Canada pledges C$81.8M as replenishment for CDB’s development fund
-in meeting with CARICOM
Canada has pledged C$81.41M for the replenishment of the Caribbean Development Bank’s Special Development Fund and committed a further C$9M to the World Food Programme to support logistics and tackle food insecurity within the Caribbean.
The Canadian Commission here
High in a release yesterday noted that Canada made this disclosure when Marc Garneau, Ottawa’s Minister of Foreign Affairs met with Eamon Courtenay, Belize’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and the incoming Chair of the Council for Foreign and
Community Relations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The two cochaired the first meeting of the Canada-CARICOM Foreign Ministers’ Group. This forum serves as a platform for Canada and Caribbean partners to discuss shared priorities and opportunities for coordinated action.
The release stated that during the meeting, the ministers exchanged views on their countries’ coordinated response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, identified shared priorities in achieving inclusive economic growth in the region and discussed areas of collaboration on climate resilience to support an inclusive and sustainable recovery.
The release said that Garneau affirmed Canada’s strong support for the COVAX facility, and Ottawa’s commitment to continue encouraging others to provide additional support needed by this key multilateral partnership to ensure equitable access to vaccines globally.
Guyana’s Foreign Minister Hugh Todd addressed the meeting on the issue of Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he underlined the financing gap faced by the Caribbean and stated that CARICOM Member States have experienced increased pressure on public health systems and social structures, thus driving up public debt and triggering a decline in productive activities.
“Our economies have had as the IMF describes it a ‘Cardiac Arrest’ and this is due to the economic dislocation associated with the pandemic,” the Foreign Minister said.
He said that he fully supported the CARICOM financing proposals which call for:
-an increase in IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocation;
-the refinancing of COVID-19 related debt into long-term instruments with fixed lower interest rates and long moratorium of seven to ten years.
However, he said that the region must also continue to work together to build its collective resilience through a stronger macroeconomic governance framework, a modernized financial architecture, upgrading the regional agri-food system for increased food and nutrition security and other regional priorities.
“Given the continued uncertainty regarding the virus and associated economic impacts, it is incumbent upon us to provide policy support for recovery that centralizes long-term resiliencebuilding and inclusivity in the focus,” Todd added.
“We must address the high degree of informality in our services sector; lack of diversification in our production and export sectors; over-reliance on primary products; a high food import bill; preponderance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; and embrace eCommerce,” he asserted.
The Committee of Appointments of Parliament has nominated Justice (r’td) Beasraj Singh Roy to sit as a member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
According to the first report of the Committee laid in the National Assembly yesterday Roy was selected following a process of consultation with the bodies that represent Attorneys at law in Guyana.
The report details that discussions on the nomination process began on January 13 when it was noted that during the 11th parliament nominations were received from two of the three organizations representing legal professionals and that one of the two nominees had indicated that they were in active practice.
The other nominee Roy had been recommended by the Bar Association of Guyana. The association along with the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers and the Legal Practitioners Committee (LPC) were invited to make nominations in keeping with the provisions of Article 198 of the Constitution.
According to the Article the members of the Judicial Service Commission shall be the Chancellor, who shall be Chairman; the Chief Justice; the Chairman of the Public Service Commission; and “appointed members” including one from among persons who hold or have held office as a judge of a court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court acting after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition; and not less than one and not more than two from among persons who are not attorneys-at-law in active practice, after the National Assembly has meaningfully consulted such bodies as appear to it to represent attorneys- at-law in Guyana and signified its choice of members to the President.
The letters dated January 20 directed that the submission of a nominee be accompanied with biographical information.
On February 2, the LPC responded to the Committee indicating that it did not consider itself eligible to participate in the nomination process. Recognizing its error the Committee wrote to the Berbice Bar Association of Legal Practitioners on February 8.
The Bar Association duly nominated Roy as well as Justice (ret’d) Charles Ramson. The Association of Women lawyers nominated Justice (ret’d) Claudette LaBennett and Justice (ret’d) Denis Hanomansingh while the Berbice
Association also nominated Roy.
The Committee members nominated and seconded the nomination of Roy.
The JSC has not been re-appointed since its expiration on September 30th, 2017.