Month: July 2017

Mullings versus Rose for $2 million

CANADIAN boxer Phil Rose wants to win on his parents’ home soil, but will have to get past a man of the soil, Sakima Mullings, who is confident he can create history by being the first to win the Wray & Nephew Contender Series twice with $2m on the line.

Mullings previously won as a welterweight and now fights as a junior middleweight. Rose is a super welterweight with more than 20 years’ boxing experience. Born in Durham, southern Ontario, he fought in the pros for six years. On November 20 last year, his first fight in two years, he knocked out Ryan Young, who was also a Contender in the tournament.

Rose has been practising in the gym daily, doing cardio exercises and working on his defence strategy. He has been watching reruns of previous fights to identify his own weaknesses and those of Mullings.

Mullings said he is prepared enough to overcome Rose, a heavy-duty mechanic with the Canadian National Railway Company.

“I feel good. I am just happy that I have been able to keep my form, and I have been able to make it back in the finals again,” Mullings said.

More experienced fighter

“I believe I have a better advantage at winning because of the fact that I have done the tournament before. I have more fights than him. I am a more experienced fighter. For three times in my career, I have gone 12 rounds and I finished the strongest in those fights,” he added.

Rose said winning the title would mean more than a major career accomplishment. It would be a life-changing experience for him and his family members. He has always wanted to contribute something to Jamaica, his parents’ birthplace.

He was born in Ontario, Canada, on June 6, 1982. However, like many young people of Jamaican heritage, he identifies with the island his parents hail from. His mother, Claudette Beckford, originates from Red Hills, St Andrew. His father, Phil Rose, is from Rose Lane in Kingston.

Rose said he was overjoyed to have the golden opportunity of fighting in Jamaica. He believes the competition could provide the right impetus for his career.

“To come back to Jamaica was an amazing feeling, and winning would mean a lot to me and my career and put me in the spotlight. But more so, it would allow me to give back to the country where my parents are from.”

After 14 weeks of competition, the final is on at The Mico University College tonight. Television Jamaica will air the match live, starting at 9:30.

Source: http://jamaica-star.com/article/sports/20170726/mullings-versus-rose-2-million

Canada's finalist in the Wray & Nephew Contender

Phil Rose, Canada’s finalist in the Wray & Nephew Contender, who will face off against Jamaica’s Sakima Mullings. The final fight will be held at The Mico University College in Kingston on July 26. 

Jamaica's finalist in the Wray & Nephew Contender.jpg

Sakima Mullings, Jamaica’s finalist in the Wray & Nephew Contender, who will face off against Canada’s Phil Rose. The final fight will be held at The Mico University College in Kingston on July 26.

 

Mullings Looking To Keep Word To Jamaica

Sakima ‘The Mauler’ Mullings is one of the boxers who consistently fills venues locally when placed on a fight card. Because of this popularity, he says that he feels a responsibility to the Jamaican public to return the Wray & Nephew Contender Series title to the country after it was won by American DeMarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley last season.

Born in Kingston on July 10, 1982, Mullings, the youngest of his mother’s four children – two boys and two girls. He, however, left Jamaica for Spring Valley, New York, at four and said that his interest in boxing started at an early age. He said that his idols at that time were Mike Tyson, whom he describes as being the “baddest man on the planet at the time”, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, and Mike McCullum.

BASKETBALL INTEREST

Mullings tried various sports but said that he had a special interest in basketball. He said that this is where he developed a competitive nature, which made him the boxer he is today.

“For my first fight, I fought a guy named Mohammed Hussein. It was a great experience because I put in months of work. To get my first fight, I must’ve trained for over six or nine months. It was exciting. I put in all the work, and I wanted to show I had improved and I could do it (win). I won by a first-round knockout. It motivated me to just continue in the sport.”

Mullings has various sources of motivation that keep him stepping into the ring. Two key ones are his children, ages 10 and four months. However, he said that he made a promise to his fans, and that is next on his list of priorities this season.

“Based on the first season, I think there was a lot of high expectation for me to be the first Contender champion,” he said. “I didn’t live up to those expectations in terms of delivering when I was supposed to. During the fourth season in 2014, I had the opportunity to re-enter and correct the mistakes I made the first season. I showed Jamaica the improvement I had made over the years.”

Mullings now turns his attention to becoming the first two-time Contender champion, but to do this, he must beat Canadian Phil Rose in tomorrow evening’s final at the Mico University College.

“This season I re-entered the Contender based on a promise I made to Jamaica that I would be the man to bring the title back to Jamaica after it had gone abroad last year,” Mullings shared. “At this stage, Contender is the biggest stage in Jamaican boxing. When the record books are closed and they look back and say who was the best fighter, Sakima Mullings cannot be ignored.”

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170725/mullings-looking-keep-word-jamaica

Digicel and CPL launches Youth Programme

 

Young cricketers across the Caribbean to be coached by their childhood idols

Tuesday 25th July – Castries, St. Lucia:  Digicel today announced a partnership with the biggest party in sport – the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) – to launch the inaugural Digicel CPL Youth Programme, which will see over 200 young aspiring cricketers across the region being trained by their local CPL franchise players and coaches.

The two-phased initiative, which consists of The Big Brother Programme and Take it to the Streets,  allows both Digicel and the CPL to give back to and nurture up and coming young talents from across the participating CPL tournament markets, including Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.

Each one-day clinic will consist of boys and girls who will be taught the fundamentals of the game in order to improve and hone their skills while learning from the best in the sport. Not only will they be sharpening their cricketing skills, but will also instill the intangible requirements it takes to be great in the sport.

Digicel’s Head of Sponsorship, Ben Bradley said; “Sport is a major part of the Caribbean culture and we are staying true to our commitment of developing and nurturing athletes across the region. The kids are the focus here – we are merely providing the platform for them to express themselves and show their class – while learning from some of the world’s best.”

As the first youth partnership with Digicel, Damien O’Donohoe, CEO of Hero CPL commented; “I’ve had the opportunity to watch and interact with some of these young talents across the region over the years and I can tell you they’re very promising. So we’re very excited to be working with Digicel in this new way to help develop these kids, some of who will be playing on these fields in the future.”

The Big Brother programme kicks off in Barbados on Tuesday.

 –End-

About Digicel Group

Digicel Group is a total communications and entertainment provider with operations in 31 markets throughout the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets, including Digicel Foundations in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programs.

Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information.

 

About Hero Caribbean Premier League

Since its inception in 2013, the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is a franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament that combines two of the most compelling aspects of Caribbean life – dramatic cricket and a vibrant Carnival atmosphere. Over 149 million fans watched the 2016 season, combining broadcast and digital viewership, to make it one of the fastest growing leagues in world cricket. Jamaica Tallawahs are the current Hero CPL champions and the other competing teams are Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots, St. Lucia Stars and Trinbago Knight Riders. The 2017 tournament will run from 4 August – 9 September 2017. For further information visit www.cplt20.com.

For further information please contact:

Peter Miller

UK Mobile: +447769119636

Caribbean Mobile: + 1 (758) 729 2012

Head of PR and Communications

Hero Caribbean Premier League

Women in ICT on the Wednesday Agenda

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, 19th July, 2017 –  Last Wednesday saw a vibrant and far reaching conversation on Women in ICT, this as the 33rd Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition continued at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana Dominican Republic.
The panel entertained questions from the audience and as such was able to address  a wide range of issues. The panel included: Karen Bevans, Director, Belize Tourism Bureau; Janice Sutherland, CEO, Antigua and Barbuda and Montserrat, Digicel; Delleriece Hall, Country Manager, FLOW – Turks and Caicos; Anuskha Sonia, CEO, Spang Makandra; and was chaired by the Secretary General of CANTO – Teresa Wankin.
Karen Bevans led the panel with a presentation which looked at the relevance and functionality of  ICTs to everyday life as they improve business performance –  productivity, profitability; access to services from any location, allow real-time communication, and provide more opportunities for everyone, especially for girls/women. She noted this against the background that ICT was still very male dominated.
Ms. Bevans used her presentation to highlight practical examples in Belize of the positive effects of ICTs in Belize in creating opportunities for women inclusive of tourism, trade, entrepreneurship and online services. She cautioned that the use of ICT can  also have negative impacts and that young girls should be careful  of what they upload as it can make them vulnerable. In concluding, she stated that:  “Women in ICT are still battling gender inequality”.
Delleriece Hall made the timely and potent statement that “Once you put your mind to it, go for it. Sky is the limit!  I didn’t have a background in engineering despite managing others who did. We’re all super stars in the Turks and Caicos. I’m the first female CEO of T&C and CWC is 120 years old in T&C.”

Anuskha Sonai also offered words of wisdom stating “It’s not automatic. You have to speak up for the roles you want in the organization. Support of my family was integral in my nontraditional choice”.

Questions which engaged the forum included what are the top three qualities that made you right for the CEO role? Do you see women at the fore of Caribbean ICT or a long way still?  Women leading with empathy is seen as chaotic. Thoughts? And Female mentorship is lacking. What are you prepared to do about it?  To the last question,  the Secretary General excitedly responded:  “This forum speaks for itself. Next year expect to see tangible evidence of what we’ve seen here.”
Minister Catherine Hughes, Minister of Public Telecommunications with responsibility for Tourism, Guyana who was in the audience,  delivered a vote of thanks to the panel. She underscored the importance of mentorship: “Within CANTO structure, we should create a program to encourage more women to participate in all year round. We are graduating more women in our universities yet women are not being prepared to sit at the table. I compliment all the men that are of great support to their women.”

CANTO is the Caribbean’s premier telecommunications event for industry professionals, academics and regional governments. The Conference ran from the 16th -19th July, 2017.
About CANTO
CANTO is recognized as the leading trade association of the ICT sector for shaping information and communication in the Caribbean. Founded in 1985 as a non-profit association of 8 telephone operating companies, CANTO has now grown to over 125 members in more than 35 countries. A Board of Directors appointed by the membership directs policy of the Association. This strategy is executed by the staff of a permanent Secretariat based in Trinidad and Tobago

CANTO 2017 – Digicel Here for the People of the Region

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, July, 18th, 2017.   14 years ago, Digicel arrived and started to invest in the Caribbean. They promised to rapidly transform the landscape and have done so by building their networks from scratch. Today, they continue to deliver.  At their Ministerial breakfast on ICT offerings,  delegates viewed a Digicel video presentation detailing its CARCIP tender which was a three (3) year development project to deliver a first class network. The project is intended to kick start ICT revolution in St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Grenada.  At the breakfast, Digicel reassured Caribbean governments of its commitment to development in the region and their willingness to do what is right for each market.
Tuesday also saw Multi-play and Content Strategies on the agenda with a Keynote delivered by Romano Solano, Sales Director, ZTE.  He noted that in the future mobile technology will be even more essential than it is today as it will have an impact similar to the introduction of the automobile or electricity.
Though relatively new Mr. Solano noted that 5G will fully realize its economic benefits in 2035 and that in the US, it has the potential of producing more than 12 trillion dollars. It is expected to affect every industry of the global economy and by 2035 it will support 22 million jobs. Bringing it to reality however would require unified standards, persistent innovation, cross-boundary collaboration and commercial practice.
Other presenters included E Chris Forte, Cyient who dealt with the topic “Enabling a Connected Communications System”; Jose Luis Horna, CEO, Converlogic presented on “Embedded SIM (eSIM)”.  Multi-play and Content Strategies was the focus of  Christopher Gordon, Head of TV Customer Value Propositions, CWC, Mike Antonius, Acting CEO, Telesur, and Frederick Morton, of Tempo and Shamir Saddler, CEO, Smart Term.
In concluding, it was noted that the future of ICT is in business analytics. The IT professional of the future is the one who can analyze the data using quantitative methods and reveal the social interactivity.
About CANTO
CANTO is recognized as the leading trade association of the ICT sector for shaping information and communication in the Caribbean. Founded in 1985 as a non-profit association of 8 telephone operating companies, CANTO has now grown to over 125 members in more than 35 countries. A Board of Directors appointed by the membership directs policy of the Association. This strategy is executed by the staff of a permanent Secretariat based in Trinidad and Tobago

Rainforest Seafoods supports Jamaica Tallawahs

Jamaica Tallawahs player Rovman Powell (centre), engages with Rainforest representatives at a recent Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) partnership meeting. Listening keenly, are (from left): Ben Jardim, Rainforest Seafoods business development manager; Jerome Miles, Rainforest Seafoods general manager; Michael Hall, Hero CPL’s cricket operations directors and Roger Lyn, Rainforest Seafoods director of marketing and corporate affairs. Hero Caribbean Premier League has welcomed back Rainforest Seafoods as an official partner for the 2017 season of the Caribbean T20 cricket tournament.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170722/your-neighbourhood

IMF Semi-Annual Review Expected To Be Positive, Says EPOC

The Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) reports say that Jamaica has met all structural benchmarks under the precautionary standby arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as at the and of June 2017.

It said that an IMF team will be in the island by September 2017 to conduct its semi-annual review based on the June performance criteria.

EPOC said it expects the review to be positive based on the performance of selected fiscal and monetary indicators up to May 2017 and the successful completion of structural benchmarks through to June 2017.

In a release, EPOC said the Government met the eight structural benchmarks for public-sector transformation, public bodies and public service reform.

These include the benchmark for public bodies to submit all legislative changes to Parliament by June 15, 2017, directing all earmarked revenues from the Civil Aviation Authority, the Tourism Enhancement Fund and the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund to the Consolidated Fund.

Upcoming benchmarks to be submitted to Cabinet are a proposal for the crisis resolution framework by July 31, as well as a proposal to revise the Bank of Jamaica Act in line with IMF recommendations by August 31.

Encouraging Performance

It said revenue performance remained encouraging, with tax revenue intake of $68.6 billion in April and May equaling the budgeted target.

EPOC’s July communique notes that recurrent expenditure for the first two months of the fiscal year fell below budget by $1.1 billion, while capital expenditure was $800 million or 27.7 per cent below budget.

“We encourage the GOJ (Government of Jamaica) to keep capital expenses in line with budget for the rest of the fiscal year given its importance as one of the main drivers of economic growth,” the communique said.

EPOC said the primary balance of $15.5 billion exceeding the budgeted target of $8.2 billion for April and May.

“We are encouraged by the performance of this significant fiscal metric, signalling continued fiscal discipline by the GOJ,” it said.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170724/imf-semi-annual-review-expected-be-positive-says-epoc

Rose Wants Spotlight With Contender Win

Phil ‘The Assassin’ Rose, one of this season’s Wray and Nephew Contender Series finalists, aims to win the competition to grow his reputation in professional boxing. However, he is also seeking to become the first Canadian to put the coveted title around his waist, but in doing so, he said that he wants to make both Jamaica and Canada proud as champion.

Rose was born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, on June 6, 1982, to Jamaican parents. His father is from the coincidentally named Rose Lane in Kingston, and his mother, from the Red Hills area of St Andrew.

The youngest of three boys, Rose said that he had a good childhood, even though he spent many years of it raised by just his mother. He grew up with the culture of Jamaica instilled in him from a young age.

“I love my Jamaican food and I love my Jamaican music,” he said. “I can listen to reggae from morning ’til night. I like old school. I like some of the new stuff, but there’s nothing like the old-school stuff. Beenie Man, Bounty Killa, Buju – he needs to come out (of prison), Capelton, Barrington Levy, I could go on, but I like the cultural stuff, too. Vybz Kartel also has some good stuff. I don’t speak (patois) because I sound stupid, but I love Jamaican culture,” he laughed.

Rose said that like most children who grew up with elder brothers, he was picked on a lot by them. However, he said that it was not the same at school.

“I carried myself well I was a little scrapper when I was in school. I didn’t back down from anything,” Rose said.

Rose, who many describe today as having a very muscular and physically imposing physique, said that he liked all sports growing up and was very athletic. He played basketball, volleyball, and also said that he was a wide midfielder and sweeper in football, where he won many trophies before making a switch to American football.

He then got introduced to boxing, which he said made his mother apprehensive about his participation.

“I was living by my mom’s house and there was a community boxing clubhouse just down the street and I thought, ‘You know what? I wanna go in and see what it’s like.’ So I went down to the club, took a look inside, did a tryout class, and I was hooked ever since,” Rose said.

He has fond memories of his first fight, which he describes as “amazing”.

“There was a lot of emotion and a lot of energy going into the ring,” Rose said. “The first round, you’re going and going and going. After that two minutes I was so tired. I didn’t realise how tired I was. I had to take a deep breath and relax because the nerves, the nerves really get to you. Once I got through the first round, I was okay, and then I went on to win the fight.”

Rose, however, describes his progression to where he is now in his career as a “hard, hard road”. This is because he has to balance his boxing with his regular life, which includes his wife and three children.

FULL SUPPORT

“I have three kids, and I’ve been remarried two years. I actually had my second anniversary when I was in Jamaica fighting (Richard) Holmes (in the Contender Semi-final). It’s been rough. My wife, she supports me 100 per cent, and if I didn’t have her behind me, it would be very hard. She’s looking after three kids that are not hers. She allows me to go out to train. She looks after the kids for me, knowing they’re not her kids, but she takes care of them like they are.”

Rose said that thinking about the support of his wife and his children back home provides added motivation each time he steps through the ropes to compete.

“I think of them and I praise God to make sure I’m healthy and I get through the fight in one piece and I can come home to my family,” he said.

Rose faces Sakima ‘The Mauler’ Mullings in the Contender final at the Mico University College on Wednesday evening and is looking for what he describes as a career-changing win.

“It’s gonna put me in the spotlight, and people are gonna know who I really am. If I win the Contender Series, it’s gonna shoot me forward in my career. It’s gonna be amazing! It’s gonna put my name out in the spotlight. It’s gonna say Phil Rose is somebody to contend with,” he said.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170724/rose-wants-spotlight-contender-win

800 candidates for hearing aids identified during mission to Ja

MORE than 800 Jamaicans residing in Kingston and St Andrew, St Thomas and St Catherine are candidates for hearing aids.
Of the 887 people who were assessed by Minnesota, USA-based Starkey Hearing Foundation on a recent three-day mission trip to Jamaica, 826 were found to be candidates for hearing aids.
Those targeted for the mission include students from the various schools for the deaf, patients from a database provided by the Jamaica Association of the Deaf, National Council for Senior Citizens, and others with disabilities.
International director of the Starkey Foundation Kirk Richards told the Jamaica Observer that the three-day mission is phase one of an ongoing project. Richards said phase two will take place December 3-6 this year.
He added that the people who showed up were able to access ear screening, cleaning if necessary, a voice test, and impressions of the inner ear from which custom moulds will be created.
“The voice test determines the severity of loss. Once they pass/fail there, then we go to education section before moving to the fun part, which is the ear impression. We take an impression of the inner ear, take them to final counselling, which ensures they keep their ID card with the unique ID number they were assigned,” Richards explained.
“Everything is then sent back to Minnesota where custom moulds are designed with each patients unique ID number,” Richards continued. “This ID card is going to be their card going forward. It also has a service number for who they can contact in case of any issue.”
Dane Richardson, CEO of Digicel Foundation, explained that if they were to pay the average cost for a hearing aid, it would cost them between $80,000 and $100,000.
However, there is hope for the 826 people because a donation of US$175,000 was made at the Starkey Foundation’s gala on Sunday to support phase two of the project.
More donations can be made at www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org.
This year’s honorees at the gala included Oscar-winning actor Ben Affleck and First Lady of the Republic of Zambia Esther Lungu.
For this mission, Starkey, which has been around since 1984 and has done missions to countries in Africa, Asia, America, and in the last two to three years the Caribbean, partnered with Digicel Jamaica Foundation to provide the services at no cost to those who benefited. Other partners included JPS Foundation and the Chinese Benevolent Association.
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/800-candidates-for-hearing-aids-identified-during-mission-to-ja_105257?profile=1373

EPOC Expects IMF Upcoming Semi-annual Review to Confirm Positive Outlook for Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica, July 22, 2017 - Following their monthly meeting on July 17, the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) reports that Jamaica has met all structural benchmarks under the Precautionary Standby Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as of the end of June, 2017.
 
EPOC notes that an IMF team will be on the island by September 2017 to conduct its semi-annual review, based on the June performance criteria. EPOC expects this review to reflect a positive outcome for Jamaica, based on the performance of selected fiscal and monetary criteria up to May 2017 and the successful completion of structural benchmarks through June 2017.
 
Structural Benchmarks

EPOC reports that the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) has met the eight (8) structural benchmarks for public sector transformation, public bodies and public service reform through the end of June. These include the benchmark for public bodies to submit all legislative changes to Parliament by June 15, 2017, directing all earmarked revenues from the Civil Aviation Authority, the Tourism Enhancement Fund and the CHASE Fund to the Consolidated Fund.

Upcoming benchmarks to be submitted to Cabinet are a proposal for the crisis resolution framework by July 31, 2017, as well as a proposal to revise the Bank of Jamaica Act in line with IMF recommendations by August 31, 2017.
 
Fiscal Performance

Revenue performance remains encouraging, the report notes, with tax revenue intakes of J$68.6 billion in April and May equaling the budgeted target. An 8.1 per cent over performance of Revenue and Grants (which totalled J$76.2 billion) was driven primarily by a one-off public distribution of J$3.1 billion. As a result of this performance, the Committee expresses its confidence in sustainability throughout the fiscal year.

EPOC’s July Communiqué notes Recurrent Expenditure for the first two months of the fiscal year falling below budget by J$1.1 billion. Capital expenditure fell by J$800 million – 27.7 per cent below budget.
 

“We encourage the GOJ to keep capital expenses in line with budget for the rest of the fiscal year, given its importance as one of the main drivers of economic growth,” the Committee states in its July report. 

Strong Primary Surplus

As a result of the Revenues and Expenditure reports, EPOC points to a Primary Balance of J$15.5 billion, exceeding the budget target of J$8.2 billion for April and May.

“We are encouraged by the performance of this significant fiscal metric, signalling continued fiscal discipline by the GOJ," the Committee comments in its July report.