Carib Scope

作者： admin

  • Integrity Commission Says “Any Person” Can File a Corruption Complaint

    Integrity Commission Says “Any Person” Can File a Corruption Complaint

    As a high-profile corruption scandal involving senior Belizean government official continues to unfold, the country’s Integrity Commission has moved to clarify the public’s right to report suspected corrupt activity, reaffirming that any member of the public can file formal complaints that will trigger statutory investigations under existing Belizean law.

    The controversy centers on Oscar Mira, Belize’s Minister of Home Affairs, after leaked financial documents revealed that multiple members of Mira’s immediate family have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in government payments over recent months. The biggest transaction recorded is nearly $400,000 in public funds paid to MP Farms, a company owned by Mira’s brother Brian. To avoid formal high-value procurement oversight, the payments were split into dozens of individual invoices each valued under the $10,000 reporting threshold – a structuring move that has sparked widespread allegations of rule-breaking. Additional scrutiny has also fallen on past public payments to Mira’s sister Jenny, as well as reported government ties to another of the minister’s brothers, Stanley, deepening public anger and mistrust over the family’s extensive undisclosed financial links to state contracts.

    In response to growing media and public attention on the case, News Five contacted newly appointed Integrity Commission chair Andrea McSweeney-McKoy for comment. McSweeney-McKoy declined to issue specific comment on the Mira case, citing legal requirements that all commission corruption investigations remain strictly confidential under the body’s governing legislation. However, she used the opportunity to outline the commission’s formal complaint process for the public, drawing attention to the statutory procedures laid out in Sections 34 through 42 of the Integrity Commission Act that activate immediately after any person files a complaint alleging corrupt activity.

    McSweeney-McKoy emphasized that any individual who suspects an act of corruption has occurred is eligible to submit a complaint to the commission. Once filed, complaints go through a structured process of review and investigation; after completing its assessment, the commission can issue a finding, or refer the matter to a formal public inquiry or dedicated law enforcement investigative body. She also confirmed that the commission will publish a full, step-by-step guide to the complaints process on its official social media channels in the near future to improve public access.

    The Integrity Commission’s clarification comes shortly after Prime Minister John Briceño announced plans for an independent external review of all government payments linked to Mira’s relatives. Speaking to reporters in Orange Walk Town this past Thursday, Briceño said he has directed the Financial Secretary to partner with the Auditor General to conduct a full audit of the contested transactions. The prime minister noted that the audit will focus on two core questions: whether all required procurement protocols were properly followed, and whether the government received fair value for the public funds spent. He added that he would not pre-judge the outcome of the review, and all further action will be determined by the audit’s final findings.

    For his part, Minister Mira has issued a public denial of any wrongdoing, insisting he never used his position to influence the awarding of government contracts to family members. He told the public that he does not serve on any government procurement committees, and has no direct input or influence over contract awarding processes.

    Back in March, the Integrity Commission publicly reminded citizens that corruption is defined as a criminal offense under Belizean law. The commission’s definition of corruption extends far beyond direct bribes of cash: it covers any act of giving or receiving an improper advantage, unfair manipulation of government decisions, and improper interference in public contracting. Improper advantage can include non-monetary benefits such as gifts, property, preferential employment terms, or any other form of special treatment.

  • Jamaica secures US$2.1 million climate readiness grant to strengthen resilience and unlock financing

    Jamaica secures US$2.1 million climate readiness grant to strengthen resilience and unlock financing

    In a landmark move that strengthens Jamaica’s battle against climate vulnerability just months after the nation was devastated by the most powerful hurricane in its recorded history, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a $2.1 million readiness grant to scale up the country’s access to international climate finance. This approval marks a significant milestone not only for Jamaica but for the entire Caribbean region, as Jamaica becomes the first member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to win funding under the GCF’s updated four-year Readiness Strategy, which launched in January 2024.

    The grant proposal was submitted to the GCF on Jamaica’s behalf by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), and the initiative falls under the UK-funded Small Island Developing States Capacity and Resilience Programme (SIDAR) for the Caribbean. SIDAR’s core mission across the region is to expand access to critical climate financing and speed up the transition to climate-resilient development for small island nations that bear the brunt of global climate change despite contributing the least to global emissions.

    The approval arrives at a pivotal moment for Jamaica, which is still in the early stages of recovery from Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm ever to make landfall on the island. Preliminary damage assessments show that total losses and infrastructure destruction from the hurricane equal 56.7% of Jamaica’s entire 2024 gross domestic product, a staggering blow that underscores the urgent need for large-scale, sustained climate investment to protect communities and rebuild stronger.

    Named “Catalysing Climate Action by Building Jamaica’s NDA Capacity & Country Investment Platform,” the initiative is designed to transform Jamaica’s ability to attract climate finance and develop long-term projects that boost environmental, economic and social resilience across the country. Through the programme, Jamaica will upgrade its national systems for collecting, managing and disseminating climate-related data and technical knowledge. It will also deliver extensive targeted training to build domestic expertise in every stage of climate project development, from design and financing to on-the-ground implementation.

    A central pillar of the initiative is the creation of a national Climate Investment Platform, a coordinated mechanism that will connect pre-vetted, investment-ready climate projects with global and domestic financing opportunities. This bridging function is expected to remove key barriers that have historically slowed Jamaica’s ability to attract the large volumes of capital required for post-disaster recovery and long-term resilience building. To support the platform’s long-term success, a dedicated Project Management Unit will also be established within Jamaica’s Nationally Designated Authority (NDA) office, the national body tasked with coordinating GCF engagement.

    Jamaica’s Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Honourable Matthew Samuda, welcomed the approval, emphasizing the grant’s critical timing in the country’s post-hurricane recovery period. “The Government of Jamaica welcomes the continued partnership with the GCF, especially considering our post Hurricane Melissa environment. The mobilization of US $2.1million is important to Jamaica’s work in building Climate Resilience,” Samuda said.

    CCCCC Executive Director Dr. Colin Young noted that the targeted investment will lay the groundwork for Jamaica to secure far larger volumes of climate finance in the coming years. “Given Jamaica’s vulnerability to climate-related disasters and the urgent need of climate finance at scale to build resilience, this USD 2.1 million investment from the GCF will strengthen the country’s capacity to access greater levels of climate finance that ultimately will protect lives and livelihoods across Jamaica, including areas significantly impacted by Melissa,” Dr. Young explained. He reaffirmed the CCCCC’s ongoing commitment to supporting Jamaica’s climate goals, adding that the regional body will continue to provide technical expertise and foster partnerships to accelerate climate action across the island.

    Kristin Lang, Director of the GCF’s Department for the Latin America and Caribbean Region, highlighted that national investment platforms serve as critical coordination tools that align the efforts of governments, private sector actors and international development partners. “These platforms serve as vital mechanisms to bring government, the private sector, and development partners together in a unified process to identify resilient policies and investments, while aligning public and private finance, both international and domestic,” Lang said. She added that the GCF’s Readiness Programme is the world’s largest climate-focused institutional strengthening and technical assistance initiative, and the fund is proud to support this transformative work in Jamaica.

    Omar Alcock, Acting Principal Director of the Climate Change Branch within Jamaica’s Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change and the country’s NDA to the GCF, echoed these sentiments, noting that the grant will be critical to helping Jamaica meet its dual climate goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening resilience to existing and future climate impacts.

    Beyond Jamaica’s national benefits, the approval also advances the CCCCC’s core regional mandate: supporting all CARICOM nations to access and effectively utilize climate finance, while building the institutional capacity required to prepare for, respond to and recover from the growing frequency and severity of climate-driven disasters across the Caribbean.

  • ‘Apply yourself,’ magistrate tells teen found with ammo

    ‘Apply yourself,’ magistrate tells teen found with ammo

    A young manual laborer from Richland Park, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has received a suspended prison sentence after police found a single 9mm bullet during a court-authorized search of his residence linked to a separate criminal allegation.

    Nineteen-year-old Dwayne Jackson appeared before Chief Magistrate Colin John at the Kingstown Serious Offences Court on Monday. During the arraignment, he entered a not guilty plea to a separate charge of using threatening language, which was alleged to have occurred on June 11 — just two days before the ammunition was uncovered in his home.

    Prosecutor Renrick Cato, an Inspector of Police, laid out the official facts of the case to the court. The investigation into the alleged threatening language prompted authorities to obtain and execute a search warrant for Jackson’s Richland Park property on June 13. When officers arrived, Jackson was home, agreed to the search without pushback, and stayed on site throughout the entire process.

    The single round of ammunition was located by PC 88 Richardson inside a blue floral-patterned vase that was placed on a wooden storage unit in Jackson’s living room. When shown the bullet, Jackson told officers he had picked it up off a public roadway quite some time earlier. Appearing in court without legal representation, Jackson elaborated that he found the ammunition the day after an outdoor street party (locally referred to as a “jiggy party”) where multiple gunshots had been fired.

    Jackson addressed the court directly to share details of his difficult personal circumstances. He explained that he dropped out of Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia when he was in Form 3, after a fight over a romantic relationship that left another person injured. He told the court he has no family or social support to help him improve his situation, adding that members of his community frequently mock him for living in poor, unsanitary conditions.

    Prosecutor Cato asked the magistrate to consider allowing Jackson a chance at community-based supervision rather than immediate custody. In his response to the defendant, Chief Magistrate John rejected the idea that Jackson’s difficult background excuses the illegal possession of ammunition. “You can’t blame your situation and say you grew up a certain way. Apply yourself,” the chief magistrate told the defendant. He emphasized that the opportunity for a second chance rests entirely in Jackson’s hands, urging him to seek stable employment to turn his life around.

    In handing down the sentence, the magistrate deactivated a previous pretrial bond that was in place for Jackson, sentencing him to six months of imprisonment that is suspended for a 12-month period. He also ordered that the seized 9mm ammunition be permanently confiscated by authorities. For the threatening language charge, the magistrate granted bail in the amount of EC$1,000, which Jackson was able to post via his own recognisance. The case for that charge was transferred to the Mesopotamia Magistrate’s Court, with the next hearing scheduled for June 26. In closing, the magistrate repeated his advice to Jackson: “Go and look for work. Don’t come back before me.”

  • Elmer Nah’s Reaction in Court as Sentence Is Read Out

    Elmer Nah’s Reaction in Court as Sentence Is Read Out

    More than three years after a brutal triple homicide shook the capital city of Belmopan on New Year’s Eve 2022, a high-profile legal process has finally reached its conclusion. On June 19, 2026, former police corporal Elmer Nah, already convicted of the murders of Jon, David and Vivian Ramnarace, received three concurrent life sentences from the Supreme Court of Belize. Presiding Justice Nigel Pilgrim ruled that Nah must serve a minimum of 50 years behind bars before he can apply for parole — a timeline that means the convicted killer will be 89 years old when he becomes eligible for his first release review.

    The sentencing hearing, held on Friday, concluded one of the most widely followed criminal trials in Belize’s recent history. The proceeding had been adjourned a day earlier to allow for additional arguments from both the prosecution and defense teams. Prosecutors pushed aggressively for the harshest possible penalty, outlining a series of severe aggravating factors that marked the nature of the crime. The three victims were all executed inside their own family home, the attack was carried out in front of Jon and Vivian’s young daughter Kate, and overwhelming evidence confirmed the killings were premeditated and planned in advance. For the defense, the only mitigating factors available were Nah’s decades of prior service as a law enforcement officer, his clean criminal record before the massacre, and the argument that Nah retained some capacity for rehabilitation. Justice Pilgrim made clear in his ruling that these limited mitigating considerations were completely outweighed by the brutality and severity of the aggravating circumstances.

    In an unanticipated turn of events during the hearing, Nah raised his hand to request permission to address the court, even though his opportunity to speak had already passed during the previous day’s mitigation arguments. Justice Pilgrim granted the request, allowing Nah to deliver a brief statement to the court and the Ramnarace family present. Nah offered formal condolences to the victims’ family, and reiterated his identity as a former police officer, saying he was trained “to protect and serve, not to destroy lives”. He then made an unsubstantiated last-minute claim that he had previously identified another active Belmopan police officer — who had previously been arrested on drug trafficking charges — as the “real perpetrator” of the massacre. The court did not recognize or accept this late assertion, which came after the guilty verdict had already been handed down.

    Courtroom observers from News 5, who were granted access to the trial proceedings, noted that Nah’s decision to speak at the sentencing stage was extremely unusual; convicted murderers rarely address the court directly after a guilty verdict has been reached. Throughout the entire duration of the trial, Nah maintained a mostly stoic, stone-faced demeanor, rarely showing any visible emotion. The only exceptions came when his name was referenced in connection with the details of the triple murder, at which points he repeatedly shook his head to signal his denial of the accusations — a gesture he continued even as the sentence was being read out.

    Victim impact statements from the Ramnarace family played a major role in shaping the court’s final sentencing decision. Kate Ramnarace, who was a direct witness to the murders of her father and mother, chose not to attend the sentencing hearing in person, but the lasting psychological trauma she has endured was laid out in detail in her statement. Vashti Belisle, Vivian Ramnarace’s sister, recounted the harrowing final moments of the victim’s life, sharing that Vivian’s last words to her surviving daughter were “I love you” before she succumbed to her injuries. Justice Pilgrim explicitly noted the irreversible harm done to Kate, who will live the rest of her life without the support and love of her immediate family, as a core factor in determining the sentence.

    As court officers escorted Nah out of the courtroom following the sentencing, he turned toward assembled press cameras and quoted a line from the Book of Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” When reporters from News 5 asked Nah for his opinion on his defense attorney, he offered a blunt, unfiltered response: “Bogus, he sabotaged my case.”

    Full unedited footage and additional exclusive details from the sentencing hearing will be broadcast during News 5 Live’s 6 p.m. prime time segment this evening.

  • Appeal for Help to Find Missing Teen from Otto’s New Town

    Appeal for Help to Find Missing Teen from Otto’s New Town

    Authorities and family members are conducting an urgent search operation for a 16-year-old teenager who disappeared from her hometown of Otto’s New Town, after she was reported missing by her loved ones.

    Brianna Lewis, the missing teen, was last spotted in public wearing a black cropped top and a pair of short denim jeans. For days, her relatives have attempted every possible avenue to reach her, but all attempts at contact have failed, leaving the family growing more anxious by the hour about her well-being and personal safety.

    In a desperate plea for community support, Brianna’s family has issued a public appeal for any information that could help lead to her safe return. They are urging every member of the public who may have spotted Brianna recently, or who holds any details about her current whereabouts, to step forward immediately with their tips.

    Local law enforcement has confirmed that they have opened an active investigation into Lewis’s disappearance. To date, however, police officials have declined to share additional details surrounding the conditions or timeline of her vanishing, leaving many questions unanswered for both the family and the local community.

    Authorities and the family have both outlined clear next steps for anyone who may have relevant information: any person with clues about Brianna’s location is asked to either contact their closest local law enforcement station directly, or reach out directly to members of Brianna Lewis’s family to share what they know.

  • Antiguan woman who killed 5-year-old girl sentenced to 12 years in prison

    Antiguan woman who killed 5-year-old girl sentenced to 12 years in prison

    Nearly 50 years after a five-year-old girl died from catastrophic scalding injuries sustained in a forced hot bath, her step-mother has been handed a 12-year prison sentence for the killing that was concealed as an accident for more than four decades.

    Janice Nix, now 67, was found guilty of manslaughter by jurors at Isleworth Crown Court, for the June 1978 death of Andrea Bernard in the family’s Thornton Heath home, located in south London. Friday’s sentencing closed a cold case that was only reactivated in 2022, when Andrea’s older brother Desmond Bernard, who survived years of abuse at Nix’s hands, approached police with a full, firsthand account of the tragedy he had been forced to hide from childhood.

    Alongside her manslaughter conviction, Nix was also sentenced for child cruelty offences committed against Desmond between 1975 and 1978, when he was just seven to nine years old.

    ### The 1978 Tragedy Unfolded
    Court testimony laid bare the sequence of events that led to Andrea’s death. On June 6, 1978, Nix, then in her late 20s and partnered with the children’s father, flew into a rage after Andrea defied her order to stay inside and help with cleaning. After screaming at the young girl and beating her, Nix ran a scalding hot bath.

    Desmond Bernard, who was a child witness to the abuse, told the court he could clearly hear the confrontation through the bathroom door. “I could hear Janice shouting: ‘Get in the bath’, and I could hear Andrea saying: ‘The bath is too hot, mummy,’” he testified. He went on to describe hearing repeated demands for Andrea to enter, followed by screaming, splashing, and then a sudden silence, before he heard Nix calling frantically for Andrea to wake up.

    When Desmond entered the bathroom, he saw Nix holding Andrea’s limp, burned body wrapped in a towel. “I could see skin falling off her,” he told the court. Immediately after the incident, Nix pressured the young boy to lie to authorities, instructing him to say the accident happened while he and Andrea were playing in the garden, and promising she would stop abusing him if he kept her secret.

    Andrea was hospitalized with burns covering 50 percent of her small body, and died almost six weeks after the attack.

    ### Judicial Evidence and Testimony
    In his sentencing remarks, Judge Nicholas Lavender made clear the overwhelming evidence pointing to Nix’s culpability. “I’m sure that you ran the bath, you knew how hot it was, you told Andrea to get in the bath, she said it was too hot, but you either put her in the bath or made her get into it,” the judge stated. “At the very least the risk ought to have been obvious to you.”

    Throughout the hearing, the silver-haired Nix, who wore a white shirt and black blazer to court, cried openly through most of proceedings, breaking down into loud sobs as the judge delivered his statement.

    Forensic medical testimony further undermined Nix’s claims of an accidental death. A specialist burns expert told the trial that a child exposed to water hot enough to cause Andrea’s life-threatening injuries would instinctively struggle to climb out of the tub, rather than remaining seated. Prosecutors relied on this evidence to argue that Nix must have forcibly held the young girl’s body underwater to inflict the harm.

    ### The Long-Term Harm of Abuse
    In a raw victim impact statement read to the court, Desmond Bernard detailed the lifelong trauma he has carried since the tragedy. He described years of abuse at Nix’s hands, including beatings with a belt and being forced to eat cat food, abuse that he said left him “broken” and stole his sister’s entire future.

    “The last memories I have of my sister’s life are piercing screams and lying about her death to survive,” he wrote. Directly addressing Nix, he added: “You took away her future and changed mine forever. Your contrived grief at Andrea’s funeral, the lies, the tears. You fooled my family because they couldn’t imagine the unimaginable. You took their kindness for weakness and you manipulated them so that you couldn’t be found out. The time has come for you to acknowledge what you have done to Andrea and myself.”

    Angela Bernard, the children’s biological mother, described Andrea as a gentle, loving little girl in her own statement, saying that her death completely destroyed her. “She deserved to have a life, not be lying around in a cemetery,” she wrote. “I think about her every single day.”

    ### How the Cold Case Was Reopened
    For 44 years, Andrea’s death was officially ruled an accident. During the 1978 inquest, Nix initially claimed Andrea had drawn the bath herself, before fainting after complaining of itchy legs. But during her trial, she admitted she had lied to the coroner, saying she panicked after failing to supervise the child. In a 2022 police interview, she offered a new version of events that differed drastically from her original statement, and falsely claimed the coroner had blamed a faulty boiler for the overheated water – a detail that never appeared in the original inquest report.

    In a striking twist, Nix had actually drawn attention to her past a year before the investigation was reopened, when she published an autobiography titled *Breaking Out*. The book detailed her dramatic life trajectory from a major drug dealer known on the streets as “Mama J” to an award-winning probation officer. Nix worked for the UK Probation Service between 2014 and 2019, and won the service’s diversity and engagement award in 2015, despite having previously served two substantial prison sentences for drugs offences.

    Under the terms of her latest sentence, Nix will be required to serve two-thirds of her 12-year term before becoming eligible for release on licence.

  • CXC disaster response model praised as blueprint for resilience following Hurricane Melissa

    CXC disaster response model praised as blueprint for resilience following Hurricane Melissa

    At the latest Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) Convention, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) took the spotlight to share its award-worthy approach to disaster contingency planning, presented by CXC Director of Corporate Services Sheree Deslandes. Delivering a talk titled “Hardwired to Recover: HR, Disruption, and the Architecture of a Modern Caribbean Workforce,” Deslandes walked attendees through how the organization’s pre-built Regional Disaster and Business Recovery Protocol allowed for a rapid, coordinated response when Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica in October 2025.

    The 2025 hurricane left a devastating trail of disruption across the country, damaging more than 800 educational facilities and disrupting the academic trajectories of over 250,000 students. What set CXC’s response apart, Deslandes emphasized, was that it was not an ad-hoc plan cobbled together in the middle of the crisis. Instead, the framework had been refined over years of real-world testing, forged during prior regional disruptions including the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 eruption of La Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and 2024’s Hurricane Beryl.

    Thanks to this pre-existing, tested protocol, CXC moved quickly to protect students’ access to the 2026 January and May-June sessions of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). Partnering closely with Jamaica’s Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, the organization rolled out a suite of flexible, student-centered adjustments: full fee refunds for candidates who did not feel prepared to sit their scheduled exams, penalty-free late registration for those affected by displacement, and revised requirements and extended deadlines for School-Based Assessments (SBAs).

    This practical, proactive approach struck a chord with convention attendees, who widely praised CXC’s framework as a gold standard for organizational resilience in the face of climate-driven disasters. Tishauna Mullings, a training consultant with NexxStep, called the CXC response a powerful blueprint for other regional institutions, noting “The agile resilience demonstrated by CXC for our children is inspiring.”

    During question-and-answer sessions, convention participants pressed for deeper insight into the structural choices that made CXC’s response so effective. Deslandes highlighted the often-overlooked strategic role of the Human Resources department, positioning it as the backbone of the organization’s preparedness and recovery capacity. She challenged attending employers and organizational leaders to reconsider their own HR frameworks, asking: “Is your HR function built for the storm you haven’t seen yet?”

    At CXC, Deslandes explained, resilience has been baked into HR strategy through intentional structural change: the organization has restructured roles and reporting lines, updated outdated HR systems and core workflows, and deliberately cultivated an organizational culture focused on results and rapid recovery. She argued that investments in HR transformation extend far beyond boosting internal operational efficiency, delivering tangible benefits to students, education ministries, and regional employers that rely on a steady, well-prepared pipeline of new workforce entrants.

    “By design, HR-led transformational work is unfinished. It is a process of purposeful building and rebuilding, and a continuous discipline, where the HR function must be treated as not just support services, but as a strategic edge for productivity and resilience in our multigenerational Caribbean workforces,” Deslandes told attendees.

    Deslandes’ presentation comes at a critical juncture for organizations across Jamaica and the broader Caribbean. In the wake of Hurricane Melissa, public and private institutions across the region are actively re-evaluating their own disaster preparedness strategies to mitigate risk from future climate and public health disruptions. For many JEF Convention attendees, CXC’s experience drove home a key lesson: meaningful, effective disaster recovery planning does not start when a crisis begins—it is built through consistent, intentional investment long before disaster strikes.

  • Bruce touts new export deals, higher prices for farmers after US visit

    Bruce touts new export deals, higher prices for farmers after US visit

    St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Agriculture Minister Israel Bruce has unveiled a suite of new export agreements, financing frameworks, and digital trade infrastructure designed to unlock higher incomes, expand market access, and strengthen the country’s agricultural sector following two weeks of diplomatic and trade missions to California and Barbados. The minister made the announcements during a press briefing held in Kingstown this Thursday, tying the new initiatives directly to campaign pledges made by the incoming New Democratic Party administration ahead of the 2025 elections.

    The centerpiece of Bruce’s announcement is a newly signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the SVG government, U.S.-based Happy Produce Global LLC and Quantum Inc. that establishes a formal framework for dasheen exports to the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, local dasheen producers will be guaranteed a minimum price of 100 Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollars per sack – a dramatic increase from the current average rate of just 40 EC dollars per sack.

    Bruce emphasized that the guaranteed minimum price addresses a longstanding unsustainable dynamic for local producers, who have long struggled to recoup basic production costs including planting materials, crop maintenance, harvesting, and transportation under the existing pricing structure. The minister clarified that the MOU lays the foundational market framework rather than serving as a final commercial contract. A local purchasing agent will next negotiate a formal commercial agreement with Happy Produce Global, and that agent will in turn sign individual supply commitments with participating dasheen farmers to ensure consistent inventory for U.S. retail partners, who require steady stock to avoid empty shelf gaps.

    When asked whether the new higher export pricing would negatively impact local consumers and regional agricultural traders, locally referred to as “traffickers,” Bruce acknowledged the concerns and noted that he has scheduled a meeting with these stakeholders for the coming week to work through ongoing challenges and reconcile conflicting needs.

    Alongside the dasheen agreement, Bruce announced a second MOU for hot pepper exports, signed with U.S.-based Seasons Farm Fresh and Quantum Inc. To address existing concerns that the new export deal would divert local pepper supply away from Vinci Fresh, a domestic producer of sauces and condiments that relies on local pepper crops, Bruce stressed that the initiative is structured to expand overall national pepper production rather than redirect existing supply. Farmers participating in the program, which includes support for seeds and land preparation, will be required to sign binding contracts to sell their entire output from supported plots to Seasons Farm Fresh, preventing poaching of contracted supply by third-party buyers offering slightly higher per-pound rates. Bruce linked this new pepper initiative to recent technical assistance work carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which deployed a production consultant to SVG for 10 days of on-the-ground collaboration with local pepper growers just two months prior.

    A key supporting innovation accompanying both export MOUs is a new digital agricultural trade platform being developed by Quantum Inc. The platform is designed to connect SVG producers directly with international buyers, cutting out unnecessary middlemen and automating cross-border payment processes. Under the proposed escrow-based payment system, international buyers deposit agreed-upon funds into a secured escrow account before shipment. Once the SVG farmer delivers the produce for export, Quantum releases full payment directly to the producer, eliminating long payment delays and reducing the risk of non-payment. The platform will also streamline proceeds distribution for bulk shipments that combine produce from multiple smallholder farmers. Bruce noted that Quantum has already made significant progress adapting the platform to meet the specific needs of Vincentian producers, and hinted that the system will eventually integrate with a forthcoming National Agricultural Management Information System (NAMIS) and new national farmer identification program, with additional details to be released at a later date.

    Bruce closed the briefing by recognizing Kishorn Cupid, a SVG expatriate based in Los Angeles, who personally provided partial funding for the California trade mission, hailing Cupid as a goodwill ambassador for the country’s agricultural sector.

  • Grenada targets regional travellers with expanded tourism offering

    Grenada targets regional travellers with expanded tourism offering

    The Caribbean tri-island nation of Grenada is embarking on a strategic repositioning of its tourism sector, shifting away from overreliance on its classic sun-and-coast appeal to draw more regional travelers with a broad, curated lineup of cultural, adventure, culinary, wellness and event offerings. Tourism officials laid out this new growth strategy this week during a media and travel industry dinner held at Divi Southwinds Hotel, where leaders highlighted the one-of-a-kind experiences that set the three-island destination apart from other Caribbean getaways.

    Samantha Thomas, Marketing Executive at the Grenada Tourism Authority, told attendees that the country’s deep roots in history and culture form the foundation of its unique appeal, alongside its well-earned title as the “wreck dive capital of the Caribbean.” Comprising the main island of Grenada, plus the smaller neighboring islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, the destination delivers what Thomas calls “a vacation within a vacation” — a layered experience that caters to every type of traveler, from thrill-seeking divers to slow-paced wellness seekers.

    Thomas put particular emphasis on Grenada’s fast-growing reputation as a top culinary tourism destination, noting the country is home to seven operational chocolate factories that offer immersive, farm-to-bar experiences for visitors, alongside a wide range of food-focused activities that highlight its native spices and local culinary traditions. She also showcased the country’s robust eco-tourism portfolio, which includes scenic rainforest nature trails, holistic wellness retreats, and one-of-a-kind marine attractions. Most notable among these is the world’s first ever underwater sculpture park, a bucket-list attraction that many travelers previously associated with far-flung destinations like Bali.

    “You don’t have to fly 19 hours to Bali to check that iconic experience off your list,” Thomas explained. “Our underwater sculpture park is just a short trip for regional travelers — literally half an hour by boat from the main island, and a much shorter flight from most Caribbean neighboring countries. It’s exactly the kind of unique, must-see experience that draws visitors from across the region.”

    Beyond signature attractions, Thomas also outlined the destination’s rapidly expanding events calendar, which now extends far beyond Grenada’s world-famous annual Spice Mas carnival. This year marked the first ever staging of Carriacou’s Lobster and Lambi Festival, and the country already hosts a popular annual Dive and Conservation Festival that combines recreational diving with marine conservation outreach. Later in 2024, the country will launch its inaugural Grenada Flower Festival, a new event inspired by the nation’s unprecedented success at the UK’s iconic Chelsea Flower Show, where Grenadian horticulturalists have claimed 19 gold medals over the years.

    “We’ve decided to turn that award-winning floral legacy into a full public festival that visitors can enjoy,” Thomas said, adding that the new event will be especially appealing to travelers interested in floral design, destination weddings, and group getaways like girls’ trips. She also highlighted the Grenada Diaspora Homecoming event, an initiative modeled after Barbados’ successful We Gatherin’ program that aims to reconnect Grenadians living overseas with their home country and encourage them to visit with friends and family.

    Charmaine Gibbs, a representative of local tourism group Insights Grenada, urged visitors to the main island to make time to travel to Carriacou, the smaller “sister island” that remains largely untouched by mass tourism and offers a quiet, authentic Caribbean experience. “No visit to Grenada is truly complete without experiencing the natural beauty and warm hospitality of Carriacou,” Gibbs said.

    Gibbs also emphasized that regional cooperation in tourism has grown more critical than ever in the post-pandemic travel landscape, arguing that Caribbean residents should take advantage of the world-class, unique experiences available right on their own doorsteps, rather than traveling long distances for bucket-list trips. “Now is the time to open our doors to each other across the region,” Gibbs said. “We can give fellow Caribbean islanders the chance to experience those once-in-a-lifetime trips that people often spend a whole lifetime saving to do — and we have all of it right here, within a short flight or boat ride from home.”

  • Electrical inspection certificate required for carnival events

    Electrical inspection certificate required for carnival events

    Carnival event organizers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are now facing a critical new requirement: all carnival-related gatherings must obtain a formal electrical inspection certificate from the country’s Electrical Inspectorate Division before they can proceed. The policy shift comes in response to a years-long trend of dangerous electrical oversights at private and public events, according to senior officials.

    Deputy Chief Electrical Inspector Lonzel Jones outlined the new regulatory framework during a press briefing hosted by the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) on Wednesday, noting that the state of electrical installations documented by inspectors over the past three years was deeply concerning enough to force immediate regulatory change. Jones explained that as the number of independent, private carnival events has grown steadily, inspection teams have repeatedly encountered life-threatening hazards across event sites. These violations have included exposed electrical cables submerged in standing water, and widespread use of damaged, outdated electrical equipment that poses major shock and fire risks to attendees and event staff.

    Jones addressed common pushback from event organizers, many of whom have questioned why the new rules are being implemented now after decades of unregulated installations. “People keep saying that nothing happened over the years, so why are you guys popping up now? And that is exactly what we are trying to prevent — something from happening,” Jones stated. He emphasized that the division’s goal is not to disrupt or cancel celebrations, but to protect the general public: “we are not here to be party poopers; we are just here to make sure that the populace of St. Vincent and the Grenadines continues to be safe.”

    Officials point to common industry practices that create inherent safety gaps for event electrical work. Most event setups are completed overnight, under tight time pressure that pushes electricians and organizers to cut corners and skip critical safety checks. Additionally, it is common for extra electrical equipment and lighting to be added after initial setup is complete, creating unplanned loads and additional hazards that would go unnoticed without formal oversight.

    Under the new process, promoters must follow a clear, step-by-step approval pathway to receive their inspection certificate. First, organizers must submit a formal “Notification of Intent” application, which provides the Electrical Inspectorate Division with full details of the planned electrical installation, including the total number of lighting fixtures, equipment loads, and other key specifications. Once the application is reviewed, organizers receive a temporary pass that must be presented to local police to obtain formal event permission.

    A core requirement of the new rules mandates that all event electrical work must be completed by certified, licensed electricians. After installation is finished, a team of inspectors will visit the event site to conduct a thorough pre-event inspection, verifying that all work meets national safety standards. Inspectors will also remain on site throughout the duration of the event to conduct ongoing monitoring, checking for any last-minute additions of electrical equipment that do not comply with safety rules.

    If inspectors identify any defects or hazardous conditions during the pre-event inspection, organizers will be required to fix all issues before a final safety certificate is granted. Jones confirmed that no event will be allowed to proceed to opening until all safety corrections have been completed and verified, a measure designed to eliminate avoidable risk for all attendees.