Carib Scope

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  • Pringle Says Government Failed to Secure Better Terms in US Deportee Agreement

    Pringle Says Government Failed to Secure Better Terms in US Deportee Agreement

    A fierce political clash has erupted in Antigua and Barbuda over the Gaston Browne administration’s proposed third-country deportee agreement with the United States, with Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle launching sweeping criticism of the government’s diplomatic handling and lack of transparency around the deal.

    Speaking at a United Progressive Party (UPP) town hall focused on the government’s recently released White Paper on the arrangement, Pringle argued that the administration failed to secure any meaningful protections for Antigua and Barbuda before committing to accept deportees from third countries transferred via the United States. Far from showcasing the prime minister’s self-proclaimed diplomatic prowess, Pringle said the deal demonstrates mere compliance with U.S. demands rather than successful negotiation on behalf of the island nation.

    “Prime Minister Gaston Browne has repeatedly boasted about his diplomatic skills, but a close reading of the available documents makes clear that no real negotiation ever took place,” Pringle told attendees. “The U.S. is set to send these individuals to our country, and we are simply expected to accept them, with no safeguards in place for our nation.”

    Pringle pointed to a critical timeline laid out in the White Paper itself to back his claims: the Browne administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. before American officials even submitted draft operating procedures for the arrangement. Only after the MOU was finalized did the government draft counterproposals to the U.S. plan — yet neither the original signed MOU nor the government’s counterproposals have been released to the public or parliament.

    This lack of disclosure has forced lawmakers and citizens to debate only the government’s curated description of the deal, rather than the full, official text of the agreement itself, Pringle emphasized. He added that the government’s commitment to the arrangement was locked in long before any parliamentary debate was scheduled, undermining the purpose of public and legislative scrutiny.

    “The actual text of the MOU remains behind closed doors,” Pringle said. “Antiguans and Barbudans are not allowed to review the agreement themselves; we only get the version of events the government chooses to publish in the White Paper. That is not how transparent democracy works.”

    Pringle also noted that Browne has already confirmed the deportee transfers will move forward regardless of debate, saying “the prime minister admitted it is not a question of if they are coming — he confirmed they are already on their way.”

    The opposition leader extended his criticism beyond the deportee deal to question the Browne administration’s overall track record on international diplomacy, pointing to ongoing challenges that have harmed Antigua and Barbuda’s citizens. He noted that the country already faces U.S. visa restrictions, added to existing Canadian visa rules, and is at risk of losing visa-free travel access to the European Union — outcomes he says are evidence of the government’s failed diplomatic strategy.

    “Voters have been told for years about the prime minister’s great diplomatic skill, but we have yet to see that skill deliver results for our people,” Pringle said.

    He also hit out at the government’s ongoing refusal to share full details of the negotiations with the public, even as the arrangement carries profound social and economic implications for the small island nation. “This is an extraordinarily complex issue, and you cannot have an honest, open debate when all the critical information is hidden from the people who are affected by this deal,” he said.

    In response to the opposition’s criticism, the government has reaffirmed that parliament will hold a formal debate on the White Paper outlining the proposed deportee arrangement in the coming period.

  • Defoe rejects claims of political bias as government completes hand over of fishing boats

    Defoe rejects claims of political bias as government completes hand over of fishing boats

    # Dominica Government Completes $2M Fishing Vessel Replacement Program, Rejects Claims of Political Favoritism

    In a formal ceremony held in the coastal community of Scotts Head, Dominican government officials marked the completion of a landmark $2 million fisheries rehabilitation initiative, formally handing over the final batch of eight newly built fishing vessels to local fishermen. This delivery brings the total number of replacement vessels distributed through the program to 54, all constructed by local boat-building craftspeople as part of the government’s pledge to restore the island nation’s fishing sector.

    Addressing attendees at the event, Jullan Defoe — Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy — pushed back against widespread public speculation that political party affiliation influenced which fishermen received new vessels. Defoe stressed that every beneficiary selected for the program underwent a rigorous, transparent verification process to confirm their eligibility.

    “Every single one of the 54 individuals who have received replacement boats had their claims of lost or damaged vessels independently assessed, cross-checked, and verified,” Defoe explained. “Public speculation about political favoritism is unfounded — I can state clearly on this public platform that political affiliation played zero role in the selection process.”

    The minister outlined the core eligibility criteria that all applicants were required to meet: each beneficiary had to prove they were the registered owner of a vessel that was confirmed destroyed or lost, with physical evidence of the damage or loss reviewed by officials before approval. “These are not handouts to politically connected individuals,” Defoe emphasized. “These fishermen were already active, invested participants in our fishing industry, and this program simply helps them restore the livelihoods they lost.”

    Racquel Andrew, representative for the Soufriere Constituency, delivered remarks on behalf of Tourism Minister Denise Charles-Pemberton, acknowledging the inherent challenges of small-scale fishing in the Caribbean. “Fishing is far from an easy profession: some days bring abundant catches, other days leave you empty-handed, yet bills still need to be paid, and children still need to go to school,” Andrew noted. She added that the government’s vision extends far beyond simply distributing replacement vessels, focused instead on building a more robust, sustainable fishing industry overall.

    As part of this broader strategy, Andrew highlighted ongoing government projects that will enable local fishermen to produce value-added seafood products — including packaged fresh seafood, smoked fish, and fish dips — that can be sold at premium prices. This investment, she explained, is particularly critical as Dominica enters the annual Atlantic hurricane season, building greater economic resilience for coastal fishing communities.

    Andrew framed each new vessel as more than just equipment: it is a symbol of hope, opportunity, and the government’s commitment to the fishing community. “May these vessels bring you safe voyages, bountiful catches, and brighter futures for your families,” she said. “My hope is that one day, products marked ‘Made in Scotts Head, Dominica’ will be recognized across the Caribbean and beyond as a benchmark of quality, pride, and excellence.”

    Wynnona Joseph, Acting Chief Fisheries Officer, echoed these sentiments, framing the completion of the vessel distribution as a reflection of the government’s ongoing commitment to the fishing communities that sustain Dominica’s food security and coastal economies. “This ceremony is about far more than handing over boats,” Joseph said. “It represents a transformative investment in the future of our fisheries sector, and most importantly, an investment in the hard-working men and women whose dedication keeps this vital industry running.”

    Joseph noted that the new, purpose-built vessels will offer fishermen improved working conditions, greater operational efficiency, enhanced safety at sea, and expanded opportunities to boost productivity and incomes. The program also marks a key milestone in the government’s broader push to modernize Dominica’s fisheries sector and improve livelihoods across all of the island’s fishing communities.

    She urged beneficiaries to treat their new vessels as valuable long-term assets, encouraging responsible use, regular maintenance, sound financial planning, and continued reinvestment in their operations. Joseph also emphasized the non-negotiable importance of sea safety, reminding fishermen that safe return after every voyage must always be their top priority. “The sea provides our livelihood, but it demands our respect,” she said. “We urge all fishermen to conduct routine maintenance, carry proper safety equipment, check weather forecasts before every departure, and fully comply with all fisheries regulations.”

    Joseph reaffirmed the Dominican Fisheries Division’s ongoing commitment to supporting fishing communities across the island through targeted training, technical assistance, improved infrastructure, and expanded development opportunities. “We will continue working hand-in-hand with our fishermen to build a modern, resilient, and sustainable fisheries sector that delivers benefits for current and future generations of Dominicans,” she added.

  • Pringle Warns Antigua and Barbuda Lacks Capacity to Manage Third-Country Deportees

    Pringle Warns Antigua and Barbuda Lacks Capacity to Manage Third-Country Deportees

    The leader of Antigua and Barbuda’s main opposition bloc, Jamale Pringle, has raised urgent alarms over a proposed bilateral deportation agreement with the United States, arguing that the small Caribbean nation lacks both the foundational legal structure and institutional resources to responsibly manage third-country deportees transferred under the deal. Pringing made these criticisms during a public town hall meeting hosted by the United Progressive Party, where he centered his remarks on gaps explicitly acknowledged by the ruling government in its own policy White Paper for the arrangement.

    Pringle pointed out that Antigua and Barbuda currently has no independent, standalone Refugees Act, nor does it have dedicated legislation to address the legal status of stateless people or individuals who cannot be removed to another country. This is particularly concerning, he emphasized, because the government’s own White Paper acknowledges that transferred deportees could easily fall into one of these unregulated categories. Without a formal legal framework in place, people who cannot be repatriated to either their country of origin or the United States would be left in permanent legal limbo, with no domestic statutes to guide the government in determining their residency, rights, or long-term status.

    Beyond the legal gaps, Pringle stressed that the strain of absorbing deportees would extend far beyond immigration policy, placing additional unnecessary pressure on public services that are already operating at maximum capacity. Even if the government initially caps the number of transfers, he argued, accepting any deportees would trigger binding international legal obligations that the country’s current domestic legislation is not equipped to uphold.

    Pringle went on to note that the government’s White Paper itself confirms the country’s limitations: as a small island developing state, Antigua and Barbuda has limited population and infrastructure absorptive capacity, and its public services are already stretched thin by existing demand. The document, he said, explicitly warns that receiving third-country deportees carries tangible risks to domestic public order and social cohesion.

    “The government’s own paper tells us that accepting these people will create major challenges that we are not positioned to handle, because it could harm public order and our social fabric,” Pringle said during the meeting. “If all of these risks are already laid out on the table, why is the government still moving forward with this as an inevitability, rather than a choice that requires fixing these gaps first?”

    The opposition leader also outlined a series of unanswered practical questions about the proposal, including where transferred deportees would be housed, how administrative and legal processes for their status would be funded and operated, and what protocols would be put in place to address unforeseen issues that arise. He further argued that parliament is being blocked from conducting a full, transparent debate of the proposal because lawmakers have not been granted access to the full underlying Memorandum of Understanding and other core operational documents. Instead, he said, legislators are only able to review the government’s curated interpretation of the agreement, rather than the full binding text itself.

    For its part, the ruling government has confirmed that parliament will hold a formal debate on the White Paper outlining the proposed third-country deportation arrangement in the near future.

  • Recipients invited to pay for state lands as review nears completion

    Recipients invited to pay for state lands as review nears completion

    As an internal audit of pre-election state land allocations wraps up, a Caribbean government minister is calling on all individuals who received plots ahead of the 2025 general election to contact the national housing authority and formalize their land payments, clarifying that the review process is not designed to seize land from eligible, low-income claimants.

    Andrew John, who serves as the region’s Minister of Land Management as well as Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Informal Settlement Upgrading, told NBC Radio that the review was launched after his New Democratic Party administration won the election to scrutinize roughly 250 parcels of land distributed by the previous Unity Labour Party government just one to two months before polls opened. John emphasized that the audit is focused on rooting out irregularities to ensure fair access to state land, not taking property from people who were rightfully allocated land.

    During the initial review phase, investigators uncovered multiple significant inconsistencies in the last-minute allocation round. The most prominent issue was multiple allocations to a single individual, with some people holding as many as four plots – a direct violation of the government’s longstanding policy that allocates one housing plot per eligible person, prioritizing individuals experiencing housing insecurity. Additional problems include repeat beneficiaries who already hold government land, have not completed payments for their original plots, and still secured new allocations in the pre-election round. The review also found that many allocations went to individuals who already had stable adequate housing, while low-income households with critical housing needs remained on waitlists without land.

    John drew a clear line between legitimate recipients and those who benefited from irregular allocations, rejecting partisan claims that the review is an effort to take land from low-income and vulnerable communities. “This is not a witch hunt,” he stated. The core goal of the process, he explained, is to correct the excesses of the rushed pre-election distribution and put state land into the hands of people who actually need it, ending scenarios where a small number of people accumulate multiple plots while other eligible applicants – including the children of current landowners – cannot secure a single parcel for their own housing.

    With the review nearly complete, the government is moving into an individual case-by-case assessment phase, and John urged all pre-election allocation recipients to engage directly with the Housing and Land Development Corporation (HLDC) instead of relying on unsubstantiated rumors or partisan political commentary. Recipients are invited to meet one-on-one with HLDC officials to confirm their eligibility, and those who meet the requirements are encouraged to begin or resume payments on their allocated plots. For cases confirmed to involve multiple or irregular allocations, the government will make targeted adjustments or reallocations to restore equity.

    Addressing early threats of legal action from lawyers representing some allocation recipients, John noted that every land allocation is formalized by a written contract that clearly outlines payment terms. He added that successive governments have long applied lenient payment policies to support low-income and unemployed beneficiaries, routinely extending payment timelines far beyond the standard 12-month full payment requirement outlined in most contracts, which reflects the government’s commitment to balancing compassion with enforcement.

    John framed the current regularization process as a balanced reset that addresses the rushed, irregular distribution carried out by the previous administration. The broader objective of the effort is to open up fairer access to state land across all income groups and political affiliations, supporting the government’s expanding national housing program that positions the HLDC as a key player in delivering both public and private housing across the country.

  • Sir VC Bird and Dame Eugenia Charles Among Icons Replacing Queen on New EC Banknotes

    Sir VC Bird and Dame Eugenia Charles Among Icons Replacing Queen on New EC Banknotes

    In a landmark moment for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has launched a fully redesigned series of Eastern Caribbean (EC) banknotes that reframes regional currency around the people, native heritage, and collective achievements of the ECCU’s eight member states.

    ECCB Governor Timothy N.J. Antoine presented the new designs to the public during a special ceremony held at the InterContinental Dominica Cabrits Resort in the Commonwealth of Dominica, coinciding with the event to mark the change in chairmanship of the ECCB Monetary Council. The launch stands as a historic milestone in the decades-long evolution of EC currency, marking the first time the region’s banknotes will not carry the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

    In place of the former British monarch’s image, the new banknote series highlights celebrated national heroes and pioneering leaders from across the ECCU’s member nations, a choice designed to reflect the region’s unified shared identity, unique independent history, and transformative collective accomplishments. Each denomination features two influential figures that have shaped Eastern Caribbean life:
    – The $100 banknote honors Sir William Arthur Lewis, the Caribbean-born Nobel laureate in economic sciences, alongside The Right Honourable Sir John George Melvin Compton
    – The $50 denomination showcases The Honourable Sir K. Dwight Venner, who served as ECCB Governor from 1989 to 2015, paired with The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw
    – The $20 banknote features The Right Honourable Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Snr and The Honourable Dame Mary Eugenia Charles
    – The $10 banknote spotlights The Most Excellent William Henry Bramble and The Honourable James Ronald Webster
    – The $5 banknote pairs founding leader The Right Honourable Robert Milton Cato with Olympic champion Sir Kirani James, LLD (Hons)

    The shift to a locally focused banknote design followed formal approval from the ECCB Monetary Council at its 105th meeting held on July 21, 2023, when council members voted to replace Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait and directed the ECCB to lead a period of public outreach and consultation on the new concept. Those public consultations, carried out across all member states between July and December 2023, revealed overwhelming public support for the plan to feature national heroes and nation builders on the redesigned currency.

    ECCB officials frame the new banknote series as a meaningful step forward for the EC dollar that balances cultural reorientation with long-term stability. The redesign celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the eight ECCU members and enshrines the enduring legacy of the individuals who built modern Eastern Caribbean society. At the same time, the new series retains all of the advanced security features that have preserved the integrity and public trust that has long defined the EC dollar.

  • Blue Waters land deal sent to police

    Blue Waters land deal sent to police

    A high-stakes political and legal controversy is unfolding in Trinidad and Tobago after the national Cabinet revoked controversial land lease approvals for private company Blue Waters Products Ltd, with Attorney General John Jeremie, SC, referring the entire matter to national police for criminal investigation. A senior government official confirmed the developments to local outlet the Express this week, shedding light on years of questionable political maneuvering surrounding the 450-acre prime property at Orange Grove Estate.

    Blue Waters Products Ltd, a local water company, is owned by businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve. The couple was arrested at their Westmoorings residence on June 24, 2026, during an ongoing police probe into allegations of a conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Attorney General Jeremie, and other senior government officials, alongside alleged breaches of the country’s Emergency Powers Regulations.

    The land dispute traces back to 1995, when the property was first leased to global French spirits conglomerate Pernod Ricard. Blue Waters acquired Pernod Ricard’s local assets in 2007, and has held ongoing negotiations with every consecutive national government over formal renewal of the expiring leases ever since. Questions about irregularities in the approval process were first raised publicly by current Minister of Lands and Legal Affairs Saddam Hosein during the 2025 national budget debate in October 2025.

    Hosein told Parliament that the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration rushed through approval of the Blue Waters leases during its final Cabinet meeting on April 17, 2025, just 11 days before the April 28 general election. He detailed that on April 27, 2025—the night before election day—a former PNM general election candidate who worked in the then Office of the Attorney General sent a WhatsApp voice note instructing civil servants to move forward with processing the lease, even before official paperwork could be routed through the proper approval channels. Hosein noted the instruction came directly from then-Attorney General Camille Robinson-Regis.

    According to Hosein’s parliamentary testimony, internal irregularities plagued the lease approval process for years before the rushed final approval. Two separate commercial parcels, labeled C1 and C2, were up for lease: in 2019, the PNM Cabinet cut the lease price for C1 in half, while for C2, the approved premium of $50 million was reduced to an offered price of just $22.1 million. Public servants raised red flags over these discrepancies, and no formal lease documents were drafted between 2019 and 2022. Most notably, Hosein said the 2025 final approval relied on a property valuation conducted back in 2010, a decade and a half prior, which drastically undervalued the prime land in 2025 market conditions.

    “Why rush the approval the night before a general election?” Hosein asked Parliament. “They knew they were likely to lose power, and they pushed this through before leaving office.” At the time, Hosein publicly called on Attorney General Jeremie to launch a formal review, warning that irregular dealings over public land could not be hidden from public scrutiny.

    In June 2026, during a parliamentary debate on extending the national state of emergency, Jeremie confirmed the matter had been escalated to the Commissioner of Police, framing the irregular approvals as part of a broader pattern of unchecked corrupt activity under the previous administration. “This is not simply white-collar crime,” Jeremie told Parliament. “The previous government turned a blind eye to blue-collar crime and the expanding grip of special interest groups on our public institutions.”

    In a sworn affidavit filed on July 3, 2026, Hadeed has pushed back against the government’s actions, arguing the land lease dispute is politically motivated retaliation. Hadeed claims that after acquiring the property in 2007, Blue Waters remained in occupation and invested millions of dollars in developing the land based on repeated assurances from successive governments that formal leases would be granted. He notes that three separate previous Cabinets—including prior administrations led by the current ruling party—already approved offers and amendments to the leases between 2019 and 2022. Hadeed maintains that binding legal agreements already exist between Blue Waters and the State, supported by written offer letters from the Commissioner of State Lands, formal acceptance of the terms, and full payment of all required premiums and processing fees.

    Most notably, Hadeed argues the government’s decision to revoke the leases came just weeks after he publicly criticized the administration over tax policy and delayed VAT refunds at a public Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association event on March 25, 2026. Hadeed told attendees that the government takes a large share of business earnings without contributing proportional investment, and called on ministers to improve engagement with the private sector—comments that received widespread media coverage across the country. Less than two months later, on May 5, 2026, Minister Hosein formally notified Hadeed that Cabinet had voted to rescind all previous lease approvals for Blue Waters and its associated holding companies, OG C1 Property Ltd and OG C2 Property Ltd. That same day, Attorney General Jeremie notified Hadeed that all matters related to the lease approvals had been referred to police for criminal investigation.

    Hadeed moved quickly to mount a legal defense, retaining four senior Trinidadian attorneys including Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj to challenge the government’s actions. His legal team sent a formal pre-action protocol letter to the Attorney General on June 22, 2026—just two days before Hadeed and his wife were arrested in connection with the alleged assassination conspiracy. The letter asserts that Blue Waters and its owners acted in good faith at all times, in full compliance with national law, and hold binding, enforceable lease agreements with the State.

  • President wacht reactie Traditioneel Gezag af over wet ter bescherming woon- en leefgebieden

    President wacht reactie Traditioneel Gezag af over wet ter bescherming woon- en leefgebieden

    On July 10, 2026, Suriname President Jennifer Simons announced that the planned proclamation of the groundbreaking **Law on the Protection of Residential and Living Areas** will be delayed, after a high-level consultation with representatives of Indigenous and Tribal communities held at the President’s Cabinet Thursday. The temporary legislation, designed to block unvetted third-party rights grants on traditional Indigenous and Tribal lands, will not move forward until traditional governing authorities have completed their full review of the bill’s provisions, goals, and implementation mechanisms.

    Presidential advisor Edgar Dikan, who also chairs the working group on Decentralization and Land Rights, confirmed that while the Surinamese government remains fully committed to enacting the legislation, President Simons has formally approved the request from Traditional Authority leaders for extended review time. Dikan shared this update via Suriname’s Communication Service, noting that no official proclamation date has been set as of yet.

    President Simons emphasized that Thursday’s talks were focused on exchanging perspectives on land protection priorities and the government’s proposed regulatory adjustments. “We are monitoring developments across Suriname, and we do have some concerns about what is taking place in these traditional territories,” Simons said during the consultation. “We have discussed this issue with Indigenous and Tribal leaders before, and now we have once again asked them to examine the full text of the bill. Technical experts will continue engaging with community representatives, and I will await their final feedback before moving forward.”

    The president clarified that the draft law is not intended to resolve the broader, long-standing issue of formal Indigenous and Tribal land rights recognition nationwide. Instead, it is structured as an interim protective measure to prevent harmful government actions while a permanent, comprehensive land rights framework is negotiated and finalized. This timeline aligns with Suriname’s international obligations, including requirements to implement rulings from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Indigenous territorial protection.

    Once enacted, the legislation will immediately end the practice of issuing new mining concessions — most notably for gold mining — within protected residential and living areas. All future concession applicants will be required to submit geocoordinate documentation proving their proposed site falls outside the boundaries of protected traditional territories. Government officials note that this requirement will increase transparency in the concession application process and eliminate the current loophole that allows unvetted rights grants to be approved without territorial checks.

    The new rules will primarily reshape processes overseen by the Ministry of Land Policy and Forest Management and the Ministry of Natural Resources, the two government bodies currently authorized to issue third-party land rights. Under the new framework, all applications will be made public, with formal documentation required for all proposed land uses within the country.

    Concurrent discussions between the government and Traditional Authority representatives are also focused on clarifying the formal role and legal powers of traditional Indigenous and Tribal governing bodies. With support from the President’s Cabinet and the Ministry of Regional Development, existing traditional governance procedures will be formally codified to establish clear criteria for legitimate traditional leaders, including captains and other community representatives. The government frames this codification work as a critical incremental step toward the full legal recognition of collective land rights for Indigenous and Tribal peoples across Suriname.

  • Prime Minister Dr. Drew proudly unveils new EC$50 banknote featuring The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw

    Prime Minister Dr. Drew proudly unveils new EC$50 banknote featuring The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw

    In a landmark moment for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew has officially unveiled a redesigned Eastern Caribbean (EC) $50 banknote, the first in a new series that replaces imagery of the late Queen Elizabeth II with portraits of the region’s most beloved national heroes and foundational leaders.

    The historic unveiling took place Thursday, July 9, on the margins of the ECCB Monetary Council’s chairmanship transition ceremony held at the InterContinental Dominica Cabrits Resort in the Commonwealth of Dominica. The new EC$50 note carries dual portraits: one of The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, Saint Kitts and Nevis’ revered first Premier and a towering advocate for Caribbean regional integration, and a second of the late Honourable Sir K. Dwight Venner, former Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).

    This currency redesign marks a deliberate break from the region’s colonial monetary legacy, representing a major step toward centering Caribbean identity on its official circulating currency. For decades, EC banknotes bore the likeness of British monarchs, but a 2023 decision by the ECCB Monetary Council upended that tradition. During the body’s 105th meeting held July 21, 2023, members voted unanimously to replace the late Queen’s image with depictions of homegrown leaders from each of the ECCU’s eight member states, a move that followed months of public consultation across the bloc.

    Prime Minister Drew, who served on the Monetary Council when the historic decision was approved, spoke of the deep significance of the moment. He called the new banknote a fitting tribute to Bradshaw, who dedicated his entire decades-long public service career to advancing the social and economic welfare of the people of Saint Kitts and Nevis while tirelessly championing the cause of regional Caribbean unity. “This redesign does more than update our currency,” Drew noted in remarks following the unveiling. “It reflects the shared identity, ancestral heritage, and collective aspirations of all people who call the Eastern Caribbean home.”

    The new currency series is set to roll out across the eight ECCU member states in the coming months, with each denomination honoring a distinct nation-builder from across the bloc, cementing the region’s shift toward a fully decolonized, identity-affirming monetary system.

  • PM wants SVG where youth don’t feel compelled to migrate

    PM wants SVG where youth don’t feel compelled to migrate

    Shortly after taking office last November, the administration led by St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Godwin Friday has laid out a clear, youth-centered policy core: to give young people the tools and opportunities to build prosperous careers and fulfilling lives without leaving their home country. The prime minister announced this commitment during a keynote address at the recent St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) graduation, where 961 graduating students crossed the stage to receive their certificates and diplomas.

    Friday acknowledged that encouragement for young graduates, while meaningful, only goes so far. He understands that uncertainty about future prospects lingers behind every graduate’s celebration. “Alongside that excitement, there is often another question: ‘Will there be opportunities for me?’ That is a fair question,” he told the gathered graduates and attendees in the capital city of Kingstown. “My government understands that young people want more than encouragement, that you want opportunity. That is why job creation remains one of the highest priorities of our government.”

    Central to the government’s agenda is a comprehensive restructuring of the national economy to better absorb the growing pool of skilled young talent exiting post-secondary institutions like SVGCC. Unlike traditional economic models that have pushed many young Vincentians to seek opportunities abroad through migration, Friday’s framework is designed to let young people build their futures locally. “We are working to create an economy that rewards initiative, encourages innovation, attracts investments, and creates opportunities for our people,” he explained.

    To turn this vision into action, the prime minister outlined three interconnected priority pillars. First, the administration will roll out targeted support for emerging entrepreneurs, expand accessible and affordable skills training, and improve access to capital through new public financing mechanisms, including a planned national development bank. These measures are intended not just to create existing jobs for graduates, but to empower the next generation to become job creators themselves, growing the local private sector from within.

    Second, the government is prioritizing the development of a forward-looking “new economy” centered on the untapped economic value of creativity, innovation, and sports. Friday noted that the modern global economy is fundamentally unrecognizable from that of previous generations: digital transformation has reshaped how people work, connect, and do business, creating entirely new career pathways that did not exist a decade ago. In this new landscape, narrow traditional definitions of success no longer apply, he argued. Creativity, original ideas, and cultural production all hold tangible economic value that the government is ready to support.

    Key creative sectors highlighted by the prime minister range from music, film, fashion, writing, and visual arts to digital content creation, social media influence, and DJing. Alongside creative industries, expanding professional and commercial opportunities in sports is also a top strategic priority. Friday even predicted that the country’s next generation of global ambassadors is far more likely to emerge from these dynamic cultural and digital spaces than from traditional elite career tracks.

    In closing remarks to graduates, Friday offered guidance for navigating this shifting economic landscape. He urged young people to be willing to step away from conventional career paths to seize emerging opportunities, noting that new openings rarely come with clear signposts. Success in the modern economy, he emphasized, requires an alert mind, adaptive mindset, and careful discernment to spot and act on chance.

    The prime minister also stressed that graduation marks the start, not the end, of a graduate’s educational journey. Lifelong learning, he argued, is non-negotiable for maintaining long-term employability in a fast-changing economy. “The ability to adapt, to continue learning and to embrace new ideas will be among your greatest strengths and your challenges,” Friday said. “That is why education must be lifelong, must be continued throughout, and that you should take every opportunity possible to continue to learn and to develop yourself.”

  • Column: Welk geheim mocht de samenleving niet weten?

    Column: Welk geheim mocht de samenleving niet weten?

    A fierce debate over democratic accountability has erupted in Suriname after the country’s National Assembly opted to hold closed-door discussions on three high-stakes public issues that have gripped national attention: the disappearance of hundreds of kilograms of mercury, stolen gold from a state-owned enterprise, and mass fish deaths in the Saramacca region. In an opinion column published on July 10, journalist Wilfred Leeuwin argues that none of these matters qualify as state security threats—instead, they directly impact public trust in the national police, judiciary, and incumbent government. These are not sensitive national security issues, Leeuwin emphasizes; they are straightforward cases of theft and criminal activity. In a fully functional democratic rule of law, any ordinary citizen accused of such crimes would face immediate, public prosecution. The core question, then, is this: who protects the public interest when the individuals potentially implicated are not ordinary citizens, and the issues at hand have no connection to national security? This incident, Leeuwin argues, offers a stark reminder that secrecy itself, not openness, poses the greatest risk to Suriname’s young democracy. The tool of a closed general committee meeting is intended only for exceptional circumstances: when core national security is at stake, or when critical military, diplomatic, or other major security interests are on the line, closed deliberation may be necessary. But the issues debated during Thursday’s general committee session are matters of urgent public interest, and as such, they demanded full open debate. Ahead of the vote to convene the closed committee, multiple parliamentarians put forward a seemingly reasonable compromise: hold an initial closed session, then vote mid-meeting to move any matters not related to national security to an open public debate. But this proposal was little more than a hollow gesture, Leeuwin contends. If it was already clear from the outset that the topics up for discussion have no link to national security, what justification could there be for holding an initial closed session at all? One notable standoff came from NDP parliamentarian Ebu Jones, who took a principled stance that defied faction pressure. From the beginning, Jones argued that a closed general committee was entirely unnecessary for these issues. Despite pushback from large portions of his own party, Jones formally recorded his opposition to the closed session. This was not a rejection of closed meetings in all circumstances; Jones held that these specific issues directly impact the national interest of all Surinamese citizens. When the meeting confirmed that no information shared posed any actual threat to national security, Jones followed through on his earlier promise and walked out of the closed session. His action was not a partisan maneuver, Leeuwin stresses—it was a defense of core democratic principle, a stand made all the more valuable by its consistency. Currently, an investigation into the missing mercury and other potential criminal offenses is being led by the country’s prosecutor general, a process that falls outside the political remit of the Minister of Justice and Police. By law, the minister cannot comment on the details of ongoing criminal investigations, even to members of parliament. This raises another pressing set of questions: what exactly did the minister discuss behind closed doors, who was the information intended for, and what purpose does it serve for individual parliamentarians to receive inaccessible details about the case? The only type of information the minister could reasonably share relates to policy: how the government plans to tackle large-scale theft, implement the anti-corruption law, address the damage to public trust in state institutions (particularly the police), and work to repair that trust. If that is the case, what policy component is so sensitive that the public has a right to be kept in the dark? Why must policy, for which the minister bears direct political accountability, be debated behind locked doors? Far from resolving public concerns, the closed session has only amplified unanswered questions. This lack of openness has already fueled rampant speculation and misinformation across Suriname’s social media, giving credence to the old adage that where there is smoke, there is fire. For many citizens, the immediate takeaway is that influential politically connected individuals implicated in the scandals are being protected by the state. What makes this episode particularly troubling is that it unfolds at a moment when Suriname has been publicly committing itself to transparency, good governance, and new freedom of information legislation. For decades, civil society organizations, journalists, legal experts, and other advocates have pushed for a comprehensive Freedom of Information Act, which would enshrine the principle that all government information belongs to the public. The core norm of a modern freedom of information regime is simple: government information should be open by default, only classified temporarily when there are overwhelming compelling reasons to do so. What happened this week directly reverses this principle. Instead of starting from a presumption of openness, the National Assembly began from a place of total secrecy, only considering what information the public might be allowed to see after the fact. This is not just an incorrect ordering of procedures; it is a style of governance that many Surinamese believed they had left behind in the past. After years of public debate about transparency, repeated promises of open governance, and sustained advocacy from civil society, one unavoidable conclusion stands out: very little has actually changed. If anything, the old closed-door system of governance is not eroding—it is entrenching itself more deeply. This is the greatest disappointment to come out of the general committee episode, Leeuwin argues. It is not what was said behind closed doors that damages democracy—it is the reaffirmation of a dangerous norm: that transparency is a privilege granted by the state, rather than a fundamental right of every citizen in a democratic rule of law.