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door Samuel Wens BOVEN-SURINAME — Er is sprake van onbegrip onder delen van de Saamaka dignitarissen, omdat vicepresident (vp) Ronnie Brunswijk
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Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), Senator Matthew Samuda, has hit back strongly at critics who have made snide remarks about the frequent cutting of ribbons at ceremonies by the Government.
There has been much criticisms, especially from supporters of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), that such ceremonies, including the presentation of houses under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), are being used by Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his Administration as a distraction from the state of the nation’s economy.
However, Holness has used such handing-over ceremonies to lash such critics by pointing to the economic growth the island is experiencing even amid inflation and rising food and energy prices both locally and internationally.
In commenting on the criticisms at the commissioning of a water supply project in Negril, Westmoreland on Thursday, Samuda argued that a ribbon-cutting is symbolic of the completion of a multi-million dollar investment made by the Government or any other investor.
“This is yet another ceremony that has almost been religiously scheduled on a Thursday as our project and… we have called it ‘Turn on the Pipe Thursdays’, but generally, we have been on the road every single Thursday commissioning water systems,” he explained.
“Now that speaks to the amount of work that has gone into creating the volume of systems and to building the amount of new pumping stations and connecting and replacing old pipes, to have several Thursdays of work to do,” the minister continued.
“I have heard a recent criticism in the press which I found very strange. I’ve followed politics all my life through the news, and I’ve never heard in all my life someone being criticised for cutting ribbons,” Samuda lamented.
He described the criticisms as being “very strange”, as the process to bring such developments as the water system project to a reality in Westmoreland started in 2004.
“A ribbon is a representation of the closure or the completion of thousands of man hours. In many cases, hundreds of millions and sometimes billions of dollars in investment,” he shared.
Samuda, in responding directly critics of the Government’s efforts, said more ribbon-cutting ceremonies are on the horizon.
“So, when a Government is cutting ribbons, is breaking ground, commissioning projects, it is because that Government is working hard!
“So, I can’t understand where this criticisms could come from for cutting ribbons. I want to put on record this afternoon that we will be cutting a lot more ribbons,” he assured.
The minister also promised further ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects in the Western Westmoreland constituency where the Jamaica Labour Party’s Moreland Wilson is the Member of Parliament (MP).
“… And MP you have my commitment that while I have my hands on the baton, you can expect more ground-breaking, more ribbon cuttings, and more commissioning within your constituency,” declared Samuda.
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Eight more persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry today.
Consequently, active cases in Guyana have gone up to 287 and this includes two patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the remaining persons in either home (280) or institutional (5) isolation.
There is one other person currently in institutional quarantine.
Additionally, the COVID-19 death toll in the country remains at 1278, while some 69,409 persons have recovered from the life-threatening virus to date.
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The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is expanding its collaboration with INMED Partnerships for Children/INMED Caribbean to enhance the capacity of small-scale farmers to implement climate-adaptive aquaponics farming and strengthen Micro Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
The Increasing Access to Climate-Smart Agriculture in the Caribbean Through INMED Aquaponics® Project will build the capacity of aquaponics enterprises and increase climate resilience in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and The Bahamas by scaling INMED Aquaponics®.
“As economic opportunities for small-scale farmers decline amid significant climate change impacts, it is imperative to introduce viable, income-generating livelihood alternatives, particularly among our MSMEs” says Lisa Harding, Coordinator Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprise Development at CDB.Innovative solutions are especially needed, as regional economies face a variety of climate-driven events. Global disruptions in the supply chain are delaying the delivery of foodstuff and supplies small-scale farmers depend on to sustain their livelihoods. Through this initiative, the Bank is proactively building climate resilience with an adaptive agriculture model.
The current economic environment has created a renewed focus on support for agricultural enterprise to facilitate an inclusive and resilient recovery. An intensive, climate-smart food production technique, aquaponics combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (soilless crop production) in a closed symbiotic system, dramatically conserving water and space compared to conventional agriculture and yielding up to 10 times more abundant fresh produce plus fish year-round.
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“INMED Caribbean first introduced aquaponics to Jamaica in 2011 and has implemented two dozen systems throughout the island for schools, charitable groups, civic organisations, small farm cooperatives and communities to build food security, climate adaptation and income generation,” says Dr. Linda Pfeiffer, Founder and CEO of INMED Partnerships for Children.
With key investments from CDB, IDB Lab and the Government of Jamaica, INMED Caribbean developed a comprehensive model with linkages to markets and financing and other value-chain support for smallholder farmers and emerging agri-entrepreneurs.
“The four nations we are assessing for expansion are well-positioned to benefit from INMED’s training programme because they each have a need and appetite for aquaponics farming,” says INMED Chief Operating Officer Kristin Callahan.
INMED Caribbean is conducting research to identify stakeholders for the social enterprise training programme to jumpstart regional aquaponics expansion. The project will involve virtual and in-person training workshops for participants in the pilot country, focusing on underrepresented and low-resource populations.
SOURCE: Caribbean Development Bank/ SLT
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Cible de tentatives d’extorsion se chiffrant en millions d’euros, Paul Pogba, l’un des joueurs clefs du titre mondial remporté par l’équipe de France de football en 2018, se retrouve au cœur d’une rocambolesque affaire qui fait l’objet d’une enquête en France où apparait le nom de son frère aîné, Mathias.
L’affaire Pogba a débuté samedi sur les réseaux sociaux avec un message de Mathias, 32 ans, qui promet alors de “grandes révélations” sur son cadet, 29 ans.
Dans cette vidéo diffusée en quatre langues (français, italien, anglais et espagnol), Mathias Pogba, lui-même footballeur professionnel, annonce que “le monde entier”, comme la Juventus Turin, le club italien où son frère est revenu cet été après un premier passage entre 2012 et 2016, et six saisons à Manchester United, “méritent de savoir certaines choses afin de décider en toute connaissance de cause s’il (Paul Pogba) mérite vraiment l’admiration, le respect, sa place en équipe de France, s’il est une personne digne de confiance”.
“Tout cela risque d’être explosif”, conclut-il, sans plus de précisions.
Dimanche, Paul Pogba contre-attaque via un communiqué signé de ses avocats et de son agente Rafaela Pimenta, qui vient de prendre la tête de la société de Mino Raiola, l’agent-star récemment décédé.
– Fusils d’assaut –
“Les déclarations récentes de Mathias Pogba sur les réseaux sociaux ne sont malheureusement pas une surprise. Elles s’ajoutent à des menaces et des tentatives d’extorsion en bande organisée contre Paul Pogba”, indique le communiqué.
“Les autorités compétentes en Italie et en France ont été saisies il y a un mois et il n’y aura plus d’autres commentaires par rapport à l’enquête en cours”, poursuivent les représentants de Paul Pogba dans ce communiqué.
Une source proche du dossier indique à l’AFP qu’une enquête a été ouverte en France début août et confiée aux services de la Direction centrale de la police judiciaire (DCPJ).
Selon la radio France Info, Paul Pogba a confié durant les auditions aux enquêteurs de l’Office central de lutte contre le crime organisé qu’il avait “notamment été piégé par des amis d’enfance et deux hommes cagoulés armés de fusils d’assaut”
Ils lui réclament treize millions d’euros pour “service rendu” et lui reprochent de ne pas les avoir aidés financièrement depuis qu’il est devenu joueur professionnel.
– Mbappé et marabout –
Selon France Info toujours, Paul Pogba, actuellement éloigné des terrains en raison d’une blessure au genou droit, assure aux enquêteurs qu’il a plusieurs fois été intimidé à Manchester et jusqu’au centre d’entraînement de la Juventus. Parmi les suspects, il affirme avoir reconnu son frère Mathias.
Une source proche du dossier a confirmé à l’AFP les informations de France Info.
Dans cette affaire, le nom de la star du football français Kylian Mbappé apparait aussi, à son corps défendant: Paul Pogba a expliqué aux enquêteurs que “ses maîtres chanteurs voulaient le discréditer en diffusant des messages dans lequel il aurait demandé à un marabout de son entourage familial de jeter un sort” à l’attaquant du PSG, ce que le joueur dément.
De son côté, Mathias Pogba maintient ses accusations, toujours sans les formuler: “J’espère que vous ne vous ferez pas avoir par une tentative de manipulation des médias et des autorités. Quand on est célèbre le monde est avec vous, les autorités écoutent plus attentivement. Mais ça ne vous met pas au dessus de la justice, les policiers ne sont pas vos larbins!”, a-t-il écrit dimanche sur Twitter.
Dimanche soir, il a réagi aux première révélations sur l’audition de son frère par la police en rajoutant quelques messages sur Twitter. “Paul, tu voulais vraiment me faire taire quite à mentir et m’envoyer en prison”, a écrit Mathias.
“Tu m’a laissé dans le trou en fuyant et tu veux faire l’innocent, a-t-il ajouté, quand tout sera dit les gens verront qu’il n’y a pas plus lâche, plus traître et plus hypocrite que toi sur cette terre.”
alu-eba-tll-kn-alh/jr/rbo
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Jamaica’s COVID-positivity rate increased to 32.5 per cent amid 176 new COVID-19 cases recorded over a 24-hour period up to Saturday afternoon.
There was no coronavirus-related death recorded for the one-day reporting period.
The overall coronavirus death toll in Jamaica remains at 3,250.
However, the separate death of a COVID-19 patient has been classified as being coincidental.
There were 89 recoveries on the day, bringing that tally to 96,352.
The newly confirmed COVID-19 cases brought the total number on record for the island to 149,596.
Notably, the 32.5 per cent positivity rate was based on the samples that were tested on Saturday.
Of the newly confirmed cases, 106 are females and 70 are males, with ages ranging from 28 days to 93 years.
The case count was made up of St Catherine (49), Kingston and St Andrew (34), St Elizabeth (19), Manchester (18), Clarendon (15), St James (10), St Ann (10), Westmoreland (10), St Mary (four), Hanover (three), St Thomas (two), and Trelawny (two).
There are 22 moderately ill patients, six severely ill patients and four critically ill patients among 1,220 active cases now under observation in Jamaica.
A total of 118 COVID-19 patients are now hospitalised locally.
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The first phase of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) communication campaign to address vaccine hesitancy in Eastern Caribbean Countries has been a resounding success.
The campaign, which began in October 2021 and concluded in June 2022, was developed to address four key challenges: low COVID-19 vaccination uptake, due to misconceptions and distrust; Infodemic prevalence (false COVID-19 information which was disseminated mainly on social media and the Internet); the desire to achieve a 70% COVID-19 vaccination coverage by June 2022; and the appearance of new variants of concern due to high circulation of the COVID-19 virus.
PAHO and ITU worked on the campaign with telecommunications provider Trend Media / Digicel. The campaign leveraged the public-private partnership model pioneered by the WHO-ITU joint Be He@lthy, Be Mobile initiative to rapidly implement a content delivery channel that would be convenient and accessible (including to people who have limited access to the Internet).
PAHO-curated awareness-raising and behaviour change information was packaged in engaging multimedia format (infographics, posters, videos, etc.) and posted online. People received SMS messages with brief preventive health advice along with links to the multimedia materials which they could access without any data-traffic costs.
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The information communicated aimed to raise awareness; debunk myths; provide guidance; and encourage people to vaccinate.
Phase 1 initially ran from October 2021 to January 2022 and targeted Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St. Lucia.
When the project was extended to June 2022, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were included.
The PAHO ITU team deemed the campaign a success based on the following research findings. One in four people read the 5 million messages forwarded and opened the links.
Additionally, approximately 81 percent of the mobile users who receiving the messages described the content as useful, interesting or relevant; and just over 50 percent of mobile users said the information they received helped them stay alert about related risks.
Importantly, at least 5 percent of respondents reported that the communication campaign helped them decide to get vaccinated; while close to 14 percent said the information helped them to adjust their behavior.
Based on the outcome of this initiative thus far, PAHO and ITU are currently in discussions about phase two of the project. The second part of the project will target those countries which were not included in the first phase.
Representative for the PAHO/WHO Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries (ECC), Dr. Amalia Del Riego, described the progress to date as “very encouraging!”
Dr. Del Riego added: “Phase two of the campaign will provide PAHO and the ITU with an opportunity to raise awareness and reduce vaccine hesitancy in our other countries and territories.”
According to Mr. Bruno Ramos, Director of the ITU Regional Office for the Americas: “The campaign highlighted the feasibility of leveraging digital technology to support preventive health measures to contribute to better health and development.”
Mr. Ramos underscored that the ITU Regional Office looks forward to collaborating with PAHO and other partners to support the integration of cost-effective digital solutions in SDG-related projects and initiatives.
SOURCE: Pan American Health Organization
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Tekst en beeld Audry Wajwakana PARAMARIBO — In september gaat de grootste internationale fotowedstrijd Wiki Loves Monuments van start. Uit
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PHILIPSBURG — Every year around 1,600 students from the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles travel to the Netherlands to study at institutions for MBO, HBO or WO-diplomas. Those journeys do not always end well: Caribbean students struggle with a complex of issues that result more often than not in disappointing results. The ministries of education from the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten commissioned a study into the experiences of these students.
The resulting report, produced by ResearchNed in collaboration with Excellent Government and Management Consultancy from Bonaire and Utrecht-based consultant Andersson Elffers Felix was competed in April. Richelis Williams-Van der Mark, who works for the ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports in St. Maarten was part of the supervisory committee that supported the researchers.
First an explanation of the Dutch alphabet soup that is mentioned in the first line of this article. MBO stands for Middelbaar Beroepsonderwijs, HBO for Hoger Beroepsonderwijs and WO voor Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs, or studies at university level.
The four education ministries asked for the study because Caribbean students perform worse than other students that follow higher education. The results of the study mainly reflect the situation in Curacao and Aruba and the researchers warn that their findings cannot be extrapolated to the other islands. Data available from St. Maarten and the BES-islands was too limited to draw definitive conclusions.
Of the 600 MBO-students that go to the Netherlands every year around 50 percent has its diploma after four years, compared to 65 percent for students with a non-western migration background and 75 percent for other students. The yield is especially low among Caribbean male students. In the first year there is not much difference between male and female students but in the years after that the male students fall further and further behind.
HBO-studies attract each year around 740 Caribbean students, while around 250 go to university. Within the first year 48 percent of HBO-students and 43 percent of WO-students switch to a different study.
Only 23 percent of HBO-students has a diploma after five years, compared to 33 percent for students with a non-western migration background and 51 percent for other students.
On university-level the percentages are lightly better: 43 percent of Caribbean students had a diploma after four years, compared to 58 percent for students with a non-western migration background and 61 percent for other students.
Eight years after the start of their HBO-studies, 40 percent of Caribbean students had a diploma; for university students this percentage is 75 percent.
Most of the students that go to the Netherlands every year come from the larger islands Curacao and Aruba. St. Maarten sends between 50 and 75 MBO-students, 50 to 90 HBO-students and 10 to 20 WO-students.
What are the main concerns for these students? The report found that essential practical matters like housing are not settled well when the students arrive in the Netherlands. Coaching and supervising the students often stops after a year, or at times sooner.
There are no specific facilities for Caribbean students at most schools, because they are registered as being Dutch. For this reason they also do not qualify for facilities for foreign students.
Mostly, the new students suffer from what the report calls overload: a combination of practical, study-related and personal problems.
The report notes that students are poorly prepared for their life as a student in the Netherlands. They have not been taught to be independent, they lack study-skills and they do not master the Dutch language sufficiently.
Students experience a culture shock in their new country. The culture, the climate, the society, the approach to education and all kinds of practical matters are different from what they were used to back home. “For many students the transition is so significant that there is no good approach available to prepare them for it,” the report states, adding that is were better to take more time to prepare students or to look for better fitting study-options at other locations.
Where to begin? The countries must acknowledge that the study-success of Caribbean students is low,” the report states. “Preparation, the choice of study and support are insufficient and focusing on just one aspect will not solve these issues.” There is a need for more resources, and more cooperation, sharing of knowledge and professionalization.
According to the researchers the key to a solution is in the Caribbean. “The bottom line is that if we do not manage to improve the preparation and the supervision effectively, chances of study-success in the Netherlands remain slim. In that case the switch to higher education in the Netherlands ought to be more often discouraged or postponed.”
The report does not provide practical solutions. “The educational institutions in the Netherlands and the Caribbean and the respective governments have to discuss this among each other.”
A significant stumbling block for Caribbean students is language. “Dutch is for less than ten percent the language that is spoken at home,” the report notes. That is obviously not helpful because the language of instruction at most schools in the Netherlands is Dutch.
Another issue is the study students choose to follow. “Parents and teachers have a preference for status-giving studies like law and medicine that are possibly not a good fit for the student,” the report states.
The problems Caribbean students experience are complex: they vary from seemingly mundane issues like homesickness, loneliness and performance anxiety to problems with the Dutch language and practical issues like housing, budgeting, debts, insurances and taxes. Combined with limited study-skills and a limited ability to take care of themselves, this puts study results under severe pressure.
Literature about poor study results mention family background, social economic status, ethnicity, the financial situation of students, social integration and a lack of confidence as possible causes.
Students who were interviewed for the study said that they were poorly prepared for the practical side of living in the Netherlands. They also said that it is too easy to make debts in the Netherlands and that many students don’t handle their finances well. This results in many side jobs that leave little time for study. Due to the temptations of debts, criminality, drugs and shady friends, some students lose focus. Pregnancies are also mentioned as reasons for dropping out of school.
Employees of the University of St. Maarten (USM) were also interviewed for the study. They said that students receive plenty of information but that many of them only take action at the last moment.
USM told the researchers that it wants to establish a program to prepare students better for their life in the Netherlands. The university also noted that it is busy establishing a business program in cooperation with a Dutch graduate school and that it already has a so-called two plus two program in place. Participants in this program study the first two years at home and the next two years at a partner institution in the United States.
Caribbean schools and universities are well aware of the problems students in the Netherlands are facing. They mention language, choice of the wrong study, culture shock, handling money, homesickness, not being independent, not being assertive and problems with housing.
The institutions also mentioned another factor: the culture of shame. Because of this, aspiring students often only hear the success stories. Living with family they have not seen in years does not always end well either; sometimes this results in conflicts whereby the student suddenly finds him or herself on the street.
Government institutions like the St Maartenhouse emphasized to the researchers that they want to present a positive image, saying that many students complete their studies. “Success-stories also deserve attention.”
But governments have also woken up to the reality of poor study results. Aruba and Curacao for instance no longer grant study financing for MBO-studies, because the return on investment is so low. For the same reason, the Hogeschool Rotterdam no longer actively recruits Caribbean students, though motivated students are still welcome there.
Most alarming in this context is that mastering the Dutch language in the Caribbean is diminishing. “Governments are promoting Papiamento or English. Outside of education, Dutch hardly plays a role anymore,” the report states.
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Related article:Education reform is a work in progress
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PHILIPSBURG — Minister Rodolphe Samuel (Education, Culture, Youth and Sports) has addressed the ten recommendations established in the Interim Education Review Report to arrive at the following conclusion: “All the proposed recommendations are being addressed.”
In one sense this is correct, because Minister Samuel has indeed addressed all the issues that stem from the review-report. But in spite of an exhaustive and very detailed explanation of all the shortcomings and possible solutions for St. Maarten education-system, there seems to be very little to report in terms of actual results.
The minister uses terms like initiatives, research, evaluation and even recommendations to show how busy his ministry is with all these issues but it seems that all the good intentions can best be described as a complicated work in progress.
The review-report contains ten recommendations, and Minister Samuel has discussed them all during three successive press briefings. To keep our readers entertained or at least a bit interested, we will stay away from going into all the details. Instead, we will highlight the most interesting topics.
One of the recommendations from the review-report is “to ensure a safe learning environment for students.” The ministry wants to tackle this issue by providing direct support to teachers and to do further research into this. Other initiatives include the creation of a policy and a roadmap towards reformed secondary education, improving students’ preparedness for higher education and/or for joining the labor market, a special needs policy and (again) research into CXC (Caribbean Examinations Council) and CVQs (Caribbean Vocational Qualification) as options for secondary vocational education.
The review-report also recommends the creation of a continuous learning path. What does the ministry want to do? Among other things implement reforms to improve the study success of Caribbean students in the Netherlands and devising a strategy to improve numeracy and literacy. The ministry also wants to establish a Council of Education and Labor.
Creating a mature government structure is yet another recommendation. The ministry intends to draft recommendations for the amendment of the national decree for the funding of education, research the funding model and establish a national decree for the funding of higher education.
The ministry’s ten-year strategic plan (2016-2026) aims to minimize bureaucracy and to establish a public education school board.
Obviously, the ministry has also keep an eye on the money that is spent in the education system. To this end it has contracted the government accountancy bureau (SOAB) to research compliance with education legislation, compare granted subsidies with actual financials and check whether financial management measures are in place. SOAB completed its research in March, but the ministry did not provide any details about the results.
There is much more in the works and we will present here a few examples. The division public education is in the process of upgrading all public schools with interactive boards, laptops and tablets. A policy change to establish a more efficient school busing system is underway, as is an evaluation of foundation-based education.
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Related links:Caribbean students don’t do well in the Netherlands
Download the Interim Education Review Report here>>>
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