Black Immigrant Daily News

Les départs se multipliaient chez Twitter hier (jeudi 17 novembre), au lendemain d’un ultimatum d’Elon Musk, propriétaire et patron de Twitter depuis trois semaines, qui a demandé aux employés rescapés de la première vague de licenciements de choisir entre se donner “à fond, inconditionnellement”, et partir.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Two firearms and 47 rounds of ammunition were seized during a spot check along the Salt Marsh main road in Trelawny.

Reports are that at about 8:00 pm, on Thursday, November 17, a public passenger vehicle was searched and a bag containing two semi-automatic pistols, a Taurus, and a Canic 9mm pistol, each with a magazine containing seventeen 9mm cartridges and eighteen 9mm cartridges respectively. An additional twelve 9mm cartridges were found in the bag.

The police are encouraging persons to share information on illegal guns, gunmen, and gangs by calling the NIB tip line at 811, Crime Stop at 311, the police 119 emergency number, or the nearest police station.

The investigations continue.

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A magistrate’s conviction of a retired estate constable for throwing a kettle of hot water at police who illegally entered his home on a domestic-violence report has been set aside.

On Friday, Justices of Appeal Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Vasheist Kokaram upheld the appeal of Peter Cedeno, 74, after deputy Director of Public Prosecutions George Busby said the State was unable to agree with the magistrate’s decision.

He submitted that the police’s entry into Cedeno’s home on the night of September 26, 2017, was illegal, so Magistrate Avion Gill was wrong to overrule a no-case submission and impose a bond of $1,500 to keep the peace for six months for the offence of throwing missiles.

Busby said according to the evidence at the magistrates’ court, the police met Cedeno’s wife outside their home while Cedeno was still inside.

When the police entered, Cedeno pelted Carib bottles, a beer case and a chair at the door. Cedeno then threw an electric kettle of boiling water at an officer, who was burned on the shin. Cedeno was eventually subdued, arrested and charged.

Busby quoted from sections of the Domestic Violence Act on the police’s powers to enter a home when investigating a domestic-violence report.

“The important thing was that the wife was outside in the safety of the police and the appellant was inside.”

He said the act allows the police to enter premises if they have reasonable cause to believe someone is engaging in or attempting to engage in conduct that can result in physical violence, or where the failure to act could end in injury or death.

He said there was nothing in the act that authorised the police to enter to search or arrest anyone who was not engaging in such conduct.

He also said the act mandates officers to send a report to the police commissioner to be sent to the DPP’s office when officers enter premises without a warrant, detailing the manner of the investigation, and the measures that needed to be taken for safety.

“No report was ever received by the DPP…Those should have been forthcoming.”

Busby said if the police had not entered Cedeno’s home illegally, he would not have been throwing the missiles.

He acknowledged that while throwing missiles is an offence, the items were thrown at the police.

“If the entry was illegal, he was well within his right to throw anything at anyone entering his property. We say the entry was illegal.”

He also said in giving her reasons for convicting Cedeno, the magistrate relied on evidence of a medical report submitted by the officer who was burned on the shin “from the other case about a kettle being thrown.”

In agreeing with Busby, the judges upheld Cedeno’s appeal and set aside Gill’s orders. They did not order a retrial, since, they said, the evidence will not change.

In his defence at the magistrates’ court, Cedeno said he was almost blind in one eye and had lost sight in the other because of an accident two years before the incident; suffered from head and other injuries; had a leg and speech impediment; and suffered memory loss. On the evening of the incident, he admitted he and his wife had an argument which led to an altercation between them and their son.

His wife and son left the house and he put a chair in front of the door so he would know when she returned. He said at 8.45 pm, he went to the kitchen to make tea and put up the kettle when he heard the chair being dragged as the door was pushed open.

He said he turned and saw a large person dressed in black rushing at him. That person tackled him and pushed him to the floor without identifying themselves. He said the kettle and his walking cane fell from his hands and he and the other person landed on the floor. Cedeno said he thought bandits had broken into the house and, fearing for his life, put up a struggle.

He was taken to St Ann’s Hospital, after which he was charged with throwing missiles and assaulting a police officer.

Cedeno said he did not know the individual who tackled him was a police officer, nor did he throw anything during the struggle.

At the appeal, Cedeno’s brother Rickie represented him.

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Guyanese company, Farfan and Mendes, has signed a partnership agreement with the United Kingdom’s (UK)-based Concrete Canvas, now paving the way for sustainable concrete drainage solutions in Guyana.

The signing was done on the sidelines of a reception hosted by the British High Commission for delegates of the UK Trade Mission currently in Guyana to scope out potential business and investment opportunities.

This partnership allows for the provision of sustainable concrete drainage solutions in the country.

Concrete Canvas products are from an innovative material, Geosynthetic Cementitious Composite Mats (GCCMs) with proven use for erosion control, weed suppression, slope protection, and typically, 10-times faster to install than conventional concrete solutions.

President Dr Irfaan Ali in delivering remarks at the reception expressed his view that the product complements the government’s infrastructure programme including drainage projects.

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner Jane Miller said the partnership is illustrative of the benefits of trade missions, referencing Concrete Canvas’ participation in an earlier trade mission.

High Commissioner Miller also underscored the importance of UK companies collaborating with Guyanese companies to grow the economic relations between the UK and Guyana.

The partnership aligns with Guyana’s interest to develop sectors beyond oil and gas and will help deliver environmental and climate change priorities as a lower carbon alternative to traditional concrete, and increased soil stability functions.

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Keith Duncan, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and co-chair of Project STAR says that one of the solutions to Jamaica’s economic and social problems is to invest in its people through a programme of inclusiveness, collaboration and a shared vision.

He made the suggestion while addressing the Global Leadership Summit on Thursday, November 17, where he was among eight distinguished speakers addressing 135 countries worldwide.

“Only through the investment in our people and communities we will unleash that potential and achieve an inclusive, equitable, sustainable and prosperous society,” he pointed out.

Turning to the latest initiative created by the PSOJ in partnership with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Project STAR, Duncan said that the initiative is a scalable effort that will solve the problems as a country; at the community level while unearthing the potential of the people.

“Most importantly it’s owned and driven by the people within communities. Project STAR and all our partners work with community members to implement their ideas, their solutions based on the needs they have identified for themselves,” he noted.

The PSOJ president said that a significant pillar of Project STAR is an economic transformation where the private sector businesses that have a need for workers will provide jobs for members of the targeted communities that have high levels of unemployment.

“Many of the unemployed in the communities are not job ready and require psychosocial intervention, life skills training and also training in how to function in a structured work environment on top of which technical skills can be layered,” he informed.

Duncan, who is also the CEO of JMMB Group, said that while the employment needs are being addressed within these spaces, there needs to be a total reversal of the educational gaps for the people. He said this can be achieved with greater reallocation of resources from vocational training, where there is a significant spend on remedial education, to early childhood and primary education where a solid foundation can be provided for the nation’s children.

“Economic growth in Jamaica is limited by the shortfall of a trained and educated workforce. We cannot begin to address the low productivity, low standard of living and the social problems of our country without making this shift in education,” he emphasised.

“We must break the cycle by disrupting education at the foundation level to prepare our young people for higher education and gain value-added skillsets where everyone can earn higher incomes,” he affirmed.

The Project STAR co- chair said that through the social and economic transformation initiatives undertaken by Project STAR the outcome will be safer, secure, and more prosperous communities which will translate into a sustainable reduction in violence and crime.

“I am convinced that the only way we will do this is if we pull the whole-of-society to Project STAR and collaborate within and outside of the target communities to create sustained change,” he said.

He informed that the response to Project STAR has been positive so far with the communities, businesses, those in the Diaspora, in government is being receptive to the “whole-of-society model” and are preparing to roll up their sleeves and get involved in making a difference.

“In fact, in less than one year of sharing the vision with Jamaica’s private sector we have secured more than 80 per cent of the amount targeted from our large corporate companies over the five-year span of the project,” he disclosed.

“Based on the positive energy generated from Project STAR we are confident that we will have the same level of success with our Diaspora crowdfunding and our listing on the Jamaica Social Stock Exchange.”

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