Black Immigrant Daily News

Just days after celebrating Commonwealth Day, sixty young leaders from across the Commonwealth had a chance to speak directly with a group of Foreign Affairs Ministers and High Commissioners from Commonwealth member states at an event in London.

The event, Democracy Today in the Commonwealth: Enhancing Youth Political Participation in Governance, led to an engaging debate about the future of democracy and what initiatives may help to increase youth involvement in politics.

Held at the Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters, Marlborough House in London, the event brought the youth together with the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers and High Commissioners who had been attending the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in London on Wednesday 15 March.

During the event, the youth leaders and the Government representatives reflected on the Commonwealth’s work in promoting democracy and good governance in member states and explored the young leaders’ perspectives on democracy, governance and political participation in the Commonwealth.

They also discussed practical recommendations to encourage young people’s participation in the civil and political life of member states. Some of the recommendations included an expansion of youth parliaments, the development of youth advisory councils, young people forming their own political parties and harnessing their political power to fight for greater gender inclusion. Also discussed was increased inclusion of people with disabilities and the issue of voting rights for the diaspora.

The youth leaders had an opportunity to engage with the Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland KC, who commented on how heartening it was to spend time with the young people of the Commonwealth and she reinforced their importance to the future of the political landscape.

The Secretary-General said: “Young people are the largest demographic group in many countries, and in our Commonwealth as a whole. So it is vital that we work together to help equip young people with the skills and knowledge to participate effectively in the democratic processes, and to ensure their views are embraced.”

She added: “It is not enough to simply provide opportunities for young people to participate in the democratic process. We must also ensure that their voices are heard and their contributions are valued. This requires a genuine and meaningful commitment from governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to really engage with young people and take their concerns seriously.”

This event is just one of a number of initiatives to mark the Year of the Youth, which was agreed to at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2022.

Head of Social Policy Development at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Layne Robinson, who coordinated the event, was pleased with the event’s outcome. He said: “Many of the young people here are already involved in the democracies in their countries. As one of the drivers of good governance and electoral in our member countries, it is imperative that the Secretariat play a role in the next generation of change-makers and defenders of good practices.”

The dialogue was part of a two-week Commonwealth Youth Leadership Summit, which aimed to upskill these young leaders, give them a chance to collaborate and build their networks. The leadership summit is one of the landmark activities to mark the Year of the Youth. The Year of the Youth celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Commonwealth Charter and the 50th anniversary of the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

In London, Commonwealth Day was marked on 13 March with a series of events, including a wreath-laying ceremony in memory of fallen Commonwealth servicemen and women, followed by a special service at Westminster Abbey and a reception for visiting dignitaries hosted at Buckingham Palace. Commonwealth Day was also celebrated in member countries with activities including flag-raisings, religious services and other commemorative activities.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) continues to take proactive measures to ensure consumers on Nevis have an adequate supply of potable water, commissioning a new 250,000 gallon water tank in the Zetlands area on March 13.

Spencer Brand, Minister responsible for Water Services on Nevis, said the official commissioning of the new glass-fused-to-steel reservoir “signals again the commitment of the Nevis Island Administration to the people of Nevis in ensuring that we build out Nevis in a sustainable way, and I think this new tank is a clear indication that we are committed to that plan. This tank will now serve Market Shop area all the way down to Morning Star [Estate].

“One of the mandates of the Nevis Water Department is to ensure that we can produce water for the people of Nevis 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and I believe we are well on our way to accomplishing that.”

Deputy Premier Eric Evelyn, elected parliamentary representative for St. George, said he is proud to be part of an Administration intent on ensuring that every household and business on the island has access to a good quality of water.

“I am happy as the area representative for St. George, Gingerland, because as part of that mandate of the Administration, the people of St. George are not being left behind. I’m also very happy that this is the second tank of this quality that has been installed in my constituency, we have one in the Stoney Hill area and this one installed here at Pond Hill borders my constituency and the constituency of St. John’s,” he said.

Also present at the ceremony were Denzil Stanley, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Water Services; Floyd Robinson, Water Resources Manager; Santonnya Mills, Water Department Manager; Clychawn Wilson, Head of Production at Water Services; and Ronell Webbe, Manager of Precision Construction, the company contracted to build the facility.

The new reservoir replaced on older fiber glass tank which lost water due to leakage. Minister Brand assured that the NIA would continue the build out of the island’s water storage capacity to be able to meet the increasing demand for the critical resource.

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The Caribbean Country Director of the World Bank, Lilia Burunciuc, Tuesday warned that Caribbean countries were “lagging behind” regarding the development of the tourism industry.

Lilia Burunciuc told an online webinar that discussed “Global Economic Prospects for Small States” that even when an examination is made of the tourism sector in the region ” the Caribbean (countries) are lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of the growth of this sector.

“Actually, the growth of the tourist sector in the Caribbean is lower than average of the tourist sector in the world, which means that probably the current model has exhausted its potential and the region needs to think about doing significant restructuring of the way tourism is being done in the Caribbean so that the sector continues to grow and the sector brings more revenue and more jobs to the people in the Caribbean,” she added.

The statement by the World Bank officials follows the announcement last week by the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) predicting that visitor arrivals to the region this year will surpass the pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic figures as the Caribbean recorded a significant increase in tourist arrivals last year.

CTO acting Secretary General, Neil Walters, told a news conference that nearly 90 per cent of the region’s travel demand for 2019 has already been recovered and some destinations have already passed their pandemic levels.

“When compared to 2022, it is expected that overall arrivals to the region will increase by between 10 and 15 per cent. This means that between 31.2 and 32.6 million tourist can be expected to visit the region this year (and) thus arrivals this year might surpass pre-pandemic levels,” he told reporters.

The World Bank said that the Caribbean’s diverse economic features share attributes that make them especially vulnerable to shocks, including dependence on imports of essential goods, highly concentrated economies, elevated levels of debt, reliance on external financing, and susceptibility to natural disasters and climate change.

The Washington-based financial institution said that given that the region is expected to see a slowdown in growth, with an estimated 5. 6 per cent growth in 2023 and 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 7.7 per cent last year, there is a need for policies to boost investment growth, tailored to country circumstances but also include comprehensive fiscal and structural reforms, including the repurposing of expenditure on inefficient subsidies.

Earlier, the senior economist at the World Bank’s Chief Economist Office, Dana Vorisek, told the webinar that small states like the Caribbean are highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes, and even volcanic eruptions.

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The Antigua and Barbuda passport was strengthened internationally on Friday, March 10 when Ambassadors of Antigua and Barbuda and the Republic of Serbia signed an agreement in Washington, DC, on behalf of their governments, abolishing visa requirements for their citizens.

The Agreement was negotiated and signed between Ambassador Sir Ronald Sanders, representing Antigua and Barbuda, and Ambassador Marko Djuric on behalf of the Republic of Serbia.

Ambassador Sanders remarked that, “with the signing of the Agreement with Serbia, citizens of Antigua and Barbuda now have visa-free access to more than 162 nations, making the Antigua and Barbuda passport one of the strongest in the world”. He added, that “both tourism to, and investment in, Antigua and Barbuda are enhanced by making access for visits easier for up to 90 days a year without a visa”.

Ambassador Djuric described the Agreement as “another step in further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between Serbia and Antigua and Barbuda”. Students from Antigua and Barbuda already benefit from scholarships to study in Serbia, and the two countries have pledged to examine ways in which they could be helpful to each other, including through co-operation in tacking global issues such as economic consequences of the Russian war on Ukraine.

The two Ambassadors agreed to meet regularly to explore deeper economic cooperation between the two states in the interests of their peoples.

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