‘Significant’ Rise In Syphilis Cases in The Bahamas ...and other Caribbean countries

‘Significant’ Rise In Syphilis Cases

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

Nassau, The Bahamas

 

THE number of syphilis cases among other reported instances of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) is on the rise in the Bahamas, said Ministry of Health officials yesterday.

According to Larry Ferguson, Coordinator of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) at the Ministry, the incidence of persons who contracted syphilis since 2010 is concerning, especially among younger people.

Prior to 2010 the older population, in some cases those up to 80 or 90-years-old, were the front runners in statistical data, Ms Ferguson said. However, as more young people contract syphilis, healthcare professionals believe there is substantial mixing in sexual activity between both age categories. 

Ms Ferguson was not able to give the specific numbers of increase in syphilis cases since 2010 but she insisted that there was no doubt that the rise was significant. She said the same has been found in other Caribbean countries.

She noted that the groups most at risk in recent times were men who have sex with men (MSM’s) along with the unemployed and underemployed.

“We know that for the longest time,” Ms Ferguson said, “we have been seeing chlamydia more than any other infection. But even though we are seeing a large number of chlamydia more than any other infection chlamydia cases are going down.

“However we are seeing an increase in syphilis. That is the one thing that we are concerned about. What we find for syphilis, not specifically 15 to 24 age range even though they are included, is prior to this time we always saw syphilis in our older population. Just now we are having syphilis in that population which is a concern and tells us that there is a mixing of the two.

“Unemployed persons who engage in transactional sex, they don’t call themselves commercial sex workers, they just have sex for things. That group is at high risk because quite often if you are going to have transactional sex the other person might not want to use a condom. ‘You want the money, I want the sex so you have to go on my terms’ and that’s one of the reasons why they are at high risk.

“Men who have sex with men, in many cases you have a group and they stay amongst themselves. So if one has syphilis and is intermingling it is more likely that it will spread. But with this group there are persons in the group who take the initiative to ensure that other group members get care and come for testing and necessary treatment.”

Ms Ferguson was speaking to reporters during the Ministry of Health’s first STD Awareness Symposium where scores of health professionals gathered under the theme “Talk, Test, Treat”.

With the rise in cases, the Ministry of Health runs ongoing awareness programmes to sensitise the public of the risk factors involved with unprotected sexual activity.

April 25, 2014

Tribune 242

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and French Republic formalised diplomatic relations

CARICOM, French Republic forge closer cooperation:

 

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)  The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and French Republic on Thursday, 24 April formalised diplomatic relations with the accreditation of H.E. Michel Prom, Plenipotentiary Representative of France to CARICOM.

CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque accepted the Letters of Credence in a simple handing over ceremony in his office at the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana.

In an exchange of views following the ceremony, Ambassador LaRocque said the accreditation demonstrated the continued strong relations between CARICOM and France, and referred to the applications for Associate Membership of CARICOM by French Departments: French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique.

For his part, Ambassador Prom conveyed his appreciation for being accepted as the latest Ambassador of France to the Caribbean Community family. He said that strengthening the “long and strategic partnership” was imperative, given the large community of Caribbean people in France and in its Departments.

“It would be a pity if our people don’t have a focus on working together, not only for regional concerns like security but other bilateral matters,” the Ambassador said. He added that CARICOM’s consideration of French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique for Associate Membership could provide the avenue for more direct participation.

In this context, Secretary-General LaRocque recalled the exchange of views between the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM and His Excellency Serge Letchimy, President of the Regional Council of Martinique, during the 25th Intercessional Meeting of the Conference in St. Vincent and the Grenadines where the issue of Associate Membership was considered. He informed that with specific regard to the French Departments; the Community was in the process of understanding various constitutional arrangements to allow for a dialogue in the not too distant future.

Ambassador LaRocque expressed the hope that France would consider resuming its non-borrowing membership of the CDB as part of its interface with the Region. He noted that another area of cooperation was continuing training in the French language, which would further strengthen relations not only with France and its Departments, but also with CARICOM’s French Speaking Member State, Haiti.

Given France’s increasing influence in the European Union (EU), the Secretary-General sought its advocacy on behalf of CARICOM with regard to EU’s policy of graduating middle income countries from concessionary financing. He told the newly accredited Ambassador that at a time when some countries of the Caribbean were feeling the effects of the international financial crisis, the Region was concerned that access to development funding was premised on the assumption that GDP per capita was an appropriate measure for development. This policy, he added, fails to consider the vulnerabilities of small states particularly that they are open to the vagaries of international shocks and the disastrous effects of climate change.

As CARICOM and France consider future cooperation, Ambassador LaRocque said that the year ahead offers many opportunities. He signalled the Region’s interest in engaging on issues pertaining to trade in respect of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM).

The Secretary-General also noted that closer cooperation could be explored through existing relations between the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and the Caribbean Animal Health Network (CaribVET), in relation to the management of Sanitaryand Phytosanitary Systems.

April 25, 2014 

CARICOM 

The Bahamas: we are a nation for sale... our people have lost Bahamian pride

A country with no plan, pt. 2

Included in our country’s original development plan should have been practical ideas for the dispersion of the growing population into our constituent islands, and that is where foreign direct investment ought to have entered the development conversation and equation. Because, as social scientists have reinforced time and again, living like sardines in a can morphs very rapidly into a bombardment of social ills.

Included in the original plan should not have been tourism, which is not sustainable in its current or previous forms for long-term and diversified growth, given its near absolute reliance on external investment and external decision-making. The same applies to banking, particularly offshore private banks, but also overseas commercial franchise banks, whose ownership similarly originates outside of The Bahamas. But, we keep suffering the consequences of these old decisions and plans, because we keep clinging to something hoping it will continue to be what it can’t.

The idea to build an anchor project on every island was not a brilliant one, because anchor projects foster the same extreme dependence on outside investors. What happens when those investors – who could end up as the second largest employer in the land – withdraw, as they often and are well within their rights to do? And, since nothing lasts forever, what is the plan for when Atlantis folds or fails and 350 thousand people are confined to one island to battle for 10,000 jobs?

Implanted resort properties as a business model for national and economic development are not sustainable. What is sustainable is foreign direct investment in the form of joint partnerships only, primarily or solely in infrastructural development, and this should have been the plan from day one. As it was not decided then, perhaps it can be decided now: no more resorts, only infrastructural joint partnerships with direct domestic investment as a main feature, resulting in equal advantage to Bahamians, to literally build our country. The premise: If John Smith’s and Jane Rolle’s hard-earned money goes straight from their pockets into building a roadway, they are both more likely to have pride in it and take care of it.

We need foreign expertise most of all to build our infrastructure: roads that are sound; basic, reliable utilities, including clean water, renewable power and new communications technology; and ground, water and air transportation and ports on every habitable island, starting with the largest of them.

Above all, we need these things to be attained using methods that don’t include the Bahamian government borrowing money to fully finance entire projects, leaving the Bahamian people with unlimited, everlasting debt and zero financial interest in their own country. Enter bona fide joint partners.

Renewed thinking

Where we find ourselves today begs the question: “What more did we expect to happen, after putting all our eggs into this one, tattered old basket?” Did no one before now, presumably, have the foresight to envision that a diversified economy built on actual, measurable innovation and creative enterprise would move our country further along the path of development and in a more sustainable way?

Entertainment and sports/recreation notwithstanding, where is the innovative talent and creativity in tourism and banking? You can only do so much with natural resources before they become threatened, and you can only offer financial instruments proven reliable in other markets. To survive the developmental long haul and to remain on a growth track with a standard that is constantly elevated, ingenuity is vital. Have we done our people a grave disservice by disallowing – even discouraging – them to think innovatively and creatively for four decades, stifling their dreams before they take root or flight?

We have sold our sun, sand and sea year, after year, and this is the reason: we are a nation for sale. And we keep leaning on it as our staple, because, as some media and political pundits and industry warriors have expressed, it is our ‘bread and butter’. Well, enough already. Who is going to have the wisdom plus the vision to see beyond the illusion that tourism is ‘the goose that laid the golden egg’, or the other illusion that the banking industry won’t continue to be subject to the pressures of international markets and influences?

They are not irrelevant, but we are fighting to keep these two main industries afloat when they are what drag us down lower and lower, because of the chokehold we have on them, which we should have relinquished over time, while creating new industries with the same tenacity.

Restore pride and hope

When your people, since the 1980s, have been taught to keep The Bahamas clean (for tourists) and now the place is filthier than ever, what do you think is going to happen to tourism? Which tourists are we hoping will pay exorbitant travel costs to get here, followed by costly hotel rates, to see what? Garbage? We don’t want to see it; why should they? How dump-like do we have to become for it to register as filth?

I suppose a big part of this mental block lies in the fact that our people have lost Bahamian pride. It’s not difficult to imagine. They have little or no pride in themselves, because they have nothing to look forward to; why should they, when they can’t do or be anything much in their own country, because their country is not encouraging them to develop creative and innovative talents for good, or giving them the conduits necessary to utilize those talents to their greatest potential even beyond the borders of their country?

Economic welfare is and will forever be tied to social welfare, which means as long as we have little or nothing to look forward to in terms of economic gain, communities will degenerate and people will fine-tune their criminality to get what and where they want, in life.

Our economic and social health and well-being won’t improve if we are still dosing ourselves with expired medicines and methods to cure our modern condition. And the longer we wait to transform our nation in a monumental way, to take the gargantuan leap of faith – or whatever you need to call it to make it feel right – the poorer and more criminalized the nation will become.

• Nicole Burrows is an academically trained economist and a self-trained writer. She writes primarily on the economy and society, and her interests include economic growth and development and contemporary women’s issues: nicole.burrows@outlook.com

April 23, 2014

thenassauguardian

- A country with no plan, pt. 3

- A country with no plan, pt. 1

Our Caribbean: Dictatorship in a Democracy?

In Caribbean Democracies We have Institutional Dictatorships within the Framework of a much Heralded Democracy

By Oliver Mills:

We in the Caribbean have inherited the Westminster system of government, characterised by the rule of law, competitive party politics, the independence of the judiciary, fundamental rights and freedoms for citizens, and designated periods for elections. These are accepted at face value, with little sustained critique as to its relevance to the way we really do things, or whether this inherited system is really a drag on our progress because of numerous procedures, debates, the fragile nature of our political parties, and questionable allegiances to them.

And when we elect our leaders, we soon find that, in some ways, democratic practice is either sidestepped, or regarded as an inconvenience.  This results in some decisions not being made through consultations at the various levels, but are handed down after meetings with inner circles and interest groups in the form of directives.  We therefore find that in a subtle way we have institutional dictatorship within the framework of a much heralded democracy.

An article in one Caribbean paper says of the maximum political leader of that country that he has been acting like an imperial leader, enjoys saying he is the leader, and letting everyone know that he makes the final decisions on matters of national significance.  To me this is personal dictatorship.  It shows a self-possessed individual, who needs to remind himself of the position he holds, which he seems to interpret as conveying on him unusual power and authority over others, rather than being the servant of the people.

“Leader” suggests superiority to others, possessing special knowledge and insights, and in a most frightful way, implies knowing what is right over and above anyone else. Such a disposition leads to an abuse of power, the creation of imaginary foes, and does not entertain different perspectives, which are often seen as time consuming, and not dealing with the issue.  Confusion therefore leads to directives being given, while those around the leader remain silent, fearing for their jobs.  But it impacts negatively on the country later, and then the blame game begins.

A former Caribbean leader is noted for saying that he means what he says, and says what he means.  This is the dictatorial mentality of the class prefect, and the traditional colonial administrator who lack the proper communication or persuasive skills, and therefore resort to arrogance and the power of position to scare others into conformity through fear.  This makes some people compliant for fear of imagined consequences, but kindles in others a spirit of resistance, leading them to contest the statements and behaviour of such persons.

This disposition is unhealthy for any democracy.  The politically conscious of Caribbean society should therefore educate their people into a new and different kind of political culture that promotes dialogue, respect for persons, and their views. Dissent must be seen as positive thereby enriching the democratic process.  This is the antidote to emerging dictatorial tendencies.

But strangely, some of us see these statements and behaviours as being those of a strong, no nonsense leader who means business.  And we repose in such persons a certain aura and authority, which are then used to manipulate us, and perpetuate the reign of a Caribbean oligarchy.

Our political institutions and practices in many ways seem to legitimise dictatorship, arrogance, and political puffery.  This is the dictatorship of tradition, and it contaminates real democracy.

Recently, a journalist described a Caribbean leader as fearing no one, adding that he was essentially lord and master of his political domain. Could there be such a thing as “lord and master” in a democracy?  Is it not such thinking that creates a situation where dictatorship comfortably resides in a democratic setting, and is even expected to do so by some?

This idea of strength, mastery, firmness, and being in control is reflective of a mind-set with origins in the plantation system, and we have yet to eject these thoughts from our psyche.  In Caribbean democracy, kindness, sensitivity to others, fairness, and an altruistic outlook tend to be seen as soft and lacking backbone. Leadership has to be a macho thing, encouraging adoration.

To view leadership as being something that is entrusted to others through the agreement of the body politic, and which can be retrieved by those who have commissioned those leaders to act in the public good, has yet to be really registered in Caribbean political life.  Failure of the electorate to realise the power it really has, provides the soil for dictatorship within a democracy.

A minister of government in a non-independent Caribbean territory was recently reported as stating indignantly that there will be taxes, come hell or high water.  Isn’t this representative of a dictatorial strand operating in the context of democratic institutions?  Is this possible, when a democratic political culture is supposed to eject such tendencies from political life, and from the practices of its institutions?

Why then, do we still have situations where democracy is upheld as an ideal, but is then undermined by dictatorial practices and behaviours?  And those charged with upholding it, are sometimes the very ones who discard it.

It would appear, as some say, that real democracy has been hijacked by special interests, as a result compromising the public good.  The political directorate has become the lobbyists for these interests, advocate for them, and the people who commissioned these persons to act on their behalf, are side-lined until the next election.

Caribbean democracy seems to have little problem making the transition from democracy to dictatorship when it suits particular political operatives.  There seems to be no conflict, or sense of unease involved. It is slavery and the plantation system from which these values came.

Many Caribbean political operatives still feel that to get things done, some dictatorship must be involved.  This means editing out dissent. Some even boast with respect to their way of doing things that “there is no democracy here.”  They do not consider the possibility of engaging others, and so arrive at better, and more well considered solutions.

And this type of dictatorial culture slowly takes root.  And it is buttressed by charismatic personalities with high intellectual abilities who mesmerise the people.  A patron-client relationship then develops, where scarce resources are exchanged for political support.

This is neither good, nor right, since a healthy and prosperous society is sustained by the values of democracy and entrepreneurship. Dictatorship leads to benefits for the few, and eventually to a country attaining the status of a failed state.

April 22, 2014

Caribbeannewsnow

Create a Bahamas for Bahamians ...and then watch them care more for themselves, their people, their environment and their future

A country with no plan, pt. 1

Of late, when I hear any of our political leaders speak about the need for a national development or economic plan I am baffled.

The prime minister and his deputy, along with the minister of the environment and a number of others in Parliament, have spoken of this on recent occasions and it is instantly disconcerting. If it were intended to display intelligence or passion, it missed the mark on both counts, and it is really not something that any member of a governing party should ever utter.

We have been a sovereign nation for almost 41 years. I know that there are all sorts of growing pains attached to that sovereignty, and, really, we are just an infant country. But, some issues, in particular, keep us stuck in our infancy: the lack of a national and/or economic development plan is the most significant of them.

Why, after all this time has passed since our autonomy are we just now saying that we need national and economic plans for development? As the country’s leaders, how is it that you’re only now asking for these plans, which should have been the crux of your existence and previous governance? Moreover, how do you win an entire government without having had such plans, be it the most recent win in 2012, or the very first win in 1967? What government can govern at all – never mind effectively – without first having a comprehensive plan to govern? As it appears, have we really been on autopilot for all these decades?

As a ruling government, the fact that you have no such plans, by your own admission or public comments, does nothing to inspire confidence amongst the citizenry. What are the 300,000 or more of us – less the ones sitting in Parliament apparently unaware of how significant an issue this is – supposed to think about where it is you intend to take this country and how you intend to do it?

A guest on a local radio show recently suggested that such development plans have not existed prior to now, yet there exists an Economic Development Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister? How is that even possible? What is it that they do there year after year? I am certain I know the answer – maintain the status quo. We are a status quo-maintaining society, and it shows from the top down.

Our direction

Going forward, in the best interests of the country, every man or woman who offers himself or herself as a servant of the people, for elected or appointed public office, should be required to submit a serious analysis of economy and government, in support of an overall plan of how to (sustainably) grow our nation. In the absence of this, and without demonstrating coherent and sustained thought on the question of growth, for what reason will I give you my vote?

With the exception of none, all of the issues we have as a country point to: 1) our (obvious) lack of direction; and, 2) the fact that so much has changed in our economy and society in four decades, yet so much is unchanged with respect to laws and regulations, structures, people and processes that govern their enforcement.

Is it at all realistic to expect to move forward when the framework of your country is so rusty and fragile that you can’t build anything new on it without predicting that it will collapse?

The current government while in opposition campaigned on a Bahamas for Bahamians first. But here’s something to think on: The Bahamas was never for Bahamians. It was a vacation home; a paradise for visitors. And out of that grew a tourism industry, which I suppose seemed the easiest thing to follow through with at the time. But we are surely paying for that easy decision now. To create a Bahamas for Bahamians would have required much more effort than simply leaning on tourism.

That said, the benefits of open trade and foreign direct investment are well known, but we should have developed, be developing, from the inside out, not the outside in. As long as we aren’t, we will always be either stagnant or backward moving because there is no real value being added to human capital and productivity. Employers and employees have hit a ceiling of achievement and most will stop there. Additionally, they have no vested interest in what they achieve internally, but will continually look to the outside for the answers and the reward.

Had we developed instead from the inside out, meeting and securing our primary needs first and steadily growing and expanding real industry, something like value-added tax, or the (threat of) implementation of any method of taxation, would be a far less likely bone of contention, as the desperate scramble for revenue would have been avoided, de facto.

External input into our economy, by way of tourism, foreign banking and other foreign direct investment should never occur without attached domestic investment opportunities for the people these investments are meant to benefit. And if we are to assume those people are the citizens of our country, then why is it that they are the very people who repeatedly end up with the minimum wage or no benefit?

Give the people whose country it is the opportunities to directly invest in the development of their own country, in whatever small portions they can afford. And then watch them care more for themselves, their people, their environment and their future.

• Nicole Burrows is an academically trained economist and a self-trained writer: nicole.burrows@outlook.com.

April 16, 2014

thenassauguardian

- A country with no plan, pt. 2

- A country with no plan, pt. 3

The Value Added Tax (VAT) Option trumps a Payroll Tax in The Bahamas

‘Payroll Tax Not A Viable Option’

 

Tribune 242
Nassau, The Bahamas:


BAHAMIAN workers would face grave reductions in take-home pay if a payroll tax were implemented instead of a Value Added Tax (VAT), the three leading government voices in financial affairs, including the Prime Minister, agreed.

“You would need a payroll tax of 20-25 per cent to equal what a VAT of 15 per cent would generate,” said Prime Minister Perry Christie.

The Prime Minister was addressing a national conclave for Chambers of Commerce at Breezes on April 2.

Asked if the government had considered alternatives to VAT, the Prime Minister said absolutely, and was still listening to and talking with people. But a payroll tax would penalise the working individual, he said, a conclusion echoed by Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis and by Financial Secretary John Rolle.

Both said government had plugged payroll tax into a model, and the results showed the impact on the economy, including smaller take-home paychecks, would be far greater than the anticipated 5-6 per cent cost of living increase that will accompany the first year of VAT.

According to government’s figures, it would take a 16 per cent salary deduction to equal what a 10 per cent VAT rate across the board would generate. The deduction would have to be between 20 per cent and 25 per cent to generate as much as a 15 per cent VAT rate would net. 

“The net positive impacts (of VAT) outweigh the net negative impacts,” said Mr Halkitis, noting that the Bahamas still does not have capital gains tax, estate taxes, corporate or individual income tax.

Minister for Financial Services Ryan Pinder said the Bahamas remains one of the lowest percentage tax regimes in the world. 

The Bahamas rate of taxation to GDP is 16 per cent, he said, while US taxpayers cough up 32 per cent of the gross domestic product in taxes every year. 

“The real question,” said Minister of State for Investments Khaalis Rolle, “is can we afford not to do it?”

Warning of the increased scrutiny of credit rating agencies, he said: “It only takes one person, one suggestion that the Bahamas is not a good place to invest, not a safe place to put your money, and guess what happens – it not only impacts the government, it impacts everyone. We have only one chance to get it right.”

April 15, 2014

Tribune 242

Cuba Reiterates Call for Nuclear Disarmament

HAVANA, Cuba, April 9 (acn) Cuba reiterated its call on UN member nations to jointly work for a world free of nuclear threats through the total elimination and prohibition of atomic weapons. 

Speaking at the opening session of this year’s meeting of the UN Disarmament Commission, Cuban ambassador Oscar Leon stressed the leading role of Latin America and the Caribbean after being declared a Zone of Peace by the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in January.

Leon also stressed the decision by the UN General Assembly to declare September 26 International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.  

April 09, 2014

Granma.cu