CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
BAHAMAS
Global ratings agency Standard &
Poor’s (S&P) has downgraded The Bahamas’
sovereign creditworthiness citing
“failure of successive governments to
implement timely and effective” fiscal
reforms, even prior to COVID-19.
In a statement recently, the US-based
credit agency joined its rival Moody’s,
in plunging the country further into
“junk” status by slashing its long-term
and local currency
rating to “B+” from
“BB-“after the national
debt increased by
US$2.4 billion in two
years.
However, S&P broke with Moody’s in
simultaneously providing The Bahamas
with a glimmer of hope by upgrading its
“outlook” for this nation’s public finances
from “negative” to “stable.”
It based this upgrade on its expectation
that the economy’s post-COVID-19
will drive increased revenues and narrow
the government’s annual fiscal deficit
despite the absence of major reforms.
S&P also predicted that the Bahamian
economy will expand by the equivalent
of 3.7 percent of gross domestic product
(GDP) in 2021, a rate that is higher than
projections by both the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central
Bank or The Bahamas.
BARBADOS
The Barbados government says it has
established what is being referred to
as the world’s first metaverse or digital
embassy.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Foreign Trade said that
the virtual embassy will be at the center
of activities to advance the growth of
stronger bilateral relationships
with governments
globally.
The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Foreign
Trade recently signed the agreement
with Decentraland, one of the
world-leading block chain metaverse
platforms, in an effort to outline the
baseline development elements for its
metaverse embassy.
In the statement, the ministry said
that the government will continue to
establish and maintain physical embassies
and will use the metaverse embassy
as an opportunity to “pioneer the evolution
of global diplomacy beyond the
physical world.”
It is understood the concept will provide
for the identifying and purchasing
of land, architecting of the virtual
embassies and the development of facilities
to provide services such as e-visa and
teleportation.
CARIBBEAN
Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association
Caribbean L 4 ife, DECEMBER 3-9, 2021
Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain,
Nov. 2, 2021. Adrian Dennis/Pool via REUTERS
(CHTA) President, Nicola Madden
Greig is predicting a strong winter
rebound for regional tourism based on
strong health protocols in place and the
increase in air services to several destinations
across the Caribbean.
Madden-Greig said the worst of it has
been contained, basing her optimism
on containing COVID-19 virus to sound
health safety protocols under the guidance
of local ministries and departments
of health, the Caribbean Public
Health Agency (CARPHA) and other
regional and international
organizations.
Her optimism is
backed by the World
Travel and Tourism
Council (WTTC), which
recently reported that the Caribbean is
recovering faster than any other region
in the world with tourism’s contribution
to GDP expected to rise more than 47
percent this year.
In contrast, the global economy is set
to receive a 30.7 percent year-on-year
increase from travel and tourism in
2021, representing US$1.4 trillion and
mainly driven by domestic spending.
The Caribbean region’s forecast
increase represents an increase of nearly
US$12 billion, driven by both international
and domestic travel spending.
Among the region’s protocols have
been requirements for visitors to prescreen
and produce a negative test before
boarding Caribbean flights, as well as
the increased vaccination rates for tourism
professionals.
GUYANA
The West African nation of Ghana
will soon be lending technical support
to Guyana in the areas of local content,
the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) or oil
money legislation, as well as the highlyanticipated
gas-to-energy development.
President Irfaan Ali made this
announced during a recent press conference.
He said the first phase of a technical
team from Ghana that will soon be
arriving will comprise chief executive
officers (CEOs) and experts in the oil
and gas field and will immediately begin
to work with Guyanese counterparts.
He said it is also expected that the
vice-president of Ghana will be visiting
Guyana this year and the president of
Ghana will participate in the oil and gas
conference set for 2022.
In addition, the head of state indicated
a team of investors will be visiting
Guyana to establish
partnerships with local
counterparts in various
investment opportunities.
Dr. Ali said the investors from Ghana’s
private sector have various areas of
interest including agriculture, mining,
tourism and food production.
Last month, Vice-president Dr. Bharrat
Jagdeo led a delegation to Ghana
and met with President Nana Akufo-
Addo and Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu
Bawumia aimed at fostering enhanced
co-operation between the two oil producing
states.
HAITI
Haiti’s Prime Minister, Ariel Henry
has pleaded with the Organization of
American States (OAS) to offer technical
support in the fight against organized
crime in the country.
In a letter sent to
the OAS earlier this
month, the prime minister
said Haiti faces
problems that generate transnational
crimes, money laundering and illicit
trafficking in firearms, ammunition and
drugs.
Faced with the innumerable situations
which occur, the Prime Minister
said he needs “an effective cooperation
of the OAS.”
“My government wishes, as soon as
possible, to explore with the OAS the
concretisation of the aforementioned
cooperation, which will undoubtedly
allow the re-establishment of a security
climate essential for the return to
normal functioning of the republican
institutions,” the letter stated.
JAMAICA
The Jamaican government said it has
no intention of reducing the measures
Continued on Page 18
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Ghana to aid Guyana
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