Ja: Patterson hands off Caricom chair to Spencer

PRIME Minister P J Patterson will hand over the chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to Antigua and Barbuda's new prime minister, Baldwin Spencer, at today's Fifteenth Inter-sessional Meeting of the Community.

Spencer, whose United Progressive Party (UPP) Tuesday night beat the Lester Bird-led Antigua Labour Party (ALP), assumes the chairmanship at a time when the Caribbean Community will need to take firm decisions on a number of issues, the most recent being the Haitian crisis.

But before Patterson, who is serving an extended term as Caricom chairman, demits office today, he is expected to address the matter of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's temporary asylum in Jamaica.