Black Immigrant Daily News

NIEUW-NICKERIE — De auto van Sharan B. is woensdag in de vroege ochtend totaal afgebrand aan de Plaats Vleetstraat in

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Massive flooding in Fort Myers, Florida caused by category four Hurricane Ian which slammed into the State on Wednesday. –

AS category four Hurricane Ian plummets through Florida in the US, causing major flooding, damage to homes, power outages and mass evacuations, TT nationals there have prepared for the worst.

The hurricane made landfall in southwest Florida around 3.05 pm on Wednesday.

In a public advisory on Wednesday at 5pm, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the hurricane was “battering the Florida peninsula with catastrophic storm surge winds and flooding.”

Earlier in the day, winds went up to 155 miles per hour (mph) but the 5pm update said it had decreased to 140 mph.

It said, “The eye of Hurricane Ian was located near latitude 26.9 north, longitude 82.0 west.

“Ian is moving toward the north-north-east near eight mph.”

It said the hurricane will move across central Florida overnight into Thursday morning and “emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday.

“Ian is forecast to turn northward on Friday and approach the north-eastern Florida coast, Georgia and South Carolina coasts late Friday.”

The US National Weather Service listed Tampa as having the potential for winds greater than 110 mph, Miami with potential for winds between 39 and 57 mph, Orlando from 74-110 mph and Jacksonville – 58-73 mph.

US President Joe Biden outlined what the US government would be doing to assist the public during these times.

On the White House’s website, it said Biden spoke to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, adding that he approved an emergency declaration for Florida.

“The administration pre-staged 110,000 gallons of fuel and 18,000 pounds of propane for immediate deployment and personnel and equipment to support distribution; moved in a variety of generators of all sizes and types and pre-positioned assessment and installation teams to provide temporary emergency power to critical infrastructure, is staging 3.7 million meals and 3.5 million litres of water in Alabama, (and) has 300 ambulances already in the state working side by side with local officials.

It said there are over 1,300 federal response workers to support “emergency preparations including operations, planning, power restoration, debris removal, and urban search and rescue.”

And at a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis urged people to stay inside and the storm is “very dangerous.

“If you’re in those southwest Florida counties, you need to be sheltering in place…central and north-east Florida will also feel impacts.”

Over 2 million people were under evacuation orders but DeSantis said there were many people who opted to remain in their homes.

“At the end of the day, that’s a decision they made knowing that they had to ability to evacuate and knowing what the stakes were.”

He said Ian will be “one of the storms people will always remember when they think about southwest Florida. It will probably be the big one they always remember.

“Every time you look at this storm, it’s just been bad news. It gets stronger, it gets larger and we really appreciate people’s concerns for Florida.”

In a later press conference around 5pm, DeSantis said he had received reports of structural damage.

“It is our meteorologists’ views that the storm surge has likely peaked and will likely be less in the coming hours.”

But he added, “There’s going to be damage across the whole state.”

He said there had been over 1.1 million reported power outages and warned Floridians that this number will increase.

As of 6pm, there were no reported casualties and over 200 shelters were active.

TRINIS BATTEN DOWN

TT national Tisha Henry-Chow is in Cape Coral – which is in southwest Florida – and told Newsday she hasn’t experienced weather conditions this threatening since 2004. But while she is nervous, she said her family is well-prepared.

TT national Tisha Henry-Chow. –

“It hit Tampa first and over the weekend, they told us we wouldn’t know until Wednesday what would really be the situation. So, in case of anything, what we did was we got cases of water, we got sandbags…but our backyard is the canal, so our main thing is monitoring that because once it passes eight feet, our house will definitely get flooded out.”

When they tried to evacuate, she said, major roads were already impassable.

“I’m just trying to be as cool as possible because my mom and my stepdad have some age and I don’t want to pass that stress on to them. But I’m a little nervous because you don’t really know what to expect.

“Seeing it on TV and hearing stories is something completely different from being there and experiencing it.”

She said the strength of the winds has been very scary, but they have a safe room with basic necessities should anything happen.

A TT national who preferred not to be named told Newsday she is currently stuck in Orlando – central Florida.

“I was really here in transit because I had meetings in Washington and then I stopped in Orlando to spend some time with my (family). My son went on to Trinidad and I was supposed to go on to Jamaica and I got stranded here.”

She said the wind “started to pick up” on Wednesday morning, adding that most grocery shelves were empty.

“It was difficult to find (drinking) water, for example. Since Monday evening, shelves were cleared of things like water, candles and tin foods. I couldn’t even get a case of water.”

She said she’s worried since some parts of central Florida are under tornado watch.

“Trees could fall, electricity poles could fall – those are the things I am worried about.”

But she said the community spirit she’s experiencing is one positive thing.

“Everybody was just checking in on each other, which is really commendable.

“I also have to commend the way in which they are organised over here. It’s such a far cry from what we face at home because everything just went into action.”

LIMING AND COOKING

Marisa Persad-Dibble who lives near Fort Lauderdale in south-east Florida said the weather is continually moving from calm to gusty winds.

She said the mood of the community in which she lives is currently “very Trini” as people are liming, cooking, etc.

“And because the storm is not hitting us directly – it’s two hours away – people still riding around in the road and whatever.”

TT national Marisa Persad-Dibble. –

She said many people emptied the shelves of groceries in panic.

“My mom went to get gas and she couldn’t find. She stayed in line for hours, and we just happened to go to the right place in the right time and we got.

“And then the price of things – someone I know said she paid US$6 for water last week and this week it’s US$26. That’s ridiculous.”

Juliana Findley who also lives in the outskirts of Fort Lauderdale said the sky is gloomy and it’s very windy, but that it had not rained since around 5am.

“It’s stressful because even the little time you spend preparing and all that…for instance, I work in the office and I went out on Monday and they had a meeting, let us know they were closing the office on Wednesday and that Tuesday we’d be going home early.

“It’s the first time I was low on (drinking) water. You try to order and there’s no water. Even food, a lot of the shelves were empty.”

She said she has flashlights, batteries, and other essential items.

Natasha Villanueva lives in Sanford, which is in central Florida, and on Wednesday afternoon she said the rain was worsening and it was getting more windy.

Her family placed several sandbags around the house.

Trini national Natasha Villanueva. –

“We were told it’s going to hit us really hard between 6pm and 8pm in our area and we were also told we should expect power outages.

“We still have power right now but areas further out from me have experienced outages already, but it’s (the rain) is really coming down now.”

“We (my family) also experienced Hurricane Irma (in 2017) but they’re giving us the inclination that this seems to be worse than what we experienced then.”

She said there’s a pond near her house and the wind is causing the trees to sway, which she is worried about.

She also said she went to several major stores which sell essential items and the shelves were empty there too.

TT CONSULATE TELLS TRINIS TO REACH OUT

THE TT Consulate General’s office in Miami closed on Wednesday and is set to reopen on Friday owing to the hurricane.

On the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs’ website, it said, “The consulate will make itself available to national scholars in case of emergency via telephone numbers 786-492-2095 or 786-566-1709.

“Kindly follow all official news channels and heed all emergency warnings and evacuation orders. Please take all appropriate measures to preserve life and secure property.”

Newsday tried to contact consul general Joanne Brooks and Minister of Foreign and Caricom affairs Dr Amery Browne but calls and messages went unanswered.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Tobago

Dr Rita Pemberton. –

Dr Rita Pemberton

Her Majesty’s Order in Council of November 17, 1888, which abolished the government of Tobago at the end of 1888, cleared the way for the union of Trinidad and Tobago, which took effect from January 1, 1889.

The explanation for the state of affairs which prompted this change resided with the decline of the island’s economy, which caused its penurious state.

This situation was not unique to the late nineteenth century, for since the beginning of the century it had been evident that the island was on a path of economic decline.

The tug of war between Britain and France for ownership Tobago played out at its worst during the period of the American wars of independence. That provided France with the opportunity to attack its arch-rival when it was faced with a major distraction. France became an ally of the revolting American colonies and launched an attack on Tobago, grabbing it from the British, and instituted a 12-year administration.

French rule was ushered in by a series of negative developments: destruction of estates and disruption of plantations’ operations; new and onerous taxes; a ban on trade with Britain and new trading arrangements with France; confusion over mortgage payments to British investors; and uncertainty about property ownership.

Seven years after the island reverted to British ownership, it again fell into French hands, at the start of the 19th century, only to be reclaimed by the British by 1802.

From that time onwards, Tobago was unable to attain any importance as a sugar producer. The uncertainties of the past led to properties being advertised for sale on the London market, and operating planters encountered difficulty in obtaining credit from investors in Britain.

The situation worsened as the century wore on, with the termination of the trade in captive and enslaved Africans and the advent of Emancipation, which caused the price of labour and production costs to increase.

The Tobago sugar industry floundered in the face of increased competition on the international market; low prices for the poor-quality sugar the island produced; negative British policies; and an administration which remained wedded to sugar production at the exclusion even of consideration of alternative economic pursuits. Despite various measures to reduce its operation costs, the Tobago House of Assembly failed in its bid to address the island’s financial woes, and at the behest of the imperial government, reduced the cost of administration by removing the office of governor and replacing with a more lowly paid official, the commissioner, as the most senior on the island.

The first appointee was Commissioner Lorraine Geddes Hay, who had previously served as Tobago’s treasurer from 1879-1885. Hay was fully aware of the parlous state of the island’s finances, but the situation worsened during his administration.

Revenue had been falling incessantly since 1880. Only three out of the original 32 distilleries remained in operation and the challenges faced by large landowners caused a decline of plantations which left owners unable to pay their taxes. The decline in trade caused a reduction of customs duties on import and exports and excise duties.

During the Hay administration, revenue continued to decline, because every source of revenue had been reduced. Hay negotiated and obtained a loan to repair the Tobago jetty, which was repaid by October 1890, and other loans were approved for the repair of public buildings. While Hay was in favour of the establishment of a land-based peasantry, he had developed neither policy nor programme which would allow the larger section of the population to contribute meaningfully to the overall development of the island.

By 1892, the island’s indebtedness had escalated to £7,000 and its financial straits caused Governor Napier Broome to visit. He found it in a very bad state, with worsening economic decline. Tobago was heavily in debt and the salaries of public officers had not been paid for some time.

In addition Hay was virtually useless as an administrator because of his alcohol consumption.

Broome reported that the island was bankrupt and capable neither of meeting its commitments nor paying its debts. Broome took over the administration and made firm decisions about the island’s finances. He paid for essential services and those services provided under legal contracts, while public offices were put on half their salaries and all other payments were suspended. Broome declared the existing operating system in the unified colony unworkable and suggested Tobago should be completely integrated with Trinidad and governed as a ward, or a cost-cutting exercise should abolish some posts and combine some offices.

Supporting the governor’s findings, the Colonial Office blamed Hay for the island’s degeneratione. It was argued that that its problems could have been resolved with effective leadership, but because Hay was incapacitated, he had ceased to function effectively. Hay was forced to resign and an acting commissioner, in the person of David Barnes Horsford, the acting auditor general of Trinidad, was appointed. Horsford investigated the island’s accounts and reported what was already apparent: revenue was decreasing and expenditure increasing. The island’s debt stood at over £8,000, with no internal means of resolution. But the Colonial Office was adamant: the administration must find a solution, for neither loans nor aid of any type would be forthcoming from the imperial government.

Governance was clearly an important factor in the fiscal crisis Tobago faced, Not enough consideration was given to the calibre of those appointed to the highest offices, because the major consideration was to cut costs rather than to select capable individuals.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Ambassador Douglas Saunders is to remain in the position of Cabinet Secretary until a new individual is selected for the post by the Office of the Services Commission.

The announcement was made by Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) with responsibility for information, Robert Morgan, at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday.

Former Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Rocky Meade, was to take office as the new Cabinet Secretary on October 1, succeeding Saunders who was to proceed on retirement after holding the post since June 2008.

But more than 48 hours after the announcement of a new appointee to the post on Tuesday, September 13, Meade declined the Cabinet Secretary position amid increasing public discourse around the matter relative to the constitutionality of the appointment.

Morgan was asked on Wednesday whether there is a new appointee to the position, given Saunders’ expected retirement next month.

“The selection of a Cabinet secretary comes through the Office of the Services Commission and that is the authority that manages the entire process,” said Morgan.

“I will have to wait on them to make a decision as to who the next Cabinet secretary is, and when that announcement will be made.

“When they make the decision it goes to the governor-general. He approves it or signs off on it, and then it comes to us (at Cabinet) and we announce it,” he said.

Added Morgan relative to the status of Saunders: “The current Cabinet secretary is at work.

“He was obviously planning his post-Cabinet secretary life, but I suspect he will be with us for a little longer.”

Pressed further as to whether that meant that Saunders will remain in the post of Cabinet Secretary until his replacement is selected, Morgan responded: “Definitely”.

To date, the Government has not commented on whether Meade’s initial appointment as Cabinet secretary was constitutional.

“After almost four decades of service to the people of Jamaica, I was convinced to continue to serve, and had initially indicated my intention to accept the offer,” said Meade of his then appointment.

“Although I was invited by the Public Services Commission to be considered for the post while I was still a serving officer, the current public discourse does not provide a sufficiently settled environment for the assumption of such a significant office, and I will therefore seek His Excellency’s understanding of my decision to decline (the offer),” he indicated then.

But some high-level legal minds nationally had expressed the view that Meade as a military officer, was not a public officer, as members of the military are not formally considered public officers, and the constitution requires that a present or former public officer be appointed as Cabinet secretary.

According to the Office of the Cabinet, “The Cabinet secretary is the most senior policy adviser in the civil service.

“He is secretary to the Cabinet, responsible to all ministers for the running of Cabinet, and is also the head of the civil service.”

Additional roles of the Cabinet secretary include, among other things, providing support and advice to the Government and overseeing the provision of policy and secretariat support to Cabinet and Cabinet committees.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr., a national of Brazil, will be the new Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). He was elected today by PAHO Member States during the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference.

Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr will begin his five-year term on 1 February 2023, succeeding Dr. Carissa F. Etienne of Dominica, who has led PAHO since 2012.

A national of Brazil, Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr. is currently the Assistant Director at PAHO where he has led the Organization’s efforts to increase equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and to enhance regional capacities to produce medicines and other health technologies.

Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr. received his medical degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil, and specialized in public health and epidemiology at the National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in Rio de Janeiro.

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He holds a master’s degree in medical sciences and a PhD in public health from the University of Campinas in São Paulo.

Earlier in his career, he was Municipal Secretary of Health of Olinda, State Secretary of Health in Pernambuco, and Director of the National Center for Epidemiology (CENEPI) in Brasília.

Dr. Barbosa joined PAHO in 2007 as Area Manager for Health Surveillance and Disease Management, responsible for coordinating regional activities related to the surveillance, prevention, and control of communicable and noncommunicable diseases; veterinary public health; and health analysis and statistics.

In 2011, he rejoined Brazil’s Ministry of Health as Secretary of Health Surveillance, and later became Secretary of Science, Technology and Strategic Supplies. Prior to becoming Assistant Director at PAHO, Dr. Barbosa was Director-President of the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) from 2015-2018.

PAHO is the health organization for the region of the Americas and serves as the Regional Office for the World Health Organization (WHO). The election of Dr. Barbosa da Silva Jr. will be transmitted to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) for appointment as WHO Regional Director.

This year PAHO celebrates its 120th anniversary, working for over a century to improve the health and quality of life of the peoples of the Americas.

Former PAHO Directors include Dr. Mirta Roses Periago (2003-2013), Sir George Alleyne (1995-2003), Dr. Carlyle Guerra de Macedo (1983-1995), Dr. Héctor Acuña (1975-1983), Dr. Abraham Horwitz (1959-1975), Dr. Fred Soper (1947-1959), Dr. Hugh Cumming (1920-1947), Dr. Rupert Blue (1912-1920) y Dr. Walter Wyman (1902-1911).

SOURCE: Pan American Health Organization

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