison and security officials responsible for him while he is in Trinidad and Tobago. Natapei arrived in Trinidad onboard a New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 jet along with New Zealand PM John Key and other heads of State attending CHOGM. It is not certain when he is scheduled to leave. (Trinidad Express) |
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