Regional Briefs

Caribbean warned vulnerability to food production is stark

GEORGETOWN (CMC):

A senior official of the Caribbean Community Secretariat has warned that the current vulnerability of the food production in the region is stark, as collectively the Caribbean continues to be buffeted by the coronavirus pandemic, the ravages of climate change, pests and plant-borne diseases and other associated maladies. He, however, said there were still opportunities.

“This is, therefore, not a time for lamentation but represents a call to action. Indeed when cognisance is taken of the fact that the world's food production needs to increase by 70 per cent by 2050 to feed the expanding global population, this represents real opportunity," Joseph Cox, assistant secretary general, trade and economic integration, told the 94th Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Agriculture that ended on Thursday.

He told the virtual meeting of the region’s agricultural ministers that when nourishment is brought into the equation, the challenge and, therefore, the opportunities become even more pronounced.

Cox said that research has revealed that by 2027, the world will be short of 214 trillion calories per year, as the calorie production gap – the difference between calories used and calories produced – continues to widen.

“With the exception of Belize and Guyana, all other CARICOM countries are net food importers, with at least seven of these countries importing more than 80 per cent of their available food rendering the region a net calorie importer. This is a troubling data point, which mushrooms into a full-blown crisis, when we are reminded that all foods are not created equal, even if they weigh the same,” he said.

Cox warned also that the region is at a point where on average, acreage under use for agriculture is no longer expanding, as the arable lands are being repurposed for use in other economic activity.

But, he said, the COVID-19 pandemic has not been a disruptor per se, but an accelerant for change.

He told the meeting chaired by Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw that the challenges which have faced the region have created the space for sectors like agriculture to strategically pivot, to take advantages of the opportunities that arisen.

He called for greater emphasis on policy intervention, institutional strengthening, investment, and sector financing.

Guyanese permanent secretary arrested, sent on leave

GEORGETOWN (CMC):

The permanent secretary of Guyana's Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Sharon Hicks, is under investigation by the police for demanding money with menace and fraud.

Hicks is accused of demanding GUY$200,000 (J$142,000) from the owner of a security service as part of an alleged deal to ensure the security service continues to get contracts from the ministry.

Late Friday, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs announced that Hicks was sent on administrative leave.

In a statement, the ministry said Hicks would be on leave pending the outcome of the police investigation.

According to the police, they received a complaint with details of the allegations and decided to set up a sting operation.

Using marked money, the businessman was allowed to make the GUY$200,000 payment to the permanent secretary.

She was arrested late Thursday with the marked money in her possession and questioned about the allegations.

Biden allocates 15,000 refugee admissions to LatAm, Caribbean

WASHINGTON (CMC):

United States President Joe Biden on Friday allocated 15,000 refugee admissions from Latin America and the Caribbean “for special humanitarian concern” for fiscal year 2022.

In a memorandum, Biden said he was affirming “the United States’ deeply held commitment to welcoming refugees”, raising the overall refugee admissions target to 125,000 for the forthcoming fiscal year.

“The admission of up to 125,000 refugees to the United States during fiscal year 2022 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest,” said Biden in the White House memorandum.

Other regional allocations for refugees of “special humanitarian concern” to the United States are: Africa, 40,000; East Asia, 15,000; Europe and Central Asia, 10,000; Near East/South Asia, 35,000; and Unallocated Reserve, 10,000.

Biden said the 10,000 unallocated refugee numbers shall be allocated to regional ceilings, as needed.

T&T opposition describes budget as a 'vicious attack' on population

PORT-OF-SPAIN (CMC):

Trinidadian Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Friday accused the government of launching a “vicious attack” on the population as she criticised the TT$52.49 billion budget that Finance Minister Colm Imbert said contained measures that will help revitalise an economy hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The idea that COVID crashed our economy is just as fake as the fake emails presented in this house. It is not true! As the saying goes, 'facts are stubborn things, and they do not go away'. It is the Rowley-led government, not COVID, which has put our economy into the ICU,” Persad-Bissessar said.

The opposition leader said that over the past six years, Trinidad and Tobago has seen a collapsing GDP, unprecedented unemployment, dangerous debt, failing credit ratings, depleted foreign reserves as well as negative foreign direct investment.

“I rise in defence of the people of Trinidad and Tobago against the vicious attack on them by this brutal and heartless … government masked as budget 2022,” she said in her rebuttal to the fiscal package.