Government

Citizen Security Council Gets Down To Business

Government has received several requests from individuals and organisations, representing various sectors, to join the National Advisory Council on Citizen Security, which was announced last Thursday and had its first meeting less than 24 hours later.

And while Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has explained that she does not wish the council to be bogged down by being too large, it is expected that others not named to the body will be coopted to lend their knowledge and expertise to the sub-committees the parent body will create.

“I am delighted to see that so many other Barbadians are keenly interested in joining the council and contributing to the creation of safer communities,” Ms. Mottley said. “While we cannot add everyone who would wish to help to the council, the council will call on you as the need arises.

“I take your desire to serve as a clear recognition that Barbadians have got the message that we all have a part to play. This must be a whole-of-nation effort if we are going to be successful.”

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley makes a point during the first meeting of the National Advisory Council on Citizen Security. Listening attentively (from l-r) are council member Michael Lashley (representing the Barbados Bar Association); President of the Senate, Reginald Farley; and Attorney General Dale Marshall.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Mottley has confirmed that subsequent to her statement to the country last Thursday, she has been able to conclude discussions with other Barbadians who are to join the council.

They are: Sarah Holder, member of the Youth Parliament; Coreen Selman-Harte, mother of fruit and nut vendor Rodney Selman, alias “Nut Man”, who was shot and killed near his home in 2020; and community activist Winston Branch. The board of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons will meet later this week to determine who will be their representative on the council.

Friday’s meeting, which was held at Ilaro Court and briefed by the Prime Minister, Attorney General Dale Marshall, and Minister of State in the Office of the Attorney General with special responsibility for Crime Prevention, Corey Lane, started business immediately.

Members of the committee engaged in robust discussion on critical aspects of the education system with agreement in principle on the need for approaches that would cut off the supply of teenagers to the block culture by eliminating unsupervised suspensions, as well as superannuation – except where all other reasonable attempts within the system at correcting their behaviour have failed.

In any event, the Prime Minister made it clear that Government will put in place a mechanism and facilities to cater to difficult students who disrupt the learning process in secondary schools, but who she is adamant should never be turned away without a second chance at rehabilitation.

The council will meet every other week, in the first instance, under the chairpersonship of Professor Emerita Velma Newton. (PR/GIS)

Government

Barbados Statistical Service Statement On Data Breach

The Barbados Statistical Service (BSS) confirms that we recently experienced a cyber incident. Ongoing investigations suggest that the systems of the BSS were breached on October 30, 2024, and that data was obtained by malicious actors. The Data Commissioner was advised.

Within 24 hours of the intrusion into the systems of the BSS, an incident response team was mobilised and deployed by the relevant Authority to contain the incident and investigate the scope of the breach along with BSS IT staff.

The incident has been contained, systems taken offline, and the investigations, so far, reveal that most of the information involved in this incident relates to survey data gathered primarily for statistical research purposes and then aggregated. The teams are still in the early stages of their investigations and are currently in the process of restoring data and services from secured backups.

The BSS is cognisant of its obligation to preserve public trust in the very important work of this Department. We will over the coming days and weeks ensure that our systems are appropriately hardened to reduce the probability of a recurrence and will be coming back to the public to advise on any relevant action that should be taken at the individual level to stay safe online following this event. As more information becomes available, we will provide updates to the public. (PR/GIS)

Government

Finance Ministry Approves $30 Million In Tax Payments

The Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs, and Investment announced that it recently released funds enabling the Barbados Revenue Authority (the Authority) to issue $30.4 million in Personal Income Tax (PIT) refunds for income year 2023 to 39,196 taxpayers. Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn confirmed the announcement.

Minister Straughn praised the Authority’s efforts in maintaining a streamlined process that facilitates the prompt issuance of refunds.

“The majority of refund payments for income year 2023 have been issued electronically via direct deposit and eligible taxpayers will start seeing the amounts on the account of their selected financial institution from as early as this week. This process reaffirms the Government’s ongoing commitment to improve its operations and to deliver efficient service to citizens,” stated Minister Straughn.

“Just under 13 percent of the refund payments processed are being issued via cheque. The cheque payment process has more layers, is a manual process and takes a longer time to process in relation to the disbursement of the payments. So persons will start receiving refund cheques through the post from the latter part of the month.”

Minister Straughn emphasised that the prompt issuance of PIT refunds aligns with Government’s commitment to a robust, citizen-centric service framework.

“The timely execution of these payments reflects our dedication to supporting taxpayers and delivering on our promises to make government services more accessible and responsive. The Barbados Revenue Authority continues to make strides in improving operational efficiency and service delivery,” he added. (PR/GIS)

Government

Barbados Has New Resident High Commissioner To Ghana

Last Thursday, November 7, Barbados’ first resident High Commissioner of Barbados to Ghana, Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland, presented her Letters of Credentials to the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at Jubilee House, Accra, Ghana.

This occasion marked a significant milestone between the two nations, which started formal diplomatic relations in August, 1994.

High Commissioner Bynoe-Sutherland in addressing the dignitaries gathered, brought greetings on behalf of President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley.

She thanked President Akufo-Addo for his inspirational words to Barbados at National Heroes Square, during the ceremony marking Barbados becoming a Republic in November, 2021.

In her remarks, High Commissioner Bynoe-Sutherland also focused on the ways in which the Atlantic Bridge was being rekindled through areas of cooperation in culture, trade and commerce, agriculture, life sciences and sports.

Having led the national hospital through COVID 19, the High Commissioner highlighted the successful cooperation in health between the two countries since 2019, which she said now serves as a model.

She shared insights into the positive contributions of the first two cohorts of Ghanaian nurses and the programme underway to welcome and orient the recently arrived third cohort of 155 nurses on November 3, 2024.

President Akufo-Addo in response, spoke about the deep enduring relationship between the countries. He asked that special greetings be sent to Prime Minister Mottley for her support and leadership during Ghana’s efforts around its candidacy for Commonwealth Secretary General.

As Barbados assumes from Ghana the Chairmanship of the Climate Vulnerability Forum (V20), cooperation is expected to deepen between the countries on climate vulnerability and efforts to achieve reform of the international financial institutions captured by the Bridgetown Initiative 3.0.

Senior officials of the Government of Ghana and the Barbados High Commission, along with the High Commissioner’s son, celebrated the occasion.

Also in attendance for the presentation of credentials was Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayokor Bocheway, who was successfully elected as the incoming Seventh Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, and who also joined in well-wishes to the High Commissioner and Barbados.

The new High Commissioner extended appreciation for the warm welcome received by the Mission in Ghana which was established in 2021. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Barbados’ first resident High Commissioner to Ghana, Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland greets Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at Jubilee House, Accra, Ghana.