News
They cannot handle the work
Honorable Edwin A. Astwood
Leader of the Opposition
PDM Leader
#TurksandCaicos, April 9, 2022 – The PNP Government after being elected into power as the Government of the TCI have shown the people that they cannot handle the work. After 420 days into Office it is now quite clear that the workers the people hired on February 19th, 2021 are not the same workers who showed up for the job.
The objective “we come for this work” was all over each of their resume which convincingly got them on the job, but now that they are on the job it is quite clear they cannot handle the work, for which they were hired.
The people in this country are hurting more than ever before because this PNP administration does not understand the hardship and the real problems that are facing real people.
The minister of finance loves to talk about a “Booming” economy and a country doing extremely well, and people living “their best lives” but sadly he along with the honorable Premier and other members of this government are talking about a prosperous economy that does not exist for most Turks and Caicos Islanders.
Pricing is increasing daily it is now harder for the average Turks and Caicos Islander to providing for and put food on the tables for their families to eat. While this administration got the nerve to brag and boast about people in the TCI “living their best lives”? Honorable Premier and Honorable Minister of Finance, let me remind you that a country in which its people are struggling to make ends meet and provide for themselves and their families, is not one in which you can say “the people are living their best lives” but instead it is a country in which the Government is not handling the people’s work.
Over a year ago the People spoke; this PNP Government walked into Office with everything ready to go; They were handed this country on a golden platter, projects tendered and awarded, money in the bank, new development agreements, policies, and a prepared blueprint to move this country and its people ahead were all in motion and ready to go.
But instead of taking the realm of Government from day 1 as the great workers, they claimed they were on the election trail. They believe that the effective way of running a country is to talk ”the work” and not do “the work”.
We have seen that this high level of inflation is not transitory, and strong policies and measures must be put in place immediately. These Band-Aid measures that this PNP government is putting in place and promoting are not going to
work to combat inflation, The measures do very little to lower the cost of goods and services. We need to see a fundamental change in policy and structures that will ensure any concession and tax write-off to suppliers will create real savings down to our people.
Many of our people in the TCI are running out of money long before payday. And in all this, wages and pay are off pace with inflation. Everything that we are earning is being wiped out by the high prices everywhere. This government must get to work and do something about this.
Our people can no longer afford to go to the grocery stores only to pick up an item look at it and put it back down because the price is too expensive for them to purchase. Our people can no longer tolerate having to choose whether to pay their mortgage or buy food for their children.
Our people can no longer bear having to sell their hard earn possessions just to keep a roof over their heads. And if the hard financial strain on families is not enough, violent crimes are at an all-time high, and even with the gun amnesty- crimes committed with guns are at an all-time high.
Too many innocent men and women across the country are being robbed, hurt, or killed, and too many homes and properties are being burglarized.
With this increase in crime, detection, and prosecution of those committing crimes are at an all-time low, and our Premier remains silent as a mouse.
This PNP administration’s Band-Aid crime measures are doing nothing to address the present crime situation, and do not address the root causes of crime.
Our national security is at the highest risk level than it has ever been. Aside from people, more and more guns and drugs are coming. Whatever the number of illegals that are intercepted is, there is about three times that number that get through undetected. And as more and more illegal persons call home and let their family and friends know that they made it, the numbers will only increase. It is becoming an overwhelming situation for our border control agent. And again, our Premier remains as silent as a mouse.
This PNP administration’s inability to effectively tackle the issues outlined has led me to one conclusion, that they simply do not have the mental readiness required to tackle the job the people hired them to do. And without serious interventions being put in place, sadly, our people’s issues will continue to be ignored and our economy is poised to worsen.
So, I close with the same sentiments I started with, and stated all through this document, “This PNP Government, just cannot handle the country’s work”
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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