The Montserrat Reporter

By Bennette Roach

East Caribbean Currency Bank (ECCB) Governor Timothy N.J. Antoine announced in April, that the much touted new ‘polymer notes would be launched in June this year. It was then on May 29, 2019, the launch was celebrated via the still being upgraded video-tele conference to members in the East Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and hosted by the Governor from the ECCB agency office in Grenada.

At the launch the Governor announced that the rollout will begin with the $50 notes placed in circulation immediately in June.

These will run concurrently with the existing paper notes during the transition phase. The $10, $20 and $100 polymer banknotes are scheduled for launch in September 2019, while the five-dollar banknotes will be launched in September 2020.

Not so fast though for Montserrat. The Governor explained that there will be a delay owing to a substantial stock of paper notes present in the Montserrat market which is also the case in the Anguilla market. As a result there is no need for the supply of the new notes until these markets see a decrease in the $50 notes.

During the live stream event Governor Antoine in his address informed that the new notes are of a higher quality and has advanced features compared to the old paper notes.

“Compared to paper notes, polymer notes are cleaner,” he said. They are resistant to dirt and moisture – more secure – they have advanced security features which make them harder to counterfeit – more durable as they last at least, three (to five) times longer than paper notes and more environmentally friendly,” he informed.

“The switch to polymer necessitated some changes to the designs of the notes in respect of technical and security specifications. However, even with these new design elements, we were careful to maintain a degree of familiarity for ease of use,” Antoine stated.

Governor Antoine also revealed that the new notes will also have a new design feature which will make it easier for persons with visual impairment to identify the notes. He said, “Very importantly, we have incorporated a feature [raised bumps] to make it easy for the blind and visually impaired to handle their money and their business.”

Additionally, a holographic foil strip has been introduced as an anti-counterfeiting feature on the $20, $50 and $100, which are most susceptible to counterfeiting.

The ECCB Governor explained that, “The circulation of the new notes will be phased. As unfit paper notes are returned to the Central Bank and our current inventory of paper notes is depleted, they will be replaced by polymer notes…Therefore, as a practical matter, the public ought to expect that both paper and polymer notes will be in circulation at the same time. They are both legal tender.”

At the beginning of his address, the Governor no doubt anticipating the very familiar question about the status of the EC$ said: “I hereby confirm that our EC dollar is strong. As of Friday, 24 May, 2019, the backing ratio was 98.4 per cent.”

“More importantly,” he continues. “our foreign reserves continue to grow and now total US$1.75 billion.”

The motivation for the move from ‘paper’ to ‘polymer’, he noted:  “Simply put, to enhance the security and usability of our EC notes.”

Earlier boasting that the ECCB is the first Central Bank in the region to move to polymer notes, he said: “To maintain trust and to stay ahead of counterfeiters, our Central Bank has a duty of care, indeed an obligation, to continually upgrade our notes. But our motivation is also personal.”

That he explained arose out of , “…I have had fishermen and vendors lament to me, their inability to get value for their notes after they were soiled or torn.  These stories have affected me.  I have asked myself how can our Central Bank help ensure that these hardworking folks get full value for their hard-earned money?  I believe polymer will greatly ease this hardship,” he said.

“From an economic standpoint, polymer notes are more cost-effective than paper,” he explained further, noting, “Although polymer notes are more expensive to produce upfront, their extended lifespan means that the notes are replaced less often.”

He concluded: “Consequently, there will be a reduction in transportation and handling costs thus reducing the overall cost of cash for the ECCB, commercial banks and credit unions.”

Then came the announcement: “Today, we unveil the first note in the EC family of notes – the EC$50,” describing as he immortalises his predecessor, “This new note bears the image of our late, great Governor, the Honourable Sir K Dwight Venner who served from December 1989 until November 2015.  Once again, I hail the colossal contribution of my illustrious predecessor. 

He said the new design features also include the signature of the current Governor, adding as well that the new notes also sport a portrait orientation design, which is a move away from the current landscape orientation of the paper notes.

“In conclusion, today is, indeed, a happy occasion for our Currency Union – your new notes are considerably better hence the tagline of our public education campaign: cleaner, safer, stronger.  Moreover, they are aesthetically pleasing.  Above all, they are a symbol of regional accomplishment,” the Governor beamed as we watched him on the video screen at the agency office at Brades.

See the following videos about the polymer notes:

EC Polymer Notes: Design and Features –  

https://youtu.be/H8yC8W4bdQ4?list=PL8ouir-JT8-x0-L8OJ480Ov1Wxtes1lXn

EC Polymer Notes – Cleaner, Safer, Stronger – https://youtu.be/51sOA-W0NWQ?list=PL8ouir-JT8-x0-L8OJ480Ov1Wxtes1lXn

David Arkley is the UK Policy Adviser to the Governor and Head of the Governor’s office. He and Major Alvin Ryan, Director of the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) are attending the annual UK Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda Disaster Managers conference in Miami, Florida.
The three-day conference which ends today Friday, May 17th, 2019, commonly referred to as the annual Hurricane conference is organized by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in conjunction with the Disaster Management Advisor for the OTs Jon Snell, who is stationed in Miami.
A release today from the Government Information Unit (GIU), informs that the meeting brings together Disaster Managers and Heads of Governors Offices from the various Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda, UK Defence officials, Officers from Royal Fleet Auxiliary RFA Mounts Bay and representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, the British Red Cross and the private sector.
The meeting is discussing lessons learnt from the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane season, hurricane preparedness for the upcoming season which officially begins on June 1st and other important matters related to disaster preparedness in the Caribbean OTs and Bermuda.
It also provides an opportunity for invited companies to showcase their products and emerging disaster management technologies.

John Gordon is the Deputy Director for the OTs and the Caribbean at DFID, along with Will Gelling, Deputy Director for the OTs at the FCO, will visit Montserrat from  Monday, for two days next week during a familiarisation visit to the Caribbean.

While on island, they are expected to meet with Premier and other ministers and senior officials in the Government of Montserrat. They will discuss a fair range of critical issues including disaster resilience and security, transport, environment, health, education and tourism polices and challenges.

They will also meet with key members of the business and political communities.

According to information from the Governor’s office, in between these discussions, both officials will visit the hospital, port and breakwater, airport, Montserrat Secondary School and the Davy Hill and Look Out communities. They will also view the volcanic exclusion zone.

The visit will end with a press briefing at the Governor’s Office in Brades.

By Cari Nierenberg, Live Science Contributor | May 16, 2019

The measles can be dangerous for people of all ages, but the highly contagious virus poses a particular threat to pregnant women.

That threat was clearly illustrated in a recent case report, which detailed the case of a 27-year-old woman in England — who had not been vaccinated — who got measles during her third trimester and ended up needing an emergency cesarean section to save her baby.

When the woman was initially hospitalized, it wasn’t clear that she had measles, according to the case report, published May 9 in the journal BMJ Case Reports. In fact, it took doctors nearly 2 weeks to make the proper diagnosis. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]Advertisement

Within a day of being hospitalized, the woman began having severe breathing problems.

Problems that arise from any respiratory infection are more severe in pregnant women, because the immune system is in a naturally suppressed state, said lead case report author Dr. Jassimran Bansal, an obstetrics and gynecology resident at King’s College Hospital in London. But the woman’s breathing problems didn’t improve; they worsened over the next five days, and her lungs showed signs of severe respiratory failure.

Because both the woman and her baby’s health were at risk from her illness, the woman’s doctors recommended she have an emergency C-section, where she delivered a healthy, but premature baby.

Measles during pregnancy

Measles can be difficult to diagnose during pregnancy, because the infection’s telltale rash is often absent, said Bansal, who was involved with the woman’s treatment. It’s not clear why the characteristic rash — which shows up as distinctive large red spots that typically spread from the face to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet— may be absent, but it’s likely due to changes in the immune system that occur during pregnancy, she said.

In fact, the woman did have a mild rash when she went to the hospital during her 32nd week of pregnancy. She told doctors that she also had a sore throat and fever. The rash, which was itchy with red bumps, had first appeared on the palms of her hands and then spread to her face, according to the report. But simply having a rash doesn’t mean a person has the measles; other viruses can also cause rashes, Bansal said.

When the woman was admitted to the hospital, doctors initially suspected she may have had a nonspecific viral respiratory infection, like the flu, Bansal told Live Science. Measles was lower down on the list of possible diagnoses, because the woman didn’t have the typical rash, and because measles in pregnancy is still very rarein England, she noted.

As her illness worsened, however, doctors noted that her rash did spread to her chest, back and stomach, a pattern that is more typical of measles, according to the report.

Making the diagnosis

As the woman recovered from both her C-section and the illness, test results suggested that her breathing problems were due to pneumonia caused by a parainfluenza virus, a type of virus linked to respiratory infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Throat cultures from people with measles will also test positive for parainfluenza virus, according to the report.)

But it wasn’t until a week after the baby was born — when the woman’s husband came down with measles — that the doctors decided to test her for the infection, too.

Indeed, the woman had also had the measles, the tests revealed. But luckily, her baby did not. (Babies can develop “congenital measles,” a form of the disease that can be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy and appears shortly after birth.) [7 Ways Pregnant Women Affect Babies]

After spending three weeks in the hospital, the woman was sent home. Both mother and baby are doing fine, Bansal said, adding that the woman’s two other children had, in fact, received the MMR vaccine before their parents had come down with the measles.

Pregnant women who have not received the MMR vaccine, as was the case with this woman, are at increased risk of severe illness and complications of measles, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The group also notes that getting the measles during pregnancy is linked with an increased risk of hospitalization and pneumonia, as well as an increased risk of giving birth prematurely, miscarriage or having a low-birth-weight baby.

by staff writer

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Oct 19, CMC – The President of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Adrian Saunders, will receive an honorary doctorate from the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Justice Saunders will be conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws during the UWI graduation ceremony on Saturday.

Justice Adrian Saunders – CCJ

He will also be a guest speaker at The UWI’s graduation dinner on Friday night. Justice Saunders will be speaking on behalf of his fellow graduand Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana and Professor of Entomology at the Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science.

“I am most appreciative of this honour that The UWI will bestow upon me and I am incredibly humbled and honoured by this recognition. I will accept it gratefully on behalf of my parents and siblings, my family, my colleagues at the CCJ, and all the people I have worked with who have all contributed to my success,” said Justice Saunders, who is the third Caribbean national to head the CCJ that was established in 2001 to replace the London-based Privy Council as the region’s final court.

“I would be remiss if I did not also mention the role that the  UWI has played in my success. My years at UWI gave me a depth of knowledge and a foundation that I am indebted to the institution for. Those years also provided me with mentors, life-long friends and many fond memories,” he added.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines-born native  holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the UWI in 1975 and a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago in 1977.

The CCJ President said that the UWI had over the past 70 years been able to nurture generations of Caribbean leaders, as well as making an indelible mark on the development of the region.

Premier Donaldson Romeo

Premier, the Honourable Donaldson Romeo will be attending the ‘39^th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community’ to be held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, this week.  

The Heads of Government Meeting from July 4 to 6 will bring together Heads from CARICOM and Associate Member States, to discuss a number of matters of importance for the Caribbean community.  The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and how to make it more effective, is one of the agenda items. 

Other matters to be discussed include, ‘Building Resilience’ specifically as it relates to disaster resilience in the Caribbean Community Post Hurricanes Irma and Maria.  A draft declaration on climate change which was requested by the Council for Foreign and Community Relations is also on the agenda for approval by the Heads.  Security and boarder issues, the report on the marijuana commission, matters related to the Caribbean Court of Justice and a CARICOM Regional strategy for the development of statistics are also carded for deliberations.   

The Conference of Heads of Government meeting also includes the ‘24^th Meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub Committee (PMSC) On External Economic Negotiations’ to be held on Thursday, July 5.  During this meeting, the PMSC will receive an overview of the regional and global developments relevant to CARICOM’s external trade agenda.  There will also be discussions on future trade relations with the United Kingdom post Brexit. 

Premier Romeo will be accompanied by the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr. Phillip Chambers.  

Final EC Bank Notes Security Features (2017)

In a public service announcement, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is advising the public to be on the lookout for counterfeit notes.

This comes after the Financial Crime and Analysis Unit of the Royal Montserrat Police Service has confirmed that a sum of counterfeit EC notes has been confiscated in Montserrat.   

As a result, “The ECCB wishes to remind the public that counterfeit notes have no value, and that it is a criminal offence to use or be in possession of counterfeit notes.”

Further, “The ECCB urges the public to note the security features of genuine EC notes which include:

1. A security thread with text reading “ECCB” which incorporated into the paper. The thread can be seen clearly through the paper.
2. A serial number printed vertically on the left hand side and horizontally on the right hand side of the notes. No two notes of the same denomination bear the same serial number. 
3. On the front left hand side, a watermark of Queen Elizabeth II can be seen when the note is held up to light. A watermark highlight, which reads “ECCB” can also be seen clearly when the note is held up to light.
4. An image of several fishes, printed with special ink, which glows is at the centre of the back of the note.
5. Genuine bank notes are printed on special paper which gives them a unique feel.”

Further information suggests that the notes of specific interest would be the higher denominations of $100.00 and $50.00, but of course not ignoring the others.

The authorities are requesting, on account of the information provided: “Persons who think they may be in possession of EC counterfeit notes, should report the matter to the Royal Montserrat Police Service. Telephone Numbers: 664-491-2555/6 and 999.

Caribbean Economic Forum – Tuesday, March 27, 2018

 CEF_2018 Promo_01_Social Media Version_preview.mp4