CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Antigua
Two Antiguan nationals, including
Ambassador at Large, Dr. Patrick Matthew
and Arnold Joseph an operating
theatre technician have been charged
with practicing medicine without a
license.
Matthew, a chiropractor and Joseph
are accused of engaging in the practice
of medicine as general
practitioners and
performing a surgical
procedure (circumcision)
that they were
neither registered nor licensed to do on
a child, who is now six years old.’
They appeared before Magistrate
N’gaio Emmanuel-Edwards in the St.
John’s Magistrate Court and were reach
granted EC$10,000 bail.
As part of their bail, the two men
must report to the police station three
times a week and they must surrender
all their travel documents.
The medical procedure was alleged
to have taken place between April 5-8,
2015.
Barbados
The Barbados government says discussions
are ongoing with Canadian
firms seeking to take advantage of a
growing global medical marijuana
industry.
Prime Minister, Mia Mottley said she
met with individuals and company officials
in Toronto and Montreal, where
the issue of medical marijuana was the
main topic.
Canada has fully decriminalized cannabis
use, leading to a mushrooming of
pharmaceutical industries
tied to the herb.
She told reporters
there was “great, great
interest” in the establishment
of a medical
marijuana industry in Barbados and
that Attorney General Dale Marshall
and Agriculture Minister, Indar Weir
are currently reviewing a regulatory
framework.
The prime minister said medical
marijuana in Barbados was “one that
is likely to garner significant business,”
but cautioned that changes would have
to be made to various pieces of legislation
to allow for the establishment of
that industry on the island.
Dominica
Dominica’s Chief Magistrate, Candia
Carette-George is opposing any plans to
decriminalize marijuana on the island.
Speaking at the one-day national
consultation organized by the Ministry
of Family and Gender Affairs recently,
the magistrate said there were actions
that needed if the authorities in Dominica
go ahead with plans to decriminalize
the drug.
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One of ExxonMobil’s oil rigs off the coast of Guyana. Photo by Bert Wilkinson
She said there are too many cases
that are coming before the courts on
charges of theft and cannabis.
“I know that the
country is having discussions
on decriminalizing
marijuana,
but from what I see
before me every day I will never advise
to go that way,” she said.
The chief magistrate told the consultation,
which was attended by church
leaders and key stakeholders specifically
to discuss issues impacting families and
communities, that if Dominica were to
go towards decriminalizing marijuana
“I hope we are prepared to build a rehabilitation
center and to expand our psychiatric
unit”.
Guyana
Guyana says US oil giant ExxonMobil
has made its 13th discovery offshore at
the Yellowtail-1 Well.
Director of Energy, Dr Mark Bynoe
said Guyana continues to receive positive
news with the announcement of
these oil finds offshore,
the real substance of
these finds will accrue
only when citizens are
able to benefit directly
or indirectly from
these discoveries.
Yellowtail-1 is the third discovery for
2019 and represents the fifth discovery
in the Turbot area, where ExxonMobil is
Caribbean L 6 ife, May 3–9, 2019 BQ
evaluating its potential as an additional
development hub.
In a statement Dr Bynoe said that
the rate of these oil discoveries demonstrates
the magnitude of Guyana’s natural
resources and further reiterated
the department’s intentions to manage
the resource efficiently.
The statement said that the oil company
intends to drill more than 10
exploration and appraisal wells offshore
Guyana in 2019 and 2020.
Grenada
The Child Protection Authority (CPA)
in Grenada said last year more than 600
children faced varying forms of abuse,
most notably sexual abandonment.
CPA Public Relations Officer, Janelle
Grant-Hamlet said every year hundreds
of the nation’s children come face to
face with the haunting reality of child
abuse and neglect.
She said during
2018, 628 such cases
were reported to the
Child Protection
Authority.
The public relations officer told a
news conference that since the start
of the month several activities aimed
at educating people about child abuse
awareness and the negative implications
that the various forms of abuse
can have on children, the situation cannot
be ignored.
Grant-Hamlet said last year, sexual
abuse was the number one factor with
203 cases being reported, following by
abandonment of 102 cases.
The CPA said that of the 628 cases,
64 involved children affected by custody
issues; l07 cases involved children who
were victims of physical abuse; and 11
cases involved children who had witnessed
domestic abuse.
Jamaica
Jamaica is moving to cracking down
on corporal punishment in schools
when the new academic term starts in
September.
The government
said all reports of
corporal punishment
being administered in
schools “will be treated
very seriously.”
Minister of State in the Ministry
of Education, Youth and Information,
Alando Terrelonge has reiterated government’s
prohibition policy on corporal
punishment, saying this method of
discipline “is not the solution for a society
that is already steeped in violence.”
He said corporal punishment must
end, noting that there are some teachers
and some administrators who are
still beating our children.
The minister told social workers
at the Child Protection and Family
Services Agency Field Services Agency
administering discipline, such as cor-
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THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME
ExxonMobil discovers another well in Guyana
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