News
GT Residents speak out ahead of Public Meeting & Island Fish Fry
By Deandrea Hamilton and Dana Malcolm
Editorial Staff
#TurksandCaicos, November 18, 2022 – Grand Turk residents learned last week that on Thursday night, (last night), they would finally have their Premier’s ear at a town hall meeting on the island. Ahead of the meeting, we learned of a number of grievances to air.
The meeting was rescheduled from a 7pm start to an earlier time at 5:30 pm after initially clashing with a Fish Fry event which had been planned for the Grand Turk community as part of the Tourism Environmental Awareness Month, In the end, both important functions were accommodated much to residents’ delight.
Residents seem to be anxious for the meeting based on reactions over social media; some feel it has been a long time coming while others have expressed little faith that their concerns will be genuinely considered. We spoke to some residents who told us their major concerns
Grand Turk went through an extreme downturn in 2020 as the pandemic shut down cruising and thus livelihoods for 20 months; dozens of businesses are just now recovering. One resident said people want to see an expansion of
the tourism industry from just cruising; they want to see more cash injections onto their island, maybe even a hotel or two.
Another resident told us they feel the island has been neglected with still nowhere concrete for microbusiness vendors to ply their wares, no significant work has been done on infrastructure, cost of living is too high and they are concerned about the country’s blacklisting by the EU and what it truly means for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In addition to all that, community members have consistently struggled with the risk of their properties going up in flames as arson continues to be a major threat with unsolved cases piling up. The marine branch that used to be active in Grand Turk is another problem. Residents say point blank, they want it rectified; demanding that the station be re-established.
Jobs for young people was another ask as many graduates are without a source of income and often find themselves leaving their island home on the hunt for a promising career. Getting the constantly roaming animals off the island’s streets was another concern expressed to our newsroom.
There are complaints about the state of the airport; residents revealing that up to last week promised renovations had not been done and tourists and residents alike were still walking on the outside of the airport when disembarking or boarding flights.
Finally residents say they simply want more of their government’s attention on the country’s capital to fix the multiplying issues before they get even worse.
After the meeting the Island Fish Fry was set to begin, according to Blythe Claire, Education Officer at the TCI Tourist Board. Clare said the focus is on youth, highlighting Chelsea Been, the Junior Tourism Minister and the HJ Robinson High School Band.
#TurksandCaicos, September 29, 2023 – The Integrity Commission advises that the Register of Interests for Members of the Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly, as at 31st December 2022 has been completed.
Members of the House of Assembly are required by the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution, Section 103(2), and the Integrity Commission Ordinance (the Ordinance), as amended, Section 52(1), to file with the Commission, Statements of Registrable Interests. The Commission would, therefore, like to inform members of the public that, it
has compiled the information contained in these Statements of Registrable Interests and has produced The Register of Interests 2022 for the Members of the House of Assembly, as at 31st December 2022.
The Register of Interests 2022 is now available for public inspection at the following locations:
- House of Assembly in Grand Turk
- Office of the Premier – Grand Turk and Providenciales
- Office of the Integrity Commission – Grand Turk and Providenciales (during the hours of 8:30am to 4:30pm from Mondays to Thursdays and 8:00am to 4:00pm on Fridays.)
- Office of the District Commissioner – Middle Caicos, North Caicos, Salt Cay and South Caicos.
The Register can be viewed at these locations during normal working hours or at a time that is convenient for the respective offices.
For further information or any assistance please contact the Integrity Commission:
By telephone at: 946-1941(Grand Turk Office) or 941-7847 (Providenciales Office) By e-mail at: secretary@integritycommission.tc or info@integritycommission.tc
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, September 29, 2023 – With moves to deepen ties, governments of The Bahamas and Qatar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to solidify agreements in principle surrounding the development of aviation and other related services.
This is according to Chester Cooper, The Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investment and Aviation in a Facebook post.
This comes after The Bahamas Government in a press release on September 24th, revealed that Cooper, was set to meet with the head of Qatar Airways to have talks regarding “multiple mutually beneficial aviation opportunities for both countries.”
The release also said the deputy prime minister and the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investment and Aviation are working on “forging strategic partnerships with several Middle Eastern countries to strengthen ties to The Bahamas and the Caribbean,” and this new signing is indicative of such efforts.
Following the September 25th signing, on September 27th, Kenneth Romer, Deputy Director General of Tourism for The Bahamas informed via Facebook some details of the agreement saying, “we have now established a framework for cooperation and formed strategic partnerships with Qatar Airways, Qatar’s Transport, Aviation and Investment Agencies and The Qatar Aeronautical Academy, that will benefit our country.”
Regarding further efforts for the improvement of The Bahamas, Cooper announced on Facebook again on Tuesday September 26th that both countries are working to make Nassau a passenger hub for Latin America and the Caribbean adding that talks are being held for Grand Bahama as a cargo hub.
Additionally, as the press release informed, Cooper is preparing for an on ground visit of Bahamasair domestic operations by Qatar Airways Technical team sometime in October.
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#Guyana, September 29, 2023 – Guyana is making moves to become the primary food production center for the Caribbean, going ahead with plans to develop a USD$14 million regional food hub.
In fact, as reported by the Observer, the facility has already been identified on the country’s Soesdyke /Linden Highway.
Guyana seems to really want this to become a reality and Zulfikar Mustapha, Agriculture Minister, expressed this,
highlighting what Guyana has over its Caribbean sister Islands.
“We want Guyana to be the food hub, the primary production hub of the Caribbean so that we could supply the Caribbean. What we have, our colleagues in the Caribbean don’t have. We have arable flat land and abundant fresh water,” he said, adding that with the multi-million dollar US investment, the country can, “modernise the infrastructure, and start ramping up the productions.”
Also, the Agriculture Minister pointed out that the project is geared to make for a more competitive local Agriculture industry as well as developing high-yielding varieties, pest-resistant and climate-resilient varieties.
Additionally, in the facility’s development, Guyana, Mustapha said, will work with Belize.
In fact, with more on Belize’s involvement, Dr. Ashni Singh, Finance Minister, informed that the Government is in talks with the Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley about sourcing inputs from northern Brazil and transporting them through Guyana to Barbados and vice versa.
Singh also reportedly revealed that the project will help develop the growing logistics industry in Guyana.
Considering regional food import cost, with this development, Guyana is the leading Caribbean Community country pushing ahead with plans to reduce the multi-billion dollar regional food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, the Observer says.
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