In the first appearance of a Caribbean head of State before Congress in 40 years, Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, lambasted the US for anti-money laundering financial restrictions that unfairly restrict Caribbean banking and economies. These regulations make it difficult for Caribbean citizens to easily access bank accounts—the Trinidad Express, Loop Caribbean and The Nassau Guardian report. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday said Mottley made a plea to the US House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services to stop "driving our (Caribbean) countries underground and making our countries uncompetitive" when it comes to correspondent banking in the region. Mottley said, "Like women, we are doing twice as much as you to be considered half as good as you."
Economics, Finance and Debt
This Barbados Today opinion piece discusses African and Caribbean trading negotiations that happened at the beginning of September. Both the African and Caribbean officials acknowledged that they had to unlearn some of the negative stereotypes about each other and learn the potential of each region as trading partners.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is monitoring China’s influence in the Caribbean including countries such as Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Recently Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago signed Belt and Road Initiative agreements with China with investments of more than US$16 billion in infrastructure and financial partnerships over the next 25 years. Demerara Waves reports.
Food Security
After more than two years of global crises such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, approximately 22 countries, are feeling the effects as the cost of living surges in the region. There is a 46% increase in moderate to severe food insecurity. Forbes reports.
Watch the CARICOM-WFP-FAO-CDEMA Caribbean food security discussion here.
The Caribbean in the World
Following a meeting with the leaders of five Caribbean countries and US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, the US is sending a multi-agency delegation to assess the region’s energy potential. They are working closely with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank to create more finance mechanisms for Caribbean governments. Read about it in the Atlantic Council. Which also published a report on quick wins for pushing the process forward.
La Joven Cuba reports that former Obama Administration Official Ben Rhodes, who was a key figure in the previous ‘normalisation’ with Cuba, said the Trump era derailed the process of normalisation of Cuba and now Biden is not doing enough to improve relations with the Caribbean nation.
Haiti
In Port-au-Prince, embassies closed their doors as protesters targeted the home of a former senator, and raided businesses, warehouses, and the government-owned television station in the face of price hikes. Read more at the Miami Herald.
According to the New York Post, US President Biden has sacrificed free and fair elections in Haiti in exchange for cooperation to reduce migration since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated.
Human Rights
St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonzalves said reinstating unvaccinated teachers who were dismissed due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate would be admitting that the government did something illegal. If the teachers would be reinstated, the government would have to pay them months of backpay, iWitness News reports.
Women in at least five CARICOM Member states still experience marital rape with no criminal sanction for rape. All Caricom member states are engaged in the UN General Assembly that passed resolutions 48/104 that notes marital rape is part of violence against women. Read more from UN Women’s Statement on Criminalising Marital Rape in the Caribbean.
Former Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham, said many politicians are “hiding their true position on marital rape” and “parade around as ordinary, decent human beings”. He said he once tried to make marital rape illegal but had to withdraw because he had no support. He encouraged the press to continue grilling parliamentarians on the issue. Eye Witness News reports.
Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) condemns incendiary statements made by National Security Minister Horace Chang that encouraged police to shoot-to-kill. JFJ said this is akin to promoting extrajudicial killings in Jamaica. The Jamaica Observer reports the press release.
Jamaicans for Justice also welcomes the passage of the Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act [Bill] by the Lower House, but warns of the 15-year minimum sentence and reminds the public to be mindful that firearms have been planted on individuals in the past. Read the full press release published in Petchary’s Blog.
Climate and Environment Justice
The Alliance of Small Island Developing States (AOSIS) is demanding that COP27 result in a multilateral fund to help the most vulnerable countries recover from extreme climate disasters and slow-onset impacts.
Creole peoples delegates from Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Panama met at the 'II Encuentro Creole', to discuss the roots of Creole culture, reconnecting Afro-Caribbean people and renew commitments to protect and expand the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve. El Isleño reports.
The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) is calling for updates from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) regarding the toxic discharge from the Windalco’s Effluent Holding Pond (EHP). They want transparency as effluent from the EHP flowed into the Rio Cobre. Read more here.
Energy and Renewables
Guyana’s Shadow Oil and Gas Minister, David Patterson is adamant that the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) can be renegotiated, as changes to the contract were already made in 2019 regarding the royalties. Kaieteur News reports.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) strongly urged oil-producing nations to implement windfall taxes to help improve income and to break the energy sector’s hold on commodity prices to get the companies to produce more. The IMF published a free advisory for countries. Kaieteur News said Guyana would be missing out on large sums of money from surplus oil revenue because the government does not have a windfall tax.
Despite Prime Minister Mottley’s Global Leadership on climate change, Barbados is attempting to get the world’s leading energy firms to explore its waters for oil and gas Kaieteur News reports.
Decolonisation
Barbadian poet Anthony ‘Gabby’ Carter received harsh criticism from the public when he penned a poem ‘Good Riddance to Rubbish’ criticising the injustices of British colonialism. Some have called for his National Honour status to be removed. Barbados Underground reports with full publication of the poem.
Arts and Culture
Emma Lewis reports that Kingston Creative launched the Caribbean Creative Network (CCN); a public, searchable online database of artists and cultural and creative industry stakeholders. This growing platform has more than 370 creatives from 21 countries across the Caribbean and can be found at www.caribbeancreativenetwork.org.
Power is the subject of Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke new suite of sculptures, ‘Gilt’ (Guilt) installed at the New York Metropolital Museum of Art’s Fifth Avenue exterior. His work continues to tackle colonialism and imperialism notes The New York Times.
Opportunities
The Women In Renewable Energy (WIRE) Network Mentorship Scheme is looking for mid to senior career women in the energy sector, living or working in the Caribbean for its two-year WIRE Network Mentorship Programme. Deadline is October 13. Apply here.
Caribbean Magazine Plus is holding a 3,000-5,000 word short story competition. The contest runs from September 16 - January 20. Entrance fee is $25. See here for more details. Click here to apply.
Hack the City is a creative hackathon from Jamaica done in teams. The terms and conditions for participating can be found here. Click here to apply. Any queries, please contact tavia@kingstoncreative.org.
Events
The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is hosting a virtual dialogue on “Just Nature-Based Solutions, Adaptation and Loss and Damage” on Tuesday 27 September at 10am AST. Register here.
In advance of the UN climate talks in Egypt, Egyptian civil society activists are calling for a global week of action to draw attention to state repression and violence. Friends of the Earth Scotland, the Climate Justice Coalition and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is hosting a discussion on the importance of human rights and climate justice, and what these mean for COP27 and the climate movement. The event will take place online at 18:30-20:00 BST, on Tuesday 27 September. Register here.
The second Caribbean ESG & Climate Financing Summit will take place on November 29-30. Register here.
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