Category: Technology

CCJ arranges unprecedented Sunday hearing

Michelle Nurse Leave a comment
FLASHBACK: A ceremonial sitting of the CCJ

Port of Spain, 12 May 2018 – The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has responded swiftly to an appeal from Barbados where a resident of that nation is fighting for his right to vote. The CCJ has set the hearing for 13 May 2018 at 11 am.  

Professor Eddy Ventose, a Saint Lucian national who has lived in Barbados for several years, is seeking to be included on the Barbados electoral register. He alleges that under the prevailing laws he is qualified and entitled to be registered to vote by virtue of being a Commonwealth citizen. The Chief Justice of Barbados, sitting as a trial judge, after hearing arguments on the matter, had issued the order compelling the Chief Electoral Officer to allow Professor Ventose to be registered to vote.

The Court of Appeal in Barbados on Monday, May 7th ruled that Professor Ventose was entitled to be registered to vote but stopped short of compelling the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to enroll him on the register of voters, instead the Court ordered the CEO to determine Professor Ventose’s claim within 24 hours. Professor Ventose is asking the CCJ to declare that, as a person who satisfies the necessary requirements, he is entitled to be registered to vote and to order the CEO to enter his name on the final voters’ list ahead of its publication this week.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)
The CCJ was inaugurated on 16 April, 2005 in Trinidad and Tobago where it is headquartered. Its central role is providing legal certainty to the operations of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). It is structured to have two jurisdictions – an original and an appellate. In its original jurisdiction it ensures uniform interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, thereby underpinning and advancing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. As the final court of appeal for Member States of the Caribbean Community it fosters the development of an indigenous Caribbean jurisprudence
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CDB adds electric vehicle to transportation fleet

Michelle Nurse Leave a comment
From left: Tessa Williams Robertson, Head, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Unit; Monica La Bennett, Vice-President (Operations); Dr. William Warren Smith, President; and Yvette Lemonias Seale, Vice-President (Corporate Services) and Bank Secretary stand next to the vehicle at CDB’s Headquarters in Barbados (Photo via CDB)

May 10, 2018, BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has added an electric vehicle to its transportation fleet, as part of its commitment to advance a clean energy agenda in the Region. Energy security is a consideration integrated throughout CDB’s work—both within the organisation and throughout its Borrowing Member Countries, under the Bank’s 2015-2019 Strategic Plan.

The vehicle, a Nissan Leaf Tekna purchased through the Barbados-based company, Megapower Ltd., produces zero emissions and will reduce the Bank’s carbon footprint as it transports packages and officials throughout the island.

In 2015, CDB adopted an Energy Sector Policy and Strategy that set out the CDB’s approach for tackling the Region’s energy challenges, including emphasising energy security and access; prioritising renewable energy and energy efficiency; and promoting a holistic approach to energy sector transformation. (Caribbean Development Bank Press Release)

CARICOM Member States to phase out incandescent bulbs

Michelle Nurse Leave a comment
Delegates at the Special COTED Meeting held last month

As the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) moves to become more energy efficient, steps are being taken to phase out the use of incandescent bulbs. On the basis of a mandate from the CARICOM Energy Ministers, plans for the phase‑out programme are now being developed by the CARICOM Secretariat and the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and are expected to be completed in September 2018.

The programme, according to Representatives from the CARICOM Secretariat, will include a roadmap to reduce the import and sale of incandescent light bulbs within the Region, and will guide and support countries in the establishment of regulations and actions for the phasing out exercise. If all goes according to the plan, incandescent bulbs will gradually be phased-out as energy efficiency standards for lighting are phased-in. The phase-out schedule could begin as early as January 2019 with the 100 watt incandescent bulbs, with further restrictions on smaller lamp sizes entering into force in incremental stages over a number of years.

The decision to develop the phase-out programme was taken at the recently-concluded Meeting of CARICOM Energy Ministers. The Meeting was held at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana on 19 April, 2018,  and was chaired by Senator the Hon. Darcy Boyce, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister of Barbados with responsibility for Energy. The Ministers took the decision as part of the menu of quality measures that are being undertaken to steer the Community towards energy efficiency and sector regulation.


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HRD Strategy: another step in evolution of development of regional capital – CARICOM SG

Jascene Dunkley-Malcolm Leave a comment
CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque addresses the opening ceremony of the Thirty-Fourth Meeting of the Council on Human and Social Development at the Theatre Guild Playhouse in Georgetown, Guyana

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Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, has described the Human Resource Development (HRD) Strategy as another step in the evolution of the development of human capital in the Region.

The Secretary-General was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Council for Human and Social Development COHSOD. The ceremony was held at the Theatre Guild Playhouse in Guyana on Wednesday and included a Thought Forum which focused on the theme ‘Positioning Human Resource Development as Central to Caribbean Resilience and Development’. Ambassador LaRocque said this would be attained through the strategic priorities of improving Access, Relevance, Equity and Quality.

Speaking to the success of the Strategy, the CARICOM SG said it would be determined partly by the strength of partnerships and the depth of the multi-sectoral collaborative approach. He said the meeting presented additional opportunity for co-ordination, while the details of the implementation programme were addressed during the sessions. He said that by approaching the Strategy from a multi-sectoral perspective, a people-centred approach to development, in which human development was at the core of sustainable development – had been established.

“By mainstreaming HRD, it becomes possible to realise goals related not only to the areas of human and social development, but critically, to our economic development. The enhancement of our human capital is fundamental to the success of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), stated Ambassador LaRocque.

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