Bahamas News
Governor Announces New Defence Plan; Do Not Underestimate TCI
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, December 11, 2021 – “We’re moving from the defense to the offense. We want to find the people responsible for this trade and we want them in our prisons serving long sentences.”
Less than two weeks after the latest, deadly migrant mishap Governor Nigel Dakin has rolled out a brand new border defense plan for the Turks and Caicos Islands in concert with the Bahamas and the United States.
The plan sees major upgrades for personnel and equipment across the TCI and new partnerships to seal the deal.
Governor Dakin laid out four things he said the Turks and Caicos had to do in order to effectively man their borders.
These were: Creating circles of defense that would allow the alliance to intercept vessels before they touched shore; to have surveillance good enough to detect and stop before they reached TCI waters; to take down the networks that facilitate the activities and finally to decrease what he called ‘Pull factors’ that make the TCI seem so attractive to irregular migrants.
“I and the NSC have to live in the real world, not the world we would wish it to be, and we have to be realistic that the push factors out of Haiti are not going to reduce any time soon. The trend is the opposite way. We in TCI have to be in charge of our destiny, not the victim of others. What is entirely within our personal gift is we can reduce the pull factors that bring irregular migrants to our shores,” said the Governor in a Thursday press conference to announce the new tri-lateral strategy, held from the Governor’s Office in Providenciales.
In order to achieve these objectives the Governor announced Plans for Land, Air and Sea, combined with the US, Bahamas agreement it is a threefold partnership in every sense of the word.
In an effort to protect land and sea the Governor announced the consolidation of the Maritime Police and the Radar Operation into a new Maritime base. This base which will start operating on April 1st. will include a Maritime Operations Control Center for the units and will be able to assist officers stationed at sea.
“So as an interim step, the Government has committed to building a new Marine Base and within that there will be a Maritime Operations Control Facility that will fuse all activity working in support of this mission. As part of the journey, a decision was made by the NSC last week that the Radar Operation – that now does so much more than just irregular migration – will move from the Ministry of Immigration to the Maritime Police bringing two first class, but separate units together, to ensure maximum collaboration. That will happen on 1 April.”
But that was not all, the ranks of the Maritime Police force is set to grow to nearly double what it stands at now and benefit from two new boats.
The scope of the radar is set to triple with the help of new equipment.
“As our radar becomes ever more comprehensive, we risk becoming a victim of our own success and we may have many more sightings of suspicious craft. How we best resolve if these are ‘friend or foe’ depends on the increase in numbers that the radar see – we don’t necessarily want the Maritime Police having to intercept each one which would be inefficient. So the NSC has not ruled out investing in fixed wing drone technology to complement our radar activity if that becomes necessary, and the NSC has received some preparatory briefing on this.”
The TCI Regiment is also set to increase in number and will be operating on land and sea by 2023. The TCI regiment will be trained by British Military officers and are set to have actual barracks soon.
“As promised the Regiment has been formed and was stood up during the pandemic. It has a presence in both Grand Turk and Providenciales. It’s already operational and gaining plaudits for its support to counter-migration work from the Minister of Immigration. It’s staffed by brilliant committed people, regular and reserve alike, and it will grow year-on-year over the next two years to be around 100 Marines. Given how new it is, it’s already operating well beyond our early expectations, but by 2023 it will be operating on land and sea to a very high standard indeed.”
Finally a new ‘Ship Rider’ agreement will allow for TCI officers to ride on Bahamian vessels stationed in the water between the Turks and Caicos and Haiti
The end goal of the drastic improvement of seafaring and land based forces is for the TCI to have their very own Coast Guard which the Governor says makes sense if the island is to be successful at managing the crisis.
In relation to the airports Dakin said, “Those entering our country illegally, or overstaying, come as much by air as by sea. The first step will be to combine the enforcement arms of Customs and Immigration to form a Border Force. That decision has now been taken. As I speak a top team from our Immigration Ministry is in UK looking at their digitised airport security features including pre-registration and e-gates. If we get this right, and I believe UK Border Force and Home Office will support us, in what is intelligence led border protection, those we know will do us ‘no harm’ – such as locals returning home and those arriving from our main markets – should have a seamless arrival and departure at our ports while our Border Force officers focus properly on those who bring the greatest risk.”
It is with this in mind that Dakin said an official Border Force would comprise the enforcement arms of Customs and Immigration.
He said if the TCI could get the intelligence based type of border control right, then citizens, tourists and returning residents would not be affected. This means that people who he stays ‘pose a great risk’ would be caught in a technological bottleneck. To assist the Border Force from above, a ‘top team’ has been appointed. This team consists of the minister of immigration and deputy secretaries who have experience in policing and customer service to make the new processesas smooth and effective as they can be.
He described the changes to come as once in a generation.
He made specific mention of the boat runners who facilitate the illegal trade of migrants saying that these people under proposed legislation will see a minimum term of seven years in prison and an unlimited fine.
“If the situation is getting worse another reason our allies came is because they now know we are serious because we have shown that seriousness. I said two years ago – when I first travelled to Miami and Nassau – that our allies should not underestimate my ambition, and they should not underestimate TCI’s ambition, and that was because it was hard for us in TCI – to overstate the threat illegal migration was to us.”
Dakin said All of these proposed changes would make the TCI far less attractive to the people who facilitate ‘people smuggling’ on all levels and should make the Turks and Caicos safer for its citizens.
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products concluded their 10 weeklong Twist To Win campaign with four $5,000 Mall at Marathon shopping sprees.
The campaign which was available throughout the entire Bahamas allowed consumers to enter by purchasing a 20oz bottle with a yellow cap
from the following brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Orange, or Fanta Grape. Each yellow-cap had a unique alpha numeric code underneath which they submitted to the Twist To Win WhatsApp number.
With each qualifying purchase, participants residing in The Bahamas were entered to win instant prizes and into a grand prize draw to win one of four $5,000 shopping sprees at the Mall at Marathon.
Participants also enjoyed exciting instant prizes such as: Airpods, JBL Speakers, premium Coca-Cola merchandise, $500 Visa gift cards and Amazon, Spotify and Apple Music digital gift cards.
Out of 76,000 plus submissions, Brian Bethel, Ashia Demeritte, Merlin Adams, and Taraceta Neely won the coveted Mall at Marathon shopping sprees at the following select stores, Kelly’s House & Home, The Sports Center, John Bull, Brass & Leather, and BTC.
Leading up to the grand finale shopping spree, Coca-Cola hosted a Trivia Showdown with the eight finalists to determine the four winners. Finalists were tested on their knowledge of World History, Pop Culture, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Facts!
After a few rousing rounds of trivia, the four winners were declared after each winning their spot in the shopping spree by answering their questions correctly and choosing the “Grand Prize” Coca-Cola labeled bottles at random.
The morning of the shopping spree Coca-Cola gave the winners exclusive access to the Mall at Marathon and its participating stores before
their usual operating hours. Grand prize winners were greeted with wide smiles from Coca-Cola brand representatives and morning bites before the big event.
At the start of the thirty-minute clock the grand prize winners along with each of their Coca-Cola shopping assistants ran to the various stores collecting items in their arms and carts.
Merlin Adams, a husband and father of four was proud to have executed his game-plan at the end of the shopping spree. With toys, a new phone and materials for his home from Kelly’s, Adams felt accomplished in what he gathered.
Taraceta Neely, a winner from Eleuthera collected beautiful bags for herself and relatives from Brass and Leather and Brian Bethel bought matching athletic and outdoor wear from The Sports Center for his family.
The final winner Ashia Demeritte bought linens and household items in addition to a new phone from BTC right in time for Christmas.
Caribbean Bottling Company is proud to share the real magic of Coca-Cola with the grand prize winners and the may instant prize winners across the Twist To Win campaign. For more updates on new products, promotions, and events follow www.cbcbahamas.com.
Bahamas News
The Coca-Cola Art Project Astonishes Art Lovers at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products displayed
their astonishing Coca-Cola Art Project (CCAP), during Baha Mar’s five-day Culinary & Arts Festival. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola partnered with The University of The Bahamas’ Visual Art and Design Department for a culturally rich art competition. UB’s art students were challenged to create pieces surrounding the theme, Bahamian music.
As a result, 20 student works of art were made, with four students declared as winners at the CCAP exhibit opening in Baha Mar’s ECCHO: Art Gallery in August. To recreate the culturally stimulating magic felt at the exhibit’s premiere, the CCAP was featured at the FUZE Art Tent during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival.
Nine incredible pieces of art lined the walls of the Coca-Cola Art Project, four of which included the winning pieces from Jhanaisia Cole,
with ‘Gaulin Bride’; Alyssa Pinder, with ‘Shotgun Wedding’; Nelson Gray, with ‘Untitled’; and Jaela Bowe, with the piece ‘Whims of Obeah, a Folktail’. Additionally, an intimate listening room was built. It displayed students’ artistic processes, UB Visual Art and Design representatives, and a recap of the exhibit opening for audiences.
Art enthusiasts also enjoyed premium limited-edition CCAP keepsakes at the booth. Journals which featured a collage of all 20 student submissions on the front and back cover, postcards with an art piece on the cover along with the student’s name, title, dimension and materials on the back and pens designed with the CCAP’s dynamic logo.
Throughout the art festival diverse groups of people visited the art tent taking in the displays while enjoying the artistic insights from the
listening booth.
Community and culture are always at the forefront of Caribbean Bottling Community, and it was boldly showcased during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival for the third consecutive year.
For more details on the Coca-Cola Art Project, events and new products visit www.cbcbahamas.com today!
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS), The Bahamas’ premier wines and spirits distributor delighted Jollification
attendees with bubbles from their Bottega and Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wines and Besserat de Bellefon champagne lines.
Located in the Monument Circle on The Retreat grounds, CWS transformed The Retreat Garden into a lush lounge with Besserat, Bouvet and their latest product addition, Bottega, during the two-day affair.
The festivities kicked off Friday during BNT Member’s Night. Guests enjoyed exclusive offerings from CWS’s catalogue, offered exclusively to members. Complimentary mixes or glasses on the rocks included El Tequileno tequila, Hard Truth whiskey, House of Angostura rum, Cross Keys gin, Nemiroff vodka and a slew of wines such as Fonesca Bin, Bottega and Besserat.
Guests also savored the ‘Jolly Paloma’ cocktail, an instant favorite made with El Tequileno tequila, Schweppes Grapefruit and Domaine de Paris rose wine. To end the night, guests were treated to branded limited-edition wine tumblers as keepsakes.
On Saturday and Sunday, Jollification attendees delighted in glasses or bottles of champagne and sparkling brut or rosé wines while taking
in the comfort of the chic lounge. In addition to purchasing bottles for onsite consumption, consumers were also able to purchase bottles as gifts whether for themselves or someone special.
The sophisticated “bubble lounge” lounge was decked with velvet couches, gold rimmed cocktail tables, blue and pink pillows, and a white floral branded backdrop created for capturing the perfect picture.
Caribbean Wines & Spirits, a historic partner of the Bahamas National Trust was pleased to support Jollification 2025 to kick off the festive season and share their expansive range of spirits.
To keep up to date with all CWS products and events, visit their website at www.cwsbahamas.com today.
