By Justice Christopher Blackman CARICOM Competition Commission

Monday, May 4, 2020 — The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) is pleased to announce the winners of its Inaugural Regional Secondary School Essay Competition, which concluded on 31st March 2020.

The competition was a key component of the advocacy drive by the CCC to foster a competition and consumer culture in the region, from the ground up. Students were challenged to think about the importance and benefits of competition and consumer protection laws to the region.

The CCC received 50 entries from students across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Students in the CARICOM region are commended for the high quality of essays the CCC received, and for their creativity in the use of pictures and videos in some instances to articulate their views on the benefits of competition and consumer protection laws. 

There were two age categories for students: ages 12-15 and 16-19.  They were asked to write on one of two topics:

1. “How does fair competition among businesses benefit me and my region?” and
2. “How does consumer protection law benefit me and my Region?”

It gives the CCC great pleasure to announce the winners of the two age categories as follows:

• Ages 12-15 students

First place USD 1000: Hadassah Cuffy (St. Kitts and Nevis) Basseterre High School

Second place USD 750: Hadiah McBean (Guyana) St Joseph Secondary

Third place USD500: Hayley-Shai Kassie (Montserrat) Montserrat Secondary School

• Ages 16-19 students

First place USD 1000: Jerome Samuels (Jamaica) Jamaica College

Second place USD750: Celeste Samuel (Trinidad and Tobago) ASJA Girls’ College San Fernando

Second place USD500: Simone Ann Cruz (Belize) Sacred Heart College

Given the high level of essays submitted, the Commission also wishes to identify the following students whose quality essays need special mention:

Ages 12-15 students

Kya Knight (Barbados) Deighton Griffith Secondary School

Lorenzo Cuellar (Belize) Belize High School

Darius Payne (Trinidad and Tobago) Naparima College

Jude Mahase (Trinidad and Tobago) Naparima College

Jamal Mosely (Barbados) Deighton Griffith Secondary School

Ages 16-19 students

Toushanae Norris (Jamaica) Campion College

Zachary Ramsumair (Trinidad & Tobago) Naparima College

Raheed Gilzene (Jamaica) St Jago High School

Serena Blair (Jamaica) Black River High School

Jahmari Beecher (Jamaica) St. Mary’s College

The CCC specially thanks our judges, all independent regional experts, who contributed in no small way to the competition’s success:

a. Mr. Bevan Narinesingh – Trinidad and Tobago Fair Trading Competition 

b. Prof. Emerita Hazel Simmonds McDonald – University of the West Indies (recommended by the CXC)

c. Dr. Brian Francis – Barbados Fair Trading Commission

d. Mr. Hans Lim A Po – Former CCC Commissioner

e. Ms. Annmarie Grant – Jamaica Fair Trading Commission

All essays were second marked by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) who are commended for a thorough and timely job:

• Dr. Dickson Osuala
• Mr. Antonio Fletcher

This regional essay competition would not have been possible without the partnership of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for funding the competition and consumer videos used to sensitise students across the region and the sponsorship of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and Barbados Fair Trading Commission (BFTC). The excellent advocacy by the national competition and consumer authorities in the CSME in promoting the competition in their respective jurisdictions and the Ministries of Education in each participating Member State and the teachers who ensured that as many students as possible participated in this inaugural competition. Thanks also to Naparima College, Trinidad for hosting live lectures by the CCC and sharing the live coverage on their Facebook page.

The CCC commends all the students who participated in the competition. The quality was above and beyond expectation. The top 3 essays from both age categories will be published on the CCC’s website in May 2020 and the next top 5 in each category will also be published throughout the year,  to not only showcase the hard work of the students, but also for future educational purposes of their colleagues.