Carib Scope

作者： admin

  • Abinader tours Cibao Airport expansion as first phase reaches 90% completion

    Abinader tours Cibao Airport expansion as first phase reaches 90% completion

    Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader recently conducted an on-site inspection of the ongoing expansion and modernization initiative at Cibao International Airport, located in the country’s northern city of Santiago. During his tour of the new terminal construction site, senior airport leadership walked the president through every key detail of the project, from its cutting-edge architectural design to current construction milestones and the full scope of work already delivered.

    In remarks following the site briefing, Abinader emphasized the outsized strategic role the airport already plays in linking the economically vital Cibao region to global markets and travel routes, especially high-demand travel corridors connecting to major metropolitan centers across the United States. The head of state noted that the comprehensive upgrade will not only boost the facility’s total passenger throughput but also act as a foundational catalyst for long-term tourism growth and broad-based economic development across the entire northern region of the country.

    Once fully completed, the new terminal is projected to double the airport’s current annual passenger capacity of roughly 2.3 million travelers, a jump that will dramatically strengthen air connectivity out of Santiago. The first phase of the multi-stage project carries a total investment price tag of more than $200 million U.S. dollars. According to Teófilo Gómez, the administrator of Cibao International Airport, structural construction for this initial phase is already 90% finished, putting the initiative solidly on schedule to meet its mid-2027 completion deadline.

    Gómez added that the expansion will meaningfully boost the airport’s overall operational capacity, allowing the facility to accommodate the steady growth in passenger demand that the region has recorded in recent years. Abinader’s site visit was joined by members of the airport’s board of directors, senior operational leadership, and senior representatives from the Dominican Republic’s national aviation sector. Stakeholders broadly expect that once finished, the expansion will cement Santiago’s standing as a critical air travel hub for the Dominican Republic’s northern region and create the infrastructure needed to support continuing growth in both tourism and overall passenger traffic for years to come.

  • Finance Minister: Cost of royal visit is still being worked out

    Finance Minister: Cost of royal visit is still being worked out

    As The Bahamas prepares to welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla for their first visit to the island nation since Charles ascended to the British throne in 2022, Bahamian officials remain unable to disclose how much public money will be spent on the trip, igniting fresh debate over the constitutional role of the monarchy and calls for reparations for colonial-era harms.

    Finance Minister Michael Halkitis confirmed last week that interagency working groups are still calculating the total financial burden of the royal tour, scheduled to take place between October 27 and November 4 as part of a broader Caribbean trip that will also include stops in Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, where the monarch will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. While Halkitis confirmed a cost-sharing agreement is in place between the Bahamian government and the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Grant, which funds official royal duties, he said no final figures have been submitted for cabinet review.

    “I can’t put any numbers to it,” Halkitis told reporters. “I understand that the various agencies are meeting, the Ministry of Finance and some of the other agencies are meeting. I’ll get a report on what it is… When we get that information, we’ll share it.”

    Unlike visits from heads of state of foreign countries, this tour carries unique constitutional weight: King Charles remains the official Head of State of The Bahamas, a Commonwealth realm that gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973 but retains the British monarch as its ceremonial head of government. This marks Charles’ second official trip to The Bahamas, and his first since succeeding his mother Queen Elizabeth II following her death in September 2022.

    The lack of transparency around costs has fueled online speculation and drawn sharp criticism from the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, which is organizing advocacy for reparations to address the harms of British chattel slavery and colonial rule in the country. The committee argues that requiring Bahamian taxpayers to cover any portion of the royal visit’s cost is unacceptable amid ongoing calls for the country to transition to a republican system of government that cuts formal ties to the British monarchy.

    “The time is now for reparations. The time is now for the republic,” the committee said in a statement. “And the time is long past for our governments to stop preparing this country for guests and then hand us the bill.”

    Public discussion around the upcoming visit has drawn comparisons to the 2022 royal tour of The Bahamas by Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, held to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. For that trip, the Bahamian government earmarked $636,194 in public funds to cover event costs. Budget breakdowns from that tour showed most of the public funding went to local vendors and businesses on New Providence, with additional allocations covering accommodation for the royal party, security provisions, digital infrastructure upgrades for local schools, the official royal ball, a commemorative regatta, and charter flights on national carrier Bahamasair between the country’s major islands.

  • Pintard demands answers over more than $400m

    Pintard demands answers over more than $400m

    A growing political controversy over public fund management has intensified in the Bahamas, as opposition leader Michael Pintard is demanding full transparency from the current administration over more than $400 million in unaccounted funds allocated to the country’s National Investment Fund (NIF).

    The government previously disclosed that it transferred roughly $700 million in excess borrowing proceeds into the NIF, a dedicated vehicle for infrastructure and national development projects. During a recent address to Parliament, Finance Minister Michael Halkitis outlined how $310.9 million of the total funds had been allocated to public infrastructure projects: $210.6 million went toward general building and road upgrades, while an additional $100.3 million was earmarked for aviation infrastructure improvements.

    What Halkitis did not address, Pintard argues, is the fate of the remaining $400 million that the government itself confirmed was moved into the fund. In his remarks to reporters, Pintard pushed the administration to release a full line-item breakdown of all NIF transactions and disclose the exact banking location of the unaccounted funds. “Rather than be distracted by the minister speaking about all of the projects that they are working on, we want to first start this discussion with where is the money? Account for the 700 million. Which account is it on?” Pintard said.

    Questions about the fund’s legitimacy deepened after Central Bank Governor John Rolle confirmed a key, troubling detail: despite the existence of an NIF-named account held at the Central Bank, the NIF’s legally mandated Board of Governors has never formally convened. Under the existing National Investment Funds Act, a board of governors is required to oversee the fund’s management, governance, and spending activities.

    To address this gap, Halkitis told Parliament that the Ministry of Finance has been administering NIF funds through the ministry and the national Treasury, under the framework of the Public Finance Management Act, while permanent governance structures for the NIF were being finalized. He added that the government sought formal legal guidance from the Office of the Attorney General to clarify how the Public Finance Management Act, the National Investment Funds Act, and Parliament’s official borrowing authority intersect in this scenario. Halkitis also confirmed that Parliament authorized up to $300 million in borrowing for the NIF in March 2025, and that the NIF’s Board of Directors was officially appointed effective June 30, 2025, though the government has acknowledged that some governance frameworks remain incomplete.

    This explanation has done little to ease opposition concerns, with Pintard rejecting the administration’s justification and accusing the government of operating outside the legal parameters laid out in NIF legislation. “His legal basis for moving millions of dollars out of the National Investment Fund was not the National Investment Act,” Pintard said. “They did not follow the law.” Pintard argues that the funds have been held directly by the Ministry of Finance without the independent oversight required under the NIF’s founding law, creating two alarming possibilities: either NIF resources were managed in violation of existing legislation, or the funds are being held in a separate Ministry of Finance account entirely outside the NIF structure. If the latter is true, Pintard noted, new questions emerge about how these transactions have been recorded in the government’s official fiscal accounts.

    In response to the growing lack of clarity, Pintard announced that the opposition-controlled Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has approved a formal investigation into the NIF, with the national Treasurer expected to be called to testify as early as next week. The opposition is pursuing multiple avenues to secure full disclosure, Pintard confirmed, including the PAC probe and potential future court action if necessary. “We will go to court at the appropriate time once we are armed with the right advice,” he said.

    Pintard pushed back against criticism that the opposition failed to aggressively question the government during the recent parliamentary sitting, noting that the PAC probe provides a formal, structured mechanism to thoroughly scrutinize all NIF transactions. For his part, Halkitis has stated that the government will fully cooperate with the committee’s investigation. Pintard emphasized that the opposition does not oppose the infrastructure projects the government has outlined, but insists on full accountability for how public funds are handled. “What we do not believe is that he’s giving a proper explanation on where the money came from and by what rules did he apply those money to those projects,” Pintard added.

  • Baha Mar offers 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave

    Baha Mar offers 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave

    A major Bahamas-based resort developer is setting a new benchmark for workplace family benefits in the Caribbean, announcing a generous 16-week fully paid parental leave policy that far exceeds both current national legislation and the Bahamian government’s ongoing labor reform proposals.

    Baha Mar President Graeme Davis confirmed the new policy in a company-wide address to staff, noting the policy will go into effect on June 29. Under the framework, all eligible full-time employees — including new mothers, new fathers, and workers welcoming a child via adoption — will receive 100% of their base salary for the full 16-week leave period.

    The policy rollout arrives amid ongoing work by the Davis administration to update the country’s decades-old Employment Act and Industrial Relations Act, a process that marks the first time the national government has proposed introducing a statutory paid paternity leave entitlement. Currently, Bahamian law does not guarantee any paid paternity leave for working parents. The only existing provision allows workers with at least six months of tenure to access one week of unpaid family leave per year for events including a new child, or the illness or death of an immediate family member. For maternity leave, current rules guarantee qualifying women a minimum of 12 weeks of leave, with employers required to cover just one-third of wages up to the National Insurance insurable wage cap, a benefit that can only be claimed once every three years.

    As part of its ongoing national reform process, the government has proposed expanding statutory maternity leave to 14 weeks and introducing just two weeks of paid paternity leave, available once every three years. Labour and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle confirmed earlier in 2024 that amendment legislation is currently being drafted, with plans for additional stakeholder consultations before the bill moves to Cabinet and Parliament for a vote. By comparison, Baha Mar’s new policy offers eligible fathers eight times more paid leave than the government’s draft national proposal.

    Davis framed the new benefit as a core investment in the resort’s workforce and long-term competitiveness. The policy is designed to help employees feel “valued, supported, and empowered to thrive” both in their professional roles and personal lives, Davis explained. “By investing in your well-being, we continue to strengthen our culture, attract exceptional talent, and reinforce our commitment to being the employer of choice in The Bahamas and throughout the region,” he added.

    The new benefit is open to all employees who meet the tenure and eligibility requirements laid out in Baha Mar’s official parental leave policy. Company leadership teams have already begun receiving updated policy documents, frequently asked question guides, and implementation training materials to prepare for the June 29 launch.

    Baha Mar’s announcement comes amid ongoing debate over national labor reform in the Bahamas, with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation calling for a cautious, research-backed approach to expanded leave mandates. The chamber says it supports the principle of improved parental benefits for workers, but has raised significant concerns about the potential financial and operational burdens of mandatory expanded entitlements, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Small business owners would likely face unexpected extra costs to cover replacement staff, overtime for existing workers, and training for temporary employees, chamber officials argue. The organization has called for thorough feasibility studies and extended stakeholder consultations before any national mandates are implemented, and has raised questions about how expanded leave would be funded, as well as the potential long-term impact on the National Insurance Board.

    Dr Leo Rolle, the chamber’s executive director, previously emphasized that paternity leave reform requires a carefully researched, data-driven approach, warning that rushed reforms without adequate impact assessment could place unmanageable financial pressure on already stretched businesses.

    Despite these industry concerns, Minister Glover-Rolle praised Baha Mar’s move as a positive example of private sector leadership on worker support. She pointed to the policy as further proof that major Bahamian employers are expanding support for expectant and new parents, noting that the Central Bank of The Bahamas has also recently installed dedicated breastfeeding pods for new working mothers on its premises.

    The Bahamian government has spent roughly two years developing a comprehensive package of reforms to the nation’s core labor laws, with public consultations covering a wide range of workplace issues beyond parental leave, including expanded mental health leave, formal protections for remote work arrangements, and updates to general workplace safety standards.

  • Fondo Sur seeks to protect water and marine ecosystems in the southwest

    Fondo Sur seeks to protect water and marine ecosystems in the southwest

    A landmark environmental initiative is underway to establish a dedicated $500,000 conservation fund spanning 2026 and 2027, designed to deliver sustained, long-term protection for vital watersheds and marine habitats across four southwestern provinces of the Dominican Republic: Barahona, Pedernales, Independencia, and Bahoruco.

    Dubbed Fondo Sur, or South Fund in Spanish, the project is spearheaded by three leading regional environmental organizations—SOH Conservación, Incatcaribe, and Organea Terra. It draws core financial backing from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a global grantmaking body focused on safeguarding biodiversity hotspots, while the Dominican government oversees all technical coordination for the initiative.

    Already, the collaborative conservation work ahead of the fund’s formal launch has delivered tangible ecological gains for the region. Partner organizations confirm that their on-the-ground efforts have supported the recovery and active restoration of more than 3,000 hectares of degraded ecosystems. These early gains include the planting of roughly 472,000 native vegetation specimens, the rollout of sustainable agroforestry systems across more than 200 hectares of working agricultural land, and the formal designation of approximately 500 hectares of private land as dedicated private conservation reserves.

    Currently, the Fondo Sur project is in the phase of legal, institutional, and financial structuring, with specialized pro bono and advisory support provided by two professional firms: Headrick, Rizik, Álvarez & Fernández, a leading Dominican law firm, and Blue Compass Consulting, a regional strategic advisory group. Once fully operational, the fund will direct all its resources toward the protection of high-priority water and marine ecosystems, including mountain headwaters, productive agricultural zones, critical groundwater recharge areas, coastal wetlands, mangrove forests, coral reef systems, and seagrass beds—all of which underpin the region’s environmental health and economic activity.

    For the Dominican Republic, the southwestern region covered by Fondo Sur is one of the country’s most ecologically and economically significant areas, supporting robust domestic agriculture, thriving nature-based tourism, and holding the nation’s most critical freshwater reserves. The permanent financing mechanism established by Fondo Sur aims to eliminate the gap in sustained funding for local conservation, ensuring that these vital natural resources are protected for current and future generations.

  • Dominican Migration Institute and UN discuss joint initiatives on migration

    Dominican Migration Institute and UN discuss joint initiatives on migration

    In a high-level strategic meeting held in Santo Domingo, leadership from the Dominican Republic’s National Migration Institute (INM) and senior representatives of the United Nations System gathered to map out a path for deeper collaborative work on migration management.

    José Benedicto Hernández, INM’s executive director, led the institute’s delegation, which met with Julia del Carmen Sánchez, the UN System’s resident coordinator in the Caribbean nation, alongside heads of multiple UN operational agencies. The discussions centered on two core objectives: unlocking new opportunities for joint programming and aligning with the priority agenda of INM’s newly installed administration.

    A key focus of the talks was advancing work in five high-impact areas: applied migration research, specialized professional training for migration officials, standardized migration data collection, data-driven policy analysis, and long-term institutional capacity building for INM.

    During the meeting, Hernández laid out his administration’s transformative vision for INM: to evolve the institution beyond its regulatory role into a regional hub of knowledge, research, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. This vision is anchored by five clear strategic pillars that guide all of the institute’s current and future work: research to build a nuanced understanding of migration dynamics, training to drive systemic change, innovation to modernize outdated migration governance processes, cross-sector cooperation to accelerate progress, and intentional knowledge sharing to connect migration research with broader Dominican society.

    Sánchez echoed Hernández’s commitment to partnership, emphasizing INM’s central role in tackling the complex, evolving migration challenges that the Dominican Republic currently faces. She underlined that sustained, close alignment between the UN system and INM is critical to effective migration governance.

    She further noted that human mobility is a cross-cutting issue that touches nearly every dimension of the UN’s work in the country. Any effective approach to managing migration requires coordinated, holistic action that accounts for both internal migration shifts within the Dominican Republic and the country’s ongoing bilateral migration relationships with neighboring and partner nations.

    Wednesday’s meeting is part of a broader, ongoing push to strengthen coordination between national authorities and international bodies working on migration in the Dominican Republic. The broader goal of these efforts is to embed empirical research and evidence-based analysis into the core of national migration policy development, ensuring policies respond to actual on-the-ground dynamics rather than assumptions.

  • INDOTEL investigates Claro data exposure affecting mobile customers

    INDOTEL investigates Claro data exposure affecting mobile customers

    A major cybersecurity incident has emerged in the Dominican Republic, with leading mobile service provider Claro Dominicana confirming that personal information of an undisclosed number of individual mobile customers has been exposed without authorization. The country’s top telecommunications regulator, the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL), has launched active monitoring of the case and is coordinating closely with the National Cybersecurity Center (CNCS) and other relevant enforcement bodies to unpack the full details of the breach.

    Per the initial disclosure from Claro Dominicana, the compromised dataset includes customers’ mobile phone numbers, national identity card numbers, and the specific type of mobile service each affected user has contracted with the company. INDOTEL has noted that this description of exposed information comes directly from the provider, and all details are currently undergoing independent verification as part of the official ongoing inquiry.

    In its official statement on the incident, Claro Dominicana shared that the company’s in-house cybersecurity specialist team detected the unauthorized access and immediately activated pre-established incident response protocols. The team launched a full verification process to map the full scale of the exposure and cross-check which specific user records were impacted. Critically, the provider emphasized that the exposed data cannot be used on its own to gain access to customer accounts, carry out fraudulent financial transactions, or access the private content of users’ personal communications.

    To date, Claro Dominicana has not released any public information about the total number of affected customers, nor has it shared details about how the exposure occurred or the source of the unauthorized access. The company has committed to continuing upgrades to its data security infrastructure and protocols, and has advised customers to follow published guidance for protecting personal digital information.

    For its part, INDOTEL’s monitoring mandate covers more than just the breach itself: regulators are also reviewing the accuracy of Claro’s exposure scope disclosures, evaluating the containment measures the provider has implemented to stop further unauthorized access, and checking that Claro is delivering clear, timely guidance and information to affected users. The regulator has also stressed that preserving all digital evidence from the incident is a top priority, to ensure investigating authorities have full, timely access to all materials needed to identify responsible parties.

    Given that exposed personal identification data is frequently exploited by bad actors for phishing scams, fraud schemes, and identity theft attempts, INDOTEL has issued a public warning for all customers to remain vigilant against unsolicited suspicious communications, including phone calls, text messages, and emails. Regulators have advised users against sharing sensitive personal data such as account passwords, two-factor authentication verification codes, and banking details, even when the contacting party appears to have accurate knowledge of the user’s personal information. All requests for personal information should be verified through Claro Dominicana’s official customer service channels, and any suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the provider or local law enforcement and cybersecurity authorities.

    INDOTEL has also urged the public to avoid downloading, sharing, or distributing any files that claim to contain the exposed customer data, while the investigation into the breach remains active. Unsubstantiated claims about the scale and scope of the incident have begun circulating online, and neither Claro Dominicana nor investigating authorities have independently verified these additional claims. At this stage, the investigation remains focused on confirming the exact number of affected users and verifying which specific personal records were actually compromised.

  • WANTED: Janiah Antion Sought in Mordecai Francis Murder Investigation

    WANTED: Janiah Antion Sought in Mordecai Francis Murder Investigation

    On September 16, 2026, law enforcement authorities from the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda’s Office of Strategic Communications released an official wanted bulletin calling for public assistance in a active homicide investigation. The investigation centers on the death of 60-year-old Mordecai Eleazar Francis, a resident of the Swetes community, and authorities have identified Janiah Antion, a man from Golden Grove, as a person of interest they are urgently seeking to locate.

    Authorities have described Antion as being in his early 20s, and have issued a critical public safety warning: they believe he is currently armed, which has led officials to classify him as a dangerous individual. In a direct appeal to the suspect, police have urged Antion to turn himself in voluntarily at the nearest police station without any delay, to facilitate the ongoing investigation.

    For members of the public who may have information about Antion’s current location, law enforcement has provided clear channels to report details. Any person with relevant knowledge can reach out to any local police station, or contact the Criminal Investigations Department directly via the dedicated phone line 462-3913.

    The police administration has also issued a strict safety advisory to the public: if Antion is spotted in any area, residents should not approach, confront, or interact with him under any circumstances. Instead, the public is instructed to contact law enforcement immediately to report his location, to protect both public safety and the integrity of the investigation. Authorities closed the bulletin by repeating their appeal for ongoing public cooperation, noting that any piece of information, no matter how small it may seem, could prove critical to moving the murder investigation forward.

  • 85 students receive national scholarships

    85 students receive national scholarships

    On September 15, Grenada’s Ministry of Education gathered students, institutional partners and diplomatic representatives at the Grenada Trade Centre Annex in Morne Rouge for the annual National Scholarship Awards Ceremony, a landmark event celebrating investment in the island nation’s next generation of tertiary learners. Eighty-five Grenadian students walked away with recognition for awards spanning undergraduate, graduate and specialized professional programs, delivered through a collaborative network that includes the Government of Grenada, St. George’s University (SGU), The University of the West Indies (The UWI), the People’s Republic of China, the Commonwealth, and the Organization of American States.

    Addressing attendees, Education Minister Senator the Hon. David Andrew announced the total combined value of all awarded scholarships reaches EC$6,817,668.70, framing the sum as a deliberate, large-scale investment in Grenada’s long-term human capital development. Andrew highlighted a key policy shift implemented by the current administration that expanded eligibility to include law students seeking Economic Cost scholarships, a change directly aligned with the government’s core goal of broadening access to tertiary education for households across all income levels across the island.

    SGU, one of the event’s longest-standing institutional partners, supported awardees across a diverse spectrum of fields, ranging from its School of Arts and Sciences to graduate-level master’s programs and public health training. Colin Dowe, Associate Vice President of SGU’s Alumni Affairs and Chairman of the National Training Awards Selection Committee, congratulated students on their hard-earned success, noting that each recipient earned their placement through merit. Dowe urged awardees to center Grenada’s development priorities throughout their academic journeys, encouraging them to connect their new skills and knowledge to local and regional challenges once they complete their studies.

    Among the most prominent international partnerships represented at the ceremony was the China-Grenada scholarship program, which selected nine Grenadian students to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate study in Chinese institutions, with the total value of these awards reaching EC$600,434, per Andrew’s announcement. His Excellency Yang Shu, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Grenada, emphasized that educational exchange has long been a cornerstone of bilateral cooperation between the two nations. Since the resumption of diplomatic relations, Ambassador Yang noted, China has provided more than 3,700 study and training opportunities for Grenadians, including over 700 participants in China-funded short-term professional training programs. For the nine students preparing to travel to China, he added, the experience extends far beyond earning an academic degree: it offers a chance to immerse in a different culture, expand global perspectives, and deepen people-to-people ties that strengthen the relationship between Grenada and China for years to come.

    The ceremony also highlighted other prestigious international awards, including the Commonwealth UK Scholarship awarded to Akeyshur Bartholomew, who will begin a master’s program in medical ultrasound with a specialization in echocardiography at Imperial College London.

    Elvis Morain, Permanent Secretary for Human Resources and Educational Development, reminded students that securing a scholarship is only the first step of their academic journey. Morain noted that the selection process is highly competitive, evaluating candidates on both academic performance and interview results, and urged recipients to familiarize themselves with all terms and conditions of their awards, including the requirement to maintain a minimum grade point average throughout their program. He also stressed the importance of fulfilling the post-graduation scholarship bond requirement, and encouraged students to proactively communicate with the Ministry of Education if unforeseen circumstances require adjustments to their program of study. “This is an investment and you have to take it seriously,” Morain told attending students.

    Minister Andrew echoed this framing, noting that the scholarships represent a national investment that comes with mutual obligations beyond the completion of a degree. He told recipients that Grenada relies on their skills and leadership to address the nation’s most pressing development challenges, and disclosed that the Grenadian Cabinet has recently approved a revised national scholarship strategy and bonding framework. The updated policy will maintain a “repay or serve” requirement for awardees, a measure designed to make the national scholarship program financially sustainable, enabling the government to continue supporting future generations of Grenadian students. Dowe echoed this call for reciprocal contribution, describing the full portfolio of awards as an investment in Grenada’s future, and noting that recipients carry a clear onus to return and serve as leaders in their respective sectors once they complete their education.

  • Senior Games expand the playing field

    Senior Games expand the playing field

    Barbados’ annual National Senior Games has undergone a transformative expansion this year, growing to include 25 distinct sporting disciplines while placing unprecedented focus on welcoming older adults with disabilities into competitive and recreational activity. Now in its fourth week of a month-long schedule launched in August, the event has already drawn widespread acclaim for its accessible, community-centered structure, according to Ytannia Wiggins, sports adviser for the games under the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs.

    Wiggins called the 202X iteration of the games an exceptional success so far, noting that early competitions including tennis have already wrapped up, while dominoes has remained a constant, ongoing activity throughout the event. The fourth week of the schedule stands out as one of the busiest, with new competitions like hockey kicking off alongside 3×3 basketball and netball finals hosted at the Wildey Gymnasium.

    Among the most anticipated upcoming events is the marquee track and field program, with field events set to take place September 19 at Harrison College, and track competitions scheduled for September 26 at the renowned Usain Bolt Sports Complex. A 5K open walk and run will also be held along the Mighty Grynner Highway on September 20, giving casual participants of all ability levels a chance to join in. The entire month of programming will conclude October 1 at Barbados Community College with an active living festival, timed to coincide with the annual International Day of Older Persons. Wiggins describes the event as a “senior Olympics,” where older adults can try any sport that sparks their interest.

    The expansion of accessible programming stems from the ministry’s recognition that diverse segments of the older adult community, including those with disabilities, deserve equal opportunities to engage in recreational sports, Wiggins explained. Key inclusive events this year include a celebrity blind cricket match at Briar Hall, alongside blind dominoes and adaptive walking netball. Speaking at the Sunday blind cricket match, Wiggins noted that the sport was selected because it already has an established, enthusiastic base in Barbados, and used the opportunity to reiterate a core message of the games: “disability is not inability.”

    Beyond accessibility, the games also prioritize getting activity out into local communities and encouraging older adults to maintain active, healthy lifestyles as they age. Kamal Clarke, managing coordinator of the games, added that the inclusive blind cricket day was designed to bring together three groups—children, older adults, and people with disabilities—for shared recreation. Before taking the field, celebrity participants received training on the rules and adapted play of blind cricket to ensure they could compete alongside disabled community members.

    More than 50 people with disabilities took part in the day’s activities, which also included outdoor adaptive simulations, open domino play, and a demonstration of blind domino rules hosted by the National United Society of the Blind. Clarke closed by urging Barbadians of all eligible ages and ability levels to join the ongoing games, emphasizing that the event is designed to be a season of joy, connection, and activity focused on supporting long, high-quality lives for all older adults.