Moontown

by TONY BEST

BARBADIANS MAY BE AMONG the world’s most accident-prone road users and drivers.

The situation is so serious that Barbados had more road injuries per head of population than the vast majority of countries around the world.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a major think-tank in Britain, Barbados was ranked 12th in the world when it came to the number of people injured in road accidents per head of population.

With a rate of 769 road victims per 100 000 people, Barbados surpassed countries such as the United States 626; Canada 473; Italy 405; South Africa 322; the United Kingdom 312; Switzerland 287; Israel 246; and Hungary 207.

However, Barbados’ road accident ratio didn’t lead CARICOM or the Western Hemisphere. That dubious distinction went to Costa Rica with 1 560 which was ranked 4th in the world; Panama with 1 212 is eighth and Suriname at 913, is tenth.

Didn’t make the cut

Barbados didn’t make the top 30 list of places which registered the most road deaths per 100 000 people. Suriname was the only Caribbean country to be included among them. It shared the 23rd spot with the United States, Greece, Tunisia, Estonia and Georgia.

Barbados has one of the world’s most dense road networks, leading the Western Hemisphere with 3.7 kilometres of road for every kilometre of land, reported the EIU, giving it a global ranking of sixth, behind Macau, Malta, Bahrain, Singapore and Belgium. Not far away were Puerto Rico, 2.8 km and 9th; Jamaica 2.0 km and 10th; and Trinidad and Tobago 19th with 1.6 km of road.

That’s not all. Barbados has some of the most crowded road networks to be found anywhere. The latest figures compiled for Barbados and compared with data from more than 180 countries and territories across the globe, showed there were 63.1 vehicles for every 1km of road on the island’s roads, giving Barbados a global ranking of No. 23.

Within the Caribbean, the Netherland Antilles and the Dominican Republic had more vehicles on the roads than Barbados.

The global and Caribbean transportation picture looked like this:

l Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Costa Rica and Mauritius headed the global accident ratio list.

l Qatar, South Africa and Botswana had the most road fatalities.

l In addition to Barbados, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherland Antilles and India made the list of the countries with the most dense road networks.

l The United States, China, India, Brazil, Canada and Japan had the longest road networks.(Nation News)

I OWN THE NHC! says a frustrated Al Barrack at a Press conference at his Warrens office yesterday. He added he was tired of waiting for his monies owed.

by TIM SLINGER

CONTRACTOR AL BARRACK has dismissed Government’s offer of a $45 million settlement as “ridiculous”.

And, he has instructed his lawyers that as from today to stop the voluntary suspension of an execution against the National Housing Corporation (NHC) for the $65 million debt owed to him.

“This is ridiculous. It isn’t even worth the paper it is written on,” Barrack told the DAILY NATION yesterday.

The contractor was referring to a letter sent to his lawyers last week by the Government’s legal representative in the matter, Sir Maurice King, QC, in which the $45 million was offered to settle the dispute.

“Our client [government] is of the view that the interest component of the debt can be compromised by your client to some degree in view of the current economic position prevailing today,” the letter dated December 28, 2009 stated.

It added: “The Government is therefore prepared to settle this matter for the sum of $45 million.

“The Government will make an initial payment of $15M (million) by the 31st of January 2010.

Payments of $1 666 666.67 will be made on a monthly basis thereafter for a period of 18 months until the debt is paid in full.”

The correspondence also proposed a meeting with attorneys from both sides for last Wednesday.

Following that meeting, Barrack’s attorneys, led by Sir Richard Cheltenham QC, on Thursday rejected the offer, calling it “unlawful, exploitive and oppressive”.

In a letter to Sir Maurice, Government’s proposal was also deemed as “derisory and reflects a continuing lack of seriousness by the Government in its approach to this matter, even though interest has been running at over three million dollars a year”.

Agreement

Sir Richard reminded Government that the dispute between Barrack Construction Limited and the National Housing Corporation (NHC) was submitted to arbitration by agreement of the parties.

“Under the Arbitration Act, Cap 110 of the Laws of Barbados, the award became binding.

“The Corporation (NHC) is under a statutory obligation to honour the award and it is subversive of the rule of law for the award or the judgement of the High Court which was entered to enforce it to be dishonoured.”

Barrack’s lawyers also noted that their client owed large sums of monies to a number of creditors and also to a group of professionals including quantity surveyors as well as his legal team of three attorneys.

“This is outrageous and ridiculous,” Barrack stated.

Last month, Prime Minister David Thompson indicated Government would honour its debt to Barrack.

He however did not go into specifics about how the debt would have been settled.

Barrack, however, reiterated yesterday that he wanted his money in full and was not prepared to accept any part-payments.

He had also previously indicated that two enterprises, including an overseas investor, had offered to “buy over” the debt owed to him by Government. (Nation News)

ANDREW PILGRIM

by TREVOR YEARWOOD

TWO LAWYERS are questioning why outgoing Chief Justice Sir David Simmons was not given a two-year extension of service.

“I can’t envision why he was not offered an extension, as all the other chief justices have been given,” Andrew Pilgrim told the DAILY NATION yesterday.

“I think it is a political decision that has led to his going home.”

Veteran lawyer Robert “Bobby” Clarke, said: “If he had applied for the extension and it was turned down, I would be disappointed with that.

“Extending his term should have been automatic, unless there was a political variable inside there.”

Both Clarke and Pilgrim urged Government to “keep politics out” of the appointment of a replacement for Sir David and to pick the “most suitable applicant”.

Good track record

Pilgrim described Appeal Court judge Justice Peter Williams as a man with a good track record and “the obvious choice” as Chief Justice.

Clarke suggested Supreme Court Justice Sonia Richards should be considered for the post, based on “intellectual capacity, knowledge of the law and integrity.

“If Government wants to choose a person connected to them, then the logical choice would be (Attorney General) Freundel Stuart,” he added.

Sir David, a former Attorney General, retires April 29 at age 70 from a post he took up in January, 2002. He goes on pre-retirement leave on January 20.

He declined comment on whether he applied to stay on the job for another two years.

Yesterday, members of the legal profession hailed him as an outstanding jurist.

“There is no doubt that he has been a chief justice that focused on bringing reform to the justice system,” Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley, said.

She spoke of the introduction of new rules governing cases being heard in the recently-built Supreme Court and “the modernisation of the administration of justice”. She said “the consequences of his work will be felt long after he has retired”.

According to Mottley, Sir David “understood that justice is both the linchpin that keeps the society together as well as a serious ingredient” to the maintenance of our economic prosperity.

Lawyer Douglas Trotman said: “Sir David was quick to offer advice and to act on problems. He put a human face to the law; he was a people’s person when it came to interpreting the law and rendering a judgement.”

According to Pilgrim: “Sir David was forthright. He made court easier to work in. He was always frank and he took a reasoned and logical approach to cases, while his scholarship was good.

“He was a student of the law and he tried not to get bogged down by the usual delays and red tape. He tried his best to make the justice system work more efficiently.”

Pilgrim, who had opposed the appointment in 2002, said Sir David had “proved he was above political considerations in rendering judgements and he did an excellent job as Chief Justice”.

Clarke called Sir David a brilliant man who had “shown initiative and determination in improving all the court structures in Barbados”. (TY) (Nation News)

Aubrey Browne

by STACEY RUSSELL

GOVERNMENT IS SET to spend approximately $5 million on a Housing and Population Census in Barbados this year that is to employ more than 700 people.

In a telephone interview with BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY, Barbados Statistical Department deputy director Aubrey Browne said field work for the census would begin on May 2 and last six weeks.

“There will be 583 enumerators, one for each enumeration district, 114 supervisors and 12 senior supervisors, and we are currently interviewing supervisors for various posts,” he said.

Browne said the island’s last census was conducted in 2000 and pointed out that this year’s survey would provide “vital demographic data on the population beyond estimates” that would be beneficial to the business community, among other stakeholders.

“It also gives valuable information on the housing stock in Barbados, the number of persons in employment and categories of employment, those trained in specific areas. It would provide information on candidates for employment,” he said.

He noted that even though a large number of people would be employed for the census period, the exercise would not necessarily provide new employment.

“The field work would be [done] in the evenings, after work and on weekends when people are at home, and many of the workers being recruited from both the private and public sector have permanent jobs,” Browne said.

He said selections should be completed by the end of January and recruiters would be trained in administering questionnaires, reading maps of enumeration districts, canvassing districts, writing reports and conducting themselves in the field.

On the budget for the 2010 Housing and Population Census, the deputy director of the Barbados Statistical Department said, “The budget is quite expensive, between three and five million dollars, and would be funded by Government.” (Nation News)

SPLIT PEAS AND RICE; CHICKEN PELAU

VEGETABLE CHOWMEIN; COU COU; MACARONI PIE

BAKED CHICKEN; BAKED PORK

FRIED FLYING FISH; FRIED SNAPPER

BEEF STEW; FISH GRAVY

STEAMED VEGETABLES

TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW