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Jamaica’s Murder Rate Falls to Seven-Year Low, But Still Caribbean’s Highest

Above: downtown Kingston By the Caribbean Journal staff Jamaica has the Caribbean’s highest murder rate, although the 1,124 murders reported in 2011 were a seven-year low for the country, according to the Caribbean Human Development Report 2012. The report, the […]

Standard & Poor’s Lowers Credit Rating on Belize, Citing Politics

By the Caribbean Journal staff Standard & Poor’s has lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Belize to CCC+ from B-, with its outlook “stable.” The ratings firm pointed to an announcement by Prime Minister Dean […]

EU to Fund Study on Geothermal Link from Dominica to French Islands

By the Caribbean Journal staff The European Investment Bank has agreed to provide a 1.1 million Euro grant to enhance planning and study the feasibility of exporting geothermal electricity from Dominica to Martinique and Guadeloupe. The bank, which is the […]

Op-Ed: 50 Years and Sovereignty

Above: the Middlesex Guildhall in London By Jeffrey Foreman Op-Ed Contributor This year is a historic one in the region. In August, Jamaica, then Trinidad and Tobago will mark 50 years as independent nations. These two countries were the first […]

Interview with St Kitts and Nevis Foreign Minister Sam Condor

By Alexander Britell GRENADA – The seventh UK-Caribbean Forum that met in Grenada this weekend looked at a range of areas of cooperation as the Caribbean and the UK open up a “new and more modern relationship” going forward. As […]

Jamaica Begins Talks with IMF

Above: Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips (right) is welcomed to the Mayberry Investment Forum Wednesday by Mayberry Investments CEO Gary Peart (JIS Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Jamaican government has begun preliminary talks with the International Monetary Fund, […]

Jamaica Must Act on Climate Change, Environment Minister Says

Above: Ocho Rios By the Caribbean Journal staff It costs Jamaica nearly $163 million for weather-related problems every year, according to new Environment Minister Robert Pickersgill, who said one of his main priorities would be to sensitise the country to […]

International Monetary Fund Approves $3.1 Million Disbursement for Dominica

By the Caribbean Journal staff The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board has approved a disbursement for $3.1 million to Dominica under its Rapid Credit Facility. The funding is aimed at helping Dominica with reconstruction and rehabilitation following a series of […]

Op-Ed: The IMF and Jamaica

By David P Rowe Op-Ed Contributor It is obvious that the IMF and the JLP government were either in continuous disagreement or that they were unable to enter a mediated agreement over the last year. According to the IMF’s website, […]

British Virgin Islands Must “Keep Pace” on Renewable Energy: Minister

By the Caribbean Journal staff Green energy has to be a priority for the British Virgin Islands government, according to Minister for Communications and Works Mark Vanterpool. Vanterpool met last week with board members of the BVI Electricity Corporation to […]

The Caribbean Year in Review

For the Caribbean, it was the Year of the Vote. By year’s end, five countries, Jamaica, Guyana, St Lucia and Haiti and the British Virgin Islands, will have chosen new leadership, with Jamaicans headed to the polls on Thursday. It […]

A New Dawn for Haiti Tourism?

Above: Cayes-Jacmel (Photo: HTO) By Maura R. O’Connor CJ Contributor When Dominican business entrepreneur Frank Ranieri wanted to get involved in tourism in the 1970s, he crossed the border into Haiti to see how it was done. “[Haiti’s tourism] was […]

Interview with Jamaican Parliamentary Candidate Dr Dayton Campbell

By Alexander Britell Dr Dayton Campbell is the candidate for the North West St Ann seat in Jamaica’s Parliament for the People’s National Party. He is facing off against Othniel Lawrence of the Jamaica Labour Party in the election Dec. […]

How Caribbean Health Impacts Caribbean Economies: Interview with the World Bank

Above: the American University of Antigua School of Nursing By Alexander Britell Last month, the World Bank released a report about the way the growing problem of non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean is affecting the region’s economies. Chronic illnesses like […]

Interview with Jamaican Parliamentary Candidate Julian Jay Robinson

By Alexander Britell Julian Jay Robinson is the People’s National Party candidate for South East St Andrew in the upcoming Jamaican election. Robinson, currently the deputy general secretary of the PNP, studied management and economics at the University of the […]

In BVI, Business Development a Priority

Above: the Government Administration Building, Road Town (Photo: Carol A. Vanterpool) By the Caribbean Journal staff The promotion of business development is one of the highest priorities of BVI Premier Dr Orlando Smith’s government, he said yesterday in a statement. […]

Interview with Turks and Caicos Chief Financial Officer Hugh McGarel-Groves

By Alexander Britell Turks and Caicos has embarked on a series of measures aimed at returning stability both to the country’s economy and the government’s financial position. Now, Chief Financial Officer Hugh McGarel-Groves is cautiously optimistic, predicting that the government’s […]

A Boost for Haitian Small Business

By the Caribbean Journal staff Small and medium enterprises in Haiti are getting a boost thanks to a joint programme between the International Finance Corporation and local institution Sogebank. The project involves reengineering Sogebank’s SME unit, improving its products and […]

IMF: St Kitts and Nevis Met Performance Targets, Despite Weak Growth

Above: Charlestown, Nevis (Photo: CJ) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis has met all quantitative performance targets through September 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund. The targets were met despite what the IMF […]

Integrated Economic Zones Could Help Haiti Add Jobs: IFC Report

Above: an industrial park in Haiti (UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe) By the Caribbean Journal staff The implementation of integrated economic zones could create as many as 380,000 jobs and 100,000 home sites in Haiti in the next two decades, according to […]

Kent Gammon: How Plea Bargaining Could Help Control Jamaican Crime

By Kent Gammon Op-Ed Contributor Jamaica’s murder rate is one of the highest in the world with a prosecution success rate of a highly unimpressive 30 percent. The effects of these statistics on the Jamaican economy are manifested in lack […]

Op-Ed: Mark Turnquest on Why the Bahamas Needs a Ministry of Commerce

Above: downtown Nassau (CJ Photo) By Mark A Turnquest Op-Ed Contributor MISSION OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE My advice to the Bahamas’ Free National Movement government is to create a Ministry of Commerce without incurring any costs or expenses. Simply […]

Is Rum Barbados’ Newest Green Energy?

Above: the Mount Gay Distillery in Barbados By the Caribbean Journal staff Like most industries, Barbados’ rum sector is facing rising energy costs — but one Barbadian minister has a solution. By using vinasse, which is the material output from […]

Jamaica’s Kent Gammon on Politics, the Economy and Solving the Crime Problem

Jamaican’s Kent Gammon, formerly a caretaker candidate for the St Andrew South-East seat, is an attorney, lecturer at UWI and author, most recently of Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Backward — the Jamaican Story: 1972-2007. Gammon, who now has his […]

Talking Caribbean Small Business with the Inter-American Development Bank

By Alexander Britell The Inter-American Development Bank recently released a report containing the findings of a survey of 190 banks in the Latin America-Caribbean region. The bank wanted to gauge attitudes of commercial institutions in the area about small and […]

For Many Jamaicans, Green Energy Struggles to Catch On

Above: the wind farm at Wigton Jamaican Energy Minister Clive Mullings said he is not happy with the current take-up level of renewable energy devices in the country. The level of response to renewables was not comforting, he said, against […]

Jamaica Looks to Green its Energy Supply

Above: Jamaica’s Wigton Wind Farm By the Caribbean Journal staff By 2030, Jamaica could be on its way to achieving a reduction in the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. The country spends billions each year to import crude oil, […]

Interview with Gordon “Butch” Stewart

Above: Gordon “Butch” Stewart (Photo: CJ) By Alexander Britell Gordon “Butch” Stewart is one of Jamaica’s leading businessmen and a pioneer in the hospitality industry. Stewart is the chairman or owner of more than a dozen companies, including Sandals, Beaches […]

Turks and Caicos’ Newest Resort Is Opening in November, With Its Own Private Lagoon