CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Barbados
The Convener of the Barbados Bar
Association’s Human Rights’ Committee,
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
b d l h h i h
Lalu Hanuman, has expressed concern
over a move by the government to
implement legislation making it more
difficult for people to be granted bail.
Recently, Attorney General Dale Marshall
announced that people charged
with murder or firearm offences punishable
for at least 10
years in prison would
not be eligible for bail
within two years after
being charged, except
in special circumstances.
He said that while the country
continues to battle the surge
in murders, there are suggestions
that the time should be increased
to 36 months or in some cases no
bail should be granted at all, adding
that the state has to be mindful of
the rights of individual.
Hanuman said to set a bail restriction
of 24 months, “we think that is a
reasonable in this case.”
According to the amendment to the
Bail Act “in any case where a person
is charged with murder, treason or an
offence under the Firearms Act, which
is punishable with imprisonment of l0
years or more that as such a person
shall not be granted bail unless 24
months have passed”.
Hanuman and other prominent
attorneys are arguing that the Bail Act
is “unconstitutional.”
British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), a
British Overseas territory is moving to
boost tourism in the territory and will
be offering incentives
to hotel operators to
enable them to reconstruct
or expand their
territories.
The announcement
was made by Premier Andrew Fahie
during his recent budget presentation.
Fahie said his administration hopes
to see thousands of additional accommodations
being made available for
overnight visitors by 2024.
He said the plan is to increase the
room stock, first to pre-hurricane levels,
and secondly to expand, adding that
the government’s goal is to have 5,000
beds within the next five years.
Fahie, whose office has responsibility
for tourism, said government will also
be attracting local and international
investors to construct new properties.
He said there are plans to “improve
the access to the territory by the way
of air and sea” and by investing more
money in marketing thee territory’s
tourism brand.
The premier said the branding of the
BVI destination will start next year.
He also said in the debate that the
development of tourism sub-sectors
such as wellness tourism, sports tourism
and entertainment tourism will be
encouraged.
Guyana
Guyana has asked the Islamic Development
Bank (IsDB) to fund the construction
of three mini-hydropower systems,
road links in the hinterland, and
training for oil and gas, among other
projects.
This was revealed by Minister of
Finance, Winston Jordan in his address
at the 44th Annual Meeting of the
Islamic Bank Group,
In Morocco recently.
In his speech,
which was made available
by the Ministry of
Finance, Jordhan said
that Guyana will be looking towards its
development partners, including the
IsDB to build on the country’s regional
comparative advantage in natural
resource development including pristine
Caribbean L 4 ife, April 19–25, 2019 BQ
forests, abundant frees water, large
arable agricultural lands and wide variety
of flora and fauna and mineral
resources.
Jamaica
Inmates inside Jamaica’s prisons are
contracting HIV at an alarming rate,
according to a 2018 report.
The study conduct by the National
Family Planning Board (NFPB),
which reported on 728
inmates who had been
incarcerated for more
than six months, from
three male adult correctional
facilities and
one female facility, showed that 6.9
percent, more than l00 percent higher
than the 3.3 percent recorded in 2011.
The prison prevalence rate is almost
four times higher than the national
average of an estimated 1.8 percent.
The St. Catherine Adult Correctional
Center had the highest rate, followed
by Tower Street, and Fort Augusta, the
women’s correctional facility located at
South Camp Road in Kingston.
Data also show that inmates have a
syphilis prevalence rate of 4.5 percent.
The study pointed out that almost half
of the inmates were married or had
been living with a partner, while 46
percent were single and had never lived
with a partner before their incarceration.
Some inmates in the study claim
they had contracted HIV while in prison.
Director of Health Promotion and
Prevention at the National Family Planning
Board, Andrea Campbell, said the
figure was cause for concern.
There are concerns among
experts who say that upon
release from prison, ex-cons
with women have no knowledge
of their HIV status.
Haiti
Haitian President, Jovenel
Moise announced recently that
Jean Michel Lapin to be the new
prime minister of the Frenchspeaking
Caribbean country.
Lapin, who once served as a
courier in the public administration,
had been serving as acting
prime minister ever since 93 of the 103
members of the Chamber of Deputies
voted in favor of removing Prime Minister
Jean-Henry Ceant last month, was
reportedly one of three persons who
had been considered for the permanent
post.
The others were attorney Majorie
Alexandre Brunache, a former consular
general of Haiti in Boston and the
daughter of President Boniface Alexandre
and Gabriel Fortune, the mayor of
Les Cayes, a town in south-west Haiti.
Lapin has been
organizing his government
ahead of going
before the Chamber of
Deputies and the Senate
to be ratified with a
vote on his political program.
Lapin is the third head of government
under President Moise, since he
came into office in February 2017.
The installation of a new government
is an International Monetary Fund
(UMF) prerequisite for the disbursement
of the first tranche of a US$229
million loan to Haiti.
St. Lucia
Health authorities in St. Lucia are
investigating two deaths amid reports
of an increase in influenza cases on the
island.
Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Sharon
Belmar-George said health officials
have been investigating two cases,
which are influenza-related, which is
quite unusual for St. Lucia and more so
at this time of the year.
Jua Kali founder Laurah John. Jua Kali is a social enterprise tackling waste management
and helping to reduce reliance on St. Lucia’s only landfi ll. See story on Page 18.
Laurah John
Continued on Page 14
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