News
Announcement by Governor Dakin on the passing of Queen Elizabeth the Second
To the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands,
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of our Monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. She leaves us, at the age of 96, in the 70th year of her reign, and during her Platinum Jubilee; a lifetime of quite extraordinary service to the Realm and the Commonwealth.
Her Majesty’s death releases her from the promise she made to her people as a 25-year-old. On the passing of her own father, she said: “I am called on to assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty. My heart is too full for me to say more to you today than I shall always work, as my father did, throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all over the world”. 
Her late Majesty epitomised the notion of service. It is hard for me to express my own personal sorrow at her passing let alone capture, properly, the thoughts of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands but I can try. She was a truly great Monarch, the longest serving we have ever had. Hers was a remarkable reign sat against over 1,000 years of Monarchy. Her Majesty embraced service from a young age: an officer in our Armed Forces during World War II she drove and maintained trucks before taking the throne far earlier than she ever expected. She went on to invest herself completely in the Commonwealth.
Reigning during the period of 15 Prime Ministers she has provided a reassuring backdrop to all of our lives. She became our Queen, while we in TCI were still a dependency of Jamaica. It would take a further 10 years before John Glenn would splash down just off Grand Turk following his three orbits of the earth, a further 21 years before TCI had its first Governor and 24 years until JAGS McCartney won the 1976 election.
As we remember her today, we recall the Queen was a committed Christian and churchgoer and – as I mentioned at the Queen’s Birthday Parade – often spoke of her faith. In her 2014 Christmas Broadcast she said: “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life…A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance, and healing. Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none”.
From this moment our National Flags across the Territory will be flown at half-mast and, with the exception of a period during the proclamation of the new Monarch, will remain at Half Mast until after her funeral.
A 96-gun salute, one round for every year of her age, will be fired in our Capital, Grand Turk, at the Clock Tower,
tomorrow (Friday) commencing at midday.
Condolence Books will be available at the Governor’s Office in both Grand Turk and Providenciales. Those in Government Service are asked to dress appropriately during this period of mourning.
As Governor, and supported by the Government, Judiciary and Church, I expect to make a Proclamation of our new Monarch, at Waterloo, on Sunday at 11:00 am. This is to be confirmed dependent on the timing of the Proclamation in London. We would welcome any Residents or Visitors who wish to attend to come to Waterloo for that time.
The Premier and I will travel to London, to attend our late Monarch’s funeral, to represent the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
A decision as to whether a Holiday will be announced will be made by the Government over coming days.
There will be a two-minute silence on the day of the funeral. A local two-minute silence will be observed, the time of which will be announced closer to the date.
Churches may choose to mark the occasion, and the late Queen Elizabeth’s passing, as they wish.
His Excellency Nigel John Dakin CMG
Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands
Caribbean News
Agriculture Ministry Providing Two Water Trucks to Serve St. Elizabeth and St. Catherine
#Kingston, Jamaica, April 24, 2024 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining is to unveil two more water trucks this week, which will be used to service communities in St. Elizabeth and St. Catherine.
Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, made the disclosure during Wednesday’s (April 24) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.
He also informed that of the $90 million earmarked to support farmers being impacted by the current drought, the Ministry will be
providing additional support for storage and drip-irrigation systems.
“So, we have targeted about 600 water tanks and about 400 12-millimetre drip irrigation hoses, and that distribution has already started. Additionally, we have earmarked about $8 million to really help with our livestock farmers,” Mr. Green said.
“We know the difficulty that you’re facing now in this time; [it’s] very hard to get the right nutritional support for your animals. As such, we will be providing some hay, and we will [also] provide some trucking of water to you. Again, our livestock farmers, if you are in need, please contact the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and let us see how we can help in these times,” he further stated.
Mr. Green also encouraged farmers to download the RADA App, so that the Agency can “help guide you, not only in relation to what is happening on the rainfall side, but also in relation to your integrated pest management”.
“We do see some increases of certain types of pests during this time, and it’s important that our farmers are paying attention to that. It’s also important that you’re taking drought management seriously [by undertaking] soil mulching, looking at planting drought-tolerant crops, timely harvesting, implementing land husbandry treatments and contour ditches,” he stated.
Contact: Latonya Linton
Release: JIS
Photo Caption: Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, speaking during Wednesday’s (April 24) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.
Donald De La Haye Photo
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.
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