BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -– The Ministry of Public Infrastructure is critical in helping the government achieve its national goals, such as a good transportation infrastructure such as roads, according to Director of the Public Works Department in St. Kitts, Cromwell Williams.

“The Ministry of Public Infrastructure is extremely important in building a transportation infrastructure which includes a good road network,” explained Williams. “Roads are critically important for persons to move.

“If you focus on transportation, in the morning you go to work,” he said. “You move from Saddlers to Basseterre, you need to have a functional road network that is functional. If the average is to take you 20 minutes from Saddlers to Basseterre, then the road conditions should be such that you are able to complete that journey and do so safely, and do so without much wear and tear on your vehicle.”

He underscored the importance of maintaining and improving public infrastructure because good public infrastructure contributes to economic development. “Good transportation infrastructure is important for the movement of goods and facilitation of services,” he said.

“The road network has direct economic implications because persons have to move from place to place for work,” said Williams. “Goods have to be transported likewise from their place of manufacture, whether its farmers or other persons who are manufacturing stuff, they have to move from one place to the other.”

Williams said that good transportation infrastructure is important to industries, using the example of the tourism industry.

“Once the tourist arrives via the cruise ship, they have to be transported around the island and so that again shows the importance or the dependence of the economy on public infrastructure,” said Williams.

The government began an Island Main Road Rehabilitation Project in 2018 costing approximately EC $70 million, which is estimated to be completed this year. In 2019, the government also started the Old Road Bay Rehabilitation Project to the tune of approximately EC$ 38 million, which should also be completed this year.

Additionally, the government completed phase one of installing traffic lights in Basseterre. It is presently on phase two of installing more traffic lights to help with the problem of traffic congestion and pedestrian safety in Basseterre.

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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — Tentative signs of recovery are emerging in Caribbean labour markets, following the unprecedented disruption in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO) in the seventh edition of the ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the World of Work.

New quarterly and annual estimates based on the ILO’s ‘Nowcasting Model,’ indicate that 7.7 percent of working hours in the Caribbean were lost during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020. This figure indicates a decrease from corresponding values for the second quarter (24.7 percent) and third quarter of 2020 (11.5 percent) and brings the average loss for the year 2020 to 11.7 percent. The magnitude is equivalent to a loss of approximately 2.1 or 1.7 million full-time jobs in the region depending on whether the 40- or 48-hours-per-week threshold is considered.

“It is safe to assume that summary indicators hide an uneven impact on Caribbean labour markets depending on the worker, business or country considered. For example, previous research indicates how the COVID crisis led to a more than proportional negative impact on youth labour market performance within the region and how small businesses were the first to interrupt payments to social security schemes,” said Diego Rei, Employment and Labour Market Policies Specialist within the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean.

The latest projections for 2021 presented in the ILO Monitor Report show that most countries will experience a relatively strong recovery in the second half of the year, as vaccination programmes take effect but the speed of such recovery is still to be determined.

The report, however, highlights concerns that the path may be “K-shaped” with some sectors and workers recovering timely and fully and others that have been hit hardest being left behind. Particularly concerning is the fact that two high employment-intensive sectors for the Caribbean such as accommodation and food services and retail were the ones most affected and at higher risk of lagging behind worldwide.

“However quick the recovery materializes, it is a reality that some citizens, workers and businesses will be back on their feet later than others. It is our duty to ensure that they are not left behind by addressing the risk of loss of job skills, of weakened labour market attachment and of business disruption. More generally, we need to ensure all Caribbean countries focus on a human-centred recovery. This means prioritizing employment, income and social protection, workers’ rights, social dialogue and accounting for new elements accelerated by the recent crisis. Those include changes related to technology and work arrangements, such as, for example, digitalization and teleworking, as well as the challenges that go with them such as connectivity gaps and digital literacy,” concluded Dennis Zulu, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean.

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — The Nevis Water Department (NWD) in the Nevis Island Administration will host a staff retreat for the first time since the NIA was established 37 years ago.

Ms. Tonya Bartlett from Brown Hill, a civil engineer by profession, is the department’s first female manager. She said the event is intended to, among other things, bring staff together and to get them involved.

“We will be having this on February 2 at the Nevis Performing Arts Centre and we are hoping to start around 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.,” said Ms. Bartlett. “The whole objective of this retreat is to discuss plans and the expectations for the rest of the year.

“It will also help us to uplift our staff and show appreciation to them,” she said. “Give them a time to meet each other, interact and share stories or whatever else that they would like to do. I think it will help us start the year on a good foot.”

Ms. Bartlett explained that another objective of the retreat has to do with communication.

“The whole objective is to communicate because we have had some issues in the past with communication,” said Ms. Bartlett. “I think this is something that we need to work on and involve staff more.

“It will help to jumpstart the year, she said, “and the communication process and to have staff involved in the processes in the whole department. That way, they don’t feel like ‘oh we are just here and we just show up to work.’ They actually have an input in the whole department. So it’s our department, not just my department.”

Ms. Bartlett noted that her gender plays no role in how she how she leads the department as the first woman.

“I don’t really play the gender thing,” said Ms. Bartlett. “I see it as a role and I have a plan and objectives of what I would like to see done with the department and where I would like to see us in the next five years.

“So it’s not really gender per se, it’s just this is a job and this is what we need to do in order to serve the people better. So it’s not really gender specific in my eyes. I don’t really see that,” she said.

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — Women on Nevis aged 16- to 30-years old are being urged to take advantage of free pap smear screening on Saturday, January 26, according to Hon. Hazel Brandy-Williams, Junior Minister of Health in the Nevis Island Administration.

The annual initiative is directed to stem the incidence of cervical cancer on Nevis.

“In bringing awareness to cervical cancer, the Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs is again embarking on the free pap smear screening,” said Mrs. Brandy-Williams. “This will be done this week on Saturday, January 30 between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. at all the health centres on Nevis.

“I want to appeal to all women to go and get your free pap smear done,” she said. “The focus this year is in the age group 16- to 30-years of age. This group is the most sexually-active age group. We encourage as many women as possible to have their pap’s done.”

Mrs. Brandy-Williams urged managers of large institutions with a high number of women employed to encourage them to get their pap smears done.

She underscored the fact that cervical cancer can be prevented, but women must check themselves regularly for the prevalence of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted infection, some types of which can lead to genital warts cancer.

“I am urging as many women as possible to come out on Saturday, get their free Pap’s done,” said Mrs. Brandy-Williams. “Those women who are going to their private doctors, I am happy that you are doing so but this is for those busy women during the week who do not have the time. So come on out on Saturday and get your free pap smear done.”

The Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs has been offering the free Pap smear screening events for the five years.

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