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Time 2020-09-27 20:04:36

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A policeman was shot dead in the Maxfield Avenue area of St Andrew a short while ago.Loop Newsunderstands that the cop, assigned to the Hunt s Bay Police Station,was on patrol in the Pretoria R... Detectives in Hanover arrested and charged a 23-year-old man with three counts of rape of a 14-year-old girl and two counts of procuring drugs to procure abortion following several incidents in the... The police are probing the circumstances which led to the death of a baby who was found in a bucket of water at his home in Bloomwell, Clarendon on Wednesday.The deceased has been identified as... Johnnie The Journey: Why Whisky’s Age Matters It is often said that age is nothing but a number, and the question as old as time is “does age matter?” When it comes to whisky, some avid consumers and connoisseurs will tell you that age is much more than a number and... Co-chair of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), Keith Duncan, believes the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) will face challenging times, despite being on track to meet the Quantitative Performance Targets for the GOJ’s Economic Reform Programme for end-June 2020, with the exception of the inflation target.Inflation at the end of June stood at 6.3 per cent. This is out of the range of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) target, which was four to six per cent, but Duncan said this was on track to come in at 5.7 per cent at the end of July.He said the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic played a significant role in hampering the government’s effort to implement the majority priority action to establish a timeline for the Economic Reform Programme.“What I will say about these imperatives and these priority actions is that a lot of work has actually occurred in these areas and really and truly the focus has been switched by the Government of Jamaica, to dealing with the impact of the pandemic and, therefore, we can appreciate and understand why we would see some delay in these other priority actions,” Duncan said.He stated that the year-over-year variances have revenues and grants down 40.3 billion or 20 per cent from $202 billion for the April to July period in 2019 to $161.7 billion this year, with tax revenues dropping by $35.9 billion, which is also 20 per cent.Duncan, however, said that the targets are outperforming the first supplementary budget, which was tabled after COVID-19 started to impact the island.According to Duncan, the year-over-year recurring expenditure of the government is $18 billion or 10 per cent above, with $197.1 billion to last year’s $179 billion.Capital expenditure, Duncan said, which is a key indicator for Jamaica, was almost flat. He said the importance of the capital expenditure is that it shows what is left for debt servicing after the GOJ covers the recurring expenditure, which resulted in a debt reduction last year, because of primary balances.Last year, the primary balances for April to July was $49.3 billion, which turned into a deficit of $10.8 billion for this year, This means that the debt serving costs have not been covered by the difference between the revenue and expenditure.Duncan, however, said this was offset by the buffer of $70 billion that the GOJ carried over into the new fiscal year, which was due mainly to divestments and mergers and acquisitions. This, Duncan said, has been able to provide surplus cash for the year and allowed the island to keep the debt to GDP targets fairly on track.He said the other indicators for the island were international reserves, with the net international reserves starting the year at $3.62 billion but dropping to $2.6 billion by the end of the period of inspection.According to Duncan, the key assumptions driving the first supplementary budget is the gradual recovery of the GDP, which had a contraction of 5.1 per cent, inflation of 4.3 per cent and imports contraction of 32.6 per cent.“So we saw imports coming in due to reducing economic activity locally and globally and also with tourism down we would have seen that impact because a significant amount of tourism input is from imports,” Duncan said.The recast of the projections by the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Bank of Jamaica means that the GOJ will have to revisit the budget, Duncan said, for the impact of the projected reduction in GDP on the overall macro and fiscal performance.Duncan also credited the government for measures taken for COVID-19, which he said helped in increasing the ability to exceed some of the targets. With the need to adapt quickly to new operational norms brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Jamaican manufacturer Red Stripe, says building digital capacity over time has helped the company to pivot faster and craft a crisis-resilient business strategy.Severe disruptions to global supply chains have thrown whole industries off kilter, with many organizations struggling to balance the health and social wellbeing of their workforce with the growing need for operational efficiency.According to Red Stripe’s manager for total productivity management (TPM) Jerome McGregor, digital technology has been a key element of the company s success.“A huge part of the reason we were able to so easily integrate COVID-19 health protocols was because we already took steps to establish a dynamic operational framework. Over the past few years we have invested in digital technology solutions that are extremely compatible with the emerging culture of the low-touch economy. Through extensive training programmes, and a reward and recognition system, our employees have been exposed to a new way of thinking that integrates them into this innovative workflow process. At the heart of this approach was the One2Improve app implemented by the organization,” noted McGregor.Launched by the HEINEKEN Company across its breweries worldwide, One2Improve provides Red Stripe employees at the Spanish Town Road plant with the tools needed to optimize the production process.With each employee downloading the app to their smart devices, resolving maintenance inefficiencies and generating a database for more informed decision-making became hallmarks of the company’s strategy.“The success of all our efforts simply boils down to employee buy in,” explained McGregor. “People have to be inspired to see themselves and their actions as vital to the success of the larger entity. This, when paired with One2Improve, brought on a host of favourable results.” Among those McGregor listed were significant cost reductions, process simplification, greater capacity for accountability and reinforced adaptability among their employees.“The results became incentives for our staff to use this new way of doing business to strengthen compliance with on-site COVID-19 health protocols—flagging violations and responding with effective interventions became our second nature,” said McGregor.The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has stressed the growing need for strategic leadership that fortifies supply chain resilience during and beyond the COVID-19 era. With such positive results from Red Stripe’s business strategy, the company seems to be heading in the right direction.“Our aim has been to not only overcome COVID-19 obstacles, but to use the situation as an opportunity to look towards the future of business continuity,” shared Luis Prata, managing director at Red Stripe. “We have to be intentional and thoughtful about catering to the most vulnerable stakeholders throughout our value chain, while also taking care of those closest to home. Our responsiveness to these unprecedented times ought to inspire other manufacturers to take heed of industry best practices that can safeguard the success of the business ecosystem, which in turn, safeguards the economies within which we operate.”Red Stripe is promoting a high performance culture in tandem with One2Improve and other such solutions to further expand their manufacturing capacity.“Currently, One2Improve is being used exclusively for tagging procedures, data inventory and COVID-19 compliance,” mentioned McGregor. “In the near future however, we hope to further streamline the app to operate across other aspects of the manufacturing process, supplementing our various types of auditing tools and processes. As it stands, Red Stripe is ahead of regional manufacturers in phasing in this novel approach—a feat we could not have achieved without our highly empowered workforce.” Young rasta crooner Ras-I has been riding the radio waves with his recently released single, Kingman Ting. The track was released on September 18 on digital platforms and it has been racking up social media views with teasers from the visuals for the single.“Living out of love, not hype, as a rasta man; living like his Imperial Majesty (Haile Selassie) is how a Kingman lives which is the vibe that inspired the sentiments behind the song,” said Ras-I with his usual calm demeanor, “even in these times when life is so volatile, every man has a responsibility to show love for his community and himself which is evident in how I govern my life based on the example my father set for me and “Kingman” is my father’s alias” he continued.Kingman Ting is a co-produced by the young production duo Koastal Kings and Ras-I Musique. Koastal Kings who also produced Ras-I’s 2019 hit Ordinary Day from the Tsojourna album, comprises of drummers Keneil Delisser and Shamir Walker. Both musicians have been making their mark in the local music industry through their work on and off stage with established acts and upcoming reggae aspirants.The Kingman Ting track is a convergence of genres that is evident in the rhythmic groove of roots reggae embedded in an afro beat undertone but with the up tempo of dancehall accentuated by the trill of horns.“With Kingman Ting and our other productions, we have been developing a new sound that is like a melting pot for music born out of good vibes, blending sounds from the music we studied at the Edna Manley College and (in these COVID times) produced from our living rooms. At the heart of it is reggae music but we continue to experiment musically to see what emerges during this creative period when we are away from the physical stage,” said Keneil.Koastal Kings will be working on Ras-I’s second project set to be released in 2021 as well as on collaborations with other upcoming reggae acts such as Tamo J, Blvck H3ro and Imeru.The visuals for Kingman Ting is set to be released in October 2020. Producer Peter Walker expects the Good Gosh EP which was released today to excite roots reggae lovers everywhere.The seven-track EP will officially launch on Sunday, Sept 27 at a venue on Canary Avenue, off Woodpecker Avenue, in St Andrew.Walker has high hopes that the EP will touch the soul of reggae fans, as he believes the rhythms are vibrant and the lyrics of the songs are uplifting.“I expect greatness from the EP Good Gosh. The rhythm is live and great and there is great music on it. It is a good vibe,” Walker said.The artistes on the EP are Tellah, Ras Goudie, Empress Brave, Redemsion, King Ellement, Delly Max and Michelle Irie.All seven will be performing at the Good Gosh EP launch, which will also have RK from Reggae Yard Vibes, Bad Breed from More Love Records as well as Emmanuel.Music insiders are expected to be present at the launch, which will be streamed live on social media.Songs on the EP are: title track ‘Rise It Up’ (Tellah), ‘Marijuana’ (Ras Goudie), ‘Meditation’ (Empress Brave), ‘What Would You Do’ (Redemsion), ‘Skanking Time’ (King Element), ‘Blinging’ (Dell Max) and ‘See Mi Dream Yah’ (Michelle Irie). LeBron James is going to a 10th NBA Finals — and for the first time in a decade, so are the Los Angeles Lakers.James punctuated his 27th postseason triple-double with a big fourth quarter, powering the Lakers to a 117-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night to win the Western Conference finals in five games.James finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to become the fourth player to reach 10 NBA Finals. It took him two seasons to make it with the Lakers, after falling short of the playoffs in an injury-plagued first season following eight consecutive trips with Miami and Cleveland.The Lakers will face either Miami Heat or Boston Celtics in their 32nd NBA Finals appearance, most in league history. They haven t played for the title since beating the Celtics in 2010 for the last of their 16 titles.Anthony Davis added 27 points and will end his first season with Los Angeles by playing in his first NBA Finals.Nikola Jokic and Jerami Grant each scored 20 points for the Nuggets, who had fought off elimination six times before the Lakers finally put them away. Jamal Murray added 19 points and eight assists but the star guard struggled with some leg or foot pain and lacked his usual explosiveness.The Nuggets had come back from 3-1 down in the first two rounds before being finally ousted a month since they would have departed the bubble had they lost the first time they faced elimination, in Game 5 against Utah on August25.Celtics face HeatCan the Celtics level the series or will the Heat book their spot in the Finals? The two teams will meet in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday, with the Heat leading 3-2. NIPSTER scored a shocking victory in Saturday s Jamaica St Leger, flooring stablemate and 1-2 favourite, WOW WOW, in a heavy downpour at Caymanas Park.Running at odds of 31-1, NIPSTER straightened sixth in an eventful race in which second-favourite MAHOGANY was uncharacteristically among the backmarkers and tailed off entering the backstretch.WOW WOW took over from ANOTHER AFFAIR three furlongs out and was getting the better of MAHOGANY, who had recovered to enter the straight second when NIPSTER produced a strong rail run to collar his stablemate.Jockey Linton Steadman actually started celebrating ahead of the winning post, standing tall in the saddle as NIPSTER clocked 2:06.0 for the 10-furlong trip, handing trainer Gary Subratie and owner Michros a one-two finish in the St Leger.Meanwhile, 2018 champion jockey, Anthony Thomas, reeled off a three-timer to move two winners clear of Dane Nelson in their battle atop the riders standings.Whereas Nelson, 45 wins, failed to visit the winners enclosure for the second meet in a row, Thomas opened his account by booting home MISS ELAINE and SENTIENT, in the third and fourth races, respectively.Thomas closed his three-timer aboard CAPTUREMYSHIP, who ran a vastly improved race in the sixth event, clocking a fast 1:12.0 for six furlongs after dismissing speedy MR UNIVERSE from three furlongs out.The weekend of racing continues on Sundaywith a nine-race card, featuring a one-mile overnight allowance clash in which Ian Parsard s SUPERLUMINAL squares off with a strong field including five runners from former champion trainer Wayne DaCosta s barn, led by MASTER OF HALL.

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