BRIDGETOWN – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has entered into a delegation agreement with the European Union (EU), to administer a Road Management and Rural Road Improvement Programme in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The programme will be financed through an EU contribution of EUR5.8 million (mn), and aims to improve climate change resilience in rural road networks, as well as stimulate economic activity in rural communities.

Developed road infrastructure is a key component in economic growth and sustainable development. This project is expected to strengthen institutional capacity, and provide the tools needed to plan for the effects of climate change on the road network in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In addition, a better rural road network has the potential to stimulate growth in agriculture as well as employment in rural communities,” said Daniel Best, Director of Projects, CDB.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is particularly vulnerable to natural hazards and its road network has already experienced some of the effects of climate change. Under the project, approximately six kilometres of rural, unpaved roads will be upgraded with enhanced climate-resilience features included. This is expected to improve access for farmers to transport their produce to market, and reduce costs associated with spoilage or loss of cargo. In addition, improvements in institutional capacity at the Ministry of Transport and Works supported under the Project are designed to lead to better road sector management and enhanced early-warning response in the event of a natural disaster or climate event. The Project will also provide for the development and operation of a road maintenance management system…[+]

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Road traffic accidents are the seventh leading cause of death in Belize, with approximately 21 deaths per 100,000 persons. This is the highest fatality rate among CDB’s 19 Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs).

In response to this challenge, the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) today approved funding of USD5.9 million (mn) to the Government of Belize, to support critical efforts to improve road safety. The project will focus on the Philip S. W. Goldson Highway, which joins Belize City through Ladyville, Orange Walk Town and Corozal Town to the Mexican Border. It will incorporate a multi-sectoral approach, focusing on changing behaviour through increasing awareness and understanding of risks, improved traffic law enforcement and improving post-crash response.   “An increase in road traffic fatalities has a significant impact on a country, not just on public health but also on social and economic development. Young people, particularly males, are more likely to be involved in accidents, which results in lost productivity and a greater impact on families for whom they may have been primary providers. CDB is pleased to support the Government of Belize in its efforts to implement road safety measures along the Philip S. W. Goldson Highway, where it is estimated that at least half of all road traffic accidents in Belize occur,” said Daniel Best, Director of Projects at CDB.

The Second Road Safety Project builds on the results and lessons learned in a previous project in Belize, which focused on a demonstration corridor between Belmopan and Belize City. The CDB-funded project, which was approved in 2012, saw road traffic fatalities decreasing from an average of 33 to nine per year, along the demonstration corridor. In contrast, road traffic fatalities increased from 70 to 90 per year in the entire country. The new Project will replicate the approach used in the first initiative…[+]

Three peo­ple were killed and one in­jured in two sep­a­rate po­lice-in­volved shoot­ings in east Trinidad yes­ter­day. Po­lice of­fi­cers have al­so launched a man­hunt for two oth­er sus­pects who were in­volved in one of the al­leged shootouts and who were be­lieved to be part of a home in­va­sion in Ma­tu­ri­ta, Ari­ma, that even­tu­al­ly led to the triple killings.

In that in­ci­dent, po­lice said at about 11 am of­fi­cers act­ing on in­tel­li­gence went in­to a forest­ed area near Dump Road, Ari­ma, where they were greet­ed by gun­fire. The of­fi­cers re­turned fire. Three men were lat­er found dead. Po­lice said they re­cov­ered two re­volvers near the bod­ies of two of the men.

One of them was iden­ti­fied as pris­on­er Ted­dy Singh, 26, of Ari­ma. Singh made a dar­ing es­cape from the Ari­ma Mag­is­trates’ Court on May 15, short­ly af­ter he was tak­en to the court by a pris­on­er trans­port van.Ac­cord­ing to a po­lice re­port, Singh was placed in the court’s hold­ing bay when he man­aged to es­cape. He was an in­mate of the Gold­en Grove Max­i­mum Se­cu­ri­ty Prison in Arou­ca. Singh, whose last known ad­dress was La Re­treat Road, Ari­ma, was charged with mur­der in De­cem­ber 2014.(Trinidad Guardian)…[+]