St Vincent and Jamaica ratify the new Arms Trade Treaty
St Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica have ratified the new Arms Trade Treaty as the Caribbean seeks to play an historic role in helping end the irresponsible, lethal global US$85 billion trade in small arms and light weapons and ammunition.
The delegations from the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries Tuesday attended a special ratification ceremony at the United Nations’ Headquarters to mark the event.
“It is really positive that two more CARICOM member states have ratified the Arms Trade Treaty. St Vincent and the Grenadines hosted two of the four regional preparatory workshops at which CARICOM’s common negotiating position was agreed,” president of the Caribbean Coalition for Development and the Reduction of Armed Violence (CDRAV) Folade Mutota said.
“Jamaica was very instrumental during the negotiations when the region successfully pushed for the inclusion of small arms and ammunition in the treaty.
Caribbean civil society calls on our governments to do all that is necessary to implement this treaty,” she added.
Since the Arms Trade Treaty opened for signature one year ago, 118 states have signed it, and so far 40 states including SVG and Jamaica have ratified this pioneering international agreement.
In order for the treaty to enter into force and become legally-binding international law, only 10 more states are required to ratify.
TCI completes "Awe-Inspiring" Road Trip
TCI officials are back on island after what can only be described as a world wind "awe-inspiring" Road Trip throughout Canada and USA.
The delegation which included Premier and Minister of Tourism Hon Dr. Rufus Ewing, other Government officials, TCHTA's Executive Director Stacy Cox along with executives from TCI Tourist Board, Venetian Ridge Resort, Waterloo Group, Alexandra Resort, Amanyara Resort, Grace Bay Resorts, Blue Haven Resort & Marina, The Hartling Group, Gansevoort, VIP Flyers Club/ODMC and Parrot Cay embarked on the five day Road Trip on May 26 with the objective of reminding USA and Canada of Government's slogan "We are open for business."
The personalised approach which was the first of its kind to be organised by TCI officials brought visibility and greater awareness to the TCI product and saw the delegation visiting Ottawa, Toronto, Chicago, New York, Dallas and Miami. With daily meetings and cocktail receptions sponsored by the participating TCHTA members and organised not only to educate the specially invited guests but to also "wow" them, the TCI representatives used all opportunities to provide Government officials, travel partners and media with updated information about the destination and its tourism product.
On her return to TCI Stacy Cox, TCHTA's Executive Director said "Our members are very ecstatic about the trip and the networking opportunities which they were able to achieve. Many contacts were made throughout the various provinces and states and the Association looks forward to a very promising winter season.
We believe that the objective of reinforcing Government's slogan "We are open for business" was achieved and it will definitely resonate with the persons who attended the events.
We indeed strengthened our TCI-USA and TCI-Canada alliances and this will only help improve trade and investment opportunities and enhance our tourism product."
During the Road Trip Government officials also used this opportunity to open TCI Tourist Board's new office in Toronto.
PDM CONGRATULATES 2014 ICN AWARDEES
The Peoples’ Democratic Movement in a release to RTC News congratulated the Chairman and Team at Inter Caribbean Airways on the recent honor of being awarded the 2014 Invest Caribbean Now (ICN) Visionary Award for the work in connecting the region.
The awards were presented last evening in New York.
Leader of the PDM stated, “We are so very proud of our very own son of the soil, Mr Lyndon Gardiner and his entire team for the demonstrated vision. This demonstrates that hard work, commitment and daring to dream big still pays off. This is also an important feat for these Islands and provides a much craved after positive exposure.”
Besides Mr. Gardiner, the PDM also extended congratulations to Sandals Resort International Chairman and Founder, Hon Gordon “Butch’ Stewart who always received the 2014 ICN Leadership Award.
We wish both recipients continued success in their endeavors.
Five top corporations serving the Caribbean region were presented with their awards.
James Pitt is the new CEO of Lime TCI
LIME Turks & Caicos rolled out the green carpet for the the way forward at a press conference held at the Regent Grand with customers at the forefront of the future of the business.
LIME’s focus will be on the service excellence through the Grow Lifetime Value concept for customers. The company has begun that process with the outsourcing of the technical operations to Ericsson, a world leader in the area of operations. This commitment to service excellence will also extend to LIME’s retail stores, dealer locations and contact centres.
The new strategy will have four main areas: Mobile leadership; Fixed-mobile convergence; Reinforcement of the television offering and Growth in business services.
General Manager James Pitt stated, “Customers require best in class service across all the product offerings and LIME will be tenacious in answering that call to improve its network and expand to deliver on those needs.”
DEMA’s Environmental Stewardship Awards: 6 June 2014
The Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA) will be hosting the annual Environmental Stewardship Awards, on Friday 6th of June, 2014.
The award ceremony coincides with World Environment Day and World Oceans Day held on the 5th and 8th of June respectively and DEMA embraces this opportunity every year to honor those individuals and organisations that have kindly contributed their time, equipment and/or financial assistance to DEMA throughout the year, in order to promote conservation and an environmentally sustainable TCI.
This year, a total of 28 recipients will be honored at a ceremony to be held at the Department of Environment & Maritime Affairs, Lower Bight Road, Providenciales.
The Ceremony will be hosted by the department’s Director, Mrs. Kathleen Wood, as well as by the Minister for Environment and Home Affairs, Ms. Amanda Missick.
Hon. A Missick attends UWI’s Finance and General Purpose Committee Meeting
The semi annual meeting of the UWI’s Finance and General Purpose Committee was held on Thursday 29th May, 2014 at the Cave Hill Campus in Barbados. Representing the Turks and Caicos Islands was Deputy Premier and Minister of Education Hon. Akierra Missick, accompanied by Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Tamera E. Robinson. The Turks and Caicos Islands is the newest member of the UWI family and as such will be called upon to sit on committees of the UWI Council.
This F&GPC Meeting was one in a series of University meetings held between 26th – 30th May, 2014 following the annual Business Meeting of the University Council that was held in April in Nassau, Bahamas which was attended by the Minister of Education and Permanent Secretary Cherylann Jones where the Turks and Caicos Islands were formally welcomed into the UWI family.
The Finance and General Purpose Committee meeting allows members to be involved in key decisions regarding UWI’s policies regarding future growth and development, payment of fees and any changes in fee structure, and other key regulations. While there, the team was able to solidify relationships and discussions which commenced with our attendance at the UWI council meeting in April.
The team also had discussions with Pro Vice Chancellors and other dignitaries on strengthening the presence of UWI in TCI and working more closely with our Community College.
Help for Turks and Caicos Islands companies from the UK’s Trade and Investment Overseas Network
Turks and Caicos Islands companies seeking to target new international markets, can now do so with the help and advice of the UK’s Trade and Investment (UKTI) Overseas Market Introductory Service.
With a UKTI presence in over 100 markets the chargeable service can help companies:
· access the right international contacts or partners
· find the best way to do business in a market
· achieve a successful market entry strategy
· identify and deal with competition
· identify opportunities and
· increase profits by using effective overseas promotion
“Offering this service to Turks and Caicos Islands businesses is another example of how the UK is working to support the prosperity of its Overseas Territories,” said His Excellency Governor Peter Beckingham.
“The service provides advice and practical help on improving their investment climate and providing a showcase for the opportunities available in the Territories at the annual Business and Investment event in London, which is part of the OT Joint Ministerial Council,” added Governor Beckingham.
Businesses interested in finding out more about the Overseas Market Introductory Service, should contact Charmaine Wright, Senior Trade and Investment Officer, British High Commission, Kingston, Jamaica
TURKS AND CAICOS POST CABINET MEETING STATEMENT
His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired the meeting of the Cabinet at the Hilly Ewing Building, in Providenciales, yesterday Wednesday, 4th June 2014 where all Ministers were present.
At this meeting Cabinet:
Advised the Governor to approve the Payroll Tax Bill 2014. The Bill will now advance to the House of Assembly;
It was Noted that their was strong financial performance of the Turks and Caicos Islands for the period January 2014 to March 2014 as submitted in the Fourth Quarter Financial Report from the Accountant General.
Cabinet approved the publication of the report as required by Section 46 of the Public Financial Management Ordinance;
The members Agreed to open a consultation on increasing the height limit of buildings in Providenciales to 14 storeys (150 foot.) The consultation will be co-ordinated by the Ministry of Home Affairs and will be open to all interested stakeholders;
Also Approved was the issuance of licenses to the Tourist Board for a Crown land parcels near the Cruise Centre in Grand Turk to be used as a centralized tour operator and taxi dispatch desk and It also a cultural beach market to support and centralize beach vendors serving Cruise Centre passengers;
Cabinet also agreed to award a sitting allowance to the members of the National Honours and Awards Committee in line with the arrangements currently in place for other statutory boards, subject to an amendment to the Ordinance;
The members agreed to open discussions with the TCI Airport Authority to ensure that the Providenciales Airport Master Plan adequately provides for the predicted continued increase in air passenger numbers, and to determine what further developments may be required to meet future demands;
The Education Committee is to begin their work of reviewing scholarship applications for 2014 pending approval of the Budget. Cabinet will review their recommendations in due course, and noted the importance of communicating decisions to applicants in good time to allow them to make them arrangements for starting their education courses;
Cabinet also discussed the appointment of a High Level Inter-Ministerial Committee to support the implementation of the CARICOM Youth Development Action Plan, which aims to guide national and regional integrated planning and action regarding youth. The Committee will include the Minister and the PS of Education, Youth, Sports and Library Services, the PS Finance, the Director of the Department of Social Development, the PS Ministry of Health, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the PS with responsibility for Department of Planning, the Director of Youth Affairs, youth representatives and other adhoc stakeholders as appropriate;
Noted was a paper from the Deputy Premier informing Cabinet of the formation of a Secondary School Sports Association. The Association enables schools to play a more active role in the planning, organisation and development of the rules and regulations of all inter-high school sporting competitions, which will allow them to better support the growth and maximise the potential of student athletes. In addition, further sports will be added to the 2014/2015 academic roster, including Inter High Rugby, Football and Cricket;
Agreed the appointment of the following persons to the Health Practitioners Ordinance for a period of two (2) years effective 1 May 2014: Minister for Health and Human Services - Chairman; Director of Health Services - Ex-Officio Member; Mrs. Tremaine-Swann Harvey - Member; Ms Charlene Higgs – Member;
Heard an update from the Director of DEMA, Kathleen Wood, on the current state of affairs concerning the damage caused to coral reef off the coast of Providenciales by the MY White Cloud. Ms Wood advised a contractor had been appointed to carry out repairs to the site, which will be paid for by the yacht's insurers, and work would begin in mid-June. Cabinet was also informed negotiations were underway with all parties regarding a final financial settlement;
Agreed to increase the taxi quotas as follows: in Providenciales from 150 to 175 (and from 40-60 private transfer reserve) and in Grand Turk from 45 to 55 (and from 15-25 private transfer reserve.)
Two Island groups.
Did you know that our Islands are divided into two main groups? The Turks Islands are separated from the Caicos Islands by the 22-mile “Columbus passage” named in honor of Christopher Columbus, based on the controversial claim that Columbus made his first landfall in the “New World on the island of Grand Turk in 1492.
Salt Cay & Grand Turk Islands
Did you know that our Islands are divided into two groups? The Turks Islands comprise of Grand Turk and Salt Cay. The Caicos Islands, the largest in the chain, comprise of South Caicos, East Caicos, Middle Caicos, North Caicos, West Caicos, Providenciales, Pine and Parrot Cay. West Caicos and Ambergris Cay are fast becoming inhabited as development projects on the two islands materialise.