Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

More than 1,000 cannabis industry stakeholders are expected in Montego Bay this week to discuss how to cash in on the once illegal ganja plant after promising much but delivering little over the past six years.

CanEx Jamaica, the Cannabis Conference and Expo, is seeking a reset for the industry from which some investors have entered and then fled since the Ganja Law Reform in 2016.

Despite the setbacks, CanEx organiser Douglas Gordon said the cannabis industry represents an opportunity to improve the lives of many Jamaicans.

“The industry globally is just in the starting blocks and has an extremely bright future”, he said.

Several reports indicate that the industry is floundering for many reasons, including an unclear export policy, rejection by the banking sector, mistrust and misunderstanding by the public and government, and the softening of the global market.

But Gordon said the stakeholders must respect each other and work together to avoid past mistakes.

“The failure of the industry so far is a result of the inability to articulate what the opportunity looks like and what is the road map to get there…I think that as an industry, it’s time that we start to work much more cohesively in identifying the key issues that need to be resolved to take this industry forward”, he said.

Gordon said up to 1,500 people are to attend CanEx, which will take place at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from September 15 to 17. It is the fifth year of the conference, which was not held for the past two years because of COVID-19.

Participants range from traditional ganja farmers, Rastafarians, scientists, doctors, and the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) – the government’s regulatory body, to licensed producers and anyone looking to learn the business.

Dr Norman Dunn, Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce and a representative from the CLA are to address the conference.

Gordon noted that stakeholders in the banking sector, which has shunned the cannabis industry because corresponding banks in the US, were invited to attend CanEx.

“The reality is that you have over 1,000 people legally employed in the Cannabis industry in Jamaica today who cannot get a home or car loan”, Gordon said

He noted that banks in Canada have been doing business with the industry, including with institutions in the US.

Stating that there is plenty of blame to go around, Gordon called on different stakeholders to respect the role of others in the industry.

He said all should be included, from the Rastafarians and traditional farmers who sacrificed their freedom to build the reputation of ganja; to licenced producers investing millions to develop the industry along global commercial standards.

One weakness, however, is that the economic potential of the industry is unknown.

“Part of the challenge is that there is very little data that gets tracked”, Gordon said, adding that there will be financial experts on hand giving projections on the industry’s earnings.

“The reality is that we will not get to a point where it is [the industry] taken seriously unless we can demonstrate the value of the industry potentially to the economy”, he said.

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File photo: Foster Cummings

YOUTH Development and National Services Minister Foster Cummings has launched the Youth Agricultural Shade House Project to attract more young people to the profession and create sustainable jobs in the sector.

Launching the project on Monday at the ministry on Elizabeth Street, St Clair, Cummings said the programme is designed to equip young people with the skills and resources to develop agriculture and produce high-value crops.

His vision is to contribute to the sector to promote a grow-what-you-eat and eat-local culture and establish significant agri-entrepreneurship opportunities.

The project will provide agricultural training, infrastructure development and extension and operational services to 100 participants between 16 and 35. The ministry will give participants with a stipend during the project.

The one-year certification programme will be done in collaboration with UWI, St Augustine and the National Agricultural Research Extension Institute of Guyana at the Chaguaramas Development Authority Agricultural Park, Tucker Valley, Chaguaramas.

Cummings said, “The intention is that we give young people throughout Trinidad and Tobago the opportunity to take part in this project that will be dedicated to training them in the production of high-value agricultural products.

“The model will involve the formation of a co-operative of the participants upon the successful completion of their training. They will form a business model that they will utilise to market these crops to the users, (who) will be of course people in the hospitality industry, in the fast food industry, and of course to the common consumers throughout the country.”

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Amid official mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre said on Monday that it was not the time to discuss leaving the Commonwealth.

“At this time Saint Lucia is part of the Commonwealth and this is not a discussion we can have at this time,” Pierre stated.

“This time is a time when we are mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth,” was Pierre’s response when reporters asked whether this country would remain part of the Commonwealth or move towards becoming a Republic.

The Castries East MP spoke on the sidelines of a meeting of the Cabinet after signing a book of condolence at Government House.

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He expressed ‘deep and sincere’ condolences on the death of the Queen, observing that the late Monarch was part of Saint Lucia’s history.

“We were moved by her grace, her professionalism and we deeply mourn her death,” the Saint Lucia Prime Minister stated.

“We also want to congratulate the new King – King Charles III,” Pierre told reporters, adding that the king is well-known for his advocacy on matters about youth and the environment.

“I had the pleasure to speak with him earlier this year and we hope he will continue in the fine tradition of his mother,” he said.

Pierre’s remarks came on the heels of reports that Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne had announced that he intended to introduce a referendum on whether his country should become a republic following Queen Elizabeth’s death.

The BBC quoted Browne as saying that a referendum could take place within three years – but emphasised that the move was ‘not an act of hostility’.

According to the BBC, he made the comments after confirming Charles III as King and head of state of the Caribbean nation.

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El presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez, el presidente de la Comisión de Energía, Luis Raúl Torres Cruz, y el representante José Rivera Madera radicaron el lunes, la resolución de la Cámara 822 para requerirle al Negociado de Energía de Puerto Rico (NEPR) que investigue la veracidad de los datos que presentó LUMA Energy con relación al supuesto cumplimiento del 84 por ciento de las métricas de desempeño estipuladas en el contrato.

“Es inaceptable que, a casi año y medio de la entrada en vigor de este acuerdo, el gobierno solo tenga un borrador para fiscalizar a LUMA. Es por eso que le estamos exigiendo al NEPR que certifique la veracidad de los datos presentados por LUMA, para evidenciar el incumplimiento de la empresa con las métricas pactadas”, expresó Hernández Montañez en declaraciones escritas.

En una vista pública celebrada el pasado lunes, los directivos de las agencias encargadas de fiscalizar el contrato con LUMA— el NEPR, la Autoridad para las Alianzas Público-Privadas (AAPP) y la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE)— admitieron que no tienen el personal suficiente, ni con el peritaje requerido para supervisar el contrato, y que no habían preparado el Plan de Acción para la Supervisión y Manejo del contrato según lo ordena la Sección 8 de la Ley 120-2018, que debía ser redactado por esas tres dependencias.

Asimismo, los funcionarios del Ejecutivo no pudieron contestar cuántos empleados tiene LUMA, ya que, mientras en las redes sociales el consorcio dice contar con sobre tres mil empleados, al NEPR le informa que tiene entre 1,200 a 1,300, y el director de la AAPP, Fermín Fontanés, aceptó que no ha corroborado si los datos que LUMA le entregó son los mismos que la empresa le proveyó a la Cámara.

“En la vista pública que celebramos quedó evidenciada la incompetencia y la negligencia de esta Administración, que se ha rehusado a fiscalizar a LUMA y a exigirle que cumpla con las métricas del contrato. El propio Fermín Fontanés admitió que LUMA continúa sin supervisión y haciendo su voluntad, aún cuando sus actos pueden constituir un incumplimiento con el contrato”, aseveró Torres Cruz, quien ha sido el encargado de investigar este acuerdo en la Cámara desde que inició el cuatrienio.

Igualmente, el NEPR, la AAPP y la AEE desmintieron que los fondos federales asignados a la reconstrucción del sistema eléctrico estén condicionados a que LUMA sea la encargada de administrar la red eléctrica, ya que los fondos solo están disponibles para entidades gubernamentales o instituciones sin fines de lucro, de acuerdo con el Stafford Act.

Por su parte, Rivera Madera cuestionó la “dejadez” del NEPR, que no ha impuesto multa alguna por incumplimiento a LUMA y solo le ha cursado advertencias, y su presidente, Edison Avilés Deliz, aceptó que las métricas son provistas por el consorcio y que el NEPR no ha corroborado su veracidad.

“No permitiremos que, mientras todos los puertorriqueños y puertorriqueñas sufrimos las consecuencias provocadas por los apagones e interrupciones de servicio de LUMA, esta empresa continue por la libre y sin cumplir con sus responsabilidades, por lo que el NEPR tiene la obligación de certificar la veracidad de su supuesto cumplimiento”, precisó Rivera Madera, representante del distrito 23.

Torres Cruz agregó que “es la falta de supervisión por parte de la AAPP y, en menor medida, la fiscalización insuficiente por parte del NEPR respecto al desempeño de LUMA, lo que ha resultado en la crisis energética que vivimos hoy”.

El presidente cameral reiteró que la Cámara de Representantes continuará fiscalizando a LUMA y exigiéndole resultados, mientras trabajan para lograr la cancelación del contrato y reformar el sistema eléctrico de Puerto Rico.

La resolución de la Cámara 822 le requiere al NEPR que, antes del 10 de octubre de 2022, provea ante la Secretaría de la Cámara de Representantes, un informe que contenga los hallazgos de investigación sobre la veracidad de los datos que presenta LUMA Energy al NEPR con relación al supuesto cumplimiento del 84 por ciento de las métricas de desempeño, según establecidas por el Negociado.

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