CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
ANTIGUA
Scores of people protested outside
the Office of Prime Minister Gaston
Browne calling on the government to
re-think the policy that all unvaccinated
frontline public sector workers who
refuse to pay for twice-monthly COVID-
19 tests would be required to stay home
without pay.
Browne said the government
remained resolute that it would not
move away from its
policy to get public
servants vaccinated.
The workers shouted
that the government
policies “were
against humans.”
Prime Minister Browne said recently
that his administration must act in the
safety of all government workers, adding
that he was prepared for the political
fallout from the policy.
He said that was the risk he was
prepared to take in the interest of the
country, insisting that at least 30,000
people have so far not taken the vaccine
as the government moves to ensure
herd immunity as soon as possible.
Browne said that tough decisions
must be taken in the interest of the
health and economic well-being of all
citizens.
Antigua and Barbuda has so far
recorded 43 deaths and 1,428 cases of
the virus since March last year.
BARBADOS
The Barbados government plans
to lease the Grantley Adams International
Airport (GAIA) and already the
first virtual bidders consultation under
the planned public-private partnership
(PPP) concession has started to take
place.
Minister of Tourism
and International
Transport, Lisa Cummins
stressed that the
Grantley Adams International Airport
is not being sold, but it is being leased
to a private service provider who will
bring the expertise in airport development,
including infrastructure expansion
over the lifecycle of the lease.
“We have appointed a college of negotiators
now to lead the Grantley Adams
International Airport through the process
of engaging with the IFC, so we have
created double redundancy,” she said.
Cummins said the International
Financial Corporation (IFC) of the
World Bank has been doing capacity
building all around the world will also
been doing the Grantley Adams International
Airport.
The minister added the college of
negotiators incorporates representatives
who came from the Barbadosbased
Caribbean Development Bank as
well as an international law firm held
Caribbean L 4 ife, AUGUST 6-12, 2021
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A private jet on the tarmac at Barbados’ Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados, March 20, 2019. The government plans
to lease the airport. REUTERS/ Phil Noble/ File Phil Noble
three meetings recently.
A government statement said the
way forward in the PPP includes virtual
engagement in the last week of July
2020.
Cummins also disclosed had approved
the investment in a Barbados aviation
sector strategy.
She noted that the aviation industry
— a $30 billion industry — has the
potential to create a growth trajectory
for Barbados.
CARIBBEAN
The United Nations Secretary-General,
Antonio Guterres
said CARICOM has
a key role to play in
restoring peace and
stability to one of its
founding member
states, Haiti.
At the recent virtual opening of
the 11th CARICOM-UN general meeting,
Guterres thanked CARICOM for
their unwavering support to the United
Nations mission in Haiti.
He was heartened by CARICOM’S
willingness to play a role in facilitating
this dialogue.
“We will continue to count on your
strong support as we thrive to help
Haiti, he said.
He made no direct mention of the
July 7 assassination of Haitian President
Jovenel Moise or events arising
after.
In a statement on July 7, CARICOM
condemned Moise’s assassination and
appealed to Haitians “to remain calm
and to overcome their differences and
unite at this moment of national peril.”
CARICOM said it is willing “to play
a lead role in facilitating a process of
national dialogue and negotiation to
help the Haitian people and their institutions
to craft an indigenous solution
to the crisis.”
DOMINICA
The Dominica government
recently
launched its electronic
passport (e-passport)
that it says will significantly
reduce identity
theft and would be an integral component
of its border management system.
Minister of National Security, Rayburn
Blackmoore said Dominicans have
until July 2023 to acquire the new
passport.
He said there will be a two-year
period of the current machine-readable
passport and this is being done to
ensure that everyone can reasonably
apply for the new passport.
Minister of Tourism, Denise Charles,
who stood in for Prime Minister Roosevelt
Skerrit at the launch, said Dominica
has joined other countries worldwide
that “have taken the bold step” in
providing the new travel document.
She said the new initiative will
improve linkages with the CARICOM
Joint Regional Communications Center
as well as Interpol Police.
HAITI
The United States Department of
State recently announced that the Joe
Biden administration
has appointed Ambassador
Daniel Foote, a
career member of the
Senior Foreign Service,
as its Special Envoy for Haiti.
Ned Price, State Department spokesman,
said the Special Envoy will
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