Black Immigrant Daily News

by Khaila Gentle

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Oct. 3, 2022

Diplomat and retired Olympian figure skater Michelle Kwan has been appointed by the US Senate as Ambassador to Belize. Kwan was nominated by President Biden for the role in December of 2021, and on Thursday, the US Senate officially confirmed her appointment.

Last year, Kwan said that she was honoured by her nomination and looked forward to serving her country.

“Belize is full of incredible history and culture, and has been a tremendous partner to the United States. I look forward to working with the Belizean government on economic issues, to put an end to this pandemic, and to address the root causes of migration,” she stated.

According to the US State Department, Kwan’s extensive work in public diplomacy and youth outreach make her a well-qualified candidate for the position, as does her experience working with non-profit organizations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Immigration, Hon. Eamon Courtenay, said on Monday that the government is looking forward to Kwan’s arrival.

“We have looked at her C.V. and her work. She is an experienced diplomat. Most people regard her as a sportswoman, as a medallist, and as a skier, but in fact she has tremendous experience in diplomacy,” he said.

According to Hon. Courtenay, an ambassador in Belize has been long overdue, as the government continues to build relations with the United States.

Michelle Kwan is a five-time World Championship gold medallist. She also won a silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She has worked on the presidential campaigns of both Hillary Clinton (2016) and President Joe Biden (2020).

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Prime Minister Gaston Browne said:

I made the same appeal to PM, Liz Truss at King Charles’ cocktail at Buckingham Palace and trust that she will reconsider.

King Charles 111, has been among the most recognized, ardent, and sustaining advocates for climate action to save out planet and preserve our common humanity.

Climate change is a global emergency that requires an all of society response.

It would be a travesty to preclude King Charles from continuing his climate advocacy, even though I accept that he will have to be tactful with his articulations.

I support Min Sharma’s call.

PM Liz: kindly free up the king; let him speak for the common good of our human civilization.

He was reacting to the news article below.

A Cabinet minister has urged Liz Truss to let King Charles attend the Cop27 summit in Egypt next month after the Prime Minister reportedly advised the monarch against going to the climate change conference.

The under-fire Conservative leader has come under mounting pressure to say if she will visit the climate talks after it emerged that she had advised the King to stay away from the meeting of world leaders – and that his son the Prince of Wales would also not be going.

Now Alok Sharma, whose role as president of the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow last year gives him a cabinet seat, pressed Miss Truss to attend the conference – and to rethink Charles III’s presence.

Speaking from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said: ‘This is absolutely an issue that transcends politics. This is ultimately about ensuring that we protect our planet for future generations.’

He added: ‘I would certainly welcome the King’s attendance at Cop27. I know that many people around the world see him as a leader in this area.’

The King was reportedly planning to make a speech at the meeting of world leaders in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November.

It comes amid growing suspicion that the Government is planning to water down or even abandon its target of ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050. The Palace said advice had been sought by the King and was given by Miss Truss. ‘With mutual friendship and respect there was agreement that the King would not attend,’ the Palace said.

But the decision is likely to have disappointed the King, who as Prince of Wales had a long history of campaigning to reduce the effects of climate change. As heir to the throne he also had a reputation for interfering in government business, most recently expressing his distaste for the Government’s plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda.

After the death of his mother, friends insisted he will not cool on the issue of global warming.

But as monarch he is obliged to remain politically neutral, and in his address to the nation after the Queen’s death, he acknowledged that ‘it will no longer be possible to give so much time to the… issues for which I care so deeply’.

Before his ascension to the throne last month, King Charles had indicated he would attend the 27th UN Climate Change Conference, known as Cop27, which will run from November 6 to 18.

A source told the Daily Mail there had never been any firm plans for the King to go, though he has attended previously, leading to speculation he would again this year. As all foreign visits are undertaken at the request of the British Government, advice was sought by the Palace.

The ‘unanimous’ decision, it has been suggested, is that with so many demands for the King to be deployed abroad, Cop27 would not be the ‘right occasion’ for his first overseas visit as sovereign.

Sources highlighted his address to the nation following his mother’s death, in which he stressed that he remains ‘ever mindful’ of his constitutional role in light of his change of circumstances.

As previously highlighted by the Mail, it is understood that the environment will remain central to his work as sovereign.

In 2015, he delivered the opening address at Cop21 in Paris, describing climate change as the greatest threat facing humanity.

In a hard-hitting speech the King echoed Winston Churchill by calling on ‘the few’ to take action to save the planet, urging world leaders to commit ‘trillions, not billions, of dollars’.

He also delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of Cop26 in Glasgow last year, calling on world leaders to adopt a ‘warlike footing’ to deal with climate change. Although he will not attend Cop27 in person, it is understood he is still determined to make his presence felt, leaving the door open for a virtual appearance.

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said in a tweet that he hoped the King would be allowed to go to Egypt, adding that he was a ‘globally respected voice’ on the environment whose attendance would add ‘serious authority’ to the British delegation.

While Boris Johnson became an enthusiastic advocate for net zero, Miss Truss is thought to be more sceptical of the green agenda.

A government source said: ‘The Palace and the Government considered separately, and then agreed jointly, that… he is not going to be attending Cop.’

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The Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) – which serves as a primary contact for investors to liaise with Government agencies throughout their investment process – is now internationally certified in accordance with ISO standards.

During a simple ceremony on Tuesday at his Shiv Chanderpaul Drive Office in Georgetown to mark this achievement, President Dr Irfaan Ali expressed that the ISO 9001 certification demonstrates the agency’s commitment to delivering world-class services.

“It demonstrates that we are committed to delivering world-class service in a world-class environment with world-class standards, world-class guidelines and subjecting ourselves to world-class audits because to maintain the ISO certification, it requires that the organisation and everything we do within the organisation, operates at all time with a high level,” the Head of State stated.

He also noted that this development ultimately speaks to the Government’s commitment to issues of transparency and accountability.

“For the agency itself to be willing to subject itself to the audits to get the certification, tells you about the dynamism, tells you about openness, it speaks to transparency, it speaks about our desire to build systems that follow structure, and structures that follow standards, and standards that follow guidelines. All of these are important parameters in the whole conversation of transparency and accountability…that is why the IMF report spoke about improvement in the overall architecture of the country in advancing and promoting transparency and accountability,” President Ali outlined.

Moreover, he noted that the ISO certification adds tremendous value to the “Guyana brand”.

“This is what we want, demonstrating to the world that we are ready to play at any stage and we’re ready to not only play on any stage but we are ready to stand by the standards that the world requires,” he emphasised.

According to President Ali, the move by GO-Invest to become ISO certified aligns with his Government’s vision of building strong governance systems.

“When we assumed office, we committed to building a Government and a governance system that is efficient, reliable, one that responds to the needs of people and one that is nimble,” he explained.

“For a Government system to be nimble, it has to be both rigid in regulation but flexible in the environment in which it operates. To achieve both of this, it is important that a set of standards that are internationally recognised form the basis on which we operate as a Government,” President Ali added.

The Guyanese Head of State went on to emphasise the importance of investments in an economy, noting that “if investment dries up, then economic growth will not thrive”.In this regard, he noted that GO-Invest, over the last two years, has done a remarkable job at attracting investors to the country.

Moreover, he said there has been great integration of the relationship between GO-Invest and other agencies like the Ministry of Finance, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.

“It is this collective effort in advancing Government’s policy of creating an enabling environment for private sector investment, for capital formation, that has caused tremendous impetuous and energy in investment portfolio of our country,” President Ali expressed.

For his part, Chief Executive Officer of GO-Invest, Dr Peter Ramsaroop acknowledged that the journey to become ISO certified was inspired by President Ali and his desire to see better standards across Government agencies.

“In doing so, we followed the ISO guidelines over the last two years,” Dr Ramsaroop told members of the media.

Importantly, he noted that “this is not an achievement that stops.”

“It requires us to continue to improve, improve deficiencies that we may have and to deliver better service to our nation and to the international community,” Dr Ramsaroop pointed out.

Asked about the cost of the undertaking, the GO-Invest Head expressed that “the cost is more of our time cost…the audit was minimal, a few hundreds of thousands in terms of getting the audit agencies to send their inspectors in…the significant cost is really us putting the time and effort in ensuring our documentation is in place and our delivery of service meets customer expectation.”

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The Bartica Housing Programme was launched on Tuesday morning at the Bartica Community Center in Region Seven.

Through the programme, residents will benefit from a three-bedroom flat home at the cost of $9 million. Pre-qualifications are currently being done on the spot by Citizens Bank and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry.

Selected applicants can receive a 30 year mortgage plan for approximately $42,000 monthly or opt for a shorter arrangement.

Additionally, Barticians will be given the opportunity to register for government’s home construction assistance initiative, to benefit from steel and cement to construct their home.

This publication understands that an area at Five Miles, Bartica, was identified for the construction of some 500 homes. More than 100 acres of land has been identified for the development.

The outreach is in keeping with a commitment made by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali to provide more housing options for residents, especially teachers and other public servants.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin D Croal; Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, Permanent Secretary, Mr. Andre Ally; Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Mr. Sherwyn Greaves and Regional Executive Officer, Mr. Kerwin Ward were all present at the launch of the programme.

Other services such as the Land Title and Transport distributions, new applications, application updates and queries are also being processed.

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Dans une vidéo publiée en direct sur son compte Instagram et partagée sur les réseaux sociaux, le chanteur appelle à ne pas montrer ses armes dans les clips pour ne pas finir en garde à vue. 

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