News
TCI Cabinet Meeting with new Covid-19 Testing & Vaccine rules and benefits
(CORRECTED VERSION) – His Excellency the Governor, Nigel Dakin, chaired the 5th meeting of Cabinet on Wednesday 24 March 2021 at the Office of the Premier on Grand Turk.
All members were present.
At this meeting Cabinet:
· Was given an update by the Ministry of Health on:
a) The measures being taken to address and mitigate against the threat of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) to the country, including the need to test for multiple variants, and
b) The instillation of Oxygen Generators at the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre and the Cockburn Town Medical Centre.
· Approved amendments to the Public and Environmental Health (Testing of COVID-19) Regulations to include:
a) The use of Lateral Flow Devices for local surveillance of high risk TCIG departments;
b) Robust reporting requirements; and
c) Confirmatory testing and testing requirements.
· Approved the rollout of an expanded Vaccination Campaign, including among other measures, the use of more marketing mediums, drive through vaccine sites, and community outreach/events.
· Approved a policy for a programme of mandatory Covid-19 testing of unvaccinated staff in the public sector for key high risk departments.
· Approved an amendment to Public and Environmental Health (Arriving Passengers) Regulations to allow for upon arrival PCR testing at the airport for TCI residents who have been fully vaccinated (2 doses) in the TCI; doing away with the requirement for such persons to obtain a negative PCR test within five days prior to their arrival in the Islands with effect from 1 May 2021.
· Approved an amendment to the Public and Environmental Health (Pandemic) Regulations to reduce the prescribed quarantine period from 14 days to 7 days for fully vaccinated persons (2 doses) who come into contact with someone with the COVID-19 disease.
· Approved an MOU with the Turks and Caicos Islands Medical Association (TCIMA) to assist the Ministry of Health with COVID-19 local surveillance through a programme of community testing using Lateral Flow Devices.
· Approved the overturning of a decision by the Collector of Stamp Duty by granting a waiver to a named individual on appeal in the context of a closed stimulus programme.
· Approved an update to the Provisional Warrant approved by the House of Assembly in December 2020 for a withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund in respect of the Recurrent Expenditure of the Islands for part of the fiscal year 2021/22. The revised Provisional Warrant will be re-submitted to the House of Assembly.
· Approved the Invest Turks and Caicos Agency (Amendment) Bill 2021 to improve good governance within the Invest Turks and Caicos Agency Ordinance regarding legal, financial, regulatory, and compliance matters. The Bill will be submitted to the House of Assembly for debate.
· Approved an amendment to the supporting documents to be submitted by applicants over the age of 75 years to enable them to benefit from income assistance/relief under the Citizen Relief – Covid-19 Stimulus Program.
· Approved the appointment of Joe Conolly as Chairman and Carla P. Blake-Thomas as Deputy Chair of the TCI National Health Insurance Board for a period of two (2) years with effect from 1 April 2021.
· Were updated on ongoing work by Labour and Employment Services and the Department of Immigration, in particular issuance of work permits, prosecution and departure from the TCI of persons found residing in the country illegally.
· Were updated on progress with addressing processes, structures and staffing of the Gaming Control Commission and approved the removal of the members of the Board.
· Approved the waiver of stamp duty for the purchase of Project House by the Financial Services Commission.
· Confirmed the round robin approval of the Supplementary Appropriation (2020/2021) Bill 2021 and noted its recent approval by the House of Assembly.
· Were updated on ongoing works by the Ministries of Education, Infrastructure, Tourism and Health. Members were also updated on end of year (financial) work by the Civil Service and staffing across various departments.
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, April 19, 2024 – In an attempt to move to 24-hour-a-day operations Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is steadily recruiting Air Traffic Controllers to work at the Providenciales/Howard Hamilton International Airport, according to Godfrey Smith, TCIAA CEO, reporting to the Appropriations Committee.
Speaking on April 8th Smith said a cabinet paper would be sent soon requesting six more Air Traffic Controllers to make round the clock operation at the Provo International possible and to open the airport in Grand Turk till 12 a.m.
Currently, 17 posts are filled and seven are vacant.
Smith was candid with his responses to recent industrial action from ATCs which led to resignations and firings.
“What we have to do is find systems to mitigate such actions and that has to start with filling these jobs, putting people in that want to
work and doing right by people – and we always try to do right by our staff. Persons may not think that we are but we always do – we ain’t pick no fight,” he said in the meetings held at the NJS Francis building ahead of the National Budget Communication.
Smith indicated that recruitment was an issue across the board, ‘we need to find ways to recruit a little bit better’ he told the committee. Also in need of a push was capital spending or projects according to the CEO, who said the agency had ‘not been very good’ at meeting that mark but insisted they had recognized the issue and could do better.
A very important key performance indicator drawn up by the TCIAA is increasing passenger satisfaction at the Howard Hamilton International Airport. For the TCIAA part of this means a 30 percent increase in seating by Q2 of this year.
When queried on if they could even handle this increase the CEO said,
“The fact of the matter is we already have the capacity there. What we need is to make the service a bit better.”
Staff shortages have become such a frustrating issue that the TCIAA is instituting a scholarship program created by Authority Chairman, Selvyn Hawkins
“What the board wants to do is basically allocate $25,000 annually for a scholarship and they’ve approved it already.”
This process would cover tuition and all other costs for one student.
The student would return as a summer intern and other breaks to work at the TCIAA and upon graduation, assume a role at the company.
“We identify a particular skill we need, we go after it and we build capacity that is in a nutshell the nexus of the program,” Smith said.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) is allocated $49 million this financial year; over $20 million goes to salaries.
Company delivers fastest speeds nationwide and boosts service reliability
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS, APRIL 19th, 2024 – More connections, faster speeds and greater support for customers. This is the promise from communications and entertainment provider, Flow TCI, as it embarks on an initiative to provide households with enhanced connections, greater overall reliability and now, for the first time, speeds up to one gigabit person second.
FLOW TCI Country Manager, Joanne Missick shared: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We listen to our customers and want to exceed their demands, so we are focused on delivering unmatched value with customer centric products and services that are future proof. Flow subscribers on our Fibre Extreme package can now access up to one gigabyte speeds and subscribers on our Fibre Plus and Fibre Max package, as of April 1st, are also now benefitting from up to 5x more speeds.”
This is third speed boost for Flow customers in the last two years. This comes under the umbrella of the the Company’s recently launched “Working for You” campaign, where technicians are going into the neighborhoods across the island to conduct repairs, decommission copper cables, and increase the brand’s visibility in local communities.
“To date several neighborhoods have been served by technicians and the company will continue to go across the islands to ensure each neighborhood receives personal attention. We recognize that over the past few months some customers have experienced issues with the quality and delivery of our services. This is not what we stand for. Flow remains committed to providing technology and innovation
that enables growth and positively impacts lives”, says, newly appointed Head of Technical Operations, Simeon Thomas.
Thomas adds, “We have been closely monitoring and reviewing every aspect of our network and there is room for improvement across each of the islands. Where we find shortcomings, we are taking concrete actions and assigning our technicians to rapidly make all necessary adjustments and improvements for our customers”.
Flow has made significant investments in expanding and modernizing its infrastructure and delivering a more robust and reliable network paving the way for the country’s digital transformation.
For more information on speed increases visit https://www2.discoverflow.co/turks-and-caicos/price-adjustment-speed-increase on our website.
Thank you for your usual assistance in sharing our stories.
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