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Celebrating our Caribbean-American History and Future

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By Ambassador Linda Taglialatela

On a rainy Monday just over a month ago, Congresswomen Barbara Lee from Oakland, California and Robin Kelly of Chicago, Illinois visited Vauxhall Primary School.  The school was the first educational institution Shirley Chisholm attended nearly 100 years ago. CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP.

Chisholm was the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first woman and African American to seek a major party’s nomination for president of the United States 50 years ago this year.

Though born in the United States, Chisholm grew up in Christ Church on her grandmother’s farm, and she always credited the education she received here as the foundation upon which she built her future success.  Congresswoman Lee got her start on Shirley Chisholm’s staff.

Chisholm encouraged her to run for Congress, which she did successfully in 1998, and as a member, Representative Lee sponsored the bill that created Caribbean-American Heritage Month.

It is relationships like these that we celebrate this month.  Caribbean cultures, traditions, and values strengthen the United States and add new chapters to our common story.  Vice President Harris with her own Jamaican roots stands on the shoulders of women like Shirley Chisholm.  Young artists and entrepreneurs from Brooklyn to Bridgetown are inspired by Barbados’ newest National Hero, Rihanna.  The hundreds of thousands of visitors that flow between Barbados and the United States are a testament to our close ties and friendship among our people.

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Our countries share the hemisphere’s oldest roots of democracy and representative government.  Those shared values of the rule of law and democratic governance, which with time and sacrifice have guided both our countries to become more inclusive and just, continue to safeguard our human rights.

This coming week, President Biden will welcome Prime Minister Mottley and the leaders of the Western Hemisphere to Los Angeles for the Ninth Summit of the Americas.  The President has a simple but ambitious goal: help the entire hemisphere realize its potential as a region where democracy delivers for everyone and people can realize their aspirations no matter where they live.

The Summit focuses on the bedrock of all our societies: our people.  COVID-19 has claimed more than 2.7 million lives in our hemisphere and inflicted massive economic harm – job losses, declining income, rising poverty.  The economic crisis hit marginalized communities hardest.  Job losses have been especially high for women, younger workers, and those who work in the informal sector.  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raised the price of essential goods, from fertilizer to wheat to gasoline.  We have all felt these effects.  The United States remains inextricably linked with the peoples and the economies of the Caribbean and the wider hemisphere.

Through the Summit, we must commit to a green and equitable economic recovery, resilience in our health systems, and revitalized democracies.  The COVID-19 pandemic showed gaps in our public health systems we must work together to overcome.

We must bolster transparent and accountable governance and promote and protect human rights, social inclusion, and gender, racial, and ethnic equity.  We can generate inclusive prosperity by building a digital economy to bring more people into formal jobs, so we must commit to promoting interoperable, resilient, secure, and reliable telecommunications networks and to facilitating affordable, universal broadband Internet access.

Harnessing the hemisphere’s tremendous clean energy potential can serve as a driver for economic development and address the climate crisis, so we must commit to promoting the use of efficient and energy-saving technologies to achieve net zero emissions; cooperating to increase wind, solar, bioenergy, and hydroelectricity; and setting goals to scale-up renewable energy.

Our work together to improve institutions and build resilient communities will contribute to a growing economy, enhance regional safety, and increase opportunities for the people of Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

I invite you to join me in celebrating Caribbean-American Heritage Month 2022.  We have a unique opportunity to meet the health, climate, and economic challenges before us.  The Summit of the Americas offers us the chance to chart that course together. CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP.

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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]