1. law, govt and politics
2. government

PREPARING FOR A
BRIGHT FUTURE
Friday 9th January 2015
A n t i g u a
a n d
B a r b u d a
Vol.3
No.72
$2.00
China, Celac map out
cooperation plan pg 3
The new Antigua and
Barbuda government is
demonstrating its commitment to tackling the
country’s three most
pressing problems, the
fiscal deficit, unemployment and crime as it laid
out an aggressive legislative and social agenda for
the year.
In the government
main policy document for
the year, the traditional
Throne Speech delivered
on Thursday, Governor
General, Sir Rodney Williams, gave insights into
the strategies the government plans to employ to
tackling the issues that
are eating away at the
fabric of the society.
Under the theme, Realigning to Rebuild a
Broken Nation, Sir Rodney said the Government
recognises that there
are three high-priority
cont’d on pg 2
EU grant for Customs
Division upgrade..pg 3
Windies, South Africa
face off in T20....pg 24
pg 23 For Voucher
2
caribtimes.com
cont’d from pg 1
challenges that stare the
country in the face.
“My
Government
views itself as a problem-solver and has thus
approached these challenges with the mindset
of a medical doctor: diagnosis, treatment and
recovery; not complaint,
blind faith, or anger,” the
Governor General declared.
In dealing with the
fiscal imbalance in the
economy, estimated at
around $450 million for
this year, Sir Rodney said
Friday 9th January 2015
the government plans
to grow the economy
through massive investments into several viable
projects.
He said while the
International Monetary
Fund has forecast a 1.7
growth for this year, the
government has its sights
set more on a growth rate
nearer the 4.5 per cent
that the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank predicts
He noted that in the
past, government has
been viewed as the employer of first choice,
however, his government
will focus much attention
on stimulating economic
growth through private
sector investments.
This, he added, will
redound to the country’s
benefit through increased
revenues and job creating.
The Governor General said finding jobs for
the nation’s youth and the
heads of households continue to occupy much of
the government’s attention.
“Since June 12, 2014,
more than US$3 billion
dollars in new investments have been secured.
Each permanent job in
Antigua and Barbuda requires nearly $250,000 in
investment.
One billion dollars of
investment would therefore create nearly 4,000
new jobs.
Three billion dollars
will generate 12,000 new
jobs and other spin-offs
that will cause our economy to grow exponentially,” Sir Rodney stated.
On the issue of crime,
The Governor General
laid out in much detail a
comprehensive plan to
fight crime. He said additional resources will
go towards this effort as
crime threatens the country’s way of life, its stability and its economic
future.
He said there are
plans to utilise existing
technologies in the war
against crime.
In addition to increased training, manpower and equipment,
there are also plans for
the government to clear
up the arrears owed to
regional laboratories that
provide specialised services in DNA testing for
the police department.
“2015 will be the
year when the criminals
will cringe, as the power
of the state is unleashed
against those who will
choose to rely upon illicit
guns to do harm. We shall
not surrender. We shall
succeed,” Sir Rodney declared.
The Throne Speech
marks the formal opening
of the second session of
parliament.
It was delivered to a
joint sitting of both the
Senate and the House of
Representatives and a
gallery comprising members of the diplomatic corps, other specials
guests and students from
the Antigua State College.
Meanwhile,
the
House will convene on
Monday for the presentation of the 2015 National
Budget.
Friday 9th January 2015
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Xi: China, CELAC to map out
cooperation plan over next five years
BEIJING – China and
the Community of Latin
American and Caribbean
States (CELAC) will put
into writing a five-year
cooperation plan, Chinese
President Xi Jinping said
Thursday.
The plan -- together
with the Beijing Declaration, and the Regulations
on China-CELAC forum -will be the major outcome
of the first China-CELAC
forum ministerial meeting,
Xi said in his opening re-
marks.
The plan (2015-2019)
will have specific measures
for overall cooperation
between China and Latin
America, covering politics,
security, trade, investment,
finance, infrastructure, energy, resources, industry,
agriculture, science and
people-to-people exchange.
In the coming decade,
China aims at 500 billion
U.S dollars of bilateral
trade with Latin American
and the Caribbean and 250
billion U.S. dollars of direct
investment into the region.
“China is willing to
take the opportunity to
build a new platform for
cooperation with Latin
America and the Caribbean,” said Xi.
China’s economy will
continue medium to high
speed growth in the coming
period and provide more
opportunities for the world
including Latin American
and Caribbean states, Xi
added.
The Beijing Declaration will summarize political consensus, set the direction for the forum and
define cooperation guidecont’d on pg 5
4
caribtimes.com
Friday 9th January 2015
Customs and Excise Division to
receive new technology from the EU
With help from the
EU Antigua and Barbuda’s Customs and Excise
division is, at long last,
being brought in to the
21st century.
The European Union
has provided an EC$2.2
million grant for Antigua and Barbuda to assist
with the implementation
of a much needed, modern computerised system
for the Customs and Ex- DA is a computerised system which covers
management most foreign trade procecise division. ASYCU- customs
dures.
It handles manifests
and customs declarations,
accounting procedures,
transit and suspense procedures as well as generates trade data that can be
used for statistical economic analysis.
A press conference
held yesterday afternoon
saw the Head of the European Union Delegation to Barbados and the
Eastern Caribbean, Mikael Barfod, introduce
the ASYCUDA project
which could commence
as early as March this
year.
The objective of this
project is to strengthen
and modernise government institutions in order
to restore fiscal sustain-
ability.
With this cutting edge
technology trade data
in Antigua and Barbuda
will be timely and accurately recorded.
Over the last decade,
the EU has contributed
approximately EURO 20
million in the form of
various cultural, social
and technical assistance
and this latest grant once
again proves the EU’s
commitment to bettering
Antigua and Barbuda.
Prime Minister the
Hon. Gaston Browne
responded with sincere
gratitude to the EU for
their continued support,
stating that this project
would strengthen government frame work, increase trade facilitation
and be a support in cracking down on tax dodging.
caribtimes.com
Friday 9th January 2015
cont’d from pg 3
lines. The regulations will set the rules
of the forum, define three regular dialogues between China and CELAC,
and provide a system to guarantee the
implementation of political consensus and plans.
“Each CELAC country, both rich
and poor, is equal under the framework of the forum,” said Xi. “All
sides should keep friendly consultation, hold common development and
consider interests from all sides in or-
der to ensure a firm political foundation for the cooperation.”
Both China and CELAC should
expedite the construction of the forum
and map out a collaborative blueprint
to achieve win-win results.
“One plus one is bigger than
two,” Xi said.
In the forum relations between
China and CELAC will be flexible
and practical, complementing each
other’s advantages, Xi added.
Xi welcomed any organizations
5
or multilateral agencies from Latin
America and the Caribbean region to
join the cooperation.
“The China-CELAC forum will
contribute to the world’s prosperity,
as well as China-CELAC development and South-South cooperation,”
Xi said.
Xi’s opening remarks will guide
the development of the China-CELAC forum and open a path of mutual
benefit, said Xu Yicong, former Chi-
cont’d on pg 9
6
Friday 9th January 2015
caribtimes.com
2015 - A fresh start!
Here we are again ...
starting a new year which
holds before us another
ride of the unknown, the
hoped for, of fears and of
opportunities.
It is the one time of
year, along with Christmas Day for some, where
our hearts are filled with
hope and gleeful anticipation of what could be and
what will be.
A wiped slate, having
had our mishaps tossed
overboard into the sea of
yesteryear, the new year
for some is another op-
portunity for a “do-over”
or a stepping stone to
graduate to new heights
of achievement.
As we turn this new
leaf of time, we may reflect on those who could
not join us on this journey,
having entered into eternal rest from their earthly
pilgrimage. As if we are
the “chosen ones”, we
might even feel a sense
of burden, for the sake of
those who could not make
it, to be ambassadors for
humanity going forward.
We say, “Bear that
burden with pride.” It will
be the first step to having
a successful year.
After that comes the
planning and the goal setting.
Set SMART goals
A growing number of
people are throwing in
the towel as it relates to
New Year’s resolutions.
“What’s the point, you are
going to break them by
February!”, many of them
say.
Persons,
frustrated
with
unaccomplished
goals of the years before,
will see the new year,
instead of a branch of
hope, as a frowning judge
convicting them of their
shortcomings.
Peel away the fanfare
and fireworks of this festive season, and the principles of goal setting will
remain the same.
Fail to plan, then you
plan to fail.
Most of us should
have heard of the SMART
mnemonic, used to describe the type of goals
we all should be setting.
cont’d on pg 7
Friday 9th January 2015
cont’d from pg 6
SMART usually stands
for: Specific; Measurable;
Attainable; Relevant; and
Time Bound.
For instance, someone’s New Year’s resolution could be “to be
healthier and happier”.
While this certainly
sounds good, how exactly
is health and happiness to
be measured?
When should you
start to see results in order to feel that you have
succeeded in this area?
Better goals might be to
“increase my daily intake
of water and vegetables”,
“go running two days a
week” or “make time for
one book or one good
movie per month”.
Once you have decided on your goals, write
them down clearly and
in a place where you can
review and update them.
As situations change, you
may find the need to modify them to reflect your
changing priorities and
experience.
For example, a goal
may be set to “own my
own home by 2015”. With
greater thought, and the
advice of a mortgage consultant, you may deter-
mine that in order to cut
out interest payments on
legal fees and other associated upfront costs, you
need in fact, to have in
your possession a certain
amount of funds that will
take you one year to raise.
Thus, the purchase of
your home will have to be
deferred to 2016.
This should not be
seen as a disappointment,
but as a realisation that
the first goal was not attainable given certain factors.
The same could apply
to many other goals which
you may have set in pre-
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7
vious years, but never accomplished. Don’t give
up, rethink your strategy to something more
SMART.
It is possible to set
goals that are too difficult because you did not
appreciate the obstacles
in the way, or understand
how much skill was needed to achieve a particular
level of performance.
So don’t be afraid to
embark upon a 2015 of
vision and the hopeful realisation of your goals to
reach that expected end.
(Reprinted from the Barbados Advocate)
8
caribtimes.com
Friday 9th January 2015
Signs of the Times
A lot of things are happening in A&B. Practically
every day on the news shows
we hear some item that leads
us to the conclusion that all is
not well.
That in itself is not news.
All has not been well in A&B
for longer than anyone alive
can recall. Yet, in all the media debate over the negative
trends affecting the country,
there is a significant blind spot
in the analysis.
Strange as it may seem,
everything that happens in
A&B – good, bad or ugly – is
connected to everything else
in some way, shape or form.
This is as certain as the physical law that says all bodies in
the Universe are attracted to
all other bodies. The principle
is contained in the very name
“Universe”, meaning a single
entity that holds all of Creation within its ever-expanding boundaries.
In like manner, the human body is a mini-universe,
and everything held within its
integument is connected to everything else.
If this were not so, we
could not live: heart, blood,
lungs, nervous and circulatory systems, muscles and bone
structure – all are dependent
for optimum performance on
the health of every other organ, and when one ails, the ill
effects impact on every other.
Our country is just like
that. It may not be immediately clear to a casual observer, but because Antigua and
Barbuda form one physical,
social, economic and political entity, everything that
happens, for good or for ill, is
connected to everything else
– whether as cause, effect, or
repercussion. That is just the
way things are, even though
for partisan or other reasons
many of us like to pretend that
the beneficial things spring
from our good efforts, while
the pain is entirely the result of
other peoples’ bad intentions.
Take for example the increasing number of traffic collisions, now averaging out at
about 5 daily. Yes: a lot of it has
to do with poor judgment by
drivers; but there may be another factor. Has anyone ever
stopped to think that the real
reason for the steady growth
in the number of (thankfully) non-fatal traffic accidents
has a lot to do with too many
motor vehicles competing for
space on too few roads?
St Johns and its approaches were not designed to facilitate the flow of so many vehicles into or out of the city from
so many directions in a short
space of time.
That truth is borne home
to me every morning and
evening when I look out my
window to survey the All
Saints Road parking lot. At
peak morning rush hour some
vehicles take 10 to 15 minutes to travel from the American-Bendals Road junction to
the traffic lights at Thwaites
Corner: as long as it takes to
drive from Liberta to Towne
House Mega Store. If that is
not a cause for sheer frustration on a daily basis, what else
can it be?
Yet, because of the absence of an efficient public
transport system, individuals
are forced to clog our limited
road network with costly imported personal vehicles in order to deal effectively with the
challenges of life in our tiny
subtropical paradise.
At the same time, the
functionaries in charge of
supervising the challenged
public transport system have
managed to implement a sadistic construct that practically
forces bus operators to drive
like maniacs without regard
for life and limb – just to keep
body and soul together. Motor
car dealers and lending institutions may like things the way
they are, but the rest of us do
not – and railing against the
bad drivers does nothing to alleviate the condition.
And what can we say
about the deteriorating crime
situation? Statistics appear to
show that violent crime has
increased throughout 2014,
accelerating in the latter half
of the year.
To your ardent UPP-ite,
this provides clear evidence of
the failure of the ABLP government, which took office in
June. The UPP faithful will
not admit that we are living
through the effects of a long
economic decline that started in 2009 and is only just
beginning to bottom out and
rebound.
Two years of less than
2% growth in the economy
cannot begin to compensate
for 4 years during which the
economy contracted by more
than 25%. Marginalized and
anti-social elements (most of
them unemployable, anyway)
are becoming increasingly
desperate to exploit new opportunities to prey on those
they see as better off. In the
meantime our prison is so
overstuffed that officialdom is
waking up to the need to find
some way of creating space
within its walls by moving
out minor miscreants to make
room for the really hard cases
who will shortly be flooding in
to serve very long sentences.
In the meantime to secure our peace of mind we
the good, law-abiding (sort
of) citizens are committing
our lives to an open prison:
an emerging police state designed to protect us all from
the ill effects of the Darwinian
condition (Nature, red in tooth
and claw?) we have created.
Look at it this way: a police
state supported by generalized
CCTV surveillance is marginally better than arming all
decent citizens for protection
against one another.
These are the signs of
our times – the end result of
our pernicious habit of doing
things the way things have always been done, and hoping
thereby to reap rewards, rather
than punishment. It is too late
now to turn back the clock on
the effects of the old ways.
The old ways have produced the new days, and even
though 20-20 hindsight might
provide clues to our future, nobody is interested in looking
back, except to celebrate the
Old Time Something, when
everything was so wonderful.
Sorry … got to get back
to my cell – before the police
catch me in a stop-and-search!
Friday 9th January 2015
cont’d from pg 5
nese ambassador to Cuba, Argentina
and Ecuador.
13 KEY AREAS IN
COOPERATION
During the two-day meeting, ministers and representatives from China
and CELAC, will define 13 key areas for cooperation over the next five
years, according to Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi.
“The five-year plan will bring unprecedented depth and width to bilateral cooperation,” Wang said.
Wang called on both sides to decide quickly on specific projects in
key areas to reap early harvests form
the forum, proposing that China and
CELAC share experience and build
a cooperation model in line with the
characteristics and needs of both
sides, a new model of South-South
cooperation.
China and CELAC should promote cooperation in industries, infrastructure, energy and resources, said
Xu Shaoshi, minister for the National
Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning
body. Xu suggested innovation in collaboration ranging from finance and
construction to operations and management.
HISTORICAL EVENT
“The foundation of the forum is
a historical event and the initiative to
reinforce cooperation brought up by
Xi last year is common expectation,”
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro
Moros said at the meeting.
Other foreign attendees include
Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo
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9
Solis, Ecuador President Rafael Correa Delgado, Bahamas Prime Minister
Perry Christie, ministerial representatives from CELAC member countries
and members of international organizations.
Solis said that the China-CELAC forum expands new cooperative
fields and construct a “communication bridge” for both sides.
Solis expressed his hope for more
exchanges in investment, trade, interconnection, culture, education,
science and technology and environmental protection to achieve sustainable development.
Correa said that China can help
Latin America realize economic restructuring and social transformation
through training talent, technology
transfers and raising capital.
10 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Friday 9th January 2015
Lessons from Guyana and Norway
Forests are crucially important to climate
change. According to the
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), “they
have the potential to absorb about one-tenth of
global carbon emissions
projected for the first half
of this century into their
biomass, soils and products and store them - in
principle in perpetuity”.
By the same token, the
FAO points out that where
forests have been cleared,
overused or degraded,
they contribute about onesixth of global carbon
emissions.
Clearly, then, it is in
the interest of the planet
as a whole that forests be
preserved. This is, in part, why
in November 2009 the
government of Norway
signed an agreement to
provide the government of
Guyana up to US$250M
by 2015 to avoid deforestation.
The agreement between the two governments specifically recognized that “Sustainable,
low-carbon development
is essential if global
warming is to not increase
by more than 2°C above
pre-industrial levels. Given the significant contri-
bution of emissions from
deforestation and forest
degradation to climate
change, and the real risk of
increased pressure on forests in currently low-deforesting countries as
rates in currently high-deforesting countries are decreased, the Participants
consider it crucial that all
tropical forest countries,
both high - and low- deforesting countries, are
given incentives to reduce
and avoid emissions from
deforestation and forest
degradation”.
The problem with the
agreement is that it placed
the responsibility for disbursing the Norwegian
monies to Guyana in the
control of the World Bank
and other implementing
agencies whose criteria
delays payments and imposes a costly level of bureaucracy. For countries, such as
Guyana, that are rightly
eager to utilise their natural resources to develop their economies and
improve the living conditions of their people,
delays in the provision
of financial resources to
preserve forests have to
be balanced against what
the country could have
earned from forestry and
By Sir Ronald Sanders
other extractive industries
which, inevitably, would
have caused forest degradation.
The present agreement between the two
governments will end this
year. No doubt both Norway and Guyana will be
considering ways of keeping the agreement – or
elements of it - in place. To be fair to Norway, it
has reaped no gain for itself alone; the benefits of
the agreement have redounded to the world as
the Guyana forests absorb
and trap CO2 emissions
from polluters elsewhere. Of course, the preservation of the forests has also
stopped even more CO2
from being released into
the world’s atmosphere.
Significantly, in the
agreement the two countries had envisaged encouraging “other developed countries to
contribute to the Fund
as part of their efforts to
combat climate change”.
But, other industrialised nations have not
followed the pattern set
by Norway. No other
countries sought to join
the effort in Guyana or to
provide funding to other
countries to maintain their
forests.
Further, intermediary
organisations, have imposed criteria that were
not envisaged in the
agreement. Therefore,
cont’d on pg 11
Friday 9th January 2015
cont’d from pg 10
payments have failed to
address pressing issues
such as alleviating poverty and improving health
care.
If industrialised nations were genuinely interested in preserving forests
in developing countries,
many of them should have
followed Norway’s example, and committed themselves to doing so in the
Conference of the Parties
(COP) on Climate Change
and other meetings that
have been on-going for
years. What is more, they
should have created a
mechanism for financing
such commitments.
It is now evident that
the idea of “carbon trading” between high emitting and low emitting
countries was nothing
more than a sop to environmentalists and developing countries. The
failure to realise “carbon
trading” gives greater
strength to the call for a
tax on the carbon emitted
by companies worldwide
with exemptions for those
in countries whose emissions is very low.
Norway itself should
have developed with
Guyana a mechanism for
making payments, against
strict monitoring, regulation and measurements
that did not include the
general and restrictive
rules set by these intermediary organisations.
Because of its considerable forests, Guyana has
been a leader in developing a low carbon strategy
for development. Part of
that strategy is the preservation of its forests. In
implementing the strategy,
the country has demonstrated considerable international responsibility. Of course, there are
other countries in the
15-nation Caribbean community (CARICOM), of
which Guyana is a member, that also have forests
though none of them as
large as Guyana’s. Belize, Dominica and Jamaica also have forests that
should be preserved. It is only a question of
time before these countries have to make a choice
between earning incomes
from forestry operations
and showing international conscientiousness by
leaving their forests intact.
In the absence of international help to preserve the
forests, they might well
have to opt for the former.
The degradation of
forests in almost every
Caribbean country preceded the destruction
of forests in the United
States. When the Caribbean islands, such as Antigua, Barbados, Haiti and
Jamaica, were colonised
by European settlers, they
were thick with forest
cover that was systematically destroyed to grow
indigo, tobacco and eventually sugar. In many of these islands, the harmful effects of deforestation has
stretched over centuries. For example, Antigua has
suffered from extensive
periods of drought lasting
years in some instances,
crippling agriculture and
causing expensive investment in desalinised water. An official of the water authority there has said
that 70% of the country’s
water now comes from
desalination, and “based
on climate trends” the
country may soon have
to become fully reliant on
desalination for water – an
expensive proposition for
households, the tourism
industry and manufacturing.
Reforestation and the
preservation of existing
forests should be pursued
by Caribbean countries in
the Climate Change meetings scheduled this year
and culminating in Paris
in November. Maintaining forests serves the interest of the countries in
which they are located
and all of mankind. The Norway-Guyana
model is not perfect, nor
caribtimes.com
11
was it expected to be, but
it exists and does provide
a framework for other
such agreements that follow. There are lessons that
can be learned from it in
establishing North-South
co-operation to maintain
and rebuild forests that are
precious to the well-being
of the planet.
THE EASTERN
CARIBBEAN SUPREME
COURT IN THE HIGH
COURT OF JUSTICE
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
ANUHPB2015/______
IN THE ESTATE OF:
ARTHUR
DENFIELD
HENRY, Deceased
NOTICE IS HEREBY
GIVEN that at the expiration
of eight (8) days from the
date of this Notice, Application will be made by JOHN
ALEXANDER HENRY of
Adeline Street, Newport
Gwent, South Wales, England, to the High Court of
Justice for an Order that a
Grant de bonis non Administratus of the Estate of ARTHUR DENFIELD HENRY,
Deceased, be granted to the
said JOHN ALEXANDER
HENRY, the lawful brother
of the said ARTHUR DENFIELD HENRY, who died on
the 20th day of September,
1992 in the Parish of Saint
George in the Island of Saint
Christopher in the Federation of Saint Christopher and
Nevis.
DATED this 7th day of January, 2015
_______________
GAIL S. PERO
WESTLIN CHAMBERS
Attorney-at-Law for the Applicant
12 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Once again it’s time
to assess how we want
to improve our quality
of life in the New Year.
Have you already made
your list of resolutions?
I highly recommend
adding the resolution of
making dental health a
priority. Our teeth allow
us to communicate to
others confidence, acceptance and happiness, eat a
variety of healthful foods,
and enjoy delicious tastes
and textures.
With our busy schedules, it’s easy to neglect
good dental health or take
it for granted. Sometimes
we can only truly appreciate something after we
no longer have it.
However, it doesn’t
have to be that way. With
daily or periodic preventive measures and receiving timely dental treat-
Friday 9th January 2015
Resolve to make dental
health a priority in 2015
ment, you are making
large strides toward optimal dental health.
Remember, successful habit changes are
achieved by being consistent and by taking
small steps. Don’t plan to
change all in one day, but
rather little by little, in
ways you can maintain in
your daily routine.
Brushing. Whenever you eat or drink anything, the food or drink
turns into a form of sugar
in your mouth. Bacteria
feed on this substance on
your teeth, leading to decay.
Thoroughly
brush-
ing your teeth removes
the sugars and built-up
plaque, minimizing the
chance of the plaque irritating your gums or turning into hardened tartar.
This means using gentle
circular motions with a
soft bristled tooth brush.
The majority of people do brush in the morning and at night, however brushing after lunch
is challenging for many.
Brushing after each meal
is especially important
for people who are more
likely to get cavities or
have faster tartar buildup.
Flossing.
Whereas
people brush fairly regularly, daily flossing is a
much more difficult habit to achieve. In a way,
you can think of floss
accomplishing between
the teeth what brushing
accomplishes on the other surfaces. Unless you
floss, your teeth are not
completely clean.
Flossing
removes
sugars, plaque and food
substances where the
brush can’t reach. This
removal of plaque minimizes irritation of the
gums and bleeding, the
signs of the beginning of
gum disease (gingivitis).
Persistent gum irritation by plaque and tartar may cause permanent
gum damage (periodontal
disease). Flossing only
takes a minute or two, but
serves an essential purpose.
Add flossing “painlessly” to your night routine by also watching tv
at the same time.
Timely Dental Treatment. It seems easier
try to avoid dental treatment, whether your tooth
cont’d on pg 13
Friday 9th January 2015
cont’d from pg 12
is sensitive or aching, or
whether you have already
been diagnosed as needing a filling or crown.
Some people may think
(or strongly hope) that
waiting may make the
dental problem go away.
Unfortunately,
waiting
may only make the situation worse... and very
likely more expensive.
Tooth
sensitivity
could be a sign of trouble
in that a cavity may be
present and/or the enamel
may be worn or fractured.
If a cavity is left unfilled,
decay may continue down
the tooth, past the enamel
layer, and affect the pulp
or the nerve of the tooth.
Often, if decay reaches the pulp, the effect is
an irreversible infection,
swelling, and severe pain.
What began as a tooth
needing a filling has now
become a tooth possibly
needing a root canal and
crown, maybe more. Remember, it never pays to
procrastinate on dental
treatment that is needed.
Periodic Cleanings &
Exams. Some patients are
recommended by the dentist to see the hygienist
for a professional cleaning every six months,
while others with conditions such as gum disease
see the hygienist more
frequently. During these
cleanings, tartar and surface stains are removed,
teeth are polished, and information is given to patients on areas of concern
that need more preventive attention. Just as the
commercial says, “Only
a dentist can remove tartar”. This is an extremely
important process as tartar build-up leads to gingivitis, which is the leading cause of tooth loss in
adults.
Paired with a cleaning
by a hygienist is an examination by the dentist.
Teeth are evaluated visually as well as through
radiographs (x-rays), for
cavities or other conditions. Periodic exams by
a dentist are important
in taking a preventive
approach to your dental
care.
Always
remember
that when you focus on
prevention or early detection and treatment of dental related problems, you
are fulfilling your responsibility of helping to care
for your teeth. Having a
New Year’s resolution for
proactive dental care is a
good way to start 2015.
Here’s hoping that
2015 is a year of smiles
and improved quality of
life for everyone.
caribtimes.com
13
14 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Friday 9th January 2015
caribtimes.com
Friday 9th January 2015
15
Throne Speech By His Excellency
Sir Rodney Williams, GCMG, KGN,
GCFO, MBBS, CAM, CSM Governor
General of Antigua and Barbuda
“Realigning To Rebuild A Broken Nation”
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
I take this opportunity, at the
start of the New Year, to wish each
and everyone a prosperous and safe
2015, with jobs in abundance and
economic opportunities aplenty.
The year just ended provided
the Antigua and Barbuda people, the
nation and its residents with many
challenges and choices. The most
compelling choice occurred on June
12, 2014, seven months ago, when
the adults in our democracy were
called-upon to exercise their franchise.
I pause to reflect on the indisputable fact that adult suffrage was
won for us by the Political Committee of the Antigua and Barbuda
Trades and Labour Union on December 20 1951, or 63 years ago. It
was a struggle led by a generation
which we call the 39ers; subsequent
generations ought never to forget
this valiant struggle and the resulting conquest. The successes of that
watershed year set the stage for the
political and economic transformation of our country, evolving from a
colonial outpost to an economical-
ly-thriving sovereign state.
Today, my Government faces
many new challenges growing out
of the six decades of history of the
management of our scarce resources since 1951.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
Three high-priority challenges
dominate in the Antigua and Barbuda which we all love.
My Government views itself as
a problem-solver and has thus approached these challenges with the
mindset of a medical doctor: diagnosis, treatment and recovery; not
complaint, blind faith, or anger.
First, a recurring fiscal imbalance—brought about by spending
more annually than is collected in
revenue—is unsustainable. Spending more than is earned cannot continue ad infinitum.
That challenge occupies the
thinking and policy-choices of my
Government. Overcoming the fiscal imbalance requires growth in
the economy, not increases in taxes. The former administration introduced several new tax measures but
failed to grow the economy, espe-
cially so after 2008.
It is my Government’s intention
to grow the Antigua and Barbuda
economy in 2015 at a rate much
higher than the 1.7% forecast by
the International Monetary Fund.
The forecast by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) of
4.5% growth is closer to my Government’s goal. My Government
assures the Antigua and Barbuda
workers and families that there will
be no new taxes.
The second challenge grows out
of the first, and is given the highest
priority by my Government. That
challenge is unemployment, especially among youth and heads of
households.
In the immediate past, the Government became the employer of
choice. My Government intends to
expand private-sector employment
by increasing foreign direct investments. That formula for growth and
revenue expansion worked after
1976, and will succeed during this
five-year term.
Since June 12 2014, more than
US$3 billion dollars in new investments have been secured. Each permanent job in Antigua and Barbuda
cont’d on pg 16
16 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
cont’d from pg 15
requires nearly $250,000
in investment. One billion dollars of investment
would therefore create
nearly 4,000 new jobs.
Three billion dollars will
generate 12,000 new jobs
and other spin-offs that
will cause our economy to
grow exponentially.
The immediate future
is therefore bright, my
Government can report,
and the long-term growth
expectation is justifiably
superb. The challenge to
create new jobs, to fill and
exceed the thousands of
jobs lost since 2004, is the
Friday 9th January 2015
number one priority of my
Government.
The third challenge
revolves around violent
crime.
The Antigua and Barbuda people have witnessed home invasions by
violent criminals; robberies with guns perpetrated
against businesses and
their employees; and, violent acts against innocent
people on our streets, intended to deprive them of
their money and precious
identification, at all hours
of the day. These cannot
continue. A culture of
lawlessness cannot be al-
lowed to take root in our
country.
My Government is
therefore allocating additional resources to the
Royal Police Force of
Antigua and Barbuda
and its leadership, in its
determination to reduce
and eventually to eliminate this grave affliction.
The Royal Police Force
will also be provided the
kind of financial resources it requires in order to
enable it to meet expenses connected to forensic
investigations, DNA decoding and identification,
and meeting the expenses
associated with other advanced technological investigations, undertaken
overseas.
My Government is
also fully aware that two
other major components
of fighting crime are effective leadership and improved technology.
The Royal Police
Force of Antigua and Barbuda therefore, will be restructured to better serve
our nation.
2015 will be the year
when the criminals will
cringe, as the power of the
state is unleashed against
cont’d on pg 17
Friday 9th January 2015
cont’d from pg 16
those who will choose to rely upon
illicit guns to do harm. We shall not
surrender. We shall succeed.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
Crime undermines economic
growth. Debt can also undermine
growth, especially if the ability to
repay is outstripped by the revenues
generated continuously, for years on
end. The outgoing administration
discovered this fact far too late, my
Government believes.
In fact, significant borrowings
before 2014 were utilized for consumption, which inherently does
not generate any returns.
Following the assumption of
office on June 13, 2014, my Government discovered that many debts
had gone unpaid, because the resources available exceeded the ability to meet them.
My Government will be compelled to repay, since Government is
continuous. The burden is real and
will not be concealed by any clever accounting. My Government will
tabulate every unpaid debt owed by
the state, bringing them to book,
indicating how their interest will
be paid, how their principal will be
reduced, and when they will be liquidated. The era of concealment is
over. The challenges are real and the
solutions will come from creative
thinking and strategic maneuvering.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
My Government commends the
professionals at the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance
for the sterling service which they
have undertaken on behalf of their
country. In many ways, the Ministry of Finance is a nerve center.
One of its many responsibilities
is to provide advice on the allocation of resources in a well-reasoned
debt-management strategy. By providing reliable, timely and accurate
data, decision-makers are able to
construct effective policies.
My Government intends to develop a forecasting model at the
Treasury and to improve the accounting structure and system in
all Government Accounts Departments.
Most importantly, my Government intends to develop an electronic project that will allow for the
storage and retrieval of vouchers
and other important documents. The
days when boxes of vouchers sit in
corners waiting to be processed are
fast coming to an end.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
One of the important contributors to the Consolidated Fund
has been the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services (ADOMS). My Government
brought legislation to Parliament
shortly after the June 12 general
elections in order to strengthen and
modernize ADOMS.
My Government also reversed
a 2008 decision of the previous administration by re-instituting a 1992
decision that sensibly allows for duty-free and tax-free entry of luxury
caribtimes.com
17
yachts and other vessels here.
The object is to entice their
owners to register these vessels in
Antigua and Barbuda, rather than
chase the vessels away to neighboring islands and elsewhere.
The 2008 policy caused these
vessels to be registered in other destinations and then to enter Antigua
and Barbuda’s ports without making any significant contribution.
My Government has followed the
lessons learned between 1976 and
2004. When taxes are lowered, and
the welcome mat is laid out, jobs
begin to flow. The operators of the
dry docks are very pleased because
they will sell more spare parts and
more services to the owners and operators of the vessels.
My Government also instructed
the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) to establish a reverse
osmosis plant in the Nelson’s Dockyard area in order to ensure that
visiting vessels can receive all the
fresh water that they require. That
decision was coupled with a directive to open the gas station near the
docks that was intended to provide
fuel. My Government solved the
problem between the owner and the
investor, making Falmouth a far superior place in one felled swoop.
Prior to that, the practice had
been for owners of vessels to travel
to All Saints Village where the closest gas station was located.
That journey required a taxi cost
which added to the cost of operation
each time a vessel required fuel.
That challenge was overcome by
superior leadership in time for the
boat show last month.
To be continued....
18 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Friday 9th January 2015
caribtimes.com
Friday 9th January 2015
Thursday’s Sudoku Solution
19
SUDOKU
C R O S S WO R D
Across
1. “Henry V” (1989) actor
5. Way off
9. More than unpopular
14. Sculptor Nadelman
15. All the time
16. Familiar vowel sequence
17. With 38-Across, start of a
frivolous news promo
20. In a different place
21. Portended
22. Part of a portfolio
23. Impurities
25. Lament
29. It doesn’t have ones
30. Music co. headquartered in
London
33. Air alternative
34. Complacent
36. ‘90s sitcom
38. See 17-Across
41. Squirrel’s pal?
42. “In a democracy dissent __
act of faith”: Fulbright
43. Blanchett of “Elizabeth”
44. Rockport’s cape
45. Four, usually
47. Prevailing
49. Dermatology issues
51. Clink
52. “__ Sings Folk Songs”: 1963
Grammy nominee
55. Laborious
60. End of the promo
62. Nicks
63. Skater Heiden
64. Hard to hold
65. Cramp
66. Celtic dialect
67. Mlle.’s counterpart
Down
1. Cut down
2. Mixed bag
3. Air
4. Country songwriting legend
5. Get ready to open
6. State
7. Made catcalls?
8. Bono leader
9. Crew members
10. Adjuncts
11. High school subject?
12. Hamburger’s article
13. Romance novelist Christina
18. By way of, for short
19. Canine support
24. Diverse
25. Film genre
26. Industrialist Cyrus
27. Attach, as a corsage
28. Big business
30. “Enigma Variations” composer
31. ‘60s-’70s L.A. Philharmonic music director
32. Chip maker
35. Hesitant sounds
37. Software users, often
39. It’s a family affair
40. Like some snowsuits
46. Sea that’s a lake
48. 1994 Jodie Foster film
49. Scoreboard offering
50. Whitewater figure
52. Likelihood
53. Worth thinking about
54. European hot spot
56. Inventor who had his ups
and downs?
57. CBer’s term
58. Lose shape, in a way
59. “Caribbean Blue” singer
61. “Told ya!”
20 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Friday 9th January 2015
Employment
Driver needed; must have experience. Heavy Vehicle License & Police Record required. Apply in person @ The
Furniture Gallery, Airport Road. 462-1452
Service
Barbuda Express is sailing everyday except Mondays &
Wednesdays. Tours available 4 days a week, For more
info and reservation, please call 764-2291. You may also
visit our website http://www.barbudaexpress.com.
Thank you to ABI Insurance for saving me hundreds of
$$$$$ on my Motor Vehicle, Home and Life Insurance.
Family, Friends, Business Associates and others, call ABI
Insurance 484-6400 for GREAT SAVINGS or visit us on
Redcliffe Street. Please feel free to contact us at 484-6429
or 484-6425
All members of the Antigua and Barbuda Ex-Servicemen
Association are notified that, the AGM will be held Saturday
10 January at The Red Cross HQ, on Old Parham Road at
3.00 pm, and not at the Association`s HQ. The annual subscriptions are also due for 2015. Please be on time or notify
the Secretary on 561-1062 of any apologies.
“The life you save could be someone you know”
Antigua & Barbuda Red Cross Is Offering Certified FIRST
AID/CPR Training Course Mondays and Thursdays 5:00pm
to 8:00pm Starting on Thursday January 12th, 2015 For Further Information: Call Tel # 462 0800/ 771-8253
“The Inter-School Recycling Competition starts again in
January 2015! Interested schools may contact the Environment Division at 562-2568 by January 10th, 2015. Remember Recycling is a good habit! Pick it up!”If you have any
questions please feel free to contact me at 464-8157.
The Antigua & Barbuda Red Cross in collaboration with the
American Red Cross has a First Aid App to launch. The Antigua & Barbuda Red Cross wants the residents of Antigua to
know the importance of the App and the long term benefits
to our Society. What you can do in case of an emergency or
life threatening condition. It also has the Red Cross history,
activities, sponsors, and quizzes. We would like the general public to be aware of the App and feel free to download
same, if you have an android device such as a phone or a
tablet kindly use the Android link and you can use the iOS
link for your iPhone device. iOS devices: 3cu.be/shareatg
Android devices: 3cu.be/shareatg
If you have any questions contact Mr.Martin 723-7258 or
email [email protected] or [email protected]
Thank you for your attention and I look forward to your continued support.
Friday 9th January 2015
caribtimes.com
21
DEAR LADY X HOROSCOPE
I have been dating a
widower for a year. While
he was eager to jump into
the dating pool, he still has
a mini shrine of his late
wife’s ashes and belongings in their house. I can’t
bring myself to have dinner
or sleep over there with that
overt presence.
He recently told me
he’s saving her remains to
be intermingled with his
when he dies. It was among
a long list of her afterlife
instructions he described.
He’s in good health. I figure
he has 25 years -- or more
-- life expectancy before the
big event.
Realistically, shouldn’t
I expect more than second
best in his world? Is there
a time limit for grieving,
or does the deceased get to
control her hubby from the
other side? -- WAITING
AND WONDERING
DEAR WAITING AND
WONDERING:
Realistically, this has less to do
with what you should “expect” than conclusions the
widower must arrive at on
his own. Ask him in a nonconfrontational way how
he feels about carrying out
all of his deceased wife’s
wishes -- and whether he
thinks it is fair to himself or
you. Be prepared to discuss
it without becoming emotional. His answers will tell
you everything you need to
know about a future with
him.
P.S. If your relationship
with him is good, why not
focus on the present and
not worry about what happens to his body when he’s
gone? However, if this is a
deal breaker, then don’t invest any more time.
Thursday’s Crossword Solution
ARIES (March 21-April 19).
You will have greater than
normal powers of discipline,
but don’t make yourself forgo
the things you want and need.
Go easy on yourself! Before
you deprive yourself, decide
what to use as a replacement.
Think about all you’ve overcome. Things that used to
bother you don’t anymore.
What used to scare you has no
emotional charge to it whatsoever. Love has made you immune in some way.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).
You’ll be tempted to say too
much. When in doubt, hold
back. You’ll be admired for
your discretion. Your action
will say enough and bring results where words failed.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).
Don’t waste your time dwelling on past mistakes. If you
disappointed yourself, chalk
it up to experience. You probably did the best you could
under the circumstances, and
next time you’ll do better.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).
You have extraordinary powers of perception. You believe
there is more going on than
your eye can detect, and by
the end of the day, a mystical
experience will prove your
theory.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21). When you have a
feeling that the world is about
to contradict your best expectations and validate your
worst one instead, it’s time to
get rid of those expectations
altogether.
CANCER (June 22-July 22).
Before you get busy, consider
the possibility of doing absolutely nothing. Stillness can
be deceptively productive. It
is possible that you’ll attract
all you need through stillness.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.
19). You are self-sacrificing,
but only for those few special
people who have your heart.
There is nothing you won’t do
to make them smile, and when
they are happy, you are happy.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You
make better choices when a
certain someone is there to
encourage and support you.
The love in your heart warms
you from head to toe like hot
chicken broth on a cold day.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.
18). Avoid those who seem
unapproachable or standoffish. It’s not your job to warm
everyone up today, and your
time will be better spent on the
genuinely nice people.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).
You’ll be asked to make a sacrifice in the name of love. It’s
probably a small concession,
but it will set the tone for the
future, so go carefully into
this.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20).
You’ll determine which sacrifices were worthwhile and
which ones not to make again.
Tonight, you really don’t need
anything from your romantic
counterpart, and that is what
makes the situation so appealing for both parties.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).
22 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Friday 9th January 2015
caribtimes.com
Friday 9th January 2015
23
Celtics, Liberta win in ABFA First Division
By Vanroy Burnes
Celtics who still sits
second to last on the ABFA
first division point standings and seems certain to
be relegated to second division beat bottom of the
table Sea View farm that is
also certain of relegation 2
goals to 1
Playing at the Radio
Range field, Celtics went
ahead as early as the third
minute by Sharry Galloway
followed by Elliot Donawa
in the 17th minute. However Sea View farm manage
to pull a goal back on the
stroke of full time 80th minute by Kenroy Carr, the win
lifted Celtics to 10 points,
while Sea View Farm remains on 7 points.
In the other match
played, Liberta beat Glanville’s at home by a goal to
nil. Shea Walsh scored the
lone goal in the 70th min-
ute. Liberta now move to
27 points, while Glanville’s
remains on 25 points.
In the lone second division match played Police finally got their act together to get their ground
in match conditions after their two last matches
were not played due unprepared ground; however
they played to a 3 all draw
against Bendals. Ajarni Colbourne scored all 3
goals for Police in the 13th,
34th and 41st minute, while
Audwin Joseph scored
twice for Bendals in the
62nd and 67th minute while
Emanuel scored the other.
The second division
continues on Friday with 3
matches. Garden Stars versus Villa Lions at Liberta,
Pares against West Ham at
Pares and St. Johns United versus Swetes at King
George.
Antigua & Barbuda Softball Association
increases registration fees for one year
By Vanroy Burnes
The Antigua & Barbuda Softball Association has increase registration fees for teams, Clubs and
Players, but only for the year 2015.
In a release issued by association it was noted that the increase
would only be for the 2015 and it
has outlined the reason for the increase. The Clubs and teams will
pay a registration fee of $200.00
9 January 2015
while the players are asked to pay
$60.00 ECD per Player.
The Association said the increase in a fund raising drive to
assist in the preparation and participation in the West Indies Women
Softball Cricket tournament later
this year.
A total of $50.00 will go to the
Association, $5.00 will to the Female National team participation,
$5.00 will go towards a fun –walk
Until 10 January 2015
event at a date to be decided and
$5.00 will go towards the staging of
a Bingo tentatively set for the opening of the 2015 season.
The Registration period for
Clubs and teams runs from November 15th 2014 to January 15th 2015,
while for the players Registration
runs from November 15th 2014 to
January 31st 2015.
Registration forms can be down
loaded at www.absca.webnode.com
12 January 2015
24 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Friday 9th January 2015
West Indies to unleash firepower
CAPE TOWN, South
Africa - A reinforced West
Indies outfit takes on South
Africa, without some of its
leading players, in the first
of a three-match Twenty20
International (T20I) series
at Newlands on Friday.
“It’s a format that we
have done well in and we
are looking to continue
in that way. We are very
confident,”
declared
Captain Darren Sammy.
“We have won a world
cup three years ago and
we believe we have some
of the best players in the
world in that format. We
have shown how well we
can play.”
West Indies , who are
without the ICC’s No. 1 and
No. 2-ranked T20 bowlers,
Samuel Badree and Sunil
Narine , are packing more
fire-power than they did
when they lost to the South
Africans two-nil in the
three-test series which concluded this week.
Chris Gayle’s return is
expected to be a massive
boost while Kieron Pollard
and Lendl Simmons will
bolster a batting line-up
that struggled against Dale
Steyn, Morne Morkel, and
Vernon Philander in the
Test series.
“Are you ready for
me?” Gayle asked the media as he walked past journalists at the end of the
third Test.
He missed the Test series with a back injury but
was previously playing for
a South African franchise,
the Lions, in the local T20
tournament, scoring the
competition’s first hundred
and finishing the fifth-highest run scorer overall.
West Indies, on paper,
look the better side, with
the likes of Gayle, Simmons, Pollard, Russell, and
Sammy being renowned
the world over for their
prowess in the 20-over format.
South Africa, however,
will be without the services
of AB de Villiers, Morne
Morkel, Vernon Philander
Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith chill out during training in
Cape Town
and Steyn, their best bowler.
The Proteas will rely
heavily on skipper Faf du
Plessis who has described
West Indies as “the dominant T20 team in the world
at the moment”.
David Miller is expected to provide some fireworks in a batting order that
looks weak while their pace
attack will be led by Kyle
Abbott, Wayne Parnell, and
Marchant de Lange.
West Indies and South
Africa have not met in T20
cricket since 2010 and the
visitors have only won one
of their six encounters in
the shortest format, at Port
Elizabeth back in 2007.
First ball is 6PM (12
noon eastern Caribbean
Time/11 am Jamaica Time).
West Indies Squad:
Darren Sammy (c),
Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle,
Andre Fletcher, Sulieman
Benn, Carlos Brathwaite,
Sheldon Cottrell, Ashley
Nurse, Jason Holder, Lendl
Simmons, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Andre
Russell.
Caribbean Times is printed and published at Woods Estate /Friars Hill Road By Kimon Drigo who is also the Editor and resides at
Sugar Factory. Contact P.O Box W2099, Wood Estate /Friars Hill Road, St.John's Antigua/ Tel: (268) 562 - 8688 or Fax: (268) 562 8685.Email: [email protected]/Advertising: [email protected]/www.caribtimes.com