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WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL 2021 | ISSUE 221 | WWW.POINTVILLE.AG 2021: REVENUE RECOVERY YEAR SEE PAGE 3 WIOC ANNOUNCES NEW CLOSING DATE FOR SHARE OFFER PAGE 5 PAGE 2 WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL 2021 EDITORIAL POLICING IN THE US COMES UNDER THE MICROSCOPE, FINALLY! The unrelenting killing which protects them ing black’. utes, Yet less than an of African Americans from civil lawsuits for By comparison, white hour after the verdict, in the United States by actions that may have alleged perpetrators a teenage black girl law enforcement offi- committed in carrying of mass killings in the was shot dead by po- cers must be a matter out their duties. “In the US are more likely to liced in Indiana and of concern for all of United States, quali- be taken in alive by the in North Carolina the humanity. fied immunity is a legal police, except in those autopsy has indicated The United States has principle that grants cases where they kill that a black man shot often promoted itself government officials themselves. dead the day after, was as the leader of the de- performing discre- The matter moved executed. mocracy world where tionary functions im- from the sublime to It is against this the principles of dem- munity from civil suits the ridiculous when background that we ocratic, justice and fair unless the plaintiff the white teenager welcomed the an- play are deeply em- shows that the official who killed eight peo- nouncement from the bedded into the coun- violated “clearly es- ple who were praying International Com- try’s legal and political tablished statutory or at a church, had po- mission of Legal Ex- systems. constitutional rights lice officers stopped perts that they were Yet despite its self-righ- of which a reasonable at a fast food restau- releasing a report teous posture on the person would have rant to purchase food on Tuesday of their world stage, there is known”. This is how for him. Then the findings on racist po- an ugly under-belly to the term is explained man who murdered lice tactics in the US. the US justice system in the literature. another eight people The commission also that has been playing The rate of police kill- – six of whom were found the US guilty before our collective ings of black people in Asian Americans - at of crimes against hu- eyes for generations the US is like a disease massage parlors last manity. (That report with no let-up in site. in the American body month, the police has since been re- That ugly under-belly politic; no other race chief reported to the leased). The report of the US justice sys- in the US has suffered media that the perpe- is the culmination of tem is the killing of as much at the hands trator ‘had a bad day’. weeks of live hear- mainly African Ameri- of law enforcement. White police officer, ings in the cases of 45 can young men by po- What is particular- Derek Chauvin, was people of African de- lice officers. ly troubling is that in convicted for the mur- scent killed by police Police officers in the most cases the victims der of George Floyd and one who was left United States have en- have been stopped last week for kneeling paralyzed, as well as joyed what is termed for minor traffic viola- on this man’s neck for months of review of qualified immunity tions or simply for ‘be- nine and a half min- relevant documents. Cont’d on pg 3 WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL 2021 LOCAL NEWS PAGE 3 The Commission lor of the UWI, Sir Hil- South Africa. It was tional efforts to pres- comprised Antigua ary Beckles. that pressure that pre- sure the US to end and Barbuda’s Gover- The internation- cipitated the fall of the the murder of black nor General Deputy, al community took cruel system. There Americans. Enough is Sir Clare Roberts as a stance against the needs to be a similar enough! well as Vice Chancel- apartheid system in coalescing of interna- 2021: A YEAR OF REVENUE RECOVERY the figures for Anti- in revenues from their gua and Barbuda have customs division. been considered to be Referring to the de- among the best perfor- cline in revenues for mance by a customs the first quarter of the division throughout month compared with the Caribbean. He not- last year, Boddu said ed that most Caribbe- he is not surprised as an territories recorded prior to the lock-down Raju Boddu much steeper declines caused by the corona- Revenue collections at last year. Figures from the Customs and Ex- the division show that cise Division, one of so far this month col- the country’s main rev- lections have totalled enue centres, declined $22,054,321.00 which by almost twelve per is less by almost two cent in the last year million from last April’s when compared with total of $24,051,354.00. the previous year, 2019. For the period, January However, although rev- to April last year, the enue collections at the Customs Division col- department are down lected $119,034,336.00 for the first four months compared with of the year compared 104,779,310.00. Overall with the corresponding collections for the year period last year, Comp- 2020, was $343.6 mil- troller of Custom, Raju lion which represented Boddu, is predicting a decline of over elev- that collections will en per cent over the rebound this year to 2019 figures of $389.6 make up much of the million. According to losses encountered the Customs chief, Cont’d on pg 4 PAGE 4 LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL 2021 virus pandemic, the di- first quarter of 2021 is when there was nearly lion lost last year. How- vision was on the way down compared with a fifty per cent decline ever, he said the con- to recording perhaps the same time last in economic activity. So tinued spread of the its best year ever. “2020 year that the gains in by June we should be virus in some countries March was a very good revenue collections on par with collections makes achieving this month for us; we were will begin manifest- for last year,” he stat- ‘a daunting task.’ This off to a flying start. ing themselves by the ed. As the easing of the ‘third wave’ has had an At the end of the first second quarter of this COVID-19 restrictions impact on the supply quarter, we were up by year. The comptroller in the country contin- chain, thus affecting a surplus of two million reported that the sec- ues and there is some world trade. dollars on the best per- ond quarter of last year measure of normality, “The cascading effect forming year – 2019. was particularly bad Boddu is firmly of the can be felt by some This means we were for revenue collections view that 2021 will see countries like us. We heading towards that at the division because revenues of about $370 therefore expect to re- goal of collecting in that period was when million, much closer to gain $30-35 million excess of $400 million the lock-down was ful- the 389 million collect- which we lost. 2021 is before the pandemic ly enforced. “The next ed last year. for me a recovery year, derailed all that,” he quarter – April, May According to Boddu, how much we recover explained. and June – will be bet- the aim at the Customs depends on how the Boddu predicts that ter than the last quarter and Excise Division is economic activities while revenue for the or last year at this time to regain the $43 mil- unfold,” he declared. WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL 2021 LOCAL NEWS PAGE 5 WIOC ANNOUNCES NEW CLOSING DATE FOR SHARE OFFER 50,000,” he noted, ers the 2020 perfor- Georges is of the view mance commendable that many of the insti- and a reflection of the tutional players would Company’s resilience wish to invest as much and diversity. Georg- as three million dol- es commented that lars, which is what the “although 2020 saw a 50,000 shares repre- decline due to the on- sent. Up to 21st April, going COVID-19 pan- the first deadline for demic, his expectation the share offer, most is that the company Gregory Georges CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER of the shares were be- will return to pre- ing purchased by the COVID-19 levels of The West Indies Oil ally, an amendment individual investors revenue and earnings Company (WIOC) to the prospectus al- as up to that point after 2022.” He com- has announced a new lows for the maximum close to five hundred mented further that closing date for the share per applicant to had applied to pur- he is confident in the offer of its shares for increase from 15,096 chase shares. WIOC company’s strategic sale to members of shares to 50,000 has experienced con- thrust which includes the public. Originally shares,” the statement sistent growth across the following projects set for 21st April, the said. WIOC Chief Ex- its business through- and initiatives: company last week ecutive Officer Greg- out the years with the 1. Investment in indicated that the ory Georges said the pre-COVID period renewable energy share offering would decision to extend in the financial year 2. Rebranding and be extended for up to the share offering was 2019, recorded profits upgrading of service a month. In a press based on the need to amassing over twen- stations statement, WIOC has attract more institu- ty-six million dollars.

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