TCI News
Five Cays fall-out over filth and illegal construction, MP called on to resign
#Five Cays, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, May 10, 2018 – Two Five Cays titans are clashing over the cleanliness of the community; who is responsible and whether or not more should be done to clean up the small south side district.
Paula Arthur-Rigby, TV show host of the Average Joe shared her disappointment about the filth and blamed the Member of Parliament in a PTV newscast for allowing Five Cays to languish in debris and dirt and disorder some eight months after the hurricanes.
“I don’t care who feels crushed or hurt or upset; I believed in Sean with all my heart, I put my X on the line only to be disappointed.”
Arthur-Rigby was fierce in her comments as she called for her MP to resign.
The Average Joe, as she is sometimes called said she could understand ‘excuses’ when the member was in opposition, but not now that he is a part of the Government administration of the Turks and Caicos Islands and as second in command.
“You cannot tell me that Five Cays isn’t being neglected.”
Paula Arthur-Rigby is speaking of Deputy Premier, Border Control and Employment Minister and Member of 
Parliament for Five Cays and Chalk Sound, Hon. Sean Astwood. 
Arthur-Rigby believes that too many people are being allowed to take advantage of the systems established to ensure law and order, that sickness and discomfort due to pungent odors among other things are commonplace, all the while she points out, elected leaders are not ensuring the laws are followed.
“A few weeks ago, I made the statement that Five Cays is dirty. I was bashed. Every day we have new houses and buildings popping up and nobody is saying anything. It is overpopulated, it is over-crowded and it is nasty, it is filthy, it is ridiculous. There is no law for Five Cays and I am not understanding it.”
Arthur-Rigby is a well known supporter of the MP and while the tone Arthur-Rigby takes is no surprise because she is widely known for her unapologetic, frankness, the subject of her scathing comments are more startling. Paula said she has had enough…
Resident shares photo of Five Cays on day news broke about ‘filth’
“When our elected government and ministers allow people to just come in and take advantage of the system, without saying anything or doing anything, I have a problem with this..” Paula added, “Five Cays needs structure, Five Cays needs someone to set laws and police the laws. Five Cays needs to be cleaned up.”
Five Cays and Chalk Sound MP, Sean Astwood was immediately contacted by Magnetic Media about the strong statements and call for his resignation. Hours later, Astwood issued a statement to defend his record and question the motive for the passionate remarks from one of his more famous supporters.
“For over a decade, I have been organizing and participating in cleanup campaigns in my constituency of Five Cays. During these years residents consistently contact me reporting areas where persons continue to dump garbage. I have forwarded these reports to Environmental health who have always responded positively. No longer than yesterday, concerned residents sent me a picture of garbage dumped in the middle of the road, in an area of Five Cays. I reported it to Environmental health and they had the garbage removed the same day.”
Five Cays just like other areas throughout our Islands, have persons who do not care about their surroundings and will continue to dump garbage. Therefore, cleaning up of the constituency is an ongoing process.”
Five Cays was one of the worst hit communities in Hurricane Irma and has long been plagued with shanty villages and squalid conditions, which will now be subject to new building codes and regulations. The Minister agreed that there is a disregard for the law.
The constant dumping by persons with no concern for their surroundings makes it difficult to get volunteers to participate in cleanup campaigns. Following the Storms and as recent as last week contracts to clean Five Cays were issued under Public Works and Environmental Health. My Government recently passed a Bill that gave the Planning Department more powers to deal with squatters and other illegal developments where in many respects is home to large illegal dumping sites. They have also been given increased staff to deal with inspections and compliance. Both the Environmental Health Department and the Public Works Department has been given additional budgetary allotments to deal with these long standing issues.”
The Deputy Premier and Member for the District also focused on the complaining constituent: “I must say I have never seen the resident in the News clipping at any of the cleanup campaigns that I have organized or participated in over the past 7 years. This same resident is in a WhatsApp group that I am apart of and recently two issues were reported to me by others in the group, I addressed those issues and gave the Group an update the same day, and as recently as yesterday. So there was always an avenue for her to report her concerns to me or Environmental health. I find her motives highly questionable but my focus will remain on my Constituency of Five Cays and not on persons with political agendas.”
Both Five Cays natives were speaking out on Wednesday about the challenges in the community.
It is worth noting that the message shared by Arthur-Rigby is echoing from other Turks and Caicos districts where it is believed clean up and debris removal should be more vigorous or is simply too slow, especially with the Atlantic Hurricane Season being mere weeks away from officially beginning on June 1.
Wilkie Arthur
Freelance Court Correspondent
#TurksandCaicos, April 25, 2024 – He was busted at the Howard Hamilton Providenciales International Airport on Friday, April 16, 2024.
He allegedly had in his luggage four (4) rounds of 6.5mm ammunition on his departure to his homeland in Oklahoma in the United States of America (USA).
Ryan Watson and his wife were arrested and placed into police lock up. Both were later granted police bail, and upon return to police station the Monday after the couple’s arrest, the husband alone was charged by detective Police Constable Kimberlee Markland for
unlawful possession of the four rounds of ammunition.
Watson was escorted to court on Tuesday, April 23rd, placed before the learned Chief Magistrate Mr. Jolyon Hatmin and remanded to His Majesty’s Prison until his sufficiency hearing on June 7, this (2024) year.
His counsel, Mr. Oliver Smith KC and his junior assistant Mrs. Kimone Tennant immediately sought bail for him in the Supreme Court which was heard the following day (Wednesday April 24) before her Ladyship Ms. Tanya Lobban-Jackson and was granted bail, without hassle in the amount or $15,000.00 cash or surety.
The Crown, in the person of senior public prosecutor Ms. Tassja Mitchell did not oppose bail.
Magnetic Media can report that once again on the afternoon of the Tuesday April 24th, after the accused RYAN TYLER WATSON, 41 was remanded by the Magistrate’s court, the U.S. Embassy issued an warning to it’s citizens and travelers to carefully check their bags when traveling to Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) as TCI authorities are strictly enforcing firearm and ammunition laws and if found you could go to prison for 12 years.
A real question of great concern and public importance is: should the TCI courts sentence tourists to the full mandatory minimum of 12 years imprisonment for simple possession firearm and/or ammunition.
The succinct answer is: Yes!
The Court of Appeal, just last month said in its written judgment that “ALL PERSONS,” including tourist/visitors must go to prison if found guilty or pleas guilty to firearm and ammunition offences.
However, there remains the concern about how much time in prison a judge should give a visitor regardless of the existence of exceptional circumstances.
Should the judge imprison a visitor to the territory, who may have been wrongly informed, for example, the full mandatory minimum term or must a reduced prison term be imposed.
If TCI judges start to give less than the mandatory minimum to tourists/visitors, it is being strong and widely advocated by senior defense attorneys that the same must apply to local or residents of these Islands, who may also present exceptional circumstances.
Arguments about the equity in delivery of justice is what drove the question to the Court of Appeal late in 2023. The decision came this past February.
‘We cannot find ourselves sentencing tourists regardless of exceptional circumstances to lesser sentences, and when those same exceptional circumstances are found in local cases, it’s being ignored by our judges.’
Human Rights Attorney, Sheena Mair has on more than one occasion argued this point; including in firearm and ammunition bail applications. She would put the very same judges and prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution on the spot by reminding the judges and the prosecutors that precedent has been set.
‘You’ve just granted bail to a tourist for firearm and ammunition but now here’s a local person, same charge but because he’s a local he can’t get bail? He has to be remanded pending a trial that could take years before it’s heard?’
Mair has valiantly outlined the wrong in this and clearly stated this practice is “not fair” and it’s “not proper administration of justice in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
Ms. Mair further complained that tourists would plea guilty to possession of firearm and ammunition and be released on bail pending sentencing but as for a local, he or she has to wait on remand at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pending sentencing.
The attorney criticizes the optics of such decisions and is on record reminding the Judge that the Court of Appeal has already set out that the law applies to everyone; visitors and locals alike.
A police statement issued Wednesday April 24 informs: “Today (April 24th), Mr. Watson appeared in the Supreme Court and, following a bail application, was granted $15,000 bail with the following conditions:
1) Not travel out of TCI without the court’s permission.
2) Surrender his passport and all other travel documents to the court
3) Report to Grace Bay Police Station on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 8 am-4 pm,
4) Reside at the given address in Providenciales; any address change will be provided before the court.”
The American from Oklahoma whose story is trending in the US and has been carried by leading news networks was joined by a host of loved ones at the Courthouse.
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