LaRocque Begins Term with Guyana Visit

By: - August 16th, 2011

Above: CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque with Acting Guyanese President Samuel Hinds (Photo: CARICOM)

New CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque began his term yesterday with a visit to the Guyanese government, meeting with acting President Samuel Hinds and making a courtesy visit with Foreign Minister Caroline Rodrigues-Birkett. Yesterday, regional integration expert Professor Norman Girvan told Caribbean Journal that he would advise LaRocque to immediately put before the Heads of Government a proposal for the reform of CARICOM’s governance.

Guyana

Jamaica, Chinese Firm Finalize Sugar Deal

The Jamaican government has completed the privatisation of the country’s sugar industry, signing a divestment agreement with state-owned Chinese company COMPLANT. Under the agreement, COMPLANT will acquire the Bernard Lodge, Frome and Monymusk lands for $9 million. “We know that this relationship will be long and fruitful,” said Agriculture Minister Robert Montague. “We not only […]

Guyana

Norman Girvan on Irwin LaRocque and the Necessity of a Caribbean Parliament

Dr Norman Girvan, Professor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies, is one of the foremost experts on Caribbean political economy. Girvan, who was formerly the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States, was appointed last year as the United Nations Secretary General’s Personal Representative on the Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy. Caribbean Journal talked […]

Guyana

ECLAC: Development Aid "Not Sufficient"

Above: ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Barcena (Photo: UN) By the Caribbean Journal staff Caribbean and Latin American authorities gathered in Santiago, Chile last week for a dialogue on the international cooperation system and its relation to development. The “Latin America and Caribbean Regional Consultation on Financing for Development,” which was held Aug. 10 and 11 […]

Reaching Beyond Nevis, West Indies Power Explores Geothermal in Dominica

 Above: West Indies Power CEO Kerry McDonald (Photo: Caribbean Journal) By the Caribbean Journal staff West Indies Power, which is already in the process of bringing geothermal power to Nevis, has been given approval by the government of Dominica for an Environmental Impact Assessment, which will enable the company to begin exploratory “slim hole” drilling […]

Barbados Gets Boost in Narcotics Fight

 Above: Barbados Attorney General and Home Minister Adriel Brathwaite (FP) Barbados and the United States will soon be signing a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the execution of the Secure Seas Programme, which falls under the umbrella of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, according to new US Charge d’Affaires Christopher Sandrolini. Sandrolini met Thursday with Barbados […]

New CARICOM SG Takes Office

Above: West Indies Power CEO Kerry McDonald (Photo: Caribbean Journal) By the Caribbean Journal staff West Indies Power, which is already in the process of bringing geothermal power to Nevis, has been given approval by the government of Dominica for an Environmental Impact Assessment, which will enable the company to begin exploratory “slim hole” drilling […]

Oxfam Haiti Director Resigns

Above: a tent city in Haiti (UN Photo) Roland Van Hauwermeiren, director of Oxfam’s operations in Haiti, has resigned amid an inquiry into a small number of aid workers. A group of Oxfam employees in the country has been suspended pending the inquiry, and Van Hauwermeiren said he felt he needed to resign. The group […]