Black Immigrant Daily News

The No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) programme of the Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) has contributed to the significant improvement in export sales, said President and CEO, Christopher Levy.

Levy disclosed to shareholders at Jamaica Broilers’ annual general meeting to discuss the company’s performance and future plans.

The NAE line of products, which was launched last May under the Best Dressed Chicken (BDC) brand, means no bird, from hatchery or birth, till slaughter is treated with antibiotics.

“One of the benefits that we have experienced is that it has opened up significant growth in our export market because…this is a very big calling card for us in these markets,” Levy said.

He continued: “We feel it is a very important aspect of our brand and the quality that we offer to our consumers”.

The JBG posted a 60 per cent increase in export sales year-over-year which is “quite a significant amount,” Levy said.

Revenues also improved significantly year-over-year with a 33 per cent lift, closing the year at $76 billion.

“Bear in mind last year was a COVID year, and we had the impact of the shutdowns and tourism was off. So, we are seeing some good rebound here, but I think we have also seen a tremendous impact because of some of our external operations,” Levy said.

Total assets were up $17 million to close at $60 billion. Profit before tax stood at $4 billion, a 27 per cent year-over-year increase, with after-tax profits of $3 billion.

Improvements in the performance of the Jamaican operations were buoyed by a new de-boning machine “that allowed us to get very good efficiencies and increase our volumes and pick up some nice margins,” the CEO said.

The BDC line saw a 34 per cent growth. New products also helped to gin up performance.

“Our individually quick frozen (IQF) products continue to do really well in the market. It has really been a good baseline product as we move into different segments, and we saw, with that investment, a real pick-up in the western region where we were able to pick up some new customers with these products and these investments”.

Other efficiencies came under the company’s focus on environment, safety and quality. The company now re-uses 25 per cent of the water at its BDC processing plant.

“We have really focused on water conservation…,” Levy said, adding that the company plans to further increase the amount of water it re-uses.

He continued: “We have tested out our 1MW LNG power plant, just to diversify. We are also looking at solar in some of our other facilities, and I do feel we are going to build out our LNG options for producing power for the Group in a broader way over the next couple of years…” he said.

The Hi-pro subsidiary also saw tremendous growth. Feeds sales increased by 27 per cent; chick sales up seven per cent, and pullet sales up 20 per cent with Supercentre sales up by 25 per cent.

“I do feel that it’s a good indication of a growth in the overall agricultural [sector] of Jamaica, which is very important for us,” Levy said, noting the need for food independence.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

In light of complaints from some dialysis patients that the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) has been refusing to reimburse them for their dialysis treatments, Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh has instructed the agency to ensure that these claims are paid.

This directive was passed on to the Management of NIS during an emergency meeting at the Finance Ministry on Thursday.

Some persons have complained to the Finance Ministry of encountering difficulties with receiving their dialysis reimbursements from NIS. Apparently, some NIS locations have adopted a policy whereby they are refusing to grant claims from patients for their dialysis treatment until they utilise the $600,000 cash grant being offered by the government.In Budget 2022, the Guyana Government announced a $600,000 Grant per annum for dialysis patients.

According to Dr Singh, this grant was intended to be additional support for these patients and should not be used as a basis for persons being denied their legitimate benefits from the NIS.

“I made it crystal clear [during Thursday’s meeting with the NIS Management] that the Government’s $600,000 grant for dialysis patients is intended to be an additional support to dialysis patients and was never intended to result in patients being denied their NIS benefits… The intention was always by the Government to provide additional support and not to provide support – this grant – and then to take it away through another institution of the State.”

“And so, I made this very clear to the senior management of NIS that the $600,000 Grant provided by the government for dialysis treatment is added to whatever was being enjoyed by persons who have paid their NIS over the years and who are entitled to some degree of NIS support,” Dr. Singh related.

Minister Singh explained that this grant was introduced in light of government recognition that the severe challenges being faced by persons undergoing dialysis treatment and the tremendous costs associated with that treatment, including not just the dialysis treatment and the associated medication and other expenditures associated with accessing that treatment.

“Oftentimes, patients would require dialysis treatment twice, sometimes thrice a week, etc. and so recognising this, we introduced this dialysis support programme under which every single person receiving dialysis on a regular basis will get a grant of $600,000… It would be preserved to now turn around and penalise those people by taking away their NIS reimbursement for dialysis treatment,” he contended.

Moreover, the Finance Minister outlined that these patients should not face such difficulties in accessing their contributions made to the NIS over the years.

To this end, Dr Singh provided clear instructions to the NIS Management that the agency discontinue this practice forthwith.

“I gave very clear instructions that they are not to use the receipt of the $600,000 grant from the government by any dialysis patient as the basis for denying any person who is otherwise legitimately entitled to support from the NIS for the purposes of dialysis. I made that very clear to them,” Minister Singh indicated following Thursday’s meeting.

Meanwhile, Dr Ashni has urged any person who may be still encountering such issues to contact the Finance Ministry, where staff is available to deal with this issue.

Nevertheless, it was noted that Government continues to work aggressively to improve the quality of services delivered by State institutions such as the National Insurance Scheme.Back in April, the Government rolled out the $600,000 assistance to dialysis patients across the country and over $47 million was paid out to some 79 hemodialysis patients to help subsidise their treatment expenses during the first day of distribution.

A total of $180 million was allocated in Budget 2022 to support 300 persons in need of treatment.

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has already reassured dialysis patients across the country that this assistance will be a permanent measure in the country’s annual budgets going forward.

According to Dr Anthony, Guyana has seen a remarkable improvement in providing dialysis care over the past 18 years. He noted that space was even provided for the Doobay Medical Centre to offer dialysis at the New Amsterdam Hospital. Similar provisions were also made to offer dialysis treatment in Linden and talks were in the works for this service to be available in Essequibo as well.

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The family of a woman who arrived in Saint Lucia recently from the United States is demanding answers, saying they received information that she died while in custody at the Bordelais Correctional Facility (BCF).

Bernadette Jn Baptiste told St Lucia Times that the Laborie police had arrested her sister, forty-year-old Cecilia Augustin, who was here for her father’s funeral.

Jn Baptiste said Augustin was in a land dispute with a cousin when the police arrested her.

“On Tuesday night they called me and told me my sister had been arrested,” she stated.

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“My cousin called and said she was harassing her with a knife so the police arrested her,” the sister explained.

But Jn Baptiste said she later learned that Augustin was at the BCF.

“I said: ‘Why they send my sister up to Bordelais?’ My sister didn’t do any crime and didn’t harass anybody. Why they sent her up to Bordelais? If you say she has a mental problem, is not Bordelais you all should send her,” she declared.

Nevertheless, Jn Baptiste said her sister had no mental issue but was a Christian who was “crazy in Jesus”.

Jn Baptiste said the family received news that Augustin had died at the correctional facility on Thursday night.

“They say she had a tummy ache and a backache,” the sister told St Lucia Times.

“They hold her in the cell for nine days from the time they arrest her – Laborie police station,” Jn Baptiste recalled.

She said Augustin went to the BCF on Wednesday, and the family heard about the death of the United States citizen and mother of two on Thursday night.

Numerous attempts to get an official response regarding the BCF incident were unsuccessful.

Headline photo: Cecilia Augustin – Deceased

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Rishi Sunak is the United Kingdom’s new prime minister following Liz Truss’s resignation last week after she held the office for just 45 days.

The leadership change, however, is not expected to affect plans for the UK’s overseas territories minister to visit the Virgin Islands today, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley said Tuesday, adding that he is ready to work with the new administration on economic resilience, Commission of Inquiry reforms, and other areas of mutual interest.

Mr. Sunak delivered his first statement as PM on Tuesday, promising to place economic stability “at the heart” of his government while fixing “mistakes” made by his predecessor.

The 42-year-old served as chief secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2020 and is a member of Parliament for Richmond. Born to parents of Punjabi Indian descent, Mr. Sunak is the first person of colour to serve as the PM of the UK.

Ms. Truss resigned on Oct. 19 after a tumultuous 45 days in office. During her tenure — the shortest in UK history — she announced plans to limit energy costs for households and implement $50 billion worth of unfunded tax cuts.

The announcements sent markets reeling, and she quickly scrapped both plans and replaced her finance minister after facing backlash from critics including the International Monetary Fund and members of her
own Conservative Party.

But her reversal wasn’t enough to assuage her opponents, and Ms. Truss resigned after admitting that she wasn’t able to deliver the “low-tax, high-growth economy” she had promised.

OT minister

Despite the leadership change, UK OT Minister Jesse Norman — who was appointed the day after Ms. Truss became PM on Sept. 6 — has retained his position.

He will also stick to his plan to visit the territory today and tomorrow to discuss the progress of the Commission of Inquiry reforms with the premier and other political leaders, according to Dr. Wheatley.

During a House of Assembly sitting on Tuesday, the premier made a brief statement about Mr. Sunak’s appointment and the next steps the territory will take in its relationship with the UK.

“I congratulate Prime Minister Sunak on his appointment and wish him every success in office,” Dr. Wheatley said. “He and his new Cabinet have many pressing issues to address including gaining the confidence of the British people and the financial markets and addressing the UK’s cost-of-living crisis and energy crisis. I’m confident the UK will find its way out of its current circumstances in due course.”

The premier added that he had a “good working relationship” with former OT Minister Amanda Milling and that he looks forward to a similar relationship with Mr. Norman.

“Last month I had the opportunity to informally meet Minister Norman. Our exchange was warm and friendly. I look forward to engaging with him … when he visits this territory,” Dr. Wheatley said. “Among other things, we will discuss the progress of reform and strengthening the economic resilience of the territory.”

He added that he also plans to discuss the order in council in reserve that allows the UK to suspend the territory’s Constitution, arguing that it doesn’t support a modern partnership or the aspirations of the Virgin Islands.

“Both sides must act in good faith and be true to democracy,” he said.

JMC meeting

Dr. Wheatley also announced that next month he will travel to London to attend the Joint Ministerial Council meetings between OT political leaders and UK ministers.

“We will discuss issues such as constitutional development, sanctions, economic management, climate change and other environmental matters,” he said.

Health and Social Development Minister Marlon Penn will accompany him, he added.

“A key diplomatic objective of the Government of National Unity is to build a modern partnership with the UK that supports the aspirations of the people of the Virgin Islands. While there are many areas that the VI can benefit from closer cooperation with the UK, we will not agree with everything,” he said. “The key is the achieve the right balance of interests be- tween the UK and the Virgin Islands as we work together. In this regard, it is very important that both sides pursue their interests in a constructive and diplomatic manner and make their best efforts to achieve mutually acceptable outcomes.”

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