News

Row over Grand Turk infrastructure reaches fever pitch in Parliament

Published

9 years ago

February 12, 2016

Providenciales, 12 Feb 2016 – A row over what has and has not been done for Grand Turk broke out in the House of Assembly this week and it still remains unclear when the Capital will begin to see more distinctly the repairs and infrastructural enhancements so many are clamoring for.

Hon. Edwin Astwood: “Madame Speaker for three and a half years we have been complaining about the state of Grand Turk, and yes nothing has been done. I would say it has gotten worse. Madame Speaker this is the worse I have ever seen Front Street in my life and in the front of the House of Assembly has about a foot of water, right there. The seawall, what are you all doing, we are supposed to be fixing the seawall but what you just put a wall that should be around someone’s house and put it in the front of the sea with the force of waves that are coming in…the waves are coming over that wall now, that wall will soon be down. It’s only the sand that is holding up; please fix these things right. Grand Turk is falling apart.”

He added, “We had visitors here from Canada, the CPA and I must say I did not meet them, I did not come this morning to meet them, cause what am I gonna show them? This is my town, this is the capital, this is how the Capital looks and we are inviting people to this Capital.”

Hon Edwin Astwood is the representative for Grand Turk South and chided the PNP Administration for the fact that the House of Assembly still has issues with its air conditioning, and that the House of Assembly also had no water on the morning the Canadian Parliamentarians visited.

“…And you here bragging about what you’ve done and bringing Ministerial statement after Ministerial statement, this is nothing this is only words. I am tired of these events,” charged Astwood, MP.

Astwood said the Government must do what it was elected to do, that it must perform and commanded the Rufus Ewing led team to “stop misleading the people.”

Well the other side took exception to this passionate presentation, the Premier responded with equal fervor.

Hon. Rufus Ewing, Premier: “…putting a seawall is not an overnight fix, it is not something we can say this is a problem and just go out there and erect a seawall. You need engineering Madame Speaker, the facts, engineering and them put money behind it that alone will cost over $20 million, at minimum to properly address the seawall in Grand Turk and that is part of what the $60 million loan from the CDB is going toward this year. So don’t stand there as if we are not doing anything; going on emotions.”

It was last week that the Director of Road Safety and Transport advised that Front Street in Grand Turk would now be a one way thoroughfare.

Specifically, it was communicated that “going north from the Tourist Board Office onto West Road straight down to the end of West Road by Mitch Rolling House is now a one way street effective February 1, 2016.”

During House debate this week, both the Elections and the Political Activities amendment ordinances were passed.

Up Next

FIRE AGAIN in Grand Turk; underscores urgency for Fire Dept

Don't Miss

New Prison Supt & Officer of the Year Awarded

Deandrea S Hamilton

Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.

Crime

Former Police Officer Opens up to Eagle Legal about Frightening Kidnapping and Robbery at Gunpoint; alarmed at TCI Police silence

Published

2 days ago

April 19, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

Wilkie Arthur

Eagle Legal News

Tuesday, April 15, 2025 – Turks and Caicos Islands – In the early hours of Wednesday, April 9, 2025, a former police officer in the Turks and Caicos Islands was the victim of a terrifying robbery and kidnapping in the Dock Yard area, Eagle Legal News Media has learned.

Shortly after 3:00 a.m., the victim had just dropped off his girlfriend near Bible Street (Behind Mara) and returned to his vehicle when he was confronted by a lone, masked man armed with a firearm. The attacker, described as aggressive and agitated, demanded the victim’s wallet, phone, and other valuables. The victim, trying to remain calm, complied. His wallet reportedly contained over $1,000 in cash.

Despite giving up his belongings, the gunman continued to threaten him, demanding more money and pressing the firearm to the victim’s head and body. The victim described the ordeal as intense, saying he felt as if the bullets were already tearing through him due to the attacker’s inexplicable rage.

Although he considered using his police training to subdue the attacker, the victim noticed other men nearby observing the situation without intervening. Concerned for his life, he instead came up with a plan: he told the robber he could take him to an ATM to withdraw more cash.

“I felt like he was going to kill me for more money,” the victim said. “So I told him we could go to the ATM, even though I knew it was closed, just to get out of Dock Yard and buy myself a chance to survive.”

The assailant agreed, and the two drove to a nearby ATM, with the victim behind the wheel and the gunman keeping the firearm aimed at him the entire time, threatening him with violent language. When they arrived and found the ATM closed, the victim seized his moment.

“As soon as I stepped out of the car, I ran like Usain Bolt,” he recounted, “I tore through the bushes straight to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre.”

There, he hid in the brush for a time before emerging to seek help. He contacted authorities from the hospital, where he was treated for minor cuts and bruises sustained during his escape.

Thankfully, he was not shot.

The former officer described his assailant as a male with a mixed Jamaican-Haitian accent who spoke fluent English. The man reportedly told him he was hungry and desperate for money.

He recalled the gunman saying, “If you don’t get me more money, I’ll kill you.”

The assailant fled the scene in the victim’s car, which was later recovered by police in Dock Yard. As of this report, no arrests have been made.

The victim contacted Eagle Legal News after seeing no official police report released about the incident.

Bahamas News

CARIFTA Games 2025 – Trinidad & Tobago

Published

2 days ago

April 19, 2025

Deandrea Hamilton

S C H E D U L E O F E V E N T S

The 2025 CARIFTA Athletics Games will be held at Hasely Crawford Stadium from April 19–21, while the CARIFTA Aquatics Championships take place at the National Aquatic Centre from April 19–22, with Open Water events on April 23 at Five Islands Beach.

Friday April 18, 2025

52nd CARIFTA Athletics Games and the XXXVIII CARIFTA Aquatics Championships Opening Ceremony

Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 PM
Admission Free

Saturday April 19, 2025

Athletics – Hasely Crawford Stadium: Port of Spain, Trinidad