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Grand Turk murder suspicion case lacks evidence; reason for Swann’s bail says attorney

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#TurksandCaicosIslands – September 1, 2020 – Turks and Caicos Islands Police arrested and named two men in a murder investigation which stunned residents of Grand Turk and shocked the nation.

Days later, those men were given police bail and set free.

It was a double murder; two men gunned down within minutes of each other in Grand Turk.  It was a set of ‘hits’ frighteningly well planned and seemingly with little to no physical evidence left behind about who could have executed such a heinous crime.

Police, the day following the double killing informed that arrested on suspicion were: 

“31-year-old Dominic Swann was arrested on Grand Turk for Murder in connection to the shooting of the 23-year-old man in the Over Back District around 11:00 p.m.

25-year-old Ellington Been was arrested on Providenciales for Murder in connection to the shooting of the 37-year-old man and the wounding of the 44-year-old man at a bar off Church Folly on Grand Turk around 11:27 p.m.”

One suspect in the case, Dominic Swann has hired attorney Lara Maroof as his representation and on Friday, August 28, Maroof issued this statement:

“At around 9am on Monday 24th August 2020, Dominic Swann was asked by the police to attend at the Grand Turk police station. He willingly attended and was then arrested on suspicion of murder of Deon Emmanuel which occurred late on Sunday 23rd August. Mr Swann was subsequently detained at the station until Wednesday 26th August 2020. He was not charged with any offences as there was no evidence upon which to charge him. Neither did the police apply to keep him in extended detention at the station. The police granted Mr Swann bail whilst they continue to investigate the murder. This was in accordance with the normal police procedure whilst an investigation is being carried out and Mr Swann received no special treatment.”

It was the day before, Thursday August 27 that the Royal TCI Police delivered the concerning news that both men held on suspicion were released on bail.

Dominic Swann was released in Grand Turk on $20,000 bail, and must return to the police station on that island, said a Police press release.

Ellington Been also received bail in the amount of $20,000 and is requested to report back to the Chalk Sound Police station.

In his statement, Dominic Swann denied having any involvement in this horrific crime and says he is “an innocent man. We sincerely hope that a thorough investigation will be carried out by the police into this serious crime which will confirm his innocence. We hope that this clarifies the current position with regard to this matter for the public.”

Police have asked for public assistance in solving the murders which took place on Sunday August 23, 2020; killed were Deon Emmanuel, 23 and Howard Freites Junior, 37. A third man was shot in the incident and last listed in stable condition at the Cockburn Town Medical Centre.

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Caribbean News

Millions to come from FSC 

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Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

 

 

#TurksandCaicos, March 17, 2023 – Revenue from the Turks and Caicos’ Financial Services Sector will more than double in the next few years, if E Jay Saunders, Deputy Premier and Finance Minister gets his way.  It ‘s one of the reasons the country is investing so much capital into getting off of the EU blacklist and becoming a secure trustworthy financial destination. 

“The FSC’s revenues for 2020/21 was $10.5M— the figures for 2021/22, would be about similar,” he said.  He further explained that $10.5 million from the FSC represented about 2.6 percent of the country’s 408.5-million-dollar revenue.  Though it increased to $14 million in the 2021/22 financial year, finance is still a small fry compared to tourism or even stamp duties but that will change, says Saunders. 

“My revenue goal for the Government by the year 2029 [or] the election after the next election – is $500M.  By that time, I want the financial sector (FSC) revenues to represent at least 5% ($25M).  So that’s my goal for the financial sector by 2029.” 

This goal, should it be met, would increase the Government’s revenue by 100 million dollars, a significant increase in spending power for local upgrades and improvements for Turks and Caicos residents and visitors. 

Saunders says it’s time for the TCI to diversify its sources of revenue to make sure that what happened in the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw residents out of a job for months, will not happen again.  Tourism now makes up around 80 percent of the country’s GDP.  The Minister of Finance wants to push that down to 60 or even 50 percent.  

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Caribbean News

New ASHLEY’S LEARNING CENTRE CONCERT

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Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer

 

 

#TurksandCaicos, March 17, 2023 – Musicians from the New World Symphony will be in the Turks and Caicos in concert next month and residents are invited to attend in support of the future of Ashley’s Learning Center.

A fairly young orchestral academy based in Miami, the New World Symphony was launched in the 1980s by 1987, Michael Tilson Thomas and Ted Arison,Carnival Cruises founder.  From the 1500 applicants who vie for a spot each year, the symphony accepts around 35 music graduates annually for training fellowships. 

A select few of those graduates will be in country on April 8th headlining at the Ashley’s Learning Center concert ‘We’re all in this together’.  The concert which also feature local artistes will be held at Brayton Hall on Venetian Road from 6 pm to 8:30 pm

Tickets are available ON ISLEHELP  $75 PER GENERAL SEAT $125 PER PREMIUM SEAT $195 PER GALLERY SEAT – with /FREFRESHMENTS. 

For TICKET RESERVATIONs you can call: 649-341-2304 or email  EVENTS@ASHLEYSLEARNINGCENTER.ORG 

 

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Caribbean News

Women’s Health Connectivity and health a study for TCI’S benefit

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Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

 

 

#TurksandCaicos, March 17, 2023 – As the country moves toward new fiber optic connectivity, bridging the digital divide could be a game changer for healthcare and other family-friendly services in the TCI. 

The power of universal digital connectivity across countries was one of the recurring themes when the United Nations in partnership with the Network of Afro Caribbean Women and the Diaspora recently explored how technology, innovation and education are being used to address women’s health issues. 

The session aimed to highlight success stories and  explore how those processes can be replicated to help women and girls globally including in The Turks and Caicos.  

The UN explained that despite holding a 70 percent majority in healthcare jobs, women are poorly represented in leadership roles and subject to systemic gender inequalities that can make receiving healthcare challenging.

As delegates from Chile and Rwanda, who were also partners in the session, shared the upgrades to their countries’ systems that had significantly improved the level of care available to their women, digital connectivity was a deciding factor.

In Rwanda the health ministries have begun to use drones to deliver medicine, SMS messages to alert about health threats and a completely digitized health care that eliminates paper documents for pregnant women and makes records accessible to any doctor,  immediately. 

Rwandan delegate, Rose Rwabuhihi shared tips that countries should keep in mind when trying to implement new processes to benefit women and the wider community.

  • Partnership and sustainability are key factors to successful programs. She urged governments not to give up on projects or allow their partners to give up on them halfway.
  • Education campaigns to introduce residents to the technology: “We need to build skills and deepen the knowledge so they can use the innovations that have been put in place especially in rural areas.

Poor connectivity and technological issues have plagued the TCI for years especially in the islands outside of Providenciales.  Government has substantially acknowledged this disparity in communications services and is investing in a new undersea cable to augment services in the Turks and Caicos.

The UNs perspectives can now ignite a fire for even more family friendly, digital services.

In fact,Senator Yasna Provoste Campillay, the Chilean Delegate explained how connectivity and videoconferencing had been used to reach the county’s women in the most rural of areas. Chile is a long country, its landmass spread lengthwise creating unique communication challenges. While healthcare in Chile is separated by length the Turks and Caicos islands are disconnected by the ocean and solutions that prove useful for the South American country could well be worth implementing  locally. 

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