BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Enhancing security within the region is one of the major issues that came under discussion recently when Mark Simmonds, Minister for Africa, the Overseas Territories, the Caribbean and International Energy, met with Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart and other Minister of Government including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Maxine McClean; Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite and Minister of Energy, Senator Darcy Boyce.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - THE FIERCE battle to elect a successor to the late President Hugo Chavez is over but a heavy cloud of uncertainty hangs over Venezuela amid today’s official ceremony for Nicolas Maduro to take the oath as new head of state of that influential oil-rich nation. With seven known deaths and scores of injured during a clash of government and opposition supporters following official declaration of the results, both President Maduro and his opposition challenger Henrique Capriles have the immediate challenge of ensuring a climate of peace for constructive dialogue.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The difficulties confronting regional economies continue to stare us in the face on a daily basis. We hear of problems with the fiscal deficit in most islands, along with the pain and stress of civil servants clamouring for wage increases to cushion them against increases in the cost of living. Quite often, such increases are outside the reach of the governments; and the discussion turns to the almost inevitable austerity-like measures that some administrations may be forced to implement with a view to making ends meet, if only on a short-term basis!
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - IT HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID that democracy thrives in a turbulent climate. It is also true that for it to function effectively there will be winners and losers, who must accept the verdict and the will of the majority of the people.
The situation in Venezuela is the latest example of the difficulty that could arise where party leadership is not prepared to accept the results of an election which could plunge a country into chaos and economic instability. Ideology also plays a pivotal role in most situations.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Particular attention must be given to Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs), with regards to how Information and Communication Technologies or ICTs, may be applied to improve their efficiency, extend their reach and make them more globally competitive. That is according to Dr. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada during his address to the University of the West Indies Students Today Ambassadors Tomorrow (UWISTAT) lecture, held recently at the Cave Hill Campus.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - FRESH FROM his electoral victory in Grenada’s February 19 parliamentary election, in which his People’s National Party captured all 15 seats, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell chose to go public last week with a rather surprising negative message about the sole intra-regional airline, LIAT.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - THE START of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season is less than two months away, but with the predictions from the various forecasters of a very active season, we need to start putting the necessary precautions in place.
We must disabuse our minds of the silly notion that a hurricane will not hit our country, believing that it enjoys the Saviour’s special blessings and we can therefore ignore the scientific data being presented by the meteorological experts. Yes, we can stupse and criticize the predictions, but we do so at our own peril.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - IN one of his recommendations on the way forward for the Barbados economy, the Governor of this island’s Central Bank, Dr. Delisle Worrell, weighed in on the subject of bureaucracy which has been given much exposure in the country.
He stressed that efforts must be redoubled to remove barriers to Barbados’ competitiveness. The Governor did not leave it there but went on to say that the most damaging of the barriers are inefficiency of Government bureaucracy, insufficient financing for new ventures and poor work attitudes in the workforce.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Advocate -
It is crucial that this Government takes the opportunity during this increasingly difficult economic period to reassess its strategy for earning revenue. As such, this administration should be commended on its continued multifaceted approach to grow the economy through the development of the manufacturing, agriculture and especially the tourism industry – the latter being the main revenue earner for the country.
BRDIGETOWN, Barbados, Advocate - To be competitive Barbadians need to embrace ICTs, as theycan significantly drive development in Barbados.
This was the suggestion made by Donville Inniss, Minister of Industry, International Business Commerce and Small Business Development yesterday at the Digicel Corporate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Conference at the Hilton.