The Reference Interconnection Offer And Consumers

Submitted by Hallam Hope – Consumer Advocate and Managing Director Caritel

Hallam Hope

A Reference Interconnection Offer (RIO) might not mean a whole lot to many people but it can have a significant impact on new services and the extent to which there is competition in communications.

LIME is at the centre of a RIO consultation and a series of documents on services such as overseas calling. Companies have to interconnect so that customers of one company may communicate with those of another, for example Digicel, TeleBarbados, LIME and Blue Communications, which is offering a competitive long distance card to make calls.

In addition, the new charges could also relate to new services, since they also involve interconnection and payments between these companies to terminate calls. Essentially, LIME is trying to get the best deal for itself while other parties want to ensure that the decisions taken by the Fair Trading Commission do not disadvantage them financially and their ability to compete and offer better rates where possible.

Do We Really Have A Land Use Policy?

Development underway at St. Davids

In a previous blog BU echoed the concern of many Barbadians regarding Town Planning approval given to several entities to build in St. Davids Christ Church, specifically on the Staple Grove Plantation lands. We should point out that approvals for projects in St. Davids straddle both the BLP and DLP governments. Barbadians whether old or young know this area to be a rich agricultural belt which adjoins the St. George Valley, another rich agricultural area. Of further concern are the several applications for housing development scattered across Barbados.

BU has no issue with People’s Cathedral building a 42 million dollar facility in St. Davids. From all reports the Holmes William’s operation has been a model citizen. We may have a concern based on reports in the local media the haste with which he threatened to shut the school operation down because his teachers threatened to join the union…

The big concern of many Barbadians centres on the lack of an orderly development of our land resource. Barbadians can easily cite the cluttered West Coast which has crowed out all but a few windows to the sea. In recent weeks the local media seems to have awaken from its long slumber to alert Barbadians to the rapidly disappearing Mullins Beach, no doubt caused by the tampering of our coastline by developer after developer.  Local reports continue to point to other beach areas rapidly losing the battle to the sea. The previous government justified the unbridled development of our West Coast to the need to encourage foreign direct investment operating on the economic concept that land should always be allowed to fetch its highest economic value. There we are!

Are We Serious About Agriculture

Submitted by The Scout

Minister of Agriculture Haynesley Benn

For sometime I have been monitoring the growth of agriculture or lack of here in Barbados. Successive Governments have paid lip service to this industry and local farmers are becoming more and more frustrated, and rightly so. Praedial larceny again has been put on the back burner, this problem has not gone away, just that farmers have stop complaining as we got more angry when nothing is being done about it.

Also there is the problem of monkey theft, these animal over the years have become a serious problem, destroying almost every crop planted e.g potatoes, cassava, onions, etc, yet the Ministry of Agriculture cannot come up with a solution to the problem.

Then there is the problem with those who actually reap a crop to get it sold, we have to compete against foreign product that is subsidised, then against the foreign producers who are growing crops in Barbados and don’t have the overheads that the locals have. What is noteworthy is that I don’t hear of any of this class of local producers report praedial larceny, or the inability to sell their crops.

Levelling the Playing Field

Adrian Loveridge - Hotel Owner

At a time when various Caribbean Ministers of Government have recently met and agreed to levy yet another tax on intra Caribbean air travel, its time perhaps for them to contemplate exactly the effective its having on land based tourism. A seven day cruise departing from Barbados was recently advertised with one of the largest companies, taking in St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Dominica and back to Barbados.

With a lead-in price from US$449 per person plus mandatory gratuities, Government fees and taxes, it represented what many might consider outstanding value-for-money. Especially as when you consider most meals, and other features like entertainment are included. Of the overall total cost, an amount of US$55.42 per person is shown as Government fees and taxes.

Now let’s say you were the same person considering visiting our Caribbean neighbours and taking the cheapest published airfares between point to point, what would you pay in Government taxes and add-ons?

Barbados-St. Lucia US$61.87; St. Lucia – Antigua US$82.57; Antigua-St. Kitts US$42.10; St. Kitts – San Juan US$52.70; San Juan – St. Thomas US$34.50; St. Thomas – Dominica US$33.00 and Dominica- Barbados US$25.38! So a massive US$332.12 per person in taxes and add-ons to visit the same number of destinations by air! In fact this figure is even higher, because some governments are not yet including the departure tax in the ticket price.

Now what about the overall contribution to the region?

North Korea: A Real Challenge For President Obama?

Submitted by Yardbroom

Leader of North Korea Kim Jong Il

Kim Jong-Il’s Government of North Korea has warned America, that if any of its vessels were intercepted as part of a US-led initiative to search ships for nuclear materials, it will launch an attack on South Korea.  This was a direct response to South Korea joining the Proliferation Security Initiative an American-led campaign to search ships carrying suspicious cargoes.  As if to ratchet up the temperature US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned North Korea, over its “provocative and belligerent” threats.

The US Government knows that a military threat from North Korea cannot be taken lightly, provocative and belligerent it might be, but North Korea has about a million men in uniform and only last week it exploded a nuclear bomb the size of the one dropped on Hiroshima, in addition to firing six short-range missiles.  Confrontation with North Korea will not be like an escapade in Iraq, if the history of the Korean war is used as a guide.

The Korean war lasted from the 25th June 1950 until the Armistice on 27th July 1953.  The North had invaded the South and it was under the United Nations, nations allied with the United States intervened on behalf of South Korea and was able to push back the North Koreans.  Then the North with allied  Chinese forces were able the halt the South Korean advance.

Brother, Where Art Thou?

Hartley Henry - DLP Political Strategist

Men are truly in crisis! Ralph Boyce and his MESA group are giving promotion of the interest of men their best shot, but I am not sure the extent to which they are succeeding. I see some very alarming trends on the horizon.

I am not speaking here of the disproportionate number of females enrolling at tertiary institutions. Neither am I concerned, on this occasion, about the virtual takeover of the leadership of the public service by members of the fairer sex.  Indeed, there is also the matter of every other driver on the road being female.

None of these issues, though deserving of evaluation, is as striking to me as driving around Barbados on weekends and viewing the social scene. Take for example my “passing time” in the lobby of the Barbados Hilton last Saturday evening and observing as literally hundreds of persons arrived for what was clearly a dapper social event. I was not invited and I did not care to enquire of the occasion. What, however, was striking was the near 70 percent to 30 percent ratio of women to men. For every “male and female” couple that waltzed into that hotel, there were two and probably three of females only, comprising two, three or four individuals. I was in the company of a visiting associate from overseas and it was he who asked the alarming question “but where are the Bajan men?”

Caribbean Tourism Organization – Shame On You

Submitted by Looking Glass

Caribbean Week in New York, June 8-12, 2009

At a time when the global recession is wreaking havoc with Caribbean tourism and visitor arrivals are down, when hotel occupancy levels are at an all time record low and industry staff and workers are being laid off through out the region, we could not help but notice that one of the events scheduled for Caribbean Week in New York, June 8 -12 is the 36^th Annual Governments of the Caribbean State Ball Reasons for staging this activity, which is held under the auspices of the CTO Foundation, are to raise funds for providing scholarships to Caribbean nationals. This is a noble gesture and CTO is to be complimented for its efforts. However, at a time when the livelihoods of many people in the tourism industry are being affected by the global financial crisis, the question arises as to whether CTO’s governing body gave consideration to postponing this event, as they did with the Sustainable Tourism Conference to 2010, and utilizing other means to source revenues.

Surely transferring funds from one of its EU Lome programs should not pose a major challenge. A table at the Caribbean State Ball costs US$5000.00, individual tickets are priced at US$550.00. When these amounts, along with the high hotel room rates in Washington and New York, plus the daily unaccountable US subsistence and transportation allowances for each government delegation attending Caribbean Week are tallied up, one wonders if this is a case of a privilege few enjoying the benefits of the tourism industry at the expense of many. This brings back memories of the presidents of the US automobile companies arriving in their private jets for meetings with the US Congress at a time when their respective organizations were seeking financial aid.

Is There Rasta Profiling In Barbados?

Submitted by Yardbroom

My attention was drawn to an article in the Nation News by Yvette Best 5-27-2009 in which she reported that Ras Kudos Sage had said “Rasta profiling in Barbados should stop”…he further asserted…”they – Rastafari – are constantly being persecuted by the way we practice our worship and for the very things that define us Rastafari.”

The writer did not state a position but honestly reported the facts as she understood the opinions of Ras Kudos Sage.  I will assume that Ras Kudos Sage has gathered information from his brothers and has personal experiences to justify that statement.  His plea was also addressed to other faiths from whom he sought support.

Should we advance his entreaty by asking:

(1) Is profiling of Rastafari in Barbados a reality? – If it is.

(2) Who is doing the profiling?

(a) The general population.

(b) The police.

(c) Employers

(3) What effect has this perceived profiling on the Rastafarian community?

(d) How can they assist in its prevention.

(4) Is this possible.

If we accept that Rasta profiling is occurring in the general population, there must be reasons, are those reasons justified?  If they are not, what can Rastafarians do to allay any perceived fears in the general population. The police interact with the Rastafarian community, as they naturally do with other sections of society, what are their experiences of those interactions?

Ole Talk

Blogging on the BU generates serious talk on serious issues. This blog request by BU family member Dr. Georgie Porgie is meant to provide a release valve :- )

Have fun!

The More Things Change The More They Remain The Same

The fact that there is continuing debate as to who to attribute the famous quote the more things change, the more they stay the same does not dilute its meaning in anyway. This quote further reminds us of another, if you keep doing things the same way, don’t expect the results to be different!

The Auditor General Report 2008 was laid in parliament recently. As expected, this faithful government fiscal watchdog highlighted several financial queries which point to financial mismanagement and contravention of the financial rules of government (in this case the review would have covered the period of the former government). Unfortunately the Auditor General’s office does not maintain a website which allows the business of the people to be made available.  Until the hardcopy is published Barbadians will have to satisfy themselves with the snippets which the Nation newspaper has been reporting.