CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Antigua:
Prime Minister Gaston Browne said
the Antigua-based regional airline LIAT
should appeal the $1.55 million in damages
awarded to a former employee by a
jury in the United States Virgin Islands
recently.
William Cherubin took the cashstrapped
airline to court in St Croix
claiming he had been dismissed because
of his age.
According to court documents, on
June 4, 2015, LIAT
fired Cherubin without
notice, citing several
incidents involving
violations of company
policy, including two alleged incidents
that occurred in 2009 and 2012.
His attorneys alleged that LIAT actually
fired him because of his age and
not because of poor performance, as the
airline argued.
He said the reason LIAT gave was
false, insisting the “real reason was age
discrimination.”
Cherubin was 70 when he was fired
by the airline in 2015. He worked at the
airline for 47 years.
Virgin Island laws prohibit the discrimination
of employees because of
age.B
ack in 2011, LIAT offered all employees
over age 62 a retirement package in
exchange for voluntary resignations,
but Cherubin turned down the offer.
Antigua and Barbuda is one of the
four major shareholder governments
of the airline. The others are Barbados,
Dominica, and St Vincent and the
Grenadines.
BAHAMAS:
The Bahamas government has temporarily
halted all deportations to Haiti
as a result of the political unrest in the
French-speaking Caribbean island.
A government statement said that
the decision follows the temporary closure
of The Bahamas Embassy in Portau
Prince and the recall of all diplomatic
and consular staff.
It said in anticipation
of a potential
increase of illegal
migration from Haiti,
Bahamas security forces have been
placed on high alert.
“As a protective measure, the government
is also preparing a temporary
detention center in Matthew Town, Inagua,
which will be staffed with personnel
from relevant ministries and
government agencies, as to deal with
any resultant eventualities,” the statement
said.
Bahamas officials have in the past
called on Haitians not to undertake the
dangerous voyage by sea to enter the
country illegally.
Earlier this month, 31 Haitians
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
Premier Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson of Turks and Caicos Islands, who received the AFUWI Legacy Award
in New York on Feb. 27, here with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness. See page 38. Twitter/ Andrew Holness
drowned when their vessel ran aground
in waters off Abaco.
Authorities said l8 others who were
rescued would be deported.
BARBADOS:
The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) says Barbados continues to make
“good progress” in its efforts to turn
around an ailing economy supported by
a multi-million dollar Extended Fund
Facility (EFF).
An IMF delegation,
led by Bert van Selm,
recently paid a fourday
visit to the island
at the invitation of Prime Minister
Mia Mottley’s administration, discussing
the implementation of Barbados’
Economy Recovery and Transformation
(BERT) plan that is supported by the
$290 million EFF.
The Washington-based financial
institution said in a statement that
a concluding meeting was held with
Prime Minister Mottley in Washington
recently.
Van Selm said that Barbados continues
to make good progress in implementing
its ambitious and comprehensive
economic reform program.
JAMAICA:
The Jamaica government is moving
to privatize a number of state assets
Caribbean L 4 ife, March 1–7, 2019 BQ
under its portfolio.
This was disclosed by Prime Minister
Andrew Holness, who said the government
will intensify its
policy of full asset utilization,
adding that
these assets will be
made available to persons
who demonstrate the drive, interest,
and entrepreneurship, those who
are risk-takers, and who will take these
assets and make something of them for
the people of Jamaica.
He told the opening ceremony for
the relaunch of the 120-room S Hotel
in Montego Bay recently that while he
sees this as a sure-fire way to boost further
economic growth, “the process has
to be one which is both competitive and
transparent.”
Holness said that while the idea of
divesting the country’s national assets
is part of a long-term plan for economic
prosperity, it has to be done with the
knowledge that ordinary Jamaicans will
not be left out of the equation.
ST LUCIA:
National Security Minister Hermangild
Francis says St Lucians should be
allowed to determine whether or not to
abolish the death penalty.
He maintained that he had no definite
position on the matter.
Francis, an attorney, who is also
the Home Affairs and Justice Minister,
said that with plans being advanced for
constitutional reform,
the issue of the death
penalty could be put
to the people for their
consideration.
He said St Lucians will decide whether
they still want the death penalty or
not, he said on a radio program.
St Lucia has not carried out the
death penalty since 1995 when Joseph
Solomon was executed after being convicted
for murder and rape in l979.
TURKS AND CAICOS
ISLANDS:
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI)
government says it hopes to bring to
an end a critical outstanding matter
ever since the Sandals resorts International
(SRI)-owned
Beaches Villages and
Spa began operation
on the island.
The resort has
announced an “indefinite” closure of
its facilities on the island from January
2021 and the government has promised
that will be “fully transparent” on the
matter amid media reports that the
issue is linked to a multi-million dollar
tax bill.
The resort said in a statement that
ti
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