Carib Scope

分类： politics

  • Prime Minister Drew urges integrity and discipline as Customs Officers graduate CCLEC training

    Prime Minister Drew urges integrity and discipline as Customs Officers graduate CCLEC training

    BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts – On April 2, 2026, a new cohort of Caribbean customs officers crossed a key professional threshold during a graduation ceremony at National Heroes Park, marking their successful completion of the Junior Officers Basic Training Course organized by the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC). Addressing the graduating class, Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr. Terrance Drew extended formal congratulations to the new officers while laying out a clear call for ethical, principled service to the nation and the broader Caribbean region.

    Drew opened his remarks by commending both the graduates for their dedication through the intensive training program and the Saint Kitts and Nevis Customs and Excise Department for its consistent investment in building professional capacity for border management. He highlighted that the regional collaborative framework behind the CCLEC training embodies a core principle for small island nations across the Caribbean: that pooling collective resources creates greater strength and impact than individual nations working alone. “As small countries, territories within the region, it is best if we bring all of our resources together because together we will have more and together we will reach further,” Drew told the audience. “And this course demonstrates that and is built on that principle that we espoused as Caribbean people.”

    While the prime minister recognized the technical skills the officers gained through their coursework, he stressed that technical proficiency alone is not enough to build a successful career in customs enforcement. For Drew, the true measure of an officer’s success lies in their personal character, core values, and commitment to ethical decision-making, even when faced with temptation.

    He issued a blunt warning to the graduating class that corruption attempts are an inevitable part of the job: “There are people who are going to call you and offer you big money… and ask you to compromise the law and your integrity for personal gain. That will happen to you.” Drew added that ethical challenges are not always overt; subtle pressures, from emotional appeals from friends or family to implicit personal biases, can also skew decision-making and erode public trust. “All these, point… not to the technical aspect of the course… but to your own personal development. What are your values, your core values? Those are the principles that will definitely determine if you become a successful customs officer or you become one of those who is known to be compromised,” he said.

    Drew closed his remarks by encouraging graduates to hold fast to principles of fairness and discipline in every interaction, regardless of the pressures they face. “What I’ve seen here tells me that you have started off on an excellent footing,” the prime minister said. “Stay true to yourself and to your principles and have the courage to stand up when it is challenging.”

    His address reinforced the non-negotiable role that customs officers play in protecting national borders, regulating legitimate trade, and upholding public confidence in government institutions, reminding the new cohort that integrity and discipline must remain the foundation of every aspect of their service.

  • Azan calls for urgent action after man falls through Easington bridge

    Azan calls for urgent action after man falls through Easington bridge

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — A fatal accident on Easington bridge has ignited sharp criticism of the Jamaican government’s infrastructure management, with opposition road affairs spokesperson Richard Azan demanding immediate corrective action. On Friday, a local man lost his life after falling into a large, unaddressed hole in the deteriorating crossing, a tragedy Azan calls a preventable failure of governmental responsibility.

    In an official statement released following the incident, Azan argued that the death has reignited long-simmering questions about the ruling administration’s flagship Accelerated Bridge Programme. According to Azan, the initiative has repeatedly fallen short of its commitments to deliver critical repair work across the parish of St. Thomas, leaving high-risk structures like Easington bridge unrepaired for months.

    “This is a profound failure of duty,” Azan stated in the release. “A Jamaican is dead because we allowed a known hazard to remain open to pedestrian traffic. I am angry and deeply saddened by this completely avoidable loss. The Government must stop issuing empty promises and start issuing work orders. Every day of delay puts another life at risk.”

    Azan explained that with no safe alternative crossing routes available to local residents, the community had no choice but to continue using the damaged bridge despite its well-documented structural flaws. That unnecessary gamble, he emphasized, has now ended in death.

    The opposition spokesperson laid out two clear demands for the government: first, to table a full, transparent parliamentary disclosure of all infrastructure funding allocated and spent in the region since Hurricane Melissa hit, and second, to install a safe temporary crossing for Easington without further holdup.

    “No more excuses. No more waiting. Repair the bridge or build a safe passage. Honour the dead by protecting the living,” Azan added. He closed his statement by extending sincere condolences to the deceased man’s family and loved ones as they grieve their loss.

  • US human rights group condemns ‘unlawful’ US strike on boat in the Caribbean

    US human rights group condemns ‘unlawful’ US strike on boat in the Caribbean

    A recent U.S. military strike against a vessel in the Caribbean Sea that left four people dead has drawn sharp rebuke from one of the country’s leading independent human rights organizations, which is calling for an immediate end to the covert lethal operation campaign. Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based global human rights monitoring group, issued the condemnation Friday, arguing that the fatal attack is far from an isolated mistake — it is the latest example of a years-long pattern of unlawful extrajudicial killing carried out by U.S. forces outside recognized war zones.

    Details of the strike were first released by U.S. Southern Command (Southcom), the Miami-headquartered military command responsible for operations across Latin America and the Caribbean, in a March 25 statement. According to the command’s official account, the lethal kinetic operation targeting the vessel was ordered by Marine General Francis L. Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, and carried out by the joint task force branded Southern Spear. The target vessel, Southcom claimed, was linked to officially designated terrorist groups, was traveling along well-documented narcotics smuggling corridors in the Caribbean, and was actively engaged in drug trafficking operations at the time of the strike. The command confirmed four male individuals described as “narco-terrorists” were killed in the action, and added that no U.S. military personnel were injured during the operation.

    The attack marked the 47th lethal strike conducted by the U.S. military in counter-narcotics operations across the Caribbean and Pacific oceans, a campaign that has now claimed the lives of 163 people since its launch, according to data compiled by HRW. Sarah Yager, the organization’s Washington D.C. director, emphasized that the steady drumbeat of these strikes has created a systemic pattern of illegal force that has gone largely unexamined by the public and policymakers.

    “These strikes aren’t one-off incidents, they’re part of a pattern of using military force where the law does not permit it, over and over again,” Yager said. “The fact that these strikes have faded from public attention does not make these violations any less grave or unlawful.”

    HRW’s legal argument centers on a clear distinction laid out in international law between military operations in active armed conflict and civilian law enforcement actions. The organization stresses that the U.S. is not involved in any formal armed conflict with drug trafficking organizations operating in the Caribbean or Pacific, which means no suspected traffickers qualify as legitimate military targets under international legal standards. Outside of a declared armed conflict, the deliberate use of lethal force is only legally permissible when it is strictly necessary to defend against an immediate threat to human life. To date, the U.S. government has not released any public evidence demonstrating that any of the 163 people killed in these strikes posed an imminent lethal threat to anyone, HRW says, meaning the killings amount to unlawful extrajudicial executions.

    The organization is calling on the sitting Trump administration to take immediate action to address the pattern of abuse: first, to halt the entire campaign of extrajudicial lethal strikes immediately, and second, to launch a full accountability process that includes investigating the unlawful killings, conducting formal assessments of harm to the victims and their surviving families, and providing appropriate legal and financial redress for the violations committed.

  • Gov’t hands over land titles to Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society

    Gov’t hands over land titles to Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society

    ST JAMES, Jamaica — On Good Friday, April 3, a landmark moment of reckoning and repair unfolded in St James, as Jamaican senior officials formally transferred full legal ownership of two parcels of land to the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society (RCGBS), delivering long-awaited state restitution for the 1963 Coral Gardens incident that targeted the local Rastafari community.

    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace Dr. Horace Chang led the handover ceremony, joined by Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. The event was held on the newly transferred plots in Albion, St James, to mark the annual commemoration of the 1963 Coral Gardens Atrocity Against Rastafari.

    In his remarks to attendees, Dr. Chang — who also serves as Member of Parliament for St James North Western — clarified that the official titles for Lots 84A and 84B grant full legal ownership rights exclusively to the RCGBS. This transfer secures the community’s unconditional right to occupy, manage, and develop the property in line with its own priorities and cultural needs. The land is designated to function as a purpose-built, secure community space for Rastafari elders, designed to support the group’s unique cultural and social requirements.

    “This is a critical step forward. We are not erasing our history, nor are we rewriting it,” Dr. Chang emphasized. “We must carry our history with us, but we also have the responsibility to move forward and build a better, more just future from that history. That is exactly what this handover represents.” He also praised the sustained advocacy of RCGBS leadership over decades, specifically highlighting Ras Lewis Brown for his organizing and advocacy work, and Sistha Pamela Rowe-Williams for her consistent communication and unwavering commitment to the group’s core goals.

    Dr. Chang also acknowledged the critical work of the National Land Agency (NLA), led by CEO and Commissioner of Lands Cheriese Walcott, which oversaw the completion of all required legal processes to ensure the transfer was legally sound and permanent. He added that the Jamaican government looks forward to continued collaboration with the RCGBS in future initiatives.

    For her part, Minister Grange framed the handover as evidence of the government’s deepening commitment to addressing the longstanding harms inflicted on the Rastafari community. She reported that to date, more than $130 million has been distributed to the RCGBS Trust Fund to support survivors of the 1963 atrocity, with an additional $12 million deposited into the fund in recent weeks. Grange also noted that the government has provided ongoing financial support for the temporary Rastafari elders’ home in Norwood, while a permanent facility that meets the community’s specific cultural and dietary requirements is being developed.

    Grange emphasized that the land transfer marks a major milestone in a national reparations process that launched in 2017, when Prime Minister Andrew Holness issued a formal public apology on behalf of the Jamaican state and committed to a comprehensive program of reparations and restoration for the Rastafari community. Led by Grange’s ministry, the initiative has focused on redressing the intergenerational harms of the Coral Gardens incident through three core pillars: direct financial support, formal state recognition of the Rastafari community, and tangible reparative action such as this land transfer.

    Speaking on behalf of the Rastafari community, Brown reflected on the 60-plus year journey that led to the handover, from the first public testimonies of brutality by surviving elders, to the formal establishment of the RCGBS as a recognized advocacy body, and ultimately to high-level negotiations with government leadership at Jamaica House. He expressed sincere gratitude to Dr. Chang for guiding the community through complex legal requirements and for championing the group’s 13-point policy recommendations to the Jamaican government.

    Even as he celebrated the milestone, Brown stressed that the work toward full reparative justice remains unfinished. He called on members of the community to remain unified and persistent in building a more equitable and secure foundation for future generations of Rastafarians in Jamaica.

  • Saint Kitts and Nevis advances bold vision for sustainable energy future with launch of its Green Energy Transition Project

    Saint Kitts and Nevis advances bold vision for sustainable energy future with launch of its Green Energy Transition Project

    On April 2, 2026, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis entered a transformative new phase in its pursuit of energy sovereignty and environmental sustainability with the official launch of the Green Energy Transition Demonstration Project. The launch ceremony, hosted at the St. Lucia Conference Room of the St. Kitts Marriott Resort in the capital Basseterre, gathered a cross-section of key stakeholders, international partners, and leading technical experts united by a shared goal of reshaping the Caribbean nation’s energy ecosystem.

    In his keynote address at the event, Minister Konris G. Maynard — who oversees the portfolios of Public Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Domestic Transport, Information, Communication, Technology and Post — framed the initiative as far more than an infrastructure development, emphasizing its far-reaching implications for national resilience, public welfare, and long-term prosperity.

    “This project is not simply about installing new energy hardware,” Maynard explained. “It is about fundamentally transforming how we conceptualize, generate, store and manage energy to deliver consistent, affordable service to all our people. Today’s launch confirms the national direction we have set: one that prioritizes robust energy systems designed to drive climate resilience, environmental sustainability and inclusive long-term economic growth. In this work, it is critical that we not only introduce cutting-edge emerging technologies, but also integrate and steward them to meet the evolving needs of our energy and electricity sector. This demonstration project directly advances that mission.”

    At its core, the initiative will deploy an innovative microgrid system at the St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC) Transmission and Distribution Facility. The system integrates three advanced components: solar photovoltaic power generation, utility-scale battery energy storage, and intelligent, data-driven energy management technology. Officials project that the system will strengthen overall grid stability, reduce service disruptions to end-users, and create a flexible framework to scale up renewable energy adoption across both islands of the federation.

    Maynard stressed that urgent investment in resilient energy infrastructure is not a policy choice for small island developing states (SIDS) like Saint Kitts and Nevis — it is an existential necessity. On the front lines of accelerating climate change, the nation regularly faces climate impacts that disrupt energy systems, while volatile global fossil fuel prices expose its economy to unpredictable external shocks outside its control.

    “It is essential. It is a must. We are on the front lines of climate change. We face volatile fuel prices and external shocks beyond our control. Strengthening our energy systems, making them smarter, more flexible, and more resilient is one of the most important investments we can make in our future,” Maynard said. “Imagine if Saint Kitts and Nevis ran entirely on renewable energy today. We would never need to worry about sudden spikes in household electricity costs.”

    The minister also highlighted the foundational role of the longstanding collaborative partnership between Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Republic of China (Taiwan), noting that the project is a tangible outcome of the two parties’ shared commitment to climate action, innovative development, and mutual respect.

    Beyond physical infrastructure, the project includes a deliberate focus on building local workforce and institutional capacity. Through targeted training programs and ongoing technical exchange, the initiative ensures that the specialized knowledge and skills required to operate and maintain these advanced energy systems will stay within the federation, supporting long-term self-sufficiency.

    Looking forward, Maynard positioned the demonstration project as the first step in a sweeping national energy transformation that will cement Saint Kitts and Nevis’ reputation as a regional leader in just clean energy transition. He pointed to SKELEC’s recent call for proposals for a landmark 50-megawatt solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage project planned for the Basseterre Valley Aquifer as the next major milestone in this journey, expressing confidence in the nation’s progress.

    “Our goal is a future where every citizen has access to reliable, affordable, sustainable energy — a future we are building together through intentional, collective, confident action,” Maynard added.

    For the small Caribbean nation, the launch of the Green Energy Transition Demonstration Project marks a bold, forward-thinking step that aligns energy security, price affordability, and environmental stewardship to deliver tangible improvements to the quality of life for all residents of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

  • Appeal Court quashes 50-year sentence

    Appeal Court quashes 50-year sentence

    After more than four and a half decades behind bars for a 1978 high-profile murder, a Caribbean appellate court has overturned a controversial 50-year prison sentence imposed on Peter Matthews, ordering an emergency new sentencing hearing before a senior High Court judge over a critical legal error that undermined decades of judicial proceedings.

    The core of the case dates back to 1978, when four-year-old Roslyn Lucas was found dead at her St James Providence Estate home following a sexual assault. Matthews was ultimately convicted of the child’s murder in 1984, originally handed a death sentence that was commuted to life imprisonment in 1994. In a 2025 resentencing proceeding, High Court Justice Maria Busby Earle-Caddle issued a fresh 50-year term. Calculating the 46 years, eight months and 25 days Matthews had already served in pre-trial and post-conviction custody, the original resentencing left just over three additional years of prison time to complete. Alongside the sentence, the judge mandated psychological evaluation, participation in targeted rehabilitation programs including the cognitive behavioral initiative Thinking for Change and adult literacy courses, and post-release probation supervision.

    But the three-justice appellate panel – led by Justices Nolan Bereaux, Maria Wilson and Geoffrey Henderson – ruled last week that the entire 2025 resentencing process was fundamentally invalid. The fatal flaw? The lower court failed to correctly and conclusively establish Matthews’ age at the time of the 1978 killing, a detail with profound legal consequences for the case.

    In her written ruling, Justice Wilson emphasized that the sentencing judge had a clear obligation to adjourn proceedings to resolve the age question before issuing a new sentence, given how central the detail was to Matthews’ legal classification. “It is very unfortunate that the resentencing judge did not find it appropriate to adjourn her decision until she was able to resolve the age of the appellant,” Wilson wrote, noting that the error carried “very serious” consequences for a man who had already spent most of his life in incarceration.

    New evidence accepted by the appellate court – an official birth certificate – confirms Matthews was born on July 14, 1961, meaning he was only 17 years old when the crime occurred. Under the law in effect in 1978, this classification made him a child offender, a status that carried strict legal protections: people under the age of 18 could not lawfully be sentenced to death. Because his original 1984 death sentence was unlawful on its face, every subsequent legal proceeding that flowed from that sentence – including the 1994 commutation to life imprisonment and the 2025 resentencing – was also legally invalid.

    The appellate court described the case as highly unusual and legally unprecedented in its complexity. “This is a case where the sentence of death was unlawfully imposed on the appellant,” the court’s ruling noted.

    Matthews’ defense team, led by attorneys Joseph Sookoo and Abigail Roach, had long argued that their client should have been sentenced from the start as a minor offender. This classification would drastically lower the applicable sentencing range, require a court to prioritize rehabilitation over punitive sentencing, and mandate regular periodic review of Matthews’ incarceration to assess his readiness for release.

    Representatives of the state, led by attorney Wayne Rajbansie, initially challenged the authenticity of the newly submitted birth certificate in written legal filings. However, during oral arguments before the appellate court, Rajbansie withdrew the challenge and conceded that the birth certificate was valid, confirming that the original 1984 death sentence was indeed unlawful.

  • One Year After Hijacking, Airport Security Overhauled

    One Year After Hijacking, Airport Security Overhauled

    It has been 12 months since the 2025 Tropic Air hijacking, a national crisis that laid bare critical, life-threatening security gaps across all of Belize’s municipal airports. What began as a tragedy that left the public shaken and distrustful of domestic air travel has now evolved into a sweeping push for institutional reform, with a complete restructuring of airport security operations entering its final phase this week.

    At the heart of this transformation is Vinay Bhojwani, the current General Manager of the Belize Airports Authority, who has prioritized closing the vulnerabilities that allowed the 2025 hijacking to occur. In an interview, Bhojwani outlined the sweeping upgrades the authority has rolled out across all of the country’s aerodromes. “We’ve definitely made a lot more improvements in terms of security,” he said. “I know that before there was a question whether the security implementation was up to par and met international standards. However, this time around we made sure that we went through the proper channels, the proper avenues to engage proper security that are qualified to takeover at all of our aerodromes.”

    The upgrades stretch far beyond just increased personnel, Bhojwani confirmed: more than 100 new high-resolution surveillance cameras are currently being installed across airport premises, creating full coverage to monitor all public and restricted areas for potential threats.

    Unlike the unvetted contracting processes that drew widespread criticism after the hijacking, this overhaul has followed strict competitive bidding rules. As of this week, all national municipal airport security operations are officially under the management of Security Alliance, a private firm that already holds the trusted contract to protect the U.S. Embassy in Belize. This marks the first time in Belize’s history that a fully vetted, experienced professional security company is responsible for the safety of domestic air travel.

    Narda Garcia, CEO of Belize’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, noted that the contracting process followed all required public protocols. “They have gone through the process. They tendered, they advertised, and they tendered out. And I think the board has arrived at a decision of contracting a company that has all, has filled all the requirements that were put out there,” Garcia explained.

    This sweeping reform did not materialize immediately. In the chaotic days immediately following the April 2025 hijacking, the Belize government relied on emergency temporary measures, deploying armed officers from the Belize Police Department to all aerodromes to stabilize the system and calm public fear. Nigel Carter, Director of Civil Aviation, recalled that immediate intervention required domestic airlines to implement basic baseline safeguards that had been missing before the attack. “The Government of Belize deployed police officers to all aerodromes,” Carter said. “The CEO in the ministry consulted with the domestic airlines and we asked or required them to put in place basic security measures, passenger screening, bag screening and so forth.”

    The 2025 hijacking, which occurred on Holy Thursday, exposed not just security gaps, but deep flaws in the government’s contracting and oversight process. In the weeks after the attack, public controversy erupted when it was revealed that months before the hijacking, authorities had awarded security contracts to two firms, I-Security and Four Diamond Security, neither of which had any prior experience protecting airport operations. Thea Garcia-Ramirez, the former General Manager of the Belize Airports Authority, told reporters she had raised procedural concerns about the contracts before the attack. “I was sick. So when it came to me I advised that maybe it would be better for legal counsel to look over the contract, which would be basic and standard procedure,” Garcia-Ramirez said. “I am unaware if that was done, but when I came back those contracts were signed and on my table.”

    That lack of proper oversight and screening allowed the hijacker to board a Tropic Air domestic flight without detection, thanks to minimal passenger and bag screening and inconsistent oversight across the country’s municipal airstrips. Today, Bhojwani says the core mission of the Belize Airports Authority is non-negotiable: to ensure such a catastrophic security breach never happens again.

    Bhojwani, who took on his role after the hijacking to lead the reform effort, noted that preventing a repeat attack has been his top priority from day one. “I know it was definitely a turn of events. No one saw it coming. However, I knew that in this position I was more than capable enough to be able to make that change. So something like that doesn’t happen again. And that has been my number one priority since entering into the position,” he said. “Coming up on the one year anniversary, of course it’ll still be at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds. Especially after that time, I know everyone was a bit timid when it comes to flying and different things like that. However, my goal is to change a narrative. We’re making sure that there’s a security presence there to help you feel safe and they’re actually very good at communicating with people as well.”

    One year on, the public memory of the Tropic Air hijacking and the fear it sparked still lingers for many Belizeans. But alongside those scars, the crisis has spurred long-overdue institutional change, creating a far more tightly monitored, accountable and secure system for domestic air travel across the country. This report from Shane Williams was produced for News Five.

  • Cabinet Weighs People’s Constitution Committee’s Recommendations

    Cabinet Weighs People’s Constitution Committee’s Recommendations

    On April 2, 2026, one of the most significant constitutional reform processes in Belize in recent decades has reached a make-or-break turning point, as the country’s Cabinet enters the final stages of reviewing a landmark set of proposals from the People’s Constitution Commission (PCC).

    This week, cabinet ministers received a full technical briefing on the independent review of the PCC’s recommendations, marking the first formal update on the commission’s proposals ahead of the government’s official stance on potential changes to Belize’s national constitution. With discussions intensifying and high-stakes decisions just weeks away, the process is now moving at a clear pace to meet a legally mandated timeline.

    Indigenous Affairs Minister Dr. Louis Zabaneh, who is leading the government’s coordination on the reform effort, laid out the steps the administration has taken to date to evaluate the proposals. “We have now held four formal meetings with the former chairs of the PCC,” Dr. Zabaneh confirmed in an on-record briefing. “We have also held separate consultations with stakeholder groups that expressed dissenting opinions on the commission’s proposals, and we have worked in close coordination with the Attorney General’s Ministry throughout the entire process.”

    To ensure the technical and legal soundness of the recommendations, the government contracted independent constitutional law experts from the United Kingdom to conduct a thorough third-party review of the PCC’s proposals. That review has now been completed, and Dr. Zabaneh shared the full findings with Cabinet during its most recent meeting.

    Looking ahead, the Cabinet has scheduled an all-day retreat in the third week of April to conduct a line-by-line review of every recommendation, with the goal of finalizing the government’s official position. By law, the administration is required to present its final decision to the House of Representatives by early May, leaving a tight timeline for deliberations.

    This report is a full transcript of an evening television news broadcast, with Kriol language statements transcribed using a standardized spelling system where applicable.

  • UWP begins fundraising drive ahead of next general election

    UWP begins fundraising drive ahead of next general election

    As Dominica prepares for its upcoming general election, the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) has officially kicked off a formal fundraising initiative, a core component of its updated electoral strategy, party leader Dr. Thomson Fontaine has announced.

    In an interview with local broadcaster Q-95 Radio this week, Dr. Fontaine outlined that the party has already begun its outreach to individual potential donors and local institutional supporters, laying early groundwork to secure the financial resources that any competitive political campaign requires. “As part of our strategy we have started to approach persons, we have started to approach institutions, we have started to do the necessary work to ensure that these monies will come our way when the time comes,” he explained. “We absolutely need resources to run an election.”

    Dr. Fontaine highlighted that the shift to proactive fundraising addresses a longstanding challenge for the UWP: previous electoral campaigns were consistently hampered by insufficient financial backing, a gap the party is determined to close this cycle. “In the past we have run election, not with enough resources but we need to change that,” he said.

    Bolstering his call for support, Dr. Fontaine expressed strong optimism about the UWP’s electoral prospects, arguing that the party’s solid standing with voters will naturally translate into increased financial backing from supporters. Even so, he stressed that the party is not leaving funding outcomes to chance, and is prioritizing active, intentional outreach to meet its goals. “But I believe that given our very good chances of winning the next elections we will see a lot more support. But we are not leaving anything to chance, we are actively working, because we need those resources,” he stated.

    The UWP leader went on to confirm that he is fully confident the party will raise all the capital required to run a robust, competitive campaign, and ultimately secure victory at the polls. Beyond securing funding, Dr. Fontaine placed significant emphasis on the ethical framework guiding the party’s fundraising efforts, noting that the UWP has adopted a formal zero-tolerance stance on corruption, and is committed to full transparency and accountability in all financial dealings related to the campaign.

    “We have adopted a position of complete transparency with the Dominican public and accountability and we want to maintain that even as we go after resources to fund our campaign,” he asserted. “We want to start with the right footing because we want to carry that same desire into government where we are credible, where we are accountable, where we are transparent in every action and activity that we undertake.”

    Dr. Fontaine gave a public assurance that the UWP will never compromise its core political principles in order to secure campaign funding. “We aren’t going to ‘shake the devil tail’ to get to where it wants to get to,” he said. “We will do so in a manner that is dignified, in a manner that is above board.”

    Once secured, the funds will be allocated to core campaign operations, including public rally organizing, branded promotional merchandise such as t-shirts and hats, and paid advertising across local media platforms, Dr. Fontaine confirmed. “Ultimately we will get the resources that we need to do what is required, to put on the rallies…to get the t-shirts, the hats, the different things that people need for a good, strong campaign, to pay for their advertising…” he concluded.

  • PM believes diplomacy has role to play in ending global tension

    PM believes diplomacy has role to play in ending global tension

    In a press briefing held Wednesday, Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell emphasized his urgent call for global diplomatic engagement to de-escalate rising international tensions, including the ongoing violent conflict in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Reaffirming his administration’s unwavering commitment to dialogue over confrontation, Mitchell noted that a broad consensus among nations already favors diplomatic pathways to conflict resolution. He expressed hope that intensified diplomatic efforts will reverse the current trend of escalating hostilities and harsh rhetoric, reframing global conflict resolution around sustained dialogue rather than armed conflict.

    Beyond his remarks on global affairs, Mitchell drew a clear connection between widespread international instability and Grenada’s domestic development priorities, highlighting that ongoing conflicts around the world have created tangible headwinds for the small island nation. For Grenada, advancing critical infrastructure upgrades remains a top national priority, Mitchell explained, noting that functional transportation networks—including safe roads and bridges—are foundational to protecting residents’ basic right to mobility and keeping the national economy from grinding to a standstill. In response to growing global uncertainty, his administration maintains constant surveillance of international risks that could threaten Grenada’s development, social cohesion, and long-term economic and social stability.

    Mitchell, who was sworn in as Grenada’s ninth Prime Minister in June 2022 after leading his National Democratic Congress to a 9-6 electoral victory over the incumbent New National Party, outlined the string of unprecedented challenges his government has navigated since taking office. “As an administration, you could probably say everything that could happen to an administration in the last three and a half years has happened,” Mitchell told reporters. In addition to mounting global conflicts, the government has overseen the nation’s post-Covid-19 pandemic recovery, responded to devastating hurricane seasons, and navigated shifting geopolitical tensions, trade tariffs, and international trade embargoes. Mitchell acknowledged that small island developing states like Grenada have no direct control over global systemic stability, and current trends suggest the world will face greater instability rather than calm in coming years. For that reason, continuous monitoring of global risks remains a core administrative priority.

    To build domestic resilience against external shocks, Mitchell outlined three core policy pillars his administration has already implemented. First, the government has enshrined strict fiscal prudence and responsibility in binding national legislation, requiring adherence to a structured fiscal framework that mandates emergency savings for unforeseen crises, ranging from natural disasters to sudden economic shocks. The government has also mitigated risk through comprehensive catastrophic risk insurance, a critical safeguard for a hurricane-prone small island nation.

    Second, the administration has prioritized improving tax collection efficiency through digital modernization. Simple upgrades, such as launching user-friendly online tax payment platforms, have already delivered significant gains in collection rates, Mitchell reported. The government will continue expanding these modernization efforts to broaden the national tax base and refine the country’s tax model to support long-term revenue stability.

    Third, Mitchell noted that Grenada’s long-running Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, which grants citizenship to foreign investors in exchange for large-scale investments in the country’s socio-economic development, remains a key pillar of the national revenue base.

    Addressing ongoing domestic cost challenges, Mitchell identified rising global fuel prices as a major immediate concern. The government currently provides targeted subsidies for consumer fuel and residential electricity costs, but Mitchell cautioned that imprudent broad-based subsidy expansion would divert limited resources from the country’s critical ongoing infrastructure projects. “We have to be very prudent in not jumping to subsidise things simply because there’s an increase in price, because in doing so it means there’s less revenue for the infrastructure work that we require and that is ongoing,” he explained. The administration will continue monitoring global energy market trends to adjust policy accordingly.

    Despite the array of global and domestic challenges, Mitchell closed his remarks on a measured optimistic note, reaffirming his confidence in Grenada’s ability to navigate ongoing volatility notwithstanding ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.