CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
ANTIGUA
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has
defended his government’s policy to
enforce the recently announced vaccine
mandate affecting the private sector,
indicating that he will meet this week
to decide on the fines to be imposed
for businesses failing to adhere to the
policy.
The government has said that the
private sector businesses with five or
more employees must
ensure that all staff
members are vaccinated
and fines could be
imposed should they
fail to adhere to the
new policy.
Browne told the nation on his weekend
radio program “Antigua and Barbuda
is actually within pole position in
the Caribbean in so far as vaccinations
are concerned. Now within the private
sector we would have introduced some
mandates recently and I believe they
become effective shortly as well.”
He acknowledged that there may be
some employers “who would not be
moving with alacrity to ensure that the
staff is vaccinated.”
BARBADOS
The Barbados government has welcomed
the support shown by citizens to
the island’s Optional Savings Scheme
(BOSS), the cash-for-bonds initiative for
public servants, pensioners and private
companies.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance,
Ryan Straughn told Parliament that
there has been a strong support to the
initiative just over a year after its introduction
and that, up to Sept. 30, public
sector workers held about 18 million of
the BOSS bonds while
pensioners accounted
for an estimated eight
million.
BOSS, which took
effect in July 2020, allows public servants
to agree to have a portion of their
converted bonds over an 18-month period.
It also applies to pensioners. Companies
and the wider public were also able
to buy the bonds from public servants
through the Central Bank or a broker.
Under the scheme which is aimed at
raising over Bds$150 million up to January
next year to help capital projects,
bond holders will get a five percent
interest rate that is payable twice a year.
The bonds will mature after four years.
CARIBBEAN
As several Caribbean countries battle
their highest COVID-19 infections and
deaths rate, the Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO) says 29 percent of
the CARICOM population is at a higher
risk of developing severe strains of the
disease.
Caribbean L 4 ife, NOV. 26-DEC. 2, 2021
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, right, greets St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip Joseph Pierre during arrivals at the COP26 U.N.
Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the
world, in Scotland’s biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming. Associated Press/
Alastair Grant, Pool, fi le
It is as a consequence of these Caribbean
citizens having at least one underlying
health conditions.
At the PAHO’s recent press briefing
in the Americas, Incident Manager for
COVID-19, Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri said
the data shows that comorbidities are a
factor associated with severity.
He said based on studies, PAHO
knows that 22 percent
or approximately 145
million people in Latin
America and the Caribbean
have underlying
health conditions.
“Regarding the Caribbean countries
that are part of the Caribbean Community,
CARICOM, where we have observed
the highest prevalence of cardiovascular
diseases, including hypertension, diabetes
mellitus and chronic kidney diseases,
the estimation of the Pan American
Health Organization, in collaboration
with the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine, is that we have up
to 29 percent of the population with at
least one underlying condition, therefore,
being at risk for severe COVID-19,”
he said
GUYANA
The Guyana government is pursuing
the development of a deep water harbor
in the Atlantic Ocean to accommodate
large vessels, a project once completed
will also benefit other South American
countries including Suriname, Brazil
and possibly French Guiana.
President Irfaan Ali told reporters
during a recent virtual press conference
“it’s a project across the borders we have
started discussion with both Brazil and
Suriname and all three countries are
fully committed.”
Noting its importance to doing business,
Ali said the government is looking
to fund the project through private
sector investment with commitments
from the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
to help.
Ali said Abu Dhabi is looking at
leading the studies to come up with a
technical evaluation and then financial
evaluation.
The president, who recently held discussions
with investors
in Dubai and other
parts of the Middle
East and also discussions
with the management
of Khalifa Port, said there is
strong support for the project.
Khalifa Port is a deep water project in
Abu Dhabi, capital of UAE.
JAMAICA
The Jamaica Constabulary Force
(JCF) said there had been more than
1,200 murders in just over 10 months of
this year, significantly higher than the
same period last year.
Figures recently released by the JFC,
showed that there were 1,215 killings
from Jan. 1 to Nov. 6,
compared to 1,01 during
the corresponding
period in 2020, an
increased or 10.4 percent.
The St. Andrew South Police Division
continues to lead in murders so
far this year, with 144 cases or 20 more
cases when compared to 124 murders
recorded for the corresponding period
last year.
The JFC said the number of shootings
island-wide rose marginally by 0.6
percent with the figures showing there
were 1,081 shootings, six more than
last year.
The police are recording declines in
cases of rapes, robberies and break-ins
for the same period last year.
The JFC said that the number of
serious and violent crimes so far this
year has declined by 8.7 percent, with a
total of 4,031 when compared to 4,415
last year.
Continued on Page 24
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