RICE AND PEAS; MACARONI PIE
COU COU; GRILLED POTATOES
COW HEEL SOUP; BBQ SPARERIBS
BBQ PIG TAIL; BAKED CHICKEN
BAKED PORK; FRIED SNAPPER
FRIED STEAK FISH; GRILLED FISH
TURKEY STEW; SALT FISH GRAVY
STEAMED VEGETABLES
TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW
| By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) — The aid operation in Haiti has been complicated and frustratingly slow, but is making significant progress, particularly in getting food to quake survivors, the top UN relief official said on Tuesday. Providing shelter to an estimated 1 million homeless is first priority now that search and rescue efforts have ended and most life-threatening injuries have been treated, John Holmes said.
“We still have a significant way to go before reaching everybody who needs food, and on the shelter side as well,” the UN’s emergency relief coordinator told a news briefing. The 7.0 magnitude quake which struck Haiti on January 12 is estimated to have killed up to 200,000 people. It has led to scenes of chaotic food handouts amid the ruins of the capital Port-au-Prince. Overall the situation in the devastated capital is calm, apart from “isolated incidents of looting or attacks on convoys of food,” Holmes said. “This is a potentially volatile environment and we have to make sure it doesn’t degenerate from fights over food into more serious civil unrest,” he said. The UN police and military force in Haiti known as MINUSTAH and the US military are ensuring security at food distribution points and escorting convoys, but the US troops would not stay for more than a few months, he said. The World Food Program (WFP), a UN agency, aims to have 16 food distribution points across Port-au-Prince and provide 2 million people with two-week rations over the next 10 days, according to Holmes. “The delays we’ve seen in Haiti are all to do with logistics, the sheer difficulty of making things happen in a context like Haiti,” he said. Some 7,000 latrines are urgently needed to help prevent the spread of disease in congested, unsanitary conditions. “Shelter is top priority. We are getting material in and distributing it as fast as we possibly can,” Holmes said. Some 7,000 tents have been distributed and another 50,000 tents are in the pipeline. The United Nations wanted to avoid creating large camps “which tend to become permanent over time,” he said. The idea was to allow people to stay near the ruins of their homes and close to their jobs, rather than moving them out of the capital. Hurricane-resistant shelter, possibly large numbers of prefabricated wood buildings, would be needed later, he said. “This is a major challenge. We don’t have a magic solution. Hurricanes have caused major disasters in Haiti before,” Holmes said. “It will probably be a year or two before we can get people back in proper construction.” (Caribnet) |
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Scotiabank yesterday announced a new fixed-loan rate, aimed at stimulating activity and development of the small-medium enterprise (SME) sector over the next 12 months.“Effective today, Scotiabank will offer on all new SME loans, a fixed rate of 16.95 per cent per annum for the first 12-month period of the loan,” the bank said in a release. “Entrepreneurs will be able to access from J$1 million up to J$22.5 million for up to seven years. The new rate reflects a reduction of as much as 500 basis points.”
The bank said that, through this offer, it was aiming to provide special assistance and liquidity support to SME entrepreneurs in guiding their businesses through the currently challenging economic climate. Beneficiaries of this offer can use the funds to acquire fixed assets for retooling and re-engineering of processes; for day-to-day working capital; to purchase inventory; and cover other short-term cash needs.
All applicants should be operating a business
with less than 50 employees and less than J$225 million in annual revenues. (Jamaica Gleaner)
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Effective March 9, Air Jamaica will commence suspension of aviation ties with the Caribbean, disbanding their Grenada, Curaçoa, Nassau and Havana routes.
The move is expected to have a devastating impact on informal commercial operators doing business in Curaçao and Grenada, and students studying in Cuba. The news also comes days after the Government reportedly signed a non-binding letter of intent with Caribbean Airlines (CAL).
Air Jamaica will cease flights from New York (JFK) - Grenada and Jamaica - Orlando and Chicago as of April 12, stated a media release yesterday from the airline.
Convenient schedule
“This fleet reduction has become necessary as we seek to meet our financial obligations; however, Air Jamaica continues to be the best choice for convenient schedule and excellent service, as we have ensured that adequate capacity is provided on our core routes,” stated Bruce Nobles, CEO and president of the airline.
However, National Workers Union president Granville Valentine is not convinced by this explanation and is calling on divestment committee head, Dennis Lalor, and the Bruce Golding-led adminis-tration to come clean in relation to the deal.
“A level of secrecy surrounds this letter of intent,” stated Valentine.
According to him, the template regarding the routes that were cut suits CAL’s plans, putting that group at an unfair advantage.
“Initially in (CAL’s) discussions, they did not want to carry those existing routes as they were not their best fit,” said the union delegate.
He added that the move would leave Jamaicans with absolutely no routes. “All Jamaicans will now need non-immigrant visas to fly their national carrier, if this is allowed.”
Debt burden
The union is also questioning the legitimacy of the US$1 that CAL is being awarded the airline for, while an offer of US$45 million from Indigo, operators of Spirit Air, was thrown out. Air Jamaica is carrying a debt burden of US$900 million.
Valentine noted that the staff at the national carrier was extremely restive.
“And if we are to continue on the path of secrecy, we can’t guarantee normality in Jamaica and at the airports.”
The realignment by the airline will see it operating only six aircraft: one A319, four A320s and one A321.
By April 12, Air Jamaica will operate 161 weekly flights between Jamaica and five cities, with daily service to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Toronto, three daily flights to New York (JFK) and four daily flights to Fort Lauderdale. (Jamaica Gleaner)
janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com
Macaulay CARICOM has expressed its “gravest concern” over the possibility of a ship carrying radioactive waste passing through Caribbean waters.
“It has come to the attention of the Caribbean Community that a new shipment of vitrified high-level waste will soon leave the United Kingdom for Japan, transiting the Caribbean Sea,” CARICOM said in a statement on Monday.
The grouping of regional nations lamented that the Caribbean Sea “constitutes not only a part of the way of life of the Caribbean people, but also a principal source of livelihood and socio-economic activity”.
CARICOM said such ships must not pass though the Caribbean waters because of the “risk they pose to the lives and livelihoods of the Caribbean people”.
In the meantime, Diana McCaulay, executive director of the Jamaica Environment Trust, said the news of the ship passing though Caribbean waters is troubling.
“We don’t have the facilities in the region to clean up any form of a spill,” McCaulay told The Gleaner yesterday.
She said the fact that wealthier countries have continued the practice for more than 20 years, despite objections from governments and citizens of the region, indicates that there is a need for greater diplomatic efforts to bring it to an end. (Jamaica Gleaner)
A TWO-DAY EVENT entitled Haiti In Word And Image will reflect on Haiti’s past and seek to imagine what new meanings might emerge from the disaster, on Friday and Saturday at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.
On Friday, the film The Agronomist directed by Jonathan Demme will be screened at the Pedagogical Centre at 7:30 p.m., followed on Saturday at 10 a.m. with a colloquium of discussion, film, readings and art about and from Haiti.
Friday’s documentary will tell the story of one individual’s efforts to change the cycle of poverty and repression in Haiti. Afterwards, the audience will be able to attend the opening of a specially curated exhibition of Haitian art at the Gallery of the Errol Barrow Centre of Creative Imagination.
Saturday’s event will open with a contextual introduction by researcher Dr Yanique Hume followed by two films about key moments in Haiti’s recent past: Krik? Krak!: Tales Of A Nightmare, and Aristide and the Endless Revolution. These will be followed by a discussion. (Nation News)
Professor Rex Nettleford, the Jamaican academic and Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies, died in Washington D.C. on Tuesday February 2. (file photo)
by TONY BEST
Professor Rex Nettleford, Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies has died in Washington.
Professor Nettleford, considered one of the Caribbean’s leading scholars, who served for a decade as the UWI’s Vice-Chancellor was pronounced dead last night around 8.30 p.m.
The cause of death was complications from a massive heart attack which he suffered a week ago in Washington. He had been in a coma ever since he was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed in a hotel room in the U.S. capital.
Professor Nettleford, a cultural icon in the Caribbean and the author of several books, academic papers and lectures, is to be buried in his native Jamaica.
He founded and also choreographed and danced with the internationally famous Jamaica National Theater Dance Company which toured Europe, North America and the Caribbean for many years.
DENIS KELLMAN’S COLUMN- THE DEBATE
MARCH 21, 2007
This week, we started the Budget after completing the Statement of Financial Position. The first head discussed was that of Housing and Lands, which was led by Minister Farley. The Government started by giving the impression that the previous DLP Government did nothing in housing.
What the Minister did not realize was that the DLP Government approached housing in a more independent manner. The BLP Government Minister used rental units and completed solutions as a gauge to measure progress in housing. The DLP’s approach allowed the land owner to have choice and continued that social commitment to the community. Under the DLP Housing Policy, artisans are allowed to have an opportunity to share in the resources of the country, whereas under the BLP administration, a too few is allowed to benefit at the expense of the majority. What must be pointed out is that when all the housing solutions are offered to this group to be constructed, it drives the costs up, and impacts negatively on.
No one in Barbados would believe that when the DLP Government left office, that they left over 10 locations where lots could be accessed. The MP for St. Philip South could be heard complaining about the price of lots at Rices, nothing to do with the ones at Hope Road, Colleton, Husbands in different locations, Cave Hill, locations in Christ Church and St. Philip.
The member spoke about Cost Recovery, a policy requested by the IMF, but rejected by the Board. The reason why the Board rejected the suggestion by the IMF was that on taking up duties, we found that the land sold by NHC was treated as if it had no cost associated with it and was sold to Private Developers who used the land to make super profits that should have been made by the Authority.
The Board members formulated a policy that saw NHC developing its own land and zoning its land for those who could afford to pay and those who are unable to pay. This saw land at Husbands that was previously sold to persons of means being continued by NHC in order to subsidize the lots for the poor. This DLP policy was in conformity and could be easily argued using the consistency principles as demonstrated when we introduced Free Secondary Education and reforms in the taxation systems.
All persons representing the DLP have always been able to implement policies that looked after the interest of all. This is something that cannot be easily matched by the BLP who tend to have policies for short term benefits.
I wrote previously that the present policy of Government has seen my constituents shifting their priorities in order to save jobs. This has been demonstrated by the number of vehicles now traversing the roads of Barbados with L registration. In 1995, registrations were at L1234, now at 2007, it has risen to L2725 and growing. What it has taken us over 300 years to achieve, we have been able to do in the year 2005.
In comparison, we have been able to have 21 lots available to us in that same period. This is nothing to do with the MP, because he has done two site visits and identified land all over the constituency which can easily be used without interfering with agricultural production of the country.
In 1975, a DLP Administration identified Nesfield as an area for housing development. Thirty-two years later, we are now hearing of the continuation of this project. Nesfield has always been seen as an area of special interest and that was why industry was brought to it by the DLP Government to compliment the Sugar Factory in the area.
A reading of my manifesto for St. Lucy’s last election would have seen the continuation of this great idea of completing Nesfield as a town. Commercial activities at Nesfield were first started by my relatives and must be continued. As I said before, the next city must be found in the north and the development will take us back to what the historians call our roots in Nigeria. Abuja will be used to demonstrate how development of another city can cause a country to be developed.
It should be clear to one and all that this country Barbados should have allowed itself to gain from World Cup in terms of real development instead of limited development by reconstructing Kensington. Had we built the Multi-purpose Complex in the North, we would not now be speaking about the need for a mini stadium.
This Government must be prepared to be proactive and not reactive by listening to certain persons who have used their positions to stifle popular opinion. I know the three coordinates and I will expose them.
People in Barbados do not know that both Lucifer and Judas plotted against Christ and they joined with the enemy to crucify him because of jealousy.
The housing problem in Barbados has been exacerbated by Government’s desire to satisfy a political requirement without taking into consideration the social fallout that could occur. This point is now being reflected in the health care, education and the housing sector moreso. This Government continues to budget using a figure of $270 000 instead of a figure of over $310 000. If this Government wants to use the Accrual System it must use it fully. If we fail to budget, correctly we will have serious social problems in this country.
We are now budgeting without including our Caribbean brothers and sisters. Included in our population statistics we must account for 35 000 brothers and sisters from Guyana who the Right Excellent Errol Barrow taught us about. He demonstrated this by allowing our fishermen to traverse their fishing waters and by engaging in talks about the construction of a Cement Plant.
I have always questioned the unemployment statistics not bases on the number of persons employed, but by the number of persons employable. The unemployment statistics will always decline if we do not appreciate that we are capturing employed people who are not employable based on Statistical Department’s formula. This procedure, if continued, will put the social services in chaos because of under budgeting.
It has been argued that one should not look back, but this has been rebuked this week during the Housing debate that history is good in order to articulate policies. The DLP has a winnable philosophy and if followed, it can easily be defended.
A country that uses education to correct unemployment problems is staring serious social problems in its face. Ten years ago, I said that land would create social problems in this country and Government did nothing about it. Now we are blaming those persons who left the country to help develop it. These persons had the foresight to see the land problem and created an idea for Government by creating their own bank. Government is now blaming small banks for the problem, when they have a big one.
It is Government’s duty to house the masses not developers. It is for the developers to indirectly help house them by providing resources for Government to solve the problem.
Next week, I will deal with the Green Economy at Greenland and Mangrove.
Peace, love, unity, humility, commonsense, foresight, Kellmanomics, wisdom and understanding.
