Submitted by Anthony Davis With work on the new Wyndham hotel due to begin in two weeks time and another Luxury hotel project under active discussion, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is very upbeat about the prospects this year for job creation. In fact, he expects the national unemployment rate to go down – Barbados…
With work on the new Wyndham hotel due to begin in two weeks time and another Luxury hotel project under active discussion, Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler is very upbeat about the prospects this year for job creation. In fact, he expects the national unemployment rate to go down – Barbados Today, January 20, 2016
In the last paragraph which I took from this report the Minister of Finance makes the analogy of a ship which goes off “track” which sounds very strange to me as one usually speaks about a ship going off course. Be that as it may, I will continue along this vein.
Which captain and his crew promises their passengers that they will be heading for the Caribbean, and then waits until that ship is out to sea and heads in another direction, and on their way jettison all of its life boats – except those which he and his crew can use to get away from the ship if it starts to sink?
Which captain will allow his helmsman to stay at the wheel, seeing that the ship is going in the wrong direction and instead of trying to stop him tells the passengers that his helmsman is the best in the world?
Which captain gets together with his crew and heads for covert destinations whenever they feel like – especially if the passengers have to pay extra for the destination which will put their health in jeopardy, or one which will put the livelihood of some of them in jeopardy?
The captain and crew of this ship have made many promises, but they have only kept one. After leaving port the helmsman kept his promise and chose every willy-nilly thing with which to burden the passengers, but expects them to take it all with the silence of lambs, and when some decided that they wanted to protest against the direction in which the ship was heading, some of the crew – and the captain – started making all kinds derogatory remarks about them.
On this odyssey some of the passengers have been made destitute, and don’t know where to turn, whereas others are just keeping their heads above water, with the ship cruising along like some juggernaut.
They cannot even make a mobile call home seeing how far the ship is out to sea, because they don’t know to which port the ship is heading, and that the mobile phones in the country to which they belong attract the highest tariffs in there. So, the ship, and its crew, continues towards its unknown destination without the slightest worry about their passengers. A captain and crew without a destination may end up anywhere on the globe – even in a war-torn country!
Now the helmsman is coming to the passengers with more promises.
The questions are:
(1) Will these promises be kept, or will they be reneged on like the others?
(2) If they are kept, how long will they be kept for – one year, two years, or more/less?
(3) Will the passengers continue to be taken to covert destinations?
Please note that the helmsman didn’t say definitely that the passengers will get some kind of relief this year!
There are more questions than answers, and the passengers should be very wary of any promises which are being made.
“Beware of gift-bringing Greeks!”
One never knows who or what may be in that beautiful, wooden horse!
Chris Sinckler has also promised Barbadians that they will have their income tax returns by end of March. I will wait patiently for my three returns.
When I think about the state of our economy and our country, I despair. Stinkliar and the governor of the Central Bank keep fooling Barbadians that the economy is stable, the economy is turning around yet we are hearing all sorts of horror stories from all sectors of the country:
They bragged that there was a record number of visitors last year, was there commensurate spend? Oil prices have fallen, the governor said they spent $380 million less for oil yet the economy is still in a downward spiral and we are still hearing that:
……Young doctors working at the Polyclinis and QEH who are not being paid regularly
……Suppliers to QEH cannot get paid for services and goods
……Basic supplies are in short supply at QEH
……The small man cannot get proper bus service
……Garbage is not being picked up
….. Education is in a mess
……Thousands of children have had to drop out of university
……Promised bursaries have not be realised, leaving our children overseas in a mess
…..Our roads are in a mess…potholes all over the place
…..And I could go on and on but BU followers get my drift.
This place is a mess and no amount spin by the dems can change the reality.
Can Barbados keep on this train wreck until 2018?
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Vincent Haynes
The back page of “Barbados Today”is a must read in order to understand how far out to sea he is.Of special note is the statement about studies going back 20 years.
Why do I get the feeling that Andrews will be allowed to self destruct in order to allow CAHILL or some such entity to come in.
I am still unaware as to why both were/are needed in this 166 sq.mi. country with 275000 inhabitants.
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Kevin
If this project actually gets off the ground Ill be surprised. Nothing this government touches gets off the ground. All the projects that were touted came to naught.
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millertheanunnaki
@ Kevin January 29, 2016 at 12:34 PM
You will be surprised, why? Isn’t that what the Guv of the Central Bank would describe as 100% productivity gains à la Freundel and his Cabinet of esteemed managers?
The Treasury is under tremendous stress, the IMF is watching every dime and the Cahill exposé have al put paid to the Andrews factory scam.
King Sugar is in a state of permanent comatose just awaiting the arrival of the undertaker. That scam was a last ditch attempt to use an industry dear to the hearts of the citizens to further bilk the taxpayers through investor finders’ fees, additional “studies” and consultancies.
Can you imagine Stinkliar has the stapled-guts gall to talk about further studies into the viability of the project? Bajans are really a unique class of brass bowls when they listen to the constipated crap emanating from mouth of that pathological liar. As mentioned in an earlier thread, this is what he promised the citizens of Brassbolwdos in August 2013:
“Major Agriculture Reform:
In the area of agriculture our principal focus in the next eighteen months, Sir, will be the initiation of the major restructuring of the local sugar cane industry. As is well known, this industry has been on a steady and sure decline for many years now, having suffered not only from a dismantling of the preferential arrangements with Europe but also because of serious internal challenges relating to financing and excess cost over the ability to earn.
And in the face of a failure by the authorities to do a serious restructuring of the industry it has now come to a juncture at which an ignominious collapse was awaiting. This administration has however designed, and successfully sought financing to advance, a major restructuring of the industry over the next three years, starting next year, in what is the Barbados Cane Industry Project.
Funding for this exercise (which will see the re-engineering of an existing sugar factory so as to allow it to engage multiple applications, including the production of bio-mass for the co-generation of electricity) has been agreed with the Japanese Bank of International Corporation and Japanese commercial banks for up to US270 million dollars.
Negotiations with all stakeholders including the workers’ representatives have already begun and the Ministry of Agriculture will be making a fuller pronouncement of the details of the project in the coming weeks.
It is expected that this project will begin implementation in the first quarter of next year and run for three full years. It will radically reform sugar agriculture while having very positive spin-off effects on non-sugar crop production.”
Now that is what you would describe as a massive increase in productivity in the art of lying.
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Vincent Haynes
millertheanunnaki January 29, 2016 at 1:25 PM #
Can you imagine Stinkliar has the stapled-guts gall to talk about further studies into the viability of the project?
…………………………………………………………………….
This to my mind is the telling point which was forcefully refuted by the statement below.
ust yesterday, Sinckler said careful studies would have to be done to determine the future of the sugar industry. However, Marston argued that the Minister failed to state “a well known fact” that such studies had been undertaken for more than 20 years with large amounts of tax payers money invested in consultants’ fees.
Sad day when an investor has to call into question the veracity of a Minister’s statement.
Can u imagine if all those indebted to govt due to past loans which remain current or outstanding including income tax cheaters monies not paid or refusal of filing correct information.can u imagine if all of that debt was collected by govt how much money would be appicable to the cost of govt projects and defecit plus paying all monies for due income tax refunds in a timely manner.
I am always amazed at how the blp like to influence facts wiyth a whole multitude of half baked misinformation
You guys really qualify for jack a.ss school for real
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Prodigal Son
Wrong turn
Multi-million dollar Andrews restructuring project in jeopardy
Added by Emmanuel Joseph on January 29, 2016.
Saved under Local News
A day after Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler delivered some sweet news to sugar farmers who have been awaiting pay, a major partner has threatened to pull out of Government’s proposed $250 million Cane Industry Restructuring Project (CIRP) which is now in danger of collapsing.
Inter-Sugar Partnership (ISP), the company appointed by Government in February 2015 to facilitate external financing for the project, made it clear today that it would stop further funding of the multi-purpose sugar factory at Andrews, St Joseph – a key component of the CIRP – if the Freundel Stuart administration did not meet certain obligations by the end of June.
Director of ISP Edward Marston claimed that Government was to infuse millions of dollars as partial equity and to grant a number of concessions but had done little because the project was not a priority.
Marston warned that unless things changed within the next “three to six months” his company would stop investing its money in consultancies and preparation of the old Andrews Sugar Factory site, where construction of the new state-of-the-art plant was expected to begin next year.
“The obligations are in financial terms, to inject 27-and-a-half million Barbados dollars as quasi equity to the project and to provide various release from import duties and other concessions which are necessary tax concessions for the project to enable that to go ahead. And on the practical side, to facilitate the granting of planning permission and the granting of a licence for the production of electricity by the new multi-purpose factory.
“The Government has paid a small amount on account of its financial commitment and that amount is now fully expended by ISP on the work it has been undertaking over the past year. The Government has applied money which it has acquired from other sources to various other projects which it has put as a higher priority than this project. As a result of that, I think basically, it has decided to put this project on the backburner,” contended Marston, who will fly in from his British base on Tuesday to attempt to resolve the outstanding issues.
He said ISP’s funds had gone into various areas of the project, including negotiations with the main engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the production of all the plans and negotiation of a commercial contract for the agreement.
The ISP director complained that “substantial payments” had been made to South African consultants BOSH Project who have been working on the plant “directly and indirectly” for up to six years.
“But to be honest with you, that cannot continue . . . and from a business standpoint, I can certainly not sanction continued expenditure on the project unless and until the Government is willing to honour its obligations.”
The top sugar advisor also cautioned that if his company were to pull its financing, it would be difficult for Barbados to source foreign funding for the multi-purpose factory, which is expected to produce special sugars, as well as molasses for the lucrative rum industry, and generate “green” electricity from bagasse and biomass for sale to Barbados Light & Power Company Limited.
Marston said negotiations with Japanese investors fell through three years ago because the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation felt that the country risk for Barbados was too great, adding that the situation had not improved.
“Since that time I believe it has become progressively more difficult because the commercial rating for Barbados as a nation has not improved since that time . . . . In fact, it has got progressively worse. It is now rated as B with a negative outlook, which is pretty much junk and junk status. It would be extremely difficult to find external finance on the capital markets for a country which is rated as low as Barbados.”
Just yesterday, Sinckler said careful studies would have to be done to determine the future of the sugar industry. However, Marston argued that the Minister failed to state “a well known fact” that such studies had been undertaken for more than 20 years with large amounts of tax payers money invested in consultants’ fees.
Marston added that the studies culminated in the formation of the Barbados Cane Industry Corporation (BCIC), as well as the Cane Industry Restructuring Project (BCIRP), which was first approved by Cabinet in 2012 and further endorsed in May 2013, when Government approval was given for the provision of advance funding.
Meanwhile, Sinckler’s announcement yesterday that cane sugar farmers would get their 2015 incentive payments of $15 million in two weeks, was welcomed by Chairman of the Barbados Sugar Industry Limited (BSIL) Patrick Bethel.
However, Bethel, whose organization represents the independent farmers, told Barbados TODAY he hoped the money would “materialize in time” because late payments in the past had prevented planters from carrying out a number of operational practices.
The Barbados business community is hoping for a reduction in taxes in 2016.
This was asserted by Senior Vice President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Edward Clarke, as he addressed the first monthly luncheon for the year.
“Our businesses continue to be burdened by what we consider to be a high level of taxes and we’re hoping that some reduction will be forthcoming from the Minister of Finance in 2016. Our economy simply cannot grow by taxation,” he maintained.
With Prime Minister Freundel Stuart on hand to deliver the feature address and several Cabinet members in attendance, namely Finance Minister Chris Sinckler, Tourism Minister Richard Sealy and Housing Minister Denis Kellman, Clarke outlined some of what the business community would like to see occur in 2016.
Calling for things to be restored to “Barbados as we know it”, Clarke urged Government to address some of the economic and social ills that plagued the country in 2015 such as high youth unemployment, industrial relations disputes and challenges to the provision of health and sanitation services, as well as water supply.
He underscored, “We expect high levels of service. We do incur high levels of tax and we expect to have Barbados back to where we know it belongs.”
Clarke added that the BCCI was hoping for an early 2016 start to Government’s proposed sale of certain assets, such as [Barbados] National Oil Terminal, retrenchment of statutory corporations and the consolidation of various agencies in order to reduce the high number level of transfers and operating costs.
“These expenses continue to be borne by Government at this time. It has been over two years since we were told of these initiatives and we had expected more urgency in the implementation of the planned changes. If they are to take place, we hope to see that activity starting in early 2016.”
This is the most fractious government we have had to suffer in the post Independence period.
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Frustrated Businessman aka Republic my ass.
Why would we build a sugar factory when we have no cane to grind? Every single promise to farmers has been broken, there will be no ‘next’ crop.
If we did build a factory why would it be at Andrews instead of the middle of the remaining cane-growing lands like Carington or Bulkeley?
I’m sure the consultancy fees will be paid regardless, everyone gotta get their little piece.
There will be no economic recovery under Fumble’s Fools, only more bad teefin’ ideas that no-one can make sense of..
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CSINCKLER – Rent-a-Clown
@ Frustrated
Are you still feeling “crushed” by the free-est
Black Country in the world statement?
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Hants
The sugar factory will be built. The rain will fall and the canes will grow.
doan worry…..be happy.
Barbados is Utopia.
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pieter pieper
Hooray ! Wyndham Hotel project will begin in two weeks time ! And when will the Four Seasons’ Hotel project be concluded ? Or is it already finished ?
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Prodigal Son
I am 100% sure that when all you DLP supporters and all those who wanted to see the back of OSA in 2008…..not one of you ever would have imagined that this team that David Thompson foisted on an unsuspecting electorate. …..would have turned out to be the deceitful, lying, incompetent morons we are seeing today.
Oh shut up prodigal go do your dishes or better yet wash your dirty draws. you really got some nerve to called anyone liar.
You think people forget how Mia use all kind of dirty tricks like wire tapping and of recent how she used despot tactics to rid the blp of one of her own ,,look hush do..when election bell ring you whole lot gonna see who the real liars are for the past six years
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Frustrated Businessman aka Republic my ass.
ac January 29, 2016 at 10:47 PM #
Oh shut up prodigal go do your dishes or better yet wash your dirty draws. you really got some nerve to called anyone liar.
You think people forget how Mia use all kind of dirty tricks like wire tapping
The illegal wire tapping has not stopped. Nor has the use of pre-signed warrants by lazy-ass judges in a corrupt legal system to justify police ineptitude.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
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Frustrated Businessman aka Republic my ass.
Even if Ninjaman is chosen by our 3rd political party to represent my constituency I’m voting for him. Even if he and his friends can’t improve the current gov’t and civil service, at the very least we would get the collapse of a corrupt system with the possibility to rebuild.
This teefin and ineptitude cannot continue.
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Well Well & Consequences
AC….Frustrated does have a valid point.
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Tron
Ship? Is it the RMS Titanic, the Costa Concordia or the Spice Islander I? …
More likely the rubber-duck in Chris´ bubble-pool.
We need a Grand Moff, not a MoF to rescue the HMS Bimshire.
Alicia Nicholls Cuba and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) have added two additional protocols to a growing list of cooperation deals between the two countries. Prensa Latina reports that two protocols, one on trade and the other on science and technological development, were signed by the Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca […]
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