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Compensation closer for Windrush Generation, Caribbean leaders pleased with lead lawyer

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#London, United Kingdom, Friday March 11, 2018 – Group compensation is the leading plan to make up for the agonizing experiences of those negatively impacted by the now infamous Windrush scandal; it wrongly targeted and essentially punished long-time residents of Great Britain, who were invited and migrated to the country since 1948.  

A policy decision by Prime Minister Theresa May, who at the time was Home Secretary was meant to strongly discourage illegal migration, but it morphed into something painful and activated a chain of events which has brought scathing criticism for both her and the UK, once it targeted this migrant group.

The stripping of legal rights of the thousands of Caribbean Commonwealth country migrants has ignited a firestorm of controversy because these people who come from the Caribbean region and who thought they were legally in the United Kingdom, were unable to meet new criteria and were subject to humiliating and harsh treatment.   

Reports in recent months unearthed that the Windrush Generation migrants’ inability to present documents of legal status in the UK led to many being  “forced out of work, in some cases for years, and unable to claim welfare support, as well as individuals wrongfully detained and in some cases deported.”

On Thursday, 12 Caribbean Commonwealth country leaders met in London and arising from that, one-hour, high level caucus was the announcement of an appointment which is meant to get the ball rolling on compensation to the so called, Windrush Generation.

A statement from the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid on Thursday explained:  The government has called for Windrush citizens and their families to come forward with their personal stories as it draws up details of a potentially costly compensation scheme for those wrongly targeted over their immigration status.  

The man, who was hand-picked for the job is already receiving favorable reviews from the country leaders a part of that meeting, it is said.  Martin Forde QC, is the son of Windrush parents and he will oversee the design of the compensation scheme.

There is looming concern though, as with the announcement of Forde talking on the cases, there was no reveal on how many Commonwealth citizens may be involved or considered sorely impacted by the Windrush scandal or how much it could end up costing the UK.

In his written statement, Home Secretary, Sajid Javid said:  “To put things right we need to understand more about what happened, to understand the personal stories, which will help to inform the design of the compensation scheme.”

But the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, believes the process is slow going.

“The government is only now opening consultations on compensation for victims of the Windrush scandal. This should have begun when ministers first became aware of the situation, and they have fallen short of their promise to deal with compensation within two weeks.

People are desperate now, some of them destitute or homeless as a result of this government’s policies. The government should be announcing what immediate action it will take to help victims and give full compensation for the losses experienced by the Windrush generation.”

As reported in The Guardian.

A new Home Office team has been created to focus strictly on Windrush, migrants and their children who were invited by the British to the UK back in the 1940s.  

The first group of Commonwealth migrants arrived on the MV Empire Windrush in June 1948 to help in rebuilding Great Britain following World War II.  It is said that some 50,000 people are affected and face deportation because they never formalised their legal status.

Just this past April, it was revealed that the landing cards to firmly verify or prove who was on board the MV Empire Windrush were destroyed in 2010, under Theresa May, then the Home Secretary.

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CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

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Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

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Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

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Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

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Supreme Court Closed for Easter

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NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

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