Deandrea Hamilton

Editor

April 4, 2025 – Thirteen months since armed gangs stormed the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in protest of the then Prime Minister and the situation has spawned a dangerous set of crises for Haiti.  Today, the World Food Programme says it is facing a funding gap of $54 Million in the mission to stem the escalating level of food insecurity; a challenge compounded by gang insurgencies into new communities outside of Port-au-Prince.

In the latest wave of violence, 500 inmates were set free from a prison in the Centre Department of Haiti, an area which flanks the country’s border with the Dominican Republic.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            An attack in Mirebalais was blamed for the prisoner escape and is the painful result of failures to contain the gang-fuelled violence.  The UN reports that in the first three months of this year, the number of displaced people has rocketed by 15,000.                                                                                                                                                                                                   “…this weekend’s attack in Mirebalais in Haiti, which reportedly resulted in the escape of more than 500 detainees from a local prison, has also led to – according to OCHA – widespread looting and the burning of homes, schools, and churches.

This incident highlights how gang activity is expanding beyond the Ouest Department, where Port-au-Prince is located.”

The attack was condemned by the Secretary General, who also called on Haitian authorities, stakeholders and the international community to redouble efforts in the Republic.

“Displacement there has steadily increased since January from 170,000 people to 185,000 people at the end of March, according to the IOM. Thousands of displaced people are now sheltering in makeshift sites, including schools and public buildings.

We and our partners continue to monitor the situation, assess the needs and support humanitarian response when security permits.”

But it seems a futile fight.  The World Food Programme says it is running out of money and running out of time, as victims caught in the web of the gangs are trapped without anyway to access they help they are offering.

“…in Port-au-Prince, the insecurity, the protests and the roadblocks have all impeded movement and disrupted the delivery of food assistance, but WFP is continuing to push forward on operations to provide assistance to 25,000 people facing emergency levels of food insecurity. These people, who live in areas controlled by armed groups, are largely cut off from the rest of the country.”

The updates were furnished to media this week by the United Nations, with horrifying figures and circumstances for more than half the 11.6 million people who call Haiti their home.                                                                                                          So much appears to be hinged on restoring democratically elected leadership in the Republic, but there are far more pressing concerns and the more immediate attention has shifted again to the Haitian National Police (HNP).                                                                                                                                              A need to ensure the HNP is equipped through the Multinational Security Support with the resources, logistical data and personnel to, as Andrew Holness, Jamaican Prime Minister put it, “take down the gangs.”

“Yesterday, WFP was able to provide hot meals to 2,000 of the 6,000 people displaced. Today, WFP is telling us they are expanding that assistance. This operation is part of the country-wide efforts, which have seen WFP and partners provide more than 100,000 hot meals to 15,000 newly displaced people in the past week alone.

Typically, newly displaced people are initially offered hot meals and then transitioned to cash assistance, pending available funding.”

Half of Haitians do not have enough food to eat.

It was March 4, 2024 that the gangs highjacked authority in Haiti; it is estimated that 5,600 have been murdered including two members of the Kenyan Police Force.

April 4, 2025 – Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, former Ghanaian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, assumed office as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth yesterday, pledging to advance the values of the Commonwealth Charter at a time of growing global tensions and shifting alliances.

Botchwey succeeds Patricia Scotland, whose nine-year term ended in March. She is the first African woman – the second African overall – to lead the association of 56 countries, which make up a third of the world’s population and more than a quarter of the United Nations membership.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Secretariat’s headquarters in London on 1 April 2025, the Secretary-General acknowledged the scale of the challenges confronting the world.

She said:

“The world we woke up to today is unlike any we have seen in our lifetimes. The consequences of lower economic growth, increased defence expenditures, and a frayed multilateralism will affect our pockets directly, increase unemployment and poverty, reduce social protection and weaken our resilience to shocks.

“The value of our Commonwealth stands in bold relief, in a time like this. For over 75 years, the Commonwealth has been a unique and powerful force for good. Now we must seize the moment to realise the transformation our societies seek.”

The Secretary-General highlighted the power of Commonwealth unity in uncertain times. “The challenges we face are real and serious,” she said, “but together we are more than equal to them.”

Drawing on Commonwealth values, Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey added: “Sustained by the values that bind us – democracy, good governance, peace, human rights, and equal opportunity – we will build a future in which dignity, opportunity, and prosperity are within reach for all.”

A Commonwealth built on all talents

The Secretary-General outlined three strategic priorities for her leadership, calling them the foundation for a “Commonwealth built on all talents”.

First, she pledged to equip women and young people with the skills, tools and opportunities they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Second, the Secretary-General vowed to revitalise trade, investment and connectivity across the Commonwealth, describing it as a pathway to industrial development, productivity and inclusive growth. No country, she stressed, should be left behind, regardless of its size or income level.

Third, calling climate change “the greatest challenge of our time,” she pledged to mobilise stronger action and advocate for reforms of the international financial system to help small and other vulnerable Commonwealth states access the support they need.

The Secretary-General also committed to accelerating the Commonwealth’s modernisation by delivering faster and smarter partnerships to meet the needs of all its people.

Reflecting on her own historic journey, she said: “It is a great honour to be the first African woman to serve as Secretary-General. No matter where in the Commonwealth you come from, this path is open to you.”

The Secretary-General concluded her address with a message of shared resolve, adding: “Let’s move forward with purpose, with courage, and with an unshakable commitment to a Commonwealth that truly thrives together.”

Born in Accra, Shirley Botchwey was appointed by leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa on 25 October 2024.

Watch Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey’s Arrival Message

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The Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Secretariat Headquarters Marlborough House Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5HX, United Kingdom

Deandrea Hamilton

Editor

USA, April 4, 2025 – Unless a deal is struck, the expectation is that every country will now pay tariffs to the United States as part of the Donald Trump Administration’s move toward regularizing trade deficits and restoring American manufacturing.

“With today’s action, we are finally going to be able to make America great again, greater than ever before. Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country, and you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base. We will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers.  And ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers. This will be indeed the golden age of America,” said President Trump in an elaborate ceremony held in the Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday.

For small island developing States like the ones which occupy the Caribbean, the tariff hit was 10% for all but two countries.  Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago attracted higher “reciprocal” tariffs; T&T at 12% and Guyana at 38%.

By midnight Wednesday April 3, dubbed ‘Liberation Day’ by President Donald Trump, there was a measured response from many of the small island developing states, including Guyana which currently enjoys US military support in a stare down with Venezuela and which charges a 76% tariff on US goods into its country.

“The Government of Guyana has taken note of the reciprocal tariffs announced by the US Government earlier today. Our Government is closely engaged with our US partners to better understand the issue and have it addressed as appropriate.”

Guyana exports gold, crude oil, fish, shrimp, timber, rums and agricultural products to the US.

The Bahamas, through its Minister of Economic Affairs explained the plan is to wait and see, for now.

“It is important to note that The Bahamas currently maintains a trade deficit with the United States.  We will engage with out US counterparts and work collectively with our CARICOM partners in response to this development.”

The Bahamas is also looking to diversify its source markets.

“As part of our broader strategy to protect the Bahamian economy, we have already announced a number of measures, including the development of a trade diversification framework.”

The Turks and Caicos Islands Government is aware of the announcement, according to Jamell Robinson, TCI Deputy Premier and Border Services Minister.  So far, however, there has been no official statement issued.

The countries from the region are among the 180 worldwide, absorbing the shift and working through how it will impact local economies. At home, in the US, the Trump Administration has seen a dramatic reaction by the Markets in these very early days.

The Stock Market plunged on Liberation Day; the losses so steep, economists compared it to the reaction of the Market in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A seemingly unperturbed President Trump said the reeling on Wall Street and other markets was no surprise to him.  Trump and his Vice President were instead in lockstep in their messaging.

“For forty years we’ve had an economy that rewards people who ship American jobs overseas and raises taxes on American workers and we’re flipping that on its head,” said J.D. Vance, US Vice President on Friday.

Donald Trump has reported his strategy has brought home trillions in new investments.

“I think it’s going very well.  It was an operation, like when a patient gets operated on, and it’s a big thing.  I said this would exactly be the way it is; we have six or seven trillion dollars coming into our country, and we’ve never seen anything like it.  The markets are gonna boom, the stock is gonna boom, the country is gonna boom and the rest of the world wants to see if there is any way they can make a deal,” explained Trump when asked about the market response to Liberation Day.

So far, world market leaders are reacting in a variety of ways, according to The Guardian.

Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister has expressed relief at the 10% tariff that country has been hit with; it had anticipated double that said the news.

India was none too ruffled; saying it was buffered for the tariff threshold Trump sent their way and pleased there would be no tariff on pharmaceuticals.

Australia is also happy, its prime minister boasting that, ‘no one got a better deal.’

New Zealand will be seeking to talk to the United States after being hit with a 10% tariff, calculated as half the 20% levied on US goods into that country.  Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said, “We don’t understand how that figure has been calculated,” he said.

However, Taiwan is calling the tariff of 32% “harsh” and in that Guardian report, Bloomberg forecasts a dramatic constriction of Taiwan’s GDP.

Here are the Caribbean countries listed on the information shared by the White House, the tariffs they will pay and the tariffs they charge the US.

Dominican Republic: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Trinidad and Tobago: 10% (charges U.S. 12%); Bahamas: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Guyana: 38% (charges U.S. 76%); Haiti: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Jamaica: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Sint Maarten: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Belize: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); British Virgin Islands: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Barbados: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Cayman Islands: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Curaçao: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Antigua and Barbuda: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Bermuda: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Saint Kitts and Nevis: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Grenada:10% (charges U.S. 10%); Turks and Caicos Islands: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Aruba: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Saint Lucia: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Montserrat: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Guadeloupe: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Martinique: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Dominica: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Anguilla: 10% (charges U.S. 10%); Suriname: 10% (charges U.S. 10%).

CARICOM is expected to speak in solidarity as it considers its response to the United States move, which has undoubtedly launched a global economic reset.