SUPPORT TO INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES KEY AIM OF NEXT WFD VISIT
Providing support to independent candidates standing at the Turks and Caicos elections on 9 November is one of the key aims of the third visit by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy on 23-27 July 2012.
The WFD party will again meet with the leaders of both the PDM and PNP to continue their ongoing ‘politician to politician’ dialogue about how to run effective election campaigns that comply with the election-related ordinances.
During this visit they are extremely keen to meet with those persons considering standing as an independent candidate on 9 November, whether as a constituency or at large candidate. Indeed, Scott Martin, a lawyer for the Scottish National Party, has direct experience of the similar Scottish system whereby there is both constituency and regional representation.
Specific time slots have been set aside for prospective independent candidates to meet with members of the WFD delegation on Thu, 26 July: from 10.00am-12.00pm on Grand Turk and 10.00-11.30am on Providenciales.
Anyone wishing to take advantage of this opportunity should reply in confidence to Philip Rushbrook at the Governor’s Office on GovernorGT@fco.gsi.gov.uk marking their email ‘Private Meeting’ in the subject line. Their email should include their full contact details (name, telephone and email) in their message. The Governor’s Office will provide precise time and venue details subsequently.
During the course of the week the WFD group will:
1. Jointly meet the PDM and PNP parties on Mon, 23 July, to discuss sources and uses of political finance and implementation of the new Elections and Political Activities ordinance.
2. Hold separate workshops will be run with workers from both parties on both 24&25 July 2012 further examining campaigning and its associated legal issues. Later they will meet with the Governor and members of the Advisory Council.
3. Split itself between Grand Turk and Providenciales on 26 July: meeting the team at the Elections Office, Integrity Commission and TCIG staff at the House of Assembly Building on Grand Turk; the Provo team will meet with the Chamber of Commerce and separately with members of the anti-VAT campaign
4. Meet with members of the Consultative Forum on Fri, 27 July before departing later in the day.
In addition to David Thirlby of the WFD, the following politicians and political representatives will travel with the party: Andrew Percy, Conservative, and Stephen Gauge, Liberal Democrat, will lead on campaigning; Scott Martin and James Swindlehurst, Labour Party, will lead on the legal aspects of campaigning.
The WFD is one of the worlds’ leading supporters of democratic institutions. It has previously visited TCI and met with its politicians and civil society figures in both October 2011 and March 2012.
EDITORIAL:VAT, THE OPIATE OF OUR WOES
In listening to the Consultative Forum yesterday, I was never more disappointed by the presentations and voting by some members. It was clear that some of the members read from scripts prepared for them by others. Some of them had no clue as to what was going on. For the Chairman of the Forum to say that the political parties were “ducking” from presenting at the Forum is just mischievous on her part, given that the parties’ views that they would not be subservient to that body as it did not represent a mandate from the people of this country.
What was very curious though, was that the vote on the bill was 5 for and 5 abstentions. That did not sound like a ringing endorsement to the bill, but indicated a lack of support from serious quarters. We know that the government officials would support a government presented bill, but it gets it “legitimacy” from the other members of the body and that was not present.
The Chair certainly danced on the head of a pin from beginning to end. She started by stating the obvious in that as far as the Interim Administration was concerned, it was a done deal and why have a hearing. However, she found a way to toe the line by buying into the fake presentations of the Administration in that this system would stop the “rich businessmen” from having an affluent life style as they made money from their business venture. The other fallacy is that you would be able to comply with the VAT programme by a “back of the envelope” calculation, when everyone knows that it is a complex system that requires specialist training in order to comply.
To say that the Political Parties did not participate in the process is absolutely not true. A number of my colleagues attended the meeting in Grand Turk that I participated in. A number of our National Executive Committee attended the meeting in Providenciales. I saw the exchanges on WIV 4, so I know that it happened. So it is just tongue and cheek to say otherwise. Furthermore, the PNP put out a position paper and held a press conference recently and one of the topics dealt with why VAT should not be implemented at this time. Added to this, the Chair of the Forum acknowledged that she had received a joint communiqué from PNP and PDM stating their opposition to VAT. It might not have been in the form that the Chair preferred, but nonetheless, it was in the public domain.
I can agree that the business community might have come late to the party, but they are here now, front and centre. They have been making a very impressive case in opposition to the imposition of VAT on TCI at this time. They clearly do not want to act as tax collectors for government and having to invest significant sums in putting in place the necessary infrastructure and human resources that would be necessary to comply. As far as big businesses are concerned, once they are geared up to operate, they will only act as a conduit. It will be a clear pass through to the end user.
Stanbrook quoted IMF correctly, in that if there is nothing being manufactured in country to which value can be added, then it make a nonsense to change the system of charging duties on imported items for a VAT system. To date, the VAT team headed by Groves has not been able to show any empirical data to support their assertions that VAT would guarantee a steady stream of revenue or that it implementation would not cause inflation or that in the immediate future that they would not have to raise the rate because the projected income is not being generated.
It is very clear from the presentation at the Forum yesterday, that the team does not have its talking points “down pat”. The CFO say one thing, the PS/Finance another and other members of the team yet another. That does not give the type of confidence that people need to have when they are telling us “trust us, we will get it right”.
It was not self-serving on the part of Stanbrook when he said that he was ashamed of the way the Interim Administration was going about this particular imposition. There is scant regard for the rule of law and due process on the part of these people. Now Stanbrook is English, a lawyer, and a QC at that, so he should know a thing or two about the legal system. For it to have been said that bills coming before the House of Assembly were not made public before it passage was a bold faced lie. To say that some bills went through the first, second and third reading at a particular sitting would be true. Many of us might not have liked that, but the rules allowed that to happen, by the suspension of the rules provision in the Standing Orders, which is the document that guides the House. I have not had sight of any such rules as they relate to the Forum, so the Chair makes them as as the sessions go on.
When the CFO said that he could not release the documents on which he based the VAT system for TCI, I could not believe my ears. Here is a man that has consistently tried to mislead us in the face of data and information that we can see and read is saying to us, “I have the information, it is confidential, but trust me” and I say to him that “pigs can fly”! the opposition to VAT has taken root. Those 3,000 + signatures of ordinary citizens coupled with those of th e businessmen must count for something. No matter how they try to side step the issue, it comes right back in their faces. The first sign of a shift is when they have decided not to sign the bill into law today as was previously contemplated. They have to take into consideration the representations made.
VAT in its present form would not shield us from the vagaries that currently beset us. Let us go back to the drawing board and come up with proper options to raise our necessary revenue. The throw away with Bermuda and Cayman is that their financial services sector is booming. We have been saying, invest in the restructuring of the products on offer here and the manpower necessary to police the sector and we will get that level of revenue. Additionally, put more manpower in Revenue Control that would give them the ability to stop the leakage of the uncollected revenue that is out there. That would certainly be far cheaper that putting in 25 persons initially to implement VAT from TCIG’s stand point.
Just remember that over time, we have not had a real revenue problem. Our problem has been in runaway spending in some areas. Once we have tied to policy-based initiatives, then we will be alright. There is no reason at this time to “change black dog for monkey”! so I say, step away from the precipice that we are being pushed to by the British to comply with the EU just for us to benefit by $5M in the next financial year and a further $15M in the years to come. We will realize more than that when SIPT is completed. So do not be fooled. This is not of our making. The smoke and mirror is to satisfy external forces. Just remember that the British did not tie themselves to the Euro and from the state of things over there, it seems to have been a good decision for them. Do not let them hamstring us to VAT to satisfy their European colleagues to our demise!
Royal S. Robinson, MBE
Prestigious Insurance Agency hires New Managing Director
In an effort to increase its competitive edge and its overall market share in the Turks and Caicos Islands Insurance Industry, the Prestigious Insurance Agency (P.I.A) has hired Mr. Jamell Robinson as their new Managing Director. Mr. Robinson brings a wealth of knowledge and skills in Risk Profiling, Business Continuity, Disaster Mitigation and Recovery Solutions, which is intricate in Insurance Coverage.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to work at P.I.A. It is a new challenge that I look forward to as it allows me to continue to help persons in the TCI to prepare for any Hazardous Event or Emergency with the variety of insurance coverage provided by P.I.A through Turks & Caicos First Insurance Company Ltd. We look to gain an edge on the competition through better service delivery and reduced turnaround times for claims by having all decisions made locally.” Mr. Robinson said.
At The Prestigious Insurance Agency, agents for Turks & Caicos First Insurance Company Ltd., we understand that owning a home is likely the largest single investment you will make. As such, we are dedicated to providing you with a number of insurance options to protect your home, business & possessions. Remember, just because you have insurance, doesn’t mean that you are covered. Turks & Caicos First Insurance Company uses a proportional reinsurance treaty to mitigate risk to its own account ceding to reinsurers with excellent security. This allows us to give you the most complete coverage in the Turks & Caicos Islands.
E. JAY SAUNDERS ENCOURAGED TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONALS TO LEVERAGE CLOUD COMPUTING TO ENHANCE THEIR VALUE ADDED SERVICES.
E. Jay Saunders who recently was in Barcelona, Spain presenting to European Telecommunications companies at the LTE World Summit on how they can become more profitable by embracing Cloud Computing, was last month in Miami, Florida at the Mobile VAS 2012 Conference, presenting to Latin America and Caribbean Telecommunications companies how Cloud Computing can be used as a service delivery platform to enhance and extend mobile Value Added Services (VAS).
Bill Reyes, Director of Global Business Development of the Intertek Group, a company which has been providing testing, inspecting, and certifying of products for the likes of Bose, ChevronTexaco, Ericsson, and Samsung for more than 127 years; stated that E. Jay’s presentation “…provided a solid insight on the effectiveness of Cloud Computing for delivering high quality streaming video to mobile devices as well as other value added services such as Location Based Service (LBS) with low latency and high data transfer speed. This is the very first time in my past three years at this forum that a speaker shared a proven model which validates the reliability of Cloud Computing when delivering dynamic, static, and streaming content to wireless subscribers.”
Speaking on the topic “How Will Cloud Services Affect Value Added Services Delivery in the Caribbean And Latin America (CALA)”, E. Jay gave a number of examples of mobile Value Added Services (VAS) that Cloud Computing is best suited, while pointing out those technical challenges that must be avoided to ensure a high customer experience level. E. Jay’s presentation touched on such areas as: a) mobile video/audio, where Cloud Computing have made it possible to enjoy such services as YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify on mobile devices; b) M-Health, where Cloud Computing and mobile smartphones are being used as tools to diagnose diseases; and c) Real Time Translation, where Cloud Computing is making it possible for 2 persons who speak different languages to have a phone conversation, with the smartphone translating between the languages in real-time.
According to E. Jay, “It is amazing the things that you can do with Cloud Computing. For example, the magic behind Apple’s digital personal assistant Siri is the way it utilizes artificial intelligence and Cloud Computing to communicate with and help out users of the new iPhone. Augmented reality is another cutting edge technology made possible by Cloud Computing. It allows a person to hold their mobile smartphones in front of an object and have the smartphone automatically recognize the object and pull additional information from the Cloud and overlay the data on top of the object.” Although a fan of Cloud Computing, E. Jay cautioned that service providers who want to utilize Cloud Computing to enhance their value added services must keep in mind that until smartphone users can get affordable and seamless data anytime and everywhere – including when roaming abroad – it is best to keep critical phone functions and applications localized to the handset.
Some of the other speakers at the conference were:
Jorge Palacio, President – AVANTEL COLOMBIA;
Celio Rosa, Communications VAS Business Development, Latin America – ORACLE;
Rodrigo Rivera, Marketing and Innovation Submanager – TELEFONICA MOVILES CHILE;
Inesa Klainman, Director of Marketing – COMVERSE;
Marcelo Castelo, Partner and Co-founder - F.BIZ AGENCY;
UPDATE ON ADDRESS CONFIRMATION
To date eighty percent (80%) of Streets in Providenciales have been confirmed. The Survey and Mapping Department is working assiduously to complete Grand Turk, which is currently about seventy-five percent (75%) complete. Mr. Demarco Williams of Survey and Mapping Department said, “We are pleased that Street naming and numbering on Providenciales are almost complete. We are working hard to complete this exercise in Grand Turk by the end of August 2012.”
NUMBER YOUR HOUSE
As well as having distinct and clear street names, the ability of emergency services to reach you as quickly as possible will also depend on how easy it is to find your house on the street. Your house number should be as clear and visible as possible. It should be lit or reflective so that it is clearly visible at night.
Tammika Lall of 911 Emergency Communications Centre that issues Official Address confirmations to residents noted that many residents have not displayed their official address number and some are displaying the numbers incorrectly. The Street Addressing Ordinance 2010 stipulates that the numbers should be a minimum of two feet six inches above the ground and the lettering should be a minimum of three inches in height and at least 3/8 of an inch thick. Residents are also reminded that as at 1 November failure to display their official building number carries a fine of up to $5,000.
Further, although 911 in conjunction with the Survey and Mapping Department have issued addresses since 2009 many residents still do not know or in some cases do not remember their official address when there is an emergency, which can delay response times.
The RTCI Police are appealing to residents to purchase their Street signs and have them displayed, as this will greatly assist emergency services to locate your residence or emergency location.
If you do not yet know your address, please fill out the 911 Data Form and you will receive your official address as registered in the 911 system. Once you learn your address, memorize it, and make sure family members know it too.
Protests as Clinton holds meetings in Egypt
Egyptian protesters threw tomatoes and shoes at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's motorcade Sunday and shouted, "Monica, Monica, Monica" as she left the newly reopened U.S. Consulate in Alexandria.
Clinton said she was in the city to answer critics who believe Washington has taken sides in Egyptian politics. There were already vocal protesters at the start of her visit to the consulate, forcing the ceremony to be moved inside.
"I want to be clear that the United States is not in the business, in Egypt, of choosing winners and losers, even if we could, which, of course, we cannot," Clinton said at the ceremony to reopen the consulate, which was closed in 1993 because of budget constraints.
"I have come to Alexandria to reaffirm the strong support of the United States for the Egyptian people and for their democratic future."
The protesters threw the tomatoes, shoes and a water bottle as the staff walked to their vans after the ceremony and riot police had to hold back the crowd. A tomato hit an Egyptian official in the face.
Clinton's van was around the corner from the protesters, and a senior State Department official said her car was not hit.
The chants of "Monica" refer to Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern who had an affair with Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Earlier Sunday, Clinton held a closed-door meeting with the head of Egypt's military leadership, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, whose military council is in a political tug of war with new President Mohamed Morsy.
Egypt's military leaders took control of the government after a popular uprising toppled former President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, promising to hand over control after elections.
But after this year's elections, the military council issued a decree stripping the presidency of much of its power. And more than two weeks after Morsy took office, the country remains in the throes of domestic political chaos. The president has no Cabinet and the country has no parliament.
Tornadoes hit Kujawy-Pomorze and Wielkopolska in Poland
One person has been killed and at least 10 others injured during a series of freak tornadoes in northern and western Poland.
The extreme winds hits the country's Kujawy-Pomorze and Wielkopolska provinces, destroying 100 homes.
Some 400 hectares of trees have also been damaged in Bory Tucholskie forest, a national park and popular tourist destination.
Electricity power-lines have also been damaged.
The BBC's Adam Easton, in Warsaw, says that those tornadoes are not unknown in Poland, this summer's series of events has been particularly dramatic and weather forecasters have predicted stormy conditions will continue.
According to local media reports, a 60-year-old man who was killed died in the village of Wycinki after being crushed beneath his collapsing house.
Residents have described hearing a terrifying rumble as the tornado approached.
A vast clean-up operation is now under way as people hastily cover up their roofs, fallen trees are removed and power lines are repaired.
Syria in civil war, Red Cross says
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says fighting in Syria is so widespread that the conflict is now in effect a civil war.
The change in status means combatants will now be officially subject to the Geneva Conventions, leaving them more exposed to war crimes prosecutions.
The Red Cross had previously regarded only the areas around Idlib, Homs and Hama as war zones.
Meanwhile, the Syrian government is disputing claims it used heavy weapons.
Activists initially described fighting on Thursday in the village of Tremseh near Hama as a massacre of dozens of civilians, but later accounts suggested most of the dead were armed rebels.
The UN accused Syrian forces of using heavy artillery, tanks and helicopters, but Damascus denied those allegations and said just two civilians had been killed.
The accusations, if proved, would mean Damascus had broken an agreement it made with envoy Kofi Annan.
Later on Sunday, video footage emerged purporting to show heavy fighting in southern Damascus.
Activists claimed the fighting was the most intense seen in the capital since the start of anti-government protests in March last year.
They said tanks and mortars were used, and in some areas residents were fleeing.
There has been no independent confirmation of their claims.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which oversees the Geneva Conventions, said fighting had now spread beyond the three hotspots of Idlib, Homs and Hama.
Spokesman Hicham Hassan said Syria was now regarded as a "non-international armed conflict", which is the technical term for civil war.
"What matters is that international humanitarian law applies wherever hostilities between government forces and opposition groups are taking place across the country," he said.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the statement is significant because it is the Red Cross' job to monitor the conduct of the fighting, and to tell warring parties what their obligations are.
Under the Geneva Conventions, indiscriminate attacks on civilians, attacks on medical personnel or the destruction of basic services like water or electricity are forbidden and can be prosecuted as war crimes.
From now on, all those fighting in Syria are officially subject to the laws of war, and could end up at a war crimes tribunal if they disobey them.
Last month, the UN's head of peacekeeping Herve Ladsous also said Syria was in a state of civil war.
And Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has previously said the country is in a state of war.
Some 16,000 people are thought to have been killed since the uprising against Mr Assad's regime began in March 2011.
UN diplomats are attempting to agree a way forward for the organisation's monitoring mission in the country.
The mission's mandate runs out on Friday, and Western nations are trying to get Russia and China to agree to a beefed-up resolution authorising sanctions.
BBC
Hillary Clinton meets Egypt military leader Tantawi
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has met the head of Egypt's top military council, Field Marshal Mohamad Hussein Tantawi, on the second day of her visit to the country.
Mrs Clinton discussed the transition of power to newly elected President Mohammed Mursi and stressed the need to protect the rights of all Egyptians, US officials said.
Mrs Clinton met Mr Mursi on Saturday.
Mr Mursi and the military have been in conflict over parliament's dissolution.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) shut down the chamber, dominated by Mr Mursi's Islamist allies, before he was formally sworn in last month.
It also stripped the new president, elected in the country's first freely contested leadership vote earlier in June, of many of his powers.
Mr Mursi, of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, tried to reinstate parliament by decree last weekend. The Supreme Constitutional Court has said the dissolution is final.
'Cordial'
As head of the Scaf, Field Marshal Tantawi became Egypt's interim ruler after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in February last year.
Mrs Clinton held talks for more than an hour on Sunday with Field Marshal Tantawi.
A senior US state department official said: "They discussed the political transition and the [military council's] ongoing dialogue with President Mursi.
"The secretary stressed the importance of protecting the rights of all Egyptians, including women and minorities."
Field Marshal Tantawi brought up Egypt's economic needs, while the pair also discussed US aid plans.
After meeting Field Marshal Tantawi and other army leaders, Mrs Clinton headed to Egypt's second city, Alexandria, a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Protesters in the city targeted her motorcade, with shoes, water bottles and tomatoes thrown towards the armoured vehicles.
A senior state department official said that neither Mrs Clinton or her vehicle were struck by any of the objects thrown.
Speaking at the newly re-opened US consulate in Alexandria, Mrs Clinton said: "I want to be clear that the United States is not in the business, in Egypt, of choosing winners and losers, even if we could, which of course we cannot."
She added: "Democracy is not just about reflecting the will of the majority. It is also about protecting the rights of the minority."
Mrs Clinton also held meetings with leading women, the Coptic Christian community and young entrepreneurs.
'Full transition'
On Saturday, Mrs Clinton told Mr Mursi that the situation required "compromise and real politics".
She praised Egypt's military council for its interim leadership, "for representing the Egyptian people in the revolution as compared to what we are seeing in Syria which is the military murdering their own people".
But she also voiced support for a "full transition to civilian rule".
The secretary of state also encouraged President Mursi to live up to promises to protect the rights of women and minorities, and to preserve the peace treaty with Israel.
The hour-long meeting between President Mursi and Mrs Clinton was described by a US official as candid and cordial.
However, on Saturday evening hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Mrs Clinton's Cairo hotel, chanting anti-Islamist and anti-US slogans in protest at her visit. Some brandished posters depicting the field marshal.
Another protest outside the US embassy was organised by Coptic Christian youth activists, who chanted: "They both can't be trusted, not the Americans, not the Brotherhood."
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says that for all the US fears of an Islamist takeover in recent decades, the governments in Washington and Egypt have now realised they need each other.
Mr Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood are particularly keen to avoid the sort of international isolation so damaging to other Islamist governments after they have taken office, our correspondent adds.
BBC
Chinese tourists drop big bucks in US
Chinese tourists have developed quite a reputation for dropping big bucks during their US travels. According to the Department of Commerce of the United States, on average, Chinese tourists each spent 37.5 thousand yuan, or approximately 6,000 US Dollars in 2011.
It’s not quite the weekend yet, but stores at the Leesburg Outlets near Washington D.C are already full of buyers Chinese buyers on holiday.
Miss Xiao has lived in the states for 19 years, she told us even more Chinese tourists are here on the weekends.
Miss Xiao, Local Resident, said, "On the weekends, about 20 to 30 percent of the shoppers here are Chinese. And one third of them are tourists from the Chinese mainland."
In order to attract more Chinese tourists, many stores have started printing ads and signs in Chinese, and have hired Chinese speaking salespeople.
Ma Yifang, Tourist, said,"My friends and I bought lots of luxury goods from Gucci, Armani and Coach. They are more expensive in China."
And that’s one of the reasons why Chinese tourists spend a lot here. Plus, there are more brands and styles to choose from.
Statistics show that the number of Chinese tourists in the US is rising steadily, with over 30% increase in six years over the last decade.