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Kimone ThompsonFriday, July 26, 2013JAMAICAN Renee McDonald has been selected by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) as an alternate candidate for a contractor training programme offered by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Germany.The alternate status means she will only participate in the programme if Khaled Sinoussy Mohamed (Egypt) and Daniel Armando Pérez-Calderón (Mexico) are unable to take up the offer for any reason. The other alternate in this category is Lei Qiu of China.The selections were made last week and fulfil part of the contractual obligations under which the ISA grants entities licences to explore for minerals on the seafloor. Eight candidates were chosen from a field of 145 applications, with an equal number of alternates.Those selected for the China Ocean Mineral Resources R & D Association training programme are Dieudonne Tchokona Seuwui (Cameroon), Gerald Mwila (Zambia), Tearinaki Tanielu (Kiribati) and Analia Veronica Serra (Argentina), while the alternates are Apichai Kanchanapant (Thailand), Tiena Rongo (Cook Islands), Apitida Wasuwatcharapong (Thailand) and Robert Kibiwot (Kenya).Candidates for the Tonga Offshore Mining Limited programme are Dody Darmawan (Indonesia) and Paul Poloka (Papua New Guinea), with stand-ins Syed Waseem Haider (Pakistan) and Benjamine Titus (Vanuatu).The purpose of the obligation, the Authority said, is to ensure that personnel from developing States are provided with appropriate operational expertise to enable them to participate in deep seabed mining.More than 20 training opportunities should become available for the 2013-2015 period, the ISA added.But McDonald’s selection has again brought to the fore concerns that Jamaica is not taking advantage of the resources in the sea, and the related opportunities presented by the location of the ISA Secretariat in Kingston.Commenting on the issue, Secretary General Nii Odunton told the Jamaica Observer that the secretariat was “quite excited” to have received McDonald’s application as there are usually none from Jamaica. Hers, he said, was among “a couple” received this year.“Prior to that nothing ever came even in the form of an application so we were quite excited to see this… But it doesn’t make sense, the headquarters is here (and) it’s an island,” he said.
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J"can selected as alternate candidate for ISA training programme
