Carib Scope

标签： Barbados

巴巴多斯

  • Beneficial ownership law ‘aims to streamline compliance’

    Beneficial ownership law ‘aims to streamline compliance’

    Barbados has enacted a landmark beneficial ownership reform bill that will consolidate existing regulatory data instead of imposing new reporting requirements on local businesses, according to senior government Senator Lisa Cummins. Speaking during Wednesday’s Senate debate, the leader of government business in the chamber framed the new legislation as a transformative step that simultaneously eases regulatory burdens for legitimate enterprises and reinforces the Caribbean nation’s standing as a transparent, credible global financial hub.

    Contrary to concerns that the law would require businesses to submit extra paperwork, Cummins clarified that the reform only overhauls how existing beneficial ownership information is collected and organized. For years, relevant data on ultimate business owners has already been gathered by multiple domestic regulators, including the Central Bank of Barbados, the Financial Services Commission, and other sector-specific oversight bodies. This information has long been required as part of routine regulatory processes, from initial license applications and changes in major shareholding structures to ongoing supervisory reviews, fit-and-proper person assessments, and enforcement compliance checks.

    Currently, competent domestic authorities already share this collected data with international partners under bilateral and multilateral treaties that Barbados has signed onto. The information already supports a wide range of critical activities, including criminal probes, anti-money laundering operations, terrorist financing investigations, regulatory audits, sanctions enforcement, and other law enforcement initiatives, with the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit leading much of this investigative work, Cummins added.

    A key structural change outlined in the legislation is the restructuring of the former International Business Unit, whose duties have been split between two existing and new entities: the Tax Policy Unit under the Ministry of Finance, and the newly created Business Compliance Unit, known as BCOM. Under the new framework, BCOM will be tasked with maintaining a centralized national beneficial ownership register. This single centralized system will allow businesses to submit required information just one time, eliminating the redundant practice of providing identical data to multiple separate regulatory agencies.

    “What the legislation actually sets out to do is to simplify and create coherence around the collection of business data for all businesses under the beneficial ownership regime,” Cummins explained. “That unit [BCOM] is now going to take responsibility for collating in a single place all of the information with one single submission by businesses.”

    Cummins emphasized that the reform is a critical step to protect Barbados’ financial system and preserve its positive standing with global regulatory partners. “We want to make sure that Barbados cannot be used as a jurisdiction to hide dirty money,” she said. The new law uses a tiered regulatory approach that strengthens necessary safeguards against money laundering and terrorist financing, while cutting unnecessary red tape for law-abiding businesses, she added. This, in turn, will protect Barbadian businesses’ continued access to the global financial system.

    The reform positions Barbados as a jurisdiction that proactively modernizes, upgrades, and transforms its international financial sector through consistent, transparent regulatory practice, Cummins told the Senate, capping the debate on the bipartisan-backed reform.

  • West’s winning ways

    West’s winning ways

    Barbados’ iconic annual Crop Over festival reached its thrilling climax this week with the Grand Kadooment street parade, and it was an 83-year-old veteran of the celebration who walked away with the most prestigious industry honors, capping a turbulent, against-all-odds journey to the route. Betty West, the veteran bandleader and costume designer whose name has been inextricably linked to Crop Over for decades, led her entry *ICONS of Crop Over* to a clean sweep of top awards, including the coveted Best Festival Designer – The Robert Weekes Award, Best Presentation – Heritage, Best Band on the Road – The George Dear Award, and Small Band of the Year – Heritage. Yet what audiences and award judges saw as a flawless, triumphant procession was the end product of a months-long battle against financial strain, low registration numbers, and last-minute uncertainty that tested even West’s legendary grit.

    In an interview with Barbados TODAY immediately following the parade, the designer opened up about the constant anxiety that plagued her in the lead-up to this year’s event. “Challenging is the only word to describe it,” West said. “God has been by my side through this whole thing – I’ve never prayed so much in my life. I was terrified. We barely had any funding, and masquerader sign-ups were almost non-existent. It was a truly frightening situation. I shed more than a few tears, but I’ve never been one to walk away from a fight.”

    West originally registered her band in the large category, planning to field a 300-person ensemble that would fill out all her carefully designed costume sections. When sign-ups failed to pick up at the expected pace, she made the difficult call two weeks before the parade to switch her entry to the small band category – a decision she says was rooted in her commitment to upholding the festival’s standards and her own reputation for excellence. “I’m not the sort of person who cuts corners. I entered this competition wanting to win fair and square, and I refused to risk disqualification by staying in the large band category when I didn’t have the numbers to meet the requirements,” she explained.

    The last-minute switch meant West and her small, loyal skeleton crew pulled all-nighters to adjust costumes and get the entire band parade-ready. West herself was still finishing costume accessories at 3 a.m. on the morning of the parade, and none of the core team got any sleep before lining up on the route. “These people love me, and I love them back. They put in endless hours, working through the night to get everything done on time. We have total mutual respect, that’s what keeps this organization running so well,” she said, adding that she owed a special debt of gratitude to her niece Makayla, who stepped up to recruit and train the dance ensemble for the *Fancy Sailors* section, a tribute to West’s late friend and long-time rival Gwyneth Squires.

    West’s *ICONS of Crop Over* entry was far more than a competitive parade performance: it was a love letter to all the pioneering Crop Over creators who came before her, including Squires, Winston Jordan, Reggie Cave, Roseann Lewis, Robert Weekes and Renee Ratcliffe. “Each of these people helped me become the designer I am today, and they all helped turn Grand Kadooment into the incredible cultural spectacle it is now. We owed them this tribute,” she said.

    Despite the exhausting fight to put on this year’s entry, West shows no signs of stepping away from the festival she loves any time soon – though she is already laying the groundwork for the next generation to carry on her legacy. She has already begun mentoring a young creator she calls Angel and other emerging designers, teaching them the craft of costume design and how to run a successful festival band as a sustainable business. She says her willingness to learn from the new generation has been key to her continued success, breaking the myth that older creators cannot embrace fresh perspectives. “A lot of people think when you reach a certain age, you stop listening to young people. But I always ask for their input, and they often have brilliant ideas I would never have thought of. This is a team effort, full stop,” West said.

    Looking ahead to Grand Kadooment 2025, West is already planning ahead to avoid the funding and registration challenges she faced this year, saying she will start securing sponsorships as early as next month and kick off costume design work in November.

  • Fire destroys Hopewell home as firefighters avert spread to nearby houses

    Fire destroys Hopewell home as firefighters avert spread to nearby houses

    On a Wednesday evening in Hopewell, Christ Church, a fast-moving inferno reduced an aging wooden residential building to smoldering rubble – but quick, tactical action by local firefighters stopped what could have been a devastating neighborhood-wide blaze, leaving adjacent properties narrowly spared in what emergency leaders are calling a critical close call.

    Ten emergency personnel, under the command of Divisional Officer Tremelle Perch and Station Officer Charmaine Sandiford, responded to the emergency from two nearby stations: Worthing and Bridgetown. By the time the two fire tenders pulled up to the scene, the wooden structure was already fully engulfed in intense, raging flames. Despite the extreme heat and speed of the fire, crews immediately launched an aggressive containment operation to shield neighboring homes, which stood mere feet from the burning building.

    Perch emphasized that the rapid response and well-coordinated tactics of his team were the defining factors in stopping a far greater loss for the quiet community. “When we arrived, the structure was already fully engulfed,” Perch told reporters. “It was a wooden building packed with all kinds of household goods, so the fire burned extremely fiercely. Our crews did an outstanding job confining the fire to just this one property, especially given how close it sat to the next home over.”

    The property, which originally operated as a commercial welding workshop, had been converted to a residential dwelling in recent years. Neighbors identified the sole occupant only as Chester, an elderly former welder who has lived alone in the home for many years, and often tends to a small garden on the plot near his house. In a stroke of good fortune, Perch confirmed that Chester escaped the burning structure entirely unharmed before firefighters arrived, even as the building itself was completely destroyed, leaving nothing but ash and collapsed timber.

    “The occupant is fine and suffered no injuries whatsoever,” Perch told onlookers gathered near the scene, reassuring the public of the outcome. Fire officials have declined to release Chester’s full identity per protocol, directing all requests for personal information to the local police force. “Once we arrived, our main priority was to extinguish the flames and secure the safety of the entire surrounding area,” Perch added.

    The evening fire drew significant attention from local residents and passing motorists traveling along the main route toward Chancery Lane. Dense plumes of thick black smoke could be seen for miles across the area, as the timber structure and its contents were consumed by flames in minutes. When reporters from Barbados TODAY visited the site the following morning, a long-time Hopewell resident was already on scene using a garden hose to douse smoldering embers that still lingered in the rubble.

    The resident, who asked not to be named, recalled he was relaxing at home with his wife, discussing their upcoming travel plans, when a neighbor ran to his door shouting about the fire next door. “I haven’t seen a major fire around here in as long as I can remember, so my first thought was just pure worry for what would happen,” he said. “I got up right away and went outside to see what was going on.”

    Stepping out onto the street, he described a chaotic scene: traffic slowed to a standstill as passing drivers stopped to alert other residents, and locals gathered along the roadside to watch the firefighting effort. “The building was burning with incredible ferocity, sending huge plumes of black smoke billowing up into the night sky,” the eyewitness said. “People in cars stopped to yell to other residents further down the street. It was really dramatic – whatever was inside that old building caught instantly and just went up in minutes.”

    Beyond the fire itself, the resident reflected on the slow shift in neighborhood dynamics Hopewell has seen over decades of development. As the community has expanded eastward with new construction, he noted that the close-knit neighborly bonds many long-term residents remember have faded. “It’s quite sad, really,” he said. “You can live somewhere for over twenty years, exchange a quick ‘good morning’ every day, but never truly get to know the person living right beside you. That old sense of community we had when I was a kid just isn’t the same anymore.”

    Authorities have launched a formal investigation to determine the exact cause of the blaze. Fire crews remained on site for multiple hours after extinguishing the main fire, cooling residual hotspots, managing smoldering debris, and securing the perimeter to protect public safety.

  • New draw for Barbados Road Tennis Open

    New draw for Barbados Road Tennis Open

    Organizers of one of Barbados’ most anticipated annual sporting events, the Barbados Road Tennis Open (BRTO), have made a last-minute administrative correction that has reshaped the lead-up to this year’s tournament. In an official statement released this week, the BRTO planning committee confirmed that the official competition draw finalized on Wednesday, August 5, has been fully invalidated after a critical technical glitch was uncovered by tournament staff.

    The error, which occurred during the manual entry of player registration data into the event’s digital seeding system, led to multiple competitors being incorrectly seeded in the initial draw that was revealed at the official tournament launch. Shawn Burke, chairman of the BRTO Planning Committee, explained that after a full review of the issue, organizers agreed that holding a new draw was the only fair outcome for all participating athletes and stakeholders. “This mistake was an unavoidable human error during data input, but we owe it to every registered player to get the tournament structure right from the start,” Burke noted in a press comment.

    A new, corrected draw will now be conducted on Friday, August 7, at the Haggatt Hall headquarters of the Barbados Ministry of Sports and Community Empowerment. Burke emphasized that only athletes who successfully completed their registration by the strict July 31 deadline will be included in the revised seeding process, maintaining the tournament’s original eligibility rules.

    For the 2025 edition of the open, Shakeem Nurse enters as the defending men’s singles champion, while Sheldene Walrond returns to defend her women’s singles title, a position she claimed at last year’s event. Burke extended a formal apology to all players, fans, and partners for the inconvenience caused by the error, noting that the committee has added extra verification steps to the new draw process to prevent a repeat of the issue.

  • Put Emancipation themes on mas’ in Crop Over – official

    Put Emancipation themes on mas’ in Crop Over – official

    Barbados’ annual Crop Over festival, one of the Caribbean’s most vibrant cultural celebrations, is at a turning point as cultural leaders push to deepen its historical roots amid the revival of a beloved traditional art form. Rodney Grant, a programme advisor with the Office of Pan African Affairs and Heritage under the Division of Youth and Culture, is calling on masquerade band leaders to leverage the resurgence of large hand-crafted wire-bent costumes to weave clearer, more meaningful narratives of Emancipation, national Independence and reparations into festival performances.

    Grant argues that the oversized, visually striking costumes that are returning to Crop Over parade routes offer an unmatched platform to center the region’s anti-colonial and post-slavery history, rejecting the idea that themes of emancipation must be limited only to depictions of chattel slavery. “Emancipation is not static; it’s not stuck in slavery, because we didn’t stay there,” Grant explained, noting that modern interpretations can extend the narrative to include ongoing fights for sovereignty and racial justice through the push for reparations.

    The push comes on the heels of a successful 2024 festival that marked the welcome return of Cohobblopot, the iconic showcase of masquerade bands, and a visible resurgence of the elaborate wire-bending craft that once defined Crop Over’s grandest parade displays. Grant commended the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) for reviving large-scale costume displays along the Spring Garden parade route this year, saying the towering pieces left an indelible impression on attendees and stood out as the most memorable element of the entire festival.

    Interest in reviving the nearly forgotten art of wire sculpting for masquerade has grown in recent months, with multiple cultural organizations partnering to host skill-building workshops earlier this year. Pinelands Creative Workshop joined forces with the NCF, Caribbean Yard Campus and the Maria Holder Trust to organize a wire sculpting workshop designed to pass the traditional craft to a new generation of artists after years of declining practice.

    Grant points to Brazil’s world-famous Carnival as a model for how cultural festivals can balance entertainment with intentional heritage celebration. In Brazilian Carnival, large parade floats and costumes prominently feature indigenous and African spiritual traditions, embedding core cultural identities into every aspect of the celebration. Grant says Crop Over can follow a similar path by centering emancipation and Black heritage in its largest, most visible costume pieces.

    Despite the enthusiasm around the craft’s revival, Grant acknowledges that significant barriers remain. The high cost of designing and constructing large wire-bent costumes has long been a major obstacle for mas bands, and was the primary reason the art form declined in Crop Over for decades. He recalled that the late legendary master wire-bender Gwyneth Squires repeatedly raised concerns about the prohibitive costs of the craft during her career. To overcome this barrier, Grant says targeted investment and funding support are needed to help bands take on large-scale projects. If funding can be secured, he argues the revived costume tradition can become a core vehicle for sharing emancipation narratives with new generations.

    In addition to encouraging bands to adopt these themes, Grant has proposed a structural change to festival judging: integrating historical and cultural storytelling criteria into the annual band competition. This would incentivize bands to prioritize meaningful narratives that connect Crop Over to its cultural and historical roots, rather than focusing solely on visual spectacle.

  • 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.

  • QEH breastfeeding advocate calls for workplace support as mums return to work

    QEH breastfeeding advocate calls for workplace support as mums return to work

    As Breastfeeding Awareness Month draws public attention to maternal and child health challenges in Barbados, healthcare professionals are amplifying a urgent call for employers across the island to implement dedicated, private lactation spaces for working breastfeeding mothers. The renewed advocacy comes on the heels of local research that identifies returning to work as the single leading cause of early breastfeeding discontinuation nationwide.

    Registered nurse and midwife Shermena Kirton emphasized that sustained improvement in national breastfeeding rates depends entirely on meaningful workplace support for new mothers. Citing recent research on exclusive breastfeeding led by Dr. Ashley Paris, Kirton confirmed that the transition back to professional work is the most consistent barrier to continued breastfeeding, far outpacing other common challenges.

    While Barbados offers eligible new mothers three months of maternity leave plus an additional two weeks of home leave, this coverage does not extend to all women, and widespread financial pressure forces many to rejoin the workforce as early as six weeks after giving birth. “Some women simply do not have the luxury of extended time off. They need their paychecks to support their families, so they have to go back long before they are ready to stop breastfeeding,” Kirton explained.

    Without access to a private, appropriate space to express and store breast milk, many of these women have no choice but to switch their infants to formula feeding. Kirton also noted that the challenge extends beyond the workplace, noting that a lack of supportive home environments compounds the barriers created by unsupportive work policies.

    During a recent pop-up public event held for Breastfeeding Awareness Month, reporters from Barbados TODAY were invited to tour two model lactation rooms already in operation at a local hospital — a demonstration that Kirton says proves high-quality lactation spaces do not require costly, elaborate infrastructure. The rooms feature just a few core amenities: a comfortable seating for mothers, a handwashing sink, a refrigerator for milk storage, and a lockable door for privacy. Kirton pointed out that these simple requirements are well within the reach of nearly all employers, regardless of size or budget.

    Beyond maternal and child health benefits, Kirton argued that employers themselves gain tangible advantages from accommodating breastfeeding mothers. She explained that breastfeeding leads to healthier infants, which translates to fewer unplanned absences when parents have to stay home to care for a sick child. “Critics may argue that time spent pumping is time away from work, but in the long term, a mother who can pump three times a day will be far more reliable and productive than one who loses three full workdays to caring for a sick child,” she said.

    Fellow registered nurse and midwife Simone Richardson-Small, who works on the island’s labour ward, echoed Kirton’s call, stressing that designated lactation spaces should become a universal workplace standard. These facilities are critical not just for infant development, but for protecting maternal health as well, she explained. Without a dedicated space to express milk, breastfeeding mothers face a higher risk of breast engorgement, a painful condition that can progress to mastitis, a serious infection that requires medical intervention.

    For infants, consistent access to expressed breast milk delivers lifelong benefits: it supports steady healthy weight gain, lowers the risk of childhood infections, and boosts long-term brain development. “When we support breastfeeding mothers, we are investing in the overall health and future of our entire country,” Richardson-Small added.

    The push for change is not limited to frontline healthcare workers. The Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Foundation (BCNF), a local advocacy group, is pushing for binding legislative action to codify this requirement. Retired veteran midwife and BCNF representative Betty Reid said the organization has long advocated for dedicated lactation spaces in all workplaces, and is now calling on the Barbadian government to introduce a national policy mandating these facilities for all employers. “Every working mother deserves the space to either express milk or breastfeed her child during working hours, and it should be a guaranteed right, not a discretionary perk,” Reid said.

  • Road Tennis federation planned before year-end

    Road Tennis federation planned before year-end

    The Caribbean island nation of Barbados is moving full speed ahead to turn its homegrown sport of road tennis into a globally recognized discipline, with plans to officially establish the International Road Tennis Federation (IRTF) by the end of 2024, the country’s Minister of Sport Charles Griffith confirmed in a Wednesday announcement. The declaration came during the press launch of the fifth edition of the Barbados Road Tennis Open, the sport’s flagship annual competition, where Griffith outlined the island’s long-term strategy for global growth.

    Under the current plan, the new global governing body will be headquartered permanently in Barbados, serving as the central regulatory body to standardize rules, coordinate international competitions, and drive widespread adoption of the sport around the world. Griffith emphasized that launching the federation is a critical milestone in legitimizing road tennis as an international sport, noting that while the process requires formal membership from roughly 50 participating nations to meet international sports governance standards, the time has come to begin laying the foundational framework. Demand for the sport is already growing beyond Barbados’ borders: the government has received inquiries from interested federations across Africa and Europe, and Griffith currently holds an invitation to travel to Canada to open a new international road tennis tournament.

    This year’s Barbados Road Tennis Open, kicking off August 15 and running through October 3, offers a $20,000 top prize for both men’s and women’s singles champions, marking one of the most lucrative purses for the sport to date. In a groundbreaking update for 2024, the tournament will add an under-18 youth division for both boys and girls, a move designed to cultivate the next generation of road tennis talent.

    Griffith stressed that global expansion starts with robust grassroots development at home. Currently, Barbados counts more than 300 purpose-built road tennis courts across the island, and the government plans to add another 300 courts to ensure nearly every community has access to public playing space. “Building a broad base at the grassroots is the only way to grow the sport sustainably,” Griffith explained. “If we have road tennis played in every corner of this island, we will build a strong talent pyramid that can support elite international competition. The government will continue to work hand-in-hand with the national road tennis association to support their efforts and drive this success.”

    Beyond infrastructure, the minister outlined plans to expand the national coaching cohort, training a pool of certified instructors who can travel internationally to teach the sport’s rules and introduce it to new markets. Notably, the sport already received high-profile global exposure during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where a Barbadian delegation was invited to showcase road tennis – and received a follow-up invitation to host a demonstration at the University of Stirling during their trip. To encourage more young Barbadians to pursue international coaching opportunities, the government will guarantee compensation for all coaches who travel abroad to promote the sport.

    Griffith also highlighted the need to build a sustainable commercial framework for road tennis, allowing Barbadians to reap economic benefits from their indigenous sport. Key opportunities include the standardization and manufacturing of official road tennis rackets, which could become a new export product for the island.

    Calling road tennis “the next global breakout sport,” Griffith revealed that a pathway already exists to achieve Olympic recognition. Four years ago, during discussions with International Olympic Committee leadership, Barbados received an informal offer to pursue observer status for road tennis – a key first step toward eventual inclusion in the Olympic program. “We can only reach that milestone if we get road tennis moving across the world,” Griffith said. “That is why launching the international federation now is so critical.”

  • Mottley salutes Jamaica on 64th Independence anniversary

    Mottley salutes Jamaica on 64th Independence anniversary

    As Jamaica marks six decades of sovereign nationhood, the Prime Minister of neighboring Caribbean state Barbados has issued a heartfelt public message of congratulations, highlighting the island’s outsized global cultural footprint and cementing the deep, decades-long diplomatic and people-to-people ties between the two nations.

    Sharing the official greeting across social media on Thursday, Mia Mottley extended her well-wishes from both the government and people of Barbados, alongside personal congratulations, to Jamaican communities living on the island and across the global diaspora.

    In her statement, Mottley emphasized that Jamaica has left an indelible, unmatched mark on both Caribbean collective identity and global culture. “Your culture has travelled far beyond your shores without ever losing the spirit of home, reminding us of what Caribbean people can achieve when we remain confident in who we are,” she noted.

    Mottley went on to underline that the government and people of Barbados hold the long-standing bilateral relationship with Jamaica in high esteem. As small island developing states, both nations share core priorities: safeguarding their unique national and regional identities, and advancing inclusive, long-term progress that lifts the quality of life for all their citizens.

    To close her message, Mottley referenced a iconic line from Jamaica’s national anthem – “Justice, Truth be ours forever” – expressing her hope that these guiding values will continue to steer the country’s growth in the years ahead. “Barbados celebrates with you today and wishes you continued progress and prosperity. Happy Independence Day, Jamaica, and may the Eternal Father continue to bless your land,” she concluded.