CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Antigua
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has
fired his Minister of Education, Michael
Browne, 44, after he was arrested and
charged by the police following an
investigation into rape allegations made
against him by a woman.
PM Browne advised the governorgeneral
of Antigua and Barbuda to
revoke the former minister’s portfolio
and appoint Darryl Matthew as minister
of education.
The former minister
of education
appeared before a St.
John’s magistrate on
the charge and was
granted EC$15,000 bail and ordered
to surrender his travel documents and
must report three times a week to the
police.
Grenada
Grenada is expecting major spending
cuts in the 2021 budget due to a drop in
revenue that has been attributed to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
PM Dr. Keith Mitchell has told members
of the Finance Committee that the
budget for several government ministries
will be reduced due to a fall in
revenue.
Dr. Mitchell said this was the first
time in six years that “we can say we are
having a serious problem with raising
revenue. We are going through a tough
time with this pandemic. It’s a tough
time indeed.”
He made the announcement at a
recent meeting in the parish of St.
David.
The 2021 annual estimated revenue
and expenditure will be the first
to be presented by Gregory Bowen,
who became minister
of finance following a
Cabinet reshuffle in
September, but which
became effective on
Oct. 5.
A date is yet to be announced for
its presentation but traditionally it’s
normally done on the last Friday in
November.
Dr. Mitchell, who previously served
as finance minister, explained that the
drop in revenue will affect central government’s
fulfilling all demands placed
on the government.
“Where we make the cuts, we will
be doing so in areas where we feel the
country can withstand the cut we will
be making,” he said.
Jamaica
The Jamaica government is planning
to roll out a travel protection program
and emergency service program, which
will allow travelers to the island to be
covered in the event of an emergency.
Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett
Caribbean L 4 ife, December 4-10, 2020
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
In this fi le photo, Grenada’s Prime Minister Keith Mitchell addresses the CARICOM Summit in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 26,
2018. More than a dozen leaders arrived to the island nation for the summit of Caribbean leaders. Associated Press/Dieu Nalio
Chery,fi le
in making this announcement
said this program will position Jamaica
as one of the most COVID-19- resilient
countries in the world when it
is launched, hopefully
this month.
Speaking at the
recent Jamaica Product
Exchange (JAPEX)
Live 2020, Jamaica’s
ground-breaking virtual trade show,
Bartlett said the program was developed
to assure visitors that their safety
and well being was being taken care of
when they travel.
He said Jamaica Cares, is a groundbreaking
travel protection and emergency
service program that provides
visitors with cost of Medicare, evacuations,
field rescue, case management
and patient advocacy in all circumstances
up to and including natural
disasters.
The minister said as it relates to
COVID-19, the protection plan also covers
testing symptomatic travelers, quarantine
isolation in a medical facility or
in a sanctioned quarantine facilities if
necessary, signing on the service would
be mandatory, he noted.
Haiti
Kidnappers have released Fr. Ronald
Sylvain after a million Gourdes (one
Gourde=US$0.15 cents) was paid for
his release.
Armed men in Delmas kidnapped Fr.
Sylvain on Nov. 10.
Fr. Sylvain was released after Cardinal
Chiby Langlois, addressing the
fourth Congress of the
National Justice and
Peace Commission,
expressed concern at
the growing insecurity
in Haiti.
He also denounced kidnappings,
gender violence and insecurity of land
tenure in the French-speaking Caribbean
Community (CARICOM).
Police said recently they were able to
release 51 passengers on a bus that had
been seized by armed bandits.
And the National Network for the
Defense of Haitian Rights said on the
second anniversary of the La Saline
massacre, justice has still not yet been
done.
It said, in 2019, at least 120 had been
killed, 50 others disappeared and at
least 15 women and girls were raped.
Suriname
The Suriname government is seeking
to postpone payment to bondholders
saying it will give the country an opportunity
to reduce the budget deficit.
In a statement, the Ministry of
Finance and Planning said, in accordance
with the loan conditions, it has
asked bondholders of 2024 and 2026
for a so-called ‘standstill” adding that
with the expected approval, there are
benefits for the country.
“This will give the government
breathing space to reduce the budget
deficit, which will ensure macroeconomic
stability. This is currently under
discussion with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF). Another advantage is
that the country has the opportunity to
develop and submit a debt management
program to all its creditors,” the Ministry
of Finance said.
The statement said
that not having to pay
will also mean that the
authorities can keep
foreign currency and
that this will enable “the economic crisis
created by the previous government”
to be managed.
The authorities said the crisis has
been exacerbated by the coronavirus
(Covid-19) pandemic.
The Ministry of Finance and Planning
reiterated that if Suriname
receives approval from the bondholders,
it means there will be a postponement
of certain interest and principal
payments that were planned for this
year and 2021.
St. Lucia
Dominica police say the new regulations
introduced in the country to
curb the spread of
the COVID-19 are not
intended to be punitive.
People can be fined
as much as EC$10,000
or jailed for a year for breaching the
Continued on Page 18
THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME
Grenada faces budget cuts
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