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CARICOM plans to remove 6-month stay limit by March 31

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Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, has announced that nationals from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will have the ability to travel throughout the region by the end of March.

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During the closing news conference of the four-day CARICOM summit in Georgetown, Guyana, Mottley stated that leaders had made the decision on Wednesday that they were on track.

In July 2023, a meeting was convened in Trinidad and Tobago where regional leaders gathered for the 45th Conference of the Heads of Government. During this conference, a deadline was established to conclude the process of enabling the free movement of CARICOM nationals.

PM Mottley noted that leaders will meet again on March 15th, before then, the remaining policy issues are expected to be settled.

“There was just two policy issues referred to heads for us to settle and they will meet on the seventh of March, the legal affairs committee will sign off on the draft [on the] eighth of March; and the heads of government will meet on the 15th of March with the hope that we can sign off in time for the deadline given in Trinidad of the 31st of March for the free movement of people,” PM Mottley said.

CARICOM nationals have the privilege to freely travel within participating nations for engaging in lucrative commercial endeavours under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), which is governed by the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

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Currently, nationals enjoy the freedom to relocate within the region for a period of six months without any interrogation.
Prime Minister Mottley elaborated on the objective of leaders to facilitate the unrestricted movement of nationals throughout the region, surpassing the current six-month restriction.

“People have the right to move now for six months without questions. What we are talking about now is removing that six-month constraint.”

The current leaders are actively working on ensuring the ‘minimum rights’ for CARICOM nationals, she said.

“Those are being resolved and settled now,” she said.

Beyond the facilitation of people’s mobility, regional leaders are also dedicating efforts to tackle the issue of company formation within the region.

At present, when a CARICOM national intends to establish a company in another member state upon relocation, they are obligated to make a payment.

This PM Mottely noted is a ‘burden’ in a single market and a single economy.

“We agreed that we would work to get the mutual recognition of companies across the community settled and we are working towards trying to have that done by our meeting in July in Grenada.”

“To allow people the right to move and then tell them that they have to pay separate sums to form [a] company—the same company, doing the same business, in each and every one of the countries going in is a burden too heavy for you to carry in a single market and a single economy,” she stressed.

In order to achieve this goal, a digital platform will be created to facilitate communication among member states.

“When you go to register in one country you can immediately see what is available in terms of conflict or capacity to register.”

During the inaugural ceremony of the CARICOM summit, President Ali emphasised the leaders’ strong commitment to prioritising the implementation of the CSME, while also highlighting the significance of frank discussions aimed at bolstering the organisation.

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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]