Caricomblog.com - CARICOM news, info and features

St. Lucia's Tourism Minister calls on CARICOM govts. to revive tourism industry

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:16:46 -0400

A request for the funding of a $188 million marketing drive aimed at reviving the slumping Caribbean tourism sector, will be among several measures sought by key tourism stakeholders at the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in July. Speaking at the 17th meeting of the Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism at the Isla Verde Holiday Inn in San Juan, Puerto Rico, St Lucia's Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister, Senator Allen Chastanet, lambasted the failure of successive Caribbean governments to tap into the potential of the tourism market. "This debate must stop. We need to step out of the box and take a very different perspective.

The time for talk is done," Chastanet passionately declared, saying he will resign from his portfolio if CARICOM leaders do not accept the $188 million proposal in July. Terestella Denton, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company also threatened to resign her post if regional governments failed to approve the $M marketing drive as she agreed with Chastanet's stance, saying the time for action is now.
Chastanet said the Caribbean has squandered its opportunities and is now facing a crisis in the tourism sector as spiralling oil prices threaten to cut off the region's air links with the rest of the world.

Read More - South Florida Caribbean News

Respect all cultures, says Caricom Secretary General

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:13:48 -0400

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Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Edwin Carrington has called on the Community to respect and promote the principles of cultural diversity, and to ensure that the Community is a place built on mutual understanding and respect for all cultures. In his message to mark World Day for Cultural Diversity (21 May 2008), Carrington acknowledged the key role of cultural understanding, cooperation and awareness to the effective implementation of the Communitys flagship programme, the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), asserting that the foundation of our regionalism is located in the common historical and cultural heritage of the Caribbean.

According to the Secretary General, the promotion of cultural diversity, safeguarding cultural heritage and developing creative industries were priority areas in CARICOM.Culture is central to building a sense of community, of ensuring that the people of the Region feel connected and intensely Caribbean, and thereby forging a regional identity, the CARICOM Secretary General said.
In this regard, Carrington noted that CARICOMs regional agenda for culture acknowledged and celebrated the richness of the cultural diversity of the Region. He pointed to the evolution of national and regional cultural policies in Member States and averred that such policies should be cognisant of and responsive to the unique historical and cultural realities of our people, taking account of the often adverse legacies and impact of slavery, indentureship and colonial rule that have shaped our Caribbean contemporary society.

Read More - Caribbean Net News

World Bank commits to Guyana's development

Wed, 7 May 2008 13:52:24 -0400

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World Bank Director for the Caribbean Country Management Unit, Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Yvonne Tsikata, on an official visit to Guyana has pledged the institutions continued support and assistance. Tsikata met with President Bharrat Jagdeo and visited Santa Mission, an Amerindian community in Region 3. We talked at length about the World Banks relationship with Guyana and the Banks commitment to continue this good relationship and strengthen it further, Tsikata said of the meeting with President Jagdeo.

Currently, the World Bank is discussing with Government officials the details of the upcoming Country Assistance Strategy which will cover a period of three years (2009-2012).
The World Bank Director referred to Governments position on the transparency of its operations. She noted that the Government has emphasised competitiveness and that the Bank has been working with them on the Doing business indicators. She noted that while the trend is in the right direction there are challenges.

Read More - Caribbean Net News

$27M Injection For Haiti

Wed, 7 May 2008 13:50:18 -0400

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An international financing agency has given a big break to Haiti, a country whose dire internal situation has caused an exodus of migrants who end up in The Bahamas and the United States and whose recent challenges with food and fuel prices have sparked riots and the sacking of a prime minister. The Inter-American Development Bank [IDB] has decided to provide Haiti with US$27 million in grant and resources early in May. The aim is to assist the Haitian government with an emergency plan to contain food prices, create jobs and revive agricultural production.

The banks board of executive directors approved a new US$12.5 million grant and authorized the disbursement of US$14.5 million from a previously approved soft loan. Eager to help reverse the latest crisis spurred by rising food prices and grave poverty, international and hemispheric groupings have been exploring how best to help Haiti overcome its latest obstacles.

One of the suggestions includes bolstering Haitis local food production to meet pressing needs and possibly increase exports.

Read More - Bahamas Journal

Caricom nations to sign MOU for deportee handling

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:03:00 -0400

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Jamaica's Ministry of National Security, in partnership with several other Caricom nations, will be seeking to sign memorandums of understanding with the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, towards the establishment of guidelines surrounding the reintroduction of criminal deportees to Jamaica.

According to a press release issued by the ministry of National Security last week, a decision was taken during the Fifth Meeting of the Caricom Council of Ministers Responsible for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE), which preceded the recently concluded Caricom heads of government conference in Trinidad and Tobago, to seek to standardise the manner in which deportees being sent back to Caricom countries were to be treated.
"The conference agreed to pursue negotiation of standardised agreements/MOUs with the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Read More - Jamaica Observer

Governance important to environment issues, says CARICOM official

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:56:48 -0400

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The recognition of the need to focus on the governance of the various strands of the environment and natural resources issues was one of the most instructive outcomes of the meeting of officials of the Twenty-Fifth Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Integration (COTED) on the Environment.

This was the view expressed by Dr Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat as he spoke at the Opening Ceremony of the Ministerial Session on Thursday 17 April at the International Conference Centre, Georgetown, Guyana.
Greene said that, from the discussions earlier in the week, the officials felt that the governance of the issues was key to ensuring that whatever framework was designed could be meaningfully executed with the participation of all partners in Member States, with the expertise of the Regional Institutions and with the support of the Development Partners.

Read More - Caribbean Net News

Haiti seeks financial aid from Caricom to address food crisis

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:55:10 -0400

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Haitian President Rene Preval has begun talks with representatives of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) for possible financial aid for his country, which is suffering from a food shortage crisis, according to news reaching here. Caricom's head and prime minister of Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham, said Friday in the country's capital Nassau that "we will establish the bases to strengthen Haiti's development with short, medium and long term goals."

Five people were killed last week in protests against food shortage in Haiti and Haitian Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis was dismissed consequently.
Meanwhile, the United Nations' Mission to Stabilize Haiti (Minustah) has begun the distribution of 14 tons of food donated by the Brazilian government to the most vulnerable communities.

Read More - Xinhua

Call for Caricom food strategy

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:52:49 -0400

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Flour subsidies in Barbados and elsewhere in the Caribbean are an acceptable interim strategy but aren't a permanent solution to the food price crisis sweeping the region. What's really needed is a vigorous return to agriculture plus a regional food production plan that would put more Caribbean dishes on tables.

This advice comes from Byron Blake, a former top CARICOM economist who realised that Barbados and the Caribbean currently relied on costly imports from North America and Europe.
Blake, while sympathetic, has called on CARICOM leaders to launch a regional strategy that would put unused land into food production for the entire region.

Read More - Nation News

CARICOM Secretary-General Hails Work Of Caribbean Professionals

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:50:51 -0400

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H.E. Edwin Carrington Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has acknowledged the "sterling contribution" professionals of the Caribbean have made to global environment management.

At the opening of the Twenty-Fifth Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on the environment, the Secretary-General congratulated the team of technical persons - Drs. Ulric Trotz, Anthony Chen, John Agard, and Leonard Nurse "who worked tirelessly on the Inter-Governmental Panel for Climate Change and who have been duly recognized for their contribution to this process with the award of a Nobel Peace Prize. "

The Secretary-General also congratulated Senator Angela Cropper on her appointment to the post of Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Senator Cropper was once a Director in the CARICOM Secretariat and has made lasting contributions to environmental management in the Region, such as the Caribbean Sea Assessment for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

Read More - Jamaica Information Service

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Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:44:53 -0400

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