Castries, Saint Lucia.  3 May 2024.   Violence plagues the Region and represents a huge burden on health systems and major economic costs to society.  Violence as a public health issue affects physical, mental, sexual and even reproductive health.

For this reason, “Violence in the Caribbean: A Public Health Crisis” was chosen as the theme for Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Annual Health Research Conference this year.  The Conference presented an opportunity to address this public health concern and provide scientific evidence and epidemiological data that will demonstrate the nature of the violence; and how health systems can help to prevent and respond to violence as part of a multisectoral response.

The Conference, now in its 68^th year was hosted in collaboration with the Government of Saint Lucia, through the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs.

Honourable Philip J. Pierre, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia in his feature address at the Opening of the Conference “welcomed the research focus of this conference because it will help to fill some of the gaps in our understanding of both the drivers of crime and violence, as well as their public health impacts, at an individual and community level.”

Speaking to over 300 attendees, he added “This scourge has all the characteristics of an epidemic. Based on the statistics from across our region, it could rightly be described as a public health crisis. Many factors are contributing to its spread. Poverty, lack of access to resources, inequitable distribution of the benefits of development, declining family values, and youth unemployment are among the causes that are frequently cited. Enabling the spread of this virus is the rapid emergence of a gang culture, that seems to have no age limit.

The Prime Minister further stated “Adopting a public health approach to public security will require huge investments in capacity building, both in terms of equipment and training of frontline personnel. Ideally, we will need a comprehensive assessment of the training needs for the adoption of a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to crime prevention and control. I believe all Caribbean Governments would benefit from a targeted and sustained action research agenda, that provides real-time data on trends and dynamics of violent crime in various hot spots.”

In her opening remarks Executive Director of CARPHA Dr. Joy St. John said, “This year’s theme sends a powerful message. We acknowledge that despite the idyllic image of the Caribbean as a place of peace and relaxation, there is a harsh reality of violence that affects our region.”

She added “The fact that CARPHA chose this theme is a signal of our commitment to tackling this issue in a systematic fashion through highlighting the facts found through research and evidence. CARPHA is not afraid to tackle this head-on. We walked the talk of public health and are viewing this issue through multi sectoral lenses, the security challenge, the law enforcement realities, the undermining of socioeconomic status as well as the harm to human health causing a public health crisis demanding priority and intervention.”

The opening of the conference was followed by a Panel Discussion: Aiming for Change: Firearms and Public Health Intersections, which commenced with a keynote address by Dr. The Honourable Terrence Drew, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Annual Health Research Conference took place from 25 to 27 April 2024 at the Royalton Saint Lucia Conference Centre. The Conference afforded delegates to attend over 45 oral presentations, view more than 55 poster presentations, and network with exhibitors from Saint Lucia and the Region.

Over the 2 and a half days the conference delivered feature lectures:

• The Health Services contribution to a 50% reduction in homicides in the Caribbean by 2030 by Dr. Elizabeth Ward;
• Gun Violence in the Caribbean: A focus on guns and bullets by Professor Stephen Hargarten (virtual presentation); and
• Reflecting on Criminal Gang Findings and the Prospect for Change by Mr. Tarik Weekes

The Conference was attended by Chief Medical Officers, researchers, physicians, nurses, law enforcement officials, and academia from across the Caribbean Region, Latin America, North America and Europe.

A series of events, including Town Hall Meeting on Youth and Violence; Training in Monitoring and Evaluation and Data Appreciation; and meetings and training on vector-borne diseases took place leading up to the conference. A meeting of the CARICOM Chief Medical Officers was hosted ahead of the conference.

A highpoint of the Conference is the Awards Banquet at which accomplished researchers are presented with a prestigious award honouring their contributions to science.

This year awards were presented to

• Elizabeth Ward – recognised for her renowned work in the field of Violence and Mitigation “Distinguished Service for Public Health Approach to Violence and Mitigation”
• Elizabeth Mandeville received the Donald Simeon Award for the Best Student Paper
• Jihana Mottley received the David Picou Young Researcher Award
• 1^stPlace Poster Winner Ms. Bibi Ally-Charles
• 2^ndPlace Poster Winner Ms. Angelique Wilson-Parkinson

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, May 9, 2024 – PNP Administration says the 2024/25 budget is one for the people and Washington Misick, TCI Premier laid out the $485 million allocation detailing what will directly benefit each island from Grand Turk to Providenciales. Another $19.7 million in new spending was allocated to the total budget of 63 million for capital projects.

Big ticket items to be completed this year under the capital expenditure umbrella include the National Identification System and the Digitalization of Border Services with allocations of $3.7 million and $12.6 million respectively.

The $12.6 million allocation for Border Services will be split over three budget cycles

“We have ensured that the capital program brings some improvement to each island,” the Premier maintained.

The promises may not hold as much weight for some with the government consistently failing to spend its allocations for capital projects. In 2023/24 only $29 million of the $57 million allocated was spent

Misick sought to explain this “The Public Sector Investment Programme for 24/25 includes projects that started in the last financial year. For some of these projects, there was no tender take-up and for others, the tenders received did not satisfy the evaluation criteria.”

The Capital Projects the Premier listed include:

Grand Turk and Salt Cay

• Construction of West Road and Pond Street Bridges – $650,000
• Construction of drains and site work at the Helena Jones Robinson High School and remediation works on the Ponds. – $3.6 Million
• Upgrading of roads, bridges, and ponds such as Mission Folly and West Road  $3 Million
• Grand Turk Market and Welcome Centre – $1 Million
• Matthew Canal works, Salt Cay – $800,000

Several of these including Pond Street works are longstanding projects

South Caicos 

• Improvements to Cockburn Harbour – $500,000
• Solar Street Lights – $250,000
• Redevelopment of the Conch Ground Facility $1.5 Million
• Redevelop Regatta Village -$1 Million
• Community Road Repairs – $3.5 Million

North and Middle Caicos

• Renovation of the Bambara Beach Vendor Market – $750,000
• Solar street lights – $250,000
• Whitby Roads – $1.1 Million
• Renovate and refurbish the Horse Stable Beach Community Park – $500,000
• Bottle Creek Community Centre -$1.5 million

Nearly all of these projects have been budgeted for before notably, Bambara and Horse Stable Beach Projects.

Providenciales

• New drainage and other improvement work -$3.4 Million
• Pave and repair roads – $4.9 million
• Upgrade recreational parks in Blue Hills, Kew Town, Five Cays, and the Bight – $500,000
• Leeward and Long Bay community roads and solar lights – $500,000
• Community Centre for the Bight – $1.5 million
• Solar streetlights for the Bight – $250,000
• Refurbishing of the Gustavus Lightbourne Sports Complex roof and floor- $800,000
• Road works in Kew Town, including pedestrian crossing – $350,000
• Solar street lights for Kew Town – $250,000
• Way finder signage for Blue Hills – $150,000
• Solar street lights for Blue Hills – $250,000
• Mobile Clinic for Blue Hills – $300,000
• Solar street lights for Sapodilla Bay – $250,000
• Paving of roads in Wheeland – $500,000
• Solar street lights and recreational pavilion for Wheeland– $750,000

In tabling these projects, Misick admitted that the government has a serious issue with delivering large-scale projects.

“We have a capacity problem. We are facing tremendous challenges in developing and implementing big-ticket projects. Public servants are working hard, but the onerous processes, insufficient resources, inadequate technology, outdated laws, an unwillingness to adapt by some, and bureaucracy are frustrating delivery.

That must change.”

The Premier revealed that $300,000 has been set aside in an effort to make the procurement process smoother. Another $1.8 million will be spent on project initiation and project development plans. Misick says that this will allow the government to plan projects a year in advance, speeding up delivery.

With this being the final budget before elections the government has one financial year to complete the projects that they have not been able to pin down since 2021.

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, May 9, 2024 – With over 50 percent of rooms sold, the Arc Providenciales has officially been greenlit for construction.

The Arc is part of the South Bank development set on the south coast of Providenciales which in total has already sold $ 250,000,000 worth of real estate.

The project offers four different neighborhoods, complete with a private lagoon and man-made islands, which are all selling fast, The Arc, Ocean Estates, which are nearly sold out all clocking between $4 and $14 million in sales, Boat Houses with 34 out of 38 sold and Lagoon Villas which start at $2 million up.

Described as the heart of the South Bank project, The Arc, named after the gently curving design of the building, will be the Turks and Caicos’ most iconic property according to developers.

In a May 2 webinar attended by Magnetic Media, developers revealed that the building will sport a 150-foot-long pool alongside a man-made beach protected by a concrete sea wall but still connected to the open ocean.

The beach is due for completion by November with groundbreaking for the Arc set for the second quarter of this year. The Arc, like many newer TCI properties, will be part residential, part hotel. It’s the last property in the development and the feather in the cap of developer Ingo Reckhon.

Included in the sky villas, which are the most exclusive of the rooms on the Arc, will be indoor-outdoor kitchens, hot tubs, pools, outside gardens, boat slips, and the Turks and Caicos’ first-ever boat concierge service.

It is to be managed by Grace Bay Resorts.

“Both of us are Turks and Caicos companies operating here for over 30 years. We both believe in our people and we hire local employees,” said a representative from Grace Bay Resorts during the meeting. In attendance were dozens of homeowners who have bought into the TCI dream ’live South Bank.’

New construction is a major contributor to stamp duties in the Turks and Caicos and enriches the real estate market in which resale properties are few and far between. The government expects that it will collect over US$50 million in stamp duty taxes from land sale transactions in the 2024/25 financial year.