Bahamas minister defends government borrowing, debt
Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing has defended The Bahamas government’s recent borrowing and current debt levels, and stressed that the Ingraham administration is under no threat of defaulting on its loans.
His comments came after the lead economic specialist for the Caribbean at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) told Guardian Business that there was concern that as the country’s public debt mounts, its debt-to-GDP ratio could reach precarious levels if preventative measures are not taken.
Laing added that if the IDB was genuinely worried about The Bahamas’ debt levels it would not continue to lend money to this country at the rate it has.
“I don’t want to take out of context what the IDB representative said, but I would think that the same IDB that’s lending us the money for the projects, if it thought that we were in trouble, as a financial institution would [not] be willing to lend us the money,” he told The Nassau Guardian.
“It doesn’t make sense for a financial institution to think that you are in danger in respect of your debt levels and continue to lend you monies, when you have to pay back that money to that institution. The fact of the matter is The Bahamas is in no danger of being unable to service its debt obligations, not now and not into the foreseeable future. We are mindful of our need to curb our debt growth and when circumstances permit we will continue to do the things necessary to ensure that doesn’t happen. But what we are now doing in respect to the borrowing is an investment into the future economic prospects of the country and we’re going to continue to do that within the bounds of fiscal prudence. But I do not want the Bahamian public to have any alarms about our ability to service our debt now or into the foreseeable future.”
Last week Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham announced that government will borrow an additional $50 million from the IDB to cover cost overruns in the New Providence Road Improvement Project. Government also signed two IDB loan agreements last week for an $81 million upgrade to the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) and $50 million in improvements in the aviation sector.
On Sunday the Progressive Liberal Party’s Member of Parliament for Elizabeth Ryan Pinder said the decision to borrow more money to cover cost overruns in the NPRIP is evidence of the Ingraham administration’s “mismanagement” of the economy.
“That seems to be irresponsible management of the road project,” said Pinder.
He said with a small revenue stream government will be forced to cut funding from social programs in order to repay its mounting debts.
“Between the additional $50 million for the roads, the $50 million he announced for (aviation) air travel and the $81 million for the water pipes, that’s an additional $180 million on top of $120 million for the road works, on top of $80 million for the airport road project - that’s $380 million in the last year. It’s irresponsible borrowing by the government with not one utterance of plans of how we’re gong to repay those loans back.
“They are putting handcuffs on generations of Bahamians to come. Because there are no plans to diversify or expand the economy, we’re dealing with a narrow revenue stream for government and when you do all of this excessive borrowing, your obligation is to pay the interest on this loan back. That money has to come from other sources; it is going to come from education, social services. It’s the Bahamian people that are going to suffer.”
Courtesy of the Nassau Guardian
Online crime makes more money than drug cartels
Online crime groups make more money than drug cartels worldwide, and arresting these cybercriminals can be exceedingly difficult. This startling revelation was made by representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS) at a regional meeting on cyber security in Barbados earlier this month.
“The cyber threats being faced globally pay no heed to institutional boundaries, national borders or even traditional values. This reality is forcing governments, which have responsibility to protect the interest of citizens, to seek out new forms of collaboration and cooperation,” said Bevil Wooding, internet strategist with the US firm Packet Clearing House, a non-profit research institute that supports operations and analysis in the areas of Internet traffic exchange, routing economics, and global Internet development.
Wooding highlighted the requirement for public policy focus on accelerating the roll out of critical ICT infrastructure.
“This is necessary to ensure that developing countries, like those in the Caribbean, are adequately prepared to not only seize the opportunities of increasingly technology-driven global economy; but to defend against the real threats that come with it,” he said.
The benefits increased availability of broadband Internet access and the establishment of Internet Exchange Points across the Caribbean were also presented as essential to development. Wooding referred to World Bank analysis of some countries that estimates for every 10 percent increase in the penetration of broadband services, there is an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percent.
“The benefits of broadband Internet access accrue not just to individual consumers, but to other Internet users and society as a whole," Wooding said.
Pointing out that market forces alone will not generate the societally optimal level of ICT infrastructure roll-out he added, “Governments and policy makers have a clear responsibility to ensure that the technical infrastructure necessary to facilitate widespread access to high speed Internet is in place.”
“The World Bank study reflects the tremendous influence that Internet connectivity has on the socio-economic aspects of development not just here in the Caribbean, but around the world,” said Wooding, who is also chief knowledge officer of the development non-profit, Congress WBN.
The meeting of government ministers, senior members of judiciary and law enforcement agencies across the Caribbean was hosted by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union.
Natural gas talks ongoing between Barbados and Trinidad
Negotiations are presently under way between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago to import natural gas into this country.
This was announced by chairman of the National Petroleum Corporation (NPC), Sir Harcourt Lewis, at the 30th anniversary luncheon and awards ceremony of the Corporation last Friday.
He said the gas would be pumped through a pipeline on the seabed and was designed to meet the future needs for this commodity in Barbados. He mentioned that this step was part of the medium-term development strategy of Barbados, and would play a vital part in the further development of this country.
He added: "It is projected that the volume of natural gas which we hope to be here by 2014 will influence the price of energy downwards whether it is a direct purchase from NPC or a feedstock to electrical generation through the Barbados Light and Power Company Limited."
Lewis added that the NPC currently purchases in excess of 1.2 million cubic feet of natural gas from the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOC) to supply the needs of its customers.
He indicated that on average the usage by domestic customers for this product had decreased over the years from 23 m3 per month in 1978 to 11.1 m3 per month in 2011. However, he pointed out that for the same period commercial consumption had increased from 364 m3 to 921 m3 this year.
"Recently, the Division of Energy in the Office of the Prime Minister has launched several initiatives that promote the use of renewable energy. Natural gas is not a renewable fuel but it is considered to be a greening fuel. Natural gas (52kg/mmBTU) produces fewer emissions than No.2 (73kg/mmBTU) and No.6 (78.8 kg/mmBTU) diesel respectively and actually has a very significant role in the clean development mechanisms in many countries," he underlined.
Looking to the future, Lewis said great things were on the horizon for the NPC, and he expected to see fleets of buses powered by natural gas and more hotels using it to power their air conditioning units. Furthermore, he promised to continue to work with the Energy Division and the BNOC to reduce energy costs, ensure energy security and reduce green house gas emissions.
Caribbean News Now
Multi-million dollar drug haul in The Bahamas
Anti-narcotics officers yesterday seized some 1,035 pounds of marijuana during an operation in West Grand Bahama, State Minister Loretta Butler Turner has said.
The narcotics, worth an estimated US$1, 035,000 were discovered in the Holmes Rock area by Drug Enforcement Unit officers following a high speed chase with a vehicle.
The minister said officers had approached the parked vehicle when a few people jumped in and drove off.
Several shots were fired from the civilian vehicle during the ensuing chase before it escaped, she said.
Detectives later discovered two large bags containing several brown taped packages of suspected marijuana in the area where the car was parked.
An additional 18 bags were found in an unfinished building nearby.
While no arrests have yet been made, the minister said the officers should be “commended…for their continued effort in the fight against dangerous/illegal drugs on the streets of Grand Bahama.”
Caribbean 360 News
2,000 new jobs projected from implementation of mining policy in Jamaica
The Ministry of Energy and Mining is projecting the creation of up to 2,000 jobs within the mining sector in Jamaica over the next 10 years.
The projection is based on the extent of associated activities resulting from the full implementation of the National Policy on Minerals Development 2010 – 2030.
Principal Director of the Ministry’s Policy Planning and Minerals Division, Oral Rainford, said that once the policy is put into operation, certain specialist skills will be required for the sector. These include: expertise in mining engineering, mineral economics, mine development, and transport fleet management.
“These will become more important and in demand, largely because we are speaking, now, about complex operations emerging… which are much larger, in many instances, than many of those which we currently have,” Rainford stated at the final in the series of public consultations on the policy held recently.
He noted that other activities such as, welding, surveying, the management of large vehicles, environmental and waste management, will also become important, so too a range of other specialists such as surveyors, innovators, people who are developing new products, chemists, geo-chemists, geo-physicists.
The national minerals policy aims to ensure that Jamaica’s mineral wealth supports and contributes to sustainable national development and prosperity and its implementation, over the next 10 years, is projected to cost approximately $1.2 billion. The money will be spent on, among other things, institutional strengthening, infrastructural development, research, community development and training.
Rainford said that some $6.2 million has been spent on developing the policy over the last six years and preparation of the final draft for submission to Cabinet by March, coupled with the series of island-wide consultations and other attendant activities are expected to push the figure up to about $8 million.
Rainford said all of the funds to be spent are expected to be recovered, overtime. He stated that with its anticipated growth and expansion, the mining sector is expected to become more profitable.
“We are of the view, and the estimates are clear, that increased tax earnings will provide the government with an avenue through which much of the funds will be recovered. Additionally, (there is) import substitution. We have got to move away from vast quantities of minerals, which are being imported. We can produce much of these locally, and we are going to move in that direction,” he contended.
Jamaica’s minerals sector comprises three major segments: the bauxite/alumina sector; industrial minerals comprising non-metallic and non-fuel elements such as limestone, gypsum, gravel, and sand; and the precious and base metals sector, incorporating activities such as the gold mine operations in Pennants, Clarendon.
While noting that the latter sector is currently “not very active,” Rainford contended that it “can be of particular value”.
He pointed out that bauxite and limestone comprise the majority of Jamaica’s mineral deposits and based on recently revised data, the country’s bauxite deposits currently stand at between two and 2.2 billion tonnes.
Additionally, he said, there is in excess of three billion tonnes of limestone, noting that a “good 120 tonnes are mineable… (and) in a number of instances (of) exceptionally good quality.”
Venus Williams with draws from ASB Classic in Auckland
Venus Williams' participation in the Australian Open has been put in doubt after she withdrew from January's ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand because of ongoing health issues.
The 31-year-old former world number one has been receiving treatment for Sjogren's syndrome.
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, begins on 16 January.
ASB Classic tournament director Richard Palmer said: "We are disappointed to have lost a player of her calibre."
He added: "While withdrawals of this nature are part and parcel of sport, we sincerely feel for the fans who will also be disappointed by the news of Venus' withdrawal."
The seven-time Grand Slam winner, who is currently ranked 103 in the world, had been handed a wildcard entry to the tournament.
However, the competition's website announced Williams had told her agent, Carlos Fleming, that she was not fit to take part despite recent exhibition match appearances.
Williams withdrew from her second round match at the US Open in August, citing problems with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune condition which can cause fatigue and joint pain.
Speaking in September, she said: "Sjogren's is something you live with your whole life.
"The good news is now I know what's happening after spending years not knowing. I feel like I can get better and move on."
Mills: Bolt could turn to 400m later
Glen Mills, coach of the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, believes his star athlete has all the attributes to be a great quarter-miler and may in fact turn to the event when he's "not as fast" anymore.
Mills is not alone in his assessment of Bolt, as world-record holder for the event, Michael Johnson, and countless others believe the athlete could dominate it. In fact, his personal best of 45.28 in the event, in 2007, without much preparation would seem to suggest so, but there remains one obstacle, the sprinter simply does not like the event.
"He has all the attributes to be a quarter-miler but he hasn't taken a liking to the event. He works hard at the sprints but I guess the 400m isn't for him," Mills told the London Evening Standard.
"When he's not as fast maybe the quarter-mile will be the option for him. Everybody wants to be a winner and he's just that in his events. He may have a change of heart in the future," Mills added.
In a bid to better his Beijing Olympic Games medal haul (3 gold) at the London 2012 Games, where he hopes to put himself in rarefied company by capturing four gold medals, Bolt says he will consider taking part in the 4x400 relay. According to Mills, however, it may not be as simple as that.
The coach accepts that it's a desire of his athlete but that a lot would depend on the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association's selection preferences going into the Olympics.
"It's a desire but there's a lot more to it than what he says. First, there's a trial where the quarter-milers are selected. It depends on what the national body of athletics decides. It's not for us to say. We can express a desire but Usain is not going to run the 400m at the trials so it would have to be a decision by the association on it," said Mills.
That aside, the coach believes his athlete could produce his best showing yet, even eclipsing his performance in Beijing, but that will depend a lot on conditions.
Bolt set 100m (9.69) and 200m (19.30) world records at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games before bettering that performance a year later at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, lowering his own marks in both events with a 9.59 run in the 100m and a 19.19 run in his 200m pet event.
The powerful sprinter had less of an impact at the recent IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, false starting in the final of the 100m before recovering to successfully defend his 200m title with a 19.40 clocking.
"He can do better than Beijing and Berlin but I'm not certain of the weather in London," Mills was quoted as saying. "It's very tricky but if the weather is right and the climate is warm, he can do it."
Afflalo agree to five-year contract worth up to $43 million with Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets continued their post-Carmelo Anthony rebuilding effort Monday, signing restricted free agent guard Arron Afflalo to a five-year deal worth up to $43 million, a source confirmed to SI.com
It was the second time in six days that second-year Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri retained a player who he sees as a pivotal part of his team's core, as veteran center Nene signed a five-year deal potentially worth up to $67 million on Wednesday. Afflalo was widely seen as one of the most attractive talents on the free agent market, but the fifth-year player, who came over from Detroit for a second-round pick in the summer of 2009, clearly wanted to stay in Denver. Afflalo averaged 12.9 points for the Nuggets last season, shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three-point range.
"He's an asset," Ujiri told SI.com on Monday night. "He's tough. And the way we're building our team, with good guys and strong guys and guys that are competitive, he has always lived up to it.
"At first they said he couldn't be a McDonald's All-American...and then he became a McDonald's All-American (while at Centennial High School in Compton, Calif.). Then he became very successful in college (at UCLA) with the Final Four he went to (in 2006), and then got traded from Detroit and came to us...and comes in and gets the starting spot and just continued to build a solid career. We're really happy to have him back."
The Nuggets did just fine without Anthony last year, finishing 50-32 in the regular season before falling to the Thunder in five games in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. This season, Afflalo will become an even more significant part of the Nuggets' post-Anthony plans.
"It's good for us," Ujiri said. "Now you put (the Nuggets players) on the platform and see how we perform as a team. It's a bunch of young guys with some really good veterans, with Nene and Andre Miller and Al Harrington and Birdman (Chris Anderson); those are all guys who can play. They give us good veteran leadership. And then with the young guys, we have to see what they're made of now.
"We've put a little team together here and we hope it brings some upside and some momentum from last year after the trade."
ESPN.com first reported the deal.
Britain boycotts IMF eurozone rescue scheme
European countries have agreed to provide 150bn euros (£125bn; $194bn) to the International Monetary Fund.
The money could be used to help countries in the eurozone struggling to pay their debts.
Eurozone countries including Germany, Italy and Spain as well as several outside the eurozone offered support.
But Britain's decision not to take part in a scheme to support the eurozone meant EU finance ministers failed to reach their target sum of 200bn euro.
The British government wants an increase in IMF resources to be part of a broader process involving all G20 nations.
"The UK has always been willing to consider further resources for the IMF, but for its global role and as part of a global agreement," the office of UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said in a statement.
'Lack of solidarity'
BBC Europe correspondent Chris Morris says Britain is insisting that the IMF's role is to support countries not currencies.
But, he adds, some will see this as another example of a lack of solidarity from London, at a time when the eurozone is struggling to emerge from months of economic crisis.
The largest contributers to the fund were Germany and Spain.
Eurozone nations which have already had to accept international bailouts - such as Greece and Ireland - will not take part in the new scheme.
But contributions to the IMF fund have also been pledged by several countries outside the eurozone, including Denmark, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
News of the agreement came as the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he had no doubts that the euro would survive.
But the bank also warned that risks to the eurozone's stability had increased and that, in the worst-case scenario, there could be a return to a global recession.
In its twice-yearly Financial Stability Report it said that the risk of two large banks defaulting within the next year had risen to the highest level in four years.
The ECB also warned that some eurozone banks had become addicted to central-bank funds, and could face "significant challenges".
Solving debt crisis tops Denmark's EU presidency agenda: Minister
Solving Europe's debt crisis will take the center stage in Denmark's upcoming EU presidency, the country's Minister for Europe said here Monday.
"The crisis will heavily affect our agenda and we will do our best to secure what we can do to do bring Europe forward within the limits of the presidency role," Nicolai Wammen told international journalists at a news conference.
The comments came as he released the government's focus areas for Denmark's six-month EU presidency which starts Jan. 1, 2012.
The official priorities are a "responsible, dynamic, green and safe Europe," but beating the debt crisis will be paramount.
"The basic objective for the Danish presidency will be to contribute to get Europe out of the crisis... The economic crisis, and also the lack-of-trust crisis. We need to restore faith in the EU," he added.
For Denmark, this means encouraging greater economic responsibility among EU members, which in turn "implies (members') political willingness to comply with new rules on economic governance."
These rules, proposed by EU leaders at their Dec. 9 summit in Brussels, include preventing EU members running deficits of more than 0.5 percent, and automatic sanctions for those with deficits exceeding three percent.
The rules are scheduled to come into force in March 2012.
EURO OPT-OUT
Denmark is put in an awkward position while drafting a course for the eurozone out of the crisis, as it does not use the euro and has not yet agreed to sign on to the new fiscal agreement, which so far only binds the 17-member euro zone, and is still being drafted.
"We have a positive attitude towards the draft and the government will engage constructively in the negotiations with a clear political intention to the greatest extent possible participate in the agreement with full respect of our national opt-out on the euro," Wammen said.
He insisted that the euro opt-out would not prevent Denmark taking a leading role in economic negotiations with euro zone members under its presidency.
"I believe there is strong confidence in the Danish presidency from all member states... we have a strong economy, a strong commitment to Europe, we are seen as an honest broker, and that is the way we will deal with the presidency," Wammen said in response to questions from Xinhua.
"We will try to bring all 27 together to find solutions to the problems and challenges we are facing," he added.
Denmark will chair most meetings on the EU budget, and other vital meetings, during its presidency. This means it will have an important role to play as a mediator between the 17-member euro zone, and the 10 EU members outside the euro, including the UK, which is the only member to outright reject the new intergovernmental fiscal agreement.
GREEN GROWTH, ENLARGEMENT
Job creation, improvement of the single market, and improving competitiveness in the global market, are also high on the presidency agenda.
In this respect, Wammen said more funds would have to be channeled to "growth-enhancing areas like research, education and innovative technologies."
The green emphasis will promote sustainable growth, preserve the EU's lead on climate and energy policies and measures, and keep and create knowledge-intensive green jobs in the EU.
With regard to the EU enlargement, Wammen said Denmark was looking "forward to continuing negotiations with Turkey and Iceland, opening negotiations with Montenegro in June, and granting candidate status to Serbia in February."
Under its previous presidency in 2002, Denmark oversaw the expansion of the EU by 10 new member states.