Category: CANA News

President of Guyana Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has vowed to continue supporting the country’s hosting of major sporting events, insisting that they help to boost its reputation.

Speaking on Friday ahead of the start of the second edition of the International Masters Cricket Over-40s World Cup on Saturday, Ali revealed that Government was willing to assist in any way to stage the 2027 edition in Guyana again.

Addressing players, officials and supporters at the Guyana National Stadium, he welcomed the 15 participating teams, and encouraged them to build lasting friendships, strengthen international relationships and experience Guyana’s culture and hospitality.

He also urged the players to compete with passion, pride and sportsmanship, while making the most of the opportunity to connect with fellow cricketers, professionals and businesspeople from participating countries.

‘Sports is not only about a game; sports is about relationships. It is about bringing people together. It’s about fusing cultures. It’s about bridging inequalities. It’s about celebration of life, and this tournament speaks to those important elements of sports.

‘Sports is that important product that allows us to remain competitive, to remain focused, to remain mentally strong, and to remain inspiration for our families, our communities, our clubs, and our country,’ Ali said.

The President also encouraged the visiting teams and their families to explore Guyana, experience its rich culture and hospitality, and return for future visits.

Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steven Jacobs credited Ali’s vision for sports development and infrastructure with helping Guyana emerge as a destination for international sporting events.

Jacobs highlighted the country’s growing sporting calendar, including the Global Super League, and said Guyana was continuing to make its mark on the international stage.

The West Indies, captained by former West Indies wicketkeeper/batter Denesh Ramdin, will face Australia at Providence in their opening match on Saturday.

Two Jamaican advocacy groups have expressed alarm over the shooting of a 10-year-old girl during a police operation in St Catherine, with one calling for tougher penalties for violence that injures or kills children.

Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) said it was awaiting the findings of an independent investigation by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) into Friday’s incident, which left Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Corporal Trevoy Shaw and two gunmen dead, other officers injured, and the young girl in serious condition.

The confrontation occurred in Sligoville, where police say two gunmen barricaded themselves inside a house with a woman and three children. JCF Senior Communications Strategist Dennis Brooks said the men appeared to signal their willingness to surrender and used a child to draw officers closer before opening fire. Both gunmen were killed, and other police officers were injured in the shootout.

JFJ Executive Director Mickel Jackson said the organisation was also seeking further information from the JCF, including the circumstances in which the girl was caught in the exchange of gunfire.

‘We mourn with the JCF family during this difficult time. We are also deeply concerned by the shooting and injury of the 10-year-old girl. We await the findings from the independent investigation by Indecom and further information from the JCF, including the circumstances that resulted in the child being caught in the exchange of gunfire,’ Jackson said.

Hear The Children’s Cry (HTCC) also voiced concern, describing the incident as the wounding of ‘yet another precious Jamaican child’.

The organisation extended sympathy to the girl’s family and to the relatives of Shaw and the officers injured during the incident.

HTCC called for an ’emphatic nationwide response’ to violence that leaves children vulnerable, arguing that the impact on Jamaica’s children was untenable.

‘The loss of life of our most vulnerable cannot continue; this level of impact of violence on Jamaica’s children is absolutely untenable. We are calling for stronger disincentives for violence as a whole, as well as distinctly defined, harsher penalties where this results in the injury or death of a child,’ HTCC said.

The JCF said its High Command extended condolences to Shaw’s family, friends and colleagues. Its Chaplaincy Services, Medical Services and Welfare branches are providing support to his relatives and fellow officers.

Caribbean immigration advocates have welcomed New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s call for parking garage and lot owners to prevent United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using their properties to stage immigration enforcement operations.

In a letter issued Friday, Mamdani and more than 100 New York State elected officials urged more than 1,000 owners and operators to refuse to rent, lend or otherwise make their properties available to ICE.

The appeal follows reports that ICE agents have been using a shopping plaza’s parking lot in Marble Hill, Upper Manhattan, to stage operations. Immigration advocates have called on Target to end its alleged cooperation with the agency at the location.

The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), which represents more than 200 immigrant and refugee groups, said agents had been seen using the lot for months, including shortly before an ICE agent shot Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old undocumented Dominican Republic national, last week.

‘This is an important step toward limiting ICE’s ability to operate in our neighbourhoods,’ NYIC President and Chief Executive Officer Murad Awawdeh told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

He applauded Mamdani’s appeal but said further action was needed to ensure the New York Police Department (NYPD) did not facilitate federal immigration enforcement.

‘Last week’s shooting of Oscar Belgal is a devastating reminder that ICE’s presence in our neighbourhoods puts lives at risk, spreads fear, and undermines the safety of every New Yorker,’ Awawdeh said.

Natalia Aristizabal, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, another immigrant advocacy group, also welcomed the initiative, saying ICE operations put the wider community at risk.

She called on businesses and property owners to refuse to provide facilities for enforcement operations and said more action was needed to prevent the administration of US President Donald Trump from using city government to support immigration enforcement.

‘We must also ensure that the NYPD plays no role in facilitating ICE’s abductions,’ Aristizabal said. ‘We will not rest until ICE is out of New York for good.’

Mamdani said ICE agents fired multiple rounds at Belgal, striking him in the neck while his five-year-old son was in the vehicle. He said the agents had reportedly been staging operations at a private parking lot nearby.

The mayor also cited reports of ICE operating from two bank parking lots on Northern Boulevard in Queens and a garage on Morton Street in Manhattan. He said the Morton Street garage removed ICE vehicles after neighbours raised concerns.

Mamdani said city laws and policies restrict the use of municipal property for federal civil immigration enforcement, including staging operations, except where a judicial warrant or limited legal exception applies. The protections cover city-owned parking facilities, schools, shelters and hospitals, but not private property.

In February, he issued Executive Order 13 to strengthen safeguards governing city agencies’ interactions with federal immigration authorities. Following an audit completed in May, the city issued updated guidance, he said.

Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Faiza N. Ali urged private property owners to help protect immigrant communities.

‘While our city’s local laws prohibit the use of city-owned properties and lots for federal civil immigration enforcement, including ICE staging, we urge private property owners to do their part to protect immigrant New Yorkers,’ Ali said.

England fast bowler Jofra Archer has signed a one-year contract extension with Sussex.

The move extends the 31-year-old Barbadian’s stay at Hove to 12 seasons after making his debut for the county in 2016.

After suffering numerous injuries, Archer missed four years of red-ball cricket before returning for Sussex in June 2025.

Archer, who has taken 223 first-class wickets at an average of 25.17, said he was looking forward to continuing his first-class career at the club.

‘I have always felt at home at Sussex since making my first-class debut in 2016, and it was an easy decision to stay here for a further year,’ Archer told the club website.

Incoming Sussex head coach Matt Walker said he was delighted to have Archer at his disposal.

‘He is a world-class fast bowler who brings something truly special to our club.

‘Retaining a player of his calibre is hugely important to us as we look to build a successful team across all formats,’ Walker said.

Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams says a shortage of legislative drafters is hampering the Government’s legislative programme, while a shortage of criminal defence lawyers is adding to the challenges facing the justice system.

Abrahams raised both concerns on Friday during a ceremony at which 56 attorneys were called to the Bar, urging the newly admitted lawyers to consider specialising in criminal law and legislative drafting.

He said the limited number of qualified legislative drafters was restricting the Government’s ability to advance its legislative agenda and urged new attorneys to consider obtaining certification in the field.

‘Our legislative agenda is completely hamstrung by the fact that we have too few drafters,’ Abrahams said.

He advised those considering certification in legislative drafting within the next 12 to 18 months to pursue the opportunity, adding: ‘I suggest to you that your job prospects are rosy, at least to the government.’

Turning to the criminal justice system, Abrahams said too few lawyers were willing to handle criminal cases, particularly in the Magistrates’ Court, contributing to the pressure on the courts.

He noted that the same experienced attorneys frequently appeared in criminal matters and called for more practitioners to enter the field.

‘You all know the lawyers who were at the forefront of the criminal bar. You keep hearing the same names for cases, and that is good; it shows we have lawyers of top quality in Barbados, but it also hamstrings our core agenda. We need more persons practising criminal law, and we need more persons practising in the Magistrates’ Court,’ he said.

Abrahams added that more attorneys were also needed in the High Court, noting that the Chief Justice had identified the same concern.

He also pointed to responses from incoming lawyers about their intended areas of practice. Some indicated that they planned to practise in the Magistrates’ Court, while others appeared to avoid answering the question. He said responses to a separate question about whether they intended to practise criminal law indicated that the profession faced a problem.

Abrahams urged the newly admitted attorneys to consider criminal practice and legislative drafting as areas in which they could help address the shortages.

The high-scoring, blockbuster T20I series between India and West Indies came to a disappointing end on Saturday with the fifth and final match ending in a no result.

Heavy showers forced the start of the match to be delayed by over two overs and when the covers were finally removed the contest was reduced to nine overs per side.

India’s batters capitalised on a strong start to reach 118 for five in 7.4 overs, but another series of persistent showers sent the players and umpires off the ground.

Those rains continued past the cutoff time, leading to the match eventually being called off.

It left the five-match series tied at 2-2 and robbed the thousands of spectators who packed into the M Chinnaswamy Stadium of what was shaping up to be an exciting finale.

After winning the toss and sending the home side in to bat, Keemo Paul’s first over leaked 14 runs, but he also had Abhishek Sharma caught at midwicket by Shamar Joseph.

Ishan Kishan greeted Romario Shepherd with a huge six over backward square to start the second over, before adding another maximum and two fours for good measure.

But after racing to 30 off just 10 balls, he miscued a pull off pacer Shamar Joseph and was caught at mid on to leave the score 45 for two in the third over.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer wasn’t at his best in his knock of 22 off 14 balls, but Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 24 off six balls with three sixes and a four, kept India’s run rate above 15 runs an over.

When Shamar Springer got Tilak Varma to drag a wide yorker onto his stumps, it proved to be the last ball of the match with the slight drizzle turning into a downpour.

Springer ended with 2-17 and Paul took 2-34.

A former central bank governor, a Cabinet minister, a corporate executive and a philanthropist are among six Jamaicans who will receive the Order of Jamaica (OJ) at Monday’s National Heroes Day ceremony.

The recipients are former Bank of Jamaica Governor Richard Byles; Minister of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Daryl Vaz; Sagicor Group Jamaica Chief Executive Officer Christopher Zacca; philanthropist Donette Chin-Loy Chang; and former government ministers Maxine Henry-Wilson and Derrick Smith.

They are among scores of Jamaicans who will receive national honours and awards at the ceremony, which will be held on the lawns of King’s House.

Twenty-five people will receive the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD), while 41 will receive the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer (OD).

A further 33 people will receive the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service, and 30 will be awarded the Badge of Honour for Long and Faithful Service.

Three civilians will receive the Badge of Honour for Gallantry. They are Danielle Anna-Marie Barnswell, her husband, Councillor Scean Barnswell, and Susan Annmarie Higgins.

Members of the uniformed services will also receive the Medal of Honour for Meritorious Service. The recipients include 25 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, 13 from the Department of Correctional Services, 15 from the Jamaica Fire Brigade and 12 from the Jamaica Defence Force.

Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen will preside over the ceremony.

Jamaica’s National Honours and Awards system is governed by legislation promulgated on July 18, 1969. It provides for six Orders of Honour, including the Order of National Hero, the Order of the Nation, the Order of Excellence, the Order of Merit, the Order of Jamaica and the Order of Distinction, as well as medals and badges recognising gallantry and meritorious service.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday said that growth across the Western Hemisphere has remained resilient, supported by strong United States demand, high commodity prices, easier financial conditions, robust tourism, and remittance inflows.

In its regional economic outlook for the Western Hemisphere, the Washington-based financial institution said that these tailwinds have cushioned the negative effects of trade uncertainty, higher and more volatile energy prices, and shifts in immigration.

But the IMF said that, public debt remains high, policy space is limited, and medium-term growth prospects are subdued.

It said higher global energy and food prices are also delaying the return of inflation to target and that policymakers should use the current favorable conjuncture to rebuild fiscal buffers, preserve price stability, and protect vulnerable households through targeted support.

The IMF said Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has attracted substantial foreign direct investment (FDI) but it remains less integrated into international trade than many peer emerging market (EM) regions.

It said that the stock of inward FDI in the region was valued at about three trillion US dollars trillion in 2024, equivalent to 44 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the LAC, compared with 25 per cent in Asian EMs and 21 per cent in European EMs.

According to the IMF, real GDP growth for the Caribbean is estimated at 6.1 per cent in 2025, climbing to eight per cent in 2026 declining slightly to 7.4 and 7.2 per cent respectively for the years 2027 and 2028.

According to the IMF, the Caribbean tourism dependent countries will register economic growth of two per cent last year, declining to 1.4 per cent this year, before increasing to 2.3 per cent next year and dropping slightly to two per cent in 2028.

In the case of Antigua and Barbuda, the island recorded economic growth of three per cent last year, declining to 2.4 per cent this year and increasing to 2.5 per cent for the next two years.

The Bahamas economic growth last year had been set at 3.8 per cent, but will decline to 2.5 per cent this year, and further declining to1.9 and 1.8 per cent respectively for the years 2027 and 2028.

Barbados economic growth of 2.7 per cent last year, will decline to.18 per cent this year, before recovering to 2.2 and 2.1 per cent over the following two years.

In the case of Belize, economic growth in 2025 was projected at 2.6 per cent, declining to 1.9 per cent this year, before increasing slight to two per cent for the next two years. Dominica’s economic growth of 4.5 per cent in 2025, will decline to 3.1 per cent this year with further declines of 2.8 and 2.7 per cent projected for the next two years.

Last year, Grenada recorded growth of 4.8 per cent, but the IMF is projecting that for this year it will record 3.9 per cent, before declining to three per cent and 2.9 per cent over the 2027-28 years.

Jamaica is not expected to record any economic growth this year, a slight decline on the 0.1 per cent registered in 2025 and Kingston is projected to have economic growth of 2.4 and 1.8 per cent over the 2027 and 2028 period.

The 1.5 per cent increase registered by St. Kitts and Nevis last year, will increase slightly to 1.8 per cent this year, 2.3 per cent in 2027 and 2.4 per cent the following year.

St. Lucia, which had registered a minus 0.6 er cent economic growth last year, will this year register economic growth of 1.2 per cent this year, 1.8 er cent in 2027 and 1.6 per cent the following year.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines economic growth of 2.4 per cent last year, will decline slightly to 2.3 per cent this year before registering positive growth of 2.4 ad 2.7 per cent over the years 2027-28.

According to the IMF, the Caribbean non-tourism dependent countries will register growth of 8.2 per cent in 2025, increasing to 11 per cent this year before declining to 9.6 and 8.2 in the years 2027 and 2028.

Guyana leads the growth with projections put at 122.3 per cent this year, having registered growth of 19.3 per cent last year. The IMF is projecting that Guyana’s growth over the years 2027 and 2028, will be 16.8 and 9.2 per cent respectively.

Surname will maintain the same four per cent growth in 2026 as it had registered the previous year, increasing to 4.1 per cent next year and further increasing to 28.2 per cent in 2028.

In the case of Trinidad and Tobago, which had registered a minus 0.5 per cent growth last year, the IMF is projecting that it will this year register growth of 0.2 per cent this year, increasing to 2.2 per cent next year and 3.1 per cent in 2028.

Haiti is the only Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country where economic growth for the next two years will be negative. According to the IMF, Haiti registered minus 2.7 per cent economic growth in 2025, minus 1.7 per cent this year and minus 0.5 per cent next year. But the French-speaking CARICOM country is expected to register a positive growth 0.7 per cent in 2028.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been added to India’s squad for the fifth and final T20I against West Indies as a possible replacement for injured left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.

Singh was struck on his shoulder with a short delivery by pacer Shamar Joseph in the fourth T20I on Wednesday in Hyderabad, that forced him to retire hurt.

A release from the BCCI said, ‘A decision on his participation is likely to be taken prior to the game, based on his recovery.’

With his availability for Saturday’s final match in doubt, the interim selection committee, chaired by Pragyan Ojha, has added Kumar as fast-bowling cover.

Kumar has been impressive in his IPL performances for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) over successive title-winning seasons.

In IPL 2026, Bhuvneshwar picked up 28 wickets in 16 matches and finished second on the wickets chart behind Kagiso Rabada.

Speaking on Friday, bowling coach Morne Morkel said while Kumar had been added to the squad, ‘nobody is ruled out. All the guys are available… [Arshdeep] is recovering well after the blow he took on the shoulder, so I think he is definitely not ruled out for tomorrow, still available. But obviously, [the management] will make a call tomorrow at some stage.

‘But we’re very excited to have [Bhuvneshwar] back in the mix. He has obviously done really well here [in Bengaluru] for RCB in the past, and I think his experience will add a lot of value to a… younger bowling attack.’

Singh is also part of the T20I squad that is set to depart for New Zealand on Sunday.

Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles Friday described the TT$63.3 billion (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) budget presented to Parliament earlier this week by the Trinidad and Tobago government as ‘deceitful, deceptive, and destructive’ and that the oil rich-twin island republic has entered into a recession.

‘Mr. Speaker, what makes this worse is that this is a recession caused by the UNC (United National Congress) Government and its failed policies, which are anti-people, anti-business, and anti-investment.’

In her two and a half hour rebuttal of the fiscal package presented by Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo on Monday, Beckles said that the government had increased electricity rates, introduce a series of new taxes all designed to make doing business in Trinidad and Tobago much more difficult.

‘It is not an investor-friendly budget. It is in fact a disaster,’ she said, adding that throughout his presentation, Tancoo ‘struggled to articulate anything: an economic plan or the way forward.

‘He failed to share any meaningful achievement under his inept …Government. Basically, that Minister spent over two hours reading the UNC’s (United National Congress) diagnosis of how they have failed this country. He struggled and still failed to convince the population of anything worthwhile that the UNC did in the last 18 months or is going to do in the next year.’

She said that the budget was ‘bereft of any vision’ adding ‘it was empty on improving lives, it is empty on reducing the cost of living, especially food prices, which, despite the Minister’s illusionary rhetoric, have skyrocketed since May 2025

‘The budget was empty on new projects or programmes, empty on diversification, empty on focus on youth, empty on job creation, empty on economics or finance,’ she said, adding that since coming to office in April last year, it has fired tens of thousands of people, introduced a landlord tax, a coconut oil tax, as well as increasing taxes on alcoholic beverage, passport and birth certificate fees and driver’s licence fee’.

Beckles quoted the lyrics of one of the tunes by the calypsonian, The Mighty Sparrow, who is being laid to rest on Friday following his death in the United States last month, saying ‘and in a million different ways they violate the law. It’s the same good, no-good bastards who oppress the poor with their false declaration, tax evasion, defrauding customs duty.’

Beckles said that the UNC government had come into office ‘riding a wave of pseudo-popular support amidst falsely promising to improve the lives of those whom they courted for votes

‘They promised that everybody would win. Mr Speaker, some people were hopeful. They believed in pie-in-the-sky promises like 50,000 jobs to be created, 500 houses per week, 10 per cent salary payments and arrears across the board, opportunities for businesses to prosper…and many more promises.

‘Now, after only a short time in office…the people of this country know that was the greatest scam. The people are now utterly fed up. They are frustrated. They are angry. The people cannot wait one more day to see the backs of this wicked and vindictive government.’

The Opposition Leader said that the budget is anti-people, anti-development, authoritarian and anti-democratic.

She said On Monday, the Finance Minister ‘wasted everyone’s time delivering an underwhelming budget, an empty and bikini budget.

‘The budget delivered absolutely nothing of substance to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Instead, he followed his fake and fraudulent budget of 2026 with an even worse budget in 2027 of deceit and deception, malice and mamaguy.

‘Today I declare, it was an awful budget. It did nothing to excite the business community out of its depressed state. There was nothing to attract domestic and foreign investors. In fact, Mr. Speaker the changes to withholding tax and tax losses carried forward will actually chase away investors.

‘Mr Speaker, if there were anything lower than an ‘F’, I would have given that grade to the budget presentation of this Minister of Finance. Indeed, I give him a ‘U’, which is no grade at all. It is the grade you get when you are absent for an exam.’

She said that the fiscal package gave little or no reporting on the out-turn from the previous year, or on the performance of projects and programmes announced in the previous 2026 budget documents.

‘Worse of all, it completely failed to identify the problems we face as a country at this time and present any type of solution. Mr Speaker, it was short, skimpy, and it avoided any discussion of our economic situation, which should be at the core of all budgets. Instead, this budget covered very little of the important things. We thus deem it to be a bikini budget.’

She told legislators that the government ‘has shamelessly recycled promises from the 2026 budget that it failed to deliver on including the NEXTCLASS programme which is intended to create an AI-powered user interface platform that empowers teachers with the resources to enhance their teaching effectiveness and foster a more personalised learning environment.

She said the government had promised that the project would begin in January tis year, but Tancoo in his budget presentation indicating that the project should be rolled out next year.

Beckles questioned what happened to the much-touted Employment Fund of TT$475 million which ‘was supposed to contribute directly towards job creation in the country.

‘The Minister did not make a single mention of this Fund. Mr. Speaker, Where are the Funds??

The fact is, not one cent had been spent out of this Fund to employ people. The Minister said that it required legislation to be implemented, and then he refused to give any further details.’

She said nowhere’ is the dangerous incompetence of this government more evident than in its mismanagement and mishandling of the economy.

‘Maybe out of shame, maybe in an attempt to deceive…… This Minister of Finance, for the first time in the 64-year history of this country, did not give an economic report as part of the budget statement.

‘He did not explain or present the economic performance for 2025 or what the expectations for 2026 and 2027 would be,’ she said, offering a suggestion that Tancoo had purposely refrained from making the presentation because of the ‘bad’ state of the economy.

‘The Minister of Finance, either intentionally, or out of dereliction of duty, failed to present the true state of the economy. Instead, he attempted to deceive,’ she said, quoting from an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report in 2024, ‘the last Article 4 Consultation’ under the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) government.

She said that the report had stated ‘For the first time in a decade, Trinidad and Tobago is undergoing a gradual and sustained economic recovery,’ with Beckles saying that it exposes ‘ the deceit that the Minister of Finance continues to parrot about who crashed the economy.

‘The facts are very clear, and the Minister of Finance knows it: in April 2025, he inherited a growing economy,’ she said, adding that his ‘own Review of the Economy 2026 shows economic growth in 2022 of 1.1 per cent, economic growth in 2023 of 1.4 per cent and in 2024, economic growth of 26 per cent.

Beckles said that in April this year, the IMF, based on the growth trajectory established by the previous government, had estimated ‘growth for Trinidad and Tobago of 2.4 per cent in 2025, and 1.1 per cent this year.

But she said instead as soon as the Kamla Persad-Bissessar government came into office, it immediately commenced terminating workers by the tens of thousands. They attacked businesses, large and small, calling some cartels and others worse, while killing business and investor confidence.

‘They cancelled loan guarantee arrangements and other business support programmers for small businesses. They scrapped the access to foreign exchange for small manufactures provided through the Exim Bank.

‘They imposed high taxes, fines, surcharges, levies and fees. They increased rates, increasing costs for businesses and consumers alike,’ Beckles said, adding that the government oversaw the shutdown of Nutrien over a disagreement about port fees, and the curtailing of operations at Methanex and Proman in the energy sector.

‘They plunged this country into a perpetual state of emergency, further stymieing economic growth,’ she said, adding that the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago data shows that the previous quarter, the fourth quarter of 2025, also experienced a decline of 0.9 per cent per cent.

‘That marks two consecutive quarters of economic decline going into 2026,’ she said, adding that the ‘Review of the Economy 2026, prepared by his Ministry of Finance, is forecasting GDP to contract for a second consecutive year, by 2.2 per cent.

Mr Speaker, with two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth and two consecutive years of accelerating contraction in real GDP, I take no pleasure in saying what the Minister of Finance is afraid to say, what the Central Bank Governor may not want to admit, and what many economists are seeing: Mr Speaker, this country is now in a recession’.