Spice Is The Key To SuccessDiane Ra-

mesar has spicy plans

to increase awareness and love for Carib-bean flavours across the Greater Toronto Area. Ramesar owns the Wildberry Hut Restaurant located in the city of Mississauga, and she has recently expanded her entrepreneurial efforts to launching her new cater-ing business called Kiss of Spice. Ramesar, a Trini-dadian native who moved to Canada 22 years ago, plans to incorporate her catering business with other ventures such as jewelry, skin care products, and products for relationships, that will comple-ment the themes of event hosting and spicing up one’s life.

When Ramesar started the Wildberry Hut in 2004, she was a novice to the restaurant industry.

“I was working downtown in a bank. My hus-band had restaurant experience. At the time, I didn’t have any experience. And, my husband wanted to open a business. He wanted a restau-rant. In 2004 we ended up getting this restaurant called Wildberry and I had no experience working in a restaurant, but, at the same time, I learned the business from scratch on my own. I started doing the catering and everything to do with the restau-rant,” Ramesar explained.

Ramesar kept the Wildberry name when she took over the restaurant, and she added the word “Hut” to stand for Caribbean hut. Ramesar wants her cooking to help people learn about the Carib-bean, and it seems to be working because her cus-tomers have asked her to show her how to make the food.

“They want me to teach them the dishes, especially the curry. They want me to have cooking classes. Maybe in the future I will do that,” Ramesar said.

Ramesar said she believes that the spices she uses to season her food are what sets her food apart

November 7, 2012CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 2

Spice Is The Key To Success

Akua

Hinds

from other restaurants and catering companies.

“It is the spices that I use. I like my food to

have a nice taste with a nice spicy fla-vour. I flavour the food with my dif-ferent spices; my hot peppers, and a lot of seasonings from back home in Trinidad that we use. There’s a green leaf that I cook with; I season it with my meat. It’s a long green leaf called shado beni. It’s like cilantro. Most of my foods and meats are seasoned with that overnight, and then, I cook it. It gives food a different flavour,” Rames-ar explained.

Although Ramesar enjoys cooking with spice, she cooks dishes that would be more familiar to Canadian palates.

“I do Canadian and Caribbean food. I cook dishes from Trinidad like cur-ry, roti. I do jerk chicken, and rice and peas. On the Canadian side, I do pastas, chicken parmesan, barbecue chicken. Every day I do different stuff; wraps, pitas, sandwiches. I do a vari-ety of different things. I’ll be having my own spicy Kiss of Spice hot sauce where they can use that if they need a spice. I have a really nice one that I cre-ated myself; it’s an orange pineapple hot sauce for Kiss of Spice,” Ramesar said.

Ramesar receives most of her sup-port from her non-Caribbean clientele, but she would like to see the Caribbe-an community supporting each other more and encouraging women to em-brace entrepreneurism to secure better futures.

“They have to have a passion for something that they like so they can pursue that. And in that way, they like what they’re doing and from there they are going to move on. Women also need to get support from their commu-nity. It starts from at home with their spouse and whoever they are with. If they don’t get that support, they have to have that drive to succeed. Wom-en have to know what they like and

what they want to do. For me, I love to cook. So, the catering. And, I also love lingerie, and I love jewelry; that’s my passion. I love skin care. So, I want to incorporate everything into one com-pany,” Ramesar said.

Ramesar has three young sons aged 11 years and younger, and she encour-ages them to be independent and work towards their goals.

“My sons come in to the restaurant and they help me and we talk. I want them to be independent too when they get older because I don’t want them to be dependent on me. I’ll support them, but also, they have to be able to take care of themselves in the sense that they have to work, and work for what they want in life. I cannot give them everything that they want. I do get the support from them; they come in and they help me doing little things like the garbage and the dishes, the packing of the fridge,” Ramesar explained.

Ramesar finds combining entrepre-neurship with life and motherhood to be challenging, but she said she would not have it any other way.

“It is challenging, but there is a goal that I want to reach, and I want to ac-complish something of my own. I want to be independent. You have to be a strong person. A lot of women don’t have the strength to do it because they have the fear that they’re not go-ing to do well. Some women want to do it but don’t want to do it because they’re scared. The other part is that they’re more used to being where their husbands are in control of their lives and they are the bread winners. Wom-en have to want to be doing something. They have to come up with an idea or come up with something that they like to do and focus on that. And then, get the support that they need to see it through.”

November 7, 2012 CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 3

Melanie Mohammed entered the Miss West In-dian Canadian Pageant 2012 and placed 1st Run-ner-up. She graduated from Seneca College with an advanced Diploma in Biotechnology. Melanie has enjoyed making mas for Caribana for over 11 years and is very proud of her Trinidadian heritage.

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Brampton’s MoBay Jerk will be the venue for the No-vember 10 hosting of Digi-

cel’s Customer Appreciation Day. The four hour 2:00 – 6:00 pm Digi-cel Day hosting at MoBay’s 263 Queen Street address will be the third in the series.

The Digicel Days Customer Ap-preciation Initiative commenced this past October 22. It is sched-uled to continue at other Caribbe-an-owned Digicel Agent locations until December 8.

G98.7 Alicia Wright-DaCosta and the station’s ever popular Ra-dio Remote crew will be on-site for live broadcasts from the event, at points during the afternoon’s pro-ceedings. The Digicel Girls will also be present to provide attend-ees with the company’s attractive

promotional giveaways. Attendees will also be treated to samplings of MoBay’s delicious food offerings, as well as Bedessee’s refreshing Non-Alcoholic wines.

Digicel Top Up Cards, which al-low resident Canadians to send credits to the cell phones of their loved ones back in the Caribbean, will also be on sale at the Novem-ber 10 MoBay Jerk Digicel Day. To date both of the two previously hosted Digicel Days have also co-incided with the company’s ever popular Triple and Double Bubble Promotions. These allow recipients in the Caribbean to receive Triple or Double the credits when their Canadian sender purchases Top Up cards valued at $27 or more for the former or $20 - $26 for the latter.

Digicel Customer Appreciation Day Digicel Customer Appreciation Day

MoBay Jerk Hosts MoBay Jerk Hosts MoBay Jerk Hosts

En t r e p r e -n e u r s h i p can be a

very challenging path given that the route to ensure suc-cess will require you to abandon the secu-rity of a fixed wage. Putting in exhaustive hours to stay solvent in order for necessary business ex-penses to be met, obtaining resources, marketing and so forth fall short of being optional obliga-tions. Individuals who opt for self-employment have an imperative responsibility in making cer-tain that their goods or services have the ability to absorb attention, as well as its relevancy to the needs of their customers. Such knowledge en-ables you to forge ahead of the competition and has the potential to produce sustainable profits.

Fortunately for Mo-Bay Jerk Inc., founded by brothers Ian, Rudley, and Wainsworth Chambers from Montego Bay, Jamaica, their family has al-ways possessed intelligence in profit-making and other professional related matters with previous and current businesses. Even though the restau-rant industry was unfamiliar territory for the Chambers brothers, their expertise and experi-ence in sound business management has been the driving force impelling Mo-Bay Jerk into success by causing them to stand out from the crowd, in-stead of being just another restaurant mixed in with the bunch.

Mo-Bay Jerk Inc. opened their doors to the public on December 15, 2008 and from that day to the present their establishment has been immensely valued and venerated by many in the community. Realizing that in the West Indian market a lot of establishments sell similar foods, the Chambers’ decided to set their busi-ness apart by placing special emphasis on customer service. “If you take care of your customer” said Wainsworth “essentially that customer will tell another person.”

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 4 November 7, 2012

Christine

Reid

Word-of-mouth marketing contin-ues to play a fundamental role in the livelihood of many companies which is why Wainsworth fervidly believes that it is equal to - and even in some cases better than spending a lot of money on marketing to acquire customers. In spite of the impressive technologi-cal advances that have impacted many businesses, word-of-mouth continues to be one of the most effective forms of advertising. With great food, enter-tainment and friendly service, Mo-Bay Jerk has been giving their consumers motive to discuss the positive experi-ences that transpire regularly at the restaurant. Feedback from their pa-trons on any aspect of their product or services is something that the staff at Mo-Bay Jerk jovially welcomes. Their goal is to cultivate and sustain long term loyalty with their consumers and the best way for that process to begin according to the Chambers’ is opening a channel of communication.

Conveniently located at 263 Queen Street East in Brampton, Mo-Bay Jerk offers free delivery for orders over $25 anywhere in Brampton. This has been a great benefit for these entrepreneurs and it has certainly played a pivotal role in their competitive advantage along with gaining significant appeal for their numerous patrons. Whether you’re dining in or ordering for deliv-ery, there’s an assortment of delectable flavours including jerk, stewed and curry that is guaranteed to appease even the most finicky taste buds. Some menu items of special note include their oxtail, jerk chicken and savory fish dishes.

Having a Caribbean restaurant in Canada has proven to be quite ad-vantageous for the Chambers’ and as Rudley revealed “we are the minor-ity people here” which in actual fact has created a peerless benefit for other ethnic groups who can “have a taste of Jamaica without actually being in

Jamaica.”Caribbean food is tremendously

popular amongst those who are not of Caribbean descent. If one is look-ing to garner the benefits of Caribbe-an cuisine, without a doubt, Mo-Bay Jerk has created an establishment that boasts authenticity in Jamaican dishes, superlative service and a place where culinary creativity is made known. Many delectable dishes that were once known only to people of Caribbean ori-gin have now become common knowl-edge to other ethnic groups. Ian spoke favourably about this as he feels it cre-ates a sense of inclusiveness within the community.

While Mo-Bay Jerk’s food has a repu-tation of being pleasant to the taste, it is not their only area of specialty. On Fri-day nights they offer open mic where members of the community get the chance to showcase their talents. Sat-urday nights in house DJ Black Shad-ow Sound is sure to play melodies to get and keep you grooving from 11pm-3:30am on their spacious dance floor. Customers have extolled the efforts of Mo-Bay Jerk for their continuous com-mitment in providing a fun and safe environment.

The Chambers have lofty aspirations for Mo-Bay Jerk that involve franchis-ing and they are very hopeful that this task will come into existence within the next five to ten years. The restau-rant has recently undergone renova-tions that replicate an atmosphere of serenity and stability. “We are in this business for the long term. It’s not a get rich quick scheme. We keep striv-ing and striving to get better and try to service the community in different areas and in different avenues. That’s what we are committed to doing.” ex-plained Wainsworth. Up to this point, Ian, Rudley and Wainswoth are defi-nitely giving the impression of being on the right track to a promising career in the restaurant industry.

main ingredient is Customer SatisfactionMO-BAY JERK’smain ingredient is Customer SatisfactionMO-BAY JERK’s

The Canada-CAR-ICOM trade and

development agree-ment currently being negotiated between CARICOM Member States and Canada will bring significant benefits and challeng-es for Caribbean countries when it is concluded. The need for a Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Canada that is truly representative of the 15-mem-ber Caribbean Community and Com-mon Market (CARICOM) is now great-er than ever in light of the impending new trade accord that will open up market access and investment but will also require reciprocity.

A viable Toronto-based Caribbean private sector organisation could be a considerable asset to the region’s gov-ernments and business community as they seek to reap the benefits of the new agreement.

In New York, the Caribbean Ameri-can Chamber of Commerce is a vibrant organisation with numerous programs and services for its members. It is ex-pected to move into a brand new build-ing with government support soon. The Florida Caribbean of Commerce is becoming more active and reaching out to members with new programs and business building events. There is no equivalent organisation in Canada.

In 2007, efforts were made to start a Canada-Caribbean Chamber of Com-merce, building on the already existing Canada-Caribbean Business Council,

which was seeking to upgrade the organ-isation. That initiative was shortlived. Sev-eral members of the CCBC were reluctant to take the quantum

leap required to catapult the CCBC into a more productive and engaging body that could provide services to its members to help them grow, identify potential investment opportunities in the Caribbean for Canadian companies and entrepreneurs and assist Caribbe-an export-ready companies to get into the Canadian market.

It is unfortunate that no Caribbean private sector group is lending sup-port and providing advice on Carib-bean proposals on the table with the Canadians. Such a Caribbean group is also necessary to encourage the Ca-ribbean governments to keep on track and move the trade and investment dialogue with the Canadians forward.

CARICOM Member States are keen on getting the Canadian government to allocate as part of a new agreement additional financial resources to the re-gion, separate and apart from the Can 600 million over a ten-year period an-nounced by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007. A Caribbean Chamber of Commerce can help the re-gion to make its case in this and other areas.

A Canada-CARICOM Trade De-velopment Forum to discuss the new agreement, held in Toronto a year ago,

was organised by the Canadian De-partment of Foreign Affairs in asso-ciation with the Trinidad and Tobago- based regional umbrella private sector group the Caribbean Association of In-dustry and Commerce (CAIC) and Ca-ribbean Export Development Agency in Barbados.

Unfortunately, CAIC appears to be dysfunctional. The writing was on the wall when the Barbados Manufactur-ers Association (BMA) withdrew from the organisation.

One of the things that emerged from the forum a year ago was scope of the opportunities that might arise for Ca-ribbean companies and entrepreneurs both in Canada and in the Caribbean. Aside from the current accord being negotiated, business opportunities during the 2015 Pan Am games for Ca-ribbean businesses were highlighted at the Toronto forum.

Of course, the Pan Am games organ-isers cannot meet with representatives of every individual CARICOM Mem-ber State. Here again, is an opportunity for a Caribbean Business organisation to take the lead.

It is important that any new Carib-bean business organisation be private sector driven so that business leaders, and not politicians, control the agen-da and direction of this body. At the same time, it is important that strong relations be developed between such a group and Caribbean Consulates and High Commissions.

With the exception of Jamaica (which

has a Trade Commission) and Barba-dos (Invest Barbados) most CARICOM countries do not have marketing bud-gets or staff trained in international trade research, international market-ing and investment promotion.

During GuyExpo, a group of wom-en from the Pomeroon who pro-duce excellent bottled seasoning by hand,indicated they could significant-ly increase production, exports and earnings if they had a machine and a factory. This is the kind of investment opportunity a Caribbean Business Or-ganisation could facilitate by working with groups like the Canadian Manu-facturers Association and the various Canadian Boards of Trade to identify potential investors.

Efforts are currently being made to bring together a group of like-minded individuals with a genuine interest in Caribbean economic and social devel-opment, who support the proposal for a Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Canada, to move it to the next stage.

There is need for a functioning small Secretariat that can provide benefits for members, both Caribbean and Ca-nadian companies. Membership dues are unlikely to offset all the start-up costs so the search should begin soon-er, rather than later, for seed capital from companies and donors that have a vested interest in the Caribbean, to lay the foundation for this badly need-ed Caribbean business organisation. (Sandra Ann Baptiste is a Business Consultant and Specialist in Caribbean Affairs).

CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 5November 7, 2012

Sandra Ann

Baptiste

Caribbean PerspectiveCaribbean Chamber in Canada Long Overdue

Earnings and employment generated by

the rum industry in 14 CARICOM countries and the Dominican Republic (collectively CARIFORUM) are un-der siege and the entire industry could collapse in a few years unless the gov-ernments of these countries take swift action.

In previous commentaries, I drew attention to the devastating effect on CARIFORUM countries if the US Vir-gin Islands (USVI) and Puerto Rico (PR) are allowed to continue current arrangements in which the govern-ments of those two US possessions unfairly use a tax rebate from the US Federal Government to provide huge benefits to companies to produce and market rum for the US market. Now a comprehensive report commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat, highlights a major threat to exports of CARIFORUM rum to the 27-nation Eu-ropean Union (EU).

The report, The Impact of EU Bi-lateral Trade Agreements with Third Countries on the Caribbean Rum Sec-tor, points out that even though CARI-FORUM countries have signed an Eco-nomic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU and currently enjoy tariff preferences in four rum categories, a range of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the EU and third countries threatens to erode these preferences.

The report stresses that “if these

other countries do not have to pay duties, EU importers will face an increase in the relative price of Caribbean rum and a decrease in the relative price of rum imports from

other sources”. The Caribbean countries most vul-

nerable to FTAs are DR, Bahamas, Ja-maica and Guyana. But, they are not alone. Total rum exports are a particu-larly important category in merchan-dise exports for Antigua and Barbuda where, in 2001, it was 29.9 per cent of all exports – the highest level of all CARI-FORUM countries. Barbados was next with its total rum exports representing 13.3 per cent of its goods exports.

For Guyana, while in 2011 its total rum exports were 3.8 per cent of total exports, rum is significant because of the number of people employed by the industry (4.6 per cent of the country’s work force).

No CARIFORUM country would be immune from the erosion of prefer-ences in the EU market. The biggest losers in export earnings would be the Dominican Republic (US$81.2 m), fol-lowed by Bahamas (US$28.1 m, Jamai-ca (US$14.1 m, Guyana (US$11.4) and Barbados (US$8.1 m).

When losses from the US market are added to the potential losses from the EU market, DR remains the biggest loser in money terms (US$88.2 m), Ba-hamas second (US$34.9 m), followed by Jamaica (US$25.4 m), Barbados

(US$25.3 m) and Guyana (US$16.08 m). It has to be said that in 2003, the

EU provided a four-year package of transitional support for the CARIFO-RUM rum sector worth US$90 million. CARIFORUM rum producers them-selves contributed US$84 million to the programme to upgrade and modernise rum production; advance management skills; and to market and distribute val-ue-added rums.

But, it will be difficult – if not impos-sible- for the relatively small producers in the CARIFORUM countries to com-pete against much larger producers from Brazil and other Mercosur coun-tries as well as Colombia, and Peru with whom the EU will enter FTAs, if they also lose market share in the US. The reduction of sales in the US mar-ket will have an adverse effect on their financial capacity to survive, let alone continue to manufacture rum for the EU market at a competitive price. This is particularly true for Barbados for whom the US is the biggest rum mar-ket worth US$17.2 m, or twice as much as the EU market, in 2010.

This is why all CARIFORUM coun-tries should be pursuing a complaint at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the United States over the “ac-tionable” subsidies that the USVI and PR are giving to rum companies.

A recent legal opinion from the Ad-visory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL) confirms that CARIFORUM countries have a solid case for the US government to answer. The Centre states clearly that, under the terms of the Subsidies

and Countervailing Measures Agree-ment, the rum incentives, given by the USVI and PR, provide a specific bene-fit to rum producers in their territories and “cause adverse effects in the form of ‘serious prejudice’ to the interests of other WTO members”.

The WTO complaint has to be taken against the US government (and not PR or the USVI) because in 1947, the US accepted the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade “on behalf of itself and all its territories”.

CARIFORUM governments have tried talking with the representatives of the US Trade Representative’s office and they have got no indication that the US government will act to stop the actions of the USVI and PR. In the light of legal opinions from lawyers repre-senting the West Indies Spirits and Rum Producers Association (WIRSPA) and now the ACWL, CARIFORUM governments have every reason to pro-ceed to pursue a complaint against the US at the WTO.

The government of the Dominican Republic has shown its readiness to go. CARICOM governments remain hesitant. But, they hesitate to the detri-ment of their rum industry, revenues and employment. Further, if they con-tinue not to act, they face a disastrous double-hit to their rum companies which will be unable to compete in the EU market as a result of their loss of preferences when the EU signs FTA’s with their competitors.

(The writer is a Consultant and former Caribbean Diplomat) Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 6

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICThe Peoples Paper, daring to be different!

Publisher/Editor: Tony McWattEditorial Consultant : Malcolm CliffeContributors: Sandra Ann Baptiste, Beverly Brown, Akua Hinds, Christine Reid, Sir Ronald Sanders,Legal: Oumarally and BaboolalGraphic Design: Susan Zelinski

Sir Ronald

Sanders

Tony Mc

618 Strouds Lane, Pickering, ON L1V 4S9 • Tel: 905.831-4402 • Fax: 416.292.2943 • Email: caribbeangraphic@rogers.com • www.caribbeangraphic.ca

November 7, 2012

Rum facing devastating double whammy

November 7 marks the first Anniversary since Caribbe-an Graphic’s reintroduction

as a Community bi-weekly newspaper. While the past year has brought its fair share of trials and tribulations, over-all one would still have to say in the words of Frank Sinatra “It Was A Very Good Year!”

The experiences of the past year have certainly been radically differ-ent from the paper’s initial five years of publication. The world of Caribbean Community newspapers was far less volatile back then, in stark contrast to today’s much more crowded competi-tive landscape.

As many of our readers would know, Caribbean Graphic first came in to be-ing in 2000, initially under the name Graphic News. During its first year of publication, it was essentially viewed as a Guyanese newspaper. In an at-tempt to fulfill its objective of being representative of the entire communi-ty its name was changed to Caribbean Graphic in January 2001.

Caribbean Graphic ran successfully from January 2001 to April 2005, be-coming in the process one of the com-munity’s most popular newspapers. At

its height it was arguably no less pop-ular than SHARE, Caribbean Camera or Indo-Caribbean, the “Big Three” as those publications were considered to be back then.

In April of 2005, having been ap-proached by MoneyGram Internation-al to become its Canadian Marketing, as Caribbean Graphic’s Publisher, I made what I now consider to be a most ill-advised and regretful decision. Con-sidering my MoneyGram Marketing responsibilities to be a conflict of inter-est, with those as Publisher of a Com-munity newspaper, I decided to place the paper in hiatus. There it would re-main for the next six years, until last November.

Were it not for a conversation last September between Rayman Bedessee and I, Caribbean Graphic might have well remained on the shelves, gather-ing dust as the saying goes. God how-ever often works in mysterious ways. Rayman’s chance inquiry into the sta-tus of Caribbean Graphic sparked a re-vived interest that ultimately resulted in its re-introduction on November 7, 2011.

One year and twenty-one bi-weekly Issues later, Caribbean Graphic is final-

ly now well on the road to fulfilling its objective of becoming the most popu-lar of all the community’s newspapers.

The success we have enjoyed this past year is owed in large part to the outstanding support received from the Bedessee family. The Bedessee broth-ers Rayman and Invor have provided advertising and distribution support that has allowed Issues of Caribbean Graphic to be printed and distributed according to schedule. Unlike other publications whose stated circulation figures are dubious at best, we can readily show anyone our printing bill that indicates that we do genuinely print 15,000 copies of each Issue and have always done so.

In addition to the Bedessees, during the past year we at Caribbean Graphic have also been fortunate to have re-ceived the outstanding support of an ever increasing pool of solid advertis-ers. Individuals and companies like OB Law, Laparkan Scotia Bank’s Bi-anca Aziz, ASA Meats, Leela’s Tropi-cal Nights and more recently EZJet Airways that appreciate the value of Caribbean Graphic’s clutter free pages as an effective environment for their advertising.

Caribbean Graphic has also been blessed with a pool of outstanding writers. Sir Ronald Sanders, Sandra Baptiste, Akua Hinds, Christine Reid and Bev Browne have all contributed articles that have served to inform and entertain our ever growing readership.

Finally after much searching, thanks to the Printing Press’ Tony Chankar, we were introduced to a Graphic De-signer that has proven to be a virtual Godsend. Susan Zilenski’s work since joining Caribbean Graphic’s ranks has been simply outstanding. I dare anyone to show me a rival commu-nity newspaper that is more attractive and better designed than Caribbean Graphic.

All things considered, it was indeed “A Very Good Year.” As we enter Re-Intro Year 2, “The People’s Paper, Dar-ing To Be Different” is the tagline we have introduced to our Masthead. It speaks to our mission to become a publication that every member of the community, regardless of nationality or ethnicity, would be proud to be as-sociated with. Come join us on our ex-citing journey and spread the word to all your friends and family while you do so. Cheers.

Caribbean Graphic Enters Its 7th Year

CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 7November 7, 2012

Caribbean Destinations

Saba with a land area of just 5 sq. miles, is the smallest island of the Netherlands Antilles, a non-sovereign overseas ter-

ritory of Netherlands in the Atlantic. It is lo-cated in the north-eastern Caribbean, about 28 miles south of St Maarten. Saba, along with St Maarten and Statia form the Windward Islands of the Dutch Caribbean, which falls under the administration of the Dutch Kingdom.

At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population was 1,824 inhabitants. Its current major towns and settlements include The Bot-tom (the capital), Windwardside, Hell’s Gate and St. Johns. As the island is part of the Neth-erlands, Dutch is the official language. Despite the island’s Dutch affiliation, English is the principal language spoken on the island and has been used in its school system since the 19th century

Historians record Saba as being spotted by Christopher Columbus in 1493, but for some reasons he chose not to land there. The island remained away from attention for more than another century until a group of ship wrecked Englishmen landed in the island. They record-ed the island as uninhabited when they were finally rescued by other shipmen. The island was finally taken over by the Dutch West India Company in 1816. Saba was added as an exten-sion of their already established colony in the nearby St. Eustatius Island. Saba also has a his-tory of brief English occupation in the Napole-onic era.

The population of Saba (the Sabans) consists of only 1,824 people who come from all over the world. The island’s small size has led to a fairly small number of island families, who can trace their last names back to around a half-dozen families. This means that many last names are shared around the island, the most numerous being Hassell and Johnson. Most families are a rich intermixing of Dutch, Scottish, and African heritage.

Historically, the island was traded among the many European nations that fought for power in the region. Slaves were also imported to work on Saba. Both English and Dutch are used on the island and taught in schools. In more recent years Saba has become home to a large group of expatriates and around 250 immigrants who are either students or teachers at the Saba Uni-versity School of Medicine.

Sabans are mostly Roman Catholic by faith; however, there is also a Wesleyan Church Holi-ness community on the island. Other religions practiced on the island include Jehovah’s Wit-nesses, Anglican Seventh-day Adventist, Mus-lim, and Jewish faiths.

There is one road, aptly called “The Road”. Driving “The Road” is considered to be a daunt-ing task, and the curves in Windwardside are extremely difficult to negotiate. Driving is on the right hand side.

In 1963 the island built the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport. This 400 metre landing strip is reputed to be the shortest commercial runway

in the world, and as such,

o n l y

Seductive Sabaaccommodates small STOL airliners such as the Twin Otter and the Britten-Norman Islander . Consistent air service from Saint Maarten and Saint Eustatius is available through Windward Islands Airways (Winair). In 1972 a pier was completed in Fort Bay to access the island. Travel is also provided by ferry services to and from Saint Maarten with the Dawn II and The Edge.

Saba - known as the ‘unspoilt queen’ of the Caribbean – is relatively new to the tourism in-dustry, with about 25,000 visitors each year. The island has a number of inns, hotels, rental cot-tages and restaurants.

The major attraction of the island is its pristine beaches that stretch all along the entire circum-ference of the island. The rich coral life around the islands makes it a famous site for scuba div-ing. There are umpteen opportunities for trek-king, hiking, and birding as well.

In fact, one of Saba’s other major attractions is the knowledge that the island sits on an extinct volcano – the Mount Scenery – that stands tall at 888 m above the sea level. It is the highest point on the mountain and in the Netherlands itself. One can climb to the top of the mountain, but need to follow the marked trails and after hours of exhausting trekking on end.

But the trip to the island won’t be complete unless one visit its numerous historic sites and ruins scattered around that speaks volumes on its relatively small history. It is believed that Saba was once the haven of sea pirates. The re-mains of their settlements can still be seen on the island.

The environment of Saba is mainly composed of woodland forest with ferns and damp soil, and many mango trees. Visitors refer to Saba’s forests as “the Elfin Forest”, because of its high altitude mist, and mossy appearance.

The Tourist Office, the Saba Conservation Foundation and many local supporters have adequately marked and maintain trails for easy trekking. Some trails need a guide, all the better to fully appreciate the botanical and historical parts of Saba. Everyone can easily hike over and into Saba’s rain forest, tidepools, historic ruins, and rich nature wonderland. Even a walk along Saba’s winding road will lead you to a magical view, and a memorable vacation.

Saba’s colorful and pristine coral life also make it one of the most interesting places to scuba dive in the world, and is often listed as one of the Top 10 diving destinations globally. The waters around Saba were designated as the Saba National Marine Park in 1987, and are sub-ject to government regulation to preserve the coral reefs and other marine life

For the adventurer Saba offers some of the best scuba diving in this part of the world, at over 27 different, unspoiled diving locations, all patrolled and protected by the Saba Marine Park. The visibility underwater is astonishing and the dive sites alive with wonderful varieties of marine life.

Some dive sites start within half a mile off shore. Well known sites like Third Encounter, a

top-rated pinnacle dive are recommend-ed for advanced divers. Man of War

Shoals, Ladder Labyrinth, the names go on and are sites that

aficionados from around the world dream of

someday diving. Saba has a

s i n g l e

wandering black sand beach that comes and goes with the seasons. Enjoy the hike, the view and it’s a great spot for a picnic. Located at Well’s Bay.

Saba is ideal for the traveler looking for a secluded haven, in peaceful and friendly sur-roundings. Rising steeply from the azure sea, the tiny island in the Caribbean is a magical ex-perience far away from the cares and worries of today’s hurried world.

There are four charming villages on Saba: Winwardside, The Bottom, Hell’s Gate and St. Johns. Adding to the storybook enchantment of the island, tidy houses with white wood-en facades, sloping red roofs, green shutters and gingerbread trim naturally fit in with the mountainside among the lush foliage of palms, hibiscus, bromeliads, wild orchids and pines.

Just outside Windwardside, Mount Scenery stretches over half a mile or so into the sky, and beckons climbers to conquer the more than 1000 stone steps to its summit, the highest peak in the “Kingdom of the Netherlands”. This walk is an absolute must; see the finest in Saba’s flora and fauna - orchids, banana plants, mahogany trees, our national flower - the black-eyed Susan - colorful birds, bashful tree frogs and snakes.

Hikers from all over the world are attracted to Saba. The island features a network of eigh-teen recommended botanical trails, carefully marked and maintained. Some are designed for easy trekking; others require a guide, enriching the experience through a greater appreciation of Saba’s natural beauty and history.

For a tiny island, Saba has a fabulous array of restaurants to suit every taste and budget. Fresh seafood and Caribbean specialties tempt the palate and reservations are recommended. From small bars to gourmet French cuisine you’ll find something to delight you in one of our fifteen restaurants

Beach Vendors may offer visitors purchases of Saba lace (also known as “Spanish work”), a unique needlecraft painstakingly created by the industrious women of Saba. Once a major export of the island, Saba Lace is now one of the most popular purchases. Items are also sold by the artists from the community center in Hell’s Gate and from their homes.

Saba Spice, is a liqueur that packs a punch and has a base of 151-proof rum mixed with lo-cal herbs and spices

Saba’s fifteen hundred local inhabitants will welcome you to their island. Join them in the local bars and restaurants where you can be as-sured lively debate. With only a small popu-lation after only a few days you will feel like family.

A great time to visit and enjoy the friendly ambience of the island is for carnival in late July to early August. This week long celebration fea-tures many special events, visiting bands, food stands and parades, culminating in the final Grand Carnival parade.

Imagine an island in the Caribbean untram-pled by time. Imagine unspoiled landscapes that make you feel like an early explorer, and friendly English speaking people who make

you feel at home. All this is Seductive Saba...

Barbados Beat

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 8 November 7, 2012

BRIDGETOWN - The Commission of Enquiry into the Alexandra School has given the Ministry of Education a failing grade for its handling of “nu-merous problems” and “disharmony” at the learning institution. Sole Com-missioner Frederick Waterman, who has recommended a “strategic reor-ganisation” of the ministry, raised the concerns in his September 21, 2012 report.

“The commission is satisfied that the evidence points strongly to the unwill-ingness, or even to the inability of the Ministry of Education (as presently structured) to proactively and deci-sively respond in a timely manner to the numerous problems and the dis-harmony which had become evident at the Alexandra School from as early as within months of the principal’s ar-

Failing Grade

rival,” Waterman said.“The commission found it astound-

ing that even though the Inspection Report presented to the Chief Educa-tion Officer in April 2011 had clearly highlighted problems, inter alia, be-tween the principal and the current board and had recommended the ur-gent need to find some mechanisms and strategies to heal the rifts that were militating against the continued development of the school, the Min-istry of Education is yet to act on its recommendations.

BRIDGETOWN, Squeezed by a glut that has left it holding 20,000 cases of fresh milk, the Pine Hill Dairy (PHD) is getting ready to launch a major export drive in partnership with the island’s dairy farmers.

Having already penetrated the Trini-dad market, Jamaica and Guyana, two places where Barbadian fresh milk has never been sold, are next in line.

But in the interim, with cash flow problems hurting the producers and PHD, the two are about to make anoth-er approach to Government for finan-cial assistance, industry sources said could be as much as $1 million.

News of this has emerged following a November 4 meeting between the is-

land’s nearly two dozen dairy farmers and PHD management.

That company is a subsidiary of the island’s main beverage conglomer-ate Banks Holdings Limited, and BHL Chief Executive Officer Richard Cozier said has said that a special committee of farmers and PHD personnel would be reconstituted in an effort to ease the current difficult financial situation.

PHD Milked

BRIDGETOWN, The Barbados Gov-ernment is taking steps to ease some of the complaints and frustrations of Bar-badians who lived in the diaspora with local bureaucracy.

Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is to pilot a bill to validate the illegal im-portation of personal effects without the payment of Value Added Tax by re-turning nationals under the Barbados Network Programme for the past two years.The Value Added Tax (Barbados Network Programme) (Validation) Bill will also remove some of the obstacles

to qualification for some of the benefits under the programme set up by a pre-vious Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Administration in 1991.

Some changes were made to the pro-gramme effective September 1, 2010, including the name from the “Return-ing Nationals Programme” that includ-ed the setting of only two criteria for qualification as a Barbados Networker: a citizen of Barbados by birth, descent, registration or naturalization; and con-tinuous residence abroad for ten years immediately prior to resettlement.

BRIDGETOWN, Minister of Edu-cation Ronald Jones believes a discre-tionary approach should be taken to uniform rules at secondary schools. Even though he declined to comment directly on the recent suspension of 265 children from the Graydon Sealy Secondary School because of uniform infringements, Jones told local media that the rules were not meant to be rigid.

“Yes, we have now taken decisions that uniforms, shoes and whatever should be of a certain size and style and shape but that does not say that you operate at the periphery.

Ease For Returnees

Give An Inch

“It says that as leaders of an institu-tion, there is a discretion where you op-erate and if I say that something must be two or three inches in length, if it is an inch and three quarters, once in my view there is what I call decorum, once there is decency shown, I would allow the school to function.”

BRIDGETOWN, Increased com-petition in the telecoms market is expected to play a major role in Government’s strategy to bring the sector on par with internation-al market leaders. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Senator Darcy Boyce, gave this undertak-ing during the November 2 offi-cial launch of Karib Cable Barba-dos, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

Underscoring the importance of the telecoms sector to all spheres of activity, the minister said that with the heavy use of telecommunica-tions across the island, Barbadians “deserve and need to get access to competitive telecommunications”.

He also praised the company for using fibre optic cable, which would “increase the speed and ca-pacity of the telephone line and, therefore, bring better quality data carried over the infrastructure”.

With this cable, Boyce said cus-tomers could expect better and clearer voice quality and fast-

er transmission of data over the island’s telecommunications structure.

Emphasising that the liberali-sation of the local telecommuni-cations industry had greatly ad-vanced competition, the minister disclosed that a fourth player, Co-lumbus Communications, would soon be entering the market.

Boyce said the company, along with Karib Cable, would contrib-ute significantly to Government’s efforts to facilitate broadband ser-vices to Barbadians at an affordable rate.

Meanwhile, the company’s founder, Kelly Glass, said Karib Cable would provide jobs for 200 Barbadians in areas such as mar-keting, customer service and infor-mation technology.

Already, 70 employees — mainly graduates of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, have been hired. Karib Cable also operates in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Gren-adines and Antigua.

Cable Upgrade

CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 9November 7, 2012

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BRIDGETOWN - The death of a pa-tient of the Psychiatric Hospital has left staff and others there in shock. Reports indicated that Reginald Padmore, who had not spoken one word in 11 years, allegedly stabbed another patient, Er-nest Edwards, six times with a chisel about the upper part of his body.

The incident, which took place on the morning of November 2 around 8:30 prompted authorities there to in-vestigate how the accused was able to

get his hands on the implement from the secure ward, which is undergoing maintenance.

Padmore was being held at the Black Rock, St. Michael after he was convict-ed of murdering a man in River Bay, St. Lucy years ago.

He was taken to the police station and was later returned to the Psychi-atric Hospital. The deceased was also at the institution after being convicted of murder.

Psychiatric Patient Killed

BRIDGETOWN, Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur has already declared his finances to the country. Now he wants every minister of Gov-ernment to do the same. The former Prime Minister claimed On November 4 that ministerial impropriety was at a high in Barbados and privatization, where workers were allowed to share in ownership of state entities, was the only way to prevent corruption in Government.

“They [the Democratic Labour Par-ty] said before the last election they would do it [declare assets]. They said there would be transparency. Now is the time to do it,” Arthur said during a Barbados Labour Party Christ Church East branch meeting at the St Christo-pher Primary School.

“Bring it to account. I want to know what they had then, what they have now, and how they got it,” Arthur told the gathering.

BRIDGETOWN, After occupying the NIS Building on Fairchild Street for several years, and “squatting” in the Labour Department in recent months, the National Employment Bureau (NEB) finally has a space to call home. The new NEB headquarters is locat-ed on the 1st Floor, East Wing, of the Warrens Office Complex, Warrens, St. Michael.

During a November 5 media tour of the NEB, Chief Labour Officer, Vincent Burnett, disclosed that it was business as usual as the workers were currently facilitating candidates for the Canadi-an Farm Labour Programme.

NEB’s New Home

Declare Assets Says Arthur

He explained that when staff was forced to relocate due to an offensive odour at the former Fairchild Street location, the NEB was temporarily ac-commodated in the offices and confer-ence room of the Labour Department.

The Chief Labour Officer thanked the 21 staff members for “putting up with those conditions”.

BRIDGETOWN, The Barbados gov-ernment has established a 12-member Reparations Task Force that would be responsible for sustaining the local, re-gional and international momentum for reparations. It will also conceptu-alise and articulate strategies, frame-works and projects to accept and man-age financial and other resources.

The Task Force is chaired by Profes-sor Pedro Welch and Lashley said it would provide advice and support to government, through the Commission for Pan-African Affairs, on sourcing financial, in-kind and technical assis-tance resources to implement a pack-age of reparative initiatives. These projects will include government col-laborating with the University of the West Indies to mount a regional repa-rations conference, which would lead to the formation of a Caribbean com-mission; and the establishment of a Multi-ethnic Research Centre, a Na-tional Museum on Slavery and a Cen-tre for Reparations Research.

Lashley said Barbados supports the argument that reparations should be made to the people of African de-scent in the Caribbean and has been expressed repeatedly its position over the years at various high-level inter-

Reparations Task Force Established

national meetings. He acknowledged that while some Barbadians might ar-gue against pursuing reparations be-cause of certain pre-conceived ideas, some historians, legal thinkers and Pan-Africanists do not believe those views should “diminish the moral or legal force of arguments in favour of reparations”.

Lashley has already said that any resources acquired from reparations should be used for “transformative na-tional development”.

At least three Caribbean countries are exploring the possibility of set-ting up Reparations Commissions. The International Centre for Transi-tional Justice (ICTJ) says States have a legal duty to acknowledge and ad-dress widespread or systematic hu-man rights violations, in cases where the state caused the violations or did not seriously try to prevent them.

BRIDGETOWN, Construction is expected to begin within the next week on a new $12 million molasses storage facilities at the Bridgetown Port.

Managing Director of Preconco, the contracting firm, Mark Malo-ney has said that the project, which involved the building of three new tanks, would employ some 75 peo-ple and take about 15 months to complete.

“The project duration will be 15 months. We’re well on our way in terms of design and over the next

few weeks we will be commenc-ing work on the foundations and then moving forward with the in-stallation of the components for the tanks.

“There is one tank, tank A, that has been condemned already and we’ll be starting on that; and there are two tanks that are currently in use, and the molasses will be moved to tank A after it’s built and then we’ll be taking down the second tank and working until we have had all three tanks finished,” revealed Maloney.

BRIDGETOWN, Rihanna sure knows how to put her island on the map. The Bajan beauty has un-veiled her the new ad campaign for Barbados Tourism, which she shot in her homeland this summer.

The 24-year old songstress, who signed a three-year contract with Barbados Tourist Authority to be the official face of the Caribbean island, shared the final product on her Instagram.

In the adverts, the “Diamonds” crooner is seen flaunting her beach bod in a colorful swimsuit with in-spiration phrases like, “The biggest risk is not taking one” inscribed on the shots.

During her time shooting the ads, RiRi also found some time to tour pal Oprah Winfrey around her childhood haunts.

New Storage Facility

Ri Ri In New Barbados Tourism Ad

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 10

EC ReviewsEC Reviews

November 7, 2012

ST JOHN’S, Antigua - Educators have joined police in a widening in-vestigation to identify individuals seen performing graphic sex acts in social media videos being distributed island-wide. The latest wave of cell phone porn, featuring participants ranging from young teens to adults, has recent-ly ignited widespread concern. The trend, while not new, is escalating, dis-playing increasingly explicit acts.

The widening investigation was or-dered by Education Minister Dr Jacqui Quinn-Leandro, who said it would be led by Director of Education Jacintha Pringle.

Clare Browne, senior education offi-cer responsible for secondary schools, and Andrea Airall, who is responsible for Health and Family Life Education in schools, will work alongside educa-tion director Pringle.

The unit has been tasked with re-viewing the sex tapes and identifying the participants, their ages and the schools they attend.

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada - Angry workers protesting prospective job losses sent a clear signal to the Till-man Thomas administration when they marched through the streets of the capital on October 30 that the Gre-nada government, not them, should be sacked.

“Stop the layoff of the workers; lay-off the government,” was prominent among the calls of placard-waving employees of Gravel, Concrete and Emulsion Production Corporation (GCEPC) as they thronged downtown St George’s.

The demonstration was triggered by the receipt of company letters inform-ing workers of plans for temporary retrenchment, starting with 55 on No-vember 5.

GCEPC, which produces gravel, con-crete blocks and ready-mix concrete, cited “a deepening financial and oper-ational crisis” and inability to meet its loan obligations as the reason for the planned retrenchments.

The workers, meanwhile, are frus-trated by the lack of consideration ac-corded their sacrifices, including an agreement last month “for a three-year wage freeze to save jobs.” Managerial staff’s apparent exemption from the layoffs is another thorny issue.

In a petition to Thomas, Finance Min-ister Nazim Burke and Works Minister Denneth Modeste, GCEPC workers demanded urgent government action “to save our jobs to protect the liveli-hood of our families.”

Senator Chester Humphrey, presi-dent-general of the Technical and Al-

lied Workers Union (TAWU), said GCEPC employees will be monitor-ing the government’s handling of the situation.

Haydn Alexander, a 15-year employ-ee of GCEPC, was quoted as saying that government could assist by ensur-ing that the corporation is contracted as a supplier for some of the state-run infrastructural projects currently underway.

The workers’ petition to government calls for:

• A temporary lifting on the ban on sand mining at Telescope, St Andrew.

• A removal of the 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on mining and con-crete work products sold by GCEPC.

• The assurance that all state con-struction projects include Gravel and Concrete in their supply contracts.

• The immediate appointment of a board of directors for GCEPC and the convening of an urgent meeting. The meeting must include the Works Min-ister, GCEPC employees and their bar-gaining agents TAWU.

The October 30 protest march wove its way to the Botanical Gardens area where most government ministries are located.

Apart for a small delegation led by Humphrey, the demonstrators were barred from entering the gates of the ministerial complex. Inside, Thomas held a news briefing.

He announced that as of October 29, a new GCEPC board of directors had been appointed.

He also said cabinet had blocked the move by GCEPC to dismiss workers.

BASSETERRE, St Kitts - Miss St Lu-cia Consuela Dupal outclassed the op-position to capture the recent Miss Ca-ribbean Tourism pageant crown at 17 Degrees in St Kitts.

The St Lucian beauty, a former Miss Haynes Smith Caribbean Talented Teen winner, also placed first in the Evening Gown segment, while Miss St Vincent won both the Talent and Swimwear segments.

Miss Anguilla captured the Ambas-sadorial Appearance, the Avon Award and Miss Congeniality, while Miss Trinidad and Tobago bagged the In-terview segment, and the Chairman’s Award went to Miss St Thomas USVI Teryssa Thomas.

The overall rankings saw Jovanne John of St Vincent and the Grenadines

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua - LIAT has confirmed the death of a male pas-senger on one of its aircraft. Corporate Communications Specialist Desmond Brown said it occurred during the af-ternoon of October 31 on flight LI 726 from Trinidad to St Vincent.

“On arrival at the E.T. Joshua Air-port it was observed that passenger was not responding. The Emergency Medical Services were called and after a medical examination the passenger was pronounced dead by local medical authorities.”

ST JOHN’S, Antigua - The country is being warned that the industry re-sponsible for more jobs than anything else, except tourism, is under threat of near total collapse.

Barbados-based financial expert Avinash Persaud said drastic action is needed to save the financial sector and he doesn’t believe politicians are up to the task.

“Caribbean governments do not ful-ly appreciate the threats they are [fac-ing]. [They] do not wish to commit the enormous efforts to change our busi-ness model and enormous investment that will be required, but I fear that there’s no alternative,” said Persaud.

The chairman of Intelligence Capital and London Business School said the threat comes from larger nations under the guise of money laundering and tax evasion concerns, but is really aimed at creating an un-level playing field for their Caribbean competitors.

“The large financial centres are go-

ing to try, and have been trying, to strangle the Caribbean banking sec-tors,” said the professor.

“They are imposing regulation that is risk intolerant, that is size intoler-ant and therefore we have to invest as much in anti-money laundering as large centres.

“The costs to us doing so are so high. They are going to make it expensive to operate in the Caribbean and therefore businesses will move away,” added Persaud.

Persaud argued that most money laundering takes place in the largest fi-nancial sectors and so they – and not the Caribbean – should be investing more in regulation.

The Barbados based financial expert said the Caribbean must protect its fi-nancial sector.

The professor’s comments came ahead of a major Cariforum financial services conference at which he was a keynote speaker.

Cell Phone Porn Probe Protesters Say Fire The Government

Passenger Dies On LIAT Flight

St Lucian Captures Miss Caribbean Tourism Crown

Sector Under Threat

taking the First Runner-up slot, while Miss St Kitts Trevicia Adams was ad-judged Second Runner-up, Miss An-guilla Olufunmike Devonish Banks Third Runner-up, Miss Trinidad and Tobago Latia Drakes Fourth Runner-up, and the Fifth Runner-up position went to Miss Antigua and Barbuda Shenique Barry.

Dupal is said to have a passion for the tourism industry and has complet-ed a Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management. She currently works as a Concierge/Sales agent at the Morgan Bay Beach Resort in St Lucia.

Brown say authorities are continu-ing their investigation to determine the cause of death.

The affected passengers were ac-commodated on other LIAT services, he added.

In addition to cooperating with the police, the education minister dis-closed that the participants’ parents and officials within the welfare de-partment of the Ministry of Health and Social Transformation would be informed. The latter would be invited to offer counselling to the students in-volved if considered necessary.

Criminal charges would result if the participants are under the age of con-sent (16 years), while disciplinary ac-tion would be taken in schools where appropriate.

CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 11November 7, 2012

November 7, 2012CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 12

NEW YORK - A Guyana-born Queens politician has been slapped with federal fraud charges for alleg-edly using straw donors to fatten his campaign coffers in order to receive matching city funds — and threaten-ing the bogus contributors who coop-erated with investigators.

Albert Baldeo, the Democratic dis-trict leader in the Richmond Hill sec-tion, allegedly did the end-around campaign finance laws during his failed bid in 2010 to win an open seat on the City Council, the New York Dai-ly News reported.

Baldeo allegedly “fabricated contri-butions to his campaign in order to re-ceive six dollars in matching funds for every dollar he raised,” according to Mary Galligan, the FBI’s acting assis-tant director in New York.

The 52-year-old Guyana-born law-yer was reportedly picked up on the feds’ radar when he submitted fil-ings claiming a campaign war chest of US$46,019 that were littered with pho-

Airport Deal InkedGEORGETOWN - The way is now

clear for expansion of the Cheddi Ja-gan International Airport (CJIA) to begin during the first quarter of next year, with the signing of a US$130 mil-lion loan agreement between Guyana and China. The concessional loan is be-ing provided the Chinese EXIM Bank.

The state run Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA) reported that the Guyana government approved a de-sign and construction contract with China Harbour Engineering Company for the project expected to include an extension of the airport runway to a to-tal of 10,800 feet to accommodate large transatlantic aircraft such as the Boeing 747, along with construction of a new terminal building, acquisition of eight boarding bridges, and installation of other state of the art equipment such as elevators, escalators, and x-ray scan-ners using three-dimensional technol-ogy along with flight information and

Four In CustodyGEORGETOWN - Four persons, in-

cluding a well-known businessman, were remanded to police custody as part of a probe into the early October 31 afternoon gunning down of Marlon “Trini” Osborne.

Osborne, 33, was struck about his body with a hail of assault rifle bullets on Laluni Street, Queenstown, George-town while he was in his car.

Senior police sources said that among those detained is an East Bank Demerara businessman whose firearm license was revoked several years ago. His United States visa has been also re-voked. One of those arrested was de-

Guyanese Busted On Fraud Charges

ney contributions.Baldeo really fouled-up when he

claimed he’d received a $95 donation from a Christopher O’Hearn, who was the campaign treasurer for another city council candidate, Charles Bilal.

On realising that the feds were in-vestigating, Baldeo “told straw donors to lie to our agents and in some cases threatened and intimidated others in a vain attempt to derail the FBI’s investi-gation,” Galligan said.

Baldeo turned himself in on October 31 and was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, attempting to com-mit mail fraud, conspiring to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.

Each count carries a maximum sen-tence of 20 years in jail.

Baldeo, who is being prosecuted by the federal Public Corruption Unit, wound up losing the special election to fill the seat to Ruben Wills.

tained shortly after Osborne, a late se-curity operative of Ricardo Rodrigues who was shot dead on October 15.

The killing of Osborne came less than two days after he had been re-leased from police custody after he had been questioned about the slaying of Rodrigues at the Guyana Motor Rac-ing and Sports Club (GMRSC).

security monitoring systems.Once completed, the project would

ensure that the CJIA is able to meet the needs of projected traffic for sev-eral years into the future, along with becoming a hub for regional and con-tinental traffic.

It will allow the country to boast a state of the art airport “comparable to any other part of the world,” accord-ing to Minister Singh, and equipped to accommodate any category of aircraft.

Job creation will also be created as several auxiliary services are anticipat-ed and the country’s tourism potential is likely to be bolstered with the influx of visitor arrivals.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname - Three Guyanese nationals, including a police woman, were killed after the vehicle in which they were travelling skidded off the road and plunged into a canal on November 2.

Police Commander in Nickerie, Stan-ley Benchop confirmed the deaths of the three people, but the authorities have not released their names or other

identities. But media reports in Guy-ana have said that those killed include a police woman and an insurance ex-ecutive. The reports said that the three dead people were among a party of four that had left Georgetown on Fri-day for the Dutch–speaking Caribbe-an Community (CARICOM) country. The other person escaped with minor injuries.

Workers StrikeGEORGETOWN, GuySuCo work-

ers represented by the National As-sociation of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) have downed tools across the corpora-tion in protest at a pay offer they deem too low.

NAACIE General Secretary Kenneth Joseph said on November 5th that they had been in talks with management on amendments to the job evaluation agreements when the GuySuCo repre-sentatives changed their minds. “The corporation decided that they were no longer going to talk and made a one percent across the board off and the people felt more aggrieved,” he relayed.

According to Joseph, the corporation had struck a deal with the Guyana Ag-

ricultural and General Workers Union which saw those workers getting a bet-ter deal and that was one of the issues they were discussing to ensure parity.

“They agree that anomalies exist but say they can’t offer more.”

With Monday being the first day of the industrial action joseph said there was about 50 to 65 percent participa-tion and he expected that number to grow.

He noted that the union had written the corporation informing the manage-ment that it was in full support of the workers’ action.

NAACIE’s membership at GuySuCo numbers around 800 and includes field supervisors; nurses; clerical staff; lab technicians; sugar boilers; and work-shop foremen.

Three Guyanese Killed In Suriname

Tel: 905.831-4402 Email: caribbeangraphic@rogers.com

Out With the Old, In with the New!

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICThe Peoples Paper, daring to be different!

We do things differently, Shouldn’t You? Switch to

November 7, 2012 CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 13

KINGSTON - The prevalence of lot-tery scams in Jamaica continue to pose one of the highest threats to the coun-try’s development, despite of strength-ened efforts by authorities to tackle the issue.

This strong warning has come from Earl Jarrett, general manager of Jamai-ca National Building Society (JNBS) as his organisation prepares to host its second Forum on the Lottery Scam to discuss strategies in support of gov-ernment and private sector initiatives to eradicate the lottery scam and ad-dress its impact on security, trade and foreign relations.

Jarrett will chair the November 7 forum, which promises to bring together several other financial institutions, remittance companies, diplomats, and members of the security forces to tackle the vexing issue. Organisers say the forum will highlight government initiatives to curb the scam; assess the impact of the lottery scam on the banking and remittance sectors; and also feature

KINGSTON - Police in Spanish Town have detained about 100 men af-ter an operation in Tawes Pen, St Cath-erine aimed at preventing the escala-tion of a gang feud. Officers said they feared an internal feud within the One Order gang could worsen following the October 26 murder of Donna Cow-an, who was regarded as a community stalwart.

Cowan, 53, was reportedly shot dead in her yard in the Tawes Pen neigh-bourhood by a pair of unknown gun-men. Police said the killing had height-ened tensions in the gang-ridden area, and their operation was conducted to head-off a major confrontation that was threatening to break out among factions of One Order.

Authorities said the operation formed part of the force’s ongoing an-

Lottery Scams A Major Threat

100 Detaineddiscussions from a foreign relations perspective.

The fraudulent scheme, which op-erates mainly in Western Jamaica, has been linked to several violent crimes, with the parish of St James, being a major source for the trade.The escala-tion of violent crime in St James, which is a major player in the island’s tour-ism sector, is causing authorities deep concern as it is now experiencing the highest rates of murder in the country, which has been directly linked to the lottery scam, according to media re-ports. The reports show that the parish has twice the number of murders per capita of any other parish.

Reports also indicate that income from the scam is some US$300 mil-lion annually, or about JAM$$27 bil-lion, most of which enters the island through remittance agencies, as vic-tims are often forced to remit funds to claim their prizes.

ti-crime initiative.Violent gangs are deeply entrenched

in Spanish Town, where the One Or-der and Clansman gangs are reported to have been at war for years over con-trol of extortion and drug rings.

There are believed to be more than 250 criminal gangs operating nationwide.

The government is committed to lowering crime from 41 murders for every 100,000 Jamaicans to 12 per 100,000 in the next five years.

KINGSTON — Social networks were abuzz with news out of Jamai-ca that a student of the University of Technology fleeing an angry mob on campus, was on November 4 assaulted by security officers who were suppos-edly trying to protect him.

Facebook and other Jamaican news sites were inundated with angry ti-rades against the assault by nationals and students.

According to various news sources and sites, the incident began on the night of November 1 , when two male

students were alleged to have been caught engaging in sexual acts, follow-ing which they were chased by an an-gry mob.

A joint statement reportedly issued by the university, the Students’ Union and the security firm, Marksman, stat-ed: “One managed to escape and the other ended up in the Guard Room at the entrance of the campus.

This student was physically assault-ed by on duty security guards em-ployed by the contracted security com-pany, Marksman Ltd.

Negril Coastline Project Launched

KINGSTON - The western tourist resort town of Negril will be the main beneficiary of a climate change adap-tation project, valued at just under US$10 million ($900 million), launched on November 2. The Adaptation Fund project will see more than half of the funds spent on increasing climate resil-ience of the Negril coastline, which is one of Jamaica’s biggest drawing cards for visitors with its world-famous stretch of white sand beach.

The project also seeks to improve water and land management in com-munities in eight parishes by imple-menting small-scale rainwater harvest-ing and drip irrigation systems, and improved farming techniques. Peter Knight, chief executive officer of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), said businesses in

Recruit DrownsKINGSTON - A Jamaica Defence

Force (JDF) recruit drowned while participating in a swim test at the Ja-maica Coast Guard base in Port Royal, Kingston, on November 4. According to the JDF Civil/Military Co-operation Officer, Captain Basil Jarrett, the re-cruit, 27-year-old Keon Salmon, got into difficulties after entering the wa-ter about 9:45 am.

Salmon, a member of the 3JR Na-tional Reserves, was among a group of recruits being evaluated, Jarrett disclosed.

“He went into the water and did not come back up. Divers and lifeguards immediately went in and pulled him out, but when he came out it was dis-covered that he had no pulse and that he was not breathing,” he told the lo-cal reporters, noting that the response

team, including a medical doctor, tried to revive Salmon to no avail.

Salmon was then flown to the Uni-versity Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) where he was pronounced dead, Jarrett said. He said a JDF team, including the military’s chaplain, have visited Salmon’s relatives in Claren-don to offer support.

He said investigations are also be-ing conducted by the JDF, as well as the Jamaica Constabulary Force, to ascertain exactly what happened. In the meantime, Jarrett did not say how many other recruits were participat-ing in the swim test, but said that the other recruits were deeply shaken by the incident.

Meanwhile, Captain Jarrett defend-ed the integrity of the safety measures in place for such training activities.

Student AssaultedKINGSTON — Owen Ellington is

unapologetic about opening up the Jamaica Constabulary Force to more public scrutiny. His reason is simple: The JCF, he says, costs the country $30 billion annually to operate, therefore the Jamaican people – as one of the po-lice force’s stakeholders – have a right to know what is happening within the organisation.

Ellington, the police commissioner, was responding to critics who, he said, opposed his decision to share more po-lice information, such as the weekly force orders, with the country.

“The population can’t be satisfied with statistics alone,” Ellington told a November 6th leadership forum for senior police staff at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel.

The forum, held under the theme A New Era in Policing – Transforming the Constabulary, formed part of the JCF’s strategic review project and was attended by representatives of various organisations.

Arguing that the police can contrib-

No Backing Down

Negril would benefit most from the project.

Infrastructural works, which will be carried out by the National Works Agency in partnership with NEPA, will include the installation of break-water structures under the sea to pre-vent the erosion of the beach strip.

Work on the project is still in the de-velopment stage and construction will not begin for another year. The execu-tion of activities is scheduled to end in 2015.

ute value, Ellington said that the out-put of the organisation “can no longer be based on the standards of measure-ment we set for the departments, such as patrolling the streets; responding to calls for service; investigating crimes; arresting suspected offenders; regu-lating traffic; responding to citizens’ complaints and requests for assistance; handling crowds and demonstrations and responding to emergencies”.

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 14 November 7, 2012

PORT-OF-SPAIN - Communica-tions Minister Jamal Mohammed re-cently sparked a furore when he sent a private and confidential e-mail to TV6 news chief Dominic Kalipersad attack-ing both TV6 and the Express newspa-per, alleging the media house was bi-ased against the government.

Writing in his private capacity and describing himself as “an insignifi-cant Muslim coolie”, the minister went further, alleging that the media house was in cahoots with the Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) to destabilise the government.

Mohammed had also e-mailed an Express journalist taking issue with an article, claiming it was taken out of context and resulted in his doctors en-quiring “if I have thoughts of commit-ting suicide”.

After his actions were roundly con-demned by the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) and the Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA), the minister apologised, saying he did not know he could not separate his private and public portfolio as Communica-tions Minister.

He nevertheless failed to explain ei-ther the reason for his attack on TV6 and the Express or the rationale for his

PORT OF SPAIN - More than 300 members of the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago have been placed on the breadline after their con-tracts ended on November 1. Minister of National Security Jack Warner con-firmed that the contracts of the highly-trained SAUTT members ended and there was nowhere to place them.

“I have asked the Permanent Sec-retary to give each of them an ex-gra-tia payment of three months’ salary, which takes them into January when they would have enough time to look

for jobs,” said Warner.The Special Anti-Crime Unit was es-

tablished under the previous People’s National Movement government and, under that regime, more than $3 billion has been spent to train and outfit the crime-fighting group.

SAUTT soon became a bone of con-tention between the PNM and the Peo-ple’s Partnership Government when Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Biss-essar announced her intention to dis-band the unit after taking office in May 2010.

PORT-OF-SPAIN - Viren Anna-munthodo, son of murdered politi-cal activist and pamphleteer Walter Annamunthodo, was ambushed and stabbed to death as he arrived to open his businessplace on November 1. The murder of Annamunthodo and that of a 19-year-old man in Laventille on No-vember 1st have brought the murder toll to 336 for the year.

Annamunthodo, owner of Unique Services Printery in Pleasantville, San Fernando, was attacked as he stepped out of his gold-coloured Nissan Almera car around 7.30 a.m. The killer fled and 57-year-old Annamunthodo dragged himself back into the vehicle and telephoned his wife, Denise. He

Minister Slammed

Spy Staff Sacked

allegations. The International Press Institute

(IPI) has since launched a broadside of its own on its website in an article written by Scott Griffen, press freedom adviser for Latin America and the Ca-ribbean, entitled: “Trinidad Communi-cations Minister uses personal e-mail to intimidate media—IPI concerned at pattern of attacks against media in Trinidad and Tobago”.

According to the IPI report, the Insti-tute’s executive director Alison Bethel-McKenzie stated: “For the Communi-cations Minister to engage in this kind of direct intimidation of the media is highly troubling and, unfortunately, indicative of a recent pattern of abuse by Trinidadian Government officials against the press.

In June this year, the IPI held its 2012 World Congress in Trinidad.

Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed

however died shortly after she placed him in the back seat of her car.

The killing happened in the drive-way of the family’s business place in Cassia Avenue, Pleasantville. The An-namunthodos live a short distance away in Pleasantville Avenue.

Viren Annamunthodo, father of two girls and a boy, had inherited the busi-ness from his late father.

The elder Annamunthodo was killed in 1992 while editing the book Atma Greet, a collection of Hindi bhajans. His battered body was found at his two-bedroom home in St Clements. An autopsy found he was hit on the head with a stone or blunt instrument and bled to death.

Viren Annamunthodo is also a dis-tant relative of Amy Annamunthodo, the four-year-old girl who was beaten to death at her Marabella home in 2006.

Police said Viren Annamunthodo was not robbed of his belongings, and officers were unable to determine the motive of the killing.

Murder Toll Now

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Thousands of people took to the streets here on No-vember 2 demanding the resignation of two senior government ministers as the fall out continues from the early proc-lamation of legislation that critics say was intended to ensure the freedom of two financiers of the coalition People’s Partnership government. Armed with placards and demanding that Attor-ney General Anand Ramlogan and Na-tional Security Minister Austin “Jack” Warner be removed from the cabinet, the demonstrators, estimated by police at more than 35,000 marched through the streets culminating in a rally in the heart of the capital.

A police helicopter hovered over-head and there was a strong show of armed police along the route taken by the protestors.

The protest action had been organ-ised by the Joint Trade Union Move-ment (JTUM), an amalgam of several of the leading trade union groups here, civil society groups including Fix It Trinidad and Tobago, the main op-position People’s National Movement (PNM) and the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ), the latter having earlier

this year quit the coalition government of Prime Minister Kamla Persad Biss-essar over the controversial legislation and other issues.

Parliament last month repealed Sec-tion 34 of the Administration of Jus-tice (Indictable Proceedings) Act that that had the effect of allowing people, whose trial has not started after a 10-year period to walk free and a ver-dict of not guilty entered against their names.

Critics say that the clause was aimed at supporting businessmen Ish Gal-baransingh and Steve Ferguson, who have been described as financiers of the ruling United National Congress (UNC), the biggest partner in the four-member coalition People’s Partnership government.

The two are facing fraud and laun-dering charges relating to the re-de-velopment of the Piarco International Airport in 2001. They are also wanted in the United States on a number of re-lated charges.

Their attorneys have petitioned the local court to have the charges against them dismissed citing Section 34 of the Act.

Two Burnt To DeathPORT OF SPAIN, Two members of

the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard were burnt to death after the vehicle in which they were passengers burst into flames after crashing into a concrete culvert in St. Augustine, east of here on November 4. Police said Jamaal An-thony 23 and Jamal Edwards, 24, were returning home after celebrating Ed-wards’ birthday.

The two men had late last month successfully completed military train-ing together.

Meanwhile, police are investigating the murder of a 65-year-old woman and her 30 year-old son whose bod-ies were found at their home in Arima, along the east west corridor on the

same day.Police said that the family’s pitbull

had also been chopped several times about the body and killed. The author-ities have no motive for the killings, but residents in the area said they be-lieve that the murders may have been as a result of a legal squabble over property.

Police said they had received a call from neighbours after they saw the dog dead in the yard.

On entering the home they found the bodies of Kevon White, a fire officer and his mother, Linis.

Investigators said that the woman’s husband, a retired police officer, lives abroad.

Thousands Protest

At 336

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Belly Bustas Take 3

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CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 15November 7, 2012

Baby BeautyA woman gets on a bus with her

baby. The bus driver says: ‘’Ugh, that’s

the ugliest baby I’ve ever seen!’’ The woman walks to the rear of the

bus and sits down, fuming.

She says to a man next to her: ‘’The driver just insulted me!’’

The man says: ‘’You go up there and tell him off.

Go on, I’ll hold your monkey for you.’’

A young blonde woman is dis-traught because she fears her hus-band is having an affair, so she goes to a gun shop and buys a handgun.

The next day she comes home to find her husband in bed with a beau-tiful redhead.

She grabs the gun and holds it to her own head.

The husband jumps out of bed, begging and pleading with her not to shoot herself.

Hysterically the blonde responds to the husband, ‘’Shut up...you’re next!’’

A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption.

One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named ‘Amal.’

The other goes to a family in Spain, they name him Juan’.

Years later; Juan sends a picture of

himself to his mum. Upon receiving the picture, she tells

her husband that she wished she also had a picture of Amal.

Her husband responds, ‘’But they are twins. If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Amal.’’

Wait Your Turn

See One, See All!

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CARIBBEAN GRAPHICThe Peoples Paper, daring to be different!

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The Toronto Real Estate Market has

been busy for the last few months. We are seeing a large num-ber of people pur-chasing and selling real estate. Generally speaking, purchasing or sell-ing a property should be a fairly simple process once you have the right professionals to rely on. Unfortu-nately things do not always work our as planned. I am currently involved in two cases that are going to trial next year. In each instance the purchaser/s of property are being sued by a Real Estate Brokerage firm.The Facts:

Jack and Jill are husband and wife. They sell their home with a Real Estate Brokerage Firm and signed a Buyer Registration Agreement.. They use the same agent to view a home to purchase. They put in an offer but are advised by their agent that the sellers won’t accept their offer because it is too low. Their agent advises them to look at a different home, but never show any other. Some months go by and they do not hear from their agent. They stop looking at homes.Jill’s father, without her knowledge, viewed the same property. Jill’s father , Jolly Rancher, puts in an offer to purchase the same property for a lower price and it is accepted by the Vendor and their listing agent. The home is purchased and Jolly Rancher puts Jill’s name on title as the owner along with his. Jack and Jill move in and live with Jolly. Jack and Jill are sued by the Brokerage Firm for commission on the basis that they signed a Buyer Representation Agreement. The agent showed the property initially to Jack and Jill and so the Broker-age Firm is claiming to be paid as a co-operating broker.

Home Affairs

Selwyn R.

Baboolal

Bianca

Aziz

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 16 November 7, 2012

Reduce Interest Paid Over Term

• Your rate of interest is one number in the equation the more important number is interest cost and this is what should be the focus in a mortgage.

• Applying additional payments no matter how small inevitably will increase your equity, thus placing you in a superior financial position, al-lowing you to diversify, re-invest and weather storms on the horizon

• Make several small pre-payments through out the year whether it is 2.00 or a 1,000.00 for exam-ple 5.00 per week equates to 260.00 in principle reduction which is significantly more effective than a single 260.00 pre-payment once a year.

Real Estate Law

As I indicated this particular case is proceeding to trial. Whether or not Jack and Jill will be success-ful in defending this particular case will depend on the facts. Technically, since Jack is now living in the home but is not one of the registered owners the Bro-kerage Firm has no case against him. Jill’s position is that she had no knowledge of Jolly Rancher’s offer or dealings with the property until she was asked to go on title just before the transaction has concluded. Jill’s position is that there was a breach of contract by the agent by failing to show more properties.

What is worth noting is that a Buyer Represen-tation Agreement is a legally binding contract. If you sign this document you will be responsible to pay the Brokerage Firm commissions. Before sign-ing any Representation Agreement you should make sure you thoroughly understand the terms and con-ditions. Generally the duration of these agreements are 6 months but they can be extended if the buyer or purchaser agrees.

If you are in doubt check with a lawyer before signing these documents, it may save you a costly legal battle.

Selwyn R. Baboolal is a partner at Oumarally Baboolal practicing in the area of litigation for the past 18 years.

The foregoing is intended for information purposes only and you should consult a lawyer if you need legal representation or a legal opinion.

Small changes,

big difference

• Increase your payment by 10.00 to 20.00 each year on your anniversary date

• Double up one mortgage payment one time in the year

• The amount you pre-pay is your choice, ev-ery dollar counts in a Scotiabank mortgage.

With a Scotiabank mortgage you could pay your mortgage off earlier by doing a bunch of little things that really add up.

Be Mortgage Free FasterBe Mortgage Free Faster

Women’s WorldCARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 17November 7, 2012

How many times have you opened your closet dur-ing the morning rush, only

to stand there tapping your toes and wondering what to wear? You aren’t alone! For many women, figuring out how to dress for the office can be a job in itself!

The key to dressing for success is fill-ing your wardrobe with separates…es-sentials that you can use to create an endless supply of outfits!

Which Fall separates are a MUST for the office this season? This fall, it’s all about power dressing - think mens-wear styled in feminine way. As an ex-ample simple, silk blouses are perfect for the office as they help you look pol-ished and sophisticated, whether your office dress code is formal or casual.

This season, bring an exciting twist to your simple blouse with bright colors or patterns, which allow you to look trendy while still being work-appropriate.

A black leather jacket is a quintessen-tial fall look that goes great over every-thing. It’s an absolute must for every closet! Paired with a pencil skirt and fitted top, a leather jacket gives your classic look a tougher persona.

Vests are a must-have. Any out-fit looks trendier and chicer (and will keep you warmer) with a vest over it.

What are some favorite ways to pair the above pieces? There is nothing classier or more stylish than a simple

Dressing For Business Success

pencil skirt with a blouse tucked in. This season you should spice up this basic out-fit with color or pattern and add a vest or a black leather jacket on top. This will help you look both trendy and office-ready.

What’s great about black leath-er jackets, pretty blouses and vests is that they are all great for the office, but they work just as per-fectly for a ca-sual day look or a night out on the town, m a k i n g them a worthy investment! They are all per-fectly versatile and can easily transition from trendy, to edgy, to office-ready.

How about accessories and shoes? Which ones are recommended in-vesting in for work this Fall? Peep-toe shoes pair perfectly with colorful tights, which adds an interesting de-tail to any outfit. When accessorizing this season, consider large, geometri-

cal pieces. They dress up and edge up any outfit.

What are some easy ways to stand out at the office...without going over-board or looking too risque? The best advice ever given on dressing for busi-ness was “dress for the job you want, not the job you have”. Always notice what your manager/boss is wearing and adjust your attire accordingly.

However, stay true to your style. You can wear a black leather jacket and still look work appropriate by pairing it with a blouse and a pencil skirt.

If you want to stand out, experiment with the colors/patterns or stick with a simple outfit and dress it up with accessories.

As always, don’t forget to Be Your-self. Be Different. Source: Galtime.com

Sports BeatCARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 18 November 7, 2012

King AbdicatesKINGSTON, The November 4 res-

ignation of the enigmatic striker Mar-lon King from international football was indeed a bombshell, but the mis-sion to lure old and new players to the Reggae Boyz cause continues apace.

President of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Captain Horace Burrell, who is leading a three-man team to the United Kingdom to sway talent for Jamaica’s CONCACAF final round, said it’s unfortunate King de-cided to quit at this time. The football executive thanked the Birmingham City striker for his contribution to the nation’s football, having scored 12 goals from 21 appearances since mak-ing his debut in 2004.

King’s resignation was also con-firmed by the player’s agent Tony Finnigan in an email exchange yesterday.

“It is with the deepest regret that I, Marlon King, have today decided to retire myself from international football. I have always given my all to the Jamaican football team and have some very fond memories of my achievements within the squad,” King said in a widely circulated state-ment yesterday.

“I would like to take this opportu-nity to thank Captain Burrel and Carl Brown for their outstanding support during my time with the JFF.

They will always have my complete respect.

I would also like to thank the Ja-maican public and my fans for their support and wish the squad the very best in achieving World Cup qualifi-cation,” the statement continued.

The 32-year-old King has not par-ticipated in any of Jamaica’s CON-

CACAF semi-final round matches after being shown the cold shoulder by the Theodore Whitmore-led tech-nical team since serving a two-match ban for breaching “curfew rules” on a friendly assignment in Panama in May.

Whitmore had deemed King as “disruptive” and would never have found favour with the coaching team until the England-born striker was prepared to repent of his ways.

No stranger to trouble within the ranks of Jamaica’s football and his na-tive England, King was also banned by the Crenston Boxhill-led federa-tion for another curfew-related inci-dent in a two-match tour of England in 2006.

On the return of Burrell to the helm of the JFF in 2007, King was immedi-ately reinstated to the team.

Twenty years ago, in October 1992, Morty Bryce returned to Canada having represented Canada at the World Junior Cycling Champion-ships. By then the 18 year old Bryce had achieved much, as a Junior Cyclist. His outstanding cy-cling achievements included the following:• 2-Time Canadian Junior Sprint Champion• Gold “Carded” Canadian athlete• Canadian National Cycling Team Member• Multiple Ontario Provincial Sprints and

1000-m TT Champion• Ontario Provincial 40-K TT Champion, a

record still standing to this day• World’s Cycling Championships Team

Member To the surprise of his fami-

ly and friends, especially his father the former Guyanese Champion Cyclist Aubrey Bryce – himself an Olympian having represented Guyana at the 1968 Mexico Olympics – he announced that he had come to the painful decision to leave the sport of cycling which he so loved.

Morty Bryce’s reasoning at the time was that he re-fused to resort to the use of performance enhancing drugs that would allow him to be competitive. He spoke at the time about how dif-ficult it had been for him to see athletes, some who were very mediocre at best, whom he had been handily beating during the sum-mer at top international meets and just a mere 2 months hence were winning World Champion-ship medals and emerging as finalists in top tier events.

As a result, those fellow competitive cyclists signed lucrative contracts, acquired internation-

Morty Bryce’s Choice Now Justifiedal celebrity status and walked around with their noses in the air and a certain kind of bravado and superiority swagger. What made it hard to swallow was the fact that he knew what they were doing. He knew because they had told him so, even going as far as to suggest that if he wanted to achieve the same results, rewards and recognition as they were enjoying, then maybe he should consider doing the same.

Instead of heeding such advice and becoming one of the crowd, Morty Bryce didn’t. He opted for the high road. Choosing to walk away from the sport he loved, giving up the opportunity to make a fortune, to travel the world and to use his god-given talents to achieve celebrity.

In retrospect, in seeing all the shame, pain and grief that is currently being man-ifest in the confessions of those accused of doping, it certainly now does provides some validation to the deci-sion which he made some 20 years ago. It’s not that Bryce wasn’t good enough – those who knew his capabilities, had experienced and wit-nessed his performances, knew better.

He made a choice. Which in hindsight turned out to be the correct one, for today, 20 years later, he stands vali-dated. He can now speak to his son Ethan with pride about his cycling accom-

plishments, instead of telling him that his father was a fraud, a liar and a cheat.

Morty Bryce recently returned to active cy-cling. He has reacted to the recent doping scan-dal that has been raging on in the media for the last 3 months with bemusement.

Says Bryce: “I’m good with my athletic past. I

The 1992 Canadian National Cham-pionships Sprint Final finish. Morty Bryce (Ontario) winning from Hen-

derson (British Columbia).

Father and Son, Aubrey and Morty Bryce cy-cling together recently in France.

don’t ask questions or wonder, but rather chuck-le now in hindsight had I been on a high, trans-fused with blood full of EpO that Cav, Hud-shovd, Martin, Cancellara, Harnett, Nothstein, Hoy, Bauge or Kenny would not have been able to handle me. Not a question in my mind. Yes they have their fortunes and fame, but they have to look in the mirror each and every day and know their lives are based on absolute and utter fraud for having sold their souls to the devil”.

He added: “Unfortunately, I don’t have any feelings of regret, empathy, sorrow or pity for any of them. What’s really disgusting is the me-dia referring to the witnesses as “Heroes” and “brave” for coming forward. Meanwhile they serve a 6 month suspension or are retired sitting on their millions running businesses and writ-ing books about their lives as frauds while issu-ing a canned apologetic statement which allows them to feel as though justice has been served.”

Cycling he says is a beautiful sport, which needs neither radical change nor unions nor government intervention. Rather, what it needs simply are cyclists with an ounce of integrity. Those who can and will refuse to cave into cor-ruption. Until that time the fraud, says Bryce, will keep rolling on.

CARIBBEAN GRAPHIC PAGE 19November 7, 2012

Cricket legend Sir Vivian Richards says he believes West Indies cricket can return to its glory days under the leadership of Darren Sammy. Rich-ards believes cricketing confidence in the region has received a timely boost following Windies monumental Twen-ty/20 world cup win in Sri Lanka.

“West Indies cricket is on the road back — winning should create the con-fidence that you need in other formats of the game,” Richard told the Sun in the United Kingdom.

“We can walk tall again. Winning a tournament of that nature will ig-nite the spirit again — and winning in cricket is what it is all about.”

Meantime, the former West Indies captain has praised the roles played by opener Chris Gayle and top-order batsman Marlon Samuel in restoring the fortunes of the Caribbean side.

Samuels has been singled out for an incredible year with the bat which cul-minated with a blistering 78 off 56 balls against Sri Lanka that helped secure a first piece of silverware since the 2004 Champions Trophy.

“Over the years he looked isolated in the team. So I told him ‘this is your last chance’ — and he responded in such

Windies Can Return To Glory DaysSays Sir Viv

Loss Of Roach A Major Blow Says Gibson

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has described the loss of strike bowler Ke-mar Roach as a “blow” ahead of the team’s Test tour of Bangladesh. Roach, 24, is the West Indies’ most successful bowler in Tests this year, snaring 39 wickets at 22.25 runs apiece in seven matches. He has been sidelined with a knee injury and could be out of action for close to a month.

“It’s a blow for us. He’s been an

outstanding Test bowler for us in the last 12 months,” Gibson said during the second day of a three-day tune-up match against the Sagicor High Perfor-mance Centre at the Three Ws Oval.

Gibson is hopeful that the Barbadian pacer, who has 82 wickets in 21 Tests at an average of 27.69, will recover in time for the One-day segment of the tour that follows the two-match Test series.

a magnificent fashion” said Richards who towered over international cricket from his debut in 1974 to his final Test at the Oval in 1991.

“He made a commitment. He said to me, ‘I ain’t gonna let us down’, and I looked in his eyes and believed him. I could see the change within him. So hats off to the man, he’s delivered.”

Richards, a member of the world-beating Windies team that won two ICC World Cups, has commended Gayle for restoring confidence in the side on the strength of his monstrous run-scoring ability.

“Chris has given himself a platform to operate from and has returned to the West Indies side as a leader,” said Richards.

“The guys in the team have an enor-mous amount of respect for him and to have a guy who is that destructive makes the players feel more comfort-able as they have a better chance of winning.”

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Head coach Ottis Gibson says West Indies are targeting a top five spot in the In-ternational Cricket Council Test rank-ings within the next year. The regional side is currently ranked seventh and have languished in the lower half of the nine-team rankings for most of the last decade.

Gibson’s ambitious objective comes as West Indies prepares to face bottom ranked Bangladesh in a two-Test series starting later this month.

“We go to Bangladesh looking to win. We’ve had a pretty solid 2012 so far and we just want to finish 2012 on a winning note ... the aim is to keep try-ing to find ways to move up the table,” said Gibson.

“There are not a lot of points at stake in Bangladesh because they are be-low us. We’re playing for about two or three points but our aim is to try and move ourselves up the rankings and break into the top five if we can within the next sort of 12 months, if possible.”

South Africa head the Test table with 120 rating points, followed by England on 117, with Australia another point behind in third. Pakistan lie fourth on 109, while India are fifth on 106.

Sri Lanka are sixth on 98 points, with West Indies eight points adrift in seventh.

The regional side will have ample opportunity for movement in the rank-ings next year as they are set to host Sri

Lanka and Pakistan in two-Test series, and also travel to New Zealand for three Tests.

Gibson said he had made improve-ment in the rankings a central part of his planning since taking charge of the team.

“We know as a team, everybody knows, what I’ve been preaching for the last two-and-a-half years since I’ve been here, is moving up the rankings. When we play, we don’t just play for wins, but we play for rankings points as well,” he reiterated.

“Moving up the rankings of course [means] batsmen take responsibil-ity for runs, bowlers take responsi-bility for wickets and the team in the end benefits in terms of achieving our goals.”

Gibson said he expected a profes-sional approach from his charges in Bangladesh, pointing out that the nec-essary preparation had been done to ensure success.

“Everybody has a role to play. Ev-erybody will be made aware of their role again when we get to Bangladesh. The success that we had there last year will be good for us,” Gibson noted.

“Certainly as a support staff — my-self as a coach — you try to cover all bases [in terms of preparation]. You make sure you get as much informa-tion as possible and then give it to the guys if and when they need it so they can go out and win the match.

Newly appointed West Indies Crick-et Board CEO Michael Muirhead has said that all payments to the Provi-dent Fund are current and up to date. Muirhead fielded questions during his introduction to the local media during a press conference at Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain and one of the hot top-ics he was asked to respond to was the Board’s contributions to the pension fund for former and current cricketers, known as the Provident Fund.

It has been alleged by the West In-dies Players Association (WIPA) that from 2007 to now, the WICB has failed to supply WIPA with full details of the Provident Fund, as stipulated in their agreement.

The issue of the Provident Fund came to the fore during a legal matter between WICB and WIPA before Jus-tice Ricky Rahim in T&T High Court, when WIPA claimed that the WICB had diverted and withheld payments from the players meant to go to the Provident Fund.

It was also alleged that the WICB withheld their own contribution to the fund, using the money to cover the

Top Five Ranking

Gibson Targets

Payments Up To Date

board’s ongoing expenditure. Former WICB corporate secretary

Anthony Deyal gave evidence about the situation during the trial.

It was reported that WIPA intended to report the matter to the fraud squad and seek civil redress.

In response to questions about the fund, Muirhead said: “They (WIPA) are going to take that matter further...I would rather not comment or try to de-termine what is true or false.

“But what I can say is that at this point in time, I can assure you that all payments (from both parties) to be made to the provident fund on behalf of the players are current and up to date and that no player has ever suf-fered any loss with regard to what is rightfully due to them from the Provi-dent Fund.”

CARIBBEAN GRAPHICPAGE 20 November 7, 2012