Antigua Breaking News

Day: March 22, 2021

  • Foreign holidays will be illegal for Brits from Monday

    Foreign holidays will be illegal for Brits from Monday

    A ban on leaving Britain without a reasonable excuse is included in new coronavirus laws coming into force next week – with £5,000 fines for those who break the rules. The legislation for restrictions over the coming months, as the Government sets out its road map for coming out of lockdown, was published on Monday. Entitled…

  • PM Browne says he received 2nd dose of Moderna vaccine

    PM Browne says he received 2nd dose of Moderna vaccine

    Prime Minister Gaston Browne disclosed over the weekend that he took the second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. He did not say when this was done. Browne announced on Feb. 8 that he took the first dose of the vaccine sometime in January. He was strongly criticised for taking the vaccine “in secret” and…

  • Antigua reports 39 new cases of COVID-19 Monday

    Antigua reports 39 new cases of COVID-19 Monday

    The most recent reports received by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment from the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre (MSJMC) and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) have revealed thirty-nine (39) new laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases in Antigua and Barbuda as of Saturday 20th March 2021 at 6pm. These new cases were as…

  • Pharmacy Council gives nod for Antigua to import Chinese, Russian vaccines

    Pharmacy Council gives nod for Antigua to import Chinese, Russian vaccines

    Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the local Pharmacy Council has responded positively to a request from the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to import COVID-19 vaccines made in China and Russia. “We have written to the pharmacy council to ask them for the approval to import the Sputnik vaccine for sure and the Chinese vaccine…

  • Get Ready for an Eggceptional Easter!

    Get Ready for an Eggceptional Easter!

    The last year has been much more of a challenge than anyone could have expected, to put it mildly. While things do seem to be slowly moving back in the right direction, it still has left many stressed about the upcoming Easter holiday. Axcel Finance, the leading regional microfinance institution, is providing a great way…

  • Antigua PM says former Barbados LIAT pilots are ‘rotten elements’ who destroyed the airline

    Antigua PM says former Barbados LIAT pilots are ‘rotten elements’ who destroyed the airline

    CARIBBEAN NEWS SERVICE — The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda says former Barbados-based pilots of the beleaguered regional airline LIAT, are rotten elements responsible for the demise of the carrier. Gaston Browne was at the time responding to a class-action suit by the terminated pilots against the Antigua and Barbuda government. Ten former pilots…

  • PM Gaston Browne bats for Sir Hilary Beckles

    PM Gaston Browne bats for Sir Hilary Beckles

    The Antigua and Barbuda government has stated its position quite clear: it will not be party to attempts to diminish the role of the Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Sir Hilary Beckles. PM Browne was making his first public comments on the issue after alarm was raised in the media over…

  • Prison officers stage protest

    Prison officers stage protest

    Several Prison Officers have walked off the job and are demanding that the authorities do something about the situation inside Her Majesty’s Prison (1735). Last week it was reported that more than 30 prisoners and three prison officers have tested positive for COVID-19. The authorities have promised to move the infected prisoners to another location…

  • Sir Molwyn donates sporting equipment to 17-year-old D’ahri Francis

    Sir Molwyn donates sporting equipment to 17-year-old D’ahri Francis

    Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment Sir Molwyn Joseph continues to advocate for Health and Wellness in Antigua and Barbuda. In keeping with his Wellness portfolio, Sir Molwyn has donated sporting equipment to 17-year-old D’ahri Francis. Sir Molwyn stated that during his years as a teen growing up in Jennings and playing Cricket, he…

  • Prison officers calling in sick in numbers amid COVID outbreak at HMP

    Prison officers calling in sick in numbers amid COVID outbreak at HMP

    Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) was left in a vulnerable position last week after several prison officers called in sick. Jermaine Anthony, the Acting Prison Superintendent, said this was affecting the efficient management of the country’s lone penal facility. “I don’t have the full figures in front of me, but I can … say that on…

  • 14,000 barrels cleared under pandemic relief initiative

    14,000 barrels cleared under pandemic relief initiative

    Antiguans and Barbudans imported more than 14,000 barrels under the Customs and Excise Division’s pandemic relief barrel initiative. At the end of Tuesday this week, the division had reportedly processed 14,630 barrels under the initiative, which began April 1, 2020. Under the relief initiative, each household can import barrels of food, toiletries, and anti-coronavirus items…

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]