Connect with us

Uncategorized

TCI Governor Nigel Dakin Remarks at Nat’l Press Conference

Published

on

#TurksandCaicosIslands – FULL STATEMENT FROM SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 – Good afternoon Turks and Caicos. For those listening on the radio I’m speaking to you from the Premier’s Office and I am joined by the Premier and the Police Commissioner.

Our intention is, in our different ways, to update you on national security and it is my intention to talk to four capabilities: policing, counter-illegal immigration, the prison and the Regiment.

But at times of pandemic and its economic consequences it is impossible, as Governor, to talk to these capabilities without framing them in the wider national context of three overlapping challenges, challenges that if we are not careful can seem individually daunting and collectively over-whelming: they are the economy, health and crime. They can’t be separated in 2020; this year they are different parts of the same national story.

Globally the year 2020, and very probably 2021, are not going to be remembered fondly. We are all in a situation we have never been before and frankly never wish to be again. These aren’t the acute dark times after a hurricane, when we know recovery will come at pace, or the chronic times during a global recession but when tourists still come. It’s the ‘not knowing’ what the future will bring, because we have not been here before, that for many is so disheartening.

Some of you, I know, because you have told me, have found something positive to take from this period – I rejoice in your approach – but the vast majority have not. The changes we have all been through over the last six months: be it loss of liberty or employment; loss of community or loss of income have for many been profound.

Crucially however, for reasons I will elaborate on, what we have not seen – is the loss of the most important thing of all – the mass loss of life. We haven’t seen what has happened in Europe or the US. You did this, early on, by accepting a very tough lockdown while the Territory had chance to ready itself for what was always going to be an eventual curve.  We have just been experiencing that.

So the worst thing we can now lose collectively is ‘hope’. And so I want my overriding message today to be this. We are collectively in a far better position than you may believe. The pandemic has been accompanied by an ‘infodemic’. With many people staying at home we have all been able to engage relentlessly with social media to the point that speculation and unnecessary fear have become a currency that now needs careful correction.

What I do not want to give you is false hope, that would be unfair to the point of cruel but instead I do want to give you a realistic – steady – considered appraisal of where I believe we are and explain why.  In this intensely complicated environment, when countries of 10’s of millions or 100’s of millions – and with endless wealth – are seemingly struggling – we are in fact doing okay; in fact we are doing more than okay – we will come out of this.   

In terms of the position the Cabinet has taken we have, as a team – the elected and non-elected alike – sought to balance six priorities: we want to keep the country healthy, by which we mean a very low rate of hospital admissions from COVID, we want to keep our international borders open, we want to keep as far as we can the economy moving, we want to be open to tourism and we want you – the people – to be safe throughout. Beyond that we want to keep all the other functions of government running as far as we can, as normally as we can.

Keeping our balance on this tightrope of conflicting priorities is not straightforward, it would be easy to over-compensate on one and cause intense difficulty on the others. Keeping our balance is though necessary – and none of it can be done without your understanding and crucially your support – in helping us suppress the numbers to the point where we are not overwhelmed by serious illness or death brought on by COVID.    

Health:

So let us start with Health. We started this global crisis poorly prepared to face a pandemic. We are not a healthy population and our hospitals are normally working at full capacity at the best of normal times. Much of our tertiary care has to occur overseas and that requires easy travel. We held no significant stocks of personal protection equipment on the Islands. We had no national laboratory. As a small Territory we don’t carry a deep bench of health professionals. As a small state we are built to deal with the normal times not the extraordinary.

Yet – six months in – what is important to say, very clearly, is we do not have a health crisis. The actions you all took, under the initial emergency powers, allowed us to postpone the significant uptick we hda, until we were prepared.  The most significant advance was to generate our own testing capability – you have heard me say before what a remarkable achievement that was. We moved from zero tests, to 22 tests a day, to 88, with recent automation of some processes that gets us to 100. There are funds available to secure full automation that could take that number up to many hundreds a day.

We are, today, involved in a fierce global fight to secure not necessarily the equipment – we can get that – but the consumables that can support it. Members of the Ministry of Health and my Office are working daily to secure this automated upgrade. The ability to then – almost overnight – test many hundreds a day catapults us – because we have a small population – into a top-flight global testing power. All this from a standing start.

While testing has developed so too have our stocks of Personal Protection Equipment. The UK have donated over $1.3 million of PPE. That included, as but some examples, over 16,000 coveralls, 157,000 gloves, 20,000 gowns, 66,000 masks, 22,000 N95 masks, 22,000 visors, 12,000 tests kits. 20,000 swabs and 2 PCR machines. We have received more items of PPE from the UK than any other Overseas Territory.

Our hospital capacity has been, and is, increasing. It has yet to be stretched by COVID19 and much of that has to do with the restrictions you have followed. Thank you. Beyond that the Cuban doctors are here and will be extended. Further specialist beds, as a contingency, arrive from Cayman tomorrow.

And we are not doing this alone. On Sunday a medical team of four arrive from the UK to reinforce our hard pressed Health Team who have been working flat out for six months. That includes direct UK support to the Premier, the Permanent Secretary, Chief Medical Officer, Laboratory Manager and Epidemiologist. The UK is paying for this health deployment, as it paid in full for the previous military deployment, which will last into the next year. It should give our local team – who have been heroic, in that I don’t think they have had a day off in six months – the head-space to grow our local health capability in the way TCI needs.

The numbers looked scary two weeks ago. We kept seeing significant double-digit daily increases. This was significant enough for Cabinet to consider a complete lock-down of the country and closure of the borders.  We have not done that – it would have been to Cabinet’s mind an over-reaction. We opted instead for the restrictions you have been following, and the results of those measures are now starting to bite. There is always a lag – but daily numbers of new active cases are now coming down.  Holding our nerve seem to have paid off.

The following numbers are therefore important. In the two-week period from 18 to 31 August there were 237 new cases reported. Set against this, in the last two weeks (1 to 14 September) 112 cases were reported (down 125, or almost halved).  Then in looking in more detail over the last 14 days the numbers have moved as follows, starting on 1st September: 17, 22, 14, 7, 1, 0, 15, 14, 10, 3, 3, 2, 2 and, yesterday, again 2.  Within these some are asymptomatic and some of these asymptomatic cases will not be contagious, but instead registering dead virus still in their system. The point is the significant restrictions you are being asked to adhere to are working. Today feels very different from late August.

The new legislation that allows immediate ticketing should help strengthen this trend and be far more in play in the coming weeks. There is a joint enforcement unit between public health and the Police; the Commissioner will brief on hotline numbers and email addresses where you the public can help support enforcement at this crucial time.

The Economy:

This is the Premier’s area and so I intend to say little other than this. TCI entered this pandemic in an extraordinarily vulnerable position, given our tourism mono-crop, but about as well prepared financially as it could have been. We had strong reserves, next-to-no borrowing and BBB+ rating. The Finance Ministry – who are first class and one of the jewels of the TCI – have a reputation in the UK for excellence and probity. The Premier’s reputation in the UK for prudence is now a significant advantage in these testing times.

The Premier told the Territory in her last press statement that there will be a need to borrow, and there will. The figures will emerge but it’s obvious to me it will be to the tune of many $100 millions. No country will get through this period without doing so and, for example, UK borrowing is – on every measure – the highest it has ever been since recent records began and close to two Trillion Pounds Sterling- larger than the whole of the UK economy.  How TCI’s debt is used, and paid for, are of course the key questions.  

The Premier, Permanent Secretary Finance and myself have kept the UK informed over the last six months so there will be no surprises in London. As and when the Territory needs support the UK will backstop loans that are appropriate and properly financed. It’s at moments like this that the relationship with the UK moves into the strategic. This Island is not going to go bankrupt.

If we can wean ourselves off a total reliance on this single industry the fundamentals that make this Territory attractive, remain. Proximity to the US market, the US Dollar, a legal system that in the end terminates in the Privy Council in London, a reputation built since the Interim administration for good governance, English speaking, and with an environment of sun, sea and sand that are beyond enviable. We could not and cannot change the weather on tourists willingness to travel but our second largest industry – construction – is delivering and helping keep money moving through the economy.  The wake-up call that we didn’t need – but surely now can’t ignore – is that we cannot go forward as a one-trick economy.

Crime:

I said when I last spoke, that serious crime remains a stubborn fact. I don’t intend to repeat what I said then. Increasingly the victims of violent crime are young men, running with the wrong group, settling scores that in my youth would have been settled with fists not weapons. Having been here a year I am probably the person least qualified in the room, or in your workplace or your home, to describe why we have got to where we are.

The point is we are here – and what I can promise you is that there is now no quick fix to a long cooked problem. The most draconian of measures would only suppress, for a limited period, not resolve the underlying issues. If we wanted a society where keys could be left in cars, and where home security wasn’t a consideration, then we had to, and we will have to, plan and build that into the society we create. Amongst many factors this has much to do with inclusion, mental health provision, education, decent opportunities for all and all having a long-term stake in society.

A largely unplanned six times growth in population, in forty years, and a projected 10 times increase in population growth in sixty years, accompanied by limited assimilation, wild disparity in wealth and the poor prospects for some young people, is a combustible mix. But you can all describe this better than I – so let me turn to an area I am directly responsible for: the Police:

Police:

It is important for you to know that under the Force Executive’s leadership, with proactive support from the UK, and crucially with the full support of TCI’s Government, policing is going through a quiet but determined revolution.  Indeed, of all areas of the public service – and quite possibly the private – no organisation is now changing as fast, with as much purpose or indeed with as much ambition. 

I occasionally see calls for the Commissioner to resign or be removed.  I’m afraid, I won’t let him resign, even should he wish. He not only has my full confidence I genuinely admire the no-nonsense, understated but fundamental changes he is bringing to the Police Force. He won’t be leaving before I leave, and I’m in no rush to go because there is much work first to be delivered.

I want to lay out, therefore, in some detail what those changes are and why I am confident.

First, at the very top there is a strong team ethos between myself, the Premier and the Commissioner. As three, we work as one.

That translates to the leadership of the Force. The top team of the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner Adams, Assistant Commissioner’s Grant and Williams now deliver together, as one team, working off each other’s strengths and experience.  The Police are, as a result, well led and the Force Leadership is regularly out on the front line.  Importantly, when corruption or poor professional standards are found, they are being dealt with.

The police increased by 27 officers in the last 12 months. No shortcuts taken. All Turks Islanders, they trained for six months in the Bahamas and Barbados and we are impressed with the result. That, plus a further 20 who will be recruited this year, give the police, for the first time, the ability to roll out Community Policing. A trial in Blue Hills has already begun.

The Tactical Unit go from strength-to-strength. It’s they who are executing warrants at night, going through doors, removing weapons from armed men. Through experience they are becoming a ‘national elite’. Next month they are joined by armed officers from the UK Police’s Firearms cadre – partly funded by the UK, partly funded by TCIG – who bring a full range of skills including the ability to go up against the hardest targets engaged in the most violent of offences. These UK Tactical Firearms Officers will be with us for a year while they are backfilled from our Force and the region. The UK is also sending firearms training officers to help upskill the overall Force.

Two UK Superintendents have either arrived or about to. They, along with the recently promoted Willet Harvey (responsible for the Sri Lankan investigation) will form the crucial mid-level leadership in the Force – the UK officers bring much homicide experience with them and unlike the past won’t just deliver, they will mentor. They are backed up by other UK support the Commissioner can describe.

There are though some very significant capabilities the Police lack here and in the third decade of the 21st Century we have to fill this void. Being frank, these should have been developed long before now – my predecessors and past Commissioners can take responsibility for this – not local politicians  – and Policing would have been making a far greater impact against serous crime had they been.

First, there was been no proper witness protection scheme in TCI. Legislation that has now passed through the House puts this on a statutory footing. Going forward we look to the DPP and Police to develop a first class scheme that provides our citizens, who want to do the right thing, with the protection they deserve.

Second, we have no serious forensic science capability on the Island. The national laboratory that has just been established with UK support starts to offer us the opportunity to build this capability; that will help speed and secure justice. A member of the National Security Secretariat is taking forward this work between the Justice stake-holders, UK experts and Ministry of Health.

Third, this Territory stands almost alone in the world – and is certainly an anomaly compared to other Caribbean OT’s – and most independent Caribbean States – in not providing law enforcement with the ability to benefit from what is known as ‘Legal Intercept’; the ability to capture not just voice but also the type of data that modern telephony provides in terms of uncovering criminal networks or enterprises. This is a capability they cannot be without and the technical and legislative work – with proper democratic protections through warrantry – has to now move forward at pace. We have this Administrations, and the UK’s support, to take this forward – and we must.

Fourth, there is a naïve belief that the police can be in the right place at the right time to prevent a crime occurring. There may be times when this does occur through good fortune or excellent intelligence. Both do happen. But attempting to industrialise this process – catch a criminal just before the crime is committed – is essentially the approach taken to counter-terrorism policing and it requires the type of extraordinary resources (including a world class Intelligence and security apparatus) that this Island will never be able to afford.

But beyond the Police there is a huge cohort of those involved in deterring crime – the security industry – and there is I believe much more that can be done in professionalising this industry, regulating it, and, as is the case in the UK, building serious partnership between it and the police. Exploratory work has started, again being developed out of the National Security Secretariat to do just that. If we get this synergy right we will have a significantly expanded group of well-trained individuals, to an internationally recognised standard, working to the same ends – the increased security of our communities.

Finally investing in Policing, alone, is barely a crime reduction strategy. I said in one of my very first press conferences that if you are talking about crime, and you are talking about the police, you have reached the very end of the conversation that you first needed to have. The Permanent Secretary National Security has now taken direction from the Premier to do just this – help build a crime reduction strategy that is cross-Government and in partnership with society. It builds out of the success in Bermuda and Glasgow, it’s complex, but it is probably the most singularly important piece of work that Government is presently engaged on and I’m heartened to see the way the intelligent conversation has developed over the last year with, I think, a real understanding that what we face today could have been foreseen or prevented had different approaches been taken in the past.  We now need to collectively write our own future.

Counter Illegal Migration

We are now getting serious traction against this decade’s long problem. Hard work and teamwork, locally but internationally is paying off. It’s now a very long time since a large sloop got past our collective defences and deposited hundreds on our beaches. At another level, since I last spoke to you, we have extradited a world class criminal wanted – globally – for people smuggling who evaded many jurisdictions but didn’t get past ours.

Beyond the large slow sloops we are increasingly able to intercept smaller faster boats. This is before two further radar sites become operational that properly lock down Providenciales, it is before the Regiment becomes operational who can support the Maritime Police operations on sea and land delivering over-watch to our most vulnerable approaches and beaches and before new Treaties and MoU’s, that bind us ever closer to our allies – the Bahamas and the US Coastguard – come into force.

Following the deployment of the Royal Marines and the UK’s Wildcat helicopter there are further plans to make our command and control arrangements, already good, ever tighter and scoping work has started – led by the Police Commissioner – to procure a sustainable and persistent aerial platform that can see over the horizon.  Neither the US, the UK, nor TCI can prevent – in the medium term – the push factors out of Haiti but we can far better deal with the pull factors. A shift in detection and enforcement here is now due against those who employ illegal immigrants or who facilitate their travel. 

The Prison.

Having recently visited the prison and prisoners and I can report it is far calmer since we have deployed Police Officers temporarily there. Even the prisoners I spoke to recognised that this was a necessary if regrettable short term measure. Twelve Prison Officers from the UK – that TCIG are paying for – will arrive in early October to relieve them. The UK is paying for a trainer to build up our present prison officers who we have under-invested in; he arrives this Thursday. A second trainer, who will be with us on a two year contract – arrives on 27th September. A new Prison Superintendent – who comes having run Prisons in Northern Ireland, who also has a military background, who chaired the UK Prison response to COVID19 and who has a strong reputation around rehabilitation follows shortly thereafter.

This week a $2 million project, paid for by the UK, to complete internal fencing and lighting projects at the Prison was completed. A project to jam mobile phones while allowing prisoners proper regulated access to telephony is nearing completion. Despite these immediate investments the Premier is entirely correct when she says that a new Prison is now long overdue. The present prison can neither hold violent offenders securely nor can it offer any hope of serious rehabilitation.  As we build our Police Force’s effectiveness, as we make the justice sector more efficient, we also have to invest in the Prison; those we hold there in the end become our neighbours.

The Regiment.

We have taken our first steps towards a Regiment that can protect our borders and respond to natural disaster. To support Colonel Ennis Grant three potential officers have been selected to train at Sandhurst. All three are Turks Islanders. I’m delighted to announce that Officer Cadets Adrian Parker and Francis Glinton left TCI last week and are now at the Royal Military Academy, in quarantine, awaiting the start of their course in late September. Officer Cadet Dixie Smith will attend Sandhurst next year along with a fourth potential officer we have yet to select.

The full time Regimental Sergeant Major will be Colin Da Silva and the Chief Clerk, Colour Sergeant Joel Richards. They will assume their appointment on 1 October. Major John Galleymore – who brings with him UK military experience – is the first reservist we have appointed he and will become Colonel Grant’s Second in Command. He brings much welcome UK Special Force experience with him.

Advertisements to allow the recruitment of the Marines, who will form the teeth of this Regiment, will follow shortly. We look for reserve recruits from all walks of society and want to assemble the very best the country has to offer in terms of a balance between experience and youth. There will be a proper selection course where fitness, resilience and initiative will be prized. This is a Regiment that will operate and be built on small teams of four, so there is great scope for leadership potential to be harnessed and developed. It will be operational before next year’s hurricane season. 

Conclusion:

I started by saying I didn’t wish to offer false hope; instead I want to offer realistic perspective. No question, we along with the rest of the world face today, a set of challenges we were not prepared for in February.

But TCI, we are not doing so bad: we remain healthy at time of pandemic. The restrictions on our liberty are not pleasant, for some they are hurting, but we have managed to balance off getting a grip on the numbers while keeping our borders open and much (not all) of our local economy functioning.

The fragility of our economic model has been utterly exposed – but we had reserves to cushion us and so long as debt is sensibly sourced we have the UK to backstop us. Personal financial hardship is properly hurting but the Territory itself will not go bankrupt and the fundamentals that allowed us to prosper in the past remain true today.

Serious crime is our present curse. It is true to say that the measures that will stop it should have been introduced probably up to a decade ago; it also true to say that the causes also developed in the same time period and have to be addressed not just by the Police but by us all. But the plan, the leadership, the support from the UK and the changes necessary in Policing are now in train and are not going to be stopped. 

The curse of illegal immigration that has dominated this Islands narrative for decades is now – in so far as it comes at us from the sea – under control and given investments can only improve. The next steps require far stricter controls on land to match the maritime effort. But that will happen because it must.

The Prison, long a disgrace, is stabilising and there has to be a future of rehabilitation developed – in a new, high security, purpose built facility – because the alternative of keeping men in de-humanising conditions and expecting them to integrate in society on their release isn’t going to work.

I’ll end on the Regiment. Its cap-badge, presently being prepared for Her Majesty the Queen’s approval, contains imagery that describes the Regiments future operational role: Tridents – the weapon of the Retiaries Gladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of fishermen, lightly armoured but properly deadly – and those Tridents are set against the Phoenix – a mythical bird that emerges from destruction, representing the Regiments future role in recovery from natural disaster. 

The fact that this Regiment was formed in 2020 will I think be long remembered. At times of national adversity it is a statement of future ambition and present resolve. The Phoenix, coming to life out of what appears terrible circumstances, a coincidental but nonetheless serious statement of this Territories resilience today and our ambition for tomorrow. These two characteristics, resilience and ambition, forge us together as one people. I couldn’t ask for anything more, just now. 

As a result there are presently no group of people I would rather be serving and no time I would rather be engaged, with you, in this shared endeavour, than now. I’m not just hopeful we will come through this, I’m confident we will come out of this pandemic – in the end – stronger.

So my God bless these Turks and Caicos Islands; let us stay united and safe as we walk confidently into a future we were not expecting, but can chose to forge together.

Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.

Uncategorized

TCI Imports Shift Dramatically – Panama Emerges as Back Door for Chinese Goods as TCI Imports Shift Dramatically

Published

on

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

 

Turks and Caicos, September 6, 2025 – Turks and Caicos Islands’ import bill is telling a story far bigger than dollars and cents. The Statistics Authority’s half-year trade bulletin shows Panama exploding onto the scene as a major supplier, with shipments rising nearly 600 percent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

On paper, it looks like TCI has suddenly fallen in love with Panamanian goods. In reality, it’s a snapshot of how the islands are being swept into the currents of global geopolitics.

Panama’s 582% Surge

Between January and June, imports from Panama leapt from just $166,000 in 2024 to $1.13 million this year — an eye-watering 582% increase. But Panama isn’t a new manufacturing powerhouse; it’s a logistics hub. Its Colón Free Trade Zone, one of the largest in the world, specializes in re-exporting Chinese and Latin American goods across the Caribbean.

For Turks and Caicos, that means everything from Hisense televisions and Lenovo laptops to Haier refrigerators is increasingly being routed through Panama instead of Miami or Nassau. Importers are finding cheaper prices, better bulk deals, and fewer tariff headaches as global trade tensions drive up U.S.–China costs.

“The trade war between Washington and Beijing looks remote from Grand Turk or Providenciales,” one local trader told Magnetic Media, “but it shows up right here on our docks. We’re buying the same Chinese products — they just happen to arrive with Panamanian paperwork.”

Italy’s Luxury Touch

While Panama grabbed the headlines with percentages, Italy’s exports to TCI also nearly tripled, climbing from $281,000 to $967,000 (+244%). The bulletin does not identify specific goods, but Italian exports globally are known for furniture, tiles, fashion, and leather products.

Poland’s Quiet Rise

Another surprise name in the trade tables is Poland, which saw exports to TCI almost double, from $3.86 million to $7.18 million (+86%). Poland is among the world’s leading furniture exporters, and its rise in TCI’s statistics underscores how European suppliers are increasingly part of the islands’ import mix.

South Caicos on the Move

The report also points to South Caicos as a key growth point. Imports through the South Caicos Customs Main Office jumped from $384,000 to $2.93 million (+663%), while the South Caicos Harbour Master nearly doubled from $3.6 million to $6.9 million (+94%). Officials link the surge to the island’s new Norman B. Saunders Sr. International Airport and the opening of the Salterra Resort & Spa, signaling how major developments can reshape local trade flows.

The U.S. Still Dominates — Especially Food                                                                                                                                                                            For all the shifts, one fact remains unchanged: the United States is TCI’s biggest supplier, accounting for $443.5 million in imports in the first half of 2025, up 19 percent from the year before. A large chunk of that increase came from food and live animals, which rose 18 percent overall to $103.9 million.

Supermarkets and resorts are stocked with familiar American staples — from Kraft Heinz ketchup and PepsiCo beverages to Tyson Foods’ frozen meats. As the population grows and the tourism sector drives up demand, the U.S. remains the breadbasket and supermarket for the islands.

A Changing Trade Map

Add it all together and the picture is striking. The Turks and Caicos Islands imported $479.5 million worth of goods in the first six months of 2025, up 14.7 percent year-on-year. But behind the topline growth is a reshaped trade map:

  • Panama’s re-exports stand in for Chinese goods once routed through the U.S.
  • Italy and Poland supply higher-end goods, likely for the growing tourism and construction sectors.
  • South Caicos is now a visible player in national trade flows.

For a small economy, these aren’t just accounting quirks — they’re signals of how global forces, local projects, and shifting supply chains intersect. A trade war between giants half a world away is rewriting who stamps the paperwork on the islands’ televisions, sofas, and ketchup bottles.

And as South Caicos’ surge proves, a single development project can swing millions of dollars in international trade.

FYI — The Numbers at a Glance

  • Total imports (Jan–Jun 2025): $479.5M (+14.7%)
  • Panama: $1.13M (+582%)
  • Italy: $967K (+244%)
  • Poland: $7.18M (+86%)
  • U.S.: $443.5M (+19%)

For Turks and Caicos, the trade bulletin isn’t just about numbers. It’s about where the islands fit in a world of shifting power, supply chains, and resort-driven transformation. And for 2025, Panama, Italy, Poland — and South Caicos — are the names to watch.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Strengthening Maritime Standards: 59 Certified in STCW through Groundbreaking TCICC, Department of Maritime and Shipping and LJM Academy Partnership

Published

on

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Wednesday, 27 August 2025:  In a significant step toward strengthening maritime safety and professional standards in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Department of Maritime Affairs (Ministry of Tourism), in partnership with the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College (TCICC) TVET Department and the LJM Maritime Academy – Nassau, Bahamas, successfully delivered the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) training to fifty-nine (59) mariners.

Of this number, forty-nine (49) participants received their first certification, while ten (10) completed re-certification, ensuring that the TCI continues to expand its pool of trained and globally recognised maritime professionals.

The Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, Honourable Rachel Taylor, commended the initiative while congratulating the participants, noting: The Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, Honourable Rachel Taylor, commended the initiative while congratulating the participants, noting:

Personal Survival Techniques Training

“Today we celebrate not only the certification of fifty-nine men and women, but also the strengthening of our nation’s human capital. This milestone affirms that our investment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is yielding results, creating real opportunities for our people in high-demand global industries. STCW certification ensures that Turks and Caicos Islanders are not only employable, but also competitive on the world stage, equipped with skills that meet the highest international maritime standards. I am particularly proud that this training was delivered here at home, reducing barriers to access and affirming our commitment to expanding local capacity in alignment with the Blue Economy. To our graduates, I charge you to use this certification as a launchpad whether in tourism, fisheries, environmental management, or private enterprise and to represent the Turks and Caicos Islands with professionalism, discipline, and excellence.”

This training represents the Government’s continued commitment to aligning with global maritime conventions and advancing the Turks and Caicos Islands’ Blue Economy through the development of skilled local capacity. Participants represented a wide cross-section of both public and private entities, including the Turks and Caicos Ports Authority, Department of Maritime and Shipping, Marine Police Branch, Amanyara Resort, Beaches Resort, Southbank, Department of Environmental and Coastal Resources, Department of Fisheries and Marine Resource Management, and several private charter companies.

Honourable Zhavargo Jolly, Minister of Tourism, Agriculture, Fisheries, Heritage and the Environment, echoed Minister Taylor’s sentiments, adding: “This milestone speaks to the direction we are taking as a country. By equipping our people with internationally recognised STCW certification, we are strengthening maritime safety standards, while more importantly opening doors for Turks and Caicos Islanders to take their place in the global maritime economy. Whether starting their own marine based businesses or serving on private yachts within our own ports, this training ensures our people are prepared, competitive, and respected at the highest levels.

I want to commend the Department of Maritime and Shipping, the TCICC team, and our partners at the LJM Maritime Academy for making this opportunity possible here at home. Most importantly, I congratulate the 59 mariners who have completed this training. You are pioneers of the new blue economy we are building, and your success sends a powerful signal: Turks and Caicos Islanders are ready to lead, not only locally but internationally.”

Through this specialised programme, participants gained critical instruction in the following core areas of STCW Basic Training:

  • Personal Survival Techniques (PST) – STCW Code A-VI/1-1
  • Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (FPFF) – STCW Code A-VI/1-2
  • Elementary First Aid (EFA) – STCW Code A-VI/1-3
  • Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (PSSR) – STCW Code A-VI/1-4
  • Proficiency in Security Awareness

Established by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the STCW Convention sets global benchmarks for the training and certification of seafarers. It ensures that all personnel working on ships are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to operate safely, respond effectively to emergencies, and carry out their duties in accordance with international maritime standards.

In this context, the initiative aligns directly with the Turks and Caicos Islands’ national maritime development strategy, supporting the growth of a robust and compliant maritime industry, expanding employment opportunities for local seafarers, and enhancing the country’s reputation as a responsible, safety-conscious jurisdiction.

The training was conducted at the TCICC Campus from Tuesday, 19 August to Saturday, 23 August 2025, under the leadership of the LJM Maritime Academy, Nassau, Bahamas, with instruction provided by Captain Clayton Delaney and Mr. Kermit Turnquest (Chief Petty Officer, Royal Bahamas Defense Force).

Chairman of the Board of Governors of TCICC, Mrs. Sheba Wilson, commended the team for the successful execution of the course, stating, “The inaugural STCW training exemplifies TCICC’s unwavering commitment to aligning education with the needs of our nation. By certifying 59 participants, we are not only strengthening workforce readiness but also empowering our people to uphold the standard of excellence that continues to define the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier tourism destination.”

In remarks delivered on her behalf, Dr. Candice Williams, President of TCICC, highlighted the broader significance of this milestone:

You join a growing network of skilled professionals ready to elevate maritime standards, drive responsible operations, and lead with integrity on every horizon, shore and sea. This certification opens doors to diverse, high-impact roles and sets a powerful example for others to follow.

The TCICC President also issued a charge to participants, “As you celebrate this milestone, seize every chance to deepen your skills, pursue additional credentials, and contribute to a thriving and sustainable blue economy. The Turks and Caicos Islands Community College is committed to supporting your journey every mile along your blue-economy journey.”

The Department of Maritime and Shipping and the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College (TCICC) expressed satisfaction with the training’s outcome, proudly noting a 100% pass rate among participants. This achievement reinforces confidence that the newly certified mariners will continue to represent the Turks and Caicos Islands with distinction, professionalism, and the highest maritime standards. The STCW certification initiative signals a new era for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the Islands, creating pathways for young people and professionals to gain globally recognised skills without leaving the country.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

PM Davis: The digital revolution lays bare the deep disparities between what is possible and what is currently real for too many of the region’s citizens

Published

on

By Eric Rose
Bahamas Information Services

 

NASSAU, The Bahamas – During his Official Address at the Opening Ceremony of the 40th Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations (CANTO) Conference and Trade Exhibition, on July 13, 2025, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis noted that, while the digital revolution promised so much, it also laid bare “the deep disparities between what is possible and what is currently real for too many of our citizens”.

“Across the Caribbean, there are still children who cannot access reliable internet to complete a school assignment,” Prime Minister Davis said at the event held at Baha Mar Convention Centre.  “There are small businesses shut out of global markets because the infrastructure simply doesn’t exist. There are civil servants expected to deliver 21st-century services with 20th-century tools.”

“And if we are being honest with ourselves – if we are truly committed to the people we serve – we must admit that while the world is building faster, smarter, and more connected systems, we are still moving too slowly, too unevenly, too cautiously,” he added.

Among those present included Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper and other Cabinet Ministers; Prime Minister of Grenada the Hon. Dickon Mitchell and other regional senior Government officials; Secretary General of ITU Mrs. Doreen Bogdan-Martin; Commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr; CANTO Chairman Dr. Delreo Newman; CANTO Secretary General Teresa Wankin; Chief Executive Officer Liberty Caribbean Inge Smidts and other representatives of event sponsors; US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Kimberly Furnish and other members of the Diplomatic Corps; CANTO Board Member and Bahamian John Gomez; and various local and international stakeholders.

According to the organization, CANTO is a non-profit association made up of operators, organizations, companies and individuals in the ICT (telecommunications) sector.  The Association has a Caribbean focus as it relates to ICT issues for the region with a global perspective.

Prime Minister Davis pointed out to those in attendance that they were living through one of the most “profound shifts in human history”.

He said:  “Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain – these are not distant possibilities.  They are shaping global markets now, influencing public life now, redefining power now.  And yet, at the same time, many of our nations are still grappling with the basics: ensuring rural communities have access to broadband, that schools have devices, and that citizens can interact with their governments without having to take a day off work.

Prime Minister Davis added:  “This is not just a matter of development – it is a matter of, in my view, justice.  Because when access to digita systems determines access to opportunity, exclusion is no longer just economic.  It becomes structural.  It becomes generational.  It becomes a quiet, creeping injustice – robbing people of the right to fully participate in modern life.”

He pointed out that it was not a story of defeat.                                                                                                                                “There is another side to this story, a story of what is possible when political will meets practical action,” Prime Minister Davis stated.

He noted that The Bahamas had proven that leadership in the digital space did not depend on size, but on vision and courage.

Prime Minister Davis said:  “We became the first nation in the world to launch a central bank digital currency, the Sand Dollar, not as a symbolic gesture, but as a practical solution to a real problem: how do we ensure that people across a scattered archipelago of 700 islands can access safe, efficient, and modern financial services?

“We followed that bold move with the passage of the DARE Act – one of the world’s earliest and clearest attempts to regulate the digital asset space responsibly,” he added.  “In doing so, we rejected the view that small states must wait on global consensus before acting.

“We proved that we can lead on our own terms, for our own people.  This is what effective digital policy looks like: action rooted in equity, grounded in law, and aimed at building real opportunity.”

However, he said, isolated success was not enough.

“Because if some countries lead while others lag, we do not become a region of progress – we become a region divided,” Prime Minister Davis said.  “And in a world as interconnected as ours, no nation can afford to advance alone.”

He added:  “We are therefore called, not just to lead individually, but to act collectively; to build systems that are interoperable, secure, and inclusive; to invest not only in platforms, but in people — in the teachers who will train the coders, in the regulators who will govern the platforms, and in the young people whose ideas will power the next wave of innovation.”

He pointed out that all must also be clear-eyed about the dangers.

“We must also be clear: this is not simply about platforms or data storage – it is about security, sovereignty, and stability,” Prime Minister Davis stated.

He added:  “Cybercrime is not a future threat. It is a present one. Misinformation, data exploitation, and digital surveillance are eroding trust and weakening democratic institutions.  Our electoral systems are vulnerable.  Our public databases are exposed. Our citizens are being targeted – not with bombs or bullets – but with falsehoods, with manipulation, with breaches of privacy that go unseen but cut deep.  This is the nature of modern conflict – quiet, digital, and relentless.

“And if we do not build the legal, institutional, and technical frameworks to confront these threats now, then we will lose control of the very systems we depend on to function as sovereign nations.”

Digital colonization was not just about who owned the infrastructure, Prime Minister Davis pointed out.

“It is about who decides what is true, who has access to power, who profits from our participation, and who shapes the rules of this century’s economy,” he said.

“And if we do not secure our digital future, someone else will define it for us,” Prime Minister Davis added.  “So the question before us is not whether the world is changing. It is whether we are willing to change with it – and whether we are prepared to do so with the urgency, seriousness, and moral clarity this moment demands.”

He continued:  “We must act not simply because the technology exists, but because justice requires it; because no child should be left behind due to a lack of signal; no business should be locked out of opportunity because of where it is located; and no country, no matter how small, should be told that it cannot shape its own digital destiny.

“This is the time for resolve; for responsibility; and, above all, for leadership rooted in service to the people we are elected to serve.”

Prime Minister Davis pointed out that countries can choose to be a region that is ahead, or “we can continue, year after year, to fall behind”.

“There is no middle ground,” he stated.  “The pace of global change is too fast. The stakes are too high.  The costs of inaction are no longer theoretical.  They are visible, measurable, and already being borne by the most vulnerable in our societies.”

“To be ahead means investing – seriously – in our digital infrastructure, in training teachers not just to teach literacy and numeracy, but to prepare students for the economies of tomorrow,” Prime Minister Davis noted.  “To be ahead means ensuring our young people have access not just to devices, but to the education, mentorship, and capital needed to become creators – not just consumers – in the digital world.

“To be ahead means building regional resilience – not as a talking point, but as a common framework for cybersecurity, data protection, and cloud infrastructure that secures our sovereignty in a world where power is shifting from the physical to the digital.”

He stated that to be ahead also meant having the courage to confront the uncomfortable.

Prime Minister Davis asked:  “Why are some of our best minds still forced to leave the region to find opportunity?  Why are Caribbean innovators still struggling to access funding when the world is awash in capital for digital transformation?  Why do we spend more time adopting external platforms than building our own?”

He told those in attendance that if they all wanted to lead, they all cannot simply copy models from abroad.

Prime Minister Davis said:  “We must build systems that reflect our values, our realities, and our aspirations.  We must stop asking: ‘Is the Caribbean ready?’ and instead ask: ‘What is required of us to lead?’.”

He stated that readiness was not a matter of capacity – it was a matter of will.

“There are small nations around the world, with fewer resources than ours, that have chosen to be laboratories for innovation, because they understood that leadership is not about size, it’s about seriousness,” Prime Minister Davis noted.

“We can be among them,” he added.  “We must be among them.”

Prime Minister Davis said that the alternative of  “drifting further into digital dependence, watching our economic margins erode, our young talent disengage, our public services falter  was not just unacceptable, it was avoidable.”

“But only if we act now, and act together,” he stated.  “Let this not be another moment where we admire the challenge but shrink from the responsibility.”

“Let this be the moment we say: the Caribbean will lead – not by default, but by design; not because we had more, but because we chose to do more with what we had,” he added.

 PHOTO CAPTION

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis speaks, during his Official Address at the Opening Ceremony of the 40th Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations (CANTO) Conference and Trade Exhibition, on July 13, 2025, at Baha Mar Convention Centre.  Among those present included Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. I. Chester Cooper and other Cabinet Ministers; Prime Minister of Grenada the Hon. Dickon Mitchell and other regional senior Government officials; Secretary General of ITU Mrs. Doreen Bogdan-Martin; Commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr; CANTO Chairman Dr. Delreo Newman; CANTO Secretary General Teresa Wankin; Chief Executive Officer Liberty Caribbean Inge Smidts and other representatives of event sponsors; US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Kimberly Furnish and other members of the Diplomatic Corps; CANTO Board Member and Bahamian John Gomez; and various local and international stakeholders.     (BIS Photos/Eric Rose)

Continue Reading

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

TRENDING