News
TCI already preparing for ‘Above Average’ Atlantic Hurricane Season says Minister Missick
#TurksandCaicos, April 5, 2021 – A National Hurricane preparedness meeting was held early in March and now the Public Works Department is doing its part in order to ready the country for what is forecast to be an above average Atlantic Hurricane season, informed Hon. Akierra Missick, Minister of Infrastructure, Housing, Planning and Physical Development.
“Mr. Speaker, my team and I participated in the First National Hurricane Preparedness meeting on March 9, 2021, and as a result of that meeting Mr. Speaker, Public Works Department has already begun to prepare the required checklist of works to be carried out for this year’s Hurricane Season, which is again predicted to be very active.
Mr. Speaker, as a part of that checklist, our team has already completed the inspection of all shelters. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to inform this Honourable House that a number of Government owned shelters have recently been refurbished and outfitted with standby generators, with the assistance of a generous donation from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO),” said Hon Akierra Missick on March 30, in the House of Assembly, Grand Turk.
Shelters have already been inspected and will get the mandatory equipment to be readied ahead of National Hurricane Preparedness month, traditionally commemorated in May in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
“Mr. Speaker, the remainder of Government Approved and Private Shelters require minor repair works, which are being scoped and prepared to be sent our through the Public Procurement Process (PPP for quotations.
Mr. Speaker, it is our intention to procure fire extinguishers (which are a requirement) for all of our shelters in the new Financial Year. As a result of the protocols put in place by the Ministry of Health Mr. Speaker, additional washing stations and automatic hand sanitising machines are being procured for the all shelters to assist with the mitigation of the spread of COVID-19.”
Meanwhile, alerts for the approaching hurricane season are to begin on May 15, well ahead of the official start of the season on June 1, informed the National Hurricane Center.
Additionally, businesses in the hurricane belt including the Americas, the Caribbean region and the United States are being advised to prepare for the worst. Expert forecasts pin it down to 16-20 named storms, including seven to 10 hurricanes. Of the storms projected to reach hurricane strength, three to five are predicted to become major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher storms).
Turks and Caicos, having had a dismal encounter with Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September of 2017 is working toward boosting resource capacity at Public Works and the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies, DDME advised the Minister.
“Mr. Speaker, also by way of information, the Ministry of Infrastructure is in the process of procuring new Satellite Phones and Handheld Radios for our offices throughout the islands, these would ensure that we are able to be in contact with staff during and following the passage of a storm.
Mr. Speaker, the final update I would like to give by way of purchases that we have made to assist us in our Disaster Preparedness efforts, is to advise that the Public Works Department has procured several pieces of heavy equipment, inclusive of a tractor with attachments, portable fuel tanks, verge cutters and mulching machines.
The new heavy duty equipment and communications systems are expected, said Minister Missick, to be in country by July.
February is National Self- Check Month and family medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic, OH, John Hanicak, MD, highlights why at home self-checks are extremely important when it comes to not just early cancer detection but identifying other illnesses too and offers tips on what to look out for.
“Sometimes I look at them as sort of like your check engine light on the car, just like there would be a red flashing light that tells you that
there’s something wrong with a car and prompts you to bring that in and get serviced. Your body does the same thing. It gives you warning signs to look into that symptom a little bit further,” said Hanicak.
Dr. Hanicak said self-checks are going to be a little different for everyone.
However, in general, he recommends looking for anything that may seem abnormal, such as unexplained weight loss, blood in your urine, bumps and bruises that won’t heal, and changes in bowel habits.
For example, if you suddenly start going to the bathroom a lot more than you used to, that could be a sign of something more serious.
He also suggests doing regular skin checks and documenting any moles or spots that start to look different.
“Realize that you are your own person. There’s nobody else in the world exactly like you. You’ve got your own set of ideas, your own family history and your own genetics. Know what is normal for you, and when that changes, that’s the kind of thing that we would be interested in talking about,” said Dr. Hanicak.
Dr. Hanicak notes that self-checks are not meant to replace cancer screenings, as those are just as important to keep up with.
Press Release: Cleveland Clinic
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
