1. travel
2. tourist destinations
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OXITEC PROPOSES NEW
DENGUE CONTROL MEASURE
Saturday 10th January 2015
Dengue fever and chikungunya are similar viral diseases transmitted
primarily by the Aedes
A n t i g u a
a n d
B a r b u d a
aegypti mosquito. Since
there is neither medication
nor a commercially-available vaccine for these
Vol.3
No.73
diseases, resources are focused on trying to control
the mosquito vector. However, current tools have
$2.00
proved inadequate globally; disease incidence continues to grow worldwide,
cont’d on pg 2
Foreign Affairs Minister Fernandez
Addresses China-CELAC Forum
Foreign Affairs Minister the Hon., Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez, fourth from right, is next to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
standing with other representatives at the China-CELAC Forum. Story on page 4.
THRONE SPEECH CONTINUED INSIDE
2
Saturday 10th January 2015
caribtimes.com
Prime Minister condemns senseless
killings of journalists in France
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda – Prime
Minister the Hon. Gaston
Browne on Thursday dispatched a letter of condolence to French President
Francois Hollande following a deadly terrorist
attack on Charlie Hebdo
magazine which killed
twelve individuals and
wounded eleven.
In his note, Prime
Minister Browne stated
that the loss of any life is
painful, and it is most unfortunate that the twelve
cont’d from pg 1
individuals had their lives
taken away in such tragic
circumstances.
“ Excellency, I wish to
extend a message of hope
and solidarity to your
people during this most
untimely incident. I am
confident that the people
of France who are known
for their pride, strength
and humility, will remain
steadfast during this time
of mourning and healing. Our prayers are with the
families of the victims and
the people of the French
affecting richer and poorer communities alike. There is an urgent and
ongoing need for a new technology
to control the mosquito vector.
Oxitec was founded in 2002 to
develop and deploy a new genetic
solution for insect control that is effective, safe, practical and environmentally sound. Its lead product is
a genetically modified (GM) strain
of Aedes aegypti, called OX513A,
that has now had twelve years of
successful testing, including in the
Caribbean and Brazil.
The solution involves releasing
male OX513A mosquitoes; like all
male mosquitoes, they cannot bite.
These GM males then actively seek
out the wild females of the same species and mate with them. All their
offspring inherit a gene from the
Republic during this difficult time,” Prime Minister
Browne’s note read.
During a ceremony on
Thursday that included a
representative of the European Union, Prime Minister Browne reiterated his
government’s condemnation of the killings outlining that persons much be
allowed to express themselves freely. He also outlined that
Antiguans and Barbudans
should cherish the freedoms that comes with our
OX513A male that causes them to
die before they reach adulthood and
reproduce. With enough OX513A
males released, the population of
wild Ae.aegypti then collapses.
A second gene produces a fluorescence that can be seen under a
microscope using a specific light;
this is used to monitor progress with
suppression and adjust the release
rate if needed.
The technique represents a genetic adaptation of the highly succesful Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)
which has a long and very successful history of use in agriculture. The
ability of SIT to bring about local
eradication of the target insect species – particularly on islands – is
proven.
Field trials of OX513A have been
completed in the Cayman Islands in
democracy.
“Our democratic traditions that ensure that we
have very peaceful countries which practices the
purest forms of democracy in which we respect
the rights and freedoms
of members of the press
must be cherished. I condemn the senseless killings and express
my condolences to the
families of the victims
and the government and
people of France,” PM
Browne stated.
2010 and two neighbourhoods of
Juazeiro, Bahia, Brazil during 2011
and 2012. A project is currently ongoing in Jacobina, a city of 50,000
people in Bahia State, Brazil, and a
trial has recently started in Panama .
These trials have demonstrated
high efficacy for OX513A with wild
Aedes aegypti populations declining
by up to 99%. These consistently
successful results validate the potential of OX513A to achieve and sustain excellent levels of control.
Oxitec’s new solution is safe to
humans and animals because the
released males do not bite and the
method does not use a toxin. The approach is also benign to the environment since it is species- specific and
may reduce the need for chemical
insecticides. OX513A mosquitoes
do not establish in the environment .
Saturday 10th January 2015
caribtimes.com
3
Crisis management leaders doing well
Antiguans and Barbudans should be proud of
the work crisis management leaders are doing,
according to one national,
who conducted a research
on the country’s disaster
management system.
Dr
Sylvia
Edwards-Ephraim,
who
graduated last March with
a Doctorate of Philosophy
in Organization and Management, carried out the
research on “The Development Process of Government Crisis Management Leaders for Natural
Disasters in the Caribbean.”
The results of her research show that the development process for
natural disasters in Antigua and Barbuda is at 82
percent. The research also
concluded that there is
room for improvement in
areas of alternative routing, additional emergency
equipment, transportation
and ongoing training especially within the private
sector.
During a presentation at the National Of-
fice of Disaster Services
(NODS), Dr Ephraim
emphasized that the country has a system utilizing
several aspects that some
larger counties, such as
the United States, have
challenges in implementing.
She says “Our crisis
management leaders are
able to build relationships
within their constituencies, have a good communication system in place
and can work collaboratively.”
Dr. Ephraim has also
Dr Sylvia Edwards-Ephraim
purported that the government should motivate
crisis management leaders
by having an end of year
celebration in their honour
to let them know that their
hard work is appreciated
even though, it is voluntary.
4
caribtimes.com
Saturday 10th January 2015
Foreign Affairs Minister Fernandez
Addresses China-CELAC Forum
BEIJING,
People’s
Republic of China – Antigua and Barbuda’s Foreign
Minister the Honourable
Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez
Friday addressed the China-CELAC Forum, which
is taking place in Beijing
China during 8-9 January
2015.
The ministerial meeting brings together for
the first time the foreign
ministers of China and
the Community of Latin
American and Caribbean
States (CELAC). The decision to establish the Forum
was taken by the Heads of
State and Government of
the CELAC during their
Summit in Havana in January 2014. CELAC was
established at a hemispheric meeting in Caracas in
2011, and was an initiative
of the late Hugo Chavez,
former President of Venezuela.
Minister
Fernandez
was among the first speakers to take the floor during
the plenary and he commended the initiative to establish the China-CELAC
Forum, as it had the potential to drive the economic
and social development of
the member countries in
the future.
The Antigua and Barbuda delegation in China: Minister Fernandez, Ambassadors Murdoch
and Stuart-Young.
‘The China-CELAC
Forum is an important
inter-governmental
network,’ Mr. Fernandez stated, ‘where our countries
can share unique perspectives, build consensus on
important issues and uplift
a multipolar world environment.’
The Foreign Minister
also highlighted the role
of Prime Minister Gaston
Browne who, as chairman
of CARICOM for the past
six months, worked as a
member of the CELAC
Quartet and negotiated
with China to bring the
Forum into existence. As
a member of the Quartet,
PM Browne had met with
Chinese President Xi Jing-
ping in Brazil in July 2014
to approve a broad range of
cooperation initiatives between China and CELAC,
including the Forum.
Mr. Fernandez pointed
out that the three outcome
documents of the Forum,
the Beijing Declaration,
the Cooperation Plan and
the Agreement on Institutional Arrangements, were
a consensus road-map designed to guide the countries as they embark on
their agreed cooperation
initiatives.
In addition to the issues dealt with at the Forum, Minister Fernandez
emphasized the opportunity provided to Antigua
and Barbuda to network
on trade and investment
matters with China and the
countries of Latin America.
‘I have already met
with several potential investors,’ Fernandez stated, ‘and we have arranged
follow-up visits to Antigua
and Barbuda in the coming
weeks. This is an additional benefit of being here in
Beijing at the China-CELAC Forum.’
Antigua and Barbuda’s
Foreign Minister is accompanied to the meeting by
the Permanent Secretary
in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Ambassador Colin
Murdoch; and Antigua and
Barbuda’s
Ambassador
to China Mr. Brian Stuart-Young.
Saturday 10th January 2015
caribtimes.com
5
Antiguan and Barbudan Students
Shine at Midwestern State University
WICHITA
FALLS,
Texas, USA – Nine Antiguan students were among
twenty Caribbean students
who earned degrees at
Midwestern State University’s Fall Semester Commencement Ceremony.
Chanez Symister,
a recipient of the Prime
Minister’s
Scholarship
achieved the supreme
honor of earning the President’s Medal of Excellence. The award is given to the top graduate in
each of the six colleges at
the university. Symister
also graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors
earning a Bachelor’s of
Science degree in Chemistry. She became the 24th
Caribbean student to earn
a president’s medal in the
twenty one year history of
the programme. Tristan
Browne
earned a Master’s Degree
in Education Leadership. He previously earned his
baccalaureate degree from
the university two years
prior.
Yonel Hunte earned
a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management. She also holds a
baccalaureate degree from
the university.
Anik Jarvis earned
Magna Cum Laude honors
and a Bachelor of Science
degree in Biology with a
minor in Chemistry.
Ariel Douglas earned
a Bachelor of Business
Administration in Finance
with a minor in Accounting.
Nailah
Liverpool
earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Psychology.
Natisha Joseph earned
a bachelor of science in
environmental
science
with a minor in geosciences.
Tiffney Lake earned
a Bachelor of Science in
Biology with a minor in
Chemistry.
Linda Watkins earned
a Bachelor of Business
Administration in Finance.
Keynote speaker,
Bernard Hurtault of Dominica, an engineer and
graduate of the Caribbean Programme at Midwestern State University,
urged graduates to not
only change their lives,
but change other lives
using their talents and
achievements as a responsibility. More than 125 Antiguan students have earned
degrees from Midwestern
since 1995 and seventy-one students are currently enrolled. Twelve
new students from Anti-
President Medal of Excellence recipient Chanez Symister,
left, with fellow Antiguans Anik Jarvis and Nailah Lliverpool
gua will be accepted to
Midwestern State University in August 2015, and
will be part of the over
1100 from the Caribbean
who have been recruited
in the twenty- one year
history of the programme.
Meanwhile, Antiguan
students were prominent
on the list of honours for
Fall 2014 at Midwestern
State University. Semester honours are
awarded in three categories. The President’s List
for students earning a
perfect 4.0 GPA featured
six Antiguans: Cavaughn
Browne; Tulip Nicholas; Mali Newton; Daria
Roach; Linda Watkins,
and Careisha Whyte.
The Provost list for
persons at 3.75 or higher
featured Jamie Gardner
and Allison Richardson. And the Dean’s list
for those at 3.5 or higher
featured Esther Edwards;
Michelle Gonsalves Barreiro; Alissa Jarvis; Mauricelle Lewis; and Rhea
Spencer.
Vice president Dr.
Keith Lamb, commended the Antiguan students,
who now comprise the
second largest foreign delegation at the university. He noted that the Caribbean Programme, now in its
23rd year, is a permanent
part of the university and
that twenty more places
will be available to Antiguans in 2015 with partial
scholarships. 6
caribtimes.com
Saturday 10th January 2015
Fanning the Machiavelli Flame
By Cecil E .W .Wade
When the former
Prime Minister Baldwin
Spencer, soon after the
UPP victory at the 2004
polls, declared that Machiavelli was his mentor,
some expressed shock
and consternation; some
thought that he was firmly
positioning himself with
a brilliant political future,
and some had never before
heard of Machiavelli.
But the Parham Lady
stoked the embers and
began fanning the Machiavelli flames with her almost daily calls to ZDK
Radio expressing her dis-
may with the Spencer’s
compulsion to be guided
by the Machiavelli principles.
Lady Parham became
as famous as Lady Buffalo became notorious on
Crusader Radio, with her
co-conspirator,
Buffalo
Soldier, who ranted and
raved that he would kick
down the podium should
the Honourable, Sir Lester
Bryant Bird be awarded a
Knighthood.
It is a good thing to
see all that foolishness
disappear after the UPP
was caffana-cooned out of
power.
I hope that Mr. and
Mrs. Buffalo had spent
time in retrospection of
their political folly.
Niccolò Machiavelli
was born about the end of
the Dark Ages in Florence
Italy in 1469, and lived
and worked during the Renaissance.
He began his observation and analysis of the
court of Emperor Maximilian in Germany and to
the camp of Cesare Borgia, Duke Valentino who
at the time was attempting
to consolidate the Papal
States for his father, Pope
Alexander VI. Machia-
velli then witnessed the
intrigue that culminated
in Borgia’s murder of his
disloyal captains. He then
recorded the events in his
Method Adopted by Duke
Valentino to Murder Vitellozzo Vitelli.
The adjective, Machiavellian, often carries the
connotations of unscrupulous, cunning and vicious.
And many readers interpreted him in this manner.
But his famous book
The Prince was narrow in
intent because it was addressed only to a prince
or a king and was not incont’d on pg 7
Saturday 10th January 2015
cont’d from pg 6
tended as a universal prescription for behaviour.
Machiavelli expressed the
view that men are bad and
will resort to evil means to
achieve their goals if not
controlled by law and if
necessary by force.
In The Prince for example, he says “...there are
two (2) ways of contesting,
the one by law the other by
force...a prince, therefore,
being compelled knowingly to adopt the beast ought
to choose the fox and the
lion; because the lion cannot defend himself against
snares and the fox cannot
defend himself against
wolves. Therefore, it is
necessary to be a fox to
discover the snares and a
lion to terrify the wolves”.
Now the Machiavellian precepts are considered immoral, but as far
as the methods are concerned, they were not out
of harmony with thoughts
expressed by Aristotle and
Plato. But whereas Plato
was seeking a perfectly
just state and Aristotle considered the state as necessary for human happiness,
Machiavelli offered no
grand purpose to justify
the means advocated. He
was just offering advice
to rulers on how to remain
rulers, an immensely practical and down to earth ad-
vice. He had little to say to
the common man, nor did
he intend to develop a universal philosophy of life.
Today,
Machiavelli
features very prominently in management profile;
and some managers derive
much benefit from an examination of Machiavelli
ideas.
In 1967 a book entitled
Management and Machiavelli, by Antony Jay was
published as “an inquiry
into politics and corporate
life”. Jay claimed that the
increasing size and complexity of modern-day
corporations make it necessary to study them as
political institutions since,
as they grow, they begin
to take on the apparatus of
state governance.
For example, Jay felt
that Machiavelli suggests
a solution to the problem
of how best to incorporate
a company that has been
brought into a larger operation. And he quotes from
The Prince chapter 3 as
follows:
“...A prince does not
spend much on colonies,
for with little no expense
he can send them out and
keep them there and he
offends a minority only of
the citizens from whom he
takes lands and houses to
give them to the new inhabitants; and those whom
he offends remaining poor
and scattered, are never
able to injure him, whilst
the rest being injured are
easily kept quiet, and at
the same time are anxious
not to err for fear it should
happen to them as it has to
those who have been despoiled. In conclusion, I
say that these colonies are
not costly, they are more
faithful, they injure less,
and the injured, as has
been said, being poor and
scattered cannot hurt.
Upon this, one has to
remark that men ought
either to be well treated
or crushed, because they
can avenge themselves of
lighter injuries, of more
serious ones they cannot;
therefore the injury that is
to be done to a man ought
to be of a kind that one
does not stand in fear of
revenge”.
As we see today in
modern institutions when
taken over by a new administration, senior employees are either welcomed into the fold,
provided they demonstrate
subservience and loyalty
to the new bosses; or are
fired. It is believed that if
they are fired, there is little harm they can do; but
if they are simply demoted
and moved to some supposedly harmless lateral
position, they retain some
caribtimes.com
7
capacity to strike back
and injure the conquering
new management. There
is indication that this is
the principle by which
the Romans enjoyed so
much success – generosity through full Roman
citizenship or brutality by
way of execution or enslavement.
We see politics in
organisational life on a
grand scale – a macro
scale. But politics functions on a micro level
too. Every manager faces
organisational politics to
some extent at one time or
another during his or her
career. However, his/her
subordinates rightfully expect to be sheltered from
organisational politics and
it is part of a leader’s job
to structure his/her group
and the job to be done so
that his/her subordinates
do not feel threatened. An
ambiguous, ill-defined situation does not afford a
sense of security.
Machiavelli did not
make any direct contribution to modern management concepts but knowledge of his works has been
interpreted and covertly
applied to institutions as
weak leaders seek refuge
in Machiavellism in order
to buttress their unimpressive input of their appointments.
8
caribtimes.com
Saturday 10th January 2015
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”
Continued from yesterday’s issue
Yachting and the registration of
vessels, ship chandlery and the provision of fresh water, steady electricity supply and security in the
form of better policing, have transformed the Falmouth community.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
While my Government has
sought to attract the wealthy and
the well-endowed, its leaders have
not forgotten the less-fortunate, the
elderly, the infirmed, or the vulnerable. The Citizens’ Welfare Division has done a masterful job with
very scarce resources.
At present, nearly 70 persons
are receiving home help care, and
nearly 100 others are awaiting my
Government’s assistance through
the GRACE Programme. Help is
coming! These men and women receiving help and wanting help are
elderly, and many are ill. They are
clearly incapable of taking care of
themselves adequately. The compassion for which Labour Governments are known will rise to the
occasion in 2015.
Children are another group of
vulnerable citizens receiving services from The Citizens Welfare
Division. Child Protection and
Family Services continue to be an
integral part of the work carried out
by this indispensable Government
department. The Foster Care division is especially important. In order to improve the quality of Foster
Care, the programme has engaged
in training. When providing a standardized, structured framework for
recruiting, preparing and selecting
alternative caregivers, extreme care
has to be exercised.
My Government thanks the
professionals at The Citizens Welfare Division for giving so much of
themselves. Our nation is indebted
to you.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
Teachers are another group of
professionals who give yeoman’s
service to this very proud and ambitious island-country. Four new
pre-schools will be opened in September by my Government. Every
opportunity to give a head start to
our children is deemed an investment in the future.
The National Public Library,
opened in a real way by my Government four months ago, will make
its resources available to students
on Saturdays and Sundays for five
hours each day. My Government is
aware that serious studying can and
ought to take place on weekends.
Access to a learning facility on
days when students have no classroom exposure can only operate to
the benefit of those eager to learn.
My Government is developing
an intelligent society, as envisioned
cont’d on pg 9
Saturday 10th January 2015
cont’d from pg 8
by the 39ers and the 76ers.
The establishment of
the University College of
Antigua and Barbuda, and
the transfer of the State
College to picturesque
Five Islands, will cause
Antigua and Barbuda to
produce the abundance
of talent and intelligence
that our society requires
in order to prosper continually.
In times past, Antigua and Barbuda exported talent. The parents of
Sir Arthur Lewis, the first
West Indian to win a Nobel Prize, were teachers
trained at the Moravian
Teachers Training College here and exported to
St. Lucia. The parents of
Sir Wilfred Jacobs—the
first Governor from the
majority population who
was also the very first of
our four Governors-General—were also Antiguan-trained teachers, exported to Grenada.
Very few of us may
have read about Miss
Kate Ladoo who died on
August 7, 1949, at the age
of 85 years and is buried
in the St. John’s Cemetery. The newspapers of
the day ranked her with
James Emmanuel Aggrey,
George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington; they were outstanding educators from
the
African-American
community of that day.
Kate Ladoo was
hailed as “a great Negro
educator”, for she established schools and taught
classes wherever she
went.
This great citizen of
Antigua and Barbuda
lived and taught in Nigeria, Liberia, St. John, St.
Thomas, St. Croix in the
USVI, in Puerto Rico,
and at several learning
institutions right here in
Antigua. She is to be remembered by history.
Antigua and Barbuda
has talent! My Government intends to develop
and to utilize that enormous pool of talent, turning our small state into an
economic powerhouse in
the Caribbean.
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
Our talent has often
been expressed in education, but also in sports and
in culture. Our two living
National Heroes, Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Lester Bird, placed Antigua
and Barbuda at the forefront of cricket, football,
track and field. Sir Lester
was the very first Antigua
and Barbuda youth to win
an athletic scholarship. In
1958, he went off to the
University of Michigan
where he did us proud.
Nothing prevents us
from displaying excellence and to out-perform
our competitors from
larger states and better endowed countries. Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Richie
Richardson, Sir Anderson
Roberts, Sir Courtney
Ambrose, Ridley Jacobs
and other Antiguan and
Barbudan cricketers have
all impressed us with
their talent.
My
Government
will be engaging in talent-identification
and
then executing a nurturing
programme for those gifted and highly motivated
athletes who can achieve
greatness. The nation
strives for excellence.
In an innovative
drive to attach sports to
economic growth, my
Government will pursue “sports tourism”,
strengthening the thrust
through aggressive marketing, communication
and investment.
Test Cricket will be
returning to Antigua in
a little more than three
months or in April 2015.
Everyone knows that the
very long absence was occasioned by sand. The Sir
Vivian Richards Stadium
will be a bustling venue
when the West Indies battle England during their
tour of the Caribbean region. Thousands of their
caribtimes.com
9
fans are expected to follow their team to Antigua, filling the hotels, the
restaurants, and the taxicabs just when the tourism
season begins its decline
in mid-April. My Government expects the West
Indies team to perform
better than it recently did
in South Africa, and that
Antigua and Barbuda’s
cricketers will hereafter
return the West Indies to a
period of greatness.
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
My
Government
therefore intends to preserve large tracts of open
land in every community so that sports of every
kind can thrive. While flat
open spaces are also coveted for housing, agricultural land will be clearly
preserved so that more
benefits can flow from the
contribution which this
underperforming sector
can make.
During the past seven
months, despite a severe
drought and other calamities, thousands of assorted
vegetable and fruit seedlings were distributed to
the general public. 560
acres of vegetables and
root crops were grown by
farmers. Several ponds
cont’d on pg 10
10 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
cont’d from pg 9
were cleared to enable greater storage of water.
The Extension Division rehabilitated the Diamond Hole Dam
which now has a holding capacity
of six million gallons. Congratulations!
My Government is very much
aware that the challenges faced by
agriculture and food production are
many. More financial and human
resources are required in order to
expand the sector.
The harm from invasive species, whether at sea or on land,
poses risks that fisher-folk and narrowly-capitalized farms can barely overcome. Praedial theft compounds the woes faced by diligent
farmers. Roaming quadrupeds add
to the calamities faced by our food
providers. My Government will do
more to help our farmers and fisher-folk in 2015 and beyond.
Additionally, the possibilities
for backward and forward linkages
between local food production and
tourism, including the cruise vessels, the hotels, restaurants and the
kitchens in small eateries around
the country, are real. My Government intends to assist the farmers
and fisher-folk to maximize those
potentials.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
The challenges faced by our
small island-state, characterized
by bays and inlets, surrounded by
islets and hundreds of beaches, define the complexity of our border.
In November 2014, a new Border Management System was im-
Saturday 10th January 2015
plemented, that enables our Coast
Guard, Customs and other forces
to manage the nation’s border with
greater efficiency.
My Government continues to
invest in systems and, even more
so, in people. Learning and Development form a significant part
of the public safety dimensions of
the nation’s security. Workshops
and specialized training are already
planned for the Police and Prison
Officers, Security Personnel, Immigration Officers and Ministry of
Labour Officials.
These workshops will cover diverse and challenging subject areas,
including Leadership and Management, Supervisory Training, Business Law and Labour Law, Professional Ethics, Customer Service,
Customer Relations, and Project
Management.
More and varied training will
become part of the work-life of
those who provide protection. My
Government intends to equip its
critical security workforce with the
skills to tackle the most pressing
and daunting challenges which the
nation faces.
It is very clear from the official
record of wrongdoing that a small
segment of the youth population is
at risk. My Government wants to
exclude no-one from the benefits
which are sure to flow from improved life opportunities. A special
effort is focused upon youth. It is
the reasonable expectation of my
Government that juveniles facing
the justice system can be led away
from ruinous courses towards a
path that engenders feelings of high
self-worth and exemplary behavior.
Antigua and Barbuda has
signed-on to an OECS/USAID Juvenile Project valued at more than
EC$1 million dollars, began last
year and to be continuously channeled during 2015, towards rescuing juveniles at risk.
My Government is fully aware
of the importance of work in enabling feelings of self-worth and
feelings of value. The newly rebranded work experience programme has been redesigned and
expanded. More than 500 youthful
trainees have been deployed in hotels, restaurants, consulting firms,
technical institutions and Government departments. The youth of
Antigua and Barbuda are tomorrow’s leaders, and every step is being taken to safeguard their future.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
Those residents who have come
from other places to work and live
among us make significant contributions.
My Government is duty-bound
to ensure that the Immigration Appeals Tribunal commences operation in the first quarter of 2015.
The Tribunal will act as a Court of
First Instance, hearing cases of immigrants who doubt the validity or
correctness of decisions rendered
by the Immigration Department.
Those brothers and sisters
from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other states
who believe that they have been
wronged by a decision of the Immigration Department will have
the right to utilize the Immigration
Appeals Tribunal. Fairness and juscont’d on pg 11
Saturday 10th January 2015
cont’d from pg 10
tice will continue to be
the hallmark of my Government’s dealings with
those who have come to
work and live among us.
The people of Antigua
and Barbuda are kind and
generous. We treat others
as we would like to be
treated when we venture
into other lands to work
and to live. The golden
rule is our creed.
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
The Royal Police
Force of Antigua and
Barbuda remains our best
defense against those
who would steal and rob
and kill. Although the
Pan American Health Organization and the World
Health Organization in
their Global Status Report
on Violence Prevention
2014, report that Antigua
and Barbuda has the second lowest homicide rate
in the world, my Government believes that even
one homicide is one too
many. While the Force is
focused upon delivering
the best service-product
possible, my Government
recognizes that human
and financial resources
are the bedrock of its continued success.
When certain classes
of crimes are committed,
evidence of guilt or innocence can only be detected by the application
of modern technological
methods. DNA testing
and tissue sampling, for
example, are routinely
sent abroad.
When part of the evidentiary work in a criminal investigation is undertaken outside of Antigua
and Barbuda, money has
to be paid before the results will be released.
Should the Treasury not
have the money required
to pay for that work done
overseas, the evidence
cannot be applied because
the results would not have
been released. It is my
Government’s intention
to make those financial
resources readily available at all times, for the
payment of overseas contractors who undertake
scientific investigations
on behalf of the Police.
My Government intends to ensure that justice
is done. Those who are innocent ought not to spend
one extra day behind bars.
Those criminals who are
justly convicted are to be
taken off the streets and
placed in Her Majesty’s
Prison where they belong.
My Government will
continue to ensure training of the police. New
recruits will be trained at
Langford’s during 2015.
Seasoned members
will continue to travel to
Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, the USA, Canada, the UK and further
afield in order to receive
the kind of training that
will improve the delivery
of service. We are going
to put a serious dent in
crime. My Government
calls on the population to
cooperate with the Police.
“If you see something,
say something.”
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
My Government is
very much aware of the
role which Her Majesty’s Prison plays in the
crime-fighting
matrix.
Rehabilitation ought to
become a significant element in the prisoner experience. However, so many
criminals are packed into
so small a space at the
lone Prison on Coronation Road that the number of Prison Officers, required to supervise them,
will never be sufficient
until the number of prisoners declines.
My Government intends to provide the
Magistrates and Judges
with great discretion, applying the amended law
that allows for alternative sentencing. Minor
caribtimes.com
11
offences and non-violent
contraventions of the law
are better addressed by
non-custodial sentencing.
There is no point in
creating more ex-convicts
who are unable to find
employment on release
because employers shun
this group. My Government will apply intelligence to this challenge,
rather than react in a dangerous and unthinking
manner as reflected in the
2004 Amendment to the
Magistrates Code of Procedure Act.
Prison reform is another area of concern to
my Government. As part
of the prison reform programmes, it is proposed
to use the inmates to perform duties such as the
cleaning of the grounds
of official buildings and
other public places. My
Government will consider paying a stipend to the
work done by such prisoners, so that after release
from prison, a prisoner
may have a modest sum
of money to keep him going until he secures employment.
My
Government
will fix the unsanitary
conditions at the Prison
which affects workers,
innocents on remand, and
criminals that are already
being punished by deprivation of their freedom.
cont’d on pg 12
12 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
cont’d from pg 11
The unsanitary conditions
are uncivilized, my Government believes. Improvements at the Prison
are forthcoming, and the
new warden is thanked
immensely.
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
My Government is
of the view that the Antigua and Barbuda Defence
Force, the Antigua and
Barbuda Coast Guard,
and the Organization for
National Drug Control
Policy form a very necessary web of protection
that multiplies our security, defends our well-being, and safeguards our
sovereignty. The talent,
training and discipline
which the leadership and
the membership display
at all times make us as a
people very proud.
My Government applauds the professionalism of the tripartite group
for the sterling work undertaken by the soldiers,
the mariners and the law
enforcement personnel
that quietly do exactly as
expected of them in a democracy. A few changes
are forthcoming in 2015
to strengthen and enhance the capabilities of
these three institutions.
Saturday 10th January 2015
My Government is certain that 2015 will be extremely busy and the trio
will continue their sterling contribution towards
nation-building.
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
When the colonials,
in 1967, preserved Antigua and Barbuda’s defense and foreign affairs
portfolios for its continued control, it feared that
our leaders then might
not be willing to align
the foreign policy of a
semi-independent Antigua and Barbuda with the
colonizing power’s. One
of the lessons learned by
the Antigua and Barbuda people since 1981 is
that we have no enemies.
Antigua and Barbuda is
a friend to all. We have
interests and friends, and
therefore can forge strong
relations with all.
My Government has
thus dispatched Economic Envoys and appointed
Ambassadors-At-Large to
many countries in search
of investments. The purpose is clear. Antigua and
Barbuda must create jobs
to satisfy the demand of
its citizens for a better life,
filled with opportunities
for its sons and daughters.
An independent foreign
policy has allowed the
state to fix its sights on
its own interests, and to
make its primary concern
the improvement of its
own people.
The regional integration movement, expressed
by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the
Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS)
and the many sub-institutions created to serve
the needs of the states, is
surely one of the bright
spots in the short history of our West Indian
people. Yet, we have befriended Venezuela long
before sovereignty, and
continue to embrace this
Bolivarian Republic. The
Venezuelans have been
both generous and brotherly for more than four
decades, the record will
show.
During this Parliamentary Year, my Government will seek to build
on goodwill occasioned
by a new administration
in Antigua and Barbuda
and strengthen the many
relationships forged for
the long-term benefit of
all Antiguans and Barbudans.
My Government values the relationship it
has established with our
Caribbean
Community
(CARICOM) partners; the
People’s Republic of China; the Republic of Cuba;
the Bolivarian Republic
of Venezuela; Brazil; the
United States of America;
Canada; the United Kingdom and other European Countries; the United
Mexican States; Turkey;
Japan; South Korea; the
Gulf States; and countries
around the world.
To further foster
stronger relations with
our regional and international partners, my Government will strengthen
the capacity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
its overseas offices and
missions.
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
The fragile environment of small island-states need not be
repeated yet again to this
audience.
It is my Government’s
intention to pursue a policy of reducing the carbon footprint by relying
on more green energy.
Barbuda will become a
green-energy island within a short period, as more
modern green technology
is installed there to generate all the electricity
that Barbuda needs. My
Government’s intention
is to significantly reduce
Antigua’s reliance on foscont’d on pg 13
caribtimes.com
Saturday 10th January 2015
cont’d from pg 12
sil fuels. A target of 20% reliance
on green energy, in the first term of
this administration, is being pursued vigorously.
The same vigor and determination that have characterized the efforts to lessen our dependence on
fossil fuels, holds true for ensuring
that ours is a healthy nation. The
public service announcements, the
sponsored activities of the Medical
Benefits Scheme, the contributions
by doctors to examine men for
prostate abnormalities, the breast
screening for cancer, the walks and
the runs, the plethora of other activities that aim to produce a healthy
nation all delight my Government.
Yet, my Government is fully
aware that a well-staffed hospital, offering expert diagnostics,
treatment and recovery services,
is a sine qua non in any civilized
society. The Mount St. John Medical Center has been improving its
services to its patients with the acquisition of new equipment, new
management, and an increase in
medical practitioners.
A new era in hospital care has
emerged in Antigua and Barbuda,
and my Government takes great
pride in knowing that it has been
the catalyst in bringing about this
change.
The addition of Cuban doctors, nurses and other health professionals has been very helpful
in keeping our nation healthy. My
Government looks forward to having the Chinese surgeons later this
month removing cataracts from the
eyes of the afflicted, and then leaving the equipment here as a gift to
the Mount St. John Medical Center.
My Government thanks the Chinese Government in advance for
this gift.
Madame President and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and Members of
the House of Representatives:
My Government’s legislative
emphasis during the last Parliamentary Session was on the reform of the country’s legal system,
bringing it in tandem with current
technological advances and the era
in which we live.
It is my Government’s intention
to continue with its reform agenda in the delivery of Justice in our
state.
Firstly, the Attorney General’s
Office of the Ministry of Legal Affairs is in need of urgent reform.
Over the years, previous administrations, including our own, have
not made funds available to improve the efficiency of the law office.
My Government however intends to rectify the situation by carrying out a series of reforms, which
will include a regular updating of
all the Laws online and to make
them more accessible to the general public. To this end, my Government will, among other things,
improve the quality of the Official
Gazette, by disseminating more information on activities of the Government to the public through the
Gazette than is presently available.
My Government proposes over
the coming years to make the Gazette available online for the first
time. An editor of the Official Gazette will be appointed to facilitate
this process. It is also the intention
to provide the Law Office of the
13
state with a Law Library and give
Law officers of the Crown access to
legal information online.
My Government’s vision on
Parliamentary Reform is to make
a modest amendment to the Standing Orders of the House and Senate
with a view to making the passage
of legislation more efficient.
In this regard, it is proposed
to create a joint legislative review
committee, consisting of members
of the Senate and the House. The
function of the legislative review
committee will be to review all
Bills before such Bills are introduced to the House and the Senate.
It is the view of my Government
that this modest reform bill will enable the Senate to participate more
meaningfully to the passage of legislation than the current practice.
For the current Parliamentary
Session, my Government also proposes to carry out a series of selected law revision exercises in addition to the ongoing general laws of
Antigua and Barbuda.
In particular, my Government
will examine the laws relating to
Non-Citizens Land Holding Regulation Act Cap. 293 and Non-Citizens Undeveloped Land Tax Act
Cap. 294.
My Government will also explore the possibility of establishing
a Crown Prosecution Service Legislation with a view to strengthening and improving the prosecution
of crimes in the Magistrate Courts.
My Government also proposes
to introduce during this Parliamentary Year the following Bills:
The Renewable Energy Bill
cont’d on pg 15
14 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Saturday 10th January 2015
caribtimes.com
Saturday 10th January 2015
cont’d from pg 13
The Environmental Protection and Management
Bill
Telecommunication Bill
The Defamation Bill
The Criminal Amendment
(2015 Amendment) Bill
The Bail Bill
The Theft Bill
The Bailiffs Bill
The Credit Reporting Bill
The Crown Prosecution
Service Bill
The International Corporations Bill
The International Banking Bill
In addition, My Government intends to introduce a series of social reform legislation to tackle
the many social problems
facing Antigua and Barbuda. One such project
will examine the possibility of assisting young
people to establish their
own businesses.
It is envisaged that
the programme will provide a mechanism to as-
10 January 2015
sist young people with resources to stand on their
own.
This may include resources such as equipment for young doctors,
books for attorneys to establish their practice, tailors, carwashers among
others. They may also be
provided with tax breaks
and concessions during
the initial stages of their
practice.
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
I conclude by noting
that Antigua and Barbuda
attracted enormous quantities of new investments
since June 12, 2014.
The interest in Antigua and Barbuda has been
triggered by the swiftness
with which the new Government makes decisions.
The seamless flow of review and authorization
has replaced the sluggish-
ness that once characterized the decision-making
process of the past.
My Government has
demonstrated in seven
months that it is friendly
towards business, ready
to execute and prepared
to fix its broken parts. A
new dispensation now
governs.
The object of my
Government is to return
Antigua and Barbuda to
a period of greatness. The
past seven months have
seen the groundwork
done to transform Antigua and Barbuda into a
harmonious, prosperous
and modern nation, making it an economic powerhouse in the Caribbean.
My Government is
filled with energy, drive
and talent.
The combined aptitude of the Ministries’
leaders has been applied
towards achieving full
employment, towards ensuring the equitable distribution of wealth, and
Until 10 January 2015
15
towards providing equality of opportunity and justice.
It is my Government’s
intention to demonstrate
success by action, not by
words. The path ahead
is sure to be filled with
economic opportunities
and the creation of new
wealth.
Every citizen and resident of Antigua and Barbuda will have the opportunity to improve his or
her life chances, and to
make the personal future
of his and her family better than it ever was.
Madame
President
and Members of the Senate:
Mr. Speaker and
Members of the House of
Representatives:
May God continue to
bless us all and to guide
us. May the New Year
bring us joy and happiness. May we learn to
love our neighbours as we
love ourselves.
I thank you.
12 January 2015
16 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m
Saturday 10th January 2015
Gayle blasts Windies to series lead
CAPE TOWN, South
Africa, CMC – Explosive
opener Chris Gayle announced his return to international cricket after nearly
five months with a stunning
half-century, but West Indies made a meal of their
target before stumbling past
South Africa by four wickets in the opening Twenty20
International of the threematch series Friday.
The 35-year-old lefthander, who has been sidelined in recent months by
injury, slammed the fastest
T20 half-century by a West
Indies batsman en route to a
top score of 77 off 31, an innings which allowed the Caribbean side to chase down
their target of 166, with only
four deliveries remaining at
Newlands.
Gayle belted five fours
and eight whopping sixes, raising his 12th T20I
half-century off a mere 17
balls to break Kieron Pollard’s record of the fastest
fifty by a West Indies player which had come off 20
deliveries. Marlon Samuels
chipped in with 41 off 37
balls and Dwayne Smith
made a run-a-ball 20 in an
up tempo opening stand of
78 off 37 balls with Gayle,
to lay the foundation for the
Windies victory bid.
However, as has become the norm, the Caribbean side needed to inject
the now obligatory drama
into what otherwise should
have been a straightforward
run chase, especially after
Gayle’s fireworks paved the
way. Cruising at 147 for two
in the 16th over, the Windies suddenly suffered an attack of nerves and lost four
quick wickets for 17 runs in
the space of 24 deliveries, to
carry the game down to the
last over.
Wicketkeeper Denesh
Ramdin then top-edged a
hook at fast bowler David
Wiese to fall to a catch at
long leg off the first ball,
adding further worry to the
West Indies camp but Pollard, who finished eight not
out, smashed the next deliv-
ery to the mid-wicket ropes
to end the contest.
Leg-spinner Imran Tahir was the best bowler on
show with three for 28 while
seamer Wayne Parnell took
two for 39.
West Indies were three
without loss after the first
over with Gayle scratching
around for three balls over a
single run, but it masked the
pyrotechnics to follow.
Seemingly awakened
by a bouncer from fast
bowler Kagiso Rabada that
whistled passed his helmet
in the second over, Gayle
then sensationally launched
the final two deliveries of
the over for straight sixes.
He cleared long off with
pacer Kyle Abbott in the
next over and then ripped
into the Rabada in the
19-year-old’s second over
which gushed 17 runs.
Smith raised the Windies fifty off 26 balls with
the first of two boundaries
in the over from Wiese and
then watched as Gayle savaged Parnell in the bowler’s
first over – the sixth of the
innings – which went for 23
runs. Gayle brought up his
half-century off the final ball
of the over, carving Parnell
to the cover point boundary.
Off the first ball of the
next over – the first from
Imran Tahir – Smith missed
a reverse sweep and was
lbw but Gayle put on 36
for the second wicket with
Samuels to keep West Indies
on course for victory.
Gayle took a liking to
Imran Tahir, punching the
bowler over long off for
six in his second over and
then collecting two consecutive sixes in the spinner’s
following over. However,
Gayle perished off the fifth
ball of the same over, brushing a reverse sweep behind.
Samuels, who hit five fours
and a six, and Bravo added
33 off 26 balls for the third
wicket but once Bravo fell
to a catch at mid-wicket off
a leading edge off Parnell,
the Windies wobbled before
eventually steadying themselves to take the series lead.
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