The stage is set for the production From Bussa to Barrow and Beyond, tomorrow, Saturday, April 16, at Golden Grove Plantation, St. Philip, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The play is designed to celebrate both the bicentennial of the 1816 Bussa Rebellion and the 50th Anniversary of Barbados’ Independence.
Written and directed by Sonia Williams, the play will take the audience back to the root of the formation of modern Barbados, from the experience of the enslaved and their struggle for liberation, and along the route the people took to emancipate themselves physically, mentally and politically.
The production will include excerpts from some of Barbados’ most prolific and accomplished writers and emerging poets, including Sir Hilary Beckles, Dr. George Lamming, Dr. Kamau Brathwaite, Dr. Anthony Kellman, Winston Farrell, Nailah Imoja, Sonia Williams and Damian Reid.
The play will be preceded by tours of Golden Grove Plantation House between 5:00 and 6:15 p.m., and an opening ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m., to be addressed by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. It will also feature the passing of a Reparations Baton.
kathyann.husbands@barbados.gov.bb
Bussa Rebellion To Come Alive At Golden Grove
1816 Rebellion Exhibition Open To The Public
BARBADOS: Barbadians will have the chance to “experience” the 1816 rebellion through a multimedia exhibition organised by the Barbados Museum and History Society.
The exhibition entitled: Freedom. We must fight for it… the 1816 Rebellion and its Aftermath, was officially opened by Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Stephen Lashley, at the Museum’s Garrison headquarters on Thursday evening.
Mr. Lashley told his audience that the 1816 rebellion was of pivotal significance to the Barbadian anti-slavery moment. He added that even though the rebellion had failed, it was impactful.
He acknowledged the contribution that the island’s National Hero, the Right Excellent General Bussa, and other key players had made to the rebellion, which started on Bayley’s Plantation in St. Phillip.
The Culture Minister stressed: “Independence didn’t just happen in 1966; it was an ongoing struggle for freedom which began with the 1816 rebellion. Its influence was significant to the future of Barbados, which was to gain freedom and create a better life for both black and coloured people on the island.
“The rebellion was also an attempt to influence the abolition movement. Let us remember that because of these courageous fighters, we are free to be who we are as a people today. This is one fact that we as Barbadians should never lose sight of,” he noted.
Highlights of the exhibition include interpretive panels, a documentary, and an interactive map which outlines the trajectory and aftermath of the rebellion. It also features an archaeology display entitled: Landscapes of Power and Resistance, which explores the configuration of small farms and their evolution into plantations during the 17th to 19th centuries.
Persons can view the exhibition at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society’s gallery Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays.
aisha.reid@barbados.gov.bb
Postal service receives gold award
ST. LUCIA: Saint Lucia was the only Caribbean country to achieve gold for its 2015 delivery performance in express mail.On April 5, the Saint Lucia Postal Service was awarded gold for 2015, a repeat of their performance for 2014, admirably capturing the most coveted number one spot once again.
Each year the Universal Postal Union recognizes countries with consistent high Express Mail Service (EMS) performance. The awards are given at three levels: gold, silver, bronze and they are based on key performance indicators of delivery performance, track and trace performance, EMS Service information and Customs information. Performance is monitored and compiled independently by Price Waterhouse Coopers.
For the year 2015, 20 countries qualified for awards, with 11 countries awarded gold. Saint Lucia was the only Caribbean country to achieve gold. Five countries received silver and four received bronze.
The management of the Saint Lucia Postal Service congratulated staff for their efforts in gaining the prestigious and competitive award in the global postal sector.
Government not liable to pay severance benefits to former ArcelorMittal workers
TRINIDAD: April 14, 2016: At today’s Post Cabinet press briefing, Senator the Honourable Jennifer Baptiste Primus, Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development clarified a statement made by Michael Annisette, General Secretary of the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) at the Ministry’s workshop on contract employment held on April 13.
During the panel discussion, Mr. Annisette stated that under the Companies Act, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago had the legal obligation to pay workers who were sent home by the insolvent firm ArcelorMittal.
Minister Baptiste-Primus sought legal advice on the statement made by Mr. Annisette and clarified that severance and retrenchment benefits are not payable in the case of liquidation.
The Minister also stated that she was informed by ArcelorMittal that to date, the company has paid all monies that they were ordered to pay to workers, stemming from the Industrial Court ruling. She also said that she was informed that Mr. Christopher Kelshall was appointed liquidator on April 5. The Minister stated that contact was made with the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) and the former employees are due to receive monies from the savings plan administered by the UTC.
Love in Saint Lucia
This month the SLTB will roll out a series of marketing activities to promote weddings and honeymoons in Saint Lucia, including an advertorial, a full page advert, a website take over and solus emails with You and Your Wedding magazine and hitched.co.uk.
A new romance micro site, www.saintluciauk.org/love, and a press release on wedding and honeymoon trends will also be launched this month.
The romance activities continue into next month with the first “Love in Saint Lucia” consumer event taking place in Knightsbridge, London on May 19. Six hotels and event sponsors, Caribtours, and You and Your Wedding magazine will join Saint Lucia in showcasing the destination and driving romance bookings.
SLTB UK will also be working with British Airways on a number of activities to keep Saint Lucia in mind for summer bookings. There will be ads across the British Airways website for the months of April and May, an advertorial in the May issue of BA’s inflight magazine HighLife, and a pre-roll video will be shown in-flight in June.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency To Visit Saint Vincent And The Grenadines On April 17th – 20th
ST. VINCENT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Commerce, and Regional Integration wishes to inform the public that two officials from the Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) will be visiting Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 17th – 20th April.
The visit is to ascertain our development needs and also needs for possible placement of Korean Volunteers in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. KOICA also offers assistance to non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
In this connection, the Ministry wishes to extend an invitation to NGOS involved in community work to alleviate poverty, develop youth and other similar areas to attend a preparatory meeting on 15th April at 9:00 a.m. at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Conference room.
NEMO To Host National Consultation And Ash Distribution Workshop April 13 – 14, 2016
ST. VINCENT: The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) in collaboration with the Seismic Research Centre (SRC), University of the West Indies, The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), through support from the Country Directed Funds (CDF) and the Strengthening Resilience in Volcanic Areas (STREVA) Project will conduct a two-day National Stakeholders Consultation and Ash Impact Workshop on Wednesday 13th April, 2016 and Thursday 14th April, 2016. The National Stakeholders Consultation and Ash Impact Workshop is organized as part of NEMO’s activities to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano.
The main objectives of the Consultation and Ash Impact Workshop are:
- To present the findings of the various research and scenario exercises carried on ash distribution and how it can influence development planning.
- To continue the integrating of disaster risk into longer-term sectorial and physical planning.
- To develop an integrated hazards plan.
Day (1) one of the workshop, Wednesday 13th April, 2016 will be held at the National Insurance Services (NIS) Conference Room from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., while day (2) two of the workshop on Thursday 14th April, 2016 will be held at NEMO’s Conference Room from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Source: NEMO
DDA front line personnel receive customer service training
DOMINICA: The Discover Dominica Authority is hosting the second in a series of three workshops for frontline staff on customer service training.
The training supports the Ministry of Tourism’s mandate to increase visitor arrivals and expenditure and targets personnel from the Customs and Immigration, Police and the Dominica Air and Sea Port Authority departments.
“They [participants in the training] are very important in the way they interact with visitors upon arrival. They are the first point of contact so we want to ensure that interaction is very good and the quality of service provided to our visitors will enhance the experience they expect to have on the island,” said Product Promotions Manager of the Discover Dominica Authority Kathleen Cuffy Jno Jules.
The training, dubbed ‘The Delivery of Quality of Service for Customers’ will provide tourism service providers with key components of the tourism product and the delivery of quality service.
The third in the series of training sessions will soon follow for forestry park wardens.
Regional Human Resource Development Consultant for the Caribbean Tourism Organization, (CTO), Sharon Banfield-Bovell is facilitating the workshop. She explained that participants must understand the importance of their jobs in visitor satisfaction.
The training also focuses on improving people’s relations through the utilization of effective communication and understanding ways in which people develop positive visitor contact resulting in satisfied visitors.
Taxes allow government to offer best social services to the public
ST. KITTS: Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 14, 2016 (SKNIS): The responsibility of citizens to facilitate Government’s ability to provide quality public service was highlighted on this week’s edition of “Working for You” by the Comptroller of the St. Kitts and Nevis Inland Revenue Department, Edward Gift.
On Wednesday (April 13), Mr. Gift said citizens expect that if they go to the hospital there will be a high level of service and young children and the elderly can access medication free of cost from a pharmacy. He also pointed to the provision of free primary and secondary education for students and noted that meals are available at the school without cost.
“But guess what? There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody has to pay for it,” he stated.
The comptroller outlined that government has three avenues to raise capital – grant from another country or institution, a loan or the collection of taxes.
“Taxes are a part of the process that we build the nation,” Mr. Gift said. “Because as a nation we expect roads will be maintained, we expect that when we contact the police services we will get the right response. The only way that that can be financed in a responsible manner is by citizens paying their taxes on time.”
Mr. Gift said 85 percent of taxpayers clear the fees on time and he applauded those that fit in that category. However, he said the remaining 15 percent adds stress to the finance system which results in government having to borrow funds from banks and Treasury holders to provide services that citizens demand right away.
Mr. Gift said the tax penalties were designed to encourage persons to pay on time and also allow extra fees to cover the added costs that government has to meet.
Jones: Mobile Policy Likely By September
BARBADOS: Government is still addressing the mobile use policy in primary and secondary schools, and it is likely to come to fruition by September 1 this year.
Minister of Education, Ronald Jones, made this disclosure today at a handover ceremony for 160 desks to first formers at Harrison College, Crumpton Street, by the Aron and Christina Truss Foundation.
Mr. Jones stated that the mobile policy would reinforce the Ministry’s other initiatives and encourage sensible use of the technology.
“The policy is there being refined by the stakeholders and hopefully teachers, parents and students will all be on board because it really doesn’t make any sense deploying the internet and hotspots and Wi-Fi… across all of our learning institutions and then you don’t have the capability to utilise that technology,” he explained.
Thanking the Truss Foundation for its philanthropic gesture, Mr. Jones said Government welcomed such efforts, and encouraged other persons to “step up and contribute” to their schools.
“Wherever you have gone to school and [if that has] made an impact on your life, you should be giving back to that educational institution,” the former teacher stated, adding that these could include their primary school, Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, Community College and the university.
Principal Juanita Wade also lauded the Truss Foundation and said the desks would improve the atmosphere in the classrooms. Acknowledging that her school was aware of the importance of working in tandem with others to achieve its goals, she, like the Minister, called on other benefactors to work not only with HC but other schools.
Mr. Jones, who is also responsible for Science, Technology and Innovation, thanked the Foundation too for the ‘hotspots’ around the school. While he noted they would bring connectivity to students using technology, he, however, urged them not to treat it as a licence to engage “in research that was not necessary for their learning”.
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb
