Black Immigrant Daily News

Pawn shop Cashwiz has opened a sixth Jamaican location in Half-Way Tree. It also aims to launch two additional consignment stores in the country by the end of this year.

Cashwiz Regional Manager for Jamaica, Cargill Brown, said the additional location would continue to serve as a gateway for survival for the people it serves.

“With the global volatility and uncertainty that we now face and the continued global shortages of resources and rising inflation, our solution is to provide quality retail products to consumers. Our core – the people we serve – see us as a gateway for survival and continuity,” Brown said.

“Our mission is to be the largest and most profitable chain of pawn stores in the world, and this new location will enhance the speed at which our clientele can buy, sell and trade their items with us.”

Brown also disclosed the company’s intention to expand its footprint on the island this year.

“We are in the advanced stages of preparation to open a third store in Kingston, as well as a second Montego Bay location in the coming months,” he said.

He added: “These locations were strategically selected based on demand, and as time progresses, we intend to move into other parishes to better meet the needs of our clients.”

Cashwiz Regional Manager for Jamaica, Cargill Brown.

Located at Shop 21 Spring Plaza, the new store joins the company’s State Mall, Half-Way Tree Road in the corporate area, and its four other locations in Portmore, Montego Bay, Mandeville and May Pen, respectively.

Like its other stores across Jamaica and the Caribbean, the Springs Plaza Cashwiz will boast a wide selection of new and pre-owned valuables including (but not limited to) jewellery, electronics, household appliances, conch pearls and diamonds, musical instruments, tools and motor vehicles, and will allow clients to sell, trade, and even buy back their own items in mint condition.

General manager for the new location, Nyoka Blake, shared that she anticipates the Springs Plaza store to perform as well as the other location across the region and serve as another lifeline to those who need it.

“We’re looking forward to delivering exceptional service to all our different types of clients,” she expressed. “At Cashwiz we are always finding innovative solutions to assist our customers, some of whom are searching for credible ways to get by, and we will continue to deliver that at this location.”

Cashwiz, which is a Caribbean company operating in 10 regional markets, made its debut in Jamaica in 2012 and opened its flagship store in Portmore in 2017.

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From left, Claire Fitzpatrick, outgoing regional president, bpTT, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young, and David Campbell, incoming country head, bpTT.

Energy Minister Stuart Young on Friday met the new country of bpTT, David Campbell who replaces outgoing regional president Claire Fitzpatrick.

Campbell has been with bp for 38 years and held leadership roles in commercial, operational and technical fields, stated a release from the Energy Ministry.

Fitzpatrick accompanied Campbell to the meeting at the ministry’s office in Port of Spain. She paid her respects and appreciation to Young.

Fitzpatrick, who has been at bpTT since 2018, moves on to a new role at the energy giant in London. She has been a part of key projects with the ministry including the restructuring of Atlantic LNG, in which bpTT is a shareholder.

Young thanked Fitzpatrick for her support and looked forward to working with Campbell on ongoing and future projects.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Kuru Kuru Co-operative Society is now in a better place as an Interim Management Committee (IMC) has been established to manage the affairs of the organisation.

This was revealed by Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton, who on Thursday responded to spurious claims made by Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton.

Norton was at the time addressing a press conference when he made the baseless allegation that the PPP/C Government acted to “take away land from the African Guyanese at Kuru Kuru Co-op to give to PPP supporters”.

This, however, was described as a “patent lie” by Minister Hamilton, who has overarching responsibility for Co-op societies.

Documentation seen by the Department of Public Information revealed that the society was in financial shambles before the intervention of the labour ministry.

“The former management committee could not get dues collected from members, because [the members] had no confidence in them to spend their money and to manage,” the minister pointed out.

This lack of confidence, the Minister said, could have been premised on the fact that the management committee was unable to produce any audits for several years and could not properly account for monies received and spent.

However, since the establishment of the IMC, several developmental plans have been outlined for the community.

The trust of the members has also been retained by the administrative body.

“From the period when the IMC came into being, which is less than a year, they were able to get $9.4 million in dues during that period because the people now have confidence in them and what they’re doing.

“They are opening up lands. They are seeking to have constructed new roads…The ministry of public works has started to do a new road in there…they have reached home affairs to seek to have the police put a police station in the area. They have [also] reached out to the health ministry to seek to have the ministry put a health centre in there and they have already cleared the land,” the Minister stated.

The co-op, Minister Hamilton said, can now stand on its own financially as it is no longer “in the red”.

“These people have moved this co-op society from a society that was limping. When you look at what they have done…the bank balance, as I speak to you, is $28.8 million, moving from a position of R-E-D.”

He affirmed his Ministry’s commitment to ensuring the smooth and effective functioning of all co-op societies in Guyana.

“These things were established to help ordinary people and if people are utilizing them to rob ordinary people, I will bring an end to that. I have no apologies for Norton or nobody…that is what I will continue to do,” the Labour Minister assured.

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El jefe de la Guardia Nacional en Puerto Rico, José Reyes, confirmó que al cuerpo le fue asignada la misión de ayudar en la distribución de diésel en el país, que ha sido eje de controversia debido a la escasez artificial del combustible, no porque no haya, sino porque no hay cómo transportarlo.

“El gobernador de Puerto Rico activó a la Guardia Nacional, y una de las misiones que se nos acaba de asignar es el apoyo en la distribución de combustible. La Guardia Nacional tiene unos tanqueros para el transporte, el acarreo y la distribución de combustible con una capacidad, cada uno de ellos, [de] 2,500. Ya tenemos 16 misiones que se están trabajando, según las prioridades que se han establecido”, indicó el general al detallar que trabajan en 16 misiones para atender servicios prioritarios como el de luz, el agua, las comunicaciones y la distribución de alimentos.

En los pasados días, representantes del sector de la gasolina y de otros ámbitos en el país denunciaron que supermercados, hospitales y refugios están inoperantes debido a la falta de diésel para hacer funcionar los generadores.

Más temprano, en Dígame la verdad, el secretario del Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO), Edan Rivera, indicó que hoy, viernes, llegará una barcaza a la isla con 300,000 barriles de petróleo, y que hay abasto de diésel para 11 días. Además, informó que hay gasolina regular para 14 días, y gasolina premium para 25 días. De ambos llegará más producto para los próximos días.

Asimismo, aseguró que entiende la preocupación del sector industrial, del cual ha recibido múltiples quejas, y que los supermercados, en específico, cuentan con suministros.

“La situación en los supermercados […] es que está fluyendo con normalidad. Hay abastos suficientes de agua embotellada, de artículos de primera necesidad. No ha habido filas en ese sentido. Estamos operando con total normalidad”, afirmó Rivera.

No obstante, el presidente de la Asociación de Detallistas de Gasolina, Esdras Vélez, desmintió las declaraciones del funcionario.

“En nuestras estaciones no tenemos diésel disponible en estos momentos. Yo le pido al secretario del DACO que nos facilite el suplidor, el contacto [de] quién tiene el producto”, solicitó Vélez al detallar que son muchos los pedidos que recibe del producto.

Pendientes para ampliación.

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El presidente de la Asociación de Hospitales, doctor Jaime Plá, confirmó que aún hay entre 14 y 15 hospitales alrededor de la isla por energizarse, distribuidos entre Mayagüez, Humacao y Caguas. Mientras, las instituciones en el área de Ponce ya han sido energizadas, aunque aclaró que es información por confirmar debido a cómo cambian los datos.

Asimismo, expresó que la problemática actual con el abasto del diésel debió actualizarse antes para que hubiese mayor preparación. Además, aseguró que han incurrido en mayores gastos al tener que equiparse con el combustible.

“El costo de operación de un hospital, cada vez que hay un disloque, cada vez que hay una emergencia, se multiplica porque te van a seguir cobrando la electricidad […] Los hospitales tienen cisterna para cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, 10 días, pero aun así, se complica mucho”, indicó el experto al resaltar que los hospitales se llenan más al recibir pacientes que, aunque pudieran darse tratamiento en sus hogares, la falta de luz se los impide, por lo que tienen que acudir por asistencia a los centros de salud y, en específico, a las salas de emergencia.

Por otra parte, explicó que no hay una falta de medicamentos en la isla, sino que, más bien, el problema es el acceso de los pacientes a dicha medicina, puesto que muchas personas no pueden tan siquiera transportarse a una farmacia.

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