Black Immigrant Daily News
door Ivan Cairo PARAMARIBO — Politicus, Facebook-persoonlijkheid en directeur van het Nationaal Indoor Stadion, Martinus ‘Bordo’ Joel wordt door de
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Black Immigrant Daily News
Flames lit up Road Town on Saturday evening as the annual Cultural Extravaganza closed with a bonfire at the Festival Village Grounds.
Residents from across the territory gathered throughout the day to take part in activities including traditional games, cooking demonstrations, dances, singing, skits and more.
“We started off this morning with a demonstration of cooking of mutton soup and fish soup, and some dumb bread. We’re going to start with the spoken word, then games with the students,” Virgin Islands Communal Association President Melissa Potter said at the beginning of the day. “We’ll have three-legged races, some tug-of-war, lime-and-spoon for anyone who comes. We’re going to have the competition ‘name that bush’ and a cultural section with questions about our culture. That will lead right into the evening with Sankey sing-out, storytelling and bonfire with dance.”
The event was hosted by the VICA, an organisation that aims to preserve the VI’s heritage and promote good governance within the territory, according to a presentation displayed at the event.
Vendors set up their tents as early as 7 a.m. that morning. For farmer Sayretta Pickering, the event was a chance to showcase the plants she grows.
“This is a cultural event, and that’s why I’m participating, because plants and herbs are part of our culture,” Ms. Pickering said. “Before there was medicine in the pharmacy, plants are what we used for medicine. We boiled the bush and made the tea. That’s what we used for healing. Bush is the real thing.”
She sold plants including chives, mint and rosemary.
“This one smells just like Vick’s and it helps with your throat if you have a cold,” she said of one of her herbs.
Next to her, there were cooking demonstrations of mutton soup. The mutton is traditionally cooked in a pot over a wood fire, Ms. Potter explained.
Nearby, residents cooked soup made with local fish.
As the evening rolled in, more festivities like Sankey singing and traditional dances began.
Lydia Turnbull, of East End, explained the origin of Sankey singing in Major Bay.
“The Sankey was the book that was used for most of the services except for Sunday morning, so we heard Sankey from Sunday night all the way through Sunday morning,” she said. “Nowadays, when we sing Sankey songs we seem to focus on the rhythm and how you can move, but back then the focus was on the message in the songs.”
She went on to explain the powerful effect Sankey singing could have on the community.
“When the message in the song struck a note or a chord and vibrated in the hearts of those older people, let me tell you: The spirit would call and they would shout in every way,” she said. “Those older folks could not contain themselves when those songs touched their hearts. They moved. They got happy.”
During the next hour, while Sankey singing continued, a bonfire was lit a short distance from where the main events had been taken place.
The Cultural Extravaganza was a part of Culture and Tourism Month, which is scheduled to conclude with the Anegada Lobster Fest from Nov. 25-27.
Other activities are also slated for the coming days across the VI.
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During the government’s Innovation Week expo on Friday, programmer Jesse Field wore a blue shirt adorned with the outline of a skeleton. When attendees approached him, he asked them to aim a tablet at his torso.
This caused a diagram of the human body to pop up on the tablet screen, showing a rib cage surrounding a heart and lungs that moved with each breath.
The educational programme was among many demonstrations on display that day. The event at the Save the Seed Energy Centre in Duffs Bottom — which was organised by the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports — showcased various activities that are happening in schools across the territory.
“The theme for education this school year is ‘Virgin Islands education moving full STEAM ahead.’ So STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics,” said Education, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Sharie de Castro. “Our children have been to the various centres here today and they’ve really been engaging. This type of experience is really exploratory and experiential learning. It says that we want you to do, we want you to touch, we want you to feel.”
Stations at the expo included critical-thinking exercises, chess games, visual arts, robotics, engineering, 3D printing and aLego section. The critical-thinking station — one of the most difficult tables in the minister’s opinion — included puzzles and mazes. Members of the BVI Chess Federation manned another station.
“The types of skills that you learn in chess — the critical thinking, the strategy — are transferable to life,” Ms. de Castro said. “We’re looking forward to putting chess into the curriculum at our schools.”
At the robotics station, Ms. de Castro said she was impressed by how quickly students were able to programme robots to navigate mazes and do other tricks. Students also erected model buildings, helicopters, and other structures at the engineering table and at the Lego station.
Ms. de Castro said government has been trying to “reimagine” education in the territory. Although there have been drastic changes in technology and transportation over the past 100 years, she noted, classrooms “still look the same.”
“How about we reimagine the way our classroom should look?” she said. “The children don’t mind sitting on the floor. They would love to go on the floor with these Legos and sit down all day and build. When they finish building, we ask them to write a descriptive piece or a process piece on what they built.”
Such “project-based learning” increases children’s creativity and ingenuity, she said.
Mr. Field said that the week-long event has brought “excitement in the hearts of kids.”
“This technology is not for us: It’s for our kids,” he said. “It’s for us to give them the opportunities and the skills necessary to create the future that they need.”
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As the territory grapples with a shortage of nurses and other medical professionals, the BVI Health Services Authority is recruiting staff from Cuba, Ghana and the Philippines, according to Health and Social Development Minister Marlon Penn.
The update was among several Mr. Penn provided in response to questions from the opposition during a Tuesday meeting of the House of Assembly.
Responding to opposition member Carvin Malone, Mr. Penn also said the Nurse Iris O’Neal Medical Centre on Virgin Gorda, which opened in 2020, has cost about $8.1 million so far.
The second floor of the building is not operational, but it will be designed and outfitted as soon as funds are available, he said without providing a target date.
In the meantime, the main floor of the facility is already providing various services, according to the minister.
“The healthcare services being provided include general care for adults and children as well as specialist services for obstetrics, paediatrics and diabetes care. Nutritional and pharmacy services are available, and a limited range of laboratory services are also available,” Mr. Penn said of the facility. “A Virgin Gorda resident is currently being trained to provide phlebotomy and laboratory technician services that are expected to come on stream later this year.”
He added that staff have been recruited and are being trained to provide X-rays and other services.
Once funding becomes available to complete the second floor of the medical centre, more services will be offered, according to the minister.
“The second floor of the clinic is envisaged to provide a comprehensive offering of primary intervention services,” he said. “Spaces will be configured to house physiotherapy, audiology and hearing services, and the relocation of the mental and dental services. Primary care and nursing services will be expanded.”
Asked about a new lab in the Road Town Clinic, Mr. Penn said that contracted works are substantially complete and that some supplies await delivery and installation. The project, he added, should be complete by the end of the year. However, he also criticised contracts that he said were handed out for the project under the watch of Mr. Malone, his predecessor as minister of health and social development.
“I was surprised to discover that other than a new lab location, these contracts did not include the full scope of works needed to make the facilities fully functional,” Mr. Penn said. “Essential works that are still required include refurbishment of the lobby area [and] installation of a lift and stairwell to provide access to the outpatient clinic on the upper level in compliance with the modern safety and compliance standards.”
He added that the current projected cost for the needed works is $574,000 and that the estimated completion date will be calculated once funding is made available.
Mr. Malone asked whether the BVIHSA will consider asking its “friends” for funding.
Mr. Penn responded by saying that he doesn’t “have a habit of asking friends for money when I squander mine.”
“The project was poorly planned, poorly budgeted, and the money was poorly allocated,” he added.
Those decisions, he alleged, took place in 2020 and 2021 when Mr. Malone served as the minister. Mr. Penn replaced Mr. Malone when the National Unity Government was formed in May.
Asked about staffing for the BVIHSA, Mr. Penn said that there is a continual challenge in competing with the rest of the world in recruiting and keeping medical professionals.
“In response to complex challenges, the following steps are being undertaken to help address staffing shortages,” he said. “The BVIHSA has entered into an agreement with the Cuban Health Authority for the extended deployment of a limited number of physicians, specialists, and nursing staff for the next year. New markets for nurse recruitment are actively being explored, including Ghana and the Philippines as nursing shortages are the most pressing concern at this time.”
More initiatives are being reviewed by the BVIHSA board, he added.
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More than 40 performers will take the stage at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College on Saturday to bring to life a children’s book by a Virgin Gorda author and a Tortola illustrator.
The play Under the Sea with Anansi is based on Anika Christopher’s book Anansi and the Green Sea Turtles, which was illustrated by Walden Benjamin.
The book tells the story of a village with no moonlight, where baby sea turtles struggle to find their way to the ocean.
Anansi the Spider, a character from West African and Virgin Islands folklore, steps in to try to resolve the issue.
“I am pleased with this opportunity to bring the pages of my story alive,” Ms. Christopher said in a press release. “This picture book presents the perfect balance between educational and entertaining content. Having it produced on stage presents a whole new way for children to engage with this magical story.”
The production features performers from the BVI Dance School and the Elmore Stoutt High School Senior Theatre Group, and Justin Hodge will perform live music.
The dances were choreographed by Sylvanna Charles.
“I’ve been tasked with merging the art of dance and storytelling together for this production,” Ms. Charles said. “I’m glad that my students not only get the opportunity to per- form on stage but also learn about the cultural folktales of Brother Anansi.”
Dance styles will range from tap to contemporary to ballet to African dance, the press release stated.
The public is invited to attend the show, which is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at the Eileene L. Parsons Auditorium. Tickets cost $20 for children and $30 for adults. Special VIP tickets, at $30 per child, include preferred seating and a discounted copy of Anansi and the Green Sea Turtles.
Tickets are for sale at Nook Bookstore and J & C Trading. Ms. Christopher said a portion of the proceeds will go towards performing arts programmes at the BVI Dance School and ESHS.
For more information call 545-3306 or email anikachristopher@hotmail.com.
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D’Andre Augustus –
THE body of a man found in Laventille on Thursday morning has been identified as 21-year-old D’Andre Augustus of Arima.
Police reported that Picton residents told police they heard gunshots at around 11 pm on Wednesday. Hours later, at around 6.10 am on Thursday, residents saw the body of a man outside the Picton Housing Development and called the police.
Augustus, according to police, went to the area to watch a relative play football in a community league match between Calvary Hill, where Augustus was from, and Picton.
Police said they have no motive for his killing as he was not known to be involved in any criminal activity according to their records. Police said Augustus was called to his death by someone known to him from the area.
His sister Ashley Baptiste said her brother loved to make family members laugh. He earned the nickname “Pits” from barking like a pitbull for the amusement of relatives.
“He loved children and would babysit his nieces and nephew” she said, adding that he was a part-time construction worker as well as a server with his cousin’s catering company.
Augustus was waiting to start level-two plumbing at a government programme but had not decided on which one.
Another relative said Augustus was the “most loving child” and was saddened by the way he was killed.
The relative, who asked not to be named, said Augustus left the venue where the game was being played with someone he knew and disappeared.
Relatives attempted to make a report to the Arima Police Station Wednesday night when they could not find him after the match but were told that the report needed to be made in Port of Spain. The following day, after a body was found, they made a missing person report and were advised to visit the Forensic Science Centre where they positively identified Augustus’ body.
In an unrelated killing, police said 17-year-old Kaleem “Happy” Salvary’s murder was gang related.
Salvary, police said, was found murdered inside a wooden shack at Waterwheel Road, Diego Martin, on Thursday night. Police reported that at about 11 pm officers received a report of a shooting and found the teen’s body.
Salvary is originally from Andrew Trace, Blue Basin, Diego Martin. Police recovered one 9mm shell outside a window to the house.
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Finance Minister Colm Imbert. – COURTESY OFFICE OF THE PARLIAMENT
FINANCE MINISTER COLM IMBERT lauded the Central Statistical Office for having “quite up-to-date” information on its platform since it signed on to a system managed by the International Monetary Fund.
“I must congratulate them,” the minister said at the ICATT conference at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain. “Since they entered into this exchange of information system with the IMF, together with the Ministry of Finance, it is now quite up to date in terms of reporting GDP and other major statistics, whereas you might (previously) have had to wait two years to get that information. The CSO, as far as I can see, is now compliant with international requirements.”
Imbert said institutional strengthening is a major factor in ensuring greater monetary and financial stability and improved debt management. He said enhancing institutional capacity was a top-priority objective for Government.
“The Ministry of Finance is also driving sustainability that supports the transformational agenda within the public service through the implementation of an integrated financial management information system (IFMIS), with one central database and operation on one single entry point for all classifications of fiscal data. This new system will become fully operational in 2023 and allow us to see our financial situation in real time,” he said.
He said the system would support the adoption of the cash-basis international public-sector accounting standards (IPSAS), the development of a cash-management strategy which would include active cash-management and cash-flow forecasting, implementation of a treasury single account (TSA) and a process redesign to support automated cash management.
Imbert added that with shocks such as covid19 and supply-chain disruptions coming out of the Russia/Ukraine conflict and other shocks, government borrowing was an important tool that took the nation out of severe deficits, and was helpful in covering short-term imbalances between revenues and expenditures.
But he said it caused an increased debt-to-GDP ratio.
“To maintain a good debt-carrying capacity, the capability of several institutions such as the Debt Management Division, the Treasury Division and the Investments Division in the Ministry of Finance, as well as the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, have been strengthened to execute their role of monitoring and evaluating debt levels,” he said.
He said strengthening these institutions helped in reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio, and Government’s fiscal consolidation initiatives and revenue-enhancing policies, married with being discerning government spending, had resulted in debt trending downward from 90 per cent of GDP in 2021 to 70 per cent in 2022.
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Chief Secretary Farley Augustine at Friday’s press conference at Shaw Park in Tobago. – THA
CHIEF Secretary Farley Augustine has claimed that Original Canopy Tours Enterprises Ltd, which earned a THA contract in 2015 to build a 1.5km zipline in the Main Ride Forest Reserve in Tobago, is not a legitimate company.
Augustine made the revelation on Friday during a media conference at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex.
The former PNM-led THA sued the company last year, on the cusp of the December election, for US$416,900 for alleged breach of contract. The Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) had criticised the PNM and its former leader Tracy Davidson-Celestine for its handling of the project. The zipline project never materialised despite THA funds being spent.
Friday’s media briefing came hours after the THA received two freezing orders against the directors of Original Canopy Tours Enterprises Ltd – one in Trinidad and Tobago and another in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), where the firm is based.
One order was granted against Richard Graham and Darren Hreniuk, of Original Canopy Tours by Justice Kevin Ramcharan on November 5. The other was granted on Thursday by Justice Gerhard Wallbank in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court’s commercial division for the High Court of the BVI.
The THA’s claim, which was filed in the High Court in November 2021, sought loss and damages for breach of contract “as a result of the defendant’s failure to deliver all materials and equipment to the claimant” as well as failure to comply with the services agreement between the parties.
The zipline project began in 2015 during the tenure of former tourism secretary Davidson-Celestine but was never completed, despite the THA’s spending some $2.5 million on it.
Augustine said on Friday, “After commencing civil proceedings against Original Canopy Tours Ltd for the receiver of millions of dollars spent on the project, it was discovered that the company was not in fact a legitimate entity.”
He said the THA’s attorney’s, led by John Jeremie, SC, did the necessary search in the BVI, where Original Canopy Tours Enterprises Ltd was said to be registered, based on the company registration documents presented to the THA, but “I just found that the company just does not exist there at all.”
Augustine said the THA’s attorneys then moved against the promoters of the company and the High Court issued a freezing injunction against the assets of these individuals in Trinidad and Tobago.
“As the company was said to be a British island company, attorneys in the BVI were retained and the High Court there recognised the injunction from Trinidad and Tobago ordered against the promoters.”
Additionally, he said the THA was granted discovery orders by the High Court against the promoters of the company.
“When we are talking about discovery orders, we are talking about the fact that the court is allowing us to serve papers on the banks in the country that do the accounts and all the financial transactions through our banking system here and in the BVI that dealt with this matter. The history of the financial transactions will be brought to play by the court and brought into the court in this matter.”
Augustine said apart from the civil proceedings, the THA has now placed the matter in the hands of the police.
“In fact, all the evidence that we have found thus far, have been reported to the fraud squad.”
He said he could not comment further on the issue but referred all queries to Jeremie.
Former tourism secretary Nadine Stewart-Phillips, who succeeded Davidson-Celestine, previously revealed that the project comprised 12-14 platforms and 11-13 lines, including a special observation platform for birdwatchers and photographers. She said the Executive Council approved $4 million for the project, which was expected to be completed within seven weeks of the materials arriving on site.
A service agreement, she had said, was signed in June 2015 between the THA and Original Canopy Tours Enterprises Ltd to design, develop and construct a high-angle canopy tour course.
Stewart-Phillips had said representatives of the company visited Tobago in September 2015 to map out the course and the division paid two of the four payments under the signed agreement.
In the campaigning ahead of the THA election, now THA chief secretary Farley Augustine raised the issue, saying Davidson-Celestine had to answer to taxpayers on the failed project.
Augustine had claimed that a 2016 auditor general’s statement expressed concern over the project, noting a visit to the stores section of the tourism division revealed only some ropes on hand.
Former chief secretary Ancil Dennis, although saying Davidson-Celestine was not guilty of any wrongdoing, decided to take action against the company.
“We are going to pursue this to the very end to ensure that the truth is revealed and to ensure that we are able to recover damages for failure to deliver this project on behalf of the people of Tobago,” he had said.
Attorneys John Jeremie, SC, Timothy Alfonso and instructing attorney Shivana Lalla were retained.
Augustine said on Friday that he was initially sceptical about the THA’s legal action under the PNM. He said the PDP administration did not change anything and allowed the matter to run its course.
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Unemployed persons interested in working in the tourism industry are being encouraged to take advantage of free certification that is being offered through the Job Readiness Programme.
The programme is being implemented by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) in collaboration with the HEART/NSTA Trust and American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). It is aimed at attracting between 5,000 and 6,000 persons for training and certification.
Interested persons are invited to register online at www.tef.gov.jm/job-readiness to participate in the three-day programme, which will be conducted face-to-face across the island in facilities owned and operated by the HEART/NSTA Trust, and at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.
Director, Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation, TEF, Carol Rose Brown, said the Job Readiness Programme will address several issues, including industry knowledge, hospitality, how to deliver service effectively, cultural information, professionalism, health and safety, and customer service.
“So, this course will envelop all these things and at the end of it, you will be examined (and) you will have a certificate if you are successful in job readiness,” said Brown.
She further indicated that participants will have the opportunity to choose whether they want to be in the customer service segment of tourism or food safety.
“When you choose, you will be able to get that certification. So, you will end up with a certificate from HEART/NSTA Trust, as well as a certificate from the AHLEI,” she added.
The programme, which got under way on November 14, is expected to end during the first week of December.
Brown said it is anticipated that the participants will eventually gain employment.
“We are committed to placing them in front of employers, and helping them navigate that space to get those jobs,” she indicated.
For more information, persons are being asked to connect with the TEF on all its social media platforms.
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After all the personal vehicle shopping for close friends and relatives, Shenseea’s copped for herself a new whip, and perhaps, three time’s the charm?
According to the Blessed hitmaker, the purchase of a new Lambo (short for Lamborghini), has been a long time coming, having made a promise to herself to purchase a ‘lambo’ in the future.
That she did!
The Lamborghini Urus Graphite Capsule in the Nero Noctis colourway sports a two-tone matte black and neon wrap with black and neon interior. It’s described as a supercharged SUV, and the “first connected Lamborghini” – a nod to its state-of-the-art connectivity and smart features.
Though she is by no means boasting about her new ride, Shenseea has stated in an Instagram post that she does it “to show you it’s possible”, “new keys, same drive,” she wrote in the caption.
This is not her first purchase, either, but it certainly is a transition from the over-the-top vehicles she’s owned in the past. Fans may remember her hard-to-miss iridescent 2019 BMW X6 – that was, reportedly, damaged in an accident in 2020, or the previous neon green BMW 5 series sedan.
In the caption on Instagram, she wrote: “I remember when I used to walk MILES to work just so I could save the little I had, even when I was [nine] months pregnant. I promised myself in the future I was gonna get a Lambo. Now I bought one myself…”.
See more photos below.
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