Civil Service in Action Committee Launched
The Civil Service Association which is a very vital organ of the public service and has an opportunity to play a very key role in making representations and doing other work on behalf of civil servants in government, was very active during the restructuring of the civil service in 2011/2012, but had since become dormant.
Given its importance, a new committee comprised of civil servants from across government has been established by the Office of the Deputy Governor to focus on developing several social community based programs in the civil service and as a first priority will be working towards the revitalization of the Civil Service Association (CSA).
The Committee which is called Civil Service In Action (CSIA), has already met on three occasions since its inception to develop plans to host a nomination and election process for the new President, Vice-President and Executive Board of the CSA.
On Wednesday January 20th, 2016 the Committee held an official handover meeting with the former Presidents and Vice-President of the CSA: the Honourable Dr. Rufus Ewing, Mrs. Louise Thomas and Mr. Jamell Robinson along with Deputy Governor Her Excellency Anya Williams.
Premier Honourable Dr. Rufus Ewing stated: “As a former President of the CSA I am passionate about this initiative and can attest to the true value of its existence. My government has committed over the years to investing heavily into the civil service and this initiative can only add to the great work that we have planned for the future.”
Commenting on the work of the new Committee, Deputy Governor Anya Williams said: “I am pleased that these committed civil servants have taken up the task of becoming members of the new CSIA and to working towards the revitalization of the Civil Service Association.
“Substantial improvements have been made in the civil service during the past three years and the CSA has a very vital role to play not only in making representation on behalf of civil service going forward, but also in assisting to shape policies and programs aimed at the betterment of the service through its representation as part of the Public Service Commission, in keeping with its constitutional remit. This is an initiative that is fully supported by my office and should be welcomed by all civil servants across government.”
Over the course of the next three months the Committee intends to hold public meetings with civil servants across government to discuss and emphasize the importance of reestablishing the CSA with the intention of hold an election in March 2016.
Clement Howell High get their hands dirty for World Wetlands Day 2016
Clement Howell High School assisted the Department of Environmental & Maritime Affairs (DEMA), the Turks and Caicos National Trust and the Turks and Caicos Reef Fund (TCRF) in celebrating World Wetlands Day 2016. 18 Students from the school brought along a willingness to get their hands dirty in order to assist with conservation efforts at one of Provo's most important wetland sites.
"DEMA and the National Trust were delighted to see just how enthusiastic the students were to assist with our on-going conservation efforts in the area. They demonstrated stewardship in an area that is often taken for granted and neglected and hopefully this would encourage the rest of the community to do the same!" said DEMAs Environmental Outreach Coordinator, Amy Avenant.
Red mangroves were planted along the site, which will hopefully grow to create a buffer between the road and the wetland. This would be important as the mangroves act as natural filters that improve the water quality, as so often polluted runoff flows straight into the wetland – a critical habitat for resident and migratory birds, and other fauna and flora. The mangroves also create a natural buffer for any materials (litter) that may find its way to into the wetland.
DEMA, the National Trust and TCRF would like to remind youth between the ages of 15 and 24 to participate in the International World Wetlands Day Photo Contest. The contest will run from 2 February to 2 March, 2016. The winner will win a free flight to a famous wetland of their choice courtesy of Star Alliance Biosphere Connections, and other prizes will be given to runners up. To enter the competition Young people are invited to take a photo that shows "people making a living from wetlands" Upload up to 3 photos on the World Wetlands Day website www.worldwetlandsday.org Other members of the public can participate by voting for their favourite photo and help contribute to the selection process.
World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February, and day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
WHO Declares Zika a Global Health Emergency
The World Health Organization has declared Zika to be global public-health emergency.
At a special meeting of researchers and health officials on the virus in Geneva Monday, the WHO said Zika is "public health emergency of international concern." But it stopped short of calling for travel or trade restrictions.
The WHO predicts the virus, which may be linked to neurological disorders in babies, could infect as many as 4 million people in the Americas this year.
No firm link has been established between the Zika virus and microcephaly, a neurological disorder in which babies are born with abnormally small heads. But it is hard to ignore a possible connection between the virus and this brain disorder, given recent events in Brazil.
Nearly 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly have been reported in the country since October, compared with 150 similar cases in 2014.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told VOA experts are not ruling anything out. But, he said, the surge in the number of microephaly cases and the Zika virus may just be coincidental in terms of time and place.
"One of the curiosities is why we have so many neurological cases in, say, the northeast of Brazil, but we have not had it in other places," he said. "So, we really need to understand what is existing that causes these microcephaly cases, for example, in children."
Zika gets its name from a forest in Uganda where the virus was first identified in 1947. The virus has spread worldwide, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, which also causes dengue and chikungunya disease.
Hartl dismissed fears that the Zika virus could pose a threat similar to that of Ebola, which caused more than 11,000 deaths in West Africa. He noted Ebola is transmitted person to person via infected bodily fluids and kills about 50 percent of its victims.
"Zika has never killed a person and it is transmitted by the mosquito," he said. "So, we know that there are those two fundamental differences at least. Let us say that Zika on its own would not be the consideration of an emergency committee. What is the concern to the international community is the possible link with neurological disorders."
In the absence of a vaccine, Hartl said governments must stop the disease at its source by removing stagnant water where mosquitoes breed and fumigating houses to kill the mosquito.
He said pregnant women, in particular, should protect themselves by sleeping under mosquito nets, using mosquito repellents, and wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants.
Cuba’s Castro in France for historic visit
Cuba’s President Raul Castro began an official state visit to France on Monday, his first ever to Europe, which is being seen as a key step in rebuilding his island nation’s ties with the West.
The Cuban leader was welcomed under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris before being driven down a virtually deserted Champs-Elysees avenue, decked out in Cuban flags.
Police severely restricted access to spectators, and just a few groups of supporters of the Cuban regime were present.
Castro, 84, is on his first official trip to the European Union since taking over from his elder brother Fidel in 2006, and spent the weekend in the French capital on a private visit.
France has led the way in welcoming Cuba back into the diplomatic fold since it restored relations last year with the United States after they were broken off for more than half a century.
French President Francois Hollande, who was to hold talks with Castro later Monday, has described the visit as “a new stage in the strengthening of relations between the two countries”.
It builds on Hollande’s own state visit to Cuba last May, the first by a head of state from the West in more than half a century.
Castro is the second former pariah to be welcomed to Paris in a matter of days, after Hollande hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last week.
“This visit is important for Cuba’s image,” said Eduardo Perera, an international relations expert at Havana University.
“It will undeniably make Cuba shine on the international stage.”
Havana hopes the visit will allow Cuba to “widen and diversify its relations with France in all possible areas — politics, economics, trade, finance, investment, culture and cooperation,” said Rogelio Sierra, Cuban deputy foreign minister.
Speed Boat with illegal migrants makes landfall
Officers of the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) in conjunction with Immigration Task Force have launched an investigation after the discovery of a speed boat in the North West Point area of Providenciales earlier this morning.
At approximately 7:46 am on (Saturday, January 30th, 2016) the 911 center received a call indicating that five (5) unknown persons believed to be illegal migrants were apprehended by a Security Officer at the Amanyara Resort. A joint operation was undertaken immediately, where officers went to the area and discovered a 15-18 foot speed boat partially submerged in the sea. The five (5) persons were handed over to officials and are currently being processed at the South Dock Detention Centre.
There's no clear indication as to how many people were on board. Therefore, the search for more passengers of this vessel is ongoing
The Enforcement agencies of the Turks and Caicos Islands are asking that anyone with information concerning the whereabouts of any illegal migrants who came off the speed boat or the planned arrival of other sloops to contact the Police anonymously on 911 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1-800-8477. Tips can also be submitted anonymously in English, French or Spanish on either www.crimestoppers.tc or on Facebook as a fan of Crime Stoppers Turks & Caicos.
Crime Stoppers tips are received in the USA.
TURKS AND CAICOS 3RD POST CABINET MEETING STATEMENT
His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired the 3rd meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday, 28 January 2016, at the Hon. N J S Francis Building on Grand Turk.
All Ministers were present at this Cabinet meeting:
· Noted the recommendations of the Procurement Board to award contracts in line with the Public Procurement Ordinance 2012 as follows – TR15/59 Road Development (Glass Shack Road) Construction; TR15/64 IT equipment and network installation for Invest Turks and Caicos, Providenciales;
· Approved the appointments to the Board of Governors of the TCI Community College of Ms Sonia Williams (Member) and Ms Rachael Harvey (Secretary);
· Agreed to allocate $50,000 from contingency funds to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing to carry out emergency repairs at the Ianthe Pratt Primary School in Providenciales;
· Agreed in principle, subject to finalising funding arrangements, to split the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA) into a dedicated Department of Environment and Coastal Resources and a separate Maritime Department to strengthen capacity and improve the Maritime Department’s management of TCI’s maritime obligations and risks;
· Received an information paper on progress to formalise a Friendship Agreement between the TCI Government and the Government of Canada and noted engagement with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) of Canada including a visit by a parliamentary delegation of the CPA of Canada to TCI in February 2016 to meet the TCI CPA to further discussions on parliamentary engagement;
· Agreed a draft paper for wider consultation to establish a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) for TCI to create a mechanism for setting aside a proportion of future budgetary surpluses to improve fiscal resilience, assist in financing large infrastructure developments and to ensure the future prosperity of TCI;
· Approved the terms and conditions of the Policy Based Loan (PBL) Agreement for $5 million from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and authorised the Hon. Minister of Finance to proceed to execute the Agreement with the CDB;
· Approved the Terms of Reference to establish a Project Implementation Framework to improve standards of project management and delivery which is a condition of the disbursement of the Policy Based Loan of the Caribbean Development Bank;
· Noted the financial performance of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government in the 3rd Quarter Financial Report covering the period October-December 2015 and approved publication of the report as required by Section 46 of the Public Finance Management Ordinance 2012;
· Approved a reduction in the value of the performance bond for the maintenance dredging licence for the Thompson Cove entrance channel in accordance with the schedule developed by DEMA to reflect the relative low risk and volumes of the dredging project;
· Also discussed and approved was the financial year 2016/17 budget estimates, subject to some amendments, and agreed these to be progressed through the prescribed process for laying these before the House of Assembly in accordance with the Public Financial Management Ordinance.
Cable & Wireless & WhatsApp Sign Partnership- A First for the Caribbean Region
Cable & Wireless (C&W) and WhatsApp have entered into a strategic marketing partnership. A first for the Caribbean, this exciting deal offers C&W customers access to the full range of WhatsApp features across the company’s networks. As a result of this partnership, C&W will introduce a suite of innovative packages with additional benefits for customers, which will be unveiled across all its markets in the coming months.
Cable & Wireless’s brands – Flow, BTC, and LIME – are currently the only officially authorized providers of WhatsApp data bundles in the Caribbean region.
The agreement between Cable & Wireless with the world’s leading mobile messenger application, WhatsApp, highlights C&W’s commitment to bring the best value to customers through strategic partnerships.
“Since the emergence of Over The Top (OTT) Communication services, Cable & Wireless has maintained our commitment to work with authorized service providers to ensure customers have access to world-leading services on their devices, running on the region’s best networks,” said John Reid, C&W’s Consumer Group President.
“We are excited to work with Cable & Wireless to help people across the Caribbean stay better connected with friends and family,” said Brian Acton, Co-Founder of WhatsApp.
The most popular cross-platform mobile messaging app available today, WhatsApp Messenger is used by more than 900 million people worldwide to communicate with friends and family, near and far. The application enables WhatsApp calls, the sharing of photos, videos and audio messages, and allows the user to engage in multiple messaging conversations simultaneously on mobile phones and via WhatsApp Web.
Reid added, “This partnership with WhatsApp will improve ease and convenience of communication technology, enrich our customers’ experience, and is therefore consistent with our mission – “Connecting Communities… and Transforming Lives.”
DIGICEL, MACHEL MONTANO INK THREE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP
Digicel today announced the signing of Trinidadian producer, song writer and soca legend, Machel Montano, in a ground-breaking partnership that will include the broadcast and development of content featuring Machel as he represents Digicel as a regional brand ambassador.
For many years Machel has been the star attraction at and emanating from Trinidad and Tobago’s carnival which has been referred to as one of the greatest shows on earth as it features massive bands, outrageous costumes, pulsating music and non-stop dancing.
This year, Machel will headline various shows including Army Fete and Fantasy Saturdays with the kickoff being his own Machel Monday show featuring Pit Bull, Lil John, Taurus Riley and Omi. Through the partnership with Digicel, The Machel Monday show will be made available on Pay Per View and accessible at http://live.ceen.tv/MachelMonday.
The three-year partnership means Digicel customers can enjoy multimedia experiences across multiple platforms and devices. And, as the carnival season kicks off, customers will be treated with sneak peeks and early releases of Machel’s new songs and videos – as well as behind the scenes interviews and looks as he takes his music to the people of the Caribbean. Subscribers on Digicel Play will be in for a treat as there will be multiple telecasts of content featuring Machel over the years.
Five-time International Soca Monarch Champion, Machel, is excited at the new partnership saying; “I am delighted to be joining the Digicel family. I have always admired the work Digicel does in entertainment and in the communities and welcome the opportunity to be a part of that.”
Digicel Director of Marketing for the Caribbean and Central America, Peter Lloyd, said; “We are very happy to welcome Machel to the Digicel team. He is a phenomenal artist who has shown his pedigree to the Caribbean and wider world for over 20 years. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and this partnership is no different – as customers will get exclusive content including live concerts, music videos and exclusive footage which will be available on free-to-air TV, mobile and pay TV for our Digicel Play subscribers to enjoy.”
DIGICEL PAYS CUSTOMERS' BILLS FOR A YEAR
Digicel, in its continued effort to keeping families connected in the diaspora, has launched its latest best value promotion this tax season called, 'Bills on Us'.
'Bills on Us' means that when customers in the USA, UK or Canada send top up to family and friends in the Caribbean, they get a chance to have their bills and that of the receiver paid for one full year.
"We understand how tight things can be financially after the holidays when bills start piling up, so we are very happy to be in a position where we can offer some relief to our customers in the diaspora along with their families back home," said Declan Cassidy, CEO of Digicel Diaspora.
"We're always looking for ways to reward our customers with meaningful and practical prizes and we are sure that customers will be very happy to have their bills paid for an entire year courtesy of Digicel," Cassidy continued. Two lucky winners each week, starting January 25, 2016 to March 20, 2016 will have their bills paid for the year, whether it's their credit card bill, their electricity bill or their cable bill valued at up to US$3,000 for the sender.
To qualify to win in Digicel's Bills on Us promotion, customers simply need to send top up transactions starting at US$15 or send a prepaid data or international long distance plan to friends and family in Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad or the rest of the Caribbean over the eight-week promotional period.
Diaspora senders can send top up back home from DigicelTopUp.com, from a Digicel branded store near them or from the Digicel Top Up App available for download in the App Store or Google Play.
C&W Networks Selects XTERA For Upgrading Its Multiple Submarine Cable
C&W Networks, part of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), one of the largest telecommunications service providers serving the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, South America and United States with more than 48,000 miles of subsea fiber-optic network has selected Xtera Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: XCOM), a leading provider of high-capacity, cost-effective optical transport solutions, for upgrading its submarine cable systems in the western Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean Sea to 100G. By introducing Xtera’s 100G coherent solution, C&W Networks continues to offer robust services across 42 countries with superior reliability and scalability of international wholesale capacity.
C&W Networks has bolstered its subsea network capacity by upgrading several unrepeatered and repeatered segments to 100G, using Xtera’s Nu-Wave OptimaTM multi-purpose optical networking platform. The submarine cable systems were upgraded with new 100G channels to include the 1,570 km Gemini – Bermuda cable system, the 1,700 km Caribbean – US (CBUS) cable system, the 1,700 km East West Cable (EWC) system, the 1,440 km festoon Eastern Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS), and part of the 8,700 km ARCOS-1 submarine ring.
"The global build-out of data centers, coupled with rapid deployment of cloud-based services, are driving renewed demand for even higher fixed and burst rate connections with emphasis on high availability through redundancy,” said Paul Scott, President of C&W Networks. “Our goal is to proactively prepare our networks with the right technology to efficiently address the evolving business needs of today and the future. We are very excited to enhance our network performance to100G and 100G+ and Xtera was a natural choice for us.”
The same optical networking platform was used over the unrepeatered and repeatered segments, enabling a unified, seamless network from an operational perspective. For the upgrade of unrepeatered segments, advanced 100G optical channel technology combined with Xtera’s Wise RamanTM solution raised the capacity to multi terabits per second level even on the longest unrepeatered segments (approaching 400 km spans). This combination of technologies also enabled C&W Networks to bypass some intermediate sites when no local add/drop of 100G waves was needed, eliminating the need for back-to-back terminal equipment as found in the previous network design based on 10G optical channel technology.
“Strengthening our relationship with C&W Networks, these new upgrade projects are further evidence of the confidence network operators place in Xtera’s capabilities to improve subsea optical transmission infrastructure already deployed across the world,” said Jon Hopper, President and Chief Executive Officer of Xtera. “Upgrading existing subsea cable systems to increase their capacity and extend their lifetime – from a capacity-cost perspective – is part of our subsea solution portfolio, which includes subsea cable recovery and re-lay, and as well as new build.”