Antigua Breaking News

Category: Commentary

  • Are women leaders forced to be men?

    Are women leaders forced to be men?

    By Makeda Mikael Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s cruelty in the Falklands was harshly criticised, even by men. India’s Indira Gandhi went straight for the testicles, literally, castrating the country ’s lower class men to stop reproduction. Our very own Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica, a great intellectual, allowed herself to become befuddled by…

  • Why Caribbean men rape beat and kill their women

    Why Caribbean men rape beat and kill their women

    By Makeda Mikael Four hundred years of culture does not disappear in days or years, but with re-education maybe a hundred years or so. The manliness of our black men as ordained by the slave master represented his ability to rape at his master’s choice, breed more enslaved women to increase his master’s labour force,…

  • A review of “The Ballad of Botham Jean” and a tribute to his family

    A review of “The Ballad of Botham Jean” and a tribute to his family

    By Didacus Jules – (the views expressed herein are my own and not that of the OECS) On Saturday night I went to Caribbean Cinemas for the inaugural viewing of “The Ballard of Botham Jean”.  Despite the fact that I had closely followed the case as it unfolded, I was honestly not prepared for what I…

  • A nation’s right to decide its friends

    A nation’s right to decide its friends

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Nelson Mandela in 1990 was a towering symbol of the triumph of right over wrong. Released from prison after 27 cruel years for his unrelenting stand against apartheid and the dehumanization of the black peoples of South Africa, he was universally admired.  His walk through the gate of Victor Verster Prison…

  • Re-thinking CARICOM development model after COVID-19

    Re-thinking CARICOM development model after COVID-19

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Governments around the world, including in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, have emerged as the principal players in the health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The private sector, for the most part, has taken a back seat with many companies turning inwards and concentrating on safeguarding their own survival,…

  • Mexican candidacy for director general of the WTO

    Mexican candidacy for director general of the WTO

    By Oscar Esparza-Vargas* The Government of Mexico is promoting the candidacy of Dr. Jesús Seade Kuri for director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), replacing the Brazilian Roberto Azevêdo, who made a personal decision to end his term in August next year, one year before envisaged. This decision is testimony to Mexico’s will to…

  • COVID 19 and the RULE OF LAW

    COVID 19 and the RULE OF LAW

    By Alexandre Zouev The unprecedented threat from COVID-19 has caused unimaginable suffering around the world. This year also triggered a much-needed discussion on the role of law enforcement in societies. While the pandemic is first and foremost a public health crisis, there are related challenges that are consequential for containing it and for promoting a…

  • Caribbean among countries unfairly targeted by US Senators over Cuba

    Caribbean among countries unfairly targeted by US Senators over Cuba

    By Sir Ronald Sanders Three U.S. Senators, who have done little to advance the interests of the Caribbean and with whom requests for meetings by many Caribbean Ambassadors are usually shunted to their staff, are now proposing U.S. government punishment for Caribbean countries that request assistance from Cuba for medical personnel. The three Senators are…

  • Geopolitically investigating the flight plan for Caribbean Integration: The Case of LIAT

    Geopolitically investigating the flight plan for Caribbean Integration: The Case of LIAT

    Dr. Kai-Ann D. Skeete Given the Caribbean’s natural geography, air transportation is a critical component of our regional infrastructure. The Caribbean is heavily reliant on air-transportation to provide connectivity which is fundamental to sustaining economic growth in a region highly dependent on trade in goods and services, especially tourism. However, several CARICOM leaders have chosen…

  • Unlocking the Potential of the Blue Economy

    Unlocking the Potential of the Blue Economy

    By Karen-Mae Hill For more years than many of us care to remember, economists have highlighted the critical need to diversify Caribbean economies away from an overdependence on tourism.  Multiple examples exist of the impact that shocks such as hurricanes, vector borne diseases or, as is the present case, a global pandemic, can have on…

  • Speaker Sir Gerald Watt Was Wrong

    Speaker Sir Gerald Watt Was Wrong

    By Charlesworth C. M. Tabor, Attorney-at-Law I am sure there is no one in Antigua and Barbuda who is not aware of the fiasco that transpired in Parliament on Thursday 14th May, 2020 between the Speaker of the House Sir Gerald Watt and the Leader of the Opposition Jamale Pringle. For those who are not…

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]. 

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]