News

GOVERNMENT OF MONTSERRAT AWARDS 18 SCHOLARSHIPS AND BURSARIES FOR THE 2026/2027 ACADEMIC YEAR

The Government of Montserrat (GoM) has awarded scholarships and bursaries to eighteen (18) individuals to pursue academic and professional qualifications in the 2026/2027 academic year. Of the eighteen awards, eight individuals received full scholarships, four received partial scholarships and six received bursaries. Recommendations were considered by the National Training and Scholarships Advisory Committee (NTSAC) with final decisions made by Cabinet. Scholarships are awarded based on alignment with the Government of Montserrat’s national priority areas for long-term training and professional qualifications. Through this programme, the Government supports the development of critical skills, strengthens succession planning across the public service and contributes to the development and retention of local talent. This year’s awards represent an investment by the Government of approximately $895,000 in the 2026/2027 financial year underscoring its commitment to developing expertise in critical areas, including healthcare, agriculture, engineering, technology and public administration. The Government of Montserrat congratulates all scholarship and bursary recipients and wishes them every success in the 2026/2027 academic year. The Government looks forward to the value their skills, talents and experiences will contribute to the continued development of Montserrat. Scholarship awards are administered by the Learning and Development Division of the Human Resources Management Unit within the Office of the Deputy Governor. The application period which opened on March 31,2026 and closed on May 30,2026 received 41 completed applications from individuals seeking to pursue or advance their education and professional qualifications. Information on the application process and eligibility requirements for Government of Montserrat scholarships is available on odg.gov.ms/scholarships.

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Rotaract Club Celebrates 39th anniversary.

The Rotaract Club of Montserrat is celebrating its 39th anniversary with a week of activities focused on service and community engagement. The activities form part of Rotaract Montserrat’s ongoing commitment to service and giving back to the island.  Speaking to ZJB News, President Anna Johnson said the anniversary falls on September 5, with activities beginning with Media Day- celebrated on Monday and continuing throughout the week.  Some of the activities include a social media raffle, fellowship activities, and a School Zone Safety Project in collaboration with the Royal Montserrat Police Service- RMPS. The anniversary week will wrap up on September 6 with a beach day, featuring games and other activities. Johnson said the event will also be open to members of the wider community. “For our 39th anniversary,  we have some Charter Week activities. So today we are doing our Media Day here on ZJB. And then we are going to launch our A World Without Polio raffle. This will be launched on our social media. And then on the 2nd of September, we are gonna fellowship with the Rotary Club of Montserrat. On the 3rd, we are going to launch our Getting to Know Our Rotary Actors campaign on our social media. That’s gonna take place on the 3rd and the 4th. And then on the 5th, we are going to have our Charter Day School Zone Safety Project.  Ms. Johnson explains that the Rotaractors are collaborating with the Royal Montserrat Police Force “to paint some of the parking boxes outside of the schools and the pedestrian crossing and so forth with them.”  The Club will have its 39th anniversary dinner on September 5th and will wrap up its Charter Week activities the following day “with a beach day for our members, which is open to anyone “who just wanna come and enjoy themselves with us,” says Ms. Johnson.

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DCYSS Places 39 Young People in Workplace Attachments

The Department of Community, Youth and Sports – DCYSS, has placed 39 school leavers in work apprenticeships through this year’s School Leavers Programme. Youth and Community Development Worker Helena Dorsette said they were placed throughout August, exposing them to a wide range of professions, including law, real estate, customs, firefighting, policing and healthcare. Dorsette said participants also received guidance on entering the workforce, including work ethics, mock interviews, resume preparation and how to present themselves professionally.

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Bank of Montserrat Expresses Optimism for the Future & the Development of Montserrat.

Montserrat’s first indigenous commercial bank, the Bank of Montserrat is optimistic about its future prospects and the continued development of Montserrat. Chairperson Venita Cabey says the Bank’s strategic priorities include enhancing digital banking services and customer experience, and supporting economic development through responsible lending. The bank says it is also committed to improving operational efficiency, investing in employee development and succession planning, strengthening risk management and compliance frameworks, and delivering sustainable value to shareholders and stakeholders. Mrs. Cabey, speaking at the Annual General Meeting, stated that as Montserrat continues to advance its development agenda, the Bank stands ready to play its role as a trusted financial partner in supporting growth, investment, and financial inclusion across the island. She says the 2025 financial year was characterised by continued global economic uncertainty, evolving monetary conditions, and moderate but persistent inflationary pressures. Within Montserrat, economic activity continued to expand, although at a more moderate pace than in previous years. According to the ECCB’s Annual Economic and Financial Review, real economic growth was estimated at 2.4% in 2025, following growth of 3.6% in 2024. Economic activity continued to be supported by public sector investment, construction activity, wholesale and retail trade, and major infrastructure developments. Construction remained a key driver of growth, expanding by approximately 10%, supported by the new National Hospital, social housing initiatives, and utility infrastructure upgrades. Inflation also fell from 4.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent.

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Montserrat Community College Students Record Impressive Results in CAPE Exams

The Montserrat Community College has recorded an overall pass rate of 96.3 per cent in the 2026 May/June sitting of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC)CAPE exams. 27 students wrote the examinations across 16 subject areas, completing 81 examination sittings and securing 78 passes. The College reported a 100 per cent pass rate in 14 of the 16 subject areas. These included Applied Mathematics Unit One, Accounting Unit One, Biology Unit Two, Caribbean Studies and Communication Studies. Students also achieved full passes in Entrepreneurship Units One and Two, Geography Unit Two, Information Technology Units One and Two, Management of Business Unit Two and Physics Unit Two. Sociology Unit One and Tourism Unit One also recorded a 100 per cent pass rate. In Chemistry Unit One, three of the four students who sat the examination were successful while, five of the seven students who wrote Management of Business Unit One achieved passes.

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Strong Financial Management a Priority for Red Cross – Chairman John Skerritt.

Strong financial management is a priority for the Montserrat Red Cross, says Chairman of the Montserrat Branch of the British Red Cross, John Skerritt. Skerrit, who was giving remarks at the organization’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), said the organization intends to ensure that their budget aligns with their objectives. He explained the steps that will be taken to reach their goals in this area, saying “the board is requiring regular financial reporting of cash flows, outstanding establishing set of reserve requirements and ensuring that we have an agreed level of emergency supplies that will allow us to respond immediately to disasters whenever that arises. Mr. Skerritt said the Red cross will work in conjunction with the disaster management office to determine the levels that “we need for that purpose and also for our normal support to the community.” He said the Red Cross is also pursuing good governance, strengthened collaboration with stakeholders, better connections with Montserratians and the diaspora, improved infrastructure, and the welfare of staff and volunteers.

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Young Farmer Plans to Use Drone to Boost Crop Production

A young farmer is planning to use aerial technology to help boost crop production on her farm. Shanion McPherson, a female farmer operating in the Water works area, has announced that she will soon deploy a drone to help manage her crops. The drone, which is being procured from a company in Jamaica, will help with crop protection, irrigation, and spraying. She says Montserrat is experiencing a labour shortage. “I decided that I cannot do all of this work on my own, being that there is a labour shortage here Montserrat, you can hardly find workers to help you. So, I decided to go and [apply] to the Montserrat Business Progressive Fund.” McPherson has already completed her training on the use of the drone in Jamaica, including hands-on flight practice in-put application and safety and regulations. “So it can be used for watering, it can be used for spraying, it can be used to lift up loads, it can diagnose whatever is happening, whatever pest, disease in my farm and a few other things. We have that kind of drought right now, it can also help wet and instead of spraying for a whole three, four days, this could spray like in just half an hour.” While the use of drones on farms is relatively new in Montserrat, the emerging technology avoids the need to put heavy machinery onto the ground, which can lead to problems such as soil compaction. Some of the latest technology could be used to help farmers tackle one of their oldest problems. According to the BCC, researchers at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, are using drones and AI to scan fields and identify weeds. It says fighting weeds can be difficult and time consuming for farmers and it is hoped the new technology will save time.

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Montserrat Secondary School Records Pass Rate of 78.3% in CSEC Exams

The Ministry of Education has released the preliminary results for the Caribbean Examinations Council’s May/June 2026 CSEC Examinations A total of (95) candidates including (55) Montserrat Secondary School students and (40) private residents sat CXC exams this year. The students wrote a total of (359) subject entries in the 2026 CSEC Examinations at General and Technical Proficiency Levels. Based on the provisional results Grades I – III passes were obtained in two hundred and sixty-five (265) of them, yielding a pass rate of 78.3%, a similar performance to that of 2025. Of the 22 subject proficiencies taken at CXC CSEC examinations, (1)   100% passes were recorded in seven of them namely: Agricultural Science, Caribbean History, French, Information Technology, Office Administration, Theatre Arts and Physical Education and Sport. (2)   Pass rates ranging from 93% to 95% were recorded for Biology and Principles of Business. (3)     Food, Nutrition and Health, Chemistry, Principles of Accounts and Physics recorded pass rates ranging from 80 to 89%. A pass rate of 81.5% was recorded for English A, up from 80.7% obtained in 2025. Math recorded a 43.4% pass rate up from the 41% pass rate obtained in the 2025 exams. The Business subjects, Physical Education and Sport, Agriculture, Food Nutrition and Health continue to record very good pass rates. Improvement is noted in the performance of the Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), Theatre Arts and Music. Notable Montserrat Secondary School student performances in the examinations are set out below: Passes in ten subject areas were obtained by: Kai Gray   3 Grade 1s      3 Grade 2s      4 Grade 3s Passes in 8 subject areas were obtained by: Rolston Daley Jr, Annis Fergus, Tay’Juan Grant, Jaazani Hacket, Joshua Kelsick, Amara O’Donogue, Neelesh Sadhwani. Passes in seven subject areas were obtained by: Diego Benjamin, Oren Bobb, Dwanice Hixon, Aiden Jeffers, Azaliah Morton, Roshounda Sinclair, Jelani Williams. Nine students recorded passes in 6 subject areas, while three students recorded passes in 5 subject areas. Six Form Four students wrote a total of 9 subject entries in the areas of Information Technology, Social Studies, Spanish, Electronic Document Preparation and Management and Math. A pass rate of 100% was obtained. Thirty-seven Form Four students participated in the CXC CTEC Math pilot, writing the CTEC Module One Math exam in June. Thirty-six obtained acceptable grades with 10% achieving the top grade. At CCSLC Level, eleven (11) students from the Form Five cohort wrote fifteen (15) subject entries. Competent and Master levels were achieved for 14 of them yielding a pass rate of 93.3%. The better performing subject areas were Spanish and English which returned pass rates of 100%. Integrated Science returned a pass rate of 80%. A key indicator for education is the percentage of students in the year five cohort who obtain 5 or more CSEC passes including English and Math. This year 36.4% the year five cohort obtained 5+ CSEC passes including Math and English. This performance is comparable to the 35.8% obtained in 2025. The Hon Minister, Dr. Ingrid Buffonge, the Permanent Secretary Mrs. Beverley Mendes and the entire Ministry of Education staff (administrative and professional) especially, Principal Hogan and the staff at the Montserrat Secondary School extend congratulations to all successful candidates, their parents and supporters.

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2025 was a Year of Growth and Resilience for the Bank of Montserrat

2025 was a year of financial resilience for the island’s lone indigenous bank, the Bank of Montserrat. Chairperson Venita Cabey speaking at the institution’s annual general meeting last Wednesday stated that the year under review was one of challenges, resilience and progress, as the bank operated in an environment shaped by global uncertainty, changing monetary conditions and geopolitical risk. Despite these factors, she said Montserrat continued to record positive economic growth. Mrs. Cabey noted that the bank’s financial position continued to grow, with total assets amounting to 483.9 million dollars and customer deposits reaching 412.3 million dollars. Net income was 8.36 million dollars. Meanwhile the book value for shares now stands at 9 dollars and 73 cents. In more positive news, the capital adequacy ratio improved to 12.11 per cent way above the regulatory minimum of 8 per cent, set by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. Mrs. Cabey said against the economic backdrop, the bank delivered a strong financial performance.  This reflects continued balance sheet growth and disciplined asset management. She told shareholders that the overall message is that the bank was able to respond to changing market conditions while continuing to grow.  According to the Bank Chairman, the priority remained sustainable growth, supported by appropriate risk management, liquidity, and capital strength.

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Disaster Management Coordination Agency Welcomes Intern from Trinidad

The Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) is part of efforts to strength regional knowledge sharing and collaboration in disaster preparedness. The DMCA has welcomed Trinidad and Tobago national Fiona Guzman, for a 10-week internship, starting on Monday August 24th. The training opportunity forms part of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) Regional Internship Programme. During her placement, Ms. Guzman will assist the DMCA with key disaster resilience initiatives, including vulnerability mapping for hurricanes, tsunamis, flash floods and other hazards. Her work will support the Agency’s ongoing efforts to strengthen hurricane and other hazard preparedness, disaster resilience and risk-informed decision-making for the Government and people of Montserrat. Ms. Guzman says she is excited to be working in Montserrat, gaining practical experience, learning about the island’s disaster management programme and contributing to initiatives that strengthen community resilience and preparedness. Information and Education Officer, Ms. Shirlian Queeley, will serve as Ms. Guzman’s country mentor and DMCA supervisor. The Management and staff of the DMCA warmly welcome Ms. Guzman to Montserrat and look forward to working with her during her internship. The CCRIF Regional Internship Programme provides recent university graduates and postgraduate students from CARICOM and CCRIF Caribbean member countries with practical, career-related experience in areas including disaster risk management, climate change, risk modelling and disaster risk financing. Guzman holds a BSc in Environmental and Natural Resource Management from The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus.

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