Antigua
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Gaston Browne said that Barbados has agreed to sell almost all of its shares in the cash-strapped regional airline LIAT to Antigua and Barbuda.
Speaking on his private radio station recently, Browne said he had received communication from his Barbados counterpart Mia Mottley, indicating that her government was willing to sell all but 10 percent of its shares in the Antigua-based LIAT that serves 15 Caribbean countries.
“The intent is not to exclude any country from participating in LIAT. In fact, as far as practicable we would want to broaden the shareholding in Liat,” he told listeners.
Antigua and Barbuda currently holds 34 percent of the shares and if it succeeds in convincing Barbados to part with its shares, Antigua and Barbuda would have 71 percent in the airline.
Browne said Mottley indicated in her letter that they would want to retain at least 10 percent and this certainly would be desirable.
LIAT currently employs more than 600 people and operates 491 flights weekly across 15 destinations. Browne said the idea is to have many Caribbean countries included in the ownership of LIAT.
The other main shareholder governments are St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Dominica.
Caribbean
Several Caribbean countries will benefit as a result of two agreements signed between the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of American States (OAS), Telefonica, and Fundacion Profuturo aimed at promoting digital inclusion and education in the region.
The OAS said agreements form part of the commitment made in the framework of the TIC 2030 Alliance.
The agreement signed with ProFuturo is focused on digital education in Guyana, where 5,435 primary school students and 449 teachers in the country will have access to interactive content and materials to improve their learning experiences.
The OAS said this agreement is part of the first edition of the program in the Caribbean, in which it is a strategic partner and will benefit more than 23,000 children in The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana and Jamaica.
Guyana
A 25-year-old Ecuadorian chef, who admitted that he had come to Guyana with the hope of selling fake United States visas, had been jailed for four years for conspiracy to commit forgery and cocaine trafficking.
Acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus presiding in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court heard that Julio Caesar-Harreira, on May 23, was intercepted by police from the Criminal Investigation Department with two fake US visas in his hands.
Harreira then took the police to a house in the capital, Georgetown where on searching the premises, a cigarette pack containing cocaine was found.
The accused told the court that he did know the fake visas were a serious offence in Guyana saying he had no intention of scamming anybody.
He also pleaded guilty to being in possession of a quantity of cocaine. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment on the forgery charge and one year in jail for possession of cocaine as well as a Guy$20,000 fine.
Haiti
The Haitian National Police says at least 15 underage girls were raped during a two-month period that recently ended.
The announcement by the police came after more than 1,000 Haitians took to the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince to denounce sexual violence in the French-speaking CARICOM country.
The police said that the period March 20 to May 28, at least 22 women and girls including 15 underage, were raped in the capital area of Port-au-Prince.
Jamaica
The Jamaican government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of the United Kingdom to train 13 critical care nurses, starring from this month.
The MoU was signed in Geneva, Switzerland recently by Minister of Health, Dr. Christopher Tufton and Chief Medical Officer of the UK and Northern Ireland, Professor Sally Davies, at the World Health Assembly.
Dr. Tufton said the nurses and patients will benefit from this training and the MoU will serve as a sign of the bond between both countries.
He expressed his gratitude for the collaboration.
The minister said the government and people of Jamaica would appreciate this initiative, which serves as a historic moment for both countries and nurses globally.
St. Lucia
The St. Lucia government has welcomed the six percent decline in unemployment for the first three months of 2019.
The Department of Statistics noted that unemployment declined from 21.80 percent to 15.5 percent over the same period last year.
It said youth unemployment for the period January to March declined from 38.78 percent last year to 25.9 percent this year.
Prime Minister, Allen Chastanet in a statement described the unemployment figures as “very encouraging” and that his administration was looking forward to reducing the figure given the visit of the US-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
He said the purpose of engaging agencies such as OPIC is to continue to stimulate economic growth that the government was looking forward “to working with them to implement projects that impact and change lives.”
The OPIC delegation also visited Jamaica and the Bahamas in keeping with a promise made by President Donald Trump to four CARICOM leaders whom he met at his private residence in Miami earlier this year to discuss the ongoing political situation in Venezuela.
Trinidad
Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley recently ended a 10-day long trip to the United States, the Netherlands and the UK seeking favorable terms for Trinidad and Tobago energy’s sector.
This is according to a release from his office which stated that the prime minister met with Shell in The Hague, Netherlands, BP in London and EOG Resources and BHP in Houston, USA.
Rowley said over one year, the government’s empowered negotiation team had successfully negotiated a complex deal with the two major energy players, Shell and BP.
During the meeting with Shell at their headquarters in The Hague, the parties reached an agreement on several items. These included the settlement of outstanding legacy claims between the parties, extensions of various Production Sharing Contracts and an agreement on enhanced revenue between both parties, with an increased government take, according to the release.
The prime minister dubbed the agreement made between T&T’s government and Shell as historic.
— Compiled by Azad Ali
