Poverty & Social Development: A Caribbean Perspective

Proposal soon to make application for work, residency permits more flexible

PHILIPSBURG--Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards and Labour Commissioner Louie Laveist have initiated discussions on making the application process and issuance of work and residency permits more flexible.

The discussions are taking place in the wake of calls by Laveist for a second grace period to give undocumented persons another chance to legalise their status.

Laveist told The Daily Herald Wednesday that he was putting together a proposal that would recommend elimination of the need for non-nationals to obtain a lot of what he called “unnecessary documents” when filing for their employment permits and especially for renewals.
He is also proposing that first time employment permits be issued for an initial period of three years, with the possibility of a two-year extension. He said authorities would assess the labour market to determine whether there were local persons to fill the positions in question at the end of the first three years and again after the two-year extension. At the moment first time permits are issued for a period of one year.

“The basic principle is for a lot of the unnecessary red tape to be eliminated and reduce the frustrations of government, businesses and the applicant,” he said. “It will be a win, win, win situation.”

His proposal will also entail re-examining the circumstances of non-nationals who for some reason or the other have been unable to renew their employment permits “through no fault of their own” or who have “fallen through the cracks” where their permits are concerned, with a view of having their permits issued.

Laveist said many non-nationals residing in St. Maarten for a number of years had been unable to renew their papers through no fault of their own. He said too that his proposal would also have considerations for young persons residing in St. Maarten for a number of years who were left in jeopardy and risked being repatriated once they reached the age of maturity and their parents could no longer sign for them.

Laveist said these issues had been raised with the Lt. Governor during his preliminary discussions with him on Monday. He said the discussions had been promising, but no commitments had been made.

He told reporters during Wednesday’s Executive Council press briefing that his proposal would be sent to Justice Minister David Dick. The “comprehensive proposal” will also be tabled before the Executive Council.

“We are examining ways and discussing how we can better serve the public with regard to the issuance of those two very important documents,” Laveist said during the press briefing.

He also spoke about plans to merge the Police Affairs office at the Sun Color building and the section of the Labour Department that handles employment permits, to make “it more client friendly” and make the application process “less frustrating.” He also wants the Departments to be more efficient, with employment permits being issued within the stipulated six-week period.

Caribbean group in US awards two scholarships to students
published: Friday March 31, 2006

MEMBERS OF the Caribbean Educators Association (CARE) have awarded scholarships to two graduating high school seniors of Caribbean descent, and have donated school supplies and toys to the Woodlawn School of Special Education in Mandeville, Manchester.

The scholarship recipients are Kaidero Hutchinson, a Jamaican national of Pahokee Senior High School, who intends to attend Florida State University in Tallahassee, and Judith Olicia Monroe, a Bahamian national, who attends the Boyd Anderson High in Fort Lauderdale, and is desirous of attending the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Dr. Janice Cover, president of the organisation, which was launched in March 2005, commended members for the dedication and commitment through the growing stages. She was addressing the first annual banquet held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, recently.

Dr. Cover indicated that members of CARE have begun discussions with the Jamaican Government Education Reform Task Force, to provide professional support and development to educators in the country. Members of CARE include Caribbean nationals, representing teaching staff at all levels of education in Palm Beach county.

Membership is open to persons in other counties in the state of Florida.

Caribbean governments and businesses blamed for brain drain

Friday, March 31, 2006

by Dawne Bennett
Caribbean Net News Barbados Correspondent
Email: dawne@caribbeannetnews.com

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Caribbean governments and businesses are being told they're partly to blame for their university graduates leaving their homelands and moving to other countries to work.

Head of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic research at the UWI Mona Campus, Jamaica, Professor Neville Duncan says politicians and the business sector have failed to properly plan to absorb and utilize these people in productive employment.

Speaking on day two of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Research (SALISES) 7th Annual conference being held in Barbados, he says, while most University of the West Indies graduates genuinely try to find meaningful and relevant employment in their countries, they have been blocked from doing this.

"Blocked through the existence of family firms that do not see an advantage and benefit in hiring highly qualified graduates of the university participating in their operations," he said.
"Also the idea that you can pay them less for quality work, and all of these things create frustration and generate a desire to get out of this environment and try somewhere else, which is usually overseas," he said.

On day one of the conference, Dean of the Faculty of the Social Sciences at the UWI Cave Hill Campus, Dr. George Belle revealed that more Masters programmes are coming on stream at that campus from September.

He says while there has been major emphasis on increasing undergraduate admissions at the Barbados campus, the next thrust will be on postgraduate programmes and research.
Dr. Belle say intense work is ongoing to have everything in place by the start of the next academic year, but he did not indicate what these programmes would be.

The SALISES conference is being held under the theme 'Social Policy Challenges in the Post-Independence Era' and it's expected that by the end of the conference, there should be a better perspective on social policy development in the Caribbean.

Vienna, 30 March 2006

IPI World Press Freedom Review 2005
THE CARIBBEAN: Oppressive Media Laws - A Looming Epidemic

Haiti once again ranked low on press freedom indexes, with three journalists killed during the year. Another matter of concern in the troubled Caribbean state was the pressure exerted on journalists and media outlets investigating political and gang violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Under the guise of wanting to preserve order, the authorities attempted to impede critical coverage of police operations and government policies, journalists claimed.

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, the introduction of restrictive new media legislation, the continued use of civil and criminal libel laws, and instances of government interference in state-owned media, all encouraged the tendency to self-censor.

In Trinidad and Tobago, and in the Dominican Republic, protests from the media and free press organisations forced the governments to withdraw proposed broadcasting regulations, although the authorities vowed to return to the subject at a later date.

Wesley Gibbings, president of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM), warned of "a looming epidemic of oppressive broadcast media laws and regulations currently hovering over the Caribbean region."

The growing popularity of talk-radio also continued to be a major source of controversy during the year, with politicians across the Caribbean accusing the call-in programmes of being "irresponsible."

Speaking on the press freedom situation in the region, Michael Kudlak, IPI's press freedom advisor for the Caribbean, said, "Increasingly, authorities are attempting to use libel laws, broadcasting regulations, and other legal measures to stifle critical coverage, posing a serious threat to freedom of opinion and expression in the Caribbean."

"IPI urges the governments of the Caribbean to uphold everyone's right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right 'to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers,' as outlined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Kudlak added.

For further information contact Michael Kudlak, IPI coordinator for the Caribbean, Tel:+431-512 90 11

Posted on Thu, Mar. 30, 2006

JAMAICA
Jamaican leader looks to S. Florida for advice

Jamaica's incoming prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, has reached out to Jamaican Americans in South Florida for help charting a new course for her nation.

BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com

Among the swell of well-wishers today in Kingston, Jamaica, as Portia Simpson Miller makes history, will be Caribbean prime ministers, U.S. lawmakers, diplomats and a small contingent of South Floridians wearing American and Jamaican flags over their hearts.

This group of Jamaican Americans has the distinction of being an unlikely source of advice for their homeland's seventh -- and first female -- prime minister. For more than a month now, Team Portia Florida has been meeting just a stone's throw away from Lauderhill, the hub of Jamaican culture in South Florida, with a mandate from Simpson Miller: Help chart a new course for Jamaica.

This kitchen Cabinet of sorts helped bankroll the campaign -- raising about $40,000 in South Florida -- that led to Simpson Miller's victory last month. They might well help shake things up as she forms her own government within the 68-year-old, moderately socialist, ruling People's National Party.

''We've been asked to help her formulate policy to help Jamaica,'' Lauderhill City Commissioner Dale Holness said of the group's mission.

The South Florida contingent will have to tread lightly, lest they be accused of trying to call the shots from afar. Yet Jamaica's leadership has been trying to reach out to expatriates even before Simpson Miller opened the door.

`HIGH RESPONSIBILITY'

''I think it's important for her to access and solicit ideas [from] the diaspora,'' said Jamaican-American attorney Marlon Hill, who is not part of the local group. ``Having that access and opportunity to have her ear comes with a high responsibility that should be used in an effective way and in the best interest of all Jamaicans''

A popular politician who enjoys immense support from Jamaica's poor, Simpson Miller, 60, defeated three other candidates in the divisive internal party leadership race to succeed retiring PNP President and Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.

Her victory has not only raised her profile among Jamaica's 2.6 million citizens on the island, but also among South Florida's growing 148,700 Jamaican-American community.
About 100 are expected at today's event.

The local community is watching closely to see if Jamaica's new prime minister can successfully confront the island nation's rising violence and deepening poverty.

By giving Jamaica's influential emigrants a real voice in her administration, Simpson Miller is signaling that she intends to maintain some of the political hallmarks of her predecessor. Two years ago, Patterson launched the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation to mobilize the estimated 2.6 million Jamaican citizens living abroad.

Sen. Delano Franklyn, minister of state in Jamaica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that by tapping the South Florida group, Simpson Miller is demonstrating that ``she will be placing greater emphasis on the overseas Jamaican community.''

During a two-day visit to South Florida last month, Simpson Miller said she recognized the contributions of Jamaicans overseas and wants their input.

''I want to ensure that I have consultation, and when I travel as prime minister, I am going to ask for meetings so that I can speak to Jamaicans,'' she said. ``For too long the people have been out there feeling that they are not part of the process.''

VARIED EXPERIENCE

The South Florida group's experience is wide-ranging, a reflection of the social, economic and political success Jamaicans have achieved locally. The core group numbers around 20 and includes experts in literacy, disaster preparedness, criminal justice, real estate, entrepreneurship, healthcare, insurance and government consulting.

''The country has produced so many talented people,'' said Geri Peterkin, a benefits and risk administrator for the city of Lauderdale Lakes and a member of its disaster preparedness team. ``If we could get some of our expertise down on the island, it would be very helpful.''

DREAMS OF HOME

Like many of South Florida's estimated 654,500 West Indians -- many of whom yearn to return to their respective homelands -- Peterkin, 57, dreams of the day she can pack and move into a house ''on a mountain overlooking the water'' in Jamaica.

But the Jamaica Peterkin left 46 years ago is far different from the one that exists now.
Progress has been made, but opportunities are limited. That, along with Jamaica's reputation for having one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world -- only South Africa and Colombia were higher last year when Jamaica recorded 1,669 homicides -- has created a desperate desire by both its poor and middle class to get out.

''It's ridiculous violence,'' said Anthea Pennant Isaacs, who teaches criminal justice. ``I've worked 10 years in law enforcement. I go to Jamaica and I am always concerned about the violence.''

Confronting the violence, Pennant Isaacs says, will be Simpson Miller's toughest challenge, and one the professor is prepared to help Simpson Miller tackle.

''We need to create programs that can facilitate life-skills training for our youths and our adults,'' said Pennant Isaacs, who visits Jamaica at least three times a year.

With some 70 alumni associations, church-based charities and other groups here already doing philanthropic work on behalf of Jamaica, the South Florida group has a foundation to build on.
''The future of the country is at stake,'' said Sherna Spencer, a Fort Lauderdale immigration lawyer who left Jamaica as a teenager 30 years ago. ``I believe we need to shore up Jamaica, we need to provide an avenue for the people who want to stay.'

It's this deep desire to make Jamaica better by stemming the brain drain, Spencer said, that encouraged her to get involved.

Though many of the group members haven't lived in Jamaica for years, Spencer said that's an advantage.

''We are looking backward and seeing what is going on, and we have a different perspective to bring to the table suggestions and ideas on how things can be done more efficiently or in a different way,'' she said.

Marrying American sensibilities with the Jamaican way of doing business will not be easy, as Spencer reminded the group during a strategy session at Holness' West Sunrise Boulevard office.

A SIMPLE CHANGE

Business owner Robert Robinson proposed what he considered a simple change that would have a huge impact: a policy to get rid of the long wait for land titles.

''I agree the wait is long,'' Spencer said before issuing this warning: ``The lawyers are going to fight you. It takes a long time, but that is how they make money.''

Confronting these kinds of special interests -- and making sure they are not duplicating efforts by myriad other Jamaica-interest groups, including the Diaspora Foundation -- will be tough. But it shouldn't be discouraging, Holness said.

''We bring to the table the experience we've learned in America,'' he said. ``We are engaged, and at this point in time we are going to continue to be engaged.''

Minister Dick takes action against human trafficking

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Justice David Dick made a firm commitment yesterday that he is going to combat human trafficking through the Netherlands Antilles. He launched a preventive publicity campaign to deal with the issue.

Dick said women were transported to the Netherlands Antilles under horrible conditions and on false pretexts, and ended up in prostitution. “There are also situations of forced labour and people being exploited. We must give a clear signal that the Netherlands Antilles does not tolerate these kinds of punishable acts,” he said.

The International Organisation on Migration (IOM), subsidised by the United States, through its work worldwide with migrants, noticed that it was possible that human trafficking went through the Netherlands Antilles. In the investigation “Exploratory assessment of trafficking in persons in the Caribbean region” of June 2005 IOM came to the same conclusion.

That’s why a preventive publicity campaign was set up. The Dutch Ministry of Justice made funds available for the Netherlands Antilles to participate in the publicity campaign by IOM.
The United States makes a Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report every year in which every country, including the Netherlands Antilles, is judged on its efforts to prevent human trafficking. The United States is thinking about taking measures against countries that don’t make sufficient effort.

According to Miloushka Racamy of the Netherlands Antilles Department Justice, the Netherlands Antilles does not have to fear repercussions, because “we are listed as part of the Dutch Kingdom, according to the 2005 report.”

A workgroup is being formed that will provide information on human trafficking through all media channels. A coordinator will be appointed in each island territory to fill in the way the publicity campaign is conducted.

March, 29 - 9:09 AM
Remittances contribute more than international financiers I.D.B., W.B. and IMF

Santo Domingo.- Remittances from Dominicans residing abroad during the past 11 years constitute a contribution ten-fold greater than disbursements received from international financing entities during the same time span, according to the Finance minister.

Vicente Bengoa said that “this is an economic assistance of offspring that seek brighter horizons abroad and never neglect their own.”

He added that the poor that emigrate mainly on yola-boats, risking their lives, have contributed in currencies to the country almost 10 times more since 1995 to date, than resources that have come to the country by way of disbursements made by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Bengoa stated that remittances to the country totaled US$17,800 million, while financial assistance from multilateral entities hardly summed US$2,100 million.

“And yet more important is the fact that these remittances are a dollar injection without interest charges and without conditioning stipulations for the country,” he affirmed.

Dominican Today - Portal Alta Tecnologia

Wednesday, March 29, 2006


IMF accept The Bahamas' national accounts statistics

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has accepted the National Accounts Statistics produced by the Department of Statistics, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Sen. the Hon. James Smith said on Monday, March 27.

"This might well be the first time in over 30 year," Minister Smith said at the Department of Statistics' seminar for senior public servants.

Minister Smith said the IMF's acceptance of the National Accounts Statistics is a result of a modernisation project carried out by the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Statistics with the assistance of the IMF and Statistics Canada.

Minister Smith noted that over the past few years, the Department of Statistics has re-organised itself and has upgraded and expanded its capacity to provide useful and relevant information to both the domestic and international community.

He said in this modern and increasingly important information technology-driven world, it is imperative that all nations are in a position to make instantly available, a wide range of data on national accounts, import and export trade statistics, balance of payments; fiscal and monetary information with respect to national debt, budgetary deficits, money supply; interest rates and credit; and labour force data, including unemployment figures.

"Over the past few decades, The Bahamas was not among the most prolific information providers in the region or even in the world," Minister Smith said.

He said many international data banks, including the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States, CARICOM and the Caribbean Development Bank would often place the symbols "NA" or "Not Available" in the column representing The Bahamas' contribution to international, hemispheric or regional data collection effort.

"No country can even begin to develop realistic socio-economic programmes and plans unless and until it has in place an adequate statistical system which produces, at a minimum, good quality, reliable, timely and relevant data on the social and economic conditions existing in that country," Minister Smith said.

"Up until recently," he added, "there was a tremendous gap in The Bahamas between the demand for universally available information and the supply or availability of that information locally."

The Minister said that in an attempt to close that gap, a considered and deliberate effort was made by the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Statistics with the assistance of the IMF and Statistics Canada to put in place the necessary resources - equipment, manpower and training.

As a result of that collaborative effort, he said, the Information Technology system at the Department was upgraded utilising the latest fiber-optic technology.

A state-of-the-art database using the latest data processing software was installed by experienced software developers who were contracted for that purpose, the Minister said. Additionally, he said, state-of-the-art scanning hardware and software was installed as well as a modern security system to adequately address confidentiality concerns. "I am pleased to report today that we are already reaping the benefits of this modernisation project. For a start, the IMF has now accepted the National Accounts Statistics produced by the Department of Statistics," Minister Smith said.

He noted the Department has also published the 2001 Living Conditions Survey as well as the recent 2003-2004 Occupation and Wages Report
.
But Minister Smith cautioned that despite the notable progress in the Department to date, the real work has just begun," said Minister Smith.

He said statistical data is only as helpful as its usage, and stressed the importance of the use of statistics by the various ministries, departments and agencies represented at the workshop in meeting the development goals of The Bahamas.

"It is expected that at the end of this workshop, many of your organisations may recognise the urgency and usefulness of developing permanent mechanisms for collecting and making available statistical information for use in the national development process," Minister Smith said.

He said the critical value of statistical information for national development goals became clearly apparent in the 2001 Living Conditions Survey.

Minister Smith said the survey confirmed the suspicion that children from low or no-income families are less likely to attend pre-school or a tertiary institution and those poor children are also more likely to leave school without a qualification.

"With this concrete knowledge of the situation, the Government's programmes, which are aimed at stamping out illiteracy and eradicating poverty, could now be more appropriately targeted," he said.

"As it is, this kind of information, which is so essential to good policy development, is found in every Ministry, Department or Agency of Government," Minister Smith said.

"What is needed, therefore, is a more systematic and coherent way to collect, collate and make available that information to the policy makers and the wider society." He said the need for reliable statistical information extends beyond the Government into the private sector and non-governmental organisations.

Minister Smith commended the Chamber of Commerce for its contribution to the project by entering into a partnership arrangement with the Department of Statistics to collect data from the private sector.

"A private-public partnership is critical to the collection and dissemination of reliable national statistics," he said.

Poverty and Growth: Where To?

In the heated debates over the relationships between poverty and growth, arguments have been lined up to engage these perspectives along with more comprehensive and aggressive agendas in Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS).
These elements point out to the facts that adequate growth relies heavily upon strong control mechanisms to contain increases in poverty levels in relation to growth and GDP.

However, to further expand these issues, it remains essential to look upon certain determinants within the process of growth, and how dynamics in macro-economic stabilization programs might impede upon the delivery and provisions of social programs, as these latter components can be crucial to guarantee the implementation or orientations of pro-poor policies, and their impacts on redistributive schema.

In the lights of these debates, a recent publication by the World Bank takes as case study the region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where discussions underline the complexities in the relationships between poverty and growth, and mostly the need to look upon these elements with pragmatism when assessing and evaluating the impacts of pro-growth strategies, and public expenditure programs.

March 28, 2006
Haitian president-elect visits IDB




René Préval, president-elect of Haiti, today visited the Inter-American Development Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., to meet with IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno.

Préval and Moreno discussed the social and economic challenges facing Haiti and reviewed the IDB’s portfolio of loans and grants for the country. Preval welcomed future assistance from the IDB and described his administration’s priorities, which include strengthening Haiti’s state institutions and capacity for good governance, promoting economic growth and employment, and rapidly expanding access to vital services.

Moreno assured the new Haitian president that the IDB will continue to adapt its operations to suit Haiti's unique conditions, particularly through the application of simplified loan and technical assistance administration procedures specially introduced for Haiti. He also said that the IDB Country Office staff will marshal all available resources to expedite project execution and to assist Haitian authorities in improving the government’s capacity to administer foreign assistance.

“This is a watershed moment for Haiti,” Moreno said. “The IDB will do everything in its power to support Haiti’s efforts to meet its citizens’ needs and create new opportunities for employment and growth. We are honored by President Préval’s visit and look forward to working closely with his administration.”

The IDB is Haiti’s principal source of long-term financing. Since its re-engagement in Haiti began in July 2003, the Bank has disbursed US$152 million in loans and grants for projects in transportation, water and sanitation, agriculture, education, health, urban infrastructure rehabilitation, disaster preparedness, job training, community development and public sector reform. As much as US$554 million remains available through the Bank’s existing commitments to Haiti.

Also available in: Français, Español

Crowne Institute takes on educational challenge
published: Wednesday March 29, 2006

"ONLY WHEN the vast majority of Jamaicans are able to have access to the highest quality education and training facilities will we be able to tackle successfully the scourge of crime, deviant behaviour among our youth, or begin the journey towards sustainable economic development," said Victor Edwards, chairman of the Crowne Education Foundation.

DISLOCATION AND DESPAIR

The noted educator was outlining the rationale for the recently-created Crowne Education Foundation, brainchild of businessman Robert Forbes, CEO and founder of the Crowne Institute of Professional Studies and the Olympia Crowne Hotel. Mr. Edwards said that much of the dislocation and despair found among many residents, particularly in less affluent communities, had its genesis in the inability of a large proportion of the youth population to fulfil their dreams.

PARTNERSHIP APPROACH

He called for the adoption of a stakeholder partnership approach in order to widen the social base to educational opportunities. To this end, the foundation's chairman said that he was looking to corporate Jamaica for annual budgetary allocations for the establishment of the trust fund.

The foundation proposes to defray 50 per cent of the tuition costs for City and Guilds Courses available at the Crowne Institute of Professional Studies.

Easterly Urges Independent Evaluation of Foreign Aid

March 27, 2006






Download the full text transcript (PDF, 91 KB)

Watch Dr. Easterly's presentation**(Video streams in Quicktime-- if you do not have Quicktime on your computer download it for free)

William Easterly, author of The White Man's Burden: Why The West’s Efforts To Aid The Rest Have Done So Much Ill And So Little Good, has added his voice to the growing demand for independent evaluation of foreign aid. A professor at New York University and a CGD non-resident fellow, Easterly said in a CGD talk last week that development assistance lacks CIAO: Customer feedback, Incentives, Accountability, and, therefore, good Outcomes. The solution, he said, is independent evaluation.

"We need independent evaluation of foreign aid. It’s amazing that we’ve gone a half century without this," he said. Truly independent evaluation of aid would "give feedback to see which interventions are working and give incentives to aid staff to find things that work,” he said. As a result, aid agencies would “start specializing much more in individual, monitorable tasks for which they can be held accountable.”

Senior Fellow Ruth Levine, who chaired the event, is co-chair of the CGD Evaluation Gap working group that recently put forward a draft proposal for a new independent evaluation organization focused on social sector interventions, such as health and education. Levine said that the group has been investigating “why there has been such a deficit of good evaluation about what works in social development programs” and how the development community could do a better job of learning what works. Levine and Easterly testified Tuesday at U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on improving the effectiveness of the multilateral development banks. (Read Levine’s testimony; access this and other materials from the hearing on the Senate Website.

Presenting the main arguments of his book at the packed CGD event, Easterly contrasted two approaches. First, an ineffective planners' approach that he said lacks the knowledge and motivation to achieve overambitious, arbitrary targets. Second, what he regards as a more constructive searchers' approach: individuals always on the lookout for piecemeal improvements to poor peoples' well-being, with a system to get more aid resources to those who find things that work.

Kicking off the lively discussion, David Devlin-Foltz, director of the Aspen Institute’s Global Interdependence Initiative, saluted Easterly’s “terrifyingly acerbic wit” but challenged him to present his arguments in ways that would build support for more effective aid rather than demolish support for aid altogether. “I would ask Bill to do what he can to frame this book consistently as a call for reform, not a death sentence, to mend aid, not end it,” he said.

© 2006 Center for Global Development.

Public and Private Sector Plan to Address Avian Flu in the Hemisphere

Given growing concern about Avian Influenza and its potential for devastation in the Western Hemisphere, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will convene an Ambassadorial Briefing Friday, March 31.

©IICA 2006 All Rights Reserved

Success can be deep-rooted and rewarding

Tuesday, March 28, 2006


The Agricultural Society’s third annual Awards and Appreciation Ceremony took place at the Stacy Watler Agricultural Pavilion in Lower Valley. Minister of Agriculture, Hon Kurt Tibbetts, spoke about the progress that agriculture had made over the past year, as evidenced by the impressive display of animals, fruits and vegetables at the Agricultural Show on Ash Wednesday.

Mr Tibbetts went on to praise farmers for their efforts in livestock and crop improvement: “I am totally certain farming is alive and well, and I am confident about next year’s show,” he said. Mr Tibbetts also commended the Agriculture Department in their commitment to offering assistance to farmers.

He also spoke of a new Agro-Tourism scheme, and encouraged farmers to attend a special meeting to discuss it on 10 April. “We are going to see the project through…and end up with a project we can all be proud of,” he commented.

As he ended his speech, Mr Tibbetts confirmed his ministry’s commitment to encouraging and supporting farmers. After everyone enjoyed eating the locally produced and prepared food, a practical reminder of what the Cayman Islands can produce, the trophies were awarded.

Errol Watler, President of the Cayman Islands Agricultural Society began by presenting an award to Prison Director, Dwight Scott, for the participation of the prisons. There followed awards of appreciation for the continued support of the K9 dog-handlers demonstration team.
The Cayman Islands Boy Scouts Association, the Seventh Day Adventist Pathfinders, and Savannah, North Side, and Red Bay Primary Schools also gained appreciation awards. The Award of Long Service and Dedication went to Mr and Mrs Neals Godfrey, for their 20 years of dedicated service to the management of the gate on the day of the Agricultural Show.

The Awards for the Most Consistent Schools’ Agricultural Programme were won by Cayman Brac High School for their Hydroponics and Aquaculture Programmes, and the Lighthouse School for their ‘Grow Box’ project. Shirley Ann Tibbetts presented the awards for the best District stalls. The first place went to East End, second place to North Side, and the third place went to George Town.

North Side farmers William and Zelmalee Ebanks gained several trophies during the evening, including Champion Exhibitor of Fruits and Champion Exhibitor of Vegetables. Zelmalee Ebanks also gained another award, along with Adelaide Ebanks: ‘Champion Exhibitor of Home Products.’
Dr Alfred Benjamin, Chief Agricultural and Veterinary Officer, then awarded trophies for livestock. John McLean Senior won trophies for both the Grand Champion Rabbit and Grand Champion Bull. The trophy for Champion Poultry, Male, went to Lascelles Johnson and the trophy for Champion Poultry, Female was presented to Lloyd Ramoon.

The trophy for Grand Champion Goat went to Iverston Ebanks, and Paul Bodden won the trophy for Grand Champion Cow, one of several other trophies that he gained during the evening. Livestock Farmer of the Year trophy for Grand Cayman went to Kent Rankin, and Dwayne McFarlane won the Cayman Brac trophy.

Grand Cayman Crop Farmer of the Year trophy went to Kenneth Billings, while Merchirito Chantilope took the trophy for Cayman Brac. Finally, and most fittingly the largest, most spectacular trophy of all, went to William Ebanks, for being the Most Outstanding Farmer of the Year. The organizers of the Agricultural Show have also announced the raffle winners.

christopher@caymannetnews.com

Bernal: RNM welcomes interchange with civil society
Web Posted - Tue Mar 28 2006

SPEAKING to members of the press over the weekend ahead of the Fifth Meeting of CARIFORUM-EU Principle Negotiators taking place here in Barbados yesterday and today, Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) Director General Ambassador Dr. Richard Bernal reaffirmed the RNM's commitment to interfacing with civil society. "We welcome regular interaction with non-state actors," he said, emphasising that the RNM's outreach activities are geared at engaging a broad cross-section of stakeholders, to the extent that resources allow. We want to hear their concerns and views. We consider the involvement of civil society an integral part of the process".

Heading the CARIFORUM delegation in his capacity as Principal Negotiator in the two-day meetin g with European Commission representatives underway today in Barbados, Ambassador Bernal told reporters that the objective of the meeting is to take stock of and provide overall guidance for Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations involving CAR I FORUM and the EU. These negotiations are at an important stage, with the third phase having been launched in St. Lucia last September.

The first of six technical rounds of negotiations in 2006 involving CARIFORUM and the EC was convened in Brussels l a st month, with a second round of talks held last week in Barbados, preceding and setting the stage for the two-day encounter of Principal Negotiators this week.
Ambassador Bernal noted that last week, on the margins of the CARIFORUM technical discus sions with the EC, a team of RNM officials met with civil society representatives, including the Barbados-based Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC).

He noted that the consultation afforded an exchange of views, especially with the RNM's Brussel s Representative. "This most recent consultation between the RNM and the NGO community demonstrates the RNM's commitment to regular interchange with these set of stakeholders. Emerging from that consultation the RNM gleaned NGOs" concerns as regards the EPA negotiations, but importantly the frank, informal exchange provided a forum for the RNM to bring them up to date with the negotiations.

We in the RNM consider such exchanges extremely valuable not just for us, but we would expect for the NGO c ommun ity, too, Ambassador Bernal emphasised.

The RNM's outreach to non-state actors is considered a critically important aspect of its outreach activities as a whole, and consists of: i) Collaboration: Convening joint Seminars /Workshops (in some cases par tnering with the CPDC); ii) Briefings: The RNM Director General, Senior Director Mr. Henry Gill and RNM Technical Staff meet regularly with civil society representatives, to exchange views; iii) Dissemination of Information: The RNM regularly update s th e NGO community on developments in trade negotiations germane to the Caribbean, sharing with several dozen NGO institutions its newsletter - RNM UPDATE; and, iv) Participating in NGO Forums: RNM staff participate in a variety of NGO-sponsored forums, ofte n as feature speakers.

Additionally, an RNM official serves as the organisation's focal point on labour issues, in that vein interacting with labour groups /trade unions throughout the Caribbean. The RNM has also collaborated with envi ronment al stakeholders.

The RNM's outreach to non-state actors is not restricted to social partners alone, it extends to the Region's private sector by way of a dedicated programme of outreach/capacity building activities intended to shore up t heir con tributio n to the trade negotiation process.

En este año 2006
Gobierno invierte más de 5 mil millones de pesos en la región Este


El gobierno del Presidente de la República, doctor Leonel Fernández, informó que ejecuta obras por más de cinco mil 300 millones de pesos en todas las provincias de la región Este del país, en obras de infraestructura.

La información la ofreció el ingeniero Mariano Germán, presidente de la Comisión de Apoyo al Desarrollo Provincial, en rueda de prensa en el salón Orlando Martínez, del Palacio Nacional.

La reunión del Consejo de Gobierno fue encabezada por el Presidente de la República, doctor Leonel Fernández, no obstante haber llegado el domingo pasado a las cuatro de la tarde de agotar una apretada agenda de trabajo durante diez días por varios países de Europa.

El ingeniero Germán informó que los trabajos de construcción y reparación de obras de infraestructura son parte de los compromisos del gobierno contraído este lunes en los consejos de desarrollo provinciales de la región Este del país.

Dijo que como resultado de esa convocatoria y con la participación de los titulares de las diferentes instituciones del gobierno que tienen que ver con el sector infraestructura, se contrajeron 286 compromisos para este año 2006.

Reveló que las obras a construir y reparar, son calles, aceras, contenes, centros hospitalarios, alcantarillado sanitario y pluvial, complejos deportivos, carreteras, redes eléctricas y escuelas entre otras, que tendrán un impacto positivo en más de un millón y medio de personas residentes en la región Este dominicana.

El funcionario indicó que la inversión millonaria en la región este demuestra que el gobierno garantiza una inversión por más de cinco mil pesos por cada habitante de la región, superando las expectativas de todas las demás provincias de la República Dominicana.

Informó que en las provincias de El Seibo, Monte Plata y San Pedro de Macorís, por sus elevados niveles de pobreza, las inversiones contempladas están por encima de los compromisos del gobierno durante todo el período 2005-2008.

Hay obras que ya iniciaron y las demás deberán iniciarse en el transcurso de los próximos meses, manifestó Germán.

Dirección de Información, Prensa y Publicidad de la Presidencia

Mon Mar 27, 2006
EU/Caribbean negotiations attract protest for development

Tuesday major protest action is planned for Barbados to coincide with ongoing negotiations between Europe and the Caribbean for a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
The EPA will define Europe's future relationship with its former colonies beyond 2007.

To coincide with the fifth meeting of the principal negotiators in Bridgetown, Barbados this week, the Caribbean Policy Development Centre is bringing in several farmers from the region to protest.CPDC spokeswoman, Chantel Munroe Knight, says they want to send a strong message that development must come first in the EPA negotiations.

Meanwhile, the European Union's lead negotiator, Karl Falkenberg, has sounded a warning to the Caribbean.He says the removal of preferences is inevitable.

The Caribbean wants the EU to retain preferential arrangements on the European market.

But Mr. Falkenberg says while the region will continue to have market access, the Caribbean needs to be more competitive.

the 1325 Award.
This award aims to honour and encourage an individual or a civil society organisation in a conflict country or region, that has developed groundbreaking and effective initiatives to promote the rights of women and to increase their participation at decision-making levels in peaceprocesses.

More Insights Here

Government to review overseas scholarships

Monday, March 27, 2006

The Education Council up to May 2005 had granted 67 overseas scholarships at a cost of $1.2 million and 84 local scholarships worth $644,000, the Legislative Assembly (LA) heard last week. Members were also informed during the question and answer session that the policy for granting overseas scholarships is under review.

Replying to a question raised by Bodden Town MLA Osbourne Bodden, Education Minister Hon Alden McLaughlin gave a breakdown of overseas scholarships as: One in Humanities (English); 11 Professional studies, 10 Education; 21 Social and business studies; 19 Engineering, and 5 in Medicine.

Parliament was informed that the majority of the 84 students on local scholarships attend the University College (UC), six pursuing six bachelor degrees; 40 associate degrees and 16 one-year certificates. Of the others, ten students are pursuing ‘A’ levels; six attend Cayman Islands Law School and three are students of the International College of the Cayman Islands.

In reply to supplementary queries from West Bay MLA Roltson Anglin, the minister explained that the policy followed by the Education Council when he assumed chairmanship is still in operation but is under review.

According to the policy, if UC or other tertiary institution offers a degree programme locally, no scholarship is available for those who wish to pursue the same degree overseas, unless they have completed the two-year associate degree at UC and are continuing on in a degree programme in an overseas institution.

However, if UC’s associate degrees cannot fulfil requirements for an overseas bachelor’s degree in a particular discipline, then a full scholarship is awarded for overseas study, Mr. McLaughlin detailed. The policy was designed to ensure that the UC could develop properly and to reduce the costs of scholarships by government, since half of a first degree would be covered locally.

However, this policy is under review and awaits a decision. Since UC has started offering bachelor’s degrees only since this academic year, the council did not until now have to consider whether it should insist that students seeking overseas scholarships complete bachelor’s degrees in Cayman. This matter is now under review.

Mr McLaughlin said the application process for scholarship closes on 31 March, following that, the Education Council would decide on the matter, adding that it is a brand new era. Asked for a cost analysis of local vis-a-vis overseas study in view of the fact that sometimes the cost for local students who have to rent accommodations and pay for food could be high, Mr. McLaughlin noted the point was a legitimate one but he had not seen any cost analysis in this regard.

As a result of the National Education Conference last year, “We are going through a major reform exercise,” he said, adding that one of the strategies addressed tertiary education. Additionally, a separate strategy was considering the validity and usefulness of a well-established secretariat for the Education Council.

Such a secretariat would be better able to deal with the whole question of educational scholarships. At present, the Education Council’s criteria for eligibility for a scholarship to UC are that the student has to be Caymanian and accepted at the institution.

This is tantamount to free tertiary education for such students. It did not appear there is need for the procedure to go through the Education Council, he noted. The hope was to get a full-fledged secretariat established by the start of the next school year.

Minister McLaughlin agreed that such a secretariat could also deal with ensuring enhanced dovetailing of scholarship grants with human resource requirements, such as employment of returning overseas graduates who received scholarships.

He added that meetings were underway even as he spoke to deal with human resource issues and make recommendations. To another query, he expected that UC’s bachelor degree programme would be as well received as the associate degree programme is presently by reputable overseas universities and other educational institutions.

Monday 27 March 2006

Tilburg helps unemployed persons getting a job in Curacao

CURACAO – The city of Tilburg is going to help 15 Antillean persons between the age of 17 and 27 that cannot find a job in the Netherlands, to get one in Curacao. For the time being this will be a two-year experiment. About 100 to 150 young Antilleans move to Tilburg on an annual basis. Some have problems finding a job or integrate in the society.

The city wants to help this group and create an alternative via the return home project. For this, Tilburg is going to work together with the re-integration company Hudson that has developed a program that lasts 6 months max and that guarantees young Antilleans a job.

City councilor Gon Mevis (Labour market and Social Affairs) indicated that only motivated persons that have been living in the Netherlands for quite some time already and that think that they may have a better chance in the Antilles, will qualify for the experiment. “There are conditions attached to this experiment though, same as with re-integration in the Netherlands.
The experiment will be stopped immediately if the participant does not cooperate.”

The persons are selected with the cooperation of Direkshon and the Regiepunt Jongeren. In order to qualify for the experiment, the persons must have been living in Tilburg for at least one year. During the experiment, they get the possibility to gain work experience via a work placement.

The experiment starts in the Netherlands, where they will be prepared for the re-integration in the Antilles. Hudson takes care of temporary accomodation, living acompaniment, coaching, and counciling towards a permanent job in the Antilles. The experiment costs 14.000 euro per person, which includes cost of living and housing.

Step Up Travel is a Global Network for Travelers, established to address the needs of a world that suffers from broadening financial inequality. It also offers a more rigorous virtual global forum through which people can come together to address the needs of small communities across the world.

Step Up Travel was created to be the meeting ground where travelers connect with local people who want to offer their own services and goods. The traveler is more authentically immersed in the destination country, its culture, and its people, while the local people advertising their services can gain from self-employment. So much commercial tourism stands in the way of interesting cultural exchange between traveling parties and local people. It stands not only as a cultural barrier, controlled by large global companies, but also an economic barrier to the people of destination countries who make their culture what it is.

So Step Up provides a way for travelers to connect directly with local to help empower local populations who stand at the margins of a tourism industry dominated by big business--and the result is a more authentic and adventurous way to experience another country and its people.

Step Up Travel has often been called the “free market of traveling” because it is a site that allows anyone or any organization of any country to post an advertisement for their services or goods for travelers to book--private guides, short-term apartment rentals, non-profit organizations that need volunteers, language instructors, hosts for community events, artist’s work, chauffeurs, private chefs, sports instructors, etc.

Travelers can formally associate with one another and "link" profiels so that they can build their own personal international network.Travelers and organizations can also start collaborative projects to address the inequalities that they witness in any part of the world; collaborative projects can be artistic, political, humanitarian, economic, socialist, democratice, etc. It is meant to be a dynamic forum through which an effort can be sustained by people across the world. We witness so many things that need to be changed in the world, but yet we lack a formal way of addressing it in a sustained fashion. "Collaboratives" allows for that to happen.

Homepage

CRNM to defend region's interest at EU talks
Published on: 3/27/06.

THE CARIBBEAN REGIONAL Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) says it has a top-notch team of negotiators defending the interests of the Caribbean as intense trade talks begin this week in Barbados with the European Union.

Director-general of the CRNM, Dr Richard Bernal said he was confident the very best people had been selected and that they were committed to ensuring the development agenda of the region remained a priority.

Bernal explained the principal negotiators' meeting at Grand Barbados Hotel today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) would review the process and progress being made in the subject negotiations.

"Any problems that have arisen which couldn't be resolved have been referred to us for guidance, and thirdly, we will be charting the course for the immediate process including the schedule, the meetings and ensuring that we stay on track for completing the process by 2007. That date is important because the WTO waiver which covers the current trade arrangement expires in 2007," Bernal told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY.

His comments came also as the Barbados-based Caribbean Policy Development Centre and the National Union of Public Workers plan a march and rally to coincide with the trade talks. They are demanding that NGOs be part of the process, charging also that very little information was released on what was on the negotiating table, the Caribbean's chief advisor on trade said. (GE)

© 1997-2005. Nation Publishing Company Limited.

DOMINICA: Bird flu nears region, health official warns
published: Monday March 27, 2006

ROSEAU (AP):
A DOMINICA health official warned yesterday that bird flu could hit the Caribbean in 2007 and said the government was preparing to combat the virus.

Government epidemiologist Dr. Paul Ricketts said bird flu could hit North America this year, then travel to the Caribbean "with the summer southerly migration of birds."

FINALISING PLANS

The ministries of Agriculture and Health are "finalising plans for a quick response," Ricketts added.

The H5N1 strain of avian flu has killed or forced the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens and ducks across Asia since 2003, and has been spread more recently by migrating birds to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

There have been 184 confirmed human cases and 103 deaths linked to the virus; no cases have been reported in the Caribbean.

Veterinarians, environmental health officials and poultry producers from the Caribbean will meet in Trinidad on April 4 to discuss a regional response to the virus.

Ricketts also said the Pan American Health Organisation will host a meeting in Colombia on April 19 to consider a bird flu plan for Latin America and the Caribbean.

From April 22 to 29, countries from Canada to the tip of South America and throughout the Caribbean will be part of Vaccination Week in the Americas. The beneficiaries will be millions of children, young women, and seniors, mostly in remote areas.
More information on the Vaccination Week in the Americas, as well as information on Vaccines and Immunization in general, can be found at PAHO's Vaccines & Immunization Web Page.


Press Releases

Vaccination Week in the Americas Fact SheetBasic information, guidelines, coverage numbers, and other essential information.( MS Word Document, 29KB)


Technical/Background Information

Final Report: Vaccination Week in the Americas 2005
( PDF, 119KB)

Regional Goals for 2006
( Excel, 16KB)

Regional Goals - North America
( Excel, 14.5KB)

Regional Goals - Caribbean Countries
( Excel, 22.5KB)

Regional Goals - Central America, Spanish-speaking Caribbean
( Excel, 18.5KB) - In Spanish

Regional Goals - South America
( Excel, 19.5KB) - In Spanish

25th March
Urban Renewal Gets Special Attention
By Stephen Gay

Prime Minister Perry Christie met with leaders of the Urban Renewal Project in a special workshop yesterday focused on sharing ideas and improving the scheme aimed at meeting special needs in the country’s inner city communities.

It was the first meeting between the prime minister and project heads since Mr. Christie took official responsibility for the Urban Renewal Project, following last month’s Cabinet reshuffle.
He called on all government ministries and agencies - social services, youth, sports and housing, immigration, labour and training, education, science and technology, works and utilities and the Royal Bahamas Police Force - involved in the project to work together in moving the scheme forward.

According to Mr. Christie, the pilot programme in the Farm Road area was seen as a way to develop solutions aimed at improving the life of Bahamians living in the inner city.

"In putting together different ministries and different agencies of the government we must find a way to have them work in an integrated and coordinated fashion," Mr. Christie said.

"The reason why I have chosen, as prime minister, to allocate to myself the responsibility for Urban Renewal is to impress upon all agencies that every aspect of government must now be in evidence in the community in urban renewal."

Mr. Christie said although the project has received "international acclaim," he believes there is still much work to be done, noting that education is a major component of the Urban Renewal Project.

He encouraged project heads to continue to work with non-governmental organisations in their communities, such as churches, to deepen their commitment to the project through education.
"The child who cannot read will obviously be screened and assessed to determine the disability and make a determination as to how best that child should be dealt with. The country needs, wants and demands that," said Mr. Christie.

Since the implementation of the Farm Road project, eight additional projects offices have been established throughout New Providence. Seven offices were established in Grand Bahama and two in Abaco.

Mr. Christie said the project is intended to be the single most innovative intervention in the lives of Bahamians by instilling a greater respect for law and order.

"The country cannot afford to be slack and indifferent to the strong application and enforcement of rules, and Urban Renewal has that as part of its function," Mr. Christie said. "But this is calculated to ensure a society that allows the government of the day to know what is happening and therefore not have to guess on spending money for the benefit and advancement of the people of our country."

As part of the first meeting held at the Radisson Cable Beach Resort on Friday, representatives from various agencies involved in the project presented up to date reports on the project.
Mr Christie said, "There has to be a belief and a passion that we can fix problems that has put some of our children at an incredible disadvantage."

The Bahama Journal - Bahamas News Online Edition
Copyright Jones Communications Ltd. ©2005 - Nassau, Bahamas.

The CEDAW Assessment Tool


In 2002, CEELI developed the CEDAW Assessment Tool as a resource to measure the status of women through the lens of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). As of February 28, 2006, 181countries have ratified CEDAW, making it the second most ratified United Nations treaty.

The CEDAW Assessment Tool examines a nation's laws and measures the degree to which these laws protect the rights of women as mandated by CEDAW.

Designed to uncover the legal obstacles that frustrate the achievement of greater gender equality, the tool separately measures the degree to which women, in practice, are accorded the rights and status guaranteed to them under CEDAW. For this reason, a major focus of this assessment tool is on "real life" impediments to equality, many of which are not necessarily the product of poor or non-existent legislation. The assessment tool generates a wealth of information that is essential to comprehensive analysis of the status of women's rights in a country.

To date, CEELI has conducted the CEDAW Assessment Tool in Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Serbia. An assessment using the tool is currently being conducted in Moldova.

The process of conducting the CEDAW Assessment Tool has proved to be an important capacity-building exercise for local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Additionally, the results of the CEDAW Assessment Tool have served as the basis for a constructive dialogue between the NGO community and governmental officials on concrete steps these two sectors can take to increase compliance with CEDAW, and, by doing so, improve the quality of women's lives.

For more information about the CEDAW Assessment Tool, contact Gender Issues Focal Area Co-Coordinators Michael Maya at <mmaya@abaceeli.org> and Jennifer Denton at <jdenton@abaceeli.org>.

PROLEAD recognizes that the goals and strategies to enhance women´s leadership and representation in Latin America and the Caribbean are as diverse as the countries and the people in the region.

PROLEAD's goals are strategic and comprehensive: to promote women’s leadership in every sector and at every level through grants to diverse competent organizations that promote women’s active participation and leadership. PROLEAD also provides opportunities for organizational capacity-building to grantees and other organizations in the region through promotion of networks to foster connections and information exchange, and through sharing successful experiences and best practices, both in and outside the region.

ProLead

More women in Parliament, Access to Information and unattended motions
Parliament
Balford Henry
Sunday, March 26, 2006

Government senator Trevor Munroe says that despite the fact that Jamaica was about to swear-in its first woman prime minister, he expects little change in the limited number of women in Parliament without a change in the current first-past-the-post system of electing MPs.

Senator Munroe was making his contribution to the annual State of the Nation debate in the upper chamber on Friday. The debate closed a week ahead of next Friday's prorogation of Parliament's 2005/2006 session.

He noted that only 15 per cent of the representatives in both Houses of Parliament were women and suggested that the answer lay in introducing a system of proportional representation.He said that the UN millennium goal was 30 per cent and, therefore, Jamaica's 15 per cent was not unusual. However, he said that the "unacceptable situation", is not going to change unless a number of things are done, including combining the current first-past-the-post system with some form of proportional representation.

For Full Article

Copyright© 2000-2001 Jamaica Observer

Friday March 24, 2006 - Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, N.A.

French side signs newwater supply contract

MARIGOT--Mayor Albert Fleming yesterday signed the first phase of the new contract with water distributor Générale des Eaux (Guadeloupe) that will finally relieve the Commune of the burden of absorbing losses it has incurred by being middleman in the water production and distribution process for the French side.

Under the terms of the 20-year contract, production company UCDEM and Générale des Eaux will form one company under parent company Veolia and will be totally responsible for the production and distribution of water, and repairs, while the Commune will be in control only of pricing, investments, and extension of networks if needed.

The restructuring coincides with the new reverse osmosis water plant that will come into operation this August, promising a greater capacity of water production. In addition there are plans for two more reservoirs in the Marigot area.

The Commune hopes to be able to extricate itself by June from its intermediary role which resulted in its incurring an annual debt of 1,500,000 euros. This was caused by the Commune purchasing water from UCDEM and then selling it back to the consumer at a cheaper price than it had paid for it, due to the cost being unaffordable to lower income families.

The Commune also had to absorb in its budgets all cost associated with burst pipes, repairs and other debts. The total now owed to UCDEM stands at 6 million euros.

Régie des Eaux, the entity set up by the Commune that allowed it to purchase water from UCDEM and monitor cost, will be disbanded under the new arrangement.

“For us (Commune) this is a great day and I hope in the next couple of months we can finally conclude this whole matter of water production and distribution,” Fleming said.

It was clarified in the meeting that frequent water shortages were not the fault of badly placed pumps, but inadequacy of the outdated production plant to produce enough water for the French side during high season. The evaporation method of production also meant very high water temperatures that created their own set of problems.

Good news is on the horizon for consumers, as the price of water will eventually be reduced by nearly half from the present rate. But First Deputy Mayor Jean-Luc Hamlet cautioned that reductions would be passed on to the consumer gradually, as the deficit still has to be paid back to UCDEM.

“We are currently negotiating with UCDEM on the conditions for its reimbursement, which hopefully can be paid back rapidly,” said Hamlet.

Copyright ©1998-2005 The Daily Herald

Saturday March 25, 2006


PROPOSALS FOR A COMMON CARIBBEAN ENERGY POLICY

The South Trinidad Chamber of Industry and Commerce (STCIC), the voice of the energy sector in Trinidad & Tobago, has released a document making proposals for the creation of a Common Caribbean Energy Policy. The objective of the document is to stimulate discussion and debate aimed at creating a single energy policy for the Caricom Single Market and Economy.

The proposed policy framework is based around the following principles:

° Energy policy is central to the economic and social development of the region.

° Caribbean energy resources must be utilised for the social and economic benefit of the people of the region.

° Trinidad & Tobago has considerable expertise and experience in the energy sector, in both the public and private-sectors, and Trinidad & Tobago must, therefore, play a leadership role in the development and implementation of a regional energy policy

° Caricom must adhere to the established practice of negotiating trade, economic co-operation and related agreements with external parties as a region. Trinidad & Tobago must play a leadership role in these negotiations, but include all parties.

A regional trade agenda, including energy issues, must be agreed upon and pursued with respect to agreements with Venezuela and the United States of America, in particular.

Caribbean ownership (private and public) of energy resources and of the energy industry is a key factor in ensuring energy security and in ensuring a pricing structure that meets regional development objectives.

The size of the energy market in different members of the CSME varies considerably and different solutions will be needed to meet the particular issues facing different markets.

Caribbean energy policy must be driven by the realities of the global, regional and local market-forces.

The Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC) has submitted this discussion document to regional Ministers of Trade for their consideration and further discussions will be held amongst the regional private-sector and with regional Governments over coming months.

The full text of the proposed policy is available at the STCIC website: www.southchamber.org

Saturday 25 March 2006

Free eye surgery in Venezuela and Cuba


CURACAO – The consul-general in Curaçao, Lorenzo Angiolillo announced that people of less resource can soon register for free eye operations in Venezuela or Cuba at the expense of the Venezuelan government.

The Venezuelan government takes care of also the airfare and accommodation and calls the mission a ‘Misión Milagro’ (operation miracle). “With this mission, the people profits for the first time from the petroleum industry”, says Angiolillo. The association of ophthalmologists in Curacao is really questioning this plan.

Starting May 15th, people can register for this free treatment at the consulate. The patients should have a first diagnose of the problem with their eyes. The decision will then be made whether the patient can be treated in Venezuela or should go to Cuba for a more specialized treatment. All the patient needs are 8 days off for the trip, surgery and recovery.

The patients will travel with Angiolillo in a presidential- or a military aircraft to the Military Hospital.

Mision Milagro is already in operation in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay and is taken to also Curacao on the initiative of the consul-general. According to Angiolillo, the program should be seen as an action in which, as part of the Latin-American integration policy, this possibility is offered to sister countries in the region.

The association of ophthalmologists in Curacao is warning everybody that is considering this offer. Ophthalmologist Victor Wiedijk reacted on behalf of the association that patients that want to become eligible for this operation abroad, whether on own expenses or not, need to realize that they do not know where the surgery will take place, who is going to do it, and do the surgeon in question have any qualifications or not.

Surgery done by a non-qualified surgeon, the use of obsolete equipment or catching multi-resistant hospital bacteria, can lead to serious consequences for the healthcare in the Antilles in general.

Almost everybody in the Antilles have some kind of medical insurance. Completely in line with the charter of the United Nations, which clearly states that each government is responsible for the healthcare of her nation, the Antilles have a taxation and premium system that allows every resident, including the unprivileged and illegal ones in the Antilles to have direct access to adequate medical care.

In consideration of this, the Neth.Antilles is way above all countries in the Caribbean, including Venezuela and even the developed countries like the Netherlands and the United States, said Wiedijk.

Wiedijk sees the Venezuelan plan as a worrisome development. Patients go on a regular basis abroad for surgery that qualitatively can be done better locally. “Sometimes people return to us with completely screwed up eyes and we cannot be responsible for what went wrong abroad and we cannot fix it either.”

Differing views shared on school programmes
Web Posted - Sat Mar 25 2006

MINISTER of State in the Ministry of Education Cynthia Forde and Member of Parliament (MP) for St. Philip West Dr. David Estwick expressed differing views on programmes in schools during the debate on the Estimates on Thursday night.

Ms. Forde said the before and after school care programme, which provides supervision of children, is important and fills the vacuum left as a result of a lack of parental guidance.
She said more Barbadians support this, as it would provide better monitoring of children and forge linkages and relationships within communities and with parents. According to her, it would avoid the trend of "latchkey children" that have to provide for themselves after school.

In his contribution, Dr. Estwick asked for an evaluation of the early childhood development programme, adding that he believes that evidence would show that it is not in the best interest of the child.
He called for "alternative methods to deal with this problem", saying that the pre-school is not a substitute for the home or the community.

Minister Forde also said Project Oasis is successful and funding allocated to it is "very worthwhile". She said the Block Committee has touched 25 communities within the year, and those involved do courses with entities such as the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, in a range of areas such as electrical installation and organic farming.

Ms. Forde also lauded the Parent Volunteer Programme, saying that it helps parents, children and teachers to embrace each other and is now at all primary schools.

Barbados Advocate ©2000

Barbadian ‘Xchangers’ help youths adopt positive lifestyles and resolve conflicts

By Lisa McClean-Trotman

BARBADOS, 24 March 2006 - Violence among school children is a growing concern in Barbados, and UNICEF is helping peer groups tackle the problem. The Barbadian ‘Xchangers’ is one such group, which holds workshops and special events encouraging children to resolve conflict peacefully.

D’Andra Howard, 22, is one of three members of the group who received leadership training from the UNICEF. The course focused on the development of skills and techniques to reach young people and help them adopt a positive lifestyle.

“The workshop sessions helped me to learn more about the students and the causes of their violent and disruptive behaviors,” said Ms. Howard. “Poverty is high. There is the influence of drugs, the block culture and the minibus culture, and these are all negative. In addition, the home environment is sometimes not supportive, and in the students’ view some of the teachers seem not to be giving them the attention they need.

“It is not that they do not want to behave or be educated, it is because they are not getting the attention or love from the other environments.”

Support from youth and NGOs

Most recently, Ms. Howard worked with Kathy-Ann Bellamy, the Assistant Guidance Counsellor of the Grantley Adams Secondary School in Barbados, to organize Peace Week.

Ms. Howard had witnessed violent incidents at the school while she was a student and urged the other students to help change its image. She also encouraged them not to give up and reminded them that change will not occur in a day but it is a process that will take time.

“Every day youth are being presented in the media on a negative note,” she said, “so why not look for influences that can help lead them in a positive lifestyle?”

With virtually no budget, Ms. Howard was able to mobilize support from not only the other Xchangers but also of some of the key non-governmental organizations in Barbados, including the National Council on Substance Abuse and the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency.

Positive peer pressure

“Very often young people have the answers, and other young people respond better to them than to adults when they are the ones telling them how to address issues confronting them,” said Senior Programme Officer Niloufar Pourzand of UNICEF’s Eastern Caribbean Office.

“It is this kind of positive peer pressure that we must encourage and support as we help young people to fulfill their right to participation on issues affecting them,” she added. “It is for this reason that we support the Xchangers and the Xchange movement that they are trying to develop.”

Some 57 students out of the 90 who participated at Grantley-Adams made the pledge before their classmates to become Xchangers and adopt a positive lifestyle. Twenty peer supporters at the school also recommitted themselves to the Xchangers’ pledge. At the end of the workshop, students received youth-friendly UNICEF materials on conflict resolution and anger management.

“Every day youth are being presented in the media on a negative note,” she said, “so why not look for influences that can help lead them in a positive lifestyle?”
With virtually no budget, Ms. Howard was able to mobilize support from not only the other Xchangers but also of some of the key non-governmental organizations in Barbados, including the National Council on Substance Abuse and the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency.
Positive peer pressure“Very often young people have the answers, and other young people respond better to them than to adults when they are the ones telling them how to address issues confronting them,” said Senior Programme Officer Niloufar Pourzand of UNICEF’s Eastern Caribbean Office.
“It is this kind of positive peer pressure that we must encourage and support as we help young people to fulfill their right to participation on issues affecting them,” she added. “It is for this reason that we support the Xchangers and the Xchange movement that they are trying to develop.”
Some 57 students out of the 90 who participated at Grantley-Adams made the pledge before their classmates to become Xchangers and adopt a positive lifestyle. Twenty peer supporters at the school also recommitted themselves to the Xchangers’ pledge. At the end of the workshop, students received youth-friendly UNICEF materials on conflict resolution and anger management.

“Every day youth are being presented in the media on a negative note,” she said, “so why not look for influences that can help lead them in a positive lifestyle?”
With virtually no budget, Ms. Howard was able to mobilize support from not only the other Xchangers but also of some of the key non-governmental organizations in Barbados, including the National Council on Substance Abuse and the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency.
Positive peer pressure“Very often young people have the answers, and other young people respond better to them than to adults when they are the ones telling them how to address issues confronting them,” said Senior Programme Officer Niloufar Pourzand of UNICEF’s Eastern Caribbean Office.
“It is this kind of positive peer pressure that we must encourage and support as we help young people to fulfill their right to participation on issues affecting them,” she added. “It is for this reason that we support the Xchangers and the Xchange movement that they are trying to develop.”
Some 57 students out of the 90 who participated at Grantley-Adams made the pledge before their classmates to become Xchangers and adopt a positive lifestyle. Twenty peer supporters at the school also recommitted themselves to the Xchangers’ pledge. At the end of the workshop, students received youth-friendly UNICEF materials on conflict resolution and anger management.

Copyright © UNICEF

Caribbean schools draw pupils from Britain

March 25, 2006


LONDON: Hundreds of West Indian families in Britain are sending their children back to the Caribbean to get what many have found to be a better state education.

The children sometimes stay with relatives, and do not see their parents for months, in order to receive what is regarded as a more disciplined, traditional and structured schooling.

Parents who were born or have settled in Britain say the sacrifice is worth it, because British schools have become ill-disciplined and there is peer pressure on teenagers to do poorly in examinations.

Some parents are accompanying their children back to islands such as Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago.

The move represents a reverse in the trend of the past 50 years, which has seen thousands of West Indian families going to Britain in search of a better life, higher-paid jobs and a better education for their children.

Joy Seaton-Graham, who was born in Jamaica but moved to Britain aged 10, visited Barbados for a holiday in 2002. She fell in love with the island, heard that its schools had an excellent reputation, and decided that her two sons would benefit from an education there.

Mrs Seaton-Graham moved to the island when she was a single mother in June 2004. She now runs a guesthouse with her husband, Christopher.

Mrs Seaton-Graham, 45, said: "The state system in Barbados is very good. The expectations of pupils are so much higher and they seem more inspired to do well because the teachers are more on the side of the children."

Barbados puts from 18 to 20 per cent of government spending into education, against 13 per cent in Britain.

Telegraph, London

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND SOUTH–SOUTH COOPERATION

A unified agenda

Rafael Uribe Iregui

Deputy DirectorAcción Social

Presidential Agency for Social Welfare and International Cooperation

Bogotá

Colombia

ruribe@accionsocial.gov.co

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have recently embarked on an exciting process of regional cooperation, focusing on capacity development as a means to promote social equity and economic development for all citizens.

Levels of economic development vary greatly throughout the region. Some of the poorest countries, despite their strengths and resources, are unlikely to be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. For middle-income countries, it is a matter of moral responsibility for them to do what is needed to help reduce or eliminate social inequalities.
Capacity development, in my view, should pave the way for more effective South–South cooperation. It will provide opportunities for all participating countries to consolidate their development efforts, and to strengthen their ties with external partners. It will also make it easier for them to transform the abstract concept of ‘international cooperation’ into something more tangible.

At a regional seminar on Capacity Development and South–South Cooperation in Bogotá in September 2004, the participating countries and international donors affirmed their political commitment to the process. This commitment has led to a number of new strategies and initiatives, including a Regional Fund for South–South Cooperation, and a database of the capacities and strengths of individual countries.

One of the most significant achievements, however, has been to bring middle-income countries back into the development arena. As a result, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean now have a unified agenda for change that international donors need to support if the MDGs are to be achieved. As one of the architects of this initiative, I am satisfied with the progress made so far. The enthusiasm and energy of everyone involved have been an invaluable source of inspiration.

Despite the successes so far, we still need to find ways to address the many practical challenges that arise from the inequalities between countries. Even though we have identified each country’s strengths, the issue now is to decide how to use them – what mechanisms should be used, and by whom? In a country with poor governance, weak institutions and inadequate financial and human resources, for example, it may be difficult to organise events, and projects can take a long time to complete.

One solution has been to establish a rotating presidency, which is currently held by Colombia. The ‘focal points’ in each country have also helped to deal with some of the practical difficulties. Nonetheless, I would like to emphasise that all countries have shown great interest in the process, and this has allowed rapid decision making and action.

I am proud that I have been part of this process of cooperation among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and to work with people who firmly believe that we will achieve much more if we remain united. It is also a privilege to see Colombia take advantage of its strategic position, and its political and technical leadership, to become a regional centre for South–South cooperation.

Caribbean Govs. Defend Integration

Nassau, Mar 23 (Prensa Latina) CARICOM foreign ministers informed the US government about the progress made in realigning the local economies through the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.

After meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bahamas Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell told media about the group's integration initiatives.

The CSME, following its January approval, will be the CARICOM device to boost the movement of products, services and employment while handling development programs for the least developed members.

CSME will enter in effect in 2008 as an effective response to globalization and the loss of preferential treatment for its goods and services.

The group will also urge for cooperation with Haiti, whose readmission to the bloc was confirmed after Rene Preval's win in the February elections.

Rice did not mention any new project on security and disaster management, despite regional concern, and admitted her failure to find support for the US anti-Iran drive.

Also on the agenda were the high rates of violence, crime and emigration.

IMF reports growth in Dominica's economy
Wednesday, March 22, 2006

ROSEAU, Dominica: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported there was real GDP growth in the Dominican economy of 3.5 percent in 2005. This information is contained in a Statement made last week by an IMF Staff Mission.

An IMF mission headed by Mr. Patrick Njoroge, visited Dominica between March 7-17, 2006 to conduct discussions for the sixth review of the programme supported by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement.The review focused on recent economic performance, fiscal policy and the government’s structural reform agenda.

The IMF reported: “Macroeconomic performance in 2005 remained strong, despite some areas of modest weakness. Economic activity expanded robustly, with real GDP growing at about 3.5 percent to yield the second straight year of higher-than-average growth.“The IMF commended the government for its strong policy implementation. The Statement added: “All quantitative targets for December 2005 under the Programme were met. A strong fiscal performance has been sustained in FY2005/06: Revenue collection has been strong...”

The Staff Mission also commended the government for progress made in the implementation of structural reforms, including the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT), strengthening public expenditure management and the streamlining of the public sector.The Staff Mission also welcomed progress made by the government in strengthening social security, the financial sector, amending the Electricity Supply Act and the related legislation.

The Mission noted progress made in the finalisation of the Growth and Social Protection Strategy (GSPS), which will articulate the policies of government for the medium term. The IMF Mission concluded that growth in the economy should be more broad-based for its sustainability to be assured.

Copyright © 2003-2006 Caribbean Net News

House Speaker urges public spending control
Thursday, March 23, 2006

SAN JUAN (EFE) – Reacting to S&P’s decision to place Puerto Rico’s BBB bond rating on credit debt on “Credit Watch”, House President José Aponte Hernández, said on Thursday that political will is necessary to approve the tax and fiscal reform and control the public spending.
”That has been our position from the first moment we began talking about the fiscal problem that the Government has been facing from 2001 to date,” he said in a written communication.

He added that the House has been consistent in [saying] that it is necessary to find ways to increase revenues into the public funds in ways that don’t burden the taxpayers’ pockets any more.

On the other hand, he commented that before any measures can be approved, first it is necessary to approve the bill on fiscal reform that the New Progressive Party submitted to the House of Representatives.

Copyright © 2000-2006 Casiano Communications Inc.

Haïti: un rapport de l'Unicef parle des malheurs des enfants d'Haïti
Posté le 23 mars 2006

Les enfants qui naissent en Haïti risquent plus de mourir pendant leur petite enfance que ceux qui naissent dans n’importe quel autre pays de l’hémisphère occidental, affirme un rapport, « SOS Enfants : Haïti », publié par l’UNICEF.

« Il y a peu d’endroits dans le monde où il est plus difficile d’être un enfant en bonne santé, a déclaré Adriano González-Regueral, représentant de l’UNICEF en Haïti en présentant ce rapport.

Alors que Haïti ne recense que deux pour cent des naissances en Amérique latine et dans les Caraïbes, il comptabilise 19 pour cent des décès d’enfants de moins de cinq ans dans la région. "Haïti a de loin le taux de mortalité le plus élevé des moins de cinq ans, avec 117 enfants qui meurent pour 1000 naissances.", selon le document.

« SOS Enfants : Haïti » est la deuxième étude de la série SOS Enfants, qui présente les principaux obstacles auxquels se heurtent les enfants des pays en crise. Elle rapporte que pour des milliers de jeunes Haïtiens, la vie est un combat quotidien.

Dans les zones rurales, les enfants ne disposent d’aucun service de base ; ils doivent marcher pendant des heures rien que pour arriver au dispensaire le plus proche ou à une source d’eau. Dans les villes, la violence et la maltraitance les enferment dans un engrenage d’où il est quasiment impossible de sortir.

« Nous saluons l’engagement qu’a pris le nouveau Président Préval d’améliorer la vie des enfants de son pays, a affirmé M. González-Regueral. Les dirigeants politiques peuvent favoriser le type de changements nécessaires pour qu’une bonne éducation de base et des soins médicaux décents ne soient plus une question de chance pour les enfants mais deviennent la norme commune. »

OF INTEREST

"Using social transfers to scale up equitable access to education and health services" by Katie Chapman This recently published study by the British International Development department, analyzes the impact of social transfers as effective demand-side policies.

It seeks to better understand the effects cash transfers and vouchers have on access to health and education services by the extreme poor. After presenting a list of key considerations in choice of social transfer instruments, the study identifies areas where further research needs to be carried out for a better control and evaluation of these social policies. Access the paper from the following link:
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/social-transfers-back.pdf

2006 Spring Meeting

International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group

April 22-23, 2006—Washington, D.C.

Each Spring, the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee and the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee hold meetings to discuss progress on the work of the Fund and Bank. Plenary sessions of the IMF and the World Bank's Boards of Governors are only scheduled during the Annual Meetings in the autumn.

For Further Information

23rd March
Move To Eliminate Gender Bias
By Erica Wells
Gender discrimination should be deleted from the Constitution, the Constitutional Commission said in a preliminary report released yesterday that recommends the removal of any bias against a married Bahamian woman’s ability to transmit citizenship to her child born outside The Bahamas.

The Constitutional provision which automatically grants Bahamian citizenship to children born outside The Bahamas to married Bahamian men, should also apply to children born outside the country to married Bahamian women, regardless of the nationality of their spouse, said the Commission.

In its provisional recommendations on issues of citizenship, the Commission also said that the position of children born outside The Bahamas to unmarried Bahamian parents – male or female – should be the same and should provide for automatic citizenship, subject to proof of paternity in the case of a Bahamian male.

The Bahama Journal - Bahamas News Online Edition
Copyright Jones Communications Ltd. ©2005 - Nassau, Bahamas

ATTACK ON FIREARMS ... Federation solicits help from UN
Thursday March 23 2006

St. Kitts/Nevis appealed yesterday to the United Nations Security Council for co-operation and assistance to support the efforts of the twin-island Federation and other nations, to “prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.”

The appeal was made by St. Kitts/Nevis’ Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dr. Joseph Christmas, during the 5,390th Meeting of the Security Council. It was the first time that a St. Kitts/Nevis representative addressed the UN Security Council.

Dr. Christmas told the Security Council that the issue of the illicit trafficking in small arms is of grave concern to St. Kitts/Nevis.

St. Kitts/Nevis, he said, has been experiencing a significant increase in all types of crime, in particular crimes against people and property, which has paralleled the increase in firearms offences.

He also pointed out that at this rate of growth, in a few years’ time, the consequences would be disastrous for the country’s economy, in particular on the tourism sector even as the government strives to develop it to offset the closure of the 350-year-old sugar industry in the face of trade liberalisation pressures and escalating costs.

According to him, an increase in crime would also seriously undermine the long-standing democratic structures of governance in the country and threaten its stability.
He said the illicit trafficking in small arms was not only having a negative effect on St. Kitts/Nevis, but also several other Caribbean islands.

The top St. Kitts/Nevis United Nations official said there was also a corresponding link with the illicit trafficking in drugs and humans and was of the view that all of those areas should be addressed simultaneously.

Ambassador Christmas said it was a just request, because most of the countries affected did not manufacture the weapons.

“St. Kitts/Nevis aligned itself with the urgent necessity for international cooperation and assistance in supporting the efforts of national governments to prevent, control and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons,” Ambassador Christmas concluded.

© SUN Printing & Publishing LTD 2003-2004.

Leading Scholars and Artists Address Freedom in Caribbean Art at Rutgers-Newark on April 5

March 22, 2006

(NEWARK) - Rutgers-Newark’s Paul Robeson Gallery will welcome several leading scholars and artists for a panel discussion on freedom and its representation in Caribbean-American Art on Wednesday, April 5. The discussion, which takes place from 2:30-4 p.m. in the Gallery, will serve as the culmination to its current exhibition, “No Country is an Island: Figures of Freedom in Recent Caribbean-American Art.”

Panelists will include:

· Sherri-Ann Butterfield, Professor of Sociology at Rutgers-Newark
· Annalee Davis, an artist and producer of the documentary, “On the Map,” from Barbados
· Belinda Edmondson, Professor of English and African-American Studies at Rutgers-Newark
· Andre Juste, artist, from Haiti
· Juan Sanchez, artist, from Puerto Rico

According to Gallery Director Jorge Daniel Veneciano, in addition to focusing on the current exhibition topic of freedom in Caribbean (American) art, the discussion will address related issues of diaspora and identity.

“The work of Annalee Davis and André Juste, for example, interrogate received notions of freedom, and the paintings of Juan Sanchez represent the unfinished business of independence,” Veneciano notes. “The scholarly work of Dr. Sherri-Ann Butterfield indirectly engages the politics of freedom, specifically where it raises questions of migration, its patterns and limits, problems and motivations. The investigations of Dr. Belinda Edmondson investigate the “romance tropes” (the figurative metaphors) of Caribbeanness, including that of freedom and other tropes.”

The panel discussion is co-sponsored by Sumei Multidisciplinary Arts Center, The Office of Student Life & Leadership, Rutgers-Newark, and the Paul Robeson Gallery.“No Country is an Island: Figures of Freedom in Recent Caribbean (American) Art” will be on display through April 6. The exhibit presents the work of 11 artists from the Caribbean and the United States who grapple with the effects of post-colonial freedom either directly or indirectly.

The Gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Wednesday from noon-7 p.m. It is located within the Paul Robeson Campus Center, 360 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Newark. For more information, call 973-353-1610.

The exhibition is a collaborative project organized by Yoland Skeete, Executive Director of Sumei Multidisciplinary Arts Center, and Veneciano. The exhibition is made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and administered by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission through the State/County Partnership Local Arts Program.

CONTACT:Contact: Peter Haigney 973-353-1663, Cell: 732-713-2809, or phaigney@andromeda.rutgers.edu

Pick Your Side: A Spirited Debate on U.S. Aid Policy
March 20, 2006


Download full text transcript (PDF, 135 KB)

Watch the opening remarks by clicking the names below*

Moderator: Steve Radelet
Carol Lancaster
Andrew Natsios
*(Videos stream in Quicktime-- if you do not have Quicktime on your computer download it for free)


Two former USAID officials mounted a spirited debate over the Bush administration’s planned changes to U.S. development policy at a CGD forum on March 17. The proposed reorganization calls for the creation of a “dual-hatted" USAID Administrator who will also become the new Director of Development in the Department of State. Supporters see the move as rationalizing and upgrading development aid in US foreign policy, while critics argue the changes amount to a take-over of development policy by the Department of State, risking the loss of USAID's development mission to short-term foreign policy goals.

Carol Lancaster, a former USAID deputy administrator who is a professor at Georgetown University and a visiting fellow at the CGD, began by calling the proposed reorganization a “terrible idea.” Lancaster argued that bringing USAID under greater State Department control, and appointing a Director of Development with offices both in USAID and State, would undercut both the volume and efficacy of US development assistance. She declared that the administration was, in effect, mounting a “stealth” strategy to achieve a longstanding goal of folding USAID into the State Department.

Andrew Natsios, former USAID administrator who is also now a professor at Georgetown University, rejected the idea that the Bush administration had a stealth strategy to merge USAID with the State Department, noting that efforts to integrate the two dated back to the Clinton administration. Natsios highlighted President Bush support for development assistance, pointing out that Official Development Assistance, or ODA, has increased from $10 billion to more than $27 billion during the Bush years, a faster increase than at any time in four decades.
Asked to name the three biggest problems with current aid policy, Lancaster responded that the need for better organization, the lack of attention to poverty not caused by state weakness, and the failure to evaluate the impact of aid interventions were the most pressing issues. For his part, Natsios felt that misalignment of resources, Congressional budget earmarks, and the lack of a quadrennial review of aid policy were the biggest barriers to success.

Both speakers agreed that the more rigorous evaluation was necessary. But they disagreed on the degree to which Congressional earmarking was responsible for the misalignment of resources in the aid community. Neither did they find common ground on the premise that the president’s designated Director of Development, Randall Tobias, might politicize development because of his position’s strong institutional tie to the State Department. Lancaster stated her fear of greater politicization of development aid, while Natsios argued that Tobias’ greater clout would give development policy a bigger boost within the administration.

© 2006 Center for Global Development.

Cuba tiene un modelo de seguridad social para imitar por muchos países

CARIDAD LAFITA NAVARRO
22 de marzo
2009@trabaja.cip.cu

Desprotección es lo que existe en muchos países de América Latina en género, adultos mayores y seguridad social; en Cuba aprendo y trato de ponerlos de ejemplo. Así manifestó Marcelo Castro, de la oficina regional de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), en su breve intervención durante el II Congreso de la Seguridad Social, que sesiona en el Palacio de Convenciones de la capital habanera.
El especialista señaló que Cuba tiene una cobertura de seguridad social que muchos países podrían imitar, y precisó que pese a los esfuerzos de la OIT por la seguridad social, con 50 convenios y recomendaciones -el último de ellos, el 183 sobre la maternidad, que Cuba aplica incluso con un régimen más beneficioso con mayor cantidad de semanas de licencia (18) que el Convenio (14)-.
Asimismo señaló la necesidad de articular mejor en el mundo las formas de seguro social con las políticas estatales, pues ahora, el decrecimiento de la población es un desafío en la seguridad social y la salud, lo cual implica incluir más a la población adulta mayor en el trabajo.
Con respecto a América Latina, señaló que los sectores que más adolecen de seguridad social son el informal y el rural, o sea, trabajadores que no poseen un trabajo decente como preconiza la OIT, sobre todos los inmigrantes y, al respecto, resaltó que es deber de todo gobierno supervisar que se garanticen los derechos mínimos de sus ciudadanos que permitan el desarrollo material y espiritual.
Sobre la política social de Cuba, subrayó como distintiva la amplia cobertura de la seguridad social, la búsqueda de nuevas alternativas que posibilitan buscar soluciones y el servir de ejemplo para despertar la conciencia de otros gobiernos que con mayores posibilidades económicas no alcanzan los beneficios y la cobertura del sistema cubano.

Órgano de la Central de Trabajadores de Cuba

March, 22 - 11:21 AM

Violence attributed to social decomposition

Puerto Plata.- The Bishop in Puerto Plata, Monsignor Julio Cesar Cornielle, affirmed this morning that the level of violence affecting the country is a consequence of the social decomposition within the Dominican family and society.

The Bishop stated that values have been reversed, a factor that is leading many to questionable behavior.

He added that the National Police must be availed of the means to fight delinquency and thus impede an overflow of antisocial activities that the country could then not be in a position to counter.

“The wave of violence, assaults and insecurity that affects the country is a consequence of the social decomposition and reversal of values,” stated Cornielle Amado.

He exhorted the population to vote for those candidates that present concrete proposals that would solve the national and municipal problems.

Dominican Today - Portal Alta Tecnologia

March 20, 2006
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua

A Cuban delegation lead by Ambassador Rojas last week paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister the Hon. Baldwin Spencer and updated him on progress in assisting the country to cut its energy cost.

Ambassador Rojas brought greetings from President Fidel Castro and introduced the two other members of his team, a social worker and engineer. He explained that Cuba was developing many energy-saving measures which had been introduced in the Cuban society. He noted that Cuba intended to share the results of the programme with Antigua and Barbuda and other CARICOM countries.

It was pointed out that the team, working along with Antigua Public Utilities Authority, had carried out research in Antigua and Barbuda relating to energy consumption. The Cuban proposal is to replace 215, 000 bulbs in Antigua and Barbuda with energy saving light bulbs. Cuba will supply the bulbs and a team of social workers to assist in the implementation.
It is expected that the project will save EC$11, 000 per day in fuel costs, or EC$4 million per annum.

PM Baldwin Spencer commended the team for the fantastic job done during the research phase of the project. He explained that when CARICOM leaders meet President Castro of Cuba and President Chavez of Venezuela in Jamaica some months ago, the proposal was discussed. He indicated that the team's efforts had the full support of the government of Antigua and Barbuda and that government would work with the Cuban team to bring the project to fruition as soon as possible.

The Cuban team indicated that they also met with and briefed Deputy Prime Minister the Hon. Wilmoth Daniel and General Manager of APUA Mr. Leon Symister on the project.

They explained that the cost savings would be immediate, and that Cuba was ready to implement the project as soon as Antigua and Barbuda was ready.

Also in the meeting with the Prime Minister were Mr. David Palovich of the Cuban Embassy, Pedro Alfonso, Head of the Cuban Medical Team; Ambassador Colin Murdoch and Ambassador Bruce Goodwin.

©Copyright 2005 - Government of Antigua and Barbuda.

New Venture to Improve Child Health in Latin America Unveiled
GDLN, Medical Missions for Children and the World Bank to use digital technology to save children’s lives in the Western Hemisphere

Presidencia De La
Republica Dominicana

Bill Gates apoyará a RD en el desarrollo de la informática


Bill Gates ofreció su apoyo al Gobierno Dominicano para el desarrollo de la tecnología de la informática, anunció el canciller Carlos Morales Troncoso, quien se reunió en Washington con el magnate de la industria de la informática.

Morales Troncoso informó que Gates visitará República Dominicana próximamente, atendiendo a una invitación que le hiciera el presidente Leonel Fernández.

Según refirió el canciller Morales Troncoso, Gates le expresó su intención de apoyar a República Dominica para que alcance un desarrollo similar al de la India, país al cual ha dado un gran soporte en la industria de la tecnología de la informática.

“Conversamos detenidamente sobre la importancia de la tecnología de la información como soporte de la educación. En ese sentido nos expresó su criterio de que la enseñanza en el área de la informática debe comenzar en los primeros niveles de la educación básica para formar una fuerza laboral capacitada”, dijo Morales Troncoso.

Morales Troncoso y Bill Gates sostuvieron un encuentro en el marco del “Foro de Microsoft para Líderes Gubernamentales de América”, en el que República Dominicana estuvo representada por el Secretario de Estado y Director del CEI-RD, Eddy Martínez.

El foro se ha realizado por nueve años consecutivos y su objetivo ha sido intercambiar experiencias con representantes gubernamentales sobre el uso de la tecnología de la información en áreas de servicios, prevención de desastres y la educación.

Marzo 20, 2006

BVI government presses ahead with economic diversification

Tuesday, March 21, 2006
by Zan Lewis

Caribbean Net News BVI Correspondent

Email: zan@caribbeannetnews.com

ROAD TOWN, BVI: The Government of the British Virgin islands is continuing in its drive to diversify the local economy to ensure the Territory’s long-term economic viability.

Chief Minister Dr Orlando Smith gave this assurance at a community meeting in the capital Road Town over the weekend.

The Chief Minister pointed out that the Territory remains a strong performer in the financial services industry, saying this is because Government is ensuring that the industry is well-regulated, promoted globally, and new products are developed.

Dr. Smith said, despite the bright outlook, the Territory should not rely entirely on financial services alone for its economic security. He said this is one reason why the Government has been promoting investment in the Territory’s tourism industry.

The Chief Minister said, apart from having new hotels, there is need to upgrade the existing hotels, inns, and villas. He said the small inns and villas, which are mainly locally owned, make up about 30 percent of the Territory’s tourism accommodation.

Last year Government approved an expansion of the Hotel Aid programme which would enable villas with as few as three bedrooms to benefit from aid, thereby encouraging investment in this important sector.

The Chief Minister said agriculture could become the third economic pillar for the BVI economy. He said agriculture has a place in the economic development of every country, including the BVI.
The ongoing community meetings are intended to give the Chief Minister and his team of ministers an opportunity to inform each community about Government’s plans.

At the same time, they provide a forum through which the community can raise concerns and ask questions about Government initiatives.

Copyright © 2003-2006 Caribbean Net News

SLB offers two new loan facilities for students
Observer Reporter
Tuesday, March 21, 2006

THE Students' Loan Bureau (SLB) has launched two loan products which it is hoping will increase access to higher education for thousands more Jamaican students at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Lenice Barnett, executive director of the SLB, said the two new loan facilities - 'SLB ParentPlus' and 'SLB PostGrad' - are now available to Jamaican students at a rate of interest of 13.5 per cent add-on.

"SLB-ParentPlus will assist applicants who knowingly or unknowingly fall outside of the SLB's target of needy Jamaican students," said Barnett. Students, she added, may apply also for ParentPlus loans to supplement existing loans, scholarships, bursaries and grants in order to adequately cover the cost of attending college or university.

"One of the key features of the SLB ParentPlus loan is that parents and guardians are eligible to apply for financing on behalf of children who are fully maintained by them for undergraduate study programmes. Additionally, spouses of married undergraduate students and employed part-time undergraduate students are eligible to apply for financing," added the SLB executive director.

SLB ParentPlus loans are available to students at three local universities: University of the West Indies (UWI), University of Technology (UTech), Northern Caribbean University (NCU), as well as for the following foreign-based universities operating in Jamaica: FIU/IMS, University of New Orleans, Nova Southeastern University, Manchester Business School/Jamaica Institute of Bankers, Mount St Vincent University/IACAE and the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology (CGST).

ParentPlus Loans are pegged to the tuition fees of respective tertiary institutions and the SLB's allotted grant-in-aid. Each loan is for a period of one to 15 months at the current variable rate of 13.5 add-on, and the principal borrower can access a maximum of five ParentPlus loans during the beneficiary's programme of study.

In the meantime, the SLB's special loan vehicle for students pursuing graduate degrees - SLB PostGrad - will lend up to $300,000 per annum with a maximum of $600,000 for the respective programme of study.

The loan covers tuition only.The rate of interest on SLB PostGrad loans is 13.5 per cent add-on, with a repayment period of one to 12 months, or 15% add-on with a repayment period of 13 to 24 months. There is no moratorium on SLB PostGrad loans, which are available for study at all three local universities and select foreign-based universities operating in Jamaica.
The SLB said yesterday that its ParentPlus and PostGrad loans are the latest in a series of initiatives by the bureau to widen its lending net to as many Jamaicans seeking tertiary education and training.

In January, the SLB went online with its application process, and said that to date more than 2,500 persons have submitted applications online.

"The bureau is appealing to students who are in the process of completing their online applications to hurry and make their submissions," the bureau said in a statement yesterday.

It said, too, that as a measure to encourage and increase usage of the SLB Online application facility, the SLB plans to waive the $300 application fee in its "Free Online Weekend" offer starting Friday, March 24 until Sunday, March 26.

CEPAL Proposes LatAm Social Shield

Santiago de Chile, Mar 21 (Prensa Latina) The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) has proposed a new pact to protect the population from the risks of poverty, disease and aging.

This proposal is part of a report to be presented Wednesday at the 30th CEPAL session in Montevideo urging better coverage in matters of health, pensions, social programs to combat poverty, as well as more solidarity, because "the reforms initiated in the 90s did not resolve the problems."

The UN association emphasized the initiative would complement the people of the region´s social rights, which inequality and budgetary restrictions it is necessary to confront.

CEPAL is seeking points between social rights and political criteria to reinforce better access, more financing and more solidarity.

To do so it is examining the processes of reform and design of health and pension systems, using as a base the dynamics of the labor market and the fiscal possibilities of the countries.

It is also revising the support programs to the poorest groups in society to identify some of the themes to form part of a new social pact based on the right to social protection.

CEPAL does not believe there are exclusive solutions but, "Although the countries confront financial restrictions, fulfilling rights should orient public policies and accords to mobilize the necessary resources," the report pointed out.

Copyright © 2006 - All Rights Reserved.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Belmopan - 20 March, 2006. Foreign Minister Hon. Godfrey Smith departs today for Nassau, the Bahamas to attend the United States of America (USA) – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Meeting which will commence on 21 March and ends on 22 March 2006.

Minister Smith will join Foreign Ministers from ten other CARICOM Member States.
This Meeting with United States of America’s Secretary of State, Dr. Rice will be the first in four years between Caribbean Foreign Ministers and their USA counterpart.

The last scheduled Meeting between the two regions was in 2001 between former Secretary of State Colin Powell and CARICOM Foreign Ministers.

The Nassau Meeting will focus on three main themes: Democracy, Development and Governance, which is expected to include the sub-topics of Trade Competitiveness, Human Resources Development and Energy; Law Enforcement and Cooperation; and Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation.

Each Caribbean Minister will lead discussion on one of the themes. Minister Smith will speak on the theme of Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation on behalf of the Caribbean Community.

Minister Godfrey Smith will be supported at the Meeting at Nassau by Belize’s Ambassador to the USA, H.E. Lisa Shoman.

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

From March 20 to 24:
ECLAC Will Hold its Thirty-first Session in Montevideo


The Thirty-first Session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will open on Monday 20 March and continue until 24 March in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Delegates to the meeting will examine the challenge of improving and universalizing access to social protection, specifically reforms necessary to health, social welfare and anti-poverty systems, focusing on solidarity and the supply and organization of social protection services.

José Luis Machinea, ECLAC Executive Secretary, and Belela Herrera, Uruguay's Under-Secretary of Foreign Relations, will offer a press conference on Monday 20 March at 11am in Room 1 of the Radisson Montevideo-Victoria Plaza Hotel, in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The Session is ECLAC's most important meeting, establishing the programme of work for this United Nations commission. Every two years, it brings together ECLAC's 42 member states and seven associates to debate the region's economic, social and environmental development, examine ECLAC's activities during the previous two years, and set priorities for work during the next two years.

Some 200 governmental delegates and 100 representatives from specialized United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and guests are expected to attend.
The session will start on Monday 20 March at 8:30 am with the opening meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Population and Development, which will deal with international migration. At mid-day, the South-South Cooperation Committee will meet.

On Tuesday 21, the technical phase of the session will begin. After the election of the officers who will direct session meetings, the report on ECLAC activities in 2004 and 2005 will be presented. That afternoon, José Luis Machinea will present the ECLAC system's draft programme of work for 2008-2009 to governments.

The ministerial phase of the Thirty-first session will start on Wednesday 22 March at 9 am, in the presence of President Tabaré Vázquez Rosas of Uruguay. "Shaping the Future of Social Protection: Access, Financing and Solidarity," the meeting's central report, prepared by ECLAC, will then be presented. José Antonio Ocampo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Rebeca Grynspan, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will comment.

In the afternoon and throughout Thursday 23 a high-level seminar on the same issue will take place, with the participation of ministers, deputy ministers, and presidents of institutions involved in social protection issues.

The seminar will divide into four panels:

°Social protection and rights
°Health service financing and provision
°Pension system reforms
°Social programmes, human capital and inclusion.

On Friday 24, after the general debate, final resolutions will be approved. At 1 pm, José Luis Machinea will offer a press conference including an evaluation of the Thirty-first Session.

Antigua & Barbuda to acquire Commonwealth ICT Expert
Monday March 20 2006

Minister responsible for Information Technology, Dr. Edmond Mansoor, has announced that the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat has agreed to assign an ICT expert to Antigua & Barbuda for two years.

Dr. Mansoor outlined that the ICT expert will assist the government in creating a new ICT landscape and will be responsible for conducting national surveys to determine e-readiness usage, coordinate cross functional government projects, to bridge the digital divide, and also provide specialised training.

The information minister further pointed out that the expert will also assist government with developing and monitoring ICT awareness communication plans and provide project development, systems management and support services to the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Telecommunications.

“The government is committed to ensuring that we develop a fully digital society that is exposed to the latest technology and we are delighted that the Commonwealth Secretariat will be providing assistance in ensuring that we bridge the digital divide in our nation,” the minister noted.

He said the government’s information technology initiatives have already resulted in an expanded Information Technology (IT) Centre, with added human resource in network engineering, software development, e-commerce, network design, and project management.

Dr. Mansoor noted that more than 50 per cent of the government’s operations already have an electronic component with a full thrust towards e-government; rapid expansion of the government’s wide area network and the new parliament building will be fully wired into today’s technology including wireless high-speed Internet access.

In addition, Minister Mansoor stated over 1,000 computers will be deployed within the operations of central government over the next 18 months and the government will be developing a back-up (redundancy) centre to the present IT Centre in keeping with international trends. He said the redundancy centre is a major commitment on the part of the government.

The government’s ICT agenda has already resulted in Antigua & Barbuda being branded the “ICT City of the Caribbean” by the Commonwealth Secretariat regional office.

© SUN Printing & Publishing LTD 2003-2004.

20 March, 2006 - Published 13:41 GMT

British police for Trinidad streets

The decision of Trinidad and Tobago to bring in British policemen to help fight violent crime has received a lukewarm response from local rank and file officers.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning had included the British officers in a police reform package presented to Parliament on Wednesday.

Manning said: "We are now making final arrangements to receive in Trinidad and Tobago, towards the end of the month of April, 39 officers from Scotland Yard."

The officers are to be armed and will have the power to investigate crimes and make arrests.
They will be hired for between two and three years by the Ministry of National Security.
Corporal Cedric Neptune, the president of the police service association, which represents rank and file officers, said he was concerned that importing the British officers would convey a lack of confidence in the local police.

Success

Nevertheless, he said the association needed far more information than that given by prime minister Manning about the imminent deployment.

Mr Neptune wants to know how the UK officers would be operating in relation to the local police, what ranks they will hold and who will they report to.

Mr Manning said the success of consulting work by Scotland Yard officials and U.S. federal agents in December convinced him that hiring full-time officers from abroad would help fight crime.

The Trinidad government is alarmed by rising crime figures.
For the first 75 days of the year, there have been 82 murders, according to police.
Last year, the authorities reported record 389 killings and more than 60 kidnappings for ransom in 2005 - about double the number of abductions in 2004.

BBC

Alburquerque revela programa solidaridad abarca mas 200 mil familias pobres


El vicepresidente de la República, doctor Rafael Alburquerque, reveló que el Programa Solidaridad es el de mayor cobertura social que actualmente se aplica en América Latina, según informes que poseen, el cual tiene una cobertura que abarca más de 200 mil familias de manera directa

Alburquerque indicó asimismo, que la política social que aplica el Gobierno del Presidente Leonel Fernández, a través del Programa Solidaridad, está siendo tomada como modelo para el combate de la lucha contra la pobreza por diversos organismos internacionales, para su puesta en ejecución en otros países del continente.

El vice-presidente habló en el acto de graduación de nuevos enclaves comunitarios del programa, que se efectuó en la ciudad de Puerto Plata.

“El Programa Solidaridad ha sido tomado de ejemplo en otros países y por los organismos internacionales por su efectividad en la aplicación directa de ayuda a las familias pobres, a través de los componentes Comer Es Primero e Incentivo a la Asistencia Escolar; pero sobre todo por la transparencia con que se han manejado los fondos del mismo”, afirmó.

Dijo que como resultado, el Banco Mundial (BM) aprobó un préstamo por un monto de 30 millones de dólares que serán utilizados en la ampliación de la política social del Gobierno.

Indicó que los técnicos de Solidaridad han sido invitados a la Conferencia Anual de Junio, de una de las compañías emisoras de Tarjetas más grande del mundo, Visa Internacional; para que expliquen los alcances del Programa Solidaridad y como lograron incorporar a 200 mil familias pobres al sistema de tarjeta de débito.

Agregó que la Unión Europea invitó al Gobierno Dominicano, a través del Gabinete Social a una cumbre de países de América Latina, donde se tratará el tema de la lucha contra la pobreza; para que técnicos o funcionarios expliquen los alcances de los Programas Sociales que se ejecutan a través de Solidaridad.

Alburquerque habló en esos términos en el marco de la clausura del “Segundo Taller de Capacitación de Para Enlaces Comunitarios”, los cuales tendrán a su cargo la supervisión y vigilancia del Programa Solidaridad en la ciudad de Puerto Plata.

Alburquerque añadió que el Gobierno del presidente Leonel Fernández, pretende fortalecer el Programa Solidaridad para lo que ya aprobaron 1,000 millones de pesos para el presupuesto de este año.

Se lamentó de que este año no se podrá ampliar la cobertura del Programa Solidaridad, que pretendía beneficiar a 300 mil familias pobres, debido a los recortes presupuestario, que dijo han obligado a dejarlo en los 200 mil hogares que se incluyeron el año pasado.

En tanto que el director del Programa Solidaridad, Fernando Reyes, refirió que con los 62 enlaces comunitarios que trabajaran en las provincias Duarte, María Trinidad Sánchez, Samaná y Salcedo, suman 165 los técnicos que se han formando a nivel nacional hasta la fecha, y que servirán de soporte en su aplicación.

El acto de graduación de enlaces comunitarios del programa, contó además, con la presencia de los gobernadores provinciales de Puerto Plata, Francis Vargas, José Luís Cosme, de Maria Trinidad Sánchez, Domingo Payero, de Salcedo y Miriam Rodríguez, del Sistema Único de Beneficiarios (SIUBEN).

Marzo 16, 2006

Le Journal Electronique du Réseau de Développement Durable d'Haiti (RDDH):

Ce journal rassemble les différent acteurs associés au RDDH en Haiti. Et cherche à cibler les diverses thèmes qui s' allient a ces pratiques, et leurs implications dans le contexte Haitien. De par ces regroupements, le journal atteint plus de 32 associations répartient dans les différentes régions du pays en cherchant à maintenir une plateforme d' échange entre professionnels, experts haitiens, que ce soit au niveau du secteur privé ou publique.

NEWSLETTER N°0001
Samedi 4 mars 2006

Following the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the Golden Book has been published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to underline the main efforts emphasized by different stakeholders as they unfolded during its preparatory phase (Tunis phase).

Under this framework, the Golden Book documents different initiatives taken around the world in regards to matters of ICTs, and the role of governments, individuals, and teams to promote, and disseminate on large scales the WSIS goals, as defined during the Tunis Phase.
By combining different examples in regards to projects to build infrastructures toward ICT and its outcomes upon issues of education, health and governance, the portal makes available a comprehensive database to strengthen capacity building, and support in terms of research for agencies, NGOs, and administrators involved in ICT4D.

GOLDEN BOOK : STAKEHOLDER COMMITMENTS AND INITIATIVES

A voyeuristic view of plantation society

published: Sunday March 19, 2006

Marly, or A Planter's Life in Jamaica

Author: Anonymous

Reviewer: Tanya Batson-Savage

Publisher: MacMillan Caribbean

THE THING I find most disturbing about the anonymously written text Marly; or, A Planter's Life in Jamaica is not that it deals with slavery, but that it has been labelled a 'Caribbean Classic'. This is disturbing because Marly is clearly an argument against emancipation masked as a novel.
Republished by MacMillan Caribbean the book was first produced in the very early 19th century. As such, if one uses the term 'classic' to mean 'famous because long established' or even 'of lasting value and importance', two meanings given by the Oxford English Dictionary, the term is, of course, accurately applied to the text.

As Marly presents much insight into the nature of Jamaican plantation slave society, it is quite valuable to our understanding the nature of slave society at that time.

Unfortunately, the meaning most readily associated with 'classic' and is, as such, the first that the OED throws up is 'first class' and that meaning almost always overrides value when determining a classic. It is for that reason that Marly's inclusion into what should be the hallowed halls of Caribbean classics is disturbing.

DEBATES ON SLAVERY AND EMANCIPATION

Marly has no real literary merit. Its significance comes from the historic aspects that it reveals and it is a treasure trove of voyeuristic windows for peeping in on plantation slave society. Marly's story, his quest for his lost inheritance and the love of a beautiful lady is not very interesting, nor is the character Marly himself. The plot is then squeezed in amidst the real reason for the novel, the presentation of various debates on slavery and emancipation.

That the unknown author is not particularly favourable toward emancipation is not merely indicated by the numerous apologies for slavery. Where it comes in is his insistence on the happiness of slaves, and that they really are better off as slaves as they are lazy, immoral, ungrateful, uncivilised and, as such, wouldn't have a clue what to do with freedom than to be even more lazy and immoral.

As such, reading Marly requires the accompaniment of tonnes of salt. The writer is insistent in portraying the slaves as a happy, carefree lot. He constantly refers to their singing, using it to remark on their happiness and seems even oblivious to the rebelliousness of their singing 'I don't care a damn oh' after being whipped. Furthermore, the writer renders the slaves as particularly childlike, of which his insistence on their happy singing is a part.

In attempting to highlight that slavery, as it then existed, was not neither hard nor cruel, the writer time and again points out that much labour was not required. As such, though Marly is left exhausted after overseeing the work, the narrator indicates that "[w]hat can be styled hard work was not demanded of the Negroes" (p. 112). The text is also careful to suggest that very little punishment was meted out and that punishment was usually gentle. He even goes so far as to describe 'nine lashes' as a 'gentle admonition'.

FEAST OF SUBVERSIONS

Largely because of the flaws in the writing style of Marly, the book presents a feast of subversions that go against what the writer is attempting to convey. A part of the technique used to construct Marly as a true hero, is that he does not, at least for the length of the text, have an affair with slave women but instead stays true to his fair maiden. But the writer himself seems obsessed with 'sable flesh' and cannot stop himself from constantly referring to it.

SLAVES AMUSEMENTS

The description of the Christmas and New Year festivities is particularly delightful. Several pages are spent describing the 'sports' of Christmas and what comes out is that for that time period, at least, it was the slaves who controlled the gaze, and even when the writer attempts to insist that the slaves amusements were merely 'rude', the enjoyment had by himself and the rest of the white population oozes through.

In truth, Marly is an interesting read for those interested in delving into the social make-up of Jamaica in the early 19th century. It is often more lively than seeing it straight from a history text, though it is conversely often bogged down by long arguments for slavery. Even these have their value as they relate some of the views of the planter society. As such, it is a very valuable text. Of course, to call its category Old and Valuable Works may have been too clumsy, and so Marly has been, disturbingly, dubbed a classic.

© Copyright 1997-2006 Gleaner Company Ltd.

Beware of Emigrants Bearing Gifts: Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy in the Presence of Remittances

Author/Editor: Chami, Ralph Cosimano, Thomas F. Gapen, Michael T.

Authorized for Distribution: March 1, 2006

Electronic Access: Full Text in PDF format. (PDF file size is 498KB)

Summary: This paper uses a stochastic dynamic general equilibrium model to investigate the influence of countercyclical remittances on the conduct of fiscal and monetary policy and trace their effects on real and nominal variables in a business cycle setting. We show that remittances raise disposable income and consumption, and insure against income shocks, thereby raising household welfare. However, remittances increase the correlation between labor and output, thereby producing a more volatile business cycle and increasing output and labor market risk. Optimal monetary policy in the presence of remittances deviates from the Friedman rule, highlighting the need for independent government policy instruments.

Series: Working Paper No. 06/61

Please address any questions about this title to publications@imf.org.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Community policing model being viewed

By JIMENITA SWAIN, Guardian Senior Reporter
jimenita@nasguard.com

The Bahamas' urban renewal model is one that will be taken world-wide as members of the International Association of Chiefs of Police are in town taking notes.

With two international awards for the urban renewal community policing model, the Royal Bahamas Police Force hosted the Association who will also begin deliberations in selecting next years' community policing winner.

The group was received by the Deputy Prime minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia Pratt during a breakfast meeting at the British Colonial Hotel.

"The community policing of the IACP is responsible for refining, sharp tuning, and ensuring that best practices are developed and shared throughout the policing community," she said.

In 2004 the Royal Bahamas Police Force was awarded the Motorola Caribbean Region community policing award and in 2005 the ITT Night vision international community policing award, she highlighted.

"The urban renewal programme is the epitome of our community policing initiative," she said, as it aims to revitalise the urban renewal areas, to improve conditions and put a stop to criminals' stronghold on communities.

Today more than 102 countries are represented in the IACP with a membership of over 20,000.

She noted that the IACP had launched several highly acclaimed programs and has been in existence from 1893. "Its has been on the cutting edge of the policing profession and has greatly assisted in the modernisation of policing practices, emphasising a service oriented approach to effective and efficient policing in the 21st century," she added.

Commissioner of Police Paul Farquharson said he was recently appointed to help advance the concept of community policing and the objectives of the IACP in the Caribbean region and in Central America among the Chiefs of Police.

With such international acclaim from the Association, Mr Farquharson said more money will be pumped into the programme which falls directly under the prime minister's portfolio.
In addition, the commissioner said community policing was a big plank in the prevention of crime.

Chief Russell Laine, the 3rd vice president of the IACP commented that "The Bahamas police are considered one of the leaders or the leader in their programmes. That's one of the reasons why we have come."

Chairman of the Urban Renewal programme Stephen Dean was also appointed to the IACP to assist in spreading the message of community policing.

The IACP has been the leaders in the law enforcement community for more than 112 years in the United States and around the world. The Association has worked to foster co-operation among law enforcement agencies, research new technologies and develop new training protocols and procedures.

Copyright © 2006 The Nassau Guardian. All rights reserved.

ANGUILLA , THE ROCK: Cleophas Gumbs Announces A New Project
Publishing date: 17.03.2006 10:02

Cleophus Gumbs of Little Dix is a well-known figure on the local political scene and an advocate for steering Anguilla in the right course. He is also making another name for himself by revolutionalising the stone-cutting business for the construction industry in a big way.

Mr. Gumbs has just commissioned an impressive limestone-cutting Cobra “S” Travelling Bridge Diamond Saw which slices massive boulders into colourful slabs. When taken to another machine, the already smooth rock is further cut into squares of different sizes ready for special and attractive tiling of walls or floors by builders and home-owners. Other cuts can be used for decorating gardens.

The operation of the plant, particularly the computer-driven automatic travelling bridge saw, is something which must be seen to fully understand and Mr. Gumbs is opening the facility to visits by the general public including school children. The saw, operated by his 600-watt 3-phase generator, is cooled by large amounts of recycled water supplied by two large cisterns on the compound. The plant is situated on family-owned land in the Wattices area.

Mr. Gumbs invited The Anguillian to the site, where he spoke about the facility. “We are looking at two stone-cutting machines – one is the big gantry saw carrying a 6-foot blade and the smaller one which cuts the big slabs into 8-inch, 10x12 or 12x12 pieces, whatever the customer requires,” he explained.

“Anguilla is growing and I saw that this type of business would do well on the island,” he went on. “A lot of stone is imported from various places, such as Santo Domingo and we have the same stone here but did not have the facilities to cut it…The equipment was brought in form Minnesota. The big machine runs on a gantry track from left to right. We load the rock and programme the number of cuts we want from each block and set the saw on automatic. The machine can cut all day without any interference and when the last block is cut, we enter zero zero and the saw automatically shuts down.”

The rock-cutting machines are a far cry from the conventional hand-chiselling activity which is also supported in a limited way by other small-scale machinery systems. It took Mr. Gumbs ten years to bring this larger project to fruition, mainly because of the need for financing which he has now managed to meet from his own pocket.

I have a lot of faith in the people of Anguilla and I have a lot of faith in Anguilla on a whole because the island and its people are beautiful,” he stated. “Despite the behaviour of some of our youth, we all must carry Anguilla forward and this project is one of the ways to do so. We have to steer Anguilla in the right course.”

Mr. Gumbs added: “The public can come here and I invite teachers to bring the school children to see this. It is not the first rock-cutting saw on the island, but it is one of the most modern and largest machines In Anguilla.” It is certainly an education to visit Mr. Gumbs’ project.

Cuba preparada para sobresalir en estudio de la UNESCO

La Habana, 17 de marzo (AIN).- Cuba está preparada para sobresalir en las pruebas del II Estudio Regional Comparativo y Explicativo, como lo hizo en la primera evaluación de ese tipo, en la cual ocupó el primer lugar entre once países.

En declaraciones publicadas en la edición digital del periódico Juventud Rebelde, María Luisa Santiesteban, funcionaria del Departamento de Enseñanza Primaria del Ministerio de Educación, destacó que en esa comprobación la Isla demostrará la valía de su revolución educacional
Los días primero y dos de junio se aplicarán exámenes internacionales de conocimiento a alumnos de tercero y sexto grados de 220 escuelas del país.

Serán realizados por funcionarios del Laboratorio Latinoamericano de Evaluación de la Calidad de la Educación, de la Organización de Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO), junto a especialistas cubanos de Educación.

Este segundo estudio, en el cual participarán 18 países del área, medirá en los estudiantes de tercer grado sus conocimientos de Lenguaje y Matemática, y en sexto grado esas dos asignaturas y Ciencias Naturales, explicó Santiesteban.

Agregó que se trata de 30 ejercicios con alto nivel de complejidad, que no se responden mediante la reproducción de un concepto, sino a través de su aplicación a problemáticas prácticas de la vida.

Órgano de la Central de Trabajadores de Cuba

Marzo 17, 2006

Se extiende epidemia de hepatitis en Camagüey

CAMAGUEY, Cuba - 16 de marzo (Marilyn Díaz Fernández, Lux Info Press / www.cubanet.org) - La hepatitis viral continúa afectando a un número mayor de personas en la provincia de Camagüey, sin que las autoridades competentes hayan podido ponerle freno a la propagación de esta enfermedad infecto contagiosa.

Pacientes de todas las edades son diagnosticados diariamente en los centros asistenciales de salud pública de los municipios agramontinos, contagiados del padecimiento hepático. Sin embargo, todo parece indicar que no existe un método apropiado para impedir la propagación del mismo, pues desde hace varios meses la población está enfrentándolo, en medio de la escasez de reactivos para realizar los análisis complementarios, esenciales para el diagnóstico y tratamiento.

Algunas personas opinan que las vías fundamentales de infección son la insalubridad general que provoca la existencia de plagas y vectores; la contaminación ambiental, especialmente la falta de potabilidad del agua para el consumo humano, y la falta de higienización de las vasijas en que se sirven alimentos, sobre todo líquidos, en los centros públicos donde se consumen bebidas de todo tipo.

Lo cierto es que la hepatitis se ha convertido en una nueva preocupación para los camagüeyanos, que temen infectarse principalmente por lo difícil que resulta curarse sin eliminar las causas que provocan la enfermedad; e impedidos de llevar a cabo el tratamiento indicado, que incluye una rigurosa dieta casi imposible de hacer en medio de tantas penurias.

LUX INFO-PRESS

Agencia Cubana Independiente de Información y Prensa

E-mail: Fsindical@aol.com

Dialogo Regional sobre Sociedad de la Informacion

This book represents the first publication of the Regional Dialogue on the Information Society (DIRSI in Spanish), a regional network of leading researchers concerned with the creation and dissemination of knowledge that supports effective participation in the Information Society by the poor and marginalized communities in Latin American and the Caribbean.

The chapters that follow reflect different studies undertaken by DIRSI members under the common theme of pro-poor, pro-market ICT policies. This theme seeks to support next-generation policy reforms that build on the achievements of market liberalization efforts but at the same time address the realities of what we call digital poverty a concept that seeks to grasp the multiple dimensions of inadequate levels of access to ICT services as well as the barriers to their productive use. Hernan Galperin and Judith Mariscal.

Full Download

March 16, 2006

IDB approves $5 million line of credit to Dominican Republic for project preparation, execution and evaluation

Support for streamlining and improving quality of operations

The Inter-American Development Bank today announced the approval of a $5 million conditional revolving line of credit to Dominican Republic to support the preparation, execution and evaluation of projects.

These resources will be used to finance activities and investments related to designing projects, expanding executing agencies’ capacity to carry out operations, strengthen their institutional frameworks and conduct ex post evaluations of projects.

This operation seeks to streamline and speed up project preparation and execution, thereby reducing implementation costs. It also aims to improve the quality of IDB-financed projects in Dominican Republic.

The IDB project pipeline for 2006-2007 includes possible loans to the Dominican Republic for around $500 million for state reform, financial sector modernization, road rehabilitation, public health, watershed and coastal management and productive sectors development.

The Presidential Office’s Technical Secretariat will be the national coordination agency for the line of credit from the IDB’s expanded Project Preparation, Execution and Evaluation Facility, a flexible financing instrument that allows individual operations to be approved under guidelines set by the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.

Also available in: Español

°More information

Dominican Republic and the IDB

°Press Contact

Peter Bate peterb@iadb.org (202) 623-2609

© 2006 Inter-American Development Bank

NIA moves to secure added water sources on Nevis

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

CHARLESTOWN, Nevis: The Nevis Island Administration is looking to the future to provide additional quality and reliable water sources on Nevis.

In that regard, Cabinet held discussions on Thursday March 9, 2006 with officials of Earth Water Global, a deep water drilling company based in Europe.

Premier of Nevis and Minister of Finance Vance Amory explained that the Administration had recognised the importance of water and in order to ensure that Nevis had other reliable sources of quality water available in the future, the Administration had moved to explore alternate water sources on the island.

“It is believed based on the technology which they have that they could access a suitable and large quantity source of water deep into the fissures of the rocks of Nevis and provide water,” he said, since the existing artesian wells on the island were closer to the surface and could not access the deep water.

According to Mr Amory, the deep drilling method utilised by a number of other countries worldwide including Tobago in the Caribbean, had been successful and it was something the Administration had interest in pursuing.

“This has been a successful method used in a number of countries around the world and in the Caribbean they have done work in Tobago to a high degree of satisfaction and it is something which we want to pursue.

“They will be making some further proposal to government for our consideration so that we could at least have all of the details to make a decision whether to go that way or to look at other sources.

I am quite impressed with what I am hearing from them and based on the Tobago experience and experience in other areas, it is something which we will be looking at quite favourably because we cannot continue to rely just on rainfall and on the normal replenishment of the aquifers which are near the surface.

We need to look at other sources and if this is a good source, I think it is something that we ought to be able to explore,” Mr Amory said.

He also explained that the need for a new source of water was important in light of the number of upcoming projects, which would involve the construction industry and later the domestic occupancy of the new buildings which would require additional water.

“We find we are getting to the rim and we need to satisfy ourselves that we have additional supplies of water to satisfy the demand and the additional demand that we foresee in the not too distant future,” he said.

The discussions encompassed topics including the environment, water quality, reliability which Mr Amory said was important to understand to ensure that the deep well drilling would not have a negative impact on Nevis.

Copyright © 2003-2006 Caribbean Net News

Caribbean Development Bank President to serve second five-year term (89/2006)



BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MARCH 16TH 2006 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis and other member nations of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) have supported the re-election of Dr. Compton Bourne to serve a second five-year term as President of the regional financial institution.

The former Principal and Professor of Economics at the St. Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies assumed office on May 1, 2001, as the fourth president of CDB. His current term is due to end on April 30, 2006. According to the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr. Bourne said his first term in office was “a very interesting and exciting period.” The CDB President says that he made the consolidation of relationships with shareholders a priority during this period, seeking to meet with them in their own countries to convey what the Bank was doing and how it saw its future, and to get their views.

With regard to the borrowing member countries, another issue which he sought to address is the way in which the Bank effectively services their needs in providing resources.“I think that while we have made some progress in that area deliberately by seeking to reorganize departments, analyzing our processes, I don’t think that we have got to the point where we can say we have achieved everything we would wish to achieve,” Dr. Bourne said.

However, Dr. Bourne is of the view that “the Bank can feel justifiably proud of the way it led the efforts to help construct a rescue package for Dominica, and I think our working relations with Grenada is a very good example of how the institution responds to member countries in moments of greatest need.”

Among the challenges that lie ahead, Dr. Bourne lists the ability of the Bank to continue to mobilize resources on the scale that is required for lending in the future and placing the Bank at the centre stage of Caribbean development.

Dr. Bourne’s vision for the future of CDB is that of “a Bank that maintains and strengthens its relevance to the countries of the Region. It must address the major development issues. Certainly one of the major issues is the problem of youth and how we engage them in the process of long-term development and sustainability of the countries, because if youth are of the view that they have no stake in the future of the country then the country has no future.”

The President’s new term will be effective May 1, 2006.

Photo: Caribbean Development Bank President Dr. Compton Bourne


Copyright © 2005 By The Government Of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) & Nevis

Thu Mar 16, 2006

Native Caribbean inhabitants want end to discrimination

A group of Arawaks and Caribs in the region has called for years of discrimination against the Caribbean's first inhabitants to be reversed.

Damon Gerard Corrie of the Lokono-Arawak Nation and Jacob Che Frederick of the Karifuna-Carib Nation, issued a joint release on Thursday complaining about their marginalisation.

According to them, the Karifuna Carib inhabitants of Trinidad and St. Vincent and the Grenadines still have no territory to call their own following the arrival of Europeans in the Caribbean some five centuries ago.

They also called for greater recognition in Dominica where five per cent of that country's population is Karifuna Carib.According to the release, the natives are forced to accept a grossly inadequate five square mile territory along with a police presence, which they claim violates international law.

At the same time, both Karifuna-Caribs of Dominica and the Lokono-Arawaks of Barbados have also indicated they have reclaimed the small Barbados outcrop known as Culpepper Island.

Copyright© 2005 RJR Communications Group

March, 16 - 1:33 PM

World Bank will invest US$30M for “Solidarity”

Santo Domingo.- The World Bank (WB) will invest 30 million dollars to strengthen the Solidarity program that the Dominican government undertakes to improve the living conditions of the most impoverished sectors of the population.

WB official Sam Carlson informed that on the 30th of May, the loan project will be presented before the entity’s Board of Directors, to be then sent to the Technical Ministry and finally to the National Congress for ratification or rejection.

Carlson affirmed that this millionaire investment seeks to improve Solidarity services, which is an integrating portion of the government’s social policy.

Dominican Today - Portal Alta Tecnologia

World Water Forum Focuses on Vital Resource


March 15, 2006—World leaders gather in Mexico City for the Fourth World Water Forum, March 16 – 22, to tackle an increasingly urgent problem—the growing number of people without enough water resources, nor access to clean water or to basic sanitation.

Consider these projections:

In 1995, some 436 million people in 29 countries lived in places where the water supply was scarce or under stress. By 2025, more than 1.4 billion people in 48 countries are expected to be in the same position. By 2035, the number is expected to grow to three billion, according to the World Bank.

Despite improvements over the last 20 years, 1.1 billion still lack access to water supply and 600 million lack sanitation.

More to Follow

16th March
New HIV Cases Rise
By Macushla N. Pinder
The number of new HIV infections recorded in The Bahamas increased by 50 in 2005 after falling several consecutive years, Director of the AIDS Foundation Dr. Perry Gomez revealed yesterday.

New statistics indicate that approximately 6,853 people in The Bahamas are known to be HIV infected or have AIDS. According to health officials, the number of AIDS victims is actually estimated to be 5,243.

Over the past two decades 3,162 have died from AIDS and AIDS related illnesses, according to Ministry of Health statistics, which show that during that period 10,479 persons tested positive for HIV infections.

"It demonstrates that we have to continue preaching the message of prevention because it is not enough just to treat and keep people well," said Dr. Gomez, during the launch of a new region-wide condom promotion campaign. The main target group is sexually active at-risk youths between the ages 15 – 25.

"It’s important to prevent this through education, condom use, abstinence and so on. We have to keep pushing those messages so that these figures continue to fall."

Slated to begin running the last week in April, the ads will be aired on television stations throughout The Caribbean, including ZNS, according to Kerry Singh, sales and marketing manager for the Society for Family Health (SFH), a social marketing organization.

SFH is a member of Population Services International (PSI), reportedly the leading nonprofit social marketing organization in the world.

SFH is donor funded, its main objectives being to promote acceptability and broad access to condoms and condoms purchases, safer sexual practices among youths and other high-risk groups while decreasing the barriers to consistent condom use.

"At this stage, we are looking at running the campaign definitely until the end of the year, possibly into 2007," said Mr. Singh, whose main focus is increasing the distribution of condoms and to work with the commercial sector to see how availability and price could be positively affected.

The slogan and logo for the mass media awareness is "Got It? Get It."

The logo’s colours are yellow and black, symbolic of "caution" and the slogan is outlined by an outer circle, which depicts a condom.

"Got It? Get It. Speaks to condom access in youth friendly outlets. Caribbean Reggae, hip-hop and soca artists will be endorsing and promoting the logos through radio and television ads," Dr. Gomez said.

"An integral component of the project is identifying and providing access to non-traditional/under-utilized distribution points such as barbershops, beauty salons, bars, clubs and hotels (condom friendly outlets) to support the increased demand creation by the mass media advertising campaign.

"This will provided an integrated approach to the marketing and distribution of condoms in The Bahamas, and go a long way in encouraging safer sexual practices among the youth."

The PSI Caribbean project will span Antigua and Barbuda; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Montserrat; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; St. Vincent and The Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; and The Bahamas.

The region-wide condom promotion campaign has been developed using youthful, trendy, upbeat styles. Mr. Singh explained that a serious attempt was made at giving the campaign’s one-minute television advertisements "street value" considering its target group.

"We wanted them to sound as if it (the advice) was coming from someone’s best friend. Everyone looking at the ad within our target group should be able to relate to one of the characters," he said.

"Around all of this, we are trying to partner with MTV Tempo on this campaign because their markets are very similar to what we are after…The reality is youths look up to these entertainment artists, whereas a parent and a teacher may not have that influence."

The advertisements address key issues associated with condoms, like availability and accessibility as well as some of the issues surrounding safer sex and its methodologies.

"The ads were designed to look at several of the important issues around youth sexually active…. Unfortunately, a lot of the information that is being passed on is not correct, neither is it safe," said Salorne McDonald, SFH behavior change communications manager.

"We also look at the fact that women using and buying their own condoms is still very much a closeted issue and the fact that women need to be extra, extra careful. They are three times more likely to contract the virus."

The Bahama Journal - Bahamas News Online Edition

Island recovers more than $56 million for Family Department

SAN JUAN (EFE) – Mi Casita Feliz shelter for battered women will soon reopen as a result of new agreements between the Federal Health Department and the local Family Department, which will bring back some $56.8 million in unclaimed funds since 1997.

Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá noted that those funds are part of surplus money not requested by the department, and blamed inadequate administrative practices for not having identified the funds before. He praised Yolanda Zayas, the department secretary, for correcting the matter.

In this way, the 119 care centers whose funds had been restricted during last year will receive a 10% increase.

On her part, Zayas said she is proud to have obtained help for Puerto Rico families.

Copyright © 2000-2006 Casiano Communications Inc.

Le Japon fait un don de près de US$ 51.000 à l'EBO.

Posté le 15 mars 2006

Le chargé d'Affaires a.i. du Japon, Masato Futaishi, a signé, vendredi, un contrat de don de US $ 50.956 avec Mme Louisanne Anty, directrice de l'établissement EBO, a annoncé le même jour l'ambassade du Japon en Haïti dans une note de presse.

Ce financement, qui entre dans le cadre du programme d'aide non remboursable pour petits projets locaux (APL), est destiné au projet de réhabilitation et d'extension des locaux de l'Etablissement de bienfaisance pour les orphelins (EBO).

M. Futaishi, dans ses propos de circonstance, a rappelé l'attention spéciale qu'accorde le Japon à ces projets humanitaires, surtout ceux de « secours aux enfants défavorisés » et de « support éducatif aux enfants non scolarisés. »

De tels projets, a poursuivi M. Futaishi, exigent un énorme investissement humain et financier. Celui qu'accorde le Japon à l'EBO permettra aux responsables dudit établissement de passer de la charge de 25 enfants à celle de 50.

Ces enfants pourront aussi bénéficier « de meilleures conditions de logement à savoir : sécurité, eau, électricité, système sanitaire etc. »

L'ambassade du Japon a profité pour saluer les responsables du centre, pour l'effort et la volonté dont ils font montre à continuer la lutte en faveurs des enfants démunis.

© 2000, tous droits réservés - Haiti Press Network

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Misperceptions

I WANT to correct two misperceptions in the letter about the IMF’s approach to good governance published recently in the Stabroek News (`Glad to see that the European Union has terminated its relationship with GuyFlag’, March 1).

First, there is no inconsistency between the IMF and the World Bank on the criteria that have been applied to Guyana for its qualification for debt relief under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. Briefly, debt relief was granted to Guyana taking into account its performance in the areas of macroeconomic stability, progress toward implementation of its poverty reduction strategy, and public expenditure management. These were the criteria that the G8 countries asked the World Bank and the IMF to apply.

There was complete agreement between the IMF and the World Bank that Guyana qualified; this decision had the full support of the international community as expressed in the decision of the Boards of Governors of both institutions approving full debt relief.

Second, it is incorrect that the IMF is not interested in governance. We, in the IMF, are deeply committed to assisting countries strengthen governance. The IMF was asked in 1996 by its Board of Governors to "promote good governance in all its aspects, including by ensuring the rule of law, improving the efficiency and accountability of the public sector, and tackling corruption, as essential elements of a framework within which economies can prosper."
We value good governance because weak governance (and corruption) are detrimental to economic activity and welfare, which are the core of the IMF’s mandate.

The IMF’s commitment to good governance is seen in its policy advice, financial support, and technical assistance. The commitment to improving governance or reducing corruption in IMF-supported programmes is clearly demonstrated by the fact that over two-thirds of the letters of intent for IMF programmes published since 2002 have contained explicit goals related to these categories. Much of the technical assistance provided by the IMF also has a direct bearing on governance-related issues such as tax and customs administration.

In addition, the IMF contributes to enhancing good governance through its efforts to promote standards and codes — fiscal, monetary, data — that help to strengthen transparency, the debt relief initiative (HIPC) and, more recent, efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Guyana’s PRGF-supported programme provides a useful example of this shared commitment. Under the programme, which began in 2002, important steps have been taken to contain the scope for discretion in providing tax exemptions, to boost the independence of monetary policy, and to enhance the transparency of policies including with regard to the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.

The IMF will remain firmly committed to promoting and assisting the strengthening of governance in Guyana and in all of its member countries.

SAQIB RIZAVI

RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, GUYANA

Copyright GNNLMarch 2006

World Bank examines system of remittances to Caribbean

published: Wednesday March 15, 2006

WASHINGTON (CMC):

THE WORLD Bank and the Bank for International Settlements have collaborated in providing for the first time, a report on understanding the payment system aspects of remittances to the Caribbean and other countries.

The banks said while, in recent years, a number of reports have been prepared by various organisations on sending remittances back home, few have been devoted specifically to the payment system aspects or the practical realities of how the money is transferred.

In its report, released Monday, the banks provide an analysis of these payment system aspects, and set out general principles designed to assist countries that want to improve the market for remittance services.

FIVE PRINCIPLES

The report contains five general principles covering transparency and consumer protection; payment system infrastructure; the legal and regulatory framework; market structure and competition; and governance and risk management.
It also highlights the roles of authorities and remittance service providers in the application of the general principles.

The banks say that the flow of funds from immigrants back to their families is an important source of income in many developing economies, such as those in the region.

The total value of these remittances has been increasing steadily over the past decade, the banks say, estimating that in 2005 the total value worldwide was over $230 billion.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimates that Caribbean and Latin American nationals sent home about $55 billion last year.

The IDB said these flows were a major source of capital for several countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, received just over $1 billion from its expatriates - more than one quarter of its gross domestic product.

Some 25 million Caribbean-born adults and Latin Americans live and work outside their homelands, mostly in industrialised nations with low birth rates and a growing demand for labour.

NO EASY ACCESS

Last year, about three-quarters of the total volume of remittances to the Caribbean and Latin America came from the United States.

"Sending remittances can be expensive relative to the often low incomes of migrant workers and to the rather small amounts sent - typically no more than a few hundred dollars or its equivalent at a time," the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements said.

In addition, the banks say it may not be easy for migrants to access remittance services if they do not speak the local language or do not have the necessary documentation.

"The relatively undeveloped financial infrastructure in some countries may make it difficult for recipients to collect the remittances," the banks said.

© Copyright 1997-2006 Gleaner Company Ltd.

The Caribbean Center for Development Administration (CARICAD) is pleased to inform you that the Technical and Advisory Support Facility (TASF) on E-Government has now been established here at CARICAD.

This Facility was set-up in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Public Administration and Development Management (UNDESA/ DPADM), and is mandated to implement the Action Oriented E-Government Strategy which was adopted at the 5th Caribbean Ministerial Consultation on Regional Cooperation for E-government Capacity Building in Barbados, during June 2004.

The Strategy was developed on the basis of the political consensus that was built by a series of Ministerial Consultations, which took place between 2000 and 2003. This consensus focused on the need for capacity building to enable meaningful public sector reform; on using information and communications technologies (ICT) to take advantage of new development opportunities in general and to improve the quality of public services in particular; on the need to make e-government programs part of not only ICT strategies, but also of national plans on economic growth and social development.

The Facility was established on the premise that “even if the situation for e-government development might be different from country to country in the region, there is ample space for regional cooperation and for benefiting from the economies of scale, within the context of Caribbean regional integration.”

The Facility is staffed by a Knowledge and Information Manager, and a Research Assistant, Dr. Cletus K. Bertin, and Mr. Emerson O. Bryan respectively

CARIDAD

Jeffrey Sachs and the Millennium Villages

March 13, 2006

Jeffrey Sachs spoke at a CGD event about the Millennium Villages Project, which his Earth Institute at Columbia University describes as a “bottom-up approach to enabling villages in developing countries to lift themselves out of the poverty trap.” Most of the money, about $100 a year per person, comes from the outside.

The villages are pilot projects that aim to demonstrate how more money for health, education, fertilizer and other inputs can accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) -- internationally-agreed targets for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women by 2015.

Work is underway in two main locations. Sauri, in Kenya, is a village of some 4,600 people with a strong community system, but lacking the revenue for the basic services necessary to sustain economic growth. Kararo, in northern Ethiopia, comprises three villages with a total population of about 5,000. About 16 kilometers from dry-weather road, the three Kararo villages are isolated and very poor. Residents suffer from chronic diarrheal diseases, malaria and respiratory diseases. The goal is for the program to reach some half-a-million people by the end of 2006.

In these and other model villages, according to the Earth Institute web site, “scientists and development experts in agriculture, nutrition and health, economics, energy, water, environment and information technology will work with local communities and governments to apply a proven, integrated package of interventions to help villages get out of extreme poverty.”
Put more simply, the approach involves providing poor people such things as better seeds, some fertilizer, a bed net to fend off malarial mosquitoes, a share in a protected water source, a school lunch for the kids, a solar lantern.

The Millennium Villages Project has received wide media coverage, including a 2005 visit to Kararo by CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, a photo essay in People Magazine, and a recent lengthy feature in the Globe and Mail that focuses on Sachs’s role and was titled simply "Millennium Man."

Note: Jeffrey Sachs is a member of CGD's executive board. Video and a transcripts of his remarks will be available on the CGD website by Friday, March 17.

© 2006 Center for Global Development.

Global Poverty Needs a Global Answer
March 13, 2006

by Cynthia D. Churchwell

HBS professor emeritus George C. Lodge’s idea of a World Development Corporation has been percolating for years—he wrote a seminal article on the proposal in Foreign Affairs in 2002 (reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge).

The WDC would be a for-profit organization that would create sustainable improvements in impoverished countries. Lodge advanced the ideas in a January 2006 two-part piece in YaleGlobal coauthored with economist Craig Wilson. The authors also have a book due in May, A Corporate Solution to Global Poverty: How Multinationals Can Help the Poor and Invigorate Their Own Legitimacy, to be published by Princeton University Press.

In this recent interview conducted by e-mail, Lodge is hopeful that the World Development Corporation will be formed. He explains why nonprofits aren’t the answer to ending poverty and asks that executives look beyond philanthropy to make lasting positive change.

Full Interview

Copyright © 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College

HIV/AIDS lobby group launched

published: Tuesday March 14, 2006

KINGSTON (CMC):

HIV/AIDS WORKERS from several Caribbean countries have launched a new organisation that will also lobby regional governments on human rights issues.

The Caribbean Vulnerable Coalition (CVC) said it would also concentrate on persons most at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, including commercial sex workers and homosexuals.

"CVC will seek to do a number of things," said CVC board member, Debra Manning. "We are going to try and ensure adequate access to care and treatment for members of the vulnerable population. We are also planning to advocate to government and regional organisations on human rights issues."

She said that the group would also introduce measures in an effort to reduce the stigma and discrimination against persons living with the disease.

The weekend launch was attended by HIV/AIDS workers from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Suriname and several other regional states.

Next to sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean has the highest prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the world.

© Copyright 1997-2006 Gleaner Company Ltd.

Change or perish

By Sam Strangeways


Social unrest will erupt in Bermuda if “the politics of racial division, hatred and segregation” continue to be practised, a former PLP MP told a public forum on the weekend.Julian Hall gave his warning at a meeting on Saturday night in which other speakers also forecast a grim future for the Island unless the current two-party political system is changed.Mr. Hall, a lawyer who represented the PLP as an Opposition MP in Hamilton Parish for one term and who was also once a member of the UBP, claimed the current adversarial system of Government was not working in modern Bermuda.He said politicians were too keen to use race to gain an advantage in that system, instead of tackling the real challenges facing the country.And he repeated claims he has made publicly before that some PLP cabinet ministers are not competent enough to run the country. He warned: “Social unrest is right around the corner whether we like it or not. We are in severe danger. We have some young people here who are really increasingly alienated; no longer a part of this society. The PLP is going to find itself unable to handle social unrest. We need change.“This Island, I think, is really this close to perishing. It may not look like that because of all the affluence and the rest of it. There is an underpinning, a substructure of mayhem, which is just around the corner.”Mr. Hall, 56, added: “It’s a matter of great distress to me that I see Bermuda in 2006 still practising the politics of racial division, hatred and segregation.“I do not wish to associate myself with a political party that’s based on the support of one race. The result of that kind of politics is that a lot of the people who can be of great use to our society are excluded.“We have a two-gang system. Politics based on ideology is what we should be all about.”He said Bermuda’s tiny population was ideally suited to a system that was “systemically democratic and accountable to its people”.“We are just a little rock with some people on it trying to survive together,” he said, adding that there were two ways of bringing about change. “Either the movement for systemic change is going to convince one political party or the other to bring about that systemic change or it’s going to have to create a third force which is going to take it up. I’m going to try to convince the PLP.”The meeting at St. Paul’s Christian Education Centre in Paget also heard from newspaper columnist and former Bermuda Sun editor Tom Vesey, who listed his ideas for changing the system.They included banning party whips, having open Cabinet meetings, electing the Senate, introducing a code of conduct for MPs and having more committees and a U-shaped House of Assembly.He said the Westminster system used here was designed for Britain 800 years ago. “Bermuda is a very different country than England. I think we have been dragging along doing the same old tired stuff for so long and we forgot this is our country and we can change it if we want to.“It’s not a problem with our Government, it’s not a problem with the Opposition. I think it’s a problem with the system.”Former UBP strategist David Sullivan questioned why no MPs were at the meeting. “They are supposed to be representing us,” he said. “I would think they would want to be where the people are. I guess they don’t want to be where the people are.”Government backbencher Renee Webb later received a round of applause when she arrived late for the meeting.Young Bermudian Dennis Pitcher questioned whether the Island was ready for Independence under the current Government system and called for action from ordinary people to bring about change.“If we want Independence, I believe we need to take a serious look at our constitution,” he said. “Can we not achieve change and unify our people under a better constitution? “Our Government has failed because our people are no longer involved. We don’t stand up for ourselves when things aren’t going our way. If they don’t know what we want, then they are going to tell us what we want.”The meeting was organised by Khalid Abdul Wasi who said he planned similar forums in the near future.

Mayor Calls for National Programme to Save and Protect Children

KINGSTON(JIS)

Monday, March 13, 2006

Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Desmond McKenzie (left), has a light moment with past president of the Rotary Club of Kingston, Geoff Brown and president, Stephen Wedderburn.

Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Desmond McKenzie, has appealed to the private sector to work with the state to coordinate a national programme to save and protect the nation's children from harm.

Councillor McKenzie was addressing the launch of the Dunrobin Educational and Community Centre project at a Rotary Club of Kingston luncheon at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel yesterday (March 9).

Speaking against the background of the recent incidents of child homicides, the Mayor said, "I know that many people and organizations have been doing their own thing individually, but we are past that stage now.we need one single coordinated national programme".

He said the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) was willing to offer whatever resources it could to assist in this effort, "because we understand the urgency and we are committed to our children".

Asserting that along with the passage of laws to protect children, the murder of children should be added to the list of capital punishments and carry the death penalty, Mr. McKenzie said, "the society cannot continue to be merciful to those who refuse to show mercy on our children".

He recommended that the celebration of the month of May as Child Month be extended over 12 months from May 2006 to May 2007, "for us to work together to create a net to rescue our children.let us give them a chance to escape the guns, the crime, the drugs, the prostitution.let us work together to offer them encouragement. Let us try to protect and assist them".

The goal, he said, could be achieved by "adopting" a child. "Let us take them into our homes and try to understand their needs. Skip a lunch for a day, every week, donate the money to a national support fund for children," he suggested, calling on Rotarians to make this a special project for all Rotary Clubs in Jamaica this year.

Meanwhile, Mayor McKenzie congratulated the club on staying true to its motto of 'service above self' and lauded the organisation for its collaboration with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) to convert the "dust bowl" on Red Hills Road into a productive facility in the form of the Dunrobin Educational and Community Centre.

Rotary Club of Kingston and the Half-Way-Tree Community Development Committee Benevolent Society are the main sponsors of a $19.4 million project, which will entail the construction of a new, spacious school and community centre at 37½ Dunrobin Avenue. Spectator stands will be built on top of the centre to overlook the cricket field.

The basic school segment of the project, which is being funded by JSIF at cost of $6.3 million, will be built adjacent to the community centre in a separate, fenced compound. The school will comprise three classrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom block.

Copyright © 1996 -2003, Jamaica Information Service

March, 13 - 9:30 AM

The U.S. continues supporting DR’s judicial system

Santo Domingo.- The United States Government announced that it will continue supporting the Dominican Republic with technical assistance projects to bolster the judicial system. "A strong judicial system can, with greater effectiveness, protect the rights of its own citizens," states an U.S. embassy statement sent to the press.

The declaration is in response to the Florida’s South District Court’s decision which ordered the release and rejected the DR’s extradition request for the fugitive Shlomo Ben-Tov (a.k.a. Sam Goodson), linked to the Plan Renove RD$1.8 billion embezzlement case.

It adds that the judicial system’s strength allows the prosecuting of all corruption cases so that the guilty pay for their actions. "The joint efforts that are made to fortify the justice system will continue," said the U.S. embassy.
The United States works jointly with the Dominican Judicial Branch for creating the “Design of the Management Model for the Penal Judicial Office” in the country’s different judicial districts.
The project includes the training of judges in the Penal Procedural Code, design of the model of alternative conflict resolutions and the implementation of a pilot plan of specialized training in money laundering and complex cases.

Dominican Today - Portal Alta Tecnologia

Monday March 13, 2006 - Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, N.A.

Caribbean integration still is considered a challenge ~ Says senior political science lecturer Hans Breeveld ~

PHILIPSBURG--“Integration must be realised by being proactive, having a win-win attitude and better communication via a bottom-up approach. It’s our obligation to see what our own role is that we have to play in strengthening the Caribbean Community.”

Those were the recommendation Hans Breeveld, a senior lecturer in political science at University of Suriname, gave at the end of his lecture “Caribbean integration: A challenge for all Caribbean people” at Divi Little Bay Resort yesterday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Foundation Friendship Suriname St. Maarten.

About 100 fellow Surinamers were present yesterday to hear Breeveld’s speech. He outlined the history of the Caribbean and gave recommendations on how to strengthen the Caribbean Community, of which Suriname has been part since 1995.

He said the integration of the Caribbean dated from decades ago. Directly after World War II an attempt was made to form a Federation of the West Indies, consisting of all the colonies of England.
Breeveld’s opinion is that the main cause of the failure of the integration was that the process started with political integration instead economic integration. But with the failure of the federation, the economic integration of the Caribbean started.

Breeveld: “The federation was launched in 1952, but died a premature death in 1962. In that same year Jamaica and Trinidad became independent. Guyana and Barbados followed in 1966. But in the meantime, the economic integration of the Caribbean started. In December of 1965 the first Caribbean Trade Association Carifta agreement was signed. In 1968 all English speaking Caribbean countries, with the exception of the Bahamas and Belize, became members.”
Breeveld believes the important role of Carifta was that it provided for the continuation of the meetings of heads of states. “So in October 1972, during the seventh Heads of Government Conference in Trinidad, the decision was taken for the foundation of a Caribbean Community and in 1974 the Caribbean Community Caricom became a fact.”

However, the integration of the Caribbean can still be considered a challenge, Breeveld said. “Due to the impact of colonialism, too many of our people are not yet convinced about the truth of the saying ‘United we stand divided we fall.’”

He said that when talking about colonialism, too often the economic side was emphasised. “How easily we overlook the cultural and psychological damage that colonialism has caused by cultural domination.”

Breeveld believes that due to colonialism we are more often against each other than with each other. ‘Instead of thinking we can allow ourselves everlasting quarrels, we had better take a good look at what’s happening in the world.”
He firmly believes that due to the course of history it is not an easy task to reach sustainable development in all parts of the world. “So, in our aim to develop our countries we cannot imitate Europe, because we simply cannot make colonies in our days.”

Breeveld suggests that we should renew our way of thinking and introduce a new paradigm. “This means we have to develop a new way of looking at ourselves, our fellow countrymen, our country and towards the rest of the world. Countrymen in this sense are not only men born in your country, but men belonging to your region, because more and more national sovereignty is replaced by regional sovereignty.”

Breeveld also wants to see more celebration of Caribbean greatness. “I have discovered that people from the Caribbean in general talk too modestly about themselves. With their songs Bob Marley and the Mighty Sparrow put the Caribbean on the international map and so they induced a pride in the Caribbean people which leads to self esteem.”

Breeveld pointed out that besides the external dimension there was also an internal dimension. “We don’t give enough credit to people of our societies who have achieved something excellent. We don’t compliment or give enough regard to our children at home or in schools when they give an excellent performance. For our children to become successful we have to make them familiar with role models that are or have been in our societies.”

At the end of his speech Breeveld recommended how best to achieve the goal of a better integrated Caribbean. “Proactive behaviour is an essential condition to become prosperous. It’s also important to have a futuristic view. Where would we like to be in the year 2020 or 2030?”
A win-win approach stimulates development, he emphasised, saying, “We have to work together, knowing that an advantage for you can also generate advantage for another. Improved communication with a bottom-up approach where the common Caribbean people interact with each other about integration should help strengthen Caricom.”

Copyright ©1998-2005 The Daily Herald

Monday 13 March 2006

Four out of five schools do not achieve the educational objectives

CURACAO – From a presentation given by the outgoing Education-minister Maritsa Silberie (UPB) to the Central Committee of Parliament it turned out that 80 percent of the schools for basic education (FO) on the island do not achieve the objectives for this type of education.

Only 20 percent of the schools have fully introduced the FO. What the consequences are, we don’t know yet, because there are no specific information. Silberie promised a quick scan on this. After hearing these remarks, independent Parliament member, Leonard Coffi is kind of worried. We need an analysis on the pressure point.

It means that the FO didn’t work for the great majority of the school children in the age of 4 to 8 years. The program needs to be re-adjusted in order to prevent that this would be also the case with the new groups.

Coffi says that the Central-Committee meeting with Silberie didn’t bring much clarification.

The Parliament members didn’t receive a copy of the presentation. She didn’t point out the education-objectives that didn’t make it, but she is under the impression that it’s not the minor subjects, but the primary education objectives, like arithmetic, reading, and writing.

She couldn’t tell whether the teachers didn’t teach the students these skills in accordance with the FO, or they didn’t do it at all. It is possible that due to lack of material and not enough training for the primary education objectives, the teachers have decided to use the traditional teaching method.

What research did Silberie base these percentages on, is not clear. What we do know is that the ministry of Education did an evaluation on the introduction of the FO on all the islands, which result was supposed to be ready in January. But according to Coffi, the Education-minister indicated that the evaluation was partially done and she promised to make a quick scan.

We don’t know though how long this quick scan is going to take and when we can expect the results.

We are already in March and at the beginning of this new academic year the students of group 4 of cycles 1 have to move on to group 5 of the second cycle.

Coffi is of the opinion that these students have to be tested to see where they fail in their development. He hopes that the analysis of the quick scan will give something to hold on to.

Silberie was again not available for comments for the Amigoe.

© Copyright 2001, Amigoe.com.

Gender and land compendium of country studies

Hunger and poverty are, in general, consequences of inadequate and restricted access to land and other resources, such as capital, inputs and technology; being women among those with less access to land, while accounting for a large share in small-scale food production.

Over the past few decades, governments and civil society have been attempting to implement land regulations that seek to improve women’s land rights. Nevertheless, most initiatives developed to promote land reform programmes continue to underestimate the implications that gender asymmetric land policies entail for agriculture and food security. Most modern institutional arrangements for land tenure tend to maintain existing gender and social inequities. Political changes are required to revisit existing institutional mechanisms to ensure that rights to land are acknowledged as basic human rights and that women’s equal rights are effectively incorporated into land policy and tenure programmes. This compendium has been put together to provide an improved understanding of the complex issues concerning gender and land. It draws on research commissioned by FAO, and has been compiled by the Gender and Development Service in collaboration with the Land Tenure Service.

_________________________________________________________

Click here to view the document (pdf format) or here for a .zip downloadable file.

_________________________________________________________

Building on gender, agrobiodiversity and local knowledge
A training manual

A publication of the Gender, biodiversity and local knowledge systems for food security ( LinKS ) Project

The present Training Manual is based on experiences collected in numerous training workshops carried out under the FAO-LinKS project in Eastern and Southern Africa. This Training Manual constitutes a conceptual guide for trainers that can be used to lead them through the issues of gender and local knowledge which are important elements for agrobiodiversity management and food security.

It is apparent, when working with this Training Manual, that agrobiodiversity and food security are complex issues that need careful consideration. The myth that technologies taught to farmers will ease their poverty and hunger because the expertise or seeds provided are modern or new, persists in many contexts.

This leads to positive results not materializing and rural farmers being faced with failed crops, or it is found that the technology applied is not appropriate to the particular situation.
There have been successes, this is true; however, a careful reading of the case studies contained in this Manual, will prompt the readers to pause and reflect. In some cases, the fine balance between wild foods and cultivated local varieties offers better solutions for local contexts and the introduction of new technologies may disturb the equilibrium.

One result of participating in the training will be a growing awareness of the importance of gender and local knowledge for sustainable agrobiodiversity management. The issues of gender, local knowledge and agrobiodiversity and their linkages are clearly explained. The sustainable livelihoods approach is used as an overall framework to understand better these linkages. In addition, the Manual gives an overview of the policies, processes and institutions at the global level that may affect farmers and agrobiodiversity in general.

The fact sheets contained in the Manual provide a general understanding of the issues. Sharing experiences and applying the participants’ knowledge and understanding will be even more important. The Manual includes some exercises which encourage participants to bring in their own experiences, share their ideas, and apply them to their own work situation.

The Manual provides tools for researchers, extensionists and those involved in day-to-day project implementation to better guide the processes that lead towards sustainable agrobiodiversity management and improved food security. Furthermore the Manual emphasizes the importance of involving the holders of local knowledge, both men and women in the decision-making process. Most important, to quote from the Manual, they will remember that ‘the entry point to agrobiodiversity management is people themselves’.

This participatory process takes time, but it leads to more effective and sustainable results.

Marcela Villarreal
Director
FAO Gender and Population Division
(Available in English, French and Portuguese)

Click here to view the document (4.7 MB) or here for the manual in Portuguese (2.2. MB)

Presentation

The PRI has recently released the final publications from its social capital project. What is social capital? Who benefits – and who does not? Is there a role for government? How can we measure it? Examining the potential of the concept of social capital to inform policy development and evaluation, the publications offer a clear framework for the analysis of the concept, identify policy and program areas where social capital makes a difference, and offer a strategic set of recommendations for testing new approaches, improved measurement, and policy action.


Download documents

On the PRI's web site, the following publications are available for free download:
• Social Capital: A Tool for Public Policy. Briefing Note.
Provides a concise and accessible executive summary of the Project's findings and recommendations.

• Social Capital as a Public Policy Tool. Project Report.
Provides a detailed synthesis of the activities, findings, and recommendations.

• Social Capital in Action. Thematic Policy Studies.
Provides an investigation of the role of social capital in eight specific policy areas: poverty reduction, aging well, settlement of new immigrants, education outcomes of Aboriginal youth, youth civic engagement, community crime prevention, policing in First Nations communities, community development.

• Measurement of Social Capital. Reference Document for Public Policy Research, Development, and Evaluation.
Provides a series of indicators, measurement tools and methodological strategies, to investigate social capital in a public policy context


The Policy Research Initiative's web site

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Execution ban is untrue

By JASMIN BONIMY, Guardian Staff Reporter

Jasmin@nasguard.com

The Attorney General's office has quashed claims that the Privy Council's ruling to strike down mandatory death sentences will banish capital punishment in The Bahamas.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Attorney General Allyson Maynard Gibson explained the effect the ruling will have on the country. Mrs Maynard Gibson said initial reports indicating the Council's decision regarded capital punishment as unlawful were untrue.

"The Privy Council has not ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional," said Minister Maynard Gibson. "The Privy Council has ruled that in The Bahamas the death penalty remains a valid, constitutional sentence for the offence."

She added that the ruling now gives the trial judge the discretion to impose the death penalty and not automatically hand it down.

"It is entirely open to the trial judge to impose the sentence of death upon a convicted murder if he deems it appropriate after giving due consideration to representatives which the Crown and the convicted murderer may wish to make," she explained.

Minister Maynard Gibson also maintained that the death penalty will continue to be carried out.
"As you are aware The Privy Council has ruled in an earlier case that the sentence of death must be carried out expeditiously in order to be constitutional," she said. "I as your Attorney general fully endorse the belief that justice should be swift.

"I wish the Bahamian public to know that I shall do everything in my power to ensure that all sentences, including the death sentence in appropriate cases, are carried out expeditiously," she continued.

But Minister Maynard Gibson admitted that the 28 men currently on death row will have their sentences reviewed because their death sentences were mandatory.

"I am taking all the necessary measures to have all convicted murders swiftly remitted to the Supreme Court for sentencing pursuant to the requirements laid down by the recent Privy Council Ruling," she said. "The Privy Council has mandated that the mandatory death is unconstitutional and it has ordered that they must be remitted to The Supreme Court for sentencing."

She added that based on the advice she has received, there is no need for new legislation to be passed in order accommodate the Council's recent ruling.

"It is very important that when we talk about impacting positively the administration of justice that we know what the facts are and that is what we are now doing here in the Attorney Generals office," said Minister Maynard Gibson. "[We are] looking at all of our divisions, at what the facts are in terms of outstanding matters.

"I want to stress that we are going to be fully engage with the public so they can be aware of what precisely is the situation in terms of the administration of justice as it is conducted in the office of the Attorney General," she added.

Since 1973, 16 people have been executed in The Bahamas, six in the last 10 years. And following the 1993 Pratt and Morgan ruling by the Privy Council, the death penalty cannot be carried out if a prisoner has been sentenced to death and waiting the execution of such sentence on death row, for more than five years. If a prisoner who is sentenced to death remains on death row for more than five years, such sentence would automatically be commuted to life imprisonment.

Copyright © 2006 The Nassau Guardian. All rights reserved.

Creating jobs, Simpson Miller's toughest task - Poll

published: Sunday March 12, 2006

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Simpson Miller and Hinchcliff

CREATING JOBS and finding a solution to crime and violence are seen as the biggest challenges for the administration of Prime Minister-designate Portia Simpson Miller, according to a recent Gleaner-commissioned poll conducted by Bill Johnson and team.

The survey, carried out March 4-5, interviewed 1,008 persons in the 14 parishes. Fifty-eight of the respondents said creating new jobs, especially for youth, will be the toughest task for Mrs. Simpson Miller's cabinet over the next four to five months. Forty-two per cent consider the long-standing problem of crime and violence as a major obstacle. Thirteen per cent believe improving the education system will be Mrs. Simpson Miller's greatest challenge.

Reacting to the poll finding, Audrey Hinchcliffe, president of the Jamaica Employers Federa-tion (JEF), says she is not surprised that the majority of persons surveyed are concerned about the high level of unemployment. She says if Mrs. Simpson Miller honours her vow to reach out to the grassroots when she becomes Prime Minister of Jamaica, it will be a step in the right direction.

"I agree with the Prime Minister-in waiting that if you fix communities you can fix this country," Ms. Hinchcliffe told The Sunday Gleaner. "If we can get more persons gainfully employed, then they can be empowered and that will make them feel better about themselves."
A recent study by the United Nations revealed that lack of jobs has triggered mass flight of young persons from several Caribbean countries, including Jamaica.

Political analyst and Sunday Gleaner columnist, Kevin O'Brien Chang, says the image of Jamaica as the 'murder capital of the world' has scared off potential investors. With a record 1,671 persons murdered here in 2005, he says the new Prime Minister must present an effective crime plan that will not only reduce homicides, but restore civility to the society.

"If she cuts crime, everything will fall into place. There is foreign investment coming in now so more would come in," he reasoned. "There would also be a brain infusion with Jamaicans abroad coming home. Jamaicans abroad, especially women, love Jamaica, but they are scared of the crime."

The police reported last week that at the end of February, 217 persons had been murdered in Jamaica. Other areas of concern for persons interviewed in the survey were fixing roads (eight per cent), helping the poor (6.1 per cent) and affordable housing (four per cent).

Fifty-two per cent of those interviewed were males, and 42 per cent female. Twenty-three per cent had full-time jobs, 11.1 per cent held part-time jobs while 35 per cent were self-employed. Twenty-nine per cent of the interviewees represented the 25-34 age group; 22 per cent from the 35-44 group, 20 per cent from the 20-34 bracket and 13 per cent were between the ages of 45 and 54.

© Copyright 1997-2006 Gleaner Company Ltd.

more Amerindian communities get land titles
Saturday, March 11th 2006


Land titles were handed over yesterday to Toshaos of six Amerindian communities - Arukamai and Kamwatta in Region One (Barima/Waini), Tapakuma and Kabakaburi in Region Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam), and Campbell-town and Micobie in Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) at the Office of the President.

And following the handing over, President Bharrat Jagdeo gave the assurance that government will ensure that all Amerindian communities receive titles to their land. He also urged Toshaos receiving titles to encourage others to allow government's survey, demarcation and extension policy so that their communities can also receive security of tenure.

The six communities now have legal ownership to their land, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

"One would think that it's very important that we ensure that our Amerindian brothers and sisters have security of tenure. They have a title for the lands that they're hunting on, fishing on, and with that title, ensure that they can safeguard the environment and create a livelihood for their people. Unfortunately, this activity took a very long time, although it was so simple in purpose and one has to wonder why," the President is quoted by GINA as saying.

According to GINA, Jagdeo said that the reasons for this are firstly, lack of political commitment to the indigenous people and secondly, artificial difficulties created recently.

"We have been in government for some time and since 1995 when we launched our policy towards titling, we have had a struggle to get to where we are today. Some communities have been working with us and others have been urged not to work with us," Jagdeo stated.

He said that because government did not want to hold back communities that wanted to move forward, the policy was again changed along the way. Jagdeo pointed out that it was as a result of the policy change that government has been able to move ahead and process recent titles and extensions handed over to communities, GINA reported.

"It is important because it shows that this is not an activity that is today's activity. Many people would think that elections are a few months away and that's why we're hearing this today.
You know, the Toshaos know how long we've been working at this. We've been working at this for years," the President said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues, who made brief remarks prior to the handover of the titles noted that once again government was demonstrating its commitment to address outstanding Amerindian land issues.

The minister noted that the land grants that Arukamai, Campbelltown and Micobie received amount to 71 square miles.

She also commended the Guyana Forestry Commis-sion, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for their work as they had been in consultations with the communities for more than two years during the process.

Rodrigues observed that Campbelltown and Micobie had been mentioned in the 1969 Lands Commission Report, while Kamwatta, Tapakuma and Kabakaburi were granted legal ownership of their land in 1976 under the 1951 Amerindian Act and subsequently received land grants in 1991. However, the areas were simply described and never surveyed and had resulted in confusion regarding land size and shape. And the areas in some communities had also been discovered to be different and sometimes less than what was described during the time grants were given.

The land titles handed over yesterday, GINA stated, will add to those already handed over to Amerindian communities by government.

On September 22 last, Toshaos of five communities received titles for their villages.

Inicia hoy discusión nacional de temas en Foro Educativo

La Secretaría de Educación iniciará este jueves, en la provincia de San Pedro de Macorís, la discusión nacional de temas en el Foro Educativo, actividad que se enmarca dentro del desarrollo del Foro Presidencial por la Excelencia de la Educación Dominicana.

La jornada de hoy está prevista para comenzar a partir de las 9:00 de la mañana. Tiene la finalidad de promover la participación de la comunidad educativa y de tomar parte en la gestión de los planteles escolares a fin de contribuir con el mejoramiento de los mismos.

La cartera educativa dio a conocer el calendario de los días en que serán celebradas las mesas de trabajo por regionales, a nivel nacional.

La titular de la institución, licenciada Alejandrina Germán, invitó a las distintas instancias sociales de cada localidad del país a motivarse y a participar activamente en estas consultas para analizar, discutir y hacer aportes conjuntamente con las autoridades del sector educativo en torno a los temas que serán tratados.

Las actividades continuarán el lunes 13 en la regional de San Cristóbal y el martes 14 en las de Santo Domingo 10 y Santo Domingo 15. El miércoles 15 proseguirán en Azua, mientras que a Barahona y Neyba les corresponderán los días jueves 16 y 17 respectivamente. La jornada de San Juan de la Maguana está pautada para el sábado 18.

En tanto que en la regionales de Santiago, La Vega, Puerto Plata, Cotuí, San Francisco de Macorís y Nagua, las actividades del Foro serán los días 21, 22, 23, 24 y 27 de este mes, respectivamente.

Asimismo, la cartera educativa informó que en Mao la mesa de trabajo será efectuada el martes 28; en Montecristi el 29, mientras que el jueves 30 se llevará a cabo en Higüey.

Las mesas de trabajo constituyen mecanismos de participación y consulta del Foro Presidencial por la Excelencia de la Educación Dominicana que busca lograr la aprobación y toma de conciencia de la población sobre esta iniciativa del presidente de la República, doctor Leonel Fernández.

Los temas que se tratarán durante las mesas de trabajo serán Calidad de la Educación, Pertinencia de la Oferta Educativa, Modernización del Sistema Educativo e Incorporación de las TICS, Inversión en Educación, Acceso, Cobertura y Permanencia en el Sistema Educativo, y Formación de los y las Docentes.

Otros temas que se abordarán son los relativos al Currículo, Enseñanza y Aprendizaje de Lenguas Extranjeras, Medios y Recursos para el Aprendizaje, Gestión Educativa y Rendición de Cuentas, Recursos y Facilidades Infraestructurales y Mecanismos de Financiamiento de la Investigación Científica.

Además, Educación y Desarrollo Científico-tecnológico, Educación Técnica y Formación Profesional, Educación de Personas Adultas, Bienestar Magisterial, Bienestar Estudiantil, Educación Informal y Educación Formal y Sistema Nacional de Calificaciones y Certificaciones Profesionales.

Marzo 9, 2006

UN Extols Cuban Family Clinics

Havana, Mar 10 (Prensa Latina) Representative of the World and Pan American Health Organizations in Cuba, Lea Guido, highlighted Cuban primary medical assistance, closely linked to neighborhood family needs.

The official referred to the world famous Cuban programs for maternity, infant and reproductive care, based on sanitary and educative strategies that have contributed significantly to the high health indicators achieved in the nation.
Since early 1980, Cuba has been the very first Latin American country achieving the goals for primary medical assistance for everyone hoped for by 2000, Alma Ata international strategy agreed in 1978.

In contrast, many people in the region have carried out reforms in the medical field without prioritizing primary assistance, the official said.

Between 10 and 40 million people in the US lack medical insurance, while 40 percent of the Latin American and Caribbean population, excepting Cuba, do not have this social security.
Lea Guido praised the reforms implemented by the Cuban Health System, starting with the neighborhood family clinics nationwide, including modern technology, new services and professional training.

08 March 2006
Infrastructure must work for the poor, Sen says

Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen emphasized the links between infrastructure and poverty in his keynote address at the launch of ‘Making Infrastructure Work for the Poor’, a new report by UNDP and the Government of Japan.

The absence of infrastructure has a pervasive influence on poverty, but is by no means a free-standing factor in keeping poor people poor, said Professor Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel Laureate in Economics, at the launch on Wednesday of a new report completed under the Government of Japan and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiative ‘Making Infrastructure Work for the Poor’.

“Pay specific attention to the critically important connections that have been pulled together in this report,” Sen advised.

The study, a joint publication of UNDP and the Government of Japan including Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which also acted as the coordinating unit, focuses on local infrastructure-development projects in Bangladesh, Senegal, Thailand and Zambia, and the broader lessons to be learned from their experiences. It points to the inter-relationships between infrastructure, human security, governance, and the reduction of poverty--connections that were a recurring theme for Sen and other panelists.

“Infrastructure builds connectivity,” said Selim Jahan, Acting Director of the Poverty Group for UNDP’s Bureau for Policy Development. “Better governance makes infrastructure more efficient. And infrastructure makes governance easier.”

According to Sen, poverty can be caused by the lack of basic infrastructure to attend school, access health care, or to sell goods at the market. “Low income is not a free-standing predicament,” he stressed.

“An exclusively income-centered view of poverty cannot but miss many important features in the causation of deprivation. Poverty can be seen as deprivation of a person’s effective freedom to live the way he or she has reason to want to live,” he said.

'‘Making Infrastructure Work for the Poor’ draws three main conclusions: that small-scale, community-based infrastructure has significant, direct impact on various aspects of human poverty and security; that local communities feel a greater sense of ownership of these small projects; and that small-scale projects and large-scale national or cross-border infrastructure development are mutually reinforcing.

Panelists agreed that small-scale local infrastructure projects can exert influence far beyond the margins of a feeder road or bridge. “Local lessons become part and parcel of the whole national system that is evolving,” said Kadmiel Wekwete, Director of the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s Local Development Unit. “Infrastructure supports people’s daily lives.

It also facilitates and promotes regional and international cooperation,” said H.E. Kenzo Oshima, Permanent Representative of Japan to the UN.

The role of infrastructure in gender equality was another recurring theme. “[The report] brings out the connection between small-scale infrastructure, on the one hand, and gender equity and women’s empowerment, on the other,” said Sen. “There are gender dimensions to the location and the design of infrastructure,” added Jahan.

UNDP’s Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Development Policy Mr. Shoji Nishimoto noted that ‘Making Infrastructure Work for the Poor’ represented a new chapter in a productive history of Japan-UNDP collaboration.

The initiative, which set out to demonstrate how good governance and improved infrastructure help reduce poverty and enhance human security, was originally agreed to at a Japan-UNDP high-level consultation in 2003, when the role of infrastructure in combating poverty was under review by the international community.

In the same year, the World Bank, Asia Development Bank (ADB) and Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) launched their collaborative projects on large-scale infrastructure and its effect on economic growth and poverty, specifically in eastern Asian countries. It also coincided with OECD/DAC discussions focusing on sharpening the impact of bilateral aid agencies' efforts.

Speakers unanimously praised the report and welcomed its contribution. “Infrastructure is reaching the forefront of the policy agenda,” said Luis Guasch, the World Bank’s Senior Adviser on Infrastructure and Private Sector Development.

“There are excellent grounds for determination and resolution. We have something to celebrate here,” Sen concluded.

Related files

Synthesis report.pdf [View] [Save]

amartya_sen_speech.pdf [View] [Save]
Amartya Sen Speech Transcript

Copyright © United Nations Development Programme, 2003. All rights reserved.

Dominica prime minister empowers youth at UVI leadership forum

03-07-2006

by Melody Rames-Wiggins
Caribbean Net News St Croix Correspondent
Email: melody@caribbeannetnews.com

ST. CROIX, USVI: "Education is the pillar of hope for every young person," Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica said, addressing a group of students at the Golden Key International Honor Society leadership forum on St. Croix.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica spoke to an audience of more than 100 young people at a leadership forum held on the St. Croix campus of the University of the Virgin Islands Saturday.

Skerrit was invited to be the guest speaker by UVI's Golden Key International Honor Society which encourages scholastic achievement among college and university students.

As the world's youngest prime minister at the age of 33, Skerrit touched on subjects of importance to young people, encouraging them to take advantage of educational opportunities, be involved in their community and stay away from drugs and gang violence.

Skerrit told the students Virgin Islanders get complacent with advantages given to US citizens and people from other islands come in and benefit from the opportunities.

"You absent yourself from the process," Skerrit said. "Others come in and fill the void."
Skerrit told the students the Dominican government is emphasizing education. He said universal secondary education was achieved in 2005 and the goal for 2015 is to have at least one person in every household earn a university degree.

"Education is the pillar of hope for every young person," Skerrit said.

Students from AZ Academy, Good Hope School, Kingshill School, Manor School, St. Croix Central High, St. Croix Country Day, St. Croix Educational Complex and St. Joseph's Catholic High School attended the lecture, which began at 9:30 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. The event was held at the campus cafeteria.

Skerrit discussed the challenges young people face. "Young people get blamed for what is wrong in society but the vast majority of young people are engaged in positive activities."

He said sensationalism in the media focuses on the negative while those who are achievers "get only small recognition."

Noting that the presence of gangs in the Caribbean is growing, Skerrit cautioned the students to stay away from gangs, drugs and alcohol. He also cautioned them to protect themselves against HIVAIDS. He told the students if they don't do the right thing they will find themselves "in jail or in the cemetery."

Skerrit said it's up to young people to change the word's perception of youth. As the youngest leader of a county, Skerrit said he faces pressure because of his age every day.

"Everyone is waiting for the day you fail," Skerrit said. "Many people feel young people have no business at this level of government. It is our task to reshape the attitude of the world in regards to young people."

Skerrit said there are several young people in important government positions in Dominica and they are encouraging more to be involved. He said in the last election the youth vote was increased by 70 percent and that was accomplished by involving young people in the process.

Skerrit said young people are represented on every board and commission in Dominica. "It's never too early. Christ started at 12," Skerrit said.

"There is biblical precedence." Skerrit challenged the youth to "harness and promote the ideas of young people," and "support young leaders."

He said the youth must demand their leaders show confidence in them and engage them in the decision making process. He said politicians should "go into the communities and bring [young people] to the table." "Young people have to stand up and be counted when the bell tolls," Skerrit said.

The lecture was followed by a panel discussion which allowed students to ask questions of young people representing industry, politics and medicine.

Included on the panel were Albert Bryan, vice president and founding member of Generation Now; Jennifer Matarangas-King, president and general manager of Innovative Cable TV; Sen. Juan Figueroa-Serville; Dr. O. Anne Treasure, physician and Anthony Weeks of Columbia Equities, Ltd.

Negotiation opens opportunities
By John Authers
Published: March 10 2006 02:00 Last updated: March 10 2006 02:00

When US President George W. Bush announced in 2002 that he wanted a new Central American Free Trade Agreement (Cafta) with the five nations of Central America, the Dominican Republic scented a threat.

For 20 years it had enjoyed the benefits of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, a scheme in which the US unilaterally opened its markets to clothing assembled in the Dominican Republic. Excluding oil, it was the fourth largest trading partner in the Americas for the US.

Cafta threatened to remove that competitive advantage and bestow it on countries such as Nicaragua and Honduras, where poverty levels are so severe that they could undercut even the wages paid to Dominicans.

Hugo Guiliani Cury, who had recently headed the Dominican Republic's mission to the World Trade Organisation's talks in Doha, was dispatched to be the new ambassador to the US, with a new task. "My mission was either to come up with a parallel agreement or to incorporate into Cafta," he says.

The Dominicans had scented an opportunity, and they took it. When the agreement comes into force this year it will be the DR-Cafta. The Dominican Republic joins on the same terms as Central America, and after much less dispute. Violence marked attempts to ratify the treaty in countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala.

In the Dominican Republic, where the US influence is more pervasive, and where the benefits brought by the textile industry are readily apparent, the issue passed under politicians' radar and never became a divisive national issue.

This does not mean that joining Cafta was easy. Mr Guiliani says: "It was very difficult. Neither the Central Americans nor the North Americans wanted to incorporate us." Sonia Guzmán, a treasury official and daughter of a former Dominican president, was appointed to lead a huge negotiating team.

For the opening round they brought almost 400 representatives of the Dominican private sector with them. In the final rounds, in Puerto Rico and Washington, they brought a delegation of 300 and almost filled their own hotel.

The lobbying effort covered all ends of the US political spectrum. It included both the then US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick - who earlier in his career had taken a role in brokering peace accords in Central America, and appeared to know the region better than the Caribbean - and Charles Rangel, a veteran Democratic Congressman.

Mr Rangel's district includes the Harlem and Washington Heights districts of New York, and has a huge Dominican community.

Mr Rangel, one of the most liberal figures in Congress, eventually voted against DR-Cafta on labour rights grounds but Mr Guiliani and Ms Guzmán both say his help in laying the groundwork was invaluable.

Mr Guiliani also did the rounds of the right-wing think tanks, pointing out to them that with relatively conservative policies the Dominican Republic had logged the strongest growth in Latin America from 1992 to 2001, beating even Chile, the think-tanks' darling.

For the first year, the aim was to get the US to abandon its starting position that the Dominicans were not prepared, either legally or economically or in labour rights, to enter into the agreement.

"In reality, none of the five Central American countries have the strength in these areas that we do," says Ms Guzmán. "What's interesting is that our team eventually convinced the trade representative of that. We have labour laws, and social security, and environmental laws that are more advanced than for any of the Central American countries."

Once this battle had been won, the problem became to convince the US that the Dominicans should negotiate separately, rather than simply take on the conditions negotiated by the Central Americans.

This would have been inappropriate. For example, the countries of Central America all place great importance in maize, and negotiated hard to be allowed to continue to protect local producers. The Dominican Republic is a net importer of maize. "Therefore we negotiated totally bilaterally with the US and without the Central Americans," says Ms Guzmán.

While the initial aim was to consolidate the advantages of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, Ms Guzmán believes they eventually went far further. Now, 98 per cent of Dominican products entering the US will be tax free, compared with 80 per centpreviously.

The arrival of DR-Cafta means the Dominican Republic's trade privileges with the US are now protected by an international treaty, which is part of US law. The Caribbean Basin Initiative, while generous, was bestowed unilaterally and could have been abandoned by the US at any time.

The treaty could also open opportunities. There are currently a few shoemakers in the country. Orthodox opinion was that the business, which is very labour-intensive, had been irretrievably lost to China. Mexico's once large footwear industry has been virtually eradicated over the past decade by Asian competition.

But a relaxing in the rules of origin means goods exported to the US from the Dominican Republic will be free of duty, even if they are made of parts imported from China. The idea is that Dominican companies could import uppers or soles and then take advantage of superior work quality and proximity to the US market.

The new relaxed rules of origin also allow the island to exploit an advantage it holds over both China and Central America - its proximity to the US. Miami is only a two hours by air and 34 by sea. That means Dominican companies could embed themselves in the US supply chain.

The Chinese cannot offer "just-in-time" inventory management for US marketers. But the Dominicans, if armed with a large supply of Chinese-manufactured components, could do so.

Thu Mar 9, 2006
CXC results show improvement

The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) is reporting improved performance in the January 2006 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examinations.

The regional examination body announced that over 61 per cent of the entries achieved Grade one to three, a 12-per cent improvement when compared to the 49 per cent passes in 2005.

CXC says six of the 12 subjects showed improved performance while results declined in five subjects and one was unchanged.The best performance this year was in Spanish where 82 per cent of the entries achieved Grades one to three, compared with 71 per cent in 2005.

The largest percentage point improvement was in English Language with 68.7 per cent achieving Grades one to three in 2006, a major improvement from last year when 40 per cent passed.

Performance in Mathematics also improved significantly from 42 per cent in 2005 to 52.8 per cent this year.Biology and Physics recorded improved performance, 60 per cent and 66 per cent respectively this year, compared with 57 per cent in both subjects last year.

However, performance in Chemistry remained the same with 43 per cent of entries achieving Grades one to three.

There was a marginal decline in performance in Business subjects when compared with 2005.

This year, 48 per cent of the candidates achieved Grades one to three in Principles of Accounts compared to 49 per cent in 2005, while 73 per cent achieved Grades one to three in Principals of Business compared with 81 per cent in 2005.

Seventy-eight per cent achieved Grades one to three in Office Procedures compared with 80 per cent in 2005.

The council said this is the final sitting of Office Procedures since the subject has been replaced by Office Administration, which will be examined for the first time in the May/June 2006 sitting.Although the performance in Social Studies was among the best, it declined when compared with that of 2005.

Both candidate entries and subject entries increased this year with candidate entries increasing from 18,452 to 21,277 candidates while subject entries moved from 29,119 to 29,808 entries this year.

Copyright© 2005 RJR Communications Group

Bahamas: Privy Council abolishes mandatory death sentence

Press release, 03/09/2006

Amnesty International welcomes yesterday’s landmark decision by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) to abolish the mandatory death sentence for those convicted of murder in the Bahamas. The UK-based JCPC, which is the highest court of appeal for most of the countries in the English-speaking Caribbean region, ruled that the mandatory death sentence is in violation of the Bahamian Constitution.

Previously in the Bahamas anyone found guilty of murder has been automatically sentenced to death. The mandatory death penalty denies the accused involved the opportunity of having the court consider mitigating circumstances in his or her case. “Amnesty International urges the government of the Bahamas to seize this opportunity to abandon state killings,” the organization said today.

“The majority of the world’s countries no longer have the death penalty in law or practice and only a small minority actually carry out executions; the government of the Bahamas should take this chance to join the global trend away from the use of the death penalty.”

The cases of at least 28 prisoners currently on death row will now have to be reviewed.In its judgement the Privy Council stated that the mandatory death penalty should have been regarded as inhuman and degrading punishment as early as 1973 when the Bahamian Constitution was redrafted following the country’s independence.

The ruling brings the Bahamas into conformity with evolving international standards pertaining to the use of the mandatory death penalty. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has stated that the death penalty should under no circumstances be mandatory by law, regardless of the charges involved and that "[t]he mandatory death penalty which precludes the possibility of a lesser sentence being imposed regardless of the circumstances, is inconsistent with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. The organization has great sympathy with the victims of crime and recognizes the duty of governments to tackle problems of law and order but believes that the death penalty is by nature ineffective, arbitrary and does not deter crime.

On the contrary, it creates more victims and demeans society as a whole.

Background Information

The death penalty remains in force in much of the English-speaking Caribbean region. Sixteen people have been executed in the Bahamas since 1973, six in the last ten years.

The last execution in the Bahamas took place in January 2000, but death sentences continue to be handed down. Following the fatal stabbing of a prison guard during a prison escape in January this year, there have been public calls for the resumption of executions and the Prime Minister has been reported as saying he supports a return to executions.

This ruling comes following an appeal brought by the prisoners Forrest Bowe Jr. and Tron Davis who have been on death row for six and eight years respectively following convictions for murder.In March 2002 the JCPC upheld a ruling that the mandatory death penalty was in violation of the constitutions of seven island states of St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Belize and Antigua and Barbuda.

In 2001 the Inter-American Court on Human Rights ruled that the failure to consider individual circumstances when imposing the death sentence violates the ban on torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment provided for in the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights.

© Copyright Amnesty International

Young leaders debate social issues
Thursday March 09 2006

Over the next few weeks, RBTT Young Leaders from five secondary schools around Antigua & Barbuda will be engaging in a series of debates on important social issues.

The two motions selected are “Traditional family values are more relevant today” and “Respect for diversity of cultures is the foundation for a peaceful and secure co-existence”.

The first motion will be debated today, 9 March, at 3 p.m. at the Museum of Antigua & Barbuda and continues next Thursday, 16 March, with a debate on the second motion.

More than 60 schools throughout the Caribbean are participating in the series as part of RBTT’s award-winning youth development programme. Students from Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and St. Kitts/Nevis form part of this series.

Participating schools include Antigua Girls High, Christ the King, Ottos Comprehensive, Seventh Day Adventist and the Sir McChesney George in Barbuda.

Meanwhile, those young leaders who will be submitting projects have already begun work on their creations, working towards a deadline of 26 April. Young leaders’ teams are vying for a regional challenge trophy and a cash award of US$7,500.

The public is invited to attend the debates and support their favourite school. For additional information, please contact Jonathan Lindsay at RBTT Bank at 462-4217 or Pat Edwards-Southwell, Young Leaders co-ordinator at 560-1841.

© SUN Printing & Publishing LTD 2003-2004.

March 08, 2006
Statement from the President of the IDB on International Women’s Day


On this, my first opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day as president of the IDB, I would like to acknowledge the enormous contributions that women make on a daily basis to our region and the Bank. Women are a bastion of the equitable and sustainable development that we all desire for Latin America and the Caribbean.

I wish to extend special greetings today to the growing number of women exerting political leadership as Heads of State and Government, parliamentarians, cabinet members and in national governments and local communities. Recognition is also due for the increasing contributions of women in the private sector and in social, cultural and other initiatives that benefit our societies.

While progress in women’s participation has been remarkable, persistent challenges remain, especially in the case of those women that confront exclusion due to their socioeconomic situation or their ethnic and racial origin. Their full inclusion is not only critical to strengthening the quality and depth of democratic governance, but also to promoting economic growth and accelerating the reduction of poverty and inequality.

The Bank has done much in this direction, but it can do more. This 8th of March I want to invite you to work with me towards a more equitable region, breaking down the barriers that restrain the full development of women as workers, entrepreneurs, mothers, leaders, citizens and agents of transmission of our cultural values. This is a goal that must engage each and every one of us working in this institution.

Finally, I would like to express my commitment to institutional change that involves more women at all levels of the Bank. I have appointed the first woman to the management of a regional operations department, and it is my intention to continue to place women in positions of leadership at the Bank.

Luis Alberto Moreno, IDB President

© 2006 Inter-American Development Bank

March, 9 - 7:37 AM

DR’s security forces murdered up to 440, tortured, U.S. report says

Report says self-censoring increasing in the country’s journalists and publishers

SANTO DOMINGO.- In 2005 Dominican security forces killed between 400 and 440 people, tortured and committed other abuses with presumed criminals, detainees and prisoners, denounced yesterday the U.S. Department of State’s most recent report on human rights in the world.

It criticized the trafficking of people in Dominican territory and the existence of forced child prostitution and labor.

According to the report, in the country there is an increasing self-censorship among the Dominican journalists and publishers.

Between the irregular situations cited figure "the arbitrary expulsion of Haitian immigrants."
The report indicates that the conditions of the prisons are generally bad, "to which is added several cases of arbitrary arrests.”

"The detainees remain under custory during long periods before they are tried and the processes are equally long," states the publication. However, Washington observed as positive within the field of human rights in the country, the new criminal procedures code and a new code for minors.

In that legislation, it adds, there is greater protection for minors and greater punishment in the cases of sexual and commercial exploitation.

He indicates that the Dominican government also improved its capacity to fight against people trafficking, provide assistance to the victims and improve the investigations on traffickers.

The State Department summarizes that in the Caribbean a "poor" situation is posted on human rights, citing the cases of Cuba and Haiti.

Dominican Today - Portal Alta Tecnologia

Posted on Wed, Mar. 08, 2006
Cuban Americans, White House to discuss policy
BY OSCAR CORRAL
ocorral@MiamiHerald.com

Cuban-American members of Congress plan to meet with White House officials this afternoon to discuss the controversial wet foot/dry foot policy for Cubans arriving by sea.

Also meeting in Washington today: an umbrella group of Cuban exile organizations called Cuban Consensus. Made up of 18 groups, Consensus members set aside their political differences last year to craft an 18-point blueprint on how best the island should be governed in a democratic transition post Fidel Castro.

Cuban Consensus will be meeting at Georgetown University.

The White House agreed to meet with Cuban-American leaders to discuss U.S.-Cuba migration policy after a well-known Cuban exile activist went on a hunger strike to protest the repatriation of 15 Cuban migrants who had been found by the Coast Guard standing on the pilings of the old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys.

The Coast Guard concluded that because that section of the bridge -- which has missing pieces -- was not connected to land, the migrants were feet-wet'' and sent them back to Cuba. A federal judge has since ruled that the bridge is part of Florida and has asked U.S. officials to expedite travel papers for the 15 Cubans now back on the island.

Copyright 2006 Knight RidderAll Rights Reserved

Special Report

Online Education: What Can It Deliver?

Seven of the world's largest distance education universities—where students and faculty alike all use some form of computer-assisted learning—are located in developing countries. For these communities, educational resources available via the Internet can offer cutting-edge applications of cyberspace. Yet, roadblocks—from inadequate national communications infrastructures to teachers reluctant to adapt to e-learning—exist for the full success of online education for higher education. Meanwhile, the use of online delivery in corporate training is predicted to overtake higher education usage in developing countries, becoming an estimated $150 billion industry by 2025.

This Special Report looks at lessons learned, innovations that work, and the future of ICT in education for developing countries. It coincides with related major international events, notably Digital Learning Asia 2006, Bangkok, Thailand, on April 25-28, and the 1st International Conference on ICT for Development, Education & Training, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 24-26.

Link: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/special/onlineeducation?intcmp=923

Taiwan still reaching out to the Caribbean

03-09-2006

by Kenton Chance

Caribbean Net News St Vincent Correspondent

Email: kenton@caribbeannetnews.com

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent: Taiwan’s new ambassador to St Vincent and the Grenadines says his country is still reaching out to the countries of the region that have ended formal relations with Taipei.

St Vincent and the Grenadines will this August celebrate 25 years of unbroken diplomatic relations with Taiwan but Dominica, St. Lucia and Grenada discontinued relations with Taipei and established ties with mainland China.

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that should be reunited with the mainland.
Ambassador Jack Yu-Tai Cheng said he cannot speak for the governments regarding their decision to establish links with China. He said however that Taipei wanted the countries of the region to understand that it is willing to help them in their development.

The ambassador said he was impressed by the opportunity provided by the Vincentian government to persons of all works of life and abilities.

“St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not much behind in terms of schooling than the more developed countries. The country will do well if it continues in this trend,” the ambassador said.
“My impression is that Vincentians - your people and your government - have a future,” he added.

The ambassador said he would try to consolidate the relations between Kingstown and Taipei including exploring new areas of cooperation and assistance especially in the areas of technical assistance and education.

Regarding Taiwan’s relationship with China, Ambassador Cheng said the Taiwanese government intends to maintain the status quo.

“At the moment, I think that is the best policy,” the ambassador said, adding that the 23 million people of Taiwan would have to decide the future of the relations.

His comments came on the heels of a decision by Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian to abolish a committee that had been established to examine the possibility of Taiwan’s reunification with China.

Ambassador Cheng said the organisation had stopped functioned years ago and had not been receiving any financing.

“He (President Chen) also mentioned that it had nothing to do with changing our status quo… It has nothing to do with the changing of our political stance,” he said.

“Our political stance is that Taiwan - the Republic of China - is a sovereign state. And 23 million people have the right to decide on their own (future),” the ambassador added.

The chairman of the main opposition party in Taiwan - Kuomintang (KMT) - during a recent appearance on BBC’s Hard Talk, suggested that his party still favours and would pursue closer ties with Beijing if it were re-elected to office.

Taiwan became a self-governed entity in 1949, after the military defeat on the Chinese mainland of Chiang Kai Shek’s Nationalist Government of the Republic of China, by Mao Zedong’s communist forces.

Copyright © 2003-2006 Caribbean Net News

Health plan
Wednesday, 08 March 2006

Barbados is closer to establishing its 2002-2012 strategic plan for reforming the local health sector.

The ministry received the first tranche of 2.4 million dollars from the European Union this morning, which is part of a 25 million dollar EU grant to be disbursed over a four-year period.

Minister of Health, Dr. Jerome Walcott, says Barbados is the first country in the Caribbean to be accorded this type of sector budget support.

He says while the funds are to be used in the entire sector, specific areas have singled out for special attention. Head of the delegation of the European Commission in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Amos Tincani, says the undertaking is one with a difference.

He says that although they have donated just over 45 million dollars to Barbados already, they normally donate funds only to assist with the building of facilities and equipment, and this is the first time they have donated funds to the direct budget of a ministry.

©Copyright Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, 2005

Cuban Scientists Engineer New Rice Species

Havana, March 8 (AIN) Cuban scientists are employing biotechnological methods to cultivate rice in adverse weather conditions.

Cuba has around a million of hectares of land affected by salinity due to the incorrect management of soils. This situation has forced specialists to search for more resistant varieties.

Since 2000, the Rice Experimental Center in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio has produced new genotypes resistant to environmental stress, drought, and plagues – such as white mite, very common in the Caribbean.

According to scientist from that institution, one of the genera which has been developed is INCA LP-7, now the most cultivated on the island. This type of rice, created by a scientific team headed by Dr. Maria Caridad Gonzalez, produces four tons of the grain per hectare.

The work of this center also includes the search of species resistant to the Pyricularia grisea fungus, one of the principal agents responsible for vegetal diseases around the world.

This institute has achieved outstanding results in the establishment of sowing cycles which take into account meteorology conditions.

Copyright ©2004 National News Agency CUBA (AIN)

International competition open to environmental journalists
Mar 08, 2006

Environmental journalists in six Latin American and Caribbean countries have until May 5 to submit their best work for the annual Biodiversity Award.

The award recognizes the best environmental journalism related to biodiversity issues. Conservation International, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), and the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) organize the annual prize.

The May 5 deadline is for separate competitions in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. Similar competitions are taking place, with different deadlines, in Brazil (April 14) and Madagascar (May 31).

Reports should address biodiversity and issues such as sustainable development, ecotourism, environmental education, and scientific research, among others. Reports should be published or broadcast from May 1, 2005, and April 30, 2006.

The first-place winner in each country receives an invitation to a summit on sustainable development, scheduled for November 27 to December 1 in Madrid, Spain. Second- and third-place winners receive cash prizes and journalistic materials from ICFJ. Entries from the Spanish-speaking countries will also be considered for the Premio Hispanoamericano, funded by the Biodiversity Foundation of Spain, which includes a trophy and cash prize.

For more information – including application forms, registration dates and contact information in each country – visit http://www.biodiversityreporting.org.

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Labour mobility roadblocks ahead, says Devon Evans

published: Wednesday March 8, 2006

Owen Arthur, Contributor

OCHO RIOS St.Ann:

Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Authur is calling on the regional labour movement to lead a campaign to make the people of the Caribbean more aware of the improvements in labour mobility under the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).

He said that under the CSME, there are exciting prospects for labour mobility but that the increase in the spread of a virulent form of xenophobia across the Caribbean, based on the fear of job losses and competition was standing in the way of business.

Prime Minister Arthur made the call, while delivering the inaugural Hugh Shearer memorial lecture at the 12th international conference on diabetics held at Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios on Saturday night.

EMBRACE THE PROCESS

He noted that the vision of Caribbean integration was first and foremost articulated by leaders of the regional labour movement, but said that while this vision is still relevant, the process must be fully embraced by everyone, especially workers, in order to achieve desired success.

Just as the regional labour movement originally led the way in making Caribbean Integration, a key aspect of its concept of regional transformation in pursuit of its own concept of integration from below, it now has a moral obligation to help promote a public education programme for the benefit of the workers of the region to bring enlightenment to issues concerning the labour mobility, Prime Minister Arthur stated.

He pointed out that provisions for labour mobility under the CSME, and the related creation of social rights for Caribbean nationals in a new Caribbean labour market, could enable the region to access for the first time the full range of skills possess by the people of the region for the purpose of national and regional development.

PROGRAMME SUPPORT

The Prime Minister said he believes the late Caribbean industrial relations giant, Hugh Lawson Shearer, in whose honour the lecture was been held would fully support his possession.

Prime Minister Arthur said Caricom Government are in support of the programme of labour mobility and are seeking to develop and apply a regime related to contingent rights, and that these rights will incorporate the rights of access to social services and amenities to nationals working in a member state. "Work to develop a protocol on this matter has been commissioned," he disclosed.

The Barbados Prime Minister went on to say that despite the Caribbean's rich history of protecting the rights and welfare of workers, the integration process can not proceed without a clearly defined framework for social dialogue and evolution of a truly regional social partnership.

He also cited the need for 'decent work' to be conceptualise as an integrated policy. The Prime Minister added, "Above all, there is need for a "Decent Work Protocol" to be part of the formal arrangement for the CSME to ensure that labour exploitation does not become one of the unintended by product of an enlarge regional market space."

He said the CSME will be of no serious nor lasting value, if it did not offer the ordinary man and woman the prospect of a new relationship with the regional society.

© Copyright 1997-2006 Gleaner Company Ltd.

CANADA AND UNDP STEP UP SUPPORT FOR HAITI’S JUSTICE REFORM PROGRAMME


Port-au-Prince, 7 March 2006 – The Government of Canada and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have stepped up their commitment to building a new independent professional judiciary system in Haiti.

Today, the partners committed US$5.655 in new resources towards the Programme of Support for Reform of the Justice System in Haiti, which will include activities in the areas of institutional strengthening, reinforcement of case-management procedures (chaîne penale), the prison system, legislative reforms and training.

Of the total budget, estimated at US$11.6 million, an amount of US$5.655 million is currently committed (Can$5 million from Canada and US$1.5 million from UNDP). “The main aim of strengthening the rule of law, which will be a long-term undertaking, is to provide equitable access to justice and thereby to establish the essential conditions for the people of Haiti to be able to enjoy the benefits of a justice system that is professional, o