Finance
Living Wage announcement coming in January for TCI says Premier
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, November 24, 2022 – The Turks and Caicos Islands government will implement a living wage for residents by early next year according to Premier Washington Misick.
“We are making significant strides for the implementation of a living wage by the first of April 2023 to address these issues.”
Misick was speaking at a recent public meeting in Providenciales; prompted by questions from residents about the extremely high cost of food, gas and other essentials in the country. Back in July the Premier had said consultants working on the country’s Living Wage Study were almost ready to give a preliminary report. 
Some residents were concerned that come April the government would only have the report ready not actual implementation plans but the Premier allayed those fears.
“It will be fully ready,” he said. “In fact we will have to announce it not later than January because we’ll have to give people an opportunity to prepare for it and that includes the government— so it will be launched not later than the first of April.”
The living wage comes after months of residents have been asking for an increase in the minimum wage which the government was hesitant to execute, maintaining that the living wage would be of greater benefit to residents in the long run.
MIT defines a living wage as an income which draws on local cost elements including transportation, childcare and other essentials including taxes to determine the minimum employment earnings necessary to meet a family’s basic needs.
The research is specific to the area that it is focused on and should provide the poorest Turks Islanders with enough cash for a comfortable life.
In July, Premier Misick had promised that he would not leave the people out of the loop and said there would have to be public consultations before the study was concluded.
If those consultations are to happen, and if the premier’s timeline for a January 2023 announcement holds, those consultations or the result of consultations would need to be made public within the coming weeks.
#TurksandCaicos, November 25, 2023 – Her Excellency the Governor, Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, chaired the 27th meeting of Cabinet on Wednesday October 26, 2023 at the Premier’s Office on Providenciales.
All Members were present.
At this meeting Cabinet:
- Approved an amendment to the Hurricane Fiona Relief Programme to allow payment to a relative of a recipient through Power of Attorney or written consent.
- Approved a reduction of the Customs Processing Fee from 7.5% to 5% from October 1, 2023 to March 31, 2025.
- Approved the exemption of Import Customs Duties for replacement equipment for Digicel TCI. A Telecommunications Policy is currently being worked on to avoid future one off request in this area.
- Approved the appointment of Ms. Janelle Hamilton as the Chairperson of The Allied Health Professions and Pharmacy Professions Council for a period of two years effective October 30th, 2023.
- Approved the appointment of Dr Euan Menzies as Chairperson and Ms. Susan Malcolm as Deputy Chairperson of the Medicine and Dentistry Professions Council for a period of 2 years effective October 30th, 2023.
- Accepted the resignation of Chairman Mr. Oswald Williams from the Public and Environmental Board. Rescinded the appointment of Mr. Allan Robinson as a member of the Public and Environmental Health Board and approved his appointment as the new Chair for three years effective October 31, 2023.
- Accepted the revocation of appointment of Bishop Edwin Lightbourne as a Member of the Adoption Committee and approved the appointment of Pastor Bradley Handfield – Minister of Religion as a member of the board until April 9th, 2024 in line with other board appointments.
- Noted the recommendations of the Procurement Board on the award of the following contracts which are in line with the process according to the provisions of the Public Procurement Ordinance:
- PN 005698, TR 23/24, Vehicle for NSS
- PN 005783, TR 23/20, Furniture and Equipment for Mental Health Offices
III. PN 005799, TR 23/06, Replacement Vehicle – Deputy Governor
- PN 005804, TR 23/23, Vehicles for AGC – Crown Land and Valuation Department
- Approved the payment of a Special Christmas Salary Advance of one month’s basic salary or pension to all qualifying TCIG public servants and pensioners repayable over a period of 6 months commencing February
2024. An Order to this effect to be signed by the Minister of Finance and published in the Gazette. - Approved for Her Excellency the Governor on behalf of the the Turks and Caicos Islands to enter into an agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airlines for the purpose of establishing a new direct airline route between London Heathrow, UK and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands commencing November 4th, 2023.
- Approved the addition of the post of Deputy Financial Controller as a permanent position in the National Insurance Board organizational structure and for an existing post to be removed so as to not increase the staff complement in the department.
- Approved in principle a proposal for the transportation of donkeys to the island of Jamaica as a part of the Jamaican Governments’ Rural Agricultural Transportation Program and to control the feral donkey population within the TCI, subject to the required financial provisions being made.
- Approved in principle a Draft MOU between the Turks and Caicos Government and Canadian non-for-profit charity Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary to control the feral dog population on the island of Grand Turk.
Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.
#TheBahamas, October 9, 2023 – During her Speech from the Throne on October 4, 2023, Governor General Her Excellency the Most Hon.
Cynthia Pratt said that survey results from 2020 confirm that The Bahamas remains one of the top 10 most expensive countries in the world.
“The high cost of living is a major cause of financial stress and psychological distress in the country,” Her Excellency said during the Opening of the New Session of Parliament in Parliament Square.
Her Excellency said her Government does not wish to overburden any section of the community, but does seek to make the economy fairer.
She explained that to provide a better framework for businesses and consumers, her Government will
introduce the following measures:
• A new Registrar General Bill to re-organize the operations of the Registrar General’s Office. This will help to ease the burden of doing business in The Bahamas.
• A new online company registry portal which will help to make the process of registration more efficient.
• A new online civil platform, to provide efficient and transparent services to Bahamians.
Her Excellency said her Government is also mindful of the need to provide for greater protection of consumers, and will therefore introduce Consumer Protection legislation.
“As the cost of energy is a significant driver of high costs in the country, My Government will undertake a ‘root and branch’ review of the energy sector, and has recently established a Ministry of Energy to implement effective, long-lasting solutions.
“My Government has already launched programmes to install 100 megawatts of solar energy in Nassau, and new blended power facilities incorporating a minimum of 50 per cent solar generation in 16 locations throughout the Family Islands.
“The introduction of renewable energy is a fundamental component of our promise to drive down the cost of electricity.”
Her Excellency said her Government remains especially committed to implementing clean energy in New Providence, by moving to sources of renewable energy, and becoming less dependent on fossil fuels.
“Building on these efforts, my Government will therefore introduce the following legislation:
• A new Renewable Energy Bill that will provide a legislative and regulatory framework for the expansion of renewable energy generation.
• A new Liquid Natural Gas Bill that will provide a legislative and regulatory framework for development of
LNG generation – which will produce lower carbon emissions than the current system – along with the
regulation of bunkering and blending LNG facilities in The Bahamas.”
(BIS Photos/Eric Rose)
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