News

New Mayor of Kingston takes Office

Published

7 years ago

December 21, 2016

Kingston, Jamaica, December 21, 2016 – Government Senator, Councillor Delroy Williams, is the new Mayor of Kingston and St. Andrew. He was installed during a ceremony at the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation on Church Street in downtown Kingston, on December 15.

The function was presided over by Principal Returning Officer of the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), Albert Johnson. Senator Williams, who is the Councillor for the Seivright Gardens division in West Central St. Andrew, will also serve as the Corporation’s Chairman.

He succeeds Senator, Councillor Dr. Angela Brown Burke, who held the position from 2012 to 2016, and who performed the symbolic “robing” of the new Mayor, which marks the transition of leadership. His Deputy will be Councillor for the Waterloo division in North East St. Andrew, Winston Ennis, who succeeds Councillor Andrew Swaby of the Vineyard Town division in South East St. Andrew.

All 40 Councillors also took the Oath of Affirmation during the ceremony, which was attended by several officials. They were headed by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, who represented Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness; wife of the Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness; Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie; and Opposition Spokesman on Science, Energy and Technology, Phillip Paulwell, who represented Opposition Leader, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller.

Also in attendance were Custos Rotulorum for Kingston, Hon. Steadman Fuller; and Senate President, Hon. Tom Tavares-Finson. In his address, Dr. Chang, in congratulating the Mayor, his deputy and the councillors, underscored that local government represented the first point of contact for citizens in Jamaica’s governance structure. “You will be the (person) in the community who people will look to for leadership, for guidance and for first contact with the authorities and Government. It is an enormous responsibility, and I ask that you carry out your representation with dignity, with care and concern for those you represent,” he urged.

In his remarks, Mr. McKenzie, who also commended the councillors, urged them to use the Corporation as a vehicle of transformation and change that will advance the work of local government across Kingston and St. Andrew. He challenged the new Mayor to “forge a partnership that will be beneficial to the city… that will cross the political boundaries.”

For his part, Senator Williams expressed gratitude for the support of Prime Minister Holness, in whose constituency his division is located. He also thanked members of his family and residents who facilitated his re-election, while encouraging councillors on both sides of the aisle to collaborate in ensuring that they administer the business of the Corporation in the best interest of the citizens.

The ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) regained control of the Corporation after winning 21 of the 40 divisions in the country’s strongest municipal corporation, during the recent Local Government Elections. The remaining 19 divisions were won by the People’s National Party (PNP).

#MagneticMediaNews

News

Register of Interests of the Members of the House of Assembly

Published

4 days ago

September 29, 2023

Deandrea Hamilton

#TurksandCaicos, September 29, 2023 – The Integrity Commission advises that the Register of Interests for Members of the Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly, as at 31st December 2022 has been completed.

Members of the House of Assembly are required by the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution, Section 103(2), and the Integrity Commission Ordinance (the Ordinance), as amended, Section 52(1), to file with the Commission, Statements of Registrable Interests. The Commission would, therefore, like to inform members of the public that, it has compiled the information contained in these Statements of Registrable Interests and has produced The Register of Interests 2022 for the Members of the House of Assembly, as at 31st December 2022.

The Register of Interests 2022 is now available for public inspection at the following locations:

House of Assembly in Grand Turk
Office of the Premier – Grand Turk and Providenciales
Office of the Integrity Commission – Grand Turk and Providenciales (during the hours of 8:30am to 4:30pm from Mondays to Thursdays and 8:00am to 4:00pm on Fridays.)
Office of the District Commissioner – Middle Caicos, North Caicos, Salt Cay and South Caicos.

The Register can be viewed at these locations during normal working hours or at a time that is convenient for the respective offices.

For further information or any assistance please contact the Integrity Commission:

By telephone at: 946-1941(Grand Turk Office) or 941-7847 (Providenciales Office) By e-mail at: secretary@integritycommission.tc or info@integritycommission.tc

Bahamas News

Grand Bahama to be CARGO HUB, as Bahamas & Qatar ink MOU

Published

4 days ago

September 29, 2023

Deandrea Hamilton

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#TheBahamas, September 29, 2023 – With moves to deepen ties, governments of The Bahamas and Qatar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to solidify agreements in principle surrounding the development of aviation and other related services.

This is according to Chester Cooper, The Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investment and Aviation in a Facebook post.

This comes after The Bahamas Government in a press release on September 24th, revealed that Cooper, was set to meet with the head of Qatar Airways to have talks regarding “multiple mutually beneficial aviation opportunities for both countries.”

The release also said the deputy prime minister and the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investment and Aviation are working on “forging strategic partnerships with several Middle Eastern countries to strengthen ties to The Bahamas and the Caribbean,” and this new signing is indicative of such efforts.

Following the September 25th signing, on September 27th, Kenneth Romer, Deputy Director General of Tourism for The Bahamas informed via Facebook some details of the agreement saying, “we have now established a framework for cooperation and formed strategic partnerships with Qatar Airways, Qatar’s Transport, Aviation and Investment Agencies and The Qatar Aeronautical Academy, that will benefit our country.”

Regarding further efforts for the improvement of The Bahamas, Cooper announced on Facebook again on Tuesday September 26th that both countries are working to make Nassau a passenger hub for Latin America and the Caribbean adding that talks are being held for Grand Bahama as a cargo hub.

Additionally, as the press release informed, Cooper is preparing for an on ground visit of Bahamasair domestic operations by Qatar Airways Technical team sometime in October.

Caribbean News

Guyana to build regional food hub

Published

4 days ago

September 29, 2023

Deandrea Hamilton

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Guyana, September 29, 2023 – Guyana is making moves to become the primary food production center for the Caribbean, going ahead with plans to develop a USD$14 million regional food hub.

In fact, as reported by the Observer, the facility has already been identified on the country’s Soesdyke /Linden Highway.

Guyana seems to really want this to become a reality and Zulfikar Mustapha, Agriculture Minister, expressed this, highlighting what Guyana has over its Caribbean sister Islands.

“We want Guyana to be the food hub, the primary production hub of the Caribbean so that we could supply the Caribbean. What we have, our colleagues in the Caribbean don’t have. We have arable flat land and abundant fresh water,” he said, adding that with the multi-million dollar US investment, the country can, “modernise the infrastructure, and start ramping up the productions.”

Also, the Agriculture Minister pointed out that the project is geared to make for a more competitive local Agriculture industry as well as developing high-yielding varieties, pest-resistant and climate-resilient varieties.

Additionally, in the facility’s development, Guyana, Mustapha said, will work with Belize.

In fact, with more on Belize’s involvement, Dr. Ashni Singh, Finance Minister, informed that the Government is in talks with the Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley about sourcing inputs from northern Brazil and transporting them through Guyana to Barbados and vice versa.

Singh also reportedly revealed that the project will help develop the growing logistics industry in Guyana.

Considering regional food import cost, with this development, Guyana is the leading Caribbean Community country pushing ahead with plans to reduce the multi-billion dollar regional food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, the Observer says.