Antigua Breaking News

Day: May 27, 2021

  • Seeking a pill to cure COVID: drugmakers eye alternative to vaccines

    Seeking a pill to cure COVID: drugmakers eye alternative to vaccines

    WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Prevention is better than cure — but when it comes to COVID, what happens when people can’t get the vaccine, don’t want it, or they’re immune suppressed and it fails to stop infection? The hunt is on for a coronavirus treatment that can be taken as a pill soon after…

  • Get illegal migrants vaccinated

    Get illegal migrants vaccinated

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Not vaccinating illegal migrants against the coronavirus would be a fatal mistake in every country.  Unvaccinated individuals pose a real threat to subduing COVID-19 and will delay the opening-up and recovery of economies. There are two issues related to this matter.  First, governments may be reluctant to inoculate illegal individuals for…

  • ONDCP investigating audio recordings of officer threating multiple individuals

    ONDCP investigating audio recordings of officer threating multiple individuals

    The following statement was issued by Lt. Col. Edward Croft Director, ONDCP: The Director of the ONDCP is aware of certain audio recordings circulating in the public domain which purports to be an officer of the ONDCP issuing threats to multiple persons. An internal investigation has been launched into the contents of the recording to…

  • Crowdfunding campaign gifts inputs and agricultural equipment to rural communities in Antigua and Barbuda

    Crowdfunding campaign gifts inputs and agricultural equipment to rural communities in Antigua and Barbuda

    Rural communities in Antigua and Barbuda and Haiti have now increased their capacity to produce food and tackle droughts, hurricane winds and recurrent flooding, thanks to the distribution of seeds, irrigation equipment, machinery and other inputs raised through the 2020 crowdfunding campaign spearheaded by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Organization of…

  • Canada and PAHO join forces to advance COVID-19 vaccination of people in a situation of vulnerability across the Caribbean and Latin America

    Canada and PAHO join forces to advance COVID-19 vaccination of people in a situation of vulnerability across the Caribbean and Latin America

    A new collaboration between the Government of Canada and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is being launched to improve the health and protection of populations in situations of high vulnerability due to COVID-19 To meet this target, Canada is contributing CAN$50 million (close to US$40 million) in support of PAHO’s critical work in the…

  • Choksi says he was abducted from Antigua; Taken to Dominica on a yacht

    Choksi says he was abducted from Antigua; Taken to Dominica on a yacht

    Dominica-based lawyer Wayne Marsh: “When I saw and spoke with with Mr. Choksi he was obviously distressed. It took him a bit of time to get up from on the floor on a mattress on which he was lying. He had several bruises about his body. His eyes were seriously swollen. His hands, his body…

  • Court blocks Mehul Choski’s repatriation from Dominica

    Court blocks Mehul Choski’s repatriation from Dominica

    Nature Isle News (NIN): A battery of lawyers comprising Wayne Norde, Wayne Marsh, Cara Shillingford-Marsh, and Julian Prevost have petitioned the court and obtained an Order in the High Court in Roseau to stop the Chief Immigration Officer from repatriating Indian-born fugitive Mehul Choksi from Dominica. Choksi was reported missing on Sunday, May 23, 2021,…

  • Choksi could be on a private jet to India in hours — PM

    Choksi could be on a private jet to India in hours — PM

    DNAINDIA: Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne has said that Mehul Choksi could be sent back to India in the next 48 hours from Dominica where he was found. Choksi, who had gone missing from Antigua, was taken into custody by authorities of Dominica where he was captured trying to flee. Speaking exclusively…

  • Antigua and Barbuda swimmers continue record breaking performances

    Antigua and Barbuda swimmers continue record breaking performances

    Despite extremely challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic, three of Antigua and Barbuda’s top swimmers continue their record-breaking performances. In recent meets in the United States, Stefano Mitchell, Noah Mascoll-Gomes and Samantha Roberts delivered National age-group and National records in a variety of (long course metres) events, raising the standard of swimming and making Antigua…

  • COVID-19, land and the future of the Caribbean

    COVID-19, land and the future of the Caribbean

    “COVID-19, Land and the Future of the Caribbean” will be in full focus this Saturday 29th May, 2021 during a virtual panel discussion to be hosted by the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) and the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The event brings together the English, Dutch, French and Spanish…

  • Choksi’s lawyer says he can only be sent back to Antigua

    Choksi’s lawyer says he can only be sent back to Antigua

    INDIA TODAY: Mehul Choksi’s lawyer, advocate Vijay Agarwal, has said that the fugitive businessman can be legally deported to only Antigua and Barbuda after his arrest in Dominica on Wednesday. Choksi, who has been on the run since January 2018, is wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation…

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]