News

TCI Premier says not a crisis in leadership, but a crisis in Morality

Published

7 years ago

August 3, 2017

Turks and Caicos, Thursday 3rd August 2017 – Providenciales – “A Leader of a country is never on vacation and no one must feel that there is a crisis in leadership on the matter of crime in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Acting Premier is fully engaged and I am fully aware of what is transpiring. We continue to engage law enforcement on their needs and will continue to support them.

“We will continue our efforts as a Government on the initiatives we have committed to for the short term as well as the long term future. There are those who would seek to reduce the efforts by this Government over the past few months to Press Releases and it would be irresponsible if we do not remind persons and counter the falsehoods. On coming to Office we promised the people that we would make representation to the United Kingdom (UK) for assistance and this we did on two separate occasions with the UK Ministers responsible for Overseas Territories in the past 7 months. This request was made initially to Baroness Anelay during a bi-lateral meeting in February and again with Lord Ahmad last month. We were grateful when in February when the UK agreed to have a security needs assessment carried out. The TCI was one of the earliest countries to receive a Team who assessed our needs. We are now in possession of that Report with recommendations. We will continue our efforts in this regard and are pleased with the reception by both Ministers. Nonetheless, we will continue to fund policing initiatives and would wish to remind our people again of our other efforts thus far in 7 months:

The purchasing of a building to house the highly anticipated CCTV Program and other new crime fighting initiatives;
The approval of funding for additional Police Officers including managers of the CCTV Project in the recently passed Budget;
The approval of $1.2m in the purchase of new cars in the recently passed budget;
The agreement in the National Security Council to devise a national security strategy;
The inclusion of modern crime fighting initiatives and other legislative support for the Police in our legislative calendar;
The beginning works jointly between the Police and Immigration to seek out and to repatriate undocumented persons;
The presentation, as Premier, to Cabinet of a Paper on the rehabilitation of offenders in an effort to reduce the rate of repeat offenders;
The initial dialogue with the TCHTA and the wider business community to employ those at risk under the Government’s Change for Change Program to be led by the Ministry of Home Affairs; and
Holding meetings with Pastors and other civic leaders to assist in identifying and creating Programs that will address our youth.

“I want to encourage us as a people not to be led blindly by those who choose the way of personal attacks and gutter politics to score political points and to exploit those who are genuinely fearful and concerned for their country. This has and always will be bigger than politics. This time calls for calm, responsible and strong leadership and while finger pointing is all that some know or have come to accept as leadership, much is happening in the area of national security,” says Premier Robinson.

“The people of this country must know that all who share a function in addressing national security is well alert, engaged and on the job. I have not left matters unattended as it relates to the role of Government neither have I been disconnected nor reckless in the carriage of my duties or trust. I am asking each of us to be careful of what we share by whatsapp and on social media as this is contributing to how we market our tourist destination. We must not want our postings to be the one advertisement that a tourist or potential tourist reads. These latest experiences reveal not a crisis in leadership but one of a crisis in morality. We have a few misguided youth who for whatever reason has chosen this destructive path that threatens life and also put their lives at risk. What sets us apart from all of our neighbors is the fact that a few reckless acts as well as a few reckless statements in such a small country can have a devastating impact. What I wish to say to my people is that we must take stock of our actions and resist the temptation to turn this into a fight with each other and to turn this on a fight for our misguided youth, our troubled homes and communities and if we must turn it on persons, turn it on those who seek to exploit this troubled time for political and personal gain at the loss of our country. We are all in this together and if we are going to win which I am sure that we will, we must not delay the win by wasting time on issues that pale in comparison to the challenges we face as a people. Oh how I would wish to be the super woman with a magical wand that can turn everything perfect instantly but what I am is a leader that will not neglect her people nor stand down in the face of a fight for us as a people; what I am is a leader that is hurt for my people who are in too many ways being exploited by selfish persons. This is not at all a crisis in leadership: it is a crisis in morality and we must address the real issues while law enforcement does its part. My Government remains committed to addressing causal factors as well as funding policing initiatives.”

#MagneticMediaNews

#PressRelease

Bahamas News

Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement Signed between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Deandrea Hamilton

By LLONELLA GILBERT
Bahamas Information Services

NASSAU, The Bahamas — A significant milestone was made in the development of bilateral relations between the Governments of The Bahamas and the People’s Republic of China by the signing of the Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province.

The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The Hon. Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama; the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness; Kingsley Smith, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama and Joel Lewis, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama represented The Bahamas at the signing.

His Excellency Mao Weiming, Governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Qu Hai, Secretary General of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Cui Wei, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; and Yang Peiran, Interpreter represented the People’s Republic of China.

Minister Moxey explained that in February 2022, she and the former Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas, Her Excellency Dai Qingli began discussion on the establishment of a province-island relationship between Hunan Province and Grand Bahama Island because of their “immense synergy”.

“Hunan has a vibrant creative industry and its capital city, Changsha is known as the entertainment capital of China, whilst Grand Bahama is poised to become the home of entertainment in ‘Our Bluepoint for Change’.”

She said Hunan Province boasts 11 industrial sectors and Grand Bahama is the industrial capital of The Bahamas. Further, innovation driven development has been a new driving force for Hunan, while Grand Bahama is poised to become the home of innovation for The Bahamas.

Minister Moxey said she is confident that an exchange of knowledge, ideas and culture will happen between the residents of Hunan Province and Grand Bahama.

“There is potential for robust trade in various sectors, opportunities for tourism promotion and intercultural appreciation, exchanges to support performing arts programs on our island, foster growth within the Orange Economy, and tap into China’s innovation, technology and vast expertise.”

She said that the formal signing aligns with the mission of Sister Cities International, which is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation, one community at a time.

The Minister said, “Through collaborative programs and initiatives, this connection will support the government’s vision to diversity Grand Bahama’s economy to become the Home of Maritime and Logistics, Home of Events and Entertainment and Home of Innovation.”

She noted that in addition to signing the agreement, she looks forward to Grand Bahama residents benefitting from the signing of the Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding between Central South University and University of The Bahamas (UB), which will expand educational and technical cooperation between the two universities. The northern campus of UB is located in Grand Bahama.

His Excellency Mao Weiming said although geographically far apart, China and The Bahamas are friends with mutual respect and understanding as well as sincerity.

He explained that 27 years ago, both countries established diplomatic relations and China and The Bahamas have deepened their cooperation, strengthened their friendship and carried out many activities in the field of economy, trade and people-to-people exchange.

His Excellency recalled that in August 2022, he and Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis had a video conference where they both reached a consensus to cooperate in order to usher a new chapter in the relationship between Hunan and The Bahamas.

“Today, we are here to sign a sister-to-sister relationship between Hunan and Grand Bahama. It is [a] concrete move to implement our consensus reached before and also to embark on a new journey of friendly exchanges.”

He added, “By establishing the relationship of sister cities, I believe the two sides will develop further in terms of economic and trade cooperation, people to people exchange, as well as friendship, and we will embrace new opportunities and deliver concrete benefits for the two peoples.”

He explained that Hunan, which is the home town of Chairman Mao, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, has developed very advanced industries of manufacturing, agriculture, education, culture as well as tourism.

His Excellency said he believes that Hunan and Grand Bahama enjoy very broad room for cooperation.

He said, “More efforts should be made to conduct cooperation in the fields of agriculture, tourism, culture, education and the film industry so as to realize a connectivity between our two sides in terms of logistics and the platform cooperation; so as to deliver concrete benefits for the people and to make our due contribution to the bilateral relationship between China and The Bahamas.”

PHOTO CAPTION

A significant milestone was made in the development of bilateral relations between the Governments of The Bahamas and the People’s Republic of China by the signing of the Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province. The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Shown from left: Qu Hai, Secretary General of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Cui Wei, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; Yang Peiran, Interpreter H.E. Mao Weiming, Governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; the Hon. Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama; the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness; Kingsley Smith, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama and Joel Lewis, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama.

(BIS Photos/Anthon Thompson)

Bahamas News

Nassau Cruise Port Donates Nearly $2 Million Towards Food Security

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Deandrea Hamilton

Nassau, Bahamas: The Nassau Cruise Port has donated $1.95 million towards projects that will assist the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources in its aim to increase food security for The Bahamas.

The donation officially occurred at the Ministry’s offices recently, where Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Hon. Jomo Campbell, Minister of Labour Hon. Pia Glover-Rolle, Permanent Secretary Neil Campbell and Nassau Cruise Port CEO Mike Maura listened to a number of presentations including one for a poultry programme for schools, a chicken broiler production programme, the redevelopment of the Blue Hill Road Farmers Market and an Authentic Bahamian Cultural Concept Store,

Mr. Maura said he was impressed by the presentations.

“I had the privilege to listen to the presentations and review presentations that touched on food security and the need for us to be self-sufficient, which as a Bahamian I support completely. At the Nassau Cruise Port, we get excited about the prospects of offering more authentic food to the millions of visitors that we have each year,” he said.

“And then, in addition to that, we had presentations around the further development of our artisans, which is so important to us as well. The guests visiting our shores are looking for something that really touches The Bahamas and can’t be found somewhere else. The Nassau Cruise Port has made a pledge to BAIC and its affiliates. We will be supporting the projects that were presented and we can’t wait to get started.”

Minister Glover-Rolle, who is also the Member of Parliament for Golden Gates, hailed Nassau Cruise Port as a “great community partner.”

“Thank you for the opportunity to not only present but agreeing to participate. Our Minister of Agriculture has a goal of reducing food imports by 25 percent by the year 2025 and our project in the Golden Gates Community speaks to that,” she said.

“We have a number of backyard farmers, farmers and fishers in our community in Golden Gates. Being able to use the Blue Hill Road Farmers Market, which is going to be dubbed the ‘Fish Fry of the South,’ as a hub for food security but also a hub where artisans and handicraft persons can come and sell their wares is wonderful. So, we are happy that you have agreed to partner with us and we look forward to a partnership and we hope to welcome some of your visitors when this amazing renovation is done.”

Minister Campbell also lauded the Nassau Cruise Port for its efforts.

“I would like to say thank you to the presenters for the presentations that are several steps in the right direction for our country, to Mr. Maura and his board at the Nassau Cruise Port and I would like to say thanks to God for this partnership and bringing us all together as we move forward, upward, together in building a better, brighter, future for The Bahamas,” he said.

Caribbean News

Agriculture Ministry Providing Two Water Trucks to Serve St. Elizabeth and St. Catherine

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2024

Deandrea Hamilton

#Kingston, Jamaica, April 24, 2024 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining is to unveil two more water trucks this week, which will be used to service communities in St. Elizabeth and St. Catherine.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, made the disclosure during Wednesday’s (April 24) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

He also informed that of the $90 million earmarked to support farmers being impacted by the current drought, the Ministry will be providing additional support for storage and drip-irrigation systems.

“So, we have targeted about 600 water tanks and about 400 12-millimetre drip irrigation hoses, and that distribution has already started. Additionally, we have earmarked about $8 million to really help with our livestock farmers,” Mr. Green said.

“We know the difficulty that you’re facing now in this time; [it’s] very hard to get the right nutritional support for your animals. As such, we will be providing some hay, and we will [also] provide some trucking of water to you. Again, our livestock farmers, if you are in need, please contact the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and let us see how we can help in these times,” he further stated.

Mr. Green also encouraged farmers to download the RADA App, so that the Agency can “help guide you, not only in relation to what is happening on the rainfall side, but also in relation to your integrated pest management”.

“We do see some increases of certain types of pests during this time, and it’s important that our farmers are paying attention to that. It’s also important that you’re taking drought management seriously [by undertaking] soil mulching, looking at planting drought-tolerant crops, timely harvesting, implementing land husbandry treatments and contour ditches,” he stated.

Contact: Latonya Linton

Release: JIS

Photo Caption: Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, speaking during Wednesday’s (April 24) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

Donald De La Haye Photo