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“Listen to the people… We are speaking”
#TurksandCaicos, October 26, 2021 – I have spent the past week listening, observing and discussing with the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, about the proposal of the PNP Government to transition from the TCI Tourist Board to a Destination Management Organization (DMO) and a Tourism Authority.
In reading the statement issued by the Ministry of Tourism and in tuning into the press conference held by the Premier to address the discontent amongst residents about the changes, I have a lot of concern about the manner and timing of such an important decision being made with no justified reason, no ingenious alterative being introduce and no democratic support for his intention.
Without any educational campaign or public meeting to deal with such a huge and long standing change to our indigenous and trusted Tourism Board, the PNP has already closed up their offices abroad. But why were the people of Turks and Caicos not made aware and consulted prior to these changes?
We have a right to understand what the changes mean first, and the public should be given the opportunity to express any concerns before such a major plan is rolled out as final. Consultation is not when you have already made up your mind and presented your ideas to a small audience without getting your public on board. Why were we left out of such an important dialogue? And if we were not invited to the table before it started, how can we believe we will be welcomed there once it is in place?
I am all for progress and promotion of our country, and while the Premier can say that he promoted a Destination Management Organization in his plans to the country, he did not take the time to respectfully tell us that he was planning to shut down the Tourist Board in order to bring about these changes.
Why this surprise approach? Why campaign to give the impression that added support was coming to the body that has led an extremely successful tourism sector for years, when in fact you were planning to dismantle it?
To dismantle the work of the TCI Tourist Board, which has won awards and led the country to many bright moments since it was created, without so much as a proper breakdown of what we are transitioning to is undemocratic and this action needs to be put on pause or stopped.
I support any idea or concept which I believe will bring value to the lives of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. But I cannot support this rushed concept which I believe is a risky gamble with our leading industry. I cannot support the way this idea was introduced to us. I cannot support the lack of transparency and I do not support the seeming view that the TCI Tourist Board is not good enough.
We have enjoyed amazing growth in the tourism sector in the Turks and Caicos Islands and leading that prosperity was the TCI Tourist Board. You have made that admission as well, so if, from your office, you can see what is wrong then I challenge you to fix it, not to break down what we have because the TCI Tourist Board is not broken.
I believe this organization can be re-tooled, better funded, its ordinance updated and its duties broadened.
We know what we have in the TCI Tourist Board, we do not know if the DMO model will work for our country.
I would like to thank the people, who have over the years, staff this organization for an outstanding job of dedication, creativity and patriotism, and all with scarce resources. We can see the worth of the work you have put in over the years.
Honorable Premier, I ask you to slow down this transition.
Give the people who put you in a real opportunity to hear you out on these new changes, but more importantly, give yourself a real opportunity to hear us.
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.
