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  • SDA School broken into and robbed, while Potter decries breach of OCS and says Gov’t still failing to secure compounds

SDA School broken into and robbed, while Potter decries breach of OCS and says Gov’t still failing to secure compounds

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(REAL News) — Break-ins at schools, both public and private, continue across the country, with thieves making off with electronic items and vandalizing the school plants.  Several such offences occurred over the Labour Day weekend.

Reports are that the vice principal of the St. John’s Seventh Day Adventist School, located at Mary E. Pigott Street, Ottos, contacted the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and reported a break-in sometime between 7:30 p.m. on April 30 and 10:45 a.m. on May 1.

It is believed that the perpetrators used a hard implement to pry open the doors and enter a number of classrooms, which were then ransacked, and several electronic items – including a Raspberry Pi tablet, a Dell laptop, and a VGA-HDMI adaptor – were stolen.

The scene has been processed, and the Police allegedly have found items that would assist in finding the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, investigations continue into a break-in at the Ottos Comprehensive School (OCS), which forced classes to be delayed by about two hours on Tuesday, May 2.

Reportedly the vice-principal reported to the Police that he had left the compound sometime after 1 p.m. on May 1 and returned at about 5 p.m. that same day – only to discover that classroom windows had been opened and spray-paint had been used to write indecent language on several areas of the school.

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The intruders reportedly entered the biology lab through an eastern window; and, having done so, set on fire a book that was on the teacher’s desk.  The physics laboratory was also ransacked.

However, despite all this damage, the perpetrators did not steal anything.

Gladys Potter, an alumna of the OCS and the United Progressive Party’s caretaker for St. John’s Rural South, took to the airwaves, on Wednesday morning, to decry the vandalism.

In this regard, she chides the Browne Administration for what she sees as yet another “failure” – its failure to provide secure and safe premises, as has been requested, repeatedly, by the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers.

After staging protest action that delayed the start of Term 3, in April, the teachers were assured by the Minister of Education that security improvements were well underway and would continue, and so the educators resumed working.

However, Potter believes the Administration intended mainly to placate the Teachers Union and has not properly honoured its commitment.  This failure, she believes, is what left room for the breach and subsequent offences to take place at the OCS.

The Government reportedly has begun to implement CCTV security systems at a number of public schools to avert or curtail incidents like this.  Some critics have said that, unless the systems are monitored 24/7, their installation does little to solve the problem.

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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]