VOLUME 10 ISSUE 5

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

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VOLUME 10 - No. 5

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JOSEPHINE SPEAKS OUT D

eputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Josephine Connolly, who was recently reported to the Integrity Commission by senior members of her own People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) party, is speaking out strongly about the rule that has been imposed by the Integrity Commission of Members of the House of Assembly when it comes to declaring interests.

Connolly, who is the owner of 88.1FM radio station, was asked to withdraw from debate on the Broadcasting Bill last Monday because of her interests in the station.

The business woman and All-Island candidate has called on the Integrity Commission to review the regulation, otherwise it will have serious implications for future sittings of the House of Assembly.

In a speech delivered in the House of Assembly, Hon. Connolly said: “I I rise to declare my interest as owner of a radio station which could lead to a potential or perceived conflict of interest in respect of the upcoming debate and vote on the Broadcasting Bill.Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence I will explain the steps I have taken in respect of this potential conflict, the advice I have been given by the integrity commission and my own commentary on the commissions policy. All members of this house are subject to the Code of Conduct which covers conflict of interest. Failure to abide by the code may constitute an act of corruption or other criminal offence.”

She added: “This is a very serious matter for all members of this house, so I hope Mr. Speaker you can give me some leeway while I clarify the steps I have taken, and I assume all members must take, when faced with a potential or perceived conflict of interest.

Mr. Speaker, the advice I was given by the commission was a surprise to me and I think will be of interest to all the Honorable Members of this House. When I contacted the Integrity Commission I ask them to confirm that a conflict of interest can arise “from the exercise of power that could be considered to af-

Fish Fry being kicked out of Bight Park

FROM AIR TURKS AND CAICOS TO INTERCARIBBEAN AIRWAYS “It is a very proud moment for me personally and for The rebranding from Air Turks and Caicos to interCaribbean Airways was made official this past week, when my family and also for the staff that supported me for the the company unveiled its first aircraft with the new logo last 22 years, and who continue to push me as I continue to push myself,” Gardiner said. at the airline’s hanger on Providenciales.

In this photograph, Lyndon Gardiner (second from botLyndon Gardiner, Chairman for the company told the media at the launch on Monday, February 17, described tom), Chairman of the interCaribbean Airways is picture the occasion as a proud moment for him and all who have with aircraft displaying the new logo with Trevor Saddler been involved with the organization for the 22 years it has (bottom), CEO of the company; Captain Kirk Adams(top) and Pilot Edison Simmons. (See Page 2 for full story) been in existence. fect the value of an interest held”.

I wrote in my email “ It is not clear that contributing to a debate and voting on a bill amounts to “exercising power” especially as I am one vote and my party is in the minority, however I was intending to disclose my potential conflict prior to making my contribution. Mr. Speaker it seemed to me that disclosure would be sufficien. Apparently it is not.”

Connolly said the Integrity Commission advised her that in order to comply with the letter and spirit of the code of conduct she must “declare my interest in the Broadcasting Bill,withdraw from any dis-

cussions (including chairing the Committee of the House on it) and abstaining from voting on it.”

Connolly followed the advice of the Integrity Commission and after completing her personal explanation, she absented herself from the House before the debate and the vote on the broadcasting bill.

The Deputy Speaker said she was “surprised that abstaining from voting would be the recommended course of action”.

She added: “I have been unable to find anything in the UK legislation that requires Members of Parliament to do anything, but declare

Sonji and Oliver Williams lose appeal

DEMA denies illegal activity by long line boat

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their interest. My research indicates that in Canada Members are barred from voting on bills which they have a financial interest, a much higher hurdle, Mr. Speaker than the definition in the code of conduct which equates a conflict with the existence of an “incentive”. It would appear therefore, Mr. Speaker, that the Integrity Commission is breaking new ground and holding this House to a higher standard than the UK legislature, and perhaps higher than any other legislature in the world!”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Broadcast Bill stalled PAGE 9

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

From Air Turks and Caicos to interCaribbean Airways

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he rebranding from Air Turks and Caicos to interCaribbean Airways was made official this past week, when the company unveiled its first aircraft with the new logo at the airline’s hanger on Providenciales.

Lyndon Gardiner, Chairman for the company told the media at the launch on Monday, February 17, described the occasion as a proud moment for him and all who have been involved with the organization for the 22 years it has been in existence.

“It is a very proud moment for me personally and for my family and also for the staff that supported me for the last 22 years, and who continue to push me as I continue to push myself,” Gardiner said.

The first craft with the new logo is dedicated to Gardiner’s late brother, Donnie, affectionately known as “Shuez”, who died in a plane crash in February, 2007. Gardiner reminded the media that it was he and his late brother who built the business and had been the main driving force behind its existence.

“This airplane has a particular significance for me because most of you that know the story of interCaribbean would know that myself and my brother Donnie, were the two main driving forces behind

the company as we grew. This airplane is named in his honour, and because of that, it gives me a particular gratitude to pay my personal respects and respects of the company to my brother who has moved on,” Gardiner said.

The name change was made mainly to identify with the regional routes that the airline currently services and will be serviced in the near future. The routes include San Juan, Puerto Rico; Puerto Plata and Samana, Dominican Republic; Kingston, Jamaica; Nassau, Bahamas, and Santiago, Cuba.

Chief Executive Officer for the airlines, Trevor Saddler, said that interCaribbean would be constructing an airline infrastructure which the Turks and Caicos Islands and the region that it serves will be proud.

“Mr. Lyndon Gardiner, whose vision and whose tenacity has brought the company where it is today.

I joined the company as CEO just a few months ago, and I have been working closely with Mr. Gardiner on building the future infrastructure that will allow us to have an airline that the Turks and Caicos could be proud of; an airline for the region, for the Caribbean; and airline that will serve the Turks and Caicos as well as the countries that surround us, taking this brand and becoming a brand ambassador for these islands,” Saddler said.

Saddler said that another aircraft with the new logo should be rolled out soon.

In the meantime, Gardiner said that design concept was in keeping mainly with Turks and Caicos and Caribbean beauty.

“The design concept is a very complicated thing.

As you would have imagined, we wanted to keep our signatures from the history of the airline. Also we wanted to inject a bit of newness to it. And so, we have got some of the base colours; as you can see our signature yellow is still with us and our signature pink is still with us, representing flamingoes of the Turks and Caicos Islands; I must say yellow is my favourite colour. We also captured the blues of the waters of the Turks and Caicos and of the wider Caribbean,” he said.

Gardiner said that so far the reception into the new routes have been phenomenal, as those jurisdictions have welcomed interCaribbean Airways with open arms.

“The reception has been quite good. We have got a lot of interest Caribbean-wide. A lot of people have called in and say they are proud of what we are doing. They have expressed interest on how the airline planning to fly to the different destinations will bring together the peoples of the region,” he said.

The flagship craft is named “Paradise Breeze”, which was chosen through a competition involving the all the routes that the airlines will be flying. Michael Herbert of Ocho Rios, Jamaica came up with the winning name.

JOSEPHINE SPEAKS OUT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Hon Connolly added: “Mr. Speaker it appears that the Integrity’s commission net, or perhaps better described, given today’s debate, as “long lines” are too long and have too many hooks. The effect is to catch a significant number of unintended consequences.

We are all driving license holders, so does that give us an incentive in relation to a bill on driving licenses and therefore a conflict of interest and therefore does this require a mass recusal. There will be a number of empty seats in the House if we ever have to debate the Legal Practitioners Ordinance! And finally Mr. Speaker how will this affect the selection of parliamentary candidates. In order to avoid recusal the perfect candidate will be an unemployed, friendless orphan!”

She noted that taking away the vote of an elected representative is a serious action, adding that the people’s representatives have been denied the right to speak and vote on behalf of their constituents.

She added: “This should be done in only very serious circumstances and it should be done after sober consideration of all the effects. It is not clear to me that the commission has considered all the ramifications,if the policy is that anyone with a perceived or potential incentive must recuse themselves from voting. This recusal maybe specific to my circumstances, but it surely would be a sad state of affairs if every member has to check with the commission for each circumstance and then wait for the commission to decide if they can vote.”

The Deputy Speaker stressed that she is a supporter of both the

code of conduct and the Integrity Commission and will follow their advice.

But, she added: “However I do think it is incumbent on the Integrity Commission to provide the members of this house with reassurance that this policy is well thought out, in line with other legislatures and will not have a detrimental effect on democracy in this country.”

I thank the Members for their kind attention and thank you Mr. Speaker for this opportunity to explain myself.

SUPPORTER OF CODE OF CONDUCT Meantime, in a separate press statement, the Deputy Speaker stated that she is a “supporter of the code of conduct, the Integrity Commission and all institutions that are set up to ensure good governance”.

She added: “I am not now, nor did I in the House of Assembly challenge the Integrity Commis-

sions advice in respect of my own recusal. The issues I raised were much broader. The Integrity Commission is an institution that seeks to ensure good governance, but being on the side of good does not provide a free pass and does not exempt the institution from criticism. The integrity commission should understand that as part of the seven principles of public life, a member of the House has a duty to act with honesty and integrity.

That includes acting with honesty if she perceives failings in the operation of an institution (even if it is the Integrity Commission) and with integrity by drawing attention to such failings.”

Hon Connolly said that the present code of conduct in respect of members of the House of Assembly is “badly drafted, open to misinterpretation and not fit for purpose”.

She stated: “The code needs to be updated or at the very least supplemented with additional guidance as a matter of urgency; otherwise the proceedings in the House of Assembly will rapidly descend into farce. The Code was issued in November 2012 and as a member of the House I was expected to be conversant with the code. It maybe a legitimate question to ask why has it taken nearly 15 months for me to take issue with it? This is the beauty and the fatal flaw of the code, is that it can mean all things to all people.”

Connolly said she read and understood the concept of incentive and how it led to potential or perceived conflict of interest and she also read and understood the various steps that need to be taken after having identified a possible conflict, one of which is disclosure.

She continued: “I, and I believe

many of my colleagues in the House of Assembly believed that disclosure was sufficient. However at the end of a 53 page document buried at the bottom of page 2 of appendix b is the innocuous phrase that if you have a conflict you must “disqualify yourself from the decision making process”. In other words recuse yourself from voting. It is still not clear to me that this applies to every conflict, but in the last few days I have spent a considerable amount of time looking at the code and I can find no exemption. If the Commission is proposing that every conflict of interest, which is defined in the very broadest terms, requires a member to recuse himself, well on some bills we are unlikely to have a quorum in the House!

If this is the policy of the commission then they are wrong.”

The Deputy Speaker noted that no legislature in the world uses this standard for the obvious reason that such a broad exclusion would make legislatures unworkable.

She said: “The term that needs to be in the code of conduct, but is missing is “direct pecuniary interest”. This is a term used in many of the codes of conduct and standing orders for legislatures throughout the world. This means if it affects the cash in your pocket then you do not vote. It is very specific because most legislatures understand that taking away a members vote is very serious and is only taken in exceptional circumstances.

I would ask that the commission consider this issue urgently and issue a revised code that follows other legislatures (such as the Isle of Man) and clearly states that recusals are only necessary when there is a direct pecuniary interest.”

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

DEMA wants Fish Fry moved from Bight Park

BY VIVIAN TYSON

A

s of March 5, the weekly Thursday Fish Fry will be evicted from the Bight Park in Providenciales on the grounds the Tourist Board has allowed a number of the Memoranda of Understanding it signed with the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA), to break.

When contacted, neither Director of Tourism Ralph Higgs nor Director of DEMA, Kathleen Wood was willing to elaborate on the issue. However, The SUN obtained a letter over Wood’s signature and penned on February 3, informing Higgs that after March 5, the Fish Fry will not be welcomed guest at the venue.

The letter addressed a number of rules-breaking ranging from nonpayment of outstanding bills for the park, unclean garbage after the event and non-compliance with music crescendo.

The following are the contents of the letter DEMA sent to the Tourist Board: “We have now passed the one-year anniversary of the Fish Fry, the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA) would like to reflect on our agreement with the Tourist Board regarding the Fish Fry’s use of the Bight Park.

“As you are aware, on 2nd December 2012, DEMA and the Tourist Board entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allow the Tourist Board to hold a Fish Fry event at the Bight Park on Thursday evenings. The conditions of the MoU included, but were not limited to the following: “1. DEMA agreed to allow a suitable part of the Bight Park to be used for the Fish Fry, subject to existing policies, rules and regulations governing the use of the Park.

“2. The Tourist Board agreed to the following: “a. To ensure that the sound system is facing the sea and volume is regulated in order not to disturb the public and nearby houses and hotels; “b. To maintain cleanliness and orderliness of the portion of the Park used for the Fish Fry; “c. To pay the required user’s fee ($200/event) and an additional fee of ($200/event) to cover the cost of electricity and water; and “d. To ensure that all garbage generated from the event is properly removed immediately after the event.

“Regarding item (a), DEMA continues to get regular complaints about noise from the surrounding businesses and residences, as far away from the event as Blue Mountain. I have attended the event myself on a couple of occasions and have noted that the speakers are not turned towards the sea, as recommended above. Furthermore, the sound level is unnecessarily deafening. In fact, the music is so loud that it is almost impossible to carry on a conversation at the event.

“This level of noise is unacceptable and represents a breach of both Park rules and the terms of

our MoU. Under the National Parks Ordinance, it is a violation under Regulation 3(1)(p) to ‘[play] any musical instrument, radio, cassette player, record player, television or any other item which reproduces music, to the discomfort of other persons.’

“With regard to items (b and d), a weekly inspection of the Park and surrounding areas, after the Fish Fry event, has revealed that the cleaning crews the Tourist Board is employing are not doing an adequate job. While some trash is removed from the immediate parking lot area, other debris is left in vegetation and along roadsides, often extending along the Lower Bight Road and up Pratt’s Road.

“Furthermore, as you are aware, vendors are dumping charcoal and cooking oil into vegetated areas, which damages vegetation and leaves a foul odour. Although the Tourist Board and DEMA have tried to remedy this problem on several occasions, this behaviour continues.

“DEMA received payment from the Tourist Board for one event in January 2013 and for four events in February 2013, for a total of $2,000. We have not received any payment from you since that time. The total outstanding is to date $19,200 (48 weeks). I concede there were a couple of cancelled events during that time, so the total outstanding may be slightly lower.

“DEMA recognizes that the Fish Fry event is an exceptional tourism venue and we applaud the Tourist Board for devising this very successful and important cultural event. However, the event is inconsistent with the vision for the Bight Park, which was developed to be open to the public during only daylight hours, and for quiet, ecotourism-based activities.

“The economic and physical cost to DEMA, the Bight Park and surrounding communities has also been unacceptably high. As such, we cannot continue to compromise the welfare of the Park and the community at large for the sake of one event.

“DEMA therefore asks that the Tourist Board immediately seek a new home for the Fish Fry, with a goal of being completely out of the Park by 5th March 2014, in accordance with the terms of our MoU. We wish you continued success with the Fish Fry and remain available to assist in any capacity to ensure that this transition is a smooth one.”

But when contacted, Higgs noted that the Tourist Board was doing all it could to ensure that all DEMA standards and the MoU between the two entities were intact.

“We have persons who clean the venue the night of the fish fry and we have people who clean the venue the following morning. So we are happy with the effort, and we intend the keep the fish fry venue clean,” Higgs insisted.

The Director of Tourism was not prepared to state whether or not the Tourist Board received the eviction notice from DEMA, only willing to indi-

Turks and Caicos Sun Suite # 5, Airport Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: (649) 946-8542 Fax: (649) 941-3281 Email: sun@suntci.com Read us online at www.suntci.com Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden Boyce Senior Editor: Vivian Tyson Office Manager: Dominique Rigby Information Technology and Production Manager: Kelano Howell Design by Design2pro.com The Turks and Caicos SUN is a subsidiary of The SUN Media Group Ltd. We are committed to excellence in journalism, educating and informing our readers, serving and satisfying our advertisers and assisting in the overall development of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

cate that both entities exchange numerous correspondences each year, including matters of Fish Fry. He said that in the event DEMA has any concerns, his office would ensure that those concerns are addressed promptly.

“We are always exchanging letters with DEMA on a number of issues including issues about the fish fry; not necessarily condemning issues. And we do our best to comply with any request or suggestions by DEMA, to enhance the Fish Fry. The Fish Fry is a very popular event; it is going from strength to strength. Any issues of concern, positive or negative made by DEMA, the Board takes them on and does its best to react to them,” Higgs said.

For her part, Wood said that she would not be able to comment on whether or not DEMA had issued a letter to the Tourist Board or the contents of the letter.

“I can’t comment on that right now,” Wood told The SUN. In the meantime, the Tourism Director told The SUN that his office sees DEMA as an important ally, and both offices plan to work together in the interest of making Turks and Caicos Islands a more environmentally friendly place.

“We see DEMA as our partner in pursuit of government business and we are working to have the fish fry continue,” Higgs said.

Opposition PDM meets with officials from Fortis TCI O

n Friday, February 14th, 2014, representatives of the PDM and Opposition Members met with members of the Fortis Management Team which included CEO Eddington Powell.

The PDM delegation led by Party Leader and Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Sharlene Cartwright Robinson, comprised of Hon. Sean Astwood, Hon. Clarence Selver, Hon. Goldray Ewing and Hon. Delroy Williams. The PDM had called for a meeting to address several issues including the recent blackout, power supply in the Wheeland District, its policies relating to compensation, disconnection and reconnection, renewable energy and the high cost of the provision of electricity.

Whilst appreciative of the fact that power outages as in time past were considerably lower in occurrence, the PDM wanted to be assured that the recent blackout could not have been avoided and what steps if any can be taken to

avoid the recurrence of this type event.

The PDM was given the root cause of the problem and was told that a post mortem was continuing on the matter which was welcomed by the PDM delegation.

In addressing compensation for losses, the Fortis team did acknowledge having received a number of claims and admitted that each was being looked at on a case by case basis.

The Elected Representative for Five Cays, Hon Sean Astwood, inquired why the areas in Five Cays and Chalk Sound experienced the longest power outage. He also raised the issue of a long held perception in Five Cays and Chalk Sound, that it is usually the last area to have power restored after an outage.

CEO Eddington Powell assured the representative and the delegation that the perception is not because any area is more important than the other but that the system has several inherited configurations that will take time to

change; also, efforts were made during this last outage to share power but failed. He promised an investigation into the “perceived” concern.

Elected Representative for Wheeland and Shadow Minister for GSS, Hon Vaden Delroy Williams raised the issue of the difficulties faced by residents in the area known as Phase 2.

Fortis informed the delegation that it had had a meeting with Priton Home Development and that a determination was made as to the cause of the shortages and other problems experienced.

He advised the delegation of the details and as such there must be a follow up meeting with Priton and home owners.

Hon Clarence Selver raised the matter of training and certification and the willingness of Fortis to assist the TCICC and consumers in this area. Fortis expressed its willingness and advised the PDM delegation that it had already offered in time past but had received no

response in that regard. The Opposition commits to seeing this through.

Fortis explained its reconnection and disconnection policies and the delegation was able to cite instances where the policies were not strictly followed. The Party Leader offered to share an experience and urged the company to ensure that the information relayed to customers is correct and also as much as possible, that the policies be followed, especially in the area of contacting customers, particularly where good standing customers are not contacted.

On the matter of renewal energy, following the TCIG’s signing onto Richard Bronson’s Carbon War Foundation’s pilot program, the delegation inquired of Fortis’ position. Fortis said it would position itself to learn and see what benefits can be derived from the Program and it also raised the matter of its own pilot projects on renewable energy.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

DEMA head denies reports that fish study boat is dealing in illegal activities

BY VIVIAN TYSON

M

arine biologists conducting studies in Turks and Caicos waters to test the commercial viability of pelagic (long line) fishing are not engaging in suspicious activities, says Kathleen Wood, Director of the Department of Environmental and Maritime Affairs (DEMA).

Wood was responding to widespread reports that the team which had received DEMA’s blessing to conduct the study of behalf of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government was catching huge piles of fish in the deep and arranging for international buyers to meet them in the ocean where they would engage in commercial activities.

The allegations further states that the boat would then return to shore with a few fish that its members said they caught from their day’s expedition. But wood said that as far as she was aware, no such activities had taken place.

“I don’t think I have received that report; nobody has reported that to me. We have, as you are aware, pelagic fishing study underway; they report all their catch. We have electronic motoring of their vessel at all times that we know where they are and what they are doing at all times. Everything they catch they record; they either release it if it is not the targeted catch or they land it at South Caicos,” Wood explained.

However, she said that report came to her that a boat that was fishing off the coast of Grand Turk was linked to the boat conducting the study. That boat, Wood said, was being in-

DEMA Director Kathleen Wood.

vestigated.

“I did hear some rumours that there is a vessel off Grand Turk that is not associated with the pelagic fishing study, that had been engaging in some suspicious activities, not in the deep water though, not dealing with pelagic stocks. It is alleged that they are dealing with more reef fin fish-like stock. We are investigating that. We don’t have any information to offer at this time. We have been dealing with all the rumours and information, trying to sort out fact from rumour,” she added.

“There was a rumour that the pelagic fishing boat was engaged in some kind of suspicious activity, but it was not the case. It is another vessel, we are investigating. It is another vessel not associated with pelagic fishing or even pelagic fisheries for that matter. It is not landing pelagic species, it is landing other species.

So we are investigating that and when we have further information on it we will share it. But

right now we don’t have any information. We are just trying to get to the bottom of the rumour just like you are.”

In the meantime, Wood said that the study is being done to flesh out whether the pelagic fishery in Turks and Caicos Islands waters could be commercially viable, and if so, how to develop it, and in the meantime devise laws to regulate its activities.

“We have a stock of pelagic species which is potentially economically viable for TCI and we want to understand the characteristics of the stocks and the viability of the stocks in terms of potential for development. Currently we don’t have any existing regulation in place to govern pelagic fishery stocks. And so, the objectives behind it are multifaceted. One, we want to determine the characteristics of the stock and see if there is economic viability in developing them.

And two, we want to see exactly what will happen in terms of employing different kinds of pelagic fishing techniques to see if there are species that are going to be threatened by that, and how they are going to be threatened, so that we can develop regulations to govern that fishery, because right now we don’t have any, and we do need to have sensible regulations in place if we are going to open up that fishery to commercial exploitation,” she said.

Wood added: “So, our secondary objective of the study is to be able to see the good, bad and the ugly or everything that might be associated with the opening of the stocks to commercial development so that we can develop some sensible guidelines.”

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Women in court charged with taking money from Haitians to get kids in school

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

hree persons jointly charged with 15 counts of theft and one count of conspiracy to obtain property by deception after allegedly collected between $400 and $4,000 from mainly Haitians with the promise of getting their children in government-run schools are currently before the Supreme Court in Providenciales presided by Madame Justice Joan Joyner.

The accused are Sheila Bain, Lorne Jean Mary and Dellerise Bottex. Bottex is a former secretary of the Clement Howell High School.

The court was told that between April 1 and September 30, 2011, the three collected cash from various persons with the intention of permanently defrauding them by telling them that they could get their children in government schools.

Since the start of the case on Tuesday, February 18, several persons have testified, including Director of Education Edgar Howell and Vice Principal for the Clement Howell High School Claudette Dean.

Mary Franz St. Ville, one of the victims in the case, said that she had six a year-old daughter, who was attending private school but she wanted her to get into a government school.

She said that she had already registered her child with the Education Department but felt that she was not getting anywhere because the department did not get back to her.

High Court Judge Madame Justice Joan Joyner

She told the court that she went to Jean Mary and explained the situation to him.

He then told her that he knew a friend of a friend who he believed could get her child in school. St. Ville said Jean Mary later returned and told her that the individual would need two photos of the child, a copy of her passport, work permit, a copy of the child’s birth certificate and $500 in order to make it happen. She said that she gave Mary the document and money, and he told her that he gave it to Bain.

She said they did not tell her when her child would get in school and that the child did not get in school that year. She said after she required of Jean Mary what was going on, he told her that he had called Bain, who told him to wait a little longer.

He said Jean Mary later gave her Bain’s phone number and after she called her and eventually went to see her at her home with Jean Mary, she told her to wait a week, but said the child never got in school. St. Ville said that she did not get the documents back from Bain.

Earlier Dean told the court that someone who she believed was Bain had called her phone and told her that now that she got the money for the child she was supposed to call her. She later realized that the phone call was intended for Bottex.

She said two days later, former principal, Lloyd Fearon asked her to get more information from Bottex on the matter. She said that Bottex told her that she was approached by Bain who said that she wanted to get some children in school. Dean said Bottex told her that whatever money and document she collected she gave it to Bain, and that she had contacted a police officer named Diamond on the matter.

Dean further told the court that Bottex told her that Bain had refused to refund the money after realizing that she could not get the children in school, and as a result, Bottex and her son were being harassed by some of the parents.

The matter is said to continue over the next few days when more witnesses are expected to testify.

Bain is represented by Lara Maroof; Bottex is represented by Oliver Smith; while Jean Mary is represented by Ashwood ‘Nash’ Forbes.

FortisTCI Embarks on Solar Pilot Project F

ortisTCI, in keeping with its mission statement, is committed to providing safe, reliable, least-cost energy in an environmentally responsible manner. As such, the Company is pleased to announce that it will embark on Solar and Wind Pilot Projects. The Solar Project will commence in March 2014 and the Wind Project will commence once final planning approval has been attained. The Solar Project will include the installation of a 30kW Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) system at the Company’s headquarters in Providenciales.

Following a bid process led by Engineering Consultants, Kaehne Consulting Ltd, a local company named Urban Green Environmental Ltd was awarded the contract to supply and install the Solar PV system on behalf of FortisTCI. The pilot project, slated to last between 1 to 2 years, is designed to be used as a demonstration, which will allow for the tracking and the collection of data that will assist the Company in identifying possibilities for larger utility scale Solar PV installations in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Vice President of Energy Production and Project Management Nigel Hosein said, “Staff of FortisTCI will gain valuable practical experience and knowledge in the operation, maintenance and performance of Solar PV systems during this pilot project. The Com-

pany also hopes to determine at what levels solar energy can be integrated into our current electricity grid system. It is also viewed as environmentally friendly, often called ‘green’ energy, and environmentally safe.”

Customers also stand to benefit tremendously, as this project is one step closer to the possibilities of interconnection to the company’s grid with Solar PV systems.

“Given the current and projected developments with Solar PV systems, from a cost benefit perspective, there is growing potential for these systems to become integrated into our generation mix to the benefit of both the utility and customers, without the need for subsidies. This project will help us prepare to take advantage of these opportunities when they arise,” Hosein noted.

After the pilot project has been successfully completed and the appropriate feasibility studies are conducted, utility scale Solar PV systems, if proved to be financially and technically viable, will be installed in an effort to continue providing reliable energy solutions to FortisTCI customers. FortisTCI continues to actively explore other renewable energy technologies that can be suitably and feasibly integrated into the Country’s generation mix without reducing safety and reliability in services or increasing cost to customers.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 9

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

Contentious Broadcasting Bill stalled in House

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he Broadcasting Bill that government wishing to pass in the House of Assembly is completely flawed and needs recreating, the opposition Peoples Democratic Movement, led by Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson is arguing.

Government, which pointed out that broadcasting industry remains unregulated and is in need of such measure, brought the Bill to the House of Assembly on Monday (February 17) to have it debated and passed. But the opposition and other members in the House poked a litany of holes in the document, saying that it could make the industry worse than it is now.

Cartwright-Robinson said her party has a plethora of issues with the Broadcasting Bill, including government’s intention to put it under Telecommunications instead of Broadcasting; lack of consultations with stakeholders; how the law would be policed and how to deal with intellectual property.

At first the opposition said it was not was against the way that the government tried to rush the bill through the House two weeks ago on the grounds that it was a money bill, and so wanted all three readings on the day. But she said they stood their grounds and got the two Governor’s members to side with them to allow just one reading.

She said that even though some parliamentarians expressed concerns as to the structure and contents of the Bill, Government brought it back to the house on Monday (February 17) without changes, to go through the final stages in order for it to become law.

She said during the debate and committee, a number of issues was raised.

“The PDM supports the regulating of the Industry under one umbrella but questions the wisdom of placing it under the Telecommunications Commission and not under a Broadcasting Commission or a dedicated Unit. We believe that the Bill is labour intensive and requires resources to give effect to the Bill which is more of a regulatory Bill than a money Bill.

“Whilst the Bill was technical, members of the opposition did consult but following these consultations, more concerns arose and more questions remained unanswered. Of greater concern was the further consultations promised to stakeholders in the Industry and not honored.

“The opposition informed the House of Assembly that in such a technical area, government should ensure that proper consultations are done - this, of course, does not in any way diminish the competence or skill of the staff at the Telecommunications Commission,” said.

The following questions and concerns were put forth: • What is the framework to be put in place to give effect and to demonstrate commitment of policing the Bill; • What is the taxable item; and • There ought not be a case where a small family owned Cable company or small Radio Station is managed and treated like a Telecoms giant.

“We requested to see the regulations that the minister said were in draft only after I raised the matter of not having the full picture before us to make an informed decision as a lot was left to regulations to be approved in Cabinet only.

We also requested a Schedule of who it

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Opposition Leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright Robinson. applies to as broadcasting is wide and can include signage on the Highway, VHF usage, or Churches streaming and broadcasting hymns. The Premier then said that further amendments will be made to exempt certain entities or activities from requiring licensing under the Bill. We have still not been provided with that list,” Cartwright Robinson said.

She added: “We raised the matter of intellectual issues that will arise as TCIG would stand to benefit from some other country’s intellectual property and could very well jeopardise its relationship with other Governments. It is our view that copyright legislation ought to have been brought as well and the Premier agreed that this ought to be a concern.”

Cartwright-Robinson said also that the opposition felt that the Bill was too liberal in the area of different cultures and could be counterproductive to assimilation. She said that the opposition also felt that the appeals process in the Broadcasting Bill and Telecommunications Ordinance need revision, also expressing concerned about the power of

TCIG to impose tax outside of license and regulatory fees.

She said also that the opposition wanted the established coverage zone to be maintained as a means of protection for smaller companies such as cable companies outside of Providenciales.

“The purpose of this Bill we saw as twofold - that of regulating this industry and that of preserving this industry for Belongers. The move by the Government presented in an amendment proposed by the Acting AG was very concerning, as Sec 7 (7)(a) and (b) set out the requirement for all licenses given under this Bill to be Belonger controlled. Yet, a new subsection (9) was introduced giving power to the Minister to waive the Belonger requirement ‘as the case may be’.

“This amendment, the opposition felt, went to the core of this Bill and introduced a provision to empower a minister to bypass this requirement which was the soul of the Bill,” she said.

A vote and a call for division was held on that matter, which saw the section defeated.

“The number of amendments made by section 8 by the AG’s Chambers and the Government is worrisome and leaves one to wonder whether it is fully prepared itself.

“We believe we must discontinue the practice of approaching issues from a place of almost always planning to give something up. It is time we seek to truly empower our people to become greater players in our economy as owners and managers and not just as consumers,” Cartwright-Robinson said.

As a result of the controversy, the passing of the Bill into law was delayed, and there is no indication as to when it will come up again.

Page 10

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

House speaker deadlock-breaking vote defeats Government motion

BY VIVIAN TYSON

H

ouse Speaker Hon. Robert Hall sided with members of the Opposition and Governor’s appointed members to defeat a motion brought by the Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing, to abort Standing Orders 5 and 6, which allows the House to sit beyond 6p.m.

The House speaker’s vote was essentially breaking a deadlock of nine votes each for the proposing and opposing sides.

Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing, led the motion, which was quickly shot down by the opposition, led by Appointed Member Hon. Clarence Selver.

Selver told the House that he was against the motion on the grounds that government could have some ulterior motives.

“The last time we met, and that particular Standing Order was invoked, what we found was that the rights of the minority is infringed upon.

Because we went along with them for the government business to take precedence, and then as soon as government business was finished, the House was adjourned sine die without any business from the minority having an opportunity to be raised in the House. So, we are not prepared to go beyond 6 o’clock, we were given advice that we will come in for two days to work for two days.

We are not going beyond 6 o’clock,” Selver insisted.

However, Premier Ewing stated that informed the House that going beyond that time could afford the opposition the time needed to have their

Speaker of the House of Assembly Hon. Robert Hall

Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing

day, and to not take up that offer could cause them to shoot themselves in the foot.

“I think the honourable member is contradicting himself, because if he had allowed us to go beyond 6 o’clock, we would have gotten to have dealt with any business that the other side had.

That is not infringing on y any rights; these are within the standing orders. We either vote on it and lose or not. The last time they put this motion forward, we did not go beyond 6 o’clock, and so, it was in your favour,” the Premier noted.

He noted, too, that having the meeting go beyond that time could also afford government members the opportunity to tackle pressing and outstanding government business.

“Any member of cabinet has the right to ask for suspension of this House at anytime because

Opposition Appointed Member Hon. Clarence Selver

we do have government business to do other than the business of this House as well. And I am saying we have pressing matters to do in this House the following day as well. So when you speak of precedence, you also have to expect that this House should be able to sit beyond 6 o’clock of we have business to conduct,” the Premier said.

However, after the votes, and realizing that there was a deadlock, Hall said that he was compelled to vote against the motion.

“While personal consideration should not matter, I know the land which I live, and because of certain other personal involvement on my part, I would not want even to give the impression that I am anxious to get out of here, hence I will rule against the motion. So we will continue until 6 (p.m.),” the speaker ruled.

SUN article sparks stateless children debate in social media

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he recent visit by members of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), who addressed the matter of stateless children living in the Turks and Caicos Islands and their statement carried in The SUN has sparked what is shaping up to be a honest debate especially in the social media realm, and some prominent persons have joined the conversation.

Earlier this past week, social media site Facebook was the source of many discussions regarding the matter of children who were in the Turks and Caicos Islands to expatriate parents unable to get status here. The SUN article on the matter was posted in the Speak Your Mind TCI forum, which was the source of the debate.

One of the persons who lend their voices to the debate is prominent local businessman Albray Butterfield Jr. In his posting Butterfield said: “Normally don’t comment on the various discussions posted on this forum, but the current topic is a serious matter of national importance and will have a devastating effect on the future development of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), due to the intellectual brain drain to come.

“Today’s youth are tomorrow’s future, and because of stupid ass laws and policies being implemented by the powers that be, majority of today’s youth will not return to the TCI in the future with their intellect and knowledge to help build a first world TCI.

“Twenty years from now TCI citizens will still be complaining on forums such as this about being marginalized by the expatriate community because of the limited foresight and dumb ass decisions that was previously made and continually to be made in this era by our political leaders.

“Majority of those kids who are denied TCI citizenship today, will make the UK and some other country proud tomorrow.

“There’s a reason why President Obama is seeking to grant the children of undocumented immigrants U.S. citizenship, because these are the children that will be the future Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, Scientists, etc,, that will continue to allow the U.S. to keep its edge over the rest of the world tomorrow.

“What a shame that our political leaders can’t see that far into the future.”

Former Head of the Social Welfare Department Dr. Rao M. Gazula commented: “Birth land is the mother land whether parents are documented or undocumented, legal residents or illegal resident. The child is the son of soil or daughter of the soil.

“Fifteen years ago we, at social Welfare Department, faced one case in Five Cays. A child, one week old was found in bushes in Five Cays. My department received a call; we went to the spot, investigated all the circumstances and requested somebody come forward for the adoption of the child.

“Nobody knew the child’s parents; no birth certificate for the child. Finally, one family came

up for the adoption. As Head of that Department, responsible for the welfare of the children, I did the rest. Now the child is going to school and also top student in the class. Even though I am retired I always inquire about the child. The Adopted father is TC Islander, came to my house in Five Cays, give the information. So I am strongly supporting Mr. Butterfield ’s sentiments” Former Agriculture Director Nicky Turner stated: “The minister hates the Brits (we all know and understand) and thus puts all responsibility on their shoulders. But the other reason for this devolution of responsibility is that OUR laws are not being addressed by him. There are “stateless” people - mostly children - here, and it is a disgrace.”

Another writer, Terrence Robinson posted: “Touchy subject but we have no choice. The independent TCI will need doctors, lawyers, firefighter, army, police, masons, carpenters, farmers and so on. Good way to start population growth.

Make TCI history mandatory for all workers next and English remain the primary language.”

A post under the name of “Central Storage”noted: “My daughter graduated from a full class of about a 50/50 mix of expat/local as of today one local remains; none of the expat, according to my daughter who, keeps in touch with all of them. None is planning on returning to live here. That is 23 fully educated young adults gone to the benefit of other countries, yet some people would say ‘good, less competition for us’. Smh (shake my head).”

TCI At Heart Smith posted: I am calling on all expat kids born here, based on what the Minister (of Border Control and Labour Hon. DonHue Gardiner)...please apply right now for this ...and I quote our immigration minister... ‘The British Nationality Act, which governs citizenship in the Turks and Caicos Islands is clear; a person that is stateless is covered under the British Nationality Act and they may apply for British Overseas Territory Citizenship.

“And with that they would be able to live in the TCI, Travel free throughout the world and to work in TCI’.The amount of expat kids born here that we have turned away that will be doctors, great scientists, and the list goes on, all because of a stupid law.”

Deanairis Arredondo wrote: “when I had my daughter (here), they did not want to give me her passport. They said I should go to the Dominican Republic in order to get her a Dominican passport. While in the Dominican Republic the Dominican officials did not want to give her the Dominican passport because she was not born there.

“I live in the TCI since I was 3 years old. That’s over 23 years ago.

Have my TCI documents, Belonger status etc. But because her father was also a born Bahamian but a TCI Belonger as well, they refused to give her a passport. It was so difficult to get it but I never gave up. Sadly, it is also about who you know in that office. I think all kids should be given their passports, especially if the parents are legal in the TCI.”

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

Page 11

LOCAL NEWS

Construction of JW Marriott in Grace Bay to start later this year C

onstruction of the nine-storey JW Marriott hotel in Grace Bay will commence later this year, says Governor Peter Beckingham.

The Governor said he was given this assurance by the developers who he and his wife Jill met at his official residence in Grand Turk on Monday, February 17th.

“The investors re-affirmed their confidence in the Turks and Caicos, and we agreed to aim towards a starting date of the last quarter of this year for their first project,” the Governor said. “I was delighted to have an opportunity to meet these important investors in Turks and Caicos.

It provided me with an opportunity to underline the country’s commitment to welcome new, up-market developments in Providenciales.”

The Venezualan group Desarrollos are developing two or three hotels in Grace Bay, including one for JW Marriott. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Stipa, and their son Roberto and daughter in law , flew in to Grand Turk from Aruba, where they have already developed a resort, together with advisers to the Group.

They had lunch at Waterloo before being given a brief tour of Grand Turk by the Governor and Mrs Beckingham.

They plan to open a new nine storey 380-room JW Marriott Hotel and Casino, with a gourmet specialty restaurant, a three-meal-a-day restaurant, a lobby bar and lounge and a pool bar & grill.

The hotel will also have 1,300 square meters of meeting space, including a ballroom; as well as a 962 square meter spa and fitness center, a kids/teen club, three swimming pools and a 901 square meter casino.

The hotel, scheduled to open in early 2016, will be built on a11-acre site and is located on the world-famous Grace Bay beach along the north coast of Providenciales, 15 minutes from the Providenciales International Airport.

Developers and lawyers of the proposed JW Marriott in Grace Bay after meeting with Governor Peter Beckingham and his wife Jill.

Mr. Walter Stipa is also the majority shareholder of the 269-room JW Marriott Hotel Caracas, the 207-room Venezuela Marriott Hotel Playa Grande and the 212-room Renaissance La Castellana Caracas. Additionally, Mr. Stipa owns the 320-room Ritz-Carlton Aruba.

The primary architect for the project is Robert M. Coleman & Partners, whose also designed the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, the Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club timeshare resort, the recently-opened Renaissance Curaçao Resort & Casino and the Ritz-Carlton Aruba, currently under construction.

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts’ global portfolio consists of 60 properties in 24 countries, offering a new standard of luxury to travelers around the world. By 2015, the brand plans to operate 80 hotels in 28 countries. In addition to JW Marriott in Turks and Caicos, the brand expects rapid growth in the Caribbean and Latin America region in the coming years. Properties in the pipeline include the 300-room JW Marriott Cabo San Lucas Resort, Mexico (2015), the 131-room JW Marriott Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2014), and the 225-room JW Marriott Hotel San Jose, Costa Rica (2015). Always reflecting their lo-

An artist’s impression of the JW Marriott in Turks and Caicos Islands. cale, JW Marriott hotels provide quietly luxurious, though purposeful and meaningful, services that help travelers achieve their personal goals and advance their ambitions without distraction or disruption, resulting in a rare harmony of beautifully delivered experiences where the primary purpose is the guests’ over-all well-being.

JW Marriott is part of Marriott International’s luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. These elegant hotels cater to today’s sophisticated, self-assured travelers, offering them the quiet luxury they seek in a warmly authentic, relaxed atmosphere lacking in pretense. JW Marriott properties artfully provide highly crafted, anticipatory experiences that are reflective of their locale so that their guests have the time to focus on what is most important to them. Currently, there are 60 JW Marriott hotels in 24 countries; by 2015 the portfolio is expected to encompass 79 properties in 28 countries.

Page 12

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Armed gang members invade Clement Howell High School again

BY VIVIAN TYSON

S

tudents, teachers and security guards at the Clement Howell High School in Providenciales scurried for cover on Wednesday, February 19, when armed gunmen invaded the compound looking for students they deemed as rival gang members.

A source at the institution described the incident as worse than the December 2012 invasion, which saw armed thugs invading the school and discharging at least two rounds of ammunition as they searched for rival gang members, who they believed to have been among the student body at the secondary learning institution.

The source said that even though the men were wearing masks, some students were able to ascertain who they were.

The source said that as opposed to 2012, when the thugs only went as far as to a section of the compound, this time around they combed classes in session openly displaying their weapons as they marched from one class room to the next.

“For sure we can’t operate under this kind of condition. I guess you can imagine the number of terrified students, especially girls, who saw the men when they came into the class room with their weapons in hand looking to hurt somebody,” the teacher said.

The source said that the security guards, many of whom are women, attempted to prevent the group from invading the compound, when they brandished weapons

they backed off and allowed them to have their way on the compound.

“If I were the security officers, I would do the same thing. I would not try to stop them because they had guns and the security officers have nothing to defend themselves with. We, at the school, are now fearful for our lives because at any given time men with guns can walk onto the property searching for rival gang members, and innocent students and we, as teachers could get hurt in the process,” the Clement Howell High School Source said.

The source said that a number of teachers, both local and expatriate, are planning to strike because they feel that their safety is at risk. The source said the teachers had not arrived at a date as to when to begin their strike action, but if they did not do it this past weekend, they could stage it in the new week.

In the meantime, a police source said that there has been a different attitude being displayed towards the Clement Howell High School in recent time by some members of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.

“Because violence always breaks out at the Clement Howell High School, the attitude being displayed by some of our officers now is that, ‘oh, it’s Clement Howell again, when we reach there we reach’. There is no real urge to tackle the situation there anymore. I don’t know if some of us are fed up sometimes at having to go there to deal with violence ever so often or what, but that is the kind of attitude being displays by some of us right now,” the source said.

In the meantime, the police said that investigations are being conducted into the incident, and at press time, no arrest was reportedly made.

The incident happened a week after news broke that current Principal, Gerald Persaud, will not be returning at the start of the next school year because he will be taking up a scholarship offer back in his home country of Guyana. The

next principal will be the third that the school will have in three years.

Lloyd Fearon, Persaud’s predecessor, left the post in 2012, after an incident with a parent, who was not too keen on how he had disciplined his child. Persaud took up the job late that year, but indicated to the Education Department that he would be leaving at the end of the school year.

MARIA RIGBY IS PRISON OFFICER OF THE YEAR

H

er Majesty Prison Service TCI on Monday February 17, 2013, named Ms. Maria Rigby Officer of the Year 2013 at a ceremony held on Grand Turk and attended by His Excellency the Governor Peter Beckingham and senior members of TCIG. Ms. Rigby was presented with a shield, cash award and a token of appreciation by Governor Beckingham.

The Prison Officer of the Year Award is funded by the Office of the Governor.

In presenting the award Governor Beckingham thanked Ms. Rigby and her colleagues for their consistent hard work and commitment in all areas, noting: “What you do many not always seem appreciated but we do appreciate all that you do. More than 90 percent of you have not yet won this award but you too can win”. The Governor noted that he was happy to support the award and promised his continued support.

The Officer of the Year Award was introduced a year ago, as one of several initiatives to boost staff morale and demonstrate the commitment of both the Ministry and the HM Prison to ensuring that members of staff who deliver at the highest standards are recognised and rewarded, Superintendent Ian Sargent said.

Ms. Rigby joined HM Prison in March 2004 as a prison officer and currently works on the prison’s Rehabilitation strategy. Both management and colleagues agree that it was Ms. Rigby’s commitment and motivation in performing her duties that allowed her to top the competition.

Ms. Rigby was lauded for her commitment to the Prison’s rehabilitation strategy through the provision of activities for female prisoners; her commitment and motivation in attending out of work activities and teambuilding events; for being an

Maria Rigby accepting her award from Governor Peter Beckinhgam extremely reliable member of staff as well as being especially supportive to her colleagues.

Selection for the Prison Officer of the Year is a two-tiered process with candidates receiving the votes of their colleagues as well as facing a selection/ assessment panel which considers the candidate’s competences including professionalism, on-the-job performance of duties as well as the overall impact of the officers’ performance on the core functions of the Service to carry out its national directives.

Other factors include the individual’s commitment and motivation in executing his/her responsibilities and willingness to go beyond the call of duty.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Home Affairs, Mrs. Susan Malcolm presented two quarterly awards to Officer Ms. Mildred Toussaint and Mr. Officer Everton Thompson.

In presenting the awards Mrs. Malcolm noted: “It is good when management recognises, but even better when our peers do. I commend you for the challenging roles you carry out on behalf of the community and the inmates”.

Governor Beckingham was accompanied by his wife Mrs. Jill Beckingham.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 13

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

US rewards TCI for assisting FBI with New York fraud case

BY VIVIAN TYSON

The Turks and Caicos Islands Government received $279,620 from the United States for being material partner in a New York securities fraud case that started in 2001 and ended recently.

John Dinkelman, Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy in Nassau, presented the funds to His Excellency Peter Beckingham, Governor for The Turks and Caicos Islands at the US Consulate in Grace Bay, Providenciales on Tuesday, February 18.

The 40 percent of the forfeited cash was presented to the TCI under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the two countries. The case was conducted by the New York division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Giving the background to the case, Bill Nicholson, Assistant FBI Legal Attaché, said that the case originated prior after the 2001 terrorist attack on the United States. He said that the culprit, Saverio “Sammy” Galasso, was part of an organised crime ring in New York, and who, just after the bombing of the World Trade Centre bombings in 2001, claimed that he created a device that could kill anthrax, a deadly substance that was being sent around in the mail.

Galasso, who pled guilty and was sentenced to a term of 30 months behind bars, was able to scam several persons who invested in the company, and some of his dirty money stashed away in a bank account in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“He had had a ballroom operation that was fully functioning and he knew at that point that he needed something new and jazzy to entice clients to invest their money, and shortly after 9/11 we had to deal with the anthrax issue. At that time Mr. Galasso felt that he could seize the moment and use this news to make his illegal gains. They claimed to have a company that they alleged killed anthrax. It was a penny stock, but when they got hold of the stock they promoted it to unsuspecting buyers who bought into the share and drove up the cost to $14 a share stock,” Nicholson said.

He added: “What the unsuspecting buyer didn’t know was that Galasso and company had put a pin

John Dinkelman (third from left), Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy in Nassau, The Bahamas presented the cheque of $279,620.32 to Governor Peter Beckingham (fourth from left) and Commissioner of Police Colin Farquar (fifth from left). Also sharing in the moment are (from left) Bill Nicholson, Assistant Legal Attaché at the FBI, Robert Shelhorn, Special FBI Agent and Kenville Charles of the Financial Crimes Unit of the Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. on it, therefore creating a crash, so Galasso and company profited from the stock, while the selected buyers loss from the purchase of that stock. At that point, when we arrested Mr. Galasso again, he chose to cooperate.”

Nicholson explained that Galasso mainly cooperated after the Turks and Caicos Islands authorities notified the US of funds in an account which could be linked to the fraudster.

“One of the major pieces that forced his hand to cooperate was that he had hid the stock down here (Turks and Caicos). My office in conjunction with Inspector David Thompson, at the time, worked hand in hand, along with the United States Attorney General’s Office, to lock down that money and let it stay in the account so that he could not have access to that account,” he said.

Nicholson said that the money was shipped back to the United States shortly after Galasso cooperated with the FBI. “Shortly thereafter, the money was repatriated to the United States, and has taken a number of years

but that’s just the way the system works to finally come to this day, to make sure that the proceeds from the illegal gains that were taken by Mr. Galasso (shared) between the two governments,” Nicholson said.

For his part, Dinkelman said that the presentation represents the close bond between the two countries.

“Today’s presentation is just one example of the fruits of this cooperative effort. The Turks and Caicos authorizes in cooperation with United States authorities lifted those restraints of those accounts to enabling a cooperating defendant to repatriate those assets to the United States for the purposes of the forfeiture. It was due to the assistance of the Turks and Caicos Authorities that justice was able to be served.

“The Turks and Caicos continues to be a great partner to the United States and it was only fitting that these funds be shared in an effort to counter money laundering, terrorism finance, while supporting law enforcement and driving rehabilitation efforts in this beautiful country,” Dinkelman said.

Accepting the funds, Beckingham said that the funds come at a time when the TCI is in dire need of government funding.

“The TCI budget remains difficult, so any support we receive from others is much appreciate, so we thank you very much indeed,” Governor Beckingham said.

The governor noted that the United States continues to assist the Turks and Caicos Islands on a number of issues in recent times, including the Christmas Day Haitian sloop tragedy and a recent visa issue experienced by a TCI student studying overseas.

In the meantime, Commissioner of Police Colin Farquhar said that the money would be added to the National Forfeiture Fund, which he said is to mitigate against drug trafficking. He said that among the things that it could be used for are training and equipment acquisition. The police commissioner also said the National Forfeiture Fund perennially stands at $2 million.

The he Alexandra Al ndra Resort Res & Spa is inviting in iti applications ap for the following positions:

CHIEF ENGINEER Responsibilities:

• Overseeing the functions of all Engineering and maintenance staff to ensure that all required maintenance and up-keep of property is carried out; • Accountability for all Engineering inventories i.e. equipment and supplies inventories; • Be responsible for hiring of Engineering staff; • Also to ensure that all staff are trained and coached on all aspects of their job • Promoting an atmosphere of teamwork and professionalism within the department; • You must be able to maintain as well as offer new avenues on all electrical and mechanical systems Requirements; • At least 5 years experience with at least 3 or more those years in a four star resort property • Must have a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree.

• A proven track record in managing an efficient diversified workforce is a MUST • The ability to focus on preventative maintenance of the resort’s engineering, grounds, pools, public areas, guestrooms • Must be highly organized and have excellent communication skills written and oral • Must be knowledgeable of all Engineering/maintenance functions • Must have the ability to manage department’s budget • Knowledge of visual one IS A MUST

NIGHT AUDITOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ensuring that all charges and credits are posted accurately to guest accounts; that the telephone call accounting system reporting has been completed and system is functional • Balancing all credit card charges to cashiers reports and hard and soft copies are balanced with credit card folios • Organizing the night audit work in an orderly manner for distribution to the accounts department • Closing out of accounts and resetting the system for the next days operation • Conducts analytical review of all daily Front Office and Room transactions reports and to rectify and discrepancies.

• Acting as Manager on Duty and maintain an open line of communication between guests, team members and management.

• Performing Front Office duties, processing express checkouts and assisting guests as needed during the shift JOB REQUIREMENTS • Must have 6 or more years previous experience as a Night Auditor in a resort or condominium environment • Proficient in Microsoft office and Visual one is a MUST • Clear communications skills (written and oral) • Must be able to work nights, weekends and holidays

• Resolves invalid or unauthorized deductions by following pending deductions procedures.

• Resolves collections by examining customer payment history, credit line; coordinating contact with collections department.

• Summarizes receivables by maintaining invoice accounts; coordinating monthly transfer to accounts receivable account; verifying totals; preparing report.

• Protects organization's value by keeping information confidential.

• Accomplishes accounting and organization mission by completing related results as needed

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Must have knowledge of office administration and bookkeeping procedures • Strong knowledge of accounts payable, accounts receivable in maintaining general ledgers • Must possess the ability to maintain a high level of accuracy in preparing and entering financial and payroll information • Must have confidentiality concerning financial and employee files • Must have a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting or related field and 5+ years of accounting experience.

• Must have strong background in hospitality accounting • Must have a strong knowledge of Microsoft Office: Word, Excel and Outlook: experience with Visual One accounting or similar accounting software and supervisory experience.

RESERVATIONS AGENT

To be responsible for accurately processing room reservations ensuring optimal occupancy; preparing and distributing hotel statistics on a daily and monthly basis and provide relief for front office staff as needed. The position requires a minimum of two years experience in Front Office/reservations with excellent oral and written communications skills as well as a pleasant and professional attitude; must be computer literate, knowledge of Visual One would be considered a plus. Previous experience in this area is a must..

ROOM ATTENDANTS

To ensure the cleanliness and orderliness of the assigned guestroom, work areas and equipment. Must be able to push and pull carts weighing up to 150lbs and be able to climb flights of stairs several times daily.

Previous experience in this area is a must..

LABOURERS

To assist in maintaining the buildings of the resort. Must be able to lift 50lbs, bend, stand for long periods of time and must be able to push and pull carts weighing up to 250lbs. Be able to lift 50lbs., bend and stand for long periods of time. Must be able to speak English and understand instructions. Must be in excellent health.

GARDENERS Accounts Receivable Clerk RESPONSIBILITIES

• Posts customer payments by recording cash, checks, and credit card transactions.

• Posts revenues by verifying and entering transactions form lock box and local deposits.

• Updates receivables by totaling unpaid invoices.

• Maintains records by microfilming invoices, debits, and credits.

• Verifies validity of account discrepancies by obtaining and investigating information from sales • Resolves valid or authorized deductions by entering adjusting entries.

To assist in, maintaining the grounds of the resort. Duties to include: removal of trash, weeding, mowing, planting, pruning, watering and application of chemicals. Must be of good character. Be able to lift 50lbs., bend and stand for long periods of time. Must be able to speak English and understand instructions.

Please Submit Applications to: hr@alexandraresort.com A copy should also be submitted to the TCI Labour Department.

Submissions to be no later than March 7th, 2014 Belongers need only apply.

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

Shanda Restaurant & Cafe

Shay Cafe & Lounge

Seeks

2 Domestic Workers

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Salary $5.00 per hour

Seeks

Toyota Construction Seeks

1 Kitchen Helper

ALPHA CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

Salary $5.00 per hour

EMPLOYMENT VACANY

2 Domestic Workers

Contact 331-0221

Interested persons must be hardworking and reliable

Belonger need only apply

Salary $5.00 per hour

Contact

244-0979

We currently have a position available as A Caretaker in our nursery Interested persons please email a copy of your resume to

aca2006@live.com

BEAUTY & ELEGANT BRADING SALON SEEKS 1 Hairstylist Salary $5.00 per hour Contact 241-4404

Big Al’s Island Burger Burger is currently seeking a Kitchen Helper to perform any of the following duties:

NEEDED 1 LABOURER Salary $5.00 per hour Interested person should contact Judy McIntosh On 241-4134

To maintain kitchen work areas and restaurant equipment and utensils in clean and orderly condition: Sweeps and mops floors. Washes worktables, walls, refrigerators, and meat blocks. Segregates and removes trash and garbage and places it in designated containers.

Steam-cleans or hoses-out garbage cans. Washes pots, pans, and trays by hand. Scrapes food from dirty dishes and washes them by hand or places them in racks or on conveyor to dishwashing machine. Polishes silver, washes and peels vegetables, using knife or peeling machine. Loads or unloads trucks picking up or delivering supplies and food.

Interested persons should submit their applications to Mr. Douglas Camozzi, Salt Mills Plaza next to Goldsmith no later than February 7th, 2014.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 15

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

No US visa processing centre for TCI anytime soon

BY VIVIAN TYSON

A

local United States Visa-processing operation is not in the near, medium and possibly longer term future of the Turks and Caicos according to Homeland Security representatives who were in the Turks and Caicos Islands this past week.

Responding to questions from Journalists at the presentation of a cheque to Turks and Caicos Islands government earned from being material partner in a New York securities fraud case, John Dinkelman, Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy in the Bahamas said that the volume of people from the TCI seeking visas each year does not warrant TCI getting a processing establishment.

“The Turks and Caicos Islands will not be getting United States visa processing operation First and foremost, the volume of visas given or issued to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands is certainly not enough to justify the considerably infrastructure investment that would be needed in order to authorize issuance of visas in the Turks and Caicos Islands,” Dinkelman said.

He said that the consular agency established in the TCI recently should serve as an information stop for persons seeking visas.

“What we have done over the past three years in this part of the world has been the establishment of this consular agency, which, while it primarily focused on serving the needs of the United States citizens, who are visiting in, travelling through or living in the Turks and

John Dinkelman, Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy in The Bahamas Caicos Islands. It is also a good point of reference for individuals from the Turks and Caicos, who seek visa guidance. But for my part, we will not be issuing and interviewing for visas in the Turks and Caicos Islands, any time soon,” he said.

Brandon Borkowicz, Acting Consular Chief at the US Embassy in the Bahamas, said that the Turks and Caicos Islands accounts for only a small portion of visa applicants each year.

“It (the total number of applicants) was 15,000 total last year for all of the Bahamas, most of which were for Bahamians, and the Turks and Caicos was a very small percentage of that,” Borkowocz.

Borkowicz said that he could not speak specifically on how much visas were refused, but said that the major of applications were successful.

Education Minister praises new private sponsors of Spelling Bee

D

eputy Premier and Minister for Education, Youth and Sport Hon. Akierra Missick has praised Michael and Nancy Golberg, the Canadian couple who stepped in to save the National Primary School Spelling Bee competition, which was on the verge of being cancelled this year for lack of sponsorship.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-day competition at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Complex on Thursday, February 13, Minister Missick acknowledged the couple’s efforts in preventing the competition from being called off this year , she said would dash the hopes of more than a dozen children, who had been preparing for the event.

“I just want to say thank you, to Michael and Nancy for assisting us in sponsoring the spelling bee. It was only a few minutes ago, I realized that the bee may have been cancelled for 2014, so I am happy that you have stepped in and assist us to ensure that all bees appear today with an opportunity to continue walking the path of excellence; continue shining bright for their respective schools,” she said.

The couple earlier told The SUN that they are avid spelling bee supporters, having fallen in love with the movies Spellbound and Akeela and Bee. They said also that they are huge fans of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and watch it every year.

The two who own a condo at the West Bay Club on Providenciales, explained that, having made the Turks and Caicos their second home, they wanted to get involved in a local charity, and after speaking with former min-

Deputy Premier and Minister of Education Akierra Misick ister of education, Dr. Carlton Mills now a member of the Grace Bay Resorts team - who informed them of the spelling bee’s predicament, after its perennial sponsors British American Insurance – had pulled out, decided to come on board.

The couple, speaking at the presentation of the on Friday, February 14, at Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa, said that they are committed to sponsoring the competition next year.

They said also that they were pleased with the level of competition that took place and impressed with the overall staging of the event.

Rebecca Archibald of Precious Preparatory School emerged the 2014 champion of the event. She out-spelled 12 other competitors from schools across the Turks and Caicos Islands. She received a number of prizes, including a laptop computer, a printer and trophies.

Brandon Borkowicz, Acting Consular Chief at the US Embassy in The Bahamas “We don’t really talk about specific denial percentages. I can tell you that about 80 percent of the people who apply at the US Embassy in Nassau are given visas,” he said.

Dinkelman said that the consulate agency was set up in the TCI to primarily assist United States citizens.

“All countries have embassies, consulates general and consulates in different countries to serve various needs.

The government of the United States has determined that there are various areas in the world that merit a presence that is able to provide services, but yet, there are places where we can’t affectively have a diplomatic institution of some sort, such as the case here in Providenciales.

“The massive influx of American tourists here over the past two or three

decades has been a mounting issue because, unfortunately of the number of people who come here, some fall in harm’s way. Some fell ill; some suffer accidents, and whatever the case might, be there is a need.

“And it is virtually impossible to serve them to the need that they require from Port au Prince or Santo Domingo – it just can’t be done because of the distance and because of the isolated nature of the archipelagic situation. And so, for this reason, back in 2009, we started to work to find an adequate location that would be centralized and adequately available to the bulk of Americans that would be here and would be in need of assistance,” he said.

Dinkelman explained that the nature of the local consulate agency does not warrant an eight hour a day opening.

“This is not a location where things are open from 9(a.m.) to (5.pm.). This is not something where you say you can pop in and ask what is necessary to get a student visa. However, if you go online, you can find the answers to the vast majority of questions you want about visas.

“However, sometimes, no matter what the issue is you need to talk to someone face to face. In order to do that, you access the telephone numbers or the internet that one finds on the email here on this door and appointments can be made here to assist individuals in whatever questions they might have regarding all consular issues,” Dinkelman said.

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Sonji and Oliver Williams lose corruption appeal, but have sentences varied O

liver and Sonji Williams, the married Grand Turk couple who were employed by the Customs Department and given 12-month suspended jail sentences, suspended from holding public office and fined $5,000 individually after being convicted of corruption, will now have to pay $2,500 each because High Court Judge Madame Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale varied their sentences.

After an investigation by the Integrity Commission, on March 27th 2013, in addition to imposing the fines and sentences, Magistrate Kelly Cheema disqualified Sonji Williams from holding public office for two years and disqualified her husband Oliver for 12 months. They both appealed their conviction. Mr.Williams went further and appealed his sentence.

Courtney Barnett was the lawyer for Sonji Williams, while Noel Skippings represented Oliver Williams. The matter before the Magistrate’s Court was prosecuted by Andre Berzins , a Queens Counsel from Canada . Ms Joann Meloche, Director of Public Prosecution, appeared for the Crown in the appeal.

In a judgment delivered earlier this month, Madame Justice Ramsay-Hale noted that on behalf of Mr. Williams it was argued in mitigation that he was 50 years old, a father of seven and a man of immaculate character who had worked with the Government for 12 years. It was also noted that he and his wife had three school-aged children in the home, a mortgage of $2000 per month and a combined income of $3300 before being suspended from their government jobs.

In part of her 20-page judgment, Ramsay-Hale stated: “I am of the view that the prison sentence of 12 months which was passed by the Magistrate and suspended for 12 months was wrong in principle in the circumstances where the need to punish Mr. Williams and signal the court’s disapproval could be adequately expressed by the imposition of a fine. The deterrent effect of the suspended sentence which the learned Magistrate plainly intended was achieved by the order prohibiting Mrs. Williams from holding public office for two years removing the opportunity for any further breaches of a similar nature. I am also of the view that, in light of the submissions with respect to the salaries of both Appellants prior to their suspension from employment and their financial obligations including the care of three school aged children, the fines were excessive.”

The judge then quashed the 12-month suspended prison sentences and ordered that the reduced fines of $2,500 be paid within 30 days or they will each go to jail for six months if they default.

The Williams were the first two persons to be charged by the Integrity Commission. Sonji Williams was charged with failing to perform her duties as Customs Officers by not ensuring that proper documentation for the legal importation of a horse into Grand Turk was completed and that she did so for the benefit of another contrary to section 44 (b) of the Integrity Commission Ordinance Cap 1.09.

Her husband was charged with aiding, assisting or participating in an act of corruption by his wife in

Madame Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale her duties as a public official.

According to court documents, Oliver Williams purchased two horses in the Dominican Republic on February 25, 012 intending to import them to Grand Turk. On or about the 4 March, 2012 he telephoned Lance Dowridge, an Animal Health Officer within the Department of Agriculture, seeking information about the procedure for importing the horses. Mr. Dowridge advised him that he needed to apply for an import permit and that his application would need to be submitted with an international veterinarian and vaccination certificate and that he would have to pay a fee of $200 per animal. At Mr. Williams’ request, the application form for an import permit was sent by email to Sonji Williams by Dr. Butler, the government’s Chief Veterinarian.

The forms were completed, then scanned and emailed to Dr. Butler on the 5 March 2012 but he was unable to open the attachment. Dr. Butler sent a further email to Mrs. Williams on the 6 March 2012 to advise that he could not download the files and asking her to re-attach the documents and send them again. Mrs. Williams did not respond to this request and there was no further contact between the Department and the Appellants before the horse was imported.

On the 14 March 2012, the vessel Miss Antonio D came into port at Grand Turk with one of the horses which had been purchased by Mr. Williams, the other having been lost at sea. Details of the horse did not appear on the vessel’s manifest.

Mrs. Williams was on duty and attended at the dock in her official capacity as a Customs Officer and as Harbour Master along with Customs Officer Charlie Been. She received a veterinarian’s certificate and an invoice for the horse from the ship’s captain and, ostensibly satisfied that the documentation for the horse was in order, she gave directions for the horse to be pushed into the water and guided to shore. The animal was guided to Governor’s Beach where it was attended to by Mr. Williams who later removed it to his property.

No Animal Health Officer was in attendance at the dock on the day the horse landed and none was summoned as was the usual practice when animals were imported. At some later date, Mr. Dowridge received information that a white horse had been imported and on the advice of Dr. Butler, he reported the matter to the police.

On the 28 March, Mrs. Williams contacted Mr Dowridge to advise him that it was she and her husband who had imported the white horse and that it was at her premises and that they had been trying to contact him to inspect it. He asked her if she had an import permit and she replied that she had sent in the application and the documents to the Department but had heard nothing back. He refused to inspect the horse advising her that she shouldn’t have brought in the animal without hearing from his department and in the circumstances there was nothing for him to inspect.

Shortly after he spoke with Mrs. Williams, Mr. Williams attended at the Department with his documents and presented them for examination to Mr. Dowdridge and asked what would happen to the horse. Mr. Dowridge advised Mr. Williams that it was an offence to import an animal without a permit and that the animal should either be returned to its country of origin or be destroyed.

On 13 April 2012, Mr. Dowridge issued a Notice of Removal of Imported Commodity Refused Entry, Mr Williams having agreed to return the horse to the Dominican Republic on a vessel which was expected in port on that day, but Mr. Williams refused to accept service.

On the 20 April 2012, Dr. Butler made a complaint to the Attorney General’s office alleging that the requisite documents for the horse’s importation, namely, an Import Permit and a certificate of good health from the Veterinary Authority in the Dominican Republic, had not been obtained prior to its importation and that its importation was illegal as being contrary to the Control of Animals Ordinance 2012.

In November 2012, the animal was euthanised at the direction of Dr Butler pursuant to the Animal Health Ordinance.

The complaint to the police did not result in a criminal investigation being undertaken. Instead, an investigation was commenced y the Integrity Commission on its own initiative, in the circumstances where, in the opinion of Mr. Simon Baker, the Investigating Officer for the Integrity Commission appointed in July 2011, no meaningful investigation of the allegations against the Appellants was being conducted by the police or by Customs.

On 7 November 2012, the two customs officers were arrested by Inspector Callender of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Service and interviewed by Mr. Baker. It is his evidence that having investigated the matter, he referred it to the Attorney General and took ‘their advice’ in taking the matter to Court.

On 21 November 2012, charges were laid against the Williams who appeared before the Magistrate on November 22, 2012 and elected to have their matters tried summarily.

YOUTH AMBASSADORS LEEANNA SUTTON AND NEVSKY BEEN MAKING WAVES LOCALLY AND REGIONALLY

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he Youth Ambassador programme is an initiative designed to make quality leaders of Young people. It is a branch of the Caricom Youth Ambassador Programme.

In addition to local duties, the youth ambassador takes the views of the local youth to the regional congress comprised of their peers; discuss those matters with the view to arriving at a cohesive decision representing outlook youth of each represented territory.

Those recommendations are then presented to the powers that be in their respective countries and hope that they affect the necessary changes.

Leeanna Sutton and Nevsky Been are the two current TCI youth ambassadors for 2013/2014. Leeanna has just returned from Guyana, where she attended the Caricom Youth Forum to craft a regional youth policy to present to leaders of

Leeanna Sutton and Nevsky Been. the regional bloc. While at the confab, she made presentation on behalf of the Turks and Caicos Islands youth.

One of the things Leeanna assisted in doing while at the forum was the make the so-called Caricom Youth Action Plan more relatable to her demographic. One of those alterations was to change its name and make it more appealing.

“The name Caricom Action Plan seemed so high, so we believe that no

youth would be interested in that. So we discussed coming up with more catchy names like ‘Yes to Progress’ (plan) and ‘seize the key to your future’. It was fun for me to present my plan before all those people because I know I was making the presentation on behalf of the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands,” she said.

She added: “This Youth Ambassadors’ Forum teaches you how to be a leader. It gives you the opportunity to represent your country at a higher level.

It is a good thing, and really helps you to become a better person for the future,” Leeanna said.

Nevsky is also making waves as Youth Ambassador. He was the one charged with hosting the opening of the popular Young Enterprise Programme earlier this month. His group entered the contest last year.

He extolled the Youth Ambassador Programme, saying that it has done a

great deal for his development.

“Personally, what the Youth Ambassador Programme has done for me is that, growing up in the Turks and Caicos Islands, I realized that a lot of people lacked the initiative to step out of their own skin and present themselves to the small community that we have.

The Youth Ambassador Programme has allowed me to grow my leadership skills and my socialization skills with people on my level.

“I remember a few years ago, when I saw a group of young people, I would be intimidated to walk up to them and to make friends on the whole. But now I am transitioning from where I was into my Caricom Youth Ambassador position; I find it less of an obligation and more of a normal trend to walk up to youth and discuss matters with them, from what happening in our schools to what’s happening in our community, and grow as a leader,” Been said.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

South Caicos pilot becomes youngest captain

BY VIVIAN TYSON

A

t 25 year-old, airplane pilot Kirk Adams, has become the youngest Turks and Caicos Islander to be named captain, this is based on the leadership and experience he shows in the cockpit coupled with his knowledge of the aviation industry.

Not only does he know how to take charge of the cockpit, but Captain Adams, but he also able to detect anomaly with his craft and make recommendation on how to have it fixed. As a result of his exploits in and out of the cockpit, Captain Adams was given the responsibility to commandeer the interCaribbean (formerly Air Turks and Caicos) flagship plane, the Embraer 120.

The SUN caught up with Captain Adams on Monday, February 17, at the official unveiling of interCaribbean Airways flagship plane and new logo at the airline’s hanger located at the Providenciales International Airport accessed at Five Cays Road.

He said that from attending high school he dreamed to one day take charge of the cockpit and rule the airway, and after graduating from the Marjorie Basden High School in South Caicos, he set his sights on becoming a pilot, leaving the country for the Florida-based Flight Safety Academy after completing two years at the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College.

“Flying has been a dream to me, and once I finished high school I

Kirk Adams in the Cockpit of the inter-Caribbean flagship plane – the Embraer 120. went off and pursued it, came back and put in all the hours. And as I got matured and was old enough the company (inter-Caribbean Airways) gave me the opportunity. I have been flying for Air Turks and Caicos for about five years now,” he said.

He said that becoming a pilot was no easy feat for him, as he worked tirelessly to achieve that goal, and now he is happy to be reaping the benefits.

“Once you know what you want in life and you are very serious about it and you put a lot of work in it, things always pays off your way, and that is why the company talks highly about me,” Adams said Adams’ aim is to someday work his way into the international com-

mercial pilot area with the intention of flying bigger planes.

“It is everybody’s dream who is a pilot to fly big planes someday, so of course I want to fly something big one day; eventually that is down the line for me,” he said.

Captain Adams said explained that there a great deal of talent in the Turks and Caicos Islands among its young people, and many persons just yearn for the chance of getting a break to show what they are worth, and so, he hailed interCaribbean Airways for affording him with the opportunity to hone his skills. He also encouraged young exhibit a great deal of purpose when they are given the opportunity to prove themselves.

“I know a lot of young guys are very interested in not just aviation but other careers, and it is always good when a company invest their time in a young person and give them the opportunity to do what they want to do, and I think that anybody who wants to do something in life they should not give up but continue to pursue and focus on it. My motto is just hard work and dedication – when you put those two things together you will always be successful in life,” he said.

In the meantime, Trevor Saddler, Chief Executive Officer for interCaribbean Airways, has high praise for Captain Adams. He said the level of leadership he displays is usually found in those twice his age.

“I am very proud of this gentleman. He was made captain at a very tender age – in his mid 20s. He demonstrates all the maturity that you would expect from a captain that you might be 10 years his senior, so I am very proud to say that we have a son of South Caicos here in command on our Embraer 120 – our flagship airplane.

“He is a bit of a captain from the old school, who is not just about flying the airplane but is also about recognizing how the airplane feels. It is like how a doctor feels for symptoms, and if there is anything wrong with the airplane on arrival, he would have already diagnosed it, so our only task on arrival is to take care of the problem,” he said.

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Pope Francis names Turks and Caicos Islands priest as Archdiocese of Miami’s second in command (FROM THE MIAMI HERALD)

A

s a Roman Catholic leader on a mission in the Turks and Caicos Islands for the last 15 years, Monsignor Peter Baldacchino helped build the church’s presence on the islands as more and more people arrived from Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines.

Baldacchino, who also is a priest in the Archdiocese in Newark, N.J., will now bring his experience to Miami after being named Miami’s 10th auxiliary bishop by Pope Francis on Thursday.

He will be ordained on March 19, the day of the Feast of St. Joseph.

“His work there, which also involved reaching out to Hispanic and Haitian immigrants, well equips him for the duties he will assume as an auxiliary bishop in our diverse and dynamic archdiocese,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski said as he made the announcement at the Pastoral Center in Miami Shores. “As a priest he has worked not as a bureaucrat but as a pastor, not in ivory towers but in the trenches.”

Wenski last had a second in command three years ago, when the auxiliary bishop was assigned the top spot in St. Augustine. Looking over

108 churches and missions, 57 schools, and more that 1.3 million Catholics in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, Wenski said that “it’s hard to be in two places at once.”

“There is always something going on and I try to be there for everyone,” he said. “I think this will be the perfect fit for him.”

Wenski said the appointment got caught up in the transition between Pope Benedict and Pope Francis.

The most recent Miami auxiliary bishops were Bishop John Noonan, who was appointed in 2005 and was named bishop in Orlando in 2010, and Felipe J. Estévez, who was named Bishop of St. Agustine in 2011.

Miami’s best-known auxiliary bishop was Agustín A. Román, who died in 2012. Román, the son of a poor farmer in Havana, was appointed in 1979 and retired in 2003. He became a symbol of strength for countless Cuban exiles.

Born in Malta, Baldacchino, 53, was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark in 1996. After serving as a parochial vicar in New Jersey, he was assigned to Our Lady of Divine Providence Mission in the Turks and Caicos in 1999. His mission: to spread Catholic teachings across the islands.

Over the past 15 years, the British-dependent territory, 575 miles southeast of Miami, has seen an in-

Roman Catholic Priest, Father Peter Baldacchino crease in Haitian, Dominican and Filipino immigrants, many of whom are Roman Catholic. In the 1970s and ’80s, Anglican and Baptist churches were the primary options for the British islands. At the time, Roman Catholics had to wait for a visiting priest.

As more immigrants arrived, several Roman Catholic churches opened for a more consistent presence across the islands, which have a population of 30,000 people – far less than Miami.

Baldacchino, who speaks five languages, including Creole and Spanish, called his work fulfilling. When

Excitement in the Air as 6th Annual Star Awards approaches

A PASTOR FRATERNAL TO BE INCLUDED IN GOVERNOR’S JUSTICE WORKING GROUP

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member of the Turks and Caicos Pastoral Fraternity is to be invited to join the Justice Working Group, announced Governor Peter Beckingham on Wednesday, February 19th.

Governor Beckingham said: “I was pleased to have a full and candid exchange with members of the Pastoral Fraternity at Waterloo today. We covered a great deal of ground, ranging from youth unemployment, healthcare, human rights and the public service.

“I emphasised to the Ministers that I was keen to hear from them about the concerns of their congregations, and the role of their churches in working within the community. I thought it was a valuable exchange, and we agreed we should meet periodically. At the Fraternity’s suggestion I will also be asking one of the Pastors to join the recently established Justice Working

E

Group, and I also hope to meet soon with their fellow pastors in Providenciales.”

The visiting pastors were: Pastor Vernon Malcolm, Chairman of the Fraternity; Rev Julia Wil-

liams; Pastor Marilyn Forbes; Pastor Dennis Swann Rev Mark Christmas; Bishop Austraham Hamilton; Tomlinson Skippings; Pastor Oswald Skippings; Canon Mark Kendal.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ALLOWANCE IN TCI COULD LEAD TO EXPAT TAKEOVER

BY VIVIAN TYSON

H

on. Lillian Missick, the Female Governor’s Appointed Member to the House of Assembly, is warning against allowing a clause in the Broadcasting Commission Bill that allows any Belonger nationality living in the Turks and Caicos Islands to open its own radio station since persons could be announcing a plot to take over the country in their own language unperceived by Islanders who speaks only English.

Missick made those observations while making her contribution to the Bill’s debate in the House of Assembly on Monday, February 18. She said giving licenses to persons to operate foreign language radio stations could be counterproductive to the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“We need to be careful, because we are not insisting, for example that these various languages are taught in our school so that our children have a grasp (of them).

We are not insisting that those languages are taught.

You allow these different languages on the airwaves and we don’t know if and when they may be plotting against the Turks and Caicos, and that may sound simple to some people but it has merit,” she said.

She said that radio stations in the Turks and Caicos Islands should not be allowed operate like churches, which have been given licenses to open denominations that appeals to their respective nationalities and not all Turks and Caicos.

“I don’t have anything against foreign but we have to be conscious of these things and make every effort to ensure that we preserve what is ours. Of course, we can benefit immensely from other cultures and enriching our own culture. We can benefit from that. But we cannot be seeking to give this kind of latitude to all others coming into the Turks and Caicos. We must have a standard.

he started in the islands, there were only nine worshipers on Sundays.

Over the years, the number grew to 1,000.

“He did great work in the Turks and Caicos islands,” said Turks and Caicos Premier Rufus Ewing. “He will be dearly missed in the Turks and Caicos islands, but I trust that his promotion is to the benefit of the Turks and Caicos islands people whom I know he loves dearly.”

Baldacchino said Thursday that he was surprised by the announcement, but was looking forward to learning about South Florida.

“This opens up a lot of possibilities for me,” he said.

He conceded he has a lot to learn about South Florida.

“Right now I am trying to follow, rather than lead.”

Wenski said “it will be a quick turnaround” for Baldacchino before he assumes his position. He will attend several meetings with Wenski over the next two days and then go back to Turks and Caicos to wrap things up. He will go on a week-long prayer retreat before returning to his new home, where he looks forward to trying new things.

“I hear the Cuban coffee is better than espresso,” he joked. “I’ll have to see.”

xcitement is already building for what is expected to be an awesome night of appreciation and celebration when TCHTA hosts its 6th annual Star Awards event on February 27, 2014 at Regent Palms.

The star-studded event, synonymous for recognising and honouring the hard-working and dedicated professionals who have demonstrated excellence in hospitality and delivered exceptional customer service, has seen TCHTA members over the past few weeks busy selecting and nominating their colleagues, resorts and other industry partners who they feel have earned the need for this special recognition. With over 100 nominations submitted to auditors KPMG, TCHTA is encouraging friends, families and colleagues to come out and support their loved ones plus favourite hotel, restaurant, entertainer, taxi driver and Allied Member at the event.

TCHTA’s Executive Director Stacy Cox noted, “Star Awards is the Association’s stellar event and with numerous Awards up for grabs the night is expected to be one of true excitement. This year Delta Airlines has come on board as a sponsor and will be providing two tickets to New York as part of our first ever Star Awards Raffle. With veteran MCs E. Jay Saunders and Takara Bain ready to keep patrons entertained, Star Awards will undoubtedly be TCI’s top awards event once again.”

Persons interested in purchasing tickets for the event or companies interested in sponsoring the various categories are asked to contact TCHTA at 941.5787.

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LOCAL NEWS

Raymond Gardiner High School’s “Pre-Valentine Talent Show”

By Marguerite Anderson

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he quiet, sleepy island of North Caicos came alive on Saturday February 8th, 2014 when the Raymond Gardiner High School hosted its annual Pre-Valentine fundraising activity at the Horse Stable Beach Complex.

This year, it was in the form of a talent show featuring amazing performances from students and from a few teachers. The show which was scheduled to have started at 6:00pm, got off to a late start as the organizers facilitated the delayed arrival of the audience. Such perfect imperfections of the tranquil and laid-back island bore no undaunted feelings from those who waited with great anticipation. The line-up of what can be perfectly described as the most choice-cut performances was certainly worth the wait.

Final year student, Edwin Forbes opened the event with a unique saxophone introduction of the illustrious moderator, Ms. Cynclair Musgrove. Ms. Musgrove’s dynamic personality and scintillating stage presence complemented the atmosphere for the evening’s event.

The ambiance which was set through the artistic efforts of Visual Arts teacher, Mr. D. Beckford, assisted by Mr. Anthony Hislop, Vice Principal, saw Horse Stable Beach transformed into a romantic backdrop highlighting the theme of a “Red and

White Affair”.

Students of the Raymond Gardiner High School outdid themselves with A1 performances which, dare I say, could hold a candle to many artists on the international scene.

The Music Department, under the direction of Mr. Benjamin Lewis (music teacher) kept the tempo going as the spirited band of musicians, all comprising students of the school, whetted the appetites of those present. The band was complemented by Nandina Hislop on keyboard, Armando Walkin on drums, Omel Gardiner on guitar and keyboard, Edwin Forbes on guitar and drums and Mr, Benjamin Lewis on guitar. Among the outstanding performances were songstresses, Indra Harvey, Savanna McCogg; and the trio of melodious female group in the persons of 3rd year students-Danielle Walker, Cortrina Williams and Engelica Jackson.

Indra Harvey, one of the crowd’s favourite, held the audience captive with her selection of slow jams and later with her transition into a medley of reggae love songs.

Other highlights were from Mr Sax-man-Edwin Forbes, along with delectable musical rivals of female saxophonists, Kamia Rolle and Gelicia Delancy. There were also items from the Performing Arts Club, in the form of a creative dance done byy

Shantia Harvey, and an acapella performance from “The Shai Boys” with their rendition of “If I Ever Fall Inlove Again”.

The dynamic Performing Arts boys’ group comprised of Devon Williams (5th form), Astacio Ariza (1st form) and lead vocals, Otis Arthur and Gregory Williams- both also 1st form students.

Much to the delight of the more mature members of the audience, Ms. Marguerite Anderson, teacher at the high school, led the audience into a nostalgic journey with her rendition of Etta James’ “At Last”.

To climax the evening’s event, teacher of the Adelaide Oemler Primary School-Mr. Stafford Salmon-gave the audience a riveting performance when he had the crowd on its feet and dancing to KLV PL[HG ÀDYRU YHUQDFXODU RI UHJJDH PHGOH\ It was indeed an unforgettable experience, so much so that the spectators chanted for a repeat of a number of the performances. Everyone who FDPH RXW WR VHH WKH VKRZ ZDV OHIW WRWDOO\ VDWLV¿HG Principal, Mrs. Janet Walkin with her team of dedicated teachers extended hearty thanks to all who supported this venture. The organizers of the event-Ms. Samantha Bowman, Ms. Mellissa Robinson, Mrs. Fe Borromeo, Mr. Sylvester Ewen and Mr. Anthony Hislop- did a commendable job, thus demonstrating that perfection at the Raymond Gardiner High School goes beyond just academics.

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All of Me - John Legend What would I do without your smart mouth Drawing me in, and you kicking me out Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can’t pin you down

My head’s under water But I’m breathing fine You’re crazy and I’m out of my mind

What’s going on in that beautiful mind I’m on your magical mystery ride And I’m so dizzy, don’t know what hit me, but I’ll be alright

‘Cause all of me Loves all of you Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections Give your all to me I’ll give my all to you You’re my end and my beginning Even when I lose I’m winning ‘Cause I give you all of me And you give me all, all of you

My head’s under water But I’m breathing fine You’re crazy and I’m out of my mind ‘Cause all of me Loves all of you Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections Give your all to me I’ll give my all to you You’re my end and my beginning Even when I lose I’m winning ‘Cause I give you all, all of me And you give me all, all of you How many times do I have to tell you Even when you’re crying you’re beautiful too The world is beating you down, I’m around through every move You’re my downfall, you’re my muse My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues I can’t stop singing, it’s ringing, I my head for you

Cards on the table, we’re both showing hearts Risking it all, though it’s hard ‘Cause all of me Loves all of you Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections Give your all to me I’ll give my all to you You’re my end and my beginning Even when I lose I’m winning ‘Cause I give you all of me And you give me all of you I give you all, all of me And you give me all, all of you

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FUN&GAMES

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News

CARIBBEAN

Powerful earthquake off Barbados is a warning for the Caribbean

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RIDGETOWN, Barbados, Feb 19 – The Director of the Seismic Research Unit of the University of the West Indies, Dr. Joan Latchman says Tuesday’s 6.4 magnitude earthquake is the “biggest” to occur in the Barbados zone since 1980 and warned regional countries to be prepared for a massive quake in the future.

“This would be an earthquake we don’t expect to see for tens of years….In my analysis this would be the first earthquake in this magnitude range since we have been recording about 1980,’ she said of the quake that was felt in Barbados, Martinique, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The seismologist said that the strong quake was also a reminder that the Caribbean should not to be complacent.

“The region generates very large magnitude earthquakes. This is not a very large magnitude earthquake. This is described as a strong earthquake because the rate at which the plates that are giving rise to the earthquakes that we experience are among the slowest in the world, the return period for our very large earthquakes is long, long enough for people to become complacent that such big earthquakes don’t happen.” ”This earthquake is reminding us that the processes which generate these large earthquakes are alive and well. They are continuing. And therefore

we need to be prepared,” Latchman told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

She said that since the start of the year, the region has recorded an increase in seismic activity. ”We have been seeing elevated activities in our region in the Trinidad area and in the Antigua area.

So yes, our regions have been showing particular zones. Even east of St. Lucia we have been tracking a little elevation. So there are little zones that are manifesting elevation.”

The seismologist, who has long warned the region to expect a massive earthquake, cautioned this could still occur and insisted that Caribbean countries must be earthquake ready.

“Every day that passes the occurrence of that earthquake is closer to us. And certainly the activity that we are seeing in the region is a cause for concern that this earthquake may be a little sooner than later.

“But of course we are unable to give a date, time and place because there are a number of areas along the Eastern Caribbean Arc in which this earthquake can occur. We have had our major earthquakes between Antigua and Barbuda and north of Martinique and north west of St. Lucia and north west of the Paria Peninsula and so it’s got a big choice.

“And so all of us in all our countries we need to be prepared because we do not know just where this

big earthquake will occur. But what we do know no matter where it occurs because earthquake waves travel it means that even if you are 200 kilometers away from that big earthquake you can experience significant tremors.

Latchman said that while earthquakes in the Barbados zone are “a little different from what we would have along the islands of the Eastern Caribbean where the earthquakes occur in a denser pattern… we would expect to see on average, every year, an earthquake in the magnitude 4.1 to 4.5 range and 5 of them in the 3.6 to 4.0 range”.

She said most of these earthquakes “occur very close to the island of Barbados.

“So Barbadians should not have a complacency that earthquakes in the Eastern Caribbean do not affect them. An earthquake along the arc just needs to be large enough and in 2007 most Barbadians would have felt the earthquake that was located north of Martinique at a magnitude 7.3 and caused damaged in Barbados,” she said, noting that in 1953 the earthquake that occurred north west of St. Lucia also caused damaged in Barbados.

“So Barbados has had impact from earthquakes in the past and I am convinced that Barbados will have impact from earthquakes in the future.”

She said she was urging Caribbean nationals to visit the Unit’s website in order to get up to date information on earthquakes and even tsunamis

Britain and Caribbean to partner for economic growth L

ONDON – Britain says it is seeking to help Caribbean countries create the conditions for sustainable economic growth given the fiscal constraints they face.

Minister of State in the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mark Simmonds, speaking ahead of the February 19-20 meeting in Jamaica where British policy makers will share their expertise and discuss how public private partnerships (PPPs) can benefit countries across the Caribbean, said London also regardsidentifying avenues for continued investment in public infrastructure is as crucial as it is challenging.

“Partnerships between the public and the private sectors can be an important enabler of sustained investment. They promote the provision of efficient and cost-effective public services, with modern facilities, with reduced risk and reduced upfront costs to government.

“They bring the best of business to bear on public sector projects: innovation, risk management, discipline, and a culture of delivering on

Mark Simmonds time, on budget and to specification.

In short, they can provide value for money. It is no wonder that they are increasingly on the agenda of governments across the Caribbean,” said Simmonds.

He said one estimate puts the value of potential PPP projects in the Caribbean at US$17 billion.

The British government minister said that the United Kingdom has pioneered the global development of PPP. “Its principal model, Private Finance Initiative (PFI), recently reformed as PF2, typically sees a private sector partner design, build, finance, operate and maintain an asset to provide a publicservice while the government commits to pay an annual charge over the next 20-30 years.”

Simmonds said that to date, the UK has signed over 725 PFI contracts in sectors ranging from health, education, transport, waste and justice, with a combined value of £54.2 billion (One British Pound =US$1.67 cents).

“We didn’t get it right from the start, but the UK now has a formula for success, backed by clear guidance and standard documentation. This makes the UK experience an attractive model to discuss in the Caribbean context. “ He said the British experts attending the meeting in Jamaica later this month will be led by Owain

CLIMATE CHANGE TO FEATURE AT CARICOM INTER-SESSIONAL SUMMIT

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T. JOHN’S, Antigua - St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says regional countries will be pushing to strengthen their institutional arrangements to deal with the impact of climate change.

Gonsalves, who is also chairman of the regional integration grouping, CARICOM, said that the issue would be also discussed at the upcoming CARICOM Inter-sessional summit in Kingstown, March 10-11.

“There are several dimensions to climate

change (and) clearly an immediate one for us is how do we better prepare ourselves for national disasters and how do we better recover from natural disasters, and we have to look at the strengthening of our institutional arrangements against the backdrop of increased vulnerabilities arsing from the frequency and intensity of natural disasters,” Gonsalves told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

He said this was a serious matter because “we do not contribute greatly to manmade climate

Ellis, Project Director at Infrastructure UK (IUK) – the multi-disciplinary team comprising of former private sector bankers, lawyers, construction managers as well as civil servants responsible for planning and delivering the UK’s infrastructure requirements.

“The conference will discuss how UK policy has developed the components of good project design and risk allocation. The meeting in Kingston will discuss the importance of extensive planning: inadequate project design can lead to unforeseen fiscal burdens well into the future. UK private sector representatives will set out the factors crucial to attracting private investment in public projects.”

But Simmonds warned that public private finance was not a silver bullet.

“It will not solve all of our challenges in funding and providing services to the public, and each country’s approach will be different. PFI makes up only 11% of total UK public infrastructure investment- but it is a vital part of the mix,” he added.

change but we are on the front line and there are lots of talk all the time about monies for adaptation and mitigation.

“We haven’t seen those monies yet. There are some limited resources which come out of the World Bank but the kinds of monies which have been pledged…are yet to be delivered”.

Gonsalves said this is a matter where the region would have to do much more coordinated work, adding “we have a lot of good allies, the British are now talking in a very serious way because of what is happening there”.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

US releases new rules to combat offshore tax evasion in the Caribbean W

ASHINGTON – United States authorities have released the “last substantial” package of regulations to combat offshore tax evasion in the Caribbean, saying the measures were also necessary to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

The Department of the Treasury (DOT) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said the regulations make additions and clarifications to previously issued FATCA measures and provide guidance to coordinate FATCA rules with preexisting due diligence, reporting, and withholding requirements under other provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (Code).

“Offshore tax evasion undermines confidence in our tax system and deprives the United States of revenues necessary to protect and provide for its citizens,” said DOT Secretary Jacob J. Lew. “There is significant momentum to implement FATCA across the globe, and we will continue to work closely with our international partners to combat these illicit activities and raise global tax standards,” he added.

The DOT said, each year, “some wealthy individuals evade millions of dollars in taxes through the use of offshore financial accounts that are not reported to the IRS or other tax authorities.

“This international tax evasion is illegal, contributes to the federal debt, and creates inequity within the tax system,” it added.

The US Congress enacted FATCA in 2010 with bipartisan support to target these illicit activities, stating that the provision has since become the global standard for promoting tax transparency.

The FATCA seeks to obtain information on accounts held by US taxpayers in other countries, including the Caribbean.

The DOT said the FATCA generally requires US financial institutions to withhold a portion of certain payments made to certain foreign financial institutions (FFIs) that do not agree to identify and report information on US account holders.

It said this withholding regime acts as a backstop to the main focus of FATCA, which is to obtain the information about accounts held by US persons and by certain foreign entities with substantial US owners that is needed to detect and deter offshore tax evasion.

To address situations where foreign law would prevent an FFI from reporting directly to the IRS the information, the DOT said it has developed two alternative model intergovernmental agreements (IGAs).

It said these IGAs facilitate the “effective and efficient implementation of FATCA information reporting in a manner that removes foreign law impediments to compliance, fulfills the information reporting objectives of chapter 4, and further reduces burdens on FFIs located in partner jurisdictions”.

The DOT said the United States has signed agreements with 22 countries, adding that many more have either reached agreements in substance that are awaiting signature, or are “well along in the process”.

The DOT said final regulations for FATCA were published in January 2013, about a year and a half before FATCA withholding will go into effect on July 1, 2014.

Since final regulations were issued, the DOT said it and the IRS have facilitated a “smooth implementation” by extending the start of withholding and account due diligence requirements by six-months to July 1, 2014; opening the FATCA portal in August 2013; issuing a final FFI Agreement for financial institutions in January 2014; and engaging in active discussions with stakeholders worldwide.

“Today’s package builds upon this effort and includes amendments and clarifications in response to comments received on the final regulations released in January,” the DOT said.

St Kitts PM says he will await court ruling on motion of no confidence

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ASSTERRE, St. Kitts – Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas says his administration will await the outcome of a court ruling a motion of no confidence filed against his administration by opposition legislators more than a year ago.

Speaking on his weekly radio programme “Ask the Prime Minister,’ Dr. Douglas told listeners that the “case remains in court and we respectively await the court’s final ruling”.

He said the substantive matter of the motion of no confidence was still sub judicie.

Last week, both the government and opposition claimed victory after a High Court judge delivered a 70page ruling in the latest twist to the motion of no confidence.

The High Court ruled that the original motion filed by the opposition legislators, including two former senior government ministers, would be allowed to continue against the Speaker of the National Assembly, Curtis Martin.

The other defendants, including Prime Minister Douglas and members of his Cabinet, have been removed as parties to the originating motion.

The Court ruled that there was no evidence Prime Minister Douglas or his ministers had prevented the Speaker from having the motion tabled.

Attorney Sylvester Anthony said the government side prevailed on the specific matters before the court.

“The ruling by the judge is a very clear victory for the Speaker and the defendants. A very clear victory,” he said.

But attorney Vincent Byron, who is representing the opposition legislators, said the claimants were very pleased with the judgement because the judge had vindicated the rights of the Members of Parliament, who brought the motion in the first case.

“He has said in a nutshell that the Speaker does not have the right to determine whether it is a proper motion of no confidence or not. On the face of it he should put it on the Order Paper.”

In his first public statement since the High Court ruling, Prime Minister Douglas reminded listeners that it was the opposition that took the matter to the courts.

“They then attempted to withdraw their case. The Speaker’s reac-

St. Kitts Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas tion was that since the Opposition had already taken the matter to court, the court should issue a ruling on the opposition’s claims,” said Dr. Douglas.

“You may remember, listeners, that the opposition had asserted in their suit that members of my Cabinet and I had, in some way, prevented the Speaker from bringing the motion to a debate. The court has stated that there is no evidence that either members of Cabinet or I prevented the Speaker from bringing the motion to the floor,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

He also reminded listeners that

the court has ordered the opposition to pay costs.

Opposition legislators since December 11, 2012 submitted a motion of no confidence to the Speaker for inclusion on the Order Paper. The legislators, including former deputy prime minister Sam Condor, filed a motion in the court in a bid to force the parliament to debate the motion.

Justice Darshan Ramdhani ruled that the power given to the Speaker under Section 44 (1) cannot be read as a power to regulate internal procedure in a manner which breaches the constitution.

The judge said he was of the view that the doctrine of separation of powers and the general rule of non-intervention into the affairs of parliament does not help the defendants in this case, as what is at stake is an implied provision of the constitution of St Kitts and Nevis.

Justice Ramdhani also noted that the constitution expressly stipulates that if a majority of the elected representatives vote in favour of a motion of no confidence in the government, a prime minister and his government will cease to have the right to govern.

Dominica signs MOU for construction of high-end hotel R

OSEAU, Dominica – Dominica has signed an agreement with the Dubai-based Range Development Limited (RDL) for the construction of a 125-room high-end luxury hotel in the north of the island.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said the Memorandum of Understand (MOU) is the first agreement to be signed under the investment arm of the Economic Citizenship Programme.

“This is the first MOU that the government is signing under the Citizen by Investment Programme; the investment arm of our Economic Citizenship Programme which we believe is the way to go towards addressing economic development issues, employment and greater investment in our tourism industry. “So we are very keen on engaging them and moving this process forward,” he added.

Skerrit said the Dubai-based company is also involved in a multi-million dollar invest-

ment project in St. Kitts-Nevis and he was confident of their expertise and knowledge of the market.

According to a statement posted on the website of the company, Range Developments is developing Park Hyatt St. Kitts, an ultra-luxury 5 star resort hotel in St. Kitts-Nevis.

It informs potential investors that a US$430,000 investment through a limited partnership structure in Park Hyatt St. Kitts would entitle them and their family to apply for citizenship of in the twin-island federation.

RDL vice chairman, Mohammed Asaria, said his company was very pleased to partner with the Dominica government to bring a new hotel project to the island.

“We look forward to bringing an ultra-luxury branded five star hotel to the Commonwealth of Dominica and realizing the Commonwealth of Dominica’s ambition to become

a luxury destination for tourism in the coming years.

“I think under the foresight of the Prime Minister and his Government and the recent enactment of the new Citizenship by Investment Bill and the introduction of the Real Estate Arm Dominica will benefit from increased foreign direct investment over the coming years which will be beneficial for the country and the good people of the Commonwealth of Dominica,” he said.

The German-based international luxury hotel brand, Kempinsk, is partnering with Range Developments in the new venture.

“We are at the high-end luxury market doing business from our European hubs and also cover the American market to the east coast and, therefore, believe that we can add value to this venture,” said Ulrich Eckhardt, President Middle East, Africa and India for Kempinski.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

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Fred Mitchell denies that Bahamian Government is involved in human smuggling F

OREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell denied that the Bahamian government is involved in the smuggling of illegal migrants to the United States.

In fact, Mr Mitchell said the government is working closely with all US agencies to combat human smuggling and trafficking of persons, according to the Nassau Tribune.

Mr Mitchell also dismissed reports the United States is concerned about its border security, given the amount of immigrants that are smuggled from the Bahamas to Florida every year.

His comments came after US Border Patrol Operations Officer Frank Miller told the Tribune, investigations have proved there are links between smuggling operations and “known criminal organisations in the Bahamas.”

He said: “We think it is just because of the vicinity of the Bahamas to the United States. So these different organisations are working out of the Bahamas, that is what our intelligence is telling us. It is usually from all over the place, but because Palm Beach County is closest to Grand Bahama and West End and Freeport. That is where we believe the activity is coming from,” he said.

“There is still a concern on the national security side as well as our concern that these boat captains have very little regard for the safety of these migrants. They overload the boats and many times do not have enough life vests.”

However, addressing Parliamentarians in the House of Assembly, Mr Mitchell denied these claims.

Foreign Minister of The Bahamas, Fred Mitchell “The statement which appeared in the newspaper indicates that an officer, it appears one of the domestic police forces, indicated that they have concerns about criminal organisations in the Bahamas smuggling people to the United States. I spoke with the Attorney General this morning, who happened yesterday to be speaking to the US Charge d’affaires to seek some clarification about this, to find out whether this is in fact the view of the United States government and the best advice I have is this is not the view of the United States government and there may be some further explanation coming,” he said.

“However, I do wish to say that the Bahamas is where it is geographically related to the United States and we are aware that there is smuggling from time to time going on between this country

and the US. What I do want to say is, first of all the Bahamas government is in no way connected with or is complicit in smuggling to the US from this country. We know that our law enforcement agencies have been working tirelessly to try and combat this as recently as within the last seven days. A lot of persons were apprehended in, what appears to be, an attempt to be smuggled into the United States “So it is an ongoing exercise and the Bahamas government is committing all of its resources to fight this issue. We are in constant contact with both the intelligence arm of the US and the law enforcement agencies, both at a federal and a state level, on trying to combat this issue. We discourage it and it is a foul practice and I want to make it absolutely clear that that is the position of the Bahamas government on this matter and we will continue to do all we can to fight smuggling and trafficking of persons from this country.”

Earlier this week, 14 suspected illegal immigrants were taken into custody after coming ashore near MacArthur Beach State Park in North Palm Beach.

The group is believed to have been smuggled to Florida from the Bahamas and includes 12 Haitians, one person from the Dominican Republic and one Indian national.

Last week, almost a dozen Haitian migrants were taken into custody by US Border Patrol over a two day period.

These migrants were also suspected of being a part of a smuggling operation from the Bahamas.

Caribbean set to benefit from improved global economy B

RIDGETOWN,Barbados - A world economist has suggested that the upswing in the global economy will filter down to the Caribbean.

Dr. C. Fred Bergsten Director Emeritus of the Peterson Institute, an international Economic think thank – told the first ever Caribbean Economic Forum staged by the Central Bank of Barbados on Wednesday that the worst of the global recession has passed and the region must now look to new economic interests as it repositions itself.

According to Bergsten, the Caribbean must release its grip on traditional trading partners such as the United States and Europe and look towards new partnerships and linkages with the world’s emerging markets Latin America, Brazil and more so East Asia and China.

“…the truth is neither North America or Western Europe or the new dynamic leaders of the world economy.

The emerging markets of developing countries around the globe now account for the half of the world economy, they are growing three times as fast as high income, traditional economic power houses and that’s where the dynamism is and so to have a good shot at expanding dynamic economic growth in this region I think you need to diversify beyond those markets.”

He believes China is a potential goldmine for the region’s tourism dependent economies which have been losing their market share in the US and British market.

“China is already the second largest spender in tourism in the world, over a 100 billion dollars but it’s only begun. China is going to explode as a

source of tourism. There is going to be a tsunami of Chinese tourist flooding the world over the next several decades and if the Caribbean can get a small slice of that huge market it would do wonders for the economy.”

But even as he tells Caribbean economies to diversify- Bergsten warns countries to choose their niche markets wisely. He says when small economies try to pursue too many ventures – they run of the risk of doing nothing well.

“I believe in the principle of comparative advantage and that says do more of what you do best. Now if you are a huge, continental economy like China or the US and a few others, you can provide a wide variety of industries and services and some agriculture as well. But if you are a small economy I think you really have to emphasise those few things that you

CANADA ISSUES HEALTH TRAVEL NOTICE TO THE CARIBBEAN

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TTAWA, Canada – The Public Health Agency of Canada has issued a public health notice to nationals travelling to the Caribbean in the wake of the outbreak of the chikungunya virus.

“The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends that travelers protect themselves from mosquito bites when travelling to the Caribbean,” warned the agency in a statement here.

It said there have been “confirmed cases” of chikungunya on the Caribbean islands of St. Martin/St Maarten, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barthélemy and the British Virgin Islands.

The Canadian health agency said these cases marked the first time that locally acquired transmission of chikungunya has been detected in the region of the Americas.

It also said “French Guiana has re-

ported cases of chikungunya related to travel within the Caribbean.”

“Consult a health care provider or visit a travel health clinic at least six weeks before you travel,” the Public Health Agency of Canada urged. “Protect yourself from mosquito bites, particularly during peak mosquito biting times around sunrise and sunset.

The Washington-based Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) said Chikungunya is a viral disease that is spread by mosquitoes and causes fever and severe joint pain.

Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.

In December last year, PAHO and its umbrella organization, the World Health (WHO) said they received confirmation of the first cases of autochthonous transmission of chikungunya in the Americas.

do best and try to make sure you do them well and really well means you do them on a competitive basis.”

Bergsten believes Tourism is the game changer for the Caribbean – which he says already has a competitive edge in tourism.

He tells Caribbean countries to pool their resources to cash into the lucrative Chinese market.

“If you develop targeted strategies for increasing airlift from China to the Caribbean via either Europe or the West Coast of the United States, if you could put together packaged deals where Chinese tourists could go for three days to Barbados, three days to Antigua, three days to St. Lucia….if you could put together what I think would be somewhat new, creative devices of that type you might be able to tap a massive, new market,” he said.

IMPACT OF CARIBBEAN DIASPORA TO REGIONAL TOURISM

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RIDGETOWN, Barbados – The contribution of the Caribbean Diaspora to the regional tourism industry will be among matters discussed when the Caribbean Week begins in New York in June.

The June 1-8 event is being organised by the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and will bring together various stakeholders to discuss the state of the industry, which for some Caribbean countries, is the main contributor to their economies.

The CTO said that the “frank and open discussion” on the impact the Caribbean Diaspora has on the sector will also look at how they help market

the region.

“An unmatched programme is being planned, offering CTO member countries and private sector partners unrivalled opportunities to marry and showcase all the appealing and attractive features of the Caribbean in one celebratory event,” the CTO said in a statement.

“Caribbean Week in New York is a series of business meetings and consumer events to showcase the warmth, spirit and vibrancy of the Caribbean. In addition to direct contact with consumers, it also provides extensive media exposure for participating CTO members and partners,” the statement added.

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RLD

Ukraine peace deal signed, opens way for early election

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kraine’s opposition leaders signed an EU-mediated peace deal with President Viktor Yanukovich on Friday, aiming to resolve a political crisis in which dozens have been killed and opening the way for an early presidential election this year.

Under pressure to quit from mass demonstrations in Kiev, Russian-backed Yanukovich made a series of concessions to his pro-European opponents, including a national unity government and constitutional change to reduce his powers, as well as bringing forward the poll.

“There are no steps that we should not take to restore peace in Ukraine,” the president said in announcing his concessions before the deal was signed. “I announce that I am initiating early elections.”

He said Ukraine would revert to a previous constitution under which parliament had greater control over the make-up of the government, including the prime minister.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, one of the EU mediators, said the deal provided for a presidential election this year, although no date had been set. The vote had been due in March 2015.

A Reuters correspondent at the signing in the presidential headquarters said Yanukovich, 63, a towering former Soviet regional transport official with two convictions for assault, did not smile during a ceremony lasting several minutes.

Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, a retired world boxing champion, switched his nameplate to avoid sitting next to the president. The European mediators signed as witnesses but a Russian envoy present did not sign the document.

Within an hour of the signing, the Ukrainian parliament voted to revert to a 2004 constitution that strips the head of state of some of his prerogatives.

Another of the European Union facilitators, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, described the agreement as a “good compromise for Ukraine”.

In a post on Twitter, he said it “gives peace a chance.

Opens the way for reform and to Europe”.

With Ukraine caught in a geopolitical tug-ofwar between Russia and the West, at least 77 people have been killed this week in the worst violence since the independent country emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.

While EU leaders applauded what European Council President Herman Van Rompuy called a “necessary compromise”, there was a thunderous silence from the Kremlin, where President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman declined comment.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said implementing the accord would be crucial and would be “very challenging”.

Violent protests in Ukraine

PROTESTERS STAND THEIR GROUND Anti-government protesters remained encamped in Kiev’s central Independence Square, known as the Maidan or “Euro-Maidan”, and scene of the bloodshed this week.

Shortly after the signing ceremony, an open coffin carrying one of the dead from Thursday’s violence, was borne across the square, as a bare-chested drummer beat out a funereal tattoo with people shouting out “Heroes don’t die! Bandits out!”

Some car horns hooted and fireworks were lit to celebrate the accord, but many activists were suspicious, noting that Yanukovich had cut deals before and was still in office.

“He has to go today. We won’t accept elections.

He gave the order to kill, so how can we live with him now until December?” said Vasily Zakharo, 40, from the western Lviv region.

“That’s our opinion and that’s the decision of the Maidan.”

Zakharo said he had come to Kiev four days ago to join the uprising. He shaved, packed a bag, and took a baseball bat.

When his wife left for work the next day, he took the bag, left a letter on the kitchen table and walked out of the door. “I called her when I got here. She cried, of course.”

Before the deal was signed, armed police briefly entered the parliament building while lawmakers were holding an emergency session but they were quickly ejected, opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk said. Members exchanged punches when speaker Volodymyr Rybak tried to adjourn proceedings.

Opposition deputies were angered because it would mean delaying a possible vote on a resolution pressing for constitutional changes to restrict the president’s powers. The speaker left the chamber and debate continued.

Before the signing, Poland’s Sikorski met a council of protesters occupying the square, and his spokesman said they agreed to let the opposition leaders to sign the agreement.

ETHIOPIAN PLANE HIJACKED TO GENEVA BY CO-PILOT

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ENEVA — An Ethiopian Airlines co-pilot hijacked a plane bound for Rome on Monday and flew it to Geneva, where he wanted to seek asylum, officials said.

The Boeing 767-300 plane with 202 passengers and crew aboard had taken off from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and landed in the Swiss city at about 6 a.m. (0500 GMT). Officials said no one on the flight was injured.

Geneva airport chief executive Robert Deillon told reporters that the co-pilot, an Ethiopian man born in 1983, took control of the plane when the pilot ventured outside the cockpit.

“The pilot went to the toilet and he

(the co-pilot) locked himself in the cockpit,” Deillon said.

The man “wanted asylum in Switzerland,” he said. “That’s the motivation of the hijacking.”

The hijacking began over Italy, Switzerland’s southern neighbor, and two Italian fighter jets were scrambled to accompany the plane, according to Deillon.

Passengers on the plane were unaware it had been hijacked, officials said.

A few minutes after landing in Geneva, the co-pilot exited the cockpit using a rope, “then he went to the police forces who were on the ground close to the aircraft,” Geneva police spokesman Eric

If fully implemented the agreement would be a setback for Putin, who had made tying Ukraine into a Moscow-led Eurasian Union a cornerstone of his efforts to reunite as much as possible of the former Soviet Union.

Alexei Pushkov, the head of Russia’s State Duma foreign affairs committee and a member of Putin’s United Russia party, told Reuters by telephone the accord was positive if it ended the violence.

“But I don’t think it resolves any of the core problems which Ukraine is facing: economics, ethnic relations and governability. The opposition is rather dissimilar, and now the opposition will start to squabble between one another,” he said.

There was no immediate comment from the United States, which took a back seat in the final phase of negotiations after a senior U.S. official was caught disparaging EU diplomacy on an unsecure telephone line last month.

It was unclear whether Moscow would continue paying out a promised $15 billion in aid which Putin promised after Yanukovich turned his back on a far-reaching economic deal with the EU in November.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut Ukraine’s credit rating for the second time in three weeks earlier on Friday, citing the increased risk of default.

S&P said latest developments in the crisis made it less likely that Ukraine would receive desperately needed Russian aid. Ukraine cancelled a planned issue of 5-year Eurobonds worth $2 billion, it told the Irish Stock Exchange where the debt would have been listed. Kiev had hoped Russia would buy the bonds to help it stave off bankruptcy.

Russia’s economy minister said Moscow was still undecided on the next $2 billion installment and was awaiting clarity on the government in Ukraine.

On financial markets, Ukraine’s dollar bonds and the hryvnia currency firmed against the dollar from record lows hit this week on hopes for a deal.

However, RBS analyst Tatyana Orlova noted the country was still in dire financial straits. “This is not the end of the story. What I am reading is there is a deal but the devil is in the detail ... The urgent need is for a technocratic cabinet that could take steps to avert default,” Orlova said.

The health ministry said 77 people had been killed since Tuesday afternoon, which meant at least 47 died in Thursday’s clashes.

On Thursday, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels agreed in principle to impose targeted sanctions on Ukrainian officials responsible for the violence and threatened more if the authorities failed to restore calm.

After the Kiev accord, Ashton said a decision on the future of sanctions would depend on what the EU foreign ministers on the ground in Ukraine reported.

Grandjean said. “He announced that he was himself the hijacker.”

It was not immediately clear why the co-pilot, whose name wasn’t released, wanted asylum.

Police escorted passengers one by one, their hands over their heads, from the taxied plane to waiting vehicles.

Geneva prosecutor Olivier Jornot said Swiss federal authorities were investigating the hijacking and would press charges that could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Geneva airport was initially closed to other flights, but operations resumed around two hours after the hijacked plane landed.

Ethiopian Airlines is owned by Ethi-

opia’s government, which has faced persistent criticism over its rights record and alleged intolerance for political dissent.

Human Rights Watch says Ethiopia’s human rights record “has sharply deteriorated” over the years. The rights group says authorities severely restrict basic rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly.

The government has been accused of targeting journalists, and opposition members, as well as the country’s minority Muslim community.

There have been numerous hijackings by Ethiopians, mostly fleeing unrest in the East African nation or avoiding return.

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WORLD NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

New poll shows Clinton clobbering potential GOP rivals in Ohio H

illary Clinton (D) would defeat each of her potential 2016 Republican rivals in Ohio if the election were held today, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday.

According to the early survey of the 2016 battleground state, the former Secretary of State leads her closest rival, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), by 9 points. She tops all of the other GOP contenders by double digits.

The poll finds a steep drop in support for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). When Quinnipiac last polled Ohio in November, Clinton led Christie by only a point, 42 percent to 41 percent. She now leads the New Jersey Governor by 13 points, 49 percent to 36 percent.

Only 31 percent of Ohio voters think Christie would make a good president, while 48 percent say he would not. This is a reversal from the November poll, in which 44 percent thought he would make a good president and 32 percent thought he would not. Clinton draws the support of a majority of respondents on the question: 55 percent now say she would make a good president and 39 percent say

Hillary Clinton she would not, a slight uptick from her showing in the November tally.

Christie’s fluctuating support is a reminder of just how early it is to be polling the 2016 election, considering that the contest has yet to begin in earnest. No major candidates from either party have yet announced their intentions to run, and the primaries are not for another two years. As HuffPollster recently pointed out, “the 2016 election is still a

long way off, and the current results may bear little relationship to the actual contest that plays out two years from now.”

Clinton currently leads the rest of the field-which includes former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio)-- by an average of 14 points. She notches her best numbers against Cruz, 51-34.

Until recently, Christie was viewed as the Republican with the best chance of defeating Clinton in the general election. The drop in support for Christie may be traced to revelations that members of his administration colluded to close off lanes of the George Washington Bridge to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., who declined to endorse Christie during the governor’s 2013 reelection bid. Christie’s decline in support in Ohio mirrors the findings of other polls, both in other states and nationwide.

The survey of 1,370 registered voters was conducted from February 12-17. It has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

Arizona lawmakers pass bill to allow faith-based refusal of services A

rizona lawmakers gave final approval on Thursday to a bill that would allow businesses to refuse service to customers when such work would violate their religious beliefs, in a move critics describe as a license to discriminate against gays and others.

Under the bill, a business owner would have a defense against a discrimination lawsuit, provided a decision to deny service was motivated by a “sincerely held” religious belief and that giving such service would have substantially burdened the exercise of their religious beliefs.

“The Arizona legislature sent a clear message today: In our state everyone is free to live and work according to their faith,” said Cathi Herrod, president of the conservative Center for Arizona Policy, which helped write the bill.

The bill passed the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives 33-27 on Thursday, a day after it won similar approval in the state Senate. It will go to Republican Governor Jan Brewer, who has not indicated whether she will sign it.

The American Civil Liberties Union branded the legislation as “unnecessary and discriminatory,” saying it had nothing to do with God or faith.

“What today’s bill does is allow private individuals and businesses to use religion to discriminate, sending a message that Arizona is intolerant and unwelcoming,” said Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona.

The Arizona law is seen by critics as an attack on the rights of gays and lesbians to equality under the law at

a time when same-sex marriage activists have notched several court victories in recent months.

Some 17 U.S. states and the District of Columbia now recognize gay marriage in a trend that has gained momentum since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that legally married same-sex couples nationwide are eligible for federal benefits.

Since mid-December, federal judges have ruled curbs on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia, although the decisions have been stayed pending appeal. The New Mexico Supreme Court has also legalized gay marriage.

But Arizona is among more than 30 states that still ban gay or lesbian couples from marrying, by constitutional amendment, statute or both.

House Minority Leader Chad

Campbell, a Democrat who opposed the measure, called it “state-sanctioned discrimination” that clearly targets members of the gay community.

“We’re telling them, ‘We don’t like you,’” Campbell said, during a heated floor debate. “’We don’t want you here. We’re not going to protect you, we don’t want your business, we don’t want your money and we don’t want your kind around here.’”

State Representative Eddie Farnsworth said the bill was wrongly being portrayed as discriminatory and that it only made “minor tweaks” to current state law.

“This is simply protecting religious freedom that is recognized and defended and supported in the First Amendment that the founders wanted - nothing else,” he said.

FROM JAIL, VENEZUELA PROTEST LEADER URGES RESISTANCE “WAR ZONE” IN WEST VENEZUELA

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enezuela’s jailed protest leader urged supporters on Friday to keep demonstrating peacefully against President Nicolas Maduro despite violence that has killed at least six people and rocked the OPEC member nation.

“I’m fine, I ask you not to give up, I won’t,” Leopoldo Lopez told his followers in a handwritten note passed to his wife at Caracas’ Ramo Verde prison then posted on the Internet.

The 42-year-old Lopez, a Harvard-educated economist and one of the few surviving relatives of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar, spearheaded protests against the socialist government that began at the start of February.

He surrendered to the military this week after an arrest warrant was issued accusing him of instigating the violence.

At least six people have died, five from gunshots, and one run over by a vehicle, as the protests have degenerated into violence in Caracas and other cities around Venezuela, especially in the western Andean region.

The government puts the death toll at eight, including indirectly linked cases of a woman who had a heart attack and a judicial official who crashed his car swerving round a barricade.

Some 100 civilians have also been injured, and 37 members of the security forces, authorities say.

Both sides are blaming each other for murder and brutality.

The government says sharpshooters are appear-

Protestors in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas ing on the opposition side and radicals are seeking to create chaos by smashing property, attacking police and blocking highways.

The protesters, mainly students, accuse Maduro of worsening repression. They say police are firing shots, allowing pro-government gangs to attack protesters and mistreating some detainees.

“To the police, soldiers, prosecutors and judges: do not obey unjust orders, do not become the face of repression,” Lopez said in his note from prison.

“To the youth, to the protesters, I ask you to stay firm against violence, and to stay organized and disciplined. This is everyone’s struggle.”

Having initially accused Lopez of crimes including murder and terrorism, authorities are now charging him on lesser counts of instigating arson, damage and criminal gatherings.

Once again, the worst trouble on Friday appeared to be in the western border town of San Cristobal, which residents are calling a “war zone,” with running battles between students and security forces on barricaded streets for days.

Venezuela’s military has moved into the town in force, residents say, with helicopters and planes flying overhead.

There was also trouble in Merida, another Andean town, and protesters blocked a few streets again in Caracas on Friday.

In the biggest challenge to Maduro’s 10-monthold government, the protesters are demanding his resignation over Venezuela’s rampant crime, inflation, shortages of basic products and alleged repression of opponents.

Demonstrators bang pots and pans from windows every night.

“I recommend they buy some stainless steel pots to last for a good 10, 20, 30 or 40 years,” Maduro mocked them.

“Because the revolution is here for a long time!”

While the Caracas protests began in middle-class neighborhoods and are still strongest there, sporadic demonstrations have also spread to poorer areas.

Maduro says the protests are a pretext for a planned coup, similar to the short-lived ouster of his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, in 2002. There is no evidence the military, which was the decisive factor in 2002, may turn on Maduro now.

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WORLD NEWS

Iran’s rising executions dim U.N. hopes for reforms A

t least 80 people and perhaps as many as 95 have been executed in Iran already this year, a surge in the use of the death penalty that has dampened hopes for human rights reforms under President Hassan Rouhani, the United Nations said on Friday.

Rouhani, who won a surprise election last year on a platform of more openness with the West, clinched an interim deal in November with world powers over Iran’s nuclear program.

In September, dozens of political prisoners were released, raising hopes that he would also improve human rights in a country that ranks second after China on Amnesty International’s list of states with the highest use of capital punishment.

“There were some encouraging signs last year where political prisoners were released ... But it appears at least in the past seven weeks that in fact executions have been scaled up,” U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing.

“We regret that the new government has not changed its approach to the death penalty and continues to impose capital punishment for a wide range of offences. We urge the government to immediately halt executions and to institute a moratorium.”

Last year Iran executed between 500 and 625 people, including at least 28 women and two juveniles, Shamdasani said.

“A number of individuals were also executed in secret and at least seven people have been executed in public this year,” she said, adding that most were killed by hanging.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani Possession or transport of drugs, “even in relatively small amounts” of less than 500 grams, frequently leads to execution, said Roya Boroumand, director of the U.S.-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation that tracks executions in Iran.

“More than 100 crimes carry the death penalty,” Boroumand told Reuters. “If the international community takes lightly the execution of drug dealers, it is leaving a free hand to the police and judiciary to do what they want,” she said.

“ENMITY AGAINST GOD” Two men of the minority Ahwaz Arab community, Hadi Rashedi and Hashem Sha’bani Amouri, charged with “enmity against God”, corruption and

violating national security, were executed in January after trials deemed to be unfair, Shamdasani said. Their confessions were broadcast on national television.

“They were allegedly denied access to a lawyer and their families for first nine months of their detention and were reportedly subject to torture and forced confessions,” she said.

Ahmed Shaheed, U.N. special investigator for human rights in Iran, has never been allowed into the country but, on the basis of hundreds of interviews, has reported grave violations including executions and torture. Last year, Iran accused Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives, of receiving bribes from the United States, something he denied.

Activists have voiced concerns that Tehran’s rapprochement with the West following its nuclear agreement could lead to an easing of U.N. scrutiny of its human rights record.

A European Parliament delegation that visited Tehran in December has drafted a report calling for a “high-level human rights dialogue” between Iran and the European Union.

But rights activists were disappointed that the draft did not call for renewing Shaheed’s mandate, perhaps signaling an easing of international pressure despite a lack of reforms.

“I am concerned that Europe in general is getting ahead of itself, rewarding Iran for a lack of tangible improvements by trying to relegate human rights,” Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the U.S.-based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, told Reuters by telephone.

British court acquits ex-Murdoch aide on one count in hacking case

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ONDON -- A London court acquitted former newspaper executive Rebekah Brooks on one of the five charges she faces in Britain’s high-profile trial of seven former senior staff members and journalists from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. on charges related to an extensive phone hacking scandal.

Brooks was acquitted on a count of misconduct tied to charges that she paid $6,000 in 2006 for a photograph of Prince William dressed in a bikini at a party to be published in the Sun, a Murdoch-owned tabloid she edited at the time. Presiding Judge John Saunders told the

jury there was no case to be made because the source of the photo was uncertain.

Brooks, 45, faces other charges of illegal payments to public officials, all of which she denies, and of authorizing phone hacking by journalists during her time as editor of Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World between 2000 and 2003.

The decision came as the jury heard the first defense testimony in the case.

The court heard from defense lawyer Jonathan Laidlow, who described Brooks’ meteoric rise to fea-

Rebekah Brooks tures editor at age 27, deputy editor at 29 and then editor of Murdoch’s News of the World, one of Britain’s most popular Sunday tabloids, the Times of London reported.

Answering questions in a soft voice, Brooks revealed that payments for stories were commonplace in the cutthroat competitive world of tabloid journalism. One of the highest payments authorized

by Brooks – which she first said involved 250,000 pounds but later corrected to $250,000 -- was for an exclusive interview with an alleged prostitute known as Divine Brown, whose encounter with actor Hugh Grant in Los Angeles in 1995 made headlines around the world, the Associated Press reported.

“It seems so silly now but it was quite important,” she said.

FLORIDA MAN IN LOUD MUSIC KILLING FELT VICTIMIZED

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Florida man convicted at the weekend of attempted murder in a dispute over loud rap music felt he was victimized by four teenagers he shot at, according to tapes of jailhouse telephone calls released by prosecutors on Tuesday.

Michael Dunn, 47, is facing a minimum sentence of 60 years in prison in the November 2012 shootings at a Jacksonville gas station. The jury could not reach a verdict on a murder charge for the killing of one of the teenagers.

In the telephone recordings released by the Florida State Attorney’s office as standard practice, Dunn is heard claiming his innocence to his fiancée Rhonda Rouer while he is being held awaiting trial.

“I’m the fucking victim here. I was the one who was victimized,” Dunn said during a call from an isolation cell in the Duval County jail. “I don’t know how else to put it. They attacked me ... I was the victor, but I was the victim, too.”

The case has revived debate over racial profiling and Florida’s gun-friendly self-defense laws after the jury deadlocked on a first-degree murder charge over the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, who was sitting in the back seat of the teens’ Sport Utility Vehicle.

Prosecutors say they will re-try Dunn, who is white, on the murder charge.

Dunn killed Davis after he parked next to the teens at a gas station store. Dunn and Rouer stopped at the store to buy white wine; the teens to buy cigarettes and gum. Dunn asked the teens to turn down the music in their vehicle and they initially complied. But Davis cranked it back up.

During his trial, Dunn testified that he fired his gun in a panic and fearing for his life. He said he saw Davis hold up what he thought was the barrel of a shotgun. He told the jury that Davis threatened to kill him in a torrent of expletive-laced abuse, although his account of what Davis said varied over time.

Prosecutors say there found no weapon in

the SUV, and that Davis died in a defensive position.

On the jailhouse tapes, Dunn appears incredulous why anyone would suspect him of a violent crime.

“I wouldn’t do this at this point in my life.

It’s perfect,” Dunn said.

After the trial ended on Saturday, Dunn’s attorney Cory Strolla said his client was “devastated” by the guilty verdicts. “He never saw it coming, not one bit.”

The jailhouse recordings shed more light on Dunn’s racial attitude. In one call with his fiancée he assumed the teens, whom he did not know, were criminals.

“When the police said that these guys didn’t have a record I was like, you know, I wonder if they’re just flying under the radar,” Dunn told her. “Because they were bad,” Dunn said.

One of the teens was on probation for a third-degree felony the night of the shooting but Davis and the other two had no records.

Previously in a letter from jail, Dunn had referred to black inmates as “thugs.” His lawyer Strolla said the letter was written after Dunn’s life had been threatened in jail.

Caption: Michael Dunn (L) raises his hands in disbelief as he looks toward his parents after the verdicts were announced in his trial in Jacksonville, Florida February 15, 2014

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WORLD NEWS Syria submits new 100-day plan for removal of chemical weapons

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yria has submitted a new 100-day plan for the removal of its chemical weapons after failing to meet a February 5 deadline, but the international mission overseeing the operation believes it can be done in a shorter time frame, diplomats said on Friday.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons executive committee met on Friday in The Hague to discuss the joint OPCW and U.N. mission amid growing international frustration at Syria falling behind on its commitments.

The Syrian government, locked in a three-year-old war with rebels seeking President Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow, failed to meet the February 5 OPCW deadline to move all of its declared chemical substances and precursors out of the country.

The final deadline under the OPCW plan is for all of Syria’s declared chemical materials to be destroyed by June 30.

“The Syrian 100 day plan for removal of the chemicals, on which we have

cals away from Syria are waiting,” said Robert Mikulak, U.S. ambassador to the OPCW. “The U.S. ship to destroy CW agent and precursors is now in the region and waiting. Commercial facilities to destroy other chemicals have been selected and contracts awarded; they are waiting. And yet Syria continues to drag its feet,” he said.

‘DELAYS NOT INSURMOUNTABLE’ U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane said on Thursday in New York that any new plan would need to be endorsed by the OPCW and the U.N. Security Council.

The deal for Syria to give up its chemical weapons, brokered by the United States and Russia, was enshrined in a U.N. Security Council resolution in September.

The resolution does not authorize automatic punitive action in the form of military strikes or sanctions if Syr-

A U.N. chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus been briefed, is not adequate,” Philip Hall, head of the British Foreign Office Counter Proliferation Department, told the OPCW, according to a copy of his statement.

“We now urge the Syrian authorities to accept the proposals submitted by the Operational Planning Group that provide for removal in a much shorter time frame, without compromising on security,” he said.

A senior U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the international mission believes the operation can be carried out before the end of March, adding that Syria’s proposed end-May deadline would not leave enough time for the chemicals to be destroyed before the end of June.

The OPCW declined to comment on Syria’s proposal.

The United States has sent the MV Cape Ray, a ship outfitted with special equipment to neutralize the worst of Syria’s chemicals at sea, and says it will need 90 days to complete the destruction.

Assad agreed to destroy his chemical weapons following global outrage over a sarin gas attack in August. The world’s deadliest chemical attack in 25 years, it sparked a U.S. threat of military strikes which was dropped after Assad’s pledge to give up chemical arms.

“The international community has put into place everything that is necessary for transport and destruction of these chemicals. Sufficient equipment and material has been provided to Syria. The ships to carry the chemi-

ia does not comply. At Russia’s insistence, the resolution makes clear a second council decision would be needed for that.

Russia has made clear, however, it would not support the use of force against Assad’s government, a close ally.

Of Syria’s 1,300 tonnes of declared chemicals, Mikulak said, 95.5 percent of the worst toxins and 81.1 percent of the so-called priority two chemicals remained in the country. The worst chemicals are supposed to be destroyed by the end of March and the rest of the arsenal by the end of June.

“Syria should revise its 100-day transport schedule to embrace the recommendations developed by the OPCW, the UN ... to expedite removal,” said Mikulak.

Sigrid Kaag, head of the international mission, said earlier this month that she did not believe the Syrian government was intentionally delaying the removal of its arsenal, but that accelerated cooperation was vital to meet the mid-year deadline.

“Intermediate milestones ideally should have been met, they have not been met, there are delays,” she said.

“Delays are not insurmountable. Delays have a reason, there’s a rationale, there’s a context.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon said in a report last month that Syria has enough equipment to transfer the chemicals out of the country.

Syria has blamed the delays on security concerns, a lack of equipment and the weather.

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usiness B AND

T O

ECHN LOGY WhatsApp Founder Goes From Food Stamps to Messaging Billionaire

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he $19 billion deal to sell WhatsApp Inc. to Facebook Inc. started at Yahoo! Inc. more than five years ago, when Jan Koum became disillusioned at the way Internet companies were fixated on advertising.

He left Yahoo in 2007 with one of the company’s other engineers, Brian Acton, and started a company by 2009 that shuns advertising altogether. The strategy allowed them to concentrate on creating an easy-to-use messaging product instead of developing new ways to glean customer information for their marketing pitches, Koum said in a 2012 blog post.

“No one wakes up excited to see more advertising, no one goes to sleep thinking about the ads they’ll see tomorrow,” Koum said in the post. A hand-written note on the his desk reads: “No Ads! No Games! No Gimmicks!”

Their approach paid off. WhatsApp amassed 450 million monthly users -- twice as many as Twitter Inc. -- who send billions of messages a day. Yesterday, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg bought their five-year-old company in the largest Internet deal since Time Warner’s $124 billion merger with AOL in 2001, a deal that will almost certainly make Koum and Acton billionaires several times over.

For Koum, 38, the windfall would stand in stark contrast to his years as a teenager, when his family relied on food stamps after emigrating from Ukraine. The experience of living in a country where phone lines were often tapped, instilled the importance of privacy in him, said Jim Goetz, a partner with Sequoia Capital Ltd., WhatsApp’s lone ven-

ture capital investor.

WhatsApp doesn’t collect information like name, gender, address or age. Instead, users are approved after their phone numbers are authenticated.

“It’s a decidedly contrarian approach shaped by Jan’s experience growing up in a communist country with a secret police,” said Goetz in a blog post yesterday on Sequoia’s website. “Jan’s childhood made him appreciate communication that was not bugged or taped.”

Koum will join Facebook’s board of directors once the deal goes through. Facebook declined to make him or Acton available for an interview.

The partners are old enough to remember the first dot-com bust. Acton, 42, grew up in Michigan and was employee No. 44 at Yahoo, working on advertising, shopping and travel services, according to Wired. He invested during the boom and lost millions of dollars when the market imploded, according to Forbes.

He later hired Koum at Yahoo and served as his

mentor, inviting him over to his house and taking him skiing, Forbes said. After exiting Yahoo, Acton said on Twitter that he was turned down for a job at Facebook in 2009.

The two founded WhatsApp later that year with the idea that smartphone users should be able to easily message each other without incurring fees from phone carriers. The service is free for a year, then costs 99 cents per year after that.

They eschewed marketing and didn’t employ a public relations person, relying on the word-ofmouth recommendations of its users instead. The service became popular with friends and family communicating in different countries, especially in Europe, because it circumvents the fees charged by phone carriers.

“While others sought attention, Jan and Brian shunned the spotlight, refusing even to hang a sign outside the WhatsApp offices in Mountain View,” Goetz said in his blog post. “As competitors promoted games and rushed to build platforms, Jan and Brian remained devoted to a clean, lightning fast communications service that works flawlessly.”

Koum’s aversion to advertising contrasts with Facebook’s efforts to make more money from people using its service on mobile devices. He said in a statement on the company’s website that WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently.

“There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product,” he said.

UK government finances show £4.7bn surplus in January G

overnment finances for January showed a surplus of £4.7bn, the Office for National Statistics has said.

That was less than the £6bn surplus recorded a year ago.

For the financial year-to-date, government borrowing was £90.7bn, which was £4bn lower than at the same point a year earlier.

January usually records a surplus due to high tax receipts, but in most other months the government borrows more money than it receives.

The total pile of government debt now stands at £1.24tn, equivalent to 74.6% of the UK’s total economic output.

The ONS figures are initial estimates and are subject to revision.

They exclude the effect of bank bailouts.

The £1.3bn fall in January’s surplus when comparing with a year earlier was down to higher government spending. Tax receipts from VAT and stamp duty were up slightly, but this was offset by a fall in receipts from income and corporation tax.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the difference “mainly reflects the fact that central government expenditure was £0.7bn higher... Receipts were little changed from last year”.

PREDICTIONS ‘ACHIEVABLE’ The borrowing figure of £90.7bn for the financial year so far excludes

the transfer of assets to the Treasury from both the Royal Mail pension plan and the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund.

The OBR has forecast government borrowing to be £111.2bn for the current financial year.

“Official predictions for the annual deficit still look achievable, but nothing better,” said James Knightley, UK economist at ING. The OBR expects government borrowing to start falling next year, and continue to do so for the next five years.

A spokesperson for the Treasury said the finance figures showed that “the government’s long-term economic plan is working.

“The deficit has fallen by a third, but as today’s figures show, the job is not done and the biggest risk to the recovery would be abandoning the plan that’s boosting economic security for Britain’s hardworking people.”

But Chris Leslie, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said the figures “confirm [Chancellor] George Osborne is set to break his promise to balance the books by next year.

“This is the cost of the three damaging years of flatlining and falling living standards we have seen since the election.”

“Borrowing is now forecast to be nearly £200bn more than planned under this government simply to pay for the costs of their economic failure.”

COLORADO PREDICTS $184 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE IN FIRST 18 MONTHS OF MARIJUANA SALES

D

enver, - We’re getting a clearer picture of how the marijuana industry in Colorado is doing since the state voted to legalize pot.

High hopes for a Colorado green rush are being realized.

Tim Cullen – Co-Owner Evergreen Apothecary: “It’s just exceeded all my expectations” Business at Evergreen Apothecary, previously just a medical marijuana dispensary, has more than quadrupled.

More than a month after recreational pot sales became legal, people are still lining at the door to get their hands on this stuff. This place, packed at 10 o’clock when doors opened.”

In fact, this pot shop averages about 500 customers - a day. The state of Colorado is reaping the

benefits, as well, collecting sales and excise taxes over 25%.

Marijuana dispensaries were required to turn in January tax reports on Thursday.

Tim Cullen: “We paid about $190,000 in sales tax that we collected during the month of January.”

While official numbers won’t be made public until March, the governor’s budget office just released its own tax projections. It estimates the state will collect about $184 million in tax revenues in the first 18 months of recreational pot sales.

Here’s Colorado’s plan for spending that money: - $40 million automatically goes to public school construction. That was mandated by voters.

- Then the governor wants to spend: about $85

million on youth prevention and substance abuse treatment, $12.4 million on public health, about $3 million on law enforcement and public safety and nearly $2 million on industry oversight.

Mason Tyvert – Marijuana Policy Project: “I don’t think the people who are buying marijuana want the tax money to be used to discourage adults from buying marijuana.”

While not everyone agrees on how that money will be spent, and although still early, there’s no denying the apparent economic boost that’s come from recreational pot sales.

Right now, Colorado and Washington are the only states where recreational pot is legal. Washington is still working through how to regulate sales. Eight other states are considering this.

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BUSINESS AND T ECHNOLOGY

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Ahead of Galaxy S5 event, Samsung releases Galaxy NotePRO J

ust ahead of the highly anticipated Samsung Unpacked 5 event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, reviewers got their hands on the newest tablet offering from Samsung: the Galaxy NotePRO. The tablet, which is aimed more at a business-minded tablet consumer, seems to be a device that can top the increasingly competitive non-iPad tablet game. But reviewers say Samsung fails to offer anything particularly revolutionary, which doesn’t bode well for the much-hyped offerings coming next week at the major Samsung event.

To start, the NotePRO is solidly a tablet. It boasts a 12.2-inch screen, which leaves no room for confusing this device as a “phablet”, a current trend in the phone and tablet world. In fact, it is one of the largest tablets available, about an inch bigger than the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 and two inches bigger than Apple’s iPad Air. However, at only 0.31 inches thick and 1.65 pounds, it is relatively svelte.

“It’s awkward to hold, though it is impressively slim, and even in your lap it begs to be used with some sort of docking device or stand,” writes PC Magazine reviewer Eugene Kim. Samsung does offer a variety of accessories, including a keyboard, wireless mouse, and folio cover, which Mr. Kim says all work to make the tablet more effective, but doesn’t replicate the feeling of

a desktop computer, like other tablets. However, it does have an extra-sharp screen (247 pixels per inch) and stylus capability, both of which work well with the massive screen size.

Performance-wise, the tablet is also hit and miss.

The tablet runs on Samsung’s Exynos processor (a combination of a quad-core 1.9GHz A15 chip and quad-core 1.3GHz A7 chip) and Android 4.4.2. It also comes with the newly released tiled-based Magazine UX, a sort of Flipboard-style interface for Android, and pre-loaded apps such as Autodesk Sketchbook, a photo-editing app, and Hancom Office, an office suite. Kim says these are impressive and useful products that bring this tablet to the next level. “[Pre-loaded apps] coupled with the wireless keyboard and mouse accessories, the NotePRO delivers one of the closest laptop-like experiences when it comes to content creation on Android,” Kim writes.

“Also onboard are built in tools for Cisco WebEx meetings and remote access to PCs.” The focus of all this is the opportunity for new levels of multi-tasking, certainly something interesting to the enterprise crowd. But the variety of applications can bog down processing speeds, which CNET reviewer Eric Franklin found antithetical to the device’s mission.

“The Note Pro’s laggy performance when run-

ning multiple apps at once limits its usefulness as a workstation replacement,” he writes.

The device starts at $750 for a 32 GB option, which reviewers say is a hefty price to pay, unless you know the device is perfect for you.

“With a $750 starting price, only power tablet users need apply… Not quite a workstation replacement, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro is an expensive behemoth of a tablet with a vast amount of features that will benefit only the most serious of tablet users,” concludes Mr. Franklin.

This release comes just days before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where Samsung will host an “Unpacked 5” event in order to debut its newest smart phone, the Galaxy S5, as well as a new Galaxy Gear smart watch.

Rumors have been flying as to what could be on the newest Galaxy phone, including a fingerprint sensor, waterproof exterior, and a massive 5.2-inch screen. Will Samsung be able to upgrade its signature smart phone enough to capture attention from the growing iPhone 5S popularity, especially among formerly Blackberry-oriented enterprise users? This tablet doesn’t seem to indicate as much, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Google unveils smartphone with 3D sensors G

oogle has unveiled a prototype smartphone with “customised hardware and software” that enables it to create 3D maps of a user’s surroundings.

The device’s sensors allow it make over 250,000 3D measurements every second and update its position in real-time.

Google said potential applications may include indoor mapping, helping the visually-impaired navigate unfamiliar indoor places unassisted and gaming.

It has offered 200 prototypes to developers keen to make apps for it.

Google said its Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) unit developed the phone as part of a project called Project Tango with help from researchers at various institutions.

“We are physical beings that live in a 3D world. Yet, our mobile devices assume that physical world ends at the boundaries of the screen,” the firm said.

The goal of Project Tango is to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.

“We’re ready to put early prototypes into the hands of developers that can imagine the possibilities and help bring those ideas into reality,” it added.

‘SMART’ TECHNOLOGY Various firms, including Google, have been looking at developing niche technology.

For its part, Google has already unveiled its Google Glass - the intelligent specs due to go on sale later this year.

Earlier this year, the firm said it

is also working on a “smart contact lens” that can help measure glucose levels in tears.

Also in January, it bought DeepMind, a UK firm that specialises in artificial intelligence, for £400m.

According to DeepMind’s website it builds “powerful general-purpose learning algorithms”.

Analysts say that firms have been looking at ways to help bring the advances made in technology to practical use in every day life in an attempt to attract more customers.

“The focus is not just on the hardware or the device, but on what the gadget can actually do,” Bryan Ma, associate vice president at research firm IDC told the BBC. “It is all about taking it to the next level of usage - be it augmented reali-

ty, help with basic healthcare or even just creating better maps.”

Mr Ma added that once fully developed such gadgets could have huge commercial applications as well - which would help drive demand not only among individual consumers but also businesses and corporate users.

“There could be a lot of opportunity waiting to be exploited in this area,” he said.

Last year, Japanese firm Sony filed a patent for a “SmartWig”, with healthcare cited as one of its potential uses along with the ability to help blind people navigate roads.

It said the wig could use a combination of sensors to help collect information such as temperature, pulse and blood pressure of the wearer.

HARSH WEATHER AND TIGHT SUPPLY SINK US HOME SALES

S

evere cold weather and a shortage of houses on the market pushed U.S. home resales to an 18-month low in January, the latest indication economic activity has hit a soft patch.

The National Association of Realtors said on Friday that home sales dropped 5.1 percent last month to an annual rate of 4.62 million units, the lowest level since July 2012.

The Realtors group said unseasonably cold weather was partly to blame, but it also acknowledged some fundamental weakness, with fewer homes on the market to choose from and higher mortgage rates and prices reducing affordability.

“Some housing activity will be delayed until spring,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

“At the same time, we cannot ignore the ongoing headwinds of tight credit, limited inventory, higher prices and higher mortgage interest rates.”

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is about a full percentage point higher than it was a year ago, even though rates have come down a bit since hitting a two-year high in September.

Sales tumbled in the Northeast, South and Midwest, which were hit by snow storms and ice last month. But they were down 7.3 percent in the West, an indication that other factors apart from the weather also weighed on sales.

Home resales, which peaked in July, have declined in five of the last six months, and in January were down 5.1 percent from a year-ago.

Economists had expected sales to fall to a

4.68-million pace last month and some were not convinced that the weather had played a major role in the January slump.

“The weakness in existing home sales has been going on for some time now and needs to be acknowledged, particularly by the Federal Reserve,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago.

“The few hawks on the Fed could be quickly silenced if housing doesn’t turn around in a more definite and fundamental fashion soon.”

The U.S. central bank has been reducing the amount of money it pumps into the economy through monthly bond purchases, and minutes of the Fed’s last meeting in January showed some officials thought it might be appropriate to raise interest rates “relatively soon.”

ROOM FOR OPTIMISM Freezing temperatures have hurt home building, manufacturing and hiring in December and January.

While most analysts see the weather-driven slowdown in economic activity as temporary and expect growth to rebound in the second quarter, there are growing concerns that there may be some underlying weakness in the economy, particularly given that growth was already slowing towards the end of 2013.

Some economists are optimistic home resales will pick-up once the weather starts warming up.

“Although higher mortgage rates and prices have reduced affordability somewhat, it is still much better than it was at the height of the housing boom,” said Gus Faucher, a senior economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh.

“Many potential buyers, concerned about their financial situation, have put off purchases, but are now looking to buy a home as the recovery has proceeded.”

In January, the inventory of unsold homes on the market rose 2.2 percent from December, pushing the months’ supply to 4.9.

While that was up from December’s 4.6 months, it remained below the 6.0 months that is normally considered as a healthy balance between supply and demand.

With inventory still tight, the median price for a previously owned home rose 10.7 percent from a year ago.

Higher house prices and lack of stock were slowing sales in the lower end of the market. Firsttime buyers accounted for 26 percent of the transactions, the smallest share since the Realtors group started tracking the series in October 2008.

A market share of 40 percent to 45 percent is considered by economists and real estate professionals as ideal.

The NAR, however, believes the worst of the supply squeeze is over, noting that the stock of unsold homes increased 7.3 percent from a year ago.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

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TCI Under 9 boys lost Orlando Tournament by penalty shoot-out he Turks and Caicos Islands Under Nine T Football Team has a great deal to be proud of after being knocked out in the semi-final stage of the AS Roma President’s Cup Soccer Tournament in Orlando, Florida between February 15 and 17.

In fact the TCI were the only unbeaten under nine side in the event’s group stages, winning all three games against the Florida Vikings (4:1), Braden River Rage (5:0) and Detroit’s Canton Celtic (5-1).

Their semi-final was an intriguing game against a select Florida District side - the North Florida Futsal Knights. After TCI took an early lead through Carson Greatrex, the Knights equalised and then went 3:1. With ten minutes to go TCI fought back – Jude Smith had a rasping shot agonisingly bounce off the bar – to tie the game at 3:3.

TCI almost snatched a victory in the closing minutes but the Knights did well to shut out the local boys, forcing the game to penalty shoot-out. Two of TCI’s penalties were saved by the Knights goalkeeper, the local boys eventually lost the game 4:3 with the last kick of the ball.

“All of the players can hold their heads up high,” said Coach Frazer Park. “This was their first ever competitive test and they competed very well, beating teams that were managed by professional soccer coaches.”

“This is the youngest team that we have ever taken to a competitive tournament The TCI Under 9 Soccer Team missed winning the AS Roma President’s Cup Soccer Tournament in Orlando, Florida. in this way,” said Sonia Bien Aime, secretary of the TCIFA. “We are looking to build our interna- wide range of benefits to us of our talent- to the all the players, parents and coachtional links by having more teams come ed players here in TCI learning from these es involved – you did the TCIFA proud,” here to play, but also we will look at the tremendous experiences. Very well done she added.

ANDREW COUTTS TO CONDUCT UNITED STATES SOCCER FEDERATION “E” LICENCE COURSE D

irector of Education at Minnesota Youth Soccer Association, Andrew Coutts - is to conduct the United States Soccer Federation “E” Licence Course this weekend, 21 – 23 February 2014.

This training programme forms part of the Turks & Caicos Islands Football Association’s (TCIFA) Guest Coach Program where in which the Football Association (FA) has been inviting top-level coaches to the Islands to conduct coaching sessions with the youth and senior players within the program. Additionally, the visiting coach will also conduct coaching clinics with local coaches that work within the TCIFA’s Academy and Center of Excellence Programs (CEO).

Coutts, a former Men’s Soccer Head Coach at Hamline University who led Hamline University to their first playoff berth in school history, was also MIAC Coach of the Year and Men’s Soccer Assistant Coach at Colgate University.

The National “E” license is an 18-hour course, which covers the elementary principles of coaching and prepares interested coaches for the “D” licence course. The National “E” course is only administered and instructed by State Soccer Associations instructors, for which Coutts is a member.

The “E” Course is designed to develop the core coaching competencies nec-

order to proceed through the sequence of coaching development courses.

The specific target outcomes of the course is for participants to understand and effectively apply the principles of athlete development; demonstrate competency in planning an age-appropriate training session; demonstrate the essential competencies to execute a team training session that is focused on a technical function of the game; and understand concepts and recognize the principles of attacking and defending in a small-sided game environment.

Of Mr Coutts visit and the “E” Licence Course, Craig Harrington, TCIFA’s Technical Director said: “…Its a fantastic opportunity to have a coaching license, a license that gives you credibility and it must be the priority for all coaches to upgrade their license and go on a course like the one we are hosting this weekend. TCI will benefit from all the candidates taking the course as their knowledge and capability to educate our players at the next level will grow. It is something we badessary to effectively teach the 9-12 year ly need here and with people taking the old athlete and team. Participants will be time to go on a coaching course it gives able to understand the characteristics and our country’s football credibility.” needs of an athlete in the basic stage of For more information on the TCIFA, TCIFA’s Youth Development Programme. kindly contact Sonia Bien-Aime, SecreWhat is more, they will establish a foun- tary General on 941-5532 or email tcifa@ dation of knowledge and experience in tciway.tc.

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FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

JOB DESCRIPTION Position:

Senior Financial Controller

Reporting To: Group Director of Finance with a dotted line to General Manager Function:

Responsible for overall management of all finance, accounting, purchasing and MIS functions, including but not limited to safeguarding all assets, strategic planning/budgeting, and compliance with internal controls and procedures. Also, a financial advisor to the management team of the hotel and a co-ordinator with the various department heads with respect to the relationship of accounting policies and practices to operational procedures.

Skills Required: • Communication Skills • Leadership Skills • Advanced mathematical and accounting concepts • Computer literacy • Analysing and interpreting general business periodicals, professional journals and governmental regulations

Skill Level: Excellent Very Good

E V

Good G Infrequent I

E E V V V

Function: 1. Performance management of the accounting associates: staff hiring, task distribution, productivity, goal-setting and performance evaluations.

2. Supervises the storage and destruction of records in accordance with Corporate and Governmental retention schedules.

3. Supervises the timely preparation and distribution of Financial Statements and Operating Reports in conjunction with Corporate and Owner guidelines including cash flow statements.

4. Reviews and approves all balance sheet reconciliations.

5. Reviews and monitors quality, accuracy and timeliness of work originating from accounting.

6. Controls and ensures approval of all contracts and legal agreements.

7. Reviews and monitors incident reports, insurance claims for proper processing.

8. Reviews invoices and approves and signs disbursement cheques.

9. Maintains a calendar of all legal & fiscal reporting schedules to ensure timely and accurate reporting and maintain current documentation on all Provincial/State & Federal fiscal legislation.

10. Co-ordinates the external audit function.

11. Prepares proposals, analyses and various reports as required by management, corporate and owners.

12. Co-ordinates and manages the Business Planning and Forecasting process in conjunction with the General Manager and Department Heads.

13. Prepares and maintains annual operating budget.

14. Controls and monitors payroll and expenditures for department.

15. Controls and reduces accounts receivable.

16. Works closely with all Leadership team members in achieving hotel’s goals and objectives.

17. Supports the hotel philosophy concerning hiring, associate relations, disciplinary action, training, counseling, evaluating etc.

18. Interacts in courteous and professional manner with all guests, staff and community members.

19. Responds to and resolves guest and staff difficulties in courteous, professional and prompt manner.

20. Apply principles of logical thinking to a wide range of unstandardised intellectual and practical problems in order to perform and direct many varied and complex tasks.

21. Interacts with people beyond giving and receiving instructions, particularly interaction with supervisor, subordinates, co-workers and guests in completing assignments, resolving staff and guest complaints.

22. Performs a variety of duties, often changing from one task to another of a different nature without loss of efficiency or composure.

23. Responsible for maintaining safety and cleanliness of work area.

Responsibilities: 1. Provides overall vision, planning and service delivery to the Accounting associates.

2. Participates and contributes to sales and revenue strategy sessions.

3. Provides strategic planning and guidance on the achievement of hotel goals and objectives.

4. Implements controls that comply with Grace Bay Resorts Accounting Policies and Practices.

5. Evaluates hotel operations (sales, staffing, expenditures, controls, procedures, etc.) to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the overall hotel operation.

6. Provides orientation and training to managers, department heads on accounting and financial issues.

7. Protects the hotel’s assets and minimise the risk and exposure of the operation.

8. Spearhead the Profit and Loss meetings to ensure compliance with Business Plans and identify corrective measures and action plan.

9. Communicates effectively with the Owners to ensure confidence in the management team of the hotel.

Contact: Human Resource Department Tel: 946 8550

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 22ND - MARCH 1ST, 2014

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WORLD NEWS

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