#Providenciales, May 17, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – The pair of officials called it a natural fit which
will lead to greater synergy and stronger lines of communication between two
critically-linked agencies; Tourism as the leading bread-winner for the Turks
and Caicos Islands now directly houses the Department of Disaster Management
& Emergencies, DDME which undergirds all industries in any worse case
scenario; and the shift is pioneering.
“I believe that this marriage is timely, it is bold
and persons from across the region are giving kudos to the Turks and Caicos for
having the foresight to have all of these very important environmental,
tourism, economic drivers under one ministry working together in a
collaborative fashion,” said Ralph Higgs, Minister of Tourism during a press
conference on Wednesday.
In response to Magnetic Media’s question about the
landmark move from Home Affairs to Tourism, Director of DDME, Dr. Virginia
Clerveaux said, “We are the first to add Tourism and Disaster Management,
however tourism and disaster management have been working together throughout
the region for years. I think we are unique in the fact that when you
look at the make-up of our Ministry it’s tourism, it’s environment, you see the
name quickly and then you begin to think of the maritime sector that is also
critical to us in the Turks and Caicos Islands and then you’re looking at
heritage and you’re thinking about the UN perspective and protecting your
heritage sites and how they can be impacted by not only man-made but also
natural events,” she continued with, “The Department of Disaster Management, we
come as if we are the overall co-ordinator…”
The relationship between the entities is not new,
nor had it been dormant; there are many settings on a national level where the
departments of environment, maritime and disaster management are required to
give expert input.
In hurricane season, DDME serves as a strategic
advisor for the tourism sector and admittedly, the half a billion dollars in
damages and losses in Hurricanes Irma and Maria of 2017 accelerated the need
for the union.
“There has been a good working relationship between
the Department and the DDME and tourist Board for several years, one of the
pluses of this union now is that all of the information needed to address
tourism related matters will be contained of one umbrella,” explained Minister
Higgs, who is a former Tourist Board Director.
DDME Director Dr. Clerveaux supported the remarks
from her new Minister with, “It is important that we protect our
investment. One major storm with a magnitude of what we experienced from
Ike, Irma or Maria can spell a disaster in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The environment, the tourism industry, the travel industry are our most
vulnerable sectors, not just in the Turks and Caicos islands, but throughout
the world and therefore putting policies in place and working with our Tourism
sector and working with the Environmental Agencies to ensure that we protect
our natural resources is one of the best things that we can do, in terms of
sustainable development management.”
Minister Higgs agrees and told media that he is
pleased that the DDME can feed the ministry’s interests more directly.
“I think with this marriage now we can publicly
celebrate that we have a complete ministry, as the Director said, over the
years there has been a lot of collaboration and a lot of synergy, a lot of
working together to ensure that in the event that there is a disaster, our
number one industry which is tourism is not destroyed beyond repair. I
believe with the marriage of the DDME (to the Ministry of Tourism, Gaming,
Environment and Maritime Affairs), we will take a very proactive approach to
ensuring that the people of this country, our visitors to this country, knows
the risk of any disaster and they know the vulnerabilities and they ensure that
they have measures in place.”
Dr. Virginia Clerveaux as Director of the
Department has been hailed at home and abroad for the efficient and effective
management of the DDME, especially in the aftermath of the hurricane season’s
most fierce storms on record. Dr. Clerveaux takes with her to Tourism a
team of 10 and the shift came in a TCI Cabinet shuffle which placed the DDME
under the Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Maritime umbrella.
“This merger will ensure that there is more synergy
and there is greater communication between the natural resource enforcers and
the agency that has to coordinate response in the event of a disaster.”
The media meeting was held at the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies Providenciale headquarters and handed over to Minister Ralph Higgs were the policies governing the DDME and its Disaster Management strategies.
#TurksandCaicos, June 25, 2022 – These days anything can be online, even a plant clinic! The Turks and Caicos Islands Department of Agriculture wants to help budding and experienced farmers with any plant issues they may have and their new Online Plant Clinic is their solution to help as many Islanders as possible.
Launched on Thursday, June 16 the clinic will operate through Facebook. Individuals with sick plants or pest issues will be required to take a photo of the issue and upload that photo to the department of Agriculture’s Facebook page.
Answers to issues will be given once a month, on every third Thursday, via a public video so all Islanders can have access. The launch was attended by Chief Plant Protection Officer-CPPO Roneta Huntley Thomas, Director of Agriculture Wilhelmina Kissoonsingh, Minister of Agriculture Josephine Connolly, and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Mrs. Cheryl Ann Jones.
Connolly urged residents to “grow your own food and grow TCI.”
Attendees of the launch were allowed to participate in games trying to identify different diseases for a chance at prizes. Residents can now immediately start sending in their photos on the Facebook page.
#TurksandCaicos, June 25, 2022 – RTCIPF Marine Operations Centre and partners continue to work together to protect our borders and keep TCI secure.
During the evening of Wednesday 22nd June 2022 the RTCIPF Marine Operations Centre identified a target of interest and immediately started to track the vessel around 5 miles North West of Providenciales travelling at around 7 knots.
The operator immediately updated colleagues within the Royal Turks and Caicos Marine Branch who made their way to the location and intercepted a vessel containing irregular migrants. Following a delicate, coordinated operation with the necessary stabilization of the vessel which was unsafe, severely overcrowded and the occupants were without life vests, the RTCIPF Marine Unit was joined by a second RTCIPF Marine crew and a third vessel crewed with TCI Regiment to support the delicate operation.
The vessel was carefully offloaded at sea to ensure the safety of the occupants and then the boat was towed to South Dock where it arrived around 4:45am with a total of 138 persons, 98 males and 40 female including 1 juvenile, who were then taken into custody by the Immigration Department. One male needed immediate medical attention in relation to a leg injury sustained.
Superintendent Martyn Ball said, “Again working with partners we have safely intercepted another vessel that was desperately overcrowded, unsafe and risked the lives of those on board. It continues to demonstrate the professionalism and dedication of the RTCIPF Marine Unit, working together with colleagues in the Marine Operations Centre, TCI Regiment, TCI Immigration and Health to save lives and keep our borders here in the Turks and Caicos Islands safe.
In the last couple of months over 900 individuals on 9 dangerous and unseaworthy vessels have been intercepted here in the TCI.
I would appeal to anyone if you have any information relating to such activity that you call CrimeStoppers free and anonymously on 1-800-8477, not only will you be saving lives but also supporting our national security here in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
#Jamaica, June 25, 2022 – As the Turks and Caicos and Jamaica celebrated a new connection on June 16th as Intercaribbean Airways launched their newest flight to Boscobel, St Mary, half an hour from the famous city of Ocho Rios on Jamaica’s North Coast.
The Ian Fleming Airport is named for the famous author who penned the James Bond series just miles away from the airport. Never one to miss a theme, InterCaribbean dubbed their flight the JY 007.
The 007 departed Providenciales at 9:30 am Thursday (June 16) with Lyndon Gardiner, Chairman of InterCaribbean Airways; Trevor Sadler, InterCaribbean Airways CEO; Chris and Kayon Stokes of NCS Money Services; Team Beaches TCI, some media namely SunTCI and Magnetic Media as well as a few Jamaicans anxious to get home.
The 007, Ian Fleming Airport’s first international commercial flight, was received in Jamaica with much fanfare. It was met by a Jamaican delegation including Audley Shaw, Minister of Transport for Jamaica and Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Tourism Minister and a cheerful water cannon spurt to sweeten the arrival of the first international flight at Ian Fleming.
Bartlett was enthusiastic about the prospects that Inter-Caribbean was bringing to Jamaica.
“The presence today of this inaugural flight from a Caribbean island into Boscobel is a bigger statement than what has been made because what it does is to put together the idea of connectivity in a material way. It is how we as a region are going to be able to connect with each other in a way that brings economic value and prosperity to each other and that’s the power of this movement that begins today.”
The minister noted that Tourism was a booming business if only we were aware of how to take charge of it.
“We are about ideas and how to convert ideas into things that have a material value, we are the most consumption-driven activity on planet earth. “ he added “the next critical consideration that has to be looked at …is that we need a single visa regime for touristic purposes that can be provided for visitors coming into your space… a CARICOM visa that allows you entry into all the CARICOM countries.”
Gardiner expressed his excitement for the venture telling the media,“Only the sun covers the Caribbean better than we do.” He also told the gathered press. “We will now have the ability to bring people from across the Caribbean, whether it be for business, pleasure, or furthering multi-destination vacations, by offering Boscobel residents and visitors direct service across the Caribbean and vice versa.”
InterCaribbean Airways will run their flight monthly initially and then upgrade to weekly flights. It would be the third flight between Turks and Caicos and Jamaica; already Kingston and Montego Bay are serviced by the airline based in Providenciales, TCI.
American Airlines and QCAS Aero are also scheduled to begin flights to the Ian Fleming International this year.