Antigua Breaking News

Category: World News

  • Queen Elizabeth died of ‘old age,’ death certificate says

    Queen Elizabeth died of ‘old age,’ death certificate says

    Queen Elizabeth II died of “old age” at 3:10 pm (1410 GMT) on September 8, according to her death certificate newly released on Thursday by the National Records of Scotland. The 96-year-old monarch died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland around three-and-a-half hours before the news was announced to the world. The queen was laid…

  • Sunwing union opposes Canadian carrier’s plans to hire foreign pilots

    Sunwing union opposes Canadian carrier’s plans to hire foreign pilots

    (Reuters) – The union for Sunwing Airlines pilots said it is urging Canada’s government to stop a plan by the Ontario-based leisure carrier to hire foreign pilots this winter to help cope with an expected holiday travel surge. Airline industry use of foreign pilots as aviation rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic is sensitive for unions…

  • Why is a NASA spacecraft crashing into an asteroid?

    Why is a NASA spacecraft crashing into an asteroid?

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — In the first-of-its kind, save-the-world experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away. A spacecraft named Dart will zero in on the asteroid Monday, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph). The impact should be just enough to nudge the asteroid…

  • Canada PM agrees to lift pandemic border measures, source says

    Canada PM agrees to lift pandemic border measures, source says

    CBC NEWS: The federal government has decided to drop the vaccination requirement for people entering Canada, end random COVID-19 testing at airports and make the use of the ArriveCan app optional by the end of this month, a senior government source told CBC News. Earlier this week, sources told CBC that Ottawa was leaning toward…

  • GoFundMe account set up for transgender Jamaicans seeking asylum in the US

    GoFundMe account set up for transgender Jamaicans seeking asylum in the US

    Five transgender Jamaicans who allegedly fled the island for the United States, are now the face of a GoFundMe campaign aiming to raise US$25,000 (J$3,550,000) to help them gain their footing in the first world country. The account, which was started by a friend identified as Vaughan Butler Higgins, is hoping to raise funds for…

  • I’m pregnant with my own son’s baby

    I’m pregnant with my own son’s baby

    A pregnant mother is expecting … her own grandchild. Nancy Hauck, 56, can’t wait to give birth to her granddaughter. “I never planned for it, but I am so glad I chose to carry my son’s baby,” she told SWNS. The grandmother offered to become a surrogate for her son Jeff, 32, and his wife…

  • Sir Molwyn participates in Climate and Development Ministerial meeting

    Sir Molwyn participates in Climate and Development Ministerial meeting

    Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of the Environment Sir Molwyn Joseph was today in attendance at the 2nd Climate and Development Ministerial (CDM) meeting on the margins of the 77th United Nations General Assembly. Co-hosts of the meeting are the United Kingdom and Rwanda. The main priorities of the CDM has been Responding to Climate Impacts,…

  • Hindus urge King Charles to retire the outdated title ‘Defender of the Faith’

    Hindus urge King Charles to retire the outdated title ‘Defender of the Faith’

    Hindus feel that it is time for the British monarch to drop the “Defender of the Faith” title, which was coined in the 1500s. Britain was a multi-religious, multi-denominational and pluralistic society now and there were a substantial and growing number of non-believers. For a monarch, all subjects should be equal, while titles like this…

  • Lady Gaga forced to stop show amid lightning storm

    Lady Gaga forced to stop show amid lightning storm

    Lady Gaga was forced to halt the final show of her Chromatica Ball tour in Florida after a fierce storm descended. The star was approaching the end of her show when lightning started to strike around Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. “We just got to stop the show for a minute,” she told the 65,000 fans…

  • Queen’s funeral will be marked by federal holiday on Sept. 19 in Canada

    Queen’s funeral will be marked by federal holiday on Sept. 19 in Canada

    The date of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral will be marked in Canada with a national holiday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday. “We have … chosen to move forward with a federal holiday on Monday [Sept. 19],” Trudeau said in New Brunswick, where he is attending a Liberal caucus retreat. “We will be working with the…

  • New York declares state of emergency over polio

    New York declares state of emergency over polio

    BBC: The governor of New York has declared a state of emergency over polio as evidence emerges that the virus is spreading across the state. Health officials say wastewater samples in New York City and four adjacent counties have tested positive for a poliovirus that can cause paralysis. Although only one case has so far…

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]