TCIFA WELCOMES ITS NEWEST PRESIDENT, SONIA BIEN-AIME
The Turks & Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA) welcomes its newest President, Sonia Bien-Amie. Bien-Aime, who served as the Football Association’s General Secretary for the last eight years - was elected President during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at The Regent Grand Resort on Monday, July 21st 2014.
The Ordinary Congress saw the presence of international dignitaries: Jeffery Web, CONCACAF President; Gordon Derrik, Caribbean Football Union (CFU) President; Captain Horace Burrell, CONCACAF Vice President and President of the Jamaica Football Association; Damian Hughes, CFU General Secretary; Bruce Blake, Cayman Islands Football Association's First Vice President; Howard MacIntosh, FIFA Development Officer; Marco Leal, CONCACAF Director of Legal Affairs; Jason Harper, Media Officer CONCACAF and Angela Vasco, CONCACAF staffer. Also in attendance was TCI’s Deputy Governor Anya Williams, along with Bien-Amie’s family and other invited guests.
On being named President, Bien-Aime achieved a few historic firsts for women in football. She became the first female President of the TCIFA, the entire CONCACAF region and one of two women to hold such a position worldwide in all FIFA 209 Member Associations.
Sonia, a former multi-sport athlete who represented the Turks & Caicos internationally in track and field, softball and as Captain of the Turks & Caicos Islands Women’s National Football Team, have always had a passion for sports. However, it was after leaving the legal field in 2006 that she turned her attention to sports administration - when she took on the role of TCIFA’s General Secretary.
In her President’s acceptance speech, Bien-Aime said: “I am totally humbled by this elevation to be the President of this fast growing organization and I want to use this occasion to thank those persons who have assisted in my growth in this challenging world of football administration. Those who have held my hands. Those who provided the need, balance, support and patience.”
She thanked her husband Basneal, children: Ira, Dadre and Brittney; Chris Bryan, outgoing TCIFA President; Paul Slattery, First Vice President TCIFA; Oliver Smith, Second Vice President TCIFA; Candace Hanchell, President of the Women’s Football League; Paula Garland, Executive Director 2; members of the FA Executive and football clubs. Sonia said that it is her hope, that with their support, they can move the TCIFA and its development to even higher heights.
In closing, President Bien-Aime added: “I would like to acknowledge the foresight and enlightened approach of Chris Bryan and others within the Football Association and football community here in the Turks & Caicos Islands. It is their open mindedness and willingness to embrace female equality that was the genesis of this historical moment that we are celebrating here today. I want to thank everyone, and lets all continue this eventful journey together to elevate football here – in these lovely Turks & Caicos Islands.”
Chris Bryan, outgoing President said: “After eight years as President of TCIFA and as the end of my second mandate neared, I became acutely aware that a change of Presidency would be beneficial to the Association for a number of reasons. Sonia Bien-Aime is the perfect choice as the new President. She will bring a continued stability to the running of the Association as we progress steadily with our development of football within the Turks and Caicos Islands. Sonia is held in wide esteem by FIFA and this new appointment will bring further benefit to her and the TCIFA. Sonia is the right choice for the Association and I give her my full endorsement and support.”
Gordon Derrick, President of the Caribbean Football Union noted that it was two years ago when he spoke with Bien-Aime regarding the possibility of serving as a CFU Executive Member. Of this he said: “I wasn’t asking her or suggesting to her or encouraging her for serving because she is a woman. I was encouraging her because I saw the ability and the way that she conducted herself, how she spoke, her dept of thought, her rationale and I said ‘in the era where yes we want to support and encourage female participation – which I am a full supporter of; but I am not one who believes in putting persons in a position just because’. She is not there just because she is a woman; she is there because she is a qualified woman. A very highly qualified woman. A woman who knows how to do things and get them done, and therefore I am just extremely excited for the TCIFA.”
The CFU President then added: “I know the outgoing President would have laid the foundation, you would have put up the walls and you would have just about finished the roof; well, in comes the lady to do all the fine details - I think she is well positioned to do. I can only see the rise of the TCIFA in the near future. I can only imagine that with your leadership Sonia, with full executive support and with your continued help for this association - it can only be elevated higher”. To the Deputy Governor, his hope was that government would fully lend its support behind the Association. In closing, Derrick said: “I think that with all those things together, I think Sonia - these things can only improve the Association. I charge you to go out and do the best. Think local and act global; because you are a global player now.”
Jeffrey Webb, President of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) stated that his first international relations responsibility was to the Turks & Caicos Islands in 1995, being charged with the task of assisting the TCI to become a member of the Caribbean Football Union, CONCACAF and FIFA. On arrival, he noted he met with past president Tom Smith, James Slattery and a group of individuals who were passionate about the game, though they did no have much in terms of equipment and facility.
Webb stated that: “To come to the Turks & Caicos almost 20 years later, and to witness what I’ve seen in terms of the growth, to see your center of excellence, your academy, 65 young female football players playing football in a football festival, to, of course witness the healthy state of football in Turks & Caicos, exceptional financial reporting, exceptional annual reporting – all I can say is please allow me to give you all a round of applause for an exceptional job.”
To outgoing President Bryan, Webb said: “Chris, there are not many leaders like you – not only in the Caribbean, but also the world. The level of growth that we have seen in Turks & Caicos, and the professionalism that we have seen in the football family here, the level of maturation throughout the time, the development plan, your focus so hard on development, you stick to your task, you set your goals and your objectives. This is commendable.”
Regarding incoming President Bien-Aime, the CONCACAF President said: “I met Sonia many years ago and I saw in her a young woman administrator who was so passionate, so dedicated to not only women’s football, but football in general. And over time of course we’ve grown [closer] and we have been through a lot together. We went through a storm, Caribbean football. A storm that faced our union, that faced our confederation – 41 Members of CONCACAF just two years ago. Sonia of course is one of the pillars, one of the strong individuals along with President Gordon [Derrick], Damian Hughes - who have taken the mantle of Caribbean football and CONCACAF football, and lead by example.”
He disclosed that when FIFA asked CONCACAF for nominations for female representation to the FIFA Executive Committee and asked if he had anyone to put forward, Webb said that without hesitation Bien-Aime was that person. Of this, Sonia became the first woman ever on the CONCACAF Executive Committee. “I did that because I know that her growth and her development, and what she stands for as an individual.”
Webb noted that recently in Brazil, CONCACAF approved a position for a female. He said in all likelihood in May 2015 Sonia will stand for election thereby becoming a full member, the first female member of CONCACAF. “That of course is an exceptional person, with exceptional responsibilities; but I cannot think of no one who has elevated herself, who have lived with such incredible character, trust and transparency throughout her entire life. And as the President of CONCACAF, Sonia, I can only congratulate you and the Turks & Caicos Islands Football Association family, because I cannot think of anyone else who is that more deserving then you are. On behalf of CONCACAF, and the millions of people that play football in our region 41 countries, congratulations.”
UNITED NATIONS RESIDENT COORDINATOR AND UNDP RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE VISITS THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
The Turks and Caicos Islands Government announces the official visit of Dr. Arun Kashyap, United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative and Dr. Elsie Laurence-Chounoune, UNDP, Deputy Resident Representative to the Turks and Caicos Islands on July 23-25, 2014.
The visit underscores the continued cooperation of the United Nations and its agencies to the Government and people of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the spirit of partnership and joint commitment in spearheading key objectives as part of the national sustainable development agenda. It will also provide an opportunity for the Turks and Caicos Government to forge linkages and discuss among other things, priorities in relation to issues concerning Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Post 2015 Development Agenda.
While in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the UN Officials are expected to meet with officials of the Government of Turks and Caicos Islands including His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, the Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Dr the Hon. Rufus Ewing, Hon. Donahue Gardiner, Minister of Border Control and Labour and Honourable Amanda Missick, Minister of Environment and Home Affairs. The UN Team will also meet with Mr. Karlo Pelissier and Margarette Lemaire of the Consulate of the Republic of Haiti in Providenciales.
Representatives of the National Disaster Organisation (NDO) and other primary stakeholders will meet with the delegation at the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME), Providenciales Office.
Dr. Kashyap was appointed United Nations Resident Coordinator & Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Jamaica, Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks & Caicos and Cayman Islands in Oct. 2011. Since then, he has been working with colleagues from nearly 15 UN agencies and other Development Partners.
Among his special assignments, Dr. Kashyap served as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Regional Director of UNDP’s Asia Pacific Regional Center in Bangkok, providing strategic planning advice to improve the effectiveness of the region’s UNDP country offices. As interim head of UNDP Maldives, he supported the country’s transition to democracy, strengthening disaster risk reduction and building climate resilience.
There is a great importance and urgency as it relates to issues concerning sustainable development and the viability of small island developing states which is also applicable to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Issues such as impacts of climate change, the frequency of hurricanes and storms as a result and possible impacts such as sea level rise are some of the issues which will be discussed. Other issues such as Poverty Alleviation, social and physical vulnerability, the high costs of energy, Physical Planning and its impact on the environment and the need for improving food security are some of the issues that will also form part of the discussion agenda for the visit.
Dr. Virginia Clerveaux of the Department of Disaster Management, Coordinator of the visit, shares that “grappling with these issues which face the Turks and Caicos today will require a collaborative and sectoral approach to fully articulate the threats that confront us and the necessary steps which will need to be taken in addressing them”. While alluding to the current development of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy and Policy, Dr. Clerveaux said that this was one area where the views of the people of the Turks and Caicos were captured to present a holistic approach to the sustainable development agenda.
Governor visits Ministry of Border Control and Labour
HE the Governor, Peter Beckingham, spent the morning with officials from the Ministry of Border Control and Labour in Providenciales yesterday, Monday 21 July. Accompanied by the PS of the Ministry, Ms Clara Gardiner, the Governor visited several facilities to see first-hand the work of staff dealing with employment and immigration matters in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The morning began with a tour the Ministry’s offices where Governor Beckingham spoke to employees of the Employment Services, the One Stop Shop, Registration and Citizenship Department and Immigration Department. This was followed by site visits to both the detention centre in Five Cays and the coastal radar station.
“The staff of the Ministry of Border Control and Labour are vital to the security and prosperity of TCI, and it was a privilege to meet some of these hard-working men and women,” commented the Governor. “They have some of the most important jobs in the Islands as they look to strengthen the workforce, eliminate illegal immigration and welcome the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit these shores every year.”
Ms Gardiner added “The Ministry’s staff are an asset to TCI’s civil service, and it was a pleasure to introduce a number of them to the Governor. Their professionalism and dedication, often in the face of considerable challenges, is to be commended.”
While responsibility for border control and immigration lies with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government, the UK has contributed in excess of $750,000 in the last two years to support efforts in the area. This has included $330,000 towards the coastal radar station construction (considered one of the most sophisticated facilities in the region,) forgery detection equipment and a series of capacity building projects that have provided TCIG staff with immigration training and secondment opportunities with their counterparts in the UK.
Barbados can’t avoid the IMF, says Mascoll
The Barbados Government will soon have to sit down and talk with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for access to cheaper capital.
That’s the view of economist and advisor on economic matters for the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), Dr Clyde Mascoll.
Speaking at the BLP’s mass political meeting at Carlisle Bay car park on Sunday night, he said the Freundel Stuart administration wanted to give Barbadians the impression that its effort to restart the economy was without the influence of the IMF.
“Barbados is in no condition to avoid the help of any institution such as the IMF,” he told the crowd. “Barbados has a growth problem. Barbados has an unemployment problem. Barbados has a foreign exchange problem. Barbados has a debt problem, and Barbados has a financial crisis.”
He described the crisis facing the country as unprecedented, noting that Government had to borrow in excess of $40 million monthly to pay civil servants.
Mascoll said the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by former prime minister David Thompson used all types of techniques, including allegations of stealing, to win the reins of government from the BLP.
He claimed that when the BLP left office, unemployment was 6.7 per cent but had now risen to beyond 20 per cent in 2014.
“The economy is smaller than it was in 2007, national debt is way higher than it was in 2007 and between 2008 and 2014, this Government had borrowed more money than the Owen Arthur administration borrowed in 14 years and there’s nothing to show for it,” he added.
“Barbadians are hurting and suffering and the municipal solid waste tax is just another blow that would kill the old cow; it’s just another nail in the coffin.”
Mascoll contended that the dire position being faced by Barbados was the direct result of overspending by the Government.
He also charged that the impositon of the solid waste tax had nothing whatsoever to do with waste, since for decades Barbadians had been serviced by the Santitation Service Authority.
Source-Nation News
Saudi Arabian stock market to open to foreign investors
Saudi Arabia's stock market will open up to foreign investors for the first time, the country has announced.
The move, which should happen in the first half of 2015, sparked a 3% rise in the Tadawul index in early trading.
The Saudi market is the biggest in the Middle East and the second biggest in the world, next to China, that is closed to direct foreign investment.
Currently, foreigners can only gain exposure to Saudi stocks through derivatives and investment funds.
After the market is opened up, foreigners will be able to buy Saudi stocks directly on the Tadawul.
The move is part of wider government efforts to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil.
"The market will be open to eligible foreign financial institutions to invest in listed shares during the first half of 2015, with God's permission," the country's Capital Market Authority said.
Source-BBC
Israel Hits Targets in Gaza
Israel kept up its assaults in the Gaza strip on Tuesday, pummeling a wide range of targets, as the conflict entered its 15th day.
Overnight, Israel bombed five mosques, a sports complex and the home of the late Hamas military chief, a Gaza police official said.
There has been no let-up in cross-border rocket fire either, with 116 rockets hitting Israel on Monday, one striking the greater Tel Aviv area, and another 17 shot down.
Artillery, tanks and troops were operating in and around Gaza early Tuesday, with airstrikes setting off huge explosions that turned the night sky over Gaza City orange.
The sound of the blasts mixed with the thud of shelling, often just seconds apart, and the pre-dawn call to prayer from mosque loudspeakers.
The strikes came as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Cairo late Monday and early Tuesday to launch the highest-level push yet to end the deadly conflict.
The U.N. has said that the majority of the more than 580 Palestinians killed were civilians, among them nearly 100 children, since the offensive was launched on July 8, Gaza health officials said.
Train With MH17 Crash Victims' Remains Arrives in Ukraine-held City
A train carrying the bodies of nearly 300 people killed in the crash of a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine arrived in the government-controlled eastern city of Kharkiv Tuesday, as a senior pro-Russia separatist leader handed over the plane's black boxes to Malaysian experts.
The train arrived Tuesday morning from the town of Torez, which is controlled by pro-Russian rebel forces. The bodies are to be handed over to the Netherlands, the country that lost the highest number of nationals in the crash and which will take on the task of identifying the remains. The train arrived just before 9 a.m. local time.
Earlier, rebels in eastern Ukraine handed over the downed jetliner's flight data recorders to Malaysian aviation experts in the eastern city of Donetsk.
"The black boxes have been returned to their owners, the Malaysians," rebel leader Alexander Borodai said. "We have just signed a protocol that says Malaysia will give the boxes to experts" at the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Malaysian Colonel Mohamed Sakri said the boxes sustained some damage, but were "intact" and in "good condition."
Also Tuesday, Russia said it was ready to offer full cooperation with an international investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 after backing the U.N. Security Council resolution on the probe.
China, Venezuela ink oil deals
Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a raft of oil and mineral deals with Venezuela yesterday, his latest stop on a Latin American tour showcasing China's growing influence in the region.
During his four-country visit to what is often considered America's backyard, Xi has reached out to resource-rich countries such as Venezuela and Argentina at a time when they are often shunned by the United States and Europe.
In Venezuela, he visited the mausoleum holding late President Hugo Chavez, an inveterate antagonist of the US, and signed 38 deals with Chavez's successor, Nicolas Maduro.
The deals spanned a range of sectors from oil to infrastructure and included $4 billion for a joint development fund, $691 million to explore Venezuela's gold and copper reserves and an agreement to develop the countries' third joint satellite.
"Venezuela has become one of the top countries for Chinese investment... our seventh oil supplier and fourth Latin American trade partner," Xi said in Caracas.
The Venezuela visit comes after the Chinese leader agreed to an $11-billion currency swap with Argentina and extended much-needed investment to President Cristina Kirchner, whose cash-strapped Government -- locked out of capital markets since defaulting on its debt in 2001 -- is staring down the threat of another default.
Xi kicked off his tour last week by proposing a new $20-billion infrastructure fund for Latin America, underlining the fast-growing Asian giant's increasing interest in the region.
He also launched a new $50-billon development bank along with the other emerging powers of the so-called BRICS group -- Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa -- at a summit in Brazil.
The move, which creates an alternative to the Western-dominated World Bank, was hailed as contributing to "a new international order" by Cuban President Raul Castro -- Xi's host at the next and final stop on his tour.
But although Xi has spent his trip rubbing elbows with leftist leaders who tend to view the United States with a critical eye, his tour is less about ideology than business, said Venezuelan political analyst Carlos Romero.
"China's political and economic expansion is pragmatic in character. It's not about ideology or competition with the United States, but a Chinese policy of looking long-term for natural resources in different parts of the world," he told AFP.
"China knows Argentina and Venezuela hold huge natural resource deposits, particularly two they are desperately searching for to fuel an economy and a society like China's: oil and food in the case of Argentina, and oil and gas in the case of Venezuela."
The partnership comes at a welcome time for Venezuela, which is in the midst of an inflation crisis and struggling under a pile of unpaid debts to foreign firms.
China, the second-largest market for Venezuelan oil after the United States, pays for its average 640,000 daily barrels in part by writing down the $17-billion debt Caracas owes it.
Both countries have said they want to increase oil exports to one million barrels a day in the coming years.
This is Xi's second visit to Latin America and the Caribbean since taking office in 2013. Last year he toured Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago.
Source-AP
J'ca's ganja takes centrestage at drug policy meeting in Budapest
Jamaica's plan to decriminalise small amounts of ganja later this year has impressed delegates at a conference on Drug Policy and Human Rights now underway in Budapest, Hungary.
Note was taken that Jamaica would become only the first of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to decriminalise ganja when the legislation is passed, a near certainty because it enjoys bi-parisan support in the parliament.
"As a matter of fact, the question is often asked as to how or why is it that we are only now moving in the direction of formal decriminalisation," said Raymond Pryce, Jamaica and the Caribbean's only representative at the nine-day conference sponsored by the Open Society Foundation at Budapest's Central European University.
Delegates from across the globe on July 14 began discussing thematic areas including the International Treaties and Conventions, the Global War on Drugs, Availability and Accessibility of Essential Medicines, Harm and Addiction Reduction, Models for Decriminalisation, Access Management/Control of Illicit Drugs, among others. The conference ends tomorrow.
Pryce, the North East St Elizabeth MP, is a standout at the conference as the man who moved a private member' motion in the Jamaican Parliament for decriminalisation of marijuana.
But other Jamaican names familiar to delegates include reggae megastar Bob Marley who popularised ganja, Dr Albert Lockhart who, along with the late Dr Manley West, developed ganja-based drugs such as Canasol for treatment of glaucoma and Astmasol for asthma, and Dr Henry Lowe for his outstanding research work and commercial enterprise, based on ganja.
Pryce presented the work of the Barry Chevannes Commission which recommended decriminalisaton of ganja for medicinal purposes.
"Each person, representative, group and or stakeholder in attendance was fully aware that Jamaica has given very strong indications of its decision to decriminalise... There is a high level of support for the decision of the Cabinet to move to what is referred to as 'de jure' decriminalisation," said Pryce.
"This means promulgating actual legislation which sets out the framework of the decriminalisation model being pursued, rather than what is known as 'de facto' decriminalisation which is a framework wherein there is no statute or legislation which sets out the nature of the decriminalisation model. In the latter case, a lot depends on prosecutorial guidance or discretion of law enforcement agents," he told the Jamaica Observer from the conference.
"There is a lot of interest in whether or not (and if so how) Jamaica will look at supply side decriminalisation which is the approach taken in the United Kingdom with respect to opium. (This happens under strict regulation and is linked to a drug company/pharmaceutical which cultivates the poppy plant in the UK for the manufacturing of morphine and other licit opioids).
"The Central Territory State of Australia has also decriminalised the supply side. In other countries such as Portugal only the 'demand' side has been decriminalised. Therefore possession has been decriminalised but cultivation or supply has not been," the MP said.
Pryce's proposal for Jamaica to decriminalise not just possession but also the supply side with respect to specified guidelines that will allow qualified and registered farmers to cultivate, was broadly supported by delegates.
He said he was even more convinced now than before that Jamaican farmers, researchers and entrepreneurs could achieve prosperity from a legitimate ganja sector, while contributing immensely to improving health and wellness solutions to mankind.
"It is key to appreciate that the fact that Jamaica's indigenous Rastafari Religion is recognised, and that our Constitution sets out the Freedom of Association and of Religion as Fundamental Rights -- supply side decriminalisation is an understandable and acceptable approach even within the current UN and related Conventions on Drugs and Narcotics."
As further evidence of the interest Jamaica has generated, Niamh Eastwood, the executive director of a leading publication on drug policy, Release, confirmed in her presentation to the conference that in its next review, there would be a chapter on Jamaica.
Also noteworthy was the fact that there was significant interest and commendation of the recent Caricom Heads of Government decision toward a regional response and plan of action on ganja. Pryce said additional information about this approach "is anxiously being awaited locally and internationally".
Supporters of the reparation campaign would have cheered presenter Kathereine Pettus of the Institute for Palliative Medicine (IPCRC) for her historical perspective on the evolution of the current Drug Policy established by the UN, with respect to the decolonisation of the Global South -- a perspective which places the current international debate on drug policy as a case in point for reparation.
Source-Jamaican Observer
Germany captain Philipp Lahm has retired while St.Lucian joins the team
Germany captain Philipp Lahm has retired from international football after leading his side to victory at the World Cup in Brazil.
The 30-year-old Bayern Munich defender, who can also play in midfield, played 113 times for Germany.
Lahm will continue playing for his club side, where he renewed his contract until 2018 shortly before the World Cup.
His retirement from the national side was confirmed by the German FA.
Meanwhile, A St. Lucian teen recently inked a professional football contract with a high-level team in Germany.
Eighteen-year old Cannigia Elva signed a four-year deal with Bundesliga team VFB Stuttgart.
He’s expected to work in the team’s academy or possibly be loaned to another European team.
The footballing standout was born in St. Lucia but moved to Canada and has played there for the last five years.