Carib Scope

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  • Former Ombudsman Commends Swaso for Integrity

    Former Ombudsman Commends Swaso for Integrity

    As of August 11, 2026, Belize has spent eight months without a formally appointed, substantive Ombudsman — a gap that former Ombudsman Cynthia Pitts is sounding the alarm over, urging every Belizean to recognize the significance of the vacancy. The position has sat empty after the government declined to renew the contract of the last officeholder, retired Major Gilbert Swaso, who completed just one full term in the role. In a recent public commentary, Pitts argued that the non-renewal of Swaso’s contract likely stems not from poor performance, but from the fact that he fulfilled the core mandate of the Ombudsman’s office: upholding unflinching independence, even when his oversight actions put the ruling government in an awkward position.

    Pitts brings direct, personal experience to this assessment, as her own tenure as Ombudsman also ended after a single term when her contract was not renewed. She says she warned Swaso of the risks of the role from the very start of his appointment, when he invited her for an introductory meeting. “I told him he would need to be strong and resolute to maintain independence,” Pitts recalled, noting that she initially questioned whether he could set aside his prior political background to carry out the office’s independent duties.

    Those doubts, she says, were quickly put to rest. One of Swaso’s early landmark acts was organizing a formal conference to review the government’s handling of the State of Emergency (SOE), a high-stakes oversight effort that resulted in a set of critical recommendations sharply out of step with the government’s existing approach. While Pitts confirmed that the recommendations were not immediately released to the public, and their fate after the conference remains unclear, the effort alone won her full respect. “That action told me he had a clear conscience and was committed to doing what was right, even when it went against the government he had previously been affiliated with,” Pitts said. “I never expected him to take that stand, and that is why I commend his integrity.”

    Pitts’ experience mirrors Swaso’s: both independent-minded Ombudsmen saw their tenures cut short by non-renewal after carrying out oversight that challenged ruling government actions. “When you do this job well and stay true to its mandate, you never end up as the government’s favorite poster child,” she noted. The ongoing eight-month vacancy has underscored longstanding concerns about the vulnerability of the Ombudsman’s office to political retaliation for independent oversight. In an upcoming Wednesday newscast, reporters will examine draft legislative proposals aimed at shoring up the office’s autonomy, adding new protections to prevent political retaliation against Ombudsmen who carry out their duties without partisan bias.

    *Note: This article is adapted from a full televised evening news broadcast transcript, with original Kriol-language speech rendered using a standardized spelling system.*

  • Caribbean Judges Speak Out on CCJ Confidentiality Breach

    Caribbean Judges Speak Out on CCJ Confidentiality Breach

    As of August 11, 2026, a major controversy has erupted around the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) not over a high-stakes legal ruling, but over an unprecedented leak of the court’s internal communications that has drawn sharp condemnation from senior judicial leaders across the Caribbean region.

    Heads of the judiciary from seven Caribbean jurisdictions and entities—Belize, Barbados, The Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court—have jointly broken their silence on the incident, issuing a unified statement to address growing public concern over the breach.

    The joint statement clarifies that the regional judicial leaders will not publicly engage with unconfirmed allegations or comments that have been linked to individual CCJ judges. Instead, their focus remains on what they frame as a systemic threat to the regional justice system: a serious violation of the court’s long-held confidentiality protocols. They emphasize that the unauthorized disclosure of internal CCJ business poses a measurable risk to the integrity of judicial processes across the bloc.

    The judicial leaders outline the central role the CCJ holds for Caribbean integration and governance. For multiple member nations, the court serves as the final appellate authority for all legal disputes, a role previously held by the United Kingdom’s Privy Council for most Caribbean states. Beyond its appellate function, the CCJ holds exclusive jurisdiction over cases interpreting and enforcing the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the foundational agreement that underpins the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)’s single market and governance framework.

    The authority of this critical regional institution, the statement stresses, is not rooted in legal mandate alone—it depends entirely on sustained public trust in the independence, integrity, impartiality, and professional competence of the CCJ’s sitting judges. Any breach of confidentiality, the leaders argue, erodes that foundational trust over time.

    Despite the seriousness of the breach controversy, the regional judicial heads struck a unifying tone, stressing that they retain full confidence in the CCJ as an institution and its sitting judges. The statement closes with a formal reaffirmation of the signatories’ collective commitment to upholding the independence of all regional Caribbean courts and safeguarding broad public confidence in the Caribbean justice system as a whole.

    This report is adapted from a transcript of an evening television news broadcast, with Kriol language content from original on-air remarks standardized to a consistent spelling system for published distribution.

  • Lab Results Pending in Massive Belize River Fish Kill

    Lab Results Pending in Massive Belize River Fish Kill

    Nearly one week after hundreds of dead fish and multiple endangered reptiles were found washing up along a 17.5-mile stretch of the Belize River Valley, Belizean environmental authorities are expanding their probe into the massive die-off, with final lab results that could pinpoint the root cause expected as early as next week.

    Preliminary on-site assessments have already confirmed dangerously depleted dissolved oxygen levels and other abnormal water chemistry across the affected river section, but investigators have not yet formally identified a triggering source or responsible party. To accelerate the inquiry, 13 local government and research agencies have pooled resources and expertise, marking a rare full domestic investigation that leverages Belize’s growing technical environmental capacity, rather than sending samples overseas for analysis.

    In addition to hundreds of dead fish—including large predatory species like snook that form a critical part of the river’s food web—reports of dead crocodiles and multiple hicatee turtles have escalated alarm among conservationists. The hicatee, a freshwater turtle native to Central America, is classified as critically endangered, with already severely depleted wild populations. Experts warn any additional mortality from events like this die-off poses a major long-term threat to the species’ survival.

    While the mass die-off appears to have stopped, researchers warn the ecological risks are not over. Dr. Donald McKnight, research director at the Savanna Field Station, which is conducting independent parallel research into the event, explained that toxins or contaminants that accumulated in dead fish could move up the food chain if scavenging birds and land animals consume the carcasses, expanding the impact beyond the river ecosystem.

    “Even though the fish have stopped dying, if birds and other animals continue to eat the dead fish, the impacts may spread out from the river and actually affect a broader community of organisms,” McKnight said. “We know that multiple hicatee died. Their populations are really low to begin with, they’re a critically endangered species, so any added mortality on the hicatee is a really big problem. And a lot of the species that were dying were the really big predatory fish, things like your snook. That’s a problem for multiple reasons, from ecosystem balance to local recreational and subsistence fishing.”

    Authorities have named two leading potential causes: agricultural runoff and recent widespread flooding in nearby farmlands. Satellite imagery captured before the die-off confirms severe flooding across large sections of agricultural land, including rice fields and sugar cane operations in the southern part of Santander Farm and surrounding properties. The large volume of floodwater, which would have picked up soil, fertilizers and other agricultural debris, drained directly into the Belize River.

    Nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fertilizers can fuel rapid, harmful algae blooms that deplete oxygen from water as they decompose, creating hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions that kill fish and other aquatic life. So far, preliminary findings point to low dissolved oxygen rather than direct toxic chemical contamination as the immediate cause of death, but full chemical analysis of fish tissue and water samples is still ongoing.

    Public speculation has centered on operations by Santander Sugar, a major agricultural producer in Belize’s Cayo District, where the die-off occurred. The Belize Department of the Environment (DOE) launched a targeted inquiry into the company’s practices, but chief environmental officer Anthony Mai says Santander Sugar has fully cooperated with all inspection requests. The company has repeatedly stated it adheres strictly to its government-approved Environmental Compliance Plan, conducts routine internal monitoring to protect nearby waterways, recycles all process water rather than discharging it into the river, and repurposes sugar production waste as fertilizer for cane fields.

    Local technical experts are conducting all testing in-country using Belize’s own advanced equipment. The Pesticide Control Board has already completed an inspection of pesticide application practices at Santander Sugar, and the DOE is cross-referencing that data with results from the department’s in-house gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS) machine, a highly precise instrument capable of detecting a wide range of chemical contaminants. The Belizean National Institute of Standard and Industrial Research (SIRDI) is also supporting the investigation by conducting soil sampling from flood-prone agricultural areas upstream.

    Mai emphasized that carrying out the entire investigation with domestic expertise and infrastructure marks a major milestone for Belize’s environmental regulatory capacity. “This work is being done by local Belizean expert using local capacity and local technology. So I’m very pleased to say that for this, we didn’t have the need to send any samples abroad. It was done completely in country, which is a major step for us,” Mai said.

    As of the DOE’s latest update, lab results are on track to be finalized and released to the public by next week.

  • Public Urged To Avoid Crocodile Interaction

    Public Urged To Avoid Crocodile Interaction

    Following a recent near-miss between a crocodile and a group of socializing visitors in the popular coastal destination of Caye Caulker, Belize’s Forest Department alongside leading conservation groups have issued a urgent public warning, calling on both residents and tourists to avoid unsupervised interactions with the region’s native American crocodile population. The incident, which was captured on video and shared among wildlife experts globally, has renewed longstanding concerns about the growing risks of human-wildlife conflict driven by harmful feeding practices.

    Dr. Marisa Tellez, Executive Director of the Crocodile Research Coalition, noted a stark shift in crocodile behavior in Caye Caulker compared to a decade ago. Back in 2016, the region was held up as an international model for peaceful human-crocodile coexistence: crocodiles were abundant across the area’s coastal waters, but dangerous encounters remained extremely rare. Today, however, that balance has been upended by the rising trend of people intentionally feeding crocodiles, a practice reported by multiple local residents and visiting tourists to Tellez’s organization.

    Analysis of the video from the recent incident confirms that the approaching crocodile had become habituated to human presence through regular feeding, Tellez explained. After consulting with crocodile behavior specialists across the globe, experts agree that the animal’s bold approach to the group of people was not natural for wild American crocodiles. Intentional feeding rewires the reptiles’ natural instincts: instead of avoiding humans, they begin to associate human activity, from the sound of splashing water to human voices, with access to food. This conditioning draws crocodiles far closer to populated shorelines and recreational areas than they would naturally venture, greatly increasing the risk of aggressive encounters.

    For people who find themselves approached by a crocodile, Tellez shared critical safety guidance that counteracts common intuitive reactions. Many people’s first instinct is to splash and panic in the water, but this noise and movement actually signals to a crocodile that the target is injured or vulnerable, encouraging the animal to move closer. Instead, Tellez advises people to remain calm, move slowly toward the shore while keeping the crocodile in full view, and never turn your back to the reptile. Turning away can signal fear to a predator, increasing the likelihood of an attack.

    The Belize Forest Department is echoing this advisory, urging anyone who observes people feeding crocodiles or notices abnormally bold crocodile behavior near populated areas to report the activity immediately to authorities. Conservation groups emphasize that responsible coexistence, rooted in letting crocodiles retain their natural hunting instincts and fear of humans, remains the only sustainable way to protect both people and this protected crocodile population in Belize’s coastal ecosystems.

  • Belize’s Shrimp Production Triples as Industry Rebounds

    Belize’s Shrimp Production Triples as Industry Rebounds

    More than 10 years after a deadly early mortality syndrome nearly collapsed Belize’s iconic shrimp aquaculture sector, the industry is staging a remarkable recovery that has exceeded early projections. Since 2020, total shrimp output across the country has tripled, pushing the total market value of the sector to nearly $25 million, according to government data.

    On August 11, Belize’s Minister of Agriculture Rodwell Ferguson toured two key industry facilities — Aqua Vista Shrimp Hatchery and the Aqua Mar Belize shrimp farm — to inspect the operations that are leading the sector’s rebound. During the visit, he highlighted how the transformation has been driven by three core shifts: the adoption of modern aquaculture technology, the development of more disease-resistant shrimp genetic strains, and a wave of targeted fresh private investment from international and local stakeholders.

    Ferguson shared context on the sector’s devastating decline in a phone interview, recalling that of the 17 operational shrimp farms active before the outbreak, just six remained open by 204. Early mortality syndrome, which killed more than 50% of shrimp populations in affected operations, forced mass closures across the country. Rebuilding the sector has been an uphill battle, Ferguson noted, because shrimp farming is a capital-intensive industry that requires significant upfront investment. Before any shrimp can be harvested, operators must dig and line specialized rearing ponds, purchase heavy machinery and processing equipment, and build on-site housing for security staff to protect stock from theft. That high barrier to entry slowed recovery efforts for years after the initial outbreak.

    The turning point came when Indian investor Ravi, who now leads the country’s revitalized shrimp production, acquired three key assets: a hatchery in Dangriga, a farm in Sik Grass, and the Aqua Mar operation in Independence. Ravi has poured extensive capital into upgrading facilities and implementing new disease management protocols, and he projects that by 2028, his operations alone will produce more than 8 million pounds of shrimp annually. That volume will be enough to meet full domestic demand for shrimp in Belize while leaving significant surplus for export to regional and global markets.

    Government officials now point to the shrimp industry’s rebound as a promising proof of concept for broader growth across Belize’s agriculture sector. With export expansion now a core goal, the recovery is expected to create new jobs, boost national export revenue, and serve as a model for revitalizing other aquaculture and agricultural sectors hit by disease and market disruption in recent years.

  • Govt to acquire St Philip church land for housing push

    Govt to acquire St Philip church land for housing push

    On Tuesday, Barbados’ Minister of Housing Chris Gibbs brought a landmark resolution before Parliament that advances the island nation’s ambitious national housing strategy, proposing the compulsory acquisition of 2.21 acres (approximately 8,940 square metres) of land owned by the Ebenezer Methodist Church, located in the St. Philip community of Ebenezer. The motion is filed under Section 5 of the country’s long-standing Land Acquisition Act, marking a key step in the government’s push to expand access to affordable housing while unlocking broader economic growth.

    While framing the acquisition as a seemingly routine, small-scale land transaction for the nation, Gibbs emphasized that the move carries far greater strategic weight for Barbados, which has a total land area of just 166 square miles. He argued that incremental, intentional use of every available parcel of underutilized land adds up to meaningful progress toward the country’s long-term housing and development goals. “Those who only see a couple of acres of land fail to see the potential, the future that can be built upon it,” Gibbs said during the parliamentary debate. “Two acres here, three acres there – it adds up. In an island that is 166 square miles, we must be very resourceful in the way in which we use our land resources.”

    At the core of the government’s updated housing policy is a deliberate shift away from the traditional model of low-density, single-family residential lots to higher-density, community-focused development. On the Ebenezer site alone, Gibbs confirmed that the government projects it can deliver up to 30 new housing units, ranging from duplexes and quadplexes to townhouses and low-rise apartment complexes, while still protecting existing green space and integrating public outdoor fitness amenities to support resident wellness.

    Beyond expanding housing stock, the government frames this initiative as a major engine of sustained economic stimulus for Barbados. The administration has set a target of delivering 2,000 new residential units per year, a scale of construction that Gibbs estimates injects roughly $400 million into the national economy annually. Unlike many large-scale infrastructure projects, this construction activity supports a wide range of local businesses and workers across the construction sector, from hardware suppliers to independent tradespeople. “Every house requires surveyors, architects, engineers, planners, electricians, steel benders, heavy equipment operators, roofers, and landscapers,” Gibbs explained. “Housing, therefore, becomes one of the strongest economic multipliers available to any government.”

    A key fiscal advantage of the Ebenezer acquisition, Gibbs noted, is that the parcel is classified as infill land located within an already established residential neighborhood. This eliminates the need for the government to invest millions in building entirely new road networks, water lines, power grids and other core infrastructure – costs that come with developing large greenfield sites on the edge of existing communities. Every dollar saved on avoided new infrastructure, he added, can be redirected toward building more affordable housing for low- and middle-income Barbadian families.

    Alongside the Ebenezer acquisition, Gibbs announced an expansion of the government’s existing Open Parcel Initiative to now include the repurposing of derelict, abandoned properties across the country. Under the expanded scheme, the ministry will either partner with private families or use targeted legislative amendments to take control of long-vacant, dilapidated properties that have become community blights, converting them into new affordable housing units that can leverage pre-existing local infrastructure.

    In a nod to the deep historic and community role of the Ebenezer Methodist Church in Barbados, Gibbs stressed that the compulsory acquisition is not an action against the religious institution, but rather a reflection of a shared commitment to advancing the public good. He paid tribute to the church’s centuries-long contribution to Barbadian society, highlighting the legacy of National Heroine Sarah Ann Gill, who was a pioneering leader in the Methodist movement in Barbados. “Long before the emergence of any welfare state or many of our present public institutions, the church stood at the heart of community life,” Gibbs said. “This is not an action against the church… rather, it reflects a shared understanding that land and resources should ultimately serve the public good.”

    The Ebenezer development is the latest addition to a growing portfolio of state-backed housing projects across Barbados, including other active sites at Vineyard, Deanstown Heights, Hanson, Searles, Todds, and Bright Hall. To ensure these new developments are resilient in the face of accelerating climate change and increasingly severe tropical weather patterns, the ministry has integrated both cutting-edge modern construction technology and time-tested traditional Barbadian design principles. Key adaptive elements include high ceilings and pitched roofs, which leverage natural ventilation to cool indoor spaces without overreliance on energy-intensive air conditioning.

  • CTUSAB demands equal treatment for state, private employers in wage protection law

    CTUSAB demands equal treatment for state, private employers in wage protection law

    Barbados’ largest umbrella labor organization, the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB), has publicly announced its principled support for the newly passed Protection of Wages Bill — but issued a series of critical demands to fix gaps the group says will undermine the law’s ability to protect workers if left unaddressed.

    Speaking at the organization’s regular monthly press briefing, CTUSAB General Secretary Dennis De Peiza explained that even though the legislation has already cleared Parliament, the national trade union movement deemed it necessary to formalize its position and push for key regulatory adjustments ahead of the law’s full implementation. De Peiza noted that CTUSAB aligns with the core principle of fair wage treatment that all major social partners in Barbados, including the Barbados Workers’ Union, Barbados Employers’ Confederation, Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Barbados Coalition of Service Industries, have publicly endorsed. However, he stressed that written statutory protections are meaningless without consistent, robust enforcement.

    “CTUSAB is very much, I must say in principle, at this point in support for the Protection of Wages Bill,” De Peiza told reporters. “The congress emphasises that there must be enforcement of the provisions of the legislation. I repeat that… there must be enforcement of the legislation if this thing is to be taken seriously. If workers have to be treated fairly and not to be disadvantaged, then it requires that we ensure that the employers honour their obligation to the workers.”

    De Peiza specifically welcomed the bill’s introduction of formal, explicit penalties for employers that fail to remit required statutory deductions, including national insurance contributions, on behalf of their workers. But he quickly pushed back against the idea that financial penalties alone are enough to deter wage violations, pointing to long-running delays in Barbados’ judicial system for labor disputes. He warned that slow dispute resolution processes leave workers who have already lost income waiting months or even years for remedy, arguing that “justice delayed is justice denied.”

    To fix this systemic flaw, De Peiza called for binding statutory timelines to be written into the operational regulations that govern wage dispute hearings, requiring all cases to be resolved within set deadlines to avoid prolonged uncertainty for affected workers. “Hence this necessitates that clear time frames and deadlines are established within the rules for the hearing and conclusion of any case brought by an employee against the employer,” De Peiza said. “It should not be allowed that the victim experiences an extended period of suffering due to the slow enactment of the process.”

    The most contentious gap CTUSAB has identified is a legislative exemption that currently shields state-owned entities and government departments from the same penalties that apply to private employers when they fail to pay public workers on time. De Peiza called this exemption a blatant violation of the principle of equal treatment under the law, arguing that there is no justification for holding private businesses to a different standard than the government.

    “This is wholly inconsistent with the practice as it applies to fairness and the equality of treatment before the law,” De Peiza argued. “If this is to suggest that the State as the employer is above the law, then we have problems. So we are saying that we do not believe that the State is above the law.”

    De Peiza recalled that public sector wage delays are not a hypothetical issue in Barbados, noting that government departments and statutory agencies have a well-documented history of late salary disbursements, often citing administrative hold-ups such as pending internal approvals as an excuse. “Why should the law hold private sector employers to one standard and the government to another?” De Peiza questioned. He added that public workers who face severe wage delays must have the same legal right to pursue compensation for damages through the courts as private sector employees, saying: “The worker has not been paid for work …. There should be no restraint of pursuing this matter before the law courts for compensation for inconvenience and suffering caused.”

    Addressing the root of public sector wage delays, De Peiza argued that most late payments stem from unnecessary administrative bureaucracy rather than unavoidable technical issues. He pointed out that the government publishes a fixed annual schedule of paydays for all public sector workers well in advance, meaning that outside of rare technological failures, there is no valid excuse for missed payment deadlines. “It would seem that any undue delays and discrepancies may be ascribed to administrative inefficiencies. This, in part, is a bureaucratic problem which must be remedied within public sector management,” he said.

    De Peiza also highlighted a often-overlooked barrier that exacerbates financial hardship for low-income Barbadian workers, urging regulators to address banking industry practices that harm workers paid by cheque. Many low-wage workers do not hold active bank accounts, forcing them to rely on costly third-party check cashing services, while even workers with accounts are often charged arbitrary transaction fees to deposit their paychecks. “Provisions should have been made to alleviate the stress suffered by those workers who are paid by cheque and do not have a bank account to deposit the cheque in order to have it redeemed,” he said. “Moreover, employees have to deal with the application of a transactional banking fee, which is imposed. This should not be allowed and needs to be addressed by the requisite government authorities.”

  • UPDATE: Atlantic System’s Development Chance Rises to 80 Percent

    UPDATE: Atlantic System’s Development Chance Rises to 80 Percent

    As the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season progresses, meteorologists are tracking three separate disturbed weather systems across the basin, with one emerging as the most likely candidate to strengthen into a named tropical cyclone in the coming week. The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) updated its outlook Tuesday evening, reporting that a tropical wave moving through the central Atlantic has seen its odds of organized development jump sharply, with forecasters now putting its seven-day formation chance at 80 percent.

    Designated by the NHC as System AL92, this disturbance was located roughly 700 miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands as of 8 p.m. ET Tuesday. While the system is still in its early stages of organization, the NHC noted that scattered showers and thunderstorms linked to AL92 have already begun to consolidate, a key early sign that tropical cyclone formation is underway. Forecasters project the system will continue on a westward to west-northwestward track across the central tropical Atlantic over the next several days, moving through an environment where ocean temperatures and wind patterns are growing increasingly favorable for strengthening.

    In its updated probability assessment, the NHC said AL92 now has a 60 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression within the next 48 hours, up from earlier lower estimates. If the system continues to organize as expected, it will become the season’s next named tropical storm once its sustained wind speeds reach 39 miles per hour.

    A second system, designated AL93, is tracking across the higher-latitude central Atlantic, far north of AL92. Forecasters say this system has a limited window for development, with a short-lived tropical depression or weak tropical storm possibly forming before the end of Wednesday. Beyond that, unfavorable conditions are expected to halt the system’s organization.

    The third system under watch is a newly emerged tropical wave that just moved off the west coast of Africa into the eastern Atlantic. Right now, this system’s shower and thunderstorm activity remains disorganized, and it has low odds of development in the near term. The NHC estimates just a 10 percent chance of formation within 48 hours, rising to only 20 percent over the full seven-day outlook window as it drifts westward across the eastern and central Atlantic.

    As of Tuesday night, the NHC confirmed there were no active tropical cyclones anywhere across the entire Atlantic basin. Forecasters will continue to issue daily updates on all three disturbed systems, with more frequent advisories going into effect once any system shows clear signs of sustained organization.

  • Telesur en Liberty versterken internationale digitale verbindingen voor groei oliesector

    Telesur en Liberty versterken internationale digitale verbindingen voor groei oliesector

    As Suriname prepares for a rapid expansion of its offshore oil and gas industry and broad-based economic digitalization, national telecommunications provider Telesur and regional digital infrastructure operator Liberty Networks have agreed to deepen their long-standing cooperation to strengthen the country’s international digital connectivity. The expanded partnership, formalized via a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the 41st annual CANTO conference held in the Dominican Republic from August 9 to 12, is designed to deliver increased network capacity, greater reliability, and enhanced redundancy for Suriname’s cross-border digital links.

    This collaboration builds on the two firms’ existing work on international submarine connectivity, most notably through the Suriname-Guyana Submarine Cable System (SGSCS), which has supported Suriname’s international telecommunications links since 2009. Industry analysts note that demand for robust digital infrastructure in Suriname is set to surge in the coming years, driven first and foremost by the needs of the fast-growing offshore energy sector. Modern offshore oil and gas operations rely heavily on uninterrupted data flows, real-time digital communication, and constant connections to global corporate networks, requirements that outdated or overstretched infrastructure cannot meet.

    Yet the need for improved connectivity extends far beyond the energy industry. Banks, government agencies, healthcare providers, educational institutions, cloud service users, and private sector businesses across Suriname are increasingly dependent on stable international data connections to operate effectively. To address this growing demand, the partnership will add new international connectivity routes, integrating Telesur’s national network more deeply with Liberty Networks’ regional fiber-optic footprint. This integration will drastically reduce Suriname’s vulnerability to single-point connection outages, a critical improvement given the persistent risk of damage or faults to submarine cables.

    By diversifying routes and adding network redundancy, the two firms will ensure that internet and other digital services remain operational via alternative pathways if one connection fails. The agreement also includes plans to boost joint response capabilities to address cable faults and service interruptions more quickly when they do occur. Beyond reliability, the expanded partnership will add substantial new international capacity to accommodate surging consumer and business demand for internet access, online communication, digital financial services, streaming entertainment, and e-government services.

    Speaking at the conference, Ray Collins, Senior Vice President for Infrastructure and Corporate Strategy at Liberty Latin America and CEO of Liberty Networks, noted that Suriname is entering an extraordinary period of economic transformation, where reliable connectivity will play a foundational role in supporting sustainable growth. Collins added that Liberty is committed to leveraging its extensive regional network infrastructure to support Suriname’s development goals.

    Telesur CEO Doric Ramlakhan echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the MoU formalizes the two organizations’ shared ambition to scale their cooperation in lockstep with Suriname’s growing digital and economic needs. Ramlakhan specifically highlighted that the upgraded infrastructure is being designed to meet the strict reliability and capacity requirements that the expanding oil and gas sector will demand in the coming years.

    Ultimately, the partnership aims to deliver greater stability, scalable capacity, and long-term consistent availability of international connectivity for Suriname. The expanded collaboration carries broad economic significance for the country: the upgraded digital infrastructure will not only keep pace with current internet usage growth but will also proactively prepare Suriname for the wave of new economic activity that offshore oil and gas development is expected to bring over the next decade.

  • Athletes selected for Olympic development programme

    Athletes selected for Olympic development programme

    The Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) has announced the selection of 11 rising young Barbadian athletes for the second iteration of its elite Youth Project Podium initiative, launched this week at the BOA’s headquarters with funding backing from two major supporters. This targeted development program is built to nurture emerging athletic talent throughout the current Olympic cycle, with the long-term goal of preparing competitors to compete and excel at top-tier international events, ranging from the Youth Olympics and Junior Pan Am Games all the way to the senior Olympic and Pan Am Games.

    The selected athletes, who range in age from 16 to 23, represent a diverse set of Olympic sports: Deann Walton competes in judo, Savannah Stuart in sailing, Lenna Hamati in squash, four athletes — Victor Ashby, Amiya Harrison, Jaiya Simmons, and Mihael Sobers — come from swimming, and five competitors round out the cohort in triathlon: Matthew Briggs-Legall, Alexis Lashley, Laila McIntyre, and Zindzele Renwick-Williams. Funding for the 2024 cohort is made possible through grant support from the Amarone Charitable Trust and Panam Sport, enabling the program to deliver comprehensive support beyond just competitive training.

    BOA Secretary General Erskine Simmons framed the program as a key continuation of the association’s ongoing investment in the future of Barbadian sport. “Our first Youth Project Podium taught us a great deal about the unique needs of developing athletes and the importance of supporting them beyond just competition results,” Simmons explained. “We have taken those lessons and used them to strengthen this second edition. This year we welcome a smaller cohort which represents a more focused approach to athlete development, with each athlete identified as having clear potential to progress along the BOA’s performance pathway.”

    Kendia Brathwaite, BOA Senior Operations Officer and lead for the Youth Project Podium, outlined the rigorous multi-stage selection process the organization used to pick this year’s participants. “We reached out to all our national sport federations and distributed a structured questionnaire to guide them in putting forward their most promising athletes,” Brathwaite said. “On top of that, we also used competitive results from recent editions of the Youth Commonwealth Games and Youth Olympics as a performance benchmark to evaluate all nominated candidates.”

    Unlike many athlete development programs that focus solely on physical training, Youth Project Podium takes a holistic approach to supporting young competitors. Brathwaite detailed the full range of resources available to selected athletes, covering both athletic and personal growth: access to specialized sports medicine doctors, nutrition guidance, physical therapy support, mental skills coaching, podiatry care, personal branding training, and communications development.

    The program’s core mission, Brathwaite explained, is to identify and nurture junior talent early in their careers, laying a structured pathway for them to advance to higher levels of competitive performance and achieve long-term success. “We of course, at the Olympic Association, would love to win medals at the junior level. These athletes selected for this cohort have the potential to go on to represent Barbados at the Youth Olympic Games later this year, the Youth Commonwealth Games next year, and then the Junior Pan Am Games after that,” she said, adding that the second cohort is part of a broader BOA push to strengthen junior athlete pipelines across all national federations.

    David Csumrik, a trustee with funding partner Amarone Charitable Trust, expressed his organization’s pride in partnering with the BOA on the initiative. “We feel the first edition was very successful and I am sure the second edition will be successful,” Csumrik said. “I am hoping the athletes have fun and enjoy the experience. Work hard but remember sport is supposed to be fun. Make us all proud.”