Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer 

May 2, 2024 – The Latin America and Caribbean region is projected to see slower economic growth for 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a report published on April 19.

Growth, the organization says, is expected to slow to 2 percent down from 2.3 percent compared to 2023 and this is due to weaker external environments, specifically the trade side, as well as the effects of strict policies put in place to tame inflation, which are still in the process of solidifying.

This may come across as bad news but Rodrigo Valdes, Director Western Hemisphere Department IMF Moderator, in a video press briefing assured that it isn’t.

“We see risk around this baseline projection as broadly balanced. This is not, as we saw this in the past, this is good news, and this reflects basically more balanced global risks,” he maintained.

Considering all of this, Valdes expressed that the region has shown great resilience over the past few years since the pandemic rebound, which he says has been “stronger than expected.”

Valdes spoke to labor markets being in good standing as well as unemployment which remains at historical Lows.

In continuation, he says  inflation is receding throughout the region and is expected to contour to fall for the rest of the year. Rodrigo Valdes further expressed this is thanks to timely action by regional central banks and of the global disinflation trends.

“Risks to inflation have also become more balanced than in the past although it’s still [tilde] to be more persistent or higher than these expectations that it’s going down,” he added.

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

On the backend of all the chaos in Haiti, leaders are making swift, concrete efforts to restore the country’s political stability aimed at rebuilding and fortifying the Republic’s society,  and the latest development is the naming of the new Prime Minister on Tuesday April 30. 

Fritz Bélizaire, the former Minister of Sports is now the nation’s Prime Minister, chosen by the recently installed Presidential Council.

He replaced the interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert.

Additionally, the Council chose its president, Edgard LeBlanc Fils who will represent it until it has exhausted its time in office. The Council, under legal obligatory agreements as stated in reports, has until February 2026 to bring Haiti to where there is a newly elected president, closing the power vacuum left by Jovenel Moïse’s assassination; a new fully functional Parliament; hopefully a new constitution and new and effective local representatives. 

With much more to be done especially with the worsening crisis as gangs grow angrier with every effort to restore the nation under governmental rule, the Council is reportedly planning to also name a Cabinet. 

As the Presidential Council’s meeting was in progress on Tuesday, reports say there were gunshots throughout Port Au Prince. It is believed gangs were responsible for the random shooting.  The action was reportedly not enough to deter decisions aimed at improving the living conditions in Haiti.

KINGSTON, April 24 (JIS):

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has declared Jamaica a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) island with a vision of fostering innovation, driving economic growth, and empowering citizens to thrive in the global knowledge economy. 

“Through our collaborative all-hands-on-deck approach, Government, private sector, academia and civil society, we will work towards this goal. Jamaica is now officially declared a STEM island,” he said.

Prime Minister Holness was addressing the Future Ready International Conference held at the University of Technology (UTech) in Kingston on April 24.

As a STEM island, he said that the Government will seek to implement comprehensive education reforms from the primary to the tertiary levels, with the objective of developing a skilled workforce, capable of competing in global markets. 

He said that ecosystems will be developed to encourage startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators in the STEM disciplines to drive industry and economic growth, as well as to address social issues.

“We will encourage the growth of STEM industries such as biotechnology, information technology and advanced manufacturing. We will also leverage STEM to grow and monetise the musical, artistic, cultural and other natural talents of our people. We will leverage STEM solutions to address environmental challenges including climate change, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture,” the Prime Minister said.

 “We will position Jamaica as a hub for STEM research, innovation, collaboration and other developments in the Caribbean and beyond,” he added. 

The Prime Minister said that by embracing STEM as a national priority, Jamaica will unlock its full potential driving prosperity, peace and productivity in a sustainable, equitable way for all our Jamaican citizens and, indeed, the world,” Holness said.