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  • Rotaract Club of Antigua Leaves Lasting Legacy with First Peace Pole and “Supporting Her Flow Collective”

    Rotaract Club of Antigua Leaves Lasting Legacy with First Peace Pole and “Supporting Her Flow Collective”

    After successfully hosting the long-awaited Rotaract District 7030 Conference, Linked in Wadadli, the Rotaract Club of Antigua has cemented a lasting, meaningful legacy in the Caribbean nation through two landmark initiatives: the installation of the country’s first official Peace Pole and the launch of Supporting Her Flow Collective, a cross-regional project dedicated to advancing menstrual health equity and dignity.

    ## A Permanent Monument to Intentional Peace
    As the centerpiece of the conference’s community impact agenda, the inaugural Peace Pole was permanently installed at Antigua’s Mount St. John’s Medical Centre. Carved with the iconic message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in multiple languages, Peace Poles are globally recognized symbols that stand for collective hope, cross-cultural unity, and mutual understanding. With thousands of these monuments already placed in public spaces, hospitals, schools, and parks across every inhabited continent, they serve as a constant, visible reminder that global peace starts with individual action and intentional empathy.

    This initiative aligns directly with peacebuilding, one of the seven core focus areas of Rotary International. For decades, Rotary and its youth-focused affiliate Rotaract have advanced dialogue, cross-community understanding, and conflict prevention across the globe through humanitarian work, leadership development, educational outreach, and cross-sector community partnerships.

    At the official unveiling ceremony, representatives from Rotaract clubs spanning District 7030 — which encompasses multiple Caribbean nations — delivered short remarks in both English and French, a deliberate nod to the district’s rich cultural diversity and a powerful illustration that peace messaging transcends national borders and linguistic divides.

    Kayah Ward, the incoming 2025-2026 Community Service Director for the district, emphasized that while most Caribbean nations are spared the devastation of active armed conflict, peace is a universal human right that requires consistent, intentional nurturing. She urged Rotarians and Rotaractors to view the Peace Pole not as a static decorative monument, but as a daily call to practice compassion, open dialogue, mutual understanding, and service within their own homes, clubs, local communities, and national spaces.

    Incoming District Governor 2025–2026 Soraya Warner-Gustave commended Rotaract clubs across the district for bringing the Peace Pole project to fruition, noting that peacebuilding remains a foundational pillar of Rotary’s global mission. She shared particular pride in watching the district’s young leaders translate Rotary’s core values into tangible, on-the-ground action, creating a legacy that will inspire future generations of community leaders across the Caribbean.

    On behalf of the hosting medical institution, Emelda Benjamin of Mount St. John’s Medical Centre thanked the Rotaract Club of Antigua for choosing the facility as the Peace Pole’s permanent home. Reflecting on the ceremony, she highlighted what she called the day’s most resonant takeaway: “Peace is not abstract. Peace must be intentional.” Benjamin added that the monument will stand as a lasting reminder of the value of peace for staff, patients, and visitors at the medical center, and for communities across Antigua and Barbuda as a whole.

    ## Launching a Regional Movement for Menstrual Dignity
    Beyond the peace initiative, the conference marked the official launch of Supporting Her Flow Collective, a regional service project designed to expand access to affordable menstrual hygiene products and raise public awareness of the widespread crisis of period poverty across the Caribbean.

    In the months leading up to the conference, every attending delegate was asked to travel to the event with at least one package of sanitary products. What started as a small, simple ask grew into a large-scale collective act of service, with delegates from across District 7030 contributing hundreds of products to the growing stockpile.

    Romancier Edwards, the conference’s Community Service Lead, expressed gratitude to every delegate whose individual donation made the initiative possible. Edwards emphasized that the collective’s early success is a direct reflection of the generosity, empathy, and shared commitment to community service that unites Rotaractors across the entire Caribbean district.

    The initiative received a significant boost from a private donation: Frank B. Armstrong contributed five full cases of sanitary napkins, dramatically expanding the volume of products available for distribution to vulnerable communities.

    A first portion of the collected supplies was donated to Mount St. John’s Medical Centre, to support patients who face barriers accessing essential menstrual hygiene products during their care. During the handover, Conference Co-Chair Sherwyn Greenidge framed the initiative as a reflection of cross-regional solidarity. “This donation reflects the generosity and unity of Rotaractors from across District 7030, working together to support the health and well-being of the people of Antigua and Barbuda,” Greenidge said. “We hope these items will make a meaningful contribution to the work of the dedicated doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals who serve our community every day.”

    A second allocation of products was presented at Antigua’s Rotary House by Conference Co-Chair Dr. Namadi Belle to Tanya Ambrose, representative of local community organization Scrub Life Cares. Scrub Life Cares works to support frontline healthcare workers and expand access to essential health services through outreach, advocacy, and targeted support for marginalized community members. By partnering with the organization, Supporting Her Flow Collective extends its impact far beyond the conference, allowing Scrub Life Cares to reach more vulnerable people and expand public education around menstrual health across Antigua and Barbuda.

    During the handover, Ambrose explained that period poverty encompasses far more than just a lack of access to pads, tampons, or other products. It includes a range of interconnected barriers that prevent people from managing their periods safely and with dignity: high product costs, limited access to clean water and private sanitary facilities, inadequate comprehensive menstrual health education, persistent cultural stigma and shame, and a lack of supportive policies in schools, workplaces, homes, and community spaces.

    Conference organizers note that Supporting Her Flow Collective embodies the core mission of international humanitarian service. Delegates from across the Caribbean united around a shared goal, proving that small individual contributions can add up to large, lasting, transformative change when people work together. The initiative closed with a call to action for attendees to imagine and build a truly period-friendly Caribbean, where no one experiences shame, exclusion, or limited opportunity because they menstruate.

    This year’s conference marked the first time Antigua and Barbuda has hosted the Rotaract District 7030 gathering in more than 20 years. The two initiatives leave far more than just conference memories: the Peace Pole will stand as a permanent reminder that peace requires intentional daily effort, while Supporting Her Flow Collective will continue to advance menstrual dignity, improved public health, and greater hope for marginalized communities across the region through ongoing service.

    Together, the projects perfectly embody the 2025 conference theme Linked in Wadadli, proving that when people unite across national borders in shared service, they build stronger, more equitable communities and leave a legacy that endures for decades after an event concludes.

  • Cocoa and breadfruit, two promising sectors in Haiti

    Cocoa and breadfruit, two promising sectors in Haiti

    In early July 2026, a senior delegation of diplomatic and institutional stakeholders traveled to Haiti’s Grand’Anse department to review on-the-ground progress of two landmark international agricultural development initiatives: the Agricultural Value Chain Promotion for Employment and Resilience (PROFIT) project and the Smallholder Agriculture Market Support (SAMS) program. Jointly implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), these programs are designed to empower small-scale Haitian producers by focusing on two high-potential domestic sectors—cocoa and breadfruit—with the dual goals of revitalizing the country’s rural economy and generating formal, dignified employment opportunities for local communities.

    Nicole Boni Kouassi, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Haiti and the country’s UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, emphasized that the PROFIT project has already delivered tangible proof that strategic investment in agricultural value chain development can deliver transformative results for Haiti. Early outcomes in the cocoa and breadfruit sectors confirm that significant untapped economic potential exists, and that Haitians—particularly the country’s large youth population—are eager to participate in sustainable economic activity when clear, actionable opportunities are made available to them.

    Haitian cocoa has long been celebrated globally for its distinct, high-quality aromatic profiles and flavors, positioning it well to access premium, profitable niche markets, especially through international fair trade networks. Breadfruit, meanwhile, delivers multiple layers of value: it strengthens national food security, creates opportunities for local value-added processing, and allows smallholder producers to diversify their income streams to reduce vulnerability to market shocks. As an early indicator of the sector’s growing international traction, PROFIT-supported Haitian producers showcased their cocoa products and byproducts at the 2025 Paris Chocolate Salon in November, where the offerings drew substantial interest from international buyers and consumers alike.

    The success of these interventions depends on robust cross-sector coordination between Haitian public institutions, international technical and financial partners, local private sector businesses, and grassroots producer organizations. This collaborative approach ensures that all program activities are adapted to local context and needs, while also expanding and improving the support services available directly to cocoa and breadfruit producers across the country.

    Since the launch of the two projects, they have delivered a wide range of measurable impacts across Grand’Anse. Key achievements include the construction of a 250-ton annual capacity cocoa fermentation facility and four breadfruit processing centers with a combined monthly processing capacity of 100 tons, as well as the full reconstruction of the Chambellan public market. The initiatives have created 2,000 direct and indirect jobs for local workers, completed a technical and economic feasibility study focused on processing breadfruit into flour and other value-added products, and registered and georeferenced more than 10,000 producers on a centralized logistics intelligence platform to improve market access.

    Additional outcomes include the establishment of 70 fully functional solidarity producer cooperatives, capacity building for six local agricultural service providers to improve the quality of support they offer smallholders, and a threefold increase in cocoa exports from Grand’Anse over just two years. The projects have also facilitated the sale of more than 30 tons of locally produced breadfruit flour to WFP for use in its national school feeding programs, enabling 6,789 local producers to secure stable income through WFP’s local procurement initiative, which represents a total investment of more than $2 million in local agricultural communities.

    More than 1,900 lead producers have completed training in agroecological farming practices, post-harvest handling, aflatoxin prevention, and financial and commercial management. Over 2,000 smallholder farmers have received critical agricultural inputs, including 5 tons of seeds, 99,500 seedlings, and 352 goats to support production. Five new beekeeping enterprises have been launched to help rural households diversify their income streams, and 2.5 kilometers of critical agricultural access roads have been rehabilitated, with a truck and four tricycles provided to reduce barriers to transporting products to market.

    The projects have also supported the creation of eight community mutual aid societies and selected eight local micro-enterprises to receive targeted financial support. Major structural investments have been completed, including the construction of a grain mill, two product aggregation centers, two storage facilities, and a dedicated cocoa drying area. Almost 2,900 small-scale producers have been trained in the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) approach, and receive customized climate information via SMS and radio to help them adapt to changing weather patterns. After Hurricane Melissa hit the region, the programs disbursed more than $81,280 in compensation payments to 1,726 insured farming households, supporting their post-disaster recovery and strengthening long-term resilience to climate shocks.

  • Nationaal Woningbouwfonds stelt voorwaarden woningbouwkredieten vast

    Nationaal Woningbouwfonds stelt voorwaarden woningbouwkredieten vast

    After years of planning, Suriname’s 2019 National Housing Fund Act has officially entered into force, marking the formal establishment of the fund’s new governing board and the launch of a national initiative to expand access to affordable, quality housing for a wide cross-section of Surinamese households. The policy rollout, which introduced the National Housing Program Suriname (NaHuSur), took place at the Reeberg development project, where fund director Anushka Ramjielal outlined the eligibility criteria, loan terms, and structural requirements for properties financed under the new scheme.

    Ramjielal emphasized that the fund is targeted specifically at Surinamese residents across low, middle, and upper-income brackets who are seeking to build, purchase, or renovate their first family home. To qualify for a subsidized housing loan, applicants must meet several core requirements: they must be legal adults, hold Surinamese citizenship, not own any other residential property directly or indirectly, and have never previously received a housing loan from another domestic financial institution. Exceptions to the prior loan rule are only granted in cases of officially documented emergency or force majeure.

    Loan amounts and interest rates are structured on a sliding scale tied to a household’s combined net monthly income, to ensure accessibility for lower-income groups. For households falling into Category A Group 1, with combined net monthly incomes between 12,000 and 20,000 Surinamese dollars (SRD), loans carry a fixed 3% annual interest rate, with a maximum borrowing limit of SRD 750,000 per borrower. Households in Category A Group 2, with incomes ranging from 20,000 to 35,000 SRD per month, qualify for loans with a 5% interest rate and a maximum principal of SRD 1.2 million.

    Beyond individual homebuyers and builders, the National Housing Fund also extends financing to registered non-profit housing corporations, classified under Category B, for the development of rental and rent-to-own properties. The Stichting Volkshuisvesting (People’s Housing Foundation) qualifies for 3% interest loans, with a maximum permitted construction cost of SRD 750,000 per unit. All other registered non-profit housing corporations receive a 5% interest rate, with a cap of SRD 1.2 million per housing unit.

    To support scalable, affordable development, the legislation sets clear structural standards for all properties built with fund financing, including requirements for so-called “grow homes” – modular homes designed to be expanded incrementally as households’ needs change. In the first construction phase, a grow home must have a minimum floor area of 28 square meters. All properties must be designed to allow expansion in at least two separate phases, with the full final layout pre-approved and documented in the original construction blueprints.

    Maximum total floor area limits also apply, aligned with income and borrower category. For individual Group 1 borrowers and the Stichting Volkshuisvesting, the maximum permitted total floor area is 75 square meters. For Group 2 individual borrowers and other registered non-profit housing corporations, the maximum floor area is capped at 90 square meters.

    Ramjielal called on all eligible prospective home seekers to submit applications for the program, noting that all loan applications will be processed and disbursed through local commercial banks, which will handle the distribution of application forms and initial intake. Interested applicants will need to complete and submit standardized forms through their chosen local bank to begin the review process. Looking ahead, the fund is currently developing its own dedicated public website and regular newsletter, which will provide ongoing updates to Surinamese citizens about the fund’s operations, application procedures, and the status of pending loan requests.

  • Cost Pro Supermarket Closes Permanently, Employees Laid Off

    Cost Pro Supermarket Closes Permanently, Employees Laid Off

    In a sudden development impacting the local retail sector of Antigua and Barbuda, Cost Pro Supermarket, an established grocery outlet located at Woods Mall in St. John’s, has permanently ceased all operations. The full staff complement of the supermarket has been terminated on redundancy grounds, ending their ties to the business immediately.

    A formal notification letter dated July 9 from the chain’s management confirmed the permanent closure of the location, noting that all existing positions at the supermarket had been eliminated, leading to the immediate end of every employee’s term of service. In line with the country’s labor regulatory requirements, the company has outlined clear next steps for compensating affected workers.

    According to the announcement, all employees will receive full compensation for hours worked up to their final day of employment. Company officials are currently conducting a comprehensive review of payroll records to calculate all additional owed payments, which include accumulated unused vacation pay, statutory notice pay for eligible workers, and severance packages mandated by Antigua and Barbuda’s labor laws.

    Management has committed to distributing itemized final payment statements to every affected worker no later than July 17. These documents will detail all outstanding amounts owed to employees, after all required statutory deductions have been applied. In a corresponding requirement, workers have been directed to return all company-owned assets in their possession by the same July 17 deadline. This includes work uniforms, facility keys, employee identification cards, work-related equipment and all company documents.

    In a closing statement, Cost Pro Supermarket’s management expressed gratitude to all former employees for their years of service to the company and extended well wishes for their upcoming job searches and future career paths. The shutdown brings a definitive end to the supermarket’s years-long tenure as a retail tenant at the Woods Mall location.

  • Economy : Bank credit to the private sector shows a slight increase of 0.3% after 2 years of contraction

    Economy : Bank credit to the private sector shows a slight increase of 0.3% after 2 years of contraction

    After two consecutive years of sharp decline, Haiti’s bank lending to the private sector has finally edged into positive territory, new data from the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) confirms. The central bank’s latest annual report, which tracks credit trends between September 2024 and September 2025, shows a modest 0.3% expansion in the country’s net loan portfolio, ending a downturn that saw credit contract by 15.2% in 2024 and 9.6% in 2023. This fragile growth unfolds against a backdrop of deep systemic challenges that have kept Haitian financial institutions deeply cautious about extending new capital.

    Over the 12-month analysis period, Haiti’s commercial banks maintained a risk-averse lending posture amid ongoing deterioration of the national business climate and a five-year-long worsening security crisis that has disrupted nearly all segments of economic activity. The report documents that the average rate of non-performing loans (NPLs) across the sector climbed to 13% during the period, up from 10.36% in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, a jump that has further incentivized conservative lending strategies.

    Beyond overall growth trends, the BRH analysis highlights significant structural inequalities in Haiti’s credit market. Lending remains heavily concentrated in a small set of sectors and geographic regions, with persistent gender-based gaps in access to financing for small business owners and entrepreneurs. To mitigate ongoing strain on the market, the central bank has already rolled out targeted interventions to support struggling borrowers and prioritize lending to high-impact productive sectors, though the report notes these measures have had limited impact amid broader instability.

    Breaking down credit allocation by sector, the report shows the housing sector and industrial free zones are the largest recipients of bank lending, holding 5.269 billion gourdes and 5.082 billion gourdes in outstanding credit respectively. Together, these two segments account for more than half of all allocated private sector credit, at 26.6% and 25.7% of the total portfolio. Export-focused enterprises follow as the third-largest group, receiving 3.212 billion gourdes in financing equal to 16.2% of total disbursements, while the tourism and hotel sectors hold 2.440 billion gourdes, or 12.3% of total allocated credit.

    The agricultural sector, which benefits from special provisions outlined in BRH’s Circular 113, received 11.9% of total disbursements, and the government’s Real Estate Development Promotion Program (PPDI) accounts for an additional 5.3% of lending. Leasing-focused financial institutions round out the allocation, receiving 400 million gourdes, equal to 2% of total private sector credit.

    In its policy analysis, the BRH emphasizes that sustained growth in private sector lending will depend first on reversing the country’s security crisis. The report notes that improving public safety is a non-negotiable prerequisite to rebuild investor confidence, restart stalled productive activities, and revitalize traditional credit distribution channels. Restoring national stability, the central bank argues, would also lay the groundwork for a more supportive environment for financial innovation that could expand access to underserved groups. Beyond security, the report identifies the development of a robust, comprehensive financial risk management ecosystem as a critical priority to strengthen long-term resilience in Haiti’s banking sector.

    The full 18-page BRH report, published in French, is available for public download via the HaitiLibre official website.

  • Invoices, Addresses, and Alleged Connections to the Highest Office

    Invoices, Addresses, and Alleged Connections to the Highest Office

    The ongoing Ministry of Defense procurement corruption controversy in Belize has entered a volatile new phase, with newly leaked official documents linking the prime minister’s immediate family to suspicious public fund payments that appear structured to avoid mandatory oversight. The 33 leaked invoices, published by local outlet News Five on July 9, 2026, lay out a clear pattern of transaction splitting: 93% of the payments come in just under the $10,000 threshold that triggers stricter formal scrutiny under government procurement rules. Only two invoices exceed this limit, both for the exact amount of $13,537.03.

    Altogether, the documents show the Ministry of Defense disbursed a total of $242,230.09 in public funds to two individuals linked by the same residential address in Orange Walk: 61 Queen Victoria Avenue. Unconfirmed sources cited by the outlet identify the two payees, Addy Isora Del Carmen Ku and Javier Reul Briceño, as a married couple. Javier Reul Briceño is the sibling of sitting Prime Minister John Briceño, a connection that pulls the expanding scandal directly to the highest office in the nation.

    A breakdown of the payments shows Ku received $225,462.89 in disbursements between November 2023 and July 2025, while Briceño was paid $16,767 in a single transaction in August 2025. The addition of these two names grows the already long list of individuals and private entities connected to questionable payments through the Ministry of Defense’s Smart Stream payment system, turning what began as an inquiry into irregular invoicing into a full-blown political crisis.

    In a phone interview with reporter Paul Lopez, Prime Minister Briceño confirmed Javier Briceño is his brother, but denied any knowledge of the payments, his sibling’s contracted services to the ministry, or even the name of his brother’s spouse. When pressed on whether the proximity of his family to the scandal raises legitimate public questions, Briceño acknowledged questions are fair but maintained he has no involvement in the day-to-day management of the Smart Stream procurement system.

    “I don’t even know how Smart Stream work, I have never been into the Smart Stream, because that is not my job. That is for the public officers,” Briceño told Lopez. He added that an ongoing investigation led by the Auditor General is already underway, and any individual found to have broken rules—including his brother—will face full accountability. “I nuh cover the fact,” he said, speaking in Belizean Kriol. “If anything was wrong, if it was Javier or anybody, they will have to answer.”

    As the paper trail of irregular payments grows longer with each new leak, the scandal shows no signs of abating, leaving the prime minister to confront growing public pressure over potential gaps in procurement oversight and conflicts of interest at the highest levels of government.

  • Brother’s Property, Government Contracts, and PM Briceno’s Denial

    Brother’s Property, Government Contracts, and PM Briceno’s Denial

    As a formal audit of Belize’s Ministry of Defense spending gets underway, a simmering controversy over a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar meat supply contract has put Prime Minister John Briceño on the defensive, after opposition figures linked him to the winning vendor, Meat Master. At the center of the allegations are reports that the land housing Meat Master’s processing operations belongs to Briceño’s oldest sibling, a connection the prime minister has forcefully and repeatedly rejected.

    In a public address responding to the claims, Briceño pushed back hard against what he frames as a manufactured political smear campaign orchestrated by the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP). He explained that he is the eldest child of his branch of the Briceño family, and the owners of Meat Master belong to an unrelated Briceño clan with roots across several Belizean districts including Punta Gorda, Corozal, and Orange Walk. The prime minister said he had no prior knowledge that Meat Master was supplying meat to the Belize Defense Force (BDF), and argued that the divided, ineffective UDP is grasping at any last-minute narrative to manufacture a scandal where none exists. Briceño also noted that the ongoing audit has been formally handed over to the Auditor General, who recently outlined her general audit process to cabinet under an oath of secrecy that prohibits her from commenting on specific open investigations. Should any wrongdoing be uncovered, Briceño added, those responsible will be held accountable regardless of name.

    Meat Master has joined the prime minister in rejecting all claims of improper connections, issuing a public statement to correct what it calls inaccurate characterizations of its operations. Founded and formally registered in 2022, the company specializes in producing fresh, smoked, and processed meat products for commercial and institutional clients. It firmly denied any familial or financial ties to the Briceño family, emphasizing that no member of the prime minister’s family owns either the business itself or the property where it operates. Meat Master also defended its contracting process, confirming that it secured supply agreements with both the BDF and the Belize Coast Guard through the government’s official competitive tender process, met all mandatory procurement requirements, and submitted all required bidding documentation. All invoicing, the company added, accurately reflects the volume and value of products delivered to the military entities.

    The controversy has kept questions alive around Ministry of Defense CEO Francis Usher, who acknowledges a distant family connection to Meat Master’s owner through his wife. Usher has stated that he played no role in the procurement process for the contract, and only became aware that Meat Master was an approved supplier when payment requests crossed his desk for processing. Despite growing calls from critics to remove Usher from his post while the audit proceeds, Prime Minister Briceño has announced he will retain the CEO for the time being. Briceño praised Usher for his diligent work stabilizing the ministry’s operations, arguing that removing him now would be a disservice to the uniformed men and women serving in the BDF and Coast Guard. The prime minister noted that Usher genuinely cares for the well-being of service members and is actively working to improve ministry operations, and no evidence of improper conduct has been presented to justify his removal.

    This controversy stems from a broader audit into Ministry of Defense contracting practices, where multiple suppliers have reportedly received a total of more than $400,000 in contracts split into invoices kept deliberately under the $10,000 threshold—an apparent tactic to avoid the stricter oversight and competitive bidding requirements that apply to larger government contracts. As the Auditor General’s review continues, all sides are awaiting the final audit report to clarify whether any rules were broken or improper influence was exerted.

  • ECCB unveils designs of new EC banknotes featuring national heroes and regional icons

    ECCB unveils designs of new EC banknotes featuring national heroes and regional icons

    In a historic milestone marking a new chapter for regional currency, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Governor Timothy N J Antoine has officially unveiled a fully redesigned series of Eastern Caribbean (EC) banknotes, created to celebrate the diverse people, cultural heritage, and collective achievements of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU)’s eight member states.

    For the first time since the EC dollar’s introduction, the redesigned banknotes do not carry the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II. In her place, the new currency series highlights distinguished national heroes and foundational nation-builders from across the ECCU, a choice that reflects the bloc’s shared regional identity, independent history, and transformative collective progress.

    Each denomination in the new series features a pair of iconic regional figures: the $100 banknote honors Nobel Prize-winning economist Sir William Arthur Lewis and former St. Lucia Prime Minister The Right Honourable Sir John George Melvin Compton; the $50 note spotlights long-serving former ECCB Governor (1989–2015) The Honourable Sir K Dwight Venner and St. Kitts and Nevis national hero The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw; the $20 note carries the portraits of Antigua and Barbuda founding father The Right Honourable Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Snr and former Dominica Prime Minister The Honourable Dame Mary Eugenia Charles; the $10 note features Montserrat leader The Most Excellent William Henry Bramble and Anguilla founding father The Honourable James Ronald Webster; and the lowest denomination, the $5 note, showcases St. Vincent and the Grenadines first prime minister The Right Honourable Robert Milton Cato and Olympic gold-medal winning sprinter Sir Kirani James, LLD (Hons).

    The shift away from the late monarch’s portrait was not a sudden decision: the ECCU’s Monetary Council first approved the change at its 105th meeting held on July 21, 2023, and later directed the ECCB to carry out region-wide public consultations to gather input from residents across the bloc. These consultations, conducted between July and December 2023, revealed overwhelming public support for replacing the former portrait with images of homegrown heroes and leaders who shaped the modern Eastern Caribbean.

    Governor Antoine framed the new banknote series as a meaningful step forward in the evolution of EC currency. Beyond celebrating the region’s rich cultural diversity and the enduring legacy of leaders who built the bloc, the updated series also retains the advanced security features that have long protected the EC dollar’s integrity, stability, and public trust.

    The official unveiling took place during a public ceremony marking the ECCB Monetary Council’s change in chairmanship, which was broadcast to a global regional audience via live stream on the ECCB Connects Facebook page and YouTube channel.

  • Smart Stream Fallout Clouds Military Feeding Program

    Smart Stream Fallout Clouds Military Feeding Program

    In a July 2026 admission that lays bare long-simmering vulnerabilities in Belize’s public contracting system, Prime Minister John Briceño has acknowledged that widespread gaps in government bidding and procurement protocols have been fully exposed by the recent Smart Stream invoice leak scandal.

    The controversy centers on hundreds of leaked invoices each valued below the $10,000 threshold that triggers formal competitive bidding requirements. The discovery has reignited urgent questions about potential corruption and improper contract handling across public agencies, and it has specifically cast a shadow over the current administration’s $8 million military feeding program for the Belize Defence Force (BDF).

    Briceño defended his government’s investments in improving military rations, noting that his administration has doubled the annual food budget from the $4 million allocated by the preceding United Democratic Party (UDP) administration. He emphasized that rank-and-file BDF soldiers have confirmed the quality of meals has improved substantially under his watch. Still, he expressed frustration that this progress has been completely overshadowed by allegations that actors within the system — including potential links to military officers and politicians — are deliberately splitting contracts into amounts under $10,000 to evade formal bidding and oversight processes.

    “There is a problem across the entire process. There are clear issues with bidding protocols, and it appears that some parties are deliberately keeping contracts under ten thousand dollars to circumvent the formal bidding and contracting process,” Briceño said, adding that the Auditor General has launched an investigation to identify any parties involved in wrongdoing. “It angers me that all the good we are doing for the soldiers is shrouded in this scandal. This controversy pulls attention away from the tangible progress we have made to ensure BDF members are better fed than ever before, and that we are delivering on the commitments we made.”

    In response to the escalating scandal, Briceño announced that the government is in the final stages of launching a new centralized Central Procurement Unit, a regulatory overhaul years in the making that aims to close gaps in oversight, increase transparency, and guarantee better value for public spending. Contrary to recent claims that the administration is only moving forward with the reform with emergency support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Briceño clarified that the government has been developing the framework for three to four years, partnering with the IDB only to access technical expertise, and has modeled the system on successful programs already implemented in Jamaica and Guatemala.

    The Central Procurement Unit will be established through formal legislation, and next week, the implementation team will present a full operational plan to Cabinet for approval. Once enacted, the new system will introduce far stricter transparency protocols, and will impose stiff penalties — including potential jail time — for any public official or contractor found to be circumventing contracting rules.

    “Once implemented, the new system will be more open, more transparent, and we will guarantee that taxpayers get full value for every dollar spent,” Briceño noted. “Stiff penalties, including prison time, will be in place for anyone who tries to get around the rules.”

    This report is based on a transcript of an evening television newscast published online July 9, 2026.

  • Flowers Blasts Government’s “Hollow” Transparency Talk

    Flowers Blasts Government’s “Hollow” Transparency Talk

    On July 9, 2026, a sharp rebuke of the Belizean government’s commitment to fiscal openness has emerged from the country’s top public service labor leader, turning a spotlight on long-simmering concerns over public spending accountability.

    Dean Flowers, president of the Public Service Union of Belize, took to social media to deliver a scathing critique, arguing that the administration’s repeated pledges of transparency amount to little more than hollow rhetoric. In his public post, Flowers accuses senior government officials of a glaring double standard: they routinely demand accountability from lower-tier public workers and opposing groups, yet routinely disregard existing laws designed to monitor and regulate how taxpayer money is allocated and spent.

    Flowers outlined multiple core failures driving his criticism, noting that critical fiscal transparency reports have not been published or released to the public for several years. This prolonged lack of disclosure has left ordinary Belizeans completely unaware of how public funds are being managed, spent, or distributed across government agencies, he claimed. Beyond undisclosed fiscal data, Flowers also raised questions about the sudden disappearance of public scrutiny into allegations of procurement irregularities in government contracts, adding that no significant enforcement action has been taken against public institutions that have actively blocked independent public audits.

    In a subsequent comment expanding on the intent of his social media statement, Flowers explained that his goal was to galvanize both the general Belizean public and public sector employees who have long pushed for systemic change within government operations. “I think the intent of my post was to spark some interest in the Belizean public and most definitely in public sector workers who are calling for change and who are desirous of change,” Flowers said. “It is to enlighten them and to inform them that currently there are in fact mechanisms to help us to address the unfortunate corrupt environment in which we currently reside. For too long those who are entrusted with the people’s assets and those who are entrusted with holding those who violate that trust accountable have been failing us.”

    Flowers emphasized that public awareness is a critical first step toward pushing for greater accountability. “I think it is important that as Belizeans we know who those persons are, we must know who those persons are so that when we see them on the streets, at the supermarket, the workplace, that we are able to question them and call them out,” he said. “When we see them driving, utilizing our public assets but not delivering the quality service that we pay them for, we have the right to say to them you are failing us and you need to do better.”

    This report is a transcribed excerpt from an evening television newscast, with all Creole-language statements adapted to a standardized spelling system for accessibility in written form.