Digicel benefits from Sun2com Solar Energy Solution – Steady developments of new technologies as well as an increasing need of staying online and connected on an international level require reliable internet and mobile phone connections – even in the most remote locations.
The energy supply for telecommunication stations, also referred to as Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), represents a real challenge for small islands such as in the Caribbean. A BTS facilitates wireless communication between a user’s device and the network. To power these BTS sites in remote areas, many telecommunication companies exclusively utilise diesel generators. However, in the Caribbean this solution is becoming more and more prohibitively expensive considering the cost to purchase and transport fuel as well as the rising prices to maintain, repair and overhaul the on-site equipment.
To tackle this problem, Digicel – one of the most important Caribbean mobile phone network providers – recently decided to invest into two 5 kWp sun2com solutions developed by PV Energy Limited and The meeco Group.
Installed in St. Johns in Antigua, each of the sun2com solutions consists of 20 polycrystalline photovoltaic (PV) modules, generating annually at least 7.61 MWh of electricity and therefore saving more than 4,000 kilograms of CO2-emisssions per year. sun2com solutions regularily also include a preferably lithium battery for power storage and a power management and monitoring tool.
By providing clean and reliable energy for the BTS, sun2com reduces the risk of power shortages and outages and gives Digicel more independence from rising fuel and increasing delivery costs. Furthermore, Digicel benefits from lower maintenance requirements and contributes to the sustainable development of the whole Caribbean region.
Specifically designed for off-grid areas the sun2com is the optimal solution for all mobile operators, which are acting in remote regions. Based on top-tier equipment and components to ensure a long-term performance, the sun2com solar telecommunication solution has for example already been implemented for the leading data and voice communication provider in Pakistan.
About PV Energy Ltd.: PV Energy Limited was founded in 2010 and formed by the Londonbased property investor Prof. (hc) Peter Virdee and clean-energy provider The meeco Group. The meeco Group’s core business focuses on the energy sector and is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. The group currently has over 50 employees working across 4 continents. As a leader in clean energy solutions, The meeco Group has delivered a remarkable compilation of projects totalling 370 MW across the globe. They continue to accomplish their mission by providing project developers, investors, governments, and private businesses with full turnkey clean energy solutions from development, financial structuring, construction management, right up to long-term operation and management.
Read More: http://www.medienkontor.net/de/pressebilder/the-meeco-group.html
Digicel benefits from Solar Energy
The OECS 35th Anniversary Message
The OECS 35th Anniversary message by the Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules.
PM Mitchell OECS Day Message, 2016
The OECS Day Message by the Chairman of the OECS Authority, Prime Minister of Grenada Hon. Keith Mitchell.
Prison Rehabilitation Programme
The Government is strengthening the prison rehabilitation programme in order to reduce re-offending and equip inmates with skills to re-enter society.
Minister of National Security, Hon. Robert Montague, said that focus is being placed on improving literacy, preparing inmates for external examinations, engaging them in farming and other work, and providing training in conflict resolution.
“We are insisting that those who are able to, must work,” he said, while addressing a Security and Ethics Conference on June 14 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.
Minister Montague noted that rehabilitation of inmates is critical in the fight against crime.
He said he is convinced that with the resources of the security forces, leadership at the national and community levels, as well as the support of citizens, the desired results can be achieved.
Meanwhile, he informed that as part of improving citizen security, the Government is looking at providing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and a police post for housing developments with 200 and more units.
Minister Montague is also encouraging persons to download the Stay Alert app from the Google Play Store.
The app allows persons to send photos and videos to the police control centre and there is a panic mode to alert law enforcement in times of crisis.
US$80 Million Disbursement for Jamaica
IMF Executive Board Completes Combined Eleventh and Twelfth Reviews under the Extended Fund Facility for Jamaica and Approves US$80 Million Disbursement.
On June 17, 2016, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the combined eleventh and twelfth reviews under the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Jamaica. The completion of the reviews enables the disbursement of an amount equivalent to SDR 56.64 million (about US$80 million) bringing the total disbursements under the arrangement to the equivalent of SDR 530.42 million (about US$748.2 million).
The Executive Board approved the EFF arrangement for four years and a total equivalent to SDR 615.38 million (about US$948.1 million), the equivalent of 225 percent of Jamaica’s quota in the IMF at the time of approval of the arrangement (seePress Release No. 13/150) on May 1, 2013.
Since May 2013, Jamaica’s implementation of the economic reform program supported by the EFF has been exceptional by international standards. After three years of difficult economic reforms, inflation is at historical lows, the current account deficit has more than halved, net international reserves have doubled, and access to domestic and international financial markets has been restored, supported by upgrades in credit ratings and historically high business confidence indicators. Comprehensive reforms in tax policy and administration have been and continue to be undertaken, while strict adherence to fiscal discipline together with a PetroCaribe debt buyback have helped place debt on a downward trajectory. Financial sector resilience has been strengthened and supply-side growth constraints have been eased. Elections in February 2016 resulted in a change in government. The new government remains committed to continuing reforms under the program, with a focus on maintaining fiscal discipline while achieving equitable growth through increased capital spending and the strengthening of the social safety net.
Following the Executive Board’s discussion today, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair issued the following statement:
“Jamaica’s economic reform program supported by the Fund’s Extended Fund Facility has made major strides in restoring macroeconomic stability, pursuing fiscal consolidation, reducing public debt and undertaking significant tax policy reforms, building financial sector resilience, and tackling structural issues. Business confidence is at an all time high, while inflation and the current account deficit have been significantly reduced. The domestic bond market has reopened after the 2013 debt exchange, and private credit growth is recovering.
“The new administration is committed to continued fiscal discipline. The phased personal income tax reform launched with the FY2016/17 budget is a bold step to shift the tax system from direct to indirect taxation. Proper execution of this reform is critical to ensure revenue neutrality and safeguard the revenue base. Strengthening and better targeting conditional cash transfers will help mitigate the impact of the reform on the low-income population.
“Concrete reforms are needed to sustainably reduce the government wage bill, which continues to crowd out priority social and infrastructure spending. Actions should be expedited to divest and outsource certain government services and implement the human resource management system.
“Jamaica’s growth remains weak and unemployment, while declining, is still high. Further structural reforms to boost growth and employment should focus on facilitating private sector development by expanding financial access and reducing financing cost, lowering energy cost, maintaining external competitiveness, reducing tax compliance costs, and improving public sector resource allocation.”
CARICOM to train Regional environmentalists
CARICOM to train Regional environmentalists on implementing MEAs.
Please accept this invitation from the CARICOM Secretariat for your media house to cover the opening ceremony for the workshop.
Kindly see the details below:
Event: Opening Ceremony for Training of Trainers workshop on Mainstreaming Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)
Speaker: Dr. Douglas Slater, Assistant Secretary General in Charge of Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat
Date: Tuesday 21 June 2016
Venue: CARICOM Headquarters, Conference Room, Georgetown Guyana
Time: 9.00 AM
Kindly make every effort to be present at least 15 minutes before the Ceremony for timely coverage of this event.
New president elected to CAIPA
Bridgetown, Barbados, 9 June 2016. A new president has been elected at the Annual General meeting of the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA) to serve during the next period from 2017-2019.
Hosted in collaboration with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), on 7-8 June 2016 in Curacao outgoing President Mr. McHale Andrew (who is also the CEO of Invest Saint Lucia) in his opening remarks noted the continued importance and relevance of Caribbean investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to the region’s economic development and encouraged members to persevere despite the continued challenges of declining budgets and governmental changes that often adversely affect the continuity of investment promotion programmes.
The elected representatives to the CAIPA Board of Directors include: CAIPA President, Ms. Diane Edwards of JAMPRO, Ms. Racquel Moses of invesTT, who will serve as the 1st Vice President, Ms. Bernadette Ambrose-Black, 2nd Vice President, while the 4 Directors are: Mr. Ramon Koffijberg of CINEX, Ms. Rhoda Joseph of Invest Dominica Authority, Mr. Owen Verwey of GO-INVEST and Mr. Ronald Theodore of the Grenada Industrial Development Corporation.
Speaking at the event, the Chairperson of the Board at Caribbean Export, Ms. Donnalee Bowe encouraged the CAIPA Members to celebrate the work that has been successfully implemented under the 10th European Development Fund Regional Private Sector Development Programme that comes to an end in July 2016. She also encouraged the members to learn from the mistakes to improve on future expected programmes.
Opening remarks were also delivered by the Ismail Ersahin, Deputy Executive Director of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), Ramon Koffijberg, Executive Director of CINEX (Curacao’s investment and trade promotion agency). As a prospective member of CAIPA, brief remarks were also delivered by the Honourable Marlon Penn, Junior Minister for Trade and Investment Promotion of the Government of the British Virgin Islands.
Under the theme “Expanding our Reach, Strengthening our Impact” Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) officials, sought to focus attention on the work undertaken during the 10th European Development Fund Regional Private Sector development Programme (10th EDF RPSDP), to evaluate its successes and achievements and highlight the main lessons learnt during the execution of the programme. The members also focused attention on the development of impact assessment models for the tourism and business process outsourcing sectors in an effort to provide valuable information on the potential impact on jobs, taxes and GDP of investments into the aforementioned sectors.
The CAIPA Annual Meeting 2016 also saw the members making a special commitment to collaborating with WAIPA in a meaningful way with an agreed work programme that will draw on WAIPA’s experience and knowledge of good practices in investment promotion. The members also committed to expanding the reach of CAIPA and encouraging the participation of non-CAIPA Caribbean Overseas Countries (OCTs) and territories of the European Union in an effort to strengthen the CAIPA brand and the Caribbean’s value proposition. In this regard the meeting committed to continued collaboration with the COSME Programme (which is an EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of the OCTs).
The CAIPA Annual Meeting was made possible with the support of the EU under the 10th EDF RPSDP and the Haiti-Dominican Republic Bi-national programmes that are managed by Caribbean Export. Participating CAIPA member states were Barbados, Belize, Curacao, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and the Turks and Caicos.
Caribbean Development Bank UK Road Show
Caribbean Development Bank UK Road Show: UK Firms to be Exposed to Potential Commercial Opportunities from the UK-Caribbean Infrastructure Fund.
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), in conjunction with UK Trade Investment (UKTI) Caribbean, will stage information sessions about the £300M UK-Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) in Birmingham, Liverpool and London from June 24-30, 2016.
The sessions will expose UK firms to pertinent information on the UKCIF pipeline; doing business in the Caribbean; procurement guidelines; and how CDB works with countries and partners.
The UKCIF provides grant funding for infrastructure projects in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Montserrat. Qualifying projects include bridges; sea defences; seaports; airports; water/sanitation/wastewater and irrigation. The programme will encourage growth in these countries while leading to improved livelihoods, poverty reduction and safer conditions for citizens. CDB is the implementing partner for the Fund.
Andrew Dupigny, Head of the UKCIF at CDB, an engineer and former head of the Economic Infrastructure Division, and Douglas Fraser, procurement specialist and head of Procurement at CDB will lead the presentations.
Trade Officers from the UKTI Offices in Barbados and Jamaica will also participate in these sessions. They will inform UK firms of the in-country services available to assist firms that wish to pursue opportunities in the markets in which the UK-CIF is being implemented.
Participants will have the opportunity to interact directly with the CDB and UKTI officers. One-on-one meetings can also be arranged.
The dates for the CDB Road Show are as follows:
Friday, June 24th 2016
14:30 at the ‘Selling your Products to Global Aid Organisations’ seminar at the International Festival Business, Exhibition Centre Liverpool, Kings Dock, Liverpool Waterfront, L3 4FP
Monday, June 27th 2016
13:00 at Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, 75 Harborne Rd., Birmingham
Thursday, June 30th 2016
13:00 at the British Expertise, 23 Grafton St., London.
Zika count continues to rise in Trinidad
June 17, 2016: The Ministry of Health, following consultation with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) would like to inform the public that as of June 17th, 2016, the number of confirmed cases of Zika Virus in Trinidad stands at 68. There are at this time, no confirmed cases in Tobago.
While the Ministry of Health continues its efforts to monitor Zika and other mosquito borne diseases, citizens are encouraged to follow the under-mentioned steps to prevent infection of themselves and their loved ones:
· Dispose of all unwanted containers/items in the yard or environs which can collect water and become mosquito breeding grounds.
· Cover water containers such as barrels, drums or buckets with a mosquito proof covering.
· Ensure that your drains and guttering allow the free flow of water.
· Empty and scrub the sides of water vases or use dirt or sand instead to support flowers.
· Cover extremities when out in the evenings.
· Use bed nets that are tightly tucked under the mattress for protection at night.
· Use insect repellent that contains DEET as an active ingredient.
The table below shows the number of laboratory confirmed cases of mosquito borne diseases in Trinidad and Tobago for 2016.
The C.A.N.E. Initiative launched
Co-operative Development Division launches the C.A.N.E. Initiative.
June 17, 2016: The Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development’s Co-operative Development Division (CDD) launched the first phase of its Co-operative Agribusiness Networking Exercise (C.A.N.E.) at the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies on Thursday June 16, 2016. The C.A.N.E. initiative forms part of the CDD’s Community Outreach Programmes to target the agricultural-based Co-operatives in the St. George East/West, Caroni, Victoria, Nariva/Mayaro counties and Tobago.
C.A.N.E. seek to the develop co-operatives in the non-financial, economic sectors by building skills necessary to increase marketability and attract potential investors. The CDD designed C.A.N.E. as a direct response to address the issues of poverty alleviation, employment creation and to empower vulnerable groups.
Subsequent outreach programmes are planned for the month of June leading up to International Day of Co-operatives, which is observed annually on the first Saturday in July. The CDD plans to mark this day with a grand, agricultural exposition on Saturday, July 02, 2016. The theme for this year’s International Day of Co-operatives is “Co-operatives: The Power to Act for a Sustainable Future” and will highlight the contribution of co-operatives and the co-operative business model to the sustainable development of communities and nations.
Co-operatives have traditionally served as tools for development by maximizing access to markets through economies of scale and income distribution and minimizing Government intervention and capital injection. It is anticipated that C.A.N.E. will bring about a revitalization in agriculture and empower co-operatives in the agricultural sector.
