The government of Dominica is seeking to expand the benefits it receives as it transitions to low carbon through geothermal energy and things related to it.
Stakeholders gathered to explore the potential benefits
Today, an Inception Forum and Framing Workshop for the Pre-Feasibility Study for the production of green ammonia by utilizing geothermal energy. Here is the link to the function: https://www.facebook.com/dominicabroadcasting.station/videos/535074586055849
We have come to the end of another year during which strenuous efforts have been made to ensure that the integration process improves the lives of the people of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
On the cusp of the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas in July 1973, there is much that we can look back on with pride and celebrate about our integration movement during this joyous season.
Being the longest existing economic integration movement among developing countries, it is with pleasure we have been hosts to African and Pacific regional organisations seeking to learn from and about our operations, systems and structure.
The agreement, earlier this year, on a Protocol to Amend the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to Allow Enhanced Cooperation among Member States was a clear demonstration of the dynamic nature of our integration movement. Heads of Government also agreed to review the governance systems within the Community to facilitate more effective decision-making and to ensure follow-up on the Community agenda. One of the key actions in that regard has been to increase the regularity of virtual meetings of the Heads of Government, while maintaining two face-to-face meetings annually.
This year, an important aspect of advancing the CARICOM Single ICT Space as well as the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and of immense value to citizens of the Community, was the signing of the Declaration of St. George’s Towards the Reduction of Intra-CARICOM Roaming Charges. Although the new roaming arrangement did not provide for complete elimination of roaming charges within the CARICOM space, operators indicated that savings would be in the order of 70-98 per cent depending on the service and the market. This is an interim measure, but a significant milestone with respect to the Single ICT Space in our Region.
The initiative to reduce our food import bill by 25 percent by 2025 also gained momentum, with two fora in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago designed to encourage investment in the agri-food sector being successfully staged. All hands are on deck in this drive led by the President of Guyana, His Excellency Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and including the private sector, the agricultural community and with emphasis on encouraging youth participation.
The people of Haiti also need all hands on deck as they seek to resolve the multi-faceted crises facing the country. The Community has been actively involved in seeking a solution and have stressed the importance the importance of including civil society in the process of dialogue to ensure good governance, and respect for the rule of law and human rights as set out in the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society. This approach was reiterated at Meetings of the United Nations Security Council by our representatives in that Forum and emphasised to the UN Secretary-General during his meeting with the Heads of Government in July, in Suriname.
That exchange of views also included discussions on climate change and COP27 in Egypt. Even though that Conference agreed to the establishment of a Loss and damage Fund, which is yet to be fully defined and established, Small Island and Low-lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS) were disappointed with the little or no commitment by major emitters to do what is necessary to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5 degrees.
This year saw four outstanding Caribbean citizens bestowed with the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), the Region’s highest award: Dame Billie Miller, former Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados; Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, former CARICOM Secretary-General; Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, one of the greatest cricketers of all time, and Mr. David Rudder, the exceptional calypsonian. These deserving recipients provide a fine example of Caribbean excellence for our youth to emulate.
It is the youth who will bear the responsibility of carrying the integration movement beyond the next fifty years, as there is still much to be done to consolidate and advance the process as we build on our achievements over the past five decades. As we enjoy this holiday season, we can reflect on our accomplishments and look towards increasing our efforts to provide the viable and prosperous Community for all that we desire.
It is a distinct honour and pleasure for me to celebrate our women and girls across the Caribbean Community on International Women’s Day. Today is an opportunity to celebrate the important contributions and tireless service that women around the world give every day at home, in their communities and beyond, and in every sphere of life. We celebrate their many achievements and recognize the progress that has been made towards gender equality, while acknowledging that there is still much more work to be done. International Women’s Day provides an important platform to highlight the challenges women face in realizing their full human rights, and to engage men and boys as champions for gender equality.
The global theme for this year’s observance is “Gender Equality Today For A Sustainable Tomorrow.” It recognizes the contribution of women and girls around the world who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation and response, to build a more sustainable future for all. Achieving gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction is one of the urgent global challenges of the 21st century.
Climate change will continue to have severe and lasting impacts on our environment, and therefore on our economic and social development. The most vulnerable and marginalised among us, including indigenous and rural women, experience the most severe effects. According to UN Women, women constitute 70% of the world’s poor and are more likely to work or live on marginal lands and in informal settlements. Further, women’s capacity to cope with the shocks of climate events is further limited by gender inequalities and cultural norms in relation to gender roles, which often restrict women’s decision-making in disaster situations and limit their ability to escape natural disasters.
Female-headed households, estimated to be 40% in the Region, must be included when developing climate and disaster risk policies, programmes, and projects. Overall, women head larger households than men and their livelihoods are more vulnerable to the impact of disasters. They also struggle more than men to find alternative livelihoods and re-enter the formal employment sector. As is the case during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, disasters disproportionately increase women’s care burden, the incidence of gender-based violence and job losses.
Yet, women and girls are effective, powerful leaders and change agents for climate adaptation and mitigation. They are involved in environmental sustainability initiatives around the world, and their participation and leadership result in more effective climate action. As a Community, we need to continue to increase the opportunities, and minimise the constraints to empowering women and girls to have a voice, and to be equal partners in decision-making on climate action and disaster management. By advancing gender equality today as a powerful driver of development, and working towards ensuring lives free of violence and poverty, we will secure a sustainable tomorrow and a thriving Community for all.
It is my pleasure and privilege to wish everyone a Happy International Women’s Day.
Please stay safe and healthy (or at least try your best to do so) during and after this Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic.
Welcome to News Fresh Out (NFO), an online space for useful news and information.
From time to time, there are (and as no one knows the future, there will likely be) unintended hiatuses in our operations and the avoidance of such as far as possible and practicable are being worked on.
Past hiatuses are sincerely regretted even while it must be understood and appreciated that NFO does not directly control all necessary factors for its continuing operations and it never will.
Moving forward, you will be served with useful news and information in dynamic ways from summary formats to in-depth coverage and analysis.
Like the United States based National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), NFO beleives, “the mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
Thank you for your past, present and future support. Feel free to reach out to us via email: newsfreshout@gmail.com.
By Daniela Tramacere, EU Ambassador to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS, and CARICOM/CARIFORUM
European Union Ambassador to Barbados and OECS, Daniela Tramecare
Dear Editor-in-Chief,
I have always read with great interest articles in local newspapers mentioning the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, better known as the EPA. Despite the EPA having been in application for over a decade, I note, with some regret, that there are still misunderstandings and misconceptions about the Agreement.
The CARIFORUM-EU EPA (contrary to what one recently published article claims) has been signed by ALL CARIFORUM States and is provisionally being applied in the EU and all the CARIFORUM Countries (except in Haiti, pending its ratification). Unfortunately, I am still obliged to address fundamentally false claims about the EPA allegedly limiting or closing access to the European market for certain most lucrative Caribbean trade whilst opening the Caribbean market to European products.
The facts are that the EPA provides immediate DUTY AND QUOTA FREE market access into the EU for ALL Caribbean products (except arms and munitions), whereas market access to the Caribbean market for European products is phased over a 25 year tariff liberalization period and will not include most sensitive goods such as agricultural and fishery products, beverages, ethanol, rum and vegetable oils, just to mention a few.
The CARIFORUM-EU EPA provides also (unlike other EPAs that the EU has concluded with other ACP regions) a substantial market access for CARIFORUM’s services. The CARIFORUM-EU EPA is also the first trade agreement in which the parties specifically included comprehensive provisions on culture. The Protocol on Cultural Cooperation implements the 2005 UNESCO convention on the Protection and Promotion of cultural diversity, and is providing CARIFORUM artists and other culture-related services suppliers with better conditions for the temporary movement of persons, for co-production market access, and other aspects, which have been a high priority in particular for CARIFORUM creative industry practitioners. The role that this Protocol can play in stimulating opportunities for the cultural and creative sector of the CARIFORUM region, within the EU market, cannot be overemphasized.
The CARIFORUM-EU EPA aims at achieving sustainable development by establishing a trade partnership which promotes regional integration and the gradual integration of CARIFORUM countries into the world economy. It also includes capacity building measures and supports increased investment. This is a new kind of trade agreement, as sustainable development is the presiding principle governing the whole agreement. Sustainable development is backed by development cooperation provisions, allowing for technical and financial assistance to achieve the goals of the agreement.
All this, however, does not mean that the EPA has been delivering to its full potential. Despite the many opportunities offered, many CARIFORUM States have not yet been able to translate market access for CARIFORUM goods and services into a meaningful presence in the EU market.
There are a number of operational and capacity constraints on the side of Caribbean economic operators, making it difficult to meet certain European technical and sanitary requirement and standards. These requirements and standards that have to be met by both European producers and all of the EU’s other trade partners, are aimed at protecting human and animal health as well as the environment.
We do, however, understand that complex legislative acts, technical regulations and standards and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures may be difficult to understand and reach. Therefore, from 2012 to 2017 the EU (through the 10th European Development Fund) provided EUR 46 million towards support in critical EPA areas such as assistance for the region’s services sector, addressing Technical Barriers to Trade Issues, Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measures, the development of regional statistics, support for the rum industry, economic fiscal reforms, and capacity building. Under the 11th EDF, an additional EUR 21 million are being provided towards support in six areas: Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights, Technical Barriers to Trade, Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measures, capacity building in the areas of competition; public procurement, customs and trade facilitation; and support for implementation of EPA and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) at the national level.
This support will contribute to improve the enabling environment for trade and investment by both the private and public sectors and unlock the numerous potential benefits this comprehensive trade and economic agreement offers. In addition, supporting CARIFORUM firms to leverage the CARIFORUM-EU EPA and to transform market access opportunities into real market penetration has been at the forefront of the Caribbean Export Development Agency’s work programme which is being funded by the European Union. Indeed, since 2010, around EUR 52 million have been dedicated to enhance the competitiveness and value of the Caribbean brands through the delivery of transformative and targeted interventions in export development and investment promotion.
In conclusion, making the EPA a success requires a collective effort. For this reason, we are and will continue working with our valued partners in the region (CARIFORUM Directorate, National EPA implementation Units, Caribbean Export and other Business Support Organisations) helping to overcome the challenges preventing Caribbean people and businesses to draw the fullest benefits from the agreement. And, as it appears, one of the challenges is to improve the awareness of the opportunities the EU-CARIFORUM EPA offers: an awareness not only among economic operators and businesses, but also among journalists and publicists, to prevent anyone from spreading essentially incorrect and false information about the agreemen
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, May 1, 2019 – Five (5) countries: Curacao, Grenada, Jamaica, Sint Marteen and Suriname adhered to the Caribbean Safe School Initiative and adopt the Antigua and Barbuda Declaration on School Safety during the 2nd Caribbean Safe School Ministerial Forum. The forum was held from April 29 to 30, 2019 in Kingstown and hosted by the Ministry of Education, National Reconciliation, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Information.
In 2017, 12 countries adhered to the initiative and signed the Antigua and Barbuda Declaration on School Safety in the Caribbean. At the second Ministerial Forum, ten Ministers of Education, officials in the education sector as well as disaster management stakeholders, regional and international partners participated in technical discussions on school safety and updated the Regional RoadMap for School Safety.
The Minister of Education, National Reconciliation and Information of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Minister St. Clair Prince, commented in regard to the Caribbean Safe School Initiative that “The 2nd Ministerial Forum has served to renew the commitment to build the resilience of the education sector in the Caribbean region”. He also added that “I am also committed as the incoming chair for this forum to ensure that School Safety in the Caribbean remains a priority nationally, regionally and internationally”.
This second forum was also linked to a Youth Forum “My Island, My Life, which provided an opportunity for youth to add their voices and join the discussion on school safety and identify safety issues around the three pillars of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework: safe learning facilities (disaster-resilient infrastructure), school disaster management; and, disaster risk reduction and resilience education. The conclusions and recommendations of the Youth Forum were presented during the Ministerial Forum.
At the Forum closing Sint Marteen announced they will host the 3rd Caribbean Safe School Ministerial Forum in 2021 and British Virgin Islands (BVI) will be hosting the 4th Forum in 2023.
The Caribbean is a region of high exposure to multiple natural hazards including hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, windstorms, tsunamis, landslides and droughts. Vulnerability combined with exposure to such hazards can serve to drastically undermine poverty reduction strategies, hinder development gains and jeopardize educational systems. Such events, if left unmitigated, can lead to devastating consequences to a nation’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing.
The importance of school safety had also been long acknowledged in the Caribbean. The 2014-2024 Comprehensive Disaster Management strategy calls for increased and sustained knowledge management and learning for Comprehensive Disaster Management, as well as standardization and improvement of educational and training materials.
The 2nd Caribbean Ministerial Forum was the result of a partnership between the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operation (ECHO), UNICEF, GADRRRES, OECS, UNESCO, U NISDR and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
New year provides the opportunity for improved things
By the time you read this, the new year, quite likely, would have already arrived in your ‘neck of the woods’.
The new year is a time where we should be positive in mind and spirit.
Embrace an optimistic thinking and behaviour that once we try our best to make the most of the year, then good things will naturally follow.
To make the best of the year, we must make the most of our individual lives. Focus on what’s important and once necessary, seek to improve our living standards.
Work according to our strengths while working on our weaknesses and keeping them in check.
When we are working ourselves first and foremost, we are in a better position to assist others, within our capacity.
Police has identified twenty one year old male Tyron ‘Pimpin’ Jolly of Salisbury as the victim of a shooting that took place in the early hours of Monday morning in that community.
According to the police, his body was found lying in a pool of blood at his home.
Some reports suggest his body was found sometime after 7AM on Monday morning.
Details are mostly sketchy.
Parliamentary Representative for the Salisbury Constituency, Hector John says the situation is unfortunate and the community must stand together to fight crime.
Further details will be made by News Fresh Out when it becomes available.
If you have any information regarding the situation, feel free to contact News Fresh Out via email: newsfreshout@gmail.com
Assistant Chief Youth Development Officer, Gregory ‘Karessah’ Riviere is encouraging young people to use agriculture as a means to eradicating hunger.
He addressed an audience of mostly 4-H Club members from across Dominica at a World Food Day observance on Friday at Newtown Primary School. The theme for the year 2018 is ‘Our actions are our future. A zero hunger world is possible by 2030’.
The event was organized by Junior Achievement Dominica (JA Dominica), Youth Development Division’s 4-H program and the Ministry of Agriculture’s World Food Day Committee.
It also included the launch of its agriculture based ‘Grow Project’ aimed at involving students in agriculture and an exhibition featuring various agricultural produce.
Riviere said some statistics show eight hundred and forty two million people or about twelve percent of the world’s population is suffering from hunger. He went on to say what is worse is that nine million people are dying every year due to hunger and mostly women are affected.
“We really have to try our best to eliminate hunger in our community”, he said.
Riviere advised the students of three ways they can play part to eradicate hunger.
One way was to grow more food than they are individually consuming. The other ways are to give thanks for being able to consume nutritious foods and share food with others.
The event also heard from Executive Director of Junior Achievement Dominica, Rhanda Alexander-Alfred and Coordinator of the Youth Development Division’s 4-H Program, Shirley Alexander.
