Samoa and Tokelau Cross International Date Line
The tiny Pacific island nation of Samoa and nearby atolls of New Zealand-administered Tokelau skipped Friday this year and moved from Thursday straight to Saturday to align themselves with their trading partners in the region.
At the stroke of midnight , the islands reversed a 120-year-old policy of being east of the International Date Line, and moved west of the line.
Officials say the jump forward in time corrects a calendar problem that kept Samoa on Sunday, while its trading partners were conducting business Monday. Likewise, when Samoans were working Friday, it was Saturday further west.
Samoan reporter Autagavaia Tipi tells VOA the change will help Samoan commerce.
“We have our closest trading partners: New Zealand and Australia, plus Japan and China in Asia. The government has made the decision for us to shift from the eastern side to the western side. It's for us to make it easier for doing trade with those countries.”
The current time zone was agreed in 1892, to work in line with American traders based in California. Tipi says the return to Samoa's original position on the International Date Line is also a good business move.
“The government felt that in the new millennium we're making a lot of business with New Zealand and Australia and also Japan and China. Very little business with the United States. So I think it's about the right time for us to move to the original side that we were of the International Date Line.”
Tipi says there is no controversy about the move because everything will return to normal in the New Year.
PNP's Portia Simpson delivers crushing 41-22 seat defeat to JLP
THE People’s National Party (PNP) sent the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) back into Opposition after scoring a crushing 41-22-seat victory in yesterday’s 16th general election that pollsters and analysts had said was mostly too close to call.
A sober but triumphant Simpson Miller told jubilant supporters at PNP headquarters last night that she was thankful to the Jamaican people and Prime Minister Andrew Holness who, she said, called and congratulated her earlier. “He was very gracious.”
She urged comrades to greet supporters of the losing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) with love in an obvious extension of the olive branch after what was a vigorous and often bitter campaign.
“We will be working to move this country forward to achieve growth and development and for job creation,” she said. “As we move to balance the books, we will be moving to balance people’s lives.”
Simpson Miller also asked public servants to ensure the protection of Government property, and added: “Today, the Jamaica people assisted us to rescue Jamaica and to restore the power. You will hear from us soon, as we move to put our team in place to take charge of the Government.”
The dramatic swing to the PNP, which emerged as early as 8:00 last night, returns the 66-year-old Simpson Miller to the prime minister’s chair, four years after she failed in her first bid to get her own mandate from the electorate after taking over from P J Patterson, who retired in March 2006.
It also resulted in Holness, the 39-year-old JLP leader, serving as prime minister for a mere two months, having been sworn in on October 23 after Bruce Golding stepped down.
But probably the hottest sting in the defeat for the JLP is that it made the party the first oneterm Government since Independence.
The election was marked by long waits at polling stations, glitches in the operation of the electronic voter identification system, and a low voter turnout.
But overall voting went smoothly islandwide.
Last night, Holness conceded defeat, telling journalists at JLP headquarters in Kingston that “the people have spoken and we are humble servants and we listen”.
Holness had campaigned on a platform of continuity and fiscal prudence, while Simpson Miller and the PNP had, on the hustings, highlighted unemployment and the harsh economic conditions as failings of the Government.
Some of the heavyweights who lost their seats yesterday included: Agriculture Minister Robert Montague; Energy Minister Clive Mullings; junior industry and commerce minister Michael Stern; Sharon Hay-Webster, who crossed the floor in a dramatic switch from the PNP; and National Security Minister Dwight Nelson.
Statistics from the Electoral Office of Jamaica confirmed that 48 per cent of the electorate turned out to vote at 6,629 polling stations in 2,200 locations islandwide in what electoral officials, observers and police said was possibly the most peaceful election in local political history.
Director of Elections Orette Fisher, who was presiding for the first time at the helm of a Jamaican election, admitted there were some of the usual election day headaches but for the most part polling went smoothly and without incident.
“I can say at this time that we are very satisfied that the process was efficiently executed and the elections were free and fair and free of fear,” Fisher told journalists after his office had announced the preliminary results.
Most of the glitches centred around the operation of the Electronic Voter Identification and Ballot Issuing System (EVIBIS) which was rolled out in Eastern St Catherine, West Central St Andrew, South East St Andrew, Eastern St Andrew, Central Kingston, and Western St Andrew, with partial implementation in North West St Andrew and North Central St Andrew.
The EVIBIS identifies the elector and issues his/her ballot electronically. The machines do not provide for voting electronically, but instead match the voter to fingerprints in a database. Persons whom the system rejected for whatever reason were quizzed by the presiding officer to ascertain whether they were who they claimed to be.
Some voters and the PNP complained that voting in EVIBIS centres was agonisingly slow, causing long lines and frustrating electors.
Fisher blamed the problems on a combination of “nervousness on the part of some election staff and impatience of some voters”, but said the problems were sorted out and voting continued.
“We have had reports from some supervisors who say things are going smoothly while there are others who say the machines are slow. But slow is relative because some persons just don’t want to wait,” he told the Observer.
The day’s minuses included reported shooting incidents in the Mountain View Avenue area and Southborough in Portmore, St Catherine, as well as reports that a man died in Portland after discovering that he had erroneously put his ‘X’ beside the wrong candidate.
But the election earned the thumbs up from international and local observers who certified it as largely incident-free.
Ambassador Lisa Shoman, the OAS chief of mission observing the election, said that preliminary reports suggested that polling went well.
According to Shoman, the 12 teams monitoring election activities across the island had not observed anything untoward thus far.
“Everything is going according to schedule and according to plan so far,” she said at mid-morning.
She said the most her team observed were long lines which were based on how the crowd was being handled by election workers.
Consistent with electoral history, some changes could come in the final count or after any possible challenge from losing candidates who may petition for a magisterial recount.
JAMAICA OBSERVER
Police protecting Tufton
Jamaica Labour Party Deputy Leader Dr Christopher Tufton says he is now under police protection at his home in his South Western St Elizabeth constituency.
According to Tufton, People’s National Party (PNP) supporters have refused to accept his 101-vote victory over Hugh Buchanan in yesterday’s general election and have said enough to him to leave him fearing for his and his family’s safety.
Tufton said that after his close win in the election he was verbally abused by comrades in the constituency who accused him of stealing the election. As a result, he reported the matter to the police who provided him with protection.
“The people have spoken and I have accepted their verdict,” Tufton said of his party’s loss in the election. “They (PNP supporters in his constituency) should also accept the people’s decision.”
JAMAICA OBSERVER
USVI to lay off nearly 500 amid budget crisis
The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands says he will be forced to lay off nearly 500 employees in the coming months because of a fiscal crisis.
Gov. John de Jongh said Wednesday that 143 temporary and part-time workers will be dismissed on Dec. 30, and that another 350 workers will receive dismissal letters on Jan. 5.
The governor blamed legislators for the dismissals, saying they have rejected other proposals including wage cuts to offset a budget crisis.
De Jongh warned that additional layoffs might be needed.
The U.S. Caribbean territory faces a $17.4 million deficit this year and an estimated $90 million deficit next year.
Haiti to reap US$1.5 million from the Clinton Bush Fund
Hospitality workers, entrepreneurs, students, and teachers in Haiti are set to become empowered with much needed training when the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund disburses nearly US$1.5 million in new grants to organizations.
The Washington-based fund announced the three new grants recently for the Oasis Foundation, the Quisqueya University and EducaTech.
The Oasis Foundation is to benefit from a US$264,000 grant to revive l’École Hôtelière Haitienne (the Haiti Hotel School) destroyed by the massive 2010 earthquake. The school, an institution under Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism, was the only comprehensive hospitality training school of its kind in the country. With this funding, the school can now welcome hospitality students back to complete their training, and matriculate future hospitality students.
Earlier this year, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund made a US$2 million equity investment in the Oasis Hotel, a business-class hotel in Port-au-Prince whose construction was halted after the earthquake. The Oasis Foundation, a non-profit established by the hotel, is partnering with the Haitian Hotel School and Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism, with additional support from Occidental Hotels and the USAID/Haiti Recovery Initiative, to make the training program possible.
The Fund new grant also includes a US$914,000 grant to Quisqueya University to help enhance the recently established Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to develop both current and future business leaders of Haiti. The Centre will provide a range of business development services. It will offer training for local consultants and analysts, facilitate businesses transitioning from the informal to the formal economy, and provide advanced managerial training. From classroom training to hands-on case studies, the Center will give entrepreneurs the skills necessary for their businesses to succeed.
The Fund’s US$285,646 grant to the Haitian for-profit enterprise EducaTech will provide computer equipment, educational resources, and technology training for students and faculty at Haiti’s state university.
EducaTech will establish a digital library at Haiti’s Institute of Management and International Studies (INAGHEI), with computers and programs, digital boards, and electronic databases. Students, faculty, and staff will go through EducaTech’s training program on the use of this software and hardware, and then will go on to train even more students.
The vision of EducaTech is to give all Haitian young people access to books and electronics, and use it to create a competitive and productive workforce that will grow Haiti’s economy. “In Haiti,” EducaTech, co-founder Kesner Pharel explained, “we can live much better through technology.”
The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is a non-profit organization founded after Haiti’s January 12, 2010 earthquake, when President Barack Obama asked former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to lead a major fundraising effort to assist the Haitian people to “build back better.” The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund initially responded to the catastrophe with millions in humanitarian relief. By the time the Fund was officially formed in May 2010, it transitioned to primarily serving its longer-term mission of sustainable reconstruction efforts designed to promote jobs and economic opportunity, empowering Haiti to chart its own successful future.
Caribbean 360 News
Scores accepted by Department of Immigration
The Cayman Islands Department of Immigration is accepting scores from Educational Testing Service’s (ETS) TOEIC(R) tests to measure the English-language proficiency of persons from around the world wishing to work or settle in the Cayman Islands.
The Cayman Islands Department of Immigration expects to receive approximately 1,000 applicants annually who will take the TOEIC(R) Listening and Reading test and the TOEIC(R) Speaking and Writing tests to demonstrate their English-language skills. Scores will apply to workers from all sectors and are not based on a tier system or type of work.
“We are encouraged by the Cayman Islands’ use of fair and valid assessments to advance quality and equity in education,” Mohammad Kousha, ETS Executive Director-Global said. “TOEIC assessments offer job seekers a competitive advantage and an internationally recognized credential to distinguish them from other candidates.”
The Cayman Islands acceptance of TOEIC follows the U.K. Border Agency’s announcement earlier this year that persons from around the world wishing to work or settle in the United Kingdom may use the TOEIC test to demonstrate their English proficiency for all visas under the United Kingdom’s points-based system.
The TOEIC tests are the most widely accepted English-language assessments in the workplace environment. With more than six million tests administered last year, the TOEIC tests are the global standard for assessing workplace English-language communication skills for companies, institutions and government agencies around the world. The TOEIC tests currently are used by more than 10,000 organizations in 120 countries worldwide.
PNP claims JLP leader breached agreement
The Peoples National Party (PNP) has filed a complaint to the Political Ombudsman claiming that the prime minister has breached a campaign agreement.
Last night, The Gleaner was unable to get a reaction from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) campaign team.
However, the PNP released a statement saying yesterday Prime Minister Andrew Holness was seen openly campaigning in the battle ground constituency of East Rural St. Andrew and South East St. Andrew.
The PNP said this breached an agreement for all political parties to end campaign activities at least 24 hours before Election Day.
The PNP also noted that Holness was accompanied by the JLP candidate for East Rural St. Andrew, Joan Gordon Webley in that constituency and by Dwight Nelson in South East St. Andrew.
TCI capital to Providenciales is not being considered by the Interim Government
Poppy-cock is how Neil Smith, spokesman for His Excellency the Governor, has described vicious rumors of the capital Grand Turk moving to Providenciales.
Smith was responding to the circulated rumors carried in yesterday's edition of TCI News Now, which quoted two reliable sources within the interim government as having independently leaked a so far unannounced consideration of a move of the capital from Grand Turk to Providenciales.
This possibility had been raised early in the previous Michael Misick administration and according to the writer, it now appears that the reasons for considering the move have actually become more cogent.
The writer listed a number of reasons why this move may be necessary, including the fact that many government services are duplicated, with the largest operations in Provo; suggesting that moving the capital would save residents expensive travel costs and time traveling to Grand Turk to conduct Provo and Caicos Islands-based business.
The article also listed possible evidence of such a move being the planned reduction in electoral districts on Grand Turk from four to two, noting in the event the governments administrative functions move to Provo, the population of Grand Turk could drop significantly.
Reasons given in the past for not making the move according to the article, was that, prior to the cruise ship port being established on Grand Turk, the capital islands economy depended almost exclusively on governmental activities.
The newspaper article quoted the sources as saying another factor, is the possibility of even larger economic growth on Provo and the other Caicos islands due to the soon to be completed Provo Airport expansion. Provo is anticipated to accommodate international wide bodied flights, as well as larger, more frequent flights from the nearby United States. Grand Turk airport currently is equipped to accommodate full size commercial narrow body aircraft.
The inside sources, the paper noted, have speculated that the Waterloo, the Governors residence Waterloo, could be turned into a historic attraction for stay-over tourists, leaving Waterloo vacant.
But with all the articles reasoning for relocating the Nation;s capital Grand Turk to Provo, the Governors spokesman Neil Smith told RTC News when contacted that this vicious rumor is just poppy-cock.
Mr. Smith said he does not know where the rumor comes from or whose pro-mul-gating it, but said nothing could be further from the truth.
Smith said he has spoken with both his Excellency the Governor Ric Todd and Mr. Phillip Rush-brook, Director of Strategy in the Governors office, who both categorically deny talks of any such move of the capital to Providenciales.
Smith said he does not know who two sources from the Interim Administration the writer of the story in the TCI News Now article is quoting, but promises residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands that that matter is not up for consideration. It is not even on the agenda of the Interim Administration, he told RTC News.
Reaction to the news of the capital relocating to Provo, though bandied about in previous years, has generally been that, while acknowledging that the possibility has been aired from time to time for several years, it is likely to meet with considerable resistance in the TCI.
Consultative Forum Chair Lillian Missick told RTC news QUOTE:- Not in a pigs eye will that happen.
TCI Senior Leadership appointments (Deputy Secretary)
As part of its public sector reform programme, TCI Government is reducing the number of ministerial departments. New Permanent Secretaries are in the process of being appointed and applications are now invited for the Deputy Secretary posts that will help them lead the new ministries through significant change.
These are important senior leadership roles transforming the effectiveness and efficiency of public services. Several positions are available and successful applicants will be appointed to the most appropriate ministries.
Applicants will need to be TCI Belongers or demonstrate strong and permanent links with the islands. Previous government experience is not a pre-requisite and applications are invited from anyone with relevant leadership and management experience. Applications will be welcomed from current TCI civil servants with relevant experience, skills and potential without regard to current seniority.
Candidates need to be creative and strategic thinkers, with real leadership ability as well as a relevant level of financial understanding.
Change-oriented and with a record of getting things done through people, they will be persuasive communicators, orally and on paper, able to manage complex stakeholder relationships. Above all they will be of unquestionable integrity, with the courage to insist on, and exemplify, the highest moral standards and behaviours.
For further details, including how to apply, please visit the TCIG website @www.gov.tc or telephone Cyre Ferguson +1 649 232 2447.
Applications received after midnight on Sunday 15th January 2012 may not be considered.
96 Hour Crime Recap between Providenciales & Grand Turk
Media relations Officer Detective Inspector Calvin Chase, yesterday issued a ninety-six hours (96) crime update, where Police in Providenciales responded to twenty-three (23) incidences of crime, that although some may have been serious in nature, none of the injuries were said to be life threatening.
Included in the (23) incidences of crime for Providenciales, were:-
15 Burglaries: which included 5 in Blue Hills, 3 on Airport Road, 1 on Leeward Highway, 1 in Chalk Sound, 1 in South Dock, 1 in Long Bay, 1 in Turtle Cove, 1 on Venetian Road and 1 on Industrial Park Road.
There was 1 Attempted Burglary Old Airport Road, 1 Vehicle Interference on Industrial Park Road, 4 reports of Theft one in The Bight, 1 in Blue Hills, 1 in Grace Bay and 1 in Duck Yard in Kew Town and there were 2 Attempted Robberies-Five Cays and Grace Bay.
According to Chase, during this period one male was arrested on suspicion of Theft in connection with a report made on 23rd December 2011.
Another male was arrested on suspicion of Handling Stolen Goods; one was arrested on suspicion of Imitation Firearm in connection with an incident on 26th December 2011; a male was arrested on suspicion of Wounding in connection with a report made on 28th August 2011; and three males were arrested on suspicion of committing a series of robberies in Providenciales.
A male was also charged for Possession of Ammunition in connection with a search warrant executed at his premises on 21st December 2011.
Meanwhile, also included in Chases ninety-six hours (96) crime wrap-up for Grand Turk, were the Police officers response to two (2) reports of serious nature; namely Burglary in Overback and wounding in West Road.
He said a male was arrested on suspicion for breach of bail conditions, resisting arrest and escaping lawful custody as it relates to an incident on 20th December 2011.
A female was also arrested on suspicion of wounding in connection with an incident on 27th December 2011. She was later granted Police bail with a surety to return to the Grand Turk Police Station on 2nd January 2012 to be further dealt with.
Also here in Grand Turk, male was arrested and charged for obstruction, resisting arrest and assault on a Police officer in connection with an incident at the Library Tennis Court on 24th December 2011. He is scheduled to appear in the Grand Turk Magistrates Court on 9th January 2012 to answer to those charges.