RTC Director

Barbados government committed to re-shaping economy, says PM

The government of Barbados is committed to pursuing a strategy that will systematically reduce its fiscal deficit, and foster economic growth and innovation.

This assurance came on Thursday from Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, as he addressed the opening ceremony of a one-day national private/public sector consultation on the economy.

Stuart pledged that the government would work "hand in hand with the leadership in industry, labour and civil society, to create an enabling environment that re-energises the engines of growth and innovation" in the economy, and thus enhance the quality of life of Barbadians.

However, he warned that this country needed to be more competitive, more productive and committed to a much higher quality of service, stressing that this could not be achieved overnight, but would require that all concerned worked "assiduously to achieve personal and national goals".

The prime minister told the gathering of senior executives in the private and public sectors that: "We must eschew drifting into a community more concerned with highlighting what is wrong than with taking the steps necessary to put things right...Let us aim for creativity, not commonplaces; let us aim for innovation, not limitation. This is not a time for division and hollow posturing. If we work together, we will achieve and succeed together."

Recounting a number of economic realities that confronted the country, the prime minister stated that real economic growth had in fact "continued to be at worst elusive and at best anaemic". He noted that government revenues had been challenged as a result of the economic decline, as this had impacted on the earning and spending capacities of all sectors.

He pointed out that although revenues had been falling, the demand for government to maintain the social safety net had been heightened. 

"Government has not been able to ignore these demands because that social safety net is, in large measure, responsible for the relative peace and stability which we enjoy and which has made Barbados continuingly attractive to foreign investors and visitors," he noted.

It was the combination of these factors, Stuart said, that has led to a fiscal deficit that was higher than the government would have liked it to be, even though it was largely incurred in the interest of social and economic stability.

He added: "As a result, government debt has risen sharply both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP. This has meant higher debt service expenditure both in absolute terms and as a percentage of declining government revenues. Government has been able to hold other expenditure reasonably stable over the last five years, and has tried as far as possible to restrict increase in expenditure."

The national consultation also involved representatives of the Barbados Workers' Union, the Barbados Private Sector Association, the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association and the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Central Bank of Barbados.

by RTC Director

Former Cayman Islands premier threatens to sue auditor general

Former premier of the Cayman Islands, McKeeva Bush, who is currently facing a number of criminal charges, has threatened to sue the territory’s auditor general over allegations of political interference in the hiring of two Port Authority employees.

A report by auditor general Alastair Swarbrick released this week documented the hiring of two employees by the Port Authority – once in 2004 and again in 2009 – on specific instructions from Bush. 

On Thursday Bush denied he had done anything wrong and said, “I’m going to sue him [the auditor general].”

According to the report, two Port Authority workers were initially hired in 2004, when Bush was leader of government business and also chairman of the Port Authority’s board of directors. 

In 2005, the two employees were terminated from their positions, presumably following a change of government. 

In 2009, Bush, then the newly re-elected premier, instructed the Port Authority director to reinstate arrangements with the same two employees at a salary of $1,000 per month, the auditor general reported. 

“Up to February 2012, a total of $90,000 had been paid to these individuals without any evidence of work being done,” Swarbrick’s report noted. 

“The action identified above is a clear example of undue political influence and override that undermines the ability of an organisation such as [the port authority] to operate effectively,” Swarbrick continued.

Cayman Islands anti-corruption law makes it an offence to “influence or negotiate appointments or dealing in [public] offices”; however, that must be done while seeking a reward or advantage of some kind. 

Meanwhile, on Friday, Bush returned to court in relation to the eleven criminal charges against him, including allegations that he used a government credit card unlawfully to withdraw some $50,000 in cash from ATMs in US casinos.

A trial date in March 2014 has tentatively been "pencilled in" according to the Crown prosecutor.

by RTC Director

St Lucia seeking to take advantage of PetroCaribe

St Lucia will seek to advance arrangements to access Venezuelan oil under the PetroCaribe initiative when Prime Minister Kenny Anthony visits Nicaragua today.

Anthony told reporters Wednesday that there were no grounds for speculation that the island may have abandoned efforts to get oil on concessionary terms from Venezuela.Under PetroCaribe, Caribbean countries benefit from preferential rates on crude oil, refined products, and LPG or its energy equivalent, from Venezuela. The payment arrangement allows for purchase of oil on market value for 40 per cent up front, within 90 days. The remainder of the payment can be made over a period of 25 years with one per cent interest, provided that oil prices are above US$40 per barrel.

The oil pact was launched in 2005 and was aimed at strengthening the member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of America (ALBA). But there have been reports here that since the death of President Hugo Chavez in March, the PetroCaribe oil agreement appeared to be in limbo.

Prime Minister Anthony said his visit to Nicaragua is intended to further St Lucia's interest in the initiative to which it has become a signatory.

"We will be meeting essentially to finalise legal arrangement underpinning Petro Caribe which require us to establish two companies.

"One would be owned by the government of St Lucia that will conduct its business on the initiative and the other owned jointly with Venezuelan interests, will manage the resources that comes available through PetroCaribe.

"So we are moving to put the institutional arrangements in place so that hopefully we can begin to operationalise our relationship and secure benefits from Petro Caribe," Anthony added.

St Lucia became the newest member of PetroCaribe against the backdrop of escalating cost of fuel and the adverse effects on the economy.

The government has said that PetroCaribe benefits will be used to invest in social development programmes and the country's social infrastructure, as has been done successfully in neighbouring Caribbean countries.

Among the regional countries that signed on to the deal, Jamaica has stated that since the inception of the facility in 2005, the country has benefited to the tune of US$2.4 billion, and has paid back US$150 million.

However, the CEO of Jamaica's PetroCaribe Development Fund (PDF) said in April that the country was the only beneficiary which had insulated from the temptation to consume the benefits in current expenditure, and had invested it in a way to ensure that the country would be able to meet the payments when they become due.

Source- CMC

by RTC Director

Digicel loses out to Norwegian, Quatari telecoms in Myanmar bid

Digicel in a statement yesterday said it was dissapointed to have not been selected, but said it would look at other opportunities in Myanmar and other territorities as it seeks to expand its international footprint.

"Digicel remains committed to exploring commercial opportunities in Myanmar and will be evaluating these on an ongoing basis," the company said.

"In the meantime, Digicel's focus will be on growing market share and revenues in its existing markets whilst continuing to look for other expansion paths, including new markets like the Bahamas."

Denis O'Brien, Chairman and founder of Digicel Group, speaking on behalf of the consortium -- YSH Finance Limited (a joint venture between First Myanmar Investment Co and Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd 'FMI/Yoma'), Quantum Strategic Partners Ltd and Digicel Group Limited -- thanked the Union Government of Myanmar for the opportunity to be involved in the bidding process.

He also congratulated the successful applicants and wished them well as they prepare to enter the Myanmar market.

Telenor and Ooredoo will set up the country's first foreign-owned mobile phone networks. Telenor is one of the world's major mobile operators with 148 million mobile subscriptions. It has mobile operations in 11 countries across Europe and Asia, according to the company's website. Total revenues in 2012 were NOK 101.7 billion or US$16.8 billion.

Ooredoo reportedly haa a customer base of 93 million and revenues of US$9.3 billion in 2012. It has businesses across markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, according to the company's website.

Currently less than six million of the country's 60 million people have mobile phones, one of the lowest connectivity rates in the world. Hoping to spur economic growth, the government is trying to push penetration rates to 80 per cent by 2016.

The licences were awarded despite an eleventh hour push by lawmakers to delay a decision until a new telecommunications law is passed.

Of the more than 90 companies that submitted bids, 11 were shortlisted.

Myanmar, located in the heart of one of the fastest growing regions in the world, became one of the most isolated and poorest nations during its half-century of iron-clad military rule.

After taking control of a quasi-civilian government in 2011, former general Thein Sein started implementing promised political and economic reforms.

by RTC Director

LIME, Cisco Meraki unveil WiFi earning opportunity for businesses

Telecommunications firm LIME and leading Cloud-controlled WiFi solutions provider Cisco Meraki have teamed up to offer Jamaican businesses technology aimed at increasing revenues and improving the attractiveness of their establishments to an increasingly technologically driven market.

In the first of a two-part LIME/Cisco Meraki Hosted WiFi Seminar held at the Hilton Rose Hall Hotel in Montego Bay last week, LIME's vice president of corporate SME sales, Edward Gabbidon, invited hoteliers, restaurateurs, bankers and IT companies to be among the first to partner with LIME Business and develop a "smart facility" where patrons are able to use personal wireless devices to access services.

Respective IT specialist also got an opportunity to quiz LIME and Cisco Meraki representatives on how useful this solution was for Jamaican businesses, customer support services from LIME and the cost associated with acquiring the system. Gabbidon explained that LIME was fully backed by Cisco Meraki in terms of technical support and LIME Business is willing to come in and assess their layout, design a solution tailor-made for your business and offer solutions that do not require capital expenditure but can be done as an operational cost.

"When you buy into a Hosted WiFi Solution that gives customers effortless connectivity to access the goods and services you offer while being able to connect online from their wireless devices, it gives business owners added revenue channels and improves customer comfort and satisfaction," Gabbidon said.

"The tourism sector stands to benefit greatly from this partnership between LIME and Cisco Meraki, as Jamaica will have access to first world level internet service solutions, while visitors can stay connected to their homes and offices through the use of their smart devices," he added.

Cisco Meraki field sales engineer Benton Heles noted that the system is easy to deploy, as implementation can be done in under an hour and offers ease of management and flexibility. Additionally, he said through the cloud connectivity, the system will be afforded to everyone wherever the service is offered and can be configured and managed remotely.

by RTC Director