Antigua Breaking News

Day: March 19, 2021

  • PM Browne writes US President requesting AstraZeneca vaccine for CARICOM

    PM Browne writes US President requesting AstraZeneca vaccine for CARICOM

    Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has written to US President Joseph Biden, requesting that CARICOM countries be included in the provision of AstraZeneca vaccines to Canada and Mexico. Pointing out that the Caribbean is the third border of the United States, Browne argued that as the safety of the US would be imperilled…

  • Boris Johnson gets the AstraZeneca jab

    Boris Johnson gets the AstraZeneca jab

    Boris Johnson today joined the millions of Britons to be vaccinated after receiving his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. The Prime Minister, 56, gave a triumphant thumbs up after having his injection at St Thomas’ in central London – the same hospital he was admitted to when struck down with Covid in April last…

  • Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp went down for 30 minutes Friday

    Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp went down for 30 minutes Friday

    Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as the Facebook Messenger app, went down globally for around 30 minutes on Friday. Many users said they were unable to log in or use the apps. The website Downdectector.com reported issues with the apps around the world. Facebook issued a statement saying its services were being affected by…

  • $4.5M spent in Antiguan economy during Sri Lanka tour

    $4.5M spent in Antiguan economy during Sri Lanka tour

    CABINET NOTES: The Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies (CWI) was invited to the Cabinet to share new possibilities that Antigua’s hosting of the Sri Lanka tour has created for the destination. He gave an accounting of the amounts spent in the economy for the on-going tour, at a time when there has been…

  • House arrest for prisoners on remand in Antigua and Barbuda

    House arrest for prisoners on remand in Antigua and Barbuda

    CABINET NOTES: The Cabinet has endorsed a plan to reduce the population of Her Majesty’s Prison. Those who have been granted bail and are unable to meet the monetary threshold will be required to report to the Police Station in the mornings and the afternoons. Those on remand will be confined to their homes with…

  • More than 80 stray dogs from Antigua are headed to Canada

    More than 80 stray dogs from Antigua are headed to Canada

    More than 80 stray dogs from Antigua are headed to Canada with more dogs expected to be shipped in the future. Founder of Dogs and Cats of Antigua Joy Pharrel says the stray dogs that have been rehabilitated at Dog and Cats of Antigua are heading to new owners in Canada. The dogs were taken…

  • LETTER: Stop sending us to COVID HMP for minor offences

    LETTER: Stop sending us to COVID HMP for minor offences

    DEAR EDITOR: The outbreak of COVID-19 at Her Majesty’s Prison was expected. The congestion at the prison has not be assisted by the Court system, which has been guilty of locking up people for very minor offences. It appears that the system looking for money from some of us who have not worked for over…

  • Restaurants to resume in-house dining with immediate effect

    Restaurants to resume in-house dining with immediate effect

    CABINET NOTES: The Cabinet, following intense discussions among members and in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer, decided to allow restaurants to resume sit-down dining effective immediately. The curfew hours will remain at 8:00 pm to 5:00 am; however, the Cabinet intends to review (next week) the numbers of people being infected and hospitalized daily…

  • CABINET NOTES: Thursday March 18, 2021

    CABINET NOTES: Thursday March 18, 2021

    The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda met for approximately seven hours today, with four members attending virtually and other members attending face-to-face. 1. The Cabinet, following intense discussions among members and in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer, decided to allow restaurants to resume sit-down dining effective immediately. The curfew hours will remain at 8:00…

  • Board of Education gets set to roll out Ministry’s Laptop Project

    Board of Education gets set to roll out Ministry’s Laptop Project

    SOURCE: REAL NEWS — Through the Board of Education, the Ministry of Education is preparing to roll out its laptop programme in the government secondary schools. This initiative, promised since last year as a donation from investor Roger Ver, is aimed at shoring up the Ministry’s online learning initiative for students and the teaching capacity…

  • PAAWS Animal shelter gets major donation of food

    PAAWS Animal shelter gets major donation of food

    DAILY OBSERVER: A local charity which runs the country’s main animal rescue shelter and has been fighting to stay open amid plummeting funds is celebrating the arrival of a 40ft container of food. PAAWS says the donation is enough to feed the 100-plus dogs and cats at its Parham-based facility for the next six months. Even…

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]. 

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]