Antigua and Barbuda

The Antigua-based airline, LIAT20, began a scheduled service to Trinidad recently and touched down at Piarco International Airport in Trinidad with 15 passengers on board from Antigua. 

This marks the start of a five-times-a-week commercial service with the airline linking Trinidad to Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda. 

Speaking at the route launch, T&T Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Randall Mitchell, said the Caribbean is T&T’s second largest source market, with the region accounting for 20% of all arrivals, and emphasized the government’s goal to increase regional connectivity.

He said, “It really is an important route, opening up this airlift, opening up the seating capacity, for persons to come here and, of course, making the journey within the Caribbean all the more economical.” 

Mitchell also dismissed concerns that LIAT20 would push local carrier Caribbean Airlines out of some routes. 

“Competition is good; the demand is there for both players to serve the market well and for them to do it profitably,” said Mitchell. 

LIAT20 is a partnership between a Nigerian airline, Air Peace, and the government of Antigua and Barbuda. Air Peace owns 70% of LIAT20, while the Antiguan government has a 30% stake. 

LIAT20 CEO Hafsah Abdulsalam emphasized that this is a new airline with a new mission. 

“For us, this is a new LIAT, with new management and new branding. It means we will be available to fly you whenever you want to fly. And when we commit to a time and a service, we will be delivering that service to you,” said Abdulsalam.  

Trinidad is the 12th destination in LIAT20’s network since it began operations on Aug. 6. The airline will soon begin service to Kingston, Jamaica.

Caribbean

CIBC Caribbean Bank Limited reported a net income of US$277.5 million for its financial year ended Oct. 31, 2024, an increase of US$7.6 million and a 3% increase from the previous year’s net income of US$269.9 million.

CIBC Caribbean’s CEO Mark St. Hill said, “Overall, this year’s record financial performance has been positively impacted by solid performing loan growth, higher US interest margins, and a favorable provision for credit losses. Revenue performed well year-over-year as loan originations increased, and we benefited from a sustained uplift in other income.”

He added, “US interest rates are anticipated to fall in 2025 and may impact our revenue momentum but could also promote increased credit demand in the market. We experienced higher operating expenses due to higher employee-related costs, spending on strategic investments, activity-based costs, and other costs associated with protecting the bank in a highly regulated environment.

“The provision for credit losses was significantly down from the prior year, mainly due to a non-recurring account recovery in The Bahamas. Our credit quality remains strong.”

St. Hill also noted that economic growth progressed at a decent pace in 2024 “as output in most markets already completed their recovery cycles following the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism remains the primary engine of expansion, while robust construction activity continues to buttress growth. Additionally, regional inflation continues to soften.

The regional outlook remains stable, but potential threats to the global economy, such as commodity price shocks and/or slower global growth, could negatively impact prospects.

CIBC Caribbean’s directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.0125 per share, bringing the total dividend to $0.05 per share for the year. The dividend will be paid on Jan. 17, 2025, to shareholders of record on Dec. 27, 2024.

The bank’s Tier 1 and total capital ratios remain strong at 17.8% and 20.0%, respectively, in excess of applicable regulatory requirements.

Grenada

Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell announced recently that a general election will not be held in 2025.

During the adjournment of the Dec. 18 session of the Lower House, he said that his government is just getting started and that holding an election is not a priority.

“There is no election that will be called in Grenada in 2025; there are lots of elections taking place in the region starting with places like Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, in the not to distance future,” he said.

“St. Lucia is the year after, that is assuming everybody goes their full term, but we are only now getting started,” he added, saying that his government, which was elected in June 2022, has more initiatives for the country.

“You ain’t see nothing yet,” he told the sitting, which had no opposition members in the chamber at that time.

 Next year will mark the National Democratic Congress party’s three years in office.

Constitutionally, Grenada’s next election should be held no later than October 2027. The constitution gives the prime minister the authority to dissolve Parliament and set a general election date at any time.

Guyana

The National Association of Agricultural, Commercial, and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) has expressed its disappointment after the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) offered its workers a seven percent wage hike.

“Initially, GPL said they were awaiting the pronouncements from the government, which was done on Tuesday. We came to the meeting hoping to agree to the 10%, which was announced by the government but was not to be,” NAACIE General Secretary, Dawchan Nagasar said.

The Guyana government said it had signed a two-year agreement with the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) that will result in significant salary increases and improved allowances for public servants.

A government statement said that under the agreement, public servants would receive the retroactive 10% salary increase effective from Jan.1, 2024. This adjustment builds on the government’s consistent efforts over the years, resulting in a cumulative 35% increase in salaries over the past four years. Additionally, public servants will receive a further 8% salary increase in 2025, raising the cumulative increase to an even higher threshold and demonstrating the government’s unwavering dedication to enhancing the financial well-being of public servants.

Nagasar said that teachers, sugar workers, and public servants all received a 10% salary hike for this year, so his members were anticipating a similar offer.

The seven percent offer has triggered threats of industrial action by the more than 1,000 GPL workers, with Nagasar describing it as insulting.

“The government pronounced a 10% increase for 2024 and an 8% increase for 2025, along with some in-scale movements and additional increases. We at GPL are saying we are willing to accept the 10% increase for 2024 across the board,” Nagasar said.

Haiti

Earlier this month, Haiti’s main international airport re-opened to commercial flights, one month after it was closed for the second time this year because of gang violence.

In a statement, the government said Haitian soldiers and police, strengthened by Kenyan police leading a UN-backed mission to put an end to gang violence, boosted security in the area, and a test flight was successful.

“The resumption of commercial flights marks a turning point for the Haitian economy. It restores essential connectivity for international trade, encourages investment, and supports key sectors such as trade, tourism, and entrepreneurship,” the prime minister’s office said.

The Toussaint Louverture Airport in Port-au-Prince closed in mid-November after gangs opened fire on a Spirit Airlines flight that was preparing to land, striking a flight attendant who suffered minor injuries.

Other commercial planes were also hit that day, prompting Spirit, JetBlue, and American Airlines to cancel their flights to Haiti. A day later, the Federal Aviation Administration banned US airlines from flying to the Caribbean country for 30 days.

For the past month, the only international airport operating in Haiti was the one in the northern coastal town of Cap-Haitien, but traveling there by land is dangerous since gangs control the main roads leading out of Port-au-Prince and are known for opening fire on public transport.

Jamaica

Jamaica has recorded 25 murders during the first seven days of December 2024, according to figures released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

The JCF had previously reported also that the country had recorded 1,060 murders for the 11 months from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30. However, the new figures show that there have been 1,085 murders up until Dec. 7, which represents an 18% decline this year.

The latest figures also show that two police divisions have recorded over 100 murders, which includes St. James with 120 and St. Andrew South with 115. Portland has the least with 13 murders. Shootings, injured persons, rape, robbery, and break-ins have also declined.

Among the murders recorded during the month of December is the killing of a policeman, identified as Cpl. Christopher Smith, who drove his private motor vehicle to a gas station where there was an active armed robbery.

Last year, 1,393 people were murdered in Jamaica.

— Compiled by Devika Ragoonanan