Moontown

The National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ) recently attained official authorisation to provide internationally recognised certification for management systems in and outside of Jamaica.

Manager of the Certification Unit at the NCBJ, Sheryl Mullings, speaking at press briefing held at the New Kingston office of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, said that the development represents a breakthrough for Jamaica and Jamaican entities in need of management systems certification.

She informed that the certification provided by the local body is comparable with all leading accreditation bodies throughout the world. “The NCBJ is now internationally recognised to certify at ISO 9001. In other words if we issue a certificate for your 9001 management system, all countries all over the world, whether you are in Trinidad, Kazakhstan, Australia or England, will recognise this certificate,” she said.

The NCBJ is an independent unit of the Bureau of Standards Jamaica, with the certification of management systems as its core function and is accredited by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB).

Encouraging companies make use of the services, Miss Mullings said that ISO 9001 certification would greatly suit those companies that are interested in streamlining their operations and want to improve on their efficiencies and bottom line.

She said that the rates are competitive. “The lowest rate that is out there is US$1200 per audit day and we’re offering US$850 per audit day, so Jamaica’s offer is 33 per cent less for certification,” she informed.

She pointed out further that when overseas registrars are contracted to do certification in Jamaica there is the added cost of accommodation, air fare, per diem and travel time. “So the price for certification is much less in Jamaica and during this time of recession, I’m sure that most companies will want cold hard cash in their hands. Jamaica is now a cheaper and more affordable alternative for persons, who want to certify their management systems,” she pointed out.

Industry Minister, Karl Samuda, in commending the NCBJ, said the international recognition fits in perfectly with the country’s national export strategy and lays the foundation for real development.

He argued that improving competitiveness is one of the main ways in which the country will work its way out of its financial difficulties. “We have to establish standards by which we operate our businesses and the products that we manufacture and export must meet international quality standards,” he pointed out.

He said that the process not only involves certifying the integrity of the end product, but also the system and management structure that makes it possible for that product to enjoy the level of credibility and acceptance internationally.

Samuda further remarked that as the first Caribbean country to acquire ISO 9001 certification, Jamaica has already started to forge new regional partnerships. “As a result, Trinidad and Tobago has already benchmarked the NCBJ processes and has proposed a (Memorandum of Understanding) MOU between both countries’ Bureau of Standards,” he stated.(Caribnet)

WASHINGTON. USA (Reuters) — President Barack Obama jumped in to help Haiti after its disastrous earthquake, but with experts saying it will take 10 years and billions of dollars to fix the shattered country, the United States faces another long-term commitment in a foreign country.

Haiti was the Western Hemisphere’s poorest state even before last month’s quake, with 80 percent of its people surviving on under $2 per day and a long history of instability and corruption.

The January 12 disaster killed more than 200,000 of Haiti’s 9 million people, injured another 300,000, destroyed much of its capital and institutions, and left 1 million homeless.

Obama sent millions of dollars in aid and a massive influx of resources, including 13,000 US military personnel. He also boosted an appeal for Americans to donate for Haiti, which has yielded hundreds of millions of dollars, by naming two former presidents, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton, to lead the drive and keep it above party politics.

“The president handled this quite well,” said Robert Pastor, who was former President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser for Latin America and an adviser on Haiti for the Clinton administration.

“He reacted faster than everyone else. It wasn’t just a political gesture. It was sincere and he got the entire government to move as quickly as it could.”

But a month later, the recovery is still largely in emergency response mode.

With the rainy season about to start, planning for shelters and new homes is not far along. There are now nearly 500 spontaneous tent encampments around the capital Port-au-Prince where most live under plastic tarps or cloth bedsheets.

“We are still in a very difficult situation,” Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told Reuters in an interview this week. “We still don’t have a clear vision of certain problems — how we are going to relocate all those people.”

Disaster experts predict it will take 10 years to get Haiti onto a stable footing, with housing, an effective government, security, poverty reduction and development expanded to areas outside of Port-au-Prince.
“What you are shooting for is something that Haiti has never really had before,” said Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The problem is complicated by Haiti’s history of corruption - $5 billion in aid was pumped into the country, which has an annual GDP of just $7 billion, in the past 20 years. But there has been little to show for it, and many Haitians doubt things will be different now.

“There are two questions. One is the money that’s needed, and the other is their ability to absorb it,” said Elizabeth Ferris, an international development scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

That corruption could rebound against Obama as the aid effort plays out. Incidents like the arrest of 10 US missionaries accused of kidnapping children from Haiti, which has distracted and embarrassed US aid workers and angered Haitians, could also hurt the administration.

A Haitian judicial source said on Wednesday the detained Americans would be freed by a judge.

“The risks are going to come in strange ways,” Pastor said, with incidents like the missionaries’ arrest, government corruption or incompetence or even a coup or other political instability.

“When any of these happen, I think this will rebound negatively on the administration,” he said. “Not all of the efforts are going to succeed.”

Ferris was skeptical that the international community would make the kind of commitment needed. “I’m quite pessimistic. I think it will be hard to sustain the momentum. The past history isn’t very good,” she said.

“There’s a 20 percent chance that there’s a long-term financial commitment and that Haiti would end up better. All the odds are stacked against it,” she said.

Skeptics note that international lenders have yet to forgive Haiti’s $900 million debt, despite the rhetoric about helping the stricken country.

But US and international authorities insist they are committed for the long haul.

Experts said Haiti has some advantages. It is relatively small, had six years of political stability before the earthquake, and does not suffer from the ethnic and religious strife crippling other developing states.

And most importantly, it is close to the United States.

“This is the Americas. This is our hemisphere,” Deshazo said. “It doesn’t behoove our hemisphere to have a country that is in such a difficult situation.” (Caribnet)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) — A Haitian judge said on Thursday he had ruled in favor of the release of 10 US missionaries accused of kidnapping 33 children and trying to take them out of the earthquake-stricken country.

“I just signed the request for the release of the 10 Americans submitted by the lawyers and I have sent it to the prosecutor’s office,” Judge Bernard Sainvil said.

Some of the ten Christian missionaries (C) from the US that were detained as they attempted to cross into the Dominican Republic with a busload of 33 children aged from two months to 12 years. AFP PHOTO

He earlier told Reuters that once the prosecutor had given his opinion, he could formally issue a release order for the Americans, who have been jailed since they were stopped at Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic on January 29.

Once the release order was issued, “they can go directly to the airport if they want and leave, but they should provide a guarantee of representation if further questions need to be asked,” Sainvil said.

Under Haitian law, the prosecutor can formally comment on the judge’s decision but he cannot overrule it.

A judicial source told Reuters on Wednesday that Sainvil had decided to free the US missionaries because there had been no evidence demonstrating “criminal intentions” on their part to support charges of child kidnap and criminal association leveled against them.

The missionaries, most of whom belong to an Idaho-based Baptist church, were arrested trying to take the children across the border to the Dominican Republic 17 days after a magnitude 7 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

The five men and five women have denied any intentional wrongdoing and said they were only trying to help orphans left destitute by the quake, which shattered the Haitian capital and left more than 1 million homeless. But evidence showed that most of the children still had living parents.

During hearings in the case, Sainvil heard from 10 parents of children handed over to the Americans. They said they had turned them over because they had no food or water to give them, and believed they would have a better life with the missionaries elsewhere.

These parents had pleaded for the Americans’ release.

The case has been a distraction to the Haitian government as it tries to cope with the aftermath of the earthquake and was diplomatically sensitive for the United States as it heads a massive international effort to feed and shelter Haitian quake survivors.

The US government had said it was providing the Americans with consular access and monitoring their case, but made clear it did not want to interfere.

Haiti’s beleaguered government had warned that traffickers could try to take advantage of the chaos that followed the quake by taking away vulnerable children, and it tightened adoption procedures. (Caribnet)

The repatriation signalled US determination to turn back Haitian boat people even though it is letting Haitians already illegally in the United States stay for the time being because of the January 12 quake.

An overloaded Haitian migrant vessel (R) being apprehended by the US Coast Guard (L). AFP FILE PHOTO

The Coast Guard said there were no indications that more Haitians than usual were leaving the country by sea, but said it was on the lookout for that possibility and had stepped up patrols in the Caribbean.

“Voyages in unseaworthy, grossly overloaded vessels are inherently dangerous and pose a serious threat to the safety of migrants from the moment they set sail until the moment they are safely aboard our cutters,” it said.

The Haitians were picked up Saturday when their overloaded 30-foot sailboat was spotted by the Royal Bahamian Defense Force 13 miles west of Great Exuma Island, Bahamas.

“Bahamian officials then contacted the Department of State to request assistance in repatriation efforts,” the Coast Guard said.

The State Department coordinated the repatriation authorizing a Coast Guard cutter to pick up the migrants and take them to Cap Haitien.

In the 2010 fiscal year which started on October 1, the Coast Guard has interdicted 122 Haitian nationals. In the 2009 fiscal year, the Coast Guard picked up 1,782 Haitian nationals trying to reach the United States by sea.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) – The first heavy rains since a devastating earthquake four weeks ago brought new misery to Haitians Thursday with hundreds of thousands of people still living in flimsy homemade shelters.

The downpour a day ahead of the one-month anniversary of the quake served as a warning of the coming rainy season and the need to provide adequate shelter for an estimated 1.2 million still sleeping in the streets.

The makeshift camp in Champ de Mars in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AFP PHOTO

The rain started before dawn in a city jammed with the encampments of homeless people, many left with only the barest coverings against the elements since the January 12 quake that killed 217,000.

At the huge camp in the Champ de Mars square in the city center, where shelters have been thrown up and conditions are fast becoming a health concern, people spoke of scrambling for cover.

“I tried to take cover in a corner, under a tarpaulin,” said Demosthene Wisler, 23. “Everything’s wet. The clothes are wet. There’s no roof.”

He said he joined an early morning protest to demand tents, adding Haitian officials had yet to offer any.

Haitian authorities have warned the rainy season is now the greatest looming threat facing the impoverished Caribbean country in the wake of the 7.0-magnitude quake.

An estimated 50,000 families, or about 272,000 people, have received emergency materials to build their own shelters, the UN office that coordinates humanitarian affairs said.

Ex-US president Bill Clinton, the United Nations special envoy for Haiti, said during a visit — more than three weeks after the quake — that thousands more tents were on the way. (Caribnet)

Kristy Ramnarine kramnarine@trinidadexpress.com

FULLY SECURED: Beyonce

Approximately 500 security officials will be guarding Beyonce and patrons on concert night.

The local event will be the superstar’s last live performance for 2010 according to the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), promoters of the event.

Operations Manager at LAY Management, Geoffrey Lake, said discussions to ensure a safe and successful event have been ongoing between the company and Assistant Superintendent Don Lezama of the Belmont Police Station.

Speaking to the Express at the venue yesterday, Lake said approximately 300 police officers and 200 private security personnel will be working to ensure safety inside and outside the venue of the ’I AM Beyonce’ concert.

LAY Management, owned by cricket icon Brian Lara and football superstar Dwight Yorke, was hired by TSTT to manage the coordination and logistics associated with the event infrastructure such as no parking restrictions around the Queen’s Park Savannah from 7 a.m. on concert day and a wrecker service.

Event Planner, Sean Burkett, who is in charge of managing the construction of the stage explained that two stages are being constructed for the show.

’The construction of Stage A and Stage B is in keeping with their entire concept that they’ve used in at least five continents and they are bringing a very massive show to Trinidad and Tobago,’ he said.

’The major part of the

production will be on stage A but she wants to come forward and feel the crowd and interact with the people and that’s where stage B is going to be. So it brings her a lot closer to the public and audience in terms of presentation.’

He added that Beyonce’s technical team will be using an LCD Video wall, which is approximately 56 feet by 27 feet.

’There is no stage right now that accommodates that type of structure and to have those things accommodated we had to set of a lot of technical weights, counter weights, one tonne, 10 tonne,’ he said.

And the executive head of mobile and legal services at TSTT, Lisa Agard, has denied reports that Beyonce was not pleased with the set up.

She added: ’The only challenge that we encountered as Sean was explaining was the fact that the dimension she required of the stage was larger than anything we had in the Caribbean and so we had to acquire some additional extension to the roof of the stage…… We’ve met that, they’ve singed off on the design of that and in fact one of her people is here currently supervising the stage.’

Agard said the stage is the largest to be built in the Caribbean. It is 64 feet wide, 56 feet deep and 60 feet high.

As a result of the size, Canadian company Unisson was hired as consultants to local

contractors Advance Scaffolding Company Limited for the infrastructure of the stage. (Trinidad Express)

Some guests at Ambassador Hotel in Long Circular, St James, were yesterday forced to wash with water from the hotel’s pool, while the Water and Sewerage and Authority (WASA) worked outside to bring the building’s taps to life.

A hotel representative last evening told the Express that water issues have plagued the property almost since its construction. The situation is said to have degenerated over time, to a point where there was seldom water in the pipes.

Under normal circumstances, the hotel is able to provide water for guests with truckborne water. However, with the heightened attendance of the Carnival season and the heightened water woes due to a harsh dry season, the truckborne supply fell short-leaving some irate guests to resort to bathing either by carrying buckets of pool water into the pool showering area or by going for a swim.

’This hotel has been fighting for years to get a proper water supply. We had gone through Government ministers and top executives in WASA, with nothing happening,’ the representative said.

Around 11 a.m. yesterday, a WASA team switched the hotel’s connection line to one with higher pressure, as the previous connection had failed to make it up the incline on which the hotel is built.

’We are happy that WASA has finally dealt with the problem. We have been told that once all the relevant valves have been tweaked, we will see water in the pipes tonight (last night),’ the hotel representative said. (Trinidad Express)

Camille Bethel cbethel@trinidadexpress.com

Faced with a critical water shortage, many food outlets in San Fernando may have to close their doors this Carnival weekend, resulting in big losses.

Shasseek Karamath, owner of Karamath’s Roti Shop, said his establishment, located along Coffee Street, had been without pipe-borne water for almost two weeks. He blamed the shortage on a clogged Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) pipeline.

’WASA came and checked the line but they did not fix it, so I have had no water. I applied for a truck supply three days now and up to now, nothing,’ he said.

Karamath said the last time he received truck-borne water was last week Friday.

’A truck is just 1,600 gallons, and is a food place with 13 employees. If I don’t get water today, I won’t be able to open tomorrow (today), and this is the week leading up to Carnival when people want their roti because we don’t open on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. We will lose real money,’ Karamath said.

An employee at Grill House along Coffee Street said they, too, were affected by the water situation.

’If we don’t get water on the line soon, we’ll have to stay closed for the Carnival weekend because the water we have in the tank will not last that long,’ she said.

Another business owner said: ’Several businesses have a problem with the price of pipe-borne water. As of Monday, all metered customers are now getting truck-borne water. Before, if we did not have water then we remained without, but WASA is charging us $175 for every 400 gallons. That is $525 for a truck of water from WASA when the illegal water truckers usually charge $300. If WASA want to stop the illegal sale of water, why they charging so much?’

He said standard rate customers were being charged $250 for truck-borne water.

’When I went to WASA recently to beg for water, someone who works there told me that the private contractors only pay $20 for 1,200 gallons, so I don’t see why they are charging us so much,’ he said.(Trinidad Express)

Anna Ramdass aramdass@trinidadexpress.com

A woman employed with the private contractor who was fired for disobeying orders to conserve water from Local Government Minister Hazel Manning has called on Prime Minister Patrick Manning to have mercy and conduct a proper investigation as she and eight others are now on the breadline.

On Tuesday, it was exclusively reported by the Express that sprinklers were being used to water the lawn at the prime minister’s residence in St Ann’s, at a time when there is a water shortage in the country.

A day later, Manning, in a statement to the Parliament, said the contractor- Terra Forma Design and Construction Ltd-had disobeyed orders from his wife to conserve water and was fired. He added that the National Maintenance Training and Security Company Ltd (MTS) would now provide the services of the previous contractor.

Yesterday, an employee of the private contractor, who asked to remain anonymous, visited the Express in the hope of issuing a plea to Manning to help her and the others who were terminated.

With a sad and worried expression, the woman said last Saturday, Mrs Manning told one of the employees to shut off the water. She said the orders were followed. However, on Monday, she said the supervisor, who was absent from work on Saturday, continued watering the lawn as he was unaware of the order.

The woman, who had been employed to look after the gardens of the residence for the past two years, said Manning’s executive house manager, Armando D’ Souza, was not relaying the facts of what transpired, and there was a major breakdown in communication.

The mother of six said it was unfair that she and other employees were terminated. She said her former colleagues are also now placed in a dire situation and mandated her to speak to the press.

’I would like Mr Manning to investigate what really happen. This is unfair. Not all of we should have been fired. We work hard to get that place looking how it is now; it is really unfair that some other people have to come in now,’ the woman lamented.

’This is real hard for me. My husband have a lot of bills, and I have to take care of my children and buy groceries. One of the other women, she have five children; it real hard on all of we,’ she said.

Telephoned last evening for comment, D’Souza said he should be contacted during working hours today. (Trinidad Express)