Caribbean RoundUp

Barbados

The Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) said Barbados has maintained steady economic growth and resilience despite global economic uncertainties and the negative consequences of Hurricane Beryl.

It said that the actual gross domestic product (GDP) advanced by 3.9% during the first nine months of 2024, which was contributed by critical sectors such as tourism, business services, and construction.

CBB Governor Dr. Kevin Greenidge delivered the bank’s review and told a news conference that inflation moderated, unemployment fell, and the country’s external position remained robust.

The CBB predicts that Barbados’ economy will maintain growth momentum through year-end, with real GDP expanding by approximately 3.8%.

“This expansion will be driven by ongoing private and public sector investments, particularly in tourism and utility infrastructure. Additionally, the digitization of public and private operations is anticipated to enhance efficiencies, reduce costs, and boost productivity across industries. Workforce development initiatives, focused on technical skills enhancement, are also expected to strengthen economic resilience,” it added.

Greenidge said strategic investments and fiscal discipline have supported economic stability.

Bahamas

Prime Minister Phillip Davis said that he remains optimistic that the authorities will be able to beat the “scourge” of people on bail for murder being killed, even as the police express fears that innocent people may become collateral damage as a result of those killings.

Prime Minister Davis said that it would take at least a decade to deal with the backlog of cases of the more than 170 people who are currently on bail for murder.

Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander confirmed that a group of about 10 men were gathered at an outdoor car garage when three masked men armed with automatic rifles exited a car and sprayed the group with bullets.

“What our intel is saying to us is that an individual who was able to get away was the intended target,” Fernander said, adding, “He is on bail for murder, and he is being monitored.”

The Police Commissioner said that while the authorities have information on the killers and “we will smoke them out,” he nonetheless is warning that many more people could die.

Grenada

The Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) welcomed Sunrise Airways’ decision to begin serving the island. The new intra-Caribbean flight service will create unprecedented north-to-south access across the Caribbean.

“This much-anticipated route links Antigua, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada, making it possible for travelers to reach Grenada from Antigua in under three hours and St Lucia in 45 minutes. Flights will operate thrice weekly on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays,” the GTA said.

GTA CEO Petra Roach said this new service is a significant milestone in the GTA’s goal to foster more regional tourism.

“The Caribbean is our third largest market for visitation to Grenada, and this improved connectivity between the north and south Caribbean provides an opportunity to stimulate demand even further. Our islands will benefit from strengthened economic and tourism links,” she added.

“Sunrise Airways is thrilled to introduce service to Grenada. We now operate in five islands in the OECS as part of our Eastern Caribbean expansion. We fly to connect people, and our routes inspire travelers to discover new destinations when planning their trips,” said Colin Piper of Sunrise Airways.

The GTA said Sunrise Airways offers direct non-stop flights to Grenada from the Vigie Airport in Castries.

Haiti

The government of El Salvador recently approved sending a military contingent to the French-speaking CARICOM member state of Haiti to aid in medical evacuation operations as part of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS) currently underway in the country.

Congress, primarily controlled by President Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party, passed the decision with 57 of 60 votes.

According to Patricia Aguilera, the director of Legal Affairs at the Salvadoran Foreign Ministry, the mission involves a Salvadoran Armed Forces contingent operating under the United Nations “blue helmet“ framework to conduct medical evacuations.

This initiative follows an agreement signed between El Salvador and Haiti within the Organization of American States (OAS) to safeguard the legal rights of participating state parties, contractors, and personnel.

Jamaica

Prime Minister Andrew Holness praised his outgoing Finance Minister, Dr. Nigel Clarke, who resigned as a legislator on Oct. 29.

Clarke’s decision to leave was due to his appointment as one of the deputy managing directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He will be the highest-ever Caribbean national to hold such a senior position.

“Nigel provided a critical skill in the management of the technical area of change. I don’t think that there is anyone in Jamaica who could question the technical competence of Nigel Clarke in managing the economic affairs and transforming Jamaica’s economic prospects,“ Holness said.

He said he considered it a “distinct honor“ to have a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member sought after for an international position.

Clarke, speaking at the JLP meeting on Oct. 28 to bid farewell to his St. Andrew North Western constituents, said, “As I leave the playing field, effective midnight … I want you to know that it has been the privilege of my life to serve you as Member of Parliament. It has been the privilege of my life to respond to your fears, to respond to your needs, and to incorporate your ideas.

“You represent what is great about Jamaica,“ he told the constituents.

He added that he is leaving the playing field after six years and seven months and was endorsing Dwayne Smith, the person selected to replace him as the JLP standard-bearer in the constituency.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, has announced a three-month cost-of-living initiative to benefit 3,000 people.

“For the three-month period December 2024 to February 2025, … a special cost-of-living allowance, I’m calling it COLA Special, not Coca-Cola, just COLA Special, of $175 monthly,“ Gonsalves said in his address to mark St Vincent and the Grenadines’ 45th anniversary of political independence from Britain.

Gonsalves, speaking at the traditional independence parade of the protective services held for the first time since independence on Oct. 27, 1979, said this will be rolled out to 3,000 means-tested particularly vulnerable households.

“This will cost for the three months, EC$1.575 million or EC$525 monthly,“ said Gonsalves, adding that the Ministry of National Mobilisation will execute the program.

Gonsalves said the government will evaluate the program after its initial rollout and consider continuing it into 2025.

Gonsalves used the speech to make a series of announcements, which included his ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) government would be ramping up its surveillance of “unscrupulous retailers.“

“We have some good retailers, and we have some want to gouge us—as you say on the road, ‘dig out we eye.’ We have some unscrupulous ones who are reportedly engaged in price gouging,“ he said.

He said the government would use the Consumer Protection Act and the Price and Distribution of Goods Act “to the fullest extent possible to curtail price gouging, especially in the unusual circumstances occasioned by Hurricane Beryl.”

The prime minister also announced that the duty-free concession on cement will be extended indefinitely.

“I am resolved to make cement in this country the most affordable in the entire OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States).”

— Compiled by Devika Ragoonanan