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Caribbean Life, Mar. 31-Apr. 6, 2022
CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
BAHAMAS
The Bahamas is forecast to record another
bloody year as police reported a four
percent increase in murders for the first
quarter of 2022.
Acting Commissioner of Police, Clayton
Fernander told a news conference that
28 murders were recorded from Jan. 1 to
March 14, 2022 compared to 27 for the
same period last year.
March 11 weekend was
one of the bloodiest as
five men were murdered.
Fernander revealed
most of the shootings
were gang-related that came about as criminals
wage a ‘tit for tat” for crimes committed
against each other.
He said gang leaders are seeking to
recruit young men to carry out their illicit
activities.
The acting top CoP warned family members
of criminals that they simply cannot
throw their hands in the air and ignore the
actions of their relatives since they may
lose their lives.
He said illegal firearms continue to be
the weapon of choice for criminals and
they are hiding them in parcels of food in
an effort to evade authorities.
BARBADOS
Barbadians will be paying less for petroleum
products for the next six months.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced
on March 14 during her Budget Address, a
cap on gas and diesel from
March 16, consumers will
begin paying BDS$3.99
per litre for gasoline and
$3,32 percent litre for diesel
.T
he prime minister said such a move
will be necessary to avoid Barbadians feeling
the pinch of the rise in oil prices on the
international market.
However, Mottley, who indicated that
she sympathize with, and understand those
who are calling for a reduction in fuel tax,
noted Barbadians must understand that
the public purse is currently under severe
pressure.
She is asking Barbadians to hold strain
at this time
She said this move the government will
lose BDS$25.2 million in revenue, however,
Mottley contended that it was a sacrifice
that “you have to make for our people.”
She said adjustments have to be made
to “shield” Barbadians from rising costs
intentionally.
DOMINICA
Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt
Skerrit has called on member countries
of the Regional Security System (RSS) to
adopt a “zero tolerance” approach towards
crime, especially as it relates to the trafficking
of illegal guns, urging also for greater
collaboration in dealing with the scourge
of illegal drugs.
Addressing the RSS Council of Ministers
recently, Skerritt said,
“there is a huge challenge
in the RSS family and
indeed the wider Caribbean
of the trafficking of
arms in our space.”
“We have to have a zero tolerance for the
presence of illegal firearms and if we have
to strengthen the capacity of our respective
police services, we have to take these
actions because this is a major threat to
our economies and the survival and safety
of our citizens and visitors to our country,”
he said.
The RSS was created out of a need for
a collective response to security threats,
which were impacting the stability of the
region in early 1970s and 1980s.
It has additional responsibilities to the
wider Caribbean as provided for under The
Treaty on Security Assistance (TSA).
The Barbados-based RSS headquarters
is the coordinating secretariat of the CARICOM
Security Assistance Mechanism.
Guyana became the LATEST member
which include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados,
Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis.
Skerritt told the Council that Dominica
has ratified the CARICOM Arrest Warrant
treaty which he described as an “important
tool to help fight inter-regional crimes.”
GRENADA
Grenadians will have
to dig deeper into their
pockets as they will now
have to pay more for flour
and animal feed.
This follows an announcement last week
from Caribbean Agro Industries of a price
hike that will range between 12 percent and
16 percent.
“These increases in prices of our products
are significantly below many of the
price increases of our production inputs.
Wheat, corn and soya meal, for example,
have experienced increases over the
past year in the amount of 63 percent and
EC$52, respectively,” the company said.
According to the notice, baking flour will
be increased by 12 percent, counter flour by
14 percent and animal feed by 16 percent.
The last time the company increased the
cost of its products was in the first quarter
of 2021.
The increase comes just days after the
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of
Finance, Mike Sylvester, informed Grenadians
that a shortage of supplies on the international
market is resulting in an upsurge
in the prices of goods such as wheat, corn
and soya beans
GRENADA imports about US$6 million
in wheat product every year and that goes
into baking and cooking and many of the
by-product such as bread, cake and pastries
as well as animal feed.
Grenada imports wheat from the United
States.
GUYANA
The Guyana government
has announced the
removal of most of the
regulations that had been
put in place to curb the
spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall said that
TH E N EWS FROM BACK HOME
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlife.com
The Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley speaks during the opening ceremony of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland,
Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland’s biggest city, to lay out their vision
for addressing the common challenge of global warming. Associated Press/Alberto Pezzali/File
Continued on Page 14
Barbadian PM delivers budget
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