TCI News
TCI: Our landfill, an issue or a crisis?
Grand Turk, December 15, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – I suppose it depends on who you ask. We can not solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis. “By Greta Thunberg”
As I interact and converse with more and more people on the island, it became clear to me that we all share similar concerns for the good of the nation and are all obligated to illuminate the things that unites us as humans without fear or favor.
Let me explain and one can come to their own conclusion.
We all live in the most beautiful country in the world, these Turks and Caicos Islands. Now, I may be a bit bias as I’m a son of the soil . Nevertheless, it needs to be addressed as it’s a matter of sickness or health.
Once these beautiful by nature islands became exposed to the outside world, development began to expand rapidly and so did the population of course. I don’t believe anyone envisioned sanitation control being an issue. At the time, the public dumps were considered some distances away from public dwelling. Since then, a number of communities has emerged around the dumps.
Figuratively speaking, some homes in Grand Turk, are located literally in rock throwing distance from the public dump. We have got to recognize this as more then an issue my fellow Turks Islanders.
Usually, the most powerful stories are those that are driven by violence and destruction. However, I felt compelled to shine the light on this particular matter because of the long lasting negative impact it could have on humanity. It should not be minimized and needs to be addressed with a sense of urgency.
Case in point: Whether it’s the work of an arsonist or spontaneous combustion of materials, in less then four years, the dump in Grand Turk has been on fire a number of times. Each time, billows of smoke permeated the air all over this tiny island. The smoke and the smell at times is unbearable and the fires would be smoldering for weeks on end. Now just imagine the families with small children and babies living in close proximity of this. It’s nothing less then a matter of sickness or health.
I’m not a medical doctor, but common sense would tell you if toxic fume is inhaled over a long period of time, just like cigarettes, it could result in acute respiratory issues and other illness. In most developing countries, solid waste is regulated in five categories, generation, collection, processing, transporting and disposal of waste. It’s pretty clear to us as to which companies and or facilities are generating the most waste, and the question remains, are they doing enough to support the country as a whole in this area.
Proper management of the other four categories has been a challenge to our country for years. Particularly in Grand Turk, we have had our share of less then satisfactory services of garbage collection.
We now have large quantities of medical drugs, human and chemical waste being disposed of in the public dump. Some of these are intrinsically hazardous to our health. The potential health effects of both waste itself and the consequences of not managing it properly continues to plague us.
Human waste: In the bygone days, “out houses”, was the primary way to contain human waste. At least it was concentrated in one area with limited infiltration into our water waterways. The way it’s being disposed off now, its in close proximity of our ponds and waterways. It will have a negative impact to the surrounding natural resources, pollutes the environment and presents a serious human health hazard.
Most developed countries uses gravity to usher waste from homes and businesses to neighborhood lift stations, where it is stored and pumped into pressurized mains, which take the sewage to the treatment plant. This process helps to remove contaminants and produce treated wastewater that is safe enough for release into the environment. Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury. Therefore, Having a proper dump station is of paramount importance.
These concerns were addressed with Honorable Edwin Astwood, who advised that he shares some of the same sentiments. The Ministry further stated that a Tender is currently being put out for management of the dumpsites and they are requiring the most environmentally friendly option. One of the options could possibly eliminate the municipal waste at the sites, with no emissions into the atmosphere, which should also include recycling.
If this is of any consolation, time will tell. Nevertheless, we should not remain silent or complacent until it comes to fruition.
There’s an extreme need to have a comprehensive and holistic discussion on a way forward. We realize it’s a monumental task, but something has to be done as time is running out. I passionately embraced Mahatma Gandhi’s idea: “ We must be the Change we wish to see in the world” In this case, in our beloved Turks and Caicos Islands.
Respectfully submitted,
Ed Forbes ( Concerned citizen of GT)
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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