Caribbean & Central America - July 2023
POINTERS
*** GOOD LOCAL ELECTION FOR GUYANA’S RULING PPP/C. Guyana’s ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won 66 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) contested on 12 June, up from the 52 it secured at the last local elections in 2018. The opposition A Partnership for National Unity (Apnu) won only 14 LAAs, down from 23 in 2018. The PPP/C gained a majority in seven of the country’s 10 townships. Apnu held onto its control of Georgetown, New Amsterdam, and Linden, two municipalities less than in 2018. In Georgetown, the PPP/C won five constituencies to Apnu’s 10.
The PPP/C’s general secretary Guyana’s former president (1999-2011) and now vice-president Bharrat Jagdeo called the result a “wipeout”, saying: “That’s the definition of a massive victory. That is how you define landslide, not be winning a constituency in Georgetown you have won for 60 years.”
*** CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM IN JAMAICA. Jamaica has begun a process of constitutional reform that is likely to see, amongst other things, a move to becoming a republic. However, there are fears that the process might become a victim of the general election due in 2025. Accordingly, Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte has urged both the prime minister, Andrew Holness, and leader of the opposition Mark Golding to commit to continuing with the reform process regardless of the outcome of the election.
The difficulty over time is because many of the provisions that are up for reform, such as having King Charles as head of state, require a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament and a referendum to change. Speaking in early June, the minister said: “We will not achieve all goals at once. We do not yet have the capacity to absorb monumental and complex changes all at once, of the magnitude that would come if we were to amend all of the constitution all at once.” She added: “On top of that, many Jamaicans do not even know what is contained in the constitution”, and members of the reform committee have agreed that the electorate needs to be educated about what is in the constitution before being asked to decide on it, and that will take time.
Malahoo Forte in her appeal to Holness and Golding said: “It is my hope that the work to reform the constitution will continue with the commitment from both sides regardless of what happens after a general election. It is too important a work to be pushed aside, as has been done on many previous occasions.”
*** IN SEARCH OF FOOD SECURITY. The issues of food security in the Caribbean, where 80%-90% of all food consumed is imported (according to World Bank estimates) and only three countries (Guyana, Haiti, and Belize) produce more than 50% of their food, continues to focus attention. The 34th West Indies Agricultural Economics Conference, hosted in The Bahamas from 4-9 June, was opened by Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davies and had presentations on subjects ranging from how to get young people engaged in agriculture to the opportunities of innovations such as vertical farming.
Davies in his opening remarks emphasised the importance of embracing new technology, saying: “The conference will provide space to explore these cutting-edge innovations, encouraging collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and industry experts. By embracing technology and digitalisation, we can enhance productivity, reduce waste, and bridge the gap between agricultural potential and economic outcomes.” In line with this injunction, Samuel Bertram, the CEO of a US-based company called OnePointOne (OPO) gave a presentation on its “state-of-the-art automated farming system” which includes artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and machine learning “to optimise resource use, crop growth, and yield”.