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Mardi 18 Octobre 2022 – 14h41

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Two of Jamaica’s top sportswomen – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, were on Monday conferred with national honours during the annual National Awards Ceremony held on the lawns of King’s House in St Andrew.

The annual event is both the highlight and culmination of Heritage Week which culminates each year on National Heroes Day, a public holiday. It recognises Jamaica’s best in their various fields of endeavour.

Fraser-Pryce, the sprint legend was conferred with the Order of Jamaica (OJ), the country’s fifth highest honour, to sustained applause. She was awarded for outstanding performance in the field of athletics at the international level. She told journalists afterward that she hopes that her award will inspire Jamaican girls, particularly those in the inner-city community of Waterhouse, St Andrew where she was born and raised. She said they too should believe that they can achieve greatness.

“I think for many young girls in my community, especially, I am excited for this moment for them because I am giving them the hope to dream and realise that they too can achieve great things,” Fraser-Pryce said.

Fraser-Pryce said she was honoured to be recognised by her country and will continue to “put Jamaica at the forefront.”

Fraser-Pryce, who won an unprecedented fifth World Championships 100m title in Eugene, Oregon in July, and who won back-to-back Olympic 100m titles in 2008 and 2012, was among 10 people conferred with the OJ this year. That number also included the Minister of Sport, Olivia Grange.

Fraser-Pryce was easily the most recognisable of the award recipients on Monday.

At 35-years-old and the mother of a son, Zyon, the enduring sprinter burst onto the international scene at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where she won gold in the 100m in a Jamaican podium sweep. She followed up that win with victory in London in 2012 and has won five World Championships at 100m since while adding a 200m title in 2013.

Fraser-Pryce also featured in Jamaican podium sweeps in the 100m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and at the July World Championships.

For her part, Jackson, 28-years-old, was all smiles as she was presented with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander. She was awarded for her exceptional achievements in the sport of track and field athletics at the national, World Championships, and Olympic levels.

After receiving her award Jackson encouraged young girls not to give up on pursuing their dreams.

“I haven’t actually thought about an award like this, but I’m here and I’ve worked hard and I’m grateful. To young girls out there, never give up, no matter what the obstacles are, you keep going because hard work definitely pays off,” Jackson said.

About being recognised by the Government, Jackson said, “I’m definitely feeling good to know that everybody is watching and we (athletes) are working and our hard work is being recognised, so I’m definitely grateful.”

Jackson is the fastest woman alive over 200m and the second fastest ever over the distance. The MVP-conditioned athlete ran a jaw-dropping 21.45 seconds to win the 200m at the Eugene World Championships in July in a national record. The previous Jamaican record of 21.53 seconds was held by Elaine Thompson-Herah.

Jackson is also one of few women who have excelled on the global stage at the 100, 200, and 400m, winning global medals at all three distances.

Several other persons were conferred with national honours for their contribution to sport. They include Dr Warren Blake, former president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association. He was conferred with the Order of Distinction for his contribution to medicine and as a team doctor in national sports.

Also awarded was sports agent Claude Bryan, who received the Order of Distinction for contribution to the sport of track and field; Michael Clarke, a veteran coach, who was conferred with the Order of Distinction for contribution to sports in the area of track and field; and veteran tennis player Douglas Russell who was awarded the Order of Distinction.

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The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the World Bank (WB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) endorsed today the Government of Jamaica’s Electronic Procurement System (GOJEP).

Based on a recent assessment conducted by the IDB, the GOJEP meets the necessary criteria for the use of an electronic procurement system on projects financed by all three Multilateral Development Banks, both for national and international competitive processes.

Electronic procurement, or e-procurement, is the process of requesting, ordering and purchasing goods and services digitally, through a system accessible by registered users.

The agreement to use electronic government procurement (e-GP) on all development projects financed by Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the World Bank (WB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will increase transparency and cause the expeditious implementation of projects in Jamaica, channelling much-needed resources to address the country’s needs.

“This is a significant milestone for the Government of Jamaica and the region as it will lead to improvements in efficiency and transparency while also lowering the transaction costs for all state projects financed by International Financial Institutions (IFIs). The bank endorses this modernised approach adopted by one of its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) as we continue to support and strengthen the procurement ecosystem in all 19 BMCs,” according to Douglas Fraser, Head, Procurement at CDB.

Highlighting the need for cooperation and commending the improved efficiency, Lilia Burunciuc, Country Director for World Bank Caribbean noted, “this endorsement is the anticipated result of successful cooperation among the IDB, the CDB and the World Bank Caribbean to increase efficiencies in development projects. It will ensure more transparency in the procurement of goods, works and services in projects financed by the three institutions and ultimately, accelerate Jamaica’s ability to meet development needs.”

This advancement will impact current and future projects; improving procurement for over US$329 million in funds currently available to the Government of Jamaica for various development initiatives.

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The Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority (ABAA) has reported that it is ready for what tourism experts predict will be an exceptionally successful winter season.

Chief Executive Officer of the ABAA, Euletta Francis, said recently that the authority has been working behind the scenes to ensure that all its equipment is in working condition ahead of the commencement of the season.

The X-ray system used in baggage handling, especially on outgoing flights from V. C. Bird International Airport (VCBIA) is one item that has received attention.

“The baggage handling system has been giving us a lot of challenges for a number of years actually,” said Euletta Francis. “I think realistically, what we can say is that it was a bad purchase. No blame really; sometimes a company brings out a new vehicle and it just has its challenges.

“So, from 2016 since we opened, we have been experiencing challenges with the systems. They are very expensive machines, so this is a $US5 million project.” Francis also commended the team who successfully installed the first machine last week as part of the upgrade of equipment at the country’s lone international airport.

“I have to say kudos to my operations and maintenance teams. It was a major challenge. I think some errors were made and so there was nothing set in place that if you’re going to change out these machines what would be the course.”

Francis explained that the installation of the new fourteen thousand pound machine, which required breaking through walls and the use of heavy duty equipment, was completed with no disruption to operations at the airport.

Another challenge the ABAA has experienced with baggage handling concerns its faulty conveyor belt system.

This is most noticeable during check-in as for some time, passengers have been required to carry their luggage from the check-in desk to an airport security checkpoint where staff then accept them for screening.

Francis anticipates, however, that all system upgrades will be completed by December.

Looking ahead to 2023, resurfacing the runway and parking apron at VCBIA are among the ABAA’s top priorities.

“The runway is key to all of this activity that we’re talking about. We haven’t had a runway overlay in quite some years. We had to push a lot of things back for COVID, but we’re happy to say we are full-fledged into making that possible,” Francis said.

To cover the cost of all the work being done, Francis revealed that the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority is in the process of floating bonds to acquire the financing required to complete the planned upgrades. – POINTE XPRESS

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Guyana’s first Rice Gene Bank was on Monday commissioned at the Burma Rice Research Station, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) while two new labs are being set up at the facility.

The National Rice Gene Bank has the capacity to store 1500 varieties of seed paddy for research. Currently, there are 400 different varieties of paddy in the bank and can be kept for more than ten years if they have the correct temperature.

The Government invested $25 million in the establishment of the bank. In addition, another $25 million is invested in a value-added lab at the same facility with a further $50 million budgeted for additional equipment. The lab will allow for research into value-added products from rice.

On Monday persons were shown bread that has been produced using 20 per cent rice flower along with other traditional wheat flour products which were made from rice flour.Apart from that lab, a soil tissue analyst lab which is valued at $85 million was also opened at the research facility. Already, some $63 million has been pumped into the establishment of that lab.

Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Agriculture Ministry, Delma Nedd in delivering a message from Minister Zulfikar Mustapha to inaugurate the new state-of-the-art value-added rice laboratory and soil and tissue analysis laboratory noted that the construction of these new facilities is part of the Government’s commitment to producing high-quality rice and rice by-products.

This she said, will see the rice industry flourish and our rice farmers prosperous.

“Not only does value addition increase rice earnings at the national and household levels, it allows for nutritional fortification, import substitution, and employment generation. To enhance the potential of the rice industry, this Government is working to diversify rice production by using innovative measures to add value to locally produced commodities.

Some of the rice-based food products that Guyana can begin to produce using this new value-added rice industry are rice flour, rice starch, ready-to-eat convenience foods, fermented beverages and noodles.”

Speaking of the soil and tissue analyst laboratory, the PS said it would enable the GRDB to conduct accurate soil testing and improve crop fertility to increase crop yield.

“The Government is also investing in the construction of a bio-controlled lab on-site at the Rice Research Station primarily to study paddy bug with bio-controlled methods and other control methods in a controlled environment. The paddy bug is a real challenge to the rice industry that caused millions in losses and so with lab, studies will be conducted using bio-controlled methods in an effort to solve the problem.”

The Ministry, she pointed out, also plans to improve productivity in the rice industry on a more technical level using germplasm technology.

“For that very purpose, the Government is working on constructing a Germplasm/Rice Gene Bank facility, soon to be commissioned, for the Guyana Rice Development Board which will see to studying, managing and using genetic resources for plant breeding, preservation and other research purposes.”

She noted that the facility is the first of its kind in Guyana and aims at introducing a bio-fortified rice variety in 2023, a high-yielding variety in 2024, and an aromatic variety in 2025.

“We aim to have rice varieties that are more resilient, nutritional, and tastier,” she said.

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