Ponzi and pyramid schemes have proliferated across Caribbean countries during the pandemic, and authorities have been unable to keep up, according to a new report by the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network (CIJN). The report estimates that the rash of pyramid and Ponzi schemes has already cost would-be investors in the hundreds of millions of dollars in the six jurisdictions examined – Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands (BVI), Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).
"Regulatory responses have been largely deficient, despite a pre-pandemic history of spectacular crashes involving sophisticated cross-border operations spanning recent decades. There has in fact been little regional collaboration on finding a suitable regulatory response, and patchy solutions have straddled everything from consumer law to anti-trust legislation."
These schemes are not new in the Caribbean, notes InSight Crime, but "the economic crisis and job volatility caused by the pandemic may have made such schemes more attractive to people with few resources who suddenly find themselves in need."
- For the countries on the frontline in the war against climate change, there is a nasty nexus between climate change and debt, writes Barbadian Avinash Persaud with recommendations on how to break the nexus. (Vox EU/CEPR)
- Antigua and Barbuda will require more international funding to transition to green energy, said Prime Minister Gaston Browne, referencing the country's tourism-reliant economy, climate shocks and the COVID-19 crisis. Antigua and Barbuda's "perilous situation of debt" is mirrored by other countries in the region, whose efforts to transition to clean energy will be hampered by potential debt crises, reports Reuters.
- The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) are collecting data to gain information on what Caribbean people know about the connection between climate change and their health. Countries participating include Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia and Barbados. (Trinidad and Tobago Newsday)
Economics
- The United Nations adopted a new framework that includes the contributions of nature when measuring economic prosperity and human well-being, a move that could help reshape decision and policy-making towards sustainable development. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting—Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) — was adopted by the UN Statistical Commission and marks a major step forward that goes beyond the commonly used statistic of gross domestic product (GDP) that has dominated economic reporting since the end of World War II.
Public Security
- An audio-documentary by dj afifa looks at the case of a joint police-military team operation in Jamaica, carried out on March 10 with the aim of apprehending members of the Bedward Gardens-based ‘Berry Gang’. 5 men were killed. (H/T Petchary's Blog)
- CARICOM's reparations campaign will actively reach out to the continent of Africa, and to Africa’s premier multilateral organisation – the African Union (AU), a determination taken at the first meeting of CARICOM’s Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Reparations chaired by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley. (Jamaica Gleaner)
Covid-19 Impact
- The Covid-19 Relief Monitoring Hub brings together leading Caribbean journalists, researchers, and development experts in a project to monitor government expenditure of external financing of pandemic efforts in 14 countries of the region. The project will produce regular reporting on governmental best practice in the areas of procurement processes, and efficiencies, transparency, and accountability in the state sector.
- Puerto Rico used curfews and rigorous sanitary measures, "and the pandemic was never politicized," an approach that saved lives on the island, reports NBC News.
- Low-cost flights to Puerto Rico have enticed many travelers to choose the island as a vacation spot during the pandemic, but relaxed restrictions have led to large gatherings, fights and Covid rule-breaking, reports the Guardian.
Democratic Governance
- Haiti's volatile social, economic and political crisis means elections organized under Haitian President Jovenel Moïse will not work and will not be seen as legitimate by the people, three Haiti-born civic leaders and a former U.S. ambassador to the country told the House Foreign Affairs Committee Friday. (Miami Herald)
- Several members of the Haiti National Police were killed or injured in a police operation turned deadly in a Port-au-Prince slum known for harboring kidnapped victims and a notorious gang. Acting Haiti National Police General Director Léon Charles said Saturday that four officers had been killed and eight wounded, on Friday. Five officers have been discharged from the hospital, while three are in stable condition, he said. Haiti police also have been unable to locate another officer. The United Nations called on Haitian authorities to clarify the circumstances surrounding the failed operative, reports the Miami Herald.
- The botched raid has spurred a wave of anger and the social media hashtag #FreeHaiti. Videos showing gang members dragging the bodies of two slain cops is the latest in Haiti's worsening crisis. The anti-corruption grassroots activist group Nou Pap Dòmi sought to explain #FreeHaiti?: "There is no parliament, no elected local officials, the judiciary system is under attack, the president wants to change the constitution and hold elections while gangs control many parts of the territory. There is a surge in kidnappings at a scale never seen before." (Miami Herald)
- Haitian gang leader Arnel Joseph, who was killed after a deadly Haiti prison break last month, may have been sprung intentionally — raising further concerns about toxic relationships between gangs and political elites in the run-up to new elections, reports InSight Crime.
- The two bills in U.S. Congress on how to resolve Puerto Rico's status, in very different ways, are likely to break down along some unusual ideological lines, reports Slate in an in-depth piece on the issue. (See also March 5's Updates.) A competing bill, the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act would set up a “status convention,” with delegates elected by Puerto Rican voters, that would develop a long-term solution for Puerto Rico’s status. These could include statehood, full independence, a “free association” status, or an “enhanced commonwealth” status.
- Second-class treatment of people living in U.S. territories "is not just unfair; it is un-American" writes Stacey Plaskett, U.S. Virgin Islands Congressional Delegate in The Atlantic. More than 3.5 million Americans are denied the right to vote in presidential elections, because they live in one of five U.S. territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 98 percent of these territorial residents are racial or ethnic minorities, "a fact that cannot be a mere coincidence as our continuing disenfranchisement extends well past the century mark," she argues.
- The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) dismissed an appeal filed by Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and other Dominica Labour Party (DLP) candidates who were successful in the 2014 general elections, reinstating complaints filed against them for the charge of treating. Treating refers to directly or indirectly providing food, drink or entertainment to a person, during or after an election, with the aim of corruptly influencing that person’s vote. (Loop News)
Migration
- Cuba accused Washington of stoking illegal migration by not processing visas in Havana and making it relatively easy for Cubans to claim asylum. (Reuters)
Anti-colonialism
- The Netherlands has shelled out millions of dollars' worth of emergency aid to former colonies in the Caribbean -- Sint Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao -- as the coronavirus pandemic destroyed the countries' economies. But critics say the Dutch government is using the pandemic to turn back the clock on colonial rule, with broad demands in exchange for the aid. Last week, Sint Maarten lawmakers filed a petition with a U.N. special rapporteur on racism accusing the Netherlands of “racial discrimination” and “violations of international rights.” Dutch officials say the pandemic has pulled back the curtain on years of mounting problems since autonomy was granted. (Washington Post)
- Colombia's government has ignored local leaders on San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina islands, and has brought "neocolonial" attitudes to post-hurricane Iota reconstruction, according to Pastor Alberto Gordon May, president of Autoridad Raizal. (El Espectador)
- The situation on the ground in Providencia, where Iota destroyed 98 percent of the island's buildings, remains precarious, and the next hurricane season will begin in two months, reports El Tiempo. (See Dec. 16's Updates.)
- Meghan Markle's allegations about the British monarchy are unsurprising for viewers from former British colonies who "were quite familiar with the British monarchy’s systemic passive-aggression. As former subjects of the crown, we know all too well the damage they’ve done," writes Schuyler Esprit in the Guardian.
Gender and LGBTQI
- Trinidad and Tobago NGO Womantra launched the Elma Francois Legal Clinic, which will provide free and low-cost legal services to survivors of gender-based violence. (Newsday)
- Trinidadian writer and staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, Colin Robinson, passed away on March 4 after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 58 years old. Robinson was one of the founders of the Coalition Advocating for the Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO), a civil society organisation that champions human rights issues for Trinidad and Tobago’s LGBTI communities and has built partnerships with feminist and other activist organisations. (Global Voices, Stabroek News)
- Cuban spy Emilio Sánchez helped the British government to fight the slave from 1859 to 1862 as American authorities looked the other way -- Smithsonian Magazine, via Repeating Islands.
- Journalism in a Small Place traces the history of media in the English speaking Caribbean, and provides insight into the development of these industries from their inception under British imperial rule to their current focus on advancing national development in the post-independence period. University of Calgary Press
Events
18 March
- The Pink Line: The World’s Queer Frontiers -- Commonwealth Writers Conversations
25 March
- Caribbean urbanism: Re-imagining resilience -- Atlantic Council
27 March
- Celebrating 30 Years of “Out of the Kumbla” -- Cornell
8 April
- Jamaica's ambassador to the U.S. holds monthly zoom sessions to connect with the Diaspora -- Jamaica Connect
No comments:
Post a Comment