PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Trinidad and Tobago loses more than $200 million in tourism revenue a year because of crime, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday.
Persad-Bissessar made the statement as she opened discussions at Caricom's Inter-Sessional meeting on strengthening the regional crime and security agenda and architecture in Haiti.
Persad-Bissessar is responsible for Crime and Security in the Caricom Quasi Cabinet.
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar Monday warned regional leaders that they need to adopt “urgent and drastic action” to deal with the scourge of transnational crime in the Caribbean.
Addressing the leaders at the 24th intersessional summit here, Persad Bissessar, who has lead responsibility for security within the quasi Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Cabinet, said “I fear we have found ourselves in a very serious situation and we are running out of time as the scourge of transnational crime is slowly taking over the region.
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICCOM) leaders began a historic summit here on Monday with CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque indicating there is a need to stave off existing challenges to the regional integration movement that is observing its 40th anniversary. LaRocque told regional leaders that there can be no greater indicator, “symbolic and substantive, that Haiti has taken its rightful place within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) by hosting the summit.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Despite challenges in the past, the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus has excelled in a half century. The 50th Anniversary Interfaith Thanksgiving service was one of celebration as the institution was lauded for its achievements. Bishop of Barbados and Archbishop of the West Indies, The Most Rev. Dr. The Hon.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – As the nation awaits Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer’s promised response to the senators who stood up against his government’s Citizenship by Investment (CIP) Act, the senators have been commended for voting with their conscience. Dwyer Astaphan, former St Kitts & Nevis National Security and Tourism Minister, was a guest on OBSERVER Radio’s Big Issues on Sunday. “Spencer ought to be commended for putting persons in there who are willing and able to stand and say what they feel and to speak from a position of conscience,” Astaphan said.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - THE Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is calling on the Government to immediately review and make changes to aspects of its new tax regime, which it said could do more harm than good to the economy. "The PSOJ is urging the Government to immediately review and change its tax treatment of certain raw material inputs under the new waiver caps imposed by the proposed IMF agreement," said the group in a release on the weekend.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Peter Phillips' public admission twice last week - of sovereign impotence in negotiating an economic support agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - should be powerful motivation for us to finally fix Jamaica's economy. Further, the shame of the circumstance should be another reminder of the need for, if not a catalyst towards, change in our overly divisive and tribalist political discourse.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government is urging the private sector to support the initiative to develop the country’s global trans-shipment and logistics hub by taking advantage of the potential investment opportunities it provides. Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Anthony Hylton said the development presents diverse prospects for the growth and expansion of the local business environment, and Jamaica’s economy. “This initiative… is about positioning…Jamaica as a global asset, and the fourth node in the global logistics supply network.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - There is too much misinformation regarding the CLICO issue going across the country, said Prime Minister Freundel Stuart as he sought to debunk the myths. Speaking at Paragon in St. Michael South, Prime Minister Stuart said that the CLICO issue has been wrapped in myths by the Barbados Labour Party. He said that one of the biggest myths is that there are 30 000 policy holders in Barbados. “There are not 30 000 CLICO policy holders in Barbados. There never have been 30 000 CLICO policy holders in Barbados.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government has dismissed suggestions that the US-based airline, Delta Airlines was forced out of the country because former president Bharrat Jagdeo was subjected to baggage checks by the airline. President Donald Ramotar said that no time did his administration move to have Delta out of Guyana, but rather would like the airline to continue operating the Georgetown- New York route. “Guyana is asking them to stay… we would very much like them to stay, because it’s a reputable airline.