Antigua Breaking News

Category: Commentary

  • Fat-shaming Santa is naughty not nice

    Fat-shaming Santa is naughty not nice

    The jelly belly of jolly olé St. Nicholas is bothering the diet-obsessed. And they are fat-shaming Santa Claus. Fat phobia has reached the North Pole. The Keto crowd want children to put steak instead of cookie carbs on plates for Santa. Don’t forget the bacon. And a bucket of lard. The Paleo people want kids…

  • Harvard University’s moral debt

    Harvard University’s moral debt

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Why does Harvard University in the United States of America (US) have a moral obligation to provide some form of compensation to Antigua and Barbuda, a small Caribbean island state?  The answer is simple: natural justice demands it. The island of Antigua is not as remote from the lavish campus of…

  • Think about what’s between your two ears

    Think about what’s between your two ears

    By Melissa Martin Do you ever think about what’s going on in the three pounds of tissue inside your skull that sets on the top of your neck? The human brain is composed of 75 percent water and 60 percent fat. Who knew? The human brain has 86,000,000,000 (86 billion) neurons. Crikey! The brain is…

  • Clemency for battered women in prison

    Clemency for battered women in prison

    By Melissa Martin Kill or be killed. “On the night he died, after a day of heavy drinking, Andrew Harris sexually and verbally assaulted Mia. When the abuse became physical, Mia told Andrew “No,” and told him to leave her home. Instead, he cut her. When she tried to escape, he strangled her until she…

  • When adults bully adults, kids suffer

    When adults bully adults, kids suffer

    By Melissa Martin October is National Bullying Prevention Month on some parts of the planet. “Every day thousands of young people experience bullying from their peers while at school, after school in their neighborhoods, and even when they are at home, through social media and texts,” PACER points out. Founded in 2006, PACER is a…

  • Business community stands to lose from de-risking

    Business community stands to lose from de-risking

    By Sir Ronald Sanders The business community in the Caribbean – both foreign and local – has made no collective statement and taken no joint position on the process of de-risking and the withdrawal of correspondent banking relations (CBRs) with which all Caribbean countries have been plagued since 2015. It seems that the overarching perception…

  • On Haiti, CARICOM and the OAS

    On Haiti, CARICOM and the OAS

    By Bocchit Edmond – Foreign Minister, Haiti Membership of CARICOM and the Organization of American States (OAS) are cornerstones of Haiti’s foreign policy. Since becoming a founding member of the OAS in 1948, and subsequently joining CARICOM in 2002, Haiti has grown closer with its neighbours, and has developed more productive partnerships with its allies.…

  • CARICOM cannot abandon Haiti despite the President’s failure to respond to offers

    CARICOM cannot abandon Haiti despite the President’s failure to respond to offers

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Haiti is in turmoil again.  This time the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) cannot be criticised for inaction, but questions must be asked about others in the hemispheric community who have been silent about the political and humanitarian situation in the country. For instance, apart from an unusually vague statement…

  • Commonwealth model offers hope for easing multilateral trade tensions

    Commonwealth model offers hope for easing multilateral trade tensions

    By Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-General Global uncertainties and tensions are escalating and affecting trade in every region. We see rising protectionism, while multilateral cooperation – including through the World Trade Organisation – is increasingly under threat. Meanwhile, the resilience of many smaller or less developed countries is being undermined by the impact of climate change…

  • United Kingdom: Winning elections is everything

    By Sir Ronald Sanders As she delivered the unanimous decision of the 11 members of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (UK), on the unlawfulness of Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, advising the Queen to prorogue Parliament, I admit to being mesmerized by the startling brooch being worn by the Court’s President,…

  • Mr Granger has lost all authority to govern and Guyana has descended into anarchy

    Mr Granger has lost all authority to govern and Guyana has descended into anarchy

    Dear Editor, The announcement made by the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission Justice Claudette Singh that her Commission and Secretariat would be ready to hold elections by February month-end 2020 must not only be rejected by all right-thinking Guyanese but those within the diaspora and further afield that believe in the supremacy of our…

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]