The British Parliament made a mistake in approving the indefinite suspension of the TCI Constitution.
Most residents of the TCI are not happy with the way the country is being governed. The nonchalant manner in how the present administration engages the public has caused them to lose any goodwill that the public had for them. Their practice of preaching one thing and doing another must stop - transparency is also expected from them! However, like Captain Ramsey in the movie Crimson Tide, they appear to feel as if they are only “…here to preserve democracy, not practice it.” And this sentiment appears to be shared by others in the British Government.
For example, instead of presenting an action plan to the British Parliament with measurable objectives/milestones tied to target dates for returning the TCI to democratic rule, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Henry Bellingham MP, on the 10th December 2010, gave 8 vaguely defined “milestones” – with only one having a defined target date – that he stated are “…the minimum preconditions before the Turks and Caicos Islands can return to elected government”. Instead of requesting that he report back to Parliament with a clearly defined target date for his team to achieve the milestones, his colleagues in Parliament ignored the plight of the people of the TCI and approved his request to suspend the TCI Constitution indefinitely. (Note: The Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution (Interim Amendment) (Amendment) Order 2010 suspending the TCI Constitution indefinitely was approved on the 15th December 2010 and is currently waiting for the Governor to bring it into force).
Rather than treating Turks and Caicos Islanders as partners in the rebuilding of the country, the British Government has taken the position that the only way to fix the problems is to take away privileges, create more rules, and implement detailed procedures to ensure that going forward persons will have no choice but to do the “right thing.” However, as I stated in a previous article titled “The case against suspension of the TCI Constitution” published in the Free Press April 3rd, 2009 edition, “…rules and regulations, no matter how stringent they are, will never fully stop someone who is intent on breaking them. What this country requires is a new set of ideals.” Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe also makes this case in their new book “Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing”, Riverhead 30th December 2010, stating that “…What we desperately need, beyond, or along with, better rules…is we need virtue, we need character, we need people who want to do the right thing. And in particular, the virtue that we need most of all is the virtue that Aristotle called practical wisdom. Practical wisdom is the moral will to do the right thing and the moral skill to figure out what the right thing is.” Although they were referring to problems in the United States, those words are equally applicable to the Turks & Caicos Islands.
In crafting the rules and regulations for the new TCI, we must keep in mind that governing a country requires a flexibility that no set of rules can encompass. This is not to say that there should be no rules, but “rules and incentives are no substitutes for wisdom.” And wisdom tells us that great leaders do not only possess the intellectual ability to do the right thing, but also the will and desire to do so. Like Barry Schwartz further stated in one of his speeches, “… there is no set of rules, no matter how detailed, no matter how specific, no matter how carefully monitored and enforced, there is no set of rules that will get us what we need.”
What we need along with the right set of rules are leaders who are prepared to lead for others and not themselves. And we have that! However, the one way this country will not get back on track is through the indefinite suspension of its constitution. As such, I am publicly calling on the Prime Minister of Britain and Leader of its Conservative Party, Rt Hon David Cameron MP; the Prime Minister of Canada and Leader of its Conservative Party, Rt Hon Stephen Harper MP; and all the world leaders who believe in democracy to look into this distributing issue and help the people of the TCI stop this open-ended Order from going into force.
Thank you.
EJ Saunders
PPC focuses on safety
PPC Ltd recently completed a company standard for Customer and Secondary Voltage connections that focuses on safety and ensures that the customer, the electrician, the Electrical Commission and PPC all have the same expectations.
These newly published guidelines focus on the standard of both temporary and permanent electrical service connections throughout the islands. During the rebuilding of some older sections of the electrical infrastructure, PPC Ltd. recognised that there were several inconsistencies and possible safety concerns in some areas. The major concern was the older secondary connections to the customers’ main connection point. With this in mind, the idea to produce a Standard Customer and Secondary Voltage Guideline document was founded.
In an effort to maintain its working relationship with Government, PPC Ltd also presented a copy of the Standard Customer and Secondary Voltage Guidelines document to Frank Penn, Electrical Inspector of the Electrical Commission. During the presentation Devon Cox, PPC’s Director of Operations said, “As part of PPC’s commitment to safety we have developed these standards to ensure our customers receive safe, reliable electrical service. By publishing the standards the customer will understand the requirements to get electrical service and should receive consistent information from PPC, the electrical inspector and the electrician installing the service.”
Details of the document have been agreed upon and reviewed by relevant parties; electricians, the Electrical Commission and PPC Ltd. This document also guarantees that customers will have access to information that is accurate and consistent with one of PPC’s primary objectives; safety. These new standards will also ensure that proper clearances are maintained over roads, driveways and customers’ properties.
On receiving a copy of the document Electrical Inspector Frank Penn stated, “The Electrical Commission supports the efforts of the Management of PPC Ltd. to educate and inform electricians and electrical contractors of the minimum requirements and expectations for services and service equipment installations. The document serves to standardise the installation of services, feeders and equipment that subscribes to high levels of safety to personnel, property and equipment. We are cognizant of the need to strive not only to attain the highest safety standards but also to minimise and prevent illegal circuit connections, electricity pilferage and less than professional workmanship.”
PPC Ltd. along with the Electrical Commission hopes that within a few months, all stakeholders will become familiar with the new standards and make the new connection process run smoother.
Alison Capron fired from WIV
Familiar face and news anchor of WIV Channel 4 NEWS Alison Capron has been removed from her post.
RTC has been reliably informed that Capron and WIV 4 parted company yesterday for unspecified reasons. Capron also shot to popularity for her role as the 2009 winner of the coveted Miss TCI Earth pageant and has even acted as Miss TCI on other occasions.
Capron could not be reached for comment but we will have more in a subsequent newscast.
The Consultative Forum holds its first meeting for 2011 Tuesday 11th January
The Consultative Forum has scheduled its first meeting for 2011 and for the first time, will be held over a two day period.
The Consultative Forum will meet at the NJS Francis building on Pond Street in Grand Turk on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th January 2011.
Tuesday’s session will be an open forum which will debate current recommendations before the public on constitutional and electoral from in the TCI. Forum members will convene in a closed session on Wednesday for further discussions and to make recommendations on the way forward.
The Forum has extended an invitation to members of the political parties, the all party commission and business and civic leaders to attend Tuesday’s Open Forum.
Radio Turks and Caicos will carry tomorrow’s meeting live.
License for Beach Parties
If you are thinking about having a beach party, just ensure that you have a license for the occasion.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is drawing attention to this breach of the Liquor License law.
The Police in a public notice sent to RTC News, says it is an offence to sell alcoholic beverages at birthday parties, private homes and on public beaches without the granting of license authorizing the sale of such beverages.
The Police is hereby notifying the general public that in order to sell or expose alcoholic beverages at a location not specified by a License from Liquor Licensing Authority, person(s) are required to obtain an Occasioning Music and Dance License which would permit the sale and exposure of alcoholic beverages for that specific period applied for.
West Indies girls win first ODI by 9 wickets
West Indies Women achieved a superb victory over India Women in the first One-Day International of their tour on Monday.
Led by a four-wicket haul from off-spinner Anisa Mohammed and a half-century from opening batter Stafanie Taylor, the Windies won by nine wickets to take the lead in the five-match series. The hosts batted first and were bowled out for 161 off 49.3 overs. West Indies replied with 162-1 off 36.5 overs at the Bandra Kurla Complex.
The 22-year-old Mohammed, the vice captain and world-rated spinner, took 4-27 from eight overs. This was her second four-wicket haul in an ODI. Her career-best figures are 4-26. She was well supported by Taylor who got 2-20 from eight overs with her off-breaks.
In the second half of the match Taylor made an excellent 85 not out. She added a record unbroken second-wicket stand of 137 with left-hander Shanel Daley, who made a career-best 44 not out in her first knock at No.3. The 19-year-old Taylor, who is among the leading batters in the world, faced 122 balls and struck 10 boundaries. Daley was patient and hit four boundaries off 86 balls.
Coach Sherwin Campbell was pleased with the team’s performance.
“It was an excellent performance from the girls today. It was a very good start to the tour. The pitch was very good for batting and we did a lot of things right today. Anisa and Stafanie have delivered for us before and again today, they showed that they are world-class players. Anisa bowled really well, and from the start of her spell she was looking confident and posed problems for the Indians. Stafanie used the opportunity to build an innings and get some early runs. In the first part of the innings she was slow, but she understands batting, and she just grew in confidence after that. It was another excellent batting display,” he said.
Campbell added, “Daley moved up to the No.3 position and she did an excellent job for the team. It was something new for her but she made the adjustment and showed great determination. The bowlers were on song from the first ball and that gave us control of the game from the start. The girls were outstanding in the field and everything that we have been working on fell into place.”
The two teams will travel to Baroda on Tuesday where they will play the second ODI on Wednesday.
Ian Bell's century steers England to tour win
An unbeaten century from opener Ian Bell led England to a seven-wicket win in a rain-affected tour match against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra.
Bell continued his superb Ashes form with 124 off 102 balls as England eased to a revised total of 223, after the home side had posted 254-9.
Jonathan Trott, batting at number three, added a useful 48.
Earlier, Michael Yardy and Ajmal Shazhad were the pick of the England bowlers, taking three wickets each.
The match enabled a number of players to stake their claim for selection for the first Twenty20 international against Australia, which takes place on Wednesday in Adelaide.
And Warwickshire right-hander Bell, who has not played a Twenty20 for his country since June 2008, impressed in an unfamiliar opening role in the absence of the rested Andrew Strauss.
Bell's typically fluent and attractive innings ensured England remained above the required run-rate, as they chased down their revised target.
"I feel in good form," said Bell. "I just want to keep working hard now.
"It's not a matter of I've done it and I just want to sit back. There's a lot of hard work to do.
"I want to be part of this team - test cricket and one-day cricket - for a long time."
Bell was ably assisted by Steven Davies (24) in an opening stand of 82 and, more significantly Trott, with whom he added 98.
Bell offered only one real chance to the home side during his innings but Callum Ferguson spilled the catch off the bowling of Trent Copeland.
Not even a 30-minute rain delay, shortly after Bell had reached 50, could halt his momentum and he brought his century up from 89 balls.
Bell and Trott were two of four players retained from the Ashes Test side, along with stand-in skipper Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen.
Pietersen - another player hoping for a recall in the short-form of the game, after he was dropped for the recent one-day series with Pakistan - added 13 late on, before he was out lbw to Brett Lee, leaving Bell to fittingly strike the winning boundary.
Earlier, there was a somewhat rusty display from the England bowling attack, which included new arrivals Chris Woakes, Luke Wright, James Tredwell and Yardy.
It was the latter who emerged with the best figures of 3-33 in an innings that began almost an hour late because of rain.
Initially, Shazhad and Woakes struggled for rhythm and were wayward as captain Tim Paine and Usman Khawaja amassed an opening stand of 75 before the latter was caught and bowled by Tredwell for 22.
Yardy then came to the fore with a double breakthrough as he claimed the key wicket of Paine (50) and Alex Keath (15) with almost identical lbw decisions.
Shazhad bowled Ferguson - who made 39 - before Yardy claimed a third wicket when Tom Thornton offered a return catch, as the hosts stumbled to 179 for five.
However, some clean hitting from Dan Christian got the innings back on track before he was caught by Pietersen off Shazhad for 53.
Woakes returned and claimed two wickets - Sam Miller caught by Collingwood and James Pattinson caught by Wright - and Shazhad bowled Xavier Doherty, but Brett Lee's unbeaten 26 ensured a competitive total.
China sees trade surplus narrow as imports rise
China's trade surplus shrank to an eight month low in December, official figures show.
Imports increased by 25.6% on the same month a year earlier, leaving China with a surplus of $13.1bn ($8.4bn).
Exports were up 17.9%, much slower than November's 34.9% rise.
Analysts said the data may give Beijing grounds to fend off US pressure for faster currency appreciation ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States next week.
"Imports are much stronger than we have expected, indicating that the domestic investment and internal demand are mainly pushing up domestic consumption," said Wang Han, an economist at advisory firm CEBM in Shanghai.
Figures showed that the surplus for 2010 as a whole had fallen for a second consecutive year, down 7% on 2009 levels to $183.1bn.
Many US politicians and economists accuse China of manipulating the value of the yuan in order to boost its net exports at the expense of its trading partners.
A bill is set to go before the Senate that would call for retaliatory trade sanctions against countries such as China that intervene to weaken their currencies.
China relaxed the yuan's fixed exchange rate against the dollar in June, but since then it has been allowed to appreciate by less than 3%.
Spain's Basque rebels Eta call 'permanent truce'
The Basque separatist group Eta has announced a permanent ceasefire in its fight for independence from Spain.
In a video statement sent to the media, the group said the truce would be "internationally verifiable".
But the Spanish government has rejected Eta's statement, saying it contained nothing new.
Eta's campaign for independence for the Basque region has cost more than 800 lives since 1968 but it called a halt to armed attacks last year.
As in previous filmed statements, the video showed three Eta militants in white hoods. They said it was "time to act with historical responsibility".
It said it was declaring "a permanent and general ceasefire which will be verifiable by the international community".
"This is Eta's firm commitment towards a process to achieve a lasting resolution and towards an end to the armed confrontation," said the statement.
'Arrogant' But it said it would continue its "indefatigable struggle" for a "truly
There was no explicit reference to the group giving up its arms, which has been a key demand of the government.
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Madrid says the strong language in the statement goes further than Eta has before, particularly the claim that the truce would be "verifiable", which could indicate a willingness to disarm.
But speaking a few hours after the statement was released, Spain's Interior Ninister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Eta had again failed to declare a definitive and irreversible end to violence.
He said the statement was not bad news but was not what the country had been hoping for.
Eta was not abandoning its demands and remained "as arrogant as ever", he said.
Spain's socialist government has been wary of Eta's claims since the last truce was broken by a bomb attack at Madrid's Barajas airport in December 2006, says our correspondent.
That attack resulted in peace talks being called off.
In September last year, Eta announced an end to its armed offensive but the government said the move was too weak for negotiations to restart.
The government argues that the militant group has been seriously weakened by the arrest of most of its key leadership in recent years.
It has also come under pressure from its political wing, Batasuna, which has been outlawed because of its connections to Eta but wants to be able to take part in local elections later this year.
Iran holds 'Israel-linked spies behind nuclear killing'
The Iranian authorities have arrested a "network of spies" which they say was behind the assassination of a nuclear scientist a year ago, state TV reports.
In a brief statement, the authorities said the network was linked to Israel's Mossad secret service.
Iran blamed US and Israeli agents for the killing at the time.
Separately, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said international sanctions have slowed Iran's progress towards developing nuclear weapons.
Massoud Ali Mohammadi, a 50-year-old university lecturer at Tehran University, was killed by a remote-controlled bomb on 12 January 2010 as he left his home in Tehran.
Iran's intelligence ministry said Mossad had used bases in certain European and non-European countries as well as Iran's neighbouring states for the purpose of the assassination, as well as other activities, Fars news agency reported.
The ministry said months of complicated measures and access to sources in the Israeli regime led to the finding of "very important and sensitive" information about Mossad spy teams, which inflicted heavy damage on Israel's information and security structures, Fars reported.
Iran has blamed the intelligence services of Israel, the US and the UK over bomb attacks against two top nuclear scientists in November last year, Majid Shahriari, who died, and Fereydoon Abbasi Davani, another top nuclear expert who was wounded in a similar attack.
At the time, Iran's state media said Mr Mohammadi had been assassinated by counter-revolutionaries, Zionists and agents of the "global arrogance".
Washington later dismissed the accusation as "absurd".
Although described by the Iranian media as a nuclear scientist, scientists in the UK and the US said, from his substantial body of published research, Mr Mohammadi was unlikely to have been working on Iran's nuclear programme.
They said his expertise was in another field of physics altogether - quantum mechanics.
Sanctions delay
Speaking in Abu Dhabi as part of a tour of the Gulf, Mrs Clinton said sanctions had made it much more difficult for Tehran to pursue its nuclear ambitions.
She said Tehran had also been facing technical problems, but she did not get drawn into discussing a timeline.
She called for international pressure to be maintained, and urged caution about a recent Israeli government assessment that Iran was still three years away from being able to build a nuclear weapon.
It is the first time the Obama administration has so openly and publicly claimed that Iran's nuclear programme is facing difficulties, says BBC state department correspondent Kim Ghattas, who is travelling with Mrs Clinton.
Mrs Clinton is in the Gulf partly to urge Washington's allies in the region not to let up the pressure on the Iranian leadership and to continue enforcing UN sanctions, our correspondent adds.
There has been much controversy over Iran's nuclear activities.
Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful energy purposes, but the US and other Western nations suspect it of seeking to build nuclear weapons.
Source:BBC