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BLA Simplifies Annual Registration For Private Vehicles

The Barbados Licensing Authority (BLA) has simplified the annual registration process for private vehicles. From Monday, July 15, 2024, when private vehicle owners renew their insurance policies, they will receive an electronic notification from the BLA.

This initiative is a preparatory step for the upcoming Electronic Vehicle Tagging Registration (EVTR) system, commonly known as the EVR system, which will eliminate road tax discs and the registration stickers that were placed on the back of private vehicles.

When private vehicle insurance policies are renewed, insurance companies will send this information electronically to the BLA, and this will be automatically updated in the BLA’s database. Private vehicle owners will then receive the notification via email from the BLA confirming their registration status.

Persons will be required to provide a valid email address to their insurance company. In the absence of an email address, the registration notification will be posted. The notification should be kept in their vehicle to be presented upon request by a Police Officer or a Transport Inspector.

This new electronic process will eliminate the need for persons to make manual submissions and visits to the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA), making it more convenient for private vehicle owners. It will further ensure that BLA’s database is updated in real-time to reflect registration and insurance compliance of private vehicles as a legislative requirement.

According to Section 5(4) of the Road Traffic Act: “Every owner of a motor vehicle shall annually register the motor vehicle with the Licensing Authority on the anniversary date on which the vehicle was first registered.”

Traditionally, the registration process required vehicle owners to visit the BRA with their insurance documents to update their records, and receive a registration disc. However, since road tax was abolished for private vehicles in 2018, private vehicle registration is now onlytied to insurance compliance.

This collaborative effort amongst the BLA, the BRA and the insurance companies promises to improve efficiency, reduce paperwork, and ensure timely updates to vehicle registration records, making it easier for vehicle owners to stay compliant with the law.

The upcoming Electronic Vehicle Tagging Registration system will require private vehicles to be tagged with a single radio frequency identification sticker as proof that vehicles are insurance compliant and registered with the Barbados Licensing Authority. (PR)

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SPECIAL POLLING DAY NOTICE

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FundAccess To Host Legal Clinic Workshop from May 13th

Entrepreneurs will soon get another opportunity to learn about critical legal matters that are key to the operation of their businesses.

FundAccess will be hosting The Legal Clinic Workshop, which will commence on Tuesday, May 13, and continue each Tuesday, until May 27, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The workshop will be facilitated by Attorney-at-law Ondene Kirton and participants will discuss Understanding Business Legal Structures; Contracts & Agreements; Employment Law & Compliance; and Examination of the Various Laws Relating to Small Business.

During those sessions, the participants will be exposed to sole proprietorship, partnerships, corporations – pro and cons; how to choose the right legal structure for a business; the importance of contracts in business operations; avoiding common contract pitfalls; and employee rights & employer responsibilities, among others. Some of the pieces of legislation to be examined include the Employment Rights Act and National Insurance and Social Security Act.

Interested persons may attend the workshop in person at FundAccess’ Pinfold Street, Bridgetown location, or online via the Zoom Platform. To register, click on the following link: https://bit.ly/3Fu09Jv.

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Centenarian Built On Firm Foundation Set By Grandmother

“Trust God first” is the mantra of one of Barbados’ newest centenarians, Athelstan Browne, who celebrated his 100th birthday on April 29, 2025, at his home in Montrose, Christ Church, surrounded by family and friends.

One of his specially invited guests was President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason.

Mr. Browne shared that he grew up “not knowing a mummy” as his mother passed away at age 23, when he was two years old, and his brother was only one year old.

Crediting his grandmother for his upbringing, Mr. Brown remarked: “I had a real good, good grandmother that raised two of us, and everything we learn before we went to school, she taught us.”

Pointing to a humble yet deeply religious upbringing, Mr. Browne said: “I and my brother slept on the floor. Our grandmother spread things down there, and she just put the pillow under our head.”

He recalled that they had to sing the hymn “Under the Blood” before going to bed, and first thing in the morning before they had breakfast, which usually consisted of “a cup of tea and two biscuits”. Adding that the hymn was “our song”, Mr. Browne sang the hymn from memory.

Stressing that his grandmother was a great provider, he noted: “My grandmother had land, and she would work the land…. We would eat raw potato, raw okras, (green) peas, cucumbers…. The only thing we did not eat was raw yams and eddoes.”

Mr. Browne continues to enjoy his ground provisions “with a little rice”, as he likes his rice with green peas, and if available, chicken boiled with the rice. “I am a fish man,” he remarked, eating it either fried or with a “stew sauce”.

Continuing to nurture his Christian beliefs, he joined the Mount Ararat United Holy Church (currently in Dayrell’s Road, Christ Church) in 1967, at age 33, and has continued there ever since.

Once the Superintendent of the Sunday School at the church, Mr. Browne is still instrumental in providing leadership to the youth there. “I have a crowd of young people at church that love me…especially when I have to talk to them…. It is what they should hear and what they should have,” he said.

The centenarian was raised in Montrose, Christ Church, and attended the Christ Church Boys’ School (now Milton Lynch Primary School). After leaving school, Mr. Browne initially took to agriculture but then worked cutting soft stone in two quarries in Christ Church.

In 1947, at the age of 22, he decided to join the US Farm Labour Programme and took the first Pan American Airlines flight out of Barbados. Over 10 years later, Mr. Browne returned to Barbados and married Monica Browne (deceased). Together, they built the house where he currently resides.

Returning to his roots in agriculture, the centenarian worked at the Ridge Plantation, Christ Church, until retirement. He also planted and reaped ground produce at home, as well as planted and cut canes.

Mr. Browne, who is generally in good health and has a sharp memory, still works around the home and enjoys reading, which he does without glasses. He also keeps in touch with his family in New York and North Carolina, and will do some travelling, but he is always ready to return home.

After toasting the centenarian, Her Excellency remarked: “You are in the midst of a lot of love, and I am sure you are going to enjoy the rest of your birthday. I am really happy to have met you. I am grateful for the work that you still continue to do with our young people because a lot of them lack direction, and we, nowadays, don’t take enough time to sit down and speak with them…. We don’t remind them that they are important, that they are somebody.”

Mr. Browne responded: “You got to make them understand what … the Lord expects of them… We have to acknowledge the Lord.”

Mr. Browne has two children, 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. (PR/GIS)

Caption: President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, and Barbados’ newest centenarian Athelstan Browne take a walk outside during his birthday celebrations in Montrose, Christ Church