News
PNP Leader press conference a mix of history, praise, warnings and demands for correction of Taylor Bay Beach debacle
#TurksandCaicos, January 6, 2018 – Providenciales – Bundles of misinformation in the media is what brought the Leader of the Opposition, PNP out in a press conference following the confrontational situation on New Year’s Day between locals wanting to enjoy Taylor Bay Beach, and a man who claims he owns the property and charged the group with trespassing.
Comments have focused on the Taylor Bay Beach blockade which locks out locals and visitors as an old one, started nearly a quarter of a century ago when the now Opposition Leader was the then country leader; Washington Misick in his press conference on Wednesday says it is time to move past the past.
“Don’t yield to the past. We are at a different time in history, a different date and we can look forward or move backward.”
Hon Misick considers the back and forth on the hot button issue and focus on the origin of the dilemma to be a waste of time. Still the former Chief gave a backward glance…
“For persons back then who were yearning for something better than what was available at the time, they saw it as an opportunity to move the islands forward and so whether we blame them or not, that is the reality. In the early or mid 1980s, a couple of hundred acres of land was given on a conditional purchase lease to a group of Canadians which encompassed what you now see as Chalk Sound and it started from the South Dock area at the hill just above the port past Sapodilla Bay and Taylor Bay where I think on the corner there where Mosey lives– it kind of stopped there and included southland to the left.”
Misick said the land was subdivided and sold and confirmed that at the time, because there was no demand for access, no access was factored in.
When it comes to the questions about how the land, including the land allotted to the Crown also became sold off with no public beach access designated, Misick again took reporters down history road and explained that in a trade for land needed for community roadways in the Bight area, a company – comprised of Belongers and Expatriots – was given the Crown land in Taylor Bay.
“In the end, what happened is that Taylor Bay – that land – was then sold on to Dick Clark, then from Dick Clark to Michael Ashcroft. The issue of access apparently was never ever actually completely settled and so we end up with a mess today.”
The former Finance Minister said also that the messy matter was one that the former PNP Administration tried to resolve, but there was no resolution and never any news of their attempt to set things right. Current Leader of Opposition business Misick shared that the process of trying to rectify the public access issue at Taylor Bay started some 18-months ago when Rufus Ewing was the premier.
Authentic leadership is how Washington Misick described his stance on the matter of a beach party styled protest, complete with DJ Music arranged by his younger brother and former PNP Leader and ex-Premier, Michael Misick. The elder Misick, during his Wednesday press conference held at Prestigious Properties explained that he may take some heat from within his own Progressive National Party for the position which discourages illegal behavior.
“We must always come down on the side of the law and there is a legal and proper way to fix this problem. I admire the courage of the young man on the beach who took the pictures. I admire him for standing up and confronting bigotry. There is no place for bigotry in this country and we should not tolerate it. On the other hand, we have a right as self respecting people to make sure that whatever we do, we do it within the confines of the law. We also ought to petition the authorities to make sure that the effort that was made by the PNP to have the legislation changed, to make it clear what should happen at places like Taylor Bay, that that should happen quickly.”
Misick used the press conference to outline that it was a decision under his leadership in the early 1990s which caused there to be more equity in the distribution of land in Chalk Sound, which is considered an elite residential area of Providenciales.
“It was yours truly, who took the land, thwarted the arranged and made sure the land was ten subdivided and given to Belongers. That is the truth, that is documented… if it wasn’t for that action, there would not be a black man living in Chalk Sound today…”
Although many, including the PDM Chairman, Doug Parnell say the PNP created the mess and should have fixed it in their time; Washington Misick said the PDM government is now empowered by the voters to make the change in the law as they now occupy the leadership seat.
A media statement detailing the history of this land debacle was promised by the Leader of the Opposition and was issued on Friday.
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, April 19, 2024 – In an attempt to move to 24-hour-a-day operations Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is steadily recruiting Air Traffic Controllers to work at the Providenciales/Howard Hamilton International Airport, according to Godfrey Smith, TCIAA CEO, reporting to the Appropriations Committee.
Speaking on April 8th Smith said a cabinet paper would be sent soon requesting six more Air Traffic Controllers to make round the clock operation at the Provo International possible and to open the airport in Grand Turk till 12 a.m.
Currently, 17 posts are filled and seven are vacant.
Smith was candid with his responses to recent industrial action from ATCs which led to resignations and firings.
“What we have to do is find systems to mitigate such actions and that has to start with filling these jobs, putting people in that want to
work and doing right by people – and we always try to do right by our staff. Persons may not think that we are but we always do – we ain’t pick no fight,” he said in the meetings held at the NJS Francis building ahead of the National Budget Communication.
Smith indicated that recruitment was an issue across the board, ‘we need to find ways to recruit a little bit better’ he told the committee. Also in need of a push was capital spending or projects according to the CEO, who said the agency had ‘not been very good’ at meeting that mark but insisted they had recognized the issue and could do better.
A very important key performance indicator drawn up by the TCIAA is increasing passenger satisfaction at the Howard Hamilton International Airport. For the TCIAA part of this means a 30 percent increase in seating by Q2 of this year.
When queried on if they could even handle this increase the CEO said,
“The fact of the matter is we already have the capacity there. What we need is to make the service a bit better.”
Staff shortages have become such a frustrating issue that the TCIAA is instituting a scholarship program created by Authority Chairman, Selvyn Hawkins
“What the board wants to do is basically allocate $25,000 annually for a scholarship and they’ve approved it already.”
This process would cover tuition and all other costs for one student.
The student would return as a summer intern and other breaks to work at the TCIAA and upon graduation, assume a role at the company.
“We identify a particular skill we need, we go after it and we build capacity that is in a nutshell the nexus of the program,” Smith said.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is allocated $49 million this financial year; over $20 million goes to salaries.
Company delivers fastest speeds nationwide and boosts service reliability
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS, APRIL 19th, 2024 – More connections, faster speeds and greater support for customers. This is the promise from communications and entertainment provider, Flow TCI, as it embarks on an initiative to provide households with enhanced connections, greater overall reliability and now, for the first time, speeds up to one gigabit person second.
FLOW TCI Country Manager, Joanne Missick shared: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We listen to our customers and want to exceed their demands, so we are focused on delivering unmatched value with customer centric products and services that are future proof. Flow subscribers on our Fibre Extreme package can now access up to one gigabyte speeds and subscribers on our Fibre Plus and Fibre Max package, as of April 1st, are also now benefitting from up to 5x more speeds.”
This is third speed boost for Flow customers in the last two years. This comes under the umbrella of the the Company’s recently launched “Working for You” campaign, where technicians are going into the neighborhoods across the island to conduct repairs, decommission copper cables, and increase the brand’s visibility in local communities.
“To date several neighborhoods have been served by technicians and the company will continue to go across the islands to ensure each neighborhood receives personal attention. We recognize that over the past few months some customers have experienced issues with the quality and delivery of our services. This is not what we stand for. Flow remains committed to providing technology and innovation
that enables growth and positively impacts lives”, says, newly appointed Head of Technical Operations, Simeon Thomas.
Thomas adds, “We have been closely monitoring and reviewing every aspect of our network and there is room for improvement across each of the islands. Where we find shortcomings, we are taking concrete actions and assigning our technicians to rapidly make all necessary adjustments and improvements for our customers”.
Flow has made significant investments in expanding and modernizing its infrastructure and delivering a more robust and reliable network paving the way for the country’s digital transformation.
For more information on speed increases visit https://www2.discoverflow.co/turks-and-caicos/price-adjustment-speed-increase on our website.
Thank you for your usual assistance in sharing our stories.
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