By Andrea Daley

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
The Downtown Owners and Merchants Association’s (DOMA) hosted its Annual Dinner at the Hilton Trinidad where president, Mr. Gregory Aboud addressed a large audience of businessmen and politicians, including PM Patrick Manning. Speaking on the issue of crime, he reiterated his view that deportees should be required by law to report to a Police Station on a regular basic based on the severity of their prior offences, shifting the widespread attention from what he calls the mistaken belief that perpetrators of crime come mainly from the ‘poverty stricken.’

GUYANA
The Guyana Office of Investments (GO-INVEST) expect to end 2003 on a ‘good’ note, as it is reportedly assisting new investors from the US, Canada, European Union member countries, China, France T&T, Barbados, Israel and Brazil in the implementation of more than 50 projects in the country. GO-INVEST has also facilitated over 130 local projects totaling US$48M and it is projected that the agency will have facilitated in excess of 17.9B in new investments by the end of 2003.

BARBADOS
Minister of Housing Liz Thompson stated that “…a whole slew of Barbadians is being excluded from property ownership because they cannot afford what now passes for a low income house in Barbados because the prices are so high.” The Minister said she believed that Government had a social responsibility to drive down prices in the housing market at the low-income level so that house and land for a low-income person could and must be sold for under $100,000.

JAMAICA
Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) Captain Horace Burrell has been booted from that position after nine years of what could be described as a very successful, yet sometimes-controversial presidency, by a relatively unknown Crenston Boxhill. Expressing surprise at the decision, which removed Burrell’s entire team, the former president claimed to have ‘no idea’ why delegates refused to reaffirm his candidacy. However the undercurrent of discontent has been brewing for a while, as many believed that Burrell acted too arrogantly at times and showed little respect for the opinion of others. Added to the Boxhill team is CEO of Shocking Vibes & President of the Arnett Gardens Football team, Patrick Roberts who has been selected as JFF Vice-President.

HAITI
In a move designed to reflect the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) strategy to boost economic recovery in developing countries, IDB has made available three soft loans to Haiti. This will support a basic infrastructure rehabilitation program and a local development program for poor communities aimed at boosting their agricultural output. Poverty reduction in Haiti is paramount as nearly 80% of the country’s rural population is indigent, making Haiti the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Private sector investments have been virtually non-existent due to the critical levels of deterioration to basic infrastructure.