ST. LUCIA: The workshop was held in observance of Administrative Professionals Day.
The Administrative Professionals Committee (APC) of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Port Services and Transport, established in Sep. 2015, last week held a training workshop in Memo and Letter Writing in observance of Administrative Professionals Day 2016.
The workshop was facilitated by Mrs. Juliette Courer-SevenSeals, Human Resource Officer at the Ministry of Education, Human Resource and Labour.
The main objective of the APC is to identify methods to build each members skills and improve overall performance in the work place. The training therefore seeks to develop and build on the skills of secretaries at the ministry and to provide quality service to customers.
GRENADA: Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares for the Blue Growth Investment Conference
St. George’s, 26th April 2016: The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment will be hosting Blue Week 2016: The International Conference to promote Blue Growth and Investment. This Conference will be held at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort, St. George’s, Grenada, from May 14-22, 2016.
The Conference is supported by the Blue Network which comprises various government and international agencies such as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the World Bank, FAO, the Global Ocean Forum, the Clinton Climate Initiative, etc.
Blue Week 2016 promises to bring together ocean–related investments into a coherent package of bankable projects.
It will also contribute to additional sustainable initiatives through investment in Blue Growth and Food Security. It is expected that promotion of Blue Growth will increase the economic benefits of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) from the sustainable use of marine resources, including sustainable management of ocean resources and tourism.
Grenada hosted its first Global Blue Growth Network Conference in March 2015 and a major outcome of that conference was the launch of the Global Action Network on Blue Growth and Food Security.
Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique have a land mass of over 400 square kilometres. Our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is over 26,000 square kilometres. In other words, Grenada’s ocean space is 75 times larger than its land mass.
Given our extensive coastline and ocean space, we have a tremendous opportunity to advance the Blue Economy concept as it will bring benefits to all stakeholders involved in the various sectors of our national economy. This will help us as a country to realize the Blue Growth vision for Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, that is “to optimize the coastal, marine, and ocean resources and to become a world leader and an exemplar in Blue Growth and Sustainability”.
Grenada has made a commitment to conserve at least 20% of our near-shore marine space by 2020. To that end the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment looks forward to a fruitful week of activities which will bear new investments and collaborative partnerships.
DOMINICA: The Ministry of Agriculture, which has collaborated with the Caribbean Development Bank, (CDB) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) to implement an integrated disease management program for the Black Sigatoka disease, conducted taste tests on new banana varieties.
An exhibition took place on the grounds of Government Headquarters on Friday, April 29th.
The purpose of the exhibition was to conduct a research on five varieties of bananas tolerant to the disease which have been introduced in Dominica.
On display were the Fair1, Fair3, Fair18 and Fair23 bananas and Fair21 is plantain.
In an interview with GIS News, research assistant, Gregory Linton, expounded on Friday’s activity.
“The whole purpose of the exercise was to conduct a taste test and get the public’s feedback. We may have a variety which is very productive and disease tolerant but if [consumers] do not like it, it doesn’t make sense [to produce it.]
“The hope is to substitute these varieties as good alternatives for the traditional Cavendish. That would reduce the disease inoculums in the environment and reduce the cost of managing the disease.”
He said the data collected in the field has met their expectations. Linton noted that these varieties are more tolerant to the Black Sigatoka disease than the traditional Cavendish.
“There are six stages of Black Sigatoka. At stage three, spraying is a no-no because fungicides don’t work. We have found that in the tolerant varieties, the disease doesn’t reach stage three. The disease affects them but the life cycle cannot be completed.”
Linton stated that this research was requested by the Ministry of Agriculture in a continued effort to manage the Black Sigatoka disease.
He assures that the management programme is active: monitoring officers go out weekly and regular spray cycles continue.
Linton hopes to get a positive feedback from the public. If favorable responses are received, these varieties will be planted on a large scale in Dominica.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Stephen Lashley. (FP)
BARBADOS: Minister of Culture, Stephen Lashley, has praised the many ‘unsung heroes’ in the Ministry’s Parish Ambassadors’ programme.
Speaking at a Community Independence Celebrations (CIC) cocktail reception at Gun Hill Signal Station, St. George, last Wednesday, Mr. Lashley recognised the efforts of those individuals who may not officially hold an office but who worked behind the scenes assisting with parish projects or participating in fund-raising activities.
The Minister told those gathered: “We recognise you as exceptional men and women who shine through your high standard of service, your volunteerism and the invaluable contribution that you make to society…Your dedication over the past year is greatly valued by the Ministry and the community alike.”
The Minister of Culture encouraged the volunteers to continue their dedication as they were “creating a positive change on many fronts”, and described them as “heroes and heroines” who continued to make a sterling contribution to Barbados at the community level. “You are, in some cases, the only role models that some of our young people see in the area of civic engagement,” he remarked.
This year, the Community Independence Celebrations Secretariat will host a special introductory ceremony for Parish Ambassadors on Saturday, May 14, at Gall Hill playing field, St. John, at 5:30 p.m. under the theme:Celebrating Who We Are! This year marks the 21st anniversary of the Community Independence Celebrations, which were first introduced in 1995.
ST. LUCIA: The Regional Coordinating Committee on Climate Change met to review the progress made in the implementation of the region’s climate change plan.
The Regional Coordinating Committee on Climate Change (RCCCC), under the chairmanship of Hon. Dr. James Fletcher, the Minister for Public Service, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology met in Saint Lucia last week to review the progress made in the implementation of the region’s climate change plan.
The Hon. Dr. James Fletcher delivered a much-anticipated address that not only spoke to the the work carried out by the RCCCC over the last few years, but also of the achievements gained by the Caribbean while at COP 21 in Paris in 2015.
“We went into Paris with our ministers better prepared for any COP than they have ever been. We also went into Paris with a closer knit relationship between Caribbean countries, as one Caribbean delegation understanding what role each of us would play, and what part of the Paris agreement we would take as out own and ensure that our red line issues were attended to and received prominence,” Dr. Fletcher said.
The Minister went on to comment on some of the successes which were attained.
“A good thing happened in Paris that I was asked to be one of Laura Fabiosis’ facilitators on an issue that was of critical importance to us: the question of our mission on the long term temperature goal and that resulted in the Caribbean receiving a more sympathetic ear towards having 1.5 degrees celcius reflected in the Paris agreement. At the end of the day the reference to 1.5 degrees is not as strong as it could have been but it is certainly alot stronger than we thought it would have been. We also got things like loss and damage, red plus, the preservation of the special and unique vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States, issues related to climate finance and equally importantly, the COP decision a commitment to review the level of climate finance in the post 20/20 period using 100 billion dollars as a floor.”
The Regional Coordinating Committee on Climate Change comprises of representatives from a wide range of regional organisations.
(left to right) (seated) the newly installed Chamber of Industry and Commerce President, Mr. José Rosa; Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, and CIC Executive Director, Mrs. Brenda John. Shown standing from left to right are Immediate Past President of the CIC, Mr. Damion Hobson; Adviser to President Rosa, Mr. Mark Wilkin; Cabinet Secretary, Mrs. Josephine Huggins; Attorney General, Honourable Vincent Byron, Jr., and Chairman of the CIC's Manufacturing Division, Mr. Keithley Phillip.
ST. KITTS: BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MAY 3RD, 2016 (PRESS SEC) – Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris and members of his Cabinet met with officials from the St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Thursday, April 28th for a roundtable discussion on the economy and other matters of national interest.
Attorney General, Honourable Vincent Byron, Jr. and Cabinet Secretary, Mrs. Josephine Huggins joined the Prime Minister for the discussion with the Chamber officials at Government Headquarters. Representing the Chamber were the newly installed President, Mr. José Rosa; Immediate Past President, Mr. Damion Hobson; Executive Director, Mrs. Brenda John; Chairman of the Manufacturing Division, Mr. Keithley Phillip, and Adviser to President Rosa, Mr. Mark Wilkin.
Mr. Hobson, the immediate past president, initiated the meeting, which served as a formal introduction of Mr. Rosa in his new official capacity. Mr. Rosa was elected president in late February at the 67th Annual General Meeting of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
The roundtable discussion came a day after the Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2016 was passed in Parliament, allowing businesses to claim tax deductions for salaries paid up to a new threshold of $90,000.00 per annum. Since 1982, the threshold was set at $60,000.00 per annum and, in 2012, it was increased to $75,000.00. The threshold of $90,000.00 per annum will take effect from June 1st.
“We are hoping that the adjusted threshold would assist private sector entities with attracting and retaining personnel with the skills, knowledge and experience necessary for building competitiveness in the private sector,” the Honourable Prime Minister said on Wednesday, April 27th in Parliament.
Their discussion also came on the heels of Cabinet’s removal of all duties and customs service charges on all surveillance equipment to be used by households and businesses, effective April 1st until December 31st, 2016.
The Chamber of Industry and Commerce had advocated for the Government to consider those two matters.
In the second matter, the Chamber wrote to the Ministry of Finance requesting concessions after its consultation with the police high command had found broad support for stepping up the nationwide use of surveillance systems to facilitate crime detection.
“If more people enhance their dwellings with security cameras, the footage becomes useful in a criminal incident,” Prime Minister Harris said during last Thursday’s meeting with the Chamber. “So we were prepared to forgo all the revenues that otherwise could have been had, from VAT, customs service charge and of course the duty up until December 31st, to give businesses and every household an opportunity to do something to enhance their security.”
The Prime Minister added that, “We want more people to become security conscious. We believe that every commercial entity, especially of a certain size, every bank and every supermarket must have these surveillance systems in order to play a responsible role in society.”
Prime Minister Harris said the Financial Secretary, Mrs. Hilary Hazel would send a formal letter to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce soon, encouraging its members to take advantage of the waiver period.
“We hope that you would publicize this letter and send it around to your established entities, so that more persons become aware and can take advantage of the removal of all duties and customs service charges on all surveillance equipment up to December 31st,” the Prime Minister said.
(Press release courtesy of the Office of the Press Secretary)
GRENADA: St. George’s, 03rd May 2016: A series of four (4) teacher training sessions to introduce teachers of primary school aged students to the “Greenz Climate Champions” toolkit came to a close last week.
This toolkit will enhance the development of environmentally conscious, climate smart practices of the younger generation.
The toolkit is an initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) as part of the Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Programme (ICCAS) which is funded by the German Ministry for the Environment (BMUB).
The “Greenz Climate Champions” toolkit will be introduced to schools as part of the regular extracurricular curriculum in the form of environment clubs.
It will be the base of climate change teaching for children at young age, and hence lay the groundwork for a thorough understanding of the crucial importance of making environmentally conscious decisions for the survival of a small island developing state like Grenada.
There were twenty six (26) schools represented in the training sessions held in Grenada and eight (8) in Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
The final teacher training workshop was held in Grenville St. Andrew’s, where Mrs Aria St. Louis, Head of the Environment Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry Fisheries and the Environment, addressed the teachers to thank them for their participation and interest in climate change, the environment and the sustainability of adaptation practices.
Mrs St. Louis stressed the importance of collaboration and cooperation between the schools and the ministry for further support in the education of our young people.
The day ended with a field trip to various environmentally significant sites such as the mangrove replanting site in Telescope, the composting area of the Belmont Estate in St. Patrick’s where the teachers were given a demonstration on climate smart agriculture techniques using compost and the NAWASA dam and treatment station in Mama Cannes.
The teachers present expressed the keen interest of the students in implementing the strategies learned in earlier modules as they have begun to use the toolkit resources in their classrooms. The climate change toolkit is comprised of components that span subject areas such as social studies, agricultural science and geography and has been endorsed by the Ministry of Education.
The “Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Strategies (ICCAS)” Program is funded by the German Ministry for the Environment, Building, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) as part of their International Climate Initiative (IKI), and implemented jointly by the Environment Division of Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, UNDP and GIZ.
DOMINICA: A team from India is currently in Dominica with the intention to accelerate the process for the commencement of training at the ICT Centre for Excellence at the Dominica State College.
The centre for the development of information communication technology is the collaboration between the Indian Government and the Dominica State College.
The almost $300k project began in March 2015.
The Hon. Minister for ICT, Kelver Darroux told a National Broadband Consultation on April 18th, “The Indian team is expected to be here for two years [in the first instance] undertaking a training programme for trainers. Ten goals have been proposed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network directed by the Broadband Commission to further enhance the development of broadband services.”
He continued, “These goals include bringing an end to extreme poverty and hunger; ensuring effective learning for children and youth for life and livelihood; achieving health and well-being at all ages, and improving agriculture systems while raising prosperity for all underserved areas in our respective communities.”
Meanwhile, Hon Darroux says broadband and ICT are critical to the process of developing both human and institutional capacity to take full advantage of ever emerging technological trends.
“At the 33rd ECTEL Council of Ministers Meeting in St.Lucia, the Council gave approval for the Electronic Communication Bill to be approved. This is a Bill which will replace the Telecommunications Act of 2000 which is outdated.
“The telecoms sector is very diverse and dynamic and therefore amendments had to be made…to ensure greater flexibility in the telecommunication sector,” he explained.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart said trade unions have a vital role to play in Barbadian society. Pictured is Mr. Stuart at yesterday's May Day celebrations at Browne's Beach. (C.Pitt/BGIS)
BARBADOS: Trade unions are not “irritants in the society”, but rather, they are integral to this country’s development.
That was Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s strong message yesterday as he addressed the annual Barbados Workers’ Union’s May Day Celebrations at Browne’s Beach.
Mr. Stuart lamented that there were still “some Philistines” around who believed that trade unions were not necessary, but were some kind of “embolism” blocking the smooth functioning of the society.
The Prime Minister told the large audience: “From time to time, trade unions and employers’ organisations will clash; from time to time trade unions and governments as employers will clash. But these clashes must not be seen as any threat to the very stability of the society.
“Trade unions have their work to do; they have to represent with all the vigour and all the sincerity, at their command, their constituents in the workplace and it behooves all employers … to engage trade unions in good faith since trade unions, governments and employers all have the same objective of seeing Barbados become a better place. I know that it is not always pleasant to have to face the demands of trade unions.”
He stressed, however, that there was a mechanism in place for dialogue between labour, capital and the State. According to him, that tripartite mechanism has ensured that any differences were resolved or lessened in a very civilised and humane way.
Mr. Stuart said Barbados has always been able to rely on a mature and responsible trade union leadership and suggested that this has contributed to a stable, mature and balanced society.
He contended that there would always be battles to fight for labour, especially since workers wanted to enjoy more fully the social amenities that result from their own productive efforts. He added, therefore, that organisations representing them would make demands on their behalf.
“It behooves those persons, whether employers in the private sector or whether the government as employer, to receive those proposals and recommendations with maturity and to initiate a constructive and transparent exchange with the trade union movement so that any decisions arrived at reflect both the interest of workers and the interest of employers, and when that is achieved, of course the overall national interest is protected,” the Prime Minister stated.
During the celebrations, Mr. Stuart congratulated the workers of Barbados for the substantial contribution they had made to the development, political stability and modernisation of this country.
ST. LUCIA: Caribbean Heads of Delegation will meet with Vice President Joe Biden to discuss energy security.
Saint Lucia’s minister with responsibility for energy, Sen. Hon. James Fletcher, will lead Saint Lucia’s delegation to the United States-Caribbean Central American Energy Summit on May 3 – 4.
The summit, the second in the series, is being hosted by Hon. Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States, at the US State Department in Washington DC.
The energy summit will feature a meeting between Caribbean Heads of Delegation and Vice President Joe Biden during which a report from the Task Force for Caribbean and Central American Energy Security will be discussed, and the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Road Map and Strategy (C-SERMS) platform will be launched.
The energy summit will also include extensive deliberations on energy security among Caribbean Heads of Delegation, development partners such as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, European Union, Organization of American States, the governments of Canada, Mexico and Colombia, and approximately 30 representatives of the US Private Sector.
Several other US government departments, such as the departments of Commerce, Energy, Treasury, USAID, USTDA, NSC and OPIC are also expected to be present and to participate.
The first US-Caribbean Energy Summit was convened in January 2015 and was attended by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Kenny Anthony and Minister for Sustainable Development, Hon. Dr. James Fletcher.
