Marla Dukharan
@Marladukharan
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#TedSpeaker•Mom•Economist•Advisor•Passionate About & Believer in the Caribbean•EU & OECD Blacklisting•Poverty & Inequality•Gender•Fiscal & Climate Resilience🙏
Caribbean
Joined June 2015
What does this list of countries represent?. Afghanistan.The Bahamas.Barbados.Botswana.Cambodia.Democratic People's Republic of Korea.Ghana.Iran.Iraq.Jamaica.Mauritius.Mongolia.Myanmar.Nicaragua.Pakistan.Panama.Syria.Trinidad and Tobago.Uganda.Vanuatu.Yemen.Zimbabwe.
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Pfizer rollout for 12-18 began yesterday. All d Bajan kids stay quiet & took it with minimal complaints. Mine?? These Trini bacchanalists? One start to hyperventilate when she see d needle ‘I need a minute!!’ & d next one end up on d floor bawling he gonna faint 😭 why me Lord??!.
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Corruption and money laundering exists in every country on earth but the global North has employed its powerful propaganda machinery to brand those problems as unique to the global South. See Blacklisting. She did an excellent job pushing back and correcting the narrative.
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With Sir Arthur Lewis at Princeton University, about to give my keynote on the future of the Caribbean
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My mom has Alzheimer’s but she’s hella hilarious. 1. Allyuh feel I chupid? Dis is water. (It was coffee 😫). 2. What kinda shit movie is dis??? (we took her to see transformers 🫠). 2. Why I must go to the zoo? I have allyuh to watch whole day.
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Sir Hilary Beckles once pointed out to me that countries which produce(d) sugar & where slavery existed, developed the poorest eating habits over generations based on unhealthy choices available - salted fish, pickled meats, sugary drinks & treats, and almost unlimited alcohol.
St Lucia, Barbados, T&T, Jamaica ranked among 20 most ‘unhealthy countries’ in world. The ranking is based on life expectancy; blood pressure; diabetes risk; obesity; depression; happiness; alcohol use; tobacco use; inactivity; govt spending on healthcare.
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Working on a paper to show that tourism is a net drain on FX as we saw during the pandemic. It mostly creates low wage jobs which we shouldn’t consider a priority IMHO, & waste/pollution that we’re increasingly unable to handle. We don’t need big properties for successful tourism.
I *feel* like the whole idea of tourism “helping” the economy of a country is actually a big ass scam but I need one the economist babes to talk about it.
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But look more closely and you will see something else:. Every single country on this list was at some point in its history, colonized or otherwise exploited by Europeans. And every single one of these countries is predominantly NON-WHITE.
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I hope all Jamaicans realize that this is NOT the norm - there are maybe 2 countries in the Caribbean who can boast this kind of economic performance alongside declining debt, lowest poverty & unemployment ever, stable inflation, larger private sector & > ease of doing business.
The Jamaican economy grew for 18 consecutive quarters, 14 of which were under this government; that was the longest consecutive stretch of quarterly economic growth since we started measuring quarterly growth in 1997.
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I not trying to make anyone feel bad or inadequate or anything but my brother just made me a WHOLE jar of seasoning for Valentine’s and there really ain’t anything that could top this 😭❤️🙏
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Not just willing to be honest. Courageous enough to push back against a fully entrenched narrative.
There are few things I enjoy quite as much as watching indoctrinated Western virtue signallers get epically destroyed by people from developing countries who are willing to be honest.
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Not sure how people in Barbados survive. This cost me BBD200 or USD100.
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And despite the fact that the #FinCENLeaks showed that London is the most prolific money laundering destination in the world, the UK does not appear on this list. How is that possible?
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Memo to non-west Indians : when you come to the Caribbean, note that we will say mawnin mawnin to you and expect at least a smile if not a mawnin mawnin back. And this time of year we also say all d best and expect the same in return. Please and thank you 🙏 #MannersMakethMan.
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I am surrounded by angels sent from Heaven!. Birthday dinner :
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The biggest problem is the embargo you dummies.
Cuba’s economy is in its worst state since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The biggest problem is the enduring reluctance of its rulers to allow the private sector to thrive 👇.
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The EU and its allies never appear on their “Blacklist” or list of “high risk third countries” despite mounting evidence that the (non-white former European colonies)most named & shamed are NOT the ones responsible for the majority of money laundered .
Leaked documents reveal some of the world’s biggest banks allowed criminals to move dirty money around the world
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Even if it was USD1 billion in FX outflows, Netflix is not the problem. The authorities in this country cannot account for roughly USD2 billion going missing each year. And nobody talks about that.
The popular streaming platform’s popularity is silently a significant extractor of local foreign exchange with T&T subscribers spending millions of US dollars annually to maintain their accounts. For more:
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This is the right answer to the wrong questions. T&T was/is NOT in a recession. T&T is in a STAGNATION which is worse than a recession. T&T has averaged ZERO growth for 10 years. One quarter or one year of growth does NOT signal a reversal of a trend that has lasted 10 years.
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The EU has excluded certain countries because it’s criteria for inclusion go well beyond standard legal definitions of money laundering & terrorist financing. In other words, the EU makes up its own rules, & applies them selectively to certain countries:.
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I would add with all due respect @MPKamla that what’s more harmful & shocking than the current Hon PM’s misrepresentation of the fiscal numbers, is the fact that you & your Gov’t presided over the highest level of fiscal revenue T&T EVER earned, yet you never balanced the budget.
On January 7, Economist @Marladukharan disputed the revenue figures used, and displayed a screenshot from the Central Bank’s website. She posted:.
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Just to clarify - ran some numbers and cost of living in Barbados is only lower than The Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Not Jamaica. Not T&T.
Not sure how people in Barbados survive. This cost me BBD200 or USD100.
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This institutionalized discrimination, bullying and economic warfare by the EU has to stop. But there is no know recourse, no mechanism for us to seek redress. The EU is the accuser, the expert witness, the judge, jury AND executioner. The system is rigged to ensure our failure.
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As of today, October 1st, these countries are classified by the European Union as “High Risk” .
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Unusual for me, but I got dressed up last night, even allowing my daughter to put on some makeup (she owns more than I ever have) for me. Pleased with herself, she declared “ok NOWWW you look smexy, mummy”. And for those of you, like me, who didn’t know:. Smart + sexy = smexy 😃
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These rules & criteria in the first place WILL NEVER apply to EU countries, despite studies which have found that, for example, €13 billion is laundered through the Netherlands each year.
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The sad reality is some Govts in this region, I am told, have the data to calculate the total net fiscal and FX contribution of the hospitality sector. But not one of them publishes it. Why?. Without data we don’t know if tourism is a net gain or a net transfer of wealth outward.
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So the EU makes up its own rules on what constitutes a crime as it relates to money laundering & terrorism financing, and it then WEAPONIZES these rules by applying them selectively to countries other than its own members & their powerful allies :.
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I think everyone. In the whole Caribbean. Needs to read this.
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Sunburnt, still in pajamas at 11am and eating a mango by the beach. If this is not heaven, I don’t know what is. #Grateful 🙏❤️
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How is it that in 2020, the EU is allowed to appoint itself an authority on AML/CFT compliance, create its own rules which they change constantly as convenient, apply these rules only to small, non-white, former European colonies, and unilaterally punish us, and get away with it?.
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It was such a joy to do this podcast with you, David. Here is the article I was discussing which I co-authored with Damian Edghill. It seems nobody in Europe had any idea that the EU could have behaved in such an unconscionable manner.
This week’s podcast for you!
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A whole town in Jamaica has free WiFi??!! Is this a first in the Caribbean?. P.S. I am SO gonna steal ‘mi gladbag buss!’ I was today years old when I saw for the first time, such perfectly beautiful and complete expression of joy, and of course it HAD to be from Jamaica ❤️.
Free Wi-Fi is now a reality in the town of #PortAntonio!!!!!!!.If I could cartwheel issee!!!!.Mi gladbag buss!!! A historic and happy day. Boom! #ActionAnn #ActionTeam #ActionDoDat my #EastPortland 🇯🇲🙏🏻❤️
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A current account surplus demonstrates that your country is internationally competitive. Inbound remittances must have contributed to this surplus. Well done Jamaica 🇯🇲 . This is an impressive recovery in the past decade (and with a pandemic thrown in!).
For the first time in several decades, Jamaica has become a net exporter of goods and services.
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So any ‘compliance’ that we are able to secure, is at best temporary. We are therefore perpetually on the EU’s list of ‘high risk’ countries, which makes it much more difficult for us to trade, to conduct business, and to compete internationally. Perhaps this is the intention?.
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Meaning that even though money laundering does in fact take place in these & every country on earth, the quantum of money laundered could not be anywhere near what is laundered through the EU itself or through it’s powerful allies. Our balance of payments accounts would show this.
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Have you ever wondered why it’s hardest to get foreign currency in T&T, despite being one of the few countries in the Caribbean (usually) with a current account surplus, and which abandoned FX controls years ago? Makes no sense, right? Well, here I explain.
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Frightening criticism from the Opposition Leader suggesting that she would have ‘given away’ more than this administration did 😳 . She presided over the highest level of fiscal revenue T&T ever saw, yet failed to balance the budget. God help us. God truly help us.
Good quotes from Opposition leader. The economy is dead. They've read the last rites. The brightest thing in this budget is the bulbs. Hansel and Gretel Budget, they giving crumbs.
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Nice but….
It was great to talk with participants of the ECB scholarship for women yesterday. We had a lively discussion about topics related to central banking. I encourage all young female economists pursuing a Master’s degree to take a look at the scholarship.
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Jamaican police win!.
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For the 1st time, to my knowledge, the Min of Fin of T&T delivered the budget for the next fiscal year, without mentioning the actual numbers for the last fiscal year. No actual revenue, expenditure, or deficit. ZERO accountability for $ collected, borrowed, & spent last year.
Did the Minister of Finance share what the actual revenue, expenditure, and deficit numbers were for the fiscal year ended Sept 2021? Thanks 🙏.
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No I don’t usually have bhaji-dhal, curry goat, and coconut-curry shrimp for breakfast but the soul needs it
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Here’s my last monthly report for 2023. What. A. Year!. Jamaica is on faya! 🔥with its highest credit rating & lowest unemployment ever. Suriname is stabilizing. Barbados has a new Corp tax structure & is recovering. Dom Rep is growing strongly.
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Appeal to @Oxfam :. Please remove all tropical images from your reports re tax havens. You identified that we are not the problem. Please reframe “tax the rich” to “put in progressive taxes”. The problem is not the rich. The real problem is the countries who don’t tax them.
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How does it now feel to know that you come from a country which has been producing oil for >100 years, and nobody, no Govt in your history, has ever made economic diversification a priority, to the extent that over 80% of your FX earnings in 2018 came from energy exports? #OOTT.
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The European Union has unilaterally blacklisted small & less developed non-white (former) colonies, many in the Caribbean. But they don’t Blacklist their own money launderers like the Netherlands. This discriminatory & disproportionate action HAS TO STOP .
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I’ll be speaking at RF Holdings in Bahamas on March 14 & Cayman on the 16 - on the Caribbean economy & those countries, & also on a panel on global tax developments. Also, I’ll be giving the keynote address at @Princeton on April 20th. So honoured and excited! 🤩
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Furthermore, the countries which fall victim to the EU’s conveniently designed methodology, are relatively small & disadvantaged. We represent less than 3% of global GDP, while the EU is the world’s largest trade bloc, the world’s largest exporter of manufactured goods & services.
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Had some fun (and anxiety!) doing my latest video discussing the EU’s Blacklists, and the devastating effects they are having on the world’s single most vulnerable nation to natural disasters - Vanuatu. Stay tuned!
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The Irish are really Jamaican.
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Has the world paid attention to how the Cayman Islands has been handling its Covid-19 response? Mandatory testing & minimum 14 day quarantine/isolation period for all incoming travelers. Arrests for breaches. >60k tested. Vaccines on the way. Has any country done a better job?.
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No where in this report does it say “T&T is an exercise in 4 years of no management”. Misquoting a credible and respected analyst in a lazy and sloppy attempt to score political points is sure to achieve just the opposite. Do better.
RBC says T&T is an exercise in 4 years of no management
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This woman is disgusting. She is an embarrassment to our country and to women. What a legacy.
@mariask__ “At least I have a name from my ancestors. Where you got yours from? Your name is that of a slavemaster.”
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We have to learn to live with this virus, and get on with life. The higher a country’s vaccination rate, the lower the adverse socio-economic implications of waves/spikes, which are likely to continue. It is as simple as that.
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Congratulations Jamaica, on electing so many young people & women!. Now more than ever I feel Jamaica could become a cross between Dom Rep & Cayman -Big, strong, stable, fiscally responsible, dynamic, progressive, sustainable. Fix crime & inequality as a matter of priority please.
No matter how you want to spin it, tonight was profound. We have dozens of J’cans, mostly young J’cans who are going to be first time MPs.
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Is an average revenue per tourist of USD2,000 worth it?. Worth the high number of infected locals? The amount the Govt has to spend testing, quarantining, policing positive cases, curfew, etc? And now refunds too?. This is not adding up, in my estimation.
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I am so excited and honoured to be delivering the keynote address : . Law, Identity, and Economic Development in the Post-Colonial Era: The Case of the Northern Atlantic and Larger Caribbean Regions | Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
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3 million deaths. Tragic. Also tragic : every year, about 3.1 million children die of malnutrition. Every year. But malnutrition only affects ‘those people’ / the poor / the voiceless. And malnutrition is not contagious. And not much money can be made solving malnutrition.
3 million people have died from coronavirus worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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Normal is a statistical concept. Normal will never be the same again. And back is the wrong way to go.
Like I said. "Back to normal" will be our undoing in this pandemic.
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What’s the latest poverty statistic in your country? How old is it? What’s your country doing to address poverty?. The only policymaker in this region that I see discussing the poverty level & citing recent (record low) statistics is the Hon @NigelClarkeJa. Well done Jamaica 🇯🇲
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Since when is a VAT refund classified as ‘assistance’ given by the state to businesses?! It is an OBLIGATION! It is what is OWED to taxpayers! And the fact that it is paid in ‘cash’ is by no means a favour. A state that cannot meet its current obligations in cash is bankrupt.
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I live in Barbados where corporations are taxed at a maximum of 5.5% but individuals are taxed close to 29% maximum and we pay a VAT of 17.5% on most items and 22% on mobile services. I don’t have the data but I feel like this must be a very regressive tax structure.
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I’m not a cricketer but I’m a citizen of T&T. Will I be allowed to travel to T&T and quarantine in the Hilton hotel? I would really like to come home to vote. Thanks 🙏.
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When the country is losing almost USD1 billion per annum in ‘errors and omissions’ which means outflows of USD that we can’t account for, I think highlighting this TTD78 million is another attempt at distraction. Let’s focus on the real issues. Food imports isn’t the real issue.
TRADE and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon has said Trinidad and Tobago spent approximately $78 million a year over the last three years on the importation of luxury food items.
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How long before mankind realizes the folly of putting boy children in white school shirts??
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Even though the EU is not the global authority on these matters, we are bullied by the EU into complying with their unique standards on money laundering & terrorism financing. But then they keep changing the rules! There were 2016, 2017, 2018, and now 2020 revisions for example.
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Here is my Caribbean Economic Report for June 2020. I have included an editorial on the EU Blacklist - hope you find it useful! Would love to hear your thoughts thank you 🙏❤️.
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PLEASE @FT , remove “the Caribbean” from this headline - no Caribbean country is mentioned in your article, we have Covid largely under control in most countries, and this unjust and misleading headline is potentially very damaging for the Caribbean. Please help @katie_martin_fx.
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Dear @NigelClarkeJa & Governor @CentralBankJA , I would be honoured if you would kindly agree to a webinar with me to discuss the fiscal council & the independence of the Central Bank, please. I feel these are important institutional reforms that the Caribbean should know about.
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Please can you take a look at this and render assistance @NOIweala @Lagarde @WBCaribbean @WorldBank @KGeorgieva @DavidMalpassWBG @antonioguterres @UNCTAD @TheElders @AtlanticCouncil @the_IDB @IDB_Caribbean @KevzPolitics @jacobinmag @EU_Commission @wef @DivDecEcon @TheEconomist.
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The Govt of TT was really unaware of the sanctions placed on several Venezuelan Govt officials by the USA. ???!!! If that’s the honest truth, our problems are much more severe and worrying than I ever imagined.
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In much the same way that 9/11 changed things forever (air travel & AML/CFT) I believe #COVID19 will also change certain things forever, such as hand washing, avoiding unnecessary travel & / or meetings, less handshaking, flexible work arrangements, building financial buffers etc.
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“Even if you are exercising regularly & eating healthfully, bottling up your feelings may increase your stroke risk. Women who silence their negative thoughts had greater buildup of plaque in their carotid arteries” . So the next time anyone tells me to stop yelling & cussing. .
Even if you run regularly and eat well, silencing your thoughts may put your health at risk.
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Lovely to have you in the Caribbean, Gurdeep!. Caribbean people are the world’s best at moving and shaking (I’m sure you’ll soon discover!) 🤭🤗.
Hola, from the Dominican Republic!. Say "si" to any physical movement!. Sending joy and positive vibes with this first 2024 Ocean swim in the mighty Atlantic! 🌊❤️.
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Chatting with @davidmcw is always one of my life’s greatest joys. Thanks David!. Discussing the EU’s neo-colonialism via Blacklisting of only non-white developing states - Vanuatu in particular - is maddening & heartbreaking though. This has to stop now.
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What exactly is the point of having a public procurement framework if Govt - Govt deals and Govt - Private sector deals are exempt? . How exactly does this framework support transparency and accountability around the Govt’s spending of taxpayers / citizens’ money?.
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Achieved all my 2024 goals:. Didn’t die ✅.Didn’t get drunk ✅.Didn’t get pregnant ✅. #Grateful
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It’s not every day you see a gorgeous photo like this of two of the world’s most inspiring people to me. took my breath away! ❤️. @EliudKipchoge @paulocoelho 😍
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I think women are the Caribbean’s (if not the world’s) most underutilized resource, and have to potential to unlock tremendous socio-economic transformation and progress, if only there was #GenderEquality . The #FutureIsFemale
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@nailaleiz and the paw paw and tomatoes for BBD54?. I guess I should have chosen to not eat???.
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So these strange pigeon / dove birds keep destroying my plants, trying to live in them. Just spotted one again bedding down in my chives, so I opened the glass door to the patio to chase the bird, flailing and shouting. and then I realize. I’m naked.
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“A recent study in the United States found that mothers with a husband or live-in male partner sleep less and do more housework than single mothers. Another study reported that husbands create about seven hours of extra housework a week for their wives”.
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Jamaica really has displayed the most robust socio-economic progress for the past decade in the Caribbean.
The glorious return of FT(AV) Jamaicawatch. After a nasty Covid setback, Jamaica is back on track for the most miraculous economic turnaround story of the decade (century?).
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Think about someone you love, or someone whose love & attention you want. What value do you add to their lives? How do you make their lives better? Easier? And if you struggle to answer that honestly, or if you struggle to find time/energy to add value to their lives, rethink.
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This gentleman, most renowned for his cricket skills before being elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, explains the socio-economic challenges facing developing countries with a deeper & more compassionate understanding than I’ve seen/heard from some of the most learned economists.
My appeal to the international community, the UNSG & international financial institutions to respond positively to the dilemma confronting developing countries in the face of the COVID19 pandemic. #Global_Initiative_Debt_Relief
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When you get a call from someone you love, admire, & respect as a patriot, as an experienced & learned economist, as a former finance minister & stellar policy maker, an absolute gentleman, sweeter & more humble than any other - to discuss your thoughts on economic policy 🔥🔥🔥.
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