News
Special Distribution of Inflation Stimulus to Deferred Applicants says Minister
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, March 31, 2022 – Deferred Applicants should not despair over the free cash Government has agreed to distribute in its Inflation Stimulus Package. A special process is devised, said the Minister of Finance, to ensure younger applicants who were unable to provide requisite documents, like utility bills, will still be able to qualify.
“I would like to point out that deferred is not the same as declined.” He continued, “You will have a process that we will use in order to help many of those applicants to receive a similar stimulus so I want those persons to know we have not forgotten them.”
Of the 13,094 applicants, 88 per cent or 11,481 were approved; 222 or 2 per cent were duplicate applications and 67 per cent were declined.
The remaining 1,324 or 10 per cent were applicants deferred.
Speaking directly to Magnetic Media, Deputy Premier Saunders said the stimulus would not be extended but the process to deal with the deferred applicants included the students who did not have the required documentation and would commence after the last cheques had been issued.
Saunders denied that the government had not properly thought out the process indicating many applicants were not in possession of important government identifications.
“I want to encourage them to rethink their position as persons having the right documentation (which) makes it easier for the government to identify and verify them and most importantly provide support for them in time of need,” said the minister.
In addition to Deferred Applicants, E. Jay Saunders expressed optimism about the lines at the Public Treasury diminishing significantly as we exit the month of March. Unfortunately several residents reached out to Magnetic Media to report that after waiting hours in line they were rebuffed by Treasury staff who told to come back another day despite having been in the line long prior to closing time.
Despite the unresolved complaints Saunders promised that the government would not give out a mass payment this way again, saying that he was already addressing the issue as a priority and the long lines at the Treasury would not be seen for much longer.
March is one of the busiest months for the Public Treasury; as it is the TCI Government’s transition period and deadline for many payments. The TCIGs new fiscal year begins April 1.
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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