PSOJ to continue work with Gov"t despite Outameni scandal

BY STEVEN JACKSON Observer staff reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com

Friday, December 12, 2014    

THE Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) announced that it will continue to work with Government despite its heated opposition to the purchase of the Outameni tourist attraction.

At the same time, outgoing PSOJ President Christopher Zacca announced his endorsement of William Mahfood, chairman of the Wisynco Group, to be his successor.

Zacca has decided not to seek re-election after having served five years at the helm of the powerful body during two separate periods. Yesterday, Zacca argued that “perhaps the most personally gratifying high point” in his presidency was the formation of the Partnership For Jamaica (PFJ) between the Government and private sector. The PFJ sought to increase consultation between stakeholders on issues of national import.

“However, I think that it is necessary for me to say today that, in my view, the events surrounding the purchase of the Outameni property by the National Housing Trust (NHT), and subsequent events thereafter, have negatively affected the partnership as it calls into question the commitment of all the parties to the guiding principles of consultation, inclusiveness, and communication. I have taken a strong public position on this matter based on my core beliefs on governance,” Zacca told members and stakeholders at the PSOJ’s annual Christmas Members’ Luncheon at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

“However, today I want to make it clear that I have consulted with the membership of the PSOJ and our position is that the survival and strengthening of the PFJ is of paramount importance, and that the PSOJ will do whatever it must to, in due course, help resolve this dispute in a manner that satisfies all the parties involved and keep the partnership together and make it stronger,” he said.

Zacca added that the PFJ was the culmination of a decade of effort involving prime ministers PJ Patterson, Bruce Golding, and Portia Simpson Miller; Lloyd Goodleigh on behalf of the trade unions; and Kemesha Kelly on behalf of civil society.

In November, Zacca made a futile attempt to call on current prime minister Simpson Miller to remove Easton Douglas from the chairmanship of the NHT board. It followed an earlier announcement that the NHT board purchased the loss-making Outameni tourist attraction for $180 million. Critics, including the PSOJ, argued that the purchase went outside the remit of the NHT to provide affordable housing for Jamaicans.

Meanwhile, Zacca, in endorsing Mahfood, yesterday, described him as a man of integrity.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have been advised by the chairman of Wisynco, William Mahfood, that he intends to make himself available for election as the next president of the PSOJ on December 18. I would like to say that based on his ability, his temperament, his integrity, and his demonstrated deep commitment to the development of our nation, his candidacy has the full support of myself and my officers, and I expect that, come the evening of the 18th, William will be elected as the next president,” said Zacca.

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PSOJ to continue work with Gov"t despite Outameni scandal

World food prices continue to decline

World food prices fell for a sixth month in September, the longest slide since 2009, as the cost of  dairy, grains, cooking oils and sugar declined amid prospects for rising production.  
The United Nation’s Rome-based Food & Agriculture Organization said its index used to measure movements in the price of  55 food items dipped 2.6% last month.  
Soybeans and corn are trading near the lowest in four years in Chicago amid an outlook for record U.S. harvests. The food-price index declined 6 percent year on year.

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World food prices continue to decline

Entertainers who continue trips to Ebola-affected areas will be quarantined

Saturday, October 04, 2014 | 12:21 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson is set to meet with representatives of the entertainment industry to address the issue of “non-essential travel” to Ebola-affected countries in West Africa.

“I intend to meet with the Association of Musicians and the tourism minister because we will have to make some tough decisions,” said Ferguson, who was speaking Friday at the official reopening of the Williamsfield Health Centre in Westmoreland.

“I have been appealing to persons including entertainers to avoid non-essential travel to the Ebola affected countries in West Africa. If they still decide to go, our actions may have to include quarantining persons,” Ferguson said.

Over the past months, steps have been taken to heighten surveillance and staff has already been sensitised and trained specifically with respect to Ebola, the ministry said in a release today.

It added that public hospitals across the island have identified isolation areas and a facility has been refurbished specifically to accommodate isolation for Ebola.?

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Entertainers who continue trips to Ebola-affected areas will be quarantined

Hydel continue good start, as XLCR hold Charlie Smith 1-1

BY SHERDON COWAN

Sunday, September 28, 2014    

Charlie Smith High had to settle for a share of the spoils as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Excelsior High in Group B of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/LIME Manning Cup football competition at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.

Despite dropping points for a second time, Charlie Smith continue to lead the group on 14 points, three ahead of Excelsior, who now have 11 points. Third-placed Vauxhall High moved up to eight points following a 5-0 whipping to Mona High, who remain at the bottom of the table on one point.

The start of the game was delayed by 20 minutes to allow Excelsior the opportunity to change their jerseys to avoid a clash of colour with the hosts. When the game eventually got under way both teams seemed unsettled, but it was Charlie Smith who came close to opening the scoring when a shot by Keyshawn Williams came back off the upright.

However, it was Excelsior who broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when Tereek Anderson scored a well placed free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.

The hosts then came into their own and created numerous goal scoring opportunities but failed to beat goalkeeper Romario Palmer, who was outstanding in the goal for Excelsior.

The second half was dominated by Charlie Smith as Excelsior were forced to play a more defensive formation having just one player up front. The Jerome Waite-coached Charlie Smith were all over the Excelsior defence and finally got the equaliser in the 67th minute when a long pass from Odane Samuels picked out Chevon Crooks, who outsprinted two defenders before firing past Palmer.

Charlie Smith could have won by a wide margin but faulty shooting resulted in them having to settle for the draw.

Waite believed that his team’s dominance should have given them the three points, but he is not perturbed by the draw.

“This game was dominated by the Charlie Smith team, we created many chances in which the game should have been out of the reach of this team as early as the first half. Excelsior played a spirited first half, but we took over the game in the latter stages, so overall it was a good performance and a point in the end is good because we are still in the lead,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Meanwhile, Leebert Halliman said that faulty defending cost them the game.

“We were not marking at the back and they got a goal. We still have a few of our players out with the chik-V, but we still came here and gave it our best shot, despite the weakness in our backline which resulted in us giving up a goal,” he lamented.

Yesterday’s results

Group B

Vauxhall 5, Mona 0

Charlie Smith 1, Excelsior 1

Group C

Edith Dalton 1, Innswood 2

Denham Town 1, Tivoli 1

St Mary’s College 1, Ardenne 0

Group F

Calabar 1, St Jago 2

St Catherine 6, Penwood 0

Hydel 7, Eltham 1

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Hydel continue good start, as XLCR hold Charlie Smith 1-1

Caribbean must continue to increase share of global tourism market – CTO

Ernie Seon

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Monday September 15, 2014, CMC – The Secretary General of the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Hugh Riley, says while the Caribbean is forecasting another increase in arrivals for 2014, it is equally vital that it continues to increase its share of the global tourism market.

Speaking to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) ahead of the September 17-19 State of the Industry conference (SOCIT) in the United States Virgin Islands, Riley said the CTO was heartened at the fact that arrivals to the region continue to grow and the prognosis for the industry remains good.

“In the Caribbean, arrivals continue to grow and thankfully we are now seeing the relationship between actual arrivals and revenue from those arrivals beginning to climb once again.

“So we see incomes starting to increase, so that earnings to spend is going up. So the prognosis is good from that point of view,” he noted.

However the Secretary General cautioned that it was vital that the Caribbean focuses on staying “ahead of the curve”, and on how the rest of the world is performing.

“For while we want our numbers to continue to increase with the Caribbean crossing the 25 million mark at the end of last year, and we are forecasting that we will again see an increase on that by the end of 2014, certainly if you look at the increase so far this year, there is every reason to believe that, all things being equal we will see another increase in arrival by the end of 2014,” he said.

But Riley asserts that this was not the only metric, noting that the Caribbean needed to ensure it was gaining market share and that while the rest of the world was getting involved in the tourism business, this region was increase its share of the pie.

“So while the prognosis is good, there is an absolute need for us to come to places where there is information on what’s happening around the world, places where we can consider solutions to our problems and where information is available about our best practices and inspire creative thought.

“We must be able to leave the conference feeling charged up to go out and do something different, go out and change something for the better in the business that we belong,” he noted.

Caribbean and global tourism stakeholders gather in St. Thomas to discuss and devise strategies to position Caribbean tourism for major change.
SOTIC is being organised in collaboration with the USVI’s department of tourism.

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Caribbean must continue to increase share of global tourism market – CTO

Debate on amendments to GCT Act to continue in Parliament

Debate is to get underway today in the House of Representatives on a Bill to amend the GCT Act. The debate was slated to start in July but was delayed.The main objectives of  the reform of  the GCT Act are to broaden the tax base and improve its administration. In addition to the GCT refund clause for manufacturers, the Bill is to be amended to, among other things, make it easier for the State to collect duties that have been levied on imported services such as consultancy.                         

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Debate on amendments to GCT Act to continue in Parliament

Jamaica water woes continue as drought worsens

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Friday July 18, 2014, CMC – The water crisis across Jamaica’s Corporate Area has worsened as the severe drought continues.

The National Water Commission (NWC) is reporting that levels at the two main catchment facilities in the Corporate Area have dwindled to about one month’s supply.

The NWC’s Vice-President for Potable Water and Maintenance, Mark Blair, says the situation is deteriorating daily.

“We have roughly around 30 days of storage left at the Hermitage Dam based on present usage and with the restrictions that we have placed on the distribution network and a similar amount of days the Mona Reservoir. We are operating at around 60% capacity.

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He says supplies from alternative sources have to be shared with the Corporate Area and the eastern parish of St. Thomas.

Meanwhile, with water supplies in the Corporate Area critically low, the NWC says there could be further restrictions.

“If nothing changes, we will have to make adjustments, we are making adjustments weekly as we look at the forecast. The Met Office says they expect moderate drought conditions even during September which is very frightning. We are very nervous about that and we hope that projection is wrong,” he said.

A prohibition notice took effect a week ago restricting water usage.

Persons are not allowed to water gardens, lawns, grounds and farms; and are barred from filling tanks, ponds or swimming pools.

The drought has also had an impact on farming communities, mainly in the southern parish of St Elizabeth.

On Wednesday, more farmers suffered losses after several large fires broke out in the “bread basket” parish.

The fires – triggered by drought conditions, took several hours to be extinguished, ravaged plots of farmland in the communities of Lititz, Malvern and Comma Pen.

Just over a week ago, fire destroyed over 600 acres of farmland in the parish.

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Jamaica water woes continue as drought worsens

Andrew Riley wins as Jamaican hurdlers continue good form

Two time Olympian Andrew Riley was a winner at an international athletics meeting in Hungary on Tuesday.

Riley sped to 13.49 seconds to win the men’s sprint hurdles.        

Simone Facey was the next best placed Jamaican clocking 11.41 secs for 2nd in the women’s 100 meters behind American Tianna Bartoletta 11.35 secs. Schillionie Calvert was 3rd in 11.51.   

Michael Frater 10.60 was 6th in the men’s 100 meters which was won by Kim Collins of St Kitts & Nevis  in 10.31.   

Shericka Williams, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist was 3rd in the women’s 400 meters after clocking 52.44  behind Nigerian winner Regina George 52.11.   

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Andrew Riley wins as Jamaican hurdlers continue good form

Showers to continue over Jamaica until Monday -- Met Service

News

Saturday, September 07, 2013 | 10:23 AM

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Meteorological Service says that showers and scattered thunderstorms are expected over sections of most parishes, in particular Sunday night into Monday.In its forecast Saturday morning the Met Service said that a trough associated with the remnants of Gabrielle along with a broad area of Low Pressure over the central and western Caribbean should maintain unstable conditions across Jamaica until early next week.

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Showers to continue over Jamaica until Monday -- Met Service

Showers to continue over Jamaica until Monday -- Met Service

Latest News

Saturday, September 07, 2013 | 10:23 AM

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Meteorological Service says that showers and scattered thunderstorms are expected over sections of most parishes, in particular Sunday night into Monday.In its forecast Saturday morning the Met Service said that a trough associated with the remnants of Gabrielle along with a broad area of Low Pressure over the central and western Caribbean should maintain unstable conditions across Jamaica until early next week. Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Showers to continue over Jamaica until Monday -- Met Service

McGregor Gully residents continue protest over police killing

Latest News

Thursday, July 25, 2013 | 10:56 AM

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Angry residents in McGregor Gully, East Kingston have again taken to the streets in protest over the shooting death of a man by the police in their community on Wednesday.The man, 38-year-old Omar Young was shot and killed during an alleged shootout.Police said that a 9 mm firearm was recovered during the incident.But irate residents blocking roadway on Wednesday have contradicted the police report.“Murder them murder the youth a contract killing them carry out,” claimed one female protester.She was among several people who used debris to again block roadways in the community Thursday morning.-Kimmo MatthewsLike our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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McGregor Gully residents continue protest over police killing