Carib Scope

分类： society

  • Potholes complaints, bus tracking top Pearly app usage – developer

    Potholes complaints, bus tracking top Pearly app usage – developer

    A newly launched digital civic engagement platform in Barbados has already surpassed early adoption projections, with road infrastructure complaints and public transit tracking emerging as the two most popular features among local users, according to the app’s developer.

    Ramon Dummett, founder and chief executive officer of local tech firm Touch Star — the company behind the Pearly platform — shared details of the app’s early performance in an interview with Barbados TODAY, revealing that the tool has already notched more than 10,000 downloads since its launch. Dummett noted that the overwhelming user engagement signals a major shift toward digitized public participation in the country’s civic processes.

    Of all the user-submitted reports logged through the platform’s public portal, pothole damage accounts for the vast majority of submissions. Dummett explained that this trend aligns with everyday experiences for most Barbadians: nearly all residents rely on the island’s road network for daily travel, making damaged pavement one of the most visible and pressing quality-of-life concerns. The platform allows residents to geotag specific road defects and submit reports directly to the relevant government agencies, creating a centralized, searchable database of public infrastructure priorities that was not available through traditional reporting channels.

    To handle the unexpected flood of public reports, Dummett said government agencies are currently working through a structured onboarding process to adapt their existing workflows to the new digital system. Touch Star is leading technical implementation, providing hands-on staff training, and offering ongoing operational support across multiple government ministries to streamline the new complaint resolution process. The ultimate goal of the digital overhaul is to cut response times from weeks to days, and in some well-defined cases, just a few hours, Dummett said.

    Dummett asked for the public’s patience as agencies adjust to the new system, projecting that operational kinks will be ironed out within one to two months. Once the initial backlog of early reports is cleared, residents will start to see noticeably faster resolutions for their submitted requests, he added.

    Beyond infrastructure reporting, Pearly’s real-time public bus tracking feature has quickly become the platform’s second most heavily used tool. The service lets commuters track the exact location of Barbados Transport Board buses in real time, eliminating the uncertainty of waiting at stops for delayed or rerouted services. Dummett noted that the tool delivers tangible quality-of-life benefits, giving back valuable time to residents who would otherwise wait for buses that do not arrive on schedule.

    To improve the tracking feature’s reliability across the entire island, Touch Star is currently upgrading the GPS infrastructure installed on the full Transport Board bus fleet. Unlike consumer GPS systems that can suffer from signal dropouts in remote or built-up areas, the Pearly system uses a long-range, highly stable signal network that operates similarly to traditional AM radio, ensuring consistent coverage across the entire island.

    Dummett emphasized that Pearly is far more than a simple public complaint app: it functions as a full, comprehensive government operating system built on Touch Star’s proprietary Sunsuite digital platform, which can host multiple civic and administrative tools at once. The architecture is designed to be flexible enough for white-labeling, meaning the core platform could be exported to other countries seeking to digitize their own civic services in the future. Just as general-purpose operating systems like Windows or macOS host a wide range of productivity apps, Pearly’s underlying framework powers multiple interconnected tools to help government agencies manage and track public requests from start to finish.

    Touch Star is already preparing to launch several new modules for the platform in the coming months. Upcoming features include real-time emergency alerts, live streams of government public broadcasts, and a dedicated emergency management mode to support vulnerable populations during national crises. The team is also putting the final touches on Pearly Maps, an intelligent traffic management system that leverages anonymized historical transit data from the Transport Board fleet to predict congestion, suggest optimal departure times, and recommend alternate routes before drivers hit gridlock.

    Integration for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is currently in live testing, with the team targeting a full launch of the navigation feature ahead of the upcoming school term, when traffic volume typically increases across the island.

    Reflecting on the platform’s early performance, Dummett expressed confidence in his 40-person local engineering team, noting that real-world use over the first few months has already proven the platform is resilient and scalable enough to support national-level public service delivery for Barbados.

  • Son, Hollywood actress-activist to headline Marcus Garvey Day events

    Son, Hollywood actress-activist to headline Marcus Garvey Day events

    Barbadian government officials announced Thursday an ambitious line-up of high-profile guests and community-focused events for this year’s Marcus Garvey Day celebrations, a month-long series of programming centered on expanding public dialogues around emancipation, reparations for the transatlantic slave trade, and Black achievement across the global African diaspora.

    Headlining the guest list is Dr. Julius Garvey, son of trailblazing pan-Africanist leader Marcus Garvey, who will join his wife for a private rededication ceremony of the historic Steel Shed amphitheatre at Bridgetown’s Queen’s Park on August 18. The venue holds profound cultural significance for the pan-African movement: it was the site of Marcus Garvey’s iconic 1937 lecture *Intelligence Versus Ignorance*, which was attended by a 17-year-old Errol Walton Barrow, who would go on to become Barbados’ first prime minister.

    Acclaimed Hollywood actress, singer, author and activist Jenifer Lewis – widely known as the “Mother of Black Hollywood” for her decades-long career centering Black storytelling on screen and stage – will serve as the featured guest for the celebrations’ flagship public event on August 17, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. According to Rodney Grant, programme advisor for Barbados’ Division of Youth and Culture and Office of Pan African Affairs and Heritage, Lewis will lead an intimate fireside chat and open public conversation aimed at reframing how the global community discusses emancipation.

    “Our goal is to move the conversation of emancipation beyond just the trauma of slavery,” Grant explained at the celebrations’ official media launch. “We want to center the achievements of people of African descent, while building stronger connections with the broader African diaspora.”
    Grant noted that recent global discussions on reparations, held during a pan-African gathering in Accra, Ghana, underscored the shared struggles and experiences of Black communities across continents. From the transatlantic slave trade and colonial oppression to the 20th-century civil rights movement, Black communities across the diaspora have fought parallel battles for equity and self-determination. “It’s important that we are able to move the conversation then to where we are at now as Black people, and examine the achievements that we are making… because people of African descent would have had to engage in specific struggles, and therefore achievements for us were never easy,” Grant added.
    Beyond her flagship public talk, Lewis has specifically requested a meeting with young Barbadian creatives, scheduled for the morning of August 18 at the Wildey Gymnasium. The gathering will include participants from local summer artistic camps and cultural youth groups, giving emerging Black creators an opportunity to connect with the veteran artist and activist. Lewis, whose 40-plus year career includes iconic roles in hit sitcoms *Black-ish* and *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air*, has long been a vocal advocate for mental health access and African American cultural equity, and has frequently partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on public outreach campaigns.
    This year’s celebrations will also mark a major milestone for the Marcus Garvey Entrepreneurship Pitch, a competition designed to support emerging Black-led businesses in Barbados. Grant highlighted that the competition has seen explosive exponential growth since its launch in 2023: starting with just 15 applicants in its first year, the pitch drew 30 entrants in 2024, 63 in 2025, and 130 submissions for 2026, nearly doubling the applicant pool every year since inception. Judges are currently narrowing the field of 130 competitors down to five finalists, who will compete for three cash prizes during the August 17 main event. The first-place winner will take home BBD $20,000, with second and third place receiving BBD $7,000 and BBD $3,000 respectively.
    All public events for the 2026 Marcus Garvey Day celebrations are open to the public free of charge. Tickets can be obtained in advance from three locations across Barbados: the National Library Service in Bridgetown, the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) office in Warrens, and the Division of Culture at SkyMall.

  • $50 Ticket? No. A $50,000 Winning Ticket Ahead of GST-Free Weekend

    $50 Ticket? No. A $50,000 Winning Ticket Ahead of GST-Free Weekend

    An unexpected life-changing windfall has fallen into the lap of a Punta Gorda resident, who is now celebrating a $50,000 top prize from a Scratch & Win lottery ticket – a win that carries an extra layer of timing, coming just weeks ahead of the region’s upcoming GST-free shopping weekends on August 15 and 29.

    The winner, who has chosen to keep her identity private, shared that her moment of triumph came with a funny case of misreading at first. When she initially scratched off the ticket’s coating, she caught a glimpse of the number “fifty” and immediately assumed she had won a modest $50 payout. She set the ticket aside without a second thought and moved on to scratch three other tickets she had purchased.

    After walking away with a small $20 win from one of the other tickets, the casual lottery player circled back to the ticket she had discarded earlier. That was when she noticed the detail she had missed the first time: three extra zeros trailing the number 50, turning a $50 win into a 1,000-times larger jackpot of $50,000.

    Recounting the shock of the moment, the winner said, “I was like, ‘Wow, I won fifty thousand dollars. I felt happy and excited, and I said, ‘I can’t believe it.’”

    The lucky ticket was bought at a local retail outlet in Punta Gorda, a detail that has already drawn quiet interest from other regular lottery players in the area. Unlike many big jackpot winners who rush to plan major purchases, the Punta Gorda resident says she is in no hurry to decide how to use her new winnings. She plans to take several weeks to weigh her options before committing to any large financial decisions.

    For the winner, this big prize marks a major shift from her usual lottery experience. She told lottery officials she only buys Scratch & Win tickets occasionally, and in the past, her wins have almost always been small payouts – usually just $2 or $20. Even with the huge windfall under her belt, she says she has no plans to step away from the game, and is already looking forward to trying her luck again on future tickets.

  • VIDEO: Farmer charged with murder over shooting death

    VIDEO: Farmer charged with murder over shooting death

    A fatal shooting in a small local community has resulted in a licensed cannabis cultivator being placed behind bars ahead of a preliminary investigation into the death of a fellow resident. Law enforcement authorities have taken 33-year-old Rhyse Henry, a farmer based in Dickson Village, into custody and formally charged him with the murder of 35-year-old Clydon Cato, a local laborer who also resided in the same community. The shooting incident that claimed Cato’s life occurred on Saturday inside the village.

    Following the shooting, investigators conducted several days of inquiries before formally levelling the murder charge against Henry on Wednesday. The accused made his first court appearance on Thursday at the Serious Offences Court, where a judge denied his bail application. As a result of the ruling, Henry has been ordered to stay in prison custody until his preliminary inquiry gets underway, which will lay the groundwork for any upcoming trial proceedings in the case.

  • $500 Reward Offered After 12-Year-Old Girl Reportedly Robbed in Golden Grove Extension

    $500 Reward Offered After 12-Year-Old Girl Reportedly Robbed in Golden Grove Extension

    A violent street robbery targeting a pre-teen has prompted a desperate public appeal for information from the victim’s mother, who is putting up a $500 cash bounty for tips that unmask the perpetrator. The incident, which unfolded in the residential neighborhood of Golden Grove Extension, left 12-year-old Yalissa Love physically hurt and emotionally shaken, according to her mother, who has been identified publicly only as Love.

    Love detailed the assault to media, stating the unidentified attacker forced her young daughter up against a neighborhood fence before stealing her most cherished piece of jewelry: an 18-karat gold double-plated necklace engraved with Yalissa’s name on a custom nameplate. The physical confrontation left visible injuries to the 12-year-old’s neck, and the sudden, frightening encounter has caused lasting psychological trauma for the child, Love added.

    Local law enforcement has already been notified of the robbery and assault, investigators are currently moving forward with the next steps of the case, which includes reviewing hours of surveillance footage collected from nearby residential properties. This footage is seen as a key lead in helping detectives track down and identify the accused attacker.

    Beyond offering the cash reward, Love is issuing a urgent warning to the local community: she is asking any person who may be offered the engraved necklace for sale to refuse to purchase it, and instead reach out to authorities with information about who is trying to sell it. She is also calling on all local residents with any knowledge of the June incident, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward to help hold the attacker accountable and bring peace of mind to her family.

  • Urgent Blood Donation Appeal Issued for Two Patients

    Urgent Blood Donation Appeal Issued for Two Patients

    A pressing, time-sensitive call to action has been put out to the general public, asking eligible individuals to step forward and donate blood to support two patients, Jahlanie Barzey and Josh Thomas. Organizers behind the appeal note that every blood type is currently in high demand to meet the critical care needs of the two recipients, removing common eligibility restrictions around specific type matches to broaden the pool of potential donors.

    Community members who are able to give are encouraged to travel to the closest blood donation center or hospital to make their contribution. Upon arrival, donors simply need to inform frontline medical and administrative staff that their donation is specifically designated for Barzey and Thomas to ensure the blood is routed correctly to the pair.

    Those leading the appeal have reiterated that even small donations make a meaningful difference, leaning on the message that “every drop counts” when meeting ongoing transfusion needs. With the medical situation of the two patients described as urgent, organizers have stressed that timing is of the essence, pushing for qualifying donors to schedule and complete their donations at the earliest possible opportunity to help save lives.

  • Halo Foundation Donates To Youth Leadership Camp

    Halo Foundation Donates To Youth Leadership Camp

    Investing in the next generation of community leaders has taken a tangible step forward, as the Halo Foundation has once again reinforced its long-standing dedication to youth advancement through new philanthropic support. The non-profit organization has committed financial assistance to back a three-day Youth Leadership Camp, an initiative delivered in formal partnership with The Salvation Army.

    Beyond covering sponsorship for the gathering, the Halo Foundation’s donation specifically covered meal costs for the 30 young attendees who took part in the recently concluded event. Organizers centered the camp around the motivating and empowering theme: “Lead Yourself. Lead Others.” a framing that reflects the core purpose of the entire program.

    Unlike casual youth gatherings, this leadership camp was intentionally crafted to build up young people with the practical knowledge, interpersonal skills, and personal confidence required to grow into impactful, effective leaders within their local neighborhoods and community groups. Over the course of the three-day structured agenda, participants dove into a curated range of critical topics that cover both personal growth and team-focused leadership. These key learning areas included core leadership development frameworks, emotional intelligence for navigating interpersonal dynamics, constructive conflict management strategies, building healthy self-esteem, cultivating personal resilience in the face of challenges, and clarifying long-term personal purpose.

    In remarks following the camp, Cuthbert Forbes, Public Relations Officer for the Halo Foundation, underlined why consistent investment in a nation’s young population remains a top organizational priority. He noted that equipping young people with both strong foundational values and hands-on leadership abilities is not just beneficial for individual growth—it is a non-negotiable requirement for building more connected, resilient communities and laying the groundwork for a brighter collective future.

  • Politie grijpt in na verkeerschaos door afsluiting Domineestraat

    Politie grijpt in na verkeerschaos door afsluiting Domineestraat

    Severe gridlock triggered by the ongoing closure of Domineestraat for rehabilitation works has forced the Suriname Police Corps to implement a series of emergency traffic adjustments to ease travel disruptions across central Paramaribo.

    When construction kicked off on Domineestraat this Monday, downtown Paramaribo and its primary access arteries immediately became choked with long, persistent queues. Originally, the Ministry of Public Works and Spatial Planning had announced the rehabilitation project would take four weeks to complete, but officials now project the work will wrap up in roughly half that time, just two weeks from the start date.

    To address the crippling congestion, additional police officers have been deployed to the city’s busiest intersections, and a pre-existing traffic plateau on Keizerstraat, located near its crossing with Zwartenhovenbrugstraat, has been temporarily removed in a bid to improve flow through the city center. Daily patrols are being carried out by three specialized police units — the Motor Surveillance Service (MSD), the Paramaribo Motor Brigade, and the Bikers Unit — which are stationed at key strategic points across the capital. Officers are actively directing traffic at the most congested intersections and intervening quickly to resolve unexpected disruptions as they arise.

    According to Inspector Iwan Joekoe, head of the Bikers Unit, the measures have already yielded modest improvements to traffic conditions, as confirmed by the Suriname Communication Service. “Rush hours remain extremely crowded, but outside peak travel windows, traffic is moving far more smoothly than it did immediately after the road closure,” Joekoe explained. He and other officials have issued guidance to road users, urging them to prioritize alternative routes whenever possible and consider parking their vehicles outside of the downtown area to cut down on unnecessary through traffic in the congested zone.

    MSD head Inspector Reguillio Tirtojoso noted that police had collaborated to develop a comprehensive traffic management plan ahead of the start of construction work. During the planning phase, teams mapped all potential high-risk congestion points and made the decision to reallocate extra personnel to those trouble spots ahead of time. The Keizerstraat traffic plateau was flagged early as a major barrier to efficient traffic movement, leading to the decision to remove it temporarily for the duration of the Domineestraat works.

    Tirtojoso identified three intersections as the current hardest-hit locations: Zwartenhovenbrugstraat/Keizerstraat, Keizerstraat/Fred Derbystraat, and Fred Derbystraat/Sophie Redmondstraat. For drivers heading southbound through the city, officials strongly recommend taking alternate routes via Fred Derbystraat and Waterkant to avoid the worst delays.

    As of now, the police have not found sufficient reason to convert any existing roads to temporary one-way traffic to ease flow. However, officials confirmed that the traffic situation will be re-evaluated on a daily basis for the entire duration of the Domineestraat rehabilitation project, with additional adjustments implemented if needed to keep traffic moving.

    The accelerated construction timeline means drivers and commuters will only have to navigate the adjusted traffic arrangements for a short period, with full access to Domineestraat expected to be restored much earlier than initially projected.

  • Missing Since 1998: NFSS Wants to Finally Give Them a Name

    Missing Since 1998: NFSS Wants to Finally Give Them a Name

    For more than two decades, roughly 20 sets of human remains have remained nameless and unclaimed in Belize, some dating back as far as 1998. Now, the country’s National Forensic Science Service (NFSS) is launching a targeted, public-facing effort to close decades-old missing person cases by matching these unidentified remains to their families.

    The skeletal remains in question were recovered between 1998 and 2020, unearthed across multiple districts spanning Belize. For years, a lack of contextual information about potential next of kin has kept these cases cold, leaving both the unidentified dead and their grieving families without closure. To break this impasse, the NFSS rolled out a new public initiative this month, centered on an online submission form designed to crowdsource critical information from the community.

    The appeal is open to anyone who has had a friend or family member go missing within the 1998 to 2020 timeframe that matches the recovery period of the remains. Through the digital form, relatives can share basic identifying details about their missing loved one that will be cross-referenced with the case files of the unidentified remains held by the NFSS.

    When a submitted profile shows a strong potential match to an unidentified set of remains, NFSS investigators will reach out directly to the submitting party to arrange for a voluntary DNA sample. This sample will then be compared against genetic material extracted from the remains. A confirmed match would allow the NFSS to facilitate the return of remains to the person’s next of kin, giving families the chance to hold a proper burial and lay their loved one to rest after decades of uncertainty.

    In an effort to remove barriers to participation and protect vulnerable families, the NFSS has emphasized that the entire process – from information submission to DNA testing and matching – is 100% free of charge. The agency also issued a public warning, noting that it will never solicit banking details or any form of payment from families at any stage of the identification process.

    Community members seeking more information about how submitted data will be stored and used can contact the NFSS directly via phone at +501-205-2164 or email at info@forensics.gov.bz. The online submission form can be accessed either by scanning the QR code printed on official NFSS public notices or through the dedicated form link at https://forms.gle/u1KhhBKgfpdo5WECA.

  • National CHOGM Task Force Expresses Delight With Carnival 26 Activations

    National CHOGM Task Force Expresses Delight With Carnival 26 Activations

    The National Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Task Force has publicly shared its satisfaction with the widespread, well-executed activations rolled out for the 26th edition of the national carnival.

    Carnival 26, designed as a cultural lead-up to the upcoming high-profile CHOGM summit, brought together thousands of participants from local communities, cultural groups, and event planning teams across the country. The series of activations included street parades featuring traditional folk performances, public art installations highlighting Commonwealth cultural heritage, community dialogues focused on cultural exchange, and food festivals showcasing diverse culinary traditions from across member states.

    Task Force leadership noted that the events successfully achieved their core goal: building public excitement for the upcoming CHOGM gathering while celebrating the shared cultural ties that bind Commonwealth nations together. Organisers reported strong turnouts at every activation site, with both local residents and international visitors turning out to engage with the programming.

    “This level of community participation and creative execution exceeds our initial expectations,” said a senior spokesperson for the National CHOGM Task Force in a media statement. “The Carnival 26 team has managed to blend local cultural identity with the inclusive, collaborative spirit that defines CHOGM, creating a welcoming atmosphere ahead of the main summit. We are incredibly grateful to every community group, artist, volunteer, and attendee that contributed to making these activations a resounding success.”

    Local cultural leaders echoed the task force’s positive assessment, noting that the carnival activations have also provided a critical economic boost to small local businesses in host communities, from hospitality vendors to craft artisans. Many attendees shared on social media that the events offered a accessible, joyful way to connect with the work of CHOGM ahead of the official leadership meetings.