Caribbean News

Utility, Telecoms Companies Prepared for Peak of Atlantic Hurricane Season

Published

3 years ago

September 27, 2022

#Kingston, Jamaica, September 27, 2022 – As activity in the tropical Atlantic intensifies, the island’s major utility companies have indicated their preparedness for severe weather conditions.

Hon. Desmond McKenzie

Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Senior Manager, George Kates, said that the company has invested heavily in its disaster-preparedness plans, which were continually developed using many years of lessons. He said that critical staff and third-party contractors are mobilised and emergency operation centres throughout the island are ready to be activated, when needed.

Additionally, he indicated that in disaster, the JPS maintains contact with the security forces and the National Works Agency (NWA), “because we can recover as fast as they allow us because they have to be ahead of us to clear roads and make way for our team to move”.

“I can comfortably say that the JPS is in an advanced stage of readiness. We are ready to respond to any eventualities,” Mr. Kates assured.

He was addressing a special committee meeting of the National Disaster Risk Council at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in Kingston on Friday (September 23).

During the meeting, which was convened by Portfolio Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, key private and public-sector entities outlined their state-of-readiness for Tropical Depression Nine, which strengthened into Tropical Storm Ian.

While the country was spared the worst effects of the system, it has since developed into a major hurricane and is expected to impact Cuba and Florida.

National Water Commission (NWC) Chairman, Mark Barnett, in noting the entity’s readiness, said that measures have been put in place to prepare for adverse weather conditions. He noted that key townships across the island have been equipped with standby generators and that all NWC facilities in deep rural or urban areas will continue to operate “as long as it is safe to do so”.

He pointed out, however, that where the weather becomes severe, some facilities may experience disruptions or may be forced to shut down, especially those that rely heavily on reasonable quality water flow from rivers.

“We are making strides to ensure that we have the necessary infrastructure and necessary capacity in place for responsiveness, knowing very well that we are a [small] island state and we are subject to these events,” Mr. Barnett said.

“All in all, we feel pretty comfortable in terms of our preparedness,” he noted.

As it relates to telecommunications, the island’s two main providers also told the committee meeting that they are ready to face a disaster if one strikes.

FLOW’s Senior Compliance Manager, Keniesha Brown Plunkett, outlined that the company has put 12 disaster plans in place, which allows for response to situations in a timely manner. She said that using lessons from the past, FLOW has actively trained its coordinators to respond to certain protocols and has identified key personnel in each parish, with the regional crisis management team also on standby if the local team requires assistance.

“We have tested our satellite phones that we have in stock and we’re also happy to say that we are supporting the national disaster programme. We have contributed to vests, we have sourced signs, and we [have helped to] ensure that shelter management programmes are up and running,” Mrs. Brown Plunkett noted.

Some of the challenges experienced by the company that may affect its disaster response include the theft of infrastructure, which includes batteries and copper wires, and damage outside the plant network caused by motor-vehicle accidents.

To mitigate these, the company has activated monitoring and tracking on its devices, sensitised communities to monitor any irregularities, and has undertaken routine assessments. There’s also an environmental management programme in place to manage hazardous waste, said Mrs. Brown Plunkett. Furthermore, the company’s corporate communications team actively monitors and sends out alerts to the public, in the event of a weather system.

Head of Public Relations, Elon Parkinson, for his part, told the committee meeting that the company had activated its emergency management team to ensure full internal coordination.

“That includes our technical team that ensures that our sites are ready, that our facilities are topped up with fuel, that we have double-checked batteries to ensure complete reliance, that we have coordinated with our partners to make sure that they, too, are ready, that we establish lines of communication around the emergency messages,” Mr. Parkinson said.

He noted that the company had assured its business customers of the lines of communication and the strategies it will be undertaking, to maintain business continuity.

Additionally, the company had activated its social media pages to be used as a ‘community hub’ for information and to convey updates from the Government.

“As we do, we are supporting the overall government of Jamaica’s command and control communication efforts, and those efforts are going to be critical to getting Jamaica back on its feet again [in the event of severe weather],” he said.

The Atlantic Hurricane season runs annually from June 1 to November 30. Mid-August to about mid-October is considered to be the peak of the season when, statistically, the tropical Atlantic becomes the most active, and experiences the most dangerous storms.

Contact: Mickella Anderson

Release: JIS

Photo Captions:

Donald De La Haye photos

1st insert: Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, addresses a special committee meeting of the National Disaster Risk Management Council at the Ministry’s office in Kingston on Friday (September 23).

2nd insert: National Water Commission (NWC), Chairman, Mark Barnett, addresses a special committee meeting of the National Disaster Risk Management Council at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in Kingston on Friday (September 23).

3rd insert: FLOW’s Senior Compliance Manager, Keniesha Brown Plunkett, outlines the company’s disaster preparation plans during a special committee meeting of the National Disaster Risk Management Council on Friday (September 23) at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in Kingston.

4th insert: Digicel’s Head of Public Relations, Elon Parkinson, discusses the company’s disaster preparation strategies during a special committee meeting of the National Disaster Risk Management Council at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s Hagley Park Road headquarters on Friday (September 23).

Caribbean News

Guyanese Scholar and Olympian Arrested in Iowa ICE Crackdown

Published

4 days ago

September 27, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

September 27, 2025 – In a shocking breach of public trust and institutional oversight, Ian Andre Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, who is a citizen of Guyana, was arrested on September 26 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under a string of serious offenses that raise troubling questions about hiring practices, accountability, and public safety.

Roberts, born in Georgetown, Guyana, is a former Olympian and accomplished scholar. According to online reports, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Coppin State University after transferring from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where he played soccer. He holds two master’s degrees—from St. John’s University and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business—attended an Executive MBA program at MIT Sloan School of Management and earned a doctorate in education with a focus on urban educational leadership from Trident University.

Despite these accomplishments, Roberts was living and working without legal authorization. ICE reported that he fled a traffic stop and abandoned his school-issued vehicle. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash. He also has a prior weapons-related charge.

ICE officials questioned how Roberts could hold such a prominent role while subject to a final deportation order issued in May 2024. The school district said they were unaware of his immigration status, noting that he had undergone background checks and completed an I-9 form confirming work authorization. Roberts was placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.

This case highlights vulnerabilities in systems meant to safeguard public institutions and underscores the challenges ICE faces in identifying individuals operating outside U.S. immigration laws while in positions of authority.

For many, Roberts has become a near-literal poster child for these enforcement gaps.

Caribbean News

Bermuda Shaken by Targeted Murder as Crime Returns After a Decade of Calm

Published

2 weeks ago

September 21, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Bermuda is reeling after the brazen murder of 37-year-old Janae Minors, a mother of two, who was gunned down in her own beauty supply store on Court Street, Pembroke. The attack, which police describe as “targeted,” has rattled the island, not only for its brutality but for what it says about the state of law and order in a country that less than a decade ago was celebrating a dramatic fall in violent crime.

The Attack on Court Street

According to police, at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, a lone gunman pulled up on a stolen black motorcycle, walked into the Beauty Monster shop Minors owned, and shot her multiple times. Despite the rapid response of emergency services, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being transported to hospital.

Detectives say the killer was thin, tall, dressed in dark clothing with a full-face helmet, and wearing bright gloves. CCTV shows him fleeing north on Court Street, down Tills Hill toward TCD, before turning onto Marsh Folly Road. Investigators are pursuing all leads, with a focus on recovering evidence from nearby cameras and eyewitness accounts.

Police Commissioner Darrin Simons confirmed the attack bore the hallmarks of gang-related violence, a chilling indicator that Bermuda’s gang rivalries — long simmering beneath the surface — may once again be spilling into broad daylight.

A Vibrant Life Cut Short

Minors, remembered as a hardworking entrepreneur with “a vibrant, beautiful personality,” leaves behind two children, ages 16 and 18. Her murder has ignited outrage across Bermuda, not just for its senselessness but for its timing: the island had once prided itself on virtually stamping out gun violence.

Then: Near-Zero Murders

Back in 2014, Bermuda made international headlines for reporting zero firearm murders — a remarkable achievement given the small island had endured a spate of gang-related shootings in the early 2010s. Police credited intelligence-led operations, tighter firearms interdictions, and aggressive prosecutions of gang leaders. Community programs and mentoring initiatives also played a role, giving at-risk youth alternatives to gang life.

By 2015 and 2016, gun crime was at historic lows. That period was hailed as proof Bermuda could beat back the tide of violence with coordinated policing, social investment, and political will.

Now: Alarming Resurgence

Fast forward nine years, and the picture looks starkly different. In 2024 and 2025, Bermuda has recorded a rise in gun-related deaths. Rival gangs such as Parkside and 42 have resurged, fueled by a new generation of recruits. Economic pressures, high youth unemployment, and the easy flow of smuggled firearms through maritime routes have undermined earlier gains.

Community trust in the police has also eroded, making investigations harder and retaliations more likely. Opposition MPs and neighborhood leaders warn that without sustained focus, Bermuda risks sliding back into the violent cycles of the early 2010s.

Public Alarm and Political Pressure

Premier David Burt condemned Minors’ killing as “an escalation of community violence that cannot be tolerated,” promising stronger enforcement and deeper engagement with residents. The Bermuda Police Service has appealed for CCTV, dashcam, and doorbell footage from the area, urging residents that even the smallest detail could break the case.

Yet among the public, frustration is growing. People remember the calm of 2014 — when zero murders were recorded — and cannot understand how the island has returned to headlines dominated by gun violence. The contrast is stark: from celebrating the elimination of gun murders to confronting the targeted execution of a businesswoman in broad daylight.

A Test for Bermuda’s Future

The murder of Janae Minors has become more than a single case; it is now a symbol of Bermuda’s struggle to hold on to the progress it once made. The question facing the island is whether the successes of a decade ago can be replicated and sustained in today’s harsher climate of economic pressure and gang rivalries.

For Minors’ family, nothing can erase the tragedy of losing a mother and daughter so violently. But for Bermuda at large, her death is a wake-up call — that the island cannot afford complacency when it comes to crime.

As one community leader put it: “Nine years ago, we had beaten this. Now, we’re back to fearing what happens when the sun goes down. That is not the Bermuda we want to live in.”

Caribbean News

CARICOM-Africa Summit Yields Draft Pact on Trade, Travel and Reparations

Published

2 weeks ago

September 19, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Imagine an Atlantic Bridge connecting the Caribbean Region to the African Continent

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — When CARICOM leaders convened with African counterparts and Afreximbank officials in Ethiopia, the outcomes were savory and exactly what many Caribbean people want to see materialise as the islands become uniquely reconnected to the African continent.

At the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit, held at the African Union headquarters, leaders moved beyond symbolic language to agree on a draft communiqué that, if finalized, would anchor this partnership in practical action. While not yet officially published by the AU or CARICOM, the document points to an agenda that blends history with urgent twenty-first century priorities.

The draft outlines commitments to improve air and sea transport links, including the pursuit of a multilateral air services agreement to break down the barriers that still keep the Caribbean and Africa physically apart. It also calls for visa facilitation and simplified entry regimes, making it easier for citizens of both regions to travel, study, and work across the Atlantic.

Equally significant are pledges to advance double taxation treaties that could remove one of the most stubborn obstacles to investment. With Afreximbank’s Caribbean headquarters already established in Barbados and the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) gaining momentum, leaders now want to lock in the financial and legal frameworks that will drive new business.

Reparatory justice also featured prominently, with the draft communiqué sharpening a joint call for coordinated advocacy. CARICOM’s long-standing Reparations Commission is expected to work more closely with African institutions to demand global recognition and redress for the shared traumas of slavery and colonial exploitation.

CARICOM’s incoming chair, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew of St. Kitts and Nevis, captured the spirit of the gathering when he urged that the Atlantic Slave Trade be reimagined as an “Atlantic Bridge — a bridge of hope, a bridge of advancement, a bridge that will ensure our people take their rightful place in this world.”

For Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, the meeting was a “homecoming,” but also a reminder that concrete steps like the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC) and improved transportation links are needed to transform rhetoric into results.

For citizens back home, wrestling with inflation and economic uncertainty, the Addis outcomes — transport, visas, investment, health, and reparations — are precisely the kinds of measures that can validate leaders’ journeys and rekindle faith in South-South cooperation. What was once only rhetoric now hints at the beams of an Atlantic Bridge, connecting the Caribbean and Africa in ways that could finally turn history’s tragedy into tomorrow’s advantage.