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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 27/5/2020

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is your daily news cap Wednesday 27th May, 2020. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Midweek Nation Newspaper (MWN).

PUBLIC WORKERS TO GAIN INTEREST ON ‘FORCED SAVINGS’ DEAL - Thousands of public servants stand to earn substantial sums of money over the next four years through the proposed national meeting turn, a Government paper obtained by Barbados TODAY has claimed. The money to come from the plan diverts between seven and 20 per cent of public servants’ paycheques into Government bonds through a compulsory scheme that is expected to be further explained to the country in the coming days, as Prime Minister Mia Mottley grapples with an estimated half-billion-dollar drop in revenue as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. More immediately, $100 million of the savings is expected to be pumped into capital works projects in a bid to find temporary work for many of the thousands of private sector workers who were made redundant as a result of the shutdown. The proposal, first described as ‘forced savings’, has sparked fierce national debate. Some have expressed doubt of any benefit to them while others have urged to give it a chance to work. On Monday, retired trade unionist Sir Roy Trotman told Barbados TODAY: “It is something that should be explored. I don’t think we should start dumping stuff without thinking about it.” While it is expected that every public worker who earns more than $36,000 per year will be compelled to join the scheme, any employee who is unable to afford the income drop will have an option to immediately cash in his or her forced savings. Among the key features of the plan contained in the white paper: None of the 11,000 employees earning less than $36,000 per year will be enrolled in the scheme unless he or she approaches the Government and volunteers; Public officers earning between $36,000 and $50,000 will receive between seven per cent and ten per cent of their salary in bonds – the remainder as normal; Those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 will receive between 12 per cent and 15 per cent in bonds — the remainder as normal; Those earning over $100,000 per year will receive between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of their salary in bonds — the remainder will be paid as normal. For those civil servants whose financial commitments require them to pay more of their salaries out each month than they now get in cash, Government has already put arrangements in place with a number of financial institutions, including credit unions, to accept the bonds in part or in whole from any public servants and pay them the full value, Barbados TODAY was told. “This is possible,” a source explained, “because these bonds are extremely attractive. They will pay a five per cent interest, which is almost five per cent more than banks now pay on savings. “What is even more important is that any public servant can set up a standing order so that each month his full bond or any agreed portion can be converted to cash. In essence, he is getting his full salary each month if that is his choice, just that Government will pay him, for example, 90 per cent in cash or cheque as usual, and a financial institution will pay him the remain on the bonds. “He is absolutely no worse off, but if he decides to hold on for four years he is considerably better off.” This means that an employee who, for example, has monthly bond deductions of $531.45 per month for four years, will save $9,566.07 over the period, which at five per cent interest will earn him $1,913.21 on top of that savings – or a payout of $11,479.28 some-time in 2024. While the bonds will be lodged in the Central Bank of Barbados in each worker’s name, they will be immediately tradable, and any other public officer or any other Barbadian who is interested can work through a bond trader to buy them if they want to earn extra income from such investments. It was not immediately clear whether the bonds or investment income would be taxable. According to statistics seen by Barbados TODAY, while 43 per cent of public servants at the bottom of the scale will not be affected by the forced savings scheme unless asked to opt in, there are 6,166 public officers in the $36 000 to $50 000 band, 7,445 in the $50,000 to $100,000 band, and 826 paid over $100,000. The bond scheme will include ministers and Members of Parliament, and there is a provision for bonds to be cashed in as early as 24 months by the bondholder, Barbados TODAY has learned. A Government official said: “While some people have been critical of the plan without waiting for the details, what they should look at is that not a single public officer will be disadvantaged by this. “To the contrary, if they can afford it they will earn five per cent on a portion of their salaries for four years without driving a stroke. If they can’t afford to they can get all their month’s [pay] as usual each month without hassle.” (BT)

OPPOSITION SENATOR NOT HAPPY WITH GOVT TREATMENT – General Secretary of the Unity Workers’ Union Senator Caswell Franklyn will not be attending any more meetings of the Social Partnership unless Government issues an apology to him. The outspoken Senator made his stance clear this morning, saying he felt disrespected by Government’s decision not to invite him to previous meetings because he was opposed to their proposals. During a Zoom meeting hosted by the People’s Party for Democracy and Development (PdP) this morning, Franklyn suggested that his presence had not been requested at those meetings because he was not a ‘yes man’. He said after “sharing his thoughts” and objecting to Government’s initial suggestion of forced savings for public servants he was not invited to the subsequent meeting to discuss the proposal. However, while he admitted that he had been invited to a follow-up meeting, Franklyn said he would not allow Government to dictate when he would be allowed to speak. A meeting of the Social Partnership which included officials from the Ministry of Finance and trade union officials took place yesterday where a proposed National Meeting Plan was discussed. Franklyn said while he had no issues praising Government, he was also prepared to criticize when necessary. “I shared my thoughts on that and having shared my thoughts they didn’t invite me to the meeting the first time around…When the first meeting came up to discuss the matter of forced savings they didn’t invite me because they only wanted compliant voices in the room and they were assured that my voice would not be compliant so they didn’t invite me. They subsequently invited me after I made a little bit of noise and they sent me an invitation. “But they have to send me an apology first. I will not subject myself to that kind of disrespect. They invite me to meetings when they are ready and they want to hear me agreeing with them, but once they think I am disagreeing they are not inviting me. I am not going back again unless they apologize,” Franklyn maintained. (BT)

WEIR FOCUSED ON ‘THE PEOPLE’ DESPITE UNFOLDING SAGA – Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir appears to be unaffected by the comments levelled against him by his former ally, Anthony Wood amid a messy political breakup currently unfolding. But rather than address the issue head-on, Weir on Tuesday declared that his energy is focused on assisting hundreds of residents in his St Philip South constituency struggling to make ends meet. He was responding to numerous questions from Barbados TODAY about the nature of the ongoing issues, which spilled into the public domain when Wood “disassociated” himself from the Agriculture Minister in a recent newspaper advertisement. Wood, who was appointed Chairman of the Barbados Agricultural Development Management Company (BAMC) shortly after the Barbados Labour Party’s 2018 election victory recently resigned from the post before publicly withdrawing his support for the St Philip South representative. Particularly significant about the development is the fact that in 2018, Wood played a significant role in Weir’s handsome defeat of Democratic Labour Party candidate Adriel Brathwaite. While promising to explain his reasons at a later date, Wood, who previously served two terms as MP for the area apologised for supporting Weir and expressed confidence that constituents would also withdraw their support in due course. Minister Weir has however refused to directly answer questions on the unfolding public drama opting instead to focus on over 250 care packages being distributed weekly to his constituents who have no income and are in need. “I just want to get on with the people’s work. That is my angst right now, just getting the people’s work done,” Weir told Barbados TODAY. “My focus is on the people of St Philip South and from the time the COVID-19 crisis started, I have been giving out packages to people who became unemployed. There are several people in the tourism sector who are without work today simply because there are no tourists coming into Barbados because the ports are closed and people are unemployed. “Their concerns and fears are real and I am focused with my team on staying with my people every step of the way to make sure I give them the assistance they need,” the parliamentary representative declared. In fact, he promised that a housing solution was being made available for 39-year-old Katura Luke whose deplorable living conditions were highlighted by social media influencer, Jordan English on Monday. “So this is our focus and this is what we are doing. I was elected to represent people and to care about people and that is what I am going to demonstrate to my constituents going forward. Our next programme is Saturday and we will again be giving out over 100 care packages. These are the things that I’m focused on,” he added. When pressed further, Weir indicated he had a busy day ahead and would address any other issues at a later date. Efforts to contact Anthony Wood were unsuccessful. (BT)

‘ABSURD’ MOVE TO RETROACTIVELY APPOINT WILLIAMS – The Opposition People’s Party for Democracy and Development (PdP) has described Government’s muddled move to appoint a second Deputy Commissioner of Police without the required legislation as an “absurdity”. Spokesperson on law and governance Maria Phillips today insisted that the PdP was in full support of fellow party member Senator Caswell Franklyn, who was responsible for bringing to light the illegitimacy of the appointment of Oral Williams. Phillips maintained that Williams could not be legally appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Police without the matter being aired in Parliament, which is yet to happen. She contended that Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s argument of implied repeal was not lawful. Phillips said: “We as the PdP want to bring to the attention of the public the most recent statements of the Prime Minister and what we have deemed as a bungled delivery of a doctrine of implied repeal of legislation in an effort to justify the recent appointment of another Deputy Commissioner of Police. “Even though the Prime Minister has stated that the orders were signed, there is no evidence even by reviews of the order papers in the Barbados Parliament that this legislation was laid before the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament and that the orders were in fact affirmed by a resolution in each house for them to be passed. “The absurdity of this situation is that the substantive post does not legitimately exist and furthermore we have a situation in which Barbadian taxpayers have had the burden of paying for the remuneration of the proposed officeholder for a period of over one year.” Phillips said it was interesting to note that while Attorney General Dale Marshall admitted an error had been made in appointing Williams before making the necessary changes to the legislation and had apologized, the Prime Minister had said otherwise. She also said it was mindboggling that Williams was put in charge of human resources, which were also the responsibilities of an Assistant Commissioner of Police. Senator Franklyn charged that Government was setting the law and breaking it at the same time. He said: “You cannot be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker at the same time and the Government is refusing to follow the law. This is lawlessness. Government has to behave better and set an example. “When the people go before the magistrate and are sent to jail that’s because they broke the law. There is no punishment for these [government] breaking the laws of Barbados too?” (BT)

CHERRY CLEARING THE WAY FOR NEW HOUSE – Katura Luke and her four children are on their way to getting a new home. Yesterday, businessman Anderson Cherry started clearing and renovating the dilapidated house in Diamond Valley, St Philip, which the family has been occupying for several years. Their sad story was brought to light by charity worker Jordan English and his team, who learnt of the living conditions while conducting a food hamper drive. English said he was shocked to see the state of Luke’s home, which had no electricity or bathroom facilities, and was littered with junk and garbage. He sent out an urgent appeal on Tuesday calling on the business community to assist. (MWN)

FAMILY OF FIVE TO GET MAKEOVER AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA PLEA – An impassioned plea to help a struggling mother and her four children has triggered a massive effort to provide decent living conditions for the females in seven days. Less than 24-hours after social media influencer Jordan English highlighted the plight of Katura Luke’s family, construction and sanitation contractor Anderson Cherry has pledged to do “whatever it takes” to improve the family’s condition. And while the house at Diamond Valley, St Philip, is being transformed, management of the nearby Crane Resort has agreed to provide all-inclusive accommodation for the family. Cherry, managing director of Jose Y Jose Liquid and Solid Waste Management Inc explained that after seeing English’s appeal on social media, he visited the site to get a first-hand look at the decrepit state of the 39-year-old single mother’s home. He reached out to some of his customers in the hotel industry who have been more than willing to assist with thousands of dollars in cash and kind, he told Barbados TODAY. Cherry mobilised the Waste Haulers Association for the cleanup of clutter including bottles, plastic, dirty clothes and other items in and around the house. “I met with [Katura] and we discussed some ideas and things that she would love to see in the house and we will be reaching out to Corporate Barbados to see what donations we can get. We are going to paint the house, clean it and outfit it with furniture, stoves, beds, and fridges. We would like all new things to put in the house and make the people comfortable along with clothes and other items for the children,” he told Barbados TODAY. “The amount of money is not an issue. We will do whatever it takes along with the help and support of my customers that have supported me over the years who keep Jose Y Jose’s doors open. We are going to give it our best shot and do everything possible to make the family comfortable.” Tiles, galvanised roofing, concrete boards, and paint along with numerous appliances are still needed to make the seven-day makeover a success. In the meantime, the children, two of whom celebrated a birthday on Tuesday, were treated to a limousine excursion by Lyndhurst Funeral Home, before being taken to Crane Resort for a seven-day stay. Cherry said he will spend his 48th birthday on Wednesday working closely with English who he described as “a very wonderful and passionate man”. He added: “In these hard economic times, we too [Jose Y Jose] are going through a very difficult time losing 80 per cent of our revenue because most of our clients are hotels. So our bottom line took a very hard hit. It is a very difficult time for my company, but we still have to reach out and help other people and I want to encourage Barbadians to come onboard and help with any other project that Mr English is helping out with. He is a very wonderful and passionate young man.” (BT)

CAN YOU SPARE TO HELP ELDERLY SIBLING PAIR? – Two elderly brothers living in squalor at Holder’s Hill, St James are in dire need of assistance. Carl Marshall, 72, who is caring for his 70-year-old deaf and dumb disabled brother Frank Marshall, said they have been calling the rotted structure home for many years. When a Barbados TODAY team visited them it was evident that the structure which residents in the area referred to as “a hole” is unsafe and unsuitable for humans. “You see under there, the rain coming down from through there and it blowing right through the place. It got a couple of holes where I does lay down and the water does come through. I got a black plastic that I would put over me and my brother if the rain coming through,” he said. Carl said it has been several years since he has been appealing for assistance with repairing the structure which also has rotted floorboards, an outside toilet and other structural and unsanitary issues. “I need help. You could see that I need a floor. I need a house. To explain this will be real difficult because it is happening. When the house was good I wasn’t getting wet,” he said. He said they barely manage to survive on his brother’s disability benefit from Government, his small pension, and whatever little kindhearted neighbours give. Carl returned to Barbados in the 80s from Canada to take care of his brother after their parents died. He promised that he would never leave his brother’s side. “I got to take care of my brother. I got my brother here so I can’t really think about Canada anymore, I got to think about me and he. He is my brother and I have to do this.” However, Carl said that while he knows the Government is struggling to lead the country through an economic crisis, he is appealing to those who may be able to help, to do so with contributions of lumber and other building materials to bring the structure to a more suitable standard. He explained that the house was extensively damaged by a storm in the 1980s and years later, he made the attempt to rebuild the house but only got as far as the unfinished foundation. Carl said he can’t say how long he has been appealing to authorities for help but he noted that people came, took pictures, and often promised to assist but never returned. The elderly man who said he owns the property, made it clear that he did not expect a finished house to be handed to him. He said that he is willing to assist with the rebuilding process. “I would like a floor that I could roll in my brother on a wheelchair. He can’t walk properly. He come out here on his bum and I would lift him. It hurts me to lift him because he was walking before. I does have to lift he inside the toilet and lift he there [to the pipe] to wash out he mouth. Then I put him there and he creeps back inside. What I would like is a concrete floor with some siding. I might get a couple of bricks. Whatever they could do I would thank them very much for it. “If I had the money I would have my house up already but money ain’t coming in. The couple dollars I have is to pay bills. I have to pay the fella about $90 to $100 for the light system. I got to pay for the garbage and sewerage bill there and then the money done. When the front blow down I build up this [foundation] in the 90s,” he said. Efforts to contact Member of Parliament for St James Central Kerrie Symmonds, and Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Cynthia Forde, proved futile. (BT)

GLOOMY FORECAST - Corporate earnings in Barbados will take a big “hit” from the COVID-19 pandemic, says an investment expert. Fortress Fund Managers Ltd investment director Roger Cave cautioned that while his firm was “quite positive and optimistic” of a recovery in a year or two, “2020 is not going to be a pretty picture for most companies operating in the region”. He was speaking during an online media briefing yesterday, along with Fortress chief investment officer Peter Arender. “The short term, as we see [financial] results come out more from June, there’s going to be a significant hit, I think, to corporate earnings, but we have to remember investing in equities is a long-term investment, so you are looking forward to those earnings,” Cave said. (BT)

CRUISE SHIP BRINGING IN OVER 4000 CREW – The world’s longest cruise ship and the second largest arrives in Barbados today on a humanitarian mission. The 1 188-foot-long Harmony Of The Seas is carrying over 4 000 crew members and will be facilitating the repatriation of crew, who have been stranded at sea for weeks, to their homes in Indonesia, the Philippines, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Romania, on chartered aircraft over the next few days. The ship will be here until early June. Harmony Of The Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, carries 5 400 passengers and 2 100 crew on its regular eastern and western Caribbean itineraries. It will be one of the 31 cruise ships to lay over in Barbados with cruising being brought to a virtual halt internationally since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (MWN)

NOW PSVS MAY OPPOSE COMPETING WITH TAXI, COACHES – Even as taxi drivers and coach operators appear to question Government’s plan to bring them into the public transport system, minibus and route taxi owners have expressed uneasiness with the move. Now a number of public service vehicle operators have told Barbados TODAY there are simply not enough commuters to go around. It was not immediately clear whether this view was shared by the Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO) or the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT). In announcing the move to Phase 3 of the pandemic recovery two weeks ago, Prime Minister Mia Mottley outlined plans to use coaches to boost the public transport service. She said Minister of Transport Dr William Duguid would also meet with taxi operators to discuss how their services could be employed to ferry commuters. The PM also revealed that 33 electric buses ordered by the Transport Board were expected to arrive between the end of June and early July. Mottley said with public service vehicles and Transport Board buses only allowed to carry 60 per cent of their capacity, there was a need for additional vehicles. But a PSV owner who spoke to Barbados TODAY predicted business would go from bad to worse if private coaches were employed. The owner, who was not speaking on behalf of the PSV operators’ association, said owners, drivers and conductors were already struggling to earn a decent income with the current legislation. He said: “Right now we can only carry about seven or eight passengers at any given time. When you do the maths you can see that is only about $25, so you can see how many full trips we have to make in order to get a decent amount of money. “You also have to factor in that we have to put diesel in the vehicle and pay the driver and conductor. “So when these additional coaches from Ross University come and you add in the ZMs, then what is going to be left for us? How will we make money?” Another owner said even though there were restrictions in place commuters were still being serviced regularly. He said that on routes such as Silver Sands, Speightstown and Silver Hill, even though they were limited to 60 per cent, commuters were having no problems. The owner who spoke on condition of anonymity told Barbados TODAY: “I haven’t heard of any complaints from commuters about not being able to catch a van. Let us be honest; even before the pandemic people who lived on certain routes were complaining that they could not get a Transport Board bus. The majority of people are back out at work and we have been able to do a good job so far.” He said he had no issue if the private coaches were used on routes that were not regularly serviced by PSVs. But on popular routes which he claimed were already overcrowded there was no need for additional transport, he said. While agreeing with his colleagues, another owner said he was at a loss as to what would happen when everything “returned to normal”. Noting that the tourism industry is not expected to be “up in a hurry”, he queried if some of the private coaches would be used permanently. He said: “There are already too many PSVs on the road. I can’t imagine what would happen if the Prime Minister allows these other vehicles to operate as PSVs after COVID-19 has passed. “I would hope that they would only be allowed to operate for a set period of time because it would be unfair to us PSV owners to allow other vehicles to come and move commuters and take money out of our mouths. We have families to feed like everyone else.” (BT)

MEDICINAL CANNABIS AGENCY SEEKS INVESTOR’S PLANS – Government’s regulator of the medicinal cannabis industry has appealed for business plans by would-be growers, handlers and traders, its director has declared. Dr Shantal Munro-Knight, who heads the cannabis unit in the Ministry of Agriculture, said there was already interest in cannabis exports from Barbados. Her call comes in anticipation of the ministry’s unit being launched as the Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority (BMCLA).The BMCLA is by law the sole regulator of the medicinal cannabis industry. It licenses the cultivation, processing, transport and dispensing of medicinal cannabis to patients. It has not been announced when the Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Board (BMCLA) is to be appointed to oversee the authority, the sole regulator of the medicinal cannabis industry. The BMCLA has been formally constituted, now four months after Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir announced the agency should be ready to begin issuing licences by February. Back then, he told Barbados TODAY: “I am happy to report that the authority is established, and they are ready to work. “I am hoping that the first of the licence would be ready to be issued before February but no later than the end of that month. “By February all of the necessary information should be in the public domain, so that the public will be aware of the process and what they have to do in order to be able to start to apply for licences.” Dr Munro-Knight told more than 100 participants in a virtual farmers’ forum on cannabis last Friday that while investment in the industry will be capital heavy, small farmers and entrepreneurs can carve out an opportunity through joint ventures as the industry expands. As an example, Dr Munro-Knight said through a licence from the authority for transporting cannabis, “there is nothing that prevents two or three small businesspersons getting together and say, let’s invest in transport vehicles that we will outfit to transport cannabis”. She added: “We shouldn’t think as soon as day one, we are going to have the capacity to participate in the regime at the same level. There will be a period of learning, there will be a period where we will have to gather investment, put the coppers together, see what the best ways are and learn the lessons. Therefore, we must give ourselves time. “It doesn’t mean that because a big investor or two come that the whole industry will become monopolized. It’s a growth spectrum. The industry will expand, and it will contract, and we will have to be able to look for the opportunities to be able to participate. Even if you start to participate as a worker it doesn’t mean that you have to end up there.” But she told the farmers that each business would be responsible for doing its own market research and “make sure that it can reach the necessary standards in order to penetrate that regional and international markets”. She said: “The Cannabis Unit has already looked at markets and the respective requirements and we will be sharing information in relation to the necessary standards and requirements. But we cannot commit to any guarantees for you. As a business you will have to compete not only with other businesses in Barbados but across the region as well in relation to getting your product into the market.” She continued: “We must look at the full value chain. The industry isn’t just going to need cultivators who grow, it’s not just going to need people working extraction – the industry will need lawyers, consultants, service providers, people who are doing marketing and advertising, we will need drivers, security. We will need a whole spectrum of people to be involved in the industry. “So, I hope that we are not being fatalistic about this industry. Let’s look at the opportunities that might be available if not from day one, certainly as the industry grows and expands.” Barbados is to adopt a tiered approach to cultivation and processor permits, ranging from Tier 1 for small-scale cultivation to Tier 3 for large-scale farms. The Medical Cannabis Industry Act allows medical cannabis to be prescribed by a practitioner to Barbadians or visitors. (BT)

UPGRADE AT BWA NEWMARKET STATION – The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) announced in a media statement today that residents in St George, Christ Church and St Michael will be affected by an upgrade of its Newmarket station on Wednesday, May 27, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Newmarket station is being taken offline to facilitate urgent electrical upgrades being conducted in conjunction with the Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd. The statement said this station is one of the sources into the Hanson and Fort George distribution network and customers in the parishes indicated may be affected by low pressure or water outages while the work is being done. “Once the work is completed, the system may take some time to fully recover. Residents are therefore advised to store an adequate supply of water to assist during the time their water supply is expected to be affected. Water tankers will also service customers in the affected districts as a temporary measure,” the statement said. (BGIS)

GOVERNMENT ANALYTICAL SERVICES LABORATORY REOPENS – Sample analysis has resumed at the Government Analytical Services Laboratory. A statement from Government said the laboratory will operate Mondays to Fridays from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Measures have been introduced for those using the services, in adherence with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) public health directive: Requests should be communicated to the laboratory by calling 535-1740 or emailing [email protected];  Clients will be advised on the time and date for sample submission or collection of sample receptacles; Clients visiting the lab must wear the appropriate face mask;   Samples will be received in a sample receipt area located outside the main laboratory area; Entry into the main laboratory will be limited.  The Government Analytical Services Laboratory is also reminding customers to observe physical distancing at all times and practice good hand and respiratory hygiene. (BGIS)

ASSOCIATION GETS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR – The Barbados Wrestling Association (BWA) now has John Cho in its corner as the new technical director. Cho, a Guyana-born Canadian resident, was appointed three weeks ago by the executive body of the BWA who are working towards taking the sport to another level. President of the BWA, Rollins Alleyne said he was happy with the choice and believes Choo has what it takes to develop wrestling in Barbados from the grassroots and up. Providing that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic passes by August, Choo is expected to arrive on the island for the first time to gauge where the sport is at locally. What is of note is that the 53-year-old who began his journey in wrestling at the age of 14 is offering his technical director services free of charge to the BWA. With resources being limited and funding at a minimal, Choo told Barbados TODAY the two main things when it came to wrestling were the coaches and the mat which the BWA needed. “One of the things BWA could do is ask the governing body (United World Wrestling) to share (cost) a mat because they are not cheap. You have to not only buy a brand new mat and they easily go in Canadian for ten to 12 thousand Canadian and they last forever. Unless you dig a mat through them they would last a lifetime of any coach. “We are trying to create a Caribbean wrestling league. So they are trying to build that community by talking with other Caribbean countries. That is my focus too, see how we can help develop a Caribbean wrestling league,” Cho said. He added: “My focus is to develop it from a youth-based grassroots level. I am not worried about the upper levels. That is why Rollins was in Canada. They have athletes who are trying to qualify for the Olympics which is postponed but we have to qualify people throughout the Americas.” Cho prefers to coach young people from the grassroots level especially those that are aspiring to be future Olympians. He currently holds a National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) which affords him the opportunity to coach at the national level. A proposal is in the works to target students and young people within local communities that have an interest and desire to learn. “The proposal is where you are a teacher at a school. You may be teaching physical education and let’s say you have access to a gym with mats, then the resting mat you would teach that sport for one to two weeks as part of an individual programme. “Then we would have proposal B like a one week program and introduce what we did for wrestling in the school system but over that one week. So I would now be a community coach and usually, in Canada, your criminal record must be checked before coaching.”. No stranger to the Caribbean, Cho was in Jamaica 2016 with Rick Henry who is a Jamaican by birth and the two put on a wrestling clinic for young people at the Gerald Claude Foster University located in Spanish Town. Cho said sadly there was no follow up to that programme because Henry lives in Texas and there was no one to push it. In 2018 Choo returned to Kingston for a week where he taught at-risk youth and anyone else who was willing to learn how to wrestle. According to the experienced technical director, one of the things Barbados has that Jamaica doesn’t are the coaches. Therefore, Cho suggested that the Caribbean territories work together to develop best practices in terms of how best to better their programmes. (BT)

BROWNE AWAITS WORD ON COMPETITION - Young female wrestler Makayla Browne is still awaiting word on whether she will be able to compete at this year’s Under-15 Pan American Championships in Nicaragua in November. Browne lamented she has had to miss out on a great amount of training sessions because of the coronavirus pandemic, but she is still keeping in the best frame of mind as she looks towards someday making it to the Summer Olympics. “I am now missing out on a lot of training. Before this happened, I would do training most evenings. When I get home I would usually do my schoolwork before I go to sleep,” said the 14-year-old Ellerslie School student. She has big hopes of reaching the medal podium in Nicaragua but said the primary goal is about being the best she could be. (MWN)

CRICKETERS BUYING INTO RESTRICTIONS – Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) head coach Dexter Toppin says he is happy the players have bought into the social distance practice sessions at Kensington Oval in preparation for the forthcoming West Indies’ tour of England. Speaking to MIDWEEK SPORT at the Oval yesterday morning, Toppin said he was happy to see the cricketers embrace the daily schedule which limits sessions to three players. “It is something different. It is something we have to live with and buy into it because it is something that is here at this moment and we can’t really take chances,” he said. “Most of the guys feel uncomfortable doing things in the field with a mask on their face because it is something they have never done before, but all in all, they are getting through it and I have not had any complaints.” (BT)

FIGHTERS REMANDED TO DODDS – Three Christ Church men, all in their 30s, were remanded to HMP Dodds when they appeared in court today charged in connection with a fight along Rockley Main Road. They are Matthew Anthony Robinson, 39, of Parish Land; Omar DaCosta Holder, 37, of Lot 6C Pleasant Hall and Mario Jabarry Birkett, 30, of Balls Land. Robinson was charged with breach of curfew, causing a disturbance and throwing stones on a highway. Holder was charged with possession of an offensive weapon, possession of cannabis, fear of violence, causing a disturbance and throwing stones on a highway and Birkett was charged with causing a disturbance and throwing stones on a highway. The trio was on board a route taxi travelling towards Bridgetown when they became involved in an argument which escalated into an altercation. It was caught on camera by a Nation photographer and subsequently circulated on social media. The matter was reported to the police and all three men were arrested and charged. When they appeared before Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes at the District ‘D’ Magistrates Court on Tuesday, all pleaded not guilty to the offences and were remanded to HMP Dodds. They are scheduled to reappear at the District ‘A’ Criminal Court on June 8. Robinson is also set to reappear at the District ‘D’ Magistrates Court on June 22 on the breach of curfew charge. (MWN)

16 CHARGED – Thirteen people who pleaded not guilty to breaching the COVID curfew were granted bail with one surety and placed on a curfew. Three others, who pleaded guilty, were all fined $8 000, payable in 20 weeks or nine months in prison. Police arrested and charged the 16 with several offences, including breaches of the Emergency Management (COVID-19) Curfew 9 (No.5) Directive, 2020. The offences allegedly occurred on Sunday at Lears, St Michel. Ean Antonio Lowe, 25, of Savannah Road, Bush Hall, St Michael; Tristan Herbert, 31, of No 112 3rd Avenue Rowen’s Park, St George and Travis Akeem Marshall, 26, of Mayers Road, My Lord’s Hill, St Michael pleaded guilty to the curfew breach and were fined $8 000. Rico Jamar Browne, 29, of Allamby Gap, Spooner’s Hill, St Michael pleaded guilty to having no driver’s licence and no insurance and was fined $800 to be paid in 12 weeks. He was reprimanded and discharged for the offence of fraudulent number plates. Browne and 12 others, listed below from four through 15, pleaded not guilty to the breach of curfew directive. They were placed on 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. curfew and granted bail of $3 000 with one surety. They all appeared before Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes on Monday and are scheduled to reappear at the District ‘D’ Court on August 25, 2020. Ean Antonio Lowe, 25, Savannah Road, Bush Hall, St Michael, Tristan Herbert, 31, of No 112 3rd Avenue Rowen’s Park, St George, Travis Akeem Marshall, 26, of Mayers Road, My Lord’s Hill, St Michael, Che Nicholai Singh, 20, of Nursery Road, Four Roads, St Philip, Kristen Khenraj Singh, 29, of No 39 Cottage, St George, Kevon Ramario Forde, 19, of Valley Land, St George, Daniel Anthony Omar Remis, 20, of No 10 Constant, St George, Josiah Nathanael Boyce, 18, of Valley Land, St George Jumario Kadeem Phillips, 21, of 8F Bottom Close, Wildey, St Michael, Akeem Jamal Belle, 34, of 5A Bottom Close, Wildey, St Michael, Chunia Shakir Welch, 21, of 82 J Parkinson Field, St Michael, Dibbaggio Tyge Payne, 16, of No 19 Walker’s Valley, St George, Casey Terrell Wood, 23, of 16D Bottom Close, Wildey, St Michael, Javon Ramone Williams, 34, of Block 23 Haynesville, St James, Rasean Rico Ashby, 20, of Exchange Road, St George, Rico Jamar Browne, 29, of Allamby Gap, Spooner’s Hill, St Michael (MWN)

NO BAIL FOR BOYCE – A man with no fixed place of abode accused of praedial larceny will be housed on remand at Dodds until June 22. Rayon Andrew Boyce, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes yesterday charged with stealing 100 pounds of plantains worth $175 belonging to Keith Forde between the May 22 and 23. He pleaded not guilty to the charge as well as to unlawfully assaulting Jerry Decourcey Roach on May 23. Boyce also denied breaching Paragraph (21) of the Emergency Management (Covid-19) Curfew (No.5) Directive when he allegedly remained outdoors around 7:15 a.m. at Sugar Hill, St Joseph without a reasonable explanation. Sergeant Theodore McClean objected to his bail on the grounds that Boyce had several antecedents and he was presently on bail from the District ‘D’ Magistrates’ Court on a number of matters of a similar nature. “I did not commit any offences. All I did was parked a car on a man’s property and it was a problem. Them know me! I want help for my drug problem,” the accused said in his application for bail before Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes. However, the judicial officer reminded him that he had received help on the last occasion but “walked out” of Verdun House. Weekes said when he had tried to reason with Boyce on his decision telling him that the help he was receiving was critical and he should continue, the accused responded, ‘I good . . . I can handle it’. (BT)

FBI PROBE INTO BLACK MAN’S DEATH – The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will investigate the death of a black man in Minnesota after a video emerged showing a policeman kneeling on his neck. In the footage, the man, believed to be in his 40s, is heard groaning and repeatedly saying "I can't breathe" to the white officer. The Minneapolis Police Department said it was responding to a reported crime. The incident echoed that of Eric Garner, a black man who died being arrested in 2014. Garner was placed in a chokehold and uttering the words "I can't breathe" nearly a dozen times. The phrase became a rallying cry for activists protesting alleged police brutality against people of colour in the US. The Minnesota Police admitted that the man in the footage filmed on Monday died after a "medical incident" in a "police interaction". He was suspected of committing a forgery, meaning to have been fraudulently altering or making a false reproduction of a product. At a press conference on Tuesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the incident as "completely and utterly messed up". "I believe what I saw and what I saw is wrong on every level," Frey said. "Being black in America should not be a death sentence." It is the latest accusation of US police brutality against African Americans. Recent high-profile cases include an officer in Maryland who fatally shot a man inside a patrol car. The incident in Minneapolis on Monday evening began after officers located the man in his car, police said in a statement. They were told the man, who has not been identified, was "sitting on top of a blue car and appeared to be under the influence". After being ordered to step away from the vehicle, the man physically resisted officers, according to police. "Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress," the statement added. In the ten-minute video filmed by a witness, the man is kept on the ground by the officer and, at one point, says: "Don't kill me". Witnesses urged the officer to take his knee off the man's neck, noting that he was not moving. One says, "His nose is bleeding", while another pleads, "Get off his neck." The man then appears motionless before he is put on a stretcher and into an ambulance. Police said no weapons were used during the incident and that body camera footage had been handed to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the case. Two of the officers involved have been put on paid administrative leave. After the video emerged, police said in a statement: "As additional information has been made available, it has been determined that the Federal Bureau of Investigations will be a part of this investigation." Speaking to US media on Tuesday, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said the force's policies "regarding placing someone under control" will be reviewed as part of the probe. The FBI did not respond to a request for comment. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar – reportedly shortlisted as Joe Biden's running mate - issued a statement calling for a "complete and thorough outside investigation". "Justice must be served for this man and his family, justice must be served for our community, justice must be served for our country," she said. "I can't breathe" became a national rallying cry against police brutality in the US after the July 2014 death of Eric Garner. A city medical examiner ruled the chokehold contributed to Garner's death. The New York City police officer involved in Garner's deadly arrest was fired from the police force more than five years later, in August 2019. (Reuters)

RIHANNA CELEBRATES 15 YEARS IN MUSIC INDUSTRY, THANKS FANS - London – Rihanna released her debut single Pon de Replay on May 24, 2005 at the age of 17. And 15 years after the single hit airwaves, Rihanna took to her Instagram to thank her fan base, called the Rihanna Navy, after they sent the hashtag #15YearsOfRihanna trending. The 32-year-old singer/fashion designer/actress/entrepreneur thanked her fans for all the love on the special anniversary. She wrote: 'Thank you for all the love on this hashtag today! Man this is trippy. Feels like just yesterday I was shaking in the hallways of Def Jam waiting to audition for Jay.' Adding: 'Pon de Replay is where it all began . . . 15 years later and I'm here because God led me to you, and you guys have held me up, supported me, tolerated me, loved me, kept it too real with me, and we gon always be connected because of that!' RiRi concluded: 'I love you Navy, and I cherish you. I'm so grateful to be gifted you as my fans and family! G4L!'Rihanna was invited for an audition by Jay Z, who at the time was the president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings in early 2005 in New York City. She sang Pon de Replay and The Last Time, which were her demo tracks, as well as Whitney Houston's For the Love Of You. Jay Z and his boss LA Reid (who was the chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group) were impressed by the audition and immediately drafted up a contract for her to sign. She signed a six-album record deal with Def Jam. Rihanna released eight studio albums: Music of the Sun (2005), A Girl Like Me (2006), Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011), Unapologetic (2012), and Anti (2016). Rihanna, a nine-time Grammy award winner, is one of the best-selling music artistes in the world with over 250 million records sold. The icon also created the hugely successful makeup brand Fenty Beauty in 2017 at 29 years old; she developed the line with Kendo, a division of the luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey (LVMH). One year later – in 2018 – Rihanna launched SavagexFenty, her lingerie brand. In 2019, the artist founded Fenty, a fashion brand under LVMH. She is the first woman to create an original brand with LVMH as well as the first brand LVMH has launched from scratch since 1987 (Christian Lacroix). It's also the first time a woman of colour has led an LVMH maison. In addition to her singer and fashion endeavours, Rihanna has acted in a number of films as well as founded the Clara Lionel Foundation, which was created to help terminally ill children. She founded the organisation in 2006. (Daily Mail)

The world is facing the rapid spread of the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic. As we continue to do our part in Barbados please remember to stay home but on the days you have to go out wear your masks, practice social distancing (stand 6-10 feet away from each other), practice good daily hygiene, eat healthy, exercise and keep your mind active. There are 219 days left in the year Shalom! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps #bajannewscaps #newsinanutshell #coronavirusinbarbados #nationalresponse #dailynews #thechasefilesblog

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