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PARAMARIBO — “Suriname is weer een stap dichterbij commerciële exploitatie.” Zo reageert president Chandrikapersad Santokhi op de mededeling van Staatsolie
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PHILIPSBURG — In a public meeting of parliament that lasted four hours Minister Egbert Doran (Public Housing, Urban Planning, Environment and Infrastructure, or VROMI) stuck to his opinion that the Ombudsman report about the tender for solid waste collection for the period 2021-2026 is incomplete and unbalanced.
PFP faction leader Melissa Gumbs tabled a motion of no confidence against the minister. If the motion gets the support of the majority in parliament Doran will have to leave office. At the end of the deliberations, the meeting was adjourned for ten days and that’s when the motion will come up for a vote.
Part of the debate focused on one of the bidders for solid waste collection, Avyanna, a sole proprietorship that is owned by a family member of Doran. Avyanna failed to submit a bank statement with its bid and was therefore disqualified. Yet, the company managed to win the bid for a parcel.
MP Rolando Brison (UP) demanded a clear explanation from the minister about the reason why certain documents had not been submitted to the office of the Ombudsman. “This is the most conflicted I have been since I became a member of parliament,” Brison said.
Hyacinth Richardson (NA) qualified accusations of bid rigging as “nonsense.”
Minister Doran acknowledged that there is no tender legislation in place and that the country desperately needs such legislation. This statement was later challenged by MP Raeyhon Peterson (PfP) who noted that tendering does not need a national ordinance, but a national decree containing general measures.
Doran said that, after the contract for garbage collection had been awarded, the ministry received two complaints from among the 26 bidders. “Because 92 percent had no complaints we considered the tender a success.”
Answering questions from MP Christophe Emmanuel, Doran said that he had never called the Ombudsman a liar. “She concluded that the tender was not transparent and not fair without substantiating this conclusion with proven facts. The ministry does not share the conclusion of the Ombudsman.”
To a question from MP Sarah Wescot-Williams the minister responded that, in his opinion, the Ombudsman-report will have no financial consequences for the government.
MP Melissa Gumbs emphasized that fixing the tendering issues can only be done by establishing a national decree containing general measures, a piece of legislation usually referred to as Lbham (Landsbesluit houdende algemene maatregelen). “The policy that was published in January does not even stipulate under which conditions a bidder is disqualified,” she said, before reading the PFP-motion of no confidence.
PFP-MP Raeyhon Peterson said that the debate would most likely show “a display of political showmanship, because the coalition structurally lacks accountability.”
Peterson also brought the long-time absence of a member of parliament to the attention of his colleagues. He did not mention the name, but the MP in question is National Alliance veteran William Marlin who has been several months off-island for medical treatment.
Article 49, paragraph 3 of the Constitution stipulates that parliamentarians lose their seat after an uninterrupted stay of more than eight months abroad. “I think this should be limited to three months,” Peterson said. “The honorable thing to do is to let the next person in line take that seat. But what I hear is that this young professional should be kept out and that the seasoned politician has to come back.”
Dimar Labega, the number 9 candidate on the National Alliance list for the 2020 elections, is next in line if Marlin’s seat were to become available. Marlin won 387 votes in the 2020 elections, Labega 115.
Peterson furthermore pointed to what seems to be a brain drain at the already understaffed ministry of VROMI. The evaluation committee for the solid waste collection tender began with seven members, but in the end there were just three left. Peterson: ‘The financial controller of the ministry was the first one to leave. I personally know her and she stands for integrity. She has in the meantime left the ministry because of the obvious corruption that is taking place. Since the minister took office, already ten people have quit.”
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Antigua and Barbuda has become the latest Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country urging “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Straits as China continues its efforts to bring Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province, under its fold.
St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica and St Lucia have all commented on the decision by Beijing to conduct military drills in the Taiwan Straits following the decision by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi visit to Taiwan earlier this month.
China’s Foreign Ministry said that it was introducing new countermeasures against Washington including the suspension of climate talks; a direct reaction to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Some of these measures also cancellation of future phone calls and meetings between Chinese and US defence leaders.
China also suspended anti-drug cooperation with the US, legal assistance on criminal matters cooperation on the repatriation of illegal immigrants, and the combat of transnational crimes
Prime Minister Gaston Browne said these provocations can only lead to a downturn in the global economy and can even trigger military action.
“As an independent nation that is a friend of all, we want to emphasize the need for the US and China to work together in the interest of all humanity. They are the two largest economies in the world and there is no need for unnecessary provocations.
“There are so many areas of instability globally. We want global peace and solidarity among nations, not for nations to think they have the right to provoke because they have superpowers. This can lead to inadvertent military actions and that is the last thing that we need,” Browne said.
He said he wanted to make it clear that St John’s is seeking to take sides, adding “the US is also important to the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda.
“Most of our tourism and foreign exchange we earn from the US and most of what we consume we are from the US. Our role is not to condemn the US or China but to call for peace and for the US to bring an end to these provocations,” Browne added.
“We do agree that people have a right to travel wherever they wish but if certain actions will provoke and worsen the Chinese-Taiwan relationship, then I don’t know now is the time to be encouraging that type of provocation,” he said.
Browne said another conflict, along with the way in Ukraine would mean an erosion of living standards of small island states.
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SWF&Co’s logo.
Public relations consultancy SWF&Co is celebrating 30 years of service. In a news release on August 19, founder and CEO of SWF&Co Sandra Welch-Farrell expressed gratitude to all the company’s stakeholders, including senior executives, business leaders and well-wishers from countries such as Japan, China, Germany, Italy, the UK, the US and Argentina.
She said, “Thirty years ago we made the courageous step of taking on the world and all the challenges of that time. With the rapidly changing circumstances across all spheres of human life, the question then was what precise role SWF&Co could play as a network of communications professionals within the evolving maze of corporate challenges and opportunities.”
Welch-Farrell told the company’s clients it remains committed to ensuring their success.
Many of them were given awards at the virtual commemoration ceremony held on August 19, including:
British Airways for embedding sustainability at an operational level; Digicel (TT) Ltd for revolutionary support strategies in the telecommunications and technology sectors; The Delegation of the EU to TT for building partnerships with local communities and NGOs; IGT for the most advanced technology development programmes.
Also awarded were Marubeni for outstanding contribution to the development and sustainability of the power sector; The Massy Group for outstanding support to sustainable corporate social responsibility programmes; Pan-American Life Insurance Group (PALIG) as a leading innovator in the insurance industry; Sanofi as a leader in oncology research and patient care; Unilever Caribbean Ltd for innovation in sustainable products for living; and Unit Trust Corporation for the most indigenous growth in the financial services sector.
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Officials attached to the international aid donor agency – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have concluded an assessment tour of the Boys Training Centre (BTC).
Hosted towards the end of July, 2022, the USAID representatives met with the Managerand Staff of the BTC for discussions on the ongoing rehabilitation and re-integrationprocesses of BTC wards and the overall needs of the Centre.
The officials received a guided tour of the facility, where they were apprised of the useof USAID donated equipment, and its importance in allowing the BTC to meaningfullyengage wards in educational, technical and vocational training.
BTC Manager Wang Sonson welcomed the visitors and embraced the opportunity todiscuss the way forward in the context of recent advancements in Saint Lucia’s NationalSocial Protection System, and the recently concluded USAID/OECS Juvenile JusticeReform Project, executed in the countries of the OECS.
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“Without that level of assistance, the BTC would have been crippled. Under the OECSJuvenile Justice Reform Project, the provision of equipment and tools to enhance theoperations and administrative capacity of the Boys Training Centre was made possiblethrough USAID. Therefore, on behalf of the staff and wards of the BTC, I would like tosay thank you,” noted Sonson.
USAID views and describes itself as the world’s premier international developmentagency and serves as a catalytic toward driving developmental initiatives, whiledemonstrating American generosity.
USAID is an independent agency of the US Federal Government that is focused on international development and humanitarian activities.
The Agency places emphasis on increasing global stability, addressing social issues and creating innovative solutions for tackling development challenges.
SOURCE: Ministry of Equity, Social Justice & Empowerment
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El presidente de la Asociación de Detallistas de Gasolina, Esdras Vélez, informó en RADIO ISLA que un apagón en el área de Juana Díaz ocurrido la semana pasada provocó daños en gasolineras.
Esdras Vélez expuso que los daños sumaron la factura de $5,800 dólares el arreglo. Según Vélez, los equipos afectados tienen que ver con las medidas, entiéndase lo que les permite saber si el equipo tiene agua y cuánto inventario tienen. Vélez informó que también se dañó lo que verifica si las líneas tienen liqueo.
Vélez informó que le sometieron los gastos al seguro para poder reembolsar esos fondos o del equipo. “La estación no puede cerrar”, manifestó Vélez.
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El presidente de la Asociación de Hospitales de Puerto Rico, Jaime Plá, reveló hoy en RADIO ISLA que “hospitales como el Auxilio Mutuo pagan alrededor de $600,000 pesos mensuales de luz”.
Jaime Plá aseguró que los hospitales nunca han tenido una tarifa de energía especial. Esta cantidad suma aproximadamente $8 millones de dólares anuales.
Sobre el apagón ocurrido en el Hospital Auxilio Mutuo, Jaime Plá informó que el mismo “no tuvo que ver con LUMA”, pero que ha tenido problemas en otros hospitales que sí han tenido problemas de luz debido al voltaje o con la ida de luz. Plá explicó que cuando se va la luz, esta regresa con mayor voltaje, lo que afecta a los generadores que están en proceso de salir de servicio.
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National Insurance Scheme (NIS) CEO Kim Tudor is assuring Barbadians that “We will look at the legislation when we look at this reform”
After being questioned in relation to laws surround both NIS benefits and labour laws in Barbados recently, Tudor contended, “they certainly need looking at… We need to have persons understanding and better informed.”
She was responding at the time to Former NIS officer Stephen Strickland who has emphatically called for major changes in legislation which affect many women who are vulnerable.
Noting that adjustments were made for qualification for sickness, injury and unemployment in 2006, he called for maternity benefits and grants to be reassessed.
“We need to examine the laws because it is unfair to women.”. He said that some women are sick from pregnancy and therefore that is nine months of sickness, but he argued they should still qualify for maternity benefit “because there are those individuals who are sick for a whole year and still get invalidity benefit afterwards. That part of that legislation needs to be reexamined.”
He then went on to lobby for changes to the maternity grant. This is a cheque paid to an unemployed partner based on their partner’s contributions. “As far as I’m concerned, there should be no requirement that the father and the mother who are not married should be living together because he has paid his contributions; his name is on the birth certificate, which is the highest legal document in Barbados, he has signed at the Registration Department that he is the father, the maternity grant form he also signed saying he is the father, he should never have to say he’s living with her, because you know Bajans.”
He said that in the Barbadian context cohabiting in the same house but his mail goes to his original home, and a visiting relationship are interchangeable terms. “I think that law needs to be examined because there is no requirement where the two persons are married – no matter how long they are married.”
And his third point came out of the labour legislation as it relates to one woman working for one employer and getting pregnant four times during her tenure. He stood his ground that in the labour laws of this land, still on the statute books is a law that says on applying for her fourth set of maternity leave she can be dismissed by that employer without it being deemed a wrongful dismissal.
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Barbadian women can be granted maternity leave once they meet the qualifications in the legislation. This would fall under the country’s labour laws.
Here is how you qualify for maternity leave in Barbados:
Grant of maternity leave to employees
3. (1) Subject to subsection (3), every employee is, in addition to her annual holiday under the Holidays with Pay Act, entitled to maternity leave upon delivering to her employer- (a) a certificate issued by a medical practitioner setting forth the expected date of her confinement; or (b) a certificate issued by a medical practitioner or a midwife setting forth the actual date of her confinement.
3. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1)) an employer may accept such other evidence in support of the entitlement of an employee to maternity leave as may be reasonable having regard to the circumstances of a particular case.
3.1 (3) An employee- (a) must, in order to qualify for a grant of maternity leave, be employed for at least twelve months by the employer from whom she requests such leave; and (b) is not entitled to maternity leave by the same employer on more than three occasions.
3. (4) For the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (3), an employee who ceased to be employed by an employer and is subsequently re-employed by that employer on the condition that her service is not continuous shall be deemed at the time of her re-employment not to have been previously granted maternity leave by that employer.
See the full legislation here – BARBADOS EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN (MATERNITY LEAVE) CHAPTER 345A
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