Black Immigrant Daily News

Tobago

A 3D look at the proposed expansion of the ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago. Image courtesy Ministry of Works and Transport

Wickedness to the highest order.

This was how some residents of Crompston Trace, Bon Accord, described the eviction of two families in the area on Thursday as work continues on the $1.2 billion ANR Robinson airport expansion project.

The residents, who had been given eviction notices, claimed they had not been given enough time to seek alternative accommodation.

“This thing has been badly handled from day one. I don’t know what they want people to do. I don’t even know where I going to live now,” one evicted resident told Newsday.

Another angry resident shouted, “This is real wickedness, boy. People really eh have no compassion again.”

The drama unfolded around 7am when workers from China Railway Construction Ltd, the main contractors for the project, entered the families’ homes and began removing appliances and other items.

A short time later, Canaan/Bon Accord assemblyman Joel Sampson arrived. He condemned the action.

“We stand in defence of the people of Tobago, because this is very inhumane. We have people now coming into the people’s homes to move their stuff out,” he said.

“Look at what is going on, the Chinese….I want persons in the diaspora to see what is going on. This is sad and I don’t agree with it.”

Sampson called on the Prime Minister, as a Tobagonian, to intervene.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund ICDF has reassured Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves that they are prepared to do even more developmental work in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

On Tuesday August 9th, the Prime Minister, and his delegation sat down with top leadership at the ICDF headquarters for a review of the programs and projects being implemented in SVG and regionally.

The Taiwan ICDF, is a training and capacity building, funding agency, designed to meet the local needs of Taiwan’s partner countries. The organization provides developmental assistance in a range of areas such as public health, education, environmental protection, agricultural and information and communications technology.

A release from the API says Taiwan’s ICDF Secretary General Ambassador Timothy T.Y. Hsiang, agreed with Prime Minister Gonsalves that more can be done. Ambassador Hsiang committed to working alongside local officials to further refine and develop the assistance provided to SVG by the ICDF.

Currently, Taiwan ICDF has three major ongoing projects and one recently concluded in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. These cover the areas of Agriculture, Women’s Empowerment, Digital transformation of the Public Service and Disaster Mitigation.

Prime Minister Gonsalves expressed gratitude to Secretary General Hsiang and expressed his excitement about the announcement that the ICDF has expanded plans to carry out further projects especially in the areas of farming technologies and women’s entrepreneurial training and development.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

More than twenty Government constructed houses in Orange Hill will be officially handed over to the homeowners by the end of this month.

This is according to Acting Prime Minister and Parliamentary Representative for North Windward, Montgomery Daniel, as he provided an update on the project on NBC Radio yesterday.

https://www.nbcsvg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HILL-HOUSES.mp3

Minister Daniel also gave an update on the project to construct a Bridge at the Overland River in North Windward.

https://www.nbcsvg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OVERLAND-BRIDGE.mp3

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Tekst Marinio Balsemhof  PARAMARIBO — “Ik voelde me heel goed want één van mijn dromen ging op dat moment in

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Transport Authority (TA) is putting measures in place to improve the public transportation landscape.

Managing Director of the Authority, Willard Hylton, told JIS News that the University of the West Indies Lecturer, Dr. K’adamawe K’nife, has been engaged as a consultant to assist with the effort, which is aimed at improving service delivery in alignment with Vision 2030.

He said that Dr. K’nife is assisting the authority to develop and implement a new road-licensing system.

“We are embracing a new way of issuing licences, which is currently done on an open-and-closed basis. We will be moving towards a market-driven situation,” he said.

“Under the new arrangement, it will not matter how many persons apply. If there are too many operators on one route, the market will fix that. If someone applies for a route, they will have 30 days to determine if it is working. If not, they can make the change,” Mr. Hylton explained.

The new measures will also see road licences for public passenger vehicles being renewed on the birthdate of the owner of the vehicle if it is registered in the owner’s name.

If the vehicle is registered in the name of a company, renewal of the licence will become due on the anniversary of the incorporation of the company.

Mr. Hylton said that the changes will address the problem of crowding at the TA during the annual licensing period, which was exacerbated during the COVID-19 experience.

The consultant will also be writing project proposals to seek funding for the capacity-building of the sector.

Mr. Hylton told JIS News that the taxi associations will be bolstered to better enable them to provide support for their members in the new licensing dispensation.

“You have route taxi associations through which our licensees make their applications. We want to strengthen the ability of those route taxi associations to prepare the drivers and operators for Vision 2030,” he noted.

He informed that the Authority will also be retrofitting its facilities to accommodate persons with disabilities and the elderly.

Mr. Hylton told JIS News that the Authority is “looking at how we can start building out something that represents world-class standards, so these changes are necessary”.

He noted that the improvements being made to the transport sector entails more than just having nice-looking buses but also ensuring proper organisation of all modes of public transportation.

This, he noted, includes making sure that the vehicles can cater to “not just able-bodied persons but also children, the elderly and the disabled”.

“Whatever we are doing, it should be comparable to what happens in developed countries, so that’s what we are focusing on right now,” he added.

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