Connect with us

Bahamas News

DNA has the answers to every problem, Party launches Manifesto

Published

on

Bahamas, April 12, 2017 – Nassau – If elected, the DNA party will put its leader Branville McCartney as the Minister of National Security. In unveiling its manifesto for the 2017 polls, the party underscored the need for the arrest in crime in the Bahamas, and says its leader is qualified for the job.

 It was a packed BCPOU Hall in Farrington Road on Tuesday night, as the party gathered to launch its Manifesto, described as Bahamas’ Vision Plan, For a Better Life.

 The DNA boasts of being the only party to have a candidate that is qualified to hold each and every ministerial post and vows to bring the change Bahamians are crying out for through solid and tactical solutions.

The party’s manifesto can be seen on its webpage and Facebook page.

Story by: Kimberly Ramkhalawan

#MagneticMediaNews

#DNAhasalltheanswers

#DNAlaunchesManifesto

 

 

 

 

Continue Reading

Bahamas News

No Call from Trump! Still the Islands make it clear where they Stand on Deportees

Published

on

Deandrea Hamilton

Editor

 

 

December 11, 2024 – A misleading story carried by several US news organisations demanded a firm response by both The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands governments, when news reports cited these countries as among those on a list of possible deportation centers being wooed by the in-coming Trump Administration.

It seemed a mischievous attempt to gaslight these smaller nations about the newly elected president and his popular campaign promise to send illegal migrants home, in massive numbers.

Soon, it would be explained that there was no call or direct offer to these governments by the Trump Administration team and, more significantly, no interest by either country to welcome in U.S. deportees.  Still both the prime minister of The Bahamas and the Immigration and Border Services minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands immediately issued firm statements rejecting the idea.

“The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands categorically states that we will not, under any circumstances, accept deportees from the United States or any other nation who are not citizens of Turks and Caicos. Our country’s immigration policies are clear and firmly rooted in the principles of sovereignty, the protection of our borders, and the welfare of our people,” said Arlington Musgrove, TCI Minister of Immigration and Border Services.

There was a similar reaction from The Bahamas; the Office of the Prime Minister informed also there has been no push from the US regarding the request.

“This matter was presented to the Government of The Bahamas but was reviewed and firmly rejected by the Prime Minister.

The Bahamas simply does not have the resources to accommodate such a request. The Prime Minister priorities remain focused on addressing the concerns of The Bahamian people,” said the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Bahamas in a follow up statement gave some history and offered insight on the origin of the proposal, which dates back to the Summit of the Americas staged in Los Angeles two years ago.

“In June of 2022, Prime Minister Philip Davis attended the Summit of the Americas, where regional migration was one of the items on the agenda.

During the Summit, countries were asked to sign a declaration on migration, which included language suggesting that countries support and host undocumented migrants.

The Bahamas did not sign this declaration, although 20 countries in the region did.

The Prime Minister made it clear to President Biden that our country will not bear this burden. We need to devote Bahamian resources to solving Bahamian problems.”

Both The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands have added to their initial statements, confirming that no one from president-elect Donald Trump’s office had been in communication on the touted plan.

“To be clear, our office responded to the proposal as characterized by the press, rather than any formal proposal made to us by President-elect Trump’s transition team, with whom we have not discussed the matter,” published The Bahamas.

More accurately, there was a news report carried by the BBC which exposed Panama’s experience in this U.S. procedure, which deports illegal migrants to the country where they entered the United States, despite their nationalities.

The BBC news story said: “The Biden administration said it had agreed to pay for the flights as part of its efforts to deter irregular migration.

A group of 29 Colombians with criminal records were the first to be returned on Tuesday.

Under an agreement jointly signed by the Panamanian foreign minister and US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the US has committed to helping Panama with $6m (£4.6m) for equipment, transportation and logistics to “remove foreign nationals who do not have a legal basis to remain in Panama”.

In the case of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands, many from these two Small Island Developing States were stunned at the audacity and ramifications of such a plan.

“We are deeply concerned about any suggestion of displacing individuals to countries with which they have no connection. Such policies disregard the cultural, social, and economic implications for receiving countries and the humanitarian impact on the individuals affected.

We remind all stakeholders that Turks and Caicos is already facing significant challenges managing irregular migration and the accompanying strain on our resources. We will not permit external policies to exacerbate these challenges, nor undermine or dictate our national security,” said Minister Musgrove.

One attorney, speaking on a Nassau television show explained that based on current U.S. law, The Bahamas must now do a better job of scrutinising who is allowed into the country, ensuring that these islands are not used as a transit for immigrants who are targetting the United States as their final destination.

Panama’s new president, in a bid to uphold his presidential promise to voters, agreed to end his country being used as a crossing point for Haitians, Venezuelans and Colombians moving from South America into North America.

The BBC said: “Mr Mulino campaigned on a promise to “close” the Darién Gap, the dangerous stretch of jungle which more than half a million migrants crossed last year on their way north from South America.

The Biden administration said it had agreed to pay for the flights as part of its efforts to deter irregular migration.”

It is well known that Haitians, fleeing their poverty stricken island are sometimes successful in making landfall, illegally, in the United States after travelling through the Turks and Caicos and The Bahamas.

If The Bahamas is not careful, it “…could end up being forced to take these immigrants in.”

The Turks and Caicos could heed the same warning.

Statistically though, the number of those departing the neighbouring archipelagos to reside illegally in the U.S. is miniscule, however, it would be well within bounds for ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) to deport undocumented individuals back to the country of departure.

Thankfully, most illegal migrants opt to be repatriated to their home country.

It is estimated there are over 11 million undocumented migrants currently in the United States. U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to start with illegal migrants who are convicted criminals.

Continue Reading

Bahamas News

CARPHA Supports Mass Gathering Surveillance for Bahamas’ National Festivals

Published

on

 

Nassau, Bahamas:  The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), in collaboration with The Bahamas Ministry of Health and Wellness, conducted a mass gathering (MG) risk assessment and implemented the MG event-based surveillance for the country’s upcoming annual Junkanoo Festival[1], and other upcoming mass gathering events.

Mass gatherings can pose increased public health risks and challenges for the host community.  In light of this, CARPHA conducted a training workshop to strengthen The Bahamas’ capacity to identify and respond to potential threats, in “real time”, during the festival.  The MG surveillance training was carried out using the novel, electronic, real time, MG surveillance module, developed by CARPHA and successfully utilised in Caribbean nations, during the recently concluded International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup.

During the launch of the workshop, The Honourable Dr Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness reaffirmed his Ministry’s commitment to implementing proactive surveillance to reduce the risk of disease spread within the population, as well as the significant number of visitors on the islands. Minister Darville acknowledged the “complexities of 12 million visitors coming into a population of 450 thousand” annually and the need to ensure robust and resilient public health systems for the continued economic growth of the country. The Minister also endorsed CARPHA as a key public health partner, saying that the Agency is “a world recognised institution with high-level professionals and leads in many public health programmes especially in tourism”.

Dr Lisa Indar, Ad Interim Executive Director, in her remarks explained the need for elevated surveillance and indicated, “Mass gathering events such as junkanoo, carnival and cricket in the Caribbean are unique and key cultural and economic pillars for all CARPHA Member States (CMS) that draw large numbers of visitors from around the world”.  She added, “visitors no longer just want to be happy, they want to be happy and healthy”.

Dr Indar also spoke about the relevance and benefits of mass gathering surveillance to the overall public health landscape and underpinned the need to ramp-up and utilise the available electronic surveillance tools that will facilitate rapid identification and response to public health threats emerging from mass gathering events.

The CARPHA team presented  Minister Darville with three tablets to facilitate real-time field data entry during the Junkanoo Festival and other mass gathering events throughout the year.  The capacity built from the Junkanoo risk assessment and MG training will be used by The Bahamas’ national planning and coordination team to guide them in developing and implementing relevant risk mitigation strategies and interventions to reduce the festival’s current risks.

This mission was supported through CARPHA’s Pandemic Fund project, which has the core objective of supporting the reduction of public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean of which mass gatherings pose an ever-present risk.

The launch of the training workshop took place on Thursday 21st November 2024 in The Bahamas.  Attendees included The Honourable Dr Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Phillip Swann, Acting Director of the Department of Public Health, Mrs. Coral Miller, Deputy Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health and Wellness, Ms. Brenda Colebrooke, Senior Under Secretary Ministry of Health and Wellness and Dr Felicia Greenslade, Officer-in-Charge of the Surveillance Unit. The CARPHA team comprised Dr Lisa Indar, Ad Interim Executive Director, Mr. Keston Daniel, Coordinator, Visitor-based Surveillance and Mr. Mohamed Elsherbiny, Senior Technical Advisor.

About the Pandemic Fund Project:

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the sole public health agency for the Caribbean region, is the Executing Agency for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Project: RG-T4387, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the Implementing Entity. The goal of this Project, which spans from 2024 to 2026, is to reduce the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean through prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR).  The objective is to support the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic PPR surveillance and early warning systems, laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and at country levels. This will reduce the transboundary spread of infectious diseases and improve regional and global health security. CARPHA is the beneficiary of the PF project and CARPHA Member States are the participants.

The PF was approved at the highest level by the Council for Human and Social Development, as well as by CARPHA’s Executive Board and other stakeholders, including Chief Medical Officers. This is a regional 3-year project (2024-2026). The public signing of Technical Cooperation Agreement to implement the project was on December 14, 2023.

 About the CARPHA Electronic Mass Gathering (MG) Surveillance Module:

The MG surveillance module is a product of the CARPHA’s Tourism and Health Program (THP), one of the Agency’s innovative programmes that addresses health, food safety and environmental sanitation (HSE) threats impacting sustainable tourism in the Caribbean through real-time, early warning and response surveillance systems, guidelines, capacity building, HSE standards, policy, advocacy and partnerships.

In 2024, this portfolio was expanded to included mass gathering surveillance given the elevated public health risk these events pose to regional health security. The THP aims to strengthen countries’ capacity to prepare for and respond to public health threats, thereby improving citizen and visitor health, tourism resilience, economic sustainability and the event itself.

With the success of MG surveillance during the ICC T20 World Cup and the endorsement of this electronic system by Ministers of Health in the Region, through the Council of Human and Social Development-Health, The Bahamas recognised the system’s high value and solicited the support of CARPHA to implement and build capacity in MG surveillance for its annual Junkanoo Festival.

Continue Reading

Bahamas News

Statement of Clarification on The Bahamas’ Position Regarding Migration Proposals

Published

on

The Bahamas, December 9, 2024 – In June of 2022, Prime Minister Philip Davis attended the Summit of the Americas, where regional migration was one of the items on the agenda.

During the Summit, countries were asked to sign a declaration on migration, which included language suggesting that countries support and host undocumented migrants.

The Bahamas did not sign this declaration, although 20 countries in the region did.

The Prime Minister made it clear to President Jo Biden that our country will not bear this burden.  We need to devote Bahamian resources to solving Bahamian problems.

Earlier this week, NBC News and other media reported that the Trump transition team is proposing a list of countries to which it may deport migrants, and that The Bahamas, along with other nations in the region, was included on the list.

Our office released a statement in response to the list and proposal as reported by the media, and restated our country’s position, which is that we are unwilling and unable to accept migrants.

To be clear, our office responded to the proposal as characterized by the press, rather than any formal proposal made to us by President-elect Trump’s transition team, with whom we have not discussed the matter.

Our countries have long enjoyed a strong, productive relationship based on mutual interests.

We look forward to engaging constructively across a range of important issues with the incoming Trump Administration.

Continue Reading

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

TRENDING