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Arajet Launches Inaugural Flight from Santo Domingo to Kingston on November 14th

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#Kingston, Jamaica, November 15, 2022 – Jamaica will welcome non-stop flights from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, beginning Monday, November 14.

The flights, being offered by the Dominican Republic’s new flagship airline, Arajet, will be available twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays, with round-trip fares as low as US$252.

Speaking at a press briefing today (November 11), at the offices of the Jamaica Tourist Board in Kingston, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said that the connectivity by air between the two countries is more than a game changer.

“For us, this is not just a game changer, this is a Red Letter Day in the life of tourism aviation in the Northern Caribbean, because we in the north are close to each other physically [and] geographically, but we are distant from each other [in regard to] connectivity,” said Minister Bartlett.

Prior to the direct flights being available, travel time from one country to the other would go up to as many as 20 hours.

Minister Bartlett further explained that the decision to enable improved connectivity between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic “is part of a broader and wider strategy of integrating the Caribbean more, and of also creating backwards connections between Central America and South America”.

He also pointed out that air connectivity and the movement of people will be supported by investments.

“One of the real positives that will flow from this engagement is that it will bring to the respective destinations that energy for investment, because there will be ease of access… but the key realisation is that within two hours you can be looking at your asset, making decisions not virtuality but face to face and surveying the extent of your own investments and assets in the areas,” the Minister emphasised.

Meanwhile, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Jamaica, Her Excellency Angie Martinez Tejera, also hailed the ability that both countries now have to connect by air, as a “game changer”.

“This development is an important diplomatic achievement, and will strengthen investments, commerce [and] tourism, but most important, in getting our people closer together,” she said.

Ambassador Martinez Tejera thanked the team at Arajet Airline for making the connection a reality, noting that it has been a priority for her since being appointed.

For his part, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder of Ararjet, Victor Pacheco Méndez, who joined virtually, said that the aim of the airline is to “bridge the lack of connectivity and the lack of low fares in the region”.

He said that Arajet’s decision to offer direct flights to Jamaica forms part of the plan to launch 54 routes from Santo Domingo.

The CEO noted that Arajet has been in operation for one year and began serving 16 of its targeted destinations within the first 40 days of its operation.

 

Contact: Shanna K. Salmon

Release: JIS

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CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

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Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

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Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

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Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

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Supreme Court Closed for Easter

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NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

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