CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Barbados
International media group Reporters
Without Borders (RWB) has condemned
the murder of 25-year-old
photojournalist Christoff Griffith, who
was one of two people killed by a man
at the abandoned residence of Barbados’
Anglican bishop last week.
In a statement, (RWB) said the
young man who, was employed with
Barbados Nation newspaper “was
killed on assignment”
and it was calling “for
credible investigation
into his death.”
Workers had been
excavating the property
when a man who was living there
killed one of the two workers, Griffith
arrived at the scene before police and
was attacked and chopped upon entering
the property by the same man.
Police said one person is assisting in
their investigations.
The Association of Caribbean Media
Workers (ACM) also expressed “shock”
at the murder, saying “it condemns
this and all other ruthless forms of
attack on journalists and the media
throughout the world.”
Bahamas
A new survey conducted by the
audit, tax and advisory firm, Pricewaterhouse
Coopers (PwC) has found
that the greatest concern for Caribbean
businesses is a new wave of the
coronavirus.
The sixth COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey,
which was conducted between
June 1-11, involved 989 chief financial
officers (CFOs) in 23 countries including
more than 40 CFOs in the Caribbean.
The majority of
the CFOs surveyed in
the Caribbean expect
COVID-19 to decrease
revenue / profits by 10
percent with 11 percent stating while
they expect a decrease, the range is
unknown and two percent say the
impact is too difficult to assess at this
time.
Most Caribbean CFOs (70 percent
as compared to 63 percent globally)
cite offering new or enhanced products
or services as most important to
rebuilding or enhancing their revenue
streams. None are considering making
cuts to digital transformation or
cybersecurity.
“As Bahamians begin to return to
the workplace, organizations need
to consider how they will support
employees to adapt to new working
conditions and realities, which may
range from adjusting to reconfigured
office layouts to the adoption of new
behaviors designed to promote safety,”
said Prince Rahming, PwC Bahamas
Caribbean L 6 ife, JULY 3-9, 2020
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
paramilitary leader Emmanuel Constant, center, is detained after being deported from the US, by Haitian police at his arrival
to the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Constant faces charges stemming
from killings in the 1990s, when he became the leader of the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti, after President Jean-
Bertrand AristideÕs presidency was toppled. Associated Press / Dieu Nalio Chery
territory leader.
“Only about a third of Caribbean
region CFOs says they are very confident
about their company’s ability to
manage their employees’ well-being
and morale, yet these are factors that
may significantly affect productivity
and possibly the pace of future economic
recovery,” he said.
Haiti
The former paramilitary leader of
the Revolutionary Front Armed for
the Progress of Haiti,
Emmanuel “Toto”
Constant, was arrested
on arrival in Haiti
from the United States
on murder and torture
charges dating back to the 1990s.
Constant along with 24 other deportees,
who landed in the capital of Port
au-Prince, the fourth such flight since
the COVID-19 pandemic began, said
Jean Negot Bonheur Delva, director of
Haiti Migration Office.
Human rights groups have accused
Constant of killing, raping and torturing
Haitians when he became leader
of the Front for the Advancement and
Progress of Haiti after President Jean-
Bertrand’s presidency was toppled in
1991. They allege that between 1991
and 1994, the group that Constant
led terrorized and slaughtered at least
3,000 slum dwellers loyal to Aristide.
When Aristide returned to power in
1994 with the help from the U.S military,
Constant fled to the Dominican
Republic and then entered the USA
on Christmas Eve. He was ordered
deported in 1995 but was allowed to
remain in the U.S because of the instability
in Haiti.
In 2000 Constant was convicted
in absentia in Haiti following a trial
for the 1994 massacre in Raboteau, a
shantytown in the northern coastal
town of Gonaives where Aristide supporters
were killed.
He was arrested in Queens, New
York in 2006 and later found guilty of
fraud and grand larceny. In October
2008, he was sentenced to 12 years
in prison for his role in a $1.7 million
mortgage fraud scheme.
Guyana
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority
(GCCA) said there will be a phased
re-opening of the country’s airports
to international flights from July 1,
following the lockdown in March to
stem the spread of the
coronavirus (COVID-
19) pandemic.
GCCA Director,
Egbert Field was
speaking during a webinar hosted by
the authority, titled “Path to Clear
Skies” where aviation stakeholders
discussed the resumption of aviation
services following the cessation of
flights brought on by the pandemic.
He said July 1 will signal the start of
the second of a phase-four plan for the
reopening of Cheddi Jagan International
Airport (CJIA) and the Eugene F
Correira International Airport.
During phase 2, which runs until
July 31, there would be limited incoming
flights for citizens, permanent
residents, international workers, diplomats
and repatriation flights.
Among the protocols for the Cheddi
Jagan International Airport are the
wearing of masks by passengers and
staff, checking body temperature,
placement of social distancing markers,
sanitization stations, and the
removal of seats in the areas accessible
to the general public.
CJIA has suspended the use of
boarding bridges for the time being
but has not indicated when it will be
bought back into service.
Guyana closed its airports to schedule
international travel on March 18 as
part of its fight against COVID-19.
Jamaica
Jamaica’s Minister of Finance, Dr.
Nigel Clarke has said the island’s economy
was expected to
contract by over five
percent this fiscal year
as the island implements
the impact of
measures to deal with
the impact of the coronavirus (COVIDFormer
THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME
Haiti detains former paramilitary leader
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