Black Immigrant Daily News
Tekst en beeld Arjen Stikvoort PARAMARIBO — Als alle neuzen de juiste richting uitwijzen, is er absoluut hoop voor de
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The Government of Jamaica is providing $2.03 billion in back-to-school grants to beneficiary students under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) and the Poor Relief Programme.
More than 150,000 students in primary and secondary schools are each set to receive $10,000 in added benefits, provided by the Special Economic Relief Programme, which was recently announced by Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke.
This is in addition to the annual PATH Back to School Grant of $3,500 per beneficiary student, which was introduced in September 2018, a release from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security said.
The back-to-school grants are being delivered to eligible families by the Ministry, along with the regular bi-monthly PATH payout, which began on Monday, August 22, 2022.
In addition to the back-to-school grants, the Ministry has budgeted a further $40 million for Post-Secondary Grants, as incentives to former beneficiary students who continue to pursue studies at levels up to associate degrees, and a further $424 million in tertiary bursaries, for those pursuing bachelor’s degrees in tertiary institutions accredited by the University Council of Jamaica.
Each tertiary bursary is valued at $100,000 per year and is available for up to four years of study, conditioned on satisfactory performance.
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Richard “Snake” Marcelle.
The Beetham Gardens man who was fined $400 after pleading guilty to kicking water on then acting attorney general Fitzgerald Hinds was killed by police on Tuesday night.
Police said sometime after 10 pm members of the Port of Spain Task Force were on patrol in Beetham Gardens in an unmarked police car. They said they were shot at and returned fire, fatally wounding Richard “Snake” Marcelle.
Marcelle, 35, of 17th Street, was charged with assault by beating and use of obscene language for the 2018 attack on Hinds and councillor Akil Audain. Only Hinds filed a police complaint. The two men had visited the area after days of flooding and were chased by residents who kicked and threw floodwater on them.
Police said they founda rifle after the shooting, which happened near the Police Social and Welfare Association gas station.
Marcelle is the second man in two weeks killed by officers of the Port of Spain Task Force.
Last Thursday, Celestine Richards was shot after he allegedly pointed a gun at officers when they went to his Walcott Trace, Gonzales home. He was wanted in connection with several shootings in the area, police said. He died at the Port of Spain General Hospital.
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The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) has issued a call for volunteers, noting that its work depends on volunteerism.
Acting Director Maria Medard explained that most people think they would serve as volunteers at the NEMO Secretariat in Bisee, Castries.
But she disclosed that mostly the organisation needs volunteers in the communities to be of assistance before and after disasters and to help with community preparation and sensitisation.
“We urge persons to join their local district disaster committees. This is where most of NEMO’s work is done – in the communities for preparation and post-disaster,” Medard told St Lucia Times.
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According to the NEMO Acting Director, there’s not much to be done at the organisation’s secretariat which directs the community district disaster committees.
Regarding some people balking at the thought of becoming a NEMO volunteer due to lack of skill, Medard declared that everyone has something to contribute.
In addition, she noted that NEMO provides training throughout the year.
“Let’s say first aid, for instance, we would work with the Red Cross to train our volunteers, there’s damage assessment and needs analysis training, shelter management – we do quite a lot of training throughout the year,” the NEMO official revealed.
Medard said people who want to volunteer can contact their local disaster committee personnel who can provide application forms that would eventually be submitted to NEMO.
In addition, they can call NEMO and have the forms emailed to them or send an email to admin@nemo.gov.lc.
“We would always welcome volunteers because not every volunteer is available when you need them because you have to understand that people work. Their schedules do not always allow so we do not have a quota or limit,” Medard told St Lucia Times.
The NEMO official agreed that the need for volunteers has become even more important now.
“Throughout the year we are not just looking at hurricanes. We are looking at other possibilities – fires, landslides, tsunamis, earthquakes,” Medard stated.
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Nubes y aguaceros se estaban moviendo a través de las aguas locales durante la noche. La mayoría de la isla observo condiciones de buen tiempo con temperaturas mínimas en los medios 70s a través de los sectores costeros y en los medios 60s en las montañas y en los valles. Los vientos estuvieron del este-sureste a menos de 10 mph con variaciones de brisa terrestre.
Las condiciones del tiempo temprano en la mañana serán predominantemente calmadas con una mezcla de nubes y sol. La combinación de calentamiento diurno excesivo, efectos locales y variaciones de brisa marina resultaran en aguaceros y tronadas durante la tarde a través del oeste de PR y a sotavento de El Yunque. Los Índices de calor superaran los 100 grados Fahrenheit tarde en la mañana hacia la tarde. Los vientos continuarán del este entre 10 a 20 mph.
Las condiciones marítimas permanecerán algo tranquilas con oleaje de menos de 5 pies y vientos de hasta 20 nudos en las aguas cercanas a la costa del Atlántico. Sin embargo, actividad de tronadas durante la tarde pudiera crear condiciones marítimas peligrosas a través de las aguas locales, y los marineros deberían ejercer precaución.
Bañistas, hay un riesgo moderado de corrientes marinas desde Aguadilla hasta Dorado.
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La comisionada residente, Jenniffer González, compartió el miércoles en RADIO ISLA que estaba contenta de ver al gobernador, Pedro Pierluisi, molesto con la compañía energética Luma Energy.
“Me encanta verlo molesto con el tema de Luma”, dice González.
En un tono enérgico, el gobernador Pedro Pierluisi exigió este martes a la empresa LUMA Energy “cambios” o, de lo contrario, no avalará a la compañía para continuar a cargo de la transmisión y distribución del sistema eléctrico.
“Lo que he pedido es cambios significativos. Queda por verse qué cambios llevan a cabo. Como ya dije, yo no estoy satisfecho con el desempeño y voy a ir más allá. LUMA no va a contar con mi apoyo como gobernador a menos que se den los cambios que he pedido. Es tan sencillo como eso. No van a contar con mi apoyo a menos que yo vea los cambios”, dijo el primer ejecutivo.
“Ya se lo dije. Le dije que el tiempo apremia, que quiero esos cambios implatados a la mayor brevedad y que no van a contar con mi apoyo”, agregó.
Las expresiones del gobernador se produjeron tras salir de una cumbre que tuvieron los alcaldes con la Agencia Federal para el Manejo de Emergencias (FEMA, en inglés). Allí ofreció un mensaje a los ejecutivos municipales.
Previo a estas declaraciones y tan reciente con la semana pasada, Pierluisi cambió su discurso respecto a LUMA Energy cuando se produjeron nuevas interrupciones en el servicio eléctrico que dejaron a casi medio millón de clientes sin servicio. Ahora, se cuece una manifestación frente a La Fortaleza, para este viernes, con la intención de exigirle al mandatario que cancele el contrato con la empresa.
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SAN JOSE, Toledo, Mon. Aug. 22, 2022
This weekend, residents of San Jose, Toledo, gave the Resilient Rural Belize Program (RRB), Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), to implement programs in the community geared toward addressing the impacts of climatic and economic events on small farmers. The Government of Belize first entered into the agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and received a loan from that organization. With a subsequent loan and grant from the Green Climate Fund, the government is now implementing the RRB program. The organization, which is operating for a six-year period that ends in 2024, sought the indigenous community’s approval to begin to implement its development project under its mandate.
The release issued today states, “the RRB Programme had to implement the legally required process of the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) — a process that is a relatively new practice in Belize. The RRB Programme’s FPIC process road map was developed drawing on IFAD, and GCF requirements, international instruments such as UNDRIP, the Caribbean Court of Justice Ruling of 2015, and the Maya of Southern Belize FPI Consultation Protocol.”
An Indigenous People’s Plan and FPIC agreement were developed along with the community, the joint release from the Government, Green Climate Fund, and IFAD stated.
It said, “This output of the consultation process is not a simple yes or no, but an agreement and plan that specifies the way forward, including how the project will be implemented, benefits shared, how conflict may be resolved (grievance mechanism), and how additional consent if that were necessary, will be obtained.”
Consultations are said to have begun as early as January 2022.
The program is being implemented by its Programme Management Unit, which acts through the Ministry of Finance, designated as the lead program agency, and seeks to implement two components under the project activities, which include: 1. A matching grant to support small holder farmers with co- financing investment to improve agricultural production in volume and quantity and to invest in safeguarding food security from existing and projected climatic impact, and 2. The possibility of funding to upgrade rural roads for the project.
During his presentation to the community yesterday, Minister of Rural Development, Oscar Requena said a road to transport the produce cultivated by the community to the market is on the top of the list, adding that the RRB chose to work with San Jose because of the community’s productivity.
“We recognized that San Jose is a very productive community. You produce cacao, you produce vegetables, your produce gains, your produce livestock and you are also getting into cardamon and other grains, so we have to find a way to support you so that you can also help yourself. I am happy to be a part of this historic day, because today we are witnessing the first FPIC agreement coming out of San Jose, where you as a community recognized that you want development in your community, but we must go through the process to consult to engage you. You have given approval, and now we will work forward to implement the project, of course continuing the consultation process as we go along.” Minister Oscar Requeña stated.
At the time the government of Belize and the representatives for the Maya communities in Toledo are still before the Caribbean Court of Justice trying to implement the consent order which directs that the parties agree on a framework for free, prior, informed, consent. At the last hearing, the parties were told to meet and try to mend their relationship after the Maya leaders and government were publicly at odds following the submission of an FPIC protocol by the government which the Maya communities considered to be unilateral.
The leaders of the Maya Leaders Alliance and Toledo Alcaldes Association were reportedly at the Sunday signing of the FPIC.
“I also want to recognize the Chairman of the Alcaldes Association and also the staff of the Maya Leaders Alliance who are here. We thank you for being here, because, ladies and gentlemen, this is a very important process in which we as a people must come together, we must work together, we must join our hands together to bring development for the people of Toledo District,” Minister Requeña said.
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“We don’t know how many people will come. I know I will be there, so that’s one,” said the UDP chairman, Michael Peyrefitte, to the media.
by Khaila Gentle
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 22, 2022 Despite having been denied an official permit, the United Democratic Party is planning to stage a protest on Tuesday against what it calls the failures of the current administration.
The protest will be held in front of the Shell Gas Station located on Central American Boulevard, which is owned by the Prime Minister, Hon. John Briceño, and which, according to UDP chairman Michael Peyrefitte, is a symbol of not only the high cost of fuel, but also the high cost of living in the country.
The party has made at least two attempts to obtain a permit for the protest from the Belize Police Department.A letter issued to Chairman Peyrefitte on August 18 by the Officer commanding the Eastern Division, ACP Howell Gillett, however, cites the current State of Emergency in the Southside of Belize City and other “operational priorities” as the reason the party’s permit request was denied. According to that letter, the Police Department would be unable to provide adequate security for the event. On Friday, August 19, the UDP issued a press release calling upon Belizeans to “stand up” against corruption and high cost of living.
“The United Democratic Party, the Opposition, rejects this autocratic, authoritarian move by the government to infringe upon our Constitutional right to protest this government’s failed policies which are responsible for high gas prices, high cost of living, corruption, crime, and a dramatic deterioration in the quality of life for Belizeans,” said the release.
Today, Senator Peyrefitte told the media during a press conference that the party will be attempting to protest legally, even without a permit. He also said that the protest will be a peaceful one.
“The word protest is not bad. We’re not talking about disrupting the business of that gas station. We’re not talking about disrupting the flow of traffic,” he said.
He then added that, if there is any police response during the protest, there will be no resistance, and the party plans to follow all orders from law enforcement.
While it remains to be seen how many persons will turn up to the protest, Peyrefitte says that he, for one, will be there.
“We don’t know how many people will come. I know I will be there, so that’s one,” he said.
According to Peyrefitte, the UDP is also planning on taking its protest to other parts of the country, noting that successful protests never occur in just one area.
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A Caribbean Court of Justice judgment handed down in June 2020 ordered the Government of Belize to pay Belize International Services Ltd. (BISL) – a company partially owned by the Ashcroft group—damages for breach of an extension contract, and the parties signed a settlement agreement today
by Marco Lopez
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 22, 2022
Today, the Government of Belize announced that it signed a settlement agreement for US$38.5 million with Belize International Services Limited (BISL)—a company owned by the Ashcroft Alliance and a Panamanian law firm— after the Caribbean Court of Justice’s judgment on June 30, 2022, which ordered GoB to pay damages to those entities. The ruling was handed down more than two years ago, under the Barrow administration, and was the last of a series of lawsuits taken through the Belize judicial system against the Government of Belize by the company, BISL, after a 2005 extension agreement signed with its owners was found to be unlawful by the then UDP administration.
The company, BISL, was contracted in 1993 to manage two registries for Belize, the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (IMMARBE) and the International Business Companies Registry (IBCR), and was given an extension in 2003 to operate from that year until 2013. Two years later, in 2005, they were given a subsequent extension to operate from 2013 to 2020. The government, however, considered the 2005 extension unlawful after taking over control of the registries in 2013.
The company then filed a claim on March 26, 2015, against the government for damages caused by a breach of the contract, but in October 2016, current acting Chief Justice Michelle Arana ruled in favor of the government, deeming the
agreement to be unconstitutional, illegal and void. The case was taken to the Court of Appeal, where the Justices of Appeal dismissed the appeal and affirmed the ruling of then Justice Arana.
The company finally got a favorable ruling after seeking redress at the highest appellant court, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which ruled that the government acted unlawfully when it seized control of the two BISL registries. The court further ordered that damages be assessed by the Supreme Court and paid to the claimant in its judgment.
As far as we are aware, that court hearing never happened, but an out-of- court settlement between the current administration and the Ashcroft Alliance- owned company was reached today and announced in a press release.
“Today, the Government of Belize and BISL signed a settlement agreement resolving this matter. Under the terms, the government, subject to NationalAssembly approvals, will pay BISL a total of US$38.25 million (BZ$11.5 million to be paid in Belize Dollars) in full and final settlement of BISL’s claim, which BISL will then discontinue,” the release from the government states.
Waterloo Investment Holdings Limited (Waterloo owned 50% of BISL) has fought the government along with co- owner Morgan y Morgan law firm all the way to the highest court in the land to secure the damages in this case.
Waterloo, incidentally, is once more making overtures to the government of Belize as it seeks the approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to begin construction of a major cruise and cargo port at the Port of Belize Limited compound and surrounding areas.
While the development is being rejected by many in the public and in the environmental community, the PUP administration has once again given leave to the NEAC (National Environmental Appraisal Committee) to review the new application submitted by Waterloo. The signing of this agreement for a settlement of the Waterloo subsidiary’s claim, which was hanging over Belizeans’ heads, is taking place at a time when the company is once again seeking the green light to embark on a multi-million-dollar enterprise that would have questionable impact on the people of Belize. A total of USD $38.5 million will have to be paid to the company from the taxpayers’ pockets— a company, which as mentioned, is owned by the Ashcroft Alliance and a major Panamanian law firm.
In an interview today, Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño said that his government will go to the House of Representatives this Wednesday to approve a supplementary budget to finally pay off the debt. He pointed out that if the award is not paid and is allowed to balloon in size due to the accumulation of interest, as much as $180 million dollars and aggregated interest payments of $17,000 daily could have been owed by the people of Belize to the company. He says that a team was set up about 6 months ago to negotiate with the representatives of BISL to come to a final agreement on the matter.
The PM said that the UDP’s acquisition of BISL by way of “strongarming” the company has caused some “incalculable” damage to the country, but he went on to point out that BISL has been generating considerably large profits, which will now go into the coffers of the people of Belize.
“It affects direct investments. You look at Belize as not following the rule of law, and we can go down the road, but the truth of the matter is that since the acquisition in the past 7 years, we collected as a government a little over $95 million dollars—the US, US dollars in revenue over 7 years, and of that it cost the government a little under US$9 million dollars to run those operations, so in effect about 85, 86 million dollars US profit,” the PM said.
Those profits were, however, spent well before the Barrow administration was replaced by the current PUP government, the PM said.
“It is unfortunate that the previous government spent all the money. They did not save any money; they did not put anything in sinking fund, knowing full well that it will have to be paid,” the PM said. He also indicated that all the documents related to the transaction will be presented in short order.
“The US$38.5 million in total, that includes their fees and everything, so they would not be able to come back and say, ‘well you owe me this’; it ends there, so it was important for us to get it over quickly. Cabinet agreed to it, to the terms last week Friday. Today we sign the settlement deed, and then on Wednesday we go to the House to approve the settlement and also the supplementary budget to be able to pay them off,” the Prime Minister explained. He said that they have until November 1 to make the payment in full.
When asked where the government is going to find the money to make the payment, he said, “It’s easier for government to borrow from itself than to be able to pay the 6% that the court mandates you to pay; government pays 3.5%, so it’s a no-brainer.”
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A young housing developer is seeking to use skills gained from the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force and service clubs to impact youth by providing manual work on his firm’s construction sites.
Managing Director of Alfran Development Limited, Ricardo Foster, said during the development of the company’s first housing project, Genesis 28, on Waterloo Road in St Andrew, over 60 inner-city youth were employed.
He pointed out that based on the services they provided, he saw a need for the entity to invest in its growth.
“I will be incorporating some skills training and personal development – getting people the basic dignity, a birth certificate and a bank account – help develop these young people who are coming out of some of the most marginalised areas,”
Foster shared with JIS News, at the recent ribbon cutting for the housing complex.
He noted that as a high school ninth grader, he could not spell a four-letter word until he went into the Cadet movement and had a remake of his life.
Foster said this enabled him to leave high school with three subjects, and after getting an additional three, he pursued law at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech).
“I see myself in them. They have ambition, and they have aspirations. These are young people who want to be part of something, and you can’t allow gangsters to recruit them.
“If there is a positive institution that wants to recruit them, they will come. I am inspired to recruit them, to do something positive, and I want to develop them,” he added.
The project was financed by the Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB), and Foster pointed out that through the institution’s rigorous monitoring, they have learned best practices in construction.
“I don’t need to question the integrity of the houses because of the oversight provided by the JMB. I want to applaud the Bank for making me feel comfortable. It forced me to learn construction the right way,” the Managing Director said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said “from what you have built, it would seem that you have conducted yourself well, in the actual construction process.”
“We need more developers like you. It is heartening to see a young man come to the fore, run such a massive project, and did not sacrifice decency and integrity. We need more developers like yourself to come on board, to partner with the Government, to build the 70,000 units that we need,” Holness said.
For his part, JMB Managing Director, Courtney Wynter, said Genesis 28 was an “ideal project to add a different look to Kingston, and these [developers] were, in our eyes, ordinary people.”
He added that for the past 50 years, the JMB has been empowering ordinary developers, and the project done by Alfran was a good model for public/private partnerships.
“It was efficiently done, the developers are model developers, and we are proud of that,” Wynter said.
The Jamaica Mortgage Bank was established in 1971 and is on a mission to mobilise resources for on-lending to private and public sector developers and financial institutions, in support of national settlement goals.
It welcomes applications for construction financing to facilitate the development of affordable housing.
Project proposals must meet the JMB’s housing guidelines, and to be eligible for consideration for financing, the developer must be knowledgeable about the housing sector and be able to fund 20 per cent of the total development cost.
The Bank’s main pillar of operations is the provision of interim financing to developers of housing solutions.
It has acquired substantial technical expertise in the field during its 50-year existence and is recognised in the industry for successfully financing a wide range of housing projects islandwide.
In recent years, the institution launched its Technical Support Services, offering access to its technical expertise as a means of supporting other providers of bridge or interim financing to the housing sector, to improve the success rate of financing activities in the industry.
It is expected that the new service will not only serve to reduce construction risks experienced by other players in the housing finance market but also produce improved returns on their investments in the sector while advancing joint efforts to increase Jamaica’s housing stock and bring home ownership within the reach of more people.
— JIS
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