Moontown

Only emergency cases being dealt with

BY DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE Observer reporter husseywhyte@jamaicaobserver.com

MINISTER of Health Rudyard Spencer says the high levels of absenteeism by nurses has caused a severe strain on the nation’s health sector.

Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Health in downtown Kingston today, Spencer said several measures had been implemented to ease the crisis.

He said only emergency cases were being handled by medical staff while non-critcal patients have been discharged. Spencer said elective surgeries had been cancelled and senior nurses were manning critical areas of hospital operations.

“The Ministry of Health has an obligation to the people of Jamaica to provide health care that is accessible. We intend to do everything to ensure that we fulfill this obligation to the people of Jamaica, particularly those who area sick and poor and have no choice but to use public health facilities,” he said.

Spencer said the Victoria Jubilee, Port Maria, Port Antonio, St Ann’s Bay, Mandeville and Linstead hospitals were all affected by the nurses absence. (Jamaica Observer)

Insulza

Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter

SECRETARY GENERAL of the Organisation of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, is batting for full disclosure in relation to the funding of political parties in the Caribbean.

“For me, the best thing would be complete disclosure,” Insulza said in a Gleaner interview on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, Professor Errol Miller, stood by the commission’s decision to push for limited, instead of full disclosure, for donors in its draft legislation on the matter.

Miller had argued that the fear factor among donors was legitimate not only in Jamaica, but other countries as there were concerns about possible repercussions.

While insisting that the public should have access to information on the financing of political parties, the OAS head acknowledged that full disclosure could provide an avenue for political victimisation.

In this regard, he proposed that in the absence of disclosure to the public, an agency should be set up to receive reports on political donations.

According to Insulza, the agency created to vet political donations should comprise persons of impeccable integrity who would have the task of ensuring that the source of funding to parties was not tainted.

The OAS head suggested that there should be a limit to the amount of money spent on political campaigns. “The limit is important because, even from an ethical point of view, you can’t pay your way to Parliament by spending money,” he said.

The secretary general said there should be an upper and lower limit for political contributions but insisted on proper accountability.

Meanwhile, assistant secretary general of the OAS, Albert Ramdin, yesterday opened a regional consultation on political party strengthening and campaign financing in Kingston.

The two-day meeting will analyse model legislation on the registration and regulation of political parties and on campaign financing, formulated under the auspices of the OAS. (Jamaica Gleaner)

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent – Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has sent an open letter to Caribbean people urging them to support his administration against attempts by foreign groups and individuals to “undermine” his government and the “sovereignty” of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

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St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves()

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent – Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has sent an open letter to Caribbean people urging them to support his administration against attempts by foreign groups and individuals to “undermine” his government and the “sovereignty” of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The letter, sent to the editors of various Caribbean media organisations, claimed that over the past 11 months “foreign elements out of Britain and the United States of America have aligned themselves to the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) . . . in an insidious campaign of defamation . . .” .

Gonsalves, whose Unity Labour Party (ULP) is seeking a third consecutive term in government, said the latest campaign by two American consultants was to ask people both here and throughout the region to contribute $5 towards safeguarding democracy on the island.

“Their damning falsehood is that there is no democracy, no freedom and an absence of a guarantee of civil liberties in St Vincent and the Grenadines under the ULP government,” said the letter, which was also sent to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments.

Gonsalves said that the campaign indicated that he had aligned himself with Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez and as a result “should be removed from office”.

“They assert that they are doing what they could to give ‘the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines back the democracy they painfully miss and we feverishly cherish’.”

“What imperial, what colonial arrogance,” Gonsalves wrote, adding that it was his administration that had strengthened democracy and freedom in the country over the past few years.

“All this has been recognised by the governments of Britain and the USA, by the World Bank and by non-governmental bodies such as Freedom House Foundation and the Caribbean-Guyana Institute for Democracy, both based in the USA.”

Gonsalves said that what was occurring in his country should not be seen merely as an opposition party hiring foreign consultants to aid in conducting an election campaign.

“This has gone much further. It involves defaming the good name of St Vincent and the Grenadines, attempting to destabilise a democratically elected government and seeking to exercise foreign control of our country, its democratic institutions and people.”

Gonsalves said he was calling on his “brothers and sisters” in the Caribbean to show solidarity with his country “and to resist those from outside our region who defame us and who seek to control us”. (CMC) (Nation News)

Barbados’ tourism could get a significant boost if the island succeeds in having Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison placed on UNESCO’s prestigious World Heritage List.

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Chief Tourism Development Officer in the Ministry of Tourism, Nicole Alleyne, displaying a copy of the nomination document.(Picture by by Kenmore Bynoe)

Barbados’ tourism could get a significant boost if the island succeeds in having Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison placed on UNESCO’s prestigious World Heritage List.

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Community Development, Celia Toppin, told a stakeholders’ meeting yesterday that a final decision on the island’s bid for nomination to the list will be taken next year at the meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Bahrain.

Toppin headed speakers at the breakfast meeting arranged for the first group of stakeholders at Hilton Barbados. She said the required dossier on the local site, which stretches from the Garrison to Bridgetown, had been submitted to UNESCO, and the next step would be an evaluation by a technical team from the International Council on Monuments and Sites, which is expected to visit Barbados soon.

“One of the things that will be absolutely critical to the success of our nomination is the formulation and implementation of an efficient management plan for the site”, Toppin said.

Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins is chairman of the Barbados World Heritage Committee appointed by Cabinet to formulate and implement an efficient management plan for the site.

Chief Tourism Development Officer with the Ministry of Tourism Nicole Alleyne, one of yesterday’s speakers, explained how aspects of the Barbados Tourism Development Programme would impact on the heritage site nomination.

She outlined the relationship between that component of the island’s tourism strategy dealing with heritage tourism and any success in Barbados’ efforts to secure the nomination.

Alleyne said resource protection and sustainability, tourism linkages and revenue generation, public awareness and sustainable institutional structures, all sub-programmes of the Tourism Development Plan, were four themes embodied within what is being done, as Barbados looked towards the nomination of the Garrison and the Bridgetown area.

Mark Cummins outlined the planning regulations and legislation and the role of stakeholders on the management plan, while Director of the Barbados Museum Alissandra Cummins gave an overview of the nomination, detailing what was required. (GC) (Nation News)

BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIME is just around the corner, and with it will come the usual hustle and bustle on our roadways.

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While traffic was heavy at Orange Hill, it flowed continually through the roundabout.()

BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIME is just around the corner, and with it will come the usual hustle and bustle on our roadways.

And there are some roadworks that might add to the already hectic traffic situation.

The WEEKEND NATION team made recent visits to four different roadwork sites; and from the looks of it, people travelling to and from the north of the island will have the greater challenge.

That’s because work is still being carried out on the $3.2 million roundabout at the Orange Hill/Lancaster junction on the Ronald Mapp Highway and the Lime Grove project on Highway 1, both in the parish of St James.

Contractors such as C.O. Williams Construction and Black Bess Quarry are currently undertaking roadwork projects which, when completed, will increase traffic flow. However, it is unlikely those projects will be completed before school begins next week.

On Wednesday morning at the Orange Hill/Lancaster junction, workmen from C.O. Williams were preparing the road for asphalt and the placement of lighting, work which is scheduled to take about another two weeks.

There was a constant flow of traffic through the roundabout, which indicated how busy that stretch of road is.

Communications consultant Mike Williams said this work would not impede day flow “whatsoever” as it would mostly be done at night “in a manner to cause the least amount of inconvenience to traffic”.

As a result of this work, the Orange Hill exit will be closed at night for the remainder of the week.

In Holetown, where C.O. Williams Construction has been subcontracted to work at Lime Grove, the road has been narrowed as utility lines are being placed.

Supervisor Chris King said once decisions had been made on the placement of the utility lines, the existing poles would be removed and the road would be returned to normal.

Williams said a sidewalk would also be put into place there but could not give a timeline for the work.

He said the company had restarted rehabilitation work on Highway 5, which was being done in sections. This will cause diversions through Evelyn Road and Six Cross Roads. Williams could not give a completion date.

Another ongoing roadwork project is at the junction of Boarded Hall, which is being done by Black Bess. When the WEEKEND NATION team passed through around 7:45 a.m, the road widening had been completed and construction equipment was idle.

Yesterday, Wayne Manning, chief executive officer of Black Bess Quarry Ltd, described the work at Boarded Hall as “a nightmare”. Workmen are currently making the junction level as well as building a roundabout to the Frere Pilgrim side.

“Boarded Hall is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year but we are slightly behind because it is not a simple junction. We have four utility companies which have to be accommodated. The next thing now is making sure the water main is put into place, which is extensive work. We can’t do anything until the new main is placed and the old one removed.

“It is a bit of a nightmare at the moment,” he said, adding that there was still ongoing work with telephone and electricity lines to be repositioned.

As for traffic, Manning said one of the company’s main concerns was keeping it flowing for as long as possible, but he added that traffic would have to be rerouted once the outside roads leading to the junction were complete. However, he said he did not see this as a problem, once the public understood.

“The real thing is for the public to understand once the road is closed. I don’t think it will be a major thing because there is The Turnpike and Edey Village, so if people are aware the road is closed, then they can take another one,” he said. (CA) (Nation News)

VENDING IN THE City, particularly along the busy shopping area of Swan Street, is again causingconcern for the Police Force.

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After receiving several complaints, Police Commissioner Darwin Dottin and a team of his senior officers took to Swan Street.(Picture by Nigel Browne)

VENDING IN THE City, particularly along the busy shopping area of Swan Street, is again causingconcern for the Police Force.

Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin said yesterday there were again numerous complaints from store owners about sidewalk vending affecting their businesses.

“It seems that some tensions have developed between vendors who ply their wares on the street and the store owners,” Dottin said after he and a number of senior officers had toured the area.

“Store owners complained thatvendors set up in front of their businesses and impede the free movement of patrons into the stores, and also it is unfair competition with them,” he added.

Dottin said store owners argued that while their overheads were costly, vendors werenot faced with the same challenges.

He noted also thatin addition to creating a security headache, the vendors were causing serious health issues with the dumping of garbage in the alleyways.

Dottin called for the major stakeholders to meet and developed a plan that was suited to all parties. (Nation News)

A simmering row between Barbados two top cops has now burst open on the public scene with Commissioner Darwin Dottin vowing to vigorously defend himself against charges of professional misconduct.

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Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin (left) and Deputy Commissioner Bertie Hinds.()

by TIM SLINGER

A simmering row between Barbados two top cops has now burst open on the public scene with Commissioner Darwin Dottin vowing to vigorously defend himself against charges of professional misconduct.

The charges have been laid by the Police Service Commission (PSC) and Dottin states his deputy, Bertie Hinds is behind it.

In an affidavit for a High Court injunction against the PSC, Dottin accused the commission of not acting even-handed when dealing with issues submitted by Hinds and himself, noting that“they invariably act on those of Deputy Commissioner Hinds”.

Dottin is accused of:

(1) stating a falsehood, that suspended officer Sergeant Carlos Thompson did not have use of a Government car while on suspension

(2) Repeated failures to brief Deputy Commissioner of Police Bertie Hinds when proceeding on leave

(3) Disclosing official information from counterpart Jamaica’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Waynemore Hinds to NATION’s Associate Managing Editor Tim Slinger for publication on March 25, 1010

(4) Requesting that disciplinary charges be dropped against Thompson despite being told the matter was sub judice.

“. . . I am of the view that these allegations of misconduct, apart from being untrue, are not of a serious nature and are in fact trivial.”

Safe country

Dottin added: “I also believe that the continuous attempts by Deputy Commissioner Hinds to make complaints about me to the Police Service Commission serves as an unnecessary and unfortunate distraction that ultimately takes the attention of the senior command of the force away from its core responsibilities of keeping the country safe . . . .”

Differences between the two top lawmen surfaced in March when Hinds gave the green light for a controversial concert by dancehall artistes Movado and Vybz Kartel of Jamaica.

The police chief charged that Hinds gave the impression that he (Hinds) took “decisions in respect of the show/concert because I [Dottin] did not brief him.”

In his affidavit, Dottin said, “The motives of the Deputy Commissioner Hinds can be discerned from the statements he made at a meeting on Wednesday March 24, 2010 with Assistant Commissioners Tyrone Griffith and Emmerson Moore . . . .

“According to Assistant Commissioner Grffith, Deputy Commissioner Hinds asked whether they had heard the interview on radio with the Prime Minister, the Honourable David Thompson.

Deputy Commissioner Hinds then paraphrased the Prime Minister’s comments and then determined that from what the Prime Minister had said that the show could be staged.”

“Assistant Commissioner Moorealso stated in his statement that Deputy Commissioner Hinds indicated that he took the comments from Prime Minister Thompson on the proposed show to mean that they should go on,” it added.

Dottin also submitted that Hinds had attended all meetings where he had made his views clear on the proposed show.

The police chief also commented about the alleged breach with his disclosing official information to Slinger and noted that the information had already been printed in the Jamaica mediaand was never of a confidential nature.

When contacted last night, Hinds said he had nothing to say. However confidential documents obtained by WEEKEND NATION  indicate that last year Hinds lodged formal complaints about Dottin’s management with the chief personnel officer. ( Nation News)