Post Cabinet Report, Updated on Telecoms for Grand Turk from Minister

#TurksandCaicos, January 19, 2018 – Providenciales – His Excellency the Governor, Dr John Freeman, chaired the meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, 17 January 2018, at the Hon. Hilly Ewing Building on Providenciales.  All Ministers were present except the Hon. Deputy Premier.

At this meeting Cabinet:

• Noted the recommendations of the Procurement Board to award a contract in line with the Public Procurement Ordinance 2012 as follows –TR17/30 Supply of fencing materials for the TCI Ports Authority;

• Approved the waiver of import customs duty on furniture and appliances which qualify under the list of approved items in the Customs (Import Duty Exemption) (No.3) Order which were imported by a number of applicants to replace items damaged by the hurricanes and which were paid for before but not received by the deadline of 31 December 2017 as stipulated in the Customs (Import Duty Exemption) (No.3) Order;

• Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve, subject to amendments being made, the draft Liquor Licensing (Amendment) Bill 2018 for forwarding to the House of Assembly for Approval;

• Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve amendments to the Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise Development Ordinance 2015 subject to compliance monitoring of approved concessions being conducted by Invest TCI and summary reports being prepared for Cabinet;

• Received an up-date by the Hon. Minister of Education, Youth, Culture and Library Services on the re-opening of schools in TCI following the September hurricanes and on plans to re-open those that remain closed or are still in need of repair, including support from the private sector;

• Received an up-date by the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs, Transportation and Communication on discussions with Digicel and FLOW on plans to restore IT and telephone connectivity on Grand Turk and other islands in TCI which continue to suffer severe communications disruption following the September hurricanes;

• Received feedback from His Excellency the Governor on a meeting which he chaired on 16 January involving the Department for Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) and other agencies involved in TCI’s disaster management response. The meeting discussed hurricane preparedness priorities to be addressed ahead of the 2018 hurricane season as well as a revised TCIG command response structure and implementation timescales to ensure that TCI is fully prepared for this year’s hurricane season. His Excellency the Governor undertook to forward to Hon. Ministers a list of priority hurricane preparedness issues drawn up at his request by DDME for urgent consideration;

• Discussed the issue of access to the beach at Taylor Bay;

• Received an up-date from the Hon. Premier on action taken following the fire at the control tower at Grand Turk airport on 14 January;

• Received an up-date from the Hon. Premier on measures to repair and restore facilities at Grand Turk airport following damage as a result of the September hurricanes;

• Received an up-date from the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming on problems of banking and ambulance services on North and Middle Caicos. The Hon. Minister further requested an up-date on the situation regarding vector control on North and Middle Caicos and the temporary clinic on North Caicos;

• Received an up-date from the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Gaming on problems encountered by a visiting overseas film crew;

• Received an up-date from the Hon. Premier on the forthcoming National Honours and Awards ceremony in Grand Turk in Grand Turk on 20 January.

Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.

Press Release: TCIG