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Turks and Caicos Post Cabinet Meeting Statement

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#TurksandCaicos, May 10, 2018 – Providenciales – His Excellency the Governor, Dr John Freeman, chaired the 10th meeting of Cabinet on Wednesday, 9 May 2018, at the N J S Francis Building on Grand Turk.

All Ministers were present.

At this meeting Cabinet:

 

  • Approved the write-off of unrecovered staff advance account balances of former TCIG staff from the TCIG Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet) for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval in accordance with Section 51 of the Public Finance Management Ordinance 2012;

 

  • Noted the decision by the TCI Civil Aviation Authority to acquire a new Aviation Audit Data Management Tool subject to budgetary provision being made;

 

  • Approved draft policy guidelines on the waiver of customs storage fees on materials imported by individuals to replace items destroyed or damaged in the September hurricanes;

 

  • Approved the renewal of TCIG’s policy for tropical storm/hurricane insurance cover for 2018/19 with the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, Segregated Portfolio Company (CCRIF SPC);

  • Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the draft Turks and Caicos Islander (Amendment) Bill 2018 for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval;

 

  • Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the draft Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2018, subject to budgetary provision being made to implement the proposed changes to the Road Traffic Ordinance and Regulations being amended, for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval;

 

  • Approved the appointments of members to the TCI Community College Board of Governors and the Education Advisory Board/Scholarship Committee which fall under the Ministry of Education;

 

  • Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the draft Electricity (Validation) Bill 2018 for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval;

 

  • Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the grant of a 25-year lease, with an option to renew, over Crown Land Parcel 61112/281 on Providenciales for the establishment of a beach park facility for kiteboarding and windsurfing on Long Bay Beach;

 

  • Received a report from the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming on feedback from a public consultation on a draft Gaming Bill. Cabinet approved amendments to the draft Bill following the public consultation subject to the Ministry identifying and confirming to Cabinet that there is budgetary provision to give effect to the Bill;

 

  • Approved the appointments of members to the Prison Visiting Committee in accordance with Section 44 (1) of the Prisons Ordinance;

 

  • The Hon. Premier presented a report on steps that TCIG is taking to remedy ongoing problems at the National Health Insurance Board (NHIB);

 

  • Agreed a final extension to the interim appointment of Dr Hamlet Nation to act as CEO of the NHIB with effect from 17 May 2018;

 

  • At the request of His Excellency the Governor, received an up-date from the Hon. Premier on progress to appoint a new Board for Invest TCI;

  • At the request of the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming, received an up-date from the Hon. Attorney General on the provision of ATM banking services on North Caicos;

 

  • In response to a request by the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming, His Excellency the Governor undertook to seek an up-date on the status of TCIG’s Overseas Offices;

 

  • Discussed departmental budget allocations and priorities;

 

  • Her Excellency the Deputy Governor briefed Cabinet on a meeting that she had with the TCI School Teacher’s Association on 8 May;

 

  • Confirmed Cabinet approval of policy guidelines on the waiver of customs duties on materials imported by individuals to replace items destroyed or damaged in the September hurricanes; and approval of the draft National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Strategy 2018-2019 (“the National Strategy”) and AML/CFT National Action Plan 2018-2019 (“the National Action Plan”).

 

Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.

 

Release: Gov. UK

 

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CARICOM speaks out on Climate Change, looking to May meeting to amplify call for Climate Funding

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March 3, 2024

 

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) remains on the frontlines of global climate crisis, an issue the Region has been aggressively advocating on for the past thirty years. Despite the many commitments and promises of international partners, the window of opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is rapidly closing.

Heads of Government are concerned that while COP 28 was widely regarded as a historic event, with the completion of the first global stocktake (GST), on progress in achievement of the Paris Agreement goals, the outcomes of GST show that emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise and the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of Parties will not keep global temperatures below the 1.5 degree goal enshrined in the Paris Agreement.

Heads of Government also expressed concern to be heading to COP 29 where a New Finance Goal will be articulated to replace the 100bn goal, which has not yet been met, even as developing countries require trillions to deal with the escalating impacts of climate change. Developed country parties have not provided enough finance at scale, technology and capacity building support required to help developing countries tackle their pressing needs to build their resilience, especially in adapting to the adverse and increasingly catastrophic impacts of climate change. The clear absence of definitive timelines for action and quantitative commitments for scaling up of investments, and particularly adaptation finance emerging out of COP 28, cause great concern to our Region.

The Conference noted that Small Island Developing States (SIDS), recognized as the most vulnerable group of countries and a special case for sustainable development, have been facing strong push back against the recognition of their special circumstances especially in the context of climate finance. There is limited international support for special allocations for SIDS within financing arrangements and available climate finance from international and private sources is limited, expensive and too onerous to access.

In light of the preceding, Heads of Government called for CARICOM to take a strategic, unified and coordinated approach to ensure that the Region remains influential in the climate and development arena through engagements with key partners and advocacy groups.

They called for renewed focus by the Region to advocate for inclusion of forests, nature-based solutions and blue carbon into market mechanisms with the aim of articulating clear regional positions and strategies.

Heads of Government reiterated the call for improved readiness programmes, simplified approval procedures, a change to the criteria for determining access to low-cost finance, and for the adoption of programmatic approaches to address the bottlenecks in accessing finance.

The Region reiterates its support for the Bridgetown Initiative’s call to expand capital adequacy of international financial institutions.

Heads recognized that the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, scheduled to be held in Antigua and Barbuda, 27 – 30 May 2024, will be an inflection point for many of these discussions to be articulated. As such, the Region remains committed to participating in the Conference at the highest level.

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South Caicos Development Plans shared with Washington-Misick led Administration

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On Monday, 12 February 2024, the Premier led a delegation to tour the island of South Caicos to view the ongoing public and private sector projects, involving the remodelling and rebranding of the airport terminals, historical districts, and the East Bay Hotel.

The tour of the various developments reinforced the Government’s commitment to collaborating with stakeholders to boost the island’s activity and economy.

Photos courtesy of the TCI Office of the Premier

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Ministry of Tourism continues to get rid of dilapidated structures

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By LINDSAY THOMPSON

Bahamas Information Services

NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation is continuing to rid areas of derelict and dilapidated structures posing safety problems, and a threat to the overall tourism product.

In this vein the recent structure to be demolished was the Gaming Board building owned by the Hotel Corporation.  Located adjacent to Goodman’s Bay Beach on West Bay Street, it was formerly the Sir Harry Oakes property; the northern portion once housed Bahamas Information Services for several years.

 


On hand to witness the demolition were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation the Hon. Chester Cooper, and Senator Randy Rolle, Global Consultant, MOTIA.

The demolition started on Monday, February 5, 2024 by Virgo Construction headed by the contractor Terry Delancy.  

DPM Cooper explained that the government felt the Gaming Board building should no longer sit there in a derelict manner, and continue to be an eyesore and pose safety concerns.

“Goodman’s Bay will be enhanced as a result of getting rid of this building. It will be more aesthetically pleasing for residents who traverse this area. Women who walk in the mornings in particular through these areas will be pleased to see that this has become a green space, rather than a derelict structure,” he said.

DPM Cooper also noted that his ministry consulted broadly with the Antiquities, Monuments & Museums Corporation (AMMC), and other historians before proceeding with demolition.

“We are sure not to take any actions as it relates to buildings, without consultation. So they were very comfortable with the process and we continue to work closely with them on all of the buildings that we have demolished in the downtown area,” he said.

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