Fitch Ratings on the TCI in 2016
As Turks & Caicos prepares to deliver the budget in less than 6 weeks, Turks & Caicos Islandsers will have to prepare for the tightening of the belt, as TCIG tries to implement the 3% payroll taxes.
All this is to reduce the debt borrowed to secure the TCI by 2016.
Minister of Finance in his papers presented to the House Of assembly last week stated that by 2016,the TCI will have an opportunity to get our own credit rating to see where the country is and to better handle our own affairs.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed that the UK government has guaranteed the Turks and Caicos Islands' USD170m or 3.20% notes due 2016 at 'AA+'. KEY RATING.
The rating is based on the full, unconditional, and irrevocable guarantee provided by the Secretary of State for International Development, for and on behalf of the UK Government at a (AA+/Stable performance), in accordance with the terms and conditions of the guarantee as specified in the guarantee documentation with TCIG.
According to Fitch, the rating is sensitive to any changes in the UK sovereign rating.
Minister Missick is asking members from across the isle and the country at heart to stand with him, when he presents the new budget.
QUEENS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS A SUCCESS
Despite talks of a possible boycott & bloggers questioning the change of location to Grace Bay, the Queens Birthday parade went off without a hitch at the Rugby field in Providenciales.
Attending the celebrations was HE. Governor Beckingham & Mrs. Beckingham, Acting Premier Hon. Akeeria Missick, Hon. Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Sharlene Cartwright and Shadow Minister Josephine Connolly along with other distinguished guests.
Following the inspections of the core and the performances by the Police band, HE brought greetings on behalf of the HM the Queen and also mentioned the Premiers visit to the UK.
Compere Jameka Russell presented awards to officers for 25 years, 18 years & 30 years of service for Colonial Medals.
Long Service – 18 years:
Constable Anthony Cumberbatch
Sergeant Peter Quelch
Long Service – 25 years:
Inspector Jerome Caley
Sergeant Carl Lightbourne
Long Service 30 years:
Sergeant Henderson Williams
Police - Providenciales
Long Service for 18 years:
Sergeant Drexel Porter, PROVO
Sergeant Carisa Clare, PROVO
Sergeant Shervin Adams, PROVO
Sergeant Edmond Dick, PROVO
Inspector Everet Warrican, PROVO
Sergeant David Wilson, PROVO
Sergeant Grantley Williams, PROVO
Constable Elliot Brown, PROVO
Sergeant Alston Providence, PROVO
Sergeant Calvin Chase, PROVO
Sergeant Croydon Lightbourne, PROVO
Long Service for 25 years:
ASP Kenville Charles, PROVO (asst sup of police)
ASP Keith Russell, PROVO
Inspector Irene Butterfield, PROVO
Inspector Nigel Gilkes, PROVO
Inspector Sandy Williams, PROVO
Inspector Calvin Chase, PROVO
Long Service for 30 years:
Assistant Commissioner Rodney Adams, PROVO
ASP Ira Baptiste, PROVO
Superintendent Clifford Ashton, PROVO
Inspector Hilton Duncan, PROVO
FIRE DEPARTMENT PROVO
Long Service 25 years
Ronnie Simmons-Senior Fire Prevention Officer- 27 years
Kenneth Williams- Leading Fireman, 26 years
Long Service 30 years
Carlton Jennings Chief Fire Officer 31 years
Joseph Williams Deputy Fire Chief 34 years
CUSTOMS - PROVO
Long Service – 18 years:
Alton Scott SeniorCustom Officer 18yrs
Stafford Samual Senior Customs Officer 18yrs
Gregston Been Senior Customs Officer 18yrs
Lolian Forbes Williams Admin Officer 19yrs
Diana Wilson Customs Officer 21yrs
Denise Robinson Assistant Collector 23yrs
Linda Malcolm Deputy Collector 24yrs
Judge Changes Court Order Restricting Media In The TCI
High Court judge Sir Bruce Robertson on Wednesday changed his court order which had clearly restricted media houses in the Turks and Caicos Islands from reporting the charges against two prominent lawyers.
The New Zealand Judge who was imported specially to hear the case against 57-year-old Timothy Patrick O'Sullivan of the law firm Miller, Simons, O'Sullivan and 52-year-old Gordon William Kerr of the law firm Misick and Stanbrook, made an amendment to his original order which expressly stated that the media could only print "the identity of the parties, the name of the judge and of counsel representing the parties and the date of any future hearings".
The judge ordered that the media can now carry the charges which he agreed were already in the public domain.
O'Sullivan and Kerr are charged with cheating the public revenue, conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to false account. Their cases have been adjourned until June 1, 2015.
When the court sat on Wednesday June 11th, the judge heard submissions from Andrew Mitchell, QC, the lead counsel for the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Team (SIPT), Andrew Radcliffe, QC, the lawyer for Kerr, Jim Sturman, QC, the lawyer for O'Sullivan.
Hayden Boyce, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Turks and Caicos SUN, who was in the court to monitor the proceedings, took the opportunity to make representations to the court on behalf of his newspaper and the local media.
Boyce said he was in the process of formally filing an application to the Supreme Court to vary or discharge the original court order, but he aborted the action after the judge made the amendment in open court.
We thank the Sun for the story.
France rail strike halts many trains
A nationwide strike by train staff in France has halted many rail services and is set to run into the weekend.
The strike began on Tuesday and is one of the longest to hit the railways. It has halted about half of inter-city trains and even more local trains.
Trade unions object to a government plan to unite the SNCF train operator with the RFF railway network. Workers fear the reform will mean job losses.
The strike could affect students who will shortly sit school-leaving exams.
The Eurostar service via the Channel Tunnel is unaffected so far.
The French President, Francois Hollande, has urged the unions to go back to work. But the unions say the proposed merger of SNCF and RFF operations does not go far enough, and they want the government to take on the two firms' combined debt of 40bn euros (£32bn; $54bn).
The Spurs leads Miami 3-1
Sports Watch predicted it, and here we go again, last year the NBA Championship slipped away from the San Antonio Spurs, but last night they made sure to seal the deal!
It would take something special -- historic, heart, maybe more help if the Miami Heat was, and note my words,”Was” to make the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.
Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and the Spurs routed the Heat again, winning 107-86 on Thursday night to open a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Tony Parker added 19 points, and Tim Duncan scored 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 57 percent from the field and are hitting 54 percent in the series.
The Spurs can win their fifth NBA championship with a victory at home in Game 5 on Sunday and avenge their seven-game loss to Miami last year. They have three chances, and the way they're dominating the Heat, they might need just one.
LeBron James had 28 points and eight rebounds, but Dwyane Wade was just 1-of-10 through three quarters and finished with 10 points.
"They smashed us," James said. "Two straight home games got off to awful starts. They came in and were much better than us in these last two games. It's just that simple."
No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.
Crude Oil Spikes
The price of Brent crude spiked on Friday over concerns about the ongoing insurgency in Iraq.
Oil prices settled down, but at $4 per barrel higher than at the beginning of the week.
Reassurances about the flow of oil supplies went some way to calming market jitters.
Brent crude futures stabilised at $112.32 per barrel, while US crude levelled to $106.55, after the highest reading for both since September.
Insurgents have taken over two Iraqi cities, prompting the US to say it was considering "all options" to help Iraq.
Iraq is the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) group.
Jamaica to decriminalize ganja use
The Jamaican government plans to decriminalise possession of small amounts of ganja under a more “enlightened approach” to drug laws, officials said Thursday.
Mark Golding, the country’s justice minister, said cabinet had approved a policy to decriminalise possession and use of the drug for religious, medicinal and scientific purposes.
Although people can still be fined via a ticketing infraction, it will no longer be a criminal offence to have up to two ounces or to smoke ganja in private.
Golding said legislation would be drafted to provide a path for people to get criminal records expunged if they have been convicted under the current laws.
South Africa could be downgraded by Fitch
Credit ratings agency Fitch has warned South Africa that its credit rating may be lowered following a five-month platinum strike in the country.
Fitch was followed by Standard & Poor who also downgraded their rating
Fitch changed the country's outlook from stable to negative, citing poor economic prospects and rising public debt.
Its economy contracted by 0.6% in the first quarter, in part because of a fall in platinum production.
However, unions said a platinum miners' wage deal was on the horizon.
A negative outlook can indicate that a country's credit rating could be downgraded. A downgrade can influence a country's borrowing costs, as some investors are restricted from lending to borrowers that do not have a high rating.
The economic contraction in South Africa in the first quarter "partly reflects the long strike in the platinum sector, but manufacturing output also fell sharply", Fitch said.
CARICOM FOREIGN MINISTERS OFF TO MEET WITH UK COUNTERPART IN LONDON
The Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom (UK) will participate in the Eighth UK-Caribbean Forum on 16-17 June in London.
The biennial Forum will aim to strengthen further the special relationship between the UK and the Caribbean and will provide a platform for the Ministers to discuss key foreign policy issues. It will also seek agreement on a joint action plan to help promote prosperity in priority sectors in the Region and bolster the partnership on security issues.
Energy, Education and Trade and Investment are among the priority areas down for discussion during the Forum. Prior to the Forum, the UK Prime Minister the Honourable David Cameron will receive the CARICOM Foreign Ministers at his official residence and later during their stay they will have sessions with the Caribbean All Party British Parliamentary Group and the Caribbean diaspora in the UK.
This engagement with the UK is in keeping with the Community’s strategy of maintaining strong links with traditional partners while forging new relationships as the Community seeks to strategically reposition itself as it develops its Strategic Plan which will be tabled before Heads of Government at their meeting in July in Antigua and Barbuda. Foreign Ministers sitting as the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) make an annual assessment of the evolving global situation and take steps to place the Community in an advantageous position in that context.
As the Chair of COFCOR, the Honourable Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana said at the opening of the Council’s recent meeting in Guyana, “we have sought to strengthen our relations with our traditional partners, and have equally pursued the cultivation of new alliances. It is in this context that we welcome our interaction during this meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Ecuador, New Zealand and Spain with the aim of expanding our dialogue and cooperation.”
This was furthered elaborated by CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque who stated that: “in view of the rapidly evolving international geopolitical situation, CARICOM has sought to re-orient its external relations to take account of the dynamics on the global and hemispheric stage. The Community has taken into account the narrowing of the interests of its traditional partners in their relations with us. We are therefore actively seeking to widen our own geopolitical space by establishing links with an array of non-traditional partners and forming strategic alliances where there is a convergence of interests.”
He further stated: “already, we are transforming our relationship with Latin America as we have come together bilaterally, collectively and institutionally. The Community’s relations with individual Latin American states such as Brazil, Chile and Mexico have been strengthened. In late April the Community held its Third Summit meeting with Mexico and looks forward to the proposed Summit with Brazil. On my recent visit to Chile, Her Excellency President Bachelet assured me of her country’s desire to strengthen its co-operation with the Community.”
The traditional Retreat during COFCOR took place on the theme “CARICOM Foreign Policy in the Changing Global Environment”. Their deliberations benefitted from the perspectives of three Caribbean experts in foreign policy, academia and economics - Professor Vaughn Lewis, Professor Mark Kirton and Dr. Justin Ram respectively as well as from the CARICOM Secretariat. The experts shared with the Ministers their views and insights based on this theme. The respective presentations touched on the present nature of the global political and economic environment as it moved from “two worlds to many political worlds and one world economy”, on the challenges and opportunities for Caribbean Latin-American relations in the changing 21st century environment, and on an analysis of the economic and social challenges facing the Caribbean and impeding its development.
They collectively painted a picture of the environment in which the Community operates, the link between economic interests and foreign policy and made a number of geopolitical and geo-economic policy recommendations to address the many challenges identified. Ministers agreed that arising from the presentations and their ensuing deliberations they would pursue the formulation of a strategy paper for the attention of Heads of Government at their meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua Labour Party Crushes Governing UPP In General Election
Prime Minister designate, Gaston Browne led his Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ALP) to a crushing victory in the general elections on Thursday.
Browne, 47, said from all indications, it appears that the ALP will win 15 of the 17 seats in the general election and welcomed the offer of outgoing prime minister Baldwin Spencer to work with his administration for the good of Antigua and Barbuda.
The Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission has not yet given the full results of the polls, more than 12 hours after the 164 polling stations closed.
It has only said of the six seats declared, the ALP has won five and the outgoing United Progressive Party (UPP), the other.
The outgoing Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has conceded defeat as the main opposition ALP appears headed for a landslide victory a decade after it was booted out of office in 2004.
The election result has left Browne elated.