Herman Sargeant

The Montserrat Association for Persons with Disabilities (MAPD) joins the global community in marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2025 under the theme “Fostering disability‑inclusive societies for advancing social progress.” This theme speaks directly to Montserrat’s future: the island cannot achieve real social and economic progress while disabled people continue to face barriers in work, education, health, transport, housing and public life. MAPD welcomes the fact that the Government of Montserrat has now agreed a National Disability Policy and that the new Population Policy recognises disability inclusion as essential to Montserrat’s development. Together, these policies identify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as the “north star” for action and sit alongside existing protections in the Labour Code, the OECS Building Code, CROSQ standards and the Montserrat Constitution. The challenge now is to move from frameworks on paper to real enforcement, so that non‑discrimination, reasonable accommodation and accessibility requirements are implemented in every ministry, workplace and public service. Steve Weekes, Vice President of MAPD, said: “We are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had over the past year to contribute to policy developments on the island, and there has been a very noticeable increase in consultation since last year’s draft National Disability Policy. With this year’s theme of ‘Fostering disability‑inclusive societies for advancing social progress,’ we are calling for that consultation to be matched by concrete action, proper enforcement of existing standards and real investment in accessibility, so that disabled people on Montserrat – and those who wish to return – can live, work and participate on equal terms.” MAPD is actively seeking new volunteers on island and in the diaspora to help with advocacy, peer support, outreach and practical accessibility projects. Anyone wishing to get involved, seek support or discuss partnership opportunities is invited to contact MAPD through our Facebook page @montserratdisability.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing, Environment, Youth and Sports Daphne Cassell welcomed a Bio-security Training Workshop for the UK Overseas Territories earlier this week. The workshop took place under the project “Enabling Effective Biosecurity in the UK Overseas Territories.”   Speaking at the launch Mrs. Cassell stated that the week’s agenda reflected the complexity and urgency of the biosecurity challenges the OT’s face, from invasive alien species, that are real, immediate, and in some cases, already causing significant harm. She noted that Montserrat has witnessed first-hand the serious damage caused by a number of invasive species, including the red imported fire ant, that has impacted both agriculture and recreational spaces, while rats have been observed preying on the eggs of national bird – the endemic Montserrat Oriole. The chytrid fungus, that has tragically led to the extinction of the Mountain Chicken in the wild on Montserrat, sweet potato weevil, and melon worm continue to destroy agricultural crops, were also highlighted, along with feral chickens which are known to compete with native birds for food resources and contribute to agricultural losses.   Meanwhile, the croton scale has taken a toll on the horticultural sector, affecting both livelihoods and the aesthetics of landscapes. Mrs. cassell says, in response to the threat posed by invasive species, the Ministry has initiated a number of targeted control measures aimed at strengthening the island’s national biosecurity system. These include the development and implementation of a risk assessment and biosecurity protocol for the importation of sand and aggregate, enhanced inspections at ports of entry and the systematic treatment of fire ant infestations across all residential areas of Montserrat. The Department of Environment has also launched a public awareness campaign to engage communities in early detection and prevention efforts of invasive species. To protect vulnerable wildlife, particularly nesting seabirds, Mrs. Cassell revealed that the Department of Environment has implemented a trapping and removal programme targeting feral cats in key coastal sites. This intervention is helping to reduce pressure and restore breeding success of seabirds in sensitive habitats. Additional surveillance protocols have been introduced, including weekly inspections of imported aggregate mounds and mitigation measures such as mandatory treatment plans for aggregate shipments. Officers have also conducted site visits to source countries to assess biosecurity risks at origin and strengthen upstream controls. Overall the Permanent Secretary said, these efforts reflect the ministry’s broader commitment to building a resilient, science-based bio-security framework to protect Montserrat’s environment, economy, and way of life.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) Montserrat is bringing to the public’s attention a fraudulent website that has recently been discovered impersonating its official website. The FSC has stated that its official and only legitimate website is: www.fscmontserrat.org. The FSC reports that a false website, www.fscmontserrat.com, has been created by an unauthorized third party using publicly available information in an attempt to mislead the public. The Commission said that this website is not affiliated to the FSC and any information, forms, or contact details displayed there should be treated as fraudulent. The Financial Service Commission is assuring the public that there has been no internal breach of FSC systems or data. It adds that this incident is an external impersonation effort, and appropriate steps are being taken to have the fraudulent domain removed. The local financial regulatory body warns that to protect against any fraudulent activity, stakeholders should always verify that they are accessing www.fscmontserrat.org before submitting any information. The FSC is asking that stakeholders be cautious of email messages or documents referencing the fake website or using unfamiliar email addresses, and to report any suspicious communication to the FSC Montserrat immediately at info@fsc.ms. The FSC states that it remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of its operations and maintaining transparency with its stakeholders.