KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC -- Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has admitted that an investor whose company is the focus of a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) investigative programme visited his official residence twice, contrary to what he told the media in February. The admission in a March 7 letter to Matthew Chapman, producer of a BBC programme being made about Harlequin Property, owners of Buccament Bay Resort here, also contradicts Gonsalves statements that he has never met Ames in the absence of his lawyer, Samuel E. Commissiong.
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CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The St. Lucia Teachers Union (SLTU) has accepted a new offer by the government signalling a possible end to industrial action by public workers that has severely disrupted the operations of public services on the island. The SLTU Tuesday voted to accept the government’s four per cent wage increase in addition to six of the eight conditions outlined by the union during the talks with the Government Negotiating Team (GNT). The GTN had made two new offers from its original offer of a four per cent wage hike.
BRIDGETOWQN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados government says it plans to spend an estimated BDS$3.8 billion (One BDS dollar = US$0.50 cents) during the 2013-14 fiscal year, according to the estimates laid in Parliament. The Freundel Stuart government which was re-elected to office by a narrow 16-14 margin in the February 21 general election will spend BDS$227.5 million more than had been budgeted for the 2012-13 revised figure.
St. John’s Antigua- The church is answering the call from the nation’s leader, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, to organise activities aimed at curbing crime and violence, which continues to permeate the twin island state. Beginning this weekend, churches across the island will be offering special prayer sessions for the country. The events, which remain in planning stages, will lead up to a National Day of Prayer, Fasting and Worship, to be held at the Antigua Recreation Grounds (ARG), on Wednesday, March 20.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sub-regional Office for Barbados and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) will host the finals, expo and award ceremony of the Caribbean Innovation Challenge (CIC) on April 25-26, at the Hilton Hotel Resort in Barbados. The Caribbean Innovation Challenge (CIC) is an international entrepreneur competition and business start-up accelerator for young people in CARICOM member states.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - JAMAICA is to receive euro 0.5 million (approx J$63.4 million) from the European Union (EU) to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy in the eastern section of the island. The EU said the money, which will fund the operations of the French Red Cross in Portland, St Thomas and St Mary to repair damaged homes and helping victims overcome their losses and regain their livelihoods. The Dominican Republic has also been offered one million euro by the EU, which said it has decided to increase the aid granted to victims of Hurricane Sandy by euro 1.5 million.
NEW YORK, CMC – The US-based Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Grenada to 'SD' (selective default) from 'CCC+/C'. "The downgrade to 'SD' follows the government of Grenada's announcement that it will not pay the coupon due March 15, 2013, on its U.S. dollar and Eastern Caribbean dollar bonds due in 2025," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Joydeep Mukherji. The newly elected Grenada government recently announced that it does not expect to have the funds to pay the coupon during the relevant grace periods.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government suffered a major setback in the courts after a High Court judge ruled that the bailout plan by the Kamla Persad Bissessar-led coalition People’s Partnership administration was unlawful. High Court judge Joan Charles Tuesday ordered the State to pay a group of Executive Flexible Premium Annuity (EFPA) policyholders all the money they invested in the failed insurance giant, plus interest. Soon after it won the May 2010 general election, the Persad Bissessar government announced a new bailout plan for CLICO policy holders.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - IT was bad enough for the United Nations to bring cholera into earthquake-stricken Haiti via its troops. But to give itself legal immunity against victims’ claims for damages is simply outrageous. In just one sentence, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has severely damaged the confidence that the people of Haiti has reposed in the UN ever since the Duvalier dictatorship fell, making room for a greater UN presence in this Caribbean country.
Haiti needs to develop a coordinated plan of action on human rights and a framework on the rule of law, an independent United Nations expert has said, noting that while positive changes are coming very slowly, there is a strong expectation from Haitians to see improvements.
“There is a need to have a strategy, there is a need also for each of the ministers to understand that they have a piece of the puzzle of the rule of law,” Michel Forst, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, told UN Radio yesterday.