Caribbean News
PNP Member says to Cut ties with Haiti
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, February 2, 2023 – One member of the House of Assembly says it is time for the country to cut ties with Haiti and is calling on the National Security Council to save the TCI. The call came from PNP-appointed member Jameka Williams in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, January 25th.
Despite acknowledging the long and often profitable relationship between the two countries and the TCI’s need for unskilled labour from the Caribbean nation as well as the extreme hardships that have beset the country in recent decades Williams said, “the Turks Caicos Islands is too small of a nation to concern itself with the hardships of Haiti.”
Williams maintained that illegal migration had soured the relationship. Describing it as a growing concern she barrelled on: “Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that we have an illegal immigration problem. In recent years there are too many people, particularly on the island of Providenciales that do not look like me. We can barely recognize anyone anymore— it’s too much of them and not enough of us,” she said.
“They have dominated our workforce, our schools and our social programs geared at protecting and empowering our
people.” she said, describing herself as ‘fearful’. “Should this illegal migrant issue continue to be left unchecked, in about 5 years we will have a TCI we all do not recognize; and so to this end, I think it is time for us to discontinue our relationships with Haiti until there is some level of normalcy in Haiti with its government and the island on a whole.”
Williams said that illegal migration was not unique to Haitians, and migrants from all over the world are ‘flying under the radar and milking the country of all its benefits’.
“They are in the Caucasian and Asian communities, involved in the sale of our real estate, dominating the water sports industry and Villa markets, doing the catering and property management and they are grossly offensive and disrespectful to our people. Who are we building this country for?” She demanded only days after an offensive email with disparaging comments about the country reportedly from an ex-pat surfaced on Facebook.
Williams’s speech also came despite the fact that major institutions including hotels across the islands, Fortis TCI, the TCI Hospitals, The Ministry of Education, The Turks and Caicos Airports Authority, The Police, The Immigration and Customs Departments and many more have admitted that they are woefully short on labour of all kinds, unskilled or otherwise. This has left the country short on basic services including the police records needed for work permits exacerbating the issue even more.
The government in a last-ditch attempt to fatten up the population with people who are at least of TCI heritage and slow down the number of migrants from other countries who are becoming naturalised announced that it would allow third-generation TCI citizens to claim citizenship in the country under a new Immigration Bill.
The HOA member maintained she was not being ‘racist or discriminatory’ but simply representing the TCI people and maintained that while the government was working to protect its borders, the members of the National security board headed by PNP Party Leader Washington Misick and Governor Nigel Dakin should ‘urgently intervene and help save the country for the beautiful people of the TCI.’
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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