Mr. Kenrick Burke – Director of Energy in Montserrat’s Ministry of Communication, Works, Labour and Energy – has been elected as Chairman of the Executive Board of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE).
Mr Burke assumes the chairmanship following the December 2020 appointment of Mrs Francine Blackman, Barbados’ then representative to the CCREEE Executive Board. The new Board Chairman has extensive regional experience, being a native of St. Vincent and the Grenadines who has worked in his homeland as well as Trinidad and Tobago and now, Montserrat.
Mr Burke – who holds a master’s degree in energy management, with distinction and is a certified energy manager – has also worked on several initiatives, including audits and capacity building, throughout the region. He is ably supported by Mr Andrew Gittens, Permanent Secretary – Energy in Barbados’ Ministry of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, as the Board’s Vicechair.
The CCREEE Executive Board is tasked with provision of strategic guidance for the Centre, including reviewing the CCREEE’s annual work programmes and budget for approval by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED); approving regional sustainable energy and energy-related projects and supporting the implementation of the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS), among other functions.
Other members of the CCREEE Executive Board remain, as appointed last December: Dr Mahendra Sharma of Guyana; Ms Denise Tulloch of Jamaica; Mr Heinz Habertheuer, representing the Austrian Development Agency (ADA); Ms Rana Ghoneim, representing United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO); Dr Albert Binger, representing SIDS DOCK; Mr Joseph Cox, representing the CARICOM Secretariat and, Ms Danielle Evanson, representing COTED.
The Executive Board, under Mr Burke’s leadership, will continue guiding the CCREEE’s operations through 2022. The CCREEE thanks the outgoing chairperson for her service and extend a hearty welcome to the Mr Burke, in his new capacity as Chairman of the CCREEE Executive Board.