PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Take back Caroni lands that are lying fallow and use them to produce food, says Independent Senator Subhas Ramkhelawan. Speaking during the budget debate at the Senate sitting yesterday, Ramkhelawan said in the national budget, some $1.3 billion was allocated toward agricu...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - In 1998, Red Plastic Bag (RPB) sang a song entitled Material. In that song, the lyrical master said: Trouble, every year calypsonians in trouble, it’s so hard to find material . . . but this year, have no fear ’cause RPB is here. With those lyrics reverberating in...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - MANY will agree with the President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr. Warren Smith that economic growth across the Caribbean must be built on several pillars. No longer can growth strategies be undertaken in isolation but rather through a coherent set of interrelated poli...

KINGSTON, Jamaica - EVEN as Heads of Government of our Caribbean Community (CARICOM) appear to be moving away from a "pause mode" imposed three years ago in favour of a proactive approach on social and economic developments, they would, hopefully, avoid wasting scarce human resources and time in pur...

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – SECRETARY General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and  Pacific (ACP) States (CARIFORUM) Mr. Irwin LaRocque  feels that  new European Union (EU) external aid policies of using  per capita income to determine ...

KIGNSTON, Jamaica - THE bureau of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), at its recent meeting, decried disparaging comments by foreign financial and economic commentators. Why is CARICOM not getting respect for its economic policy? Nobody is obliged to assist anyone else, but the willingness to help is...

Kingston, Jamaica - The charismatic and visionary St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is working hard to put the issue of reparations for slavery on the map. Last week's first ever Regional Reparation Conference is an important initial step. Nobody pretends that the campaign to obtain rep...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados government it intends to construct a plant that will convert waste, including those generated from visiting ships into energy. “In the area of environmental protection, Barbados has already taking the lead with respect to our aggressive attempt t...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - IT IS NOT a new issue but one which we can no longer let dangle. From Kingston to Kingstown to Washington and Bridgetown, there is clearly momentum in the discussion on whether to decriminalize marijuana and what impact this will have on fighting illegal drugs in our region. I...

KINGSTON, Jamaica - An edited portion of Government MP Dr Dayton Campbell's contribution to the debate in Parliament on the motion to legalise marijuana. A third of Jamaicans have used ganja in any form and 30 per cent of Jamaicans have smoked marijuana with males reporting this three times mor...