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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 9/14/2019

Good Morning #realdreamchasers. Here is your daily news cap for Saturday, September 14th, 2019. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Saturday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS).

RIHANNA, PM IN DAZZLE AT DIAMOND BALL–Models, musicians, actors and many more notables came out in droves Thursday night to celebrate superstar Rihanna’s fifth annual Diamond Ball at Cipriani Wall Street, an event to benefit her Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF). Though Rihanna, in a Givenchy Haute Couture ball gown stole the spotlight, another of her guests commanded similar attention: Prime Minister Mia Mottley. Mottley — who made history in 2018 as the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the nation where Rihanna was born and raised — was honored with the 2019 Diamond Ball Award for breaking barriers. Mottley was cited for a 25-year career as an advocate for education, as well as championing causes which empower youth and women. But speaking with the Hollywood Reporter ahead of the charity gala, hosted by Seth Meyers, Mottley downplayed her own achievements against Rihanna’s contributions to their homeland. Barbadian charities receive assistance from CLF — founded by Rihanna in 2012 and named after her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite — which benefits impoverished communities across the globe, with an emphasis on health, education, arts, culture, emergency response and combatting climate change. Mottley told the Hollywood Reporter: “It’s so special what she’s been able to do. “Barbados is a place where we believe in helping those who cannot help themselves or who are not strong enough to carry themselves. And Rihanna has been able to exhibit that so beautifully in all that she’s done. She carries with her the DNA of the country. “When we became an independent nation [in 1966], our prime minster at the time said that we should be friends of all and satellites of none. “That requires a nobility of spirit, that requires an ability to also recognize that you are as strong as the weakest among you. That’s what Rihanna represents for us.” According to the politician, Rihanna’s impact on her country will be “written about in history books”. Mottley elaborated: “Her legacy is going to be global, but I think it’s also going to very much be coloured by her Barbadian upbringing and the values that she received while she grew up and was nurtured in our country. “And she is still very much a part of it. How she speaks and how she behaves is as Barbadian as you get.” Rihanna also paid tribute to “role model” Prime Minister Mottley. She told the audience: “The Prime Minister of Barbados , the Honourable Mia Mottley; she has been such a role model in my life for many, many, many many years, years before she ran to be Prime Minister, this is a woman that I respected. “I respected her morals, I respected her aspects on different things politically and just her willingness to go against the grain, to go against what is safe. She is very brave, she is very daring and that comes with what she is passionate about and that is a woman I can respect always because that is kinda what I hold myself to.”(BT)

STALLED –The island’s largest rum producer has over 400,000 bottles of rum stuck in containers in the Bridgetown Port awaiting shipment delayed because of the teething problems at the docks associated with the rollout of the new Asycudo World system. According to Managing Director of Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd Raphael Grisoni the shipments intended for Europe and the United States have been there for two weeks. He believes some of the fallout could have been mitigated with better communication from Port officials. This morning, he told Barbados TODAY, “We are the largest exporter of rum in Barbados and for 13 days we cannot export a single container of rum and we actually have 38 containers at the port waiting to be loaded on the ship. This is a major order for us. I understand that this thing will again open up next Friday, so it will be three weeks of non- export activity for us,” said Grisoni, who noted that his fellow rum producers were equally down-spirited by the same challenge. He explained that while the delays have not so far resulted in the cancellation of orders, they certainly place the company at a disadvantage, as this shipment is the stock which retailers depend on in preparation for November and Christmas sales. “It is a big problem because at this time of year we are shipping for the Christmas season for markets like Europe, so it is really painful. The problem is with the communication about when systems would be ready. It was not until yesterday [Thursday] that we learnt that the system would be up next Friday and while that is fine, there could have been better communication,” he contended. Since switching to the new paperless platform on September 9, Customs has been plagued with several issues. Newly appointed Comptroller of Customs Owen Holder has promised it will take the Customs and Excise Department one more week to iron out any kinks it has encountered in upgrading its system from ASYCUDO ++ to ASYCUDO World. “I am very familiar with implementing these systems and I understand the teething issues that will develop with a new system, but from what we are seeing in Barbados currently I can say this is a normal process of implementing the system. So I wish to assure the public that within probably a week’s time it will definitely settle down.” However, Grisoni argued that while he is happy that things will be back on track and function with even greater efficiency than before, he is concerned that there was apparently no backup in place, which could have kicked in to prevent these counter-productive delays. “You must realize that the country’s exports were paralyzed because of the system and I am surprised that we didn’t have a backup system or used the old one just for a couple of weeks, at least to export bulk and avoid congestion in the port,” he said pointing to the anticipated congestion by the backlog. “Next week is going to be a type of traffic jam-like situation when things open up again and I expect that customs will be overwhelmed, so I don’t know if they have extra resources to clear this backlog. Will we have the resources to clear quickly or will we again miss the ship going out? These are the big questions which still need answering but I don’t have the answers right now. It is a real concern for us,” he stressed Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn maintained that the upgrade to ASYCUDO World was especially critical to Barbados. He said while its installation had been delayed since 2014, Government was pushing ahead in its bid to improve the ease of doing business in Barbados. “I want to stress that as we go through this modernization of Customs that the upgrade to ASYCUDO World is critical to Barbados’ competitiveness. “We do not want people waiting in the Port for any extended period of time, waiting on Customs to process goods unless there is a particular reason based on the risk management protocols that have been established, because whilst we are facilitating business there is a national security component that is critical as part of the Customs’ function…” Straughn pointed out. This morning Minister Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland, also made an appeal for patience from the business community. “ASYCUDO World is just one of the activities in a whole list of activities that this Government will implement in terms of improving the ease of doing business and cross border trade facilitation, ASYCUDO World provides the foundation for something bigger to come, which we call the Electronic Single Window… As Minister of Small Business I am happy that we are to implement this because it would increase the ease of doing business and reduce cost,” said Sutherland. He added, “We recognised that there were disruptions and customs has promised to put plans in place, so please just bear with us because it is not going to last.” When contacted the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry BCCI promised to comment but up to time of publication none was forthcoming. (BT)

‘FIRE SALE’ OR FARMING FOR CLICO ESTATES?- The fate of eight plantations, covering close to 2,000 acres of farmland in St John’s farming belt that have been lying idle since their owner went out of business a decade ago, is at the centre of a political firestorm being played out on talk radio and social media. Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir and the Democratic Labour Party, which formed the Government when insurance giant CLICO collapsed, have clashed over allegations that the Barbados Labour Party Government plans a “fire sale” of CLICO farmlands as residential property “under cover of darkness”. The CLICO farms consist of approximately 1,790 arable acres: 941 acres at Todds and 850 acres at Wakefield. Todds is an amalgamation of four farms – Henley, Pool, Bowmanston and Todds, while Wakefield incorporates Clifton Hall, Hothersal, Lemon Arbor and Wakefield. Now the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has called on Weir to back up the denial he made on a radio call-in. On Wednesday, the DLP’s Agriculture and Environment spokesperson Andre Worrell first claimed that the Todd’s and Wakefield estates are to be sold off. Then, Weir took to Down to Brass Tacks programme on Starcom Network to refute the suggestion. “I don’t know how you could turn agricultural land into a [residential] development without first involving the Ministry of Agriculture. “We have a Chief Agricultural Officer who is highly trained and makes informed decisions on these things before they even reach Town Planning [Office],” Weir said. But in a release published on its Facebook page today, the DLP said a Ministerial statement was needed for clarity, contending that Weir’s words on the radio programme did not hold any weight. “Mr Weir has been a Cabinet member long enough to know that interventions on radio talk shows are not enunciated Government policy. “At no time in his extensive telephone conversation did Weir say that the CLICO lands will be offered to farmers or shareholders for agricultural purposes. “Had the Government been transparent in its initial sale announcement there would be no need to speculate. “The Agriculture Minister is also aware that the final word regarding change of use is not his. Those decisions are made by the Minister in charge of Town Planning: The Prime Minister.” The DLP claimed that the farms “are in the high productivity agro-ecological zone and have traditionally been at the upper end of the agricultural productivity scale”. Under the 2008-2018 DLP administration, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Barbados Agricultural Development Management Company (BADMC) and the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) to bring those lands back into agriculture. A formal plan entitled Returning CLICO Lands To Full Production was drafted. Then DLP maintained that farmers, either through co-operatives or as sole purchasers, should be offered the opportunity to buy or lease the plantations. The party said: “We have maintained that sub-division of prime agricultural land in these economic circumstances for housing development purposes should never be an option in a country with a food import bill in excess of $600m. “There should be no fire sale of prime agricultural land under cover of darkness. “Barbados must have an official Government position specifically targeting the plans for the CLICO agricultural lands at Todds and Wakefield Plantations.” (BT)

MASSY OISTINS BACK IN BUSINESS –After four months of having to travel out of their community for grocery shopping, Oistins residents have returned this morning to the reopened Massy supermarket at the 40-year-old Southern Plaza shopping complex. After being closed for upgrades since May, Minister of Commerce Dwight Sutherland and area MP Ralph Thorne were on hand for the official re-opening of the store which employs 65 people. Barbados TODAY witnessed large numbers of shoppers in the supermarket, many of them freely expressing their happiness that the store had re-opened as well as their satisfaction with the new look and shopping experience.Massy Stores CEO Randall Banfield said: “It would have been an inconvenience for customers who would have shopped here, and we understand that. “We would have provided some shuttle services to get them into some other stores because we have our network of stores nearby. “It is really nice to have the store opened again and we have heard from customers yesterday and today how pleased they are to have the store in Oistins re-opened and in the fashion that we have done it.” Banfield revealed that the store, which is now smaller in size, has been retrofitted with the latest energy saving devices, a move which was praised by Sutherland. The Minister praised the conglomerate for ensuring that the new supermarket was in keeping with Government’s vision for green energy. Sutherland declared: “We have recognised in an era such as this, the use of technology is critical. “I want to shower praise on Massy Stores for investing in state-of-the-art equipment as it relates to refrigeration. We are seeking to become fossil fuel free by 2030. “So, I want to congratulate Massy for leading the charge. They have not only re-opened the store, but they have done so with the Government’s mission in mind.” He also praised the supermarket for sticking to local producers, and urged others to do likewise. The Minister added: This is just an example of what we as a Government would love to see. “Re-opening the store paved the way for small businesses to ply their trade and to have an outlet for their products. “I want to thank Mr Banfield because he has stuck to local producers and helping us build out industries such as the pork industry because these are critical to our development.” (BT)

FOOD COURT REOPENS – With the exception of three eateries undergoing renovations, the all-clear has been given by the Ministery of Health for the reopening of the food court at Sheraton Mall. And yesterday those opened were doing brisk business.On Tuesday, all 21 of the food establishments at the popular Sargeant’s Village, Christ Church mall were ordered shut, with the ministry explaining that after numerous inspections over six days there were “several conditions” in violation of the health services food hygiene regulations. Owners were instructed to carry out the “necessary remedial action”.The cleaning was led by the mall’s general manager, Kamaal Bennett, along with sales and marketing manager Adrian Clarke of Pilot Management Services.Bennett said they began cleaning on Tuesday night, working through to the wee hours of each morning.“Based on the reopening of the stores, the inspectors themselves commended us on the work done. There are three stores which remained closed - Piggies, Yvonne’s and Arabian Knights - but it has nothing to do with the cleaning; they are closed due to ongoing renovations,” he said. (SS)

VAPING HARMFUL – The Ministry of Health has warned the public about the dangers of vaping, particularly on the heels of reports of a rash of deaths and severe breathing illnesses linked to the habit in the United States. In a statement issued today, the ministry said that the cause of the illnesses, which have so far resulted in six deaths, was still not entirely clear, but investigations were ongoing by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kenneth George, said the fairly recent fad, mostly among teenagers and young adults, has involved smoking flavoured e-cigarettes with nicotine oils and more recently marijuana oils. The ministry advised that particularly minors, pregnant women and people who have never smoked should avoid vaping since they were at increased risk of adverse reactions, including respiratory illnesses. People who vape were warned against using home-made solutions, and the ministry stressed that it did not recommend e-cigarettes as an aid to quit smoking aid. The Health Services (Smoking Regulations) 2017 defines electronic smoking devices as tobacco products for the purposes of restricting their marketing and sales to minors and forbidding their use in public spaces. In the more than 450 cases so far confirmed in the United States, breathing problems ranged from coughing and difficulty breathing to chest pain. There were also gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.The non-specific symptoms being experienced include fever and fatigue. The Ministry of Health said it will be issuing guidelines to healthcare providers summarizing the situation and sharing the local case definition for surveillance purposes. The ministry is also asking hospitals and urgent care providers to ask patients who come in with “significant respiratory distress” whether they had been vaping prior to the illness.(BT)

ABUSER BACK IN COURT – A 32-year-old man who admitted to assaulting the mother of his child and harming her will make his next court appearance on September 18 along with the complainant. Shirmaro Andre Michael Coward, of 2nd Avenue, Richmond Gap, St Michael appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant today and pleaded guilty to committing the act against Shaddriese Marshall on September 2. Prosecutor Victoria Taitt told the court that the two have been in a relationship for the past two years and share a one-year-old child. Taitt said on the day of the incident the accused, who had been verbally and physically abusive to the complainant, went over to her house to drop off their son. When Coward arrived there however, he began using abusive language to Marshall, embarrassing her and causing her to walk off in the direction of her house. Coward grabbed her by the hair and started punching her on the face and head. Marshall began screaming. Her mother come to her assistance and Coward ran away. However, the prosecutor said, the accused subsequently returned and Marshall called the police. While she was doing that Coward punched her in the head again before running off for a second time. After hearing the facts Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant ordered that Marshall be summoned to court for September 18. With a warning to stay away from the complainant, she granted Coward, who was represented by attorney-at-law Mohia Ma’at, $2,000 bail which he secured with one surety. (BT)

SHOPLIFER JAILED - When a 42-year-old man took up a $967.99 pair of sunglasses and slipped out of Cave Shepherd last week without paying, he sent security on a futile search for him. A worker recognised Allan Orlando Simmons when he entered the store. Two days later, the thief, who has no fixed place of abode, returned to the scene of the crime and approached the same worker who had seen him and begged for money. Simmons who is known to the courts, was apprehended by security personnel, who then turned him over to police, prosecutor Victoria Taitt revealed as she outlined the facts. “I would like some leniency because my mother and grandmother died and my father put me out. I used to work but got into a little trouble,” Simmons told Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant. About the item he stole, he admitted, “I took off the tag but gave it to someone because it was too expensive. “I am a man who normally wears glasses because of the sun. But I want some leniency in this position . . . I was at the prison before it was burned down. I want some leniency, “ he told the magistrate. However, Cuffy-Sargeant informed him that the last time he was before the court was also for theft of items from the same store. For his crime the District ‘A’ magistrate sentenced Simmons to two months in prison.(BT)

LOBO’S CASE ADJOURNED – An Argentinian man charged with theft of money from two of this island’s financial institutions remains on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds. Joaquin Alberto Lobo from Caseros, Buenos Aires, Argentina has been on remand at the St Philip institution since his first appearance before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant back in July. The 33-year-old alleged ATM skimmer, who arrived in Barbados on July 3, is accused of stealing $3, 040 cash belonging to the Barbados Public Workers Credit Union Limited between July 6 and 7. He is also charged with stealing $79, 770 cash belonging to CIBC First Caribbean International Bank (Barbados) Limited between July 5 and 8. He has denied the first charge but was not required to enter a plea to the second charge, as it is an indictable offence. When Lobo appeared before the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court this week the cases against him were adjourned until October 9.(BT)

ARCHER PUTS ENGLAND AHEAD – Jofra Archer took 6-62 to give England the upper hand in the fifth Ashes Test, despite yet more runs from Australia’s Steve Smith on day two at The Oval today. Pace bowler Archer was supported by three wickets from left-armer Sam Curran – including two in two balls – as the tourists were bowled out for 225. Through it all, Smith stood firm, and it was his wicket – lbw to Chris Woakes for 80 – that England and their supporters celebrated the most. It says much about Smith’s stellar summer that this was his lowest score of the series and the inability to reach a century felt like a relative failure. England batted twice in the day. In the morning they went from 271-8 to 294 all out, a total that looked short of par on a flat pitch.(BT)

KING OVERCOMES BRAZILIAN – Top tennis player Darian King battled hot sweltering conditions in Criciuma, Brazil yesterday to set the customary Davis Cup template for the Bajan team by defeating homeboy Joao De Menezes 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 after two hours and 37 bruising minutes. Facing vocal home crowd support as well as meeting 22-year-old De Menezes on the latter’s favourite outdoors clay court, King struggled early to find his rhythm against the recent Pan Am gold medallist in Peru. Even so, the 3-6 score-line did not reflect the closeness of the games in the opening set with both players fighting to establish an advantage.However, King’s ground strokes and greater experience then showed the disparity between the two players with the Bajan ranked at 169 to De Menezes’ 194. Unreeling his passing forehand blazers and deft backhand strokes, King moved from 1-1 in the second set to 4-1. De Menezes then found a Samba wave as well as his favourite clay underfoot to battle back to 4-4 in games winning a double break point at 3-4.King held his nerve and serve to triumph in the second set to set up the decider. With De Menezes committing a double fault in the first game, King did not capitalise fully as he also made the same error. Racking up winning break points on either side of a similar success by De Menezes, King stroked his way within sight of victory 4-1 before the Brazilian fired his sole ace of the match to keep hope alive 2-4.But, as customary as rain on Kadooment Day, King took the match to give Barbados a 1-0 advantage in the contest. However, southpaw Haydn Lewis could not maintain that edge going into today’s doubles as he folded to Thiago Monteiro 2-6, 2-6. (SS)

CALL FOR NEW APPROACH TO TEACHING – A secondary school teacher wants to leave the chalk and talk style of teaching in the dust. Regina Layne thinks that the traditional method is stopping students from reaching their full potential.Layne, who recently received her diploma in education from Erdiston Teachers Training College, was speaking at the St Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary School where the C.O. Williams Group and the Eden Lodge Youth Charitable Trust presented the school with a television and projector system.“It is going to take a while to get it started but. . . I think we do too much writing in the exercise books. I think if we stop the writing we might be able to complete the syllabus in time because we are never able to finish it. “If we reduce the amount of writing that the students do, and if we prepare and give them more, we could accomplish more,” Layne said at the Richmond Gap, St Michael School.During the presentation, she advocated for more creative student-centred approaches. (SS)

HONOR YOUR PLEDGES – As Barbados prepares to disperse its first traunch of financial assistance to the Bahamas, CARICOM Ambassador David Comissiong is pleading for Barbadians who have pledged money in last Sunday’s telethon to honour their commitments. In fact, Comissiong told Barbados TODAY that Government is currently over $150,000 short of the near $500,000 pledged last Sunday night at the Rise Bahamas mediathon. After a ceremony at the Sea Breeze Beach House in Maxwell Christ Church to announce a $24,000 donation by Ocean Hotels Barbados, Comissiong said he was extremely pleased with the outpouring of support from Barbados’ working class and private sector. He however stressed that citizens needed to follow through on promised donations to make the initiative work. “We are now in the process of getting people to honor those pledges and collecting everything in the account at CIBC First Caribbean. As of Wednesday, we were up to approximately $278,000 so we still have some additional pledges to be honored and paid in,” he said. “We will be doing our follow up work and we know there will be some lag but we want to get the first donation out next week with the understanding that more money will follow as it comes into the bank account.” He added: “The funds will go directly to support on-the-ground relief efforts in the Bahamas. The figure we gave out at the end of the mediathon was 441,000. That represented a combination of cash payments at the CBC studios, credit card payments made on the Sunday, cheques made at the CBC studios and payments at various branches of the CIBC bank and pledges.” Comissiong encouraged Barbadians to be proud of their efforts and encouraged citizens to find strength in the organs of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), which is the primary coordinator of the Bahamas relief efforts. “The churches that immediately supported the fundraising efforts for the Bahamas, the companies like Cave Shepherd, Ocean Hotels and all the others that have been donating to this cause since last week, it shows that we are on the ball, we are being proactive and we are helping ourselves. We are not waiting for outside actors to come to our rescue. We are helping ourselves,” said the Ambassador.(BT)

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