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PREMIER EWING CALLS FOR ZERO TOLERANCE APPROACH TO CRIME

This morning I was informed of a armed robbery which took place last night which culminated in a shoot out with the police and the shooting of a Turks and Caicos Islander by the escaped robbers who attempted to escape in the vehicle of the victim.

I convened a meeting this morning with the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Police to discuss this most recent incident and the state of crime in the Turks and Caicos.

During the 1 hour long meeting the Commissioner of Police updated me on several previous incidents including the most recent and what is being done by the police force.

I impressed upon the Commissioner that a zero tolerance approach to crime has to be taken and criminals flushed out and brought to justice. We also discussed the recent jail break in Haiti and the need for the police force and Immigration to be placed on high alert.

I will make a statement on other concerns and actions as it relate to crime in my address to the nation tomorrow in a press conference.

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MINISTER OF BORDER CONTROL AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES PUTS IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS ON HEIGHTENED ALERT IN THE WAKE OF MASSIVE JAIL BREAK IN HAITI

It was with great sadness that I learned of the break out of nearly 180 prisoners from the Arcahaie Prison on the coast north Port-au-Prince.

I am saddened by the lost of life of the guard who was killed in the escape, and offer my prayers and thoughts for his family.

Residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands should know that the Ministry of Border Control is monitoring this situation closely.

I have instructed my Permanent Secretary, the Director of Immigration and the Supervisor of our Coastal Radar Department to heighten our alert systems in the Immigration Intelligence Unit, and be more diligent especially as relates to persons coming out of Haiti.

The CRD have also been put on the highest alert, and officers at our ports of entry and all of our permitting agencies, including the Visa Section in the Immigration Department have been asked to heighten their scrutiny of passengers travelling from Haiti and applications for persons from that area, even if it may mean greater delays.

I have spoken to both of our local airlines flying the route to Haiti and parts of the route to other destinations locally and abroad, to assist with our air surveillance of the route during their scheduled flights in the area.

As of this morning I have had conversations with the Premier, who is aware of the situation and in support of the efforts of my Ministry in ensuring that these Islands are not negatively impacted by this still fluid incident.

I have also had telephone conversations with the Consulate of Haiti in the Turks and Caicos Islands to convey our sympathies on the loss of life and ascertain all the necessary information that we might need to assist our efforts here. I expect a follow up call to them again later on today.

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Attempted Theft of ATM Foiled By Police

Thieves used a Truck to rip out a Scotia Bank cash machine from a MoneyGram location in Down Town area of Providenciales earlier this morning (Sunday 23rd October 2016).

Before the ATM Theft, around 10:44 PM on Saturday 22nd October 2016, a group of three masked men robbed a man at gunpoint in the Discovery Bay area before making away with his Black F150 Ford Truck including his phone and a small amount of cash. Police responded to the scene and a search begun for the stolen vehicle.

Around 3:59 AM this morning, police noticed two bandits ripping the Cash Machine out of its position with a chain connected to the same Truck that was reported stolen earlier. Upon approaching the bandits, they open fire at the officers. An exchange of gunshots had ensued before the culprits made good their escape on foot in the nearby bushes in the direction of Kew Town.

At 4:20AM, a complainant approached officers while on scene and reported that she had just reached home on Walter Cox Drive when she heard a loud noise and was immediately approached by two masked males described as one wearing all black, while the other wearing black and red shirt, long black pants with black cloth over his face and a black rifle in his possession. They threw her to the ground and kicked her about the body before attempting to get away in her vehicle but were unsuccessful. The lady then realized that she received a gunshot to the thigh. She was taken to the hospital where she is being treated.

The bandits remain at large.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, who has not yet spoken to the police by calling the Chalk Sound Police Station 338-5901/941-8067, or who has seen any suspicious activity in the vicinity of the Moneygram location in the Downtown area next to the Shell Gas to please call Crime Stoppers on 1-800- 8477 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www.crimestoppers.tc, The information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should NOT report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter page.

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REGIONAL NURSES START SPECIALISED TRAINING AT UWI, TRINIDAD THANKS TO CIBC FIRSTCARIBBEAN

Bridgetown, Barbados, October 20, 2016 – A corps of Caribbean nurses will soon be even more skilled at providing care for children afflicted with blood disorders and cancers.

Drawn from Barbados, The Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the nurses recently enrolled in a specialised one-year Nursing Training Programme at the University of the West Indies School of Nursing in El Dorado, Trinidad and Tobago.

The training is part of a partnership with SickKids Caribbean and is being funded by the FirstCaribbean International Comtrust Foundation, the charitable arm of regional bank, CIBC FirstCaribbean.

The nurses, many of whom specialise in caring for children suffering with various forms of paediatric cancer and blood disorders, will form the first cohort in this segment of the training.

CIBC FirstCaribbean’s partnership with SickKids Foundation extends from the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Barbados in 2013 when the bank pledged to provide US$1,000,000 over a seven-year period to train medical professionals specialising in the care of paediatric patients affected by cancer or blood disorders such as sickle cell disease.

The partnership is being undertaken in collaboration with the University of the West Indies.

SickKids Foundation is a charity registered in the Caribbean, to, among other things, fund training for Caribbean medical professionals as part of the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative (SCI) through the Centre for Global Child Health at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada.

“Childhood cancer, affecting our most vulnerable citizens, is particularly heart-breaking,” said Trevor Torzsas, the bank’s Managing Director, Customer Relationship Management and Strategy and a Trustee of the FirstCaribbean International Comtrust Foundation.

“Unfortunately, some of the children of our employees have been touched by diseases like cancer and sickle cell anaemia. For us, therefore, this programme to provide improved care for our region’s children is personal,” he added.

“We were particularly pleased to join the list of contributors to this project as the Nursing Training Partner”, he said. “We consider it an honour to be a part of this programme, and we are excited at the possibilities it opens up for health care in the Caribbean.”

Director of Corporate Communications at the bank and Trustee of the FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation Ltd, Debra King said "CIBC FirstCaribbean is pleased to be able to assist in this training initiative to better equip our already dedicated nurses here in the Caribbean, to take care of the region's children." In addition to enhancing knowledge and skills in safely caring for patients with cancer and blood disorders, the training also focuses on caring for the whole family, by recognizing that family is the constant in every child’s life. In addition, the moral distress nurses experience in caring for these patients will be addressed by teaching them coping strategies.

The overall objective of the initiative is to enhance the care for children in the region who are affected by cancer and blood disorders, and ultimately increase the survival rates. The five-year plan that was developed by SickKids in association with their Caribbean partners, addresses the region's gaps in capacity to advance diagnosis and the treatment of paediatric cancer and blood disorders.

It also aims to create awareness throughout the region of childhood cancers and blood disorders.

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TCIG APPOINTS ELIZABETH M. WILSON AS NEW PROTOCOL OFFICER

The Turks and Caicos Islands Government is pleased to welcome Ms. Elisabeth M. Wilson as the new Protocol Officer within the Office of the Premier.

Ms. Wilson first began working in the Turks and Caicos Islands civil service in 2000 as a receptionist for the Tourist Board, before working her way up to post of Assistant Training Manager; a post she held for many years before being transferred to the Office of Premier as the previous Protocol Officer.

Commenting on her reappointment Ms. Wilson stated: "Even though I have worked in other places and have put my all into those areas, it is not every day that you get to do a job that you love so I always looked forward to someday returning to the service of my Country and to this role. ”

“The most satisfying and most rewarding part of my job, for me, is putting the Turks and Caicos Islands and the government in the best light.”

Deputy Governor, Anya Williams added; "I am pleased to welcome Mrs. Wilson back into the civil service as a member of staff within the Office of the Premier. I am confident that her previous skills and experience will be an asset to TCIG and I certainly wish her all the best.”

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Tourist Board To offer HOSPITALITY ASSURED CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands (September 8, 2016) – In preparation for the destination’s up-coming peak season, tourism officials are keen to help tourism-related businesses enhance the customer’s experience and strengthen their overall business performance.

Executives from the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board attended a week-long training adviser’s workshop on tourism business excellence in St. Michael, Barbados. The workshop was organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) to sharpen participants’ business advisory skills so they can provide technical assistance to Caribbean tourism-related businesses which will be identified by the Tourist Board to participate in the Hospitality Assured Certification Programme.

Nineteen participants from 13 CTO member countries, including Ms. Blythe Clare and Mr. Brian Been of the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board, attended the workshop held with funding support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) through its Caribbean Technological Consultancy Services (CTCS) Network and the European Union’s Competitiveness of Enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (COSME).

In a press statement Hugh Riley, CTO’s secretary general, commenting on the timeliness of the workshop said, “The Caribbean Tourism Organization is driven by our emphasis on human capital development, our responsibility to help reduce the region’s unemployment, and our laser-like focus on consistently improving the quality of the experience the Caribbean offers to its visitors. This workshop seems to me to be relevant to all of those aspects.”

The workshop was facilitated by John Burchell of Hospitality Assured in the United Kingdom, with assistance from Norma Shorey Bryan, a trained Barbadian business advisor. The workshop preceded the region’s premier tourism gathering, the State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC), where those issues are being tackled. SOTIC takes place in Barbados from14-16 September.

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GOVERNOR'S FAREWELL MESSAGE - OPTIMISM, BUT A NEED TO SHARPEN THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND RETAIN AN OPEN ECONOMY

After three happy years in the beautiful country of Turks and Caicos Islands, Jill and I will be leaving with great sadness next week, on 10 October – and with great relief that the islands were, unlike others in the region, untouched by Hurricane Matthew. It hardly seems possible that it was almost three years to the day that we were in the House of Assembly for a memorable swearing-in ceremony.

We both count ourselves privileged to have lived in Turks and Caicos. Everyone, from Ministers and opposition leaders to resort owners and taxi drivers, have welcomed us warmly wherever we have gone, from shopping in Provo to walking in Middle Caicos.

It is important to look forward not back, something which I intend to remind myself of as I begin to work outside the Foreign Office. I am optimistic about TCI. It's economy is looking stronger than most in the region, and we have an international brand which is increasingly recognised from New York to London.

It is vital that TCI's leaders and population preserve its wonderful environment. There is plenty of space for development, and what has happened in South Caicos, for example, in the past three years with a completely new runway under construction and new resorts is an extraordinary example of TCI's economic strength.

TCI's success is based heavily on the fruits of private enterprise, and in the future, as one senior public servant said to me just last week, the civil service needs to continue to raise its game. It's good that motivation and training is being increasingly recognised, but there are still vulnerabilities, for example in delivery and customer service, where we need to get sharper.

Similarly it is my hope, and that of Ministers in London, that whoever leads the country after the next election will retain and strengthen the open and corruption free government TCI has developed, and a rigorous and resilient economy. Our painstakingly achieved reputation, demonstrated by the fantastic achievement of a Triple B plus rating from one of the world's largest rating agencies over the last two years, can be dashed quickly. A return to the high spending extravagances of an earlier era could be disastrous.

Above all my optimism is based on seeing the younger generation of Turks and Caicos Islanders starting to make their mark on the country. The thousands of schoolchildren Jill and I have met across all the islands during the annual Footsteps4Good charity walk, and through the Cadets Corps, have an energy, enthusiasm and charm which could take TCI to a higher level. The country saw how one young man, Delano Williams, carried the baton, literally, at peak level in this year's Olympics. He told me last month that he is determined, despite the setbacks, to continue to perform at world levels for the foreseeable future. I hope there may be a chance to see Delano compete again in London next year.

As I continue to travel and work in Britain and other countries, I know that there will be plenty of opportunities to sing Turks and Caicos's praises, and I hope to return to see my optimism translate into a confident, successful and caring country, whether it's people choose to remain part of the UK, or eventually opt for an independent future.

Thank you to everyone for letting Jill and me, and our daughters and grandchildren, share with you for three wonderful years a little piece of your country's beauty, charm and purpose.

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