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(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica is to make a decision within the next 72 hours on whether it will introduce travel restrictions on United Kingdom flights coming into the island as an aggressive new COVID-19 strain that is 70 per cent more contagious has emerged, with at least six European countries imposing barriers to entry.
The article Jamaica considers UK travel ban appeared first on Stabroek News.
South Africa is one of the hardest-hit countries in Africa with over 740,000 infections.
The country recorded 60 more virus-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 20,011.
FILE PHOTO | NMG
Sales of new motor vehicles in April dropped to more than an 11-year low amid major contraction of economic activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic, setting up the industry for its worst year in recent history.
The April slump was enough to pull sales in the first four months of the year down 16 percent to 3,292 units compared to 3,923 units a year earlier.
The KMI statistics shows that tens of vehicle models registered zero sales in April this year while the major brands including Isuzu, Toyota and Mitsubishi suffered reduction in orders of up to 61.5 percent.
Ms Rita Kavashe, the CEO of Isuzu East Africa, recently told the Business Daily that the formal dealers were bracing themselves for a sales slump of up to 30 percent this year.
Unit sales of Isuzu commercial vehicles fell by the largest margin of 61.5 percent among the major dealers to 179 in April compared to 466 in the same month last year.
THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) says the 2020 revenue performance will relatively decline to the initial projections in view of the anticipated economic slowdown and turbulences in the operating environment exacerbated by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Indeed, revenue collection has greatly been affected due to the lockdown-related factors that include shutdown of borders, travel restrictions that have disproportionately reduced imports, thereby affecting revenue collection from excise duty and customs duty, reduced receipts from tourism,” Chimanda told NewsDay Business.
Chimanda said a 6,86% below target revenue collection for the month of April 2020 in net terms after adjusting for refunds was recorded.
“In view of the anticipated economic slowdown and turbulences in the operating environment exacerbated by the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 revenue performance will decline relative to the initial projections,” he said.
During the first quarter of 2020, Zimra managed to collect cumulative net revenue of $13,88 billion against a target of $12,57 billion, 10,42% above budget.
Nairobi — The National Treasury has allocated Sh11.3 billion to the tourism sector in what could help the sector bounce back to profitability owing to the coronavirus outbreak in Kenya.
While unpacking the country's spending plan for financial year 2020/2021 Treasury Cabinet secretary Ukur Yatani announced that Sh2billion of the monies will be shared in community reserves to jump-start the tourism sector and protect its players from heavy financial losses.
\"Government will also provide grants to 160 communities and support to Kenya wildlife services to engage 5,500 community scouts for a period of one year, to support I propose to set aside Sh2 billion,\" Yatani said.
\"The government will scale up the efforts to scale up the tourism sector by promoting aggressive post-COVID-19 tourism marketing and providing support for hotel refurbishment through soft loans to be channeled towards the tourism finance corporations.Sh3 billion has been set aside to support the renovation of facilities and the restructuring of business operations by actors in this industry,\" he added.
The allocation to the sector tops up to the Sh500 million that the government set aside earlier this year to market Kenya's tourism destinations to ensure Kenya remains a preferred travel destination globally.
MUMBAI, (Reuters) – The International Cricket Council has told Reuters it is continuing preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Australia this year as planned and denied reports yesterday that a decision had been taken to postpone the event.
Media reports in India said ICC members had come to an understanding that this year’s event would be pushed back to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ICC board is to meet today to discuss several issues related to the pandemic and its members will also address the fate of the World Cup, which is due to be played at stadiums around Australia from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15.
“The ICC has not taken a decision to postpone the T20 World Cup and preparations are ongoing for the event in Australia this year as per plan,” a spokesman for the governing body told Reuters.
A Cricket Australia spokeswoman told Reuters she was unaware of any decision being taken to postpone the World Cup.
(Jamaica Gleaner) An elderly man who was scheduled to be sentenced on Friday for gun-related crimes has died in police custody.
The article Jamaican man, 65, found guilty of gun crimes, robbery dies in custody before sentencing appeared first on Stabroek News.
PHOTO | FILE
A pay cut dispute has forced the owners of The Fairmont Norfolk, an iconic hotel in Nairobi, to close its doors indefinitely and sack all employees in a row sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a memo to staff dated May 27, the country manager, Mehdi Morad, said they had closed the Nairobi hotel together with another outlet in the Mara because reduced business in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic had made it difficult to meet employee pay demands.
The Business Daily established that the Norfolk employees had declined a proposal to remain on unpaid leave during the coronavirus period and demanded a 50 percent pay, triggering the closure.
The employees had opposed Norfolk’s decision to renege on a March deal that had promised them half pay in April and May and a fresh deal from June, according to correspondence seen by this newspaper.
“In reference to the memo dated April 30, 2020, we regret to inform you that the company is rescinding the agreement made with employees in regards to half pay in May 2020.
Pitching a working timeline of four to six weeks for the reopening of the tourism industry, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) says it fully supports the pretesting of guests.
The lobby, which last weekend called for the Government to set a timeline for the reopening of the industry, said these were two of the main areas of focus being proposed as part of the Tourism Task Force committee, led by Wilfred Baghaloo.
Airlines have also expressed an interest in starting in June,” Robinson confirmed to The Gleaner, adding that the tourism entities will be guided by a raft of protocols in order to provide a safe environment for their employees to return to work.
Citing the paradigm of a “new hospitality”, the JTA president argued that a hard timeline would “allow us to plan so that we can work backwards by implementing the required safety protocols, acquiring the necessary personal protective equipment, ( i.e., masks, shields, infrared thermometers), training of the employees on these protocols, along with a general sensitisation of the public and our international partners and potential guests”.
Last year alone, Jamaica earned US$3.7 billion from the tourism industry.
Jamaica: Two policemen shot dead, two injured in Spanish Town attack
(Jamaica Gleaner) A police constable and a corporal have been killed in a shootout with gunmen in Horizon Park, Spanish Town, St Catherine this morning.
The Gleaner understands that a senior policeman is among two other cops injured.
The Gleaner has seen amateur footage of an overturned police service vehicle in the area.
The car overturned while it was being driven to hospital after coming to assist the under-siege cops.
The Jamaica Police Federation has confirmed the incident and has expressed condolences to the relatives of the deceased cops.
(Jamaica Gleaner) Hotelier Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart has died.
Stewart was founder of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, and their parent company Sandals Resorts International, as well as The ATL Group and The Jamaica Observer.
The article Jamaican hotel mogul 'Butch' Stewart is dead at 79 appeared first on Stabroek News.
Jamaicans in the US in for a mango treat this weekend
(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaicans in the diaspora are in for a taste of home this week with the latest shipment of local mangoes destined for the New York market.
Washington, D.C.-based distributor Jamaica Direct Distributing Company joined with Miami-based US importer Season Farm Fresh Inc. and their Jamaican export partners to bring in over 4,500 pounds of St Julian (Julie) and East Indian mangoes.
Managing director of Jamaica Direct Distributing Company Byron Wills said the decision to import the mangoes was the result of a bid to help Jamaican farmers experiencing a drastic downturn in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for Jamaican mangoes in the US.
Wills said that partnering with American importer Nicholas Bernal, who owns Season Farm Fresh Inc., both companies were instrumental in working with the Jamaican Government and farming community to bring the mangoes to the north-eastern United States, primarily the New York City and Metropolitan Washington, D.C., markets, in 2019.
Wills said that Jamaica Direct Distributing Company is committed to supplying produce to the US markets it serves and hopes that the delivery of these mangoes will “bring some delight and a sense of home” in their difficult times to the Jamaican communities in the New York City region.
Jamaica: Quarantined returnees by air ‘pushed to back of the line’ behind 1,000 cruise ship workers
(Jamaica Gleaner) The 200 Jamaicans who arrived via air from New York and Fort Lauderdale on May 13 are accusing the Government of giving preferential treatment to the 1,044 Adventure of the Seas cruise ship workers who have already been processed a mere week after docking in Falmouth.
The second test would determine who departs for home this Thursday, May 28,” one of the persons under quarantine lamented.
All ship workers have disembarked the Adventure and hundreds who tested negative have been released to self-quarantine at home.
The Office of the Prime Minister announced that the Norwegian Cruise Line, with 174 Jamaican crew members, docked in Falmouth yesterday evening.
The Carnival Glory will also return home approximately 240 Jamaican crew members this morning.
WITH thousands left reeling from sudden layoffs and redundancies in Jamaica and across the Caribbean as businesses try to weather the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, a call is being made for an unemployment insurance scheme, a living wage policy and legislation to protect contract labourers in the region.
“The fact is COVID-19 has led to the layoff of thousands of Caribbean workers in the [occupational categories identified by the International Labour Organization], and these are minimum wage earners, they are chief breadwinners and single parents, and in some cases, youth workers,” he said on Friday.
Unemployment insurance is temporary wage replacement for eligible workers who may become unemployed because of circumstances beyond their control, for example layoffs, natural disasters and other crises and labour market issues.
“We need special legislation for contract labourers — for example hotel workers, restaurant workers, security guards, BPO [business process outsourcing] workers, and so on,” Marsh said, noting that the issue with contract labour is that many of the individuals are extremely vulnerable, are usually poorly compensated, have little or no job security, are not usually unionised, and are basically not protected under law.
“In terms of contract work, we would want to recognise that in Jamaica every single Jamaican worker — whether they are on a fixed-term contract or permanent contract – are really covered under the minimum standards provided by the labour laws in relation to holidays with pay and all the minimum wage payment.
(Jamaica Gleaner) The months following Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek’s announcement that he had pancreatic cancer were tough for Jamaica-born Terry Gayle, who was an audience coordinator for the popular game show, as scores of persons came wanting to offer him help.
The article Alex Trebek took care of us, says Jamaican ‘Jeopardy!’ ex-staffer appeared first on Stabroek News.
The driver of an ill-fated truck, which plunged onto the rocky bed of the Wag River in the community of Devon Pen, St. Mary, died from injuries sustained Friday night.\tHe has been identified as Lancelot Wilson. Thirteen-year-old ...
The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Combined Index closed Friday on a winning note in heavy trading, with an advance/decline ratio of 33/37.\tThe JSE Combined Index advanced by 795.17 points or 0.20 per cent to close at 391,611.75\tThe JSE Main Market...
The police say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding an incident captured in a video being circulated, showing policemen in confrontation with two members of the public. The video shows a man hurling expletives...
Limited resources and economic diversification in Eastern Caribbean countries, compounded by their small size and remoteness, constrain development.
While spending on health varies across the region (between three and seven per cent of GDP), Eastern Caribbean health systems perform substantially below the global average, forcing this region on the back foot as it tackles this health crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it necessary for Caribbean countries to reassess their preparedness against a wider range of increasing risks – including health pandemics.
Accustomed to the impact from natural disasters, the Caribbean will not only need resilience against global warming but also against a new wave of health risks that threaten the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.
This is why the United Nations COVID-19 Multi-sectoral Response Plan and Funding Appeal for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean states was launched on the May 6 to support the region to tackle this crisis with resources it urgently needs.
(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica’s first track and field star, Isis Clarke-Reid, died at her Port St Lucie, Florida, home on Monday, June 8, after a brief illness.
Reports in the local media around the time the former track star celebrated her 100th birthday on November 18, 2019, stated that the family’s only wish was that she be recognised publicly by the Jamaican Government before she passed.
SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECOGNISED SOONER
Nonetheless, the friend believes that with the family emphasising Clarke-Reid’s frail health in November, greater effort should have been made much earlier to recognise her place in history.
“(Clarke-Reid) and Gertrude Messam were the first women to represent Jamaica in track and field,” said David last November when he spoke with the media ahead of his sister’s birthday.
Last November, as she reflected on her time on the track eight decades earlier, Clarke-Reid said: “It was great.
An elderly man who was scheduled to be sentenced on Friday for gun-related crimes has died in police custody.\tDudley Watt, 65, reportedly collapsed inside a lock-up at Central Police Station, in downtown Kingston, yesterday.\tHe was later pronounced...
After 47 days without any new local Covid-19 case, all economic and social activities can now resume and we should be proud of the way we have tackled the situation, stated the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, this evening, in a press conference at the Treasury Building in Port Louis.
The Prime Minister announced that following the Cabinet Meeting today, decision has been taken for the lift of all business and activity lockdowns ordered earlier to cope with the Covid-19, as from Monday 15 June 2020.
According to Mr Jugnauth, the country has united in unprecedented ways to crush the virus but Government is also aware that since the closing of our frontiers, Mauritians stranded abroad have faced very difficult situations.
Government will soon work out about the conditions and protocol that will need to be implemented with regard to the opening of frontiers, Mr Jugnauth said.
With regard to the Covid-19 situation, the Prime Minister stated that as at date, there are two imported active cases in Mauritius.
While elsewhere in the continent whole justice systems were being shut down, the decision to keep the country’s wheels of justice turning was lauded
Now well into the third month of implementation of such measures as online trials, open-air court sessions and reduction of bail terms to free up jails, challenges are emerging with the poor being the most affected.
“Children courts have a high number of litigants from far flung areas including slums and rural places who can’t access virtual platforms because now their guardians are thinking more about bread and butter issues, not accessing justice through Zoom,” says Ms Njeri.
Justice Majanja points out that embarking on remote justice, which is now commonly referred to as Zoom trial has its own challenges ranging from inadequate facilities in courts, remand and among lawyers for video conferencing, issues of connectivity in many parts of the country to reistance by lawyers as well as litigants to online proceedings.
When the time comes to deal with the case backlog, Justice Majanja says the online platforms will be among the choices post-Covid-19, noting that most divisions of the High Court, the Employment Labour Relations Court and the Court of Appeal are already adjusting to with the new ways of conducting proceedings online.
But with challenges the Judiciary is facing in this pandemic, Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research Analysis chair Linda Musumba says they present an opportunity to consider informal justice systems which rely on the strength of cultures as an alternative to court room proceedings.
Jamaica: UDC attractions to reopen soon
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The public is advised that all attractions owned and operated by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and its and subsidiary, the St. Ann Development Company (SADCo) remain closed at this time, however, they are being readied for a safe reopening.
The UDC is, therefore, in the process of implementing measures such as physical distancing protocols, sanitization stations,
digitization of services, and staff training as it prepares to reopen to the public.
Frank McKoy who leads the UDC Response and Recovery Task Force emphasized that “We are now presented with opportunities to use technology to reengineer UDC’s business operations within the context of the digital environment.”
This shift towards maximizing the use of online tools to enhance the client experience for attractions and other UDC operations is in keeping with the Government’s thrust towards a digital future.
The public is reminded that UDC-owned attractions are as follows:
Dunn’s River Falls and Park
Green Grotto Caves Attractions
Ocho Rios Bay Beach
Reach Falls
Pearly Beach West
Long Bay Beach Park
Bluefield’s Beach Park
Turtle River Park
Walter Fletcher Beach
Laughing Waters / Protocol House
The Corporation looks forward to welcoming visitors to our attractions and to introducing, in the near future, revamped services both in-person and via an updated digital presence.
(Jamaica Gleaner) A custody battle for Jodian Fearon’s six-month-old daughter Peyton-Grace is threatening to inflict fresh wounds in the relationship between the deceased first-time mom’s loved ones even as they try to come to terms with her tragic passing under controversial circumstances in April.
The article Jamaica: Custody battle for Jodian Fearon’s baby appeared first on Stabroek News.
(Jamaica Gleaner) The burnt remains of the three bodies were found at Beach Road, Point Morant, in St Thomas, on Saturday have been identified as that of a female Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldier Lexton Clayton, 21; her child, Tyler Taylor, 2; and the child’s father, Kimani Taylor, 28.
The police report that Taylor, a security guard with the Portland Municipal Corporation, on Saturday morning rented a Nissan Latio motor car for two days.
The owner of the car indicated that he received a call from Taylor early afternoon the same day advising him that he was in St Thomas and had developed difficulty.
The owner of the vehicle advised that these items had not been in the vehicle when it was handed over to Taylor under a two-day rental arrangement.
Reports from the police are that after collecting the rental Taylor, who is from Cornwall Barracks in Portland, picked up his son.
