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Museum and NCF invite Bajans to choose 60 songs for Independence

Diara Springer
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Museum and NCF invite Bajans to choose 60 songs for Independence

What does Barbados sound like?

That was the question posed at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, Garrison, St Michael, yesterday as the museum and the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) officially launched BIM@60, a national campaign inviting Barbadians at home and in the diaspora to help choose the 60 songs that best capture six decades of Independence.

A panel, working with the museum and the NCF, has already curated a list of more than 200 culturally significant Barbadian songs spanning genres from spouge and calypso to reggae, ragga soca, hip-hop, ring bang and tuk. From that list, the public will vote online to select a final Top 60: Sixty Songs For Sixty Years, once the project’s website goes live.

“Our music is the most complete record we have of who we are: our humour, our struggles, our faith, our resilience, our hope and our joy,” chief executive officer of the NCF, Carol Roberts, said. “Every Barbadian has a song that is theirs.”

She urged the public to “stand up for that song” once voting opens.

On the NCF’s role, Roberts pledged: “We will nominate representatives to the expert panel and lend our institutional knowledge and archives to the curatorial process . . . . We will put the full weight of our platforms behind this project.”

Director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society Alissandra Cummins placed the campaign within a larger transformation at the 93-year-old institution.

“Heritage lives in people. It lives in communities, traditions, creativity, language, memory and shared experience,” she said.

Looking ahead to the museum’s 2033 centenary, Cummins announced that next month, they will formally launch the Barbados Museum’s Capital Campaign, inviting individuals, businesses and partners to help shape its next century under the banner Our Stories, Our Museum.

Deputy director Kevin Farmer called the initiative a slight departure for the museum. He noted that while artefacts “behind glass” remain central to its work, “heritage is not only something that existed long ago . . . it is performed. It is heard. It is danced to”.

He pointed to songs such as Beautiful Barbados by the late Sir Emile Straker and The Merrymen,

John King’s How Many More and Spice and Company’s Congaline as part of the nation’s history.

Beyond the vote, organisers say BIM@60 will produce a permanent digital archive, curated playlists, a documentary, museum exhibitions and educational resources for schools.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Pan African Affairs and Heritage, Trevor Prescod, also addressed the launch, which included performances by Mr Blood and Mistah Dale. (DDS)

US to tighten visa regulations for foreign students, journalists

Nationnews Desk
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US to tighten visa regulations for foreign students, journalists

The Trump administration moved on Thursday to tighten the duration of visas for foreign students, cultural exchange visitors and journalists.

The new final rule from the ​Department of Homeland Security creates a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow ‌visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the U.S., and I visas for members of the media. Those visas are currently available for the duration of the program or employment in the U.S.

The effective date is 60 days from publication in the federal register, subject to congressional review.

President Donald Trump, a ​Republican, kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January 2025. His administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, ​revoking student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and stripping legal status ⁠from hundreds of thousands of migrants.

The latest action would create new hurdles for international students, exchange workers and foreign journalists.

Under the ​new regulations, the student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years. The visa for journalists – which currently can last ​years – would be up to 240 days or, in the case of Chinese nationals, 90 days.

The visa holders could apply for extensions, it said.

In August, China’s foreign ministry opposed the proposed new rule for Chinese journalists as being discriminatory. The Chinese Embassy did not immediately return a request for comment on ​Thursday.

The regulations prohibit graduate students from changing their “educational objectives” at any point or from transferring to another school without authorization. They ​halve the amount of time students have to leave the United States after completing their degree or training from 60 to 30 days.

“Most Americans understand ‌the value ⁠of welcoming international students and getting rid of needless red tape,” said Doug Rand, a former DHS official. “This rule would do the opposite.”

David J. Bier, immigration studies director at the Cato Institute, said there was no legal basis for the study and transfer restrictions in the new regulations.

“International students, many of whom will have spent years in the USA, will now have just 30 days to find an ​employer to sponsor them or immediately ​be turned into illegal immigrants. ⁠Have these people no understanding of how life works?” he added.

The department cited a dramatic rise in such visas in the posting. It said there were more than 1.8 million student visa admissions ​in 2024, a more than 11% increase over the previous year.

The U.S. granted visas to more ​than 500,000 exchange ⁠visitors and 37,300 members of the media in fiscal year 2024, which began on October 1, 2023, it said.

The significant increase in the volume of such visitors “poses a challenge to DHS’s ability to monitor and oversee these non-immigrants while they are in the United States,” DHS said.

DHS said ⁠it has ​many examples of students and exchange visitors staying for decades on their visas.

​Visa holders who want to stay in the United States beyond their fixed period of admission will need to apply to DHS for an extension or gain readmission ​by traveling abroad and then re-entering the United States, DHS said. (Reuters)

$25m loan boost for CWI

Philip Spooner
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$25m loan boost for CWI

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has received a significant financial boost after the International Cricket Council (ICC) approved a loan of US$12.82 million (BDS$25.6 million) to support the regional governing body as it navigates a challenging financial period.

The decision was announced following the ICC board’s latest meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The directors approved a series of governance, membership and member support measures and the loan forms part of the ICC’s commitment to assisting one of its full members during a period of increased financial pressure.

NATION SPORT spoke to Cricket West Indies’ chief executive officer Chris Dehring, who welcomed the injection of funds at this crucial time.

CWI has been forced to undertake stringent cost-cutting measures to make ends meet – the most significant measure came earlier this year when they reduced the regional four-day first-class championship.

“CWI welcomes the ICC’s continued support, which forms part of a broader programme of ongoing initiatives to support the organisation’s long-term growth and development,” Dehring said.

“This is one element of a wider strategic direction aimed at strengthening CWI’s financial and operational resilience, particularly given the inherent cyclical nature of its revenues and the rapidly changing global cricket landscape. These initiatives are intended to position West Indies cricket for sustained success, greater stability and continued relevance in an evolving international environment.” Members of the CWI hierarchy are expected to host a media briefing in the coming days where they will offer more insight into the loan process and also provide updates on a number of organisational matters.

While neither organisation disclosed the details of the loan nor the detailed repayment terms, the funding is expected to provide CWI with additional financial flexibility as it continues to manage the costs associated with international cricket, regional competitions and player development programmes.

The loan comes at a crucial time for Cricket West Indies, which has previously projected a funding gap over its current financial cycle.

With a forecast of US$26 million loss in the 2026 cycle, CWI’s financial statements had indicated loan financing from the ICC, along with commercial banking credit facilities, as ways to close the funding gap. Back in 2012, the then-West Indies Cricket Board received assistance funding alongside Zimbabwe, from the ICC.

A source with details on the matter, told NATION SPORT the “approval reflects the close relationship between the ICC and its full members, with the global governing body providing financial assistance where necessary to ensure the continued growth and stability of the game”.

The ICC board meeting also addressed several governance and membership matters.

These included conditions surrounding Cricket Canada’s suspended membership, as well as an update on Sri Lanka Cricket, noting “progress towards adopting a revised constitution. It reiterated the importance of holding elections as soon as possible and agreed that SLC would remain unable to be represented at ICC Board meetings for the time being”.

However, the approval of the loan to Cricket West Indies was among the key financial decisions announced.

For CWI, the source added it “the funding offers welcome breathing room as it seeks to strengthen its financial position while continuing to invest in cricket throughout the Caribbean”. (PS)

Bajans assured proposed changes to Board will be positive

Maria Bradshaw
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Bajans assured proposed changes to Board will be positive

Barbadians are being assured that plans to convert the Transport Board into the Barbados National Transport Co-operative will not result in the negative behaviours presently being displayed by some public service vehicle (PSV) workers.

Oriel Doyle, president of the Co-operative Investment Fund Ltd and the Barbados Co-operative Business Association, who previously outlined the proposal, sought to allay concerns by Barbadians that this might only be a name change.

He explained that under the National Transport Co-operative model, there will be no outside shareholders extracting profits. Instead, the enterprise would be governed by four distinct classes of members: Transport Board workers; private PSV operators represented by the Alliance Owners of Public Transport; ordinary commuters and civil society groups; and the Government.

These groups will elect or appoint representatives to an 11-member board of directors, while day-today operations will be handled by a professional, experienced chief executive officer and management team.

Doyle said the proposal, which was submitted to Government and welcomed in principle, offered a structural cure rather than just stricter disciplinary rules to discourteous drivers, reckless driving and arbitrary route changes.

“When a driver owns a share of the co-operative, every discourteous act and every late arrival is a cost that comes back directly to them,” he explained. “Passengers driven away by poor service reduce the revenues that pay wages and member dividends.”

Concrete measures

He pointed out that this owner accountability would be backed by concrete measures, including a zero-tolerance conduct policy enforced in partnership with the National Transit Authority, and mandatory accreditation and training for all operators before they were allowed on the road. He also promised that every existing route, schedule and stop would be maintained during the changeover to prevent daily disruption.

Doyle insisted that the long-term benefits for commuters would be significant as the proposal outlined plans for better fleet maintenance, a unified contactless payment system, real-time route tracking, and the full integration of ZR vans and minibuses into a coordinated network.

More importantly, commuters will be invited to become shareholder members, giving them a formal vote in how the service is governed and a share in any annual surplus. Furthermore, a Public Service Obligation Agreement with the Government will legally safeguard rural and elderly routes.

Doyle pointed to successful transport co-ops in Italy, the United Kingdom, Bolivia and Uruguay. In Montevideo, Uruguay, when private bus operators collapsed, workers collectively took ownership, restructured management and restored services with documented improvements in reliability. He said DEMOS, an international co-operative development consultancy, had expressed readiness to guide the Barbados transition.

Doyle noted that the proposal aligned perfectly with recent comments by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who described the Transport Board divestment as an “enfranchisement exercise” meant to put economic power into the hands of ordinary Barbadians rather than a narrow investor class.

“This is not a privatisation, nor is it a transfer of one monopoly to another,” he emphasised. “It is a genuine dispersion of economic power to the driver, the mechanic, the commuter, the ZR owner and to the people of Barbados.” (MB)

Police issue Crop Over safety advisory

Nationnews Desk
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Police issue Crop Over safety advisory

The Barbados Police Service is reminding the public to prioritise safety and responsible conduct as Crop Over 2026 enters its final major events.

Police officers will be deployed at event venues, parade routes, traffic corridors and surrounding communities, with support from the Barbados Defence Force, to assist with maintaining public safety and order.

Commissioner of Police Sonia Boyce urged revellers, spectators, drivers and visitors to cooperate with police, event officials and emergency personnel during the festival period.

“Crop Over is one of Barbados’ most cherished national celebrations. The Barbados Police Service wants everyone to enjoy the music, culture, colour and fellowship of the season, but enjoyment must never come at the expense of public safety, public order or respect for others,” Boyce said.

The Police Service issued a warning against unauthorised persons entering or interfering with registered bands during Foreday Morning Jam and Grand Kadooment Day.

Police said band incursion, obstruction of routes, disorderly conduct, fighting, dangerous driving, impaired driving and other offences will be dealt with firmly.

Members of the public are also advised to follow all traffic arrangements, avoid drinking and driving, and cooperate with lawful instructions from police officers and event personnel.

The remaining major Crop Over events include the Pic-O-De-Crop Final, Foreday Morning Jam, Bridgetown Market, Grand Kadooment Day and Cohobblopot. (TBPS)

Govt finalising debt swap for health

Colville Mounsey
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Govt finalising debt swap for health

Government is moving to finalise a debt-for-social swap targeting health, as it confronts an escalating non-communicable disease (NCD) crisis in which 42 per cent of Barbados’ children are reportedly overweight or obese.

Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn disclosed the initiative in the House of Assembly on Tuesday during debate on the Tissue Transplant Bill, 2026, saying discussions would focus on changing Barbadians’ behaviour and health-seeking practices.

“Just today, over the next couple of days, the Government of Barbados will be meeting on a mission to finalise aspects of the debt-for-social swap, which will focus on health, and a specific focus on how are we able to change behaviours and healthseeking practices in Barbados,” he said.

Straughn warned that unless the country got its School Nutrition Policy right, overweight and obese children were at risk of progressing towards serious NCDs and facing lifelong medical expenses.

“Recently, we were told that 42 per cent of our children are either overweight or obese. Therefore, that number, basically one in every two, means that if we do not get the School Nutrition Policy right, that those children will just be the feedstock on the NCD trail,” he said.

The minister told the House Barbados had to view NCDs as part of the cost-of-living crisis, since affected households faced expenditure on insulin, blood pressure medication, dialysis, repeated doctor visits and transportation for treatment.

He said those expenses were accompanied by significant physical and emotional costs for patients and their families.

Affordability issues

“When we speak of the cost of living, we tend to focus on food prices, we tend to focus on electricity, gas prices and those types of everyday, as we would call it, going into the market and affordability issues.

“But Barbados has been faced with an NCD crisis that also reflects the actual cost of living, because . . . NCDs, as you and I both know are, for the most part, lifestyle diseases, which means that we get to determine the severity with which we are afflicted with these diseases.”

Straughn said the transplantation legislation would provide another treatment option for people already suffering from serious illness, but Government’s wider objective was to reduce the number who reached the stage of requiring an organ transplant.

He said the ministries of Health, Education and Agriculture would work with nutritionists to aggressively reduce childhood obesity and improve health outcomes.

He cautioned that passing the legislation was only the beginning, with Government now required to build public trust, encourage organ donation and counter misinformation.

“We’ve given people hope. We now have to deliver. This is a whole-of-country educational approach that we now must dispel any misinformation or anything that might be put out there that could dissuade Barbadians from making a decision that could be to their benefit in the long term.”

Straughn said more community screening programmes would be introduced, while greater effort would be made to encourage men to get medical check-ups and take responsibility for their health.

He also pointed to demographic pressures confronting the health care system, saying it was estimated that half of Barbados’ population would be over 65 by 2050.

“If half the population is going to be over 65, and we have almost one in two of our minor population being overweight and obese, then it means that we have at two ends of the spectrum some issues and challenges that we have to address.”

(CLM)

Man says he’s alive because of woman

Nationnews Desk
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Man says he’s alive because of woman

It was only because of Jhakira Matthews’ intervention that he is alive today, said Jurdie Omar Austin Miller.

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Regional tax administrators to meet in Guyana

Nationnews Desk
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Regional tax administrators to meet in Guyana

Tax administrators and revenue management experts from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping will meet here later this month, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat announced on Wednesday.

It said that 27th General Assembly and Technical Conference of the Caribbean Organisation of Tax Administrators (COTA) will take place  from July 27-31 under the theme “Future-Ready CARICOM Tax Administration – Smart, Data-Driven and AI-Enabled for Sustainable Revenue”.

The Secretariat said that the events will bring together representatives of CARICOM member administrations as well as regional and international partners to examine the future of tax administration in an increasingly digital and data-driven world.

It said that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), one of the 24 member administrations of COTA, will host the General Assembly and Technical Conference and that matters for discussion at the Technical Conference include how technology, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence can strengthen tax administration, improve compliance, enhance taxpayer services, and support efficient and sustainable revenue mobilisation across the Community.

A High-Level Regional Meeting on Tax and Development, which will be held in collaboration with the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other regional and international partners in the taxation arena, will also be held during the week.

The Secretariat said that meeting will provide a strategic forum for dialogue on opportunities and challenges confronting CARICOM economies and their tax systems in an evolving global tax landscape.

”The staging of the COTA  27th General Assembly and Technical Conference, reinforces a shared commitment to build resilient, efficient and future-ready tax administrations that can support sustainable development throughout the Caribbean Community,” the CARICOM Secretariat added. (CMC)

PM calls for revisit of tourism slogan

Nationnews Desk
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PM calls for revisit of tourism slogan

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has renewed calls for a stronger national commitment to tourism, suggesting a revisit of the once-popular slogan “Tourism is our business. Let us play our part”.

However, chief executive officer of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc, Andrea Franklin, has said no decision has yet been made to adopt or revive an official slogan.

Speaking during Tuesday’s opening ceremony of the Royalton Vessence Barbados in Holetown, St James, Mottley said the slogan from days past aptly captured the essence of Barbados’ relationship with tourism, noting that it remained just as relevant today.

“We know different and that is why from when I was a little girl in this country, we had a slogan, that I still maintain – I say it in hope – that one day the Ministry of Tourism will resume it. We had a slogan that worked for us,” she said.

The Prime Minister stressed that the slogan reflected a timeless truth about the country’s relationship with tourism, its main foreign exchange earner.

“Tourism is our business. Let us play our part. A slogan that is real, a slogan that is true, does not need to be renewed because it reflects the essence of who we are,” she added.

Barbados has not adopted a tourism slogan since 2021 when the tagline “Little Island, Big Barbados” was presented but met with public criticism.

It was aimed at selling Barbados’ tourism product in overseas markets. Following the backlash, it was removed and a large committee led by vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies Professor Sir Hilary Beckles was tasked with developing a new one.

An earlier slogan, Barbados: Just Beyond The Imagination,

focused on Barbados as a quality destination for visitors.

Speaking with the DAILY NATION yesterday, Franklin said they have not discussed a slogan.

“We haven’t had a slogan in a few years. Every year when we review our marketing plan, there’s a discussion but many brands are no longer going that route,” she said.

Franklin, who was also present at the opening of the new hotel, noted that the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister were still expected to influence future tourism engagement efforts.

“What the Prime Minister was speaking about is something that we will be factoring into our local outreach and our local public relations and awareness of tourism. That’s something that we will factor in from that perspective. But right now, we don’t have a slogan,” she said.

(JRN)

NUPW warns of Public Service consolidation, calls for talks

Sherrylyn Clarke
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NUPW warns of Public Service consolidation, calls for talks

The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) is keeping a watch on possible job consolidations in the Public Service and calling for wider consultations – particularly with the union.

This is in response to a July 6 memo sent from the Acting Director General, Human Resources, in the Ministry of the Public Service and Talent Development, to the head of the Public Service, directors general, permanent secretaries and officers of related grade.

They were directed to consolidate duties and organisational arrangements; identify functions that may be delivered through shared service arrangements; and identify posts and officers that can be redeployed to support the operationalisation of newly-established ministries/departments.

“Following the recent General Elections, a few new ministries have been established and there has been a reassignment of portfolio responsibilities in some instances. These changes will obviously require staffing to support the operational and service delivery mandates of these ministries,” the memo said.

“At the same time, the current fiscal environment, influenced by ongoing geopolitical and economic pressures, requires prudent management of public expenditure and some restraint in the area of personal emoluments. Accordingly, the Public Service must seek to optimise the use of existing human resources before consideration is given to the creation of additional posts or the engagement of new personnel.”

Matter of concern

NUPW general secretary Richard Green told the DAILY NATION it was a matter of concern for the union.

“Even though the memorandum does not state that public officers are to be laid off, there’s still a concern that this may lead to some dislocation of persons in circumstances where . . . many of them [are] still in temporary positions and in acting positions.

“Words such as consolidation, shared services, redeployment, they still have practical implications,” he added.

Among the new ministries created after the February 11 General Election were Public and Private Investment, and Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice.

Green said several ministries were already understaffed.

“There is a consistent complaint that there is a shortage of staff in many departments, resulting in persons taking on additional responsibilities beyond the scope of the job description, which is having an impact on people’s workloads,” he explained.

Green said this was resulting in some “burnout and officers complaining that when persons . . . retired or resigned, that they’re not being replaced through the Public Service”. He added that was having a significant impact on productivity and also had implications for promotions and acting appointments.

The trade unionist also questioned the timing of the memo since a regrading exercise was currently being undertaken.

“That job evaluation exercise is supposed to address the areas where persons are in the alignment of jobs and so on, and attaching specific values to those jobs. It would have been more appropriate to look at that after the review of the report of the job evaluation exercise.

“The other concern that we have with this is the relatively short notice that the Public Service managers are given to submit their recommendations, because we are of the opinion that that short notice does not give adequate time for a real comprehensive review. Because of that, it could result in some flaws,” he noted.

The July 6 memo stated that recommendations are to be made on or before July 17 (tomorrow).

There were layoffs in 2018 and 2019, with Government promising that the most vulnerable would not bear the brunt of reforms in the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation programme.

(SAT)

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