Posts

Tourism security strategy advances as Belize positions for sustainable growth — Tuesday Brief

National Tourism Security Strategy advances

The Belize Tourism Board has launched a National Tourism Security Strategy emphasising public-private partnerships, with the government continuing to invest in tourism infrastructure and visitor security. The strategy positions Belize alongside Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Maarten and other Caribbean nations engaging global travel industry leaders at trade events through 2026, even as Belize itself prioritises product development over hosting major trade fairs.

Belize Records Historic Two Percent Unemployment as Briceño's $1.9 Billion Budget Faces Global Headwinds

Belize’s economy posted what Prime Minister John Briceño called a “seminal surge” in 2025: unemployment fell to a historic low of 2.0 percent, down from 2.6 percent the year before; inflation eased to 1.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent in 2024 and the near-record 6.3 percent recorded in 2022; and real GDP grew by 1.9 percent. Growth is projected at 2.3 percent for 2026. Central Bank reserves stand at US$550 million (BZ$1.1 billion), with the Belize dollar firmly pegged to the US dollar at 2:1.

Davis Opens Cat Island Airport Eight Days Before May 12 General Election

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis opened the new Arthur’s Town airport terminal building on Cat Island on May 1, eight days before Bahamians vote in the May 12 general election. Davis, who is also Member of Parliament for Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, framed the project as a long-term investment in Family Island prosperity. Makers Air will begin direct flights from Florida to Arthur’s Town on May 12, the same day as the election.

Dominica Extends VAT Waiver on Essentials Through July as Petite Savanne Resettlement Continues

The Dominica Parliament has extended the waiver of Value Added Tax and import duties on a range of essential goods through July 2026, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced. Skerrit linked the relief measures directly to the global price shocks rippling out from the Middle East conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, telling legislators that small import-dependent states face higher prices for food, fuel and essential goods regardless of whether they have any role in the underlying conflict.

Saint Kitts and Nevis Slashes EV Import Duty from 45 to 10 Percent as SOLARISE Programme Launches

Effective May 1, the Saint Kitts and Nevis government has cut the import duty on fully electric vehicles less than four years old from 45 percent to 10 percent. Energy Minister Konris Maynard announced the change at the launch of two new programmes: SOLARISE, the Solar Integration for Sustainable Energy initiative, and DRIVE, the Decarbonised Roadway Initiative for Vehicle Electrification. Maynard described the duty cut as transformational rather than incremental.

Grenada Carnival Launches Saturday as Mitchell Government Pushes Diaspora Citizenship Reform

Grenada launched its 2026 Carnival season at the National Cricket Stadium on Saturday, May 2, with traffic arrangements in effect from 11 a.m. to facilitate opening events. The launch begins the country’s most significant cultural and tourism cycle of the year, which culminates in Spicemas in August and serves as a primary draw for the Grenadian diaspora.

The Mitchell government is advancing legislation to amend the citizenship law to make Grenadian citizenship available to several categories of descendants of Grenadians living abroad. Ambassador for Diaspora Affairs Terry Forrester recently described diaspora reaction to the proposed reforms as enthusiastic. The legal change, if passed, would significantly expand the population eligible to register Grenadian citizenship through ancestry — a meaningful policy shift in a country whose diaspora population, by some estimates, rivals or exceeds its resident population.

Friday Government Sets Mid-2026 Citizenship Programme Launch as Gonsalves Mocks Revenue Projections

Prime Minister Godwin Friday’s New Democratic Party government is preparing to launch a Citizenship by Investment programme by mid-2026, with mandatory residency requirements and a legislatively ring-fenced investment fund. The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Investment Fund will channel proceeds through what the government has framed as a sovereign capital mobilization vehicle rather than recurrent spending. The framework includes a Fiscal Resilience Protocol directing 100 percent of non-debt capital toward verifiable long-term productive expenditure, divided across productive capital investment, social infrastructure, and a fiscal-resilience contingency buffer.

Saint Lucia Forms National Tripartite Advisory Committee as Pierre Prepares to Take CARICOM Chair

Saint Lucia has formally established a National Tripartite Advisory Committee bringing together government, labour and employers, after Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre signed International Labour Organization Convention No. 144 on April 29. The body unites representatives from the Department of Labour, the Saint Lucia Trade Union Federation, and the Saint Lucia Employers Federation. The committee’s mandate is to ensure structured dialogue when significant labour issues affect the country’s roughly 12,000 to 15,000 public-sector workers, who account for a substantial share of the national labour force.

Browne Sworn In for Fourth Consecutive Term as ABLP Cabinet Faces Cost-of-Living Test

Prime Minister Gaston Browne was sworn in Friday for a fourth consecutive term following the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party’s commanding victory in the April 30 snap election. The ABLP secured 15 of 17 parliamentary seats; the United Progressive Party retained one seat under Jamale Pringle, and Trevor Walker held Barbuda for the Barbuda People’s Movement. Browne, who first took office in 2014, becomes the first Antiguan prime minister to win four consecutive general elections.

Opposition Flags Debt Pressure Despite Twenty Quarters of Growth as Barbados Prepares IMF Standby Talks

The Democratic Labour Party raised economic-risk concerns over the weekend even as Barbados marked its twentieth consecutive quarter of growth. Shadow Finance Minister Senator Ryan Walters pointed to a slowdown in momentum: first-quarter 2026 expansion came in at 1.7 percent, down from 2.6 percent in the same period last year. Walters also highlighted approximately US$72.11 million ($144.22 million Barbados) in 2026 obligations to lenders and the International Monetary Fund, with no clear public strategy articulated for how those payments will be met.

Cunupia Home Invasion Ends in Police Shootout: Four Suspects Killed, Manhunt Continues for Two

A home invasion in Cunupia ended Saturday with four suspects shot dead, two arrested and a manhunt continuing for two more, after police and Defence Force units intercepted the group along Ramnarine Trace. The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service said the operation began at 3:30am when a 70-year-old farmer was attacked by eight masked, armed men who tied him up and stole $1,120 and a cellphone before fleeing into surrounding agricultural land.

Police Commissioner Calls for Self-Discipline Among Officers as Jamaica Records Historic Levels of Fatal Shootings

Jamaica’s Commissioner of Police, Dr Kevin Blake, has urged officers to exercise self-discipline, telling them it is “more important” than the external checks and balances that come with formal oversight. The remarks come amid what the Jamaica Gleaner has described as historic levels of fatal shootings by the country’s security forces. Blake’s comments are notable for their public framing: a police chief telling his own force, in public, that the answer to scrutiny is restraint.

Guyana Opens ICJ Border Case as Foreign Minister Tells Court Venezuela's Claim Touches 70% of Territory

Guyana opened the merits phase of its border case against Venezuela at the International Court of Justice on Monday morning, with Foreign Minister Hugh Hilton Todd telling judges that Venezuela’s territorial claim threatens more than 70 percent of Guyana’s land area. The hearings, scheduled to run from May 4 to May 11 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, mark the most consequential phase yet of a case Guyana filed in March 2018.

Guyana-Venezuela Border Hearings Begin Monday at the Hague — What's at Stake

The International Court of Justice will begin public hearings on Monday, May 4, in the case of Guyana versus Venezuela — the dispute that has shadowed Guyanese national life for decades and whose resolution will determine the legal status of nearly two-thirds of the country’s land area.

The hearings, which will run through Monday, May 11, take place at the Peace Palace in The Hague — the seat of the court. Guyana’s government said Friday that it has “full confidence” in its case as the proceedings open.

PEP 2026 Wraps in Jamaica: Over 30,000 Students Sit the Test That Shapes Their Decade

More than 30,000 grade six students across Jamaica completed the 2026 Primary Exit Profile this week — the placement test that determines which secondary school each student attends and shapes the entire trajectory of their academic career.

The Ministry of Education described this year’s administration as a success following strategic adjustments made in response to disruptions caused by Hurricane Melissa. Students sat papers in mathematics and language arts on Wednesday and the ability test on Thursday. Reports from primary schools across the island described the standard mix of relief, exhaustion, and quiet uncertainty that always follows the test.

Stable Barbados, Stagnant Barbados: An Economist's Critique of the Q1 Numbers

Barbados has posted 20 consecutive quarters of economic expansion. The Central Bank’s first-quarter 2026 report, released earlier this week by Governor Kevin Greenidge, shows the economy grew by 1.7 per cent in the quarter, with tourism, construction, and services driving activity. Inflation remains low. Unemployment stands at 7.2 per cent at the end of 2025. International reserves are around $3 billion.

By any standard set of macroeconomic indicators, this is a country in good shape.

T&T Auditor General Issues Qualified Opinion on 2025 Public Accounts, Citing Discrepancies in Billions

Trinidad and Tobago’s Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass has issued a qualified opinion on the country’s 2025 Public Accounts, citing discrepancies involving billions of dollars and raising significant questions about the state of fiscal record-keeping at the national level.

A “qualified opinion” in audit terminology is a specific finding. It does not mean an auditor has found fraud or theft. What it means is that the auditor has been unable to confirm that the financial statements present a complete and accurate picture — typically because of missing documentation, unreconciled accounts, or systemic issues with how transactions were recorded.

Two Caribbean Countries, One Week, Opposite Directions on Press Freedom

The two stories landed on the same news cycle, and at first glance they read as unrelated.

In Georgetown, Reporters Without Borders released its 2026 World Press Freedom Index on April 30. Guyana fell three places to 76th out of 180 countries, with a declining score of 59.58 down from 60.12 in 2025. The annual report cited the closure of Stabroek News in March 2026 — a forty-year-old institution and one of the Caribbean’s most respected mastheads — alongside what the report described as tightening legislative restrictions on parliamentary press access and the continued use of defamation lawsuits by public officials.

Caribbean Development Bank Advances US$200M Guarantee with France

The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank is advancing a US$200 million first-loss portfolio guarantee with the government of France, according to reporting from Paris attributed to the Caribbean Media Corporation.

A first-loss portfolio guarantee is a specific tool in development finance. The party offering the guarantee — in this case, France — agrees to absorb the initial losses on a defined portfolio of loans, lowering the risk for other lenders and unlocking capital that would otherwise stay on the sidelines. For the Caribbean Development Bank, the structure means the institution can extend financing to projects across its membership at terms it could not otherwise offer.

Children Are 40 Percent of Mental Health Line Calls in Barbados

Children and teenagers account for forty percent of calls to Barbados’s national mental health line, according to data circulating from the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT).

Mental health experts on the island have responded by calling for a united front — a coordinated effort involving schools, the health system, parents, and community organizations to address what the data suggests is a deepening youth crisis.

The figure is not a clinical diagnosis of any individual case, but it is a system-level signal. When children make up nearly half of the calls to a national support line, the question is what is happening upstream — in schools, in homes, in the digital lives where young people spend an increasing share of their time. Hurricane patterns, education-system stress, social media saturation, and economic anxieties experienced indirectly through the household have all been advanced as contributing factors in similar regional contexts.