CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Antigua
Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt
Skerrit has called on the regional
private sector and other stakeholders
to consider purchasing shares in the
cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT,
saying that the company is vital to
the continued development of the
sub-regional and wider Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) grouping.
Addressing a recent news conference
following a two-day
meeting of leaders
of the sub-regional
Organization of
Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS) in
Antigua, Skerrit said it was necessary for
regional stakeholders to move beyond
mere words regarding the survival of
the airline that employs more than 600
people and operates 491 flights weekly
across 15 destinations.
He said the continued complaints
about the airline, which has been in
existence for the past 38 years, is not
going to solve the problem.
“I think the regional private
sector needs to join forces with the
governments and all of us in the region
need to join forces,” he said.
Earlier, Antigua and Barbuda Prime
Minister, Gaston Browne said his
country is soon to start negotiations
with Barbados to purchase its shares
in the airline, the idea is still for other
countries to acquire shares and help
ensure the survival of the airline.
Barbados
The Barbados Tourism Market Inc.
(BTMI) says the island remains on
track for another record year of tourist
arrivals.
BTMI Chief Executive Officer,
Williams Griffith said the organization
has already reported
324,551 arrivals for
2019, which is four
percent above the
same period for 2018.
He noted that the
United Kingdom grew by 9.6 percent
over last year and the United States,
which has been showing consistent
increases, is up 7.5 percent over 2018.
Speaking at a recent ceremony
celebrating British Airways 65 years
of civil aviation services to Barbados,
Griffith said other successes were
recorded in the Caribbean, Central and
South America and also Germany.
He said Barbados was closely
watching the Germany market as the
island welcomes a new Lufthansa
service in October.”
Bahamas
Bahamian authorities say they have
detained l00 undocumented Haitian
migrants during an exercise 30 miles
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
Old abandoned sail boats sit partially sunk in a heavily seaweed covered beach in the east coast town of
Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. Whatever the reason, the massive sargassum fl ow is becoming
a major challenge for tourism-dependent countries. The algae harm coastal environments, even causing
the deaths of sea turtle hatchlings after they wriggle out of the sand where their eggs were buried. Cleanup
efforts by work crews may also worsen beach erosion. Associated Press / Ricardo Arduengo
northwest of Inagua.
They said the operation, involving
officials of the Royal Bahamas Defense
Force (RBDF) and Operation Bahamas
Turks and Caicos with
the support of the
Bahamas Immigration
Department resulted
in the apprehension
of a Haitian sailing vessel with l00
undocumented Haitian migrants on
board.
The migrants — 89 males, 11 females
— were transported to Inagua where
they were handed over to immigration
authorities for processing, according to
a statement from the RBDF.
Cayman Islands
As of June 1, 2019 all Caribbean
members of the Caribbean Catastrophic
Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) have
completed the selection of their
insurance portfolio for 2019 / 2020,
increasing their level of coverage for at
least one of their policies and one country
purchasing cover for an additional peril
(tropical cyclone) that
it did not have last
year.
As the 2019
Atlantic hurricane
season began, CCRIF
members can be assured that they
are covered for another year, against
tropical cyclones, as well as excess
rainfall events, which occur throughout
4 Caribbean Life, July 5—July 11, 2019 BQ
the year and earthquakes, which may
occur at any time.
CCRIF is the world’s first multicountry
risk pool offering parametric
insurance products for hurricanes,
earthquakes and excess rainfall in the
Caribbean and Central America.
Additionally, the facility has provided
its members with two policy features,
the Aggregate Deductible Cover (ADC)
and Reinstatement of Sum Insured
Cost, at no cost for 2019 / 2020.
Caribbean
The Belize-based Caribbean Regional
Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) says
regional countries have agreed that
urgent action is needed on multiple
fronts to address the sargassum seaweed
problem.
It said that the countries have
also highlighted
the need for support
from international
development partners.
The CRFM said that
sargassum problem as well as illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing
were among the agenda items discussed
at the recent 13th regular meeting of
the Ministerial Council of the CRFM
held in St. Skitts and Nevis.
CRFM Executive Director, Milton
Haughton said that it is only through
joint efforts that the region can resolve
problems such as those associated with
climate change, unregulated fishing
and aquaculture.
Guyana
The Guyana government says it is
pleased with the report by the US State
Department to maintain the country on
its Tier 1 status with regards to dealing
with trafficking in persons (TIP), saying
this is due to the ongoing collaboration
among the various stakeholders to deal
with the situation.
Minister of Public
Security, Khemraj
Ramjattan, who is also
the chairman of the
Ministerial Task Force
on Trafficking in Persons praised several
organizations, including the police, for
having played critical roles in trying to
end TIP.
He said the Ministerial Task Force
on Trafficking in Persons and its
partners remain committed to working
together to effectively combat the
crime of trafficking and hold traffickers
accountable.
The US in its “2019 Trafficking in
Persons Report,” noted that only the
Bahamas and Guyana “fully” met the
minimum standards for the elimination
of trafficking.
Washington said the authorities in
Nassau and Georgetown continued to
demonstrate “serious and sustained
efforts during the reporting period” and
as a result, the two CARICOM countries
Continued on Page 8
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