Moontown

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Heavy torrential rain forced the abandonment of the penultimate preliminary match in the Caribbean Twenty20 Cham-pionship between Barbados and Guyana yesterday without a ball being bowled.

Bleak weather descended on the Trinidad & Tobago capital around noon, and when it eased almost three hours later, the Queen’s Park Oval resembled a lake, rather than a premier sports facility.

Teams tied

Both teams arrived at the ground about an hour before the scheduled start, but West Indies Cricket Board officials informed them half-hour later about the cancellation of the match, and meant that the two sides would earn an equal share of four points.

It left them both tied with 10 in total, following victories in their other two preliminary matches against Combined Campuses & Colleges and Windward Islands.

The Barbadians, however, finished in the top spot of Group B with a superior net run rate of +0.975 ahead of the Guyanese (+0.361), under the tiebreaker rule.

The heavy rains left the streets around the Caribbean’s biggest international ground flooded, bringing traffic to a crawl, and even stalling a few vehicles.The abandonment sets up two intriguing semi-finals scheduled for today at the same venue, where Guyana will face hosts Trinidad & Tobago from 4 p.m. before Barbados meet Jamaica in the other semi-final four hours later.

The grand final between the two semi-final winners is tomorrow from 8 p.m., following the consolation final (third-place play-off) four hours earlier between the two semi-final losers.

But the prospects of the semi-finals and the finals being contested also look depressing, unless there is a dramatic change in the weather.

If the semi-finals are not contested, the four teams will advance to the respective finals based on net run rate, meaning T&T (+1.869) and arch-rivals Barbados will play in the final, and the consolation final will bring together Guyana and Jamaica (+0.318).

The matches will be replayed (restarted) on Sunday should there be no play in the respective finals tomorrow. (Jamaica Gleaner)

The Jamaican economy created J$121 billion of value in the January to March period, but the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) is reporting that tourism and transport were stars among the sectors that shed value as a group.

The economy contracted in real terms by one per cent relative to the March 2009 quarter, and by 0.5 per cent since December.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica previously estimated the Q1 contraction at a more pessimistic 1.4 per cent, but Statin is the final arbiter of GDP performance.

Services as a group was relatively unchanged, despite a seven per cent advance by hotels and restaurants, but the output from the goods-producing segment shrunk by four per cent.

Jamaica’s real gross domestic product peaked at J$510.7 billion in 2007 but has been falling since, hitting J$490.7 billion last year. Jamaica expects to exit the recession later this year, with projected growth of half-a-point.

Within the past decade, Jamaica’s best quarterly GDP outcome of J$128.8 billion was recorded in June 2007; while the best first quarter with output valued at J$127.6 billion was in March 2007. (Jamaica Gleaner)

business@gleanerjm.com

The savings were relatively small at less than five per cent, but in the first calendar quarter Jamaica’s reduced demand for imports cut its spending bill on foreign goods by US$59.5 million, Statin has reported.

Jamaica bought fewer chemicals and capital equipment and a lot less food from overseas in the March quarter, but some of those savings were offset by a bigger energy bill that rose 29 per cent relative to the March 2009 quarter.

The current account as reported on by the Bank of Jamaica emerged from a deficit in February to post a surplus of US$37 million, on the back of recovered remittances that rose above US$155 million that month, as well as a positive US$98 million balance in service trade.

Under Statin’s quarterly estimate of total imports, excluding free zone activity, dropped 4.86 per cent to US$1.166 billion from US$1.225 billion in the three-month period. When free zone activity, estimated at US$42 million, is added, the import bill rises to US$1.177 billion.

Consumer goods imports, including motor vehicles, fell by 7.8 per cent, but still accounted for just above a third of all imports.

Auto dealers brought in US$24.9 million worth of vehicles, a one-sixth decline from the 2009 quarter’s US$29.7 million - evidence that the auto market is still struggling to regain business under a recession that has entered its third year.

Riding the market

Companies like Issa Transport Group have retreated, but others such as ATL Automotives and Stewart’s Auto Sales have been expanding to ride the market when economic circumstances change.

The food bill, which amounted to one-sixth of total spend in the quarter, cost US$181.5 million - a saving of US$44 million compared to the 2009 period as the agriculture ministry enforced new policy on food security, underpinned by a ‘eat what you grow’ strategy.

Concomitantly, food exports were down in the quarter to US$7 million, from US$39 million in Q1 2009.

Agriculture Minister Christopher Tufton aims, eventually, to cut 80 per cent off the food import bill which has an annual US$800-million price tag.

Jamaica is yet to see similar movements on energy security.

Oil, at US$393 million, was not only up nominally by US$88 million in the quarter, but proportionately the bill rose from 25 per cent of total imports in the 2009 period to 34 per cent - marked by a return to volatility in world prices that, in the past few weeks, have swung between US$71 and US$78 per barrel.

Jamaica’s exports, after a promising two years of solid growth, slipped 50 per cent from US$2.6 billion in calendar 2008 to US$1.3 billion in 2009.

Imports triple exports

This year’s first quarter began with a modest 5.9 per cent increase in exports to US$352 million, but not enough to set the stage for a recovery to the 2008 high.

Additionally, the spend on foreign-made goods continues to outpace the trade done by Jamaican companies overseas by a factor of more than three to one.

The trade gap for the quarter amounted to US$813.2 million.

The leading exports were bauxite and alumina, J$10 billion; mineral fuels, J$8 billion; and ethanol, rum and other alcoholic beverages, and sugar which were more than J$2 billion each.

More than half of first-quarter exports, 56.4 per cent, landed in the United States, Jamaica’s main trading partner; while just under 39 per cent of all imports originated from there. Imports from CARICOM were one-third the US’ at 13.8 per cent of the three-month period a three-point decline year on year.

Total exports to the region for the January to March 2010 period was down by 9.6 per cent or US$1.5 million to US$13.8 million.

Jamaica ran a trade deficit of US$147.6 million with its CARICOM partners in the March quarter, an improvement of 2.7 per cent on the US$151.7-million goods gap in the 2009 period. (Jamaica Gleaner)

lavern.clarke@gleanerjm.com

Golding

Bunting

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CENTRAL MANCHESTER Member of Parliament Peter Bunting has accused the Government of engaging in a shady contracting system in breach of the procurement procedures.

Bunting, who accused the Government of treating the Parliament as a rubber stamp, said there appeared to be a plan to hide information from the public.

“We have seen a pattern of transactions by this government in negotiating major contracts where hugely important elements of these contracts are hidden from the public view … hidden even from the contractor general, hidden from the auditor general, where no one can determine at the end at the day if there was a fair deal, if the taxpayers get value for money,” Bunting said.

He pointed to the sale of Jamaica’s shares in aluminium plant Jamalco, the Chinese road-fund deal and the Falmouth cruise pier project as examples of contracts where full disclosure has not been made to the public.

Procedures circumvented

“There are elements of these transactions which are opaque. Nobody can see through and understand the role that these entities play,” Bunting said.

With reference to the Falmouth cruise pier, Bunting noted that an international tender was abandoned and a new method used to “procure a contractor that circumvented all of our procurement procedure and scrutiny by the contractor general and auditor general”.

“We see the same pattern of transacting with the Chinese road programme where there is no guarantee of value for money,” Bunting charged.

However, Prime Minister Bruce Golding has denied that Government has been far from transparent in its contracting. He said the contracts are entered into in good faith and that Government found those cited by Bunting to be advantageous.

“I want somebody to tell me that we violated some procurement arrangement because we took a proposal that was completed after the tender process has been completed and the proposal was more attractive than the two (that were being considered),” Golding said.

Royal Caribbean is a cruise line operator responsible for constructing the pier, and Golding said it was good business sense to contract that company as it was doing the job cheaper and also had an interest in the pier. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Professor Gordon Shirley, principal of the Mona campus

Struggling to adjust to a $1-billion cut in its subvention from the Jamaican Government, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, is to introduce several belt-tightening measures in a bid to survive.

Among the big reforms is putting pressure on permanent lecturers who have been getting full pay for half their scheduled classroom time, resulting in a ballooning wage bill for temps.

The sweeping changes could include cuts in the number of part-time academic staff, a reduction in the number of administrative staff and changes in areas such as the bursary and the human resources departments.

Though no full-timers will be cast aside, a yet-to-be-determined number of part-time lecturers and non-academic staff may lose their jobs in a shake-up to take place in the short term - by September; the medium term - by December; and the long term - by the start of the 2011-2012 school year.

But in a bid to calm fears, Professor Gordon Shirley, principal of the Mona campus, told The Gleaner last night that job cuts were not the first order of business although all cards are on the table.

“I have not indicated that there are to be any staff reductions. What I outlined are some efficiency measures.

“I also indicated that it may lead there but that’s not where we are starting. We have to ensure that we look under every stone to make sure that there is nothing left,” the professor said.

Time for optimal use

Shirley indicated that the university was not making the best use of its human resources - representing more than a two-thirds of its expenditure for 2008-09, according to its most recent bookkeeping.

Speaking to a group of anxious employees yesterday afternoon, Shirley pointed out that full-time academic staff should have 10 contact hours with students each week but, in many cases, full-time lecturers were doing much less.

He noted that in some cases, full-time members of the academic staff were collecting salaries while doing as little as five contact hours each week.

Under the planned restructuring, all full-time staff will be kept on, but they will be required to do the 10 contact hours, allowing for reduced wage allocations to part-timers.

Heads of department have been instructed to allocate more teaching hours to full-time staff. This is expected to result in savings of $420 million annually.

Shirley noted that this would mean that some lecturers would work outside their comfort hours of between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m, which “is the time that everybody seems to want to teach”.

The Mona campus is expected to save a further $400 million annually by restructuring its administrative and non-academic staff.

Some areas will see staff cuts while others will be automated and streamlined.

The university is also to adjust its property management.

Among a range of concerns, several persons are living on UWI properties without paying.

Shirley also told the staff that issues such as the purchasing of supplies will be streamlined in a desperate effort to save money.

According to the principal, the last financial report for the university, 2008-2009, showed total income of $9.8 billion. Of that amount, $7.2 billion represented subvention from the Jamaican and other regional governments and tuition fees.

The UWI’s expenditure for the 2008-9 school year was $9.6 billion, with 71 per cent of that amount spent on personnel.

“The extent of the cut that we are faced with is unprecedented in the institution’s history and we have to see how we can cope with it because we understand the nature of the challenges that the Government is faced with,” Shirley said. (Jamaica Gleaner)

DESPITE THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC meltdown, One Caribbean Media (OCM) group of companies has shown positive results for the first half of the year.

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DESPITE THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC meltdown, One Caribbean Media (OCM) group of companies has shown positive results for the first half of the year.

Profit earned before tax of BDS$13.6 million was an increase by 24 per cent over the $11 million figure recorded for the same period last year. Revenue of $74 million represented a 10 per cent increase, compared to the first half of 2009.

In the second quarter the group benefited from enhanced revenues in the broadcast media in Trinidad and Tobago occasioned by the unexpected general election.

Profit attributable to shareholders of $9.6 million was 18 per cent higher than last year’s $8.2 million.

OCM said it would continue to place greater focus on innovative and strategic initiatives aimed at cost containment and general improvement of operational efficiency.

The group said directors had agreed to an interim dividend of 20 cents which would be made on September 30. (Nation News)

Barbadians are being warned to be extremely careful with their personal effects as the Crop-Over season climaxes this weekend.

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Police public relations officer (PRO) Inspector David Welch.()

By: Carol-Ann Tudor

Barbadians are being warned to be extremely careful with their personal effects as the Crop-Over season climaxes this weekend.

Police public relations officer (PRO) Inspector David Welch said that recently there had been a rise in thefts of jewellery, cellphones and money, some of which had occurred in Bridgetown where large crowds gathered.

Welch said the thefts of items like these that were hard to identify had started earlier this year, and noted the police were once again urging people to pay more attention to their surroundings.

“We have realised that there are some robberies occurring where the perpetrators are targeting jewellery, cellphones and money – those sorts of items that can’t be readily identified. Since we noticed the trend we have been asking people to safeguard themselves in terms of wearing less jewellery, or making sure their cellphones are used carefully, and asking them not to display large sums of cash,” he stated.

Welch said, however, people were still being careless and walking in areas at night that would put them at risk.

The PRO also said the Force believed some of the thefts were being fuelled by the Cash for Gold promotion that is being advertised overseas and here.

“We also have some information that persons are doing transactions and offering items like clothes for gold transactions, so instead of taking money they are taking jewellery, which is a very dangerous thing,” he noted.

Welch said if a market like that opened up, it would be a major cause for concern.

“We are asking all persons to safeguard themselves. And we are also asking you to call us anonymously if you know of anyone who is offering clothes in exchange for gold,” he stated.

Back in April, a 27-year-old Barbadian woman was held in connection with more than 100 pieces of gold, believed to be stolen jewellery. She allegedly attempted to sneak past Customs officials at the Grantley Adams International Airport. Investigations later revealed that she was on her way to New York, United States.

That was the first time anyone had been found trying to leave the island with such a huge quantity of jewellery.

She had in her possession nearly 60 chains of various sizes, dozens of rings, bracelets, anklets, cricket bangles, earrings and other broken pieces of jewellery.

Welch is also once again urging victims of jewellery theft or robbery to visit the District “A” Police Station where there is a display of a quantity of unclaimed jewellery. (Nation News)

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS are being put in place for residents of the extended Grand Kadooment parade route which include sections of Warrens and Green Hill, St Michael.

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Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin.()

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS are being put in place for residents of the extended Grand Kadooment parade route which include sections of Warrens and Green Hill, St Michael.

According to Comissioner of Police Darwin Dottin, the residents will be allowed to access their homes periodically during the parade of bands along the route.

“For example, persons who live in Friendship, Lewis Gap and Storey Gap . . . those areas will not be blocked and police officers will ensure that residents have local access during intervals following the movement of bands,” he said.

Meanwhile, public relations officer Inspector David Welch has issued an appeal to persons to follow the directions of police officers who will be posted along the route from Warrensto Spring Garden.

He also noted that despite the addition of the Warrens/Green Hill area to the parade route, motorists will be allowed to enter the various neighbourhoods at particular periods.

“Motorists will be allowed to exit from Friendship Terrace at its junction with Lodge Terrace and Green Hill Road, and proceed onto Lodge Terrace where they can rejoin the highway.

“The roads on the western side of Green Hill will not be closed, but police officers will be paying special attention to where the drivers will be going. Motorists will be allowed to cross the Green Hill Road during the intervals when the bands are travelling,” Welch said.

“We are appealing to motorists not to park their cars in these roads in surrounding neigbourhoods, which may cause hindrances to other motorists. Police officers on foot and mobile patrols will be patrolling these roads and communities,”he added. (Nation News)

No stimulus package. No budget.

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Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Senator Darcy Boyce explaining Government’s medium-term policies.()

By: Barry Alleyne

No stimulus package. No budget.

But according to Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Senator Darcy Boyce, everything is moving in the right direction when it comes to this country’s economy.

During a 61-minute nationally televised Press conference last night, Senator Boyce noted that though no Budget has yet been produced by Prime Minister David Thompson, and though no stimulus package has been brought to the people, what Government had done over the past seven months was actually tantamount to a stimulus.

“What we’ve done is put back money in the people’s pockets. We won’t go to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and unemployment is still lower than during the tenure of the last administration,” Boyce said.

The minister of state also promised that things would pick up between now and the first quarter of 2011, since a number of capital works projects were set to pick up steam.

Among those projects will be the Four Seasons Hotel, a long touted reverse osmosis plant, main replacements by the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), a leachate programme of the Sanitation Service Authority, and work to alleviate traffic woes around the Warrens, St Michael area.

More money

In addition, Boyce said even more money would be pumped into the country’s tourism industry to maintain arrivals from Britain, increase the improving Canadian market, and delve further across Europe.

“What has been done so far has been reasonable,” Boyce said. “There is a level of confidence that has been shown in the Barbados economy, as shown by the recent $200 million bond issued earlier this week. The decline in the economy definitely seems to be reversing now.”

Boyce said Government had been able to sell a number of shares of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited and would also continue to place shares of the Barbados National Bank on the market.

The Senator noted that Government had sincerely gone about to protect the vulnerable of Barbados by introducing free bus fares for school children, summer camps, a reverse tax credit for low income workers, and deferred National Insurance Scheme payments.

Boyce said Government would stick to its previously announced medium-term fiscal and development strategy.

“It would be impossible to attempt to reduce the fiscal deficit in a fell swoop. The United States hasn’t done it. The United Kingdom hasn’t done it. Why should we try to do it?” Boyce asked.

Economic growth

Regarding a Budget, Boyce said the Prime Minister would make that decision when he felt it necessary, but in the mean time, the processes put in place would allow the country to maintain the projection of 2-3 per cent growth heading into the next fiscal year.

Boyce added that it was the administration’s medium-term strategy which allowed investors to remain confident the Barbados economy, and keep it stable in the middle of the worst recession seen in recent times.

“Strategies such as this will certainly not have immediate effects. There is money that we have to spend,” said Boyce, pointing to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the West Indies and the Transport Board.

The minister of state noted that one area Government was intent on improving was its collection of payments to statutory corporations like the BWA and the National Housing Corporation. (Nation News)

It is set to be a packed Kensington Oval tonight for one of the most eagerly anticipated calypso battles of Barbados’ Crop-Over Festival.

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The ten contestants in tonight’s Banks/LIME Pic-O-De-Crop Finals.()

It is set to be a packed Kensington Oval tonight for one of the most eagerly anticipated calypso battles of Barbados’ Crop-Over Festival.

The Met Office predicts a few scattered showers, but the real storm will be on the inside where four previous monarchs, the Mighty Gabby, Adrian Clarke, John King and reigning king Red Plastic Bag, will be in a ding-dong battle to add yet another crown to their individual tally in the Pic-O-De-Crop competition.

Tassa, perennial finalist TC and newcomer Crystal will seek to achieve the glory that has evaded women since Queen Rita took the coveted crown in 1988.

Colin Spencer, a favourite with the pundits, will be hoping to turn previous near misses into what many believe is a long overdue title, while Party Monarch champion Blood should bring quality and experience to the stage that date back to his teenage days.

Sheldon Hope – for many a dark horse – is expected to draw from his excellent vocal ability to make an impression on the discerning judges.

In addition to the prestigious crown, the winner will receive a new, fully loaded 1600cc Ford Focus car, compliments of McEnearney Quality Inc.

According to some box offices, ticket sales for the contest have been going extremely well.

Supervisor at Nu Look Boutique, Meko Broomes, said she had to call for more batches of tickets because people were buying them out.

A&B Music Supplies reported a similar response.

“The sales are going well; a lot of people are asking for more. We do not have many left. We actually just called NCF [National Cultural Foundation] for more,” a sales clerk there indicated.

Another sales clerk at Jeans Inc., who also chose not to be identified, said sales were going really well and that tickets were almost sold out.

Corporate communications specialist of the NCF, Wayne Simmons, said judging from ticket sales, the public response had been “very good”.

The combatants will appear on stage in the following order: Spencer, followed by Blood, Hope, Tassa, Gabby, Clarke, King, Cummings-Beckles, Red Plastic Bag and TC.

The show starts at 8 p.m. and MC for the night will be Mac Fingall. (Nation News)