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  • Anglican Canon Massiah dies at 79

    Anglican Canon Massiah dies at 79

    One of Barbados’ most venerated senior Anglican religious leaders, The Reverend Canon F. Errington Massiah, has passed away at the age of 79. His death came early Monday morning, following a short stay for medical care at a local hospital, closing a 45-year career of spiritual and public service that left an indelible mark on the Caribbean nation.

    Widely recognized for his straightforward, unfiltered approach to both pastoral care and public commentary, Massiah built a reputation across Barbados for his vibrant oratory style and unflinching willingness to confront pressing social problems that affected everyday citizens. His decades of consistent, dedicated service earned him respect across religious and political circles, and tributes poured in immediately from across the country after news of his passing broke.

    The Right Reverend Michael Maxwell, Bishop of Barbados, described the cleric’s death as a moment of profound sorrow for the entire Anglican Diocese of the nation. “It is with deep sadness that we note the passing of The Rev’d Canon Errington Massiah, one of our retired Anglican clerics who served the Church faithfully and devotedly for over 35 years in active ministry,” Maxwell shared in his official statement.

    Massiah’s journey in ordained ministry began in August 1980, when he was ordained to the diaconate, followed by ordination to the priesthood just 11 months later in July 1981. He cut his teeth in parish leadership early, serving his curacy at three congregations: St Leonard, St John the Baptist, and St Cyprian. In January 1984, he received his first appointment as Priest-in-Charge of All Souls Church, setting the stage for the tenure that would define his career.

    Later that same year, Massiah took up the post of Rector at St Joseph Parish Church, one of the oldest ecclesiastical sites on the island of Barbados. He would hold this role for more than 25 years, ultimately adding responsibility for St Aidan’s at Bathsheba to his portfolio before retiring from full-time active ministry in August 2016. Two years prior to his retirement, in recognition of his decades of outstanding service, then-Archbishop John Holder conferred on him the honorary title of Canon. Bishop Maxwell called the award “a fitting tribute to a life poured out in ministry to both Church and society.”

    Beyond his pastoral work within parish walls, Massiah carved out a prominent role as a public voice on social and religious issues in Barbados. For many years, he penned a regular column titled “Outside the Pulpit” for the *Weekend Nation* newspaper, where he shared thoughtful social commentary and updates on church activities for readers across the country. He also took on a number of public service roles, including serving as Chaplain to the Senate of Barbados during the 2013–2018 parliamentary session, and working as a supervisor for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) national examinations.

    Prime Minister Mia Mottley joined Bishop Maxwell in paying tribute to the late cleric, noting that Barbados has lost “a devoted son of the soil…. A faithful priest, a steady shepherd, and a man whose ministry touched both Church and country.”

    Mottley emphasized that over decades of service, Massiah “served with conviction, care and consistency, and many Barbadians came to know him through his long service at St Joseph Parish Church, where he led with quiet strength and deep faith. His life was one of duty, pastoral grace and deep commitment to the people he was called to serve.”

    The prime minister also highlighted Massiah’s contributions to national life outside his religious work, noting that “His role in the life of Parliament, including as Chaplain of the Senate, reflected a ministry that understood the importance of conscience, moral guidance and national responsibility. At a time when this country needs strong religious voices, steady spiritual leadership and men and women who can help call us back to faith, decency and deeper values, his passing will be felt even more keenly.”

    Bishop Maxwell extended his condolences not only to Massiah’s family but to all the congregations he served over his career, “especially the people of the Cure of St Joseph with St Aidan, among whom he served for many years.” He closed his tribute with the traditional Anglican blessing for the departed: “May our departed brother rest in peace, and rise in glory.”

    Massiah is survived by his widow Denise Massiah and their two daughters, Kean and Andrea.

  • Teachers still footing school costs, says BUT

    Teachers still footing school costs, says BUT

    At its Annual General Conference held this week at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) has laid out a clear set of demands and observations for the island nation’s ongoing education transformation push, led by its president Rudy Lovell. Opening his address to union members and education stakeholders, Lovell cut straight to the most pressing funding gap facing the country’s public schools: the absence of a dedicated, ring-fenced annual budget earmarked exclusively for classroom resources. Against the backdrop of the government’s widely promoted education reform agenda, Lovell stressed that meaningful, lasting change to the education system cannot be achieved if classrooms remain underresourced. To date, the burden of filling that resource gap has fallen unfairly on frontline educators, with thousands of teachers still spending their own personal salaries to purchase basic supplies needed for day-to-day learning – a practice Lovell described as both inequitable and completely unsustainable. He called on the Ministry of Education Transformation to move forward immediately with implementing a realistic, fully funded annual budget that delivers essential learning materials to every school across the country, regardless of its location or student population.

    Turning to one of the most hotly debated components of the government’s broader reform push – the future of the Common Entrance Examination, widely known as the 11-Plus – Lovell delivered a definitive statement: the century-old assessment is not going anywhere. He confirmed that union leadership met with ministry officials in October 2024 to clarify the government’s proposed changes to the exam, and that the BUT is now prepared to collaborate on aligned elements of the reform process, while actively consulting its nationwide membership to gather on-the-ground feedback and share educator insights with policymakers.

    Lovell did not limit his address to grievances, using the platform to acknowledge significant progress across multiple areas of the education sector over the past 12 months. Positive developments highlighted included expanded access to ongoing teacher training, enhanced support systems for students with special educational needs, strengthened foundational literacy and numeracy programs, and the successful hiring of more than 350 new teachers to fill long-standing vacancies across primary and secondary schools. He also celebrated the long-awaited restoration of teachers’ term vacation leave to its pre-2014 structure, a win secured through constructive negotiations with the ministry earlier this year, alongside improved institutional responses to school health and safety concerns and a full return to the pre-pandemic normal academic calendar. Lovell extended explicit gratitude to senior government leaders, including Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Education Minister Chad Blackman, and Permanent Secretary Kim Belle, noting that a new culture of collaborative dialogue between the union and the ministry has helped resolve dozens of long-standing issues that previously impacted educator working conditions.

    Despite these wins, Lovell made clear that a host of persistent systemic challenges continue to undermine both educator well-being and student learning outcomes. Foremost among these is widespread teacher burnout, a crisis exacerbated by ballooning workloads that now include mandatory expanded online reporting requirements and additional teaching periods for primary school educators. Lovell framed teaching as one of the most intellectually and emotionally demanding professions in the public service, explaining that the unrelenting cycle of lesson planning, classroom management, and student assessment inevitably leads to chronic fatigue and burnout if left unaddressed.

    The union also raised urgent concerns about substandard physical infrastructure and basic working conditions across many schools. Widespread issues include overcrowded classrooms, insufficient and poorly maintained bathroom facilities, a total lack of dedicated staffroom space at some institutions, and even a shortage of basic furniture such as teacher desks and chairs – a gap Lovell called deeply troubling amid the government’s transformation agenda. Additionally, while the government mobilized replacement teachers during last year’s mass sickout, permanent vacancies often remain unfilled when teachers take approved, legitimate leave, creating avoidable disruption to learning that impacts both primary and secondary schools. Further issues identified by members include conflicting guidance from multiple overlapping reading programs rolled out across different schools, a lack of targeted training to implement new curricula effectively, rising student behavioral issues, and additional administrative workload tied to Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) school-based assessment requirements. Delays in processing job appointments, salary adjustments, and other routine administrative requests continue to drag down educator morale, the union confirmed.

    School violence emerged as another top priority for action, with Lovell detailing a string of serious incidents recorded across the island this year, ranging from weapons possession on campus to physical attacks on educators and large-scale student altercations. These events have created widespread fear among both teaching staff and parents, with Lovell noting that educators are increasingly forced to act as de facto security mediators rather than focusing on their core instructional role. He issued an urgent call for the immediate rollout of a long-promised national school security protocol to address the growing crisis.

    The BUT also shone a light on the escalating youth mental health crisis impacting classrooms across Barbados. Citing data from the national mental health hotline, Lovell shared that 40 percent of all calls received by the service come from children and teenagers – a statistic he described as stark proof of the growing emotional and psychological strain facing young Barbadians, which in turn impacts learning outcomes and classroom dynamics. Looking ahead to the future of education, Lovell emphasized that the sector will require significant systemic adaptations to keep pace with digital transformation, warning that hybrid learning models are set to become the new normal. To avoid student disengagement and educator frustration, he stressed that the government must prioritize investment in modern edtech infrastructure, universal reliable high-speed internet access for all schools, and targeted training for teachers on artificial intelligence and other emerging digital tools.

    On the topic of proposed policy changes, the BUT reiterated its firm opposition to the planned introduction of mandatory teacher licensing. Lovell argued that existing professional requirements for Barbadian educators are already clearly defined and robust, and that a new licensing regime would only add unnecessary bureaucratic red tape without delivering any improvements to teaching quality or student outcomes. Instead of licensing, the union advocates for expanded investment in continuous professional development, upskilling, and retraining for existing teaching staff. Lovell also called on the Ministry of the Public Service and Talent Development to approve the BUT’s request for a full-time paid union officer, recognizing the critical role that union representatives play in supporting frontline teachers and advancing collective concerns with government officials.

    Even with the long list of unaddressed challenges, Lovell reaffirmed the BUT’s commitment to remaining a constructive collaborative partner to the Ministry of Education Transformation and other government stakeholders as the reform process moves forward. “We see ourselves as a partner in national development,” Lovell said, closing his address by calling for the BUT to be included as a core stakeholder in all future discussions related to education policy, reform, and transformation across the country.

  • Lashley sets July opening for forensic lab in sweeping anti-crime strategy

    Lashley sets July opening for forensic lab in sweeping anti-crime strategy

    Facing a dramatic and deadly upswing in gun-related violence across the island nation, Barbados’ Minister of Legal Affairs Michael Lashley has announced a far-reaching overhaul of the country’s criminal justice system, anchored by three core pillars: the long-awaited reopening of the shuttered national forensic laboratory in July, groundbreaking anti-gang legislation, and the integration of cutting-edge smart technology into modern policing.

    Lashley made the landmark announcements during the official opening ceremony of the renovated Haynesville police substation – a facility he frames as a tangible “symbol of reassurance” for local residents shaken by the recent spike in violent firearm incidents, including a high-profile shooting in Oistins that has left widespread public anxiety in its wake. The event drew a cross-section of attendees, from senior leadership of the Barbados Police Service to local community members and fellow government officials, where Lashley laid out a clear timeline and actionable framework for the multi-phase strategy.

    The most consequential development for Barbados’ judicial infrastructure is the confirmed July reopening of the forensic laboratory, which has remained dormant for years. For decades, the country has relied on offshore forensic testing to process crime scene evidence, a system Lashley argues has been plagued by critical failures: contaminated samples during transit, extended case delays, and even collapsed prosecutions due to lost or incomplete scientific evidence. Once reopened, the facility will eliminate the need to ship samples overseas, putting critical evidence linking suspects to crimes directly in the hands of investigators and prosecutors within the country. “No longer will the cases be delayed because police officers have to send samples overseas to labs,” Lashley told attendees, emphasizing that a fully functional local forensic lab is a non-negotiable “vital component” of a fair and efficient criminal justice system.

    The government’s strategy is structured around short, medium, and long-term interventions that target both the symptoms and root causes of rising violent crime. A central pillar of the approach is a “whole-of-country” response that leverages advanced surveillance technology to target high-crime hot spots and individuals who have been leveraging violence to hold communities hostage. Lashley confirmed that the administration is moving forward with deploying smart policing tools that will boost patrol visibility, enhance community monitoring, and create a more proactive security presence in areas where residents report feeling unsafe.

    Drawing on his decades of experience as a defence lawyer, Lashley identified systemic delays in the country’s court system as one of the key drivers of persistent violent crime. To address this bottleneck, he proposed a streamlined judicial process for simple firearms possession cases, which would move to trial using only four key witness statements from the arresting officer, a supporting backup officer, a court records clerk, and a certified firearms expert. Echoing Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley’s directive to cut unnecessary red tape, Lashley noted that the current system regularly takes one to two years to bring simple firearms charges to trial – a delay that undermines public confidence in the rule of law. “Let us speed up the system. Let us work on getting the disclosure and the files ready so that a man who is charged with a firearm offense is before the court to answer the charge,” he said.

    To back this court reform, Lashley confirmed that the government is 95% finished drafting new anti-gang legislation and updated Criminal Procedure Rules designed to enforce mandatory timely trial deadlines. Beyond enforcement and judicial reform, the administration is also prioritizing prevention and rehabilitation to address the underlying social conditions that push at-risk youth toward gang involvement and criminal activity. Pointing to local youth initiatives like the popular Haynesville Drummers performance group as a successful model, Lashley called for expanding support for the National Peace Programme and the Juvenile Liaison Scheme, both of which work to redirect vulnerable young people into constructive, character-building activities instead of prosecution. “Rehabilitation and communities working together can only help those who went afoul of the law to come back into society and make a contribution,” he noted.

    Lashley also issued a sharp warning to individuals who aid violent offenders, announcing that the government is considering harsher criminal penalties for anyone convicted of harbouring or assisting wanted criminals. The Haynesville police substation, the first of a series of new community-focused policing facilities Lashley plans to roll out across the country (he prefers the term “substation” over the older “outpost” to reflect their permanent, community-embedded role), has already sparked requests for similar facilities from residents in other areas including Ellerton.

    The opening ceremony concluded with a dedication from Reverend Lucille Baird, who echoed Lashley’s call for judicial efficiency, reminding the audience that “justice delayed is justice denied” and pledging her ongoing community commitment to the Haynesville area. Closing his address, Lashley ended with a public appeal for greater parental responsibility, urging Barbadian families to put down digital devices and rebuild the intergenerational social bonds and shared values that long served as a bedrock of safe, stable communities across the island. “We are interested in formulating policy. We have to make the criminal justice system right… ensuring that Barbadians are safe,” he said.

  • Forde: GBV battle must extend beyond disasters

    Forde: GBV battle must extend beyond disasters

    On Monday, the government of Barbados issued a public call for ramped-up, cross-community action to eliminate gender-based violence (GBV), coinciding with the launch of a two-day capacity-building workshop hosted at UN House by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Barbados’ Bureau of Gender Affairs. The event centers on strengthening coordination mechanisms for addressing gender-based violence during humanitarian and public emergencies.

    Speaking at the workshop’s opening, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Adrian Forde emphasized that the battle against GBV requires unwavering effort, no matter the broader social or environmental context. “Gender-based violence permeates every corner of our society, full stop,” Forde stated. “That means our fight has to be consistent and equal, regardless of whether we are confronting a natural disaster or a period of relative stability.”

    Forde pointed to data collected after Hurricane Melissa impacted Jamaica as a stark illustration of how crises exacerbate existing gender inequalities. When disasters strike, he explained, women bear a disproportionate burden of harm. “When water infrastructure fails, that creates unique challenges for women. Shortages of food, basic supplies and menstrual hygiene products hit women far harder than any other demographic during a disaster,” he noted.

    The minister outlined the progress Barbados has already made in building a coordinated national response to GBV. Back in 2019, the country’s Cabinet approved the formation of a National Committee on Gender-Based Violence, which was given the mandate to draft a comprehensive national action plan to tackle the issue. Operating through the Bureau of Gender Affairs, the committee launched structured stakeholder coordination meetings the same year to strengthen existing response systems, and Forde praised the body’s progress to date.

    “Thanks to the committee’s data collection and planning work, we are now in a far stronger position to outline exactly what steps Barbados will take to protect vulnerable community members from harm,” Forde said.

    Even as he celebrated progress, Forde stressed that significant gaps remain, particularly in resourcing responses to GBV during emergencies tied to the climate crisis. He framed equitable resourcing for women in crises as a matter of climate justice, noting that there is an urgent need to get mitigation and adaptation resources directly to women when disasters strike.

    “This is a fair and entirely just demand,” Forde said. “This government is committed not just to listening to the painful cries of women across our country, but to delivering concrete action that responds to their needs.”

    Beyond policy and systemic change, Forde made clear that eliminating GBV requires a whole-of-society approach that engages every member of the public. Every person has a role to play as an active participant in the fight, he argued: when abuse is witnessed, community members cannot stay silent. “If you see someone being abused, you have to do more than just notice it. You have to speak up, alert authorities, and offer help when it is safe to do so,” he said. “That same selfless, proactive approach matters just as much when our country is facing a natural disaster.”

    Forde added that the government is also working to strengthen the country’s legislative framework to ensure courts handle GBV cases with appropriate firmness. Legislative reform is a critical pillar of the national response, he explained, because strong laws must underpin all efforts to combat violence. “The message we send can’t just come from ministers and stakeholders at the table. It has to be backed by our legal system,” he said. “We are committed to making sure that cases of gender-based violence are met with the full force of the judicial system.”

  • Barbados, St Lucia forge blue economy ties over fish feed from waste

    Barbados, St Lucia forge blue economy ties over fish feed from waste

    A senior delegation of fisheries industry stakeholders from Saint Lucia has arrived in Barbados to kick off a six-day peer-to-peer learning exchange centered on a groundbreaking local fish silage initiative that is redefining sustainable blue economic growth across the Caribbean.

    The core goal of the visit is for the visiting delegation to gain a full, actionable blueprint to replicate Barbados’ innovative model, which converts discarded fish processing byproducts into two high-value agricultural goods: nutrient-dense animal feed and organic bio-fertilizer. By diverting thousands of tons of organic waste from overcrowded landfills and cutting regional reliance on costly imported feed stocks, the project has been widely recognized as a game-changing foundation for expanding the Caribbean’s sustainable blue economy.

    At the official opening ceremony held at UN House in Hastings, Yvette Diei-Ouadi, a fisheries and aquaculture officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Subregional Office for the Caribbean, formally welcomed the Saint Lucian team, outlining that the visit is structured around three key priority objectives. While mastering the technical process of turning fish waste into silage remains the central focus, the agenda also dedicates significant time to addressing a pressing market access barrier currently facing Saint Lucia. As Diei-Ouadi explained, Saint Lucia currently holds a ban on exporting fish and fish-based products to the United States, a restriction Barbados successfully overcame after years of targeted work. The island’s accumulated experience in lifting this trade barrier offers critical actionable lessons for Saint Lucia to follow.

    Diei-Ouadi emphasized that Barbados’ trade success was not the outcome of a single standalone project, but the result of a coordinated sequence of targeted interventions launched all the way back in 2018. “It was never one single project – it was a whole suite of connected initiatives that brought us to where we are today,” she noted. “We started with very modest seed funding through FAO’s Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), a small grant delivered at the formal request of the government of Barbados.”

    The economic imperatives driving the fish silage model are impossible to ignore for Caribbean nations: imported animal feed makes up more than 70% of total livestock production costs across the region. By scaling local production of fish silage feed, Barbados has built a critical buffer against volatile global commodity market shocks, most notably the dramatic feed price spikes that followed the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Diei-Ouadi pointed out that the timing of the initiative put it in the spotlight exactly when regional actors needed it most. “Our project gained widespread attention when the Russia-Ukraine conflict sent grain and feed prices skyrocketing, and producers across the Caribbean were struggling with cost increases,” she said. “We were able to show that we had already developed a local solution that was completely insulated from global instability halfway across the world.”

    Beyond its economic benefits, the project also tackles a pressing environmental challenge facing Barbados. Every day, hundreds of tons of fish waste are dumped in the island’s landfills, where anaerobic decomposition releases methane – a greenhouse gas more than 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Diverting this waste to fish silage production eliminates these harmful emissions while creating economic value from material that would otherwise be discarded.

    Wayne Smith, executive director of Barbados Ruminants Farm Services, detailed how a cohort of young agricultural entrepreneurs repurposed an abandoned facility donated by the Ministry of Agriculture into a central production hub for the initiative. A key innovation that makes the model accessible to small local producers is its adoption of a biological silage production process that uses locally sourced molasses from Barbados’ domestic sugar industry, rather than relying on imported chemical acids to preserve the silage.

    “It became clear very early that the biological method was the right path for our smallholder farmers,” Smith explained. “The acid-based process required importing key inputs, which drove up costs and created supply chain risks. The biological method gives small producers far more flexibility and control over their production.” Diei-Ouadi added that the choice to adapt the model to use local inputs proved its worth during the COVID-19 pandemic, when global supply chain disruptions made importing any inputs nearly impossible – leaving the local biological pathway as the only viable option to keep the project running.

    The learning exchange also addresses a less technical but equally critical challenge: shifting entrenched mindsets within the regional agricultural sector. Discussions during the opening session revealed that some established veterinary services have been slow to embrace locally produced fish silage, continuing to prioritize more expensive imported commercial feed concentrates. Smith noted that multinational feed companies invest heavily in marketing to maintain market share, making it harder for local alternatives to gain traction. “When 70% of your total production cost goes to feed, you have no choice but to build local systems that bring that number down,” he emphasized.

    The success of Barbados’ fish silage initiative has already spurred follow-on development, including the launch of the Youth Agribusiness Incubator Centre, which Diei-Ouadi described as a regional center of excellence for sustainable agricultural innovation across the Caribbean. The project has also built lasting community connections: a permanent WhatsApp coordination group created for fishers and producers remains one of the most active professional networks in the sector. Diei-Ouadi added that the initiative is already driving long-term change for fisheries governance: Barbados’ Ministry of Agriculture is now reallocating budget resources that previously covered fish waste removal costs to other high-priority fisheries development activities, since fishers now retain their processing waste to contribute to silage production.

    As the Saint Lucian delegation prepares to begin hands-on technical training this week, the cross-island learning mission stands as a powerful example of targeted cooperation within the Caribbean Community (Caricom) as member states work toward the shared goal of cutting extra-regional food imports by 25% by 2030.

  • “Ask up there, not me,” chair says after FSC blunder

    “Ask up there, not me,” chair says after FSC blunder

    In a landmark 77-page written judgment delivered last Friday, High Court Justice Dr. H Patrick Wells has thrown out a bid by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to force the liquidation of local general insurer Equity Insurance Company Ltd, ruling the regulator failed to meet the legal threshold for its request and that pushing forward with winding-up proceedings now would fatally undermine an ongoing statutory appeal process launched by the company. The ruling leaves the door open for the FSC to re-file its application at a later date, with Justice Wells noting the regulator may renew its request at the earliest once the pending appeal before the FSC’s own Appeals Tribunal reaches a final resolution. He further added that if the tribunal experiences unreasonable delays in concluding the case, the FSC retains the right to approach the High Court for procedural directions.

    The dispute between the regulator and Equity Insurance stretches back to August of last year, when the FSC seized operational control of the company and moved to revoke its general insurance license, citing long-unresolved violations of multiple financial sector regulations and what the commission described as ongoing risks to the interests of the insurer’s policyholders. Equity Insurance contested that decision, arguing the FSC’s action violated fundamental due process requirements, and launched a statutory appeal to the recently established FSC Appeals Tribunal, which is currently reviewing the challenge.

    Outlining the core legal reasoning behind his ruling in a five-point conclusion, Justice Wells clarified that the commission is not legally required to proceed under Section 57 of the Insurance Act, noting the regulator’s choice to pursue winding-up under Section 56 of the legislation was a discretionary decision it was entitled to make, despite knowing the associated legal requirements. He also struck down the FSC’s key legal argument that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act governs any liquidation of Equity Insurance, pointing out that insurance firms are explicitly excluded from the scope of that act under the statutory definition of “corporation” laid out in Section 2 of the legislation.

    Most critically, the justice found the FSC had failed to establish a prima facie case sufficient to convince the court to grant leave for a winding-up petition. “There are substantial and genuine disputes on the alleged facts that challenge the basic premise of the reasons for seeking leave to present a winding-up petition,” the ruling read, noting that the lawfulness and reasonableness of the FSC’s decision to revoke Equity Insurance’s license remains the central question before the Appeals Tribunal. Justice Wells emphasized the tribunal is a statutory body explicitly created by parliament to hear appeals from regulated entities aggrieved by FSC decisions, and overriding that process would not only deny Equity Insurance access to justice, but also erode the institutional integrity of the tribunal, rendering its statutorily mandated proceedings meaningless.

    The judge further added that nearly all of the core factual claims the FSC relies on to support its winding-up bid are already being challenged in two active legal processes: the appeal before the FSC Appeals Tribunal and separate pending judicial review proceedings in the High Court. On the procedural matter of security for costs, Justice Wells explained that the question only arises if the court first determines the FSC has successfully established its case for leave. Once that threshold is met, the court sets a reasonable amount for security, and leave is only finalized once the security is provided; failure to meet the requirement results in leave being denied. He added that courts retain the discretion to accept a formal undertaking as security in exceptional circumstances, even if the practice is uncommon.

    The ruling also confirms a prior decision from the FSC Appeals Tribunal handed down during a March 12 case management conference, where tribunal chair and retired High Court judge Christopher Blackman rejected the FSC’s request to suspend Equity Insurance’s appeal. Blackman noted the FSC had been aware of the opportunity to request a suspension from the High Court prior to appearing before the tribunal, and had chosen not to do so, meaning the tribunal could not grant the stay at that stage. “If they wanted me to stop, they should have asked the High Court. If the High Court had issued an order, so be it. But don’t pass up the opportunity to go to the higher court, and then come back to me. No, sir. You went up there. Ask up there. Don’t ask me,” Blackman said at the time.

    The FSC Appeals Tribunal is scheduled to hold its next procedural session on April 30 at 10 a.m., where members will review progress of the case to date, set a timeline going forward, and schedule a hearing for the substantive appeal, which is expected to take place between late May and early July. In addition to dismissing the winding-up bid, Justice Wells awarded costs to Equity Insurance, with the final amount to be agreed by both parties or assessed by the court if no agreement is reached. Senior Counsel Larry Smith, Alrick Scott SC and T’Shara Seal are representing Equity Insurance in the proceedings, while Garth Patterson SC appears for the FSC.

  • BAM: Safeguard Foreday Morning

    BAM: Safeguard Foreday Morning

    As Barbados’ beloved annual Crop Over festival approaches, a leading cultural organization is sounding the alarm over growing threats to one of the celebration’s most iconic centerpieces, calling for urgent regulatory action to safeguard the island’s cultural and tourism heritage.

    Bryan Worrell, head of the Barbados Association of Masqueraders (BAM), has renewed his organization’s appeal to national cultural authorities to protect the legacy of Foreday Morning and other signature Crop Over events, amid mounting concerns that unregulated private parties are siphoning attendees away from the flagship j’ouvert celebration. These concerns are widely shared among the roughly 40 official Foreday Morning band leaders, who have formally submitted a petition to the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) and the Ministry of Culture to address the issue. Since the petition was filed, Worrell confirmed that ongoing discussions are underway to develop a formal, long-term solution to the mounting pressure on official events.

    At the core of BAM’s proposal is the creation of a national registry for official cultural events on Barbados’ national calendar. Worrell argues that key fixtures including Foreday Morning, Grand Kadooment and Bridgetown Market deserve special protected status to limit direct competition from private events. He warned that the current threat to Foreday Morning is not an isolated issue: without intervention, other major Crop Over attractions could face the same erosion of attendance in coming years.

    “What’s to say that in another year or two that Grand Kadooment doesn’t come under the same threat that Foreday Morning is?” Worrell posed in an interview with reporters. He emphasized that BAM’s objection centers on private events holding their activities on the exact same night as official Foreday Morning, which splits the reveller base and undermines the long-standing traditional celebration.

    While much of the recent public attention has focused on Twisted Entertainment, the organizer of the popular Tipsy Music Festival that launched a competing private jump this year, Worrell stressed that the problem is systemic. Over the past several years, there has been a steady rise in the number of private foreday-style events, with another new private gathering, Stain’d, announced for this year backed by Vida by Esquire (VXE) and other local partners.

    Worrell explained that two potential paths forward exist to resolve the conflict: establishing the protected national event registry, or updating national legislation to formalize protections for official cultural events. In the near term, however, BAM is focused on brokering a voluntary agreement to shift competing private events to different dates, an arrangement that would protect the livelihoods of the dozens of small businesses and band leaders that organize the official Foreday Morning celebration each year.

    Addressing a common talking point from supporters of private events – claims that official Foreday Morning is unsafe for attendees – Worrell pushed back firmly, noting that there is no empirical evidence to back up these assertions. He pointed to more than a decade without any major reported safety incidents at the official event, and outlined the layered security framework that is already in place to protect participants.

    “Each registered band has its own security, along with the police service, along with the BDF on the route, along with excellent lighting… ambulance services are there to respond, so we have everything in place that will make your event safe and sound,” Worrell explained.

    Beyond preserving cultural tradition, Worrell emphasized that Foreday Morning is a critical economic and tourism asset for Barbados, drawing large numbers of international visitors who specifically travel to the island to experience the authentic cultural event. “That’s why we feel so strongly about it…as one of the highlighted events on the calendar that it should [have] that additional protection to ensure that it lives on,” he said.

    When reached for comment on the ongoing negotiations between BAM and cultural authorities, Akil Franklin, corporate communications specialist at the NCF, declined to provide any statement on the status of talks.

  • Barbados-based publishing company to attend international children’s book fair

    Barbados-based publishing company to attend international children’s book fair

    For the first time in the 63-year history of the world’s most prestigious children’s publishing event, the Caribbean region will have an official, dedicated collective presence at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF), running April 13–16 at the Bologna Exhibition Centre in Italy. Barbados-founded Beyond Publishing Caribbean, a 12-year-old independent publishing house focused on elevating Caribbean storytelling, will lead the newly formed Caribbean Collective delegation alongside two other leading regional cultural figures: Latoya West-Blackwood, founder and director of the Jamaica Book Festival, and Jeunanne Alkins, a Trinidad and Tobago-based publisher and founder of Everything Slight Pepper.

    Widely recognized as the globe’s largest professional gathering focused exclusively on children’s publishing, illustration, intellectual property rights, licensing, and multimedia children’s content, BCBF draws thousands of industry leaders, creators, and publishers from every corner of the world, offering an unmatched platform for global collaboration and exposure. Beyond Publishing Caribbean co-founder Delvin Howell emphasized that the Caribbean Collective’s invitation marks a historic milestone for the region’s creative industry, framing the participation as a transformative step forward for putting Caribbean publishing on the global map.

    “This is a historic event, where for the first time the Caribbean will have such presence in this space,” Howell shared. “It is a large step towards presenting Barbadian and Caribbean publishing to the world.”

    Founded in 2012, Beyond Publishing Caribbean has built its reputation on producing high-quality comics and illustrated novels rooted in authentic Caribbean experiences, while holding its work to the same production and storytelling standards as major international publishing houses. At BCBF, the company will showcase its full catalogue of titles, highlighting three standout works that demonstrate the breadth of Caribbean storytelling:
    – *Loose Change*, an action-packed battle comic series set in a Caribbean business school, designed to teach financial literacy and encourage young people to pursue entrepreneurship;
    – *Crossroads*, a gritty, socially conscious title that explores urgent community challenges including gun violence, bullying, and domestic abuse, a project previously supported by the United States Embassy to drive public awareness;
    – *Offset*, a genre-bending comic inspired by traditional Caribbean folklore, set in an alternate-universe version of Barbados.

    The Caribbean Collective will exhibit in BCBF’s popular Comics Corner, a dedicated space for graphic storytelling that will place the regional creators alongside some of the biggest names in the global comics industry, including major players Image Comics, Boom Studios, Kodansha, Viz Media, and Scholastic. Howell said the opportunity to exhibit alongside these industry giants is a major validation of Caribbean creative talent, and the team plans to leverage the platform to build lasting professional connections with international publishers, agents, and creators.

    Beyond Publishing Caribbean has previously showcased its work at regional cultural events, including participating in the Creative Caribbean delegation at CARIFESTA 2025, but Howell noted that BCBF marks the company’s first official exhibiting slot at an international publishing event of this scale. From its earliest days, the press has centered a simple but powerful mission: to compete with top international titles while remaining unapologetically rooted in Caribbean culture, unique characters, and local ways of life.

    “From the beginning, Beyond Publishing Caribbean has made the global standard of storytelling, production and artwork our bare minimum,” Howell said. “We aimed to compete with any major title from overseas while also being true to our culture, characters and way of life.”

    First launched in 1963, the annual Bologna Children’s Book Fair has grown into the cornerstone event of the global children’s publishing industry. The 2026 edition of the fair has already announced its visual theme, “Faces, Features and Portraits”, as the event continues to evolve to reflect shifting trends in children’s media and storytelling.

  • Pinelands, Bulls, Lakers, Celtics in winners’ row

    Pinelands, Bulls, Lakers, Celtics in winners’ row

    The latest matchweek of the Barbados Amateur Basketball Association’s Premier League delivered four distinct outcomes across the Sunday fixture slate, with dominant performances and standout individual scoring taking center stage at the Barbados Community College host venue.

    Opening the day’s competition, KFC Pinelands secured a lopsided 18-point win over NSC Tridents, finalizing the score at 78-60. Adriel Brathwaite anchored Pinelands’ offensive output, leading all teammates with 19 total points, while the squad boasted four players hitting double-digit scoring totals. Forward Carl Thorpe chipped in 18 points, and both Rachad Hall and Khenti Morris added 14 points each to round out the balanced offensive attack. For the defeated Tridents, Zane Gaskin put up a team-high 18 points, with Bronson Gibson-D’ermo contributing 12 points in the losing effort.

    In the afternoon’s second matchup, Burger King Clapham Bulls pulled away for a comfortable 107-85 victory against Warrens All Stars. Brothers Rasheed Maynard and Simeon Maynard turned in matching 16-point performances to pace the Bulls’ winning effort. Even though Warrens All Stars guard Delan Willie recorded the highest individual scoring total of the entire game with 21 points, his side could not overcome the Bulls’ coordinated team play and fell short by 22 points.

    The third contest of the day saw Island Care Ambulance Service hold off a late push from PremiumFit Bears to claim a 71-61 win. The winning squad got a double-digit scoring boost from guard Tyreke Harewood, who dropped 18 points, and forward Keefe Birkett, who added 13 points to secure the 10-point victory. Despite a career-best outing from PremiumFit’s Antoine Winter, who scored a game-high 32 points, the Bears could not overcome a lack of consistent supporting scoring and dropped the fixture.

    Closing out the Sunday game schedule, C.A.M Smart Assurance City United Celtics defeated Fusionz Boutique Station Hill Cavaliers by a 16-point margin, closing the game out at 94-78. Swingman Theo Greenidge led all Celtics scorers with 28 points, while guard Kiserian Adams contributed 20 points and forward Deroni Hurly added 18 points to the winning total. Deveron Knight topped the scoring chart for the Cavaliers with 19 points in the loss.

  • Barbados to make licence applications digital

    Barbados to make licence applications digital

    Barbados’ Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw has unveiled an ambitious government-wide initiative to modernize public services, headlined by the upcoming full digitization of license applications and payment processing as a core component of the island nation’s broader digital transformation strategy.

    Bradshaw made the announcement Sunday during the National Security Division’s 50th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service, hosted at the People’s Cathedral. She outlined that the administration is pursuing three interconnected tracks to update public operations: upgrading core digital systems, integrating cutting-edge new technologies, and revising existing legislative frameworks to ensure regulations align with 21st-century operational needs.

    The shift to fully online license-related services is designed to unlock tangible improvements for citizens and industry stakeholders alike, boosting procedural efficiency, increasing government transparency, and expanding access to public services for people across the country. This transition is just one element of a far-reaching public sector modernization agenda that also includes the digitization of archival public records, the expansion of existing e-government platforms, and the rollout of unified cross-agency data systems designed to streamline coordination between disparate government ministries and departments.

    “In the near future, routine processes including license applications, annual industry registrations, and secure online payments for public services will all be completed entirely electronically,” Bradshaw confirmed, adding that foundational investments in information and communications technology infrastructure and specialized staff training are already progressing to support a smooth transition to the new digital systems.

    Bradshaw noted that the modernization push also extends to national security operations, where long-used manual processes are being replaced with technology-powered solutions designed to strengthen accountability and improve overall service delivery to the public.

    Speaking to the enduring legacy of the National Security Division, which was founded on April 1, 1976, and now employs more than 200 personnel, Bradshaw praised the agency’s 50-year track record of upholding safety and stability across all government institutions. She emphasized that continuous adaptation is non-negotiable for security agencies operating in an increasingly complex, digitally connected global landscape.

    Even as the government embraces technological innovation to strengthen operations, Bradshaw stressed that human expertise and professional judgment remain irreplaceable pillars of effective national security. “A nation is not made safe by systems alone; it is made safe by its people choosing every single day to be their brother’s keeper,” she told attendees of the milestone service.