TCI News
Wheeland MP says ‘Enough is enough’; Official statement on Landfill fire
Hon V. Delroy Williams, Minister of Home Affairs, MP – File Photo
#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos – Thursday July 26, 2018 – The alarming rate of landfill fires is a very real problem that affects all of us here in the Turks & Caicos Islands, but more intimately with my constituency of Wheeland, due to proximity.
It demands real and immediate solutions. The health of our residents on this island, the place in which we live and do business, depends on that.
I take this opportunity as the MP for Wheeland to extend my sincerest apologies to residents in the area and any others who were affected, for the inconvenience caused by the fire at the landfill on Wednesday, July 25, 2018.
I am again assuring my community that this government is actively exploring a more effective solid waste management program that will alleviate the issues that have long been affecting residents in the area for many years. 
In addition to this, we are committed to ensuring that those responsible for the management of waste disposal at the site implement new measures to reduce future occurrences.
The process of choosing where and how to build new garbage disposal facilities is inevitably controversial. But the process cannot move forward without bold and decisive leadership from my government who was elected as policy makers and are responsible for protecting the public interest along with the stakeholders in the community.
As your representative and as a member of this government, I am indeed mindful of the obligation to ensure that persons living in close proximity to the waste disposal site are able to enjoy and function in an environment that is safe and hazard-free.
Despite the known challenges that are associated with landfills, we will be working with, and encouraging those responsible for the waste disposal site to ensure that there are substantial and effective improvements in the systems at the facility.
I want to emphasize that this unpleasant state of affairs at the dump in Providenciales cannot and will not continue under my watch.
We in the Turks and Caicos Islands pride ourselves on being a modern society and we simply cannot tolerate or facilitate any system or anything that poses a hazard to our people, their health and well-being. 
Our people are literally sick and tired of the less than satisfactory performance and conditions at the landfill. Our people deserve better and they will get it under this Minister and this Government.
Let me therefore give residents of Providenciales and Turks and Caicos Islands the assurance that I will definitely be holding the current contractors at the landfill accountable and responsible for ensuring that their management of that site is of the highest possible standard. What is happening now is just not the way it should be.
In light of what our people have had to experience with the landfill over the past many years, it is obvious that it cannot be business as usual and that drastic and significant improvements must be made by those who are under contract and who have an obligation to get it right.
Enough is enough, and as a government and a people we must, and we will, receive value for money.
Again, let me assure you that your health and well-being are of utmost importance to me and my government colleagues and I want to give you the reassurance that we will be relentless in our commitment to ensuring that there are significant and effective improvements in the systems that are in place to manage the facility.
PRESS RELEASE
Her Excellency the Governor is pleased to announce that following an expressions of interest process, and in accordance with Section 5 of the Financial Services Commission Ordinance 2007, Mr Dimaggio Rigby, Mr Geoff Scott and Mr Dennis Swann, have been appointed to serve as Commissioners on the Financial Services Commission Board of directors.
Mr Rigby brings specialist experience in cyber, media, and technology risks. He is currently employed in the City of London as a Cyber Insurance Market Consultant.
Mr Scott is a financial services professional with over 30 years’ successful track record in banking. He currently leads the Bermuda Bankers Association and was, until August 2022, the Chief Executive Officer of the Insurance Cooperation of Barbados Limited (ICBL).
Mr Swann is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. He has expertise in Human Resources and worked for the Bank of Nova Scotia for 12 years. He has previously worked within the TCI FSC.
Commenting on the appointments, the Governor said:
“Following consultation with the Hon. Premier (in his capacity as th
e Minister of Finance) and the Hon. Leader of the Opposition, I have appointed Mr Dennis Swann, Mr Dimaggio Rigby and Mr Geoff Scott respectively, to serve as Commissioners (non-executive directors) on the Board of the Turks and Caicos Islands Financial Services Commission (FSC). I am confident that the combined experience of these three new Commissioners will help ensure the FSC delivers our vision for a technologically advanced financial services sector that is competitive and supports growth, is well regulated while agile and internationally respected.
I would like to thank Mr Keno Forbes for his previous service as a Commissioner.”
The appointments are for a three-year period, beginning in April 2024. Further details on the work of the Financial Services Commission can be found at TCIFSC.
Wednesday, April 17th 2024 – On Monday the 15th April at 11 am, the Turks and Caicos AIDS Awareness Foundation (TCAAF) unveiled their new brand to their supporters, members, the media, government departments and partnering NGO’s. The TCAAF, which is now the Turks and Caicos Health and Wellness Foundation (TCHWF) welcomed everyone to their new office which is oblique to the Edward Gartland Youth Centre, Downtown, Providenciales.
The TCHWF was founded in 2003 and is a registered non-profit organization in the TCI and a registered 501 (c) non-profit in the United States as well. TCHWF will focus on addressing broader health and social issues driven by the intersectionality of health and social factors, and disparities in services in the TCI.
At the ceremony, Dr. Dawn O’Sullivan, who provides medical care to persons living with HIV (PLHIV) through the Foundation and will continue to be the doctor on staff for TCHWF, gave the audience an insight on how the Foundation began. Dr. O’ Sullivan praised the board members, staff and volunteers for the success of the Foundation, which includes building the Edward Gartland Youth Centre. She explained that the rebranding was necessary since HIV is a chronic disease where you can take medication and live a long and healthy life, but support is needed for all persons living with chronic diseases and for the population that feels excluded or stigmatized.
TCHWF will provide holistic care to these populations. The new TCHWF office is comprised of a doctor’s office where patients can have consultations and be treated, and other comfortable spaces where persons can relax and unwind.
Nurse Nora Tyndall briefed the attendees on the services that the Foundation currently offers, such as the donation of a CD4 machine to the government so that patients can know their CD4 count before seeing the doctor. Other services being offered are free medical consultations, improved access to treatment and care, convenient access to medications, food cards, grocery distribution and the provision of formulas to infected mothers who give birth and cannot breastfeed. Nurse Tyndall highlighted that there is an increase in the number of pregnant women living with HIV in the TCI.
The new mandate of TCHWF is “Linking Lives, Transforming Communities”, the Foundation’s mission is to expand its services to connect HIV and non-HIV persons to entities and experts that can address varying needs.
The Executive Director of TCHWF, Anansa Jervis, highlighted the Foundation’s “aim to promote access to quality health services, information and education in the Turks and Caicos Islands.” Mrs. Jervis further explained that this would mean the need to “integrate HIV services and non-HIV services by increasing access to holistic and comprehensive health services needed for PLHIV and persons not living with HIV.” In this regard, the TCHWF intends to provide linkage to:
▪ The cultivation of youth empowerment and the development of life skills
▪ Health, hygiene, education and wellness strategies tailored to the needs of young women
▪ Care and support services for survivors of domestic violence
▪ Mental health, psychosocial services and recovery support services for persons with substance use disorders.
▪ Equitable access to HIV care and support services, addressing disparities.
To achieve these linkages, the Foundation has held discussions with various NGO’s and government organizations to provide the necessary services and support to persons with varying needs.
One of the Board Members of the Foundation, Giovanni Delancy, gave the closing address by expressing thanks to God, the members, staff, media and volunteers for attending the unveiling ceremony. He closed with “we will continue to bring awareness and education to those not only with HIV/AIDS but other STD’s and other diseases. Let us continue to make a difference wherever we go.”
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