RICE AND LENTILS PEAS; MACARONI PIE
SHEPHERD’S PIE; YAM PIE; BBQ SPARERIBS
BAKED CHICKEN; FRIED STEAK FISH
GRILLED KING FISH; BEEF STEW; FISH GRAVY
MIXED VEGETABLES; TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW
Police stations across the country are to be retrofitted for Internet service as Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Bennett continues to implement his leadership skills as the nation’s top cop.
Bennett said the goal of the Internet within the stations is to have an internal network system, which will become functional this year.
“With the announcement in the governor-general’s throne speech of $3.7 million for the project, we know the government and the force are committed to the enhancements,” Bennett stated. The acting police commissioner noted that basic computer training, which will assist members in working the systems, has begun.
The Internet service, he pointed out, will enhance the force’s intelligence sharing capacity, and link the stations including Barbuda, with access to the human resource, intelligence, firearm and record management databases, which are being developed.
Protective equipment is also being sourced to assist the police and firefighters. They include bunker suits, ballistic vests, handcuffs, pepper spray, handguns and shotguns.
The equipment has been ordered and is expected to arrive in the country during this month.
In relation to the recommendations outlined in the Alphonse Breau report, Commissioner Bennett noted that most of them have been implemented and the top brass of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda will “continue to move forward with those that haven’t been applied.” (Antigua Sun)
The government of Antigua and Barbuda will be, in the coming months, looking to amend its immigration policy to ensure that the proper security arrangements are in place to facilitate legal entries, and prevent unlawful access.
According to Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, the government is committed to implementing an enlightened immigration policy which will honour regional commitments under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, while securing the country’s borders against abuse and illegal activities.
The PM who was at the time delivering his New Year’s message said non-nationals, especially those from other Caribbean countries, continue to contribute to the diversity of society and are important participants in the economic and social development of Antigua and Barbuda.
He indicated that the government will treat with respect those who visit the country as well as ensuring that the immigration policy is not manipulated for political gain.
Meanwhile….Minister of National Security Dr. Errol Cort outlined that a number of services offered by the immigration is currently under review by the government.
Speaking in particular about temporary residence status, Dr. Cort explained that this is now being reviewed after reports of mismanagement in that some non-nationals who qualified for the temporary resident status were granted in excess of the allotted two years time as prescribed by law.
“We have actually persons saying that they have the temporary residence and it is indefinite, some have said I have been granted for 10 years and clearly that entire area is something that is under review and a committee was set up in 2008 to look at this issue.”
Going forward into the New Year, Cort said certain recommendations will have to be made to decide how the issue of temporary residence, extensions and work permits are handled.
Non-nationals seeking to renew a temporary residence status will now be granted a period of 12 months pending the conclusion of the recommendations. (Antigua Sun)
 |
|
In a report entitled ’’No Other Life - Gangs, Guns and Governance in Trinidad and Tobago’, an international research agency has given the local Police Service a largely poor showing - quoting the citizenry in seeing them as ’’corrupt, lazy, incompetent and impolite’’. The report, dated December 31, 2009, Small Arms Survey of Switzerland said these undesirable traits were ’hearsay’ based on the sources - citizens, victims of crime, social workers and so on, author Dorn Townsend went on to say: ’And yet there have been some instances of the system partially revealing itself.’ Among these glimpses, said Townsend, was the well-documented case of police superintendent Chandrabhhan Maharaj. Maharaj, in 2007, opposed the selection of a colleague to lead an investigation of alleged by the police, claiming the Service to be too corrupt for objectivity and justice to be served. ’At the time, Maharaj claimed that the force was massively corrupt including playing a leading role in the nation’s drug trade,’ Townsend said, referencing an article from the Trinidad Express. Townsend also mentioned that at the time of his public stance against what he called corruption that reached all the way to the top, Maharaj had been seeking permission to obtain a firearm for protection. Townsend also referred to 1992 incident in which Scotland Yard was called in to investigate corruption within the Police Service - an operation that was aborted after several months due to a lack of cooperation from local police. Townsend later quotes a senior public prosecutor as saying that police corruption has become a crisis situation. He adds: ’Government members also acknowledge that elements in many branches of the police may openly benefit from crime. They facilitate or ignore drug shipments, rent weapons to criminals or shakedown citizens (including law-abiding ones) for bribes.’ The faint light on the horizon, according to Townsend’s report, is as follows: ’Recently, tentative signs indicate that T&T’s acting police chief, James Philbert, may be open to challenging his own rank and file.’ He was referring to that fact that in September 2009, about 20 police were arrested and charged, with trials pending. (Trinidad Express) |
|
|
|
|
A DVD with Islamic content found on a plane at a Jamaican airport led to the re-screening of dozens of passengers destined for London, an airport security official said yesterday. John McFarlane, security chief at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, said all passengers on Thursday’s Virgin Atlantic flight to London were taken off the plane after the DVD was discovered by a crew member. ’Everyone was re-screened and the flight went off without a hitch’ after a brief delay, McFarlane said yesterday. McFarlane declined to specify exactly what the disc’s contents were, saying only that he was told it ’was Islamic’ and it made the flight crew ’uncomfortable’. He also did not say where it was found. None of the passengers claimed the DVD. McFarlane called the additional security check a matter of ’due diligence’. A Virgin Atlantic spokesman did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment. Jamaica has increased security at its two main airports following a Christmas Day bombing attempt on a US airliner. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old passenger, was arrested after he allegedly tried to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims it was behind the attempt. (Trinidad Express) |
The island’s teachers will be seeking a salary increase despite a wage freeze for public-sector workers already announced by the Government.President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Michael Stewart, said they had already calculated the increase they are seeking, but refused to divulge it yesterday.
He did, however, say the numbers were contained in the JTA’s salary claim, which had been completed and which would be forwarded to the Government “in a couple of days”.
This puts the nation’s teachers on a collision course with the Government, which has already said there would be no increase in public-sector salaries over the next two years.
Something in writing
“We are waiting to see something in writing because we are not taking that quite well,” Stewart said in response to the Government’s position.
When contacted yesterday, Education Minister Andrew Holness said he wanted to see the JTA’s salary claim before he commented.
Teachers whose contracts expired on December 31 are seeking a new contract for the next two years ending in 2012. (J/ca Gleaner)
Guyana, (CMC):THE GOVERNMENT of Guyana says at least 32 nationals who did not qualify for the amnesty granted to illegal immigrants by Barbados are reintegrating themselves under a scheme being conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, said based on official figures, most of those persons returned to the country during the latter part of last year.
The Barbados government last year granted a six-month amnesty to illegal Caribbean nationals following recommendations from a Cabinet sub-committee on immigration that was established to develop a new and comprehensive immigration policy for the island.
The move by Bridgetown was bitterly opposed by some regional governments, notably Guyana and St Vincent and the Grenadines, and was a major talking point at the annual CARICOM summit in Guyana in July.
In the end, the regional leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the free movement of nationals across the region, consistent with the provisions contained in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the 15-member grouping. (Jamaica Gleaner)
Minister of State with responsibility for Labour and Immigration, Senator Arni Walters. (FP)
by RICKY JORDAN
GOVERNMENT WILL NOT be rounding up any illegal immigrants still in Barbados but will continue to crack down on undocumented CARICOM nationals involved in criminal activity.
This is the latest on the country’s new immigration policy, announced via a six-month amnesty last May and scheduled to end last Thursday.
Minister of State with responsibility for immigration, Senator Arni Walters, told the DAILY NATION yesterday that any crackdown following the deadline five days ago would be “on those who haven’t applied to have their status regularised and are caught in any illegal activity”.
“If you have a work permit it’s no problem, but we won’t go rounding up anybody,” he said in an interview yesterday.
The minister added that even those who had applied but had not qualified “can go to the Immigration Review Committee to see if they have reasonable grounds” in terms of their expectations of staying. This, he explained, would include matters relating to family, children born in Barbados to illegal immigrants, as well as issues of gainful employment.
Walters stressed that if there was indeed any “roundup”, it would target undocumented people who became involved in criminal activity.
Noting he did not have exact numbers of applications or estimates of people expected to be leaving Barbados, he said “a number of people (had) left on their own in late December”, because many had recognised they would have difficulty remaining in Barbados undocumented.
The senator also promised that Government would seek Barbadians’ views on the issue and the Green Paper on immigration via a series of town hall meetings from January 14.
“That will be an opportunity for people to look in some broad way at the whole immigration policy,” he said, adding this would involve matters relating to legislation and the offspring of illegal immigrants.
Walters reiterated that Government was not targeting any particular nationality since there were a number of Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Vincentians and Guyanese residing here illegally, including people who had arrived here under CARICOM status but had overstayed their allotted time.
He also pointed to “a couple thousand applications in the Immigration Department on which nothing was done prior to the policy being put in place”; noting that these were now being processed.
“The policy was one that looked at undocumented CARICOM nationals, so anyone who is documented should have no fear, and this includes people who have been visiting for years and not breaching their times.”
Prime Minister David Thompson officially notified undocumented Caribbean nationals last May 5, that Government would be fulfilling its pledge to address the issue of immigration and overcrowding. He told Parliament then that the new policy had resulted from recommendations made by a subcommittee looking into the level of illegal immigration, and it had concluded that the current levels of illegal immigrants were “unacceptably high, increasingly difficult to control and posed potentially negative socio-economic challenges for the country”.
He also disclosed two months ago that Government had received about 300 applications for amnesties for illegal immigrants but that the process had suffered delays in the issuing of police certificates of character.
“When the amnesty period is over on December 31, then the sanctions, if you want to call it that, or the second part of the policy, then kicks in, which is the removal of those who are here illegally. Nothing has changed. That is still the Government’s policy,” the Prime Minister said in November. (Nation News)
A peaceful calm at the Alexandra School yesterday morning belied the controversy surrounding the institution. (MS)
by TRACY MOORE
TEACHERS at the Alexandra School are going ahead with strike action today despite a plea yesterday from Minister of Education Ronald Jones for a “cooling-off period” from all parties in the dispute.
President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) Mary Redman told the DAILY NATION yesterday that the 38-plus teachers associated with the union would definitely be “withdrawing their services” from the St Peter school.
“We are going ahead with our strike action because we have received nothing in writing so for us the situation remains the same. Anything we receive in writing will have to be presented to the Alexandra School staff for their discussion and approval.
“So we are continuing as planned and staff will be here [BSTU headquarters] tomorrow [today] as the start of our official withdrawal from the Alexandra School,” she said.
Jones, making his first public statement on the ongoing impasse, called for calm during a Press conference at the Ministry of Education’s Elsie Payne Complex, Constitution Road, St Michael.
“What we are doing at this stage is asking for a cooling off period among all parties in the first instance. Secondly we are asking for the mediation process, which the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) was asked to be involved in, to be allowed to take place.”
The controversy dates back to 2006 when a number of teachers attended a workshop held by the union on Teachers’ Professional Day and were subsequently marked absent by principal Jeff Broomes.
Broomes had subsequently refused to attend meetings called by then Chief Education Officer Wendy Griffith-Watson and Permanent Secretary Anthony Layne. The last meeting was scheduled for November 24.
Up to last month Broomes stated he would “go to his grave before he attends another meeting with the BSTU”.
Yesterday the minister urged all the parties involved to look at the bigger picture.
“The students cannot continue to be affected in this manner with the high level of uncertainty present at the school at this time. That is why there is the call for the cooling-off period so as to allow the process to take place.”
The union was also upset that Broomes was granted permission to leave the island at this time to manage Barbados’ senior cricket team in the seven-week regional tournament.
Jones said Broomes, under the Public Service Act, was allowed duty leave to conduct his national responsibility.
He added the ministry would do whatever was necessary to facilitate a meeting between the parties. A letter, he said, would also be sent “post haste” to all parties involved encouraging the mediation process to take its course.
Some of the other issues between the principal and the BSTU membership included:
* interference in and micromanagement of the entire function of departments;
* recruitment procedures for teaching staff; and
* the role of trade unions in the school.
Yesterday Broomes said any further comments would have to be sought from his representatives, the National Union of Public Workers and Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools.
He leaves the island today for Barbados’ first match in Jamaica. (Nation News)
Some of the taxi operators enjoying a meal on Browne’s Beach yesterday. Second from right is Pedro ‘Big Mac’ Harrison. (Picture by Sharon Harding)
by PHILLIPPE AIMEY
CRUISE SHIPS are bringing in thousands of visitors yearly, but taximen continue to lament that this is not translating into dollars for them.
That was the sentiment expressed by operators at Browne’s Beach, St Michael yesterday where scores of them from the Bridgetown Port took a day away from the stress.
“This lime is just to get rid of the frustration of not making money because if you study it, you will go mad,” one said while at the buffet table.
Last December 26 and 27, with five ships bringing in more than 11 000 visitors, taxi operators lining the Princess Alice Highway cried out that they saw little or no business and were not reaping the sweets of the season.
Neville Bascombe, of the Bridgetown Taxi Union, explained that yesterday’s get-together was about bringing unity among the operators, if only for a day.
“Today there are no ships in so we thought we should do something for ourselves. I’m happy that the men and women of the port, having some time off, can come and relax together because when we go back tomorrow [today], it is a dog eat dog situation - a little bit of crumbs and a lot of us.
“The system is so bad that people who come to the island to spend money go back home with half of it. Whereas one driver will accept $20, the other driver will settle for $10, just to get food to take home . . . . Right now I have two taxis for sale so it is not easy out here,” Bascombe said, calling 2009 the worst he had seen in 20 years.
“I am seeing hell to meet my payments. All I want to do this year is be able to make the bank payments. I am looking for no profit, just keep things rolling.”
Pedro ‘Big Mac’ Harrison said Government should shift its focus to keep the industry alive.
“I would like Government to really spend some money in other markets to bring visitors throughout the year. The Caribbean and Latin America are viable markets and Government has spent money in languages at the BCC [Barbados Community College], UWI [University of the West Indies] and even in some schools, so these children should have automatic jobs in the tourist industry. Language is no longer a barrier so our focus has to shift,” Harrison said.
He added he was expecting a tough 2010, but hoped things would improve by November.
“I don’t see 2010 much better than 2009, but I’m hoping that things look up by the end of the year.
“What people don’t understand with last year is that many of the visitors booked their cruises a year in advance and did not expect the economic situation. Not able to get refunds, what can they do but come on the trip and make the most of it, but the spending power was not there.
“There is nothing much we can do; we are tied to the cruise ships. I am just encouraging all drivers to give and take. Take the money and make the trip and the experience so enjoyable that they will come again and spend a little time in Barbados, that is all we can do,” he said. (Nation News)