It was a carnival atmosphere in the streets of Anse La Raye last week as the Anse La Raye Infant School staged a reading street parade, reimaging education and literacy in a different space. Principal at the school, Albert Joseph endorsed the event and the innovativeness of the teaching staff in making learning fun.
Read MoreThe Procurement Administration Unit in the Department of Finance is finalizing regulations to the new procurement legislation enacted in June of 2021. Ag. Director of Procurement Administration, Anthony Jean, said the impact of procurement on the estimates of national expenditure is significant as government is the biggest procurer of goods, services, and works on the island.
Read MoreIn an effort to foster a greater understanding and utility of the Caribbean Public Procurement Notice Board (CPPNB) and the National Advertising Portal(NAP) a three-day capacity-building workshop was conducted with Senior Procurement Officers in the Public Service. Director of the CARICOM Single Market, Titus Preville said that the Notice Board and Advertising Portal form part of the electronic tools that have been provided as part of the public procurement regime pursuant to Article 239 of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Read MoreThe National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) has achieved another milestone toward fully implementing the Collateral Registry. The Collateral Registry supports the recently passed Security Interest in Movable Properties Act. Economist and Project Leader at the NCPC, Sharma Mathurin said this project is now halfway through implementation with a formal launch scheduled for the latter part of this year.
Read MoreSaint Lucia’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and CARICOM, in association with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank Group, conducted a four-day regional workshop on ‘Foundational Transfer Pricing.’ The training workshop brought together Technical Tax Administration and Ministry of Finance officials from the Caribbean to learn the underlying transfer pricing principles and discuss potential legislative and administrative considerations to address transfer pricing.
Read MoreOver 46 accountants representing all government agencies converged at the Finance Administrative Centre in Pointe Seraphine, Castries for a four-day seminar, spanning May 30th to June 2nd, 2023. The seminar, organized by the Accountant General’s Department seeks to update the knowledge and skills of government accountants to the International Public Service Accounting Standard or IPSAS. Accountant General, Matthew Branford highlighted that the government runs the largest budget within the country for which his department is mandated to produce accurate financial statements.
Read MoreThe Caribbean Digital Transformation Project held the Official Digital Device Hand-over Ceremony on Friday 26th May 2023 at the Finance Administrative Centre in Pointe Seraphine. The ceremony saw the symbolic presentation of 4,860 digital devices inclusive of 450 laptops for Public Officers graded 15 and above, 2,210 tablets for primary schools, and 2200 laptops for secondary schools.
On Thursday 4th May the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project signed a Memorandum of Understanding signaling the commencement of the digital literacy courses offered completely free under the project.
A total of 60 high-end laptops were also presented to the college for its loan laptop programme for students of SALCC. Digital literacy training courses will be offered at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels to meet varying learning needs in both a virtual and in-person modality. See more details in the highlight video.
Access to finance continues to be a major issue affecting the growth and development of Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs). The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) spearheaded a piece of legislative reform labeled the Security Interest in Movable Assets Act, which aims to bridge this financing gap and improve national productivity and competitiveness.
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