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  • Police confirm 12.5 years prison sentence for Dr. Vance Gilbert

    Police confirm 12.5 years prison sentence for Dr. Vance Gilbert

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Officials from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force have formally issued confirmation that Dr. Vance Gilbert has been sentenced to 12 and a half years of incarceration at His Majesty’s Prison in Basseterre following his conviction on two counts of sexual violence: rape and indecent assault.

    Court documents and the official police statement outline that both criminal offenses for which Gilbert was prosecuted took place between March 1 and March 31, 2020. After a week-long criminal trial held from May 7 to May 12 this year, a jury returned guilty verdicts for both counts against Gilbert on May 27, 2026.

    More than three months after the conviction, High Court Justice Patrick Thompson Jr. handed down the official sentencing order on September 9, 2026. Under the terms of the ruling, Gilbert received a 12.5-year prison term for the rape conviction, and a five-year prison term for the indecent assault charge. Justice Thompson ruled that the two sentences would run concurrently, resulting in an effective total custodial sentence of 12 years and six months.

    In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Gilbert to pay a total of 9,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars in victim compensation. The compensation sum is split into two equal 4,500 Eastern Caribbean dollar installments, with the first payment due to the complainant by the end of 2026, and the second installment required by December 31, 2027. The court added a strict penalty for missed payments: if Gilbert fails to pay either installment by its deadline, he will face an additional six months of imprisonment that will run consecutively to his existing 12.5-year sentence, extending his total time behind bars.

    The confirmation of the sentence closes a more than six-year legal process that began with the initial reporting of the offenses in 2020, marking a final resolution to the criminal prosecution in the St. Kitts and Nevis judicial system.

  • LA COUR DES ARTS DE LA play DOMINIQUE INC presents its latest play ‘Fly on the Wall’

    LA COUR DES ARTS DE LA play DOMINIQUE INC presents its latest play ‘Fly on the Wall’

    Theatre enthusiasts across the Caribbean and beyond are gearing up for a compelling new theatrical experience, as the non-profit Dominica-based arts collective La Cour Des Arts De La Dominique is set to stage the sharp satirical work *Fly On The Wall* later this month. The production will run for two nights only, September 25 and 26, at St. Gerard’s Hall, with each evening’s performance kicking off at 8 p.m.

    Penned by celebrated Antiguan playwright Dorbrene O’Marde, *Fly On The Wall* marks the second full-length work from O’Marde, who plans to complete five full stage plays in total. Rooted firmly in Caribbean cultural context, this provocative production pulls back the curtain on the hidden inner workings of political power. Its core imaginative premise asks: what would unfold if everyday citizens could silently and invisibly watch the off-camera dealings of their elected leaders, just like an unobserved fly on the wall?

    When politicians speak behind closed doors, convinced no member of the public is listening, they lay bare their true priorities and motivations. This creates a striking, often uncomfortable contrast between the soaring, promise-filled speeches they deliver to voters and the self-serving conversations they hold away from the public eye. Through razor-sharp dialogue, biting, well-timed humor, and a foundation of local idioms and region-specific cultural references, O’Marde delves into the chasm that often separates politicians’ public pledges from their hidden private agendas. The play also interrogates how unaccountable power is able to consolidate itself in opaque spaces, challenging audiences to scrutinize the actions of their leaders and demand greater transparency and accountability from those in office.

    Beyond his work as a playwright and author, O’Marde is a towering cultural and political figure across the Caribbean. Born in Antigua, he currently serves as Chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission and Vice-Chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, and has spent more than 20 years at the forefront of the global reparatory justice movement. In 2022, he was appointed Ambassador Plenipotentiary for Antigua and Barbuda’s Reparatory Justice Programme, cementing his role as a leading voice for the region’s calls for redress for the transatlantic slave trade. As a cultural creator, his contributions have earned widespread recognition: he is a recipient of the International Sunshine Award as “Friend of the Arts”, the UWI Pelican Award for his outstanding contributions to Caribbean arts, and most recently a Lifetime Achievement Award honoring decades of dedicated service to theatre arts in Antigua and Barbuda.

    *Fly On The Wall* is brought to audiences by La Cour des Arts De la Dominique Inc Fwijé Teyát, a registered non-profit theatre collective dedicated to centering local art and preserving Caribbean cultural heritage. The group traces its origins back to 1997, when it launched as the Alliance Française Drama Group before earning official registration as a non-profit in 2003. In 2006, the collective launched a key outreach initiative, establishing the Joint Secondary Schools Drama Group with a vision to nurture “A Generation of Dramatists Through Opportunity”, opening up access to theatrical training for young people across the region.

    The collective’s current roster includes members whose theatrical experience ranges from 10 to 50 years, with backgrounds spanning stage productions, film projects, and radio drama. For decades, the group has centered drama as a tool for public education, using performance to spread information about critical public issues spanning health, social justice, and environmental protection. The group earned early widespread recognition for its 1998 domestic violence awareness television series *Wake Up Call*, which was funded by the Women’s Bureau; six of the collective’s members remain well-known today for their roles in the groundbreaking series. Most recently, the group collaborated with the Alwin Bully Foundation in 2023 to stage Alwin Bully’s celebrated thriller *Nite Box*, and followed that production with the dramatic work *STREAK!* in 2025.

  • Planning and development of the Haitian territory

    Planning and development of the Haitian territory

    Against the backdrop of Haiti’s ongoing efforts to advance economic recovery and balanced national development, senior government leaders held a key working session this week to align strategies for territorial planning and regional growth. The gathering, focused on strengthening inter-institutional coordination, brought together Sandra Paulemon, Haiti’s Minister of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE), her Chief of Staff Paul Ruddy Mentor, and Marie-Christine Stephenson, Executive Secretary of the Interministerial Committee for Territorial Planning (CIAT).

    Opening the session, Minister Paulemon underlined her administration’s firm commitment to deepening synergies between the MPCE and CIAT. The shared goal, she emphasized, is to build a more structured, cohesive framework for public land-use planning and ensure that national development priorities are rolled out in a consistent, aligned manner across all levels of government.

    The meeting opened with a comprehensive stock-taking of CIAT’s core priorities, active ongoing projects, the institutional and operational challenges the body currently faces, and the resources required for it to fully deliver on its mandated role. A major focal point of the discussions was the National Territorial Development Plan, with participants reviewing its current progress status and outlining the critical actions needed to update the plan and move forward with full implementation.

    Ministry and CIAT leaders also delved into the National Master Plan for Territorial Development, examining how the framework aligns with broader national public policy goals and Haiti’s National Economic, Social and Territorial Stabilization and Recovery Program (PNSREST). The conversation extended to master plans for Haiti’s largest urban centers, including Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien, Les Cayes, Gonaïves, Jérémie and Hinche, with reviews of each plan’s progress and outstanding urban planning needs.

    Beyond national and city-level planning, the working group prioritized discussions around identifying strategic regional development assets: growth poles, economic corridors, and specialized zones for industrial production, agriculture, tourism and logistics. These targeted zones are designed to drive national economic expansion, generate new employment opportunities for Haitians, and narrow persistent development gaps between different regions of the country. The talks also covered longstanding territorial management challenges, including land governance, land use regulation, sustainable urban expansion, cracking down on unplanned, anarchic urbanization, and strengthening land tenure security for communities.

    Participants also agreed on the critical need to integrate resilience into all territorial planning efforts. They mapped out plans for strategically locating key infrastructure—including transportation networks (roads, ports, airports), energy systems, water and sanitation networks, and social infrastructure—through a territorial approach that prioritizes community safety. Better planning, they noted, is key to boosting Haitian territories’ ability to withstand recurring natural hazards, from floods and landslides to earthquakes, as well as the growing impacts of climate change.

    The crisis of internally displaced persons in Haiti also took a prominent spot on the meeting agenda. Both institutions explored place-based solutions to support post-disaster and post-crisis reconstruction, develop new planned housing centers, and build new growth zones tailored to the specific needs of displaced populations. Leaders also reviewed the technical tools CIAT has developed to improve evidence-based policymaking and public policy monitoring, including advanced mapping systems, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), centralized territorial databases, and spatial monitoring mechanisms.

    As part of her presentation, Executive Secretary Stephenson shared an updated national city map with Minister Paulemon that clearly identifies which municipalities already have active development plans, urban frameworks, or Communal Development Plans (PCD), and which jurisdictions still lack formal planning instruments. This baseline assessment will help guide targeted resource allocation to close gaps in local planning capacity across the country.

    Another key outcome of the session was a joint agreement to move forward with developing a centralized portfolio of high-priority structuring projects, which will be prepared for submission to international technical and financial partners to secure funding and support. Participants also reaffirmed their commitment to deepening decentralization efforts, through stronger capacity building for local authorities and expanded support for developing municipal and departmental-level development plans.

    To sustain alignment and collaboration moving forward, the two institutions have agreed to formalize a permanent partnership framework. This will include the creation of a joint technical working committee, the designation of dedicated institutional focal points, regularly scheduled coordination meetings, and ongoing sharing of strategic planning data to keep both bodies aligned on national development goals.

  • Barbuda to Get New Primary School as Government Moves to Ease Space Constraints

    Barbuda to Get New Primary School as Government Moves to Ease Space Constraints

    After years of overcrowding and decades of unmet infrastructure needs, a long-awaited multimillion-dollar primary school project is poised to break ground on the Caribbean island of Barbuda, with full financing secured via a development grant from the government of the Dominican Republic.

    Barbuda’s Minister of Education Daryll Matthew made the official announcement of the upcoming construction during a public statement on Friday, outlining how the purpose-built facility will resolve a chronic space shortage that has hampered learning at the island’s only existing primary school, Holy Trinity School, for generations.

    Today, Holy Trinity School educates close to 200 primary-aged students across Barbuda, but the institution has long operated beyond its intended capacity. The lack of sufficient dedicated classroom space has already forced school administrators to split younger cohorts of students, holding their classes at an off-site alternative location far from the main campus. The problem grew far more severe in 2017, when Category 5 Hurricane Irma made landfall across the Caribbean, destroying multiple aging wooden classroom buildings on the Holy Trinity School campus and leaving even fewer learning spaces for the island’s student population.

    Matthew emphasized that the new campus will not just replace lost infrastructure, but will deliver a modern, fully upgraded learning environment built to 21st-century safety and educational standards. “This new facility is more than just a construction project – it is an investment in the future of every young learner on Barbuda,” Matthew noted in his announcement.

    With a deep rooted place in Barbuda’s community, Holy Trinity School has served as the island’s core primary education provider for more than 100 years. Once construction is completed, the entire student body will be able to move to the new purpose-built campus, ending the disruptive split-site learning model that has impacted student experiences for years.

  • Security : Vladimir Paraison at the 5th UN Police Chiefs’ Summit (Speech)

    Security : Vladimir Paraison at the 5th UN Police Chiefs’ Summit (Speech)

    On the sidelines of the 5th United Nations Police Chiefs’ Summit (UNCOPS 2026) held in New York, Haiti’s top security leadership has delivered a urgent call for coordinated multilateral action to confront the cascading security crisis destabilizing the Caribbean nation and the broader region.

    Leading the Haitian delegation to the September 2026 summit was Public Security Minister Patrick Pélissier, with senior security figures joining the delegation including Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Haitian National Police (PNH) Vladimir Paraison, Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H) Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Derby Guerrier, PNH Chief Inspector General Frédéric Leconte, and Presidential Security Coordinator Inspector General Jacques Joël Orival.

    In his keynote address to the assembly, Paraison spoke on behalf of Haiti, framing the country’s ongoing security fight as a sovereign mission to reclaim full control of its national security landscape. He opened by outlining the foundational threat driving Haiti’s instability: transnational regional drug trafficking that has eroded governance and fractured stability across the island, with Haiti bearing the brunt of the crisis.

    To counter this threat, Paraison argued for a fundamental shift in Haiti’s security strategy, emphasizing that outdated, isolated operational models are no longer sufficient. He called for investment in cutting-edge technological infrastructure for border management, including purpose-built maritime vessels equipped with advanced real-time intelligence capabilities that allow for rapid information sharing and coordinated interception operations between frontline units and command decision-makers.

    Paraison stressed that the era of unilateral police action has passed, pointing to the UNCOPS platform as a critical framework for regional security collaboration. This multilateral space, he noted, enables strategic pooling of critical human, logistical, and technological resources across regional police forces — a synergy that is non-negotiable for defeating transnational criminal networks.

    A core point of Paraison’s address centered on the systemic imbalance fueling Haiti’s crisis: while Haiti abides by international arms controls and lacks a domestic defense industry, criminal gangs operating across its territory benefit from a steady, unimpeded flow of advanced heavy weaponry. He emphasized that the bravery of Haitian security forces on the front lines cannot alone resolve a crisis whose roots stretch far beyond Haiti’s national borders. Unchecked arms smuggling, he said, continues to fuel terrorist activity and prevent any path to lasting stability, requiring urgent multilateral commitment to close cross-border trafficking routes.

    In a striking rebuke of diluted framing of the crisis, Paraison called on the international community to abandon language that minimizes the severity of the threat facing Haiti. The armed groups operating in the country are not merely loose collections of delinquents, he argued: through their brutal tactics and deliberate campaign of civilian terror, they qualify as full-fledged terrorist organizations. What Haiti is confronting today, he added, is not isolated street crime, but the expanding reach of a global hybrid criminal network. This network, fueled by the dangerous convergence of arms trafficking, drug smuggling, and money laundering, poses a threat not only to Haiti’s national stability but to the entire Caribbean region’s security.

    To embed this priority in global governance, Paraison urged that United Nations Police priorities be systematically integrated into the core agenda of all major international forums focused on peace and global security. Only through robust, coordinated collective action, he said, can the international community build a more secure global order.

    Paraison concluded his address by reiterating Haiti’s deep gratitude to the international community, and specifically the United Nations, for ongoing support through the Global Security Fund (GSF) in Haiti’s relentless campaign against criminal networks. Even as it welcomes international partnership, he reaffirmed, the Haitian government maintains that national security remains the primary sovereign responsibility of Haitian state institutions. Mandated by the Haitian Constitution, the Haitian National Police and Armed Forces of Haiti are working tirelessly to restore peace, public order, and freedom of movement for all Haitian citizens, and the country remains confident that it will ultimately succeed in this mission.

    “Let us work towards a secure world, a better Haiti,” Paraison said, closing his address.

  • Vacancy: Sales and Marketing Manager, Grenada Distillers Limited

    Vacancy: Sales and Marketing Manager, Grenada Distillers Limited

    One of Grenada’s prominent spirit producers, Grenada Distillers Limited, has launched an open recruitment search for a strategic, creative and experienced professional to fill the key position of Sales and Marketing Manager on its core growth-focused team.

    The successful candidate will take ownership of driving the company’s brand expansion and revenue growth, with a core mandate to identify untapped marketing opportunities, roll out data-backed sales and marketing strategies, boost brand visibility, deepen customer engagement and extend the company’s footprint across existing and new markets.

    As the department head, the incoming manager will oversee all daily operations of the combined sales and marketing teams, with a focus on meeting and exceeding pre-set performance and operational targets. Key responsibilities include continuous market, competitor and industry trend monitoring to align brand strategies with evolving consumer demands, managing all external and internal corporate communications to ensure consistent, on-brand messaging across all channels, and nurturing long-term media relationships through press release distribution, interview coordination and promotion of company-led initiatives.

    Beyond core communications, the role requires oversight of all marketing collateral, campaign development and digital content creation to ensure alignment with overall brand guidelines and strategic communication plans. The manager will also be responsible for developing, implementing and refining formal sales and marketing frameworks and policies, conducting regular reviews of the department’s annual budget, and managing product distribution networks by setting clear sales targets and scheduling workflows for team members.

    Additional duties include ongoing sales performance tracking, demand forecasting, iterative adjustment of sales and advertising strategies, regular evaluation of marketing tactic effectiveness to optimize conversion, and systematic market research to identify emerging trends, analyze consumer needs and uncover new growth opportunities. The role also calls for compiling and analyzing market data to refine promotional plans that drive both profitability and brand recognition, building and leveraging strategic industry partnerships to create added value for the business, and nurturing customer relationships through regular in-person engagement to understand needs and identify new business opportunities.

    The successful candidate will also be tasked with expanding the company’s customer database, exploring new export market opportunities in collaboration with the General Manager, overseeing the planning and execution of new product launch campaigns and corporate events, upholding consistent brand standards across all marketing, communication and advertising assets, collaborating closely with production and other cross-functional departments to ensure cohesive operational strategies and high customer satisfaction, supporting the General Manager in developing the annual sales budget, and preparing monthly department performance reports for senior leadership.

    People leadership is also a core requirement of the role: the incoming manager will be expected to lead through hands-on engagement, motivate team members, deliver ongoing training and professional development to upskill the sales and marketing teams, conduct regular performance reviews for all department staff, and adhere to all company policies covering workplace safety, good manufacturing practices (GMP) and food safety management system requirements. The role also requires flexibility to take on any additional relevant duties assigned by senior management.

    To be considered for the position, candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing or a related field. Required knowledge includes deep expertise in core sales and marketing principles, proficiency in web-based marketing and social media strategy, hands-on experience with multiple digital marketing tactics, and competency in sales forecasting, data analysis and professional report writing. Desired skills include advanced computer literacy, strong project management capabilities, the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects while adhering to tight deadlines, sharp analytical, organizational and creative thinking skills, exceptional written, verbal and presentation communication skills, proven leadership, motivation and sales abilities, strong decision-making competency, excellent interpersonal and customer service skills, and robust time management and strategic planning capabilities.

    Candidates are required to have a minimum of five years of professional experience in sales or marketing, at least three years of experience in a formal managerial position, and prior experience leading sales or marketing teams.

    The role comes with specific physical demands: candidates must be willing to work extended hours, with occasional work required on weekends and public holidays to meet deadlines or attend company events. The role involves regular travel across the company’s manufacturing facility to monitor project progress, including access to production areas that require mandatory personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety goggles, gloves, safety boots and respirators for specific zones, so candidates must be able to wear required PPE comfortably to perform job functions safely.

    Interested applicants are required to submit a complete application package including a cover letter, curriculum vitae (in either Word or PDF format), and contact details for three professional business references, preferably from past employers. All applications must be submitted via email to [email protected] with the subject line “Sales and Marketing”. The closing deadline for applications is 23 September 2026, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for subsequent interview stages. This recruitment process is being managed exclusively by J’s HR Consultancy.

    This posting was published via NOW Grenada, which notes that it is not responsible for the content, opinions or statements included in contributor-provided recruitment listings. Users can report abusive content via the platform’s official reporting channel.

  • ‘No more welfare gaps during reviews’

    ‘No more welfare gaps during reviews’

    Barbados’ Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs has rolled out two key changes to the island nation’s social safety net programs, aimed at eliminating longstanding gaps in support for vulnerable citizens while cracking down on exploitation of at-risk groups. In a press briefing held Friday, Minister Adrian Forde confirmed the most impactful reform: beneficiaries of Social Empowerment Agency programs will no longer have their financial payments or essential services halted while their eligibility is under periodic review.\n\nFor years, periodic eligibility reassessments, a core part of the ministry’s mission to help recipients move from dependence on state support to self-sufficiency, came with a costly flaw. When reviews were initiated, recipients were removed from the support system entirely until their cases were finalized, leaving many without critical assistance for weeks or months. Forde acknowledged this past failure, noting that the new policy will run eligibility reviews in parallel with uninterrupted service delivery, closing the gap that left vulnerable Barbadians unsupported.\n\n”Our entire mission is rooted in lifting people out of vulnerability and dependency, and guiding them toward long-term independence,” Forde explained during the conference. “We want all Barbadians to be able to earn their own living and care for themselves, that is the core ethos of this ministry. That goal should never require cutting off support mid-review and leaving people in crisis while we update their files.”\n\nForde added that IT teams and technical experts have completed all necessary upgrades to the ministry’s case management system to enable parallel processing, and confirmed the new policy is already active. “This problem is a thing of the past,” he said. “Our team has given me full assurance that the system is ready to operate this way, so no one will lose access to support unnecessarily going forward.”\n\nAlongside the policy change on eligibility reviews, Forde used the briefing to announce the ongoing transition from paper cheque payments to direct electronic transfers for all program beneficiaries, a shift that will streamline administrative processes and reduce delays in accessing funds.\n\nBeyond administrative reforms, the minister issued a sharp warning to individuals seeking to exploit vulnerable groups including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities in Barbados. Urging those with malicious intentions to end their abuse, Forde echoed a firm stance from the Prime Minister: exploitation of vulnerable citizens will not be tolerated in the country. He also closed the briefing by calling on all Barbadian residents to join the government in protecting at-risk community members, emphasizing that the state cannot address exploitation and vulnerability on its own, and collective community vigilance is essential.

  • Dominica confirms receiving five Colombian deportees from US

    Dominica confirms receiving five Colombian deportees from US

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — In a recent public statement addressing growing regional scrutiny over immigration cooperation between Caribbean nations and the United States, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica has officially confirmed that the country recently accepted five Colombian nationals deported from the U.S. — all of whom have already completed their transfer back to Colombia.

    The disclosure came on September 9, amid ongoing questions across the Caribbean about bilateral agreements between regional governments and Washington D.C. to temporarily host deportees who are not citizens of the receiving nations. Skerrit outlined to reporters that the process began when U.S. authorities shared an initial list of prospective deportees with Dominica. After reviewing the documentation and requesting additional background information, the Dominica government declined to accept any individuals from this first round of names.

    “They did not accept those names, and they subsequently sent us a second list of people to choose from,” Skerrit explained. From this revised roster, Dominica approved five Colombian citizens for temporary entry. All five have since departed Dominica for their home country, a process Skerrit described as completed in very short order. “So there were five Colombians who came in, and in quick time they left Dominica, and they went to Colombia. It was very fast, and so at present we have no third-country nationals in Dominica,” the prime minister added.

    To manage the logistics of the temporary transfer, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was contracted to coordinate the process on behalf of the Dominica government, Skerrit confirmed. All costs related to housing, food and care for the deportees during their stay were fully covered by funding from the U.S. government. The five individuals were accommodated at a local hotel for the duration of their brief stay, with all basic needs met during that time.

    Contrary to assumptions that this was a one-off arrangement, Skerrit clarified that the transfer falls under a standing agreement between Dominica and the U.S., which anticipates the arrival of between five and eight third-country deportees each calendar quarter. The prime minister emphasized that his administration has adopted a strict, cautious approach to vetting all prospective deportees, placing particular priority on verifying full background information before approving any transfers.

    In the case of the five Colombians, Skerrit confirmed that none of the individuals had any prior criminal records. He framed their situation as a common consequence of irregular migration, noting that the men had traveled to the U.S. seeking improved economic opportunities before they encountered immigration enforcement and removal proceedings. “I guess we’re just people trying to make a better living in the United States, and they found themselves in difficulties and had to be sent out, but none of them had any criminal records,” Skerrit said.

    The agreement between Dominica and the U.S. comes amid a broader push by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to ramp up enforcement of American immigration laws and accelerate the removal of individuals residing in the country without legal authorization. Beyond direct deportations back to an individual’s country of origin, the U.S. has negotiated agreements with multiple third-party nations, including several Caribbean states, to facilitate temporary accommodation for deportees who cannot be immediately transferred to their home countries.

    Most of these regional agreements cap the number of deportees accepted at any given time and require that all individuals admitted have no serious criminal history, matching the framework that Skerrit outlined for Dominica’s arrangement. Despite these safeguards, the agreements have sparked public debate and concern across parts of the Caribbean, including in St. Kitts and Nevis, with critics questioning the potential impacts of accepting third-country nationals and the long-term commitments regional governments have made to the U.S. on immigration policy. For Dominica, however, Skerrit’s statement makes clear that all deportees admitted under the most recent transfer have already departed, leaving the island currently with no third-country nationals in temporary residence.

  • NEW MUSIC VIDEO for Cancer Prostate Awareness Month – Check Your Prostate Health

    NEW MUSIC VIDEO for Cancer Prostate Awareness Month – Check Your Prostate Health

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  • SEA moving 5 000 beneficiaries to direct deposits

    SEA moving 5 000 beneficiaries to direct deposits

    In a push to modernize social welfare delivery and address recent service disruptions, Barbados’ Social Empowerment Agency (SEA) will transition 5,000 National Assistance Grant beneficiaries from paper cheque disbursements to direct bank deposits, People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Minister Adrian Forde confirmed during a Friday press briefing.

    The policy shift comes in the wake of recent cheque-printing failures that left thousands of vulnerable recipients unable to access critical financial support on time. Forde emphasized that continuing to rely on outdated paper-based systems is no longer practical for a 21st-century social safety net, framing the transition as both the ethically correct and operationally appropriate step forward for the agency, which merged the island nation’s former standalone welfare and child care services.

    The rollout will unfold gradually over the coming months, with government officials stressing there is no rigid deadline to force beneficiaries to adapt. To streamline registration, SEA has developed a custom barcode system and digital registration portal. Starting next week, every affected client will receive mailed correspondence outlining the transition, alongside a pre-generated form to submit banking details. A QR code will also be included for tech-savvy recipients to complete registration online, while those who prefer hard copies can drop off filled forms at three designated SEA locations: Southern Plaza, Six Roads, and Benthams in St Lucy. On-site support will be available at all SEA branches for any recipients who need help filling out their forms.

    Forde clarified that the government will not rush the process, noting that officials are committed to partnering with recipients to deliver a seamless transition regardless of which banking institution they use. He also publicly encouraged beneficiaries to use BimPay, the Central Bank of Barbados’ national digital payment platform, to manage their funds. To address widespread concerns about data privacy, SEA Network Administrator Jerome Phillips confirmed that all beneficiary banking and personal information will be stored on an encrypted database, with all sensitive data hashed and sorted to block unauthorized access.

    The transition is currently limited exclusively to National Assistance Grant recipients, but SEA Director RoseAnn Richards noted that if the rollout proves successful, the direct deposit system could be expanded to the agency’s educational assistance program in the future. To support recipients who do not currently hold a bank account, Forde said SEA will partner with participating commercial banks and credit unions to help unbanked beneficiaries open accounts, with all administrative support provided by the ministry. Beneficiaries who feel uncertain or uncomfortable with digital banking are also invited to book one-on-one consultations at any SEA location to discuss their concerns.

    Forde set a voluntary target of completing the full transition by the end of December 2024, and added that the shift to direct deposits carries an unexpected social benefit: it will help reduce the long-standing social stigma attached to receiving public welfare assistance. Unlike paper cheques that clearly mark funds as welfare disbursements, direct deposits into personal bank accounts are private, meaning recipients do not have to disclose their benefit status to third parties when accessing their money.

    “We have created this process to meet people where they are,” Forde said. “There is no pressure to rush, and we are here to work through every barrier alongside beneficiaries to make this change work for everyone.”