National Conversation Report has been completed.
Leader of the Peoples Democratic Movement, Mr. Doug Parnell submitted the final report on the National Conversation to RTC News.
In his comments Mr. Parnell stated that 'The National Conversation Program has been completed and the Report was submitted to me at the date set. I am pleased with the level of participation across the political spectrum and wish at the outset to thank all participants, the coordinators, the presenters who volunteered their ideas, time and passion, the Media Houses who gave extensive coverage, Dave Morgan who observed from the Governor’s Office and the members of the public who attended the meetings across the country.'
Having read the Report I observed the oneness of the people’s voices across the length and breadth of these Turks and Caicos Islands on issues raised by them and I am of the firm view that this Report should not and can not be ignored.
I have and will continue to take up the issues raised in this Report and wish to invite the Interim Government and HM Government to address the issues raised with the level of seriousness, respect and attention that it deserves.
I believe that the time is right for negotiations as the people are in many instances justly frustrated and there must be an effort to move things along so that this period of our history can end in a place of certainty and towards a democratically elected Government.
I urge the People of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Interim Administration to let’s work together in the best interests of these Islands.
A copy of the report prepared by Ms. Sharlene Cartwright Robinson is attached in the Press Release section of this website.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
The Ministry of Health and Human Services has stepped up its cholera public awareness campaign with the release today of a series of locally produced TV and Radio Public Service Announcements or PSAs. The PSAs, to be broadcast in English, Spanish and Creole, will keep the TCI public alert to the causes and dangers of cholera and demonstrate the healthy practices which will prevent them catching or spreading the disease.
Director of Health Services Dr. Rufus Ewing has welcomed this latest outreach:
“The entire TCI public has to become involved in the fight to ensure that cholera, which continues to affect neighboring Haiti and the Dominican Republic, does not reach the Turks and Caicos Islands, and if it does, that we do what is necessary to keep it contained. To do so every one needs to be informed about the disease including how to recognize the symptoms and how to avoid catching and spreading it. We have incorporated a lot of this information in these PSAs.”
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Judith Campbell has urged the public to embrace the habits being promoted in the PSAs.
“The key message being promoted is WASH. This highlights:
Water purification
Avoiding contact with infected persons,
Sanitation and
Hand hygiene.
The PSAs demonstrate these practices in simple easy to follow ways which we hope will be embraced by all members the TCI community. I look forward to receiving feedback from the public as we all work to keep the Turks and Caicos cholera free, and I am grateful to the Pan American Health Organisation for funding this initiative.”
The PSAs were sponsored by PANO/WHO
The Ministry of Health has taken several measures to prevent and control the spread of cholera in the TCI since the cholera epidemic started in neighbouring Haiti and Dominican Republic. To date these include:
- Increased surveillance at all sea and airports of entry to ensure that any potential cholera cases are detected rapidly
- Requiring all health care providers to report cases of diarrhea to the Ministry of Health
- Improved water purification and sanitation efforts
- Developing public communication and education campaigns
- Forming a Cholera Prevention and Control Committee and Sub-committees addressing:- surveillance, cholera care and treatment, health education and communication, and water purification, sanitation and clinical infrastructure
Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge
World Water Day is observed annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
This year, World Water Day highlights the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems. This year's theme, "Water for Cities: responding to the Urban Challenge", aims to encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenge of urban water management. In the case of the Turks and Caicos Islands, given the absence of surface rivers and lakes, and our limited underground resources, water management is paramount.
Water is the most common substance found on earth although less than 1% of the earth's water is suitable for drinking. At present, more than a billion people around the globe survive on just over 1 gallon (4 liters) of water per day. Approximately 3 billion people may suffer from water shortages by the year 2025 if we continue to mismanage water. Water is vital for human existence; 66% of the human body is water and a person can only live without water for about one week. Water is essential for our health and for environmental sanitation. Management of our scarce water resources in the Turks and Caicos Islands is therefore essential.
The Environmental Health and Engineering and Maintenance Services (EMS) Departments wish to encourage the TCI Community to celebrate World Water day not just today but every day of the year by actively assisting in the management and conservation of fresh water by:
- taking shorter showers,
- fixing dripping faucets,
- turning off faucets when brushing teeth and lathering hands with soap and
- running washers and dishwashers only when you have a full load.
Water management is not only a global concept, but is necessary locally. Let us all do our part. By acting locally to manage our water resources, we make a global impact.
World Water Day “Water for Islands: Responding to the Turks and Caicos Islands Challenge”
CSA issues list of strong demands
The Civil Servants Association (CSA), has demanded, among other things, the reinstatement of full salary to all Civil Servants as it was prior to April 2010 and want an answer by today, Monday March 21st.
In a release it was noted that in April 2010 the Government had implemented a 10% cut in Civil Servants salary which was supposed to have saved 7 Million dollars and reduce the need to make persons redundant.
According to the CSA statement: “This 7 million dollars saving has been realized. The recent repayment of the SIPT expenditure by the British Government to TCIG has now made available 7 plus million dollars which should be paid to Civil Servants retroactively for the 10% salary cut. The introduction of the new taxation measures will make it difficult for Civil Servants to meet their basic needs without the reinstatement of this 10% salary cut.”
The CSA noted that the decision taken by the Interim Administration on the advice of the Customs Tariff Advisor to change the tariff system has resulted in a significant shortfall in government revenue for which Civil Servants are now being asked to pay for with the various reductions in Pension and Payroll.
The CSA is also demanding the immediate payment of Pension to all retired Civil Servants who are so entitled and the calculation of such pension payments as provided for in the Pension Ordinance and Regulations; payment of Gratuity to all retired Civil Servants who are eligible for such if so requested and the calculation of such according to provisions in the Pension Ordinance and Regulations and payment of pension and gratuity to all Civil Servants whose posts were abolished such as persons who were transferred to the New Hospital.
The CSA also rejected the proposal to amend the Pension Ordinance so as to remove the option for Civil Servants to receive up to 25 percent of their pension as gratuity upon retirement from the service or upon abolition of their post and it is requesting that all Civil Servants employed in a pensionable post after April 5, 1992 and who have been confirmed in such post be paid a gratuity upon retirement from the service or on being made redundant as provided for in the Pension Ordinance for persons employed before April 6, 1992.
The CSA also recommend that the following provisions within the General Orders regarding leave are followed: G.O 8.1.17 makes prevision for all leave accumulated prior to the General Orders coming into force (1998) to be used in the 5 proceeding years and the remainder to be held over until retirement. Also G.O. 8.1.17 speaks to in exceptional circumstances that the Chief Secretary (now PSC) can allow leave above 30 days to be accumulated and hence individuals must retain that right to make representation to the PSC. We further recommend that persons with excess leave are allowed to proceed on it into early retirement, and the value be paid in monthly installments as another option to minimize upfront costs.
The CSA statement continued: “ We support the Acting Appointments for 3 months at a time but propose that the application of salaries for that appointment be standardized to the difference between the persons’ salary and not the issuing of responsibility allowance. We recommend that Acting Allowance should be issued as provided for in the General Orders. We recommend that Professional allowance be clearly defined and how and to whom it will be issued.
The government has not responded to these demands up to press time.
Digicel brings QR codes to Turks & Caicos
Digicel has introduced its QR code offering in Turks and Caicos. The 2D bar codes will enable Digicel customers using a Blackberry smartphone to use mobile phone camera to scan the code and be immediately connected to the Digicel or Digicel Facebook website without typing the web address.
The QR code will appear on all new Digicel print advertising, so customers can find it on T-shirts, posters, flyers and magazines. Digicel also plans to soon introduce QR codes in promotions for Blackberry users.
India to face Australia in Cricket World Cup quarterfinals
Co-hosts India set up a much-anticipated quarterfinal clash with four-time Cricket World Cup champions Australia on Sunday, beating the West Indies by 80 runs at Chennai.
The victory meant India finished second in Group B, while Australia ended third in Group A after their 34-match unbeaten run at the 50-over tournament was halted by table-toppers Pakistan on Saturday.
The Windies, who had already qualified for the last eight before the concluding match of the round-robin stage, will play Pakistan in the opening knockout game in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka on Wednesday.
The Indians have home advantage in Ahmedabad the following day, then Group B winners South Africa take on New Zealand in Dhaka on Friday and Group A runners-up Sri Lanka host England in Colombo on Saturday.
Yuvraj Singh scored his first World Cup century as India posted a total of 268 at Chidambaram Stadium, being bowled out in the final allotted over.
He collected his third man-of-the-match award of the tournament after hitting 113 off 123 balls faced, adding 122 for the third wicket with Virat Kohli (59) and then later dismissing two West Indian batsmen with his left-arm spin bowling.
However, India lost their last eight batsmen for just 95 runs as World Cup debutant Ravi Rampaul claimed five wickets for 51 runs.
The 26-year-old fast bowler, who had played 50 one-day internationals before this call-up in place of Kemar Roach, made an impressive start as he dismissed India's opening batsmen Sachin Tendulkar (2) and Gautam Gambhir (22).
World record-holder Tendulkar had been seeking to score his 100th century at international level, but walked off after edging a rising delivery despite the umpire rejecting Rampaul's appeal.
The Windies, who would have faced Australia in the quarterfinals if they had won, made a solid start in reply but then suffered a batting collapse at 154-2 in the 30th over.
Left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan bowled top scorer Devon Smith for 81, while spinner Harbhajan Singh accounted for big-hitting dangerman Kieron Pollard (1) as the last eight wickets tumbled for just 34 runs.
Khan ended with figures of 3-26, while limited-overs specialist Yuvraj chimed in with 2-18 in his 271st one-day international outing.
"When you lose early wickets, you need a partnership going. I was very happy with the way it went," the 29-year-old Yuvraj told reporters.
"I was getting stomach cramps, but wanted to bat till the end. Our batting is going well -- once we get the bowling and fielding going we should be okay."
In Sunday's earlier Group A concluder, Zimbabwe finished on a winning note by beating fellow minnows Kenya by 161 runs in Kolkata, meaning their fellow Africans ended the tournament without a win.
Zimbabwe scored 308-6 after batting first, with Craig Ervine top-scoring on 66 and Vusi Sibanda contributing 61, while Tatenda Taibu also made a half-century.
The Kenyans crumbled to 147 all out in 36 overs, as slow bowlers Ray Price, Greg Lamb and Graeme Cremer each claimed two wickets.
Mohamed Bin Hammam wants open World Cup bidding process
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Fifa presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam has stated that he will make the bidding process for future World Cups more open if he is elected to the post.
Bin Hammam said Fifa was not corrupt but told the BBC the organisation needed to be more transparent.
"We need to explain decision making - people are making decisions that affect millions," he told BBC sports editor David Bond.
Bin Hammam added: "We belong to the people - acting on behalf of them."
Fifa president Sepp Blatter came under fire after Fifa's vote in December for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively.
There were allegations of corruption in the bidding process and two executive committee members were suspended, while four other officials were sanctioned.
Bin Hammam, the Asian Football Confederation president, said the public would have more confidence in Fifa if the process was opened up to scrutiny.
"It's reasonable and logical to vote openly - it happens in other organisations, why shouldn't it happen in Fifa?" he said.
The 61-year-old Qatari also defended his country's bid for the 2022 World Cup.
He said it was the "correct decision" to award the tournament to Qatar and insisted the country "did nothing wrong" in the bidding process.
He said the 2022 bid was "respected by the world", but admitted future bidding processes "have to be transparent so that the public can see exactly what is happening".
Bin Hammam went on to add that there was a need to reduce the decision making burden on Fifa's central committee, and "give confederations more responsibility".
"We need a greater understanding between Fifa and associations" he said. "We are friends and not enemies. We need a common understanding - our interests are all the same."
He also stressed that he was in favour of the introduction of goal-line technology.
The election for a new president takes place at the two-day Fifa Congress in Zurich, which starts on 31 May.
Blatter, 75, has been in charge of world football's governing body since June 1998, and has not been challenged since 2002, when he defeated African confederation president Issa Hayatou by 139 votes to 56.
NFL: There are no legal grounds to stop lockout
The NFL asked a federal judge Monday to keep its lockout in place, saying there are no legal grounds to stop it while accusing the players of trying to manipulate the law with a bogus antitrust lawsuit.
The NFL filed its arguments in federal court in St. Paul, Minn., where U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson has scheduled an April 6 hearing on the players' bid to stop the lockout.
The NFL said any decision on a lockout should wait until the National Labor Relations Board rules on an unfair labor practice charge against the now-dissolved players' union that contends the players failed to negotiate in good faith. The charge, filed Feb. 14, was amended on March 11 to include reference to the union's decertification.
The NLRB said the case is still under investigation and had no further comment.
The legal salvo is just the latest in the fight between the league and players, who failed to forge a new collective bargaining agreement on March 11. That same day, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and six other current NFL players filed the antitrust suit and injunction request in federal court here, and the NFL owners locked out the players, putting the 2011 season in jeopardy.
The NFL made three main points in Monday's filing. It said the injunction issue shouldn't be in federal court at all, the decertification of the union was a sham and the players' claim of "irreparable harm" has no merit.
Stopping the lockout, the NFL argued, would open all 32 teams up to additional antitrust claims even for working together to solve the labor fight. Antitrust claims carry triple damages for any harm proven, meaning hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake.
In arguing that Congress has barred judges from halting lockouts, the league cited the Norris-LaGuardia Act - Depression-era legislation passed with the intent of limiting employers' ability to crack down on unions, including their ability to seek court orders halting strikes. The NFL contends the law also protects an employer's right to impose a lockout in a labor dispute.
The league said the NFLPA dissolved eight hours before the labor agreement expired simply to avoid a six-month delay in filing its multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit - a delay spelled out in the CBA.
Decertification, the league says, proved the players did not want to negotiate in good faith and is a step used whenever it serves the union's purposes at the bargaining table.
The 57-page court filing includes statements from the players themselves that the league says backs its argument.
"We decertified so that we could fight them from locking us out and go back to work," Jeff Saturday, the NFLPA vice president, said the day after the March 11 decertification, according to the court filing. "And we feel like ... we can still negotiate this anytime you want."
According to the filing, NFLPA president Kevin Mawae said in a Sept. 29 interview that decertification was an "ace in our sleeve" that worked in the late 1980s in favor of the players.
"It's been a part of the union strategy since I've been in the league," Mawae said.
The league also cited comments from Baltimore Ravens receiver Derrick Mason nine days before the union was dissolved.
"So are we a union? Per se, no. But we're still going to act as if we are one," Mason, an NFLPA player representative, said on March 2, according to the court filing.
The NFLPA did not respond specifically to Monday's filing, but spokesman George Atallah said: "The NFL's actions don't match their words. They say they want a fair deal, but instead they locked out the players and now are trying to preserve that lockout through litigation."
The league, meanwhile, accused the union of an illegal "heads I win, tails you lose" strategy, claiming the players want the NFL subject to antitrust claims "if it ceases or refuses to continue football operations" yet also "subject to antitrust liability if it does not" in a "flip of a switch" approach.
The players' antitrust suit - forever to be known as Brady et al vs. National Football League et al - attacked the league's policies on rookie salaries and free-agent restrictions such as franchise-player tags.
Peter Ruocco, the NFL's senior vice president of labor relations, wrote rebuttals to those contentions as part of Monday's court filing.
He argued that franchise tags are lucrative options for players, noting that Manning signed a multiyear contract worth nearly $100 million after being designated a franchise player in 2004.
As for the league-wide limit on rookie salaries, in which teams are permitted a certain pool to spend on players they draft, Ruocco noted that rookies last season, as a whole, signed contracts totaling $658.9 million in guarantees.
Ruocco also wrote that missing offseason workouts does not do "irreparable harm" to players, as they allege of the lockout. He noted that players work out on their own regardless.
NFL players would "undoubtedly argue" that free agency should begin promptly if the lockout were to be lifted, Ruocco added. That, he said, would create "considerable uncertainty" about the rights and abilities of teams wishing to re-sign their players and have a "detrimental effect" on the league's competitive balance.
That scenario would be "difficult, if not impossible, to unscramble the egg and return those players" to their original teams if the NFL were to win this case.
Source:AP
Bynum suspended for flagrant foul
Lakers coach Phil Jackson has no idea how the NBA did the math that resulted in Andrew Bynum receiving a two-game suspension for his flagrant foul on Minnesota's Michael Beasley.
Jackson just knows the absence of the shotblocking center is a big negative in the middle of the two-time champions' defense.
Bynum, who has little prior history of hard fouls, missed Sunday's game against Portland and will sit out Tuesday's meeting with Phoenix under the suspension announced Sunday morning by the NBA.
Jackson said he agreed with the flagrant foul and Bynum's ejection last Friday, but thought the resulting penalty was "excessive." Bynum will lose roughly $250,000 during his suspension without pay.
"I feel badly for the team, for the fans," Jackson said. "That (suspension) is a subjective thing. I don't know how they judge it. I understand the reasoning behind it, but the penalties, I don't understand."
Bynum was ejected during the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 106-98 win over the Timberwolves after he turned his shoulder and sent Beasley crashing to the court in a mid-air collision when Beasley drove the lane.
Los Angeles had won 11 of 12 since the All-Star break, and Bynum has raised his game considerably during their surge toward the playoffs. The starting center is averaging 11.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots since the break, including 22 points and 15 rebounds during a win at Dallas last weekend.
Lamar Odom started in Bynum's place against the Blazers, just as he did while Bynum sat out the first 28 games of the regular season following offseason surgery on his right knee. Jackson has said the 7-foot Bynum's looming presence in the middle is the key to Los Angeles' defense.
Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis said he didn't know whether Bynum should be suspended immediately after Friday's game. After seeing replays over the weekend, Rambis agreed with the ruling.
"He made no play on the ball," Rambis said Sunday before the Wolves hosted Sacramento. "It's unfortunate that things like that happen in basketball, but it was the right call. Michael is relatively lucky he didn't get more hurt than he did."
Rambis was an assistant coach with the Lakers during Bynum's first four seasons, playing a large role in Bynum's development from the youngest player ever drafted by an NBA team into a talented defensive center.
"I know Andrew, and he wasn't going up to do anything malicious," Rambis said Friday, immediately after the incident. "He just wanted to protect the basket, so I think he was making a good basketball play out of it."
Beasley limped off the court shortly after getting hurt, but X-rays on his hip and shoulder showed no damage. He scored 13 points while playing 15 minutes in the Timberwolves' blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, earning a technical foul while appearing agitated and distracted throughout the game.
Source:AP
Windies to face Pakistan
Another inexplicable batting collapse upstaged a career-best spell from Ravi Rampaul and another fine innings from Devon Smith to condemn West Indies to an 80-run defeat against India in the World Cup yesterday.
Smith continued his rich vein of form with 81 from 97 balls, as West Indies, chasing 269 for victory from their allocation of 50 overs, were dismissed for 188 with 42 balls remaining in the final group match of the competition at the Chidambaram Stadium.
West Indies lost their last eight wickets for 34 runs in the space of 76 deliveries, slumping from the relative comfort of 154 for two in the 31st over.
Rampaul had captured five wickets for 51 runs from 10 overs playing for the first time in the tournament, as India were dismissed for 268 in 49.1 overs after they chose to bat.
He, however, had to share the spotlight with Yuvraj Singh. The Indian left-hander defied dehydration and broke his drought of hundreds, when he gathered 113 from 123 balls that included 10 fours and two sixes.
West Indies had virtually qualified for the quarter-finals before the match had started, but the defeat condemns them to face Group-A winners Pakistan in the first match of the Super Eight on Wednesday at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh.