Moontown

These little beauties watch the performances on stage at the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation’s annual Municipal Christmas Tree-Lighting Ceremony at the St William Grant Park yesterday. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer SHOPPERS AND vendors in Coronation Market, downtown Kingston, are expressing hope for the upcoming Christmas season, despite the turbulent economic times.

The market, which is one of the largest in the island, is normally the scene of a buzz of activity during the year. This activity is tripled during the holiday period as Jamaicans get supplies, such as sorrel, gungo peas and nutmeg to prepare traditional feasts associated with Christmas.

The Gleaner visited the area, which is marked by a web of tarpaulins, to find buyers engaged in the usual shopping.

Maria Beckford, a vendor, said the season had not been kind to her and her colleagues.

“Nutten na gwan right now, man. The season slow, slow. Right now the people dem na come out. You nuh see how the place look? You barely have anybody a come,” she said.

She hopes that more people will go out to get produce as Christmas Day approaches.

vendor upbeat

A male vendor, who declined to give his name, was very upbeat as he assessed the season.

“Yeah, man! Everything cris, you kno. Everybody a gwan do dem ting and a hope seh the season work out. Everybody jus a do dem ting and a work in unity. Sum’n is there for everyone,” he said.

He also said that Jamaicans should not be afraid of going to the heart of the city, as all persons were welcome.

“Town is a place where everybody can come - black, chiney and white,” he said.

Some shoppers are looking forward to the Christmas season and shopping downtown, saying that they have no fear about travelling to the city.

regular rounds

Icilyn Clarke, a resident of Bull Bay, St Thomas, said that she was just making her regular rounds and while not overly excited about Christmas, said she would do most of her holiday shopping there.

“I’m a Christian, and the one thing I am excited about is my God keeping me alive and well. But this is just my normal shopping,” she said.

Clarke, who was at a stall speaking to a friend, while looking at Irish potatoes, said she had no fear about going downtown.

She told The Gleaner that she would still be buying produce, such as sorrel and gungo peas, to make her traditional Christmas dinner.

Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

These little beauties watch the performances on stage at the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation’s annual Municipal Christmas Tree-Lighting Ceremony at the St William Grant Park yesterday.

Hopeful Christmas!(Jamaica Gleaner)

RICE AND PEAS; VEGETABLE CHOWMEIN

MACARONI PIE; COU COU

PUDDING AND SOUSE; BAKED CHICKEN

BAKED PORK; FRIED KING FISH

FRIED SNAPPER; STEAMED VEGETABLES

BEEF STEW; FISH GRAVY

TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW

HAITIAN PRESIDENT René Préval is set to take up the post of chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) next July, in a bid to forge closer ties with the regional bloc.The announcement was made during the end-of-year press conference via video-conferencing, hosted by the CARICOM secretary general on Thursday.

A number of concerns were highlighted by a Haitian journalist during the conference.

The journalist stated that citizens in his country were the only Caribbean nationals required to have a visa to travel to CARICOM states.

He also wanted to know why The Bahamas was the only member of CARICOM that had appointed an ambassador to Haiti.

Steven Mac Andrew, CARICOM specialist, said that free movement within CARICOM was not a dream but a reality.

“Heads of government have taken a decision that Haitians travelling on a diplomatic passport or official passport do not need visas to enter the other member states of the Caribbean Community,” he said.

Commenting further, Mac Andrew said in 2010, the country would become part of the CARICOM trade regime.

He said the issue of having an ambassador in a particular member state was a national choice and not a CARICOM requirement. (Jamaica Gleaner)

by TREVOR YEARWOOD

SLOT MACHINES and Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) will soon be paying the same fees.

Prime Minister David Thompson made this disclosure yesterday, saying he was going to “level the playing field”.

He was reacting to complaints from president of the Barbados Association of Slot Machine Operators (BASMO), Elias Haloute, that the VLTs - a relatively new addition to the gambling industry - were paying a lot less in fees than the slot machines, which have been operating here for more than 30 years.

Slot machine owners paid $15 000 a year per machine and an additional $300 000 if the gaming terminals were located in an arcade, but somehow VLT operators were paying less for similar gambling provisions, according to Haloute.

“We’re going to level the playing field,” Thompson told the SATURDAY SUN.

“We’re going to treat the Video Lottery Terminals the same way as slot machines.”

In his 2008 Budget presentation, Thompson said that when he came to office he found two regimes in place for the two gambling operations - “one of which is heavily regulated and the other is relatively unregulated”.

At that time, he spoke of the need for both to have similar tax treatment from Government and announced that both would be paying an annual $15 000 machine licence fee, up from $10 000.

“There is no reason why persons who have been operating in the slot machine sector for 30 years, Barbadians, should be disadvantaged by others, 30 years later,” Thompson said yesterday.

Different rules

Meantime, president of VLT operators CAGE Caribbean LLC, Robert Nader, said that VLTs were operated and regulated under completely different rules.

“Our licence was granted in 2008 for 349 VLTs and we operate under a lottery statute, which is completely different to the laws regarding slot machine operators,” he explained.

Thompson said he would not allow the rift between VLT and slot machine operators “to degenerate” and would take action soon.

He also expressed some worry about children in rural neighbourhoods having access to video terminals that were virtually gambling machines.

Thompson made the comments in an interview against the backdrop of the annual awards luncheon for Courtesy Garage Limited, at the Crane Resort, in St Philip. (TY) (Nation News)

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE DARWIN DOTTIN yesterday expressed his deep concern over the rise in road deaths in the last seven days.

And he appealed for those who go out driving during this holiday season to have a designated driver.

“The fact that we have that high number is a source of concern; it is something that can be avoided,” said Dottin.

The commissioner said that over the next few days the force would be analysing what has been happening and together with others would be seeking to educate Barbadians about road safety. (SP) (Nation News)

ANDREW PILGRIM addressing the Lester Vaughan Speech Day yesterday.

by TRACY MOORE

THERE ARE DEFINITE SIGNS of decay in our society.

That is why adults, parents, teachers and guardians “have to be seen making an effort” when it comes to the youth, warned attorney-at-law and entertainer Andrew Pilgrim.

He made the call yesterday at Lester Vaughan School’s Speech Day and Prizegiving Ceremony held at the St Thomas school’s auditorium.

“Where are the members of the Ministry [of Education] who were invited to be here, where are the parents who said they were coming . . . . Where are those who are to offer support to an institution like this, that offers inspiration that has an excellent plan?” Pilgrim asked.

“We have to be seen to be making an effort, especially in the context of our young people. We see the symptoms of the decay that give us the Barbados we have today, every day,” he said.

He said the signs of lack of respect and consideration for others, like “pelting a sno-cone cup out the window as you drive down the road or parking your car in the middle of the road for 15 minutes to talk to your friends and having traffic backed up” are there and amongst us.

“I go to court every day of my life because that is my job, and every day every court in this country starts late except one . . . but unfortunately people in this country who are on time, who show respect and who are courteous are the exception, not the rule,” Pilgrim said.

“How can we want to encourage students, if we as adults accept those standards as the norms? Who is going to encourage [the children] to do better? The answer to that question is you,” he stressed.

He also decried the attitude that “people have come to accept that they can achieve by relying on who they know . . . instead of thinking if I do my work and if I treat my fellow students, my school and my teachers with respect, I can achieve.”

“You must begin to focus on merit; not on who you know or who knows you. People who work hard get what they deserve for their hard work . . . not only those who know the big-ups,” he added.

However, he warned that success would not always be rewarded with a prize or be determined by pleasing parents or teachers. “You have to begin as young people to find a way to please yourself and to measure your success, but in pleasing yourself you would have to uphold the principles of your parents and your teachers.”

Pilgrim said the duty was on those who showed commitment and determination - whether it came from a first former or an adult - to lead the way to inspire and encourage, because “the onus is on you”. (Nation News)

Prime Minister David Thompson (centre) being shown the expanse involved in the Port Ferdinand project by chairman of Port Ferdinand, Bjorn Bjerkham (right). Philip Tempro, chief executive officer of Jada Group of Companies is at left.

FIVE HUNDRED more jobs are coming for Barbadians, says Prime Minister David Thompson.

And more than $700 million in foreign exchange over the next five years would pour into the economy from the development of Port Ferdinand in Six Men’s, St Peter.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday of the exclusive 15-acre private residential marina, the Prime Minister said the construction will offer 96 resort condominiums, as well as 120 berths for boats, and would also create 500 jobs in the midst of the severe economic recession.

He congratulated Jada Builders, who are to carry out the construction, noting that projects like the new marina would no doubt help that company ride out the recession.

Jada will also carry out extensive work to rehabilitate the seashore along a stretch of the coast.

Thompson also seized the opportunity to assure people living near the project that his administration would renew efforts to resolve the issue of land ownership at Six Men’s village before the marina is completed.

“Cabinet has already agreed to compulsorily acquire the area and will seek a planned development that is consistent with our goals. The developers of this facility are fully aware of the need to remain on good terms with one’s neighbours.

“I have been assured that throughout the construction of Port Ferdinand, Jada will be intensifying the discussions that have already begun with the established communities around this project,” he added.

Chairman of Port Ferdinand, Bjorn Bjerkham, said the port would also boast the first bascule [lift] bridge on a major highway in Barbados.

The financing of the development of the project is from foreign sources.

The port is expected to be completed in five years.

The first units will be offered for sale in 2012. (CT) (Nation News)