Black Immigrant Daily News

La mairie de Tokyo a commencé mardi à remettre des certificats d’union aux personnes de même sexe qui vivent ou travaillent dans la capitale japonaise, une mesure attendue depuis longtemps dans un…

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Night one of Dominica’s long-awaited World Creole Music Festival was a hit and set the bar for nights two and three of the island’s largest fete.

After a two-year break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, fans poured into the national stadium in Roseau for the 22nd edition of the celebration of creole music, which has become a staple in Dominica’s independence celebration.

Friday night saw a mix of various genres, including the island’s original Bouyon music, reggae, dancehall, Compas, and soca.

Who best to open the first night than the island’s Bouyon Queen, Carlyn XP, who kept the island entertained via her weekly social media fete, Musical Therapy, throughout the pandemic. She gathered fans from across Dominica and the diaspora every Sunday for hours of online entertainment.

Locals had been clamouring for Carlyn XP to hit the main stage since 2019 and with her energetic performance opening the show, she did not disappoint.

The First Serenade Band and TK international added to the Bouyon and Cadence music repertoire for the night.

Compas combo Bejine and K Dilak out of Haiti also brought on an excellent performance much to the delight of the Haitian population well represented in the audience on night one.

Dancehall sensation, Shenseea and reggae legend Sizzla wowed the crowd with their performances, delivering their fans’ favourite tunes.

However, it was the electrifying performance of Kes The Band which did it for me and by the looks of things, many others on night one.

Ten thousand visitors have come to the island for this year’s festival. That’s according to CEO of the Discover Dominica Authority, Colin Piper.

According to Piper 6,500 visitors arrived via boat from St Lucia, Martinique, and Guadeloupe while the rest came by air.

He says Government has invested heavily in the festival (this year US$4 million) which economic spinoff averages a return of five to nine for every dollar spent.

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The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) continues to stand in solidarity with the citizens and residents of Antigua and Barbuda as we usher in our 41st anniversary of political independence amidst unprecedented uncertainty, fear, anxiety, hopelessness and despair crippling our people.

The chosen theme, “Moving Forward with Unity, Strength and Stability”, fails to resonate with the majority of us and there is a collectively conclusion that the members of the Cabinet live in a different Antigua and Barbuda to the rest of us! People continue to remark ad nauseum, “What Unity? What Strength? What Stability? Sadly, these sentiments reflect the pessimism which overshadows our country.

Never before has our country been so sharply divided politically!

Never before has there been such unprecedented unemployment!

Never before has there been such chronic under-employment!

Never before has crime paralyzed our people!

Never before has a government refused to address the cost-of-living crisis!

Never before has mal-nutrition been normalized for our people!

Never before has the plight of pensioners been ignored!

Never before have public servants been so demoralized!

Never before have civil society organizations been bullied into silence!

Never before has the freedom of the press been so trampled!

Never before have journalists been blatantly censored!

Never before have our constitutional rights and freedoms been so stifled!

Never before have our health care facilities been on the brink of collapse!

Never before has our educational system been so moribund!

Never before has land ownership been so unreachable to the people!

Never before has potable water been so unavailable to the homeowners, school plants, health care facilities and businesses!

Never before has our road network been so dilapidated!

Never before have economic opportunities so eluded our people!

Never before has our national debt rivalled that of a first world country per capita!

Never before has brain drain among our youth been so relentless!

Never before has a government so mismanaged our finances!

Never before has our economy teetered on the brink of collapse!

Never before has the confidence of the masses been so shattered!

Never before has a Cabinet trampled good governance principles!

Never before have elected officials blatantly engage in corrupt practices!

Never before has there been an urgent clamour for REAL POLITICAL CHANGE!

My good people, the DNA hears you! We feel you! For too long, the cries of our people have fallen on the ears of our elected officials who appear tone-deaf to the hardships, rapidly increasing poverty, marginalization, frustrations and suffering of our people.

Gaston Browne boasts of a buoyant economy which apparently only he, his Cabinet members, their families, politically well-connected friends and cronies continue to experience and enjoy. However, in reality, the majority remain impoverished evidenced by the glaring disparities between the haves and the have-nots.

People are giving an honest day’s work yet cannot afford the basic staples in the supermarkets! Today, in Antigua and Barbuda, on a daily basis, people are forced to choose whether to spend their last $20 between topping up their phones, buying expensive gas for their vehicles or buying several packs of noodles to feed their families! The touted “economic powerhouse” is a pure illusion!

And, in the midst of this charade of prosperity being enjoyed by the people, the Prime Minister is caught on camera in his constituency shoving cash into the hands of residents designed purely to entice them to vote for him. Ask yourselves, can Gaston Browne and the ABLP not win the upcoming election on their record of performance over the past 8 years?

Further, let us be frank, honest, level up and think … IF politicians must pay you – bribe you – to vote for them then they have failed the people! How sustainable is this type of grandstanding? How does this conduct truly empower the people? What about other vulnerable persons who live in Ottos, Grays Farm, Bethesda, Cedar Grove, Potters, Bendals, Bolans, Skerrits Pasture, Parham Town, Willikies, Liberta, All Saints, Barbuda, Ovals, Fort Road and Sea View Farm? Will money be shoved in their hands too?

My people, collectively we must condemn money politics! We must reject politicians who see us only at election time as goods to be bought and sold to the highest bidder and ignore us after the last ballot is counted!

The reality is that the Gaston Browne Administration has failed to meet its basic responsibilities and obligations to the people – pensioners, public servants, the vulnerable, and local creditors who are owed millions and millions.

The ABLP has failed to create a robust, level, transparent and dynamic enabling economic environment conducive to local and reputable foreign investors and one in which creativity and innovation can thrive particularly among our youth. Regrettably, for the past 8 years, Gaston Browne has refused to lay out any short, medium or long-term national development plan for our country choosing instead his preferred hit and miss approach to governance! His so-called economic model has failed both country and people!

Citizens and residents, we must no longer accept a despotic government masquerading like democracy! I beg you to summon the courage to effect the political change we so urgently need now. Reject the exchange, the political musical chairs between the ABLP and the UPP which has characterized our politics for the past 40 years! An exchange from the ABLP to the UPP will bring much of the same or even worse!

Neither the ABLP nor the UPP has the courage, the policies or the people to lead the transformational change required in Antigua and Barbuda now!

The DNA says boldly that, as we welcome our 41st year of independence, an urgent national reset of our priorities designed to chart a new destiny for our re-development is required now!

Our people at home and in the Diaspora must embrace a revolutionary collective change in attitude, discipline, productivity, efficiency, commitment and a new government determined and committed to redesign a robust, diverse and all-inclusive economy underpinned by a buoyant private sector capable of offering sustained employment to our people!

The DNA will stop the selling of our passports which has become a gateway to CIP citizens to acquire vast tracks of lands for speculative development purposes. The DNA is committed to preserving our patrimony for future generations, and to engage in regular public consultations designed to achieve the long overdue Constitutional reform fashioned by the people. Our motto, “Prosperity For All” will be experienced by our people!

However, to achieve this vision requires that we elect a government comprised of honest, patriotic, unblemished, selfless God-fearing women and men whose commitment to country is unshakeable and incorruptible! The DNA is that choice!

Citizens and residents, you would have now become aware of the resignation of two of our members who, as our press release indicated, failed to persuade the DNA leadership that a “coming together” of the DNA and the UPP should be pursued or, alternatively, that the DNA should not participate in the upcoming general elections. Politics is both fluid and dynamic where persons leave and join other political parties. However, we remain resolute that the governance of the people of Antigua and Barbuda cannot and should not be bartered for personal political expediency. I assure you all that politics is not for the faint hearted; the DNA remains strong, resilient, focused and committed to delivering a fairer and better Antigua and Barbuda for all of us.

Citizens and residents, we urge you to keep the faith, to pray for our Leaders, ourselves and our country, and to remain faithful patriots.

May God continue to bless each and every one of you and may God bless Antigua and Barbuda!

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INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE 2022Harold Lovell, UPP Political Leader 

Today, we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our nation. It was a memorable night 41 years ago when, as a people, we hoisted our national flag as a symbol of hope and great expectations.

Our nation decided that we wanted to live in a free and fair society. One in which we governed ourselves, charting our own destiny. Our people rejected the idea that as a people we should just do as we were told and accept colonial rule.

But what were those hopes and expectations?

– That we would entrench and deepen our unity as a people, as expressed in our motto “Each Endeavouring, All Achieving.”

– That we would develop our economy through investment, trade and the creation of jobs so that we could enjoy a quality of life as good as anywhere else in the world.

– That we would eliminate the social and economic inequalities that differentiated us, not by pulling down those at the top but by lifting up those at the bottom.

– That all our people, no matter how poor or humble their circumstances, would have the opportunity to build a better life through access to education and proper healthcare and by their own hard work.

– That every community would enjoy the infrastructure and basic services that would make them places where people would want to live, work and raise their families.

We have come a long way over these 41 years. Much has been accomplished, but the dream of independence has not yet been fulfilled as much more remains to be done. Today, our prospects for the future appear dim under this Gaston Browne-led Government. We still do not have a reliable supply of water after months of promises and commitments. Our roads and infrastructure are collapsing. Our children have fewer opportunities, some still have no access to online learning and have fallen behind.

But what will it take to overcome the adversities and challenges which confront us in our daily lives?

Crime and violence are out of control and people are living in fear. Our health sector is in disarray, with people unable to get basic care and medication. There is significant inequality and under-performance in education, as well as poverty and hunger amidst the terrible cost of living crisis.

There is also underperformance and uncertainty in our major industries – tourism and agriculture, lack of investments, jobs, educational and training opportunities, particularly for our youth. These persistent challenges will require a great unity of purpose to overcome and improve the quality of life of all Antiguans and Barbudans.

The UPP believes that we must put our people at the centre of development as we plan for the next 41 years. Social transformation requires investing in our people, to build our capacity to compete and excel among the nations of the world.

Our country and our people deserve better. The UPP will be a Government that cares about its citizens and will take decisive action to improve our circumstances. This is the type of government that Antiguans and Barbudans deserve.

We survived the pandemic by coming together as a people and even as we battle in the recovery process we face many exogenous forces and influences. But we must accept that as a united people our future and our fortunes lie in our hands.

The very spirit that has inspired us to achieve independence, the belief that we are a people who can accomplish great things, must never be allowed to die. For it is this very spirit that will propel us to make up the lost ground and will guide us to achieve the goals that our founding fathers laid out for us.

For many of the pioneers that have gone before, achieving independence was itself, a dream and on the journey to independence, there were setbacks and disappointments; but they never gave up hope and never lost sight of that dream.

As we celebrate our 41st anniversary, let us demonstrate the will and energy to make up the ground that was lost as a result of the pandemic. We must fill the social and economic gaps that have been left behind, overcome the challenges that face us and go forward to break new ground and conquer new frontiers.  For the spirit of independence can never die, as we rebuild our country and economy.

Although the pandemic left behind a path of destruction and despair, it has also ignited an outpouring of love and unity among our citizens and residents. It has helped to strengthen the bond of interdependence, not only within our twin island state, but it has also reinforced the circle of commitment between Antiguans and Barbudans at home and in the Diaspora. It has also brought us closer to many of our brothers and sisters in neighboring islands throughout the Caribbean chain.

As a proud country, there are so many issues that still threaten to divide us – from the unfounded and aggressive Barbuda Land Act by PM Browne, that disregards Barbudan residents as they struggle to rebuild their lives and to restore some level of normalcy in their communities.

These are all issues which transcend politics and require a mature, responsible and united front among us as a people, as we attempt to find the best solutions to address some of these ongoing issues.

As we continue to mature as a nation and face many challenges that beset us, we must find effective ways to restore the strength and dignity of our people through meaningful employment and social programs that will uplift lives and offer hope. We must commit to honest management of the people’s money, and to putting that money to work for all Antiguans and Barbudans, not just for a chosen few. We must also hold our leaders to the highest standards of integrity, so that the image and reputation of our country is one that we can be proud of both at home and abroad.

As Political Leader of the UPP, I call on all citizens to stand up and take action and work together to rebuild and restore our nation to greatness. I commit that the next era of UPP governance will be one in which we will work for the good of all Antiguans and Barbudans and the growth, development and protection of this fair country.  It is our Pride for our country that makes us great!

I wish each and every one of you a Happy Independence and may we continue to Dwell in Love and Unity.

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At a very young age, Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre needed surgery and rehabilitative therapy to correct a disability that affected his feet.

Hon. Pierre shared his experience and how he was able to overcome during a recent meeting with officials representing the local Farmers with Disabilities Beekeeping Association.

SOURCE: Office of the Prime Minister

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