Black Immigrant Daily News

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Chris James

BOARD MEMBER of the Tobago Tourism Agency (TTAL) and president of the Hoteliers Association Chris James on Friday dismissed fears that the discontinuation of Virgin Airlines’ flights to Tobago from Heathrow Airport, London, would affect the hotel and tourism business.

James told Newsday flights by other airlines will continue to provide services, so the end of Virgin flights would not hurt the industry.

“We are getting a Condor flight from Germany, the two British Airways flights, the JFK Caribbean Airlines flight to Tobago and two Barbados flights,” he said.

He added that TTAL plans to go to the World Travel Market in London – the leading international travel event, which provides opportunities for inbound and outbound tourism professionals – where it will be looking for more flights.

“We need to have at least five originating destinations,” James said. “We have the US, the UK and Germany. I want Canada and Scandinavia.”

In a release sent to the media earlier this week, TTAL said it would discontinue its airline contract with Virgin Atlantic for airlift between Tobago and the UK as a result of a “strategic review and realignment of the agency’s investment in airlift for the destination.

“The return on investment for the Virgin Atlantic airlift subsidy funded by the public sector has been deteriorating steadily over the years, to the point where the renewal of their contract could not be logically defended and executed,” TTAL chairman Alicia Edwards said in the release.

James said TTAL would focus on marketing other flights from London.

“We get the British Airways flight that comes to Tobago twice a week from the end of the month, October 31. It is better that we spend the money wisely and market that flight,” he said.

Virgin Atlantic resumed flights in January after two years of lockdowns due to covid19. The airline’s carrier, the A330-300, with 183 economy delight, classic and light seats, 48 premium and 31 upper-class seats, landed in Tobago on January 29 ­­– its first flight since the lockdowns – with 20 passengers.

James suggested Tobago should not be dependent on one destination, noting that because of the devaluing of the pound, there have been estimates that travel to the Caribbean from the UK will decrease by 15 per cent.

“If you have a problem like we do in the UK, you just switch your marketing efforts to the other originating destinations, so you are not too dependent on one. That is how we have to be as a leisure destination.”

He said TTAL is already in discussions with airlines in Canada and Scandinavia.

“We are talking to airlines in these destinations and we will continue to talk to them until we are successful.”

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Some 400 Berbicians will benefit from house lots, as the Ministry of Housing and Water – Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) hosts its ‘Dream Realised’ Housing Drive at the University of Guyana – Tain Campus.

The house lots will be distributed to low, moderate and middle-income residents at housing schemes in Number 75 and Number 76 Villages, Corriverton, Region Six.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal; Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues; Permanent Secretary, Mr. Andre Ally and Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Mr. Sherwyn Greaves addressed beneficiaries during the opening ceremony.

Regional Chairman, Mr. David Armogan also delivered remarks.

Minister Croal stated that today’s allocation exercise will aid in the reduction of the region’s current application backlogs. He further noted that the new housing areas include industrial and commercial buildings, as well as, religious, educational and health facilities.

Meanwhile, Minister Rodrigues added that more than $3 billion has been invested for infrastructural development in housing schemes such as access roads, bridges, culverts, drainage and electrical networks.

A number of Certificates of Title and Transport will also be handed over during the course of the day.

Another 200 house lots are also expected to distributed on Saturday at the Berbice Expo 2022.

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Tekst en beeld  Valerie Fris PARAMARIBO — “Wij willen kansarme jongeren de mogelijkheid geven om op een professionele manier kennis

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L’aventure a commencé il y a 15 ans pour cette entreprise créée par deux jeunes Martiniquais. En 2007, fraîchement diplômés en mathématiques, Paul-Henri Jos et son frère ont ainsi créé Intelligence School, l’un des premiers organismes agréés par l’État en Martinique pour le soutien scolaire à domicile. Au cours des cinq premières années, les professeurs de l’enseigne (qui est aussi une marque déposée) sont intervenus partout en Martinique et en région pointoise en Guadeloupe.

Avec l’évolution du marché et de la législation, ils ont ouvert leur 1er institut

pédagogique de cours à Bellevue à Fort-de-France en 2010. Depuis, Intelligence School s’est développée et a déjà suivi plus de 3 000 jeunes.

Aujourd’hui, l’enseigne compte quatre instituts de soutien scolaire en Martinique et plus 400 élèves inscrits chaque année scolaire.

Soutien scolaire et accompagnement

Son objectif : « accompagner les élèves et les parents dans le suivi des devoirs et la préparation aux examens, tout au long de leur scolarité. C’est avec méthodologie et entraînement qu’on arrive à d’excellents résultats aux

examens », indique Intelligence School, dans un communiqué de presse, rappelant qu’elle a obtenu 100% de réussite au brevet et au bac en 2022.

Après 2 années de Covid et la continuité des cours en visio-conférence et en présentiel, Intelligence School réussit « à rester n°1 dans le domaine du soutien scolaire en Martinique et est aujourd’hui incontournable dans l’accompagnement éducatif de la jeunesse martiniquaise », se félicite-t-elle, après avoir modernisé, à l’occasion de sa 15ème année d’existence, ses instituts pédagogiques mais aussi les éléments visuels de sa marque.

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Opposition Senator Damian Lyder. Photo courtesy Office of the Parliament

OPPOSITION Senator Damian Lyder incurred the wrath of Senate President Christine Kangaloo on Friday, when he described the members of the Cabinet as goats.

Speaking in the budget debate, Lyder dismissed earlier contributions by Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein and ministers in the ministry Avinash Singh and Nigel De Freitas on how agriculture had benefited under the PNM in the last seven years.

Describing it as a colossal failure under the PNM, Lyder said Hosein, Singh and de Freitas would not tell the population about poor infrastructure and regular flooding in agricultural areas over the last seven years.

He identified Goodwood Park in west Trinidad as one such area. Noting that many people would not see this as an agricultural area, Lyder quipped, “This is where the chief farmer resides.”

The Prime Minister is a registered farmer and his family owns a farm in Mason Hall, Tobago, where sheep and goats are reared.. Before becoming prime minister in 2015, Dr Rowley lived in Goodwood Park.

Reiterating the UNC’s description of the budget as wicked and callous, Lyder claimed Rowley is advising ministers to follow his lead in being dismissive of anyone who does not support the budget.

“He is farming a set of goats in Cabinet.”

Kangaloo immediately cautioned Lyder: “Try to rein yourself in a little bit.”

Lyder insisted he was not saying Cabinet ministers were goats. He said he used the acronym “goat” to describe Cabinet ministers as the greatest failures of all time. “GOAT” is sometimes used as an acronym for “greatest of all time,” but in this case, Lyder said, “The ‘f’ is silent.”

He withdrew his claim after saying he understood the instructions Kangaloo was giving him.

Kangaloo warned him a second time: “Do not put anything on to me. Just raise the level of the debate.”

Lyder reiterated the UNC’s view that the budget showed the Government was disconnected from reality and uncaring towards the population.

“Ride a bicycle. Go back to coal pots,” he said, quoting Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland’s suggestions for saving money.

Opposition senators thumped their desks when Lyder said unlike the PNM, “The UNC is a people-centred party.”

Lyder argued none of the measures in the budget were realistic or beneficial to the population.

“Pie in the sky, They read from the red book of fairytales.”

Reiterating the UNC’s claims that the PNM had crashed the economy, Lyder insisted he would not respond to anything government senators had said in the debate.

“I will respond to nothing from the emperors who wear no clothes.”

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