CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Antigua
The Antigua and Barbuda government
said negotiations with Barbados
to become the majority shareholder
in the cash-strapped regional airline,
LIAT, “have been put on hold.”
Antigua and Barbuda
is seeking to become
the largest shareholder
government of the airline
and is in negotiations
with the Barbados government
to acquire most of the country’s shareholding
in the Antigua-based airline.
The other shareholders are Dominica,
St Vincent and the Grenadines
and Grenada.
Antigua and Barbuda currently holds
34 percent and if it succeeds in convincing
the Barbados government to part
with its LIAT shares, would have 81 percent
of the airline that employs over 600
people and operates 491 flights weekly
across 15 destinations.
The Antigua and Barbuda government
says it would seek to acquire
the LIAT shares owned by Barbados
through a take-over of the liability of
Barbados to the Caribbean Development
Bank (CDB).
According to a statement issued after
the Gaston Browne weekly Cabinet
meeting it said the negotiations have
been put on hold and no date for the restart
have been set.
Bahamas
The Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB) will provide US$100 million
to help finance humanitarian and
reconstruction efforts in the Bahamas
following widespread loss of life and
destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian.
According to an
IDB media release,
the funds are from a
$100 million contingency
loan signed in
April 2019, to cover unexpected public
expenses arising from emergencies
caused by severe or catastrophic natural
disasters.
The release stated that the loan
disbursement is subject to eligibility
requirements including sustained wind
speeds, accumulated precipitations and
impacted populations.
All the requirements were met by the
devastation Hurricane Dorian caused in
the Abaco and Grand Bahama regions,
in the northern Bahamas.
The IDB added that the contingency
funding comes on top of an emergency
donation of $200,000 provided by the
IDB.
Barbados
The Barbados government is seeking
to explore a social project that result in
more than 1,000 pit toilets converted to
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
Dr. Kaleem Malik, who is now in The Bahamas, is the medical lead for Humanity First disaster response. See
story on Page 6. PAHO
water borne facilities, the reconstruction
of at least 500 vulnerable homes
and families empowered through education,
training and job opportunities.
A government
statement said Prime
Minister Mia Mottley
expressed the desire
during a recent meeting
with the Senior Operations Officer
from the Department of Public Sector
Operations, The OPEC Fund for International
Development, Srij Senussi and
Assistant for the Caribbean Area, Nelson
Louison.
Mottley described the social project
as “an opportunity to make wrong
things right” and noted that the venture
was critical for the stabilization of
the vulnerable population.
“We are trying to raise a grant and
very low interest funding because no
one in the 21st century should have to
go to a pit to relieve themselves, but we
still have between 4,000 and 5,000 on
the island,” she noted.
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a leading trade partner
in terms of export to the region and
as the largest importer of US goods.
This is according to US Ambassador
to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS) and Barbados,
Linda Taglialatela who said the USCaribbean
2020 Strategy guides “our
work in the region in six areas: security,
Caribbean Life, S 4 eptember 20-26, 2019 BQ
diplomacy, prosperity, energy, education
and health.”
She noted that since
2010, the US Congress
has appropriated nearly
US$617 million for the
Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative (CBSI), a shared security
partnership with the Caribbean that
supports efforts to reduce illicit trafficking,
increase citizen security, and
promote crime prevention.
On the issue of trade between the Caribbean
and the US, she said Washington
remains the leading trade partner for
the Caribbean in terms of exports to
the region and as the largest importer
of Caribbean goods.
The US diplomat said in 2016 the
United States had US$4.6 billion trade
surplus with the Caribbean, which indicates
the region is an important market
for the US economy.
Grenada
The World Bank is providing US$15
million in credit to Grenada to support
the island’s digital government
strategy.
The bank said that
the International
Development Association
(IDA) credit program
will build on
government reform efforts to provide
accessible and resilient online services
to citizens and businesses.
The bank said the Digital Government
for Resilience Project is designed
to reduce the time spent on tax-related
transactions, increase the number of
civil registry transactions processed
digitally and improve continuity of government
services.
The project also includes institutional
support for reviewing existing
legislation, streamlining business process
and training staff to lay the foundation
for sustainable government digital
services.
The World Bank said Grenada currently
maintains paper files for many
critical citizen and private sector services,
such as birth and death registration,
marriage and adoption, tax filing,
government contracts, and judicial
records and deeds.
Jamaica
The Jamaica government has
unveiled a mural exhibition in tribute
to the Windrush generation.
The exhibition is
mounted at various
locations in the arrival
and departure sections
at the Norman Manley
International Airport. Among those
who attended the ceremony was the
British High Commissioner to Jamaica
Asif Ahmad.
Culture, Gender, Entertainment and
Sports Minister, Olivia Grange said the
THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME
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