Carib Scope

作者： admin

  • Felisha ready to fight come Monday

    Felisha ready to fight come Monday

    A major labor dispute has erupted at Trinidad and Tobago’s Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), after dozens of employees gathered in protest outside the authority’s St Joseph headquarters on Friday, reacting to a months-long negotiation impasse that ended abruptly when senior management walked out of scheduled talks.

    The demonstration, organized by the Public Services Association (PSA), the union representing WASA workers, follows a breakdown in discussions covering two expired collective bargaining periods: 2014–2016 and 2017–2019. PSA President Felisha Thomas told reporters that the standoff escalated when WASA’s Human Resources Director and her entire negotiating team abandoned talks around midnight Thursday, and failed to show up for any follow-up discussions on Friday.

    When local newspaper the Express visited the protest site just after 1 p.m. Friday, Thomas was delivering an impassioned address to the crowd of workers, who had maintained a presence at the headquarters for more than 24 hours at that point. She warned that the union would ramp up its protest action if management refused to return to the table and address worker demands in good faith.

    “As it stands now, we have waited a long time for a meaningful response from leadership, and there has been nothing,” Thomas told the assembled workers. “It’s Friday, so we are leaving the compound this afternoon to rest over the weekend. But make no mistake: first thing Monday morning, we will be back right here, and we will stand by our word.” She called on workers to come prepared on Monday, asking attendees to wear comfortable sneakers and their official green PSA union jerseys to show solidarity.

    Thomas pushed back on what she framed as management’s tactic of outwaiting protesting workers, asking the crowd: “They are trying to wait for you to get tired of this fight. Will you get tired? Are you willing to fight to the end?” The workers responded in unanimous agreement, shouting their support for continued action.

    In an interview with the Express after the address, Thomas noted that the HR team’s walkout was unprecedented in her tenure as union president. “This is the first time I have ever seen management walk away from the negotiating table and refuse to return, and even worse, there has been no comment or proposed path forward from senior WASA leadership or government officials,” she said.

    Discussions for the new collective agreements first kicked off at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Thomas explained. She added that the union had only just learned that contract proposals the union put forward all the way back in January 2024 had never been shared with WASA’s board of directors or forwarded to the Ministry of Public Utilities to get the formal approvals needed to reach a final deal. The union has repeatedly demanded that the HR Director immediately escalate the proposals to the board and ministry to move talks forward, Thomas said.

    As of Friday, Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath had acknowledged the dispute, confirming to the Express via WhatsApp that he had formally requested a full briefing from WASA leadership on both the status of negotiations and the full set of concerns raised by the PSA and its members.

    Thomas emphasized that the union and its membership are prepared for a prolonged standoff to secure a fair deal for workers, noting that more union members are expected to join the protest on Monday to amplify their demands. “When we return on Monday, we will be stronger than we are today, with more workers — all workers — standing together, to make it clear that WASA employees must be treated as a priority,” she said.

  • HDC ‘going after millions’

    HDC ‘going after millions’

    During a recent on-site inspection of the troubled Ridgeview Heights housing development in Bon Air North, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Housing Phillip Alexander has revealed staggering financial mismanagement that has left taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, prompting the state-owned Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to pursue legal avenues to recover misspent funds.

    According to Alexander, the previous administration, led by former Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, oversaw catastrophic cost overruns and substandard construction that have left the project in ruins. The core issue centers on massive mismatches between construction costs and the actual market value of the completed residential units. Alexander explained that even the highest-quality finished units at the development can only fetch a maximum market price of $600,000 apiece — yet the prior administration locked the HDC into a contract that set initial construction costs at $1.2 million per unit. This marked a 100% markup over the units’ actual salable value, and subsequent cost overruns pushed the average price per completed townhouse to nearly $1.5 million, almost three times the properties’ market worth.

    Across the entire 204-unit development — which comprises 52 townhouses and 152 apartments — the scale of losses is staggering. For every unit sold at the $600,000 market rate, taxpayers are forced to cover an additional $800,000 to $900,000 in overrun costs, Alexander said. When combined with losses from 50 partially completed units, the total public funds lost on the project top $165 million, he confirmed. The former administration reached a termination agreement with the project contractor that saw the HDC pay for 75% of the unfinished units, despite the fact that the properties were only 50% complete, leaving all of that pre-payment as a total write-off for public coffers.

    Beyond the financial disaster, Alexander also exposed shocking construction defects that leave many units unsafe for occupancy. Many of the completed structures were built directly on the land surface without proper foundational anchoring, meaning they are structurally unstable and at risk of catastrophic failure, even in moderate weather. “They could blow away. We have no idea how many of them are like that,” Alexander told reporters. Most of the development also lacks basic critical infrastructure, including plumbing, electrical systems, sewer lines, and drainage networks, rendering the vast majority of the site unusable. As a result of these extreme defects, all the existing partially and fully completed structures at the development will have to be demolished, adding another unplanned cost that will once again be paid by taxpayers.

    Alexander placed full blame for the stalled, failed project on the previous administration, noting that the current government has spent the past year working to salvage what it can from the mess it inherited. This scandal joins a growing list of prior problematic public housing projects that have faced official scrutiny, with Alexander comparing the Ridgeview Heights disaster to two earlier high-profile problematic developments: Trestrail and Las Alturas. He noted that the huge losses uncovered at this project are a key reason the current government has delayed handing over inherited housing units to qualifying applicants, as all prior projects are now being re-inspected to confirm they meet safety and construction standards before occupancy is approved.

    As of this report, the HDC board has formally launched a review of the mismanagement and has retained legal counsel to explore all possible avenues to recover the lost public funds. Local media outlet The Express attempted to reach former minister Robinson-Regis for comment on the allegations, but did not receive a response by press time.

  • KAMLA HAILS DELCY

    KAMLA HAILS DELCY

    A landmark round of hydrocarbon exploration licensing in Venezuela has opened a new chapter of cross-border energy cooperation between the South American nation and neighboring Trinidad and Tobago, with major economic and energy security benefits projected for both countries and the broader Caribbean region.

    Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has formally congratulated Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on the recent signing of agreements for the Loran Phase 2 development and the Plataforma Deltana area, an milestone that revives activity in a giant cross-border gas deposit left dormant for nearly a quarter century. The Loran gas field, located adjacent to Trinidad and Tobago’s Manatee field, has seen no development activity for 23 years; Phase 1 of the project was previously awarded to energy major Shell, while the new Phase 2 licenses went to a consortium including bp, ADNOC’s global investment arm XRG, and UCC Holding.

    In public remarks shared alongside Rodríguez’s original social media announcement of the deals, Persad-Bissessar emphasized that the agreements mark a transformative step forward for cross-border energy collaboration and regional economic growth, with Trinidad and Tobago positioned to capture substantial benefits from Venezuela’s energy progress. Under the terms of the planned development, an estimated seven trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas from Venezuela’s Loran development will be transported to Trinidad and Tobago for processing at the country’s existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical facilities.

    In an official press release issued after the signing, Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs outlined that the landmark licensing will directly strengthen the country’s long-term energy security, while opening up high-value new opportunities for its established energy sector. Combined with gas reserves from the Dragon field, Manatee field, Loran Phase 1 and the recently agreed Manakin-Cocuina exploration project, the new licenses unlock the potential for more than 12 TCF of natural gas to be commercialized via Trinidad and Tobago’s existing energy infrastructure.

    Beyond international energy majors, the agreements also open new room for collaboration with Trinidad and Tobago’s own state-run National Gas Company (NGC), which recently finalized a joint exploration and development deal with bpTT for the Manakin-Cocuina field. Persad-Bissessar extended congratulations not only to Venezuelan officials, but also to bpTT, which has secured joint ownership and operatorship of the new strategic assets. She also formally welcomed XRG, the international energy investment unit of Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC, to the region as the firm expands its Western Hemisphere gas portfolio, noting XRG will hold a joint stake in the licenses alongside UCC Oil and Gas.

    The full cross-border Loran-Manatee complex holds an estimated 10 TCF of proven natural gas reserves, with Shell currently leading development of the Manatee portion on Trinidad and Tobago’s side. First gas production from Manatee is targeted for the second quarter of 2027. Trinidad and Tobago’s government has also held early exploratory talks with XRG to support the firm’s entry into both the local market and the broader Latin American region, laying the groundwork for future investment.

    Officials noted that Trinidad and Tobago’s unique existing infrastructure—including established pipeline networks, the Atlantic LNG export facility, and a mature downstream petrochemical sector—makes it a natural hub for commercializing the new cross-border reserves. Beyond direct economic benefits for the two nations, the development is expected to strengthen energy security across the Caribbean and the wider global market, while creating a welcoming investment environment for international energy players. The government says it looks forward to coordinated work with Venezuela, the consortium partners and all stakeholders to ensure the timely, efficient, and mutually beneficial exploration and development of the resources, framing the deal as a critical step to revitalize Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector and secure long-term shared prosperity for both nations.

  • Caribbean operation nets US$54.5m in seizures

    Caribbean operation nets US$54.5m in seizures

    A four-week coordinated maritime security operation led by CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) has delivered a major blow to transnational smuggling networks operating across the Caribbean, resulting in the seizure of an estimated $54.5 million in illegal contraband and criminal assets. Codenamed Operation Eclipse, the sweeping enforcement initiative unfolded throughout the month of May, bringing together an unprecedented coalition of 14 CARICOM member states, seven associate members, and key international partners including the governments of Canada, Colombia, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and global law enforcement body Interpol.

    The entire operation was coordinated through a central integrated fusion cell based at IMPACS’ Joint Regional Communications Centre in Port of Spain, with critical financial and operational backing from the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). During the active interdiction phase of the mission, law enforcement teams opened 82 active investigations based on developed intelligence, tracked 59 high-priority vessels of interest, vetted 17 time-sensitive intelligence leads, and successfully carried out 24 targeted seizure operations.

    By total value, the largest share of contraband seized consisted of illegal narcotics. Authorities recovered 5,222.59 kilograms of cocaine, which carries an estimated street value of more than $44 million, alongside 1,848 kilograms of marijuana valued at over $6.84 million. All narcotics were seized from a range of smuggling vessels, including high-speed go-fast boats, private yachts, and inter-island cargo ships that criminal networks have long used to move illicit goods across porous regional maritime borders.

    Beyond illegal drugs, enforcement teams confiscated more than 6,100 cases of untaxed, contraband alcohol, 191 cartons of unregulated cigarettes, and 22 cylinders of banned ozone-depleting refrigerant gas. These additional seizures have a combined estimated value of more than $1.58 million. Authorities also took two unregistered firearms, 65 rounds of ammunition, 13 smuggling vessels and three land vehicles that were linked to transnational criminal groups. As part of the operation, teams also intercepted 59 irregular migrants who were being moved through multi-stop transit routes that span Caribbean air and sea corridors.

    When broken down by case type, contraband smuggling made up 32.9% of all active maritime cases investigated during Operation Eclipse, followed by cocaine trafficking at 23.2%. Most enforcement activity was concentrated in high-risk smuggling zones: the Eastern Caribbean, territorial waters off Guyana, and key transatlantic trafficking routes connecting South America to Caribbean and North American markets.

    Intelligence gathered over the course of the operation uncovered a newly emerging smuggling tactic used by transnational networks: clandestine fixed-wing aircraft dropping narcotics packages near national maritime borders, which are later retrieved by small boat crews operating at sea. Partner-provided surveillance technology allowed teams to track and disrupt this activity before the contraband could be moved to end markets. Biometric and document checks of 99 individuals intercepted on suspicious vessels also confirmed the existence of a deeply interconnected global smuggling network, with detained individuals tracing their origins to Canada, China, Cuba and Syria, per official releases.

    Beyond immediate seizures, Operation Eclipse also served as a critical test and refinement of existing regional maritime security governance frameworks, including the Treaty of San José and bilateral Shiprider agreements that allow cross-border law enforcement boarding and intervention on the high seas. For IMPACS, the successful operation confirmed the agency’s core role as the Caribbean’s central hub for maritime domain awareness, laying a foundational framework for future joint regional security operations.

    In the post-operation phase, participating nations are now analyzing the full body of intelligence gathered to update long-term border management policies and design sustained targeting campaigns to dismantle the remaining transnational smuggling infrastructure embedded in the region. Lt Col Michael Jones, executive director of CARICOM IMPACS, emphasized that deep regional collaboration is the most effective tool to counter powerful transnational criminal organizations.

    “Operation Eclipse proves that when our countries and partners pool their intelligence and operational capabilities, we can effectively dismantle the financial engines driving transnational crime,” Jones stated in the official release. A senior U.S. State Department official echoed that sentiment, noting the operation underscores the critical importance of real-time information sharing and coordinated cross-border enforcement. “INL recognises that our shared security challenges mean that Caribbean security is American security,” the official said, adding that collaborative regional operations like Eclipse demonstrate just how effective coordinated intelligence sharing can be to support interdiction and enforcement actions targeting transnational criminal groups.

  • CCJ head breaks silence

    CCJ head breaks silence

    Six days after the Sunday Gazette first exposed internal rifts between sitting judges and the top leadership of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), President Justice Winston Anderson has broken his public silence to address a cascade of internal accusations, including claims of panel rigging, unauthorized attempts to shape case outcomes, and authoritarian leadership. In a detailed official statement, Anderson flatly rejected all the most serious allegations, while acknowledging that his approach to enforcing a new judicial dress code policy may have been overly forceful.

    The controversy stems from internal email exchanges between Anderson and the court’s six other sitting judges exchanged between June and July this year. Multiple judges pushed back against a dress code mandate Anderson implemented unilaterally, ultimately leveling broader accusations that he governed the regional appellate body in an authoritarian, dictatorial fashion. The complaints expanded beyond dress code rules to include claims that Anderson manipulated judicial panel assignments to predetermine case outcomes and improperly pressured other justices to rule in line with his preferred positions.

    Before addressing the specific claims against him, Anderson opened his statement by condemning the unauthorized leak of confidential internal court correspondence to the press. He called the disclosure a severe breach of core judicial principles, noting that the leaking of private deliberations erodes the trust that underpins judicial independence, undermines collegiality between sitting judges, and weakens public confidence in the third branch of government, causing lasting harm to the public the court is sworn to serve.

    Turning first to accusations that he failed to consult colleagues on institutional decisions and has ruled in an autocratic manner, Anderson pushed back firmly. He emphasized that meaningful consultation is a core pillar of his approach to institutional and judicial leadership, and rejected labels of dictatorial or authoritarian leadership outright. Anderson noted he never turns down requests from fellow judges to discuss matters affecting the court, has consistently encouraged open engagement with all members of the bench, regularly visits the offices of colleague judges and court staff, and remains available at any time to address emerging concerns.

    The controversy was first ignited by disputes over the court’s judicial dress code, a matter Anderson sought to clarify thoroughly. He confirmed that his decision to remove Justice Chile Eboe-Osuji from the D’Almada case panel was tied exclusively to the dress code disagreement, and not to any divergence in legal opinions between the two judges. Anderson stressed that he explicitly documented this rationale at the time of the change, reaffirming that every justice on the court retains full freedom to express their independent legal views during conferences, deliberations, and case discussions. Anderson acknowledged that critics have argued he handled the dress code issue with undue harshness, noting he accepts that assessment. He explained that he viewed the policy as an institutional matter tied to the court’s public image, consistent operational tone, and professional standards, not as a personal rebuke of any individual justice.

    On the most serious accusation of panel fixing to secure predetermined case outcomes, Anderson issued a scathing rejection. He called the leap from a disagreement over judicial attire to claims of panel rigging irresponsible, intellectually dishonest, improper for a judicial context, and outright malicious. Anderson flatly rejected any claims that the court’s panels have ever been structured or altered to deliver preordained results, noting the allegations are completely unsupported by evidence, contradict the court’s longstanding operating procedures, and violate the core principles that have guided the court since its founding. To fully resolve public concerns over the issue going forward, Anderson announced a new policy: every CCJ justice will be required to sit on every panel, barring situations where a justice recuses themselves for a legitimate, disqualifying reason.

    Addressing claims that he has attempted to improperly influence the outcome of pending cases before the court, Anderson called the claims entirely baseless and untrue. He noted that no qualified justice sitting on the CCJ bench would ever allow themselves to be unduly swayed by another justice, including the court’s president. As evidence, he pointed to the recent ruling in *Mohamed v Minister of Home Affairs*, where all seven sitting justices reached a unanimous decision on the appeal’s disposition. Anderson argued this unanimous outcome undermines any claims that judicial opinions were suppressed or that justices were ordered to reach a specific conclusion.

    Anderson also addressed separate controversy stemming from his October 14, 2025 visit to Guyana, where he met separately with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and the country’s opposition leader. Opposition figures in Guyana have claimed Anderson intervened to push for the appointment of preferred candidates to the country’s top judicial posts of Chancellor and Chief Justice, which have been filled on a prolonged acting basis. Anderson clarified that his engagement was focused exclusively on the constitutional principle that Guyana’s judiciary should be led by substantively appointed office holders who benefit from the full constitutional protections enshrined by the country’s constitution. He stated he holds no personal preference or stake in who is appointed to the roles, and that his only goal during the visit was to encourage the two political leaders to reach an agreement on permanent appointments. Looking back on the visit, Anderson acknowledged that an alternative approach would have been preferable, noting he could have limited his engagement to public commentary on the constitutional importance of permanent judicial appointments, as his predecessors did. He emphasized that all his actions were motivated solely by a commitment to protecting judicial independence and the constitutional integrity of the Guyanese judiciary, with no political preference, personal interest, or desire to overstep into Guyana’s domestic affairs beyond his responsibility as head of the country’s final appellate court to protect constitutional judicial protections.

  • Brazilië onderzoekt mogelijke tegenmaatregelen na nieuwe Amerikaanse importtarieven

    Brazilië onderzoekt mogelijke tegenmaatregelen na nieuwe Amerikaanse importtarieven

    As trade tensions escalate between two of the world’s largest national economies, Brazil is actively evaluating a full spectrum of retaliatory responses after the United States imposed new 25% import tariffs on a range of key Brazilian export goods. While the South American nation has not yet finalized its countermeasures, top government officials have repeatedly emphasized their unwavering commitment to defending Brazil’s trade interests and economic stability in the face of what Brazil calls unfair American trade action.

    The new U.S. tariffs, which cover major Brazilian export products including sugar, apparel, paper and steel, took effect in July. Washington justified the levies by claiming Brazil engages in unfair trade practices. On top of the 25% duty, the U.S. added an extra 12.5% tariff tied to unsubstantiated claims that Brazil fails to adequately enforce bans on forced labor.

    Brazilian authorities have firmly rejected these allegations, labeling the combined tariffs “unjust and arbitrary.” The government has stated it will continue to defend its position through all appropriate multilateral and international trade forums. Currently, Brazilian diplomatic teams are holding formal consultations with U.S. trade officials to address the dispute, while mapping out potential countermoves if negotiations fail to reach a resolution.

    The range of potential retaliatory actions being considered runs from targeted import tariffs on American goods and the elimination of existing trade exemptions for U.S. imports to broader caps on incoming American goods and services. According to anonymous government sources, Brazil is also weighing more extreme steps that go beyond traditional tariff measures, including a temporary suspension of American pharmaceutical and agricultural patents operating within the country. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has already pledged to invoke Brazil’s “Reciprocity Law” to shield the nation’s economy from the impact of U.S. duties.

    Trade data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the U.S. currently holds a substantial trade surplus with Brazil. Through the first months of 2026, U.S. exports of goods and services to Brazil reached $26.5 billion, while American imports from Brazil totaled just $17 billion over the same period.

    The latest round of U.S. tariffs marks a strategic shift in American trade policy toward Brazil. It follows a 2025 tariff initiative implemented during the previous Donald Trump administration, which introduced a 10% baseline tariff on imports from nearly all nations, branded by the administration as “Liberation Day” tariffs. Earlier this year, U.S. courts struck down that broad tariff measure. The new 25% targeted tariffs on Brazilian goods are widely viewed as a replacement policy designed to withstand future legal challenges in the U.S. court system.

    Trade analysts warn that escalating trade friction between the U.S. and Brazil — the ninth-largest economy in the world and a leading global exporter of agricultural and manufactured goods — risks disrupting established global trade routes and creating new volatility for international commodity and financial markets.

  • Vragen in DNA over reactie Hof en OM op nog niet ingediende amendementen

    Vragen in DNA over reactie Hof en OM op nog niet ingediende amendementen

    On August 15, correspondence from the High Court of Justice and the Public Prosecution Service (OM) regarding planned overhauls to Suriname’s judicial structure triggered a spirited debate during a plenary session of the National Assembly (DNA), bringing transparency and inter-branch communication into the spotlight.

    VHP parliamentarian Krishna Mathoera raised the issue during the meeting, noting she had received information that new amendments affecting the judiciary and Public Prosecution Service had been drafted, and relevant letters had been delivered to Assembly Speaker Ashwin Adhin. However, these critical documents were not accessible in the National Assembly’s internal document system. Mathoera emphasized that lawmakers have already been receiving public and stakeholder inquiries about the planned changes, but without access to the full correspondence, they cannot provide informed, substantive responses, and called on Adhin to immediately make the documents available to all elected representatives.

    Adhin confirmed he received the two letters on Friday, and stated the documents have already been forwarded to the Assembly’s clerk’s office and the committee of rapporteurs. He pledged to expedite the process of sharing the full correspondence with all assembly members. The Speaker also clarified that as of the session, he had not yet received any formal draft amendments from either the sitting government or parliamentary sponsors of the reform initiative, noting that multiple stakeholders – including the executive branch, parliamentary initiators, and judicial bodies that have outlined their concerns – are involved in the legislative process.

    Ebu Jones, an NDP MP and the reform initiative’s lead sponsor, questioned the procedural timeline of the correspondence. Jones said he was unaware of any formally submitted amendments that the High Court and Public Prosecution Service could have responded to, raising questions about what exactly the two institutions’ feedback is based on. He stressed that major state bodies should only comment on official, formally tabled proposals, noting that standard procedure requires draft proposals to be submitted to the National Assembly first before being circulated to relevant institutions for public comment. Jones added that he will not be able to form a substantive judgment on the feedback until he has full clarity on the contents of the letters and what specific drafts they responded to.

    Rabin Parmessar, NDP parliamentary group leader and chair of the committee of rapporteurs, confirmed that his committee had also not received any formal amendment documents for review up to the time of the debate. Taking a broader institutional perspective, Parmessar warned against allowing the confusion to escalate into a breakdown of communication between Suriname’s separate branches of government. He emphasized that healthy communication and cooperative relations between state branches are a foundational requirement for a functioning democratic constitutional state, noting that the nation gains nothing when branches of government fail to operate in constructive harmony. Parmessar called on Adhin to directly contact the president of the High Court of Justice to resolve existing communication misalignments.

    Adhin responded that he had already considered direct outreach to judicial leadership, but plans to first conduct a thorough review of the received correspondence before moving forward. He also asked all assembly members to read the letters in full once they are distributed, before the body holds further discussions on the emerging situation. The current debate comes amid ongoing plans for sweeping restructuring of Suriname’s judicial organization, including major proposals to reshape the institutional structure of both the judiciary at large and the Public Prosecution Service.

  • Gouddossier 9: Simons bevriest concessies om grip te krijgen op goudsector

    Gouddossier 9: Simons bevriest concessies om grip te krijgen op goudsector

    After weeks of growing public outcry over unregulated illegal gold mining, unclear concession boundaries, widespread ecosystem damage, mass fish die-offs and lax government oversight in Suriname’s interior, President Jennifer Simons has announced sweeping emergency intervention to restructure the country’s troubled gold mining sector.

    The president has ordered an immediate temporary freeze on all new concession issuance, transfers of existing concessions and concession renewal applications. In an exclusive interview with local outlet Starnieuws, Simons clarified that the pause – particularly for renewal requests – will last only a matter of weeks, not months, giving the government time to conduct a full nationwide audit of active mining rights, on-the-ground activities and high-priority conservation areas in need of enhanced protection.

    “It was necessary to hit pause temporarily to get a clear, full picture of what is actually happening across our interior lands,” Simons said. “The situation we face is difficult, and it has only grown more challenging in recent months.” The administration has already dispatched inspection teams to remote mining regions to verify activity reports and document current conditions on the ground.

    ### Multiple Policy Objectives Drive the Freeze
    The temporary hold on concession processing stems from five core policy priorities laid out in a formal written instruction President Simons sent to Minister of Natural Resources David Abiamofo. First, the government seeks to strengthen protection of residential and ancestral lands for Indigenous and tribal communities. Second, it aims to assess and protect other ecologically sensitive areas, including headwater river systems that supply critical drinking water to inland communities. Third, it will complete the first national-scale audit of all existing mining concession areas, including documenting active gold mining operations. Fourth, the government will tighten regulatory and inspection frameworks for chemical use and mining practices to reduce environmental harm. Fifth, it will open formal consultations with existing concession holders to develop industry-wide adoption of more responsible mining technologies.

    Simons also ordered the minister to produce a complete, detailed public register of all active concessions and their holders. The temporary freeze is designed to prevent new changes to concession holdings that would complicate the audit and restructuring process. “We decided to freeze operations during this audit period – which will take a few weeks, no longer – to keep the process moving smoothly,” the president explained.

    ### Addressing Industry Concerns
    The decision to pause concession renewals has sparked anxiety among existing legal concession holders, who worry that expiring rights during the freeze could leave legitimate operations in financial jeopardy. Simons acknowledged these concerns, noting that she held direct talks with gold sector representatives last Friday to discuss the policy.

    “The measure will not be in place for a long period,” she emphasized. “We just need time to gather accurate information, get our house in order, and assess the current situation as it stands right now.” Even before the freeze, concession renewal processing often dragged on for years, so the government will use this period to also review and streamline approval procedures to reduce long-term delays. Beyond the audit, the administration’s core goals are bringing much-needed transparency and accountability to concession management across the sector.

    ### Tackling the Larger Challenge of Illegal Mining
    Simons stressed that the challenges facing Suriname’s gold sector extend far beyond formal, legal concession holders. A large share of current industry problems stem from unregulated illegal mining operations in remote regions where the government has little permanent presence or enforcement capacity. The president acknowledged that this is a far more complex problem to resolve than formal sector governance.

    To address this, the government has launched systematic baseline inventories of inland regions to build consistent, structural data on mining activity, shifting from a reactive response to crises to proactive long-term management. “This is a slow, difficult process, but we have started,” Simons said. A dedicated interagency unit within the President’s Cabinet is already coordinating gold sector restructuring efforts, and legal concession holders are being included in the planning process. The ultimate goal is to build a complete, up-to-date overview of all sector activity step by step.

    Simons urged the public to manage expectations, noting that she cannot promise the government will achieve full control and security across all gold mining regions in the short term. “We are dealing with a very difficult existing situation,” she said. “But I am convinced that through collaboration, and by bringing clarity and transparency to the sector, we can improve conditions step by step.”

    ### Long-Term Restructuring: A New Gold Board for Suriname
    A key centerpiece of the long-term restructuring plan is the creation of a dedicated national Gold Board, a specialized regulatory body that will oversee the purchasing, sale and export of all gold produced in Suriname. Draft legislation to establish the body is currently being developed with input from an international expert, but Simons noted that foreign regulatory models cannot be copied directly and must be adapted to Suriname’s unique economic and social context.

    The president expects the draft legislation to be ready for parliamentary introduction as early as the fourth quarter of 2026, though she added a caveat that the multi-step legislative process may shift the timeline. The administration aims to launch practical implementation of the new regulatory system by 2027 at the latest.

    ### Anchoring Economic Stability While Mitigating Risk
    Simons emphasized that the gold sector remains a critical economic pillar for Suriname, particularly as a source of much-needed foreign exchange. She confirmed that the government is already implementing a policy requiring 35% of all foreign exchange generated by the gold sector to be deposited directly with the Central Bank of Suriname, a measure designed to strengthen the country’s foreign reserve holdings.

    “Gold is extremely important to our national economy, but it also carries a host of significant risks that we can no longer ignore,” Simons said. These risks extend beyond illegal activity and lost government revenue: weak environmental oversight also poses major threats to public health and ecosystems. The administration found significant gaps in the monitoring capacity of the National Environmental Authority, including limited laboratory capacity to test for mining-related water and soil contamination. Going forward, Simons said all these interconnected problems will be addressed in a single unified national plan, rather than through piecemeal, disconnected actions.

    At its core, the temporary concession freeze is far more than a pause on new applications: it is the first step in a broader effort to bring clarity to a sector that has long operated with limited government oversight. For decades, a core unanswered question has hung over Suriname’s gold sector: how can the state regulate an industry when it does not even have a clear picture of who holds what rights, where those holdings are located, and what activity is taking place inside concession boundaries?

    Simons said the temporary freeze gives the government the space it needs to resolve that information gap. For existing concession holders waiting on renewals, uncertainty will be limited to a matter of weeks. But the broader national overhaul – from protecting Indigenous ancestral lands, cracking down on illegal mining, tightening chemical and practice rules, improving environmental monitoring, bringing transparency to concession holdings, and ultimately controlling gold flows from mine to export – is a far larger undertaking that will take years to complete.

  • Commemoration of the 5th anniversary of the August 14, 2021 earthquake

    Commemoration of the 5th anniversary of the August 14, 2021 earthquake

    Half a decade after one of the deadliest natural disasters in Haiti’s recent history, the nation paused on August 15, 2026, to honor the thousands of lives lost to the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the Grand Sud region on August 14, 2021. The quake, centered just 12 kilometers northeast of Saint-Louis du Sud, left a trail of irreversible destruction: official provisional and final assessments confirm 2,248 people killed, more than 12,700 injured, and 329 individuals still unaccounted for, leaving lasting trauma for grieving families and deep scars in Haiti’s collective national memory.

    On this solemn anniversary, Haiti’s General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGPC) led commemorative activities themed “Remember, Recover, Build Resilience.” The agency first paid humble tribute to the victims who perished in the disaster, and reaffirmed its unwavering solidarity with all affected families, communities, and individuals whose lives were upended by the quake.

    Beyond honoring the fallen, the commemoration theme carries a clear forward-looking mandate: to draw critical lessons from the 2021 disaster and advance targeted action to better protect Haiti’s population against future natural hazards. To that end, the DGPC has steadily ramped up its investments in community-level prevention, preparedness, and public risk awareness efforts, all integrated into a broader national strategy to strengthen Haiti’s National Disaster Risk Management System (NDRMMS).

    Key ongoing initiatives include streamlining inter-agency coordination mechanisms, revitalizing the Permanent Risk Management Secretariat, and rolling out the 2024–2027 Three-Year Operational Plan, which translates the long-term goals of the 2019–2030 National Risk Management Plan into actionable, on-the-ground projects. This national framework adopts a multi-hazard, cross-sector approach that prioritizes four core pillars: improved risk knowledge, stronger governance of disaster management, increased investment in resilience, and enhanced preparedness and response capabilities.

    Through public awareness campaigns, school and community risk education programs, and targeted capacity-building for local disaster management stakeholders, the DGPC is working to embed risk-aware culture and emergency preparedness habits directly within at-risk communities. These outreach efforts are paired with upgrades to operational infrastructure and response tools in regions of Haiti that face the highest natural hazard risk.

    Simulation exercises (SIMEX) have emerged as a cornerstone of the DGPC’s preparedness strategy. These drills allow authorities to test existing response mechanisms, strengthen collaboration across local, regional, and national stakeholders, and identify gaps in systems before a real disaster strikes. In September 2025, a national-scale SIMEX held in Haiti’s Southeast region successfully tested operational capacities and coordination protocols for a major seismic event scenario. Building on that success, the DGPC has announced plans to host a new SIMEX in the South region in early September 2026, focused specifically on boosting preparedness for this hazard-prone area.

    The DGPC’s work is guided by a core principle: an informed population is a prepared population, and a prepared population is a resilient population. Five years on from the 2021 earthquake, agency officials acknowledge that the progress made in strengthening disaster resilience is encouraging, but significant unmet challenges remain. Resilience, they emphasize, is not built only in the aftermath of catastrophe — it is cultivated daily through consistent investment in awareness, preparation, anticipatory action, cross-community solidarity, and collective effort.

    On this anniversary, the DGPC reaffirmed its long-term commitment to working alongside local communities, municipal authorities, public institutions, national and international partners, and all disaster management stakeholders to expand Haiti’s national capacity for risk reduction and response. In closing, the agency shared its guiding message for the commemoration: “Remember so we never forget. Rise again to keep moving forward. Build resilience to better protect present and future generations. Together, let us make the memory of August 14, 2021, a strength to build a Haiti that is more aware of its risks, better prepared, and more resilient.”

  • Petition prompts phased rollout of revised curriculum, assessment framework

    Petition prompts phased rollout of revised curriculum, assessment framework

    In a significant shift to Barbados’ education reform agenda, Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman has announced a multi-year delay to the planned rollout of continuous assessment for secondary school placement, responding to widespread concerns raised by parents, teachers and education stakeholders.

    The policy change was originally designed to phase out the decades-old Common Entrance Examination (also known as the 11-Plus), a high-stakes, single-sitting test that has long determined secondary school placement for Barbadian students. When first unveiled earlier this year, the government planned to make the cohort of students entering Class Three this academic year the first group to transition to the new model, which would have replaced the one-shot exam with a two-year continuous assessment framework built into primary schooling.

    But that original timeline hit a major roadblock after more than 400 parents and guardians signed a formal petition calling for a more gradual, phased implementation. The parent group argued that starting the new assessment model with incoming Class Three students would leave educators, schools and the ministry itself without enough time to update curricula, deliver required teacher training, refine operational processes and put necessary support systems in place before assessment results carried high stakes for secondary placement. Instead, the petitioners urged the government to launch the new framework with students entering Class One, giving all parties sufficient preparation time.

    In a formal ministerial statement released Friday, Blackman confirmed the ministry had heeded those calls and reset the transition timeline. While continuous assessment practices will be integrated into primary school teaching starting this academic year, the results will not be used to determine secondary school placement for the foreseeable future. The new placement model will not launch until the 2026 academic year at the earliest, when continuous assessment will first be embedded into primary-level learning as a tool to track student progress, identify learning gaps early, deliver targeted support, and build individual learning profiles that follow students through their educational journey.

    Under the revised pathway, the first cohort to move to secondary school via the new continuous assessment model will be students entering Class Two this September, but only if all pre-implementation conditions are fully met by 2029–2030, when that cohort would transition to secondary school. This adjusted timeline gives that group three full years of preparation under the new curriculum framework. Students entering Class One this year will get four years of preparation, while students entering Infants B and Infants A will get five and six years of preparation respectively, ensuring no cohort enters the new model without adequate time to adapt.

    Blackman outlined a clear set of non-negotiable requirements that must be satisfied before the new model goes live for placement purposes. These include comprehensive, ongoing training and professional support for all teachers, clear, consistent and widely understood assessment standards across all primary schools, robust moderation processes to guarantee fairness and consistency in grading, reliable data and information systems to manage assessment records, fully operational quality assurance mechanisms, and sufficient capacity and resources for all schools to implement the new approach successfully. Blackman also emphasized that the ministry will maintain transparent, timely communication with parents, teachers and stakeholders throughout the transition, and will only launch the model once it can prove the new system is fair, equitable and does not disadvantage any student or demographic group.

    For current students further along in their primary education, the existing system will remain in place. Students entering Class Four this September, who are scheduled to sit the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination (BSSEE) in May 2027, will still have their secondary placement determined by the traditional Common Entrance Exam. Blackman added that the government will also strengthen the existing placement system during the transition period to make it fairer and more inclusive, continuing to allocate secondary school places based on established criteria of academic performance and residential location to provide certainty, consistency and fairness for families.

    Beyond placement reform, the government is also working to upgrade overall secondary education quality across the country. Blackman reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring every secondary school is a center of educational excellence, where all students receive the challenge, support and inspiration needed to reach their full potential.

    Longer-term plans for national assessment will also expand the scope of standardized testing beyond the current focus on English and Mathematics. Over time, science, Social Studies and citizenship will be added to the national assessment framework, creating a broader evaluation that captures the full range of knowledge, skills and competencies that primary school students are expected to develop. Blackman noted that continuous assessment data will play a key role in this expanded system, helping teachers and schools identify and address student learning needs early before gaps widen and impact long-term progress.