Carib Scope

分类： politics

  • $200 JOKE

    $200 JOKE

    A high-profile standoff between Jamaica’s parliamentary oversight body and a top public hospital chief has thrust long-dormant flaws in the island’s contempt of Parliament legislation into the national spotlight, after University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) Chief Executive Officer Fitzgerald Mitchell failed to appear for a third summoned meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday.

    Mitchell’s repeated absence is tied to a months-long PAC probe into a damning Auditor General’s report that uncovered widespread systemic failures at the prominent public medical facility, including broken procurement protocols, gaping governance gaps, and inadequate record-keeping practices. Lawmakers had already extended multiple informal invitations to Mitchell to answer questions about the irregularities outlined in the audit before issuing a formal summons, making his unexcused no-show on Tuesday an unprecedented break from protocol. To date, neither Mitchell nor his legal representation have submitted any correspondence to the committee explaining his failure to attend.

    “It is very concerning that a public official who is in a position of authority – having been invited, first [to have] not responded, [then] having been summoned, [there was] no response either from himself nor his lawyer — is in contempt and in breach of the Parliament,” PAC Chairman Julian Robinson told members during Tuesday’s sitting at Gordon House. Robinson added that the committee had exhausted all reasonable alternative avenues to secure Mitchell’s voluntary attendance prior to moving forward with a formal summons, making his conduct particularly alarming.

    Following Mitchell’s latest absence, the PAC voted unanimously to advance the matter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, officially requesting that the case proceed under the existing Senate and House of Representatives Powers and Privileges Act. During the meeting, Senior Legislative Counsel Tiffany Stewart walked committee members through the current legal framework for addressing contempt of Parliament, and her confirmation of the law’s outdated penalties immediately sparked a wider debate about the urgent need for legislative reform.

    Stewart confirmed that all procedural requirements for serving the summons to Mitchell had been fully met, and that his failure to comply legally qualifies as contempt of Parliament. But she also emphasized that the current legislation is woefully outdated, calling for a full comprehensive review led by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the Law Reform Department, and the Office of the Parliamentary Council. Stewart specifically recommended amending Section 18 of the Act to strengthen penalties and expand available sanctions, a change she framed as critical to upholding public accountability for Jamaican public officials.

    Under the 70-plus-year-old existing law, the maximum penalty for a conviction of contempt of Parliament is a fine of just $200, with a maximum 12-month prison sentence as an alternative for those who fail to pay the fine. For Robinson, this weak penalty scheme exposes a fundamental vulnerability in Parliament’s ability to compel compliance from public officials, threatening to erode the legislative body’s constitutionally mandated oversight role.

    “It can’t be that a committee designed to ensure accountability, transparency, and good governance will have its work subverted simply because a public officer refuses to appear before it,” Robinson said. He noted that Mitchell’s refusal to cooperate stands in stark contrast to the full cooperation the committee has received from other senior UHWI officials tied to the audit, including former CEO Kevin Allen and former board Chairman Wayne Chai Chong, both of whom appeared voluntarily to answer questions about the audit’s findings.

    Opposition MP for Manchester Southern Peter Bunting described Mitchell’s actions as a deliberate affront to parliamentary authority, arguing that the committee must pursue contempt proceedings even with the current limited penalties available. “This behaviour of the CEO is outrageous and unacceptable. It is contemptuous of Parliament’s role in giving oversight to the executive and it cannot be allowed to stand or we’re just wasting our time coming here to attend PAC and other standing committee meetings,” Bunting said. While he acknowledged that a $200 fine amounts to little more than a minor nuisance for a senior public official, Bunting argued that securing a contempt conviction remains a critical step to register the committee’s formal disapproval and set a precedent for future cases.

    “The litany of mismanagement that we have read in the Auditor General’s report and for this level of contempt to be offered to this committee is just plain unacceptable. While the $200 may be a nuisance… I still think we should go through with the conviction for contempt. At least let that be on the person’s record if that is the only thing to signal to the public that this committee is completely dissatisfied and we find this behaviour absolutely unacceptable,” Bunting added.

    Veteran PAC member Lothan Cousins, the Opposition MP for Clarendon South Western, echoed Bunting’s criticism, noting that Mitchell’s repeated unexcused absences are unprecedented during his years of service on the committee. “We’re speaking about a CEO serving the hospital and receiving compensation. We are dealing with serious matters that need interrogation and it’s not only about criticism but we are here to assist as well, as you have seen over the last couple of weeks… This is most unacceptable and I sincerely hope that the minister is looking on, the board is taking note and that serious disciplinary action must be taken as it relates to this particular individual and the office that he holds,” Cousins said.

    Responding to the committee’s frustration, Errol Greene, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Wellness, noted that the formal authority to discipline Mitchell rests with the UHWI board of directors. He nonetheless pledged to formally escalate the committee’s concerns to the board immediately following the meeting. “What I can assure you is that I will be writing as soon as I leave here to the chairman of the board to express the concerns and the angst of the PAC, and to ask that due diligence be done and whatever disciplinary actions can be taken by the board of directors of the University Hospital of the West Indies after they do their due diligence that that be done. That’s what I’m committing to do,” Greene said.

    The PAC’s ongoing investigation was launched in response to the Auditor General’s 2024 report, which detailed significant operational and governance failures at UHWI, one of Jamaica’s leading public teaching hospitals. Over the past several weeks, the committee has interviewed a string of current and former senior UHWI officials, aiming to pinpoint the root causes of the irregularities and assign accountability for the documented mismanagement.

  • Women United blasts lack of funds for violence commission

    Women United blasts lack of funds for violence commission

    Bahamian women’s advocacy group Women United has publicly condemned the Davis administration for undermining the landmark Protection Against Violence Act it ushered into law, after revealing the newly seated Protection Against Violence Commission was completely left out of the 2026/27 national budget’s dedicated allocations.

    The organization’s president, Lisa Bostwick-Dean, confirmed that after a thorough review of the Draft Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure released by the Ministry of Finance, no line item explicitly earmarks funding for the commission – the central governing body created to bring the 2023 anti-violence law into active practice.

    When the Protection Against Violence Bill went through parliamentary debate in 2023, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis positioned the commission as a critical coordinating body: it would unify national support services for violence survivors, oversee the rollout of a national strategic anti-violence plan, and hold direct control over funding for community-focused intervention programs. The law ultimately passed the national legislature in July 2023 and secured Senate approval a month later, but the body’s rollout faced significant delays.

    It was only in early 2026 that the commission was formally sworn in, with its appointment taking effect on February 1 and a public announcement made on March 2 – nearly three full years after the legislation was officially gazetted. Commission chair Marisa Mason-Smith told local outlet The Tribune shortly after the announcement that she aimed to have the body fully operational by May. To date, however, the commission still lacks a permanent headquarters, operating temporarily out of space donated by the Ministry of Social Services.

    For Women United, the omission of dedicated funding in the first budget released after the commission’s appointment casts serious doubt over the government’s stated commitment to addressing systemic violence. Bostwick-Dean pointed to the suspicious sequence of delays: the law passed in 2023, the core implementing body was seated only on the eve of a national election, and immediately after the vote, it was left without any financial resourcing in the governing administration’s budget.

    “This sequence of events suggests a troubling lack of genuine commitment to using the tools in the Act to assist in the fight against violence,” Bostwick-Dean said.

    Under the terms of the original law, the commission is tasked with leading a whole-of-nation response to violence by bridging gaps between government ministries, non-profit support service providers, and grassroots community organizations. The legislation was framed as a transformative step to expand protections for violence survivors, build a cohesive framework for support services ranging from emergency shelter to survivor advocacy, implement national data collection and monitoring, and deliver coordinated care to those affected.

    Women United warns that without a dedicated budget allocation, Bostwick-Dean’s ability to execute the commission’s legally mandated responsibilities will be severely limited. The body is required to develop a binding national strategic anti-violence plan, coordinate cross-sector support for survivors, verify that sufficient emergency shelter capacity exists across the country, and approve grant funding for local community violence intervention projects. The Protection Against Violence Act explicitly states that the commission’s operating funds must come from parliamentary appropriations, meaning it cannot legally or practically function without official budgetary allocation.

    “A Commission without funding is a Commission without capacity,” Bostwick-Dean emphasized. “It cannot appoint advocates for victims. It cannot liaise with shelters. It cannot support service providers. It cannot certify funding for community projects. It is, in effect, a shell.”

    The advocacy group stressed that violence against women and children remains an ongoing, unresolved public crisis in The Bahamas, and the commission is the only body mandated to deliver the multi-disciplinary, coordinated response the 2023 Act promised. Women United is calling on the Davis administration to immediately correct the oversight: either identify the existing allocation for the commission in the current budget draft, or reallocate funds from other government line items to ensure the body has the resources it needs to operate.

    Bostwick-Dean recalled that the Davis administration’s own 2026 Blueprint for Progress manifesto explicitly pledged to “fully resource and operationalise the Protection Against Violence Act.” “That promise must be kept,” she said. “The women and children of The Bahamas deserve nothing less.”

  • SPARK phase one completion date pushed back to March 2027, says Morgan

    SPARK phase one completion date pushed back to March 2027, says Morgan

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s flagship national road infrastructure initiative has announced a three-month extension to the completion timeline for its first construction phase, pushing the target finish date from late 2026 to the end of March 2027. The updated timeline was delivered to lawmakers this Wednesday by Robert Morgan, Jamaica’s Minister with oversight for public works, during his scheduled address to the Sectoral Debate in the country’s House of Representatives.

    Launched on December 31, 2024, the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network Programme, widely shortened to SPARK, originally set a completion deadline of December 30, 2026 for its opening phase. Morgan told parliament that the adjustment to the timeline stems from current on-the-ground implementation progress and scheduling constraints. “Based on current scheduling and implementation realities, the anticipated completion date has been revised to March 31, 2027,” Morgan stated during the address.

    The minister pushed back against pressure to rush construction, emphasizing that prioritizing speed over long-term structural quality would undermine the project’s public value. “I know that people want the work done quickly. So do I. But speed without quality is not success. A road rushed today and failed tomorrow is not value for money. The commitment of this Government is not simply to move fast. It is to move properly, transparently, and at a standard that protects the public investment,” he explained.

    Morgan also issued a public appeal for patience from Jamaican communities already impacted by ongoing construction work. He acknowledged that road building brings significant daily disruptions to local residents, including increased dust, forced detours, uneven driving surfaces, and extended commute times, and said he does not dismiss these challenges. “To those in communities where SPARK work has already begun, I ask for your patience. I know that construction is disruptive. Dust, detours, uneven surfaces, and delays are real inconveniences, and I do not minimise them,” he said.

    Despite the delay, Morgan reassured residents that the finished project will deliver long-term benefits that justify the temporary disruptions and extended timeline. When all work for the first phase is wrapped up, local communities will receive durable, high-quality roads engineered to last for years, rather than temporary patches that only hold up through a single rainy season, he noted. “But the work is coming to completion, and when it is done, you will have a road built to last; not patched to survive another rainy season, but built to endure,” he added.

    For residents across Jamaica who have been waiting for road upgrades in their own local areas that have not yet broken ground, Morgan offered a clear promise of progress: “we are coming to you.”

  • Golding calls for removal of Wheatley from Cabinet amid IC report

    Golding calls for removal of Wheatley from Cabinet amid IC report

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s main opposition has thrown the country’s governing administration into political turmoil, calling for the immediate ousting of a sitting cabinet minister after the national Integrity Commission tabled an investigative report recommending multiple criminal charges against him.

    Opposition Leader Mark Golding made the demand public in an official statement released Wednesday evening, breaking down the key findings of the completed probe. According to Golding, the Director of Corruption Prosecution has formally approved four criminal charges against Dr Andrew Wheatley, currently serving as minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister. The charges cover illicit enrichment, intentional submission of false statements on mandatory statutory declarations, and intentional failure to disclose required information to the Director of Information and Complaints, in violation of Jamaican anti-corruption law.

    In Golding’s view, any public official facing prosecution recommendations for such serious corruption-related offenses has no place in Jamaica’s national cabinet. “The integrity of our public institutions and the trust of the Jamaican people demand nothing less,” Golding emphasized, adding that Prime Minister Andrew Holness has an immediate obligation to remove Wheatley from his post.

    The Integrity Commission’s investigation, finalized by the Director of Investigation on March 20, 2026 and endorsed by the corruption prosecution director three months later on June 11, makes a damning allegation: over a nine-year period, Wheatley accumulated assets worth roughly 164 million Jamaican dollars that far outstripped his documented lawful income. When formally asked to account for the unexplained wealth, investigators say Wheatley failed to provide a credible, satisfactory explanation.

    Wheatley has publicly pushed back against the findings, vehemently maintaining his innocence. He argues that the Integrity Commission deliberately omitted 168 million Jamaican dollars in legitimate earnings he generated from real estate investments, dismissing the entire report as baseless and false.

    Golding notes that this is far from the first time serious ethical and legal questions have emerged about Wheatley’s conduct while holding public office. Previous controversies surrounding his ministerial work already led to his removal from cabinet for a lengthy period, yet following the 2025 Jamaican general election, Holness made the decision to reappoint Wheatley to his government.

    This reappointment has sparked new questions about the communication between the prime minister and his minister, Golding pointed out. It remains unclear whether Wheatley disclosed the ongoing Integrity Commission investigation to Holness before he accepted the cabinet post, or if he intentionally concealed the probe from the country’s leader.

    Regardless of which scenario is true, Golding argues that the decision to bring Wheatley back into cabinet has now been exposed as a serious error in judgment. “Good governance is not a mere slogan, it is a required standard,” Golding said. “The prime minister has a duty to uphold that standard, immediately and without hesitation.”

  • No deportee flood

    No deportee flood

    MONTEGO BAY, St James — At the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Tuesday, Jamaica’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace Dr. Horace Chang publicly refuted widespread circulating claims that the Caribbean nation is in negotiations to receive as many as 10,000 deportees from the United States, while offering clear, detailed clarification on the limited third-country national processing arrangement currently under discussion.

    The false report, first published in local outlet *The Gleaner*, sparked widespread public and diaspora concern, with many fearing that thousands of non-Jamaican individuals convicted of crimes in the US would be relocated permanently to Jamaican territory. During an open question-and-answer session, conference attendee Clive Saunders pressed Chang for clarity, asking both to confirm or deny the rumor and outline any national benefits or potential public safety risks of the proposed arrangement, as well as whether a larger-scale transfer could be considered in the future.

    Addressing the crowd directly, Chang first rejected the 10,000-deportee claim outright. “The report is false. There are no intentions to bring 10,000 illegal immigrants from the United States,” he stated. He confirmed that ongoing talks center on Jamaica’s participation in a regional Third-Country Nationals (TCN) agreement, developed in partnership with the United Nations International Organization for Migration, which facilitates temporary transitional processing of irregular migrants intercepted by the US before they are repatriated to their countries of origin.

    Chang emphasized that the scale of the arrangement would be extremely small and tightly controlled. Under the proposed terms, no more than 25 third-country nationals will be present in Jamaica for processing at any given time, with total arrivals capped at fewer than 50 individuals per two-week period. The minister explained that the US has already secured similar preliminary agreements with multiple other regional nations, including Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, St Kitts and Antigua, as part of a broader strategy to manage irregular migration flows toward North America.

    To further allay public anxiety, Chang outlined strict safeguards built into the draft memorandum of understanding (MOU). If any individual staying in Jamaica for processing chooses to apply for asylum under international law and elects to stay on the island, the entire program will be immediately halted. The arrangement also explicitly bars the transfer of any individual with a criminal record, and the United States will cover 100% of all operational costs associated with the program, removing any financial burden from Jamaican taxpayers.

    In a formal press release issued later the same day, Chang reinforced that Jamaica’s national sovereignty remains fully protected throughout negotiations, and the government has not neglected its core responsibility to protect the interests of Jamaican citizens. “We were clear about our national interests and relied on our experience over many years in managing international migration matters to inform our position throughout the negotiations,” the release noted.

    Chang added that the draft document is a non-binding MOU, not a formal treaty, and will not take effect until all pre-implementation requirements — including the finalization of detailed operational guidelines and safety protocols — are completed. The arrangement does not create any automatic obligation for Jamaica to accept any individual, and both the Jamaican and US governments retain the right to terminate the agreement at any time. No transfers will begin until both parties have signed off on all required operational procedures. The government has committed to sharing regular public updates as negotiations progress.

  • Officials’ underestimated Power Outage Severity

    Officials’ underestimated Power Outage Severity

    Bahamas Energy Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis publicly admitted on Wednesday that government regulators significantly underestimated the scope and severity of widespread power outages that have disrupted residential and commercial operations across the country through the early summer months.

    Speaking directly to reporters outside the Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) Big Pond substation, Coleby-Davis traced the ongoing disruptions to unforeseen delays to critical transmission and distribution network upgrades. The multi-million dollar modernization project was initially scheduled for full completion by the end of May, but progress was halted for eight weeks following the fatal shooting of Cody Castillo, an employee of construction contractor Pike. This extended pushback forced BPL and the Bahamas Grid Company to continue infrastructure overhauls during the region’s annual extreme heat season, putting unexpected strain on already compromised sections of the national grid while key circuits are taken offline for retrofitting.

    “We didn’t expect it to be as bad as it has turned out to be for residents,” Coleby-Davis told reporters. “The record-breaking high temperatures we are seeing right now in June usually do not hit the Bahamas until August or September, a window when all this work would have already been wrapped up. Sometimes, unforeseen events completely upend even the most carefully laid plans.”

    Coleby-Davis explained that one of the biggest challenges of the delayed timeline has been rolling, unpredictable outages across different regions of the country. With work spilling into the hot summer season, many communities that normally rely on two parallel power circuits are currently operating on just one to allow crews to complete upgrades. This reduced capacity, paired with earlier-than-usual extreme heat, has created far more disruption than officials initially projected.

    Despite the ongoing inconvenience, the minister emphasized that the project is now 95 percent complete, with only a few additional weeks of work required before the upgrades are finalized. She warned the public to prepare for continued intermittent disruptions over that period, but framed the short-term pain as a necessary investment in long-term grid reliability.

    “These temporary outages are part of building a far more resilient power system that can better withstand future disruptions from extreme weather and other incidents,” she said.

    Coleby-Davis’s comments came just hours after the Ministry of Energy released an official statement acknowledging widespread public frustration with the ongoing outages, particularly during the early summer heat. The ministry clarified in the statement that the national power grid actually has sufficient generation capacity to meet current peak demand, but the reconfiguration of the grid for upgrade work has stretched distribution networks beyond their normal limits.

    “It’s much like plugging too many appliances into a single circuit in your home,” the statement explained. “The electricity is there to meet demand, but the pathway delivering it to end users is pushed beyond its normal operating capacity.”

    Coleby-Davis echoed this explanation, noting that most unplanned outages stem from system overloads on reduced distribution capacity, not a shortage of power generation. “When we plan outages, we share notice with the public well in advance,” she said. “But when we have an overload, it’s like a tripped circuit breaker in your home: we have to reduce the load manually to bring service back online, and we are working every day to minimize these unplanned events.”

    Officials also provided an update on work at the Fire Trail Road substation, where crews have finished installing a new transformer and are on track to complete cable installation and commissioning within four days. Once the new transformer is energized, the substation will operate with two units, boosting overall capacity, improving load distribution, and strengthening reliability for customers in the surrounding area.

    BPL Executive Chairman Christina Alston called the newly upgraded Big Pond substation a “historic” and “world-class” facility, part of a $130 million comprehensive grid modernization package. “This is a monumental infrastructure project that will serve this island for decades to come,” Alston said. “All of the most critical transmission lines serving New Providence will route through this substation. If there is an unexpected event — a lightning strike, a tropical weather system, any kind of grid anomaly — the substation’s automated switches will redirect power flow automatically to keep service online. That is exactly what grid reliability looks like, and this project will go a long way toward cutting down on long-term outages across the island.”

  • PM: Many Public Works Recruits Quit Because They ‘Don’t Want to Work’

    PM: Many Public Works Recruits Quit Because They ‘Don’t Want to Work’

    In a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne pushed back against opposition claims that the Antiguan government has laid off hundreds of workers hired through the Public Works Department’s employment initiative, reframing the narrative to center on widespread voluntary absenteeism instead.

    Addressing questions raised by Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle, Browne stressed that circulating reports of mass staff terminations do not reflect official government policy. The core issue, he told assembled lawmakers, is not mass layoffs but widespread reluctance among many hired workers to show up for their assigned shifts. “We have a problem. A number of them don’t want to work,” the prime minister stated plainly during the debate.

    The government-led employment program was specifically crafted to bring jobless Antiguans back into the workforce, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups and young people deemed at high risk of falling into criminal activity. Workers hired through the initiative were assigned a range of public-facing tasks, from routine road maintenance and roadside trash clearance to municipal beautification projects and repainting of state-owned public buildings. Browne emphasized that the administration deliberately reached out to these marginalized groups with the explicit goal of giving them a stable path to earning income. “We sought them out. We wanted to provide them an opportunity to work,” he added.

    According to Browne, consistent attendance has emerged as a major systemic challenge for the program. Some hired workers only show up for shifts occasionally, while others have abandoned their positions entirely without formal notice. He also alleged that a portion of participants attempted to hold down separate private employment while collecting pay from the government program, failing to meet the basic commitments required of their public roles.

    Despite the attendance struggles, the prime minister reaffirmed the government’s ongoing commitment to the program and the workers it was designed to support. “We’re not going to give up on them,” he said. Browne went on to restate the core policy goal of the initiative: providing steady formal work remains a central pillar of the government’s strategy to keep young people engaged in productive, legal activity and steer them away from cycles of crime and disengagement.

  • Aristo Kelly officieel belast met waarneming directeurschap Volkshuisvesting

    Aristo Kelly officieel belast met waarneming directeurschap Volkshuisvesting

    After a year-long preparation and transition process, Aristo Kelly has formally taken over the role of Acting Director of the Housing Directorate at Suriname’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing (Sozavo), effective June 15. The official appointment was formalized in a public circular issued by Minister Diana Pokie, marking the completion of a recruitment and onboarding process launched more than 12 months prior.

    The Sozavo ministry is structured around two core directorates: one focused on social affairs, and the other dedicated to housing policy and implementation. Before Kelly’s appointment was finalized, Sherwin Valies, the serving Director of Social Affairs, held the acting position for the housing directorate in accordance with the ministry’s existing organizational rules. Following the publication of Minister Pokie’s circular, Valies formally transferred all acting responsibilities to Kelly this month.

    Kelly confirmed that he had already been carrying out the directorate’s leadership duties on a de facto basis for an extended period. Dating back to July 18, 2025, he joined the Housing Directorate as a senior policy advisor, working closely with Deputy Minister Danielle van Windt to build familiarity with the role and prepare for full leadership. “Over the past year, I have served as a policy advisor within the Housing Directorate, and I have already performed the director’s role in practice. Working alongside Deputy Minister Danielle van Windt, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of government administrative processes. Now that my appointment is formally complete, I can officially take on this responsibility,” Kelly stated in remarks following the announcement.

    Bringing more than a decade of private sector experience to the government role, Kelly holds a Master’s degree in International Business from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Prior to his government appointment, he also worked as a lecturer in business administration and a graduation supervisor at the FHR School of Business. For his tenure leading the housing directorate, Kelly has laid out a clear agenda centered on upgrading the department’s operations and expanding access to housing for Surinamese people. “My core goal is to make it easier for people across Suriname to plan for home ownership as part of their long-term lives,” he said.

    According to Kelly, the directorate has already achieved one key milestone in advancing its modernization: the full rollout of digital services. Surinamese residents can now apply for housing subsidies and register for housing allocation through a new online portal, without needing to visit a government office in person.

    Looking ahead, Kelly has outlined five key priorities for his acting term. First, he will drive further professionalization of the entire directorate to streamline operations and improve service delivery. Second, he plans to implement a more effective, targeted strategy to address the country’s persistent housing shortage. Third, he will work to place the revolving fund managed by the Suriname Housing Foundation on a stable, financially sustainable footing. Fourth, he will strengthen the institutional capacity of the Housing Foundation to allow it to resume independent large-scale housing construction projects. Finally, he will prioritize greater transparency and public communication between the directorate and the Surinamese people it serves.

    “I am confident that these steps will ensure every person in Suriname has the opportunity to plan and build their own home,” Kelly said. Under his leadership, he added, the Housing Directorate will evolve into a modern, professionally managed public institution that can better meet the growing demand for affordable housing across the country.

  • PM Clarifies Stadium-Area Development Is Not an Industrial Park

    PM Clarifies Stadium-Area Development Is Not an Industrial Park

    Recent weeks have seen growing public speculation and debate surrounding a major planned development near the city’s flagship stadium, with many local residents and community groups raising alarms that the project would convert public green space into a heavy industrial zone. To put these widespread concerns to rest, the country’s prime minister has stepped forward to issue an official clarification, correcting the misinformation that has circulated across social media and local community forums.

    In a press briefing held at government house on Wednesday, the prime minister emphasized that the proposed development project adjacent to the stadium is focused exclusively on enhancing public recreational and community infrastructure, rather than establishing an industrial park. The initiative, first announced earlier this year, is designed to upgrade parking facilities, add new pedestrian walkways, build community sports facilities, and attract small-scale retail and food service outlets that will serve visitors to the stadium and surrounding residential areas.

    The confusion over the project’s scope emerged earlier this month when a draft planning document was leaked to local media, with an incorrect labeling of the development zone that sparked immediate pushback from local residents concerned about increased traffic, air pollution, and declining property values. Community organizations had organized several public meetings to oppose the project, calling on the government to abandon plans for industrial construction in the high-traffic stadium area.

    The prime minister’s clarification comes as a response to this groundswell of public concern, reinforcing the government’s commitment to transparent urban planning that centers community needs. Officials noted that the project will undergo a new round of public consultation in the coming month to ensure all local residents have the opportunity to review the finalized plans and share feedback before construction begins. Government spokespeople also confirmed that no industrial zoning permits have been applied for or approved in the stadium development area, and there are no long-term plans to rezone the land for industrial use.

  • PM Says Road Repairs Will Take Years Despite Recent Progress

    PM Says Road Repairs Will Take Years Despite Recent Progress

    Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed that nationwide road repair and rehabilitation projects are advancing at a consistent pace, with major improvements to key corridors projected to be nearly finished within just a few months. Speaking in response to a parliamentary query about the current status of infrastructure upgrades, Browne addressed the long-term nature of overhauling the country’s entire road network, while updating lawmakers on tangible progress already delivered.

    The prime minister stressed the sheer scale of the undertaking: with thousands of miles of public roads spanning Antigua and Barbuda, fully resolving longstanding infrastructure issues will require multiple years of sustained investment and work. Even so, he emphasized that ongoing projects on two critical routes, All Saints Road and the Sir Sydney Walling Highway, are already delivering visible results for residents and motorists.

    A key strategic decision that has driven successful outcomes on these projects, Browne explained, was the government’s choice to assign work to the local Public Works Department rather than outsourcing the contract to an outside private firm. The prime minister praised the department’s performance, noting that its work has not only met quality standards but also delivered major cost savings for public coffers.

    For the 13-mile stretch of road leading to English Harbour, for example, Browne revealed that the Public Works Department is completing the rehabilitation for less than half of the price quoted by a Canadian contracting firm that initially bid on the project. This cost-effective model has allowed the government to stretch infrastructure funding further and advance more repairs than would have been possible under an external contract.

    While Browne declined to share a precise final completion date for the ongoing key projects, he told Parliament that current progress puts the work on track to see substantial, near-completion gains within the next two to three months. Road network rehabilitation remains a top infrastructure priority for the Browne administration, which continues to allocate funding and resources to upgrade roads across both islands of the nation.