Black Immigrant Daily News

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed on Tuesday (August 23) between the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and Arc Properties Limited for the contribution of units by the private entity to the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).

This follows an appeal to the private sector to partner with the Government in building more houses for vulnerable Jamaicans.

The signatories to the document included Prime Minister Andrew Holness; Permanent Secretary in both the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Audrey Sewell; Managing Director, Kinetic Engineering Services, Keon Hinds; Managing Director, Arc Properties Limited, Ashley-Ann Horne; and Director of Arc Properties and Deputy Chair of Arc Manufacturing, Charlotte Horne Hayles.

In his remarks at the signing ceremony at Jamaica House, Holness said he was pleased to see Arc Properties Limited coming on board the NSHP.

“I am almost overcome with emotion to see the call being answered. You are the pioneer in this area and I am very pleased; and it does speak well for Jamaica. The truth is our private sector has been very active in treating with social issues… and I am sure there are others who will hear the call and respond,” he added.

Holness noted that the NSHP targets beneficiaries or households earning minimum wage or less, or which earn no income.

“This is what you would consider to be an income-contingent subsidy. Governments give subsidies for all kinds of reasons. But the best way to give a subsidy is to make it income-contingent, meaning if you are not earning any income, then you genuinely should get the subsidy,” he said.

“Because if you think about what a subsidy is, it is a transfer, a grant from the Government to enable you to afford consumption. People with income have consumption ability, people without income generally don’t. So, for Government to be efficient in subsidies, you usually want to tie your subsidy to the income of the beneficiary.

“That is what the Government is doing generally with all its subsidies across the board; we are making them specific and targeted to beneficiaries who we have identified, and we are making sure that people who have more income don’t get more subsidy,” he added.

Holness stated that already some 89 units have been built under the programme.

He noted that initially, some of the units would cost between $8 million and $9 million, “but now the prices are coming down nicely”.

Meanwhile, the prime minister is calling for more private partners to come on board the programme.

“Once the private sector realises that the project is integrous, meaning that the reputational risk of association is very limited or non-existent, then it’s easy for the private sector to say, ‘I would associate my brand with this project’. It is transparent, it is well-run, and you can only get a positive gain from it,” said Holness.

For her part, Mrs Horne said Arc Properties will do what it can to increase the construction of houses for the most vulnerable in the society under the NSHP, at no cost to the Government.

“We are patriotically proud to be contributing to the upliftment of the Jamaican people in this manner, and we will continue to be a good Jamaican company and a sterling partner for all social, economic and national upliftment programmes,” she said.

The New Social Housing Programme was established in 2018 by the prime minister as the housing component of the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme.

It was developed to improve the housing condition of the country’s poor and disadvantaged population by providing quality, affordable and sustainable housing.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Caribbean Cement Company (Carib Cement) has announced a project to expand its production capacity up to 30 per cent.

Cemex, Carib Cement’s parent company, will invest US$40 million ($6 billion) in phase one of the project.

This increase in capacity should be completed by the second half of 2024.

Speaking at the official groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, CEMEX CEO Fernando Gonzalez disclosed that Carib Cement is in the final stages of the engineering phase and is obtaining permits from the local authorities.

“Very soon we will begin to procure the equipment needed for this initial phase of the project, that will not only expand our capacity, but also allow us to optimize our heat consumption in the manufacturing process, and therefore, reduce the carbon footprint of our facility in Jamaica,” said Gonzalez.

The expansion is expected to strengthen the self-sufficiency of the local cement industry and the export market.

“Carib Cement has been a part of the fabric of this country for a long time and has been playing its part in ensuring that the booming construction sector continues to be supported,” Gonzalez added.

Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony at Carib Cement’s facilities in Rockfort, Kingston, also saw the Cemex CEO unveil a mural to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence.

The local cement producer reported stable earnings in its latest financial report.

Its unaudited earnings report shows the company reporting a six per cent increase in revenue for the three months ended June 2022, up to $6.7 billion.

Due to the impact of higher operational costs, operation earnings totalled $2 billion, nine per cent lower than the $2.2 billion reported in 2021.

Overall net income for the quarter decreased to $1.5 billion, a seven per cent reduction over the corresponding period in 2021.

Carib Cement recently made a dividend payout of J$ 1.5032 per share to shareholders on August 15, 2022, the first in 17 years.

It described the payout as the start of a sustainable dividend programme that would provide stable returns to shareholders.

Carib Cement also said the introduction of a dividend reflects the strong operating results and turnaround that the company has experienced over the last years.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Barbados can anticipate increased arrivals for this coming winter season.

TUI UK has announced that it will be increasing its flight capacity to over 54, 000 seats for the 2022/23 winter.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Senator Lisa Cummins revealed this significant bolster to the island’s tourism market last week Friday.

Cummins noted that this extended programme reconfirms TUI UK’s commitment to Barbados and underpins their confidence that Barbados is a key destination for UK holidaymakers.

“We are pleased with the news that TUI UK will increase their Barbados programme for the 2022/23 winter season. From the additional flight capacity and extended schedule to the homeporting of two of their largest cruise ships, and new hotel partners, this sheer size of this expansion underpins TUI UK’s confidence in Barbados,” she said.

TUI, who previously chartered seven flights per week to Barbados, have increased this to eight weekly flights to cater for growing demand. Six of these weekly charter flights will depart from Birmingham, London Gatwick, and Manchester airports, as well as two ‘Rover’ flights which will depart from various UK airports weekly.

“For the Winter 2022/23 season, TUI have not only increased their presence in Barbados from one to two cruise ships, but two of their largest cruise ships at that: Marella Explorer 2 and Marella Discovery,” Cummins said.

“And what’s special is that this is not an air-to-sea charter, but has evolved to incorporate a dedicated land-based programme for Barbados.”

For the first time, both ships will homeport in Barbados and will operate a total of 40 sailing rotations until April 2023, adding a month of additional cruising to the previous season, which ended in March.

The Marella Explorer 2, with a capacity of 1,850 passengers, will operate weekly on Sundays, from November 20 to April 16. The Marella Discovery will operate weekly on Thursdays from December 22 to April 20, with a capacity of 1,800 passengers.

TUI UK has also increased the number of hotel partners in Barbados, now supporting the majority of Barbados A class and B class hotels. This will cater to the approximately 30 per cent of their customers who will book their entire holiday in Barbados and, those booking pre and post cruise.

Director of UK and Ireland for Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI), Cheryl Carter, welcomed the announcement, saying “We are thrilled that this relationship which began in 2011, continues to flourish and we hope to continue to build on this by developing further opportunities in the future. We look forward to welcoming even more UK and Irish holidaymakers to our island through TUI UK.”

Carter added that since the inception of the programme with TUI UK, Barbados has seen a 189 per cent growth in cruise passengers over the past 11 years. The programme started in winter 2011/2012 with only one vessel and has now grown to incorporate a number of hotels, and offer extensive pre and post cruise destination experiences in Barbados.

Cruise goers can discover the best of the Caribbean with a choice of six incredible TUI Cruise itineraries that start and finish in Barbados’ beautiful capital city of Bridgetown.

Cruise packages are available to book now at www.tui.co.uk .

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Het alakondre gedachtegoed houdt de twaalfjarige Shantanu Soei Len Tjon hoog in het vaandel. Het is deel van haar identiteit

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Kingston waterfront has a new look and several new colours.

Bordering the Kingston Harbour on Michael Manley Boulevard is the official “Spirit of Jamaica 60”, Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum’s first mural of 14 to be created across the island.

The project started in Kingston and will highlight Jamaican culture through artful displays in all 14 parishes islandwide.

J Wray & Nephew Ltd Marketing Manager Pavel Smith explained the significance of adding art to public spaces for the brand.

“When we [became] the Official Spirit of Jamaica 60, we had several thoughts on what shape our initiatives would take. The Wray Rum brand is Fi Wi Culture, and with this in mind, the process quickly became about showcasing our widespread cultural impact using the visual arts. We wanted every parish to have a reminder of who we are as a people as we immortalize this milestone which is our 60th year of Independence,” Smith shared.

Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum has partnered with local artist Anthony ‘Taozen’ Smith and Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA) to complete the exercise.

Excited about the transformation of each mural location Smith expressed that a country such as Jamaica is known for many things including its beauty.

“With this mural project, we’ve decided to inject beauty into common spaces that we may all enjoy. We are also thrilled to be working alongside incredible homegrown talent to complete each mural,” Smith mentioned.

The Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum mural project joins the Paint the City project launched by Kingston Creative in developing Street Art Murals throughout downtown Kingston.

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