TURKS AND CAICOS POST CABINET MEETING STATEMENT - 29 AUGUST 2018
His Excellency the Governor, Dr John Freeman, chaired the 18th meeting of Cabinet on Wednesday, 29 August 2018, at the N J S Francis Building on Grand Turk.
All Ministers were present.
At this meeting Cabinet:
• Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the grant of a long-term commercial lease for 25 years in the first instance to Mr Howard Dickenson over Crown Land Parcel 10409/184 on Grand Turk for the construction of storage facilities;
• Received a progress report from the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming on the drafting of a Sargassum Policy for TCI which is well advanced and on measures which are already being taken to address the problem of the increasing influx of Sargassum Seaweed on TCI shores. The Ministry will submit the draft policy paper to Cabinet at the earliest opportunity for approval;
• Noted a procurement waiver granted for the Quarter April – June 2018 in accordance with Section 21 of the Public Procurement Ordinance. Cabinet also noted the consolidated list of all procurement waivers for the Financial Year 2017/18;
• Noted the financial performance of the TCI Government for the period April-June 2018 as submitted in the 2018/19 First Quarter Financial Report by the Accountant General;
• Approved the waiver of rental payments for a period of three months by licensed vendors of the Culture Markets on Grand Turk and Providenciales by way of compensation for loss of business and revenue through damage caused to their stalls after the September 2017 hurricanes;
• Noted an information paper by the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming up-dating Cabinet on the establishment of a Maritime Oversight Committee to advise TCIG on work to ensure that TCI meets its international maritime obligations and compliance with international maritime conventions and standards ahead of an audit by the International Maritime Organisation in 2020;
• Advised His Excellency the Governor to endorse the “Adopt a Highway” Programme initiative aimed at cleaning up and beautifying the roadsides in Providenciales;
• Considered and approved the proposed TCI Climate Change Policy and noted a list of possible measures to be undertaken subject to further assessment of each measure including resources being available;
• Noted the financial performance of the TCI Government for the period January – March 2018 as reported by the Accountant General in the 4th Quarter Financial Report 2017/18 submitted in accordance with Section 36 of the Public Finance Management Ordinance 2012;
• Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the appointment of Mr Curtis Simmons as Deputy Chairman of the NHIB in accordance with Section 16 (1) (ii) of the National Health Insurance (Amendment) Ordinance 2017;
• Received a paper from the Hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning and a presentation by the Energy and Utilities Commissioner on discussions between TCIG and Fortis TCI Ltd on reforms to the electricity sector regulatory framework. Cabinet approved the recommendations in the paper and requested the Attorney General’s Chambers to draft the necessary legislation to implement the recommendations;
• Was informed by the Hon. Premier that she had received the draft National Health Insurance Board actuarial report which would be submitted to Cabinet for consideration;
• Was informed by the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming of an approach by the company, CaribX (UK) Ltd, with a proposal to conduct offshore hydrocarbon exploration in TCI waters which the Ministry would be following up with the company;
• In response to a request by the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming, received an up-date by the Hon. Attorney General on banking services on North Caicos.
Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.
ENDS
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, YOUTH, CULTURE AND LIBRARY SERVICES ON OPENING OF SCHOOLS
The Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture and Library Services hereby informs the public that public schools will reopen on Wednesday, 5th September 2018. Schools will host student and teacher orientation exercises for certain classes on Monday and Tuesday, 3rd and 4th September 2018. A workshop for teachers will also be hosted on the aforementioned days.
Please note the following specific information concerning the reopening of public schools:
Eliza Simons Primary - All students of the Eliza Simons Primary will report for school at the Eliza Simons Primary School Compound on Wednesday, 5th September 2018.
Iris Stubbs Primary – Students in Grades 6, 5, 1 and Infant II will commence school on 5th September 2018 at the school compound.
All students in Infant 1, Grades 2, 3 and 4 will commence classes on Wednesday 5th September 2018 at the South Caicos Sports Complex.
Oseta Jolly Primary – All students of the Oseta Jolly Primary School will report for school at the two-storey building on Leeward Highway behind the Abundant Life International church on Wednesday, 5th September 2018.
Long Bay High School – Students in Form 1 will report for school on Monday, 3rd September and Tuesday, 4th September 2018.
Students in Form 2 will report for school on Tuesday, 4th September and Wednesday, 5th September 2018.
Students in Form 3 will report for school on Wednesday, 5th September and Thursday, 6th September 2018.
All students will report for school on Friday, 7th September 2018.
The Ministry wishes all students a successful school year.
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK (SYSTEM 2) ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FRIDAY AUGUST 31 2018.
TROPICAL WAVE: A Tropical Wave is producing a large area of cloudiness and showers from Hispaniola eastward to the Leeward Islands and the adjacent waters. This activity is forecast to spread westward to west-northwestward, but strong upper-level winds are expected to prevent any significant development of this system during the next several days. Regardless of development, this system could produce enhanced rainfall across portions of Hispaniola, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Florida into early next week. The formation chance through 48 hours to 5 day is low at 10 percent.
STORM UPDATE
NEWS ITEM
THIS IS A NEWS ITEM ON POTENTIAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SIX ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE, AT 6AM, FRIDAY 31ST AUGUST, 2018. …TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTHERN CABO VERDE ISLANDS LATER TODAY…
AT 5AM DST, THE DISTURBANCE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 13.6°NORTH AND LONGITUDE 21.4° WEST OR ABOUT 215 MILES EASTSOUTHEAST OF THE SOUTHERN MOST CABO VERDE ISLANDS.
THE SYSTEM IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST AT NEAR 12 MILES PER HOUR AND THIS MOTION AT A SLIGHTLY FASTER FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT THREE TO FOUR DAYS.
ON THE FORECAST TRACK THE DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NEAR OR OVER THE SOUTHERN CABO VERDE ISLANDS AS A TROPICAL STORM LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 35 MILES PER HOUR (MPH) WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AND THE DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A TROPICAL STORM LATER TODAY. THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT 12PM TODAY.
Sandals charging to divert guests from infected Bahamas resort
New details about the gastro-intestinal (GI) virus outbreak at the Sandals Royal Bahamian resort in Nassau, Bahamas, has shown that the “diversion” protocol amid the outbreak that incapacitated over 100 guests and staff at the property comes with additional charges levied by Sandals and a no-refund policy.
A prospective guest at the resort told Caribbean News Now that, following the viral outbreak and a lack of clarity as to whether it had been contained, she wanted to err on the side of caution and be diverted to another Sandals property of equal standing and amenities.
However, Sandals insisted that she would be charged at least of US$800 for such rebooking and neither would she receive any assistance with airfare penalties that would cost an additional US$400.
Last week it was reported by local media that Sandals was already relocating guests from the Royal Bahamian to other properties in The Bahamas.
However, contrary to these reports, Sandals has been telling prospective guests that the Royal Bahamian is open for business, the seafood and water is fine and that it is ready to continue operations.
A transcript provided to Caribbean News Now of an online conversation between a prospective guest and a Sandals representative was itself self-contradictory.
Seconds after telling the guest that the issue was “still being investigated so we have no new updates,” the representative said, “Upon a thorough on-property review from Bahamas ministry of health, officials have determined that Sandals Royal Bahamian has met all health and safety protocols and standards and therefore will remain open to guests.”
Sandals was less than forthcoming when guests began to get sick in greater numbers from the end of July and did not report the outbreak to the ministry of health in The Bahamas until the second week in August, when the number of infected guests and staff was already in triple digits.
Carabao Cup third-round draw: Liverpool drawn at home to Chelsea
Eight-time winners Liverpool have been drawn at home to Chelsea in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Holders Manchester City face a trip to League One Oxford United, while Manchester United are at home to Frank Lampard's Derby County.
Arsenal, runners-up last season, take on London rivals Brentford and Tottenham will host Watford.
League Two Macclesfield, the lowest ranked side left in the competition, are away at Premier League West Ham.
The national stadium, where Spurs are playing home games while their new ground is built, is unavailable during third round week.
"As a result of both our new stadium and Wembley being unavailable during this week, we have applied to the EFL board for special dispensation to play this tie at Stadium MK," said a Spurs statement.
"We appreciate that Stadium MK may not be an ideal destination for every fan to get to on a weekday evening, however the club felt it would not be beneficial to request a reverse of the fixture as it would have resulted in no more than a 10% allocation of tickets for our supporters at the venue of our opponents."
Burnley, who are also entering the competition at the third round stage, are away to League One Burton Albion.
There are three all-Premier League ties in total, with Everton at home to Southampton.
Halle Berry trolls Prince Harry and reveals teen crush
Like most teenage boys, Prince Harry had a poster of a famous crush on his wall.
In his case, it was Oscar-winning actress and former Bond girl, Halle Berry.
Now the US star has jokingly trolled the Duke of Sussex after spotting herself in the background of a recently resurfaced photo.
Celebgate hacker jailed over Jennifer Lawrence hack
A man who hacked into the Apple iCloud accounts of Hollywood stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, has been sentenced to eight months in prison in the US.
The notorious Celebgate hack resulted in nude photos and videos of Lawrence and other celebrities stolen and posted online.
George Garofano was one of four people charged in the 2014 hacking scandal.
Three others have already been sentenced to terms of between nine and 18 months in prison.
Garofano, aged 26, had admitted accessing usernames and passwords by sending out emails in which he posed as a member of Apple's security team.
Other victims included Kirsten Dunst and Kate Upton as well as ordinary members of the public.
The prosecution wrote in a sentencing memo to the court: "Mr Garofano's offence was a serious one. He illegally hacked into his victims' online accounts, invaded their privacy, and stole their personal information, including private and intimate photos.
"He did not engage in this conduct on just one occasion. He engaged in this conduct 240 times over the course of 18 months."
A federal judge at the US district court in Bridgeport, Connecticut ordered that he be subject to supervised release for three years after his prison term.
Mercedes-Benz Recalls SUVs for Brake Issue
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Mercedes-Benz is recalling over 9,000 of its 2018 GLE and GLS SUVs because of a brake issue. The rear brakes may not engage fully because of a faulty part, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. In addition, the vehicles’ electronic stability control may not engage fully, and drivers may notice that the brake pedal moves too close to the floor of the car, NHTSA said.
The agency says that the issue was discovered when the part supplier notified Mercedes-Benz.
Argentina asks IMF to release $50bn loan as crisis worsens
Argentina's government has unexpectedly asked for the early release of a $50bn (£37.2bn) loan from the IMF amid a growing economic crisis.
President Mauricio Macri said the move was designed to restore confidence in the Argentine economy.
The Argentine peso has lost more than 40% of its value against the US dollar this year and inflation is rampant.
The IMF confirmed on Wednesday it was looking to strengthen the arrangement and changing its phasing.
"I stressed my support for Argentina's policy efforts and our readiness to assist the government in developing its revised policy plans," Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in a statement.
Investors are concerned Argentina may not be able repay its heavy government borrowing and could default.
Correspondents say the decision to speed up the IMF bailout smacks of growing desperation.
When the terms of the loan were agreed in May, President Macri said he expected the economy to recover and did not plan to use the money.
Ex-police officer jailed for Black teen shooting
An ex-police officer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting dead an unarmed black teenager in Texas.
Roy Oliver, who is white, fired a rifle into a car that was driving away from a party in Dallas in April 2017, killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.
It is very rare for police officers to be convicted in shooting deaths. Oliver's lawyers say they intend to appeal against the verdict.
Jordan's family say the jail sentence is too lenient.
"He can actually see life again after 15 years - and that's not enough because Jordan can't see life again," his stepmother, Charmaine Edwards, said
What happened on the night of the shooting?
On the night of 29 April 2017, police responded to reports of underage drinking at a house party in the suburb Balch Springs.
Officers were inside the home trying to find the owner when they heard outside what they believed to be gunshots, causing panic at the home as people fled.
According to police documents, Oliver's partner, Tyler Gross, attempted to stop a car full of teenagers leaving the party.
He walked up to the passenger door of the car and punched the window, breaking it.
Oliver then fired several times into the car - shooting Jordan, who was in the front passenger seat, in the back of the head.
Oliver said he believed the car was reversing "aggressively" towards his partner.
However, bodycam footage showed that the car was actually driving away from police when the shots were fired.
Officer Gross later told the court that he had not felt his life was in danger and had not felt the need to use his gun.
Oliver was fired by police shortly after the shooting.