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  • Jones verlaat uit protest comité-generaal: Geheimhouding niet gerechtvaardigd

    Jones verlaat uit protest comité-generaal: Geheimhouding niet gerechtvaardigd

    On Thursday, a member of the National Assembly of Suriname from the National Democratic Party (NDP), Ebu Jones, staged a protest walkout from a closed-door meeting of the Assembly’s Committee of the Whole, escalating a long-running debate over transparency in the handling of a high-profile missing hazardous material case.

    The case at the center of the dispute is the disappearance of more than 300 kilograms of mercury from a local police station. Jones has long pushed for open, public debate on the incident, and told reporters from outlet Starnieuws after his exit that the confidential information shared during the closed session only reinforced his original position that the affair does not warrant behind-closed-doors discussion.

    Jones argued that none of the details presented during the meeting would threaten national security or any other critical public interest if released to the public. In comments to reporters, he noted that he had opposed holding the discussion in the closed Committee of the Whole format from the very start of the process. “The disappearance of mercury from a police station and all surrounding issues do not belong behind closed doors,” Jones told Starnieuws. “Society itself needs full openness to rebuild trust in the police and the entire justice system.”

    He added that a string of recent incidents involving police officers has already eroded public confidence in Suriname’s law enforcement institutions, and that transparency in this high-stakes case is the only path to repairing that damaged trust. Bound by confidentiality rules that apply to all Committee of the Whole proceedings, Jones cannot share specific details of what was discussed during the closed session. He did, however, emphasize that the information shared does not meet the threshold required to justify a secret meeting.

    “In my judgment, the information we received is not so sensitive that it has to be handled behind closed doors,” Jones explained. “There is no information whose disclosure would put national security at risk. In fact, most of this information is already considered an open public secret.” That assessment led Jones to inform the Speaker of the National Assembly that he saw no reason to continue participating in the meeting, and he left shortly after.

    Jones pointed out that multiple parliamentary factions had previously stated publicly that they would demand an open session if the information under discussion was not sufficiently sensitive to justify secrecy. But according to Jones, that stated commitment to transparency was not acted on during the closed meeting.

    Beyond the mercury case, the Committee of the Whole had three other items on its agenda: the disappearance of four kilograms of gold from state-owned gold producer Grassalco, the performance of Suriname’s Anti-Corruption Unit, and a massive fish die-off in the Saramacca River. Jones told reporters he fears these remaining issues will also be pushed to closed-door discussion, following the same precedent set in the mercury case. “Based on what I experienced, I expect the same approach will be followed for the other agenda items,” he said.

    The closed-door meeting was ultimately adjourned before all business could be completed, which resulted in the cancellation of all subsequent planned public sessions of the National Assembly. Jones stressed that his criticism is limited exclusively to the decision to handle the mercury case in a closed Committee of the Whole session, and he has made no comments on the substance of the information shared during the meeting. “I am bound by the confidentiality requirement and will abide by it,” Jones said. “My objection is only to the fact that, in my view, this information could have been discussed openly without issue.”

  • Park ranger steals trimming equipment from Layou site

    Park ranger steals trimming equipment from Layou site

    A serving park ranger from the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been handed a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay a substantial fine after pleading guilty to stealing thousands of dollars worth of government-owned maintenance gear from the Layou Petroglyph Park, a protected cultural and tourism site on the island’s Leeward coast.

    Forty-four-year-old Augustus Alexander, a local resident of Layou, entered his guilty plea during a recent hearing at the Kingstown Magistrate Court, where the case was overseen by Senior Magistrate Tammika McKenzie. Court documents outline that the theft took place between December 29 and 30, 2025, after Alexander trespassed on the park grounds to take the equipment. The stolen items included an orange-and-white Stihl weed trimmer, a hand pick, a red gasoline jug, a bottle of branded Stihl lubricating oil, and a roll of nylon trimmer line. The combined value of all stolen property, which is officially owned by the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, amounts to Eastern Caribbean (EC) $3,235, equivalent to roughly 1,200 USD.

    As part of his official role, Alexander was tasked with supervising all tourism sites across the Leeward side of the main island of St. Vincent, placing him in a position of public trust that gave him familiarity with the park’s layout and security protocols. The timeline of the incident traces back to December 28, 2025, when Anica Hackshaw, the on-site attendant for the Layou Petroglyph Park, locked up the park’s storage building and ended her shift at approximately 1:30 p.m. When Hackshaw returned to work at 9:15 a.m. the following day, she immediately noticed that the storage building had been broken into and ransacked, with all the aforementioned maintenance equipment missing from its secured storage.

    Hackshaw quickly notified Shemron Williams, another senior park ranger, who immediately contacted local law enforcement to launch an investigation. Officer Keil of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force and Williams conducted an initial walkthrough of the crime scene, confirming that all the listed items had been stolen from the site. It would take nearly five months for investigators to close the case: on May 15, acting on a credible tip from an informant, Officer Keil obtained a formal search warrant to search Alexander’s private residence. During the search, law enforcement recovered almost all of the stolen equipment, including the orange-and-white trimmer, five-litre gas jug, Stihl oil bottle, and nylon roll, matching the descriptions provided by the park staff.

    Following the recovery of the stolen property, Alexander was taken into custody and transported to the Layou Police Station for formal processing. He was informed of the burglary charge against him, given a standard police caution, and interviewed with Carlton Browne, a local Justice of the Peace, present as required by law. During the interview, Alexander voluntarily provided a full written confession admitting to the theft, after which he was formally arrested and charged with the offense.

    In her final sentencing, Magistrate McKenzie handed Alexander a 12-month prison sentence that was suspended for a period of 18 months, meaning he will not serve active jail time so long as he does not commit any further offenses during the suspension period. She additionally ordered Alexander to pay an immediate fine of EC$450; failure to pay the fine by the required deadline will result in an automatic six-month active prison sentence. As part of the court order, all recovered stolen equipment has been ordered to be returned to Layou Petroglyph Park to resume its use for site maintenance.

  • Japan : Major progress in the process of reviving bilateral cooperation

    Japan : Major progress in the process of reviving bilateral cooperation

    Decades of suspended development cooperation between Haiti and Japan are one step closer to resumption, after high-level talks between Haitian development program officials and Japan’s top envoy to the Caribbean nation produced notable progress on rebuilding mutual trust this week.

    The meeting, held July 9, 2026, brought together Stevenson Jacques Thimoléon, Director General of Haiti’s Bureau for the Monetization of Development Assistance Programs (BMPAD), and Kazuhiko Nishiuchi, Japanese Ambassador to Haiti, to address the long-stalled partnership—most notably the KR Program, which was put on hold amid Haiti’s overlapping cycles of political upheaval and systemic security collapse.

    Before Tokyo would agree to restart its grant monetization program, Japanese authorities set clear preconditions: concrete proof of institutional stability, strengthened financial oversight mechanisms, and binding accountability requirements for all funds disbursed. For Haiti’s new governing administration, the meeting served as a critical opportunity to demonstrate it has met these requirements.

    During the discussions, Thimoléon outlined the wide range of institutional reforms the new leadership has implemented to guarantee sound, transparent, and responsible stewardship of all resources allocated through Haitian-Japanese cooperation. He reaffirmed BMPAD’s unwavering commitment to upholding international good governance standards, maintaining rigorous oversight of the program’s counterpart fund, and submitting regular, detailed public reports on the progress of all supported initiatives.

    Beyond governance reforms, talks centered on the scope of work the relaunched program would support. For decades prior to its suspension, the Japanese grant monetization program has delivered critical investment across key sectors of Haiti’s economy, including smallholder agriculture, public education access, intercommunity road infrastructure, and locally led community development projects.

    Thimoléon also shared key financial data with the ambassador, noting that the counterpart fund managed by BMPAD currently holds a substantial positive balance. This figure, he emphasized, serves as tangible evidence of the institution’s capacity to manage large-scale development resources effectively and in line with agreed standards.

    After receiving the presentation and reviewing the fund management data, Ambassador Nishiuchi expressed clear satisfaction with the updates provided. He publicly commended the new Haitian administration’s targeted efforts to boost transparency and repair the trust that eroded between the two partner nations during the period of crisis.

    The ambassador added that he will now submit a full report to Japanese leadership in Tokyo and await formal approval to move forward with the full, official relaunch of the decades-long bilateral partnership.

    For BMPAD, the successful outcome of this week’s meeting marks a pivotal turning point in efforts to rebuild the cooperation that has benefited Haitian communities for more than 30 years. The institution reiterated its commitment to continued close collaboration with the Japanese Embassy in Port-au-Prince to develop projects that are concrete, transparent, and sustainable, all designed to directly improve quality of life for the Haitian people.

  • Vincy-Canadian violinist Tanya Charles returns to perform, teach in SVG

    Vincy-Canadian violinist Tanya Charles returns to perform, teach in SVG

    Two decades ago, a promising young Vincentian-Canadian violinist stepped onto the stage at St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Government House, performing alongside local pianist Sean Sutherland for then-Governor General Sir Frederick Ballantyne. Her performance that day left a lasting impression on every attendee, and now, 21 years later, that same artist — globally celebrated violinist Tanya Charles — is making a triumphant return to her ancestral home.

    On Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., Charles will reunite with Sutherland for a much-anticipated recital hosted at Kingstown Methodist Church. Held under the official patronage of current Governor General Sir Stanley K. John and sponsored by District Stairs St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the event is poised to deliver an unforgettable night of world-class musical performance for local audiences. Unlike standard classical recitals, the program is curated to center and celebrate Black and Caribbean musical heritage, spanning compositions from the late 18th century all the way to works by living contemporary creators. Audiences will get to experience both solo and collaborative performances from Charles and Sutherland throughout the evening. A pre-event press release called the recital “a concert you will not want to miss.”

    Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to Vincentian parents — Gloria Charles (née Glasgow) of Mesopotamia and Godwin Charles of Evesham — Charles has built a decades-long career of captivating audiences across North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Her exceptional artistic skill has earned her some of Canada’s most prestigious musical honors, including the Women’s Art Association of Canada Luella McCleary Award, the Gabriella Dory Prize in Music, and the John C. Holland Award from the Hamilton Black History Association.

    Charles holds deep academic and professional credentials to match her performance success: she earned a Bachelor of Music in performance from the University of Toronto, and an Artist Diploma in orchestral performance from the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music, one of the most respected global institutions for advanced musical training. “St. Vincent and the Grenadines can be immensely proud to call her one of our own,” the press release stated.

    Today, Charles holds several key leadership roles in North American classical music spaces that center marginalized creators. She has served as Concertmaster of Ensemble Obiora, a groundbreaking Montreal-based ensemble and Canada’s first majority-BIPOC classical music collective, since the group’s founding in 2021. One of her most notable recent career milestones was stepping in as soloist for the Canadian premiere of Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in October 2023, a landmark moment that advanced global recognition for underrepresented Black classical composers.

    Beyond her work with Ensemble Obiora, Charles is a core violinist and outreach coordinator for the Odin Quartet, and has collaborated with a roster of leading musical institutions including the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra and COMF Virtuosi in South Carolina, New York’s Gateways Festival Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, and the National Ballet Orchestra of Canada. A remarkably versatile artist, she also performs violin, viola, and mandolin for Mirvish Productions, currently contributing to Toronto’s hit 2024–2025 run of Disney’s long-running acclaimed production of *The Lion King*.

    The excitement of Charles’ homecoming extends far beyond the upcoming recital. Partnering with White Chapel Studio, she will also host two public masterclasses for violin and viola students at the Kingstown Public Library, offering a rare opportunity for local musicians to learn from a world-class performer and educator.

    As a faculty member at both the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music and the Oscar Peterson Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Charles brings decades of elite teaching experience directly to St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ local musical community. The masterclasses are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon, and are open to musicians of all ages and skill levels. Each session is structured to combine hands-on instruction with practical performance opportunities: Monday’s class will focus on foundational posture and left-hand technique, while Wednesday’s session will cover bow control and sound production. The sessions are also open to observers, including students, family members, and general music enthusiasts who wish to attend and observe world-class musical education.

    Interested participants can register for the masterclasses via the official event website. Event organizers urge local communities not to let this unique opportunity pass: “Do not miss this once-in-a-generation opportunity to learn from one of Canada’s finest violinists right here, at home, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Come out, bring the family, and let us celebrate the extraordinary talent that our island has given to the world.”

  • Rotaract Club of Antigua Leaves Lasting Legacy with First Peace Pole and “Supporting Her Flow Collective”

    Rotaract Club of Antigua Leaves Lasting Legacy with First Peace Pole and “Supporting Her Flow Collective”

    After successfully hosting the long-awaited Rotaract District 7030 Conference, Linked in Wadadli, the Rotaract Club of Antigua has cemented a lasting, meaningful legacy in the Caribbean nation through two landmark initiatives: the installation of the country’s first official Peace Pole and the launch of Supporting Her Flow Collective, a cross-regional project dedicated to advancing menstrual health equity and dignity.

    ## A Permanent Monument to Intentional Peace
    As the centerpiece of the conference’s community impact agenda, the inaugural Peace Pole was permanently installed at Antigua’s Mount St. John’s Medical Centre. Carved with the iconic message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in multiple languages, Peace Poles are globally recognized symbols that stand for collective hope, cross-cultural unity, and mutual understanding. With thousands of these monuments already placed in public spaces, hospitals, schools, and parks across every inhabited continent, they serve as a constant, visible reminder that global peace starts with individual action and intentional empathy.

    This initiative aligns directly with peacebuilding, one of the seven core focus areas of Rotary International. For decades, Rotary and its youth-focused affiliate Rotaract have advanced dialogue, cross-community understanding, and conflict prevention across the globe through humanitarian work, leadership development, educational outreach, and cross-sector community partnerships.

    At the official unveiling ceremony, representatives from Rotaract clubs spanning District 7030 — which encompasses multiple Caribbean nations — delivered short remarks in both English and French, a deliberate nod to the district’s rich cultural diversity and a powerful illustration that peace messaging transcends national borders and linguistic divides.

    Kayah Ward, the incoming 2025-2026 Community Service Director for the district, emphasized that while most Caribbean nations are spared the devastation of active armed conflict, peace is a universal human right that requires consistent, intentional nurturing. She urged Rotarians and Rotaractors to view the Peace Pole not as a static decorative monument, but as a daily call to practice compassion, open dialogue, mutual understanding, and service within their own homes, clubs, local communities, and national spaces.

    Incoming District Governor 2025–2026 Soraya Warner-Gustave commended Rotaract clubs across the district for bringing the Peace Pole project to fruition, noting that peacebuilding remains a foundational pillar of Rotary’s global mission. She shared particular pride in watching the district’s young leaders translate Rotary’s core values into tangible, on-the-ground action, creating a legacy that will inspire future generations of community leaders across the Caribbean.

    On behalf of the hosting medical institution, Emelda Benjamin of Mount St. John’s Medical Centre thanked the Rotaract Club of Antigua for choosing the facility as the Peace Pole’s permanent home. Reflecting on the ceremony, she highlighted what she called the day’s most resonant takeaway: “Peace is not abstract. Peace must be intentional.” Benjamin added that the monument will stand as a lasting reminder of the value of peace for staff, patients, and visitors at the medical center, and for communities across Antigua and Barbuda as a whole.

    ## Launching a Regional Movement for Menstrual Dignity
    Beyond the peace initiative, the conference marked the official launch of Supporting Her Flow Collective, a regional service project designed to expand access to affordable menstrual hygiene products and raise public awareness of the widespread crisis of period poverty across the Caribbean.

    In the months leading up to the conference, every attending delegate was asked to travel to the event with at least one package of sanitary products. What started as a small, simple ask grew into a large-scale collective act of service, with delegates from across District 7030 contributing hundreds of products to the growing stockpile.

    Romancier Edwards, the conference’s Community Service Lead, expressed gratitude to every delegate whose individual donation made the initiative possible. Edwards emphasized that the collective’s early success is a direct reflection of the generosity, empathy, and shared commitment to community service that unites Rotaractors across the entire Caribbean district.

    The initiative received a significant boost from a private donation: Frank B. Armstrong contributed five full cases of sanitary napkins, dramatically expanding the volume of products available for distribution to vulnerable communities.

    A first portion of the collected supplies was donated to Mount St. John’s Medical Centre, to support patients who face barriers accessing essential menstrual hygiene products during their care. During the handover, Conference Co-Chair Sherwyn Greenidge framed the initiative as a reflection of cross-regional solidarity. “This donation reflects the generosity and unity of Rotaractors from across District 7030, working together to support the health and well-being of the people of Antigua and Barbuda,” Greenidge said. “We hope these items will make a meaningful contribution to the work of the dedicated doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals who serve our community every day.”

    A second allocation of products was presented at Antigua’s Rotary House by Conference Co-Chair Dr. Namadi Belle to Tanya Ambrose, representative of local community organization Scrub Life Cares. Scrub Life Cares works to support frontline healthcare workers and expand access to essential health services through outreach, advocacy, and targeted support for marginalized community members. By partnering with the organization, Supporting Her Flow Collective extends its impact far beyond the conference, allowing Scrub Life Cares to reach more vulnerable people and expand public education around menstrual health across Antigua and Barbuda.

    During the handover, Ambrose explained that period poverty encompasses far more than just a lack of access to pads, tampons, or other products. It includes a range of interconnected barriers that prevent people from managing their periods safely and with dignity: high product costs, limited access to clean water and private sanitary facilities, inadequate comprehensive menstrual health education, persistent cultural stigma and shame, and a lack of supportive policies in schools, workplaces, homes, and community spaces.

    Conference organizers note that Supporting Her Flow Collective embodies the core mission of international humanitarian service. Delegates from across the Caribbean united around a shared goal, proving that small individual contributions can add up to large, lasting, transformative change when people work together. The initiative closed with a call to action for attendees to imagine and build a truly period-friendly Caribbean, where no one experiences shame, exclusion, or limited opportunity because they menstruate.

    This year’s conference marked the first time Antigua and Barbuda has hosted the Rotaract District 7030 gathering in more than 20 years. The two initiatives leave far more than just conference memories: the Peace Pole will stand as a permanent reminder that peace requires intentional daily effort, while Supporting Her Flow Collective will continue to advance menstrual dignity, improved public health, and greater hope for marginalized communities across the region through ongoing service.

    Together, the projects perfectly embody the 2025 conference theme Linked in Wadadli, proving that when people unite across national borders in shared service, they build stronger, more equitable communities and leave a legacy that endures for decades after an event concludes.

  • Cocoa and breadfruit, two promising sectors in Haiti

    Cocoa and breadfruit, two promising sectors in Haiti

    In early July 2026, a senior delegation of diplomatic and institutional stakeholders traveled to Haiti’s Grand’Anse department to review on-the-ground progress of two landmark international agricultural development initiatives: the Agricultural Value Chain Promotion for Employment and Resilience (PROFIT) project and the Smallholder Agriculture Market Support (SAMS) program. Jointly implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), these programs are designed to empower small-scale Haitian producers by focusing on two high-potential domestic sectors—cocoa and breadfruit—with the dual goals of revitalizing the country’s rural economy and generating formal, dignified employment opportunities for local communities.

    Nicole Boni Kouassi, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Haiti and the country’s UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, emphasized that the PROFIT project has already delivered tangible proof that strategic investment in agricultural value chain development can deliver transformative results for Haiti. Early outcomes in the cocoa and breadfruit sectors confirm that significant untapped economic potential exists, and that Haitians—particularly the country’s large youth population—are eager to participate in sustainable economic activity when clear, actionable opportunities are made available to them.

    Haitian cocoa has long been celebrated globally for its distinct, high-quality aromatic profiles and flavors, positioning it well to access premium, profitable niche markets, especially through international fair trade networks. Breadfruit, meanwhile, delivers multiple layers of value: it strengthens national food security, creates opportunities for local value-added processing, and allows smallholder producers to diversify their income streams to reduce vulnerability to market shocks. As an early indicator of the sector’s growing international traction, PROFIT-supported Haitian producers showcased their cocoa products and byproducts at the 2025 Paris Chocolate Salon in November, where the offerings drew substantial interest from international buyers and consumers alike.

    The success of these interventions depends on robust cross-sector coordination between Haitian public institutions, international technical and financial partners, local private sector businesses, and grassroots producer organizations. This collaborative approach ensures that all program activities are adapted to local context and needs, while also expanding and improving the support services available directly to cocoa and breadfruit producers across the country.

    Since the launch of the two projects, they have delivered a wide range of measurable impacts across Grand’Anse. Key achievements include the construction of a 250-ton annual capacity cocoa fermentation facility and four breadfruit processing centers with a combined monthly processing capacity of 100 tons, as well as the full reconstruction of the Chambellan public market. The initiatives have created 2,000 direct and indirect jobs for local workers, completed a technical and economic feasibility study focused on processing breadfruit into flour and other value-added products, and registered and georeferenced more than 10,000 producers on a centralized logistics intelligence platform to improve market access.

    Additional outcomes include the establishment of 70 fully functional solidarity producer cooperatives, capacity building for six local agricultural service providers to improve the quality of support they offer smallholders, and a threefold increase in cocoa exports from Grand’Anse over just two years. The projects have also facilitated the sale of more than 30 tons of locally produced breadfruit flour to WFP for use in its national school feeding programs, enabling 6,789 local producers to secure stable income through WFP’s local procurement initiative, which represents a total investment of more than $2 million in local agricultural communities.

    More than 1,900 lead producers have completed training in agroecological farming practices, post-harvest handling, aflatoxin prevention, and financial and commercial management. Over 2,000 smallholder farmers have received critical agricultural inputs, including 5 tons of seeds, 99,500 seedlings, and 352 goats to support production. Five new beekeeping enterprises have been launched to help rural households diversify their income streams, and 2.5 kilometers of critical agricultural access roads have been rehabilitated, with a truck and four tricycles provided to reduce barriers to transporting products to market.

    The projects have also supported the creation of eight community mutual aid societies and selected eight local micro-enterprises to receive targeted financial support. Major structural investments have been completed, including the construction of a grain mill, two product aggregation centers, two storage facilities, and a dedicated cocoa drying area. Almost 2,900 small-scale producers have been trained in the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) approach, and receive customized climate information via SMS and radio to help them adapt to changing weather patterns. After Hurricane Melissa hit the region, the programs disbursed more than $81,280 in compensation payments to 1,726 insured farming households, supporting their post-disaster recovery and strengthening long-term resilience to climate shocks.

  • Nationaal Woningbouwfonds stelt voorwaarden woningbouwkredieten vast

    Nationaal Woningbouwfonds stelt voorwaarden woningbouwkredieten vast

    After years of planning, Suriname’s 2019 National Housing Fund Act has officially entered into force, marking the formal establishment of the fund’s new governing board and the launch of a national initiative to expand access to affordable, quality housing for a wide cross-section of Surinamese households. The policy rollout, which introduced the National Housing Program Suriname (NaHuSur), took place at the Reeberg development project, where fund director Anushka Ramjielal outlined the eligibility criteria, loan terms, and structural requirements for properties financed under the new scheme.

    Ramjielal emphasized that the fund is targeted specifically at Surinamese residents across low, middle, and upper-income brackets who are seeking to build, purchase, or renovate their first family home. To qualify for a subsidized housing loan, applicants must meet several core requirements: they must be legal adults, hold Surinamese citizenship, not own any other residential property directly or indirectly, and have never previously received a housing loan from another domestic financial institution. Exceptions to the prior loan rule are only granted in cases of officially documented emergency or force majeure.

    Loan amounts and interest rates are structured on a sliding scale tied to a household’s combined net monthly income, to ensure accessibility for lower-income groups. For households falling into Category A Group 1, with combined net monthly incomes between 12,000 and 20,000 Surinamese dollars (SRD), loans carry a fixed 3% annual interest rate, with a maximum borrowing limit of SRD 750,000 per borrower. Households in Category A Group 2, with incomes ranging from 20,000 to 35,000 SRD per month, qualify for loans with a 5% interest rate and a maximum principal of SRD 1.2 million.

    Beyond individual homebuyers and builders, the National Housing Fund also extends financing to registered non-profit housing corporations, classified under Category B, for the development of rental and rent-to-own properties. The Stichting Volkshuisvesting (People’s Housing Foundation) qualifies for 3% interest loans, with a maximum permitted construction cost of SRD 750,000 per unit. All other registered non-profit housing corporations receive a 5% interest rate, with a cap of SRD 1.2 million per housing unit.

    To support scalable, affordable development, the legislation sets clear structural standards for all properties built with fund financing, including requirements for so-called “grow homes” – modular homes designed to be expanded incrementally as households’ needs change. In the first construction phase, a grow home must have a minimum floor area of 28 square meters. All properties must be designed to allow expansion in at least two separate phases, with the full final layout pre-approved and documented in the original construction blueprints.

    Maximum total floor area limits also apply, aligned with income and borrower category. For individual Group 1 borrowers and the Stichting Volkshuisvesting, the maximum permitted total floor area is 75 square meters. For Group 2 individual borrowers and other registered non-profit housing corporations, the maximum floor area is capped at 90 square meters.

    Ramjielal called on all eligible prospective home seekers to submit applications for the program, noting that all loan applications will be processed and disbursed through local commercial banks, which will handle the distribution of application forms and initial intake. Interested applicants will need to complete and submit standardized forms through their chosen local bank to begin the review process. Looking ahead, the fund is currently developing its own dedicated public website and regular newsletter, which will provide ongoing updates to Surinamese citizens about the fund’s operations, application procedures, and the status of pending loan requests.

  • Cost Pro Supermarket Closes Permanently, Employees Laid Off

    Cost Pro Supermarket Closes Permanently, Employees Laid Off

    In a sudden development impacting the local retail sector of Antigua and Barbuda, Cost Pro Supermarket, an established grocery outlet located at Woods Mall in St. John’s, has permanently ceased all operations. The full staff complement of the supermarket has been terminated on redundancy grounds, ending their ties to the business immediately.

    A formal notification letter dated July 9 from the chain’s management confirmed the permanent closure of the location, noting that all existing positions at the supermarket had been eliminated, leading to the immediate end of every employee’s term of service. In line with the country’s labor regulatory requirements, the company has outlined clear next steps for compensating affected workers.

    According to the announcement, all employees will receive full compensation for hours worked up to their final day of employment. Company officials are currently conducting a comprehensive review of payroll records to calculate all additional owed payments, which include accumulated unused vacation pay, statutory notice pay for eligible workers, and severance packages mandated by Antigua and Barbuda’s labor laws.

    Management has committed to distributing itemized final payment statements to every affected worker no later than July 17. These documents will detail all outstanding amounts owed to employees, after all required statutory deductions have been applied. In a corresponding requirement, workers have been directed to return all company-owned assets in their possession by the same July 17 deadline. This includes work uniforms, facility keys, employee identification cards, work-related equipment and all company documents.

    In a closing statement, Cost Pro Supermarket’s management expressed gratitude to all former employees for their years of service to the company and extended well wishes for their upcoming job searches and future career paths. The shutdown brings a definitive end to the supermarket’s years-long tenure as a retail tenant at the Woods Mall location.

  • Economy : Bank credit to the private sector shows a slight increase of 0.3% after 2 years of contraction

    Economy : Bank credit to the private sector shows a slight increase of 0.3% after 2 years of contraction

    After two consecutive years of sharp decline, Haiti’s bank lending to the private sector has finally edged into positive territory, new data from the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) confirms. The central bank’s latest annual report, which tracks credit trends between September 2024 and September 2025, shows a modest 0.3% expansion in the country’s net loan portfolio, ending a downturn that saw credit contract by 15.2% in 2024 and 9.6% in 2023. This fragile growth unfolds against a backdrop of deep systemic challenges that have kept Haitian financial institutions deeply cautious about extending new capital.

    Over the 12-month analysis period, Haiti’s commercial banks maintained a risk-averse lending posture amid ongoing deterioration of the national business climate and a five-year-long worsening security crisis that has disrupted nearly all segments of economic activity. The report documents that the average rate of non-performing loans (NPLs) across the sector climbed to 13% during the period, up from 10.36% in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, a jump that has further incentivized conservative lending strategies.

    Beyond overall growth trends, the BRH analysis highlights significant structural inequalities in Haiti’s credit market. Lending remains heavily concentrated in a small set of sectors and geographic regions, with persistent gender-based gaps in access to financing for small business owners and entrepreneurs. To mitigate ongoing strain on the market, the central bank has already rolled out targeted interventions to support struggling borrowers and prioritize lending to high-impact productive sectors, though the report notes these measures have had limited impact amid broader instability.

    Breaking down credit allocation by sector, the report shows the housing sector and industrial free zones are the largest recipients of bank lending, holding 5.269 billion gourdes and 5.082 billion gourdes in outstanding credit respectively. Together, these two segments account for more than half of all allocated private sector credit, at 26.6% and 25.7% of the total portfolio. Export-focused enterprises follow as the third-largest group, receiving 3.212 billion gourdes in financing equal to 16.2% of total disbursements, while the tourism and hotel sectors hold 2.440 billion gourdes, or 12.3% of total allocated credit.

    The agricultural sector, which benefits from special provisions outlined in BRH’s Circular 113, received 11.9% of total disbursements, and the government’s Real Estate Development Promotion Program (PPDI) accounts for an additional 5.3% of lending. Leasing-focused financial institutions round out the allocation, receiving 400 million gourdes, equal to 2% of total private sector credit.

    In its policy analysis, the BRH emphasizes that sustained growth in private sector lending will depend first on reversing the country’s security crisis. The report notes that improving public safety is a non-negotiable prerequisite to rebuild investor confidence, restart stalled productive activities, and revitalize traditional credit distribution channels. Restoring national stability, the central bank argues, would also lay the groundwork for a more supportive environment for financial innovation that could expand access to underserved groups. Beyond security, the report identifies the development of a robust, comprehensive financial risk management ecosystem as a critical priority to strengthen long-term resilience in Haiti’s banking sector.

    The full 18-page BRH report, published in French, is available for public download via the HaitiLibre official website.

  • Invoices, Addresses, and Alleged Connections to the Highest Office

    Invoices, Addresses, and Alleged Connections to the Highest Office

    The ongoing Ministry of Defense procurement corruption controversy in Belize has entered a volatile new phase, with newly leaked official documents linking the prime minister’s immediate family to suspicious public fund payments that appear structured to avoid mandatory oversight. The 33 leaked invoices, published by local outlet News Five on July 9, 2026, lay out a clear pattern of transaction splitting: 93% of the payments come in just under the $10,000 threshold that triggers stricter formal scrutiny under government procurement rules. Only two invoices exceed this limit, both for the exact amount of $13,537.03.

    Altogether, the documents show the Ministry of Defense disbursed a total of $242,230.09 in public funds to two individuals linked by the same residential address in Orange Walk: 61 Queen Victoria Avenue. Unconfirmed sources cited by the outlet identify the two payees, Addy Isora Del Carmen Ku and Javier Reul Briceño, as a married couple. Javier Reul Briceño is the sibling of sitting Prime Minister John Briceño, a connection that pulls the expanding scandal directly to the highest office in the nation.

    A breakdown of the payments shows Ku received $225,462.89 in disbursements between November 2023 and July 2025, while Briceño was paid $16,767 in a single transaction in August 2025. The addition of these two names grows the already long list of individuals and private entities connected to questionable payments through the Ministry of Defense’s Smart Stream payment system, turning what began as an inquiry into irregular invoicing into a full-blown political crisis.

    In a phone interview with reporter Paul Lopez, Prime Minister Briceño confirmed Javier Briceño is his brother, but denied any knowledge of the payments, his sibling’s contracted services to the ministry, or even the name of his brother’s spouse. When pressed on whether the proximity of his family to the scandal raises legitimate public questions, Briceño acknowledged questions are fair but maintained he has no involvement in the day-to-day management of the Smart Stream procurement system.

    “I don’t even know how Smart Stream work, I have never been into the Smart Stream, because that is not my job. That is for the public officers,” Briceño told Lopez. He added that an ongoing investigation led by the Auditor General is already underway, and any individual found to have broken rules—including his brother—will face full accountability. “I nuh cover the fact,” he said, speaking in Belizean Kriol. “If anything was wrong, if it was Javier or anybody, they will have to answer.”

    As the paper trail of irregular payments grows longer with each new leak, the scandal shows no signs of abating, leaving the prime minister to confront growing public pressure over potential gaps in procurement oversight and conflicts of interest at the highest levels of government.