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Opposition MP Dinesh Rambally. File photo/Sureash Cholai

Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally is once again taking the judiciary to task.

He says its response to his concerns over its involvement in the Mercy Committee’s selecting candidates for pardon has left more questions than answers.

In another media release sent on Sunday, Rambally said the Judiciary’s response, while attempting to rebut his concerns, actually confirmed many of them.

On Saturday he raised a concern that judiciary staff, 13 judicial research counsels and the registrar’s office were compiling a list of candidates for the mercy process ­– the process by which prisoners sentenced to death are deemed eligible for presidential pardon.

Government said in August that it was considering a proposal by the Criminal Bar Association to release 60 prisoners as part of the commemorations of the 60th anniversary of independence on August 31. The proposal suggested the prisoners be released in batches, the first six on Independence Day.

But on Saturday Rambally asked whether an advisory had been established in accordance with sections 87, 88 and 89 of the Constitution who was on the advisory team; what are the criteria for people being selected; and whether the advisory committee was mandated to consider reports after the proposal was made.

“The Judiciary must not only be an independent institution it must also be seen as such. Without an established, transparent protocol for interactions between the Executive arm of the State and the Judiciary, any random communications between the two can amount to an obvious breach of separation of powers,” he said.

The sections of the Constitution on the powers of pardon say an advisory committee will consider applications for pardon and advise the President. The committee must consist of a minister designated by the President, the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and up to four other members appointed by the President after consultation with the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition. It also says the case judge will provide case files for the committee to consider.

On Sunday the Judiciary said in a media release that the Mercy Committee had contacted it through the acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Security asking for copies of records of the cases of prisoners on death row seeking pardons.

“The Judiciary did not compile a list of eligible people to be recommended for pardon. The list was provided to the Judiciary by the acting Permanent Secretary,” the Judiciary said.

The Judiciary said the registrar in the office of the Attorney General and the Court Administration Unit compiled the case files and summaries because many of the cases were old and the case judges were either retired or dead.

But Rambally fired back, saying if the trial judge is dead or retired the Judiciary still does not have the power to prepare summaries. He said to deal with the absence of a trial judge there must be an amendment to section 89 (1) to widen the circumstances in which the written report may be acquired.

He suggested that the Judiciary should focus on holding expeditious trials “so that the guilty are punished and the innocent are set free.”

He commented, “Confidence in the Judiciary, when last measured by a poll in 2019, was at an abysmal 27 per cent.”

He criticised the secrecy over whether pardons are being considered and the policy, procedure and considerations involved in the process.

“After all we must appreciate that the process of granting pardon is not one whereby a select few get together and say that this applicant is a good boy,” Rambally said.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Mayor of Montego Bay Councilor Leeroy Williams has charged MSMEs to give more support to local manufacturers, as the country continues to rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mayor was speaking at the launch of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s EXPO 2022, which was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on August 18.

“As a facilitator of trade and commerce, this Expo will go a far way in building Montego Bay’s resilience and create socio-economic opportunities for its people.

As leaders, we are mandated to provide platforms for these businesses to grow and contribute to the country’s gross domestic product. …As Jamaica continues to rebuild, I am challenging our local business operators to take steps towards investing more in local manufacturing, and expanding exports.”

The biennial Expo is Western Jamaica’s largest business tradeshow and will return to the Montego Bay Convention Centre on November 4.

“The business sector, and more specifically the manufacturing sector, has been growing even in the face of COVID-19, but there is room for improvement. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been working assiduously to improve and sustain a vibrant business plan for economic growth despite the many socio-economic challenges which we as a city continue to face,” Williams added.

This year’s expo will be staged in conjunction with the Montego Bay Parish Council.

Expo 2022 is also the chamber’s largest public forum and business conference to support its members and connect them to the rest of Jamaica, and the world, through its partners.

President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association John Mahfood, who was also the launch’s guest speaker, underscored the challenges of the day owing to the pandemic and said, “It is important that we make up for the lost opportunities of the past few years by working even harder. We must also recognize the severe hardship that our people had to endure including the loss of purchasing power”.

“Businesses in Montego Bay have only just started to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic and the Chamber is excited for the opportunity once more to support not just our members, but to provide an avenue for networking, buying and selling and to engage in discussions that will propel the city and the country forward,” said Damia Dawes-Monthrope, Chairman of the Expo 2022 committee.

“We are looking forward to showcasing the best of Western Jamaica on November 4 and we encourage all businesses to be a part of this event,” Monthrope added.

Expo 2022 is anticipating over 100 businesses and 5000 patrons for this year’s event, which will be held under the theme, “Building resilience, creating opportunities”.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

 Antigua and Barbuda’s steady tourism rebound continues for yet another month as, stayover tourism arrivals for July 2022, have topped the July 2019 pre-pandemic record.

The Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Tourism is reporting a growth in arrivals of 7% for the month of July against benchmark year 2019.

During the month, Antigua and Barbuda welcomed 24,673 visitors to the destination, an increase over 2021’s 23,405 and the 2019 record of 23,031.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Tourism The Honourable Charles Fernandez said, “For a second year, we are experiencing a healthy summer season as consumer travel confidence grows and travellers make the decision to take that long-awaited vacation or previously delayed trip.

In July, we say a notable increase in group travel that contributed significantly to our growth, with one group from the US, bringing in approximately five hundred visitors travelling to enjoy our summer events.  We are optimistic that we will maintain this strong position of growth into August.”

An influx of visitors from the United States contributed to the increase with arrivals 30% higher than in July 2019.   13,305 of Antigua and Barbuda’s tourists travelled by air from the United States in July, an additional three thousand plus when compared to July 2019.

Photo Caption: Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Arrivals Comparison July 2022 and July 2019  

statistics reported by the Ministry of Tourism, Antigua and Barbuda 

There was also growth within the UK market, with an increase of two hundred and seventy-two British visitors to the destination leading to a 5% increase in tourism arrivals for the month over 2019. Arrivals stood at 5,650 in comparison to the 5,378 in 2019.

Arrivals from Canada grew by 1% while the Caribbean market saw a decline of 19%.

During the summer month, the Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association reported occupancies of 63% across a sample of their hotel members.

In July, 9678 of visitors stayed at hotels, while 11, 487 patronized Guest Houses and Apartments/Villas.

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority is attributing the 7% growth in air arrivals for the month July 2022, when compared to July 2019, to increased airlift, aggressive destination marketing, easy travel protocols, the enthusiasm amongst consumers to return to travel, and their eagerness to once again participate in Antigua’s summer carnival.

CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin C. James said: “Antigua and Barbuda is presently listed amongst the top ten Caribbean destinations leading the Caribbean tourism recovery efforts.

“With good month-on-month growth and our overall tourism arrivals for the year to date only 16% less than the 2019 figures, Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism rebound prospects are looking positive, particularly when we consider global tourism forecasts.

For the Fall, our teams will continue to focus on closing the gap and achieving full recovery”, James said.

Overall, total stayover arrivals for the period January – July 2022 (YTD), stand at 154, 099. This is a 91% increase over the 2021 comparison of 80,509 and a 16% narrowing of the gap of the 2019 January – July totals that stood at 184,465.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

With Guyana expected to auction off the remaining oil blocks offshore later this year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is of the view that a local consortium of Guyanese, with backing of the necessary capital and expertise, should be allowed to participate in the process and bid for the opportunity to operate offshore.

He made this remark during a press conference on Friday last when he was asked about opportunities for Guyanese in the much-anticipated auctioning of the available oil blocks offshore. According to Jagdeo, this would be more feasible if there were to be a consortium of locals rather than just individual Guyanese bidding for the blocks.

“If we could have a big consortium of Guyanese individuals, I personally – I don’t know what the Cabinet would say – [but] I would say, let’s give them a chance to prove what they’re saying [and] how we can go about it in this sector. That they can raise the money, they can give better fiscal terms to the country and still make a lot of money… But not an individual, not individuals – unless they participate in the auction, and with some maybe backing of expertise. But individuals, it would be hard for us to do,” the Vice President stated.

Jagdeo related his position after much pressing. Initially, he posited that it would be good to have this issue debated in the public domain so Government can get the views of and feedback from stakeholders on the pros and cons before determining its position on allowing Guyanese to participate in the auction.

The Vice President outlined that there is a lot to consider in making such a decision.“Do we give people who don’t have any expertise or capital to develop these blocks because we want Guyanese to grow or do we make the criteria so exclusive that the only companies that have requisite expertise, capital, and maybe deep-sea experience which limits the group even further because very few companies have deep water exploration and capability for extraction in deep water. So, that’s a key variable,” he contended.

Nevertheless, VP Jagdeo went on to note that no matter what the decision of the Government is, there will always be criticism on whatever position it takes.

“If you include the Guyanese, people would say, ‘Oh, we’re giving people an opportunity to enrich themselves here’ because they don’t have the requisite expertise, they would only flip the blocks. And then if you don’t bring them in, you say ‘Oh, the opportunities are excluding Guyanese.’ So, it would be interesting to start a debate of that nature without taking a position on the matter,” he asserted.

Moreover, the Vice President further outlined that the Government has to also determine whether to limit the number of blocks operators have offshore, particularly, the major companies such as United States oil giant, ExxonMobil.

“The idea is not to have more concentration [of] the big players,” he stated.In this regard, Jagdeo said that Government would have to look at putting certain safeguards in place to ensure that, if there were to be a limit, then there is no way that other bidders at the upcoming auction would later flip their blocks and hand them over to those major operators.

“We must strengthen the approval process that people have to get before they can flip [the block]. So, if they were to flip to someone who is excluded from the auction, the approval process that they have to seek from the Ministry would say ‘no, you can’t do that’. So, that could be controlled at that level, or you could put [the safeguards] in the bid itself, the bid document to say you can’t do that,” the VP noted.

He further outlined, however, that Government has to also consider that persons bidding for and securing the blocks may want to flip it in the future after paying whatever dues the State is entitled to.

According to Jagdeo, “a lot of those issues have to be [ironed out] … Those are the contentious issues and often, no matter what you decide, you’d have people oppose it one way or another.”

Initially, Government was expected to hold the highly-anticipated auction in September of this year. But VP Jagdeo explained during Friday’s press conference that the process has been delayed due to ongoing efforts to iron out the terms and conditions of the new prospecting licences that would be signed with successful bidders when the available blocks go on auction.

“[We have to determine] whether we will retain the 50/50 model, that is, after preparing costs, the profit oil will be divided equally between the investor and the Government; what the royalty rate will be [and] what will be the other fiscal terms in the contract,” he stated.The Vice President noted that these details, though contentious, need to be determined very early and so Government is swiftly working on a number of pieces. He noted that the aim is to put together a framework that is fair to the investor so that they get a decent return on their capital; and that would promote accelerated exploration; while at the same time allow Guyana to enjoy a greater share of future benefits.

In addition to deciding on whether to allow existing offshore operators to participate in the auction and whether there would be a limit to the number of blocks they could have, the Guyana Government is on a strict timeline to also determine on how to divide the available areas offshore Guyana into potential blocks, and what sizes the blocks should be.

Further, a decision will also have to be made on whether to pursue a strategic Government/private partnership or put all the blocks up for auction or do a combination of both. All of these matters will have to be ironed out by the end of August, Jagdeo indicated.Earlier this year, the Vice President had disclosed that Guyana has gotten significant interest, particularly from Middle Eastern companies, to partner with the State in developing the country’s remaining blocks. India has also expressed interest in potentially participating in the auction as well.

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