The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is embarking on several initiatives to modernise the country’s information and communications technology (ICT) framework.
In his contribution to the 2016/17 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 8, State Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, said among the initiatives is the amending of the Broadcasting and Radio Re-Diffusion Act as well as the Television Sound Broadcasting Regulations.
“We aim to amend the legislative framework for electronic media as an interim measure pending promulgation of the ICT Act, which takes into account current and emerging advances in broadcasting regulation,” he said.
The Ministry will also be introducing an overarching information policy to provide for the access, dissemination and preservation of Government information.
This will include the development of a Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) Funding Model for sustainable Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ) operations, as a component of the overarching information policy.
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JUNE 12th, 2016 (PRESS SEC) –Thirty-five years ago this week, the Treaty of Basseterre was signed on June 18th, 1981 in the capital city of St. Kitts, establishing the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
The original signatories were Antigua and Barbuda (signed by Deputy Premier Lester Bird); Dominica (Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles); Grenada (Prime Minister Maurice Bishop); Montserrat (Minister of Education Franklyn Margetson); St. Kitts and Nevis (Premier Kennedy Simmonds); St. Lucia (Prime Minister Winston Cenac), and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Deputy Prime Minister Hudson Tannis). By signing the treaty, they agreed to cooperate with each other and promote unity and solidarity among the OECS membership. The British Virgin Islands joined the OECS in November 1984 and Anguilla in May 1995; both are associate members. Tomorrow, Monday, June 13th at 9:00am, the 35thAnniversary Celebrations will be launched at a press conference that is scheduled to simulcast in all OECS Member States. Dr. Didacus Jules, the Director General of the OECS Commission, will deliver welcome remarks.
The outgoing OECS Chairman, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Keith Mitchell of Grenada, will deliver a feature address at the press conference. Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris will also deliver a feature address as the incoming OECS Chairman. The OECS Authority meets twice a year and its chairmanship changes every June.
A Q&A session will follow a presentation by Mr. Anthony Severin, the OECS Commission’s Head of International Relations, on the role of the OECS institutions. In addition to Director General of the OECS Commission, Dr. Jules, the heads of the other OECS institutions who will be at the press conference are Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), the Honourable Dame Janice M. Pereira; Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Mr. Timothy Antoine; Director General of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA), Mr. Donald McPhail, and Managing Director of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), Mr. Embert Charles.
On Wednesday, June 15th, starting at 9:30am, a church service will be held at the Immaculate Conception Church in Castries, St. Lucia, where the OECS Secretariat is based.
The complete list of the OECS’s 35th Anniversary Week of Activities follows.
OECS 35th Anniversary Week of ActivitiesJune 13-18, 2016
Date
Activity
Venue
Monday, 13thJune@ 9:00am
OECS Regional Press Conference: Launch of 35thAnniversary Celebrations
Video-conference across all Member States
Wednesday, 15th June@ 9:30am
OECS Church Service with sister Institutions ECCB, ECSC and ECTEL
Immaculate Conception Church, Castries, St. Lucia
Thursday, 16th June@ 10:00am
OECS Virtual Lecture Forum:Youth Empowerment in the OECS
Video-conference across all Member States
Friday, 17thJune
OECS T-Shirt Day
OECS Commission
Saturday, 18th June
OECS DAY
Premiere of OECS Founding Forefathers Video Series
T&T concerned about protecting rights of Jamaicans
Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Faris Al-Rawi, says his Government is concerned about protecting the interests of Jamaicans in the twin-island republic.
He said that there are 8,000-9,000 Jamaicans in Trinidad, many of whom have overstayed their time and are susceptible to unscrupulous persons, who would want to take advantage of their undocumented status.
Mr. Al-Rawi noted that his Government intends to ensure that these undocumented Jamaicans receive the best treatment possible and are not subject to low pay and trafficking conditions.
“Usually, when people stay beyond their permitted extension time and work in a society, they essentially fall off the radar and that is when you can face all kinds of prejudice. It is with regard for the people of Jamaica that we need to protect their workers’ rights, and also the fact that they are CARICOM nationals,” he said.
The Attorney General was responding to questions regarding the treatment of Jamaicans in Trinidad and Tobago, including the denial of entry of several persons over the last few months, during a press conference at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Rose Hall in St. James on June 8.
Mr. Al-Rawi said the concerns are being addressed at the highest level, noting that Jamaica’s Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, and his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart, Dr. Keith Rowley, have commenced talks.
“I know that the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago has expressed full commitment to the Prime Minister of Jamaica to deal with the issue of how we manage the immigration factors in Trinidad and Tobago,” he noted.
Mr. Al-Rawi expressed confidence that the incidents would not undermine the shared love and experience between the countries.
“These friendships are born out of mutual respect and the understanding that we share the same goals, have the same vision and are from a Caribbean community that is bonded together for life,” he noted.
Mr. Al-Rawi was in Jamaica for the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Plenary and Working Groups Meeting from June 6-9.
The meeting facilitated discussions on measures to battle money laundering, terrorism financing, corruption and other financial crimes across the Caribbean Basin.
The Trinidad and Tobago Attorney General chairs the CFATF, which comprises 27 States in the Caribbean Basin, Central and South America that have agreed to implement common countermeasures to address money laundering, and the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Owen King EU Hospital receives container loads of medical equipment and supplies
Up to six Container loads of equipment and furniture earmarked the Owen
King EU Hospital (OKEUH) were destuffed on the grounds of the new hospital
revealing high-end tools, supplies and equipment from Unit Export, one of
the suppliers for OKEUH.
As Saint Lucia eagerly awaits the official opening of the new hospital,
detailed planning, procuring, installing, testing, and training has been
ongoing at the facility. Work on the ground is expected to intensify in the
weeks ahead as up to fifteen more containers, from five contractors, are
scheduled to arrive on island in the coming weeks.
Claudio Meirovich, Technical Assistance Supervisor for the Owen King EU
Hospital provided details as to some of the items received thus far and
what is expected from the other contractors.
“All the furniture in terms of cupboards and everything that has to be hang
on the walls has arrived. All the tools for the maintenance team have also
arrived and in the next couple of weeks and months we are going to be
getting also all the clinical furniture, surgical tables, delivery beds,
hospital beds as well as specialized equipment. We’re going to get EMT
equipment, ophthalmology equipment and all that is going to be coming in
next month. Right now it’s a very interesting time for us in the
supervision because everything is coming in, we’re starting to install
things and we’re starting to move really fast.”
Meirovich expressed his excitement with this stage of the project while
stating that preparatory work such as the testing of medical gases and
water lines which are required for some of the medical equipment will also
be completed in coming weeks.
“I am very excited about this because we have been working on this allot,
for the past four or five years. It’s been a long time and we had several
challenges to get over and as I say we can see light at the end of the
tunnel already.”
Project Engineer at the OKEUH, Wendell Bernard said contractors alongside
the technical team at OKEUH have been extremely busy for the past two
weeks, including weekends, ensuring all equipment and suppliers from the
various containers are placed within the respective rooms in this massive
facility.
Bernard stated that the challenge is the ensure that minimal damage is done
to the facility while receiving and distributing all the equipment and
supplies from the various contractors.
“You are going to get walls being scratched as you move with equipment and
boxes about the place. We have a few cleaners and the maintenance team from
VH and persons we’ve hired to assist with maintenance on the project site.
So on a daily basis they would monitor the contractors moving the equipment
and direct them as to the way to clean it, what they are going to use to
clean it and help coordinate things so that we won’t have to many of these
issues happening as they go along. We’ve been telling them, protect our
floors, protect our walls, keep doors opened so we won’t get your pallet
jacks and your trolleys jamming into doors.”
The Project Engineer said the Owen King EU Hospital is touted to be one of
the best health facilities in the region.
“It’s like an envy for even the first world countries what we have there,
the construction of the hospital itself. What the persons from the European
Union has blessed us with is equipment to compliment that and what we’re
seeing is allot of new stuff coming in from our shelving to store
medication, tools to help maintain the place. I am very excited seeing that
coming in and even more excited to see that approach our team is taking on
ensuring the safety of it.”
The OKEUH is expected to be opened later in the year.
The formal regional conversation around marijuana in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will move to another level when the first national consultation on the issue is held on Wednesday, 15 June in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Regional Commission on Marijuana, in collaboration with the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has convened a series of consultations with a cross section of stakeholders including youth, faith based organizations and non-governmental organizations and special interests groups.
In July 2014, the CARICOM Conference of Heads of Government mandated the Secretary General of CARICOM to established the Marijuana Commission which would, inter alia, “examine the social, economic, health and legal issues surrounding the various aspects of Marijuana use in the Caribbean and its implications, and make recommendations to the Conference”.
In fulfilling its mandate, the Commission will host three Focus Group discussions and a Town Hall meeting as part of the national consultation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They will engage with Youth drawn from secondary and high schools, community colleges, tertiary learning institutions, out of school youth, youth leaders and institutions working with youth.
Discussions will also be held with special interests groups such as researchers, medical practitioners, including of alternative medicine; advocates for medicinal and others uses of marijuana, and representatives from the National Drug Council, as well as faith-based organizations and non-governmental organizations.
The Commission, headed by Prof. Rose-Marie-Bell Antoine, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, is composed of practitioners with expert knowledge in a variety of disciplines including medicine and allied health, health research, law enforcement, ethics, education, anthropology/sociology/ culture.
The consultation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the first of the region-wide engagements to be undertaken by the Commission.
Practical approaches needed to engage Youth in Agriculture – Trinidad and Tobago Minister
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Young agriculture entrepreneurs (agripreneurs) from across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) were involved in sessions with senior agricultural planners during the week geared at strengthening regional policies and strategies to improve the performance of the Region’s agriculture sector.
The youths were among participants of the Ninth Regional Planners Forum on Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago. The forum was coordinated by the CARICOM Secretariat and the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA), and included inter alia participants from the agricultural agencies in the Region – the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), The Caribbean Farmers Network (CAFAN), the Caribbean Agribusiness Association (CABA) and the University of the West Indies .
The Forum , which began on 7 June, attracted more than 45 participants. The 25 young agripreneurs participated in the first day of the meeting and underwent a three-day training programme specifically tailored to increase their skills in business. The training was conducted under the CARICOM Secretariat’s Creativity for Employment and Business Opportunity (CEBO) Training Programme. Read More in the attached
The Fair Trading Commission is inviting members of the public to submit written comments on its Barbados Water Authority (BWA) Standards of Service consultation paper.
The purpose of this document is to outline recommendations for the development, monitoring and enforcement of benchmarks, which will be used to create mandatory minimum Standards of Service for the BWA.
The consultation paper may be obtained from the Commission’s office or accessed here.
Comments should be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 15, to: The Chief Executive Officer, Fair Trading Commission, Good Hope, Green Hill, St. Michael or emailed to: info@ftc.gov.bb. For further information, persons may contact the Commission at 424-0260.
ST. GEORGE, GRENADA, JUNE 10, 2016 – The Ministry of Labour wishes to inform the General Public that 12th June is commemorated as World Day Against Child Labour. The theme for this year is “End Child Labour in Supply Chains – It’s Everyone’s Business!
Child Labour is the work performed by children and adolescents engaged in economic activities who are under the minimum age to work in accordance with National Law and International Standards and who are deprived from their education.
Grenada in April 2016 joined twenty-five (25) other countries which form the Regional Initiative which is an alliance among countries of the Region (Latin America and the Caribbean) whose purpose is to eliminate worst forms of child labour by 2020 and complete elimination of Child Labour by 2025.
Latest statistics indicate that 168 million children are engaged in child labour, Latin America and the Caribbean has 12.5 million children and adolescents in child labour which represents 8.6% of the global share.
There are no reported cases of child labour in Grenada. However, we are asking the public for their cooperation in this regard.
If persons are aware of incidences of child labour, we will be grateful that you call the Ministry of Labour, phone 440-2532 and report same.
There are two focal points who you can liaise with Mrs. Elizabeth Pivotte-Cyrus and Ms. Brenda Bain. Let’s all work together – As we seek eliminate child labour
Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 10, 2016 (SKNIS): In a Diplomatic Note from the Embassy of Mexico in St. Lucia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Aviation of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Government of Mexico has informed that it has made changes to its immigration rules which will facilitate travel to Mexico.
The Embassy informs that effective May 18th, 2016, bearers of ordinary and non-ordinary passports, who possess valid visas for Canada, the United States of America, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland or any other country, which is a part of the Schengen Area, do not require a Mexican Visa when travelling to Mexico as tourists.
The Embassy further communicates that effective the 1st of July, 2016, foreign nationals who are bearers of documents which accredit their permanent residence in Canada, the United States of America, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland, any other country which is a part of the Schengen Area, the Republic of Colombia, the Republic of Chile and the Republic of Peru do not require a Mexican Visa when travelling to Mexico as tourists.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines will take its first step in examining the social, economic, health and legal implications surrounding the use of marijuana with three sets of workshops and a national consultation.
These consultations will run concurrently on Wednesday 15th June. The first will be with faith-based organisations, interest groups and youth at the Administrative Complex beginning at 9:00 a.m.; while the national town hall meeting takes place at 7:00 p.m. at the Methodist Church Hall in Kingstown.
These sessions are being hosted by CARICOM, which has established a Regional Commission on marijuana, and are expected to engage all the segments of society including the youth, religious bodies, interest groups and general population.
It is expected that consensus from these national consultations will inform CARICOM’s policy on the use of the drug and its implications.
