Barbados Helping US To Trace Illegal Guns

Ten regional countries will sign an agreement with the United States to make the tracing of illegal weapons easier.

The Memorandum of Understanding which will be signed between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and regional governments will provide for the electronic tracing of illicit firearms under a system called eTRACE.

The signing is part of an ongoing effort to combat firearms trafficking in the region consistent with the joint December 2007 CARICOM-US Initiative on Combating the Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons and Ammunition.

The signatories to the agreement are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Aruba, Curacao and Anguilla.

Source: caribbeannetnews.com

Trinidad Major Security Lapse For Summit Of The Americas

The Trinidad and Tobago newspapers reported that there was a major security lapse during last weekend’s exercise for the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, and top officials are working to correct the errors.

The Guardian reported that the person playing the role of Belizean prime minister was taken to the wrong airport and left stranded in his aircraft for almost an hour. The incident has been described by senior officers as a “security threat”.

According to sources, the pilot said he was given instructions to land at the new airport (North Terminal) but when the plane touched down there were no local delegates there to welcome the “prime minister”.

After waiting for some time, police said, the pilot taxied the 202 Air Guard’s light aircraft towards the old airport (South Terminal). The officers placed the “PM” in their vehicle and drove along the inner perimeter of the airport towards the North Terminal, where he was handed to Special Branch Officers.

The incident caused much panic among the officers.

This was one of the several hiccups at Piarco International Airport as security officials conducted a second dry run exercise in preparation for the upcoming Summit of the Americas.

Scores of motorists called radio stations and complained of having to wait in the “scorching sun” for several hours while the exercise was in progress.

Source: caribbeannetnews.com

Arrest In Canadian Death

Investigations into the robbery, beating and subsequent death of a Canadian visitor are being expanded to Canada following the arrest of a suspect in Barbados.

Commissioner of Police, Darwin Dottin, not only announced lawmen had arrested and were about to charge a 24-year-old Barbadian man in connection with February 28 incident at Long Beach Christ Church yesterday, but disclosed the Royal Barbados Police Force was sending one of its officers to North America “to pursue that end of the investigation”.

Dottin, speaking during a Press conference at Police Headquarters, Roebuck Street, Bridgetown, said that while there had been “substantial progress”, investigations of the “very unfortunate incident” was still at a delicate stage, and in addition to sending one of its own to Canada, police were adding an attorney-at-law to its team of investigators in light of the several administrative and legal processes remaining.“I am very happy to tell you that the investigation has made substantial progress and we have in custody a 24-year-old man and charges will soon be laid against him for matters arising out of this incident. The investigators have recovered property, jewellery as well as a camera and an imitation firearm that was reportedly used in the attack on the two visitors.”

“I can confirm that he is a Barbadian, but I am not going to say anything more about him. Under our Constitution, a person is guaranteed a fair trial and I am not going to say anything this morning that would be prejudicial to that trial.”

Dottin said because the attack took place in Barbados, but Schwarzfeld had died back home, there were certain procedures to be followed and some information that local police needed, including the coroner’s report from Canada to determine the cause of death.
“This is the first phase of this inquiry. You will note in particular that the incident happened in Barbados, but Mrs. Schwarzfeld died in Canada, so there are some administrative and legal issues that have to be sorted out. We are in touch with the Canadian High Commissioner to get the findings of the coroner. His findings certainly are important in moving forward with the legal process.
The cause of death has to be determined and we will have that information from the coroner in Canada in due course,” he noted.

“There are also some other issues that we have to tidy up and we will be sending one of our investigators to Canada to pursue that end of the investigation. Because of these legal arrangements and necessities I am going to be asking that an attorney-at-law be assigned to the team of investigators such that we move forward in a very sure-footed way to bring this matter to conclusion,” he added.
Source: barbadosadvocate.com

• Canadian Women Dies After Barbados Attack
  

 

Sanctuary Waits For Government Proposal

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

Press Release

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary officials were pleased to read in the Nation that the Government of Barbados has apparently assigned a Bds. $1 million budget estimate for Graeme Hall.

 “We have not seen a formal proposal from government in regard to how these funds will be used, but look forward to giving the proposal our full attention when it is received,” said Stuart Heaslet, representative for the Sanctuary. 

 Heaslet acknowledged that the Sanctuary had not requested operational funds from Government.  

 “The real problem is not one of day-to-day operational sustainability of the Sanctuary.  It is a much bigger problem than that.  The closure is an interim step to limit exposure to environmental and other risks to its owner and his family – there are serious environmental problems outside of the Sanctuary that endanger the wetland and hence the US $35 million private capital investment at Graeme Hall. 

 “As to the future of private stewardship of Barbados’ Natural Heritage at Graeme Hall, it is beyond the ability of one man or family to be responsible for a landmark visitor park and conservation legacy for the next 300 years for the people of Barbados.  Only Government and non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) can do that.”

 Sanctuary officials have made it no secret that the surrounding lands at Graeme Hall should be preserved as a nationally protected Park, and that the Sanctuary should belong to Barbadians in perpetuity.   

 Heaslet was reflective.  “In our minds these are the important issues, but we have not had much substantive discussion with government officials about them.  This is only about the Sanctuary and Graeme Hall Watershed lands – the fact of the matter is that more money invested inside the Sanctuary will not reverse external environmental problems that are degrading the wetland, and future ownership of the Sanctuary should be resolved.”  

 Since the 1990′s the Sanctuary has encouraged and supported government-led environmental master planning for Graeme Hall that was based in sound science and that honored the original land preservation parameters outlined in the 1988 National Physical Development Plan.  The 1988 government plan was the basis for the investment in the Sanctuary.  The plan called for preservation of the Graeme Hall lands ranging from the wetlands up to the ABC Highway for conservation and recreation as a buffer between Greater Bridgetown and the Oistins urban areas.   

 The Graeme Hall initiative has been handled over the past three or more years by Mr. Steve Devonish, Director of the Natural Heritage Department in the Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage.

 

Sunshine Vitamin Blocks Degenerative Diseases

    Numerous researches have concluded that Vitamin D, the hormone produced by our skin when exposed to sunlight, can reduce the risk of degenerative diseases like osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

“By increasing Vitamin D intake, incidence of cancer [and other diseases] can be reduced by 60-67 percent,” Canadian biochemist and author Lyle MacWilliam said in a media forum. He cited the combined results of scientific researches conducted worldwide from 2002 to 2009.

MacWilliam visited the Philippines as part of an international health lecture, in relation to the release of the consumer’s edition of a research book he penned, the “Nutrisearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements.” The book reviews around 1,500 vitamin supplements in the United States and Canada, explaining in detail how nutrients and dietary practices affect our bodies.

One of the practices MacWilliam especially encourages is moderate sun exposure. Ultraviolet rays from sunlight is the major trigger for Vitamin D production in human bodies, unmatched by any food source or pharmaceutical supplement.

Simply increasing the recommended intake to 1000 international units (IU)—2000 IU for children and adolescents—could reduce later suffering from a host of diseases related to aging, he said.

“Encourage people to do just one simple thing: just go under the sun and let your skin absorb it for 10 to 15 minutes a day. That will stimulate the manufacture of Vitamin D in the skin and reduce the risk of [degenerative] diseases,” MacWilliam said.

Source: inquirer.com

High Fuel Prices Around The Corner – World Bank

Experts in the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States’ (OECS) energy sector have been advised to prepare themselves for a possible return of high fuel prices.

Senior energy economist at the World Bank, Pierre Audinet, told the stakeholders who met in St Lucia recently that they must combine approaches to deal with the growing cost of energy. It is against this background, he said, that his organisation supports the establishment of a regional institution proposed as the Eastern Caribbean Energy Planning and Regulation Authority (ECEPRA).

Audinet said that the World Bank is of the view that such a collective approach can help reduce the impact of the unstable global energy landscape.

“The world where we were back in July which had these completely nonsensical oil prices which really hurt you very badly and many other countries in the world was not just a one off episode. The likelihood that this comes back in spikes or for longer periods is actually quite strong,” he said.

“I would be very pretentious to say how much the oil price would be in the next few months, but at least we are definitely going to see some amount of increases and stronger volatility.

Source: caribbean360.com

Israel ‘Used Boy, 11, As Human Shield’

Israeli soldiers used an 11-year-old Palestinian boy as a human shield during the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, UN human rights experts said yesterday.

The Israeli Defence Force ordered the boy to walk in front of soldiers being fired on in the Gaza neighbourhood of Tel al-Hawa and enter buildings before them, said the UN secretary general’s envoy for protecting children in armed conflict. The boy also was told to open the bags of Palestinians — presumably to protect the soldiers from possible explosives — before being released at the entrance to a hospital, Radhika Coomaraswamy said.

She said the January 15 incident was a violation of Israeli and international law.
It was included in a 43- page report published yesterday, and was just one of many verified human rights atrocities during the three- week war between Israel and Hamas that ended on January 18, she said.

Coomaraswamy — who visited Gaza and Israel in February — accused Israeli soldiers of shooting Palestinian children, bulldozing a home with a woman and child still inside, and shelling a building they had ordered civilians into a day earlier.

“Violations were reported on a daily basis, too numerous to list,” she said.

Coomaraswamy said there also have been allegations that Hamas used human shields or fired from heavily populated areas, which UN officials are investigating.

Israel criticised the report as “unable or perhaps unwilling” to address Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza or the threat of terrorism.

“The report claims to examine Israel’s actions while it willfully ignores and downplays the terrorist and other threats we face,” Ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar told the 47-nation Human Rights Council. He did not address the report’s specific allegation about the boy, but an army spokesman rejected the claim.

“We are an army to which morals and high ethical standards are paramount,” said Captain Elie Isaacson.

Coomaraswamy said “hundreds of Israeli violations have been documented and verified” by UN officials who were in the territory.

Source: irishexaminer.com

• Hamas Negotiators Stop With Stuffed 15m Suitcases

Israeli Army Ordered To Devise Iran War

As Israeli talks of war on Iran gain momentum, Israel’s military Chief of Staff says the army must prepare for a military aggression.

In a meeting with top US diplomats on Monday, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said Israel could not live with a nuclear Iran and that an Israeli military strike was a “serious” option in retarding the country’s progress.

Ashkenazi — whose request to meet with President Barack Obama and his American counterpart Admiral Mike Mullen was turned down — made the remarks in a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her designated US envoy to the Persian Gulf, Dennis Ross. The Israeli general and the American hosts discussed the Iranian issue shortly after reports revealed that the Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu plans a “major military confrontation” in the next few months.

Israel, believed by many to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, says Iran and its nuclear program pose an “existential threat” to Tel Aviv. Under the claim, Israeli officials in the military and the government regularly threaten to launch aerial strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Tehran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and, according to the UN nuclear watchdog, has not opted to violate the treaty.

Iran says the only objective of its program is to make use of the civilian applications of the nuclear technology. The US, Israel and their European allies – Britain, France and Germany –, accuse the country of having military intentions in its pursuit.

Ashkenazi added that any final decision on Iran would be made by the government. He, however, said that he had been tasked with drawing up contingency plans since a military operation was a ‘concrete possibility’.

Source: presstv.com

Canadian Woman Dies After Barbados Attack

Terry Schwarzfeld, the Ottawa woman who was attacked and robbed while on vacation in Barbados last month, has died.

Ms. Schwarzfeld and her daughter-in-law, Luana Cotsman, from Guelph, Ont., were attacked by a lone man while on Long Beach, in the island country’s south end on Feb. 28.

Ms. Schwarzfeld was struck in the back of the head with a hunk of wood. She was flown back to Ottawa, unconscious, and died Wednesday morning.

Ms. Cotsman is recovering from her injuries.

The man fled after the attack, and police in the Caribbean country recently announced a reward of $6,400 for information leading to his arrest. Officials are also installing police kiosks at Long Beach, where the attack occurred.

Ms. Schwarzfeld was recently elected national president of the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, a Jewish woman’s philanthropic organization. An active member of Ottawa’s Jewish community, Ms. Schwarzfeld was an ardent campaigner for women’s rights in Israel.

She is survived by her husband, Stephen Cotsman, and three adult sons: David, Adam and Simon.

Source: canada.com

• Canadians Attacked In Barbados

TV Advice Not Helping Rihanna – Evan Rogers

Photo credit: http://www.people.com

The music mogul who discovere Rihanna has spoken out about his protege for the first time since her much-publicised fight with boyfriend Chris Brown.

Producer Evan Rogers insists the good intentions of talk show hosts like Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks, who have publicly urged Rihanna to break off her romance with Brown, aren’t helping the Umbrella singer, who reconciled with her boyfriend after a brief split. Rogers tells Entertainment Weekly magazine that the R&B star is struggling to come to terms with the fall-out from the 8 February (09) bust-up, which left her face swollen and bruised – and comments from TV pundits aren’t helping. He says, “It turns up the heat in terms of it seeming like the whole world is telling her what to do. At the end of the day, people forget that, at 21, your perspective is very different. These kinds of things can happen to anyone, whether you’re a celebrity or not. “She’s very aware of everything that’s going on. Just like anyone else, she watches TV, she goes online. And I think that it matters to her, but there’s a line that she walks between being human and caring when you hear these kinds of things, and separating your personal life from your professional life. “She’s doing the best she can and this is a very difficult time that she’s going through right now, and she’s going to learn a lot from it. “I think that most people still see her as the victim in this situation. You’ll always have a lot of haters who talk negatively about artists all day long on the Internet. But I think that when the dust settles, she’s going to be fine.” Rogers has also dismissed reports suggesting Rihanna and Brown have recorded a reconciliation duet: “There’s no duet that’s been recorded other than one called Bad Girl that was a bootleg track from months before.”

Source: contactmusic.com

• Source: Rihanna Wants To Get Her Life ‘In Order’

World Bank – Developing Countries Faced Financial Shortfall Due To Global Crisis

Developing countries like those in the Caribbean face a financing shortfall of $270-700 billion this year, as private sector creditors shun emerging markets, and only one quarter of the most vulnerable countries have the resources to prevent a rise in poverty, the World Bank has said.

In a paper for next Saturday’s meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors, the World Bank said that international financial institutions cannot by themselves currently cover the shortfall — that includes public and private debt and trade deficits — for these 129 countries, even at the lower end of the range.

It said a solution will require governments, multilateral institutions, and the private sector. Only one quarter of vulnerable developing countries have the ability to finance measures to blunt the economic downturn, such as job-creation or safety net programmes.

“We need to react in real time to a growing crisis that is hurting people in developing countries,” said World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick.

“This global crisis needs a global solution and preventing an economic catastrophe in developing countries is important for global efforts to overcome this crisis. We need investments in safety nets, infrastructure, and small and medium size companies to create jobs and to avoid social and political unrest.”

The global economy is likely to shrink this year for the first time since World War Two, with growth at least five percentage points below potential.

World Bank forecasts show that global industrial production by the middle of 2009 could be as much as 15 per cent lower than levels in 2008. World trade is also set this year to record its largest decline in 80 years.

Source: caribbean360.com

• IMF  Fund May Dried Up In Six Months!
• IMF – Global Economy To Creep To 0.5% Growth In 2009 Worse Since World War 2!!!

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary – A Lost Legacy?

  Many have asked why Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary is closed to the public.  

 It has been 13 weeks since the closure, and as of Monday  all employees except for a small maintenance and security team have been permanently severed from their jobs. 

According to Peter Allard, Chairman of the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, the decision to close was extraordinarily painful, as it affected the lives of many good men and women.   But the closure was inevitable because the physical survival of the Sanctuary is at stake.

 “After spending nearly $35 million US on the Sanctuary and its operations over fifteen years, we finally realized the Sanctuary would not survive,” said Allard.

“We rely on a natural healthy ecosystem, along with its natural peace and tranquility, because it is the only “inventory” that the Sanctuary has to offer visitors.”

 “It is not, as some would believe, about simple economics.    Increasing pollution and government policies and procedures outside of the Sanctuary are killing the wetlands at Graeme Hall, and no amount of continued investment inside the Sanctuary can change that.” 

“It is simply not prudent or feasible for one man to continue supporting the Sanctuary in perpetuity.   The matter is further complicated when governmental policies and actions are dooming its ecosystem to failure.”

• Read the complete press release – Adobe PDF
• Final Employee Terminations Scheduled for March 9 at Graeme Hall- Adobe PDF  

Donald Trump Blasts Rihanna For Brown Reconciliation

Business tycoon-turned-reality TV star Donald Trump has blasted Rihanna for reconciling with the boyfriend who allegedly beat her up.

The Umbrella singer and Chris Brown are reportedly back together – a month after the shamed R&B singer left Rihanna needing medical attention after a fight in Los Angeles.
And outspoken Trump can’t believe what he’s hearing.
He rages, “If she goes back, she’s a loser and she doesn’t deserve to have any future successes.”
Trump’s comments come just days after U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey urged Rihanna to split from Brown.
On her show on Friday (06Mar09), Oprah said, “You need somebody to tell you the truth in this moment. And the truth is guys, both Chris Brown and Rihanna, if I were your friend, I would call you up and I would say ‘Give it some time, get yourself some counselling, take care of yourself, heal yourself first.’
“And also, love doesn’t hurt. I’ve been saying this to women for years – love doesn’t hurt. And, if a man hits you once, he will hit you again. He will hit you again. I don’t care what his plea is, he will hit you again.’”

Source: contactmusic.com

• Rihanna Tells Police Of “Past Fights”
  

Foreign Investors Pull $1 Trillion Out Of The City Of London

A silent $1 trillion “Run on Britain” by foreign investors was revealed yesterday (6th March) in the latest statistical releases from the Bank of England.

The external liabilities of banks operating in the UK – that is monies held in the UK on behalf of foreign investors – fell by $1 trillion (£700bn) between the spring and the end of 2008, representing a huge loss of funds and of confidence in the City of London.

Some $597.5bn was lost to the banks in the last quarter of last year alone, after a modest positive inflow in the summer, but a massive $682.5bn haemorrhaged in the second quarter of 2008 – a record. About 15 per cent of the monies held by foreigners in the UK were withdrawn over the period, leaving about $6 trillion. This is by far the largest withdrawal of foreign funds from the UK in recent decades – about 10 times what might flow out during a “normal” quarter.

The revelation will fuel fears that the UK’s reputation as a safe place to hold funds is being fatally comp-romised by the acute crisis in the banking system and a general trend to financial protectionism internat- ionally. This week, Lloyds became the latest bank to approach the Government for more assistance. A deal was agreed last night for the Government to insure about £260bn of assets in return for a stake of up to 75 per cent in the bank. The slide in sterling – it has shed a quarter of its value since mid-2007 – has been both cause and effect of the run on London, seemingly becoming a self-fulfilling phenomenon. The danger is that the heavy depreciation of the pound could become a rout if confidence completely evaporates.

Colin Ellis, an economist at Daiwa Securities, commented: “The outflow of overseas banks’ UK holdings is not surprising – indeed foreign investors in general will still be smarting from the sharp fall in the exchange rate last year, as many UK liabilities are priced in sterling terms. That raises the question of what could possibly tempt overseas investors to return to the UK. Further heavy outflows of funds are probably a given.”

The Bank of England said that there had been a large fall in deposits from the United States, Switzerland, offshore centres such as Jersey and the Cayman Islands, and from Russia.

Source: independent.co.uk

Failure – UN Ten Wasted Years Drug Strategy

Photo credit: http://www.bbc.co.uk

The UN strategy on drugs over the past decade has been a failure, a European commission report claimed yesterday on the eve of the international conference in Vienna that will set future policy for the next 10 years.

The report came amid growing dissent among delegates arriving at the meeting to finalise a UN declaration of intent.

Referring to the UN’s existing strategy, the authors declared that they had found “no evidence that the global drug problem was reduced”. They wrote: “Broadly speaking, the situation has improved a little in some of the richer countries while for others it worsened, and for some it worsened sharply and substantially, among them a few large developing or transitional countries.”

The policy had merely shifted the problem geographically, they said. “Production and trafficking controls only redistributed activities. Enforcement against local markets failed in most countries.”

Representatives from governments are split in their efforts to formulate an international drugs policy for the next decade. The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs is due to formulate a strategy over the next two days, but there is widespread disagreement among delegates and a general feeling that an opportunity for a united approach has been lost.

In an article for the Guardian, Mike Trace, chairman of the International Drug Policy Consortium, says: “We’re about to see the international community walk up the political and diplomatic path of least resistance. It will do nothing to help the millions of people around the world whose lives are destroyed by drug markets and drug use. And the depressing thing about it is that we can all book our seats for 2019, to go through this charade again.”

Source: guardian.co.uk 

Caricom Must Move On US Black-listing It As Tax Havens

Caribbean community states  operating offshore financial  service should move swiftly  and collectively  for their removal from the list indentified in the recent re-introduction in the US Congress of  ‘Stop The Tax Haven Abuse Act’ that poses a serious threat to regional jurisdictions.

Barbados is among 14 Caribbean states and territories that stand to be affected by the act that also reflect the position of the British government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

FULL STORY

Obama Ends Ban On Stem Cell Research

President Barack Obama on Monday ended an eight-year ban on new embryonic stem cell research, dismantling a signature policy of the Bush administration that he said was driven by ideology and not science.

Obama signed an executive order restoring funding for research on all lines of available stem cells, saying the work holds the promise to understand and “possibly cure” some of the world’s most devastating illnesses.

“But that potential will not reveal itself on its own. Medical miracles do not happen simply by accident,” Obama said at the White House, where he was joined by several scientists and people in wheelchairs.

While acknowledging the issue of stem cell research remains highly contentious in the United States — with particularly fierce opposition from Christian conservatives — Obama said the government’s earlier limits on research had forced America into making “a false choice between sound science and moral values.” 

The executive order reverses a decision made by President George W. Bush that restricted federal research funding to only stem cell lines that existed before Aug. 9, 2001.

At the time, Bush characterized the decision as a pro-life policy because it blocked the use of taxpayer money for the destruction of embryos — mostly those unused by fertility clinics — for research.

“The administration’s policy change does not answer the central question: do human embryos, which are clearly alive, constitute a life or mere property?” asked Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican who has led opposition in Congress to stem cell research. 

“If an embryo is a life, and I believe strongly that it is life, then no government has the right to sanction their destruction for research purposes. If embryos are property, then they may be disposed of as their owner chooses,” Brownback said. “I choose life and oppose the administration’s action.” 

Obama’s move opens the door for researchers to access up to $10 billion U.S. that was included in the recent economic stimulus package for biomedical research.

Source: ottawacitizen.com

Confident David Thompson In Motion

In a manner that demonstrated full confidence in Government’s performance, Prime Minister David Thompson last night delivered a stinging criticism on the behaviour of Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in relation to errors of commission and of omission during its tenure in Government, specifically the former Minister of Finance and the former Minister of Economic Affairs.

Mr. Thompson was responding to charges in a Motion of No Confidence tabled by Opposition Leader, Mia Mottley. She had sought to have Parliament find the Prime Minister guilty of misleading the public on the soundness of CLICO Holdings Barbados, and of not acting promptly to ward off financial harm to investors and policyholders.

He described the Resolution as unnecessary, frivolous, vexatious, unfounded and childish.

Evidently concerned about the harm which irresponsible statements on the CLICO issue could do to that company and to the national economy, the PM said: “I wish from the outset to reiterate, for the benefit of the policyholders of CLICO International Life in Barbados, as well as the employees of CLICO subsidiaries, as well as persons who have made investments, whether in annuities or other forms of investment, that the Government of Barbados will do all in its power to promote their interests and their investments. We have said this from the outset.”

Mr. Thompson provided Parliament with details of prompt communications with his regional counterparts as well as with other Cabinet Ministers. Furthermore, a statement was crafted with the full knowledge and consent of the Governor of the Central Bank and the Supervisor of Insurance, to pass on pertinent information and thus calm any ears that might have arisen among interested parties in Barbados.

In that statement the Prime Minister gave the assurance to policyholders, employees and investors that the Government of Barbados would do everything in its power to ensure that their investments were safe.

To loud applause, he added: “The only entity to in Barbados that, in my view, could give comfort to policyholders, investors and employees would be the Government of Barbados. There is nothing higher than that; and there is no Government in the Caribbean that has yet given to their policyholders or to investors or to employees, any open-ended commitment as we did within a day of hearing what happened.

“We understood that confidence was critical, that any run on a financial institution would have an impact not only on that institution, but it would have an impact on all of the other domestic institutions in Barbados; that once you start to lose jobs and confidence it has a domino effect. That is why, with Four Seasons, with other projects, we’ve tried to step in wherever possible and, subject to the availability of resources, to protect jobs in this economy. I have not yet seen a statement, not even from the Government of Trinidad, that has given those assurances.

“I reject any assertion about the interference of the Minister of Finance in relation to this matter. The confidence of the system is built on the assurances and the word of the Government through the Ministry of Finance and nobody else…

“But there is no other country in the Caribbean in which the Opposition is as a irresponsible, as immature as the Opposition in Barbados jostling for attention … in fact, when you look across the world where economic collapse is taking place, I actually know of no other country in the world where people do not recognise the seriousness of the current financial challenges that we face and in which people are not seeking to bind together as one to solve those challenges.”

Source: barbadosadvocate.com

Motion ‘Frivolous And Vexatious’ – Freundel Stuart

The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) stands condemned and indicted for passing an Insurance Act that does not provide proper protection for policyholders and depositors.

That was the charge from Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Freundel Stuart, as he made his contribution to the no confidence debate in the Lower House yesterday morning. According to Stuart, penalties contained in the legislation as it relates to non-compliance with the statutory fund, are grossly inadequate.

“The Barbados Labour Party stands condemned, stands indicted and condemned on passing a piece of legislation in this Chamber, which really should be protecting the policyholders that the honourable member talks about, but has made no effective provision for their protection, just a slap on the wrist for any insurance company that fails to comply with section 25, so far as that section relates to the statutory fund,” he said.

“You hear in here today how important this fund is, and how critical it is to protect the interests of policyholders and depositors. But in the legislation passed in here in 1996, the penalty for not complying with the statute in relation to the statutory fund is on summary conviction, that is before a magistrate – not even a judge, before a magistrate – $2 500. That, Mr. Speaker, makes the point that there really is no distinction between a company representing 40 000 depositors or policyholders failing to comply with the statutory fund, and a vagrant in Bridgetown being caught with a spliff. They are both treated the same way, in fact the vagrant may be worse off, but such is the seriousness of politics in Barbados,” the Attorney General said.

Meanwhile, speaking specifically to the no confidence motion, which he described as “frivolous and vexatious”, Stuart said that despite the comments made by the Opposition Leader, Mia Mottley, his faith in CLICO and Prime Minister and Minister of Finance David Thompson remained intact.

“…For the last 25 years, I have been a practising lawyer in Barbados, having done quite a lot of work with CLICO, representing persons who suffered personal injuries and also representing the estate of deceased persons and never once in my entire professional experience in those 25 years, have I had any difficulty in having CLICO meet its obligations in the settlement of any claim at all. Never, never, never,” he maintained.

Stuart said that indeed CLICO had not met its statutory fund obligation, but that, he said, was a situation that his Government had inherited and had no hand in creating.

Source: barbadosadvocate.com

Mottley: Motion A Spur To Truth

Opposition Leader  Mia Mottley yesterday lambasted Prime Minister David Thompson for waiting until she had filed a no-confidence motion against him to start “telling Barbadians the truth”.

She told the Lower Chamber, while piloting debate on the motion, that the Prime Minister had only finally admitted the facts at his televised Press conference on Sunday – two days after she filed the motion – and it begged the question as to whether the Barbadian public would have ever been given details of [CLICO's] $93 million Statutory Fund deficit and other details if the motion had not been filed.

She said day-to-day management was required from the Minister of Finance and not a flurry of activity in response to a no-confidence motion.

Noting that in the last 36 days other countries in the Caribbean had acted with alacrity to deal with the CLICO crisis, Mottley said Thompson had only started to act in recent days.

Deficit

“All of a sudden, in six days we hear what the Statutory Fund deficit is. We hear there may be a Barbadian entity willing to buy . . .

“We hear only this morning, on the morning of this motion, that the chairman of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Ltd (ICBL) says the talks between ICBL and CLICO are only exploratory. . .

“All of a sudden this week he’s appearing busy only because of the filing of this motion,” said the Opposition Leader.

She added that Parliament was only addressing the issue yesterday for the first time since it broke on January 31, not because Government brought it there but because the Opposition did.

Adding that the Statutory Fund deficit was too serious a matter not to be addressed, she also asked why there was no word on British American Insurance, a subsidiary of CL Financial in Trinidad, since its policyholders were similarly affected.

“That matter is critical because last week news was given of a proposed lawsuit against British American Insurance for US$39 million that could cause that company to be totally insolvent in relation to 6 000 acres . . . bought by the CLICO financial group in Florida,” she revealed.

Imposing presence

Mottley added that once the news had broken of CL Financial’s woes in Trinidad and Tobago, Thompson had said CL Financial had an imposing presence in the region and there were only three things he was worried about: the excessive transactions in Trinidad which increased contagion of risks, aggressively high interest rates, and very high debt that constrained the company from being able to sell its assets.

Noting that these underscored a broader culture of indiscipline compounded by high living, Mottley said such behaviour was mimicked in Barbados and led to an increasingly high deficit in the Statutory Fund.

She also pointed out that while the deficit was high before December 2007, it could have been supported in the past by a powerful parent company, CL Financial, but that was not the case now.

“That’s why we called since February 8 for the Minister of Finance to come clean and state the Statutory Fund deficit,” she said, adding that between February 8 and 21 nothing was revealed by Thompson, so she decided to tell the country of the $93 million deficit.

“He called me dangerous and reckless and tried to impugn another insurance company. Only last Sunday night did he finally admit what the facts were,” she stated.

“When we take the comments of the chairman of ICBL, when we take what we saw in the paper today, nothing short of a parliamentary oversight committee of both [houses of] Parliament is sufficient because I am suspicious and I am doubtful,” Mottley said.

Source: nationnews.com

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