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Five Caribbean countries each receive US$2M for Sargassum fight

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Five countries in the Eastern Caribbean have received US$2 million each in the battle against the Sargassum seaweed.

Last Friday, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia gained access to a US$12 million three-year grant-aid project entitled: The Project for Improving National Sargassum Management Capacities in the Caribbean.

The project is being funded by the Government of Japan and executed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The signing of the official Exchange of Notes between Japan and the UNDP for the partnership took place at the United Nations (UN) House.

Speaking during the event on behalf of the recipient countries, Barbados’ Minister of the Environment and National Beautification, Adrian Forde, expressed thanks and welcomed any intervention to assist Barbados and its Caribbean neighbours in the fight against the Sargassum seaweed.

“That has been our challenge over the last couple of years with an abnormal influx [of Sargassum seaweed] due to the vagaries of climate change,” he said, noting that the presence of the algae also created problems for marine life and the country’s biodiversity.

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Forde said while the seaweed was primarily used for composting, it was believed that there was a greater value chain after it was harvested, and could therefore become a viable industry.

He added that the Government remained committed to looking at ways of getting biofuel from Sargassum, while there was also a new thrust to ensure that it became part of the feedstock in the agricultural and livestock sectors.

“We will see how we can get a profit or value chain and ensure that there is commercial activity from the Sargassum seaweed,” the Minister assured.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Barbados, Teruhiko Shinada, outlined that the equipment would include an aquatic conveyor belt, workboats or barges, machine surface beach rakes, walk behind beach surface rakes, lightweight tractors, dump trucks, and float booms and barriers.

And, while the equipment is set to cost US$2 million per country, the project will also see the countries benefiting from a transfer of expertise and technical building knowledge to collect, remove, transport and dispose of the algae in a sustainable way.

It will also explore scientific monitoring technologies, such as UAS drones and Geographical Information Systems, which are spatial mapping tools to evaluate the quantum of Sargassum influx.

Ambassador Teruhiko said Japan understood the challenges caused by the Sargassum seaweed, and recognised the importance of such a partnership.

Resident Representative with the UNDP for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Valerie Cliff, stated that the project aimed to support national capacity for the removal and disposal of the seaweed in each of the five countries. Cliff explained that it was also designed to build coastal resilience and mitigate the negative impacts on the economically sensitive areas like fisheries, public health and tourism in the recipient countries.

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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]