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Two companies are partnering to go greener and make a five-megawatt solar photovoltaic farm a reality.

Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd is collaborating with Williams Industries Ltd to establish a $12 million solar farm on 16 acres of land at the company’s location in St Lucy. This initiative will not only reduce the distillery’s carbon footprint but will also fall in line with Barbados’ national goal of achieving 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, July 31, Managing Director of Mount Gay Distilleries Rapha?l Grisoni explained how the project aligned with the company’s sustainability strategy.

“Sustainability is at the heart of what we do we are looking for the best partner and looking at the ambition of Barbados being 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030, we thought it was a good move. And, of course, Williams [Industries] is the best partner because they have a track record of solar farms on the island and they are using the best technology,” added Grisoni, indicating that the project was awarded based on the tendering process.

While unable to provide a definitive start, he indicated that assessments had been undertaken and the project was “in the last stages” of approval.

Executive Director at Williams Industries David Staples indicated that once the “final permissions” were given from R?my-Cointreau, Mount Gay’s parent company, the project would commence.

“We are very proud of one of our larger international businesses here to take this step for the carbon offset and for the contribution to the local economy and we think it is a win-win-win – from the Government and citizenry point of view, from his [Grisoni’s] company, and Williams Caribbean Capital,” he said.

Staples went on to point out that the huge initiative would be all locally financed, stating: “It is local ownership. It will be owned by Mount Gay and ourselves.”

Grisoni explained that the investment in the solar farm investment was part of the distillery’s sustainability strategy.

“That fits in perfectly with our sustainability strategy. For many years we were reducing our carbon footprint. Over the last four years, we reduced our carbon footprint by 66 per cent by switching, for example, our main source of energy to natural gas that helped us to reduce our usage of diesel. As you know natural gas is a cleaner energy and the carbon footprint of natural gas is quite low.”

He indicated that Mount Gay continued to play its part with smaller initiatives like planting trees and switching to electric cars as the company tried to offset its usage and reduce its carbon footprint.

“The solar farm is really a big milestone for us in our sustainability strategy. It is not something unknown for us. It is planned and it is part of our strategy. We are happy to have this partnership that, at the end of the day, will be beneficial to everybody,” Grisoni stated.

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Watson Duke, left, and Farley Augustine. –

The power struggle between Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) political leader Watson Duke and THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine deepened on Friday, when Duke revoked Augustine’s appointment as a deputy leader of the party.

In a PDP media release posted on his Facebook page, Duke also revoked the appointments of the two other deputies – Dr Faith BYisrael and Alicia Roberts-Patterson. BYisrael is the Secretary for Health, Wellness and Social Protection and assemblyman for Belle Garden/Glamorgan.

Augustine, BYisrael and Roberts-Patterson are now ordinary members of the party.

Asked to comment on the revocation of her appointment, BYisrael said she had no comment at this time.

Augustine and Roberts-Patterson did not respond to WhatsApp messages.

Duke’s decision to remove them was revealed at a PDP executive meeting on Thursday night.

It came hours after Augustine announced he was reviewing Duke’s performance as Deputy Chief Secretary after the latter accused the THA of abandoning some 27 members of the Roxborough Folk Performers.

The group was due to perform at several events during Labor Day celebrations in New York.

In a video on his Facebook page on Wednesday night, Duke said although the THA assisted the performers with airline tickets, it did not give them any funds for additional expenses.

He claimed the members of the group were stressed out, hungry and in need of food, and demanded that the THA help them.

But at the post-Executive Council media briefing on Thursday, Augustine said the THA had given the group $400, 417.50 to help with airline tickets and some expenses.

Augustine said he could not understand why Duke felt the need to post a video chastising the THA after he had explained the situation to Duke.

At the briefing, Augustine also said Duke had not fulfilled several of his duties as Deputy Chief Secretary.

He said Duke is responsible for inter-governmental relations, including the relationship between ministries and divisions of the THA and specifically Sixth Schedule items, which deals with certain services to be provided in Tobago.

“That is a matter that the DCS should be working to fix.”

Augustine said Duke is also responsible for the THA’s policy monitoring and evaluation unit.

“The DCS should be going across the divisions, checking up on the policy decisions made by the executive and ensuring that they are being implemented.

“It have things that we approve as an executive since January, February, and all now he can’t get done yet. People have notes sitting down on their desks, just not doing the people work.”

He said proper monitoring of the unit would ensure that when decisions are passed at the executive level, “somebody is going at the back end and following through.”

Augustine said Duke also has responsibilities for diaspora relations, foreign direct investment and an energy bureau.

Duke has scoffed at Augustine’s review of hisresponsibilities. In a video on his Facebook page on Thursday, he described it as “laughable and ridiculous.”

He said the role of Deputy Chief Secretary means nothing to him unless he can serve the people.

He advised Augustine not to make any foolish decisions.

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Members of the House of Representives stand for a minute of silence in Parliament on Friday, in honour of the passing of Queen Elizabeth on Thursday. – Sureash Cholai

GOVERNMENT ministers fielded a final flurry of questions from opposition MPs as the House of Representatives held its final sitting of the current parliamentary session on Friday.

The session ended on midnight on Friday.

The new parliamentary session begins at the Red House in Port of Spain on September 12 from 1.30 pm with a ceremonial opening.

This event will feature an address by President Paula-Mae Weekes to a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture Avinash Singh told MPs approval is being sought from the Toxic Chemicals and Pesticides Board to obtain the pesticide metaldehyde to kill the giant African snail. He said recent heavy rain had created an environment for the snails to thrive in and the ministry is moving from a strategy of eradication to management.

While there has always been a task force in the ministry to deal with the problems posed by the snails, Singh said for the first time, the ministry is including expertise from the private sector.

“This is really an issue we have to deal with.”

Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George disallowed a question from Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram about losses farmers may have suffered because of Government’s alleged incompetence in dealing with the snail.

Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis dismissed claims by Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh that any member of the Cabinet had recently bought or leased lands owned by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in his constituency.

A few minutes later, Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales reminded Indarsingh that a TSTT’s board, and not Cabinet sub-committee appointed to examine its operations, was responsible for decisions on TSTT’s restructuring.

Annisette-George disallowed a question from Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein about an unnamed official at TSTT earning a salary of $75,000 a month.

Sport and Community Development Minister Shamfa Cudjoe said a question from Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram about accommodation for a tennis academy was not properly researched. She told Ratiram the academy has been using the tennis courts at Nelson Mandela Park in Port of Spain and the courts at the Police Barracks in St James.

While the academy has told the ministry it would seek assistance in finding another location to operate from, Cudjoe told Ratiram that request has not come to the ministry as yet.

“English language is a specifice thing.”

Rural Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi reiterated his criticism of a UNC boycott of a recent forum with local government representatives as he said two landslips in the Naparima constituency will be repaired at a cost of $5.5 million. Al-Rawi told MPs that if everyone adopted the UNC’s approach to local government reform, “We will go nowhere.”

The House later approved motions to continue work on several pieces of legislation before Parliament in the new session. Among them are the whistleblower bill and Tobago autonomy bills.

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