Category: World News

  • Blocked Airline Funds Threaten Connectivity

    Blocked Airline Funds Threaten Connectivity

    JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES:  CLICK HERE. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that rapidly rising levels of blocked funds are a threat to airline connectivity in the affected markets. The industry’s blocked funds have increased by 47% to $2.27 billion in April 2023 from $1.55 billion in April 2022. “Airlines cannot…

  • Prison guards ‘had sex with prisoners’ while carrying out shower checks’

    Prison guards ‘had sex with prisoners’ while carrying out shower checks’

    An ex-inmate at the Texas women’s-only prison where founder Elizabeth Holmes is serving an 11-year sentence claims male prison guards ‘carried out shower checks.’ Lynn Espejo, who spent two years at Bryan Federal Prison Camp from 2018 to 2020, shared the stunning allegations in a blog ‘Inside-The-Walls: My Journey Through the Federal Criminal Justice System.’…

  • Man breaks hip during bee attack

    Man breaks hip during bee attack

    (NYPOST) — They were badly beehived. An 81-year-old Oklahoma man is lucky to be alive following a savage three-hour attack by over 200 “killer bees” — which was so vicious he reportedly broke his hip trying to escape. “I hit some of them with my hands and you just can’t kill ’em fast enough,” Carl…

  • California: Restaurant accused of selling dog meat shuts down over harassment

    California: Restaurant accused of selling dog meat shuts down over harassment

    An Asian restaurant falsely accused of selling dog meat after a woman took to social media to suggest so has closed, its owners have announced in a statement. Only open for six months, Fresno’s Tasty Thai started to face unwarranted scrutiny less than two weeks ago – after Maria Alvarez Garcia published a series of posts…

  • Air New Zealand to weigh passengers before they board the airplane

    Air New Zealand to weigh passengers before they board the airplane

    (CNN) — Remove your shoes. Take your keys out of your pocket. Step on the scale? That’s right: New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority is requiring that its national airline weigh passengers departing on international flights from Auckland International Airport through July 2, 2023. The program, which Air New Zealand calls a passenger weight survey, is…

  • Cambodian man torn apart by 40 crocodiles after falling into enclosure

    Cambodian man torn apart by 40 crocodiles after falling into enclosure

    About 40 crocodiles killed a Cambodian man on Friday after he fell into their enclosure on his family’s reptile farm, police said. Luan Nam, 72, was trying to move a crocodile out of a cage where it had laid eggs when it grabbed the stick he was using as a goad and pulled him in.…

  • Testosterone falling in young men. Watching porn may be to blame

    Testosterone falling in young men. Watching porn may be to blame

    (NY Post) — Testosterone is plummeting among young men — and their X-rated digital sexcapades could be the kinky culprit. The hormone helps maintain and develop sex organs, muscle mass, red blood cells, bone density and more, but it may be in short supply in some men. According to the Cleveland Clinic, low testosterone affects…

  • Five plead guilty in fake nursing diploma scheme in Florida

    Five plead guilty in fake nursing diploma scheme in Florida

    (AP) — Five people have pleaded guilty in South Florida to participating in a wire fraud scheme that created an illegal shortcut for aspiring nurses to get licensed and find employment. Krystal Lopez and Damian Lopez, both of Palm Beach County, Florida; Francois Legagneur, of Nassau County, New York; Reynoso Seide, of Union County, New…

  • BREAKING: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle in ‘near catastrophic’ car chase, spokesperson says

    BREAKING: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle in ‘near catastrophic’ car chase, spokesperson says

    (Thompson Reuters) — Britain’s Prince Harry, his wife, Meghan, and her mother were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” involving paparazzi photographers, a spokesperson for the prince said on Wednesday. It occurred after the couple had attended an awards ceremony held in New York on Tuesday by the Ms. Foundation for Women, where Meghan…

  • WHO says No to Artificial Sweeteners for Childhood Obesity

    WHO says No to Artificial Sweeteners for Childhood Obesity

    A new guideline issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on May 15 th recommends against the use of non-sugar sweeteners as a means of controlling obesity and risks to noncommunicable diseases. The WHO explains that this recommendation is based on “the findings of a systematic review of the available evidence which suggests that use…

  • U.S. authorities seize more than 70 shipments of unregulated Botox and other injectable fillers

    U.S. authorities seize more than 70 shipments of unregulated Botox and other injectable fillers

    (CNN) — US Customs and Border Protection officers in Cincinnati seized dozens of shipments of unapproved injectable cosmetic treatments — including Juvéderm and Botox — over a two-week period, authorities said. The unregulated fillers from Bulgaria, Spain, China and Korea were being sent to Oregon, South Carolina, Florida, New York and other US locations, according…

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]