Sunday Gleaner The MARCH 6, 2022 VOL 83 NO 10 KINGSTON, JAMAICA 98 PAGES www.jamaica-gleaner.com INCLUDING GCT $185 THE FEARLESS PAMELA MONROE -ELLIS THE FORMIDABLE AUDREY TUGWELL -HENRY A2: A4: HELLISH WAIT Jamaican student, mom recount the horrendous journey out of Ukraine into the safe arms of his family in Clarendon D1: SALUTING REGGAE ROYALTY RAS DENROY MORGAN NOTHING FROM PORTIA Former Prime Minister will not answer questions on Trafigura due to illness, says attorney STORY ON PAGE A3 KSAFA determined to continue calls for JFF boss’ head B1: NO EASE UP
Erica Virtue Senior Gleaner Writer PAMELAMONROE-ELLIS could not have imagined that her carefree days in St Mary sailing down the hill from her house on coconut boughs – the only girl among several cousins and brothers – was preparation for the job she now holds as Auditor General of Jamaica. How? Well, not only does that activity have pitfalls, it is not lost on her that her current post could be the same, except, not on her watch. Not with the team she leads. Not with the rigour, integrity and authority of reports produced.And when a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) years ago tested her authority, it publicly demonstrated the substance fromwhich the Government’s chief auditor is made. Early in her tenure, a former finance minister attempted to introduce a letter into a PACmeeting explaining expenditure in the matter being discussed. It was a letter that should have been sent to her office that may, or may not, have impacted the deliberations. Immediately she objected to its introduction. The former finance minister pushed hard. She insisted. He pushed back. She pushed back. He backed off. PETITE POWERHOUSE The unfolding of events was not lost on two reporters in the press box from different media houses who stared at each other asking what just happened. What happened was that a fresh-faced, petite powerhouse put her foot down with impossible calm and dignity, and said no. Pamela Monroe-Ellis had just delivered a massive body blow to a parliamentary committee, the public and naysayers who had earlier questioned her capacity, suitability and authority for the position of Auditor General of Jamaica. Standing her ground in her formative years among boys prepared her. Cr ed i t i ng he r father with playing an important role in her life, young Pamela’s first choice of profession was a hotel manager after family visits to the Turtle Towers Hotel. Her father prompted her to study accounts and the daddy’s girl acquiesced. “Compared to my children, I am thinking now that I was a very compliant child, as I followed the plan, for accountancy, not auditing, which I would later learn at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which was my first job,” she shared with The Sunday Gleaner, telling where it all started. It was there that she completed her ACCA examinations. Despite her father being the exclusive distributor and later owner of the Encyclopaedia Britannica business in Jamaica, Pamela was not a nerd. Free-spirited, lover of the outdoors, she is not always hunkered over books, either. She loves to try new things and loves working with her hands. She also loves interior decorating. Pamela left PWC and joined her father’s business, but after some time he told her to apply for jobs as he could not pay her the salary her training commanded. She would later apply to the Services Commission but was called by theAuditor General’s Department and believes she was led there. She began her job on April Fool’s Day (April 1) in 1997, and the rest is history. The would-be hotel manager became the first woman since John Wilson (1829-1850) to head the powerful Auditor General’s Department. She pays homage to the man she succeeded,Adrian Strachan, who was her boss for 29 years, before retiring in 2008. “I applied for a director position, but Mr Strachan called me and said ‘not only are you younger than I anticipated, but you look even much younger than I anticipated’. He said ‘it would not be fair to put you in that position, because people who are twice your age would be reporting to you. But I have a position for you. Senior auditor, two positions below director’. He said, ‘are you interested?’ “I said ‘what’s the scope for growth?’ He said ‘tremendous’. I said ‘OK’,” she recounted. “Within three months he promoted me to director,” she said, recalling THE SUNDAY GLEANER, MARCH 6, 2022 | NEWS A2 PLEASE SEE FEARLESS, A10 The fearless Pamela Monroe-Ellis Auditor General packs power in her petite frame Erica Virtue Senior Gleaner Writer AUDREY TUGWELL could have held down an evening or night job as a radio announcer among some of the finest female voices to have graced Jamaican radio in the early 1980s. The alluring voice was, still is, as captivating as it is convincing. Instead, the pretty teenager with the perfect dark skin tone and ready-made broad smile entered Church Teachers’ College (CTC) in September 1982 with the sole intention of becoming a teacher. She did just that, majoring in English (Language and Literature) and Physical Education. At CTC, she would become part of the college’s debating team, played netball (a sport she loves dearly) and volleyball. After graduation, her entry and stay in the profession would be brief, however, as she could not secure a permanent position. She worked for a teacher on leave for a year and when that ended, she was asked to work for a teacher on maternity leave for three months. But fate intervened. With the need for permanent employment, a friend told Tugwell that a bank in Montego Bay, St James, needed tellers.With no business subjects, experience or godfather in the industry, and on her way to the teaching job, she made a bold move. Tugwell stopped to make enquiries at the bank, which turned into an interview and job offer. She was now in a small dilemma, as she was committed to her teaching but with a permanent job now in hand, she made the only choice she could – take the banking job. Despite her love for teaching, from the moment she began working as a teller, she knew this was where she wanted to be. This would not be the only bold move she would make. “The whole energy, the professionalism, the whole deportment, the way they delivered the service, how they managed the business, the whole environment – I just absolutely fell in love with the job,” she told The Sunday Gleaner. That was 1987. Fast-forward nearly 35 years later in 2020 when international banking corporation Scotiabank announced the appointment ofAudrey Tugwell-Henry as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of its Jamaican group operations, effective January 1, 2021. Her responsibility in the North and Central regions also covers the islands of The Bahamas, Cayman and Turks and Caicos. This is how the Canadabased multinational banking and financial organisation described Tugwell-Henry when it announced her appointment: “A seasoned executive with over 30 years of financial services experience in Jamaica, Tugwell-Henry has been responsible for retail banking since 2017. Audrey is uniquely suited to lead Scotiabank Jamaica. She is a transformational leader who has consistently demonstrated that she is a catalyst for our performance culture and customer focus,” said Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Deschamps, group head of International Banking and Digital Transformation, Scotiabank. EARLY YEARS The road between 1987 and today was paved towards an upward trajectory for Tugwell-Henry, and she grabbed it with both hands. Hurricane Gilbert would intervene shortly after her tenure in banking and the decision to do further studies at The University of the West Indies (UWI). Her university acceptance necessitated a transfer to a Kingston branch of the then Mutual Security Bank. With plans in motion for the move, not even the devastation caused by the Category 5 hurricane stopped them. Armed with a suitcase, which included a kerosene lamp (Gilbert knocked out electricity for much of the island for an extended period), the determined young woman headed to Kingston. She began to read for a degree The formidable Audrey Tugwell-Henry Jamaica and the Caribbean’s top-notch banking boss FILE PHOTOS “I am mindful that I don’t send that report to Parliament thinking that I have friends. But I send the report being dispassionate, recognising my responsibility under the Constitution of Jamaica and also to the people of this department”: Pamela Monroe-Ellis, Auditor General of Jamaica. Pamela Monroe-Ellis, Auditor General of Jamaica. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS “This is a fabulous time and I very excited. I am also excited about what it holds for women, having watched the banking industry over three decades and seen that shift”: Audrey Tugwell Henry, president and chief executive officer of Scotiabank. Audrey Tugwell Henry, president and chief executive officer of Scotiabank PLEASE SEE BANKING, A10 5 3 13 13 22 4 6 7 12 20 4 5 6 9 14 11 13 15 17 21 22 18 14 7 1 7 1 3 20 Winners $1,000 ea. No Winner No Winner No Winner No Winner No Winner 16 Winners $1,053 ea. 289 Winners $200 ea. 252 Winners $222 ea. 44 Winners $1,000 ea. 465 Winners $200 ea. 26 Winners $1,239 ea. 499 Winners $206 ea. 65 Winners $1,126 ea. 1,138 Winners $205 ea. 24 13 33 2 4 25 29 18 18 6 9 9 1 4 7 6 3 4 3 3 9 3 1 7 7 1 7 11 14 $800,000 1 Winner $800,000 64 Winners $961 ea. 1,279 Winners $87 ea. 22 6 8 16 23 35 36 13 5 3 22 4 7 10 21 28 33 6 3 22 No Winner No Winner 10 Winners $8,471 ea. 24 Winners $451 ea. 364 Winners $217 ea. 4,885 Winners $100 ea. $35,000,000 0 6 3 6 4 7 3 7 4 8 4 4 9 8 6 0 1 7 3 3 $307,000,000 2, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 2122, 29, 30, 33 2, 8, 14, 15, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 31, 33, 34 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 21, 24, 25, 26 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 20, 27, 31, 34 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 12, 17, 20, 21, 22, 35, 36 28 W 25 25 21 27 7 W M W M W 7 W 13 W 6 M 1 W 12 M W 1
FORMER OPPOSITION Leader Dr Peter Phillips has signalled that he is not ready to step down as member of parliament (MP) for St Andrew East Central, amid reports that he is facing a new round of cancer treatment. There are reports, too, that the leadership of the People’s National Party (PNP) has signed off on Dennis Gordon, one of his councillors, to replace him. Dr Phillips, 73, went public with his Stage Three colon cancer diagnosis inApril 2020, five months before he led the PNP to a crushing defeat in the last parliamentary elections. Sources close to Dr Phillips told The Sunday Gleaner last week that he was due to travel overseas shortly for treatment as he battles a second round of the disease. “I continue to do tests and continue to receive treatments as dictated by these test results,” Dr Phillips told The Sunday Gleaner last Wednesday while declining to publicly discuss his health. FATHER-AND-SON RELATIONSHIP Gordon disclosed that he has had a “myriad of discussions” with Dr Phillips across “many subject areas and, as far as we know, he will be okay”. “The relationship I share with him is like a father-and-son relationship,” Gordon told The Sunday Gleaner. Dr Phillips sought to make it clear that he has not reached any decision about stepping down as MP for the constituency he has represented since 1993. “That is a decision I will take in consultation with the party and with the constituency organisation, and I haven’t raised this matter with them, nor they with me, in recent times,” he said. Gordon, who is the councillor for the Maxfield Park Division of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, said, as far as he is aware, “nothing has been signed off on” for him to become Dr Phillips’ successor. He admits, however, that his ambition is to one day become the parliamentary representative for the constituency. “If the opportunity is afforded, yes, I would take on the challenge,” said Gordon, who is also chairman of the constituency. “If you serve at the local level, then you should treat it as a stepping stone to serve at the central [government] level.” But the immediate focus, he says, is on Dr Phillips’ health and the interest of the residents of the constituency. UNBROKEN 29 YEARS Dr Phillips has represented St Andrew East Central unbroken for 29 years. “Nothing has subsided because of his situation,” Gordon insisted. “We continue to put in the work and we continue to collaborate with him. He is still the member of parliament, he calls the shots and we execute.” Since his election in 1993, Dr Phillips has served for decades as a Cabinet minister with portfolio responsibility for several areas, including finance and the public service, national security, health, as well as public utilities and transport. He ignited a firestorm of criticisms in 2011 after it became public that, as national security minister, he kept his Cabinet colleagues – including then Prime Minister P. J. Patterson – in the dark about highly classified secret memoranda of understanding (MOUs) he signed with the United States and Britain in 2004. “None of my Cabinet colleagues had an awareness of the existence of [Operation] ANTHEM at the time when I signed or before these MOUs were signed,” he said of the top-secret operation whi le test i fying before the Manatt/Dudus Commission of Enquiry in February 2011. He defended his actions, arguing that the MOUs do not allow for the interception of any communication in Jamaica between a citizen and anyone else, but provide for the sharing of intelligence gathered. Phillips insisted also that he was not required to seek Cabinet approval before signing the MOUs because they were not establishing or changing any government policies. He was lauded by the Jamaican and international financial community for his handling of the economy during his tenure as finance minister. After two failed attempts at the presidency of the PNP, Dr Phillips rose to the pinnacle of his political career by acclamation following the retirement of then president, Portia Simpson Miller. But he walked away from the post after the PNP’s heavy defeat in the 2020 elections. editorial@gleanerjm.com THE SUNDAY GLEANER, MARCH 6, 2022 | NEWS A3 Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Angela Juanita Campbell whose last known address is 2 Manley Avenue, Kingston 7, Saint Andrew is asked to get in touch with Dennese Smith, Attorney-at-law at AMC Plaza, Shop # 8, Lot 5 Congreve Park, Bridgeport P.O., St Catherine. Tel: 876 634-8599 or 318-6801 NOTICE Barbara Gayle and Livern Barrett Sunday Gleaner Writers JAMAICANS WILL never hear from Portia Simpson Miller what she knows about a controversial $31-million payment made by the Dutch firm Trafigura Beheer to the People’s National Party (PNP) while she was prime minister and leader of the political organisation, according to one of her attorneys. With all their legal options exhausted, Simpson Miller and four other PNP functionaries were scheduled to appear in the Supreme Court tomorrow to answer questions posed 15 years ago by authorities in the Netherlands who are investigating whether the payment violated Dutch criminal laws. Member of Parliament for Kingston Eastern and Port Royal Phillip Paulwell; former PNP chairman Robert Pickersgill; former PNP general secretary Colin Campbell; and businessman Norton Hinds are the others due in court. Attorney-at-law Bert Samuels from Knight, Junor & Samuels, the law firm representing all five PNP functionaries, told The Sunday Gleaner that Simpson Miller, 76, will not be attending court. Legal sources had earlier told The Sunday Gleaner that the former prime minister would not appear because of an illness that is likely to be revealed in the hearing tomorrow. The illness was disclosed by Simpson Miller’s attorneys who have since been told to provide supporting medical proof, one source revealed. Documents were served in relation to Simpson Miller on Friday, and Pickersgill has requested to appear on the matter virtually. READY TO PROCEED “The legal team is ready to proceed tomorrow, as this matter is over a decade and must be put to rest,” Samuels told The Sunday Gleaner. In 2006, then Opposition Leader Bruce Golding ignited a political firestorm that would become known as the Trafigura Scandal when he disclosed in Parliament that the Dutch firm had made a payment of 466,000 euros to CCOCAssociation, a locally registered company for which Campbell was a director. Campbell was also a senator and minister of information and development at the time. Golding’s Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) questioned the propriety and legality of the payment, charging that it appeared to be a kickback or bribery of the Jamaican government. At the time of the payment, Trafigura had an oil-lifting contract with the Simpson Miller-led administration that expired the previous year. However, Trafigura continued to lift oil for Jamaica in 2006 under an interim arrangement that was in place, although the then National Contracts Commission had recommended that the new contract should be awarded to Glencore Energy UK Limited, the company that emerged as the winning bidder. It was during the period of the interim agreement that three payments were made by wire transfer to an account operated by CCOC Association. Trafigura’s oil-lifting arrangement with the government continued after the payments were made. The PNP has, however, insisted that the payments were made as a donation to its political campaign with no strings attached. And amid significant public outrage, the PNP reported that the money was returned to Trafigura. Quest ions from Dutch investigators surrounding the controversy were first submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) i n Jamaica on December 3, 2007 and covered three categories, multiple sources disclosed. The ODPP is Jamaica’s Designated Central Authority in cases like this that falls under the MutualAssistance (Criminal Matters) Act. “One set of questions was about CCOC [Association],” said one source, referring to the private company through which the payment was funnelled. The other questions related to the oillifting agreement and a specific account operated by the PNP, sources told The Sunday Gleaner. “The big part was about allegations of PNP functionaries holding meetings with Trafigura executives in New York,” one source disclosed. Jamaica’s chief prosecutor Paula Llewellyn said the designated Central Authority has been ready for many years to discharge its obligations under the act. She said a team led by a deputy director of public prosecutions is ready to proceed tomorrow. Through their attorneys, Simpson Miller and her former colleagues have argued that compelling them to answer the questions under oath and in open court were in breach of several constitutional provisions. But these claims have been rejected at almost every level of the Jamaican judicial system. Their first setback came in November 2011 when then Supreme Court Judge Lennox Campbell ordered that the questions must be answered in open court for transparency and accountability. The Judicial Committee of the United Kingdom Privy Council cemented this position when it ruled last April that there was no material that could lead to the conclusion that a public hearing might jeopardise a potential hearing in the Netherlands or any subsequent investigation or proceedings in Jamaica. The Privy Council, which is Jamaica’s final appellate court, noted, too, that the five were given the opportunity to answer the questions in private, but did not take the opportunity. “The nature of the matter under investigation is one which is capable of affecting the polity of the country,” the judges said. With no indication whether Paulwell, Pickersgill, Campbell and Hinds will provide answers, legal experts suggested that they could still maintain their silence, but warned that they could face sanctions. ‘I CAN’T RECALL’ According to one retired judge, witnesses can refuse to answer questions in cases where the answers will incriminate them. “A person cannot be forced to incriminate themselves,” said the retired judge who did not want to be identified. The former judge noted, too, that “I can’t recall, I don’t remember or I don’t know” are acceptable answers in court. “But if a witness comes to court and refuses to answer questions, a judge could view it that the witness is being contemptuous and could cite the witness for contempt of court,” the retired jurist explained. The long-running political scandal has been used by its opponents, chiefly the ruling JLP, to maintain a cloud over the PNP’s anti-corruption rhetoric. Following the Privy Council ruling, current PNP leader Mark Golding said the issue has dragged out for “far too long” and the matter should be disposed of “once and for all”. “No offence is alleged under Jamaican law, and no one in the PNP is under investigation. The information requested by the Dutch authorities should now be provided without delay. Let the truth come out, and let the chips fall where they may,” Golding said. Simpson Miller retired from representational politics in 2017, while Pickersgill left three years later. editorial@gleanerjm.com Portia SimpsonMiller will not answer questions on Trafigura due to illness, says attorney FILE Former Prime Minister and leader of the PNP, Portia Simpson Miller, will not appear in court tomorrow to answer questions in the long-standing Trafigura matter due to illness, her attorney says. Lawyers told to provide evidence on health of former prime minister ‘Not ready to walk away’ Dr Phillips plans to continue in public service even as he faces new round of cancer treatment Dr Peter Phillips intends to continue serving his country inspite of his health FILE Friday, March 4, 2022 7 10 21 28 33 6 $307,000,000 No Winner No Winner No Winner No Winner No Winner No Winner 16 Winners 11 Winners 44 Winners 38 Winners 379 Winners 331 Winners 399 Winners 1,421 Winners 1,162 Winners 318 Winners
The academic future of two dozen Jamaican students who were enrolled in Ukrainian universities, the majority medical students, still hangs in the balance as local authorities continue to sort out arrangements to facilitate their education locally. But, with their safe arrival home last Wednesday from the Slavic country now under Russian attack, and with the issue still fresh, some of the students are hoping an arrangement can be worked out soonest, before their ordeal loses public interest. Up to Friday, however, there were mostly promises by the Government and representatives of The University of the West Indies (UWI), where many of the medical students had reportedly applied but opted to study in Ukraine because of high tuition fees locally. Education Minister Fayval Williams said various alternatives are being considered, but whether the students can be added to others for whom the Government offers subsidised tuition fees was uncertain. Currently, about 55 students benefit from that arrangement, which covers 80 per cent of their fees for study, UWI officials said. There are more than 1,000 applications annually. “I spoke with the principal of The UWI and I know that he has received information on them (students), and that there will be some engagements with them as well,” Minister Williams told The Sunday Gleaner. “So we will follow that to know what decisions can be made for those students. I don’t have a time frame but the various ministries that are of concern are working on it.” She added, “There is a significant need among many of our students for better financing for tertiary. That is something that we are looking into as we come with a policy on our tertiary sector. The policy is being worked on, it’s a commitment of the ministry right now.” But, even with the best wishes of the nation, it appears that a remedy for the displaced students will be long in coming. Even if they come up with the fees, they will need transcripts, which, based on the current state of affairs in the warravaged Ukraine, may be difficult to acquire. So far, Dr Donovan Stanberry, campus registrar at The UWI, said the university has most of the students’ grade profiles for high-school academic performance. “The second set of issues is those who were far along in their programme, where would we put them in our programme? And, for that, we would have to do an individual assessment, student by student, to look at their transcript from schools they attended in the Ukraine,” Stanberry told The Sunday Gleaner. “That can be done but it will take some time. We would have to get those course outlines and the transcripts from the Ukrainian universities, and we don’t know what state those universities are in terms of sending those things to us, because of the war. No student has applied to us as yet, so all that has been happening so far is exploratory.” He added, “These students have shown a lot of resilience, a lot of bravery. Those set of circumstances I’m sure will evoke some benevolence fromthe private sector, theGovernment or citizens. If that happens,wewouldbe happy, butwewouldnot be in a position to charge themless thanwhat the course cost, which is the US$28,000.” SCHOOLS DAMAGED In the meantime, second-year student Joel Tulloch and his parents are hoping for a shining light. He had four years left in his studies before the bombs started exploding late last month in Ukraine. “Currently in the Ukraine, many of our schools have been damaged, so I don’t know what will happen next. It is like we are in limbo. I want to continue medicine but the issue is where?” he asked. “That is why we are looking forward to the help from the Government and the private sector. Upon arrival in Montego Bay, they said that we should not worry and that they are working on it,” said Tulloch. “So we are just waiting to see if their word will come to pass,” he said, fearing the promises will die along with public interest over time. For Tarek Simpson, who only had two months and two exams left to complete his studies, Russia’s invasion could not have come at a worse time. In fact, it came the day he was slated to return to Jamaica, and his flight was among those cancelled when the shelling started. Simpson was instrumental in arranging accommodations for the other Jamaican students on the journey back home. Now he advocates for himself, and on their behalf, on the way forward. “I’m not sure exactly how they (Government) can assist but hopefully they can try to assist not just myself but other students who are displaced,” he offered, describing the whole affair as extremely traumatic. corey.robinson@ gleanerjm.com THE SUNDAY GLEANER, MARCH 6, 2022 | NEWS A4 Serv-Wel Industries Limited 8-10 Ashenheim Road (876) 923- 6036 Weekdays: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM 8000.sq WAREHOUSE FOR RENTAL A.G.M. Meeting Notice Strata Plan # 63 NOTICE of ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Saturday, March 19, 2022, at 10.00 a.m. to be held at the pool side - common area & Via ZOOM Zoom ID# 2157244539_ Password PSP#63 Tel: 876-979-8399 Email:seawind1@cwjamaica.com TO BE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE YOUR ACCOUNTS MUST BE CURRENT Proxy Forms to be submitted no later than 10:00 a.m. March 17, 2022. Mr. Richard Barriffe is not an employee of Portmore LPG Supplies and is not authorized to transact business on the behalf of the company. NOTICE WATER RESOURCES ACT 1995 Part VI General 24 (1) An application has been received from the Bath Fountain Hotel to abstract and use 30,000 cubic metres of water per day from the following source in St. Thomas: • Bath Mineral Spring A map showing the location of the proposed site may be seen at the Objection to the grant of the licence may be sent to the Managing Director, Water Resources Authority, P.O. Box 91, Kingston 7, before Monday, 2022 March 21. Ms. Nadeen Spence Chairwoman WATER RESOURCES AUTHORITY Corey Robinson Senior Staff Reporter THE FINAL six minutes were the most excruciating for Kelly-Ann Tulloch on Wednesday night. For the past two weeks, she had not slept, as images of gunfights and bombs exploding on her son in Ukraine burned deep in her mind. Finally, her prayers were answered. Her firstborn had escaped that war-torn country and had arrived in Jamaica. But now, the vehicle transporting him from the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James seemed to be taking forever. They said it would be a three-hour journey to Clarendon, other student drop offs included, the anxious mom told The Sunday Gleaner. But, as the clock wound on, the worried mother sat on her verandah, midnight dew soaking her head, and cursed herself for not picking up her child herself. “Me reach outta the gate and I say ‘any car, any bus ... if is even a truck coming ... is dem!’” she recounted. “I said, ‘look from when they said six minutes away’. Six minutes gone already and me can’t see no light.” Kelly-Ann whispered one final prayer: “God, please don’t let anything else happen to him.” And then headlights pierced the darkness in the distance. “When me see the light a come, me start to jump up inna di before day. Me seh ‘a him this!’ and start meck noise, you know! Inna di quiet residential scheme, you know!” she laughed, referencing Longville Park in Clarendon where residents who knew 20-year-old second-year medical student Joel Tulloch were equally on edge awaiting his return. “Him reach about 12 o’clock or a little after 12, and like the man (driver) start opening up the back. But I didn’t want to see any bag or any suitcase. I wanted to see my son,” Kelly-Ann exclaimed, recounting the sweet yet bitter sight. “When me see him, is pure skin and bones, but me glad fi see me son. I only wanted to know me son come.” Close by, Joel’s father, Nicholas Tulloch, had awakened from a nightmare. “It was like I was coming out of a wilderness, a space of uncertainty and now realise that there was hope at the end of the tunnel,” his dad told The Sunday Gleaner. “When they made about three attempts and each time they couldn’t get on the train (to leave Ukraine), I was saying this thing not going to happen.” “But one thing, though, we trusted God. He was at work,” he said. “He was doing the restoring. I don’t know why He allowed this experience but maybe the future will tell.” UNIVERSITY BOMBED For Joel, the future has already started speaking. Now, he is being hugged by family, a sharp contrast to the hug shared among himself and other fretful Jamaican students at a metro station not far from their school, V.N. Karazin National University in Kharkiv, a week earlier. Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, came under attack last week by Russian forces who reportedly bombed an administrative building, killing and injuring several civilians. Footage of the incident and others of burnt buildings and military vehicles have gone viral on social media as Russian forces made their way to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. It is the hellfire, which Joel and other students who were awakened and driven underground by distant predawn bombs, had been fearing. Luckily, he escaped before the onslaught started, but the memories of what he endured will live on, he said. “I feel happy that I was able to escape what is happening. Right now, I am currently having dinner with my family after two years, and that is the best feeling I could ever have,” said Joel on Friday. “To know that the city where I was living has been taken over and destroyed makes me sad but I know Ukraine will bounce back. For me, it’s just good to be home.” THE ARDUOUS JOURNEY On at least one occasion on the journey out of Ukraine, as he and others huddled inside the metro station after the first bombs exploded, there were stampedes as people panicked in anticipation of the invasion by Russian soldiers. Many walked along train tracks deeper into tunnels, desperate for safety, he said. There was no cellular phone signal and food was low, Joel recalled, sharing how he and other students slept uncomfortably in a shelter for one night before emerging hours later the following day. With airports closed as the Russians stepped up their attack to capture Ukraine, the main option for the Jamaican students was to make their way to Poland, where other Jamaicans were waiting. But that meant a journey to Lviv in Western Ukraine, which was a task in itself. Long story short, Joel said, they managed to hire two taxis to the train station connecting the two major cities. That’s where they met up with other Jamaican students. “And that is where the trouble started,” he said. “Whilst going to get tickets, a bomb fell literally outside of the train station, and everybody started running underground.And as soon as the train came, another bomb fell and then most people and the Jamaicans ran leave the train.” ‘HE IS HERE’ He said some people stayed behind and boarded the train, which ultimately left the stragglers. “That’s when we formed a circle downstairs and started singing ‘He is Here’ and one of us prayed. That was the last thing that we knew how to do,” Joel said, noting that this was about 2:00 p.m. and that they were told another train would be available at 9:00 p.m. So they waited. But the second train also left them. It was deemed full. Hours later, they found another to get on but they had to fight their way aboard. All 24 Jamaicans were soon accounted for and the stuffy train ride to Lviv lasted 24 hours, passing a checkpoint where Ukrainian soldiers scouted the transportation for fleeing Ukrainian men who were made to stay back and fight. From Lviv, they took a bus to get as far as they could to Poland, but that vehicle was stopped by angry civilians as it tried to cut the long line of traffic heading to the border. That’s when Joel and the other Jamaican students had to get out and walk the rest of the journey. On at least one occasion, they were offered a ride part of the way but, for much of it, they walked the 20 kilometres trek, he said, all the time fearing the worst. During it all, Joel’s grandmother Doreen McIntosh said she knew he would make the journey. “I said to God, ‘God, my grandson could be a gunman in Jamaica. He could be a goat thief, he could be a hog or a cow thief, but is the ambition that him have to be a doctor to come back and help we nation, and God I know you not going to let the enemy kill him’,” Doreen chanted. corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com A hellish wait Jamaican student, mom recount the horrendous journey out of Ukraine into the safe arms of his family in Clarendon CONTRIBUTED Kelly-Ann Tulloch embraces her son Joel Tulloch, a medical student who was among those studying in Ukraine before the Russian invasion. Joel arrived home safely to his family in Longville Park, Clarendon last week. Stuck in limbo Fayval Williams, Minister of Education Jamaican students from Ukraine uncertain about academic future Dr Donovan Stanberry, UWI campus registrar
THE SUNDAY GLEANER, MARCH 6, 2022 | NEWS A5 BUSINESSWOMAN CLAUDETTE CrooksCollie has won her latest battle against attempts by her estranged husband, a medical doctor and former politician, Dr Charlton Collie, to have a share of her $85-million home in StAndrew. The Court of Appeal on Friday overturned a lower court’s ruling that Dr Collie was entitled to a 20 per cent interest in the property to which he only contributed $1.3 million in “cosmetic” support. He wanted half of the property value. Crooks-Collie has led the investment firm MoneyMasters Limited, while Dr Collie is a pulmonologist and former Jamaica Labour Party member of parliament-candidate. The two got married in March 2012 after 30 years of friendship, but the court said it was partly an extramarital affair as Dr Collie was married to someone else from June 1984 to October 2011. The new marriage broke down quickly, as by August 2013 they were sleeping separately and by October that year Dr Collie filed a claim, which he amended in 2015, in the Supreme Court, seeking, among other things, a declaration that the property at Plymouth Avenue was the family home and he was entitled to 50 per cent interest in it. Crooks-Collie resisted the claim that was made under the Property (Rights of Spouses) Act (PROSA), a legislation that allows spouses who are separated or got divorced to assert their interests in matrimonial property years after that separation or divorce with the court’s permission. She argued that the Plymouth property was bought in 2003 and owned solely by her, was not intended to be the family home and that the marriage was of a short duration. 20 PER CENT INTEREST The Supreme Court judge who heard the case concluded that the property was the family home and awarded Dr Collie a 20 per cent interest instead of the 50 per cent he sought. Although he did not grant Dr Collie the 50 per cent interest in the property, the judge said the medical doctor was entitled to an interest because, among other things, Dr Collie made “significant” contributions to the improvement of the property, the running of the household, and the payment of bills. Crooks-Collie appealed the decision. Arguments were heard in September 2020. The Court of Appeal argued that the judge’s view was wrong, noting that Dr Collie’s contribution was not sufficient enough to give him any interest in the woman’s house. The court considered evidence that Crooks-Collie bought the property and carried out major refurbishing, without any input from Dr Collie, who was living outside of the island at the time. Crooks-Collie spent over $30 million by the time she started living in it. The court was told that Dr Collie was still married to someone else when, upon agreement with Crooks-Collie, he moved into the Plymouth property in 2008 to live with her and their daughter. By the time they got married in 2012, he had paid for some improvements to the property. He estimated that, by the time of the wedding, he had spent approximately $1.3 million on various cosmetic, but permanent, improvements to the Plymouth property. In 2010, the property was valued at about $85 million. In November 2013, a parish court judge ordered him to leave the property after allegations that he physically abused Crooks-Collie. SIGNIFICANT RISK Friday’s Court of Appeal judgment was written by Justice Carol Edwards but Court President Patrick Brooks and Justice Nicole Foster-Pusey gave opinions on the case, although they ultimately agreed with the Edwards’ conclusions. Brooks said he did not agree with some of Edwards’ reasoning. “I am concerned that the close analysis that my learned sister has applied to this issue runs a significant risk of overturning the learned judge’s findings of fact on matters of evidence when this court has not had the benefit of seeing and hearing the witnesses,” he said, referring to how Edwards handled one of the issues. Dr Collie had argued that the businesswoman purchased the Plymouth property after they both agreed that it would be a good idea for her to buy a property that would be their family home once he was divorced from his first wife. However, he agreed that the Plymouth property was purchased and renovated solely by CrooksCollie without any financial contribution from him. According to him, the only reason his name was not put on the title was to avoid confusion of assets in his divorce proceedings with his first wife. He also claimed that after moving into the property in 2008, he made substantial improvements to the value of the home by installing air conditioning units; tiling the back patio; paving the yard; painting the house; building a dog house and installing decorative globe lights. He also claimed that he was integrally involved in running the household and paid several bills, some of which were in his name. He claimed he paid all the expenses, except the mortgage and their daughter’s tuition. Dr Collie agreed that CrooksCollie bought his first wife’s halfshare in a property he had held jointly with her, referred to as the “Cherry Hill property”. But he denied that this was because that property was earmarked to become their family home. Crooks-Collie countered her estranged husband’s claims, insisting that she was the sole owner of the Plymouth property, having bought and renovated the Plymouth property nine years before their marriage. She said she spent $17 million to purchase the property, and later $13 million to renovate it. She denied any common intention to treat the Plymouth property as the family home, noting that the agreement was to make the Cherry Hill property into the family residence. The Plymouth property was purchased to provide adequate housing for her daughter and her ageing mother, who subsequently died in 2007, she said. Crooks-Collie had also told the court that although she met Dr Collie in 1982, they did not become romantically involved until he separated from his first wife in 1998. By that time, she said, she was already an independent and successful businesswoman who had acquired a substantial amount of assets, including her own investment firm. Crooks-Collie later said Dr Collie reunited with his first wife in April of 1999, before their daughter was born, and that at the time she bought the property, she was not in a relationship and got no help from him. NOT SUPPORTED BY EVIDENCE She also claimed that they had had an understanding that, in the event of separation or divorce, they would each retain the assets they had brought into the marriage and that agreement was to be signed reflecting that after the marriage in 2012. Dr Collie had a property at Long Mountain. In the lead Court of Appeal opinion, Justice Edwards said the Supreme Court was correct to rule that the Plymouth property was the family home. She said the lower court ruling that Dr Collie was entitled to 20 per cent of the property was “simply not supported by the evidence”. “The evidence points to the inevitable conclusion that it would be unreasonable or unjust, in all the circumstances, to award the respondent (Dr Collie) any share in the Plymouth property.” The judge also said the “cosmetic improvements” to the property on which Dr Collie relied were voluntarily made for his own benefit and that there was no evidence from him that Crooks-Collie encouraged him. In a brief comment, Justice Foster-Pusey argued that while common intentions can be drawn from extramarital affairs, “it is questionable whether there was any common intention for Dr Collie to have a beneficial interest in the Plymouth property. “At best, the contributions that Dr Collie made could only be described as minuscule,” she said. Claudette Crooks-Collie was represented by Queen’s Counsel Denise Kitson and Anna Kaye Brown who were instructed by the firm Grant, Stewart, Phillips & Company. Sashawah Newby argued for Dr Collie. editorial@gleanerjm.com Businesswoman wins battle to keep estranged husband out of $85m home CONTRIBUTED Dr Charlton Collie and Claudette Crooks-Collie on their wedding day in March 2012.
THE SUNDAY GLEANER, MARCH 6, 2022 | NEWS A6 Mark Titus Sunday Gleaner Writer WHEN JEFFERY Fitzgerald did not arrive at school by 7:30 a.m. on Monday, February 21, classmates of his grade-seven class at Spot Valley High School in St James could tell that something was wrong, because the 12-yearold Lilliput resident was always one of the first to sign in online and was never late for school. Jeffery and his fellow seventh- graders were restricted to online classes for the first few weeks at their new school and had just begun to interact in the physical space, but he had already established a reputation of one who took pride in arriving at school on time. But with the full resumption of full face-to-face classes starting tomorrow, Jeffrey’s seat will be empty. The youngster was hit by a motor car and killed on the morning of February 21 while on his way to school. “He was a bright young lad, who was always on time and when one of his friends did not see him at school after seven, he just started crying,” Richard Thompson, principal of Spot Valley High, told The Sunday Gleaner last week. “It was a very sad moment, but what I know is that students looked up to him.” Jeffery was on his way to school when he was struck by a Nissan AD Wagon that operates as a public passenger vehicle. Reports are that he was attempting to cross the road when he was hit by the oncoming vehicle. ONLINE SCHOOL WAS ROUGH Principal Thompson was unwilling to speak on Spot Valley’s readiness for full faceto-face classes tomorrow, but admitted that most of his 1,080 students would be happy for the resumption. “Online was very rough for my students,” he said. “The parents for my students mostly work in the hotel sector and jobs like that, so they can hardly afford the credit for online classes, so for the students, this is school.” The health department has reportedly relaxed the social distancing protocols to three feet apart, but that is still insufficient for Thompson and his team. Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the full resumption of face-to-face schooling after the midterm holidays during the ceremonial opening of Parliament last month. He said that the low health risk of the COVID-19 virus to children and observations of staggering levels of learning loss tipped the scale for the Government’s decision. READY BY SECOND WEEK According to Linvern Wright, President of the JamaicaAssociation of Principals of Secondary Schools, while some facilities are not fully prepared, he is confident that all the issues affecting some schools will be fixed by the second week of full face to face. “I don’t think everybody will be ready but we are going to be okay,” Wright said. “The people who are having the greatest challenges are the schools with huge populations.” “One of the issues plaguing the return of full face to face is the high volume of rusty chairs that principals are now rushing to repair to meet the reopening of physical school.” Wright also noted that the education ministry is to meet with schools that are still operating on the shift system. mark.titus@gleanerjm.com ‘Students looked up to him’ Spot Valley High braces for resumption of face-to-face school in the midst of the tragedy of losing one of their own CONTRIBUTED Richard Thompson, principal of Spot Valley High in St James, looks at the many tributes classmates paid to 12-year-old Jeffery Fitzgerald, who was killed in a motor vehicle accident on his was to school on the morning of February 21.
THE SUNDAY GLEANER, MARCH 6, 2022 | ADVERTISEMENT A7
THE SUNDAY GLEANER, MARCH 6, 2022 A8 OPINION & COMMENTARY EDITORIAL THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: (876) 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published PUBLIC AFFAIRS ITS PLAN to allow a dual track approach to projects apart, the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) potentially most consequential initiatives in recent times must be its plan to slash the community food import bill by a quarter within three years – or “25 by ‘25”, as the proposal has been dubbed. But this worthy idea, which received final endorsement from the community’s leaders at their summit in Belize last week, highlights a critical weakness in CARICOM – how it keeps its citizens in the dark about details of its projects and plans. Usually, the community speaks about them in broad sweeps, absent of key underpinnings and data. The upshot: an inability by interested people, other than government bureaucrats and favoured private sector leaders, to offer critical analyses of the programmes. Fixing this flaw, as this newspaper previously advised her, must be a priority of CARICOM’s still new secretary general, Carla Barnett. She has already had six months in the job, fast approaching the time when the tenure of managers becomes well defined. The irony of CARICOM’s lack of popular engagement was obvious at the post-summit press conference in Belize. Barbados’ prime minister, Mia Mottley, who is responsible for single market issues in the community’s quasi-cabinet and chairs a committee overseeing new initiatives, urged buy-in from the region’s population for the agriculture project, for which Guyana’s president, Irfaan Ali, has the lead. At the summit, Dr Ali briefed his colleagues on the scheme – providing, according to Belize’s prime minister, Johnny Briceño, “a sort of matrix” of the types of crops that could be grown as substitutes for imports, the amount of land it will require, the technology to be employed and the investment needed for the venture. Indeed, Ms Mottley disclosed that Dr Ali will host an investment conference in Georgetown on May 19 to 21 “where we are seeking to bring together both the public and private sectors in order to determine what the investment opportunities are”. NOT MADE PUBLIC Yet, neither Dr Ali’s presentation nor the background studies that informed it, are public. They can’t be found – at least not in this newspaper’s search – on the website of the CARICOM secretariat, except for references to the initiative in the post-conference communiqué. Mr Briceño did, however, said at the Belize press conference that Dr Ali’s matrix and analysis could be made available to journalists. The larger issue, though, is that this initiative isn’t new. The core idea stretches far back to the 1970s Regional Food Plan and various iterations since then. The matter, though, now has greater urgency in the context of global warming, disruption in global supply chains and rising food prices. In Jamaica it is particularly poignant at this time in the face of the consideration being given by the Government to suspending CARICOM’s common external tariff (CET), as well as domestic duties, on chicken meat, one of the foods being given priority attention under the initiative. Up-to-date figures on CARICOM’s imports aren’t readily available, but up to 2016, based on data from only 12 of the 15 members, the bill was US$21.5 billion. Significantly, however, five years earlier, the import figure for the entire 15-member community was US$24.4 billion. However, until the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, overall imports would have grown in the post-2011 period as regional economies recovered, albeit slowly, from the Great Recession of 2008. Expansion in tourism would have helped to drive that growth, especially for foods, which is estimated to have reached around US$6 billion on the eve of the pandemic, or 25 per cent of the 2016 import bill. FOOD IMPORT BILL Jamaica, with a pre-COVID-19 food import bill hovering at around US$1 billion, or a quarter of the island’s imports, would have accounted for approximately 17 per cent of what CARICOM spent buying food from abroad. Domestic analysts, including government agricultural officials, have estimated that Jamaica could displace up to a fifth of its food imports with domestically grown substitutes. That possibility is roughly in line with CARICOM’s expectation under its “25 by ’25” strategy. Significantly, too, as this newspaper has consistently noted, slashing the food bill by 20 per cent would release more than J$30 billion for possible investment in the domestic economy, a chunk of which finds its way into financing new areas of agriculture and value-added production. The poultry industry could be one of those sectors – as was noted by Prime Minister Mottley. Currently, the Barbadian leader noted, CARICOM imports US$200 million worth of chicken meat annually. The region could readily develop the capacity to meet its full requirement, if it could supply the feeds. The feed component accounts for up to 70 per cent of the cost of producing poultry. Growing the feeds regionally, however, would require 25,000 hectares of land for corn and soybeans, which Guyana has offered. But other states, including Belize and Suriname with their significant land mass, as well as Jamaica, would also be looked to for the production of these and other crops. Jamaica’s endorsement of the regional food initiative, and the centrality of the poultry sector in the plan, raises questions of how much the agricultureminister, PearnelCharles Jr, knewwhen he broached the possibility of suspending tariffs on chicken meat to allow competition with domestic producers to attack food inflation, and whether, in doing so, he had the imprimatur of PrimeMinister AndrewHolness. CARICOM leaders have, for long, talked a lot about growingmore of what the region consumes. Relatively little has been done. Prime Minister Mottley was right about what needs to happen to move the needle this time. She said: “... it requires political will and requires bringing together the complexities of the issues – from insurance in a climate crisis, to access to financing … to the removal of (trade) barriers, to technology and to access to land.” Jamaica should note the last bit. The island’s “most fertile ... A-1 soil”, which is Bernard Lodge, St Catherine, shouldn’t be planted with concrete to grow new cities. It should be left for agriculture. Elizabeth Bennett Marsh Guest Columnist WHOSE SIDE are you on, OUR? This refrain comes in various forms from utility customers and is often echoed in mainstream and social media. Public comments on the perceived role of the OUR, especially following an announcement of a utility tariff decision, have not escaped the regulator’s scrutiny, even while it has, on many occasions, sought to remind the public of its powers and obligations under the OUR Act and other sector-specific legislations. There is seemingly a misperception held by utility consumers that the OUR was set up solely to secure only their rights and interests. From this perspective, it is sometimes assumed that the OUR should only make decisions that cater to the consumers’ most pressing expectations, notwithstanding the prevailing circumstances. Some utility consumers are of the view that in these harsh economic times, the OUR must ‘read the room’ when making decisions, and act accordingly. Meaning that the OUR should only take into consideration the difficulties being experienced by customers arising from loss of wages, increases in the cost of living, downturn in business, volatile global prices, etc. ROLE AND MANDATE Is the OUR obliged to do so? Is it a consumer advocacy body? These questions bring into sharp focus the role and mandate of the OUR. Consumer advocacy is the protection and promotion of the welfare and rights of consumers. A consumer advocacy body – usually a lobby group – is the voice of consumers on policy matters and other decisions that impact them and their well-being. The OUR began operations in 1997 with a mandate to provide effective regulation of utility services. This kind of regulation is fundamental to the well-being of people in modern society and entails ensuring that consumers have access to modern, safe, reliable, affordable, and quality utility services while providing the opportunity for utilities or service providers to make a reasonable return on their investment. The OUR’s mandate includes establishing and maintaining transparent and objective rules for the regulation of utility services, advising the government on utility matters as required, making recommendations on service supply licence applications, and ensuring that utility consumers enjoy an acceptable quality of service at a reasonable cost. The OUR, being an independent and impartial economic regulator, operates under the constraints of various legislations and licences which detail clear objectives, powers and procedural obligations as well as define the scope and scale of what it is empowered to do. For example, the ElectricityAct, 2015, sets out clear guidelines on when the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) can submit tariff review applications to the OUR, and the parameters within which such applications should be assessed by the OUR. The OUR, as a quasi-judicial body, is obliged to make objective decisions based on technical, economic and legally sound reasoning. Therefore, it does not have the latitude to make decisions that are politically or emotionally motivated. Its firm adherence to making decisions, guided by relevant legislative provisions, has resulted in decisions that have proven, largely, to withstand scrutiny whether through public discourse or before a tribunal or a court of law. Arguably, it is out of a collective sense of confidence in the OUR and its decisions, which creates situations where matters that do not fall within its regulatory remit are sometimes referred to it for advice and resolution. So to answer the question posed as to whether the OUR is a consumer advocacy body, it is not. However, the OUR is required to keep regulatory issues in balance. Consequently, it is obliged to consider, among other factors, consumer interest in keeping with the provisions for the protection of consumers set out in the OUR Act, the Telecommunications Act, the National Water Commission Act, the Electricity Act,2015 and the Electricity Licence, 2016. MAJOR DECISIONS In its 25-year history, the OUR has made major, impactful decisions in the interest of consumers. These are just a few: • Developed guaranteed standards for National Water Commission (NWC), JPS and private water providers, which hold these utility providers to basic service standards, and if breached, attracts compensation to affected customers; • Reduced Mobile Termination rates in 2012. These are fees mobile telephone companies charge other carriers to terminate calls on their networks. OUR’s decision resulted in a significant reduction of overall rates charged by the major telecoms companies whether for calls to their network or to another; • Introduced Number Portability in the telecommunications sector in 2015. This places more power in the hands of telecoms customers by allowing them to change their mobile or landline service provider and keep their existing phone numbers. The guidelines are now being reviewed to ensure, among other things, that the interests of customers continue to be protected; • Approved measures in the electricity sector that provide cost-effective options to customers. These include transitioning from a two-period to a three-period Time of Use (TOU) rate regime and the extension of TOU rates to more customer categories, as well as the introduction of prepaid (pay as you go) rates; • Spearheaded international procurement processes to identify over 115MW of renewable energy capacity pursuant to a directive in 2015. The country now has a renewable energy mix of mainly wind and solar plants provided by Wigton Windfarms, Blue Mountain Renewables, WRB Enterprises Content Solar, and Eight Rivers Energy Company. • Played a pivotal role in the modernisation of the electricity sector with the introduction of cheaper and environmentally friendlier natural gas and the replacement of old inefficient oil-fired generating plants with modern gas-fired plants. • Approved a special K-Factor Fund for the NWC. This OURmonitored facility allows the NWC to use a predetermined percentage on customers’ bills to implement non-revenue water (NRW) reduction, sewerage and other specifically approved operational efficiency projects. This fund has assisted the NWC to deal with the shortage of capital that restricted its ability, in the past, to take on critical projects. A sufficient reduction of the NRW should realise more consistency in the water supply including during periods of drought. Despite the OUR not being a consumer advocacy body, it continues to ensure that utility consumers’ interests are always taken into consideration in the decision-making process, and that decisions are made in the best interest of all the stakeholders it serves, as it has been doing for the last 25 years. Elizabeth Bennett Marsh is public education specialist at Office of Utilities Regulation. Send feedback to columns@ gleanerjm.com The Electricity Act, 2015, sets out clear guidelines on when JPS can submit tariff review applications to the OUR, and the parameters within which such applications should be assessed by the OUR. OUR provides regulatory balance CARICOM’s food plan seems sound initiative
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUzNTI=