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Dominica and Cuba sign cooperation agreement in health

Health Agreement

Dominica and the Republic of Cuba signed a contract for the renewal of the cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba and the Ministry of Health and Environment of Dominica on Friday, October 21st.

During the ceremony the Hon Health, Dr. Kenneth Darroux, highlighted the history between Cuba and Dominica.
“The Government and the People of Dominica have enjoyed an extremely close relation with the Republic of Cuba for a very long time. This is cemented by the signing of diplomatic relations in 1998. We have benefited and is benefitting from the Cuban Technical Cooperation Programme in the area of health as far back as 1989. We are talking about a decade before we officially signed diplomatic relations we were benefiting from the Cuban Technical Cooperation. This is a cooperation which have helped and continues to transform the health care services here on island. This technical cooperation is among the largest contributor to the health sector during the last three decades.”
The Hon Minister who signed the agreement on behalf of the Ministry of Health and the Environment believes that this agreement will further strengthen the island’s health sector.
“I am convinced that the technical and professional assistance from the Republic of Cuba will grow from strength to strength…this new agreement will focus on the formation of national human resources, health care, advice on the implementation of health programmes, promotion of health care in the population and repairs and maintenance of medical equipment. His Excellency, I want to thank you personally for your personal involvement in ensuring that this agreement is ready to be signed…”
H.E Juan Carlos Frometa signed on behalf of the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba.
“For a number of years we have been helping Dominican people. For a number of years we have a Cuban medical team working here. We have Cuban doctors and nurses in Roseau, Portsmouth and Marigot. This agreement shows that the Cuban Government will continue to help Dominica. We are friends, we are sister islands, and we are from the same region,” His Excellency Carlos Frometa stated.

Barbados Hoping To Home Port Viking Star

Richard Sealy with Viking Star Captain
Minister of Tourism and International Transport. Richard Sealy presents Captain of the Viking Star, Rune Lokling with a plaque commemorating the cruise liner’s inaugural visit to Barbados. (J.Weekes/BGIS)

The Ministry of Tourism and International Transport is hoping that the Bridgetown Port will become the home port for the cruise ship Viking Star as early as next season, which begins in November.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Richard Sealy, expressed this wish during a plaque exchange ceremony for the ship’s inaugural visit to Barbados on Sunday.
While welcoming the vessel’s captain Rune Lokling and his crew to the island, Mr. Sealy encouraged them to consider Barbados as more than just a stop on their journey.
“We’re happy that you have selected Barbados… Look to Bridgetown, not only as a stop…you can just as easily home port in Barbados…Barbados is very big in the home porting business… so why not home port Viking,” he suggested.
The Tourism Minister remarked that Barbados could benefit significantly from such a venture, in terms of its economy, as well as manufacturers, farmers, importers and service providers
With the Viking Star being little over a year old, Mr. Sealy noted that there was also great benefit in Barbados being on the ship’s lists of stops so early in its life on the seas. “[As] it’s a new line…it is good that we are in this early [so] that we can promote ourselves,” he pointed out.
The Viking Star has the capacity to room 930 persons and 475 crew members, and consists of nine decks. The vessel was named the number one ocean cruise line by travel and leisure readers in the World’s Best Awards 2016.

Dean calls for Inclusive Approach to Employment

CARICOM Youth Ambassadors

CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Corps’ Dean calls for Inclusive Approach to Employment.

Representatives in the services sector across the Caribbean converged in Antigua from October 17th to October 19th for a CARICOM Regional Symposium on Services.  The purpose of the forum was to develop strategies and action plans to boost investment, output, employment and trade in the sector.
The services sector, which covers more than 70% of the region’s export earnings, offers wide and varied opportunities for development in retail, distribution, consultancy, finance, tourism, communication, transport and more.
Speaking at the symposium, Dean of the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Corps Charde Desir said it is paradoxical to believe that the Caribbean’s human resource is its most vital asset while at the same time underutilizing the region’s youth.
Desir, who also serves as the Saint Lucian Male CARICOM Youth Ambassador, told the CARICOM/CARIFORUM stakeholders that with 60% of the region’s population being under 30, more than half of the new job seekers are young people.
Said Desir, “If our youth are the key to a sustainable future, then we need to engage them. Their value must not be overlooked.  Yet we inadvertently do so, when vacancies are advertised and they require a minimum of three years’ experience. Or after a few weeks of a vacancy being posted, a notice is found in the paper stating that since no suitable candidate has been found, we are tendering for applicants outside of the country.”
Desir implored the stakeholders, who he referred to as having the power to provide opportunities, to embrace the fresh perspectives, willingness and energy of young people to unlock their potential which will redound to their benefit and the further development of the region.  He believes that traditional professions should no longer be the focus or the aspiration.
“A precise description of the job market is needed, which provides an accurate snapshot of the areas that are over saturated as well as the areas that could benefit from additional stimulation. The services sector should work alongside our research institutions to provide this information, so that we can encourage persons to seek careers that suit the job market, rather than have a job market that doesn’t support the people.”
 Through this approach, Desir said a sustainable and prosperous region will become reality – by fostering the capacity of the youth and accommodating them in various regional frameworks, the need to seek employment outside of the region will be reduced.

20ft container heads to Haiti

Container to Haiti

As promised by the Honourable Prime Minister, Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit, at a press conference last week, a 20ft container is currently being loaded for shipment to Haiti.

Following the impact on Haiti and the Bahamas by Hurricane Matthew, the Dominica leader launched an appeal to the private sector to fuel support for the donation of relief items for the severely affected people of Haiti.
GIS news spoke with National Disaster Coordinator, Cecil Shillingford, at the Woodbridge Bay port while the Office of Disaster Management along with representatives from the Red Cross loaded a 20 feet container scheduled to leave Dominica this week.
“It is directed particularly to Les Cayes which was a hard hit area in the southern part of Haiti. Another container will be stuffed in the coming week for the Bahamas. That will either go to Grand Bahama or Andros which were the two worst hit communities in the Bahamas.”
Shillingford expressed that the Office of Disaster Management is impressed with the outpouring of support from the private sector following the appeal.
“They have come out and they provided a lot of the things that we require. They are still providing stuff which will go into the second 20ft container. Some of the items are sugar, flour, rice, biscuits, a lot of water and blankets going out to Haiti. That [the blankets] we will not send to the Bahamas…”
The container will leave on Monday, 24th October and should arrive in Haiti in a week or two.
Meanwhile individuals or organizations desirous of making contributions are advised to contact the Office of Disaster Management at 448-7777 or email odm@dominica.gov.dm. They can also contact the Dominica Red Cross at 448-8280.

Nineteen Bills Listed For Meeting Of Parliament

House of Assembly

Nineteen (19) Bills are listed to be dealt with at a meeting of Parliament set to take place this Friday, 28th October.

The list includes the International Business Companies Amendment Bill, the Value Added Tax Amendment Bill, the Companies Amendment Bill, and the Education Amendment Bill, which will receive their first reading.  Pension Declaration Bills for Joy Cato, Rayson Duncan, Hermisteen Burke, Godson Caine and Erene Burke are also listed to receive their first reading.
A Select Committee Report will be presented on the Occupational Safety and Health Bill.
Six private Bills will receive their first reading and four will be read for the second time. There are also thirteen questions listed for oral answers from the Opposition. Friday’s meeting begins at nine in the morning, at the Assembly Chamber in Kingstown.

Youth Environmental Consultations Underway

YEAP

The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation has embarked on a series of regional consultations islandwide under its Youth Environmental Advocacy Programme (YEAP).

The forums, which kicked off at the Mannings School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on October 21, aim to increase young people’s knowledge, understanding and appreciation of and for the environment.
They are also intended to engage the participant’s commitment to and endorsement of the principles of environmental conservation and protection.
Hundreds of secondary students across Westmoreland participated in Friday’s launch, which was staged under the theme – ‘Waste Management in Jamaica’.
Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Lieutenant Colonel Oral Khan, who spoke during the opening ceremony, noted that young people had an important role to play as stewards of the environment.
“We are interacting with the youth of our nation because we are well aware that you are the ones who still have an opportunity to make a difference…to preserve our environment,” he said
In this regard, Lt. Col. Khan informed that young people would be empowered with sufficient information through YEAP which, he added, would also provide them with opportunities, such as the forums, to share their views with decision makers.
“You will then (be able) make the sort of decisions that can turn things around favourably for the environment which you will (in time) inherit,” he stated.
Speaking with JIS News, Lt. Col. Khan said the activities staged during Friday’s launch were tailored to garner the participants’ views and feedback.
These, he indicated, would be incorporated into the policy formulation process at the Government level.
“As part of Government policy, we have to consult with the people who the policies will impact. Consultations are necessary as these will ensure (that) the views of a wider cross-section (of the society are heard). We are anticipating very valuable feedback from these (and other sessions), in which our youths (will be) engaged,” Lt. Col. Khan said.

St. Lucia – Department of Finance Relocation

St. Lucia Finance Administrative Centre

This serves to notify that the Department of Finance will be relocating office from Friday, October 21 – Monday, October 24, 2016.

In that regard, the Office of the Director of Finance, Administration and Accounts, Budget Office, Research and Policy, Financial Administration, Evaluation and Monitoring, and the Debt and Investment Sections will be closed to the public on Friday October 21 and Monday October 24, 2016 to facilitate the move.
The general public and all government offices are therefore notified that the Department of Finance will resume services on Tuesday October 25, 2016 at its new location in the Finance Administrative Centre, Pointe Seraphine, Castries.
Any inconvenience caused by the two (2) day closure is regretted.

St. Lucia Finance Administrative Centre
St. Lucia Finance Administrative Centre

Launch of the Belize Crime Observatory

Belize Press Office

The Ministry of Home Affairs invites you to attend the following:
Event: Launch of the Belize Crime Observatory
Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Where: Radisson Fort George Hotel, Belize City
 
 

Free Movement Sensitization for Labour Stakeholders

CSME

Employers and workers organizations as well as other labour-related entities across the region are to become more aware of the free movement provisions of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

This is due to a series of free movement sensitization sessions by the CARICOM Secretariat which began earlier this year. The latest activity is set for Dominica and will take place from Monday October 24 to Tuesday, October 25 at the Fort Young Hotel. This initiative is being facilitated under the 10th European Development Fund CSME and Economic Integration Programme. Approximately 40 representatives from local organizations in both the public and private sectors are expected to attend the two-day activity.
Resource persons from the Secretariat will conduct the sensitization exercise which will cover the following areas: the facilitation of hassle-free travel, movement of skilled CARICOM nationals, the right of establishment and the provision of services. Participants will also be apprised of the CARICOM Complaints Procedure which nationals can use if they feel that they have been denied access to any of the regimes as they travel to other member states. Additionally, they will be informed of their responsibilities as citizens who seek to move under any of the free movement regimes of the CSME. The session also provides an opportunity for labour stakeholders to have any issues clarified regarding free movement or to make recommendations.
Another such session will be convened in Antigua and Barbuda on Friday, October 28 with similar stakeholders. There are plans to have these free movement sensitization exercises in other CSME-participating member states in the coming months and in early 2017. This initiative forms part of the CARICOM Secretariat’s effort to ensure that all stakeholders are informed of the CSME provisions thereby securing buy-in and active participation in the Single Market and Economy.

Referendum in Venezuela in 2016

Referendum in Venezuela

OAS Secretary General: “To Deny the Recall Referendum in Venezuela in 2016 is an Inflection Point”

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, today called on the countries of the region to take “concrete actions to defend democracy in Venezuela” after the Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE) suspended the process of the collection of signatures to convene a recall referendum, an action he regarded as an inflection point and a breakdown of the democratic system.
The Secretary General underlined that “only dictatorships deprive their citizens of rights, ignore the legislature, and hold political prisoners,” and added: “Today we are more convinced than ever of the breakdown of the democratic system. It is time to take concrete actions.”
He explained that the denial by the CNE of the constitutional right of the people of Venezuela to hold the recall referendum violates their rights and violates popular sovereignty.
Almagro said the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, lost “all of his legitimacy of origin after leaving the people of Venezuela without electoral rights” and that therefore the political instability created will be his responsibility.
The OAS leader called on the countries of the Americas to act in the framework of article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which “imposes the obligation of concrete results,” and urged the use of mediators that have “the trust of everyone.”
In this context, the OAS Secretary General referred to the dialogue initiative led by the former Presidents José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Martín Torrijos y Leonel Fernández: “it has failed to prevent institutional breakdown; on the contrary whatever its intentions it has aided the string of obstacles placed before the realization of the recall referendum.”
Therefore – concluded Almagro– is essential that “there be a new mediation effort that gives moral force to the solutions needed by the Venezuelan people.”

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