CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
ANTIGUA
The Antigua government has
announced weekly lotteries in an effort
to encourage residents to take up about
6,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-
19 vaccine before they expire on June
30.
Minister of Information, Melford
Nicholas announced at a post-Cabinet
media briefing that each of the
four lotteries will give vaccinated residents
a chance to win
EC$5,000 (US $1,850).
He said Cabinet had
agreed that everyone
who has taken a first
dose since the vaccination
program began in March, will
be eligible to participate. The only
exceptions will be the immediate families
of parliamentarians.
The lottery will be drawn on a weekly
basis, with residents not required to
register, since data taken by the Health
Ministry throughout the vaccination
process will be used to form the pool
from which weekly winners will be
chosen.
A week prior, government announced
that everyone who has taken a first vaccine
dose between June 7 – 30 will be
entered into a raffle for an 8,000 square
foot parcel of land valued at EC$68,000
($US 25,161).
BARBADOS
Barbados is preparing to welcome
back cruise ships to its shores from
this week, with all passengers on board
fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
This was revealed by Minister of
Tourism, Lisa Cummins who said “we
are preparing to welcome back for the
first time in over 15 months cruise
ships. We have the
Celebrity Millennium
that will be making
a transit call on Barbados.
“It has been over a year of discussions,
negotiations and engagement at
the level of the US Center for Disease
Control (CDC), the European Union
(UE) healthy sail guidelines, working
through the Americas Task Force
chaired by the President and CEO of
Royal Caribbean, Michael Bailey and
Prime Minister, Mia Mottley of Barbados.”
Cummins pointed out that several
protocols are in place and all passengers
are required to have a valid negative
PCR test three days before arrival.
“We have restrictions on what types
of activity can be undertaken at this
stage because of our best efforts, and
despite the level of rigor that we have
put into developing these protocols,
this is still the first ship. We need
to take small, confident but careful
steps,” the tourism minister said.
Caribbean L 4 ife, JUNE 25-JULY 1, 2021
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali addresses the media during a joint news conference with Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi
(not pictured), Nov. 24, 2020. REUTERS/Ranu Abhelakh, fi le
GRENADA
Grenada says it has acquired a
US$8.95 million loan from the Inter-
American Development Bank (IDB) to
use as a stimulus package for persons
who have been marginalized by the
impact of the COVID-
19 pandemic.
Prime Minister, Dr.
Keith Mitchell said
there are many who
have been without an
income for more than a year and they,
too, have commitments and families
that they need to take care of.
Mitchell said that the funds which
will be distributed through the Barbados
based Caribbean Development
Bank (CDB), have a variable interest
rate of 2.06 percent and that the terms
and conditions include a five year grace
period, with repayment over 20 years.
The prime minister said his administration
has been trying to secure
additional stimulus, as it did at the
start of the pandemic that has infected
161 people and killed one, ever since
the first case was detected in March
last year.
The Ministry of Finance said disbursements
are expected to begin in
August and the government said recipients
would be offered both grants and
loans.
GUYANA
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said
the country plans to monetize its
gas resources in the country by half,
which could promote
the establishment of
a facilities fabrication
industry.
Speaking at the
opening ceremony of the Saipen Guyana
Offshore Construction Facility in
Georgetown recently, Ali noted that the
proposed gas to shore project would
not only cut the cost of electricity by
50 percent but will attract manufacturing
and industrial development in
Guyana.
President Ali said the overall development
of the country will be dependent
on critical investments that will
help provide the necessary pathway
to secure a positive future for all Guyanese.
JAMAICA
The Bank of Jamaica says it anticipates
that the introduction of a Central
Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
scheduled for 2022,
will serve to bolster
government service
delivery and boost
financial inclusion for
a greater number of Jamaicans.
Bank Of Jamaica ( BOJ) Governor,
Dr. Richard Byles said that the
challenges arising in relation to the
deployment of funds to beneficiaries
under the multi-billion-dollar Covid-19
Allocation of Resources to Employees
(CARE) Program highlights the need
for the CBDC.
He noted that a number of Jamaicans
are not part of the financial network
and also because a lot of the banking
arrangements are still not digital. “I
think that there is a greater need for
financial inclusion digitization of the
Jamaican economy, and that is one of
the issues that we hope to rectify with
the CBDC,” he said.
The Bank of Jamaica will undertake
a seven-month CBDC pilot, from May
to December 2021, utilizing its Fintech
Regulatory Sandbox.
Continued on Page 34
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Guyana to monetize gas resources
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