VOL. 6, NO. 6 • March 21, 2012
618 Strouds Lane, Pickering, ON L1V 4S9 • Tel: 905.831-4402 • Fax: 416.292.2943 • Email: [email protected]
Lunch Raises Computer Purchase Funds
The Friends of St Mary’s hosted
its Fundraising Lunch on Sunday, March 18th at Scarborough’s
Timehri Restaurant. About fifty
members of the Canadian Caribbean community turned out in support of the Group’s efforts to raise
funds to purchase a much needed
computer for St. Mary’s students in
Guyana.
Those present, including several St. Mary’s past students who
attended the school from the
1940’s to the 1960’s, were treated
to a sumptuous Caribbean Buffet
Lunch.
During her brief welcome address, Friends of St Mary’s Chairperson Sandra Ann Baptiste advised those present of the Group’s
ambitious plans for the year. These
include the development of a com-
petition encouraging the kids to
write about their career choices
and proposed contribution to Guyana’s development.
The Group, which is also spearheaded by Jennifer Ridley and
Maurice Lee, also has plans to
implement a Mentorship Program
that will allow St Mary’s students
access to the knowledge, skills and
expertise of Alumni in Canada and
the U.S. with specialities in areas
of study interests.
Having also already hosted a Pub
Night earlier this month, Friends
of St Mary’s will be hosting these
events annually. The computer
purchased with proceeds from the
March 18th Lunch will be presented to St Mary students in Guyana
by Friends of St Mary’s Chairperson Sandra Ann Baptiste.
REDJet Grounded
BRIDGETOWN – After just 10
months in the skies, low-cost carrier REDjet has been grounded
due to financial problems. The
Barbados-based airline needs an
$8 million injection and government support so it can take to the
skies once again. Without such
help, the future of the airline is uncertain.
The airline suspended all flights
to its nine destinations with effect
from 11:59 p.m. on March 16 until
further notice. This move placed
over 90 employees on the breadline, resulted in a number of passengers being stranded and a strain
on regional travel. The latest turn
of events has also raised the question of whether or not the cost of
regional travel will once again
increase, or if air fare will remain
low.
The airline which is owned by
father and son Ian and Robbie
Burns took to the skies last May,
putting forward a model designed
to bring affordable travel to the
Caribbean from as low as $19.98
before taxes. And the owners have
given the assurance that they are
willing to continue providing affordable air transport across the
Caribbean if they could receive a
small part of the state assistance
given to other airlines.
Tourism Minister Richard Sealy
said the Barbados Tourism Authority was willing to work with
the airline in the area of joint marketing, and expressed hope that
it would soon be up and running
once again. St. Lucia’s Prime Minister, Dr. Kenny Anthony, also noted that it was difficult for regional
governments to continue subsidising carriers.
However, the grounding of the
airline has not gone down well
with passengers, some of whom
purchased tickets within minutes
of the airline’s announcement that
all flights were being suspended.
Passengers flooded the airline’s
Facebook page expressing their
frustration over the airline’s lack
of communication with them
about what was happening to allow them to better plan for their
travel. Some passengers are also
demanding their money back.
Meanwhile, LIAT has already
stepped forward and made special
arrangements to assist stranded
passengers from Antigua, Barba-
dos, Guyana, St. Lucia and Trinidad. Caribbean Airlines indicated
it would adjust its scheduled operations by adding additional seats
on its aircraft to accommodate the
numbers. REDjet served Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and
announced the launch of service
to Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday, one day before it closed its
operations.
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 2
Community
Financial Freedom From Natural Health In A Bottle
When many people get
sick, their first instinct is to
rush to the doctor for a diagnosis. Then, after being
diagnosed, they head to
the pharmacy to purchase
medication to ease their
ailments. Suninia Lochan
used to be one of those people who would
use products from the drug store to combat
her sinuses and sicknesses. But ever since
one year ago when Lochan discovered
more natural alternatives, she has launched
a new business from her findings, and has
not had to take any tablets to improve her
health. Lochan has suffered from sinuses
ever since she moved to Canada from her
native country Guyana in 1995. Back then,
Lochan relied on pharmaceuticals.
“I came into this country and I started
working in the media field. I was working with a newspaper company in Guyana.
And then, we went into the technology
field. From there, as you progress, you
kind of notice with the everyday run that
you get stressed out, taking tablets and all
of that. For me, if I take Tylenol, I would
sleep. Because of that, I started looking
into other alternatives,” Lochan explained.
Lochan, the mother of two daughters
aged 8 and 5, started looking into more
natural alternatives to using pharmaceuticals in the year 2003 when she was expecting her eldest child. Lochan planned to
use some of the remedies that she had seen
growing up in Guyana.
“Coming from back home you come
with certain things that you would use back
home for babies. Like honey. We give babies honey and orange juice and all of that
when they’re little and just born. Those
are some of the traditions I
wanted to continue because I
grew up with it. And, for my
children, I wanted that. Because I know that when the
Akua
babies are born back home,
that’s one of the things they
start with, honey and orange
juice. And, that is when I started out over
here I found out that honey is not good for
babies,” Lochan said.
Lochan had not anticipated that the food
and nutrition practices that she had been
raised to accept in Guyana were considered
unsafe in Canada. Still, Lochan was eager
to introduce some of what she learned in
Guyana to her children in Canada.
“I was shocked about that because that
was one of the natural stuff that you would
use home for little babies, you would use
the honey. But, I went ahead and used it
because it didn’t do me any harm. When
my children were little, before the age of
two, if they would get a cold, there was
nothing we could go and get over the counter,” Lochan explained.
Lochan was working in the Information
Technology field around the time her and
her husband’s first child was born. Soon
after her eldest daughter’s birth, Lochan
was laid off from her job. Eager to be an
active and alert mother, Lochan started investigating products that would heal her
sinuses and help her to stay awake.
“When I would take a Tylenol, I would
fall asleep. Really and truly, you shouldn’t
take something that would make you sleep.
Anything that I took would make me feel
drained, tired, and really nervous. It would
last for days. That’s when I started looking to alternatives first with eucalyptus oil.
Hinds
That’s when I found the
company. I was introduced to Young Living.
That changed the whole
scenario for my family,”
Lochan explained.
Young Living is a
company that markets
natural oils to the public. Lochan started out
as a customer of Young
Living’s Essential Oils
products, and she quickly made the decision to
join the business and
work as an independent
distributor for Young
Living after experiencing life-changing results
with the company’s oils.
“It is natural. You
use a little bit. My little
daughter, she cannot
take any medication. It’s
not good for her health.
With my other daughter,
I was able to give her
some relief when she
had a cold. I would give
her honey and I used the
peppermint oil which I used for the fever
and all of that. It all came down to wanting
my family to have this relief, but not to be
heavily medicated.
The Essential Oils have not only helped
with Lochan and her children’s colds and
sinuses, Lochan’s husband Mayraj has
found relief using the oils to help ease his
back pain caused by a car accident.
“He suffers from really severe back pain.
I cannot stress this Young Living product
that helped Mayraj because he drank the
NingXia Red with frankincense. And also,
I use the oil to massage and he’s getting so
much relief. Every year, I normally give
my children the flu vaccine. This year, it’s
going to be close to a year now that we’re
using this line of products. Previously, we
were looking at the eucalyptus and peppermint oil, and all of that, but we still
had to take the vaccine. This year, no one
took it in the family. When my daughter
started school, she was so proud of herself
this year that every week she says to me,
‘Mama, every year, I missed school for
a week, either November or December.’
This year, she went to school every single
day. I use the Thieves Oil on them, which
is preventative. Every morning I put it on
their foot bottoms before they put their
socks on. She’s gone to school, and knock
on wood, her class this year, one day they
had 10 kids who were out from school.
They had stomach flu and everything. She
was one of the children who didn’t get it. It
was massive change for the family.
Lochan’s current career mission is to
educate other people about the natural alternatives they can use to feel better. Many
Canadians rely heavily on using medication to combat their illnesses, and Lochan
has started letting people know that although there is nothing wrong with using
medication, there are other options.
“With our Young Living product, yes,
you have a 15 ml bottle. It’s concentrated. That 15 ml will take you three to four
weeks because you just need to use a drop.
When I approach people, I say to people
straight up ‘I wouldn’t tell you about
something that I haven’t used in my family.’ They start asking ‘what do you use?’
I introduce them to the different products,
this is what it does. One of the ones that
March 21, 2012
Suninia Lochan
are most common among individuals is
the Peppermint Oil and the Lavender oil.
Those have been around, I’d say, forever
and incorporated into everything there
is. That’s the first thing I’d say to people.
Say, for a headache. I do not take a tablet
anymore for headaches. Obviously that
is something I have all of the time in my
bag. And not because of the business side
of it; I have it for personal use. I would
say to people, ‘try it.’ It gives you immediate relief, especially with the cold season,”
Lochan said.
Lochan has shared the benefits of the
Essential Oils with the parents of her children’s classmates, and she hopes to expand
her business to the Caribbean. The NingXia Red is helpful for chronic pain, energy,
and it works as a cleanser, a supplement,
and an antioxidant. Lochan’s husband
used to take Red Bull and he no longer
does because of the energy boost found
in NingXia red. The Lemon Oil from the
Young Living line has cured Lochan’s acid
reflux and heartburn and has helped her to
enjoy eating spicy foods again. The Lavender Oil has helped Lochan’s children fall
asleep and clear skin blemishes. Lochan
wants her family and friends in Guyana to
gain more access to the opportunity she has
had to be an entrepreneur in Canada.
“I have family still back home in Guyana. One of my uncles, he is close to 70
and he has knee pain. I send him the Winter Green Oil for that. I am looking to expand starting in the Caribbean. We have
all this fantastic, natural stuff back home. I
would like to see people back home being
able to have that opportunity to enjoy some
of these alternatives.
Lochan hopes to help people build their
own businesses and develop better physical health through introducing them to
Young Living.
“It’s educating people to what this product can do. It does not solve everybody’s
problem. If you have to use your medication, if it’s necessary, I’m all for it. But
again, I’m also into looking at alternatives.
These products are not new. They’ve been
here for generations. With our oil, it’s
more natural. It’s not mixed with any other
oil. And you can just use a drop. You can
blend it. That’s what makes us unique; the
purity of the oil,” Lochan said.
March 21, 2012
The Concerned Citizens Against Domestic Abuse Corp. (CCADA) will be
hosting a “Spring Has Sprung” Fundraising Dinner Dance on Saturday, April
14th at Burrows Hall, 1081 Progress Ave,
Scarborough. CCADA is a Georgiabased charitable not-for-profit organization formed out of a desire to provide assistance to abused adults and children in
mation and knowledge. By this means,
it hopes to strengthen referrals, monitor
school attendance through the Ministry
of Education Welfare Department and develop initiatives to resolve issues of child
abuse. Abuse is a global problem that violates basic human rights and silences the
voices of its victims. It can be inflicted
on anyone regardless of race, age, sexual
South America, particularly Guyana.
The organization is presently working
to assist with funding for the “Help and
Shelter Pickney Project” and related projects. Providing psychosocial support for
children who have been abused or are at
risk, developing parenting skills educational workshops to transfer skills about
non-violent parenting and ensuring that
the needs of children with disabilities are
considered in all activities are some of
the objectives the organization hopes to
achieve.
CCADA also intends to collaborate
with governmental agencies, non-governmental agencies, community leaders and
religious leaders in the sharing of infor-
orientation or religion.
This year, while continuing to work
with Help & Shelter, CCADA will also
be reaching out to other organizations
in Guyana to encourage them to have a
shared commitment to focus on education, which is vitally important to the prevention of abuse and neglect. CCADA
believes that prevention is the best choice
for reducing child abuse and neglect and
it will certainly help to improve the lives
of children and families.
Music for the Saturday, April 14 Fundraising Dinner Dance will be provided
by the ever popular Fuh Fun band. DJ Tee
Cee will also be in attendance. Tickets are
$25.00 per person.
PAGE 3
Caribbean Jewel
Spring Has Sprung
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
Shivon is a WI Canadian top model and a former Miss West Indian Canadian Pageant
contestant 2010. She says her Pageant participation allowed her to gain self confidence.
It also enhanced her stage presence and helped her to become a better performer. She
has also met some pretty fabulous people along the way. As lovely as she is, of that we
are not all surprised.
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 4
March 21, 2012
A Modern-Day ‘Superwoman’
If you were a fly on the
wall, observing the pace
and accomplishments of
Kandy Samsundar, your
immediate thought might
be that she symbolizes
the modern-day ‘superwoman’.
Arriving in Canada
in 1971, she joined CIBC as a clerk. Today she is a senior manager for the bank’s
Trade Finance department. That means she
facilitates trade between Canadian businesses engaging in import and export. But
she doesn’t stop there.
Although she has an extremely demanding work schedule, she somehow manages
to achieve all that she decides to do. Setting goals, managing time, and being very
organized are things she believes are necessary to a person’s success.
That doesn’t diminish the fact that, as
she says, she has “really good, strong people and good support” around her, in different areas of her life.
Ms. Samsundar recently formed the Canadian Caribbean Cultural Association of
Durham (CCCAD). Her banking experience puts her in a key position to help
CCCAD with economic and trade initiatives.
The CCCAD is a not-for-profit organization that strives to unify and develop its
community through social, cultural, educational, economic, environmental, health
and wellness initiatives.
Its inauguration is on Sat. March 31, at
the site of Pickering’s Ontario Power Generation. OPG is
supportive of this body, having signed on as a sponsor.
CCCAD has also garnered
Beverly
assistance from some influential individuals. These
include hard-working politicians, police, youth activists,
health and wellness professionals and an
assortment of business people who grasp
the vision. They see the aspect of trade as
important for Canadian businesses with
roots in the Caribbean. Plans include working with embassies to facilitate economic
trade initiatives between Canada and the
Caribbean.
The organization’s message is ‘inclusiveness’, to be demonstrated in a variety
of ways. While business is important, Ms.
Samsundar says, “We need to look after
our youth and our elderly.”
The founder explains that the organization is laying the foundation to have good
structure, which she maintains is necessary
for its credibility, and to bring young and
old individuals, as well as diverse groups,
to work together for common causes. There
are four executive members, and currently
13 others working in sub-committees.
While striving to be a unified body, it has
begun to engage members of Caribbean
groups that have been inactive.
CCCAD’s goal is clear for Durham Region. According to Ms. Samsundar, there
are many people from a Caribbean background living in Durham, and she says
Browne
Kandy Samsundar
that the organization must reflect that fact.
Consequently, membership will always
aim to include those who are Black, White,
Indian, Oriental, and Latin-American – because that’s the composition of the Caribbean. Often overlooked is the fact that the
islands have been home to minorities that
include people of German, Portuguese and
Ameri-Indian persuasions.
Going forward, the founder feels it’s crucial for the organization to show cohesiveness, “working with one voice.” Once it is
successful in Durham, it can be duplicated
in other parts of the GTA.
During her 41 years in Canada, the Trinidad-born mother of two has been involved
in a number of community organizations,
including the United Way and a local hospital board. She has also been active in political campaigns at all levels, to help the
candidate she supports. Sadly, she says, in
such political environments, the number
of Caribbean volunteers has been few. But
she believes that’s changing.
Aside from her very demanding job in
banking, the Ajax resident has also owned
a Kumon franchise for the past 15 years. It
is located in the Whitby Mall. The school
tutors students to improve their Math and
Reading skills, thereby improving their
school grades.
Like many Caribbean parents, the single
mother, who successfully raised Renee and
Ryan to adulthood, is a strong believer in
education. She feels, however, there are
some additional areas that Caribbean parents need to pay more attention to, for their
children’s benefit: for example, engaging
in extra-curricular activities, and utilizing
such resources as the public library. She
also believes it’s never too early to start
to develop good personal habits, and to be
aware of health and wellness issues of their
children. This can be reflected in what children are eating.
The business woman encourages parents to be engaged with their children, and
adds, “We need to work with schools to
ensure students get the help they need. We
want to work with parents to work with the
education system.”
As she has done individually in the past,
she’ll continue to help people through this
grassroots organization, and with the support of CCCAD members.
Ms. Samsundar never expects to fail,
and always plans to succeed. She thinks
ahead, planning even the simplest of things
months in advance. Those are some of her
simple habits that help her to remain focused on her goals.
Despite all those skills, she maintains, “I
put God first in my life. He’s the driving
force in all my success.”
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
March 21, 2012
Caribbean Perspective
PAGE 5
An in-depth focus on Caribbean issues
Mixed Views On Moving Regional Integration Movement Forward
This month’s meeting of Caribbean leaders
in Suriname addressed some of the recurring
thorny issues afflicting the regional integration
movement without moving much of its agenda
forward.
Despite this, one CARICOM leader who is
cautiously optimistic that there will be progress
on several fronts in the near future is Guyana’s
President Donald Ramotar who was attending
his first-ever CARICOM Summit.
Ramotar believes deepening and widening CARICOM should
take place simultaneously. He advocates moving ahead with
the CARICOM Single Market, addressing current deficiencies,
while at the same time making aggressive approaches to tap into
the vast and potentially lucrative South American markets.
“Pursuing South American markets such as Brazil, Chile and
Argentina will broaden the base of CARICOM economies and
help them to be more resilient to the effects of the global financial
crisis.”
Ramotar told me he fully shares the views of current CARICOM Chairman, Suriname’s President Desi Bouterse, that the
region has sufficient resources to enable it to not just survive but
to flourish. One of the strategies being touted by Bouterse is for
the Caribbean private sector to invest more in projects and joint
ventures in CARICOM Member States.
This is not an entirely new concept. In the 1980’s, there was
a drive towards the establishment of a CARICOM Enterprise
Regime (CER), but this was no longer pursued once the Single
Market was established.
The Guyanese President acknowledged that freedom of movement and contingent rights for nationals relocating to another
CARICOM country are major impediments to the CARICOM
Single Market.
On the issue of hassle-free travel for both relocation and
holidays, Ramotar reported that the situation has improved for
Guyanese travellers to places like Barbados because the Guyana
Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs have been proactive in this area. “We can’t have genuine integration unless this
cardinal issue is resolved. I get a sense of growing appreciation
of this among CARICOM leaders and I
am optimistic that things will get better in
the near future.”
He agrees that training and sensitising
immigration officers across the region is
Sandra Ann critical if there is to be significant progress in this area.
Ramotar describes as challenging the
crime situation and upsurge in illegal
weapons in Member States. He says a lot
of coordination among the region’s police forces in terms of intelligence sharing is currently taking place. However, the region
needs assistance from western countries that are the markets for
the drugs shipped through the Caribbean by the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. “We need two way sharing of information
and help with areas such as training. We have no problem working with the U.S. DEA.``
The Guyanese President disclosed that at the recent Suriname
meeting discussions held between security services in Guyana
and Suriname on joint crime fighting strategies including intelligence sharing and ways to stamp out piracy.
On one of the most prominent agenda items at the Suriname
meeting, the regional cricket controversy, Ramotar said Guyana
made its case in a strong way and he is hopeful it will have an impact when the Prime Ministerial sub-committee on cricket deals
with this issue.
International Relations Specialist Dr. Anthony Peter Gonzales
believes that the cricket issue overshadowed much more important issues at the Suriname meeting, which he feels produced
“nothing of substance and only massaged the real issues”.
Gonzales, currently serving as Director of the Trinidad-based
Institute of International Relations of the University of the West
Indies (UWI), feels Caribbean leaders missed the boat in terms
of coming to grips with the governance dilemma as well as crime
and security issues. In addition, the impact of the global financial
crisis on the region was a serious omission from the agenda.
Gonzales, one of the consultants who contributed to the work
of the West Indian Commission that reviewed the regional integration movement, said announcing that the CARICOM Secre-
Baptiste
tariat will develop a five-year Strategic Plan is puzzling as this
is the norm for any organization. According to him, the Heads
of Government have had ample time to make a concrete decision on new structures to better facilitate the implementation of
decisions. There has been no clarification of whether a Committee of CARICOM Ambassadors is still one of the options being
pursued.
“As far as the CARICOM Secretariat is concerned, there have
been reports done that concluded that the Secretariat had grown
too big, lacked focus and had a problem prioritising. The move
now should be to have the Secretariat do fewer things and do
them well.”
Gonzales expressed surprise that the Suriname meeting did
not address the debt crisis that several CARICOM countries are
facing. “What they ought to be focusing on is how to get better
terms and conditions from the IMF and how they can access resources without the stringent conditionalities of the past.”
He agrees with St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister
Ralph Gonsalves that for CARICOM to move forward, Trinidad
and Tobago and Jamaica need to be more engaged in integration
initiatives. “There seems to be no political will to give impetus to
many of the CARICOM initiatives and that’s where the impasse
is.”
Gonzales noted that the former Patrick Manning administration in Trinidad and Tobago had an elaborate and well-structured
program to deal with drugs and guns interdiction. “We are in a
very dynamic situation with the Zetas from Mexico, who have
been driven out of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, targeting
in a very sophisticated way, certain CARICOM countries and
yet, in terms of a regional strategy, we seem to be at a standstill.”
Gonzales feels CARICOM countries need, among other
things, to have larger vessels, equipped with radar systems and
backed up by helicopters, patrolling Caribbean waters on a permanent basis.
The dilemma that some Governments have is whether to
plough limited financial resources into beefing up their own police and security forces or divert some of this money towards
regional security operations. (Sandra Ann Baptiste is a business
consultant and Specialist in Caribbean Affairs).
PAGE 6
Commentary
Fuh Fun’s Biggest Fan!
I now have a confession to make. I have become a Fuh
Fun “Groupie”, unapologetically so. Last Saturday (March
17), upon being informed of my plans to go check the band
out at Leela’s that evening, my son Zackie said to me “ Are
you Fuh Fun’s Biggest Fan?” Upon returning home several
hours later around 2:30 am and finding him still up, I gladly
reported that after the Band’s performance that night I now
think I am.
At this point, as readers some of you may not have the
foggiest clue as to who or what Fuh Fun is, other than the
most basic understanding that they are some sort of music
band. By way of edification, the best way to describe them
would be as a five member Caribbean Dance Band.
Four guys, George De Silva (Lead Vocalist), Wayne Dalmada (Guitar and Vocals), Rick Da Silva (Drums and Vocals), Brian Irwin (Percussion) and one very lovely lady,
Ingrid Veerasammy (Keyboards and Vocals), who play live
music for fetes, gala dinners and dances in a manner that’s
highly entertaining and immensely enjoyable. Wayne, Rick,
Brian and Ingrid are all Guyanese. George was born in Jamaica, but has lived in many parts of the Caribbean, including Barbados and Guyana.
What one notices immediately about any Fuh Fun performance is that they all seem to genuinely enjoy what they do.
Their performances are always filled with an intense level
of energy and enthusiasm which very often becomes highly
contagious. Having seen them live about ten times within
the past three years, I can only recall a single occasion when
they struggled to infuse the attendees with their brand of
energy.
That may have had far more to do with the type of crowd
that particular fete had attracted than any shortcomings on
the part of Fuh Fun. Their music that evening was as good as
ever. Even though the dance floor was fairly full throughout,
the impression received nonetheless was that the occupants
were by and large a bunch of people who were there going
through the motions of pretending that they were having a
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
good time, but who really would have preferred to be somewhere else. Quite possibly back at home in their warm and
cozy beds.
My first exposure to Fuh Fun was at the 2010 St Rose’s
Alumni Dinner Dance. My very good fortune that evening
was that the lovely Suzie D’Aguiar, whom I have always
considered to be one of the best dancers I have ever met, was
also there and without an official date.
Fuh Fun’s music that night was the best I’d heard in years.
Much of it was reminiscent of the way Spice used to play at
the Warehouse in Bridgetown, during the latter years of the
eighties when I was working and living in Barbados. Suzie and I literally had a ball that evening, dancing non-stop
during what now ranks as one of the most memorable and
enjoyable evenings I ever had in my entire life.
Until last Saturday night that is and my first official public
outing with, in the words of the late Toronto Star columnist
Gary Lautens, my newly acquired version of the “resident
Love Goddess.” But that’s a topic for a future column, suffice to say that Fuh Fun never sounded sweeter.
Most people who have heard Fuh Fun have been impressed with the band’s versatility. On any given evening
their sets can include everything from Bee Gee’s classics,
through R&B and Old School classics to vintage and modern Soca. Last Saturday evening their female vocalist and
keyboard player, Ingrid Veerasammy, unveiled a new Latino
song that was a delight to hear and a wonderful testimony
to the band’s versatility. Watching her dance with her boyfriend while belting out the song’s sultry lyrics was so very
romantic and also highly entertaining.
Saturday night’s three sets were the perfect mix. From the
opening If You Leave Me Now through an extended run of
half a dozen Old School classics to the goose bumps stimulating Red Plastic Bag’s 2009 Barbados Crop Over Road
March Winner “Something’s Happening”, the tunes just
kept coming one after another. They were definitely in a
groove, sounding very tight and sweet as ever.
Caricom Doing The Dragon Dance
On February 9th, Prime Minister of St
Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, wrote a robust letter to the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Irwin la Rocque,
pointing out the deep malaise in which
the regional integration project is mired.
His letter was copied to all CARICOM
Heads of Government.
He did not spare the leadership of CARICOM, including
himself, in asserting that a decision taken by leaders at a
Retreat in Guyana last year, putting the integration process
on “pause”, was a mistake. He made the telling point that
“pause” in a dynamic world is “a euphemism for standing
still”.
Touring the critical areas in which CARICOM was underperforming or not performing at all, Prime Minister Gonsalves identified weak governance of CARICOM and the
failure to implement decisions as the two most critical issues
facing the regional movement.
Food security remains unaddressed even as the cost of
importing food escalates according to the Prime Minister,
a senior statesman in CARICOM. With the exception only
of the Prime Minister of St Kitts-Nevis, Denzil Douglas, he
has been at the helm of CARICOM longer than any of his
colleagues. He also has deep involvement in the region as an
academic and an analyst.
It was not an unreasonable expectation, therefore, that in
the wake of his very public letter, Heads of Government, at
their meeting in Suriname on 8 and 9 March, would have
shed the cloak of denial that CARICOM is not in crisis;
accepted publicly that urgent action is necessary; and announced tangible measures to move forward.
That did not occur.
It could be that Gonsalves’ view was heard and did receive
support, but that the leaders have decided
to make no collective announcements to
their people until they have had a chance
to consider the way forward, including
Sir Ronald how to fund it.
For sure, few governments in the region
– many of them burdened by heavy and
unsustainable debt – have much money
to contribute to an enhanced CARICOM
Secretariat and a new programme of action.
It would have been encouraging to hear that Heads had
mandated the Ministerial Councils of CARICOM to examine all the mandates and work programme of the Secretariat
and to retire all except the ones that would convey benefits
to the Caribbean people and are deliverable over the next
five to seven years.
Instead, Heads declared that “the integration movement
has continued to make great strides ever since the signing
of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas” – a point that would
not find great echoes of support within the region and outside it.
Many Caribbean businesspeople are bedeviled every day
by the continuing bureaucracy that delays, if not prohibits,
the movement of their goods from one CARICOM country
to another.
Caribbean people also continue to face obstacles to the
right of establishment even when they qualify for freedom of
movement in the categories identified in the Revised Treaty.
The lack of regional transportation continues to adversely
affect the transportation of goods within CARICOM, and if
any attention is being paid to this serious problem, it is being
done by one country with the seeming intention of controlling it from a nationalistic position. The case in point is the
glaringly unfair competition that subsidised fuel gives to the
Trinidad and Tobago airline, Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL),
Sanders
March 21, 2012
Personally of all the many music genres Fuh Fun has performed over the three years I have now been following them
with “Groupie” admiration, to me they are at their supreme
best with Ragga Soca Love Rap type songs. It’s virtually impossible to merely sit or stand listening whenever Fuh Fun
plays tunes like Red Plastic Bag’s Ragga Ragga or Baron’s
Sweet Soca Man. One just feels compelled to dance.
Fuh Fun’s tight sound and perfect harmony is a product of
the band members’ dedication to their craft. The band practices regularly in the basement of drummer Rich DaSilva’s
Brooklyn home. According to lead vocalist George, what
the audience eventually hears at a Fuh Fun performance is
the offshoot of hours and hours spent in practice, getting it
just right!
The sense of professionalism that’s goes into band practices also comes out in other areas of Fuh Fun’s persona
as a group. I can personally attest to the fact that they are
punctual to a tee. There’s nothing Caribbean-like in their respect for time. As Mickey Holding would say “their watches
work.”
Fuh Fun’s ability to consistently deliver highly enjoyable
performances has served to increase the band’s popularity.
To the extent that they are becoming increasingly busy with
bookings. Leela’s owner Steve Dindyal loves Fuh Fun and
the crowd they attract to his recently opened restaurant so
much, that he now seeks to book them at least once a month.
A few weeks ago they performed to a full house $100 plate
audience a Cancer Benefit Gala Dinner.
With the advent of Spring and Summer’s warmth soon to
follow, Fuh Fun’s ever growing popularity seems likely to
produce a fairly packed schedule of performances. As the
band’s resident “Groupie”, wherever they are I intend to
be. Especially now that I have a dancing beauty to accompany me. “Let the music play, I just want to dance the night
away”… to Fuh Fun.
Tony Mc
and now to a ferry that will ply from Trinidad to some Eastern Caribbean countries and Barbados.
Food security remains unaddressed even as the cost of importing food escalates for every country, and some CARICOM countries such as Guyana, Belize and Dominica dump
food that could feed the region, keeping foreign exchange
within the area.
A region-wide plan for regional energy security utilising
regionally-produced hydro-electricity, solar energy, geothermal energy, and oil and gas also continues to be elusive.
On the matter of regional governance and implementation, this would be the fourth (or maybe the fifth) attempt
since 1992 to deal with the issue. Therefore, Caribbean people would be forgiven for harbouring no high expectation of
its success, especially as once again it is the “Bureau” (three
heads of government with no authority to make decisions for
the others) that will oversee it.
Still, it has to be hoped that the decisions to “begin the
process of restructuring the Secretariat” and “to facilitate
improving regional governance and implementation” are
signs that more radical and fundamental reforms will be
implemented.
The vital work is the 5-year Strategic Plan that the Secretary-General is expected to produce by the next CARICOM
Summit in July. That Plan should be the framework that
guides a coordinated regional response to the current malaise of weak growth, high debt, stagnating incomes and rising unemployment.
If that is not what is on the cards, then the scramble for
what is perceived to be benefits will accelerate through alliances with groups other than CARICOM – what the independent consultant’s report has described as “voting with
their feet”.
Then where will be the identity, culture and independence
of the CARICOM people?
March 21, 2012
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 7
Caribbean Destinations: Charming Curaçao Worth A Look See
Lying alongside Aruba and Bonaire, Curaçao is a Caribbean island among the group known as the ABC Islands.
This trio is located near Venezuela, and are considered to
be outside the Caribbean’s so-called “hurricane zone.”
This means that vacations to the island are rarely disrupted
by such tropical storms.
One of the most notable things about the island is its culture. This Dutch island features building styles you’d find
in the Netherlands, but painted in beautiful pastel shades.
However, the people of the island have developed a culture, and even a language, of their own. Papiamentu (also
spelled Papiamento), is the island’s native Creole. Papiamentu is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch, but
with a very basic grammar. Official spelling has existed
for only a few years.
Rated in 2010 as one of the Top Ten Tourist Destinations
and as a Honeymoon Hot Spot by Conde Nast, tiny, yet
bustling Curaçao has become one of the hottest destinations in the Caribbean for discerning travelers. A paradise for scuba divers and nature lovers alike, its ruggedly
beautiful landscape provides endless opportunities for fun.
As an island paradise, Curaçao offers visitors vast open
spaces and many activities to enjoy, including exhilarating
hiking, biking and ATV Tours.
The complete southwestern side of Curaçao is one large
coral reef and marine park. In the north, visitors can dive at
the Banda Abou National Park, in the center at the Central
Curaçao Underwater Park and in the south at the Curaçao
Underwater Park.
Curaçao also offers plenty of dive sites, from easy shore
dives, pristine coral bay dives to sheer drop-offs especially
in the southeast. Curaçao offers some of the best diving in
the world. Water lovers can immerse themselves in mysterious and colorful underwater worlds at more than sixty
diving locations which provide some of the most colorful
and awe-inspiring scenes imaginable.
The island’s landscape is punctuated by its beaches,
many of which are intimate and secluded providing for
ultimate relaxation.. Curaçao’s beaches are concentrated
on the southern coast, especially the western side. Playa
Kalki, also known as Alice in Wonderland, is located at
the far west end of the island past the town of Westpunt
and near Kura Hulanda Lodge. It has a restaurant at the
beach and Ocean Encounters West, which is a full service
dive shop.
Playa Grote Kenapa, also known as Big Knip, is a large
sand beach west of the town of Lagun. Playa Kleine Kenapa, also known as Little Knip is another beach just past
Lagun. It is a nice secluded beach with plenty of shade
trees for those wanting to stay out of the direct sun.
Also in Lagun is Playa Lagun, a secluded bay towards
the western end of the island. It is a small sandy beach on
a rectangular shaped bay with tall cliffs on each side. The
waters adjacent to the cliffs are an excellent place for snorkeling. Both sides of the bay along the cliffs are teaming
with a wide variety of marine life and corals. The left side
of the bay has a greater variety of underwater structure for
a better experience. The beach has the Discover Diving
Curaçao dive shop which also has a small restaurant.
One of Curaçao’s most popular beaches is Kontiki
Beach. Located about a ten minute drive east from downtown Willemstad, Kontiki is a full service beach offering
water sports, shops, a beach bar and a restaurant. Right
next door is Mambo Beach, the place where locals and
tourists alike visit for the nightlife partying here.
Curaçao’s crown jewel, its capital city Willemstad, is
a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as a lively port
full of high-end retailers, restaurants and nightlife spots.
A visit to Willemstad provides Old World charm and contemporary culture. The city’s dynamic architecture, activities and neighborhoods shape the island’s historic center.
There are a plethora of random shops and markets
around Willemstad offering clothing, souvenirs, crafts,
and other goods. These include a commonly-termed “duty
free enclave” in the downtown area. Offerings emphasize
European goods, to include jewelry, timepieces/watches
and linens, plus the usual collection of souvenir shops.
Perhaps not noted for great bargains, visitors will oftentimes find items at decent prices that are not seen anywhere else in the Caribbean. A water front market lies on
the near north side of the main shopping area. It’s packed
with fresh foods and flowers, best seen or shopped in the
mornings. On Sundays, however, most businesses except
restaurants in the city are closed.
What makes Curaçao special among Caribbean islands
is its authenticity. For centuries, the island’s inhabitants
have forged a vibrant and rich culture rooted in history
and hospitality.
Local cuisine in Curaçao is a mixture of European, West
Indian and East Asian (particularly Indonesian) flavours.
Dutch influences are found in the use of cheeses, bread
and seafood, which are also important in Curaçaoan food.
Indonesian cuisine, a migrant from Suriname, another of
the Netherlands’ former colonies, can be found on the island, and explains the widespread availability of Sate and
Peanut sauce along with the islands more Caribbean fare.
Also, Chinese “snacks” can be found all over the island
serving cheap Chinese food. They cater mostly to locals,
but most serve good food.
As removed as it may be from the English Caribbean
island chain, charming Curaçao is definitely worth a look
see!
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 8
Barbados Beat
Red Zone
March 21, 2012
Court Appearance
BRIDGETOWN, - The man who was
shot following a shoplifting incident at SuperCentre Warrens is expected to appear in
court pending the completion of investigations into the matter. He was in custody
after being treated at the Queen Elizabeth
Hospital (QEH) and discharged for a gunshot wound to his right leg. He reportedly
pulled a knife on the chief security officer
from Forde’s Security Service.
The incident, which occurred around
7:50 a.m. on March 19, took place after the
man was challenged for having a number
of the supermarket’s hams in his posses-
sion, without paying for them. According
to the statement from SuperCentre Limited, it was when the security guard attempted to apprehend the man that he brandished
a weapon and made his escape by breaking
a pane of glass in the exit door of the supermarket that was closed. He was pursued
by security and an altercation took place.
He was shot, but managed to get away. He
was later apprehended by police and taken
to the QEH. SuperCentre Limited said that
no staff on duty or customers in the store
were hurt during the incident.
Once Like Eden
BRIDGETOWN, Grounded low-cost
carrier REDjet has reported that negotiations to get it flying again were at a “sensitive stage”, as Trinidad and Tobago warned
of a possible withdrawal of its operating
licence. The word of caution was issued
by Minister of Transport Devant Maharaj
as REDjet officials remained tight-lipped
about the state of flight resumption talks.
“REDjet continues to negotiate with relevant authorities and due to the sensitive
nature of talks, cannot comment any further at this time,” said the carrier in a statement posted on its website and Facebook
page. The airline, however, indicated that
staff members were working “around the
clock” to maintain the integrity of its business and to ensure a smooth and efficient
transition when services resume. No further details were forthcoming from REDjet officials, but there have been reports
that the carrier has been seeking a multimillion-dollar financial injection from the
Barbados Government.
Meanwhile REDjet’s two major rival
airlines – which it had blamed for forcing
it to shut down operations – have moved in
swiftly to fill the breach left by its sudden
March 16 suspension, while one govern-
ment rebuffed its call for help.
LIAT and Caribbean Airlines, both
state-owned airlines, announced in separate statements they were adjusting their
schedules and putting on extra seats, while
stressing that they both serve all of REDjet’s routes. The airlines are not honouring
REDjet tickets, but announced “special arrangements” and “measures” as hundreds
of stranded passengers region-wide demanded refunds or wait for further word
from the fledgling Barbados-based carrier.
“All persons affected may contact the
LIAT Call Centre to make bookings on
LIAT by quoting their REDjet booking
reference/confirmation number in order
to be entitled to purchase a new ticket at
a special fare in these unfortunate circumstances,” said a statement from islandhopper LIAT, which is owned by three
Eastern Caribbean governments. Trinidad
and Tobago’s state-owned Caribbean Airlines said: “Mindful of the impact of this
sudden suspension that has left passengers
and families stranded, our scheduled operations will be adjusted by adding additional seats for sale. As all of their routes
we already serve.”
Students Celebrate
BRIDGETOWN, - A celebratory mood
enveloped the West Coast yesterday as
students of St James Secondary School
participated in a victory walk, making the
public aware of the school’s achievements.
The walk, which stretched from the
school to the Holetown West Coast Mall,
captured the attention of motorists and pedestrians, who cheered on and congratulated the students.
Holding a banner aloft that declared
them to be The Toast Of The West Coast,
the students took to the streets to celebrate
14-year-old Jane Small’s win of the Interschool Singing Competition, which resulted in her receiving a challenge trophy
donated by international singing sensation
Rihanna. Small is also one of last year’s
NIFCA Silver Award winners in music.
The school’s unbeatable girls’ football
team and student Jonathan King, who was
voted Top Scout in Barbados last year,
were also acknowledged.
Principal Jefferson Phillips said the walk
was staged to highlight the positive things
happening at the school.
“Like any other school we are going to
have our challenges, but there are good
things coming out of St James Secondary
School. We are here today to say to the
public that there are students at St James
Secondary School who have a lot of talent and we have had a number of success
stories,” he said.
At the mall, some of the school’s powerful singers treated patrons and staff to
a number of selections. The appreciative
audience gave a rousing round of applause
after hearing the likes of Small, Leah Goddard, Chad Mountplaisir and Janessa Price.
BRIDGETOWN, - Imagine the slopes
of Farley Hill, St Peter ablaze with flowers; garden beds supporting various flora,
assorted exotic trees shading them all with
the magnificent scenery of the East Coast
in the background. Looking at it now, with
only its majestic trees and grassy hills, it
might be hard to see. But according to Professor Henry Fraser, Farley Hill in its heyday was ranked as one of the most beautiful gardens on the island, right alongside
the gardens of Government House.
The professor and eminent historian was
delivering the March 14 “lively lecture”,
as the Barbados National Trust threw
open another house in its open house programme. This time, the property was the
expansive villa Pandanus, sitting on the
rim of a gully in Mullins, St Peter. Fraser
told hundreds of visitors to the property
that from early times, the island had been
compared to Eden, and the gardens of the
various estates, including those of Codrington College and Government House,
had been described by Robert Schomburgk
in his book The History Of Barbados.
However, within ten years of the
property’s owner being “read out of the
Professor Henry Fraser
Bridgetown Club” and relocating to Nevis,
the gardens had slid into a state of ruin.
“And of course Farley Hill house, having been razed by fire, is now a ruin in a
large national park and what remains of the
garden is essentially the very large trees,
and the forested environment around the
main house and the main lawns,” he said.
The former Barbados National Trust
president went on to reveal that many of
the gardens in the 20th century were created either by the ladies of the Civic Circle, or the “ladies of leisure” in the Garden
Circle.
Up In Arms
BRIDGETOWN, - Two film-makers are
up in arms over the piracy of their movie
Hush 3, which was recently released on
DVD. Dale and Marcia Weekes told local
reporters that after releasing the DVD it
was being sold without their permission on
Swan Street.
“We’re happy we have something of
value which people want, but we’re appealing to the public, who have been our
main source of financial support, to buy
the original copies. We’re also calling on
the police to be vigilant and bring the full
weight of the law on these offenders,” the
husband and wife producers pleaded. Mar-
cia Weekes also revealed that an associate
saw the DVD being shown and advertised
in a video store and immediately told the
operatives they had no authority to sell
it. “They took it off the shelf soon afterwards,” she added.
The Weekeses, who produced Hush 1, 2
and 3 between 2007 and last year, also noted that outside of public support, they get
assistance from the Barbados Investment
and Development Corporation (BIDC) in
transferring the film to large screen format,
and benefit from equipment provided by
Merville Lynch Productions.
BRIDGETOWN, - Barbadians will be
paying slightly more for petroleum and
liquefied petroleum products. As of March
19 the retail price of gasoline, diesel and
kerosene will increase, in keeping with the
cost of petroleum products on the international market. The price of gasoline will
move from $3.24 to $3.37 per litre – up
by 13 cents. Diesel will now be retailed at
$2.93 – an increase of eight cents; while
kerosene will now be retailed at $1.94.
Meanwhile the 100-pound liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder will now cost
$200.08 – up by $1.51, while the 25-pound
cylinder will be retailed at $55.22 – an increase of 38 cents. The 20-pound cylinder
will now cost $44.33 – up by 31 cents.
Petrol Prices Up
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
March 21, 2012
Agreement Signed
ST JOHN’S, - The government of Antigua and Barbuda has signed economic
and technical cooperation agreements with
China totaling almost $10.5 million.
The two sides signed the agreement
Monday, with Antiguan Prime Minister
Baldwin Spencer and Gao Hucheng, Vice
Minister in China’s Ministry of Commerce.
The deal will include the construction of
a secondary school in Five Islands, along
with cooperation on the Sir Vivian Richard Cricket Stadium and funding for other
projects.
The deal included a $1.01 million agreement for economic cooperation, $4.74 mil-
lion for the construction of the school and
a $4.74 million loan for a development
project.
Next year will mark 30 years since the
two countries established diplomatic ties.
China has increased its interaction with
the country in recent years, highlighted by
the handing over of a 30-megawatt power
plant at Crabbes, which caused some controversy.
Gao said he was looking forward to establishing new areas of cooperation that
would encourage two-way trade and economic development.
BASSETERRE, - Saint Kitts and Nevis,
the Caribbean island federation, is poised
to restructure its sovereign debt burden,
one of the highest in the world relative to
its economy and 50,000 inhabitants. The
West Indies country has seen its indebtedness skyrocket owing to the costs of reconstruction after periodic tropical hurricanes,
a drop in tourism and the cost of unwinding its struggling sugar industry.
The federation’s cabinet approved the
final dissolution of the St Kitts Sugar Manufacturing Corporation this month, seven
years after the official closure of the sugar
industry. The country’s football team is still
informally known as the “Sugar Boys”.
International creditors last week overwhelmingly accepted a debt exchange
package on $150m of St Kitts’ $1.1bn
overall debts, which will see them take
deep haircuts. The small sliver of holdouts
will be coerced into acceptance by collective action clauses similar to those used
by Greece. Local banks, which hold about
$600m of government debts, will take over
government assets that have secured the
loans. The balance of St Kitts’ total $1bn
debts are in treasury bills and multilateral
loans from organisations such as the Caribbean Development Bank, and will not be
restructured.
When the restructuring and debt exchange is completed in mid-April, the
country will see its debt-to-gross domestic product fall from about 149 per cent to
about 95 per cent, according to White Oak
Advisory, St Kitts’ financial adviser. When
the restructuring was first announced last
summer, the ratio was close to 200 per
cent.
The International Monetary Fund, which
signed an $80m stand-by agreement with
St Kitts last year, has said that the country’s economic prospects were showing
signs of improving after two years of contracting, and that the government was hitting its fiscal targets.
Like Greece, St Kitts is part of a wider
monetary bloc, the East Caribbean Currency Union, which has stymied its efforts to
tackle its debt burden. Along with St Kitts,
the union includes Antigua and Barbuda,
Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Debt To Be Restructured
Marijuana Haven
KINGSTOWN, - The United States (US)
says St Vincent and the Grenadines remains the main source of marijuana in the
Caribbean. Cana News agency has reported the findings from the US Department of
State 2012 International Narcotics Control
Strategy Report. According to Cana, the
US Government says marijuana producers
have recently begun to label their product
for export. The report states that younger
nationals have also been entering the trade.
The US State Department says based on
information from officials, St Vincent and
the Grenadines has over 300 acres under
marijuana cultivation. The report adds
that regional trade has also increased, with
Trinidad and Tobago exporting drugs and
guns in exchange for marijuana. It also
notes the marked increase in remittance
flows.
PAGE 9
Brizan Remembered
ST GEORGE’S, - The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has lauded the
late former Prime Minister of Grenada,
George Ignatius Brizan, CMG, CBE, for
his sterling contribution to advancing the
democratic principles within the Region.
CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, hailed the “unique
vision” the late founder member and leader of the National Democratic Congress
(NDC) held for Grenada, the wider Caribbean Community and the Caribbean Diaspora.
Mr Brizan was buried on Friday in Grenada.
The Secretary-General said that it was in
the true spirit of nationalism, bi-partisanship and a sincere quest to truly advance
the Grenadian people that the former Prime
Minister served the beloved Spice Island,
even after stepping down as Premier.
Mr. Brizan’s distinguished career spread
across disciplines, with commendable
service rendered as a Minister of Agriculture, of Finance, and of Trade, as well as
a notable career in the field of Education.
In 1995, Mr. Brizan attained the highest
political office as Grenada’s sixth Prime
Minister for a four-month term. SecretaryGeneral LaRocque said that the former
Grenadian Prime Minister will probably be
most fondly remembered for his work with
students at the Grenada Boys’ Secondary
George Ignatius Brizan
School where he was not just a teacher of
History and Economics, but also a mentor
to the students, raising their level of social
and political consciousness about local, regional and international issues.
“Indeed, it has been reported that it was
not uncommon for students to use the colloquial phrase “to be a Brizan”, expressing their desire to follow in the footsteps of
such an esteemed Son of the Soil.”
“Former Prime Minister Brizan’s lifelong example of the pursuit of excellence
and duty towards his country, and by extension to his Region, shall be long remembered,” Secretary-General LaRocque
said.
Diaspora Efforts Urged
SOUFRIERE, St Lucia - Bring Caribbean islanders living abroad closer to the
center of our plans, a St. Lucian businesswoman has urged. Eroline Lamontagne,
a regional hotelier and entrepreneur, has
renewed calls on the Caribbean’s public
and private sector leaders to get behind the
Diaspora to help move the region forward.
Lamontagne, proprietor of the Fond
Doux Holiday Plantation resort in the
charming old colonial St. Lucian town of
Soufrière, believes the region’s approach
towards leveraging the intellectual resources and financial capital of the Diaspora has been weak. Rather than treating
Caribbean peoples living overseas as an
afterthought, she asserted, “diasporic relations must be central to our development
strategy.”
Speaking on the occasion of Saint Lucia’s 33rd Independence anniversary last
month, the successful entrepreneur pointed
to remittances, travel, investment and philanthropy as four areas in which members
of the region’s expatriate community contribute the greatest. She advocated a more
deliberate approach to harness the goodwill and skills of the Diaspora: “We must
formalize our ties for their impact to be
even better felt and their contributions to
be better appreciated.”
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 12
Ominous Developments
GEORGETOWN, - The Guyana Cooperative Credit Union League Ltd (GCCUL) has expressed its deep concern
over the ominous developments that are
currently taking place within the Guyana
Defence Force Credit Union Ltd, an affiliate of the League. “We call upon the Chief
Cooperatives Development Officer to use
the authority vested in him under chapter
88:01 to ensure that all accountably, regulatory and governance issues are speedily
resolved in the interest of the membership,
March 21, 2012
Illegal Pesticides Seized
the credit union and the cooperative movement,” said Mr. Derrick Cummings, Public
Relations Officer of the GCCUL.
The League, Guyana’s umbrella body
for credit unions, has indicated its intentions to monitor the situation closely and
have already alerted the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) of
this undesirable situation confronting one
of Guyana’s largest Credit Unions, Cummings said yesterday.
Robbery Under Arms
GEORGETOWN, - A Man and his
three sons, from Canefield, Leguan, Essequibo Islands, have been charged with
robbery under arms under the Hijacking
and Piracy Act, and unlawful possession of
two outboard engines, which were stolen
from fishermen in an attack in the Atlantic
Ocean, in the vicinity of Pomeroon River
mouth. Police said on March 03, 2012, acting on information received, police ranks
conducted a search on the home of Dawanand Jagdai, 49, of Canefield, Leguan, Essequibo, where they found two 15hp outboard motor engines.
Jagdai could not produce a receipt for
one of the engines and the receipt for the
other appeared to be forged. Consequently,
resulting from further investigations, Jagdai and his three sons, Parmanand Jagdai, 25, Suresh Jagdai, 24, and Narendra
Jagdai, 17, were charged with unlawful
possession of the engines. They appeared
before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Anna
Regina Magistrate Court on March 06,
when they were remanded to prison until
March 29, 2012.
On March 09, one of the fishermen
who was a victim of the recent pirate attack at the mouth of the Pomeroon River,
positively identified one of the engines at
Jagdai’s home to be his property that was
stolen during the incident. Consequently,
Dawanand Jagdai and his sons have been
further charged with robbery under arms
under the Hijacking and Piracy Act. They
appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly
at the Suddie Magistrate Court yesterday,
Friday March 16, 2012, where they were
remanded to prison until April 30, 2012.
Budget Presented
GEORGETOWN, - In presenting its
2012 $1.9B budget to the public on March
20, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) indicated its desire for government to take over all costs associated
with street lighting. But the government
is quite firm in its decision that this is not a
move it is willing to consider.
Following several delays and postponements, Acting Chairman of the Finance
Committee, Junior Garrett, finally managed to make the presentation in City
Hall’s chambers.
Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green
filled in for Mayor Hamilton Green, who
was said to be out of the jurisdiction at the
time.
In his presentation, Garrett indicated the
municipality’s interests in seeking government’s assistance for the write-off of
$825M owing to the Guyana Power and
Light (GPL) for street lighting, and for
government to take over its responsibility
from January 1, 2012. He noted how the
city council is billed and expected to pay
for lights that may not be working, and
hence there is no way of really knowing if
value for money is being received.
Residential and commercial taxes will
have to be increased a hundred percent
if the council is to pay GPL, he said, and
there is no guarantee that tax payers will
have the ability to pay.
GEORGETOWN, - The Pesticides and
Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB)
of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Inspection
and Enforcement Unit recently conducted
a series of inspections and seizure exercises countrywide which resulted in the
confiscation of significant quantities of illegal and unregistered Household and Agriculture Pesticides Products. The seizures
were in keeping with the Board’s mandates
for eradicating the importation, sale and
use of illegal pesticides.
In keeping with the Pesticides and Toxic
Chemicals Control Regulations 2004 (No.
8 of 2004), all pesticides imported, sold
and used in Guyana must be registered by
the Board. All products confiscated during
these operations were not registered by the
Board. The Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board said it is committed to
enforcing the regulations as it relates to the
importation, sale and use of Pesticides and
Toxic Chemicals.
GEORGETOWN, - EZjet has announced that its Boeing 767-200 Airline
Charter service from New York to Guyana is almost fully booked for the month
of April. The Airline Charter’s New York
based Aircraft & Schedule Pannier Larry
Soletti, has pointed out that the cost of
tickets are “stepped” so the earlier a seat
is purchased the lower the price. Soletti
said that EZjet also allows two and, occasionally, three 60lbs bags per passenger.
He noted too, that the very high quality in
flight dining offered on board Dynamic is
being catered specially for EZjet passengers’ tastes and is an additional customer
service attraction.
Operating a reliable service, Soletti emphasized, is extremely important to passengers and, to date, EZjet, since the startup
of its operations, has successfully operated
well over 90% of its flights on time.
EZjet’s Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Richard Lee, said that he is not surprised
at the continued success of the new char-
ter service. In just three (3) months, since
its inaugural flight in December, passenger
loads have increased significantly with a
nearly 50% increase from December to
January and a 62% increase from January
to February.
Lee said the exceptionally competitive
prices offered by EZjet coupled with the
superior customer comfort provided by the
Boeing 767-200 Dynamic Airways aircraft
contracted by EZjet, are a welcome and attractive alternative to the narrow seating
and cramped conditions of the other Airlines servicing Guyana.
Dynamic Airways, engaged by EZjet
to provide the new airline charter service,
has been operating for 75 years and has an
international reputation for excellence and
its commitment to aircraft safety and reliability. The new series Boeing 767-200 is
a mid-sized wide body airliner with dual
aisles and spacious cabin seating with 200
Economy Class passenger seats and 18
First Class.
Flying Full
Adventure Of A Lifetime
GEORGETOWN, - The Pakaraima Mountain Safari,
dubbed ‘The Adventure of a Lifetime’, which has been
growing in popularity, was officially launched on March
20. The annual event is a collaborative effort between
the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the
Guyana Tourism Authority, along with the Local Government Ministry, Regions 8 and 9, Rainforest Tours, the
Guyana Oil Company, Digicel Guyana, MMC, and Neal
and Massy Limited.
The 10th Pakaraima Mountain Safari is scheduled for
March 30 to April 6, 2012, covering 529 miles in an eight-
day journey through the heart of Guyana. The convoy will
start from Georgetown, through Region 10 (Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice), Region 9 (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), and up to Orinduik in the heart of the Pakaraima
mountains in Region 8 (Potaro/Siparuni), passing through
14 Amerindian communities, with five overnights on the
way to Orinduik where it culminates. The safari will pass
through Karabasabai, where a memorial service in honour
of the late former President Dr. Cheddi Jagan will be held,
Morabaiko, Monkey Mountain, Kato and finally, Orinduik.
Vehicle inspections will be done on March 28, at
13:00hrs at the Guyoil Service Station, Regent Street,
Georgetown, and participating vehicles are to assemble
there on the evening of March 29, for departure at 01:00
hr on March 30. Participants will be given the ideal opportunity to experience the outdoors and go through rough
terrain, discovering the scenic natural beauty of Guyana’s
mountainous regions, enjoying spectacular waterfalls, and
experiencing the rich indigenous culture, while getting a
glimpse of the country’s wide range of flora and fauna, and
making new friends on the journey, altogether an unforgettable experience.
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
March 21, 2012
Findings Forthcoming
KINGSTON, - Minister of Education,
Ronald Thwaites, said the findings of
the assessment team on the curriculum
and method of testing for the Grade Six
Achievement Test (GSAT) should be ready
within another eight months. The minister
explained that because the examination is
such a “high stakes” examination for students, parents and teachers, more emphasis
should be placed on critical thinking and
reasoning capacity, rather than on students’
ability to recall information. Secondly, he
said, continuous assessment is critical for
guiding the curriculum.
“What we are trying to test is the students’ readiness for secondary education…
we need to look also at the abilities of that
student, so a fundamental question which
is being asked by the ministry is – ‘does
Pickersgill said an interim amount of $1
million was approved by the Ministry of
Local Government in response to the request for $5 million from the Clarendon
Parish Council. He said that Charles ought
to know that in the past Cabinet has approved funding to mitigate drought stricken areas as a matter of course. He indicated
that Cabinet approved the sum of $50 million to finance the trucking of water to the
parishes which are currently experiencing
meteorological drought as defined by our
Met Office.
Carcasses In Rice
KINGSTON, - Jamaica’s Food Storage
and Prevention of Infestation Division
(FSPID) has confiscated approximately
1,500 metric tonnes of paddy rice in which
the dried-out carcasses of rodents and
frogs were found.
The rice, which is valued at approximately $15 million, was imported from the
United States by a local distributor. Paddy
rice is the unshelled form of the cereal,
which is usually imported for further processing to make white rice, for distribution
into the local commercial trade.
Senior food storage scientist at the FSPID, Tamara Morrison, said that the rice
was seized after a ship in which it was being transported, that docked at the Kingston Pier, was inspected by the department’s
food storage inspector. Morrison said the
frog and rodent carcasses were confirmed
following tests by the FSPID’s Rodent Biology and Control Laboratory.
“Our observations would suggest that
LIME’s Immeasurable Investment
the GSAT satisfy those criteria?’ We are
convinced that it does to a significant measure, but as in any system, it needs to be
kept under constant review,” the minister
said.
Therefore, the ministry has engaged a
team of local and international experts
to help with assessing the efficacy of the
GSAT, and ensure that the objectives of
testing abilities and readiness are being
met. The assessment team comprises a
consortium from the University of Wolverhampton, Pearson Educational Unit, and
DPK Jamaica Limited. Some 44,000 students will sit the GSAT on March 22 and
23, and will be tested in the critical areas
of the primary school curriculum, such as
mathematics, social studies, language arts,
science, and communication tasks.
Drought Alleviation Not A Political Tool
KINGSTON, - The Government has no
intention to use water for the alleviation
of drought as a political tool, Minister of
Water, Land, Environment and Climate
Change Robert Pickersgill has said.
Responding to a statement from Member of Parliament for North Central Clarendon, Pearnel Charles, that he was willing to prevent water trucks from driving
through his constituency to truck water
solely to drought-stricken People’s National Party (PNP) communities, Pickersgill said Charles was being “misleading
and mischievous”.
PAGE 13
the carcasses got into the commodity prior
to loading of the ship. This suggests that
it was stored under unsanitary conditions,”
said Morrison, who also heads the agency’s Training and Information Unit.
She said that the matter was discussed
extensively with the consignee and a disposal notice served, accordingly. Arrangements were made for the rice to be returned
to the United States, she said, as “Jamaica
does not have the facilities to handle such
a large volume for disposal”. The seizure,
she said, is the first such since the start of
the year.
Last year, approximately one metric
tonne of white rice was confiscated and ordered disposed by the FSPID after it was
deemed unfit for consumption. The FSPID
is the regulatory department within the
Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, with responsibility for ensuring the
safety and wholesomeness of food entering commerce.
Grace Silvera
KINGSTON, - Telecommunications giant LIME will be making an “immeasurable investment” in ensuring that Jamaicans who are unable to travel to London
this summer will still be able to enjoy the
Olympics, as well as the celebration of Jamaica’s 50th year of Independence. The
telecommunications company, which is the
sponsor of the Observer’s Olympic coverage in London, has not yet tallied the total
investment which will be poured into this
venture, but says it’s sizeable.
According to Grace Silvera, LIME, as
a company that has been in Jamaica for
decades, has to set aside this year as an
exceptional year. According to Silvera, it
will not just be about the Olympics, but
Jamaica will be on stage, given the timing
of our 50th anniversary of Independence
celebration. She said that LIME, which is
a vibrant, refreshed and dynamic company,
will be a part of the Olympics in a big way.
Consumers, she said, can expect exciting deals in retail space, rewards for being a LIME customer, Olympic updates at
their fingertips, and a constant connection
to what is happening in and around London
during the Olympics. The company is also
expected to add to the Olympic coverage
through its mobile TV offering, which will
allow consumers to be able to stay tuned to
the games, even when they are on the go.
LIME, she said, actually started the celebration for this special period last year
with some key strategic pillars such as this
year’s signing of World Champion Yohan
Blake and continuation of its relationship
with former 100m world recorder holder
Asafa Powell. The telecommunications
company will also be the sponsor of local
television broadcast coverage.
Viral Debate Over Electricity Costs
KINGSTON, - The ongoing debate
about the rising cost of electricity has gone
viral. A full-page advertisement placed in
one of the local newspapers has requested
individuals to join a Facebook initiative
called Fight For Your Light, which gives
Jamaicans a forum to express their frustration against high electricity bills and to
mobilise support to break the monopoly on
the distribution of electricity.
The very next day the fight was taken
further when telecommunications giant
Digicel tweeted, “According to a recent
article published by the Jamaica Public
Service company (JPSCo) residential rates
have gone up by over 135 per cent since
2001and commercial electricity rates have
increased from US$15.30 ($1,318) in 2001
to US$35.90 in 2011.” Digicel then asked
its followers to “join the movement and
fight for your light”, adding a link to the
initiative’s Facebook page. However, JPSCo hit back, replying to Digicel, “True,
however, US$26.60 of that amount is for
fuel, which is bought from the state refinery.”
The electricity provider continued, “Fuel
costs have gone up by 500 per cent in the
last 10 years. The only way to bring down
costs is through fuel diversification.” JPSCo then told its followers, and many other
Twitter account holders who awaited the
replies, “Electricity rates are high because
of the cost of oil.”
“How can electricity costs be reduced?”
JPSCo asked, before adding, “Fuel diversification. Cut the dependence on oil.” Digicel’s account has not responded to any of
JPSCo’s statements.
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 14
March 21, 2012
Card Cancelled
Homes Attacked
PORT-OF-SPAIN, - The Governmentissued credit card of Tobago Development
Minister Vernella Alleyne-Toppin has been
cancelled. The Minister has apologised to
her party, the Tobago Organisation of the
People (TOP), for her misuse of the Government-issued credit card.
TOP had “categorically condemned” her
misuse of the card and had called on her to
make a “full and unconditional apology to
her constituents and the people of Trinidad
and Tobago”.
In a letter addressed to chairman of TOP,
Stanley Beard, Alleyne-Toppin stated she
“unreservedly apologises for the issues
that arose surrounding the use of the Stateissued credit card”. She further stated that:
1) All balances drawn on the account
have been repaid in full
2) Use of the card has been discontinued
3) The actual card has been returned to
First Citizens.
Sources confirmed to the Express the
card was cancelled by the bank.
Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley,
who made the revelations about the misuse
of the card in the debate on the no-confidence motion in the House of Representatives two weeks ago, has called for her
resignation.
“The Minister is playing games with her
feigned apology. She resolutely refuses to
accept that she did anything wrong. The
apology is only for the embarrassment
and not for the act,” he said. Rowley said
PORT-OF-SPAIN, - The home of a Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) employee was
fire-bombed, two houses were stoned, and
an alternative road leading into the company’s Claxton Bay facility was covered
with an oil slick. According to TCL’s management, the targets of the attacks are the
workers who have accepted the company’s
proposal to return to work.
The Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union
(OWTU), which is representing the striking workers, has denied all knowledge of
the incidents, and maintains that it is involved in a peaceful protest. TCL chemist
Wayne Benjamin said two Molotov cocktails were flung at his home in Claxton Bay
during the evening of March 18.
Benjamin told his story during a recent
press conference at the company’s Claxton
Bay office.
He said: “I was in the process of preparing lunch for today and I heard my neighbours’ dogs barking. I heard a loud noise.
I ran to the front of the house and saw fire.
The fire was isolated to the strip of concrete at the front of the house.” The incident occurred around 11:23 p.m. Benjamin, a father of two boys, said no one was
injured.
Media representatives were advised that
a closed circuit camera captured two men
running from the scene. The footage was
handed over to officers at the St Margaret’s
Police Station and the matter is being investigated.
Rocks were thrown at the home of a lab
employee and a similar incident happened
at the home of another worker last week. A
24-seater bus transporting strike breakers
to their vehicles was struck by boulders.
PORT-OF-SPAIN, - Water from the
Navet Water Treatment Plant has been diverted to supply the residents of Mayo. A
statement from the Water and Sewerage
Authority (WASA) stated that a truckborne supply of water would be made
available to villagers. Trinidad Cement
Limited (TCL), which normally supplies
that community with water, had temporarily turned off its water supply to the village.
TCL management stated that the company
could no longer supply water to the rural
community due to the fact that the water
was deemed unsafe as testing could not be
conducted because of strike action.
possible. In a recent media release, WASA
corporate communications manager Ellen
Lewis said since the strike action started,
the Authority has offered and has also provided assistance to TCL in terms of meeting the water supply demands of the Mayo
residents. “In view of the prevailing situation, the Authority has taken the decision
to divert water from its Navet Water Treatment Plant to residents of Mayo” Lewis
stated. She said in the release that affected
residents should expect a twice weekly service “TCL customers in the Mayo area requiring a truck-borne service are therefore
encouraged to contact WASA’s Customer
Service Bureau toll free at 800-4420/4426”
she said. Checks with Mayo residents yesterday revealed that they received a supply
of water. The residents expressed thanks to
WASA.
Water For Mayo
Vernella Alleyne-Toppin
Alleyne-Toppin had not come clean on the
nature and extent of the “abuse” of the card
and the role which the Ministry of Finance
played in treating her “abuse”.
Alleyne-Toppin’s credit card had a balance as of December 2011, of $68,048.16.
Poaching Condemned
PORT-OF-SPAIN, - The Congress of the
People (COP) has condemned the United
National Congress (UNC) for “recruiting”
former COP member Marlene Coudray to
fight for a position on the UNC’s executive. COP’s chairman Joseph Toney has
said that Coudray had been “poached” in a
“sinister” move that could cause the partnership to be eroded.
Deputy Mayor of San Fernando and
COP member, Dr Navi Muradali, described Coudray, a COP general election
candidate in 2007, as “a political grasshopper”. Coudray is the wife of former PNM
MP for Pt Fortin Larry Achong.
On March 18, Coudray showed up at
UNC headquarters— Rienzi Complex,
Couva, accompanied by Minister of Housing Dr Roodal Moonilal and filed nomination papers to contest the post of Deputy
Political Leader of the UNC at the March
24 internal elections.
In a recent press release, Toney stated
the COP expected “the UNC operatives”
to be more civil in the recruitment of her.
Toney stated Coudray’s issue “can irreversibly damage the overwhelming trust
the electorate gave us in the May 2010
general election”.
The COP wished Coudray well and
hoped “she finds peace and comfort in her
new political home”.
Muradali told local reporters, “In politics people are free to come and go as they
please. I consider her move as a political
grasshopper because (Coudray) has her
origins in the PNM and jumped over and
rode the back of the COP to get into the local government as the mayor. And I am not
too sure if she will be riding the back of the
UNC. Maybe (as a general election candidate) for San Fernando West in the future”.
Muradali said of Coudray: “She obviously has high political ambitions and I
wish her all the best.”
PORT-OF-SPAIN, - A 22-year-old man
was killed instantly on March 17 when his
car slammed into a lamp post along the
Uriah-Butler Highway extension in Mt
Hope. St Joseph Police reported that Steve
John, of Eastern Quarry, Laventille was the
lone occupant in a Honda Civic that night.
Around 10 p.m. he was heading south
along the highway when the car ran off the
road and collided with a pole opposite the
Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. Responding to the accident were officers of the St Joseph Police Station and
the Tunapuna Fire Station who had to use
the “jaws of life” to remove John’s body
from the mangled car.
Instant Death
A four-inch water line from TCL distributes water to the company fence line
communities of Mayo and Claxton Bay.
TCL had called on WASA to assist where
Poor Self Care By Diabetics
PORT-OF-SPAIN, – Diabetics in the
twin-island state are not taking care of
their health.
According to a recently released study
on diabetes care in Trinidad and Tobago,
diabetics were not taking care of their eyes
and feet or having the necessary checks
done on a regular basis.
And director of the Diabetes Outreach
Programme with the Health Sciences Initiatives, Dr. Paul Ladenson, is warning
that complications such as heart disease,
stroke, blindness, amputations and endstage renal disease, could result if diabetics
do not take care of their bodies. According
to the study, only two thirds of diabetics
visited a doctor or nurse regularly for care
of their condition, 28 per cent visit an optician, and a mere nine percent receive a foot
exam over a one year period.
The survey also showed that heart disease was one of the more commonly reported complications of diabetes, with 24
per cent of those participating in the survey
admitting to having the disease. During the
survey that was conducted between June
2010 and March 2011, it was also revealed
that seven per cent of those interviewed
suffered a stroke, 13 per cent suffered foot
ulcers and amputations, 13 per cent had
damaged retinas, 51 per cent had high cholesterol, and a whopping 67 per cent suffered with hypertension.
Furthermore, five per cent of the 2,124
people surveyed had kidney damage, and
41 per cent had nerve damage. Two thirds
of the participants were also overweight
or obese with poor metabolic control, especially in women and children. And, Dr.
Ladenson has made it clear that diabetes
was likely the leading cause of blindness
and foot amputations in the twin-island
state. According to him, the country was
facing an epidemic that could result in significant consequences if left unchecked.
Meanwhile, President of the Academy of
Diabetes Clinicians of T&T, Dr. Claude
Khan, also expressed concerns over what
he termed an explosion of diabetes in the
country and called for more resources for
its primary care to avoid serious and life
threatening complications.
March 21, 2012
Belly Bustas Take 2:
Mark
Bannister
Really Bad Day
There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his
drink. He stays like that for half of an hour.
Then, this big trouble-making truck driver
steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy,
and just drinks it all down. The poor man starts
crying. The truck driver says, “Come on man, I
was just joking. Here, I’ll buy you another drink.
I just can’t stand to see a man cry.”
“No, it’s not that. This day is the worst of my
life. First, I fall asleep, and I go late to my office.
My boss, outrageous, fires me. When I leave the
building, to my car, I found out it was stolen. The
police said that they can do nothing. I get a cab
to return home, and when I leave it, I remember
I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab
driver just drives away.”
“I go home, and when I get there, I find my
wife in bed with the gardener. I leave home, and
come to this bar. And just when I was thinking
about putting an end to my life, you show up and
drink my poison.”
Really Good Deed
This guy arrives at the Pearly Gates. He has to
wait to be admitted, while St. Pete leafs through
his Big Book.
He’s checking to see if the guy is worthy of
entry or not. Saint Peter goes through the books
several times, furrows his brow, and says to the
guy, “You know, I can’t see that you did lots of
good in your life but, you never did anything bad
either
Tell you what, if you can tell me of one RE-
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
ALLY good deed that you did in your life, you’re
in.”
The guy thinks for a moment and says, “Well,
there was this one time when I was drivin’ down
the highway and I saw a Biker Gang assaulting
this poor girl. I slowed down my car to see what
was going on, and sure enough, that’s what they
were doing. There were about 50 of ‘em torturing this chick.
Infuriated, I got out my car, grabbed a tire
iron from my trunk and walked straight up to the
leader of the gang. He was a huge guy with a
studded leather jacket and a chain running from
his nose to his ear. As I walked up to the leader,
the Gang formed a circle all around me.
So I ripped the leader’s chain off his face and
smashed him over the head with the tire iron.
Then I turned around and yelled to the rest of
them, ‘Leave this poor, innocent girl alone, you
slime! You’re all a bunch of sick, deranged animals! Go home before I teach you all a lesson
in pain!’”
St. Peter, extremely impressed, says, “Really?
Wow, when did all this happen?”
“Er.. about two minutes ago.”
PAGE 15
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 16
Home Affairs
March 21, 2012
Limitations Act - What is Involved
It is trite, but true, that
as a community, people
from the islands are
perceived as being laid
back. Maybe it is a factor of the sunshine and
less restrictive life in the
islands. In my practice,
I have experienced the
laid back attitude in dealing with clients
from the West Indian Community and their
eagerness to pursue a claim.
What I mean is when it comes to litigations and proceeding to court to get what is
just and fair, a lot of people would rather
not go the claim route. I recall a former
client who tripped and fell in a restaurant
that had an area that was poorly lit and elevated. She fractured her ankle in the fall
and came to see me several weeks after her
fall. She indicated that she never thought
about seeing a lawyer and only came to
see me because her
friends, neighbours
and children insisted
that she get some legal advice. When the
Aneesa
fall occurred, she indicated that although
she was in pain she
got up quickly and
exited the restaurant, because she was extremely embarrassed.
At the time of the fall, this nice, older
woman was wearing flat shoes, walking,
not running and she was carrying her handbag. In our opinion, the restaurant was
clearly negligent and the case ended up
settling with compensation being paid to
our client for her pain and suffering, loss of
income for the period that she was off work
and all of her medical bills.
The reason I tell this story is that this
particular client came in to see me sev-
Oumarally
eral weeks after the incident. I have had
instances where individuals have loaned
money to a friend or a relative and approached me several years after to try and
get back their money.
The problem with waiting and not seeing a lawyer in a timely manner is that you
may be barred by Statute from advancing
your claim. In Ontario, the Limitations
Act, 2002 came into effect on January1,
2004. Obviously different limitations
will apply to different claims; for instance
a claim for assault, battery or wounding
must be brought within two (2) years from
the date from which the claim was discovered; on the other hand, a claim for libel or
slander in a newspaper will have a shorter
limitation period and the Plaintiff (the person bringing the action) is required to give
notice in writing within six (6) weeks after
the alleged libel has come to the Plaintiff’s
knowledge. Furthermore, a court action
should be started within three (3) months
after the libel has come to the knowledge
of the person defamed (the Plaintiff).
The first step is determining what limitation period applies to your claim. For this
you should consult a lawyer immediately
after any act or omission that may give rise
to a claim. Delaying a consultation will
only work to your detriment and may in
some cases, depending on how long you
wait, preclude you from advancing your
claim.
Selwyn R. Baboolal is a partner at Oumarally Baboolal practising in the area of
litigation for the past 18 years.
This is intended for information purposes only and you should consult a lawyer
if you need legal representation or a legal
opinion.
Money Management
Your Tax Refunds – Spend or Save?
Are you one of the millions of Canadians
who will receive a tax refund in the coming year? If so, what are you going to do
with it? You can certainly spend it on that
vacation you’ve been dreaming about or
perhaps save it “just in case”. In the interest of improving your long-term personal
financial picture, here are a few alternative
uses to explore.
RRSP. It’s never too early to start preparing for retirement. Apply the refund
early to your next year’s Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contribution
and benefit from nearly an extra year of potential long-term tax-deferred growth and
a tax deduction against next year’s taxes.
TFSA. Since 2009, you have been allowed to save up to $5,000 a year in a
Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). If you
did not contribute in a year, your contribution room may be carried forward to a
future year. Your contributions are not taxdeductible, but you will not be taxed on
the investment income generated by your
TFSA and you can re-contribute any of
your tax-free withdrawals in a future year.
Invest. If your RRSP and TFSA are
topped up, consider adding to your nonregistered investments. It’s a sound strategy to hold stocks and equity mutual funds
outside an RRSP or TFSA because these
types of investments are taxed at a more
favorable capital gains inclusion rate and
Canadian investments qualify for the dividend tax credit.
Learn from it. Set up Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) to fund future
education costs for your kids. RESP con-
tributions are not tax-deductible, but their
growth is tax-deferred and they qualify for
Canada Education Savings Grants (CESG)
of up to 20 per cent of your contribution.
Take interest in it. Pay down costly
credit debt and then pay down non-deductible debt such as your mortgage. A single
prepayment can chop months or even years
off your repayment schedule and potentially save hundreds or thousands of dollars in
interest payments.
Park it. Why not park some cash in a
short-term investment that you can access
without penalty. You’ll have a ready source
of cash for a rainy day without having to
borrow or use your credit card. (You can
also use a TFSA as a rainy day fund.)
Eliminate it. Here’s why getting a
tax refund isn’t the greatest: That refund
cheque is not a gift from the government.
It’s money you overpaid during the year
and are now getting back without interest.
Put more money in your pocket each pay
period by applying to lower your withholding tax.
A tax refund is great, but a comprehensive tax-reducing, life-goal-achieving financial plan is much better. Speak to your
Financial Consultant about a Plan that will
make it all work for you.
March 21, 2012
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 17
Women’s World - Beauty
10 Commandments For Achieving And Maintaining Beautiful Healthy Skin
1. Protect yourself from the sun -- use sunscreen and
avoid direct sunlight between the hours of 10 and
2. All skin needs protection. The sun does not discriminate!
2. Don’t smoke. Your skin is a large organ and it needs
a lot of circulation. Smoking impairs that dramatically. That’s why smokers’ skin looks dull and gray.
Instead of having oxy-generated blood delivered to
the surface of the skin, they’re getting poisons and
oxidants.
3. Get adequate rest and nutrition. Your body never
lies. If you’re exhausted, it will show. Feed your
body with healthy foods. What you put in your body
can show on your skin.
4. Protect yourself from stress -- both emotional and
environmental stress. When you’re stressed, people
always ask – “Are you o.k.?” Stress shows in many
ways. Your skin tells your story.
5. Wash your face twice a day and put on the proper
treatment product. It does not have to be an expensive cream. Know your skin type, talk to the Cosmetologist at the drug store. Cleansing and exfoliating
are basic skin care commandments.
6.
Skincare is not just for your face, especially with
the warm weather around the corner. Don’t neglect
certain areas of the skin. Elbows, heels, neck, and
décolletage need moisturizing, and your scalp and
the tops of your feet need sun protection.
7. Hands off!!! Touch your face less and wash your
hands more! It’s very tempting to pick, poke,
squeeze, and scratch in front of the mirror. But the
more you traumatize the skin, the greater your risk
of scarring. Apply treatment products and let them
work. See your Dermatologist for proper treatment
options for brown spots and scarring.
8. Keep your makeup clean. Replace the sponges in
your compact on a regular basis. Now and then, toss
the whole works and start fresh -- the average shelf
life for cosmetics is 6 to 12 months.
9. Exercise moderation. More is not always better.
Moisturizer, for example, is the most overused product. We need to moisturize, but make sure the product is right for your needs. Do the research.
10. Keep your regimen simple. And when you do add a
new product, do it gradually so your skin has time
to adjust. Each skincare or makeup product has an
average of 20 to 40 ingredients -- you’re introducing
20 to 40 potential allergens to your face every time
you try something new.
Keep your Skin Care routine Simple.
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
PAGE 18
Sports Beat
Gold For James
Trinidad and Tobago’s Wayne Davis II
opened his 2012 outdoor campaign with
victory at the Baldy Castillo Invitational,
in Arizona, USA, on March 17. The Texas
A&M University student topped the men’s
110 metres hurdles field in a wind-assisted
13.72 seconds.
At the University of the West Indies
(UWI) Invitational, in Jamaica, St Augustine Campus student Jessica James struck
gold in the Collegiate women’s 400m
event. The T&T athlete got home in 56.64
seconds.
Jehue Gordon returned a time of one
minute, 54.76 seconds to finish second
in section two and fourth overall in the
Olympic Development men’s 800m.
His St Augustine teammate Darren Nelson was fourth in the Collegiate men’s
200m in 21.84 seconds. Kesean Phillips
finished sixth in the men’s discus with a
39.53 metres throw and seventh in the shot
put (14.90m). Sherwin Jackson clocked
Personal Best
BRIDGETOWN, - With a new personal best time of 50.90 seconds in the
men’s 400 metre hurdles, Barbadian Shane
Brathwaite has sent a strong message to
the selectors here at home. Brathwaite was
second overall in his first outdoor meet
of the season at the 2012 Willie Williams
Classic, University of Arizona. The winning time was 50.57 as he and his Texas
March 21, 2012
Bolt Featured In Visa Olympics Ad
Jessica James
58.61 seconds for seventh spot in the
men’s 400m hurdles. And in the Collegiate
men’s 400m, Jevon Matthew finished 11th
overall in 49.64.
Jamaica-based T&T sprinter Shaun
Stuart was 19th fastest in the Olympic
Development men’s 100m dash in 10.81
seconds.
Tech teammates took the top three places.
The run qualifies him for the North American, Central American and Caribbean
(NACAC) Under-23 Championships in
Mexico from July 6 to 8. He will need to
lower the time even more to 49.8 or 49.5
seconds to meet the Olympic “B” or “A”
standard.
Usain Bolt, the defending 100-metre and
200-metre Olympic champion, is being
featured in a Visa Europe advertisement in
its Run to London campaign leading to the
XXX Olympiad starting July 27. Visa is an
Olympic sponsor. The ad was released on
March 17 in Europe, as it is a Europe-only
campaign.
Bolt is one of the athletes being used
to raise awareness of the Summer Games
that will make London the first ever city
to host the Olympics on three occasions.
Prior to this summer, London hosted the
Olympics in 1908 and 1948. Bolt reportedly shot the ad during one of his trips to
Europe earlier this season. The entertain-
ing advertisement shows Bolt and another
man, who turns out to be a starter, racing
from an airport in London to the Olympic
stadium via several sites around the British
capital using their contactless Visa credit
cards. During his run through the streets of
London, Bolt strips down into his Jamaican kit, while the starter dresses up for his
starter’s role at the Olympic Games. Insiders say that more and more the sprinter,
who turns 26 in August and is considered
to be the biggest name in athletics, is being
exposed to roles such as the one he plays
in the advert as it opens up opportunities
for him to pursue other interests once his
stellar career is over.
New Swimming Record
PORT-OF-SPAIN, - Trinidad and Tobago swimmer Dylan Carter registered
a new national record in the 100-metre
backstroke, clocking 57.47 seconds at the
March 18, 2012 Spring Southern Zone
South Sectional swim meet in Florida,
USA. Fifteen-year-old Carter finished seventh, while countryman Christian Homer
was eighth in 57.63 in the event which was
won by Arkady Vyatchanin (54.79), with
outstanding US Olympian Ryan Lochte in
second (54.89). T&T and Marlins Swim
Club were represented at the meet by Carter, Joshua Romany and Jessica Stephenson
(Guyana), accompanied by Marlins head
coach Franz Huggins, along with USbased Samantha Rahael, swimming for
The Bolles School, Homer, who swam for
the University of Florida, as well as Titans
swimmer Emiro Goosen, who also swam
for The Bolles School.
Romany, Carter and Goosen will all be
representing Trinidad and Tobago in next
month’s Carifta Swimming Championships in the Bahamas.
In the final of the Men’s 200-metre freestyle, Lochte was the winner in 1:49.09,
with Carter seventh in 1:53.85. Carter had
earlier swam 1:53.38 in the prelims.
In the Men’s 100m butterfly finals,
Lochte was again the winner in 54.12 seconds, with Homer clocking 55.31 to finish
in fifth place.
Goosen was 21st overall in 57.77. Romany (57.59) and Carter (58.05) also swam
in the preliminary rounds of the event.
Rahael swam in the Women’s 200-metre individual medley consolation final and
was 16th in 2:24.99. Earlier in the prelims
she clocked 2:24.89 in a three-way tie and
was 12th overall.
In the 50-metre freestyle event, Romany placed seventh in the A final in 23.82,
while Carter was 13th overall in 23.95
swimming in the B final.
Alexander World Championship Bound
Quincy Alexander
PORT-OF-SPAIN, - Cyclist Quincy Al- announced that the TTCF were allotted
exander will be the lone pedal pusher in two slots going into the world championthe 2012 UCI Track World Championships ships. “Going in the world championship
at Hisense Arena in Melbourne, Australia early in March the UCI (Union Cycliste
from April 4 -8. This announcement was Internationale) sent official documents to
made by the Trinidad and Tobago Cycling the federation advising of qualifications
Federation (TTCF) on March 13. The Fed- given to each federation.
eration was allotted two spots and selected
“In our communication to UCI, T&T
Alexander to attend with his manager Rob- were allotted two spots and these spots
ert Farrier. T&T participation is estimated were based on Njisane’s attendance in the
to cost the organisation $99,633.
world cup; the spots allotted to Trinidad
President of the T&T Cycling Federa- and Tobago were for the kerin event and
tion Rowena Williams thanked T&T’s two the sprint event. “We have selected Quintop cyclists Njisane Phillip and Quincy cy Alexander to attend the World ChamAlexander along with their management pionship Games along with his manager
team, who won gold medals at the recent Robert Farrier in Melbourne Australia,”
Senior Pan American Championships. She said Williams.
March 21, 2012
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
Gayle Stalled
PAGE 19
Shiv Inspired Ton
KINGSTOWN, A proposed move that would have seen
the return of talismanic opener Chris Gayle to the West Indies team, and ended his year-long impasse with the West
Indies Cricket Board, has been stalled.
A high-level March 20 meeting in St Vincent, chaired by
the country’s Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and involving WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire, WICB president
Julian Hunte and Gayle, had been expected to produce a
solution. However, a source close to the negotiations in St
Vincent indicated that while a deal had been reached and
agreed to by the WICB and CARICOM, Gayle was yet
to sign off. The deal would have seen both Gayle and the
WICB acknowledging that mistakes had been made during the impasse, but agreeing to move forward in the spirit
of compromise.
The deal would also have seen Gayle available for the
current series against Australia which ends on April 27.
Gayle, however, is contracted to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which
runs from April 4 to May 27, and for Somerset in the English County Twenty20 tournament. The IPL clashes with
both the current Australia tour and West Indies tour of
England from May 5 to June 24. It has been reported that
Gayle is keen on fulfilling all his contractual international
T20 obligations.
Speculation was rife during the March 18 second OneDay International as word slowly emerged that talks were
ongoing to find a settlement to the dispute. Gayle, who
attended the March 17 funeral for the late Runako Morton
in St Kitts, was present for the game at Arnos Vale, triggering further speculation he could suit up as early as the
third match of the series.
The dominant left-hander has not played for West In-
Chris Gayle
dies since the World Cup quarter-final against Pakistan last
March, after being sidelined for controversial public criticisms of the WICB and team coach Ottis Gibson. He had
been mandated by the board to withdraw his comments
before he could be considered for selection but the player
refused. Only recently, Jamaica Prime Minister Portia
Simpson-Miller called for an end to the impasse and subsequently raised it at the CARICOM inter-sessional meeting in Suriname March 8-9.
KINGSTOWN, - A thrilling and courageous West Indies chase force a dramatic tie in the 3rd One Day International against Australia before a heaving Arnos Vale
Ground. March 20 had been declared a public holiday
in St Vincent and a sold-out crowd was kept on its feet
throughout as the two sides finished locked on 220 apiece
on a pitch almost as lively for spin bowling as for dancing
at the boundary’s edge.
The West Indies needed only one run from the final
three deliveries to be bowled by Brett Lee, but a mix-up
between the captain Darren Sammy and the last man Kemar Roach saw both stranded at the striker’s end as Lee
broke the stumps at his. However the hosts’ fight to level
the scores having been mired as deeply as 78 for 5 will
provide plenty of belief for Sammy’s men, while also
showing Australia’s players that they cannot afford to misstep quite so badly as they have done at times in the three
matches so far.
This time the fault lay with the batsmen, who squandered the best of the conditions and failed completely to
cope with the crafty spin of Sunil Narine. But there was
also a cautionary note for the stand-in captain Shane Watson, who spoiled an otherwise admirable bowling stint
with a no-ball that reprieved Andre Russell at a critical
time.
Having built a sound platform to chase the 221 required
at 52 for 1, the hosts lost four wickets for 26 as Xavier
Doherty and Watson cut through the batting with a combination of spin, changes of pace and alert field placement.
However a series of doughty contributions from Johnson Charles, Kieron Pollard, Russell and Carlton Baugh
brought the West Indies to the brink, and Sammy would
have taken his side home without a moment of impulsive
running by Roach.
In front of a teeming Kingstown crowd, the Australians
had been briefly delighted to find a pitch offering more
pace than had been found in either of the first two fixtures
here. However, they lost their previous enthusiasm when
the offspinner Narine used it, along with the sharp spin
that had been on offer all week, to cause considerable tor-
ment.
George Bailey, promoted to No. 4, and Michael Hussey
provided some measure of stability to the innings, from an
uncertain 58 for 3, but neither batsman could quite attain
command of the bowling. Hussey’s dismissal signalled another flurry of wickets, this time the giddy loss of five for
six runs. Marlon Samuels and Kemar Roach both contributed with clever spells, but it was Narine’s deception of
the touring batsmen that was most complete, their muddle
exemplified by two run-outs in the slipstream of Narine
overs.
When West Indies chased, Charles and Kieran Powell
enjoyed a more fruitful stand than their one-ball effort in
the second ODI, and Watson had to introduce Doherty’s
spin in the seventh over as he sought a wicket. Powell
hammered Doherty over the wide long-on rope, but next
ball the spinner took revenge by running a delivery across
the opener to draw a clear stumping for Matthew Wade.
Watson used a slower ball to tunnel through Marlon
Samuels’ defence, and in the same over Darren Bravo was
confounded by a delivery that disturbed the surface and
sent his drive straight to George Bailey at short cover. A
similar dismissal accounted for Charles and Doherty used
another straighter variation to cramp Dwayne Bravo’s attempt to cut and coax an edge into Wade’s gloves.
Pollard had seen the West Indies home on Sunday, but
had a far sterner task ahead of him this time. For a while he
delighted team-mates and spectators, sending one mighty
swipe at Brett Lee clean out of the ground. To rid him of
this threat, Watson called on Nathan Lyon, Pollard’s sometime compatriot in Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition.
As he has done before, Lyon was not afraid to sacrifice a six in search of a wicket: Pollard cleared Doherty
at long-on once, but found him when attempting to repeat
the stroke two balls later. Russell maintained the fight in
the company of Baugh, smiting a rival to Pollard’s earlier
six when he crashed Clint McKay down the ground and
beyond it.
The required rate crept up gradually, aided by Wat-
Adrian Barath
PORT-F-SPAIN, When it comes to occupying the
crease, few offer a better example than Guyana and West
Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul. And following
Trinidad and Tobago’s West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)
Regional Four-Day Tournament Round Six draw with
Guyana at Queen’s Park Oval, T&T opener Adrian Barath
revealed that Chanderpaul had provided the inspiration for
his Man of the Match knock of 114.
“I think I emulated Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the way he
batted in the first innings, the way he came out and applied
himself,” the 21-year-old batsman said after the match was
halted by rain. “It’s something all batsmen should really
look up to. Applying yourself, getting a start and building
on it...and getting a big score.”
It boosted Barath’s confidence in his first game back
from injury after he suffered a fractured finger earlier in
the season.
“It’s been a while since I’ve scored a century,” Barath
said. “I’ve scored half-centuries, but scoring a century is a
different feeling. “I’m a batsman that usually scores centuries when I cross 50...I really set myself up to bat long
in this game.”
Windies – Aussies 3rd ODI Ends In A Dramatic Tie
Andre Russell
son’s thrift, and when Russell was bowled attempting an
impatient heave the game appeared up. However replays
showed that Watson had overstepped, and Russell’s rearguard went on. As if to frustrate Watson further, Russell
was also to be bowled by the resulting free-hit.
As he and Doherty had almost exhausted their overs,
Watson called on McKay to probe for the clinching wickets. As the crowd clung to rum-fuelled visions of victory,
he seemed to do just that: first teasing an edge out of Russell that Wade dived to claim, then prompting Baugh to
send an attempted flick skyward for Daniel Christian to
pouch.
Not willing to give up, Narine hit out boldly to reduce
the requirement, and Sammy showed the sort of composure he is beginning to make a habit of. However Roach
ran on the third-last ball as though it was the last, and Australia salvaged something.
Scores: Australia 220 all out (49.5 overs) Hussey 67,
Bailey 59, Warner 37, Naraine 3-32, Samuels 2-9, Roach
2-47. West Indies 220 all out (49.4overs) Charles 45, Russell 37, Pollard 36, Baugh 33. Match Tied. Series Tied 1-1.
(Adapted from Cricinfo).
PAGE 20
CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC
March 21, 2012