Moontown

DENIS KELLMAN’S COLUMN – THE DEBATE

SEPTEMBER 21, 2006

It is nice to be back in Barbados. Since leaving Barbados for Nigeria, South Korea and USA to attend various conferences, many things have happened. The major one was the passing of Roy Brathwaite, who cared so much for St. Lucy. It is only fitting that the complex that houses the St. Lucy’s Primary and Secondary School should be named, “The Roy Brathwaite Memorial Complex”. This will coincide with the correction that has to be made in the east where we have to make provision for rewarding persons without interfering with the history associated with the project.

 This is why St. Clements School should be allowed to continue that great tradition and those persons who made it popular must be able to identify with it. The correction that has to be made in that area will be to name the complex after Mr. Ignatius Byer and the school to continue carrying the name of the Church. We have to be careful how we take the name of the church away to replace it with that of a man. It is regrettable that Lucy had to be the one to witness such change.

We have to be very careful how we allow outsiders to decide for us what we want when they cannot appreciate our needs. Lucy, her offsprings and only they can appreciate what she wants, all others just mess up the demographics, such as building chattel houses in an area where the people want house spots and want to develop them using the artisans of the area. We do not believe in piecemeal representation, but believe that all those who seek to represent our interest must show humility, wisdom, love, honesty, unity and understanding. These are qualities that are associated with Lucy and she has always demonstrated her appreciations for continuous love and not an ad hoc love.

The task ahead is great and the Government of the day must appreciate that Lucy is somebody too. I am still committed to the rebuilding of the two hotels that were closed down by the inappropriate action of the BLP. The offsprings of Lucy cannot be treated badly and at an appointed time, the goodies arrive and an offer is made for a one day feel good syndrome. The most independent people in the world can be found in Lucy’s territory.

The development that I have planned for St. Lucy is beyond the comprehension of others and will not only add to the independence of St. Lucy, but will make the north the second town of Barbados. Barbados will then become a fully developed country by correcting all the social and developmental problems now associated with it.

During my absence, it was suggested that a new concept of house building be introduced to Barbados a country that is foreign exchange starved. This concept is being introduces to a country that has a cement plant, builds its own blocks, produces its own grits and stones, and one that has an abundance of artisans and labourers. It is clear that the writer did not do what he is trained to so and that is he should have done an opportunity costs analysis before proposing that as a solution. The writer knows that his proposals run counter to the DLP’s policy and fits in with the BLP’s policy.

Barbados as a country needs to utilise its limited resources to the fullest and stop behaving as a country that does not have a foreign exchange problem. We must appreciate that we cannot solve the house problem by policies that make the Government looks good in the short term, but in the long term creates many economic and social problems.

This Government seems to have a problem when it relates to the development of St. Lucy and this is rather strange considering that in order for Speightstown to be developed as the second town, the development of St. Lucy must first occur.

This country’s leadership claims to have a connection with Nigeria, but they should have studied the Abuja’s approach to development. The Nigerian approach to development saw them appreciating that the development of their country had to do with the expansion of the country by developing a new town called Abuja, while at the same time maintaining Lagos.

This country has created serious problems for its citizens, due to the fact that development is not planned to solve the problems. Had we done proper planning, the Government of the day would have built Government offices in the north instead of extending Bridgetown to Warrens. Can you imagine what development would have occurred for Barbados had the Government taken my advice by building a multipurpose complex, a second hospital and a second airport in the north!

This Government does not appreciate real development and is only creating a feel good syndrome in situations where major capital works should take place. The flyover is another example of bad planning. This bad planning is further compounded by the extension of Bridgetown when there is a clear need for that development in the north. A good start would have been the construction of the complex for World Cup 2007 at North Stars.

The problem at QEH can only be solved by the construction of another hospital in the north. One has to understand that in order for proper maintenance to occur at the present hospital, floors must be made available for corrective work to be done in order to stop persons from becoming more ill by attending that hospital. QEH is sick and it is creating health problems for its patients.

It is clear that this Government does not understand the meaning of choice, and it seems not to appreciate what economic problems it will create for our country if something major occurs at our only airport. Unlike the Seaport, we cannot have planes on hold, while using alternative means of transporting passengers to our country.

It is clear that the BLP does not have a plan for the North, if they did, we would have solved all of our major traffic woes confronting the country. No development for St. Lucy means no development for Barbados.

It is evident that Sir Charles is still seen as if we are practicing localization, as he is seen as competing against his own in Barbados. This is not true anymore, and we have to understand that it is not a matter of COW versus Rayside, but versus Globalisation. This is a monster that will destroy our own if we do not cut out jealousy and be supportive of our home grown companies. I am here to represent all of my constituents. I am also free to praise or criticise them when the need is and vise versa.

Have we done a feasibility study to find out if the investment in Bridgetown would not have been better spent in the north?

Let us accept our past and build on it. If we try to do otherwise, we will end up destroying each other and the sharks would have no competition. Let us save Barbados by appreciating each other and working together for a better Barbados.

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

DENIS KELLMAN’S COLUMN – THE DEBATE

JULY 27, 2006

I have heard many criticisms leveled against me, but the one which took the cake this week was when a man who was born from humble beginning sought to berate a person who never saw his antecedents working for anyone.  This person who has now seen poorness as a sin, believe that derogatory remarks against persons who were born in the same of better circumstances than himself is regrettable.

We are always hearing Prime Minister Arthur speaking about Negrocrats and one can now get a better understanding of the type of persons he has to deal with, when one of his appointees can refer to a person of the same of better beginning as the Prime Minister as a “technopeasant”. I had to ask why would a person who understood the meaning of being a tenant would seek to refer to a person who could easily been his landlord in such a derogatory manner.

On Tuesday, I recalled the comments which were made when Minister Payne was relieved of his ministerial post. I am now convinced that those remarks were not by accident, but had to do with jealousy and the opportunity to show who is better in the family.

 The Webster’s New Complete Dictionary refers to peasants refers to peasants as: 1. “any of a class of small landowners or labors tilling the soils”, 2. Uneducated persons of low social status.” Surely the Minister will now have to tell the public which one applies to me, and then tell me which one matches his voters? After making these remarks, one would have to ask, how the Honourable Member will be able to face his colleagues on the front and back bench?

All my life, I have respected my parents and the masses for how they have been able to start from humble beginnings and have committed their earnings to the upliftment of their children. It is clear that these parents who were either maids, labourers, peasants or shop assistants are now seen by their offsprings as persons who did work that would now be seen as an embarrassment to their new high flyers, who would not want persons to measure their progress.

I have been joined by the Prime Minister of this country when it comes to highlighting our roots and upbringings. We were never ashamed of speaking of the workings of our parents and our humble beginnings. Furthermore, we speak about that period in glowing terms because we can appreciate the measurement involved. At least everybody knows that the Prime Minister was born in Benn Hill and that I was born in Alexandria and not in the Heights, Gardens, Terraces or on a Plantation. Maybe the problem has to do with living in a house which was once a plantation house that has motivated the speaker to see others as technopeasants.

When I worked for the Sugar Industry, we had two pieces of cane suppliers: the plantations and the peasants. The plantations has their own cane books, vehicles and quota, while the peasants had to find a trucker and hoped that his canes were delivered to the factory after having to beg to get a look-in.

All my life, I have always seen peasants as important people. As a result of them the opportunity was granted me to work in the sugar industry. They were and still are my bosses, who created an opportunity for me to achieve. Such persons kept the industry alive. It was because of them that we now have a tourism industry that we got the tourism industry.

I am eternally grateful to the peasants for creating the various opportunities from which persons such as I have benefited. These men and women should be held in high esteem for their significant contributions and should not be referred to in such derogatory terms.  Had this comment being made by a Mottley or a Miller, one would understand, but the person whose mouth opened to release these words should reflect on what was said and apologise to the masses for the comments made against them.

I have to wonder which interpretation should be given to the mouthing of the Minister, when the Prime Minister was quoted as endorsing Kellmanomics once again. Please tell me when will the masses get their praises from this Minister who could not find room on his board for a taxi driver, even though moderators have made it known that graduates from Harrison College are driving taxis. Am I to believe that it has to do with $20 tourist or with monkey and peanuts?

It seems to me that the peasants among us have to be careful to whom power is given, and to ensure that the new plantation house owning class does not use their elevation against them.

I am a proud techno peasant and can live with what I see in the mirror every morning and the pictures of my foreparents.

What mirror have you? Is it that peasants equal peanuts in your mirror?

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

Frank Whylie, general manager of JN Small Business Loans Limited (JNSBL), says small businesses funded by JNSBL have created some 24,000 jobs to date. - Contributed The economic crisis may have dislocated the local job market; however, microfinance institutions have been quietly providing the financial resources to drive employment - one small business at a time.

A recent study by the Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP) indicated that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSEs) are providing close to 80 per cent of the island’s new employment opportunities. At the same time, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) indicates that sole traders, who make up the vast majority of MSEs, employ some 399,675 of the labour force.

According to the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ), MSEs continue to generate employment.

“Most small businesses are re-aligning themselves, and many are moving into new areas and are re-employing persons who have lost their jobs since the start of the economic crunch,” Edward Chin-Mook, immediate past president of the SBAJ, points out.

Adapting to change

He says small businesses often demonstrate a high capacity to adapt to change, and notes that close to 40 per cent of businesses surveyed by the PSDP said they could handle changes in the global environment; and an even greater 52 per cent indicated that they can weather changes on the local front.

“Small businesses are the ones holding the economy together. We have nowhere else to go, therefore we have to stay and fight,” Chin-Mook maintains.

Although access to credit remains a major issue for small businesses, financing available to the sector has increased substantially, the PIOJ states in its 2008 Economic and Social Survey. Major sources of financing, at both the Government and private sector levels, allocated more funds to on lend to the sector. The PIOJ says up to the end of 2008, some $3.66 billion in loans were distributed to the sector, 14 per cent above 2007. The funding resulted in the creation of more than 30,000 jobs at the end of 2008.

JN Small Business Loans (JNSBL), Access Financial Services Limited and Micro Credit Limited are among MFIs that continued to increase financing to the sector with funds provided by the State through agencies such as the Development Bank of Jamaica.

The records show that Government’s funding support for small enterprises continues to increase, with the December 2008 earmarking of approximately $650 million as part of an initial stimulus package for the sector, and the allocation of approximately $2.25 billion in the 2009-2010 Budget for lending to micro and small enterprises. That sum includes $200 million which was designated to fund a special project, the Young Entrepreneurship Programme for school leavers.

Jobs created

Frank Whylie, general manager of JNSBL, states that small and micro business entrepreneurs funded by JNSBL have created some 24,000 jobs to date, some of which it supported with the funds provided by the State. His company is the largest private micro finance provider in the English-speaking Caribbean.

“Many of the businesses that have benefited from JNSBL loans have been performing successfully and are stimulating significant economic growth in their immediate communities and at the parish levels,” he claims. “These small companies have been creating employment for their owners and a growing number of employees in jobs that are sustainable even in these challenging times.”

However, there is still a significant portion of the small business market that has not been reached, he points out. A 2008 survey by Johnson Research Limited, showed there is a potential market of 164,000 small businesses that would like to borrow $100,000 or less to expand their enterprises and some 264,000 people would like to access loans to start up their own businesses.

Cedric and Beverley Linton, owners of BCNS Printers, attest to the ability of small enterprises to drive employment.

Their small operation, which started with five employees in 1992, benefited from a JNSBL BizBoost loan which helped to expand and improve the company’s efficiency. Today, BCNS employs 25 people permanently and, from time to time, offers training to young people who access the facility through the HEART Trust/NTA.

“We were always seeking a loan to purchase our equipment; but we could not afford it. We could not find an institution with the kind of programme that would meet our needs,” Mrs Linton says.

The additional investment enabled BCNS to acquire enough funds to purchase more equipment to become the proud owner of a computer-to-plate machine which enabled the company to produce customers’ jobs faster; with more accuracy and colour precision; enhance the quality of print output; print larger volumes and employ more people.

Whylie maintains that, even in these difficult times, with increased funding for small enterprises and improved management skills for operators, the microfinance sector can drive employment. (Jamaica Gleaner)

( L - R ) Usain Bolt, Messi - File HAVANA, Cuba (CMC):

Colossal Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has topped Argentina’s football superstar Lionel Messi in the poll for the best Latin American and Caribbean male athlete in 2009, the Cuba-based news agency Prensa Latina has reported.

World and Olympic sprint champion Bolt gathered 45 votes to keep the trophy he won last year, while defeating the world’s No.1 footballer Messi, who picked up 18 votes.

Cuban triple jump World Champion Yargelis Savigne took the women’s award.

Bolt used the IAAF World Championship in Germany in August to improve his world records in 100 and 200 metres, registering awesome times of 9.58 and 19.19 seconds, respectively, in Berlin.

The 6-foot-5-inch 23-year-old also helped Jamaica win the 4×100 relay gold in Berlin and in the past month he has also been named repeat winner of both the IAAF Male Athlete of the Year and BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year awards.

Outstanding year

Messi also had an outstanding year. The newly crowned FIFA World Footballer of the Year played a key role in the Spanish club Barcelona winning six trophies in 2009.

Savigne obtained 28 votes, 12 points over Jamaican 100-metre Olympic and World Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser, for the women’s award.

Brazil emerged Latin American and Caribbean team of the year for the seventh time, mainly for landing the Confederations Cup in South Africa this past summer.

Among the other outstanding athletes of the year selected by 85 media from America, Europe, Africa and Asia were Argentine tennis player Juan Martin del Potro, Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez, Brazilian swimmer Cesar Cielo, Dominican Republic baseball player Albert Pujols, Jamaican 400-metre hurdler Melaine Walker and Cuban cyclist Yumari Gonzalez.

Buju Banton - FileJailed reggae star Buju Banton’s managers have reportedly retained Miami lawyer David Oscar Markus, a rising star in the American justice system, to represent him.

Tracii McGregor, president of Banton’s Gargamel Music Incorporated, is quoted as telling the CaribWorldNews.com website: “We’re going to get him the top legal representation there is. We are ready to fight.”

Last weekend, BET News said Marcus will lead the team to get Banton off charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute just over five kilograms of cocaine. He was arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration officers on December 10 in Sarasota, Florida, and charged one week later in a Miami court.

The singjay is best known for the 1995 album, Til Shiloh, and songs like Deportee, Untold Stories and Murderer. He is facing a lengthy prison term if convicted.

Among top 40 under 40

The 36-year-old Markus is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and has been involved in several high-profile cases. His success rate has earned him recognition from respected publications such as the National Law Review, which named him among the Top 40 Litigators Under 40 in the United States.

Since 2007, Markus has been cited as one of the US’s leading criminal defence lawyers. Among his clients were Gilberto and Miguel Rodriquez-Orejuela, brothers and alleged founders of the infamous Cali Cartel which operated a multibillion-dollar cocaine trade in Colombia during the1970s and 1980s.

In February, he successfully represented Dr Ali Shaygan who was charged with 141 counts of illegally selling pain medication. Shaygan was acquitted of all charges, and he and his lawyers awarded damages of US$600,000.

Banton’s arrest capped an eventful year for the Rastafarian performer whose given name is Mark Myrie. His highly anticipated Rasta Got Soul album was released in April.

A subsequent tour of the US to support the disc was curtailed by protests by gay groups which claimed that Banton’s 1992 song, Boom Bye Bye, promotes violence against them.

This resulted in several of his shows in major cities being cancelled. (Jamaica Gleaner)

GREEN PEAS AND RICE; MACARONI PIE

CORNMEAL MEAL COU COU; VEGETABLE CHOWMEIN

BAKED CHICKEN; BAKED PORK

SEA CAT; FRIED SNAPPER; FRIED KING FISH

LAMB STEW; FISH GRAVY

STEAMED VEGETABLES

TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW

An investigator continues his work yesterday at the wreckage site of American Airlines Flight 331 after the removal of the tail of the plane on Saturday night. - Rudolph Brown/PhotographerThe voice and data recordings from the black box of American Airlines Flight 331, which overshot the runway at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston last Tuesday, are now being analysed in the United States.

According to director general of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby, local investigators will have transcripts from these recordings “sometime this week”.

Derby told The Gleaner yesterday that investigators have also established how much flying the pilot, Brian Cole, has done in the last 28 days and how much rest he had before getting into the cockpit of Flight 331.

He refused to divulge what investigators know, but said this information would assist in determining whether fatigue was a factor.

Fact-finding stage

The JCAA head made it clear that the probe is still in the fact-finding stage, during which investigators will comb through the crash site, inspect the damaged plane and interview witnesses and passengers.

“We will be looking into all the contributory causes … we will leave no stone unturned … but what we are focusing on is the direct cause,” he said.

Confirming reports that the pilot and the other five members of his crew have left the island, Derby said they were interviewed by investigators who are satisfied with the information they provided.

” … And if we need them again, we know where to find them,” he added.

In what has been called a Christmas miracle, the Boeing 737-800 airliner, heading from Miami to Kingston, careened off the runway of the Norman Manley Airport and came to a stop just metres from the sea.

Up to yesterday, Derby said much of the wreckage had been moved to the Air Jamaica hangar.

- Livern Barrett

Passengers may contact American Airlines at the following toll-free numbers: (800) 245-0999 for calls originating in the United States. For calls originating in Jamaica, use (800) 872-2881.Jamaica’s Ministry of Transport and Works has also set up a hotline for persons needing information. They may call: 876-501-9522/876-836-5900.

WESTERN BUREAU:

Days after their bags were detained as part of the investigations into the American Airlines Flight 331 accident at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, passengers are still without their checked luggage.

And they may not see those bags anytime soon.

“We have been handing over hand luggage since yesterday (Boxing Day), but the investigators still have to do an inventory of the checked packages to see if any of them have been contaminated,” American Airlines’ director of corporate communications, Minnette Velez, told The Gleaner yesterday.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has taken charge of investigating the incident which occurred last Tuesday night when the pilot of Flight 331 overshot the runway, stopping metres from the sea on the other side of the Port Royal road.

No timeline for when bags will be returned

Velez said that once they (the bags) are photographed and the investigation is concluded, they will be returned to the passengers.

She was, however, not able to say when that would happen.

“It depends on the situation,” she added while not disregarding the possibility that some bags might not be returned at all.

In the meantime, the airline has compensated each passenger to the tune of US$5,000 (J$445,000) to cover the cost of not being able to retrieve their luggage on time.

Approximately 300 bags are being detained, including those belonging to the six crew members who returned to their homes in the United States on Christmas Eve.

Keep close contact

Each passenger is allowed two checked pieces and one carry-on. It is not unusual for passengers to pay to check extra pieces during Christmas.

Velez said once the process is carried out, the passengers will be called in, but she advised that they keep close contact with the Customer Assistance Relief Effort (CARE) team that has been dispatched to assist passengers and their families who were affected.

The team of more than 50 arrived on the island Wednesday morning, said Velez.

“These are all volunteers trained to assist in major aircraft-related emergencies, and they would know much more about what is happening with the bags, so we urge all passengers to communicate with them.”

She said the CARE group members will be in the island assisting the passengers until they are no longer needed.

- J.S.

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:

As of Boxing Day, random checks at the boarding gates of airlines ceased to exist, as all travellers en route to the United States became subject to 100 per cent body searches at the island’s two international airports.

Adhering to a directive from the United States’ Transportation Security Administration, director general of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby, said the screening procedure at the airports has changed and will affect all flights going into the United States for now. In time, the changes may affect European and other carriers.

The new rules will see passengers experiencing body patting by security personnel, and the screening of carry-on bags at the boarding gates, said the JCAA head.

“Liquid and gels must be placed in clear plastic bags to be shown to screeners, while matches and lighters will be included in the restrictions,” he said. Previous restrictions on matches and lighters had been loosened, but will now be reinstated.

Three hours ahead

According to Derby, persons should be going to the airport three hours ahead of their flight times, as the airlines might board a little earlier than scheduled.

He noted that on Saturday when the new procedures were introduced on the first Air Jamaica flight out of the Norman Manley International Airport, everything went smoothly.

Derby said the decision was spurred by an attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack aboard a Northwest Airlines flight which led to a 23-year-old Nigerian-born man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, being arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for trying to blow up the aircraft while it was preparing to land in Detroit.

According to The Associated Press (AP), Abdulmutallab had a device containing PETN, or pentaerythritol, hidden in a condom or condom-like bag just below his torso.

PETN is the same material convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid used when he tried to destroy a transatlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes. Abdulmutallab also had a syringe filled with liquid.

Feigned illness

The AP report stated that as the plane approached Detroit, Abdulmutallab went to the bathroom for 20 minutes. When he returned to his seat, he complained of an upset stomach and covered himself with a blanket.

Passengers heard a popping noise, similar to a firecracker. They smelled an odour, and some passengers saw Abdulmutallab’s pant leg and the wall of the aeroplane on fire. Passengers and the flight crew used blankets and fire extinguishers to quell the flames. They restrained Abdulmutallab, who later told a flight attendant he had an “explosive device” in his pocket. He was seen holding a partially melted syringe.

The aeroplane landed in Detroit shortly after the incident.

On Saturday, federal officials charged the young man with trying to destroy the aeroplane. A conviction on the charge could bring Abdulmutallab up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. (Jamaica Gleaner)