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Oct_Nov 2018

Jamaica’s 1st shipment of medical marijuana goes to Canada

The first shipment of medical marijuana extract oil has been made to Canada. This represents a first step in the development of Jamaica as the medical marijuana center of the world. According to Audley Shaw, Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, the country is “uniquely positioned” to become a player on the world stage. He said the government is committed to providing the leadership and resources needed to open international markets to the island’s regulated and licensed medical marijuana companies. There are plans to enter markets in Europe in addition to Canada.

The first shipment received authorization via an import permit issued by the Canadian government through Health Canada for Jamaica, as well as an export permit issued by Jamaica’s Ministry of Health. Courtney Betty, the president and CEO of Timeless Herbal Care, the company is blazing new trails in Jamaica and making the first shipment of extracted oil cultivated and extracted at its Jamaican facilities, This represents the fulfillment of a mission begun in 2013. Betty went on to say that this achievement was facilitated by the firm’s commitment to developing small farmers and local communities, along with partnerships that include its research at the University of Technology. International partners like Open Vape and Mount Sinai Hospital are also involved in helping to guide the firm in producing the highest possible grade of extracted oil that can be used for clinical trials. Ultimately, these trials are expected to result in the development of other medical marijuana products for the world, Betty continued.

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Canada “legalize it”

Marijuana stores across much of Canada have launched the sale and recreational use of cannabis. It becomes legal for the first time by a major Western country.

Stores in St John's, capital of eastern Canada's Newfoundland province, was the first to open their doors to pot enthusiasts. On the eve of legalisation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended the historic but controversial change, which has been welcomed by entrepreneurs but sharply questioned by medical professionals.

“We're not legalising cannabis because we think it's good for our health, we're doing it because we know it's not good for our children,” he said as he arrived in parliament.

“We know we need to do a better job to protect our children and to eliminate or massively reduce the profits that go to organised crime.”

Canada's Cannabis Act, which fulfills a promise Trudeau made in the 2015 election campaign, lifts a 95-year prohibition and makes Canada only the second nation after Uruguay to legalise the drug.

For almost a century criminal enterprises had complete control of this market, 100 per cent of its production and distribution, and they profited in the billions of dollars each year. I suspect they're not going to go gently into the night,” he said.

“We have developed a public health framework for the regulation of cannabis that focuses very clearly on social and health harms for the first time,” he said. “It's not a criminal model, it's not a commercial model, it's a public health model.”

Demand is such that retailers in Manitoba and Nova Scotia retailers are expecting to quickly run out of product, citing a supply shortage. In Ontario buyers will have to wait for their pot to arrive in the mail, after it is ordered online — until the opening of retail storefronts in 2019. Canadians consumed 773 tons of cannabis in 2017.

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The Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica is privatized

The Jamaica Government has divested operations at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) to a Mexican entity which will take charge of running the facility for at least the next quarter of a century.

Under a 25-year concession agreement signed yesterday, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico S.A.B. De C.V. (GAP) will be responsible for improving the airport’s land and air operational efficiency, and financing and completing a modernization program, at an estimated cost of over U$110 million.

Additionally, the Government will receive a guaranteed percentage of the airport’s gross revenues. The entity has the option to extend the arrangements by an additional five years.

GAP emerged the preferred of three bidders, which included two consortia of foreign and local investors. Their selection followed the public opening and evaluation and Cabinet’s subsequent approval in September of the three bid submissions received by the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) in July. The transaction value for GAP’s bid totals over US$2 billion. said the transfer of financing and operational responsibilities to GAP now enables the Airports Authority of Jamaica to focus on managing the concessions at NMIA and the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, which the Mexican entity has been managing through subsidiary company, Desarollo de Concesiones Aeroportuaris since 2003. GAP has concession management agreements, some totaling 50 years, for 13 airports in Mexico.

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WHO removes Caribbean from Zika virus classification

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has removed its Zika virus country classification scheme from countries in the region. The scheme had categorized most of the Caribbean territories as having active Zika virus transmission.

This removal of the mosquito borne virus by the WHO comes on the heels of data released by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), giving evidence that the Zika virus transmission in the Caribbean had been interrupted for over 12 months, or was at undetectable levels, thereby posing very little risk to residents and visitors to the region.

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Whole lotta earthquake shaking going on

Haiti death toll rises to 18
Haiti said 18 people have been confirmed dead following the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country on October 6.
The Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) in its latest revised statement said that 580 people were injured up from the last figure of 333. The last assessment had indicated that 17 people had died.
In Port-de-Paix, which bore the brunt of the quake and the several aftershocks, the authorities said that hospital care is now being provided to residents free of cost and that the Immaculate Conception Hospital received a generator with a capacity of 125 kilowatts, a gift from the presidency According to the latest evaluations, 11,497 houses, up from 7,430, were either destroyed or damaged and that 90 per cent of them were in the communes of Bassin-Bleu, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Louis, north-west and Gros-Morn.

10 earthquakes shake Trinidad
The 10th earthquake in recent days was felt in sections Trinidad and Tobago. The Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine Campus says the earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 was felt at 9:13 pm (local time).
It was felt in Port of Spain, San Fernando and  Arima.
Fortunately these earthquakes were not very strong. However, with the frequency of tremors, Seismologist and Acting SRC Director Dr Joan Latchman, has warned Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean to be prepared for a major earthquake adding  that the various tremors in recent days are nothing new.

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 Jamaica civil servants ranks high on Global Competitiveness Report

Public sector workers have been hailed for their contribution to the country's positive performance in the 2017-2018 Global Competitiveness Report, which shows that Jamaica is ranked 27 out of 140 countries in labour market efficiency. The report gives Jamaica an overall ranking of 79 out of 140 countries in global competitiveness, falling from 78 last year.

On a scale where one is the best and 140 is the worst-performing economy, the competitiveness report ranks nations based on their institutions, policies and other factors that impact their productivity and global competitiveness.

According to Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Fayval Williams, “As we evolve, the aim is being the best civil service, producing 21st century solutions that make a real difference in the lives of the Jamaican people we serve. I am proud to say that in many pockets of the civil service we have already achieved world class, and rank very high among the world's administrators; yet we know that this is not enough and that we cannot stand still,” she said.

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B'dos Agricultural Society opposes the importing of chicken wings

The Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) has called on the government to stop importing chicken wings. Chief Executive Officer James Paul, a former legislator, made the call claiming a glut is in the offing. He noted that due to the increase in wing imports, local chicken farmers are suffering financially as supermarket shelves stock more imported poultry than locally produced parts.

The Barbados Agricultural Development Marketing Corporation, is having a negative impact on the livelihood of farmers across the island. The small producers in our country — and those are the persons who grow 500 chicken to 1000 chickens or 1500 chickens — are now having difficulty getting their chickens sold.

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Grenada votes 'No' against CCJ

Grenadians voted, for a second time within a two-year period, to reject efforts to replace the London-based Privy Council as the island's highest court.

In a national referendum, the preliminary figures released by the Parliamentary Elections Office (PEO) show that the “No” vote secured 12,133 as compared to 9,846 for those supporting the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) that was established in 2001.

The CCJ also functions as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the regional integration movement, Caricom.

After casting his ballot, an optimistic Mitchell had said he was confident of receiving the necessary two-thirds majority of the votes cast in getting Grenada to join Barbados, Belize, Dominica and Guyana as the Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries that are full members of the CCJ.

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JN Money Services launches online platform in Jamaica

JN Money Services (JNMS) has launched its JN Money Online service, which provides customers with more options and convenience to transmit funds; and, positions itself as the “remittance company of choice”, through increased digital access.

The new JN Money Online, a web-based platform, allows people in the US, United Kingdom and Canada to remit funds to any market in which JN Money operates, pay bills, and conduct transactions with third-party financial institutions in Jamaica.

“A part of our mission is to provide our customers with safety, affordability and convenience through multiple payment channels,” explained Horace Hines, general manager, JN Money Services, owners and operators of the JN Money brand, via news release.

“With technology becoming a dominant feature of the remittance industry, introducing our online platform gives customers safety, affordability and convenience while taking advantage of new technologies.”

JN Money Online was originally established in 2016, as an e-commerce site for Jamaicans in Canada to conduct transactions while 'on the go'; and, since then, the service has been expanded to the UK and the US.

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Jamaica #1 travel destination

TripAdvisor® ranked Jamaica as the #1 Caribbean Destination and #14 Best Destination in the World in 2018. Also this year, the International Council of the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) named Jamaica the Best Destination for Adventure Tourism and TravAlliance Media named the JTB the Best Tourism Board Overall. Additionally, the JTB has been declared the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board by the World Travel Awards (WTA) for eleven consecutive years between 2006 and 2017. 

In 2017, Jamaica also earned the WTA’s award for the Caribbean’s Leading Wedding Destination and the Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination. Jamaica is home to some of the world’s best accommodations, attractions and service providers that have won several awards throughout the years.

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Rihanna appointed Barbados ambassador

Rihanna, the Barbadian pop star who was born Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty, has been appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary by Prime MinisterMia Amor Mottley of Barbados. She will have special responsibility for promoting education, tourism, and investment for the country. The Prime Minister said the government was honored to name Rihanna an ambassador, describing her as an “outstanding Barbadian” and citing her significant commitment to raising the island’s profile throughout the world. 
Mottley went on to note Rihanna’s deep love for her country, which is reflected in her philanthropy in the areas of education and health. Rihanna also displays her patriotism by giving back to the country and continuing to consider Barbados her home, Mottley added. The manner in which the pop star has demonstrated her “significant creative acumen and shrewdness in business” makes her appointment to the role of ambassador especially fitting, said Mottley, as it will give her the power to take a larger and more definitive role in transforming her country.

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Devastating flood hits T&T

Trinidad and Tobago was hit by heavy flooding following heavy rains over four days that caused widespread flooding, landslides and left millions of dollars in damage. There were no reports of deaths or persons missing. It caused many peopleto be housed at hurricane shelters mainly in the south, central and eastern part of the country where the floods have caused the most damage.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) said that at least 150,000 people were directly affected by the torrential rains over the past few days as a result of an inter-tropical convergence zone (ITZ) that flooded homes, damaged roads and made bridges in some areas impassable.

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Ja’s Alia Atkinson cops swimming gold

JAMAICA'S champion swimmer Alia Atkinson fittingly brought the curtains down on the FINA World Cup circuit with another breath-taking performance to cop the women's 50m breaststroke at the OCDC Aquatic Centre on the final day of action in Singapore.

Atkinson, who the previous day toppled the field in the 100m breaststroke, completed the double with victory in the sprint as she again stamped her class in the event.

After a 1:02.74-clocking in the 100m breaststroke, Atkinson, who was again joined by compatriot Breanna Roman in the 50m breaststroke final, won the event in a fast 28.93. It’s good to see that Atkinson is not the lone Jamaica world class competitor.Earlier in the preliminary rounds, teammate Breanna Roman and Russia's Yuliya Efimova went head-to-head, with the Jamaican showing that she belongs, clocking a personal best time of 31.06, against the seasoned European who finished tops in 30.42.

Previously, Atkinson:

 
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