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  • Accusations of vote-padding in St. Peter a ‘red herring’ to divert attention from his own admission: pundits

Accusations of vote-padding in St. Peter a ‘red herring’ to divert attention from his own admission: pundits

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(REAL News) — Persons are asking whether Prime Minister Gaston Browne can launch an investigation into registration operations for the St. Peter constituency, where he is alleging that the voters list was padded by independent MP Asot Michael.

Browne’s accusation is also being seen as a red herring, designed to divert attention from his own admission of voter padding from St. John’s City West.

Several weekends ago, Browne told his radio audience that voters had been transferred out of his constituency and into other areas to give his Labour Party colleagues an unfair advantage.

Since then, he has been facing a backlash and public criticism, with several people and institutions – including the Free & Fair Elections League and the United Progressive Party (UPP) – calling for the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC) to investigate the matter.

Former ABEC Chairman Bruce Goodwin has also called on the Commission to launch a probe.

Accordingly, pundits says that Browne is trying to throw a monkey wrench into the discussions by moving the spotlight from him and onto the St. Peter MP, who convincingly won his seat.

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Legal sources say that only the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) can investigate such matters under Section 82 of the Representation of the People Act, which speaks to corrupt practices in elections.

Therefore, it will be interesting to see whether Browne actually writes to the DPP requesting the investigation – and whether the request is honoured – since the prime minister, in his own capacity, cannot proceed on the matter.

Despite this limitation, Browne has announced that an investigation into the significantly increased number of transfers into St. Peter will be launched this week.

The prime minister is claiming there was an unusual augmentation to the St. Peter numbers prior to the January 18 General Election; and this, reportedly, was drawn to the Cabinet’s attention in September 2022 by Labour Party candidate Rawdon Turner and former MP Dean Jonas.

Jonas allegedly reported to the Executive that constituents of St. George had been paid to transfer to St. Peter; but that claim has not been substantiated.

Browne – who has been at loggerheads with Michael for a few years now – alleges that these people were transferred to improve the independent member’s chances of winning the seat.

However, last year, Michael linked the surge in numbers to the residents of the new National Housing project in Paynters, about which the Browne Administration has repeatedly boasted.  And he subsequently defeated his three opponents by a margin of hundreds.

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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]